Chapter 155 Times have changed! (Seeking monthly votes)
Quan Wanji didn't remember how he got out from inside. He only remembered that Hegan Chengji jumped into the pool with a dive, and he forgot what happened next.

The human brain will produce a self-protection mechanism, but no matter how much you protect yourself, you cannot deceive yourself.

Hegan Chengji looked at Quan Wanji who was still thinking about life. He remembered that the old man was vomiting while swimming and was about to vomit out his overnight meal.

Of course, he and Zhang Sizheng were not much better off. They also vomited while swimming.

Even though Hegan Chengji seemed to have died heroically before, when he really got involved in the sewer, he vomited as much as Quan Wanji and almost vomited out bitter bile.

Fortunately, the weather was not cold at noon, so the three of them were finally able to go into the water and take a wash.

While roasting clothes by the campfire, after the smell that made me want to commit suicide disappeared, I suddenly felt very hungry for no reason.

"Finally I escaped." As Quan Wanji said this, he heard his stomach rumbling.

"Are you hungry?" asked Hegan Chengji.

"To be honest with you two, I'm really hungry after running all night and morning," said Quan Wanji.

"Sewer." Hegan Chengji said concisely.

When he heard the word "sewer", Quan Wanji rolled his eyes and vomited like Sister Hei Suan.

"Hey..."

Infected by Quan Wanji's words, Zhang Sizheng and Hegan Chengji looked at each other and burped at the same time.

"Are you still hungry?" Hegan Chengji asked with a groan.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Quan Wanji answered honestly.

After running for more than ten days, the three finally saw the gate of Luoyang City.

When Li Xiang heard that Hegan Chengji and Zhang Sizheng had returned with Quan Wanji, he did not dare to neglect them and immediately asked someone to invite the three of them in.

He was also wondering in his heart, I just wanted you two to search for evidence of Qi Wang Li You's rebellion, but you two brought Quan Wanji back to me intact?
"Your humble servant Quan Wanji greets the prince!" Quan Wanji bowed his head very respectfully, "Your humble servant's kindness in saving my life will never be forgotten!"

Without mentioning anything else, just say that Li Xiang saved his life unintentionally, so he is his savior.

In this era, being a lifesaver is truly a blessing.

"Hey, no need to be so polite." Li Xiang helped him up, glanced at the two generals Heng and Ha and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Die for the prince!" the two said immediately.

After the two of them briefly explained what happened in Qizhou, Li Xiang had an idea.

"There is no time to lose, let's meet the saint first." Li Xiang did not delay and immediately took the two of them to the Yiluan Palace.

Old Li has been very free recently. The house in Luoyang Palace is quite big, and he often takes his son and daughter to play pocket games together recently.

When Li Xiang led his men over, the three Li Tai brothers were passing the ball with Li Shimin in front of the hall.

With their father around, the three brothers didn't dare to be stubborn and passed the ball seriously.

"Aunt." Li Xiang stepped forward and said, "Qizhou Chief Secretary Quan Wanji has something important to report!"

"Oh?" Li Shimin looked up and saw Quan Wanji behind Li Xiang.

According to court rules, Quan Wanji cannot leave his post without permission.

Now that he appears in Luoyang, there is only one truth!
Quan Wanji reported everything to Li Shimin in detail, but unexpectedly, Li Shimin was not angry as he expected, but sneered twice.

"Yin Hongzhi and Li You, these two rats, are you worthy enough to go against me?"

"And there are the Shandong nobles. Do you really think that my sword cannot kill people from the nobles?"

Li Tai gently poked Li Xiang and whispered, "Your grandfather is really angry..."

"Really?" Li Xiang asked from the side.

"Look at the way he looks now, it means he is extremely angry." Li Zhi muttered on the side.

Li Xiang looked back at him and thought, you must have experienced this deeply.

"But this Shandong noble family..." Li Tai said hesitantly: "After all, the tree is big and the roots are deep. What should we do?"

"Uncle, times have changed!" Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Oh?" Li Chengqian and Li Xiang looked at each other: "What do you think, Xiang'er?"

"After all, this is not the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The aristocratic families at that time were powerful because they absorbed refugees and annexed land. They controlled a large amount of land and population. These people became private soldiers to protect them. These private soldiers ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands, and became their bargaining chips for ruling the world together with the court."

Li Xiang glanced at his father and two uncles who were still in deep thought, and continued to teach them: "After the former Emperor Wen of Sui unified the country, he searched for household registrations throughout the country and took these people back from the hands of the aristocratic families. From then on, the aristocratic families no longer had the ability to stop private soldiers, and they also lost the weight to bargain with the court."

"Today's aristocratic families only have a hundred years of accumulated reputation and cultural heritage," Li Xiang laughed. "Without their private soldiers, they are nothing but fish on the chopping block in the eyes of the court!"

