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

Chapter 1254 Heavenly Punishment
In front of the Qianyuan Palace, Li Zhi, dressed in a Nine Dragons and Nine Chapters Gun dragon robe, stood in front of the palace door and looked at the Chengtian Gate with a solemn expression.

The emperor's chariot slowly passed through Chengtian Gate and came towards His Highness Qianyuan.

The guards and palace people around him all bowed their heads and worshiped.

Empress Wu was not in the Qianyuan Hall today, but was preparing meals with her own hands in the back hall. She was the only person in the entire Tang Dynasty who could understand why the emperor received Princess Wencheng so grandly.

The demise of Tubo begins today and officially begins to write the final chapter.

Princess Wencheng's return will be featured in the history books.

After that, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom was captured and taken to Chang'an to perform a dance in public.

In order to imitate the Taizong Dynasty, the story of Jieli.

After that, the emperor would go to Zhaoling in person to worship the late emperor.

Tell the late emperor that his son has welcomed back the royal eldest daughter he was forced to send away today.

In fact, it is still the same as his son and father, but Li Zhi never gets tired of playing it, and even every time he does it, he feels a special kind of excitement.

……

The emperor's car finally stopped in front of Qianyuan Hall.

Li Xian immediately jumped into the carriage, put down the seats, and finally helped Princess Wencheng out of the carriage with his own hands, and helped her to the golden steps.

Someone has already put down a futon on the side.

Princess Wencheng, who was in her sixties, stepped forward and knelt down under the golden steps.

Li Xian bowed slightly to the emperor and then stepped away.

"My dear, Princess Wencheng Li Yan, please pay homage to our emperor. Long live my emperor!" Princess Wencheng knelt down in deep obeisance.

For a moment, the world was silent and solemn.

The surrounding officials stood on either side, watching calmly.

Although many people knew Princess Wencheng's name for the first time, it did not hinder their respect for this woman.

Over the years, the Tang Dynasty did not know how many people who went to Tubo had directly or indirectly received help from Princess Wencheng.

A lot of information about Tubo was sent back by people sent by Princess Wencheng, either overtly or covertly.

Li Zhi looked emotional, nodded slightly, turned and looked to the side.

Wang Fulai stepped forward, raised his hands to the emperor, and then took out the imperial edict from the waiter on one side.

The imperial edict was unfolded, and Wang Fulai read loudly: "In the second year of Tiaolu, Gengchen, August Yiyou, and Xinsi on the 23rd, the emperor Ruo said:
Yu Xi!

There is the late emperor's righteous daughter, Princess Wencheng Li Yan, who is from Yucuixianzong and Chu Huibaowu.

It is appropriate to spare the kindness of Tangyi and use the virtue of Maogong Palace.

The splendid ceremonial attire is a distant imitation of the Han Dynasty seal. I am here to honor you and cherish my happiness forever.

Kewen grew up to be a princess and had a thousand households in the city.

I am given a mansion in Kaihuafang, a number of gold, silver and jade articles, and a number of maids and palace attendants. They can enter the palace at any time, and there is no restriction on entry and exit. I admire this. "

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty, long live my emperor." Princess Wencheng knelt down and bowed to the ground.

"Stand flat." Li Zhi raised his head slightly, and Princess Wencheng bowed before standing up.

At this moment, all the officials in the palace raised their hands solemnly at the same time: "I will see Her Royal Highness Princess Wencheng."

The magnificence is spreading, and the respect is awe-inspiring.

Princess Wencheng was filled with emotion for a moment, then turned around and bowed solemnly to the officials in the palace.

The ministers returned the favor again, and then stood up with sincere expressions.

The emperor's canonization of Princess Wencheng was fine in the first part. They were all canonized according to the etiquette and imperial system. Only the last one allowed her to enter the palace at any time without restriction.

You know, even the Prime Minister, the Prince, or Princess Taiping must hand over the memorial before meeting.

Princess Wencheng's behavior means that she can go directly outside the emperor's palace gate. She only needs to ask the chamberlain to make a brief announcement, and she can directly enter the palace to meet the emperor.

This kind of treatment is unique in the entire world.

This shows that the emperor loved Princess Wencheng deeply.

"Your Majesty, you can go to the harem first. The Queen has already prepared lunch. Later, I, the Prince, and the Prime Minister, Taiping, will come together to take care of Your Majesty." Li Zhi nodded slightly.

Princess Wencheng immediately handed over her hand: "I accept the decree."

