Tibet.

Chapter 1274 Royal Ambition
Imperial power has always driven countless people crazy, especially the children of royal families. Even Li Linfu dreamed when he was young that he would be favored by Wu Zetian and made the crown prince.

So when all the ministers unanimously agreed that the current emperor must abdicate and a new emperor should be appointed, the news exploded among the royal family like a nuclear bomb. Almost all the royal family members could not remain calm and were eager for this huge pie to fall on their heads.

Although everyone knows that this is to pave the way for the Regent, as long as the Regent does not ascend the throne, they will hold on to hope, even if the hope is very small, less than one in ten thousand.

But that's human nature. Just like buying lottery tickets, everyone knows how low the probability of winning five million is, but there are still so many people rushing to buy it.

More importantly, the regent's ascension to the throne made these clan members dissatisfied. Li Shuliang, the descendant of Li Shuliang, was not even Gaozu's biological brother, but only a cousin, and was not even within the fifth degree of mourning.

Although these clan members usually keep silent, they all jump out when the critical moment comes.

The royal family members were divided into two factions, one called the direct relative faction and the other called the second direct relative faction. Simply put, taking the retired emperor Li Longji as the benchmark, Li Longji's descendants were called the direct relative faction, and the direct royal family members other than Li Longji were called the second direct relative faction.

There are five sons of Li Longji who are still alive, including Prince Yong Li Lin, who was pardoned on the eve of the death of Emperor Li Heng and his title of Prince Yong was restored.

Prince Shou Li Mao, Yang Yuhuan's first husband, has been living cautiously for many years since his wife was taken away by her father.

Prince Feng Li Gong, who was once the Protector-General of Anxi and Beiting, was dismissed from office because of his close relationship with Yu Chaoen.

There are also Prince Yi Li Yu and Prince Chen Li Gui. The two of them followed the emperor to flee to Bashu, and later carried the coffin back to Chang'an. They have always kept a low profile.

These five people formed a hall of elders, under which were hundreds of their sons and nephews, and even the descendants of the former emperor Li Heng.

At night, the back hall of Prince Yong's Mansion was brightly lit, and dozens of royal family members gathered together. At the top sat the five oldest princes: Prince Yong Li Lin, Prince Shou Li Mao, Prince Feng Li Gong, Prince Yi Li Yu and Prince Chen Li Gui. In fact, they were all younger princes among Li Longji's many sons, and they were not very old, only about fifty years old.

Among them, Prince Yong Li Lin sat in the middle. He was the heir to the throne designated by the retired emperor. He had the most seniority and was also the oldest.

Next to him is Prince Shou Li Mao, who is the most low-key but also the richest. His mother, Concubine Wu Huifei, left him billions of assets. He is in his early fifties but is very well maintained, with fair skin and a well-proportioned figure. He looks only about forty years old, holding a fan in his hand. He is a military advisor, responsible for giving advice, but in fact, Li Lin was attracted by his money.

On the other side of Li Lin sat Prince Feng Li Gong, who had a majestic appearance and was intimidating even without being angry. He had served as the Protector General and Jiedushi of Anxi Beiting for several years, so he had some military experience.

Sitting below were two rows of clan members on each side, more than forty people in total, all of whom were the sons and nephews of the five men.

Li Lin was questioning Li Qi, Prince of Jing, who was Li Heng's seventh son and only in his twenties.

"Why didn't your second brother come? What reason did he have?" Li Lin's tone was very dissatisfied.

Li Qi's second elder brother is the King of Yue, Li Xi, who currently serves as the Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple. He has changed his previous absurdity and has become humble and low-key, working seriously. He has sent all his wives and concubines back home, and only lives with his wife.

The changes made by the Li family were gradually recognized by the Council of Ministers and all officials. The current Minister of the Zongzheng Temple, Li Lin, was in poor health and was only a figurehead. In fact, the Li family was in charge of all the affairs inside and outside the Zongzheng Temple.

Therefore, Li Lin attached great importance to the Li clique, because the Li clique held the real power in the Zongzheng Temple. If the Li clique supported him, he would have a better chance of winning.

