Emperor Li was half leaning on the dragon chair and said calmly: "If you have anything to do, please tell me."
Just when the ministers were about to say something, Ji Yuanchen, who was standing at the forefront of the civil servants, suddenly came out, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to establish a heir apparent to establish the foundation of the country."
Suddenly, the palace fell into silence, and all the ministers could not help but look at Ji Yuanchen secretly.
What's going on? Why did the chief minister stand up and ask for the crown prince?
In the past two months, it's not that no one has petitioned to establish a crown prince, but those who petitioned have either had their homes confiscated and beheaded, or been demoted from Kyoto.
The Crown Prince seems to be Li Huang's inverse scale, and anyone who dares to mention him will not end well.
So now no one in the court dares to memorialize.
Not even the two major royal palaces, or indeed the three major royal palaces, dared to speak openly about the crown prince.
After the death of the prince, the eldest grandson Qin Jun was named Prince Ning. Although Qin Jun had moved out of the East Palace, the newly built Prince Ning's Palace became one of the three major palaces of the royal family.
Ji Yuanchen knelt on the ground, holding up the memorial, his face as calm as water.
Emperor Li looked down at the ministers in the palace and asked: "Yuanfu, who do you think should be appointed as the crown prince?"
As soon as these words came out, all the officials in the palace raised their heads in astonishment, and they even wondered if their ears had heard it wrong.
Qin Changping, Qin Changan and Qin Jun looked at Lihuang in disbelief.
Since the death of the crown prince, Emperor Li has never mentioned the matter of the crown prince in court.
But why did Emperor Li speak?
While they were puzzled, they were also full of surprises!
Are we really going to establish a heir apparent?
Qin Changping and the other three looked at each other and lowered their heads in silence.
After a period of astonishment, the officials in the palace looked at Ji Yuanchen.
Many astute people have already guessed a little bit.
Others can't mention it, but Ji Yuanchen can.
The reason why Ji Yuanchen was able to mention him was not because Emperor Li was merciful to him, but because this was the instruction of Emperor Li.
Without Li Huang's instructions, how could Ji Yuanchen, as the chief assistant, do such a thankless thing?
Ji Yuanchen said: "I dare not say anything unreasonable about who will be the crown prince. This is His Majesty's business and should be decided by Your Majesty."
Emperor Li chuckled lightly and said: "These princes and grandsons of mine are all talented people, so I don't know how to choose. Do you have any suggestions?"
The ministers looked at each other, but in the end no one stood up.
Qin Changping and Qin Changan glanced downwards, but still made no statement.
They currently cannot figure out Emperor Li's thoughts and dare not take any action.
Emperor Li seemed to be deep in thought.
The entire Shengtian Palace fell into silence.
The ministers were extremely nervous, and Qin Changping and the other three were even more uneasy.
After a long time, Emperor Li finally spoke: "Yuan Fu is right, the crown prince is the foundation of the country and must be established."
As he said this, he glanced at Qin Changping and the others, which immediately made them excited.
"However, we must be cautious about the prince's decision. I still need to think more about it."
"Let's do this. After I think about it, I will make an edict and hang it on the Shengtian Palace. When the dynasty needs a new emperor to ascend the throne, the ministers can take down the edict and support the new emperor to ascend the throne."
"..."
All the officials looked confused.
This is actually possible!
Emperor Li looked at Qin Changping and the others with a smile, and said: "Let's stop here today and retreat from the court!"
After saying that, he stood up and left the hall, leaving behind a group of confused ministers.
Qin Changping, Qin Changan and Qin Jun are all worried.
Secret reserve!
Before Emperor Li died, no one knew who the crown prince was?
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
The three of them looked at each other with unspeakable emotions in their eyes.
After leaving the main hall, Emperor Li returned to the study with a smile.
The crown prince must be established, after all, his time is running out.
But now he really hasn't decided who to make as the crown prince, because he is not very satisfied with the current Prince Ping, Prince An and Prince Ning.
In order to avoid a fight in the court over the appointment of a prince, he came up with this trick.
Under the secret establishment of the prince, due to the uncertainty of the prince, the level of mutual attacks and internal fighting was reduced to a minimum, and the princes mainly focused on hard work and performance.
Since the prince himself does not know that he has been chosen, he will not threaten the emperor, and the officials will not cling to the prince's side prematurely.
