People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 952 Li Zhi’s balancing act

In the Zichen Hall, Empress Wu looked at the emperor and asked in a low voice: "Then the commander of this battle will be the Duke of Pengcheng County."

Li Zhi shook his head slightly and said: "Although it was decided long ago to be the Duke of Pengcheng County, I always feel that it is not appropriate, especially after today, I feel that it cannot be the case."

Empress Wu lowered his head and sighed in his heart.

Everyone thought she was the one who pushed Xue Rengui to compete with Liu Shenli, but in fact, the person who really didn't want Liu Shenli to be the head coach of the Western Expedition was the emperor.

"If Liu Qing is appointed as the military commander of the Northwest Road, what about Xue Qing? When he appears on the Northwest Road, will he be allowed to live under Liu Qing?" Li Zhi asked realistically.

Liu Shenli is the Minister of Industry, but Xue Rengui is also the governor of Daizhou. Although he does not have a military position now, his prestige in the army is definitely not inferior to that of any general.

Because he was originally the Great General Youwei.

If he were from the royal family or the prime minister, he would be able to overpower him, but not Liu Shenli, the minister of the Ministry of Industry.

"What does Your Majesty want to do?" Empress Wu looked at Li Zhi with cautious eyes.

"First, let Pengcheng County Duke be the general manager of the Northwest Road March and lead the army forward." Li Zhi breathed softly and said thoughtfully: "Then he will transfer a prime minister to be the general manager of the Northwest Road March. Finally, Pingyang County Duke will be transferred In the past, I served as the general manager of Luosudao March, so even if I had some guesses about Qinling, it would be difficult to deal with it."

"It's just that, Your Majesty, the armies of the Northwest Road will be in chaos." Empress Wu quickly raised the issue here.

"No." Li Zhi shook his head directly and said: "The duty of Pengcheng County Duke is to build camps in Dafeichuan first, and then build camps in Maji Mountain Road, Kuhai, and Wuhai.

Li Jinxing, Duke of Yan State, was appointed as the vanguard, and Wang Xiaojie, Hei Chi Changzhi, and Li Duozuo were all transferred to his command.

The King of Nanchang arranged the transportation of grain and grass for the rear route, and at the same time repaired the Dafeichuan and Maji camps to ensure that the frontline troops could retreat safely if they were really in danger.

Once the army retreats to Dafeichuan, Pengcheng County Duke will be in charge of the grain road camp, and Pingyang County Duke will be in charge of combat operations.

The King of Nanchang withdrew and acted as the vanguard for the marching general of the Northwest Road to support the outflanking. "

In the early stage, Liu Shenli stepped forward, Li Xuan followed, and Xue Rengui lurked.

In the later period, Liu Shenli retreated, Xue Rengui stood out, and Li Xuan retreated to support the army.

With Li Xuan Department as the interval, the responsibilities of each department are clearly divided.

……

Li Zhi took a breath, shook his head, and said: "All of this is a layout that Wu Hai cannot hold on to. If Wu Hai can hold on, then everything else will naturally be forgotten... As for those camps, In the future, it can be expanded into a city."

"Your Majesty has a long-term thinking." Empress Wu nodded. What Li Zhi said was to improve Li Xuan's plan.

"As for everything in the early stage, it is up to Duke Pengcheng to decide." Li Zhi looked solemn. It was unrealistic to attack Tibet before this spring.

The reason why Li Xuan's plan impressed Li Zhi was that by fighting in Dafeichuan, he would not only be able to wash away the shame of the year, but also be able to kill as many Tibetans as possible in Dafeichuan.

In a major battle, Qinling would mobilize at least [-] troops.

As long as all these [-] troops are eaten, it will be equivalent to a void behind Tubo.

After that, the army only needs to hide in and immediately occupy countless territories.

The main goal is to kill the living combat power of the Tibetans.

Although Li Zhi couldn't say this, he could understand the truth behind it.

