Chapter 236 Disorder
Li Jiancheng did not rest until late at night, and according to Li Wei's report, the lights in the emperor's room were not turned off and he did not go to bed.

But Li Jiancheng no longer cared. If Li Yuan was really an opponent, apart from being a father, he was not someone worth being afraid of.

Among the royal family, except for Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Li Xiaogong, Li Shentong and Li Shenfu, the rest only had empty titles.

Among these four royal generals, the King of Qin is undoubtedly the most capable, but after all, he is right under his nose. Although he is the main general of the Chang'an garrison, it is extremely difficult for him to rebel.

Li Yuanji is not worth mentioning. He had no military achievements before the founding of the country, and no achievements after the founding of the country. He only made enemies in the local area, but did not show any favors. Without an imperial decree, all he could command were more than a thousand guards of the royal palace.

The attitude of the Shenwu Army led by Li Shentong and Li Shenfu is a bit subtle. However, the Shenwu Army was established not long ago, and most of its members are from good families and have received great favors from the emperor, so it is not expected that they would dare to rebel.

But the most crucial person is Li Xiaogong. He holds great power in Jiangdu, but Li Xiaogong has been following him since he was eight or nine years old. It can be said that among his relatives, he trusts this cousin the most.

Therefore, the royal family could not stir up any trouble. The biggest problem from beginning to end was the Guanlong nobles headed by Pei Ji, who had great influence not only in the court but also in the local area.

But they did not have much military power, and the people of the world were at peace. This fundamental situation could not be changed by just one call from Guanlong.

Otherwise, everyone wouldn't have had to endure Yang Guang for more than ten years.

"Your Majesty, the Queen requests an audience."

Li Jiancheng nodded, and soon Xiao Chanyan came in holding Chengzong.

Li Jiancheng's face softened. He stepped forward to take his sleeping son and said, "Why did you bring him here too?"

"I didn't intend to bring him here, but I saw that the people in the palace were in a panic, and even the servants who were taking care of Chengzong were not doing their best, so I thought I should take care of him myself."

Li Jiancheng said: "The affairs of the previous dynasty have no bearing on the harem, but the palace people are not allowed to discuss them."

"Yes, I will arrange it when I get back."

"Tomorrow you will take Chengzong to accompany the Queen Mother, and also invite Changsun and Xiao to come along."

Changsun was the wife of the Prince of Qin, and Xiao was the wife of the Prince of Jin, the daughter of Xiao Xin, the Duke of Lanling.

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The army that had just left Chang'an also learned about what happened in Chang'an through various means. The generals were shocked at first, and then their faces turned grim.

At such a critical juncture, it was unacceptable for the emperor to do such a thing, and it was even more impossible to convince the people. Wang Shichong, Zhai Rang, Wang Bo and others all expressed their willingness to return to the capital to protect the emperor.

Xu Shiji asked Wang Long, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui for advice: "In this situation, should we send some troops back to Chang'an to wait for Your Majesty's orders?"

Du Ruhui said: "The most urgent task is still the Turks. If we can repel the Turks, everything will be easy."

Wang Yu thought about it carefully: "The imperial guards and Qianniu Guards in the palace are all loyal to your majesty. The Chang'an garrison has General Qin Dan and General Er. There is not much point in us returning home."

Xu Shiji nodded, and then ordered someone to summon all the generals. Although he was the chief general, he would never dare to take charge of such matters. He had to reach a consensus with several other confidants of the emperor before issuing orders to the entire army.

Li Mi, Wang Shichong and others rushed over immediately and wanted to lead their troops back to Chang'an, but they were severely rebuked by Xu Shiji, who ordered them to focus their attention on the Turks.

After continuous orders from top to bottom, the army finally put aside all the miscellaneous thoughts and continued to march towards the front line. Soon, the emperor's decree came, and the news that His Majesty wanted to gather 500,000 troops to conquer the Turks excited the whole army.

When he thought that hundreds of thousands of reinforcements would soon arrive behind him, his original nervousness immediately turned into a need to make some military achievements first, lest there be too many people and he wouldn't even be able to get a sip of soup.

Seeing that the morale of the army was good, Xu Shiji immediately marched to the battlefield. After a short rest, he took the initiative to engage in a confrontation with the Turks.

Although the Turks joined forces to attack, they had been fighting each other not long ago. How much tacit understanding and trust could there be between them?

When they saw the Tang reinforcements numbering more than 100,000, they immediately lost their momentum to plunder. They all hoped that the other side would fight hard while they would just watch from behind, fearing that they would suffer more losses.

As a result, the Turkic advantage of having a large population could not be brought into play, while the Tang Dynasty had the advantage of geographical location and people.

The two armies fought frequently. Xu Shiji and Li Mi were in charge of command, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were in charge of making plans and strategies, Wang Hong was the military supervisor and was responsible for logistics, Wang Shichong, Du Fuwei, Xue Wanche, Xue Wanshu and others led the vanguard to fight against the Turks.

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Shen Guang led his troops to surround Pei's mansion. The steward and the guards did not dare to stop them. The sound of women and children crying suddenly rang out in the backyard.

Killing a prime minister still requires a process. Shen Guang is waiting for the order, and the people inside are waiting to die.

But this edict was stuck in the Secretariat. According to the system, the emperor's edict was drafted by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Ministry of Palace Affairs, and implemented by the Ministry of State Affairs.

If such a process is not followed, then even if it is the emperor's original intention, it cannot be regarded as an official decree, and all officials, high and low, can refuse to follow it without being considered as disobeying the emperor's order.

This is also the reason why Yang Guang began to kill people and promote favored ministers at the beginning of his reign. Otherwise, the emperor's will would never be implemented.

So there are precedents to follow in solving this problem.

Moreover, if officials do not abide by the court rules and regulations, they will be held accountable. So if the emperor does not abide by them, who can hold him accountable?

At most it was just advice and remonstration. It's a pity that the emperor who was always open to advice is now acting arbitrarily.

In the Secretariat, the Secretary-General Dou Wei looked at the eunuch in front of him and said, "Even if Your Majesty wants to dismiss me, it must be approved by the three ministries. You are forging an imperial edict!"

Li Wei sneered and said, "What I hold in my hand is the will of the Emperor Fengtian Chengyun. God will approve it. I don't need you officials to interfere!"

Dou Wei sighed, "I know your majesty is angry, but once the court system is destroyed, how can it retain its prestige in the future? Please take me to the palace, I want to personally advise your majesty."

Li Wei shook his head and said, "Lord Dou, for the sake of the Empress Dowager, I will give you another chance to follow my orders. If you still refuse to obey, then you are no longer the Minister of the Central Secretariat. I will invite Lord Xiao to take charge of the Central Secretariat."

Dou Wei naturally refused, but Li Wei, who had lost his patience, waved his hand and the palace guards stepped forward to capture him.

"How dare you! How dare you! I am the Minister of the Imperial Court, the Prime Minister. How dare you, a scoundrel like you, humiliate the Prime Minister? I want to see His Majesty!"

Li Wei leaned close to him and whispered, "Dou Gong, please forgive me for saying something disrespectful. The Empress Dowager is ill and you are like this today. How many more years can the Dou family remain prosperous?"

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(End of this chapter)