Back to Tang Dynasty to be Emperor

"As a result, the relationship between Prime Minister Xiao and us is unclear, and we will struggle in the court from now on!" Li Ke sighed, "Prince Bin, you will serve in Yushitai in the future, what do you think about this?"

"Your Highness, based on my analysis, the elder Sun Wuji will not pose any targeted threats to us in a short period of time." Ma Zhou said affirmatively.

"Oh." Li Ke was surprised and puzzled, "King Bin, tell me your opinion?"

"Your Highness, although Changsun Wuji entered the main center as the right servant of Shang Shusheng, in charge of the three departments of soldiers, punishment, and engineering. However, matters above the court cannot be decided by him alone. Shu, Huangmen servant king, secretary supervisor Wei Zheng and others. Among them, Wang is from the king of Yue. How can he sit idly by and let Changsun Wuji deliberately suppress our power? The target is the King of Yue. The purpose of the King of Yue is very clear now, it is to hope that we will fight with Changsun Wuji so that he can benefit from it. Therefore, Changsun Wuji will not pose too much threat to us in a short period of time. If One day he will be able to form a new force with him as the main force in the court, which can compete with us and the King of Yue, and that's when he will really make a move."

Li Ke felt that Ma Zhou's analysis was correct, and the historical Changsun Wuji's performance at least in the early stage of Zhenguan was quite satisfactory.Because at that time, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng, who were as talented and resourceful as him, were restraining him.It wasn't until Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng died of illness one after another in the later period, and after Fang Xuanling withdrew from the court, that grandson Wuji began to become a powerful minister.The power of Changsun Wuji in the late Zhenguan period can be seen from a conversation between Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji. "New Tang Book. Taizongzi Biography" records: At the beginning of the emperor, the king of Jin was the prince, and he wanted to establish Ke, and the eldest grandson Wuji insisted on arguing. If you protect my uncle’s family, I don’t know.” Wuji said: “The king of Jin is benevolent, he is a good lord who keeps the text, and if he is indecisive, he will lose, how about the position?” The emperor stopped.

Therefore, after listening to Ma Zhou's analysis, Li Ke felt more at ease, and at the same time asked, "What kind of relationship does King Bin think Li Tai, king of Yue, and this king have now?"

Ma Zhou did not continue to answer Li Ke's words, but glanced at Xu Jingzong, meaning to give him the right to speak.Xu Jingzong understood what Ma Zhou meant, and said with a slight smile, "Your Highness, King of Yue Li Ke wants us to fight Taizong's two tigers. When we fight and lose both sides, he can benefit from it. Therefore, our relationship with King Yue is superficial. The world is very peaceful, without any fights, but they are all restraining each other, and we don't want one side to grow too strong. The minister believes that now we, the prince and the king of Yue are three kingdoms, and the emperor is looking for a balance of power among us. , and the three of us are playing a game with the emperor's hands, to see who can win in the end."

Li Ke agreed with Xu Jingzong's words, but Xu Jingzong didn't know that Li Zhi would be born in June of the second year of Zhenguan. After Li Chengqian's downfall, Li Zhi was his biggest threat.Therefore, Li Ke believes that it is the king of Yue, Li Tai, himself and his eldest grandson Wuji who are playing the game.Sooner or later, Li Chengqian would be abandoned by Changsun Wuji, so he didn't need to regard him as his key target in the future.

"I agree with the analysis of both of you, but Changsun Wuji is not an ordinary idler. Anything can happen in the court. You should pay attention to it in the future." Li Ke said, and then he glanced at it for a long time. Liu Rengui, who had not yet issued a statement, said, "Regularly, the appointment of you as the head of Qianniuwei will be issued by the Ministry of War in a few days, and you will spend more time resting in the mansion these days. There is just one thing you have to remember, that is, the king is not here. During this time in Chang'an, no matter what happens in the court against me, you don't want to participate, your goal now is to serve Qianniuwei well, and strive to serve at the border as soon as possible." Li Ke's purpose for Liu Rengui is to hope He can not participate in any struggle about himself in Qianniuwei, and strive to leave a good memory for Li Shimin, so that he can go to the border as soon as possible.Military generals can't pass the border. If you don't accumulate military exploits through battles, you won't be respected by others even if you get promoted.In a few days it will be the battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, and I have absolute confidence in this battle to be able to win the battle.Therefore, he didn't want Liu Rengui to miss this battle and this good opportunity for promotion.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will understand what Your Highness means in the end, and I will never disappoint His Highness during his tenure in Qianniuwei." Liu Rengui said seriously, he didn't know the meaning of releasing the border, and Li Ke's meaning.

"En." Li Ke glanced at Ma Zhou and continued, "King Bin, the censor at the Censor Terrace is a small and powerful official. When you encounter something, you need to think carefully before acting, and you must not be rash and impulsive, so as not to cause trouble to your upper body. What Li Ke said was aimed at Changsun Wuji. After all, Ma Zhou is Li Ke's confidant. Although Changsun Wuji will not make any big moves against him, he will deal with his cronies like Ma Zhou. People can still do it.