"So that's how it is..." the two of them said suddenly.

Li Tai looked at Li Xiang with some admiration and said, "I didn't expect Xiang'er to be so knowledgeable at such a young age. He really surpasses my uncle."

At the end, Li Tai added: "Much better than your father."

Li Chengqian wanted to get angry, but then he thought that what Li Tai said made sense, so he agreed with it.

"I was able to escape this time thanks to the Prince of Hengshan. If it weren't for the prince's insight into the world, I would have been killed!" Quan Wanji began to praise Li Xiang, "And the two Eastern Palace Qianniu, Hegan Chengji and Zhang Sizheng, thanks to the two Qianniu who have been guarding me, otherwise I would not have been able to escape from the heavily guarded Qizhou City."

Hearing that the security was tight, Li Shimin became interested.

Although Yin Hongzhi has great ambitions but little talent, he is still capable of imposing martial law on a city.

After all, his father Yin Shishi was guarding Chang'an at that time, and Li Shimin's younger brother Li Zhiyun failed to escape from Chang'an and was beheaded.

"Then how did you get out?" asked Lao Li.

Quan Wanji said with emotion: "Earlier, I and the two Qianniu were hiding in the city to avoid being hunted down, hoping to wait for an opportunity to escape from Qizhou City. However, the search in the Qi Palace became increasingly strict, and Hegan Qianniu suggested that we go through the Yinqu..."

At this point, Quan Wanji rolled his eyes uncontrollably: "Hmm..."

The so-called sewer is the sewer.

Li Xiang looked at Quan Wanji and Hegan Chengji in surprise, and felt quite respect for them.

The general took this path, right?

"Okay, I understand." Li Shimin said immediately: "Minister Quan has made great contributions in reporting the King of Qi. For the time being..."

As he said this, thinking of how Quan Wanji was saved by Li Xiang, he said, "He should stay with the Prince of Hengshan first and help him supervise the navy."

"I thank you!" Quan Wanji naturally had no objection.

Li Xiang: …

Does he know Quan Wanji's character? Wouldn't it be troublesome for him to have this old guy under his command?
But there was no way. If he refused, it would first chill Quan Wanji's heart.

Thinking of this, Li Xiang endured it. Li Shimin comforted the three people with a few kind words and asked them to leave.

"Father, I am willing to lead the army to conquer Qizhou, capture Li You alive and bring him to Luoyang!" Li Chengqian immediately asked.

"Father, there's no need for big brother to go. I'm willing to go too!" Li Tai also stepped forward to ask for permission.

Li Zhi was not to be outdone and said, "Why bother you two brothers? I can also capture Li You!"

There are not many opportunities to gain reputation by beating such a noob. In the eyes of the three of them, Li You is equivalent to an excellent experience baby.

Li Shimin glanced at the three of them, then at Li Xiang: "Xiang'er, don't you want to go?"

"I don't want to. The common people of Qi are too weak." Li Xiang spread his hands.

After hearing what Li Xiang said, Li Shimin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I haven't issued an order to demote Prince Qi Li You to a commoner!"

"He will be demoted eventually, so it doesn't matter if he is called out in advance." Li Xiang said with a smile.

Li Shimin took a deep breath.

What you said makes so much sense that I am speechless.

"Xiang'er is still young, how can Father let him go? Let me go." Li Chengqian said, taking advantage of the opportunity.

Li Tai and Li Zhi also requested to fight, but Li Shimin glanced at them and said, "In this case, the three of you should stay in Luoyang."

Then, Li Shimin looked at Li Xiang and said, "Xiang'er, come with me to Qizhou. I will personally catch that bastard Li You and kill him with my own hands!"

"As for the Shandong nobles..." Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "But the Cui family is the only one with actual evidence. If the Shandong nobles want to cut off their tail and survive, it would be inappropriate to implicate too many people. What should they do?"

"Aunt, why don't we take this opportunity to divide the Shandong gentry into the same category and let the seven of them compete for the same imperial examination quota." Li Xiang suddenly said.

After listening to this, Li Shimin nodded and said, "Xiang'er is right. We should teach them a lesson. Why not start from here?"

What Li Xiang didn't expect was that he thought Li Shimin would bring more than 10,000 people to quell the rebellion, or at least a few thousand, but in the end he only brought a few hundred people.

In Lao Li's own words, he originally wanted to take only a few people with him, but Changsun Wuji insisted on his death, so he had no choice but to take a few hundred people with him as a token of his respect.

The place name Qizhou may be unfamiliar, but now it has a famous name, called Jinan.

The distance from Luoyang to Jinan is only about a thousand miles, which is only about 570 kilometers.

Although transportation in ancient times was not as developed as it is now, it would still take four or five days to get there.

