Daming Palace, Zilan Palace. (Read.com)

Today, Li Shimin invited Tubo's ministers to abandon the sect and Langzan and others, together with a group of important ministers such as the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Chu Suiliang, all appeared. And the prince of the banquet selected by Li Shimin was Li Tai, the king of Wei.

Lee Tae-sun is literate and good at socializing, and it is quite appropriate to attend such a public occasion.

Now, Li Zhi, the king of Jin, who performed mediocre during his imprisonment and was "abandoned" by his eldest grandson Wuji, appears less and less in public, almost being refrigerated. Li Keyuan is in a remote place in Tubo, only Li Tai is always by the emperor's side, and he enters the palace every day, but he is there on every occasion. Therefore, the ministers couldn't help but speculate in their hearts, could it be that after Li Tai and the eldest grandson Wuji alliance, his chances of entering the East Palace had greatly increased?

However, no one can ignore Li Ke, who is far away in Tibet. The reason is very simple, the group of Tubo people who are now friends are all "invited" by Li Ke and Qin Mubai from the plateau. At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there were no more than three people who made such miraculous achievements, Li Shimin, who laid down half of the Li and Tang dynasties, Li Jing who was a Turk in Nanding, Jiangnan, and Beiping, and then Li Ke and Qin Mubai.

Although everyone knows that the victory of this war has little to do with Li Ke, who called him the prison sent by the emperor? In terms of meritorious deeds, the prince of the emperor's expedition, the merit is the first.

Therefore, at this time, although Li Ke and Qin Mubai did not return to the dynasty, their prestige and influence in the Tang Dynasty and the court were already soaring day by day.

Although Li Ke still stayed in the city, Li Shimin sent a large number of ministers to help him deal with the aftermath of Tibet. However, the meritorious generals who have returned to the dynasty, such as Li Daliang and Li Junxian, including Qin Mubai's eldest brother Qin Tong, have all been greatly rewarded.

Li Daliang, the founding veteran who had just returned to the dynasty for only three or five days, was promoted to the squire of the Ministry of War (second only to Shang Li Tao of the Ministry of War, equivalent to the vice minister of national defense), and concurrently served as the general of the Left Guard to guard the imperial city, and the title was also promoted from the Duke of Wuyang County to the Duke of Wuguo; Li Junxian, after returning to the dynasty, continued to be in charge of the extremely important military yamen of the Hundred Cavalry Guards, and concurrently served as the general of the left prison guard and the harem, almost half of the imperial forest army in the entire imperial city was led by him, and the title was also promoted from the county prince to the national duke. Qin Tong was directly transferred from a deputy envoy of the hundred cavalry to the general of the right guard, one of the generals of the sixteen guards, and he was also a prisoner of the hundred cavalry. Even Qin Bin, the second man of the Qin family who did not go on the expedition, was blessed because of the great merits of his two brothers, in addition to the original position of deputy commander of the hundred cavalry supervisors, he was also transferred to the central province as a middle housekeeper, became one of the emperor's close advisers, and was crowned a marquis.

In addition to this, these people were rewarded with fertile land, mansions, food estates, and gold and silver.

Even these people have been rewarded so richly, so what should happen to Li Kemin and Qin Mubai on the day they return to the court?

The courtiers have seen too much of the ups and downs of the sea and the wind and clouds. They guessed that the day when Qin Mubai, the commander of the Kwantan Army, returned to the dynasty, it must be the time to enter the center. Although he is still very young and less than 30 years old, the emperor was still in command at the age of 16 and ascended the throne at the age of 28, and there has never been a shortage of young heroes in the history of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin has always liked to boldly use young people - if Qin Mubai enters the center of the cabinet and becomes one of the zaifu, there is no doubt that he will be equipped with enough strength to compete with the eldest grandson Wuji!

In this way, there will be two distinct parties above the government and the opposition, one is the old faction and the civilian-official group headed by the eldest grandson Wuji; The second is represented by Qin Mubai, Li Tao, Li Daozong and others, and there are also emerging forces and military groups joined by Fang Xuanling, a special figure.

And these two groups now also have a clear banner, and the banner erected by the eldest grandson's side is undoubtedly Li Tai, the king of Wei; On the side of the military group, there seems to be no choice but Li Ke.