"Your Highness, don't worry, I understand." Ma Zhou also knew that Li Ke was worried, but he was absolutely confident that he could deal with Changsun Wuji's blow to him, so he said firmly, "I will definitely not let Changsun Wuji's conspiracy come true." It worked."

"En." Li Ke nodded and smiled slightly, "I'm still very relieved about King Bin and King Zhengzheng!" Then, he said to Xu Jingzong who was on the side, "Yanzu, this time I went to Bingzhou and asked my father to lead the decision. After the war between Fang and the Turks, there are [-] iron cavalry and [-] heavy cavalry under his command. The itinerary of the army and the money and food on the road have to be allocated, and you will deal with this matter in a few days."

"I understand!" Xu Jingzong bowed and said, although the court did not give him a specific position arrangement, but Li Ke is the governor of Bingzhou, and his position in the governor's mansion will definitely not be low.

"If you don't have anything else to do, go back," Li Ke said. "It's time for me to go see Qian Ning. I think I should see him in the next few days. I think he should understand."

"The minister is waiting to leave!" Ma Zhou said first, they knew that the purpose of Li Ke's going to see Qian Ning must be for the matter of the black-clothed seven kills.

After Ma Zhou, Liu Rengui and Xu Jingzong left, Li Ke, accompanied by Yang En, went to the private courtyard where Qian Ning lived in the backyard of the palace.Because of Li Ke's order, the black clothes monitoring Qian Ning in the private courtyard have been evacuated. Therefore, in the dark night, the private courtyard looks lonely and lonely, just like the loneliness deep in Qian Ning's heart.There was still light in the room. It was obvious that Qian Ning hadn't rested yet. The Eagle Guard knocked on the door. After Qian Ning opened the door, he found Li Ke. He hurriedly saluted Li Ke. Li Ke stopped Qian Ning and said, "Qian Ning, don't be too polite , let’s talk in the room.”

"No." Qian Ning's attitude changed more and more the longer he stayed in the Han Palace. Li Ke could feel it, and Qian Ning knew it himself, but they both knew it.

"Qian Ning, I'm going to Bingzhou in a few days, what's your plan?" Li Ke spoke first after sitting down.

Qian Ning had known for a long time that Li Ke was going to Bingzhou, but when Li Ke said it himself, he suddenly felt a little desolate in his heart.During the time he lived in the palace of the King of Han, he got along with the people in the mansion for a long time before he realized that everyone was willing to follow Li Ke not because of some kind of benefit, but because Li Ke did things to make them feel at ease. Li Ke's trust in them was worthy of them. To do things for him, the more important point is that Li Ke treats everyone as his own relatives. This is what moves people like Qian Ning who lack the care of friends and family members the most.Therefore, he paused for a moment and said, "Qian Ning is a lonely person. After His Royal Highness leaves, Qian Ning should go back to where he should go." When he said this, he looked very desolate. He very much hopes that he is also one of them, that everyone can drink and eat meat happily, laugh and sing happily.However, now he found that he was not one of them, he was still just a lonely wanderer.

"Qian Ning, I'm not talking to you tonight to make you leave," Li Ke said word by word, "but to let you stay."

"Your Highness." Qian Ning said in a low voice, but before he finished speaking, Li Ke shot him to stop him, "You don't have to say anything, you can decide whether to stay or not after the king has finished speaking." Li Ke said, "Your Your identity is very special and your goal is very clear. This king wants to keep you. This is also the most worrying thing about you. You should not understand that this king is afraid that your identity will be known by the court and punish him, but that you The hatred in your heart has not been eliminated, and you still want to avenge Li Jiancheng. Through these two years of understanding, you should also know the current living conditions of the Tang people, and you should also know whether your father is qualified to be the emperor. This king What I want to tell you today is that this king wants you to stay by my side and go through the Turks together with this king to eliminate Xieli, who was a disaster to the people in the northern regions of the Tang Dynasty. Road, to make great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. However, this king also wants you to give up the hatred in your heart, so that you can become a real soldier of the Tang Dynasty instead of an avenger."

Li Ke paused for a while when he said this. Seeing that Qian Ning wanted to speak, he stopped him from continuing, "This king means that I want you to be the commander of the Seven Killers of the Black Guards to eradicate Prince Yin, who is under the control of Changsun Wuji. The forces of the old Ministry." Li Ke said here, glanced at Qian Ning, saw that his expression had not changed, and continued, "The mission of the seven killings after eradicating the remnants of the established party is to assassinate capable ministers and officials of various countries. So, listen After Ben Wang said the meaning of the existence of the Seven Kills, you should also know what it mainly does. I told you these things in the hope that I can give you more choices, and I don’t want you to regret your choice.”

After Li Ke finished speaking, he stopped talking. He turned his gaze out of the window and waited quietly for Qian Ning's reply.However, to Li Ke's disappointment, Qian Ning remained silent for about half an hour. Li Ke sighed slightly, and he already knew what Qian Ning was thinking. "Qian Ning, if you want to leave, tell me, so that I can prepare some clothes, money and food for you." After speaking, he walked out of the house without looking back.

"Your Highness" when Li Ke had already stepped over the threshold of the house, he suddenly heard Qian Ning's firm and undeniable voice, "Please call me Qisha. From now on, there will be no such person as Qian Ning in the world, only one named Qi murdered man."