First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 497

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Outside Yi County, Liu Hongji looked at Gao Chong in military uniform, with an unconcealable worry on his face.

"You really don't need me to go?" Liu Hongji finally couldn't help asking after being sent to the Sanli Pavilion outside the city,
"It's really not necessary".

Gao Chong waved his hands and said with a smile: "You are the governor of Yizhou, you must not leave this state without permission.

In addition, with you sitting in Yizhou and training the government soldiers, I can act better."

Liu Hongji knew this in his heart, but he always felt uneasy seeing Gao Chong leading a thousand soldiers to go deep into Youzhou.

After all, Lujiang King Li Yuan is not pure in mind, and there is a sinister and cunning Wang Junkuo in command of Youzhou soldiers and horses. If these two people really disagree, then Gao Chong's trip will be dangerous.

"Then I'll make a big noise about the military exercise you mentioned in Yizhou," Liu Hongji said after thinking about it.

"That's right," Gao Chong said with a smile: "You are training soldiers and horses in Yizhou, even if the King of Lujiang has a different heart, he will still weigh it."

Liu Hongji nodded, and looked at the commanding army of the government soldiers.

"Yuanzhi, the safety of Youzhi is entrusted to you. Be sure to obey Youzhi's command in every word and deed."

Liu Hongji dispatched [-] soldiers from Wuyang Military Mansion outside Yizhou City to Gao Chong as a guard.

Wuyang is the former capital of Yan State in the Zhou Dynasty. It is located seven miles southeast of Yi County. The former capital has now been abandoned and has become a military town.

The commander of the Wuyang Military Mansion was named Lu Yuanzhi, who came from a collateral lineage of the Lu family in Fanyang. He was quite brave. Hearing Liu Hongji's words, Lu Yuanzhi said seriously, "Please rest assured, I will obey the orders of Ambassador Gao." .

Liu Hongji nodded, watched the crowd leave, then turned around and said: "Order all the military houses in Yizhou to strengthen their drills from now on, go out to camp every day, patrol the areas under their jurisdiction, in order to prevent the Turks from looting in autumn and winter."

Yizhou Sima took the order and left.

Jixian County where Youzhou is located, when Gao Chong led a thousand guards straight to Jixian County, there was also an undercurrent surging in Jixian County.

Undoubtedly, the trajectory of history did not deviate too much. Facing Cui Dunli calling him back to court, Li Yuan still had trouble sleeping and eating. He really dared not return to Chang'an.

It's just that after Cui Dunli arrived in Jixian County, he followed Gao Chong's advice and didn't go to the city to stay in the post house, but stayed temporarily in the military mansion outside the city, which made Wang Junkuo very distressed.

At this time, Wang Junkuo had already had the treacherous idea: to encourage Li Yuan to raise an army, and then put him down.

In this way, with the great achievements in countering the rebellion, the position of governor of Youzhou will be secure, and he will be the official of the frontier by then.

It's just that if Li Yuan wants to raise an army, he must first take down Cui Dunli, the court envoy, but now Cui Dunli is living in the military mansion with a stern face, which makes Wang Junkuo a little embarrassed.

The military mansion is under the jurisdiction of his Wang Junkuo, if Cui Dunli had an accident in the military mansion, then Wang Junkuo is to blame, and the imperial court's envoy who had an accident in his hands was an accomplice in the crime.

At that time, even if Wang Junkuo said that he and Li Yuan were not in the same group, no one would believe it.

Wang Junkuo just wanted to fool Li Yuan, a bastard, into rebelling, and then use his head to make great achievements in suppressing the rebellion.

He doesn't want to rebel. Although Wang Junkuo has a treacherous personality, he is indeed a good general who knows the military strength of the Tang Dynasty. Rebelling with the strength of Youzhou is tantamount to seeking his own death.

Not to mention that he is still somewhat loyal to Li Shimin, knowing Li Shimin's ability well, he would never dare to be an enemy of Li Shimin.

In a military mansion outside Ji County, Cui Dunli read with interest a book in his hand.

At this time, the entourage reported: "The governor of Youzhou, the king, has arrived."

Cui Dunli frowned, "Why are you here again, please."

