People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1086 How to deal with the prince

Zhao Gong calmly walked in from behind, and everyone around him got out of the way.

A familiar ferocious face appeared in front of Zhao Gong. Li Jingye was lying on the ground, his eyes wide open, staring upward.

Just like when he stood, staring at Li Xuan.

However, the blood line on his neck already marked the death of a generation of heroes.

"Uncle, let's look around and see if there are any other useful things hidden here." Li Xuan's eyes fell on the room in front of her.

This is an ordinary quiet room.

It is only important because of its critical location.

"Search." Zhao Gong waved his hand towards the back. A group of secret guards had already rushed in and began to search carefully.

Looking at Li Jingye's body again, Zhao Gong sighed softly.

He knew that without any further glance, he knew that person was definitely Li Jingye.

Li Xuan slowly put the long sword in her hand into the scabbard, and then looked at Zhao Gong: "Uncle, let the people below go down the mountain, and collect the corpses at the foot of the mountain overnight. Tomorrow, my nephew will personally escort them back to Chang'an... As for Let uncle secretly escort him to the north gate."

"Okay, let's do that." Zhao Gong nodded lightly.

He knew that doing so was in the best interest of the emperor.

Li Jingye is dead, but on the surface, no one can be sure that he is dead, and no one can make any trouble about this matter.

If someone must say that it was Li Jingye who died in Huashan, then ask him to provide evidence.

It's okay if he couldn't take it out. Once he did, he would have known where Li Jingye was hiding and concealed it.

A traitor will be labeled immediately.

Li Xuan waved his hand towards the Qianniu Guards around him and said: "Send all the real people in each room back. From today on, no Taoist priests on the mountain are allowed to go down the mountain until after the New Year. During this period, all food and beverage supplies will be borne by the imperial court. On the ground, everyone eats at the same time, and no private use is allowed... If someone is sick, Qian Niuwei will deliver the meal and watch him finish it."

"Here!" All the Qianniu Guards immediately handed over their hands.

Zhao Gong glanced at Li Xuan and said nothing more.

He knew that Li Xuan was trying to prevent anything else from happening, so he stopped it completely.

Three months is enough time for everyone to forget about Li Jingye.

As for three months later, everything should be ready for the court.

Even the deposed prince is the same.

……

On the Wei River, the official ship moved forward slowly.

The northeast wind whipped the sails and whistled in my ears.

Li Xuan looked away from the distant Huashan Mountain with a solemn expression.

He didn't know whether the secret guard found anything related to the prince in that room.

And Li Jingye, whether he hides any secrets related to the prince.

Once found, Li Xian will be deposed immediately.

All this will depend on the emperor's attitude.

The reason why Li Xuan secretly killed Li Jingye was because he wanted to invalidate all the evidence that could be found on Li Jingye.

No one can use it.

Because they couldn't explain the source of the evidence.

This is the big picture.

But there are some things that you can just understand in your heart. If you want to say it out, you need to be careful.

Behind this incident, what Li Xuan really cared about was the emperor's attitude.

Li Jingye is dead, Emperor Xiao is dead, is the world peaceful?

No.

Behind Li Jingye, there is a large group of people hidden, and they need to be dealt with one by one.

Behind Emperor Xiao, there are countless Turks who are dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty. If they don't rebel this time, it doesn't mean they won't next time.

There is also the matter of Ming Chongyan. Up to now, there is no reasonable conclusion to the matter of Ming Chongyan. If it cannot be solved in one day, this matter will not be completed in one day.

The most important thing is the prince.

How to deal with the prince?

……

Li Xuan lowered his eyes and clenched the hilt of the sword with his right hand. These were not his problems at the moment, but the emperor's problems.

Li Xuan has done all the things he should do in this matter, and there is only one thing he needs to do now.

That is to pave the way for Li Xian.

Li Xian was deposed and Li Xian came to power, so what he had to face was the same situation as Li Xian.