Ever since Quan Wanji escaped, Li You has always felt uneasy.

He was restless every day, expecting someone to suddenly tell him that Quan Wanji had been captured.

However, the reality went against one's wishes, and prayers were useless, as it did not prevent He Gan Chengji from taking Quan Wanji to make a X-sea maggot.

Hearing that Quan Wanji had arrived in Luoyang, Li You was terrified.

Within two days, he received a letter from Li Shimin.

"I once warned you not to get close to villains for this very reason."

"You have always been perverse and lacked moral integrity. You were deceived by flattering words and finally brought disaster upon yourself."

"I am deeply saddened. You are so stupid."

"You have become a man like an owl, forgetting loyalty and filial piety, disturbing Qizhou, and you deserve to die. You are not a person who can protect the country, but are as dangerous as a pile of firewood; you have destroyed the blood relationship as close as a rock, and become a cause of trouble!"

"You violated propriety and righteousness, which is intolerable to heaven and earth; you abandoned your father and brother and betrayed your monarch, which is hated by both humans and gods!"

"You used to be my son, but now you are the enemy of the country. You were a traitor in life and a rebellious ghost in death. I have never heard of you having a good reputation in the past, and now you have only endless bad deeds. I heard that Zheng Shu and the Western Han Dynasty's Li Crown Prince both did outrageous things. What father would expect to give birth to a son like you?"

"I feel ashamed before the Heavens and ashamed before the Earth. I am so sad and regretful that I don't know what else to say!"

After reading the letter, Li You of course knew that his previous secret discussion with the Cui family had been known to Li Shimin.

Now that things have come to this, what else can we do?

Zan Junmo and others took turns to persuade him to rebel.
Following Yin Hongzhi's advice, Li You planned to take the initiative and start the rebellion while the court was dizzy.

He conscripted all men over the age of fifteen in the city, and privately appointed his left and right men as Shangzhuguo, Kaifu Yitong Sansi and other officials. He opened the treasury to reward people, drove the common people into the city to serve as soldiers, set up government offices, and named his confidants as King Tuoxi and King Tuodong.

But this kid Li You...when his death was imminent, he began to indulge in pleasure day and night.

Every day he would bring along several princesses, as well as Yin Hongzhi, Yan Hongliang, Yan Hongxin, Liang Mengbiao, and Zan Junmo, to drink and have fun together.

While they were joking, when talking about the imperial court, Yan Hongliang said with a smile: "Don't worry, my king. I will drink with my right hand and kill the imperial court soldiers with my left hand!"

"With you all here, I can rest assured that I have nothing to worry about!" Li You smiled contentedly and began to claim that he was the only one left.

As the King of Qi, Li You was not only the governor of Qizhou, but also in charge of the military and political affairs of five states including Qizhou, Qingzhou, Laizhou, Mizhou and Zibo.

If he wanted to go against the imperial court, he certainly couldn't just rely on the few troops in Qizhou City. After much deliberation, he decided to mobilize troops from the other four states.

But to recruit soldiers, you always need a name.

After discussing with Yin Hongzhi for a long time, he finally came up with the idea of ​​"clearing the court".

The general idea is that there is a traitor around the emperor. Who is the traitor? It is Li Xiang.

Of course Li Xiang didn't know that he had become a traitor who brought disaster to the emperor. He was still enjoying the bumpy ride in the carriage.

Li You, who already had the reputation of being "righteous"... at least he had convinced himself, began to issue proclamations to all states and counties, preparing to mobilize troops to fight together with him.

The news that Li Shimin was leading the army in person naturally reached Li You's ears.

He thought his father would bring hundreds of thousands of troops to Qizhou to grind him into dust.

He never expected that Li Shimin would dare to come to Qizhou with only a few hundred people, and even threatened to capture him alive.

Yin Hongzhi said with great surprise: "Your Majesty, this is a rare opportunity. If you can bring Your Majesty..."

As he spoke, Yin Hongzhi stretched out a finger and scratched his neck horizontally.

"By then, who in the Tang Dynasty will dare to oppose the king?"

Li You thought about it and it made sense.

Yin Hongzhi continued, "Your Majesty, after all, two fists cannot defeat four hands. Even if Your Majesty is a master of military tactics, he only has a few hundred men. However, my Qi Palace can mobilize tens of thousands of troops from the five states of Qi, Qing, Lai, Mi, and Zibo. Even if Your Majesty has three heads and six arms, he will definitely not be able to defeat our tens of thousands of elite soldiers!"

"Okay!" Li You knocked heavily on the table.

He immediately ordered Liang Mengbiao to take people to Qingzhou and Zibo to allocate troops and horses, preparing to ambush Li Shimin halfway.

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(End of this chapter)