In fact, Wang De knew very well that he didn't have to worry about his safety. No matter how daring those people were, they would not dare to endanger his life. If his life was in danger, it would be reported to the capital. After all, he had served Li Shimin all his life. If he really died an unnatural death, Li Shimin only needed to say a word, and all the people involved would be in trouble.
But apart from wanting your life, those people have plenty of ways to make you uncomfortable. Wang De has also seen other eunuch chiefs. After returning to his hometown, they were bullied by some petty bureaucrats, but they no longer have power. Those so-called friends in the past had already drawn a clear line with you after you left the palace. How could they continue to care about your affairs?
If you ask for help at that time, I'm afraid no one will care about you. At most, they will just say a few words, which will not help the overall situation. The fact that Li Xiang was able to send twenty guards over means that the people in General Tiance's Mansion would not dare to do anything to those twenty guards even if they had any ideas about it.
In fact, Li Xiang admired Wang De very much on this point. Many people, when they get old, try their best to keep their rights in order to prevent the loss of power. If there is no way to keep their rights, they will prepare to go to other yamen. No matter what, they cannot let themselves leave Chang'an City.
In order to fulfill this wish, they did not hesitate to commit all kinds of crimes, even at the cost of other people's lives. Li Xiang was very despised for these people, but he could not stop this matter. The main reason was that they all came from the palace, and Li Xiang could not interfere too much. Once he interfered too much, it would easily arouse Li Shimin's disgust. After all, for Li Shimin, these eunuchs were his people, and no one else should care about their life or death.
When emperors reach old age, what they fear most is the loss of their power. Once they find that others are in awe of the new monarch, the new monarch will have a hard time.
Li Xiang is now also trying to prevent this from happening. Although he has absolute strength, he must not allow internal divisions. Once the conflict with Li Shimin intensifies, internal divisions may occur. For the current Tang Dynasty, there is absolutely no way to bear such a thing.
Take the current situation for example. Although the Arab Empire has no power to fight back, it is because we are pressing them step by step. If we relax a little, or even give them two or three years to relax, the future situation will be hard to say. We are all relatively large empires. Some are at war, but most people are still at peace. If we want to recover from this situation, it will be very easy.
The route taken by Li Xiang was from Central Asia directly to Persia, but for the Arab Empire, they had no idea how much land along the Mediterranean coast alone they had occupied. They were just stunned now. If they were given time to settle down, they would soon know where to suck blood and heal their wounds. Including the banks of the Nile River, all of them were places where they could suck blood.
Therefore, at this stage, we must maintain rapid and frequent strikes to prevent the people of the Arab Empire from thinking rationally. Once these bastards are quieted down, our previous efforts will likely collapse. In Chang'an City, we should make concessions if we can. After all, he is our grandfather. There is no need to make a show of force with our elders. In the end, it will only benefit these Arabs.
"Your Highness, His Majesty's edict clearly states that you should return to the General Tiance's residence today and accompany everyone else to the audience with His Excellency during the morning court tomorrow."
After entering Chang'an City, Wang De took out another imperial edict. Li Xiang was about to dismiss his men and go to the palace to meet Li Shimin first. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin was so considerate and let Li Xiang go home first. This was something he had never thought of before.
"That's not necessary. Everyone else go home and rest. I'll go to the palace to pay my respects to His Majesty."
It's their business if they are polite. If you don't go because of these two words, then you are really being disrespectful. Publicly speaking, he is the emperor and you are his subject. Privately speaking, he is your grandfather and you are his grandson. No matter publicly or privately, you must go to the palace to pay a visit. Don't refuse to go just because they said a few polite words. There will be many people who will cause trouble for you, especially when the princes and grandsons return to the capital. This is the most turbulent time for the entire empire.
After hearing Li Xiang's answer, Wang De didn't say much. He had indeed said a polite word just now. Li Xiang also observed that if Li Shimin really asked him to go home first, then Wang De would have dissuaded him again and again. He also knew Li Shimin's true intention. Now it seemed that it was just a word, and he had to go to the palace first.
The imperial palace of the Tang Empire is still as majestic as before. It has been nearly a year since Li Xiang left here last time. The main reason is that the journey is too long. Although roads have been built in many places, there are still no roads in many places. The time spent on the road alone has exceeded four months, and this is the result of traveling at full speed. If he had stayed in the carriage, the number would probably have doubled. In today's era, distance is really the biggest enemy, and the Arab Empire is ranked second.
Li Xiang had also thought about this: if he was on the front line of the expedition and something happened in Chang'an City that he didn't want to see, would he be able to return quickly? The answer was definitely no. If someone were to usurp the throne, Li Xiang might have been made a prince by now and would have no chance of ascending to the throne.
Although he had left many backup plans in Chang'an City, he still had to be cautious in many things. Once a problem occurred, it had to be solved immediately. Fortunately, his subordinates were very capable and no similar incidents occurred. Moreover, Li Shimin's control ability was still very strong and he would not let anyone get ahead of him.
When the emperor is old, the princes and grandchildren are the most worried. For an emperor with great talent and strategy, his early enemies can only be the people around him, or the noble families in the country. After defeating the surrounding countries and the noble families in the country, he will be over 45 years old. At this time, the main enemies he faces may be his own children and grandchildren.
