Chapter 5322 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron

Chapter 5322 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
Night fell, and rain dripped from the eaves.

The candles in the study of the British Duke's mansion were burning brightly, as bright as day. A stick of incense burned in the incense burner in the corner, and the faint sandalwood scent filled the room, refreshing and invigorating.

Li Ji sat in the chair in the center, looking out the open window at the drizzling rain and the dark, blurry night, his brows slightly furrowed.

In front of him, Cheng Yaojin, Liang Jianfang, and Dugu Lan sat around the tea table on either side.

Liang Jianfang was a straightforward person, and he spoke frankly at this moment: "Your Majesty would not really intend to change the heir apparent, would you?"

Cheng Yaojin clicked his tongue and scolded, "Are you really stupid or just pretending? Is this the kind of thing we, as subjects, should discuss? We should simply obey the king's orders and not say things we shouldn't!"

There are some things that can be done but not said; even if you know them in your heart, you cannot say them aloud.

At least not until it's done...

Dugu Lan was drowsy, his head, covered by a turban, bobbing up and down, as if he could snore at any moment.

Liang Jianfang glanced at him, pursed his lips, and didn't understand why Ying Gong had summoned this old man today...

Li Ji turned around and looked at Cheng Yaojin: "His Majesty intends to reward the meritorious officials of the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace. What is your opinion?"

Cheng Yaojin pondered for a moment and said, "What opinion can I have? Let His Majesty do whatever he wants. My Third Brother has already been rewarded for his merits, so he won't get any this time."

Li Ji frowned: "Don't play dumb with me! Do you really not know what His Majesty intends to do with this?"

Cheng Yaojin sighed and said, "It's nothing more than using the guise of rewarding meritorious officials to promote them, and then transferring trusted confidants to fill the six guards of the Eastern Palace to achieve actual control... His Majesty is determined to change the heir apparent."

First, the commander of the "Hundred Cavalry Division" was replaced, and then the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace were dealt with. The Taiji Palace and the Eastern Palace were completely under His Majesty's control, and he could do whatever he wanted as he pleased, no longer as he was hindered at every turn as before.

Although the Crown Prince has many supporters, without a pillar like Fang Jun, it's as if the Crown Prince has lost his backbone. Who else can stand up to the emperor's majesty?

If Your Majesty insists on acting unilaterally and decisively, by the time Fang Jun returns to the capital, the die will have been cast, and he will still be able to raise an army to rebel and regain his position as Crown Prince.

Li Ji said, "If you want to transfer the six generals of the Eastern Palace who are loyal to the Crown Prince, in addition to rewarding their merits, you should also punish their mistakes. In particular, Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan have already been rewarded for their merits and promoted in rank and title. Since there are no more merits to reward, then we can only punish their mistakes."

Cheng Yaojin and Liang Jianfang then realized why they had summoned that old scoundrel Dugu Lan tonight.

The Imperial Guard was one of the Nine Guards, responsible for functions such as equipment inspection and ceremonial dispatch. One of its duties was to "identify the names and quantities of all weapons delivered by workshops, and to check their quality before putting them into the armory." In reality, the weapons and equipment in the army were severely damaged from years of use, and the soldiers maintained them in different ways. If they were to "identify the names and quantities" and "check their quality," it would be very easy to find the problems.

Without needing to ask further, it was clear that the pretext for punishing Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, Qu Tuquan, and others was to be neither too severe nor too obviously a way to transfer them away from the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace.

Of these three, Li Siwen was Li Ji's son, and Cheng Chubi was Cheng Yaojin's son, so Li Ji informed them in advance...

Cheng Yaojin remained silent for a moment, then sighed deeply: "Such is the emperor's command, how dare I disobey?"

I still feel somewhat guilty.

Cheng Chubi received the least resources to be nurtured among the princes. He had reached his current position entirely through hard work and struggle alongside Fang Jun. Now, however, he was to bear the blame and be transferred elsewhere for a royal decree...

Li Ji nodded: "Everything should be done with the overall situation in mind."

He then looked at Dugu Lan and said, "This matter must be handled properly, without the slightest mistake."

Dugu Lan, his old eyes still heavy with sleep, slowly nodded: "I will do my best."

He sighed inwardly, knowing that this was not Li Ji's request but His Majesty's order, so even though he was unwilling, he could not refuse.

The Dugu family has declined to this day and no longer has the strength to contend with military power. The emperor and the crown prince can only choose one.

He wasn't loyal to the Crown Prince, but he knew that Fang Jun was the Crown Prince's most steadfast supporter, yet he had no choice but to obey the Emperor's orders to take action against Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan. What if Fang Jun came after him in the future?
When that stubborn temper flares up, the entire Dugu family can't handle it...

……

The following morning, at the Weiwei Temple.

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who had not come to the yamen for a long time, arrived at the duty room early in the morning, which amazed everyone in the yamen. This old and senior official had managed the Weiwei Temple for many years and had managed it like an iron barrel. Even when he was recuperating at home, he could keep track of the affairs of the yamen at any time. Today, it was as if the sun had risen in the west.
Ignoring the whispers of the officials, Dugu Lan first summoned the chief clerk Guo Xiaoshen to his side, and then ordered him to verify the number of weapons that the six guards of the Eastern Palace had received, repaired, and returned from the Weaponry Department since the first year of Renhe. He focused on crossbows and armor, and specifically instructed him to carefully examine the signatures and seals of Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan.

