Chapter 480 Settlement
Internal Chan is different from external Chan, which is the king passing the throne to his children. It belongs to internal inheritance.

But Sima Xiuye ​​directly said loudly: "Your Highnesses, are you too impatient? How can a son or a minister force his father like this? Your Majesty has already agreed, why bother to think about it?"

Sima Xiuye ​​was an old friend of Li Yuan and had known the Li brothers for a long time. He was also a highly respected prime minister, so his words left the three brothers speechless for a moment.

Indeed, Li Yuan was decent, but the three brothers were indeed a bit unpresentable and seemed too eager.

It was only after listening to Sima Xiuye's rebuke that Li Yuanhui came to his senses and realized that the rules of the game should not be made so crude and direct.

So he immediately bowed and said, "Sima Gong is right. It is us brothers who are not worthy of respect."

Li Er and Li San also immediately lowered their heads to show that they were learning from the teachings.

Sima Xiuye ​​also lowered his voice and continued, "We understand what your Highnesses mean. Now that things have come to this, your Majesty's abdication is a foregone conclusion. However, our Tang Dynasty is a great country, and such a big thing as abdication should not be rushed. We should follow the etiquette and laws to preserve the dignity of the monarch, his subjects, and his father and son."

"If it weren't for what Sima Gong said, I would have almost made a big mistake. In this case, I would like to ask the prime ministers to prepare for this matter and make sure that the internal abdication is legitimate and in accordance with etiquette and law."

Li Si also said readily, which was equivalent to tying all the prime ministers to the chariot, meaning that they couldn't run away. You said I was in a hurry, that's fine, you can arrange someone who is not in a hurry.

Sima Xiuye, an important contributor to the founding of the Tang Dynasty and a governor of a state in the Former Yan Dynasty, did not refuse. As the prime minister ranked second only to Pei Hongde, he took over the task directly.

"Okay, in that case, I am willing to take charge of this matter. However, no matter how big or small the matter is, I would like to ask Your Highnesses to grant me full authority."

Sima Xiuye’s meaning was very clear. You can let me do it, but you have to listen to me on this matter.

Li Yuanhui didn't even wait for Li Er and Li San to agree, and directly agreed on their behalf: "In that case, I'll leave it to Sima Gong."

Then he bowed, and Li Er and Li San did the same.

Sima Xiuye ​​accepted it calmly.

After the three brothers had all left, Pei Hongde, the most senior and prime minister among the prime ministers, immediately bowed to Sima Xiuye.

"In the past, I thought that although Xiuye ​​Gong had the ability to govern the world and assist the king, he was appointed prime minister only because of his old friendship with Your Majesty. Today, I know that Xiuye ​​Gong is the real prime minister. He can be extraordinary in times of crisis, and he can explain the benefits and disadvantages when the soldiers are outside. He can assist you when necessary, deal with major events, make major decisions, wear a robe and hold a tablet, and remain calm. He has kept the world as safe as Mount Tai. He can be said to be a minister of the country. I am ashamed to be on your left."

After Pei Hongde said this, the other prime ministers also bowed down.

Sima Xiuye ​​still accepted the gift calmly because he deserved it.

The three brothers of the Li family led their troops into the Secretariat. The prime ministers were unable to stop them and could only go with the flow.

But if Li Yuanhui really did what he said at the beginning and completed the abdication quickly before autumn, the time would be extremely tight and Li Yuan would be directly driven off the throne by his sons. In this way, the three brothers would definitely be regarded as threatening their father.

And naturally, all the prime ministers would be criticized, and the scholars would definitely say that the prime ministers were immoral and irresponsible, and allowed several princes to do unjust things.

So Sima Xiuye's words not only saved the image of the three brothers, but also restored the dignity of some prime ministers.

It will also allow Li Yuan to exit in a more dignified manner.

So Sima Xiuye ​​was able to accept the gift calmly, because it was worth the bow.

On the second day, Sima Xiuye ​​and the attendant Pei Ji entered the palace together and asked to see Li Yuan.

After repeated requests, I finally met Li Yuan.

Li Yuan saw the two and said, "Are these evil creatures so eager to make me abdicate?"

Pei Ji smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you worry too much. Sima Gong and I came to discuss this matter with Your Majesty today, but there is no rush."

Li Yuan's expression eased slightly after hearing this, and then he asked, "What do you think, Lord Sima?"

Sima Xiuye ​​said sternly, "Your Majesty, I think the abdication is a natural outcome. Your Majesty should issue an edict to formally abdicate at the end of the year. On the New Year's Day of next year, the crown prince will ascend the throne and the reign title will be changed."

Li Yuan was a little surprised after hearing this. New Year's Day next year? That's still about half a year away!

If you look at it this way, then there is nothing to say about it, it is decent, really decent.

It doesn't seem like he was forced to give up his position by his son, but rather that he was really too old to govern the country and so let the prince take over.