Fight for power with Empress Wu.

How can Li Xian fight for power with Empress Wu so that he can ensure that he can actually possess the rights, and then he will not be deceived by Empress Wu like Li Xian.

In the original history, Li Xian had his hands folded and did nothing. Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he was easily deposed by Empress Wu.

How does Li Xuan need to help Li Xian to avoid the final outcome?

These are things Li Xuan needs to think clearly.

Because once Li Xian faced Empress Wu, it would be like Li Xuan, who had been making suggestions behind Li Xian's back, facing Empress Wu.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Li Xuan's breathing became heavy.

Facing Empress Wu head-on, Li Xuan asked herself, does he have that ability?

Eyes lowered, thinking about everything he had, Li Xuan told herself that he had it.

But his real enemy is not only Empress Wu, his real enemy is also a more ferocious figure hidden behind everything, the emperor.    In the current matter, the emperor has never really been helpful to Li Xian.

As long as he really said to Li Xian that you are your mother's biological son, all other matters between them would be gone.

Yes, no more.

However, he did nothing.

He watched all this happen.

Li Xuan couldn't even figure out what Li Zhi was thinking, and he actually watched Li Xian being deposed step by step in the fight with Empress Wu.

Why exactly?

Li Xuan shook his head gently, this question is not important.

He just needs to understand that Li Xian will come to power next.

What Li Xuan needs to do is to find out all the real powers of Empress Wu, and then eliminate them step by step.

Just like how Li Xuan eliminated Qiu Shenji and Ming Chongyan.

Then the next ones are Yuan Wanqing, Fan Lubing, Pei Yan, or Wu Chengsi.

The road ahead is smooth, and the Chunming Gate is right in front of you in the blink of an eye.

The big ship stopped outside Chunming Gate, and Li Xuan didn't care how many prying eyes there were outside, he quickly got off the ship, and then quickly rode towards the palace.

……

Outside Zichen Hall, Li Xuan lowered his head deeply with a solemn expression.

"It is said that King Li Xuan of Nanchang is here to see you." As the chamberlain shouted, Li Xuan lowered his head solemnly and walked quickly into the Zichen Hall.

"I, Wang Xuan of Nanchang, have been ordered to handle the case. Now that everything is settled, please submit the order." Li Xuan took out the imperial edict and gold medal from his body and handed it over.

Li Zhi waved his hand towards the side, and Wang Fulai immediately stepped forward and took away the imperial edict and token from Li Xuan's hand.

Without these, Li Xuan would not have any right to continue investigating, arresting people and killing people in Chang'an City.

Li Zhi looked at Li Xuan with a deep look, and asked in a soft voice: "Twenty-seventh Lang, what do you think of Li Jingye's matter?"

"Your Majesty, now that the court has evidence, the British public and private individuals have fled from Liuzhou. According to law, all their lordships and official positions should be removed. They will be tracked down as fugitives. If there is resistance, they can be killed immediately." Li Xuan bowed seriously and said in his words , as if Li Jingye is still alive.

"Okay, let's do everything as you say. Things in Chang'an and Luoyang have nothing to do with Li Jingye." Li Zhi smiled softly, and then his expression became serious again: "Although you say so, the truth of the matter is between you and me. We all know that, so what should I do with the British Duke’s spiritual place in Lingyan Pavilion?”

Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, and then he held up his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the British Duke, has done great service to our Tang Dynasty and to the royal family. He has done the same to Your Majesty and the Queen."

Li Xuan said, bowed deeply to the emperor and Empress Wu, and said sincerely: "But now Li Jingye is at fault. How to deal with it is entirely in the hands of your majesty and the ministers. Non-officials can comment."

"I tell you to say it, just say it, don't make any detours." Li Zhi's face darkened slightly, a little unhappy.