Generally speaking, the governor will also serve as the governor of Zhisuo Prefecture, such as Dou Gui, the governor of Yizhou, who also serves as the governor of Yizhou.

However, Li Yuan, the governor of Youzhou, did not concurrently serve as the governor of Youzhou. The governor of Youzhou was held by Wang Junkuo.

"Cui Sheren, Li Dadu urged me again." Wang Junkuo came in with a bitter expression on his face, "As an envoy, you should go to the city and stay in a post house. Now you have lived in the military mansion for a long time, which is really inconsistent with etiquette."

Cui Dunli put down his books in a slow manner, and sighed, "The lower officials have already said that this time, the announcement of labor will not disturb the local area. If you go to the city, you will have to have dinner and entertainment, which must be the burden of the people."

The corners of Wang Junkuo's mouth twitched, and he continued: "I admire Cui Sheren's honesty and integrity, but the governor has ordered to clean the post house, waiting for Cui Sheren to announce his decree, and there will be no big banquet."

It's just that Cui Dunli still didn't follow. He just stared at Wang Junkuo and asked, "I don't know what is the intention of the King of Lujiang's refusal to leave the city? Does Wang Shijun know his intention?"

Wang Junkuo paused, then quickly shook his head and said, "I'm just invited by order, and I don't know what the King of Lujiang wants."

"That being the case, Wang Shijun, please come back."

Cui Dunli turned around to take the festival stick, and raised his hands, "I am ordered to hold the festival, accept the decree and proclaim labor, and hope that the king's envoy will convey the Lujiang king. It is important to receive the decree quickly, and don't make mistakes."

Wang Junkuo's expression changed, so he had to grit his teeth and leave.

Cui Dunli's hand completely set up Wang Junkuo. While bewitching Li Yuan to raise troops, he tried his best to pick himself out. He didn't want to get involved, but he couldn't let Cui Dunli have an accident with him.

As long as Cui Dunli enters the city and stays in the post house arranged by Li Yuan, and then kills Cui Dunli with Li Yuan's hands, and then turns around and kills Li Yuan, this great achievement in suppressing the rebellion will be achieved, but Cui Dunli is here to hold the festival , How to refuse to enter the city.

As soon as Wang Junkuo returned to the city, Li Yuan hurried over, "Junkuo, it's not good, Gao rushed to Yizhou."

Wang Junkuo was in distress, and when he heard this, he was startled, "Gao Chong? What is he doing in Yizhou?"

However, Wang Junkuo quickly calmed down and comforted the panicked Li Yuan, "It's okay, don't worry, my lord. He was ordered to inspect the states, and the focus is on Hebei. He has a close relationship with Liu Hongji, the governor of Yizhou. Maybe it's just reminiscing about the old days. Then it will go south, not for you."

"But Cui Dunli hasn't come to the city to proclaim the decree so far, so what should we do if this continues?" Li Yuan said anxiously, and after he finished speaking, he grabbed Wang Junkuo's arm, "Junkuo, I can rely entirely on you."

Wang Junkuo nodded, trying his best to appease the panicked Li Yuan.

It's just that Li Yuan didn't lose his head completely, he pulled Wang Junkuo's arm and said: "Jun Kuo, you can do it directly in the barracks, why do you have to capture and kill Cui Dunli in the city, why don't you just declare the incident?"

Wang Junkuo scolded inwardly, pulled out his hand calmly, frowned and said: "Your Majesty is confused, you need a name for an incident, and no one will follow you if you come from an unknown teacher. As long as Cui Dunli enters the city to announce the decree, then you can correct the imperial edict in the name of abolishing the prince." Raise troops and gain the support of the Guanzhong gentry, in this way, there is a possibility of success."

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment when he heard it, and when he thought about it carefully, it made sense, so he patted Wang Junkuo on the shoulder and said: "If it happens, I will make you the first king with a different surname in the Tang Dynasty."

Wang Junkuo expressed his excitement, and hurriedly thanked him, but in fact he secretly despised him, thinking that even a fool would want to make things happen.

