The north wind was howling, and Qingtang City had already entered a severe cold winter. Li Ke could only stay in the study all day, and occasionally went out to relax, but the frequency was getting less and less. It was almost the end of the New Year, and the Liaodong Campaign was still not in full swing, and Li Ke was worried. But since Li Shimin meant not to interfere in the Liaodong war, he no longer dwelled on his worries and focused on this year's Spring Festival. He received a letter from Wu Meiniang in Chang'an City. The letter told him that the atmosphere in Chang'an recently was very abnormal and full of weirdness. He asked him not to return to Chang'an during the Spring Festival. If she was in Chang'an City, nothing big would happen.
Li Ke remained silent after reading the letter.
He was very convinced of Wu Meiniang's iron-fisted political methods and political acumen. Besides, there are hundreds of eagle guards in the North Palace of Chang'an City, and he will hand over the Seven Kills to Wu Meiniang. The palace has such a force, and there is absolutely no problem in protecting itself. Therefore, he is no longer worried about this issue.
However, the letter said that the atmosphere in Chang'an City was extremely strange, which made Li Ke fall into confusion.
What on earth is Li Chengqian doing, and what on earth is Changsun Wuji thinking?
With Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng assisting the government, will Li Chengqian still rebel like in history? Li Ke didn't know what to do. After all, Changsun Wuji has not given up on Li Chengqian at this time and is still fully supporting him.
However, within a few days, Li Ke was surprised by the secret message from Liaodong.
The secret guard said that Taizong Li Shimin fell ill because he could not adapt to the bitter cold weather in Liaodong. Although his condition has been brought under control, his body is very weak, and coupled with the weather conditions in Liaodong, his condition is still getting worse.
The number of words in the secret is very small, and the specific details will naturally not be recorded on it.
Li Ke was a little confused after reading this simple paragraph.
How could Li Shimin be critically ill?
If this news reaches Chang'an City, what will Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji of Chang'an City do?
What should I do?
Li Ke thought about many, many questions.
On this day, he summoned Di Zhisun and Su Dingfang to the study and handed the secret report to them. After reading it, they looked very solemn.
"Your Highness, this is a bad omen!" Di Zhisun said.
"Your Highness, do we need to make some preparations in advance?" Su Dingfang asked.
"My father is critically ill. This is the news from the Eagle Guard." Li Ke analyzed calmly, "However, if my father continues to lead troops to fight abroad, his illness will directly affect the current situation of the Tang Dynasty. What will my father think of? Fang Xuanling and Cen Wenwen around him will all think of this. Will they let the news spread and cause chaos to the court? "
"So, His Highness means that this secret cannot be trusted?" Di Zhisun asked.
"It's not that it's untrustworthy, it's that we can't judge anything just because of this secret, nor can we do anything inappropriate because of it. The more this happens, the more careful we have to be. ." Li Ke said calmly, "However, we can't remain indifferent, so as not to be caught off guard." Then, Li Ke said again, "Well, it will be New Year's Eve in a few days. To determine the direction, you can use the northwest direction. In the name of summoning the generals from the northwest garrison to Qingtang City, we will discuss how to prepare for it when the time comes!"
He himself was shocked when he heard that Emperor Dao had contracted a cold in Liaodong and was now very weak. Immediately, he stabilized his emotions and thought carefully, a gloomy light flashed in his eyes.
Isn¡¯t this a good opportunity?
Changsun Wuji¡¯s heart was beating wildly. Even today, after decades of strife in the power arena, he still could not hide the excitement on his face.
¡°Prepare the car¡ªI want to enter the palace to meet the prince!¡± Changsun Wuji said.
After a while, I saw a luxurious car driving slowly towards the Zhuque Gate.
Li Chengqian had already fallen asleep. When he heard that Changsun Wuji was meeting him, he reluctantly got up and came to the front hall.
"Uncle, what are you doing? What happened?" Li Chengqian asked pretending to be panicked.
"Chengqian, the emperor contracted the cold and fell ill in Liaodong!" Changsun Wuji said.
"Father¡ª" Li Chengqian was stunned, and then said after a while, "Father¡ªhow could he be sick? He¡ªis he going back to Chang'an?"
"It is estimated that he will return to the court soon!" Changsun Wuji said with certainty.
¡°Oh¡ª¡ª¡± Li Chengqian agreed, his face turning pale.
Changsun Wuji did not speak, he stared at Li Chengqian quietly.
"Uncle, what should Chengqian do?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Chengqian, the emperor's illness may cause changes in the court!" Changsun Wuji said worriedly.
"What should we do?" Li Chengqian was at a loss for words at this time, staring at Changsun Wuji blankly.
"The plan for now is to mobilize a large army to guard Chang'an City in case of unexpected events!" Changsun Wuji said coldly.
"But -" Li Chengqian hesitated, "Who has this ability? My uncle didn't want to guard against - Li Ke -"
"Since my uncle already knows about the emperor's illness, how could Li Ke not know about it?" Changsun Wuji said, "Although Li Ke is in the northwest now, he has deployed nearly 100,000 elite troops in Taiyuan Mansion. In addition to 30,000 elite troops, After riding to Liaodong, there are still 70,000 troops left. These 70,000 troops are all elite cavalry. If they travel day and night, they will only need four days to reach Chang'an City. Therefore, we must be on guard."
Seeing that Li Chengqian was deep in thought, Changsun Wuji continued, "As for the person who will lead the army, I think Hou Junji is very good."
"He¡ª¡ª" Li Chengqian said in surprise, "Is he suitable?"
"You are now supervising the country's governance on behalf of the emperor. As long as you issue a decree and I go to him again, Hou Junji will definitely not refuse. He will see clearly the situation in front of him and seize this opportunity." Changsun Wu Ji said coldly.
"Well, Chengqian will make plans to mobilize the troops right now!" Li Chengqian said, "But, uncle, where do we want to mobilize the troops?"
"Mobilize 30,000 elite troops from Luoyang to garrison west of Chang'an City to prevent Li Ke's northwest army; mobilize 20,000 elite troops from Qizhou to garrison in Puzhou to prevent Taiyuan Prefecture's army from going south; as long as these two entrances to Chang'an City are guarded, With the 50,000 elite soldiers in the city, Chang'an City's self-protection will definitely not be a problem." Changsun Wuji said.
Li Chengqian finished writing the transfer order, stamped it with his prince seal, and handed the transfer order to Changsun Wuji.
"Uncle, what about East King Li Tai? What should we do with the family members of the North King's Mansion?" He continued to ask.
"Send someone to monitor them. We can't take any action until the emperor returns to Chang'an!" Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice.
"Chengqian knows it!" Li Chengqian said trying his best to stabilize his mind.
Immediately, Changsun Wuji chatted a lot with Li Chengqian. It was not until midnight that he hurried out of the palace and went straight to the residence of Hou Junji, the Minister of War.