If he wanted to change the crown prince, it would be more convenient and would not cause any turmoil in the court.
However, there is also a hidden danger, that is, after the death of Emperor Li, there may be turmoil, and several princes and grandsons may go to war to compete for the throne.
Therefore, before his death, Emperor Li had to clear the way for the new emperor.
In the study.
Lihuang sat on the soft couch and was in a pretty good mood.
"Keep an eye on me these days, don't let any trouble happen in the court!" He said calmly.
Hearing this, Eunuch Lu quickly responded: "Here!"
"The Imperial City Department hasn't investigated clearly yet?" Emperor Li asked again.
Eunuch Lu stood next to Emperor Li, lowered his head and said, "We have found some clues, but~"
"But what?" Lihuang raised his head, his cloudy eyes carrying a sharp edge.
Eunuch Lu lowered his head and said, "But this may have something to do with the East Palace!"
"Are you sure?" Emperor Li's face darkened.
"At present, this is just the old slave's speculation." Mr. Lu said impartially.
Emperor Li narrowed his eyes slightly and his gaze became fierce.
"Keep checking!"
"Here!"
"What's going on in the three southwest states recently?" Lihuang narrowed his eyes and continued to ask with a normal expression.
Lu Gonggong said: "Lan Yuehou is still besieging the rebels outside Yuehai City. The Yuezhou garrison has captured Lanhe City and is currently stationed in Lanhe City."
"The traitor Mao Jiang has returned to Nanyang City and is currently preparing to mobilize troops to attack Lanhe Fucheng."
Lihuang frowned slightly when he heard this, "Where is Shuzhou?"
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Xin'an County has conquered most of the eastern and southern parts of Shuzhou, and his troops are currently at Pingmanguan City..." Eunuch Lu told the situation in Shuzhou in detail.
Lihuang leaned on the soft bed and said thoughtfully: "Send an order to Lan Yuehou and ask him to destroy Mao Jiang as soon as possible."
"In addition, I will send an order to the Prince of Xin'an County, telling him not to go south again after conquering the Pingman Pass."
A strange look flashed in Eunuch Lu's eyes, and he responded: "Here!"
…
On the city wall of Pingmanguan.
Yang Lu and Li Xing looked in the direction of the Anning Army camp.
At this time, the Anning Army camp was in full swing. The soldiers and the newly mobilized craftsmen were making catapults and ladders.
"If they build enough catapults, can they threaten us?" Li Xing asked.
He is not a general, he is just a warrior and does not know much about war.
Yang Lu shook his head, "The greatest role of a catapult is not to kill soldiers, but to knock down city walls."
"It might be useful for other cities, but it is of no use to Pingman Pass."
"Why?" Li Xing was puzzled.
Yang Lu explained: "The city walls of Pingman Pass are made of mountain stones and are integrated with the mountains on both sides. It is impossible to knock them down with a catapult."
Li Xing's eyes lit up, "That means they are doing useless work."
The corners of Yang Lu's lips curled up slightly, and he smiled and said: "After all, the Prince of Xin'an County is not a veteran general who has experienced hundreds of battles. It is normal for him not to understand the function of the catapult."
He is very confident in Pingmanguan's defensive ability.
Not to mention that Qin Wei only had 30,000 troops under his command, even if he had an army of 100,000, he would not have any worries.
What he was worried about was only the innate warriors. After all, the innate warriors had the power to take the heads of enemy generals among all the armies.
But now that there are two innate warriors in Pingman Pass, his only worry is gone.
"Does the Marquis have any new orders?" Yang Lu suddenly asked.
Since he decided to follow Mao Jiang all the way to darkness, he naturally didn't want to do nothing, so the next day when Li Zhongxian arrived at Pingman Pass, he asked Li Xing to send someone to report to Mao Jiang.
First, I want to take this opportunity to express my presence, and second, I want to completely let go of my worries.
He needs Mao Jiang's affirmation and attention.
Li Xing took out a letter from his arms and handed it to him, smiling: "This is a letter written by the Marquis himself."
After Yang Lu opened the letter and read it, there was a bit of satisfaction in his eyes.
Just as he thought, Mao Jiang valued him very much. He not only promoted him to General of Yunbei, but also gave him the right to mobilize the garrison in northern Yunzhou.
The so-called Yunbei General is just an official position privately established by Mao Jiang, with general offices located in the southeast, northwest and northwest of Yunzhou.