Subtly, the core contradiction of the imperial court finally surfaced, that is, the dispute between the East Palace has officially been put on the table. Li Zhi, who was originally a standout, quietly withdrew from the stage of competition. And Li Tai and Li Ke once again stood at the forefront.

And this time, Li Ke already has a strong capital in his hands, which is enough for him to call Li Tai for him!

It's just that now Li Ke is still in Tibet and has not returned, and Li Tai is close to the water, whether he can get the moon first may be executed in the days when Li Ke still has not returned to the dynasty.

Therefore, Li Tai has been quite active in recent times. He may also realize the crisis and the urgency of time, and he must rush between Li Ke being recalled by his father to Chang'an and take the position of the crown prince of the East Palace.

Li Tai is now determined to win, and there is no way back and no choice; And Li Ke is still wholeheartedly dealing with the plateau affairs at hand, and his most powerful arm, Qin Mubai, has no unusual behavior.

The stillness and movement of these two princes formed a stark contrast. The smoke of gunpowder on the Tibetan Plateau has not yet dissipated, and another struggle above the Tang Dynasty has already begun.

At the imperial banquet in the Zilan Palace, the cup was changed, and Li Tai gave an order to persuade him to drink, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. Li Shimin allowed the renunciation of the sect to keep their original clothes and crowns, and respected their eating and language habits, and these details were relatively well done. Although the abandonment of the sect and the others inevitably have the grief and indignation of the country, they have nothing to say when they get such kind treatment and courtesy.

Halfway through the banquet, Li Shimin got up and changed his clothes. When he arrived in the back hall, he met Taishi Ling Li Chunfeng.

The Taishi Bureau is responsible for compiling the calendar, observing astronomy, measuring geography, and regularly reporting to the imperial court on climate predictions and the occurrence and handling of disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. But Li Chunfeng is not an ordinary "Taishi", and Li Shimin has always treated him differently. Today, he deliberately waited outside the Zilan Palace, and it was estimated that he also had something important to report. So Li Shimin specially stepped forward to ask him what was the matter.

Li Chunfeng said to Li Shimin: "The ministers are starry in the recent days, and now, the West Field is different. ”

Li Shimin asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"The astrology shows that Feng Xiang is in Xiye, and there is a heroine Bichang." Li Chunfeng said.

"Fengxiang Xiye, heroine Bichang?" Li Shimin pondered for a while, and said with a smile, "I have just subdued Tubo, and the western frontier of Jingqing is stable, is it possible that there is still a woman who dares to rebel and rebel in the West?" ”

"It's not the western frontier of my Tang Dynasty Kyushu, it's ...... Kyushu is farther to the west. Li Chunfeng's eyebrows sank slightly, and he said directly, "It should be, Western Regions." ”

"The Western Regions? The heroine? Li Shimin wondered even more, "Who could that be?" ”

"The stars are mysterious, and Weichen can't know everything." Li Chunfeng said, "In fact, as early as a few years ago, Weichen and my Senior Brother Yuan had observed such a strange astrology. I remember that after Senior Brother Yuan's divination, let Weichen once admonish His Majesty that there is a heroine Wu who will replace Li Tang in a few years, which is a number of days and cannot be reversed. But then the demon star appeared, and the astrology changed greatly. This heroine ......"

"I know!" Li Shimin smiled indifferently, "You mean Wu Meiniang, right?" - Actually, it's not that I don't believe you, but I don't want to bother myself anymore. However, you deliberately talked to me about this at this time, did you want to say that Wu Meiniang went to the Western Regions and would be the king of the Western Regions? ”

"Weichen, don't dare to assert." Li Chunfeng said with a straight face, "But, the mandate of heaven is the mandate of heaven, and the destiny of heaven returns, and you can't escape!" Although the demon star has changed the fate of Datang, it can't change all the fates of everyone! Although Wu Meiniang will no longer have the opportunity to replace Li Tang and become the emperor, her imperial destiny will never be able to get rid of - if it is not as expected by Weichen, as long as she goes to the Western Regions, she will be able to become the king! ”

"She is king? You're kidding! Li Shimin said with a smile, "Now she is just a businesswoman, the wife of my Tang general, how can she be called the king?" - What does she want to do as a king, to be my enemy and to compete with the Tang Dynasty? ”

Li Chunfeng's face changed slightly, the second half of the emperor's sentence was what he really wanted to say, and he said what he really thought in his heart. He pondered for a while and said, "Weichen can't see through the heavens, he can only look at the general situation. The astrology shows that Fengxiang Xiye is the gospel of Ruizhao in my Tang Dynasty, and there is no sign of disaster. Therefore......"