"I obey the order." Li Xuan immediately raised his hands in fear, stood up, and said after careful consideration: "Your Majesty, Li Jingye's conspiracy was concealed on the surface, but it was known to the whole world, so there must be punishment, and according to law, he must still be implicated. Ancestors, even the ministers of Lingyan Pavilion were the same, but Li Jingye's incident did not cause too big a problem, so I decided to lower the ranking of British Duke Lingyan Pavilion from twenty-three to the last, and at the same time deposed his descendants. , all the official positions and titles awarded due to meritorious service serve as a warning to the world."

"From now on, we protect our ancestors." Li Zhi nodded slowly, with a thoughtful look on his face.

Empress Wu was listening on the sidelines. When it came to lowering the order of Li Ji's tablets, she just nodded calmly because she had thought about this idea before.

From the 23rd place to the 24th place, although it seems that it only dropped one place, it actually dropped to the last place, which is a very warning sign.

But the real ruthlessness is yet to come.

Ordinary people cannot see this level, and only aristocratic families know how powerful it is.

Therefore, when the descendants of Li Ji were deposed and all the titles were granted for official duties, ordinary people would only applaud and praise the emperor for being merciful. But in fact, once the official titles and titles granted by his descendants were deposed, Li Ji’s descendants and the court Between them, the connection between Li Ji and Li Ji disappeared.

Even the sacrifices at Lingyan Pavilion in the future will all be performed by the royal family, and there will be nothing to do with the Li family.

The more ruthless the means, let them directly restore the surname Xu.

What's more, from now on, every time the royal family worships Lingyan Pavilion, it is equivalent to a slap in the face of the Xu family.

This kind of punishment is absolutely direct and cruel, and will definitely serve as a warning to countless people.

But for other meritorious ministers related to Li Ji, it was enough to appease him.

They themselves have little to do with Li Jingye's rebellion.

Now that Li Ji's tablet has not been moved from Lingyan Pavilion, they are satisfied enough.

In this matter, the only ones who were really injured were Li Ji's descendants.

……

"Okay, just follow what Twenty-seventh Lang said." Li Zhi nodded gently and said with a smile: "Twenty-seventh Lang is always thoughtful."

"Thank you for your protection, Your Majesty." Li Xuan bowed deeply, her expression solemn.

The emperor was protecting him. No matter what, Li Jingye died in Li Xuan's hands. People in the world knew it, but they couldn't put it on the table.

Now, Li Xuan's strategy has saved Li Ji's memorial tablet in Lingyan Pavilion, and those people in turn want to thank Li Xuan.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You did everything yourself and it has nothing to do with me."

"Here!" Li Xuan bowed slightly and then stood up.

Li Zhi turned sideways, looked at Empress Wu, and said calmly: "After all the matters in Hengshui, Luozhou, Chang'an, and Jiangnan have been dealt with, let the prince go to Lingyan Pavilion on my behalf to lower the memorial tablet of the British Duke. .”

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded seriously. Li Xuan looked solemn and her breathing became very light for a while.

Li Zhi turned around, looked at Li Xuan, and said, "What are you going to do next?"

"Reporting to your majesty, Changzhou will march to Supi next year. I need to apply to the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, the General Supervisor and other departments for supplies, soldiers and horses. In addition, Changzhou will be ripe this year and can receive 2,000 refugees into Changzhou next year. State farming requires coordination from the Ministry of Household Affairs.

There are also three Tuyuhun people and four Dangxiang people who will take part in the imperial examination next year. They need to coordinate with the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel and Honglu Temple. I also need to prepare gifts for the imperial court at the end of the year..."

Li Xuan listed the things he needed to do one by one. Although he was not in Changzhou now, he still had many things to do.

"Okay, then don't get involved in the next thing." Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with a smile: "Okay, go back and prepare. The imperial decree for your marriage to the Lord of Guangping County will be issued immediately."

The corners of Li Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, and she cupped her hands: "I accept the order and thank you for your kindness."

(End of this chapter)