In the current Tang Dynasty, there are no kings with different surnames in the real sense. For example, Du Fuwei, King of Wu, Luo Yi, King of Yanjun, Hu Dayen, King of Dingxiang County, etc. were all recorded in the clan and given the surname Li. From the perspective of patriarchal relationship, they He is already a member of Li Tang's royal family.

If he becomes a real king with a different surname, his influential status is far from comparable to that of a king with a surname.

After Wang Junkuo left, Li Yuan summoned Cao Junjun, a soldier from the Governor's Mansion of Youzhou, and Wang Lishe. Wang Lishe was Li Yuan's confidant, and he had followed Li Yuan since Jinzhou. A concubine can be regarded as Li Yuan's number one confidant.

Li Yuan is just cowardly and incompetent, but he is not stupid, and he certainly won't just listen to Wang Junkuo's words on such a big matter.

After Wang Lishe arrived at the back office of the governor's mansion, he saw Li Yuan lying on the couch, and his sister Wang Shi was serving at the side. Seeing this scene, Wang Lishe was secretly happy. The move that his sister gave to Lujiang King was really right. up.

"Officers and soldiers Cao Canjun..." Wang Lishe was about to bow and salute.

Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "Okay, my family doesn't need to be polite, just sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Wang Lishe sat down respectfully.

Seeing Wang Lishe being so respectful, Li Yuan was even more satisfied. Although he felt that Wang Junkuo was talented and caring for him, but he always lacked a bit of awe when facing himself, which made the pampered King Lujiang a little displeased.

With Wang Junkuo's unruly personality, he might only be respectful to Li Yuan and Li Shimin, so how could he be respectful to him if he looked down on Li Yuan in his heart.

"Wang Junkuo said that if I go back to the capital, something will happen to me, what do you think?" Li Yuan said slowly.

Wang Lishe was startled when he heard the words, the general manager Sheren who delivered the decree had already arrived in Jixian County for several days, all the officials in the Youzhou Governor's Mansion knew about this news, and there were many speculations about Li Yuan's thoughts.

"The relationship between the king and the former prince is irreversible. Everyone knows that if the king returns to Beijing, even if the prince will not harm the king because of his reputation, but if the king wants to take power again, it will be impossible." Wang Lishe said bluntly after a moment of contemplation road.

Wang Lishe was able to climb up from a county magistrate in Jinzhou to Li Yuan, and all the way to join the army as a soldier in the governor's mansion.

Li Yuan's expression darkened when he heard this, "That is to say, even if this king does not die after returning to the capital, he will only be a useless person from now on?"

Wang Lishe nodded, and said firmly: "It is very likely that the military power will be abolished, and only the prince will be retained, and he will be an idle king with no position and no power."

Li Yuan's expression changed suddenly, "Impossible, this king cannot lose power for a day."

Wang Lishe just bowed his head and did not speak, Li Yuan continued: "Wang Junkuo persuaded me to raise an army and enter Guanzhong in the name of the former crown prince, what do you think?"

Wang Lishe was shocked when he heard the words, and asked in astonishment, "Is this what Wang Junkuo said?"

"Exactly." Li Yuan nodded, watching the face of Sister Wang Lishe change, "Do you think it's feasible?"

Wang Lishe's heart was shaken, he took a deep breath to calm down, and said bluntly: "If your majesty raises troops and mobilizes troops out of the country without authorization, you can be famous as your teacher. Anyone with a discerning eye will know that it is a rebellion. The states don't listen to orders, and there are only soldiers and horses in Youzhou, how can things be done?"

Li Yuan was stunned when he heard the words, "This, this Wang Junkuo didn't tell me?"

Wang Lishe slapped his forehead, stomped his feet and said, "Your Majesty, you must not just listen to Wang Junkuo's words. He is the crown prince's confidant. If he raises troops hastily, the governors of the states under his jurisdiction will be suspicious and refuse to follow orders. Malay attack, we will be decapitated."

Li Yuan couldn't sit still immediately, and hurriedly said: "Then what should I do? It's not okay to raise troops, but if you go back to the capital and confine you, what's the difference between death?"

Wang Lishe's thoughts changed sharply, and he said: "No, the king can raise troops."