Guo Xiaoshen cautiously accepted the order and went to the accounting office to check the accounts, his heart pounding and cold sweat pouring down his face.

Although he had only been in the Imperial Guard for a short time, he was already very familiar with all the procedures of the Imperial Guard. The weapons in the Armory came from the workshops under the Ministry of War, but any matters such as taking, repairing, returning, and destroying them were under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard.

The two systems are managed in a cross-management manner to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that no weapons will be leaked out privately and cause potential risks.

However, the weapons in the Armory's inventory range from ballistae to individual armor plates, and the number, categorized by type, is well over a million. It is impossible for any army to keep the numbers perfectly aligned over the years; there will always be unexpected losses, some of which are tacitly accepted.

The reason it is "tacitly accepted" is that it is just a common practice in the industry based on actual circumstances, which is equivalent to an "unspoken rule". Everyone agrees with it in private, but it would be unreasonable to put it on the table.

It can be said that if the accounts were audited using such methods, no army or general in the Tang Dynasty's military order would be able to balance the books.

This is clearly an attempt to cause trouble...

It is common knowledge that Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan were Fang Jun's core members in the Eastern Palace's Six Guards. The intention to target these three is all too obvious.

While instructing the clerk to check the accounts, Guo Xiaoshen was also deep in thought.

If His Majesty were to take drastic measures and replace all the loyalists in the Eastern Palace who were either loyal to the Crown Prince or Fang Jun, would it be possible to smoothly change the heir apparent?
After careful consideration, it seems highly likely, but the Crown Prince will definitely not sit idly by and wait for his doom.

Whether he admits it or not, the outside world has already marked him with Fang Jun's mark. Everyone will think that he is Fang Jun's man, and if Fang Jun loses power, he will definitely be implicated.

Even if His Majesty succeeds in changing the heir apparent, will Fang Jun really lose power?
Guo Xiaoshen thought it was impossible.

As long as the Anxi Army, the Navy, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards remain under Fang Jun's control, he will remain the most powerful figure in the military, wielding immense influence.

In the midst of the turmoil over the succession, others might have been abandoned or sacrificed by Fang Jun, but as Fang Jun's brother-in-law, as long as Wu Meiniang's status in the Fang family remained unchanged, Fang Jun would do his utmost to protect her.

Having figured this out, Guo Xiaoshen exclaimed "Ouch!" and said to the clerks, "My stomach hasn't been feeling well these past two days. I'm going to the outhouse. After you've finished preparing, take it to the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices yourselves."

Several clerks, engrossed in their work, dismissed the words with a dismissive air: "Rest assured, Clerk Guo, we will handle things with utmost care."

Guo Xiaoshen came out of the accounting office, squatted in the latrine for a while, and after coming out, he looked around and saw that no one was nearby. He then ran to the stable, fetched his horse, mounted it, and sped out of the yamen, heading straight for Chongrenfang.

He entered Chongrenfang and went straight to the gate of the two countries' martial arts school. He dismounted and rushed to the gate, saying in a fast voice, "I am Guo Xiaoshen, and I request an audience with the Prime Minister."

The servant at the door shook his head and said, "The master is currently at Lishan Farm and is not in the manor."

Is Her Highness the Princess here?

"Your Highness is here."

"Please inform them that I have something extremely urgent to tell them."

The servant dared not delay and quickly went inside to inform them. After a short while, he returned and invited Guo Xiaoshen inside.

……

In the main hall of the inner residence, Princess Gaoyang was talking with her two sisters, Chang Le and Jin Yang, who had just entered the palace, discussing the matter of seeing Li Zhi off. Upon hearing the news from a servant, she instructed him to bring Guo Xiaoshen into the main hall for an audience.

Princess Gaoyang asked curiously, "This person has only been to the Imperial Guard Temple for a short time. I wonder what urgent matter he has? He doesn't know the rules either. Erlang is not at home. If he has something to say, he should inform his father-in-law. How can he easily enter the inner quarters? But after all, he is a relative, so it's not good to refuse to see him."

Princess Chang Le said, "Since you know he's a relative, there's no need to worry about formalities. He wouldn't have been so abrupt unless it was something important. He's Meiniang's brother-in-law, after all; don't give him any face."

"Would I dare to give him face?"

Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes: "Don't you know what kind of temper our husband has? He's always eyeing his sister-in-law and sister-in-law. Who knows when that third sister of the Wu family will sneak into his bed? If I dare to give her any face, he'll turn on me."

Princess Chang Le blushed and shouted, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Princess Jinyang smiled and said, "Sister Gaoyang, you can just say 'elder sister-in-law,' don't involve 'younger sister-in-law,' the 'younger sister-in-law' and her brother-in-law are completely innocent... Oh dear!"

Princess Chang Le, feeling both ashamed and angry, turned around and slapped her arm.

Princess Gaoyang sneered, "Heh, my sister-in-law isn't exactly a worry-free person either."

Princess Jinyang was about to retort when Guo Xiaoshen was brought in by a servant.

"Your humble servant Guo Xiaoshen greets the three princes."

"We're all relatives, no need for formalities. May I ask what brings you here, Registrar Guo?"

After exchanging greetings, Guo Xiaoshen clearly recounted the events in detail. At the end, he said urgently, "The Imperial Guard has not yet finished sorting out the accounts. It's still not too late to inform Generals Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan to go into hiding. We can deal with the Imperial Guard after the Grand Commandant returns to the capital. Otherwise, it will be too late once the Imperial Guard comes to arrest and detain people!"