The key is that he can still be the emperor for another half a year.
"You are truly a loyal minister to the country," Li Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Sima Xiuye ​​bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am sorry for the compliment. It is my fault that I cannot help you conquer the world and bring order to the country."

Li Yuan shook his head and said, "Sima Gong, you are too polite. It's all thanks to your mediation." Things had come to this point, how could he not understand whose credit it was for this result.

This result is acceptable to all parties and is the most decent solution.

The next day, the Ministry of Personnel issued an edict, in which Li Yuan announced that he would abdicate the throne to the crown prince at the end of the year.

Li Er, who was in the East Palace, was breathing rapidly and was very excited. He finally came. Then he started the process of declining.

"I am still young, and I still need Your Majesty to govern the country."

According to the rules, refusing and declining three times is the minimum requirement.

No one will agree to something right away. This is the case for all prime ministers. One cannot be impatient.

On the other hand, all the officials in the Eastern Palace breathed a sigh of relief. Li Yuan announced that he would abdicate to the crown prince, which meant that they had survived the most difficult period.

Once the prince ascends the throne, they are all old members of the Eastern Palace. Their future will surely be bright.

However, everyone in the Prince of Jin's Mansion was not discouraged because Li Sanlang told his trusted subordinates that the attack on Jingzhou would be led by the people from the Prince of Jin's Mansion, and the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Qi's Mansion would fully support it.

Thus, the Tang Empire entered a new round of preparations for war.

All the Zhechoufu under the jurisdiction of the various guards of the Guanzhong government began to count the number of soldiers, the inventory of military equipment, and the food in the treasury.

The three brothers discussed in the East Palace for several days and reached a resolution on the strategic deployment for the conquest of Jingzhou.

Jin Wang Li Xuanqing personally took command of the various divisions as General Tianzhu, and led an army of 100,000 from Guanzhong to attack Xiangfan through Wuguan.

This is one road.

In Shu, Wang Yao, the governor of Yizhou, and Liu Zhenghui, the general of the Left Guard, were the commanders. They led an army of 80,000 out of Jiangzhou and went down the river to attack Nanjun. This was the second route.

In the Jianghuai area, General Zhennan and Grand Admiral of the Navy Lu Qin led 50,000 troops from the Chaohu Navy, Poyang Navy, Jiangzhou Army and the Jianghuai powerful troops. These were the three routes.

In addition, Luoyang will also mobilize 30,000 to 50,000 troops from Luoyang, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and North and South Yuzhou, and go out of the western Henan channel and send troops from Jiangxia to support. These are the fourth routes.

In the campaign against Western Wei, the Tang Dynasty mobilized nearly 300,000 troops, including a large number of naval forces.

At the same time, along the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in Jianghuai and Luoyang, the forces of the Prince of Qi would almost certainly have to face attacks from two directions at the same time.

In Guanzhong, only tens of thousands of troops were left, but a large number of cavalry were left. At the same time, the border troops of Qinzhou, Xiazhou and Liangzhou did not use a single soldier, and all of them were left to guard against the Turks and the Northern Han.

There is currently intelligence indicating that the Northern Han is negotiating peace with the Turks and is preparing to form an alliance to fight against the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Longdong and Xiazhou to the north of Guanzhong are important defense nodes, and they are also the preset locations that Li Er intends to use to intercept the Turkic army.

Li Yuanhui also set out in early July, preparing to return to Luoyang.

The attack on Jingzhou this time requires about 100,000 troops from the various states in Guandong. Although they are navy and second-line troops, the pressure on Luoyang is very great. The number one rival, Northern Han, will not miss this strategic opportunity.

And because of the convenience of water routes, the food and fodder needed by Li San and his main force after leaving Nanyang were all supplied by Guandong.

In other words, the Guandong region controlled by the Prince of Qi's Palace not only had to provide an army of 100,000, but also had to provide food for 200,000 people, and also had to mobilize a large number of civilians to pay for this war.

The farewell banquet was held at the Prince of Jin's Mansion. His Majesty the Emperor himself was present, along with people from the Eastern Palace, Princess Pingyang's Mansion, Prince Zhaode's family, and the departing Prince of Qi and his wife.

At the banquet, the Prince of Jin, who was good at music, played the drums and various musical instruments himself. The drunken Prince sang and danced, and the Emperor and the Prince of Qi clapped their hands in response.

The hall was filled with descendants of Li Yuan and Empress Taimu.

Li Yuan still ordered the court painter to paint a long scroll, and he wanted multiple copies, one for each of the four rooms and Princess Pingyang's mansion.

A few days later, Li Yuanhui set out on his journey home, ending his trip to Chang'an.

Li Sanlang stopped by the horse road and bowed, "Silang, please."

Li Si also stood on his horse and saluted in response: "Don't worry, Third Brother, I'm here, and the food and money will not be insufficient."

Then he rode away.

(End of this chapter)