novelSusiti Chapter 8: Trustees
Chapter 8: Trustees
Outside Hanyuan Hall.
Li Xun stood below the steps, with hundreds of heavily armed officers behind him, who were now forming a semi-circle around the palace gate, making it impossible to pass through.
Opposite him, Chen Junshang and Liu Hongyi, along with Xue Jiling, the two Privy Councilors, stood on the steps, all with gloomy and furious expressions.
"Li Zhongyan, these are imperial troops, not your private army. How dare you act without orders? Aren't you afraid of the wrath of the people and being punished?"
The speaker was Xue Jiling, who, of the two Privy Councilors, had a relatively more volatile temper.
To address the prime minister by his given name shows that he was extremely angry at this moment.
However, faced with the stern questioning from the Privy Councilor, Li Xun remained calm and composed, replying...
"As the prime minister, it is my duty to verify His Majesty's decree. Qiu and Yu have just been executed, and you are already rushing to the Shence Army to report this. How can you be sure you are not their henchmen plotting rebellion?"
"Further words are useless. Unless I personally receive His Majesty's decree, I will never let you out today."
"You are disobeying the king's orders!"
Xue Jiling continued to speak sternly, but Liu Hongyi patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.
Then, Liu Hongyi walked past Li Xun and addressed Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu behind him.
"My two commanders, General Chen and I have come together to deliver the imperial edict. There is absolutely no possibility that we are falsely conveying the imperial command. You have done your utmost to eliminate the traitors today, and you are meritorious officials of the court. After this is over, the Emperor will surely reward you handsomely. Do not make a mistake at this time!"
During the Tang Dynasty, the military forces of regional military governors were only under the command of their respective military governors.
Therefore, the real key lies with Wang Fan and the other person.
It should be said that Liu Hongyi's judgment was correct.
After these words were spoken, both military governors hesitated for a moment.
However, Li Xun still appeared confident and composed.
Upon seeing this, Liu Hongyi and the others felt a chill in their hearts.
As expected, after a moment Wang Fan shook his head and said, "Privy Councilor Liu, the imperial edict we received is to accompany Prime Minister Li to quell the rebellion."
"Since Prime Minister Li is both a high-ranking official and a trusted minister of His Majesty, if there is any other order, His Majesty should first consult with Prime Minister Li before issuing the imperial edict in person."
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Li Xun's face as he looked smugly at the people opposite him.
It should be noted that Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu were both people he promoted, and he was in charge of implementing this plan from beginning to end.
In this situation, to think that these two would turn against each other with just a few words would be to greatly underestimate his abilities as prime minister.
As for Xue Jiling's threat just now, he didn't take it to heart at all.
Li Xun rose from obscurity to a high-ranking official in just one year by mastering the emperor's mind.
It's no exaggeration to say that he now knows the personality and temperament of the person on the throne inside and out.
Admittedly, taking military action to stop Chen Junshang and his group at this time might displease the Emperor.
But Li Xun was confident that, given the emperor's favor, once he entered the palace and met with him, he would naturally find a way to achieve his goal.
Then, hmph...
At this moment, there was finally some movement at the palace gate.
A waiter came out from inside, quickly approached the crowd, bowed carefully, and said respectfully.
"His Majesty issued an edict summoning Chancellor Li Xun and other ministers to the palace."
Seeing this, Li Xun's smile grew even wider.
He looked triumphantly at the people opposite him, as if to say, "So what if you came on the emperor's orders? The emperor still trusts me more."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Liu Hongyi and the others looked even more unpleasant. They flung their sleeves and, without saying another word, pulled Chen Junshang and turned to walk towards the palace gate.
Li Xun, however, remained calm and composed, and turned to the two military governors.
"The situation is still unstable; you two should continue to wait here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Fan bowed and accepted the order, but Guo Xingyu hesitated and said...
"My lord, His Majesty has summoned all the ministers for an audience. Should we also enter the hall together to receive his orders in person?"
Li Xun frowned, his expression showing some displeasure, but he quickly suppressed it and said.