"As the prime minister, I will serve as the general manager of the northwest road march. When Pingyang County Duke and Pengcheng County Duke are both in Dafeichuan, suppress the conflict between the two." Empress Wu raised her head and looked at Li Zhi: "Although your Majesty has a good idea, who should you choose? We can’t let the left prime minister go again.”

Li Zhi took a deep breath and said softly: "I am ready to appoint another Zhongshu Ling."

Empress Wu raised her eyebrows: "Your Majesty, are you really worried about Xiang Hao? Didn't the King of Nanchang say..."

"If you have to put down half of the government affairs, you should find someone to help." Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "According to the system, there should have been two Zhongshuling, but I have always put the heavy pressure on Hao Xiang's shoulders. , so that if something goes wrong this time, the hidden dangers will be exposed in advance, which is good.”

"Then who does Your Majesty want to transfer?" Empress Wu's breathing suddenly became heavy.

Li Xuan smiled warmly, touched the back of Empress Wu's hand, and said softly: "First, Li Jingxuan was appointed as the Secretary of the Central Committee, inspecting the military department, and then he was appointed as the general manager of the Northwest Road March. After Li Jingxuan left the court, Dou Xuande was appointed as the official secretary. He transferred Master Xu Yu to return to the court and succeeded Dou Xuande as Minister of Household Affairs."

Empress Wu paused slightly. Li Jingxuan was from the south ancestral house of the Li family in Zhao County. He was a good old man and did not target anyone in particular.

Dou Xuande was a close relative of Li Dan and was transferred to the upper half of the Ministry of Civil Service. However, with his ability, he was afraid that the next step would be to become prime minister.

Master Xu Yu was Hao Chujun's uncle, and bringing him back was a comfort to the veteran.

What's more, Xu Yushi once served as a servant. Although he made mistakes back then, he has achieved quite a lot in managing the place now, so it's okay to be transferred back.

Moreover, Master Xu Yu once had the intention of seeking refuge with Empress Wu, which was not a bad idea.

The transfer of these three people seems to be extremely beneficial to Empress Wu.

The crown prince's focus is now on the emperor's grandson and Liu Shenli. Although Liu Shenli is in charge of the military, he is checked and balanced by Xue Rengui and Li Jingxuan.

Xue Rengui was a person trusted by both Empress Wu and the Emperor, so Liu Shenli's threat was reduced to a minimum.

The most important thing is that there is also the King of Nanchang as a buffer. Even if the war situation changes, the King of Nanchang can take over the military power to prevent the situation from collapsing.

However, although the King of Nanchang took over the military power, he was surrounded by people like Liu Shenli, Xue Rengui and Li Jingxuan, so his threat was almost negligible.

In this layout, Empress Wu's power was increased by half a square, and the prince's military power, Liu Shenli, was also increased by half a square.

If both of them make progress, then someone will naturally be harmed, and this person is the emperor.

But is it so?

Li Jingxuan is a good gentleman. When the emperor asks, he will not refuse at all.

Apart from Li Dan, Dou Xuande was also the emperor's uncle.

Xu Yushi was once a close confidant of the emperor. Although he now wanted to join Empress Wu, he was Hao Chujun's uncle after all, so it would be difficult to change his stance.

Xue Rengui was loyal to both Empress Wu and the emperor, but he was more loyal to the emperor. After all, he started his career from the late emperor and had great favor.

As for Liu Shenli, he just relied on the prince, but fundamentally, he was still loyal to the emperor.

Not to mention, there is also the King of Nanchang.Now the emperor's power seems to be damaged, but as long as he moves a chess piece in the future, the situation will immediately return to his control.

"Your Majesty is wise." Empress Wu couldn't help but sigh, but even though she saw through it, she could only accept it.

Li Zhi smiled lightly.

The balance of power is an instinct that every emperor must learn.

Li Zhi has been immersed in it for decades, and his methods have reached the point of perfection.

Now it seems that all parties have gained, and naturally some people have suffered.

If everything goes well, then the damaged person will be Lun Qinling and Tubo.

