Li Linfu never expected that Wang Piluoge of Nanzhao would be willing to use the entire army to quell the rebellion in Cuandi. This was different from his previous guess. He originally thought that Wang Piluoge of Nanzhao would send ten to twenty thousand troops at most to symbolically contain the power of the Cuandi tyrants in the south and share part of the pressure for the Tang dynasty to show their loyalty to the Tang dynasty. This was also the consistent practice of the affiliated states since the founding of the Tang dynasty. Piluoge obviously exceeded this scope, so naturally, Li Linfu was greatly surprised.
"Second Prince, does the King of Yunnan really intend to use the entire army to quell the rebellion in Cuandi?"
Li Linfu still didn't believe it, so he confirmed it again.
Yu Chengjie patted his chest and said seriously, "A monarch doesn't joke. This is what my father told Xiao Wang personally. How can it be false? Why? You don't believe it?"
Li Linfu smiled gently, "This is a military and national matter. We must be cautious. It's always good to confirm more."
"Haha, it turns out to be like this. Please believe in our loyalty to the Tang dynasty."
Yu Chengjie patted his chest again to express his sincerity.
Li Linfu smiled kindly and looked at Yu Chengjie, "The King of Yunnan is loyal to the Tang dynasty and shares the worries of the Tang dynasty. Our Tang dynasty can't treat loyal officials unfairly. May I ask what conditions the King of Yunnan has?"
In any case, Li Linfu still didn't think that Piluoge would unconditionally help the Tang dynasty quell the rebellion in Cuandi. He thought that Piluoge must have his own purpose.
Yu Chengjie pursed his lips and put on an unhappy expression. He whispered, "Prime Minister, you still doubt our loyalty to the Tang dynasty. Before we set off, my father had made it very clear that my task is to ask His Majesty to give Nanzhao a chance to serve the Tang dynasty. That's all. My father didn't let me make any requests."
When Li Linfu heard this, he still had doubts in his heart. His eyes turned slightly and glanced at Yu Chengjie, but he didn't find anything unusual. Yu Chengjie's expression was extremely sincere, as if everything he said was true.
"I will definitely report the loyalty of the King of Yunnan to His Majesty truthfully. Second Prince, please rest first. Goodbye."
Li Linfu showed his signature sweet smile and got up to leave.
"Xiao Wang, send the Right Chief Minister off."
Yu Chengjie stood up to send him off.
"The Second Prince must be tired from the journey. Let's take a rest first."
Seeing Yu Chengjie send him off, Li Linfu turned around and smiled, telling Yu Chengjie not to send him off anymore.
"Right Prime Minister, take care."
Li Linfu frowned slightly and led the group of officials out of the Honglu Guild Hall, preparing to head to the Imperial City to work.
"Right Prime Minister, you've talked with the Second Prince of Nanzhao for so long. Do you know the purpose of his trip?"
"That's right, Right Minister. The rebellion in Cuandi is getting more and more intense, but the majority of the Imperial Court's soldiers are concentrated in the west and north. They won't be able to be transferred over for the time being. If Nanzhao can help the Great Tang quell the rebellion, that would naturally be for the best."
"The Second Prince of Nanzhao sent an envoy to the Tang dynasty at this juncture. It must be because of the Cuandi rebellion."
A few officials followed behind Li Linfu and whispered.
Li Linfu did not hide it and said softly, "The King of Yunnan wants to use the entire country's troops to quell the rebellion for the Tang dynasty. The Tang dynasty probably won't even need to mobilize a single soldier and Cuandi will be quelled."
"What? The King of Yunnan wants to use the entire country's troops to quell the rebellion?"
"Although the King of Yunnan is loyal to the Tang dynasty, he won't use the entire country's troops to flatten Cuandi, right?"
"That's impossible. The west has the threat of Tibet, and the remnants of the Five Zhao often cause chaos. How can the King of Yunnan mobilize the entire country's troops to flatten Cuandi?"
"This is just the King of Yunnan's declaration. He wants to show his loyalty to the Tang dynasty. It's possible that he will send half of his troops."
"With the help of the King of Yunnan, the Tang dynasty will be much easier to quell the rebellion."
"The King of Yunnan volunteered to quell the rebellion with the entire country's strength. I'm afraid he has other requests."
A group of curious ministers began to talk about it.
Li Linfu slightly relaxed his brows. He raised his head and looked at the officials. Suddenly, he was stunned: "Where's Li Xiaowei? Why isn't he here?"
Ang Lee was responsible for escorting Yu Chengjie along the way. Naturally, he had to escort Yu Chengjie to the Honglu Guild Hall in one piece. Only then would his task be considered complete. However, Li Linfu had just come out of the Honglu Guild Hall. However, Ang Lee was nowhere to be seen. When did he leave? Where did he go?
"Right Prime Minister, when we entered the city from the Illustrious Virtue Gate, I saw Li Xiaowei leave quietly by himself. As for where he went, I don't know."