In the Song Dynasty, General Yundong was stationed at Yuehai Fucheng, Liu Bo was General Yunnan, stationed at Nanyang City, and Lu Ji was General Yunxi and led the army to the west of Yunzhou to defend with the Yuanzhou rebels.
And Yang Lu, the Yunbei general, was responsible for guarding Pingman Pass and preventing the Shuzhou garrison from going south.
Mao Jiang knew very well that the rebellion in Shuzhou would soon be quelled, so he had to control Pingman Pass and prevent the Shuzhou garrison from going south.
From a strategic perspective, the importance of Pingman Pass to Yunzhou goes without saying, and Yang Lu, who controls Pingman Pass, has therefore become crucial.
So in order to win over Yang Lu, he gave Yang Lu the position of General of Yunbei.
In fact, he originally wanted Tang Mingcheng to be the general of Yunbei, but who knew that Tang Mingcheng was so incompetent and died before he left the army.
For Yang Lu, this result made him more determined to follow Mao Jiang.
Although he had no choice, Mao Jiang's attention still made him feel satisfied.
"Reply to the Marquis and tell him that the last general will be able to hold the Pingman Pass." Yang Lu said with a very confident smile.
Li Xing also laughed.
He was very satisfied with the result.
Perhaps it should be said that he most hoped that Yang Lu could follow Mao Jiang wholeheartedly.
"Sir, with the attention of the Marquis and the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under your command, you will definitely have a place for you in the new dynasty in the future." Li Xing gently stroked his beard and said with a squinted smile.
New dynasty!
The new dynasty that replaced Dali!
Yang Lu's expression moved slightly. He didn't dare to think about this because he knew very well how powerful Dali was.
But that doesn't stop him from fantasizing.
Maybe he can also become a very important figure in the court, maybe he can also become the Duke of the country.
Dali is very strong, but the power behind Mao Jiang seems to be not weak either.
…
In the peaceful military camp.
Qin Wei was sitting in the tent, looking at the book in his hand.
Without Li Ru around, all affairs in the army had to be handled by Qin Wei himself.
It's not that he can't trust other people, it's just that it's hard for others to handle these matters in line with his wishes.
When an army goes on an expedition, many things are involved, starting from the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the soldiers, to the soldiers, armor and equipment, as well as the food, drink and urination of the civilians and craftsmen. Even peeing and peeing, Qin Wei has to take care of it.
Tens of thousands of people gather together, and there are more than ten tons of cake every day. If it cannot be disposed of in time, the military camp will be stinky in less than two days.
It just smells bad, but it can also cause plague, cholera, etc.
So you have to be extra careful about many things in the military camp.
While Qin Wei was handling military affairs, Liu Qing came to the camp.
"Meet Your Highness!"
"Um!"
Qin Wei looked at the document in his hand without raising his head. He was calculating how long the army's food and grass could last.
Liu Qing saw that he was busy, so he didn't disturb him and just stood aside quietly.
A moment later, after Qin Wei finished calculating, he raised his head and rubbed his eyebrows with a headache.
Needless to say, the importance of food and grass. In order to avoid the shortage of food and grass in the An Ning Army, he had to do an accounting every two days.
"Xiao Shunzi, when will the food and grass arrive?"
Xiao Shunzi sat at the desk next to him and said, "Your Highness, I think it will arrive the day after tomorrow."
Qin Wei nodded slightly. Currently, the army's food and grass can last for six or seven days. If it can be transported the day after tomorrow, there will be no problem.
"Is something wrong?" Then he asked Liu Qing.
Liu Qing quickly replied: "Your Highness, the two hundred catapults have been manufactured."
"Where's the ladder?" Qin Wei was shocked.
"Eighty have been made," Liu Qing said.
"Where's the lamp oil?"
"In my humble position, I asked someone to collect 3,000 cans, almost all the surrounding prefectures and counties. I'm afraid I won't be able to collect more in a short time."
Lamp oil is also a scarce item in Dali, and ordinary people are reluctant to use it. Liu Qing collected it from several provinces and only collected 3,000 cans, which weighed about 5,000 kilograms.
"That's almost enough!"
"We'll prepare more in the next two days, and we'll choose a good and auspicious day to attack the city!"
Qin Wei's eyes lit up, he stood up and said with a smile.