"I hope everything this year will satisfy me." Li Zhi raised his head and looked at the night sky outside the hall.

The starry sky is gorgeous.

……

Li Xuan rode a horse and slowly entered Kaihuafang.

Li Xuan raised his head and glanced at the gorgeous and deep night sky. Li Xuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Ming Chongyan is so smart!

It is really extraordinary that Hao Chujun's fall was used in exchange for Empress Wu's increased control over the court situation.

But the risk is not small. If the emperor knows that he is attacking the left prime minister, he might kill him immediately.

But Ming Chongyan used extremely sophisticated means to shift all the responsibility to the Goguryeo Treasure King.

That unlucky guy might have really intended to rebel against the country, but he had been detected by the secret guards long ago, and now he exploded with the help of Li Xuan's hand.

His life will be difficult in the future, and the next life he can save is due to his good luck.

But Li Xuan, who had seen through all this, could not tell the emperor this at all.

Ming Chongyan attacked Hao Xiang. If he is not careful, he may become Empress Wu and attack Hao Xiang.

If that happens, the whole situation will be in turmoil.

Empress Wu was surrounded by the Emperor's people, and the Emperor was surrounded by Empress Wu's people.

After Li Xuan said this, it was very likely that it was not Empress Wu or Ming Chongyan who died, but himself.

Shangguan Yi, the prime minister at that time, used the lives of his family to set an example for subsequent generations.

If Li Xuan hadn't known that Ming Chongyan had gone to Yeting Palace, he might have thought that all this came from Empress Wu's instructions.

Even at a certain moment, the emperor, Prime Minister Hao, and Liu Rengui all thought so, which showed that the situation was critical.

Now I'm afraid Li Xuan can only let Li Xuanlan keep the truth in his stomach.

Unless...the emperor can see through the ambiguities in his memorial, there is really no way to say this.

Li Xuan got off the horse and walked towards Prince Peng's Mansion.

As soon as he entered the door, Su Zang leaned forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, Duke Pingyang has arrived."

"Oh!" Li Xuan raised her eyebrows, extremely surprised, why was it him.

Li Xuan thought in her heart that if anyone could ask him about the truth about Hao Chujun's case at this time, then this person must be the most trusted person in the emperor's heart.

Moreover, this person was enough to avoid Empress Wu's sight.

There are very few such people.

Li Xuan thought about many people, but she really didn't think about Xue Rengui.

Now think about it, because Xue Rengui had saved both Empress Wu and the emperor, he could continue to remain objective in dealing with matters between the two.

This objectivity is important.

And not only that, Xue Rengui failed to compete for the position of coach of the Northwest Road March, so he will naturally return to Daizhou in the near future.

When his Majesty was delivering his speech, the emperor dismissed his attendants and spoke to Xue Rengui on personal terms, so that even Empress Wu would not be suspicious.

This choice is really good.

Li Xuan gathered her emotions and strode into the main hall.

He saw Princess Peng Ouyang smiling and saying something to Xue Rengui. Seeing Li Xuan come home, Xue Rengui immediately stood up, cupped his hands towards Li Xuan and said, "I have met the prince."

Li Xuan quickly returned the gift: "I've met the Duke. The Duke is here today..."

"I need to ask some questions about the front line." Xue Rengui gave a reasonable excuse.

Li Xuan nodded, then looked at Ouyang and said, "Mother, let Butler Su take the Duke to the study first. My son will go back to change his clothes, wash up briefly, and then discuss with the Duke."

"Okay!" Ouyang nodded.

"Then Xue will be waiting in the study." Xue Rengui nodded calmly.

……

Walking into Dongkua Courtyard, Li Xuan said calmly: "Isolate all the eyeliners at home."

"Yes!" Li Bi walked out from under the shadow of the tree, then backed away.

Li Xuan took a breath.

Ming Chongyan couldn't let Ming Chongyan hear what he said today.

If you want to kill someone, how can you let him hear it in person?

(End of this chapter)