An official reported in a low voice.
"He left quietly?"
Li Linfu was stunned. Ang Lee had left without saying goodbye. This was very rude behavior. An ordinary official would never do such a thing.
Young and frivolous. He was truly young and frivolous.
Li Linfu sighed in his heart. He lifted his leg and walked towards the Political Affairs Hall.
###
In the Honglu Guild Hall, Yu Chengjie was leaning comfortably on a chair in a small pavilion. He was looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance. Beside him were three trusted followers. Four powerful guards were standing 30 meters away.
Although the bumpy journey was very tiring, Yu Chengjie was still young and in good health. Therefore, as soon as Li Linfu left, he left the room and found a small pavilion that was most suitable for viewing the scenery.
"Second Prince, Right Prime Minister seems to be a good person. He doesn't seem to be as bad as the rumors say."
"Everyone says that the Right Prime Minister of the Tang dynasty, Li Linfu, is a hypocrite. He pretends to be good on the surface, but in reality, he's worse than anyone else. We must be more careful."
"I heard that the Right Prime Minister controls the government of the Tang dynasty. If the Second Prince can get the Right Prime Minister's support, it means that you have the support of the Tang dynasty. This person must not be offended."
"Second Prince, we should try our best to befriend the Right Prime Minister to get his support."
His three trusted subordinates were all talking at once.
Yu Chengjie sighed slightly and looked at the three trusted followers. "Xiao Wang, I heard that the Right Prime Minister of the Tang dynasty and the Crown Prince are at odds. Right now, the Right Prime Minister has the advantage in the imperial court. It's a good idea for us to try our best to befriend him. However, we will definitely offend the Crown Prince of the Tang dynasty. Xiao Wang is worried that once the Emperor of the Tang dynasty has an accident and the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the Right Prime Minister may not be able to keep his life.
"Second Prince, why do we have to think so much about the future? We should focus on the present."
"Yes, Second Prince. It's not certain whether the Crown Prince of the Tang dynasty can sit on the throne. Didn't the former Crown Prince get deposed? In my opinion, the current Crown Prince of the Tang dynasty may not be able to hold the throne. We should still bet on the Right Prime Minister."
"Second Prince, I think it's inappropriate for us to get involved in the politics of the Tang dynasty. Whether it's the Crown Prince or the Right Prime Minister of the Tang dynasty, we should befriend them. If they can both support the Second Prince, we can kill two birds with one stone."
The three trusted attendants began to discuss.
Yu Chengjie's eyes lit up. "Well said. Xiao Wang came all the way to Chang 'an to seek the support of the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, not to get involved in the internal disputes of the Tang dynasty. As long as Xiao Wang is sincere enough and gives them a satisfactory promise, they have no reason not to support Xiao Wang."
"Good idea. If we give the promise alone, the Right Prime Minister and the Crown Prince won't know about it. In this way, in order to win over the Second Prince, they will naturally be willing to support the Second Prince. However, the attitude of the Emperor of the Tang dynasty is the most important. If the Emperor of the Tang dynasty doesn't support the Second Prince, it won't work no matter how many officials support the Second Prince."
Yu Chengjie was stunned. "How can we get the support of the Emperor of the Tang dynasty? What does the Emperor of the Tang dynasty like? Money, beautiful women, or land?"
"The Emperor of the Tang dynasty doesn't lack any of these things. What he needs the most is loyalty. Loyalty that will always serve him."
Yu Chengjie smiled. "Loyalty? That's good. The one thing that Xiao Wang doesn't lack the most is loyalty. The Emperor of the Tang dynasty will probably summon me soon. You can represent Xiao Wang and make friends with the Right Prime Minister, the Crown Prince, and the eunuchs in the palace. Make friends with anyone who has influence in the Tang dynasty, especially those who can influence the Emperor."
"Don't worry, Second Prince. We know what to do."
"Prepare as soon as possible. Don't be stingy with money."
"Yes, Second Prince."
###
In the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Longji, was looking through the memorials sent from all over the country. Although the Gao Lishi could share most of the burden for him, the Gao Lishi didn't dare to make decisions on the most important memorials. He could only let Li Longji handle them himself.
At this moment, Li Longji was holding a memorial from the Jiannan Jiedushi, Zhangchou Jianqiong. In this memorial, Zhangchou Jianqiong boldly described the various mysteries of the Cuandi rebellion and hinted that the mastermind behind it was most likely the King of Yunnan, Pi Luoge.
This was an extremely sensitive memorial, so much so that the Gao Lishi only glanced at it and was sure that he couldn't make the decision. After Li Longji read it himself, he was even more uneasy.
Li Longji had always hoped that Nanjiang would be stable, because only then could he spare more energy to deal with the threats in the west and north. For this reason, he didn't hesitate to fully support Pi Luoge in unifying the Six Zhao so that he could share the strategic pressure in the south for the Tang dynasty after he became stronger.