Usually Li Xi was polite and respectful to his uncle Li Lin. Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, Li Xi did not show up, which really made Li Lin extremely angry.

Prince Jing Li Qi bowed and said, "My second brother said that the child is sick. He has to go to Fengtian early tomorrow morning. He is accompanying the child to see a doctor and cannot come!"

"Bullshit!"

Li Lin slammed the table and said angrily: "It's clearly an excuse. You just look down on me!"

Li Mao beside him quickly advised: "Brother, don't be angry. Everyone has their own aspirations. Don't force it. It's actually a good thing that he didn't come. What if he has other intentions and goes to inform on us? Wouldn't that ruin everything?" Li Gong nodded and said, "Shiba Lang is right. Now we have to be careful of those inner guard dogs. It's better not to bring in people with other intentions!"

Helpless, Li Lin could only say: "The most urgent task now is to discredit the regent. The matter of the former crown princess is a good starting point. Everyone should go out and spread the word."

Li Lin wanted to use the incident of former Crown Princess Shen Zhenzhu to discredit Li Ye, causing him to lose his reputation and dare not talk about ascending the throne again.

"Everyone, go ahead! Follow my previous deployment."

Everyone stood up and left, leaving only six core figures in the hall: Prince Yong Li Lin, Prince Shou Li Mao, Prince Feng Li Gong, and their three sons.

"Shibalang, can you give me some more money?" Li Lin said to Li Mao.

Li Mao frowned and said, "I've already given you 50,000 strings of cash. Isn't that enough?"

"There are eight thousand people in total. Fifty thousand strings of cash is nothing. Bring out another fifty thousand strings of cash."

Ruining Li Ye's reputation was just an excuse. They all knew that no one would care about the former Crown Princess being pregnant.

The former crown prince had died a long time ago, and he was a deposed crown prince when he died. It was normal for his wives and concubines to remarry. Li Ye had no blood relationship with the former crown prince, so there was nothing wrong with him taking the former crown princess as his concubine.

Li Lin knew that using the former Crown Princess' pregnancy to target Li Ye would have no effect, so he used this incident as a cover. His real means was still the eight thousand private armies. As long as he could find a way to kill Li Ye, the court would eventually have to invite them, a member of the royal family, to take the throne.

Li Mao was helpless and could only sigh and say, "I can only take another 30,000 strings of cash at most!"

Li Gong said, "I'll take another 20,000! If it's still not enough, we can only ask everyone to donate money and food together."

Li Lin nodded and said, "Send the money to Huxian Manor tomorrow!"

While the secret negotiations were taking place in Li Lin's mansion, in the Prince of Hanzhong's mansion, Prince of Hanzhong Li Yu was explaining something to several of his subordinates in front of a map.
Li Yu was the leader of the royal family's second faction. He was the son of Emperor Li Chengqi and one of the most outstanding sons of the royal family.

Although he had a good relationship with Li Ye, as he grew older, the ambition hidden in his bones began to gradually emerge.

During the reign of the eunuch party, he openly ignored the eunuch party's ban on leaving the city, left Luoyang for Gong County, angered Li Fuguo, and was stripped of all his titles.

But it also made Li Yu famous. He became the first core member of the royal family to rebel against the eunuch party, and he then became one of the leaders of the royal family.

After Li Ye wiped out the eunuch party, Li Yu regained his title. At this time, his ambition to ascend the throne could no longer be suppressed, and he began to secretly train his private army.

Like Li Lin, their private armies were all made up of elite men selected from various manors, and training them required a lot of money and food support.
Although Li Yu had some wealth, he could not afford the equipment expenses for 5,000 people.

He wanted to seek support from his family, but was rejected by his brother Li Lin.

The troubled Li Yu suddenly thought of the wealth left by his master Feilong. He knew that Feilong was the former emperor Li Dan, so the large amount of wealth and treasures buried in Qiaoling were actually ownerless treasures.

In his later years, Feilong always wanted to open the secret passage of Qiaoling and transport the wealth out, but he never got the chance.

So can I take advantage of this opportunity?
(End of this chapter)