Seeing Li Yuan's expression of urgency, Wang Lishe hurriedly gathered his thoughts, "There are many remnants of Dou Jiande and Liu Heita in the land of Hebei and Shandong. They were high-ranking officials and nobles in the past, but now the only ones who are lucky enough to survive are common people's servants.

Your Majesty might as well send his confidants to infiltrate into Hebei and Shandong, and falsely pass on the decree to add officials to them.

In addition, the armaments of the eight prefectures of the Governor's Mansion of Youzhou are all in Ji County, piled up like a mountain. At that time, they will secretly fund them and let them raise troops in their respective territories. State troops, directly hit Guanzhong... ".

The more Wang Lishe spoke, the more excited he became, his eyes sparkled brightly, and Li Yuan's blood boiled even more, and he poured wine for Wang Lishe himself, "brother continued to talk."

"Is the envoy of the king of Yanzhou worthy of a use?" Wang Lishe asked after changing his voice, staring at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan paused, and immediately said excitedly: "He has known me for many years, he was a close friend in Taiyuan, and he will definitely help me."

This was also Wang Lishe's intentional question, but he knew that Wang Shen, the governor of Yanzhou, and Li Yuan were so close that they wore a pair of trousers, because once he saw Wang Shen coming out of his sister's room.

"That's good." Wang Lishe clapped his hands and applauded, "Wang Shijun came from the Taiyuan Wang family, and the Taiyuan Wang family also supported the former prince. You can let Wang Shijun sneak back to Taiyuan and secretly obtain the support of the Wang family.

In addition, the Wang family has all eyes and hands on the northern grasslands, so they can order Wang Shen to contact the Turkic people in order to win the support of the Turkic people. After the big deal is done, they will cede several states to the Turkic people. I believe that the greedy Turkic people will not be able to resist this temptation.”

Li Yuan frowned, "It's okay to give property as a gift, is it inappropriate to cede the prefecture and county?"

"Oh my lord, this is just an expedient measure. As long as you ascend to the throne and sit in the three hundred states of the Tang Dynasty, it will be harmless," Wang Lishe patted his thigh and shouted.

Sitting in the three hundred states of the Tang Dynasty... This sentence immediately made Li Yuan yearn for it.

"Okay, I'll follow my brother's plan." Li Yuan was worried about ceding the prefecture and counties to leave a bad name, but now he has long since thrown it out of the blue.

At this time, Li Yuan realized later, frowned and asked: "You just said that Wang Junkuo is the crown prince's confidant, and it is true. This makes me a little puzzled, why did he persuade me to join the army?"

Wang Lishe frowned, no matter how much he thought about it, he would never think of Wang Junkuo's coquettish manipulation, he just shook his head and said, "I can't figure him out either, but this man has always been treacherous and capricious, Your Majesty can't trust him completely, The military power in his hands can be divided into half and handed over to the envoy of the king of Yanzhou."

This sentence reached Li Yuan's heart, he nodded in relief and said: "Uncle, you are thinking of me."

Next, Li Yuan sent his confidants to infiltrate Hebei and Shandong, and secretly made friends with Dou and Liu's former minions, and at the same time, he wrote a book and explained the situation to Yanzhou Inspector Wang Shen.

Wang Junkuo didn't know about this, and was only troubled by Cui Dunli, the sloppy emissary.

Just about to go to the military mansion again, this time he was determined to bring Cui Dunli back to the city no matter what, but just as he arrived at the city gate, he saw a ranger galloping towards him.

Seeing Wang Junkuo here, You Qi heaved a sigh of relief, got off his horse, and reported directly: "Report to Wang Shijun, Gao Chong, the deposed emissary of Daxingtai, Eastern Shaanxi Province, has entered Youzhou, and will arrive in Jixian tomorrow."

Wang Junkuo was completely stunned when he heard the words, and blurted out, "Why did he come to Youzhou?"

"Wang Shijun, Ambassador Gao also has a guard of one thousand people, and ordered me to send a message to the ambassador, and the humble position offended."

That You Qi cleared his throat, imitating Gao Chong's tone and said: "Brother Jun Kuo, when I arrive in Ji County tomorrow, I will give you the board and lodging of my thousand people. See you tomorrow, and I will never stop getting drunk."

Wang Junkuo had black lines on his face.

(End of this chapter)