Pi Luoge's Kingdom of Nanzhao was an extremely important strategic ally for the Tang Empire and Li Longji. With the help of Nanzhao, the southern part of the Tang dynasty would be safe. If they lost the support of Nanzhao, the Tang dynasty would have to devote more energy to the south, which would affect the overall strategic deployment.
The reason why Li Longji dared to fully support Pi Luoge in unifying the Six Zhao was because Nanzhao had always been unswervingly loyal to the Tang Empire since the founding of the Tang dynasty. There had never been any signs of Nanzhao breaking away from the Tang dynasty, which made Li Longji quite satisfied. With Pi Luoge's deliberate display of loyalty and the strategic need to fight against Tibet together, Li Longji finally chose to support Pi Luoge in unifying the Six Zhao, thus tying a stronger Kingdom of Nanzhao to the Tang dynasty's war chariot.
In Li Longji's heart, Nanzhao would always be a vassal state of the Tang dynasty, and all the Lords of Nanzhao would always be loyal to the Tang dynasty. Li Longji would never allow Nanzhao to betray the Tang dynasty. Of course, he would never admit that Nanzhao would really betray the Tang dynasty, because once it was confirmed that Nanzhao had betrayed the Tang dynasty, it would be tantamount to announcing the complete failure of his policy towards Nanzhao. This was something that Li Longji could not tolerate.
"Zhangchou Jianqiong is really crazy. He actually doubts the loyalty of the King of Yunnan to me. He even dares to make groundless accusations."
Before Li Longji finished reading the memorial, he angrily threw it out. The little eunuch serving him glanced at Gao Lishi. Seeing Gao Lishi shake his head slightly, he stood still.
"Everyone, Right Chief Minister requests an audience."
"Let him in."
Li Longji's tone was very heavy, which startled the little eunuch who had just entered.
"Right Chief Minister, everyone is angry. You must be careful."
The little eunuch had received benefits from Li Linfu and kindly reminded him.
Li Linfu's heart tightened. He paused for a moment, calmed down, and resolutely walked into Zichen Palace.
As soon as he walked into Zichen Palace, Li Linfu found a memorial on the ground in front of him. This was obviously thrown out by Li Longji when he was angry, and this also confirmed the little eunuch's reminder.
Li Linfu carefully picked up the memorial on the ground and bowed. "This subject greets Your Majesty."
Li Longji raised his eyes and looked at Li Linfu. "Since you picked it up, take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Li Linfu respectfully responded and gently opened Zhangchou Jianqiong's memorial.
With just a simple glance, Li Linfu was shocked. Zhangchou Jianqiong's courage was really big. He dared to rashly doubt the King of Yunnan's loyalty to the Tang Dynasty without enough evidence. He even hinted that the mastermind behind the Cuandi rebellion was the King of Yunnan, Piloge.
Regardless of whether Piloge was really the mastermind behind the Cuandi rebellion, this memorial itself was enough to show Zhangchou Jianqiong's boldness and arrogance. After all, the King of Yunnan, Piloge, was the ruler of a country and an important ally of the Tang Empire. Without conclusive evidence, how could he casually doubt him? If this memorial was leaked and Piloge knew about it, it would cause a great deal of trouble for the Tang Dynasty's diplomacy.
Li Linfu and Zhangchou Jianqiong had always been on bad terms. Seeing Zhangchou Jianqiong so rash, he immediately felt a sense of schadenfreude. Currently, Li Longji was greatly dissatisfied. If he added fuel to the fire, it would definitely cause a greater blow to Zhangchou Jianqiong. It might even cause Zhangchou Jianqiong to be demoted.
Zhangchou Jianqiong, you can't blame me. This time, it was your own recklessness that made His Majesty unhappy.
Li Linfu sneered in his heart, but on the surface, he pretended to be worried about the country and kept reading. When he saw that Zhangchou Jianqiong recommended Ang Lee to lead the suppression of the Cuandi rebellion, Li Linfu was even more shocked. Zhangchou Jianqiong was in Jiannan Road. He himself said that there was a problem with Piloge, but pushed the responsibility of solving the problem to Ang Lee.
Could it be that there was a plan between Zhangchou Jianqiong and Ang Lee? Or was it Ang Lee who pointed out that there was a problem with Piloge and asked Zhangchou Jianqiong to recommend him?
Li Linfu's heart was filled with doubts. He looked at Li Longji and said, "Your Majesty, this subject dares to say that Marshal Zhangchou Jie only used groundless suspicions to rashly slander the King of Yunnan. This action is extremely inappropriate. It really chills the hearts of loyal subjects."
Li Linfu understood Li Longji's thoughts very well. For this reason, every word he said was to cater to Li Longji. He knew that Li Longji would agree with him.
"The Right Prime Minister also feels that the King of Yunnan is a loyal subject of the Tang Dynasty."
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