Li Shimin waved his hand with a straight smile, "That's it, there's no need to say it." The world is so big that I can't control it all. I wanted to conquer the Western Regions, but mainly to ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road and the stability of the neighbors, and did not include it in the territory of the Tang Dynasty and divided it into a unified idea. There are many different countries and different cultures, and the historical origins and ethnic distinctions are extremely complex. I have the ambition to conquer Tibet, but I do not have the delusion to be able to completely conquer the dozens of countries in the Western Regions in my lifetime. If someone can unify the Western Regions and assign it to a country, this is not necessarily a bad thing for my Datang. I don't mind having one more friendly neighbor in Datang than dozens of neighbors living next door and arguing all day long. Even if this big country turns against my Tang Dynasty in the future, it will be easy to do—since I can defeat Tubo, I can also defeat it with one blow, and it will be done once and for all. As for who will establish this unified Western Regions power, I don't care! ”

After hearing these words, Li Chunfeng was stunned for a long time.

The emperor's thinking and mind are indeed different from ordinary people.

"Do you have anything else?" Li Shimin asked with a smile on his face.

"Weichen has one more thing to do with Your Majesty."

"Speak. How did you spit out today? ”

"Weichen's senior brother, Yuan Tiangang...... As early as half a year ago, he had already ascended to immortality. Weichen only learned the news recently. ”

"Oh? ......" Hearing the news, Li Shimin was stunned for a moment. Nodding slightly, he didn't say much, just said, "I know." ”

"Wechen retired."

After Li Chunfeng left, Li Shimin paced alone and pondered for a moment, a smile gradually appeared on his face, and after a long breath, he said to himself: "I, it's time to be content!" ”

Back at the banquet, Li Shimin continued to push and change cups with the abandoned sect and the ministers. Inadvertently, he asked Chu Suiliang if he could have delivered Lanzhou in the near future?

Chu Suiliang replied no. Only half a month ago, I received a letter from Qin Mubai, saying that some generals and officials under the Lanzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office had transferred their positions, and asked the imperial court for instructions.

"Or ...... You go to Lanzhou to have a look! Li Shimin said as if inadvertently, "If there is nothing important over there, you let Gao Yang and Qin Yuma go back to Chang'an." I said, "I miss them." ”

Chu Suiliang's hand holding the wine glass trembled, and he hurriedly put down the glass, "Weichen obeys the order!" ”

"Hey, it's not a holy decree." Li Shimin said with a smile on his face, "I just let you take a look." If Qin Mubai said that he still had important things left over there to do, you wouldn't have to speak. Got it? ”

"Yes, Weichen understands......" Although Chu Suiliang was confused and didn't "understand" anything, he could only answer like this.

The emperor had never given such a foolish order.

What does it mean to "have something to do" and what does it mean to "have nothing important to do"? - Chu Suiliang is quite big, if he goes to Lanzhou, how can he tell Qin Mubai?

Li Shimin seemed to see through Chu Suiliang's thoughts, and said with a smile: "Don't think too much." It's just that Concubine De has been missing Gao Yang very much recently. In addition, after Gao Yang gave birth to Lin'er, I and Concubine De had not seen each other, so I wanted them to go back to Beijing for a few days. But the premise is, of course, state and military affairs are the priority, right! ”

"Weichen knows......" Chu Suiliang responded cautiously, and said in his heart: The more the emperor said this, the more it means that he suddenly wants to summon Qin Mubai back, with ulterior motives. Moreover, it was in such a non-public and informal way to recall him back to Beijing!

"At such a juncture, what will Qin Mubai's return to Beijing mean?"