"You are all loyal men, so I will tell you the truth. What Liu Hongyi and the others said may not be false, but it is by no means His Majesty's intention."
Guo Xingyu was taken aback, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean, sir...?"
Li Xun said, "His Majesty plots to eliminate Qiu and Yu, intending to seize power over the Shence Army. Why would he allow eunuchs to take command of the army again?"
"Now that I have received this order, I fear there may be some changes in the palace. My purpose in coming to the palace today is to investigate the details. If His Majesty has only been misled by Liu Hongyi and others, I will do my utmost to persuade him to rescind this order."
"If this is not the case, and His Majesty was forced by circumstances to issue the edict, then you must await my message and immediately proceed to the palace to protect him!"
"yes!"
Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu bowed their heads in unison and clasped their hands in a salute.
Then, Li Xun nodded in satisfaction and turned to walk towards the palace gate.
…………
"Your subject, Li Xun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Chancellor, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Several figures appeared in front of the hall and bowed down.
Li Ang glanced around and, sure enough, found that Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu were not among them.
When he sent someone to deliver the order, he deliberately spoke vaguely, saying that he wanted to summon all the ministers to an audience, just to see what Li Xun would do.
If he had no ulterior motives, he would surely have followed the imperial decree and brought the two men with him to the audience.
But if Li Xun really has his own agenda, then he will definitely hold onto the two town officials tightly until he achieves his goal.
In this situation, even if Li Ang specifically requested an audience with Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu, Li Xun would definitely find a way to stop them, just as he had stopped Chen Junshang and the others.
Having reached a conclusion, Li Ang's eyes turned somewhat cold.
However, Li Xun was clearly unaware of this, and after a brief bow, he quickly said...
"Your Majesty, I have heard that General Chen Junshang of the Right Golden Guard has been ordered to take command of the Shence Army together with Privy Councilor Liu Hongyi and Xue Jiling to quell the rebellion. I have something to say to you, and I ask Your Majesty to listen and give your instructions."
Li Ang frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Seeing this, Li Xun hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise. The two lieutenants, Qiu and Yu, are rebelling because they rely on the Shence Army. They have been cultivating their influence for many years, and they have followers in both the palace and the Shence Army. If we send an eunuch to the Shence Army to deliver the order now, I fear that their followers in the army will take risks and start a rebellion after learning the news."
"Fortunately, the rebellion of the two lieutenants has not been long ago, and there should be no news in the Shence Army. Therefore, I think we should send a senior official to deliver a message, saying nothing else but that sweet dew has fallen from the sky, and ordering all the Shence generals to come and observe this auspicious sign."
"With the two lieutenants absent, the generals will certainly not dare to disobey orders. Once all the generals have arrived before the palace, Your Majesty may personally issue an edict. Whether it is a punishment or a reward, it will all be decided by Your Majesty!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the officials from the Secretariat and the Chancellery began to whisper among themselves, and the hall became somewhat noisy.
Meanwhile, Liu Hongyi and Xue Jiling were somewhat anxious.
Although Li Xun's words were quite cryptic, they immediately realized that he wanted to seize power.
The so-called punishment or reward is all determined by the emperor's judgment, which is actually to punish everyone, wipe out all the generals of the Shence Army, and replace them all with Li Xun's men.
This old man wants to repeat what just happened!
The two men immediately stepped forward and said, "Everyone, please understand that the Shence Army has always been loyal to you, and they always have an imperial order before leaving the camp."
"Now that the two traitors, Yu and his brother, have been executed, even if there are a few petty villains who intend to take advantage of the chaos, we can easily quell the rebellion by personally going there with Your Majesty's decree."
Immediately, Liu Hongyi stepped forward, came to the throne, and bowed softly.
"Everyone, if we follow what Minister Li just said and summon the generals of the Shence Army, the soldiers will be uncontrolled and may easily cause chaos. Please think it over carefully."
This statement couldn't be more blatant.
However, to his surprise, the emperor, who had been calm and meticulous just moments before, seemed to have been blinded by greed. After a moment of hesitation, he still sided with Li Xun.
"What Minister Li says makes sense, but I wonder, who should be sent to deliver the message?"