In Taiji Palace, the commander of the Nighthawk reported to Emperor Li Yuanyu: "At the sacrificial ceremony, the Longyou Li royal family and the Guanlong nobles, whether they are the heads of the clan, the heads of each family, or the children of the clan, and the relatives of the side branches participated in the sacrifice, and the southern clan also participated under the leadership of Fengde Yi Fengxiang. His Royal Highness the Prince, His Royal Highness the King of Qi, and the wealthy family of Shandong did not participate, which made the Longyou Li royal family and the Guanlong nobles very dissatisfied. The royal family of the Li clan of Longyou and the nobles of Guanlong unanimously demanded that His Royal Highness the Prince of the Tang Dynasty and His Royal Highness the King of Qi must participate, and the wealthy family of Shandong must also participate, and sincerely repent. Otherwise, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the King of Qi are deliberately biased in favor of the Shandong Hao clan, intending to correct the name of the Shandong Hao clan in the future and slander the soldiers who died for the country and the nation. ”

Emperor Li Yuan said in surprise: "How can the Li clan of Longyou and the nobles of Guanlong think so? The crown prince and the king of Qi, do they still dare to try to overturn the case? ”

The Nighthawk Commander replied, "At the sacrificial ceremony, the crown prince and the king of Qi did not participate. The royal family of the Li clan and the nobles of Guanlong all believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the King of Qi have given His Majesty and the Tang Dynasty Hall the evaluation of the soldiers who sacrificed to them: the evaluation of national meritorious heroes and national heroes is not recognized, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the King of Qi are likely to overturn the case and revise the evaluation of the soldiers who died in battle for the sake of the wealthy family in Shandong. ”

Li Yuan was dumbfounded, and couldn't help but sigh: "The timing chosen by the people of the world is really good, a national sacrifice, it will pull the Longyou Li royal family and the Guanlong nobles down to their side, and they will unanimously denounce the prince, the king of Qi, and the wealthy family of Shandong. The situation in the imperial capital may once again get out of my grasp and get out of control again. Jiancheng and Yuanji are also stupid, on the one hand, the soldiers who sacrificed for the country and the nation, and on the other hand, the so-called face of the wealthy clan in Shandong, which is more important, can't you tell which is more important? ”

After a moment of silence, Emperor Li Yuan issued an edict: "The soldiers presided over by King Shimin of Qin today are all national heroes and national heroes. This assessment shall not be modified by Datang Yongsheng. If there are unscrupulous descendants of the Tang royal family and vainly attempt to modify, everyone in the Tang Dynasty will be punished. ”

After that, Emperor Li Yuan turned around and said to Wang De, the chief eunuch: "The edict decrees that the prince of the Tang Dynasty, the king of Qi, Yuanji, the head of the wealthy clan in Shandong, the head of the family, and the children in Beijing will immediately go to the sacrificial site to make sacrifices. ”

After the chief eunuch Wang De bowed, he turned to leave.

Emperor Li Yuan stopped Wang De and added: "The wealthy people of Shandong must admit their mistakes and repent. First go and inform the people of the sacrificial ceremony, the royal family of the Li clan of Longyou, and the nobles of Guanlong, so that they should not disperse first, and then pass the decree to the prince, the king of Qi, and the wealthy family of Shandong. ”

"Yes." After Wang De agreed, he turned around and left again.

Emperor Li Yuan looked at Wang De's back and said, "The crown prince and the king of Qi hope that you will not be confused again. The Longyou Li royal family and the Guanlong nobles are the foundation of this country, they have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty and control most of the military power of the Tang Dynasty. Without their support, even if I put the crown prince on the throne, his throne would not be secure. ”

Soon, the Tang Dynasty prince Jiancheng, Qi Wang Yuanji, and Shandong Hao appeared at the sacrificial ceremony one after another. Under the auspices of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, the crown prince Jiancheng, the king of Qi Yuanji, and the Shandong Hao clan carried out sacrifices, and the Shandong Hao clan confessed their mistakes and apologized in accordance with the edict of the Tang Emperor. ”

At the end of the sacrifice, the crown prince was completed, and the king of Qi, Yuanji, returned to the prince's east palace.

Qi Wang Yuanji said angrily: "Shame, it's too embarrassing." He Li Shimin has been completely suppressed by us, and if we don't toss him, even if we are merciful. This time, he had to come up with such a show -- the state sacrifice, our well water does not interfere with the river water, ignore him, he actually forced his father to let us participate. It's infuriating to make us embarrassed in front of so many people and bully us fiercely. ”

Prince Jiancheng sighed and said, "But what can we do? He Li Shimin was ruthless, and in the form of national sacrifices, he pulled down the Longyou Li royal family and the Guanlong nobles to his side, so that he had a whole army of seven guards, and his father only had an army of five guards. Don't give in, okay? Now Gu Xuan understands that in Chang'an, the imperial capital, whoever has the most troops is the real master of the imperial capital. It's a pity that the two of us are too weak in the army of Chang'an, the imperial capital. ”

After hearing the helplessness of the crown prince, Qi Wang Yuanji suddenly rolled his eyes and said: "Brother prince, there is an opportunity to expand the power of our army in the imperial capital Chang'an, I wonder if the prince's brother is willing to grasp it?" ”

Prince Jiancheng was pleasantly surprised: "Oh? Is there an opportunity to expand the power of our army in the imperial capital of Chang'an? What chances? Yuanji, you say it quickly. ”

Qi Wang Yuanji took out a notebook from his sleeve and said: "This is the urgent report I just received, the Turks have invaded my Tang Dynasty, and now they have broken through the military fortress in the north of my Tang Dynasty - Jingyang City, and the troops are directed at the imperial capital Chang'an. Brother Prince, now as long as you ask your father to lead the troops in command and recruit a part of the twelve guards of the imperial capital to resist the Turks, your father will definitely allow it. At that time, the prince's brother can secretly turn this part of the requisitioned army into his own force. In this way, don't we have our own military power in the imperial capital of Chang'an? ”

After the prince finished groaning, he said, "This is a good idea. Which guards are you just recruiting? ”

Qi Wang Yuanji analyzed: "The army of the five guards controlled by my father is the foundation of the stability of the imperial capital, and it will naturally be the power of the prince's brother in the future, and it must not be moved at this time." The four guard armies controlled by the Li clan of Longyou and the nobles of Guanlong, they have a deep foundation, from the general to the lowest pawns, they are all children of the clan, and they can't move, and if they move, they can't win them over. Only the Sanwei army controlled by Li Shimin can be controlled. His father has always supported the prince's brother to suppress him Li Shimin, and the three guards army controlled by Li Shimin is also deeply jealous of his father, and his father will definitely support the prince's brother to control the three guards. Although these three guard army, Wei Chi Jingde, Cheng Biting Jin, and Zhang Gong are not aware of current affairs, and they are determined to follow him Li Shimin to the end, but we can directly get rid of them, as long as the prince brother spends some more effort and gives some benefits, I believe that there will definitely be people in this three guard army to take refuge in the prince brother, and in the end, the prince brother will definitely be able to firmly control the three guard army. ”

Prince Jiancheng nodded yes.