Princess Wencheng bowed again, and then walked towards the backyard with the chamberlain.

……

After watching Princess Wencheng leave, the emperor turned to look down and spoke again: "Cui Ding."

Cui Ding stepped forward in surprise and held up his hands: "My lord, Cui Ding, the general of Zuo Jin Wu's guard, pays homage to your majesty. May your majesty live forever."

A smile appeared on the emperor's face, he nodded and said: "You will fight on the front line first, and then guard the eldest princess for your merits. I will grant you the title of Qingyang County Male, General Xuanwei, and Captain of Qingche."

Qingyang County Male is a knight of the fifth rank, General Xuanwei is a casual official of the fourth rank, and Captain Qingche is also a knight of the fourth rank.

Title, casual official, honor.

The emperor's rewards are all in place at once.

This made Cui Ding extremely happy. He immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply: "I thank your Majesty for your grace. May your Majesty live forever."

"Get back on your feet." Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Let's all go into the palace. Today, you and I, as well as the ministers in the court, will talk about the frontline matters in detail."

"I accept the decree!" Cui Ding immediately stood up and held his hands.

Seeing the emperor turn around and enter Hanyuan Hall, Cui Ding breathed a sigh of relief. Following everyone into the Hanyuan Hall, Cui Ding stood in the middle hall.

The emperor sat on the royal couch, and the ministers were divided into two groups. Only Cui Ding stood in the center.

The emperor's eyes fell on Cui Ding and said: "I will listen to this year when the King of Nanchang attacks Gradandong Pass."

"Here!" Cui Ding held up his hand and said seriously: "Gradan Dongguan City is high and strong, and it is not easy for Tubo. But fortunately before the war, the prince has found some flaws in Guancheng, and then the ministers used letters to provoke people, and then... "

Under the watchful eyes of countless high-ranking officials in the court, Cui Ding slowly told the story of the battle that took place in the Tanggula Mountains bit by bit.

After the "Essay on Tubo" was spread to Luoxue, Li Xuan and Lun Qinling began to have a psychological battle, and finally Lun Qinling left Tanggula Mountain with a sense of luck.

In the end, Li Xuan seized the momentary opportunity and attacked the city directly.

A fake fire plunged the entire Gradandong Pass into thick smoke and chaos. Then, while Lun Qinling was returning to the city, an assassin assassinated...

"Assassin?" Li Zhi looked at Cui Ding in surprise and asked, "How did the assassin stay in the Tubo Pass for so long without being discovered?"

"Reporting to your majesty, the spies and assassins were all deployed during the attack on Qamdo last year while the Tubo people were retreating. These people entered very deep into Tubo at the beginning, and then slowly returned to Tanggula Mountain from the depths of Tubo. Naturally, the Tubo people were not You will be suspicious of people who come from your own home.”

Li Zhi nodded suddenly and said: "Take three steps forward, and then take two steps back. In this way, no one will have any doubts...Prince, do you understand?"

"My dear, I understand." Li Xian solemnly held his hands in his hands, his expression calm.

Li Zhi smiled, and he immediately understood that Li Xuan was still in the same routine as before.

A secret memorial is sent to the East Palace every three days, and these things are included in it.

"Go on." The emperor looked at Cui Ding again.

"Here!" Cui Ding cupped his hands and said, "After that, the army built warships and built dams to store water. The only surprises were heavy rains and earthquakes."

"I know about the heavy rain. Tubo has too much summer and autumn. It's not too strange to have heavy rain before the autumn harvest. What's going on with the earthquake?"

The emperor wanted to ask more clearly, because the problem here was too big.

Li Xuan has always been good at observing the sky when it comes to heavy rains, but what about earthquakes? Can he predict them too?
"I don't know very well, because when the earthquake occurred, I was still at a checkpoint a hundred miles away. However, after checking, I found that many places in the Anduo city wall collapsed, and dozens of people were even killed and injured. The situation was serious."

After a slight pause, Cui Ding cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has a saying that if the Tubo people are disgusted by Heaven, they will naturally be punished by Heaven."

A sentence of heavenly punishment made Li Zhi unable to ask any more questions.

He didn't even want to ask anymore. God's punishment was the best excuse he could accept.

Besides, he couldn't ask Li Xuan and the others much about this matter.

Because when the earthquake occurred in Ando Pass, Li Xuan was indeed still a hundred miles away.

As for why the power of the earthquake is so small, maybe it is really an earthquake.

"continue."

"Here!" Cui Ding cupped his hands and said: "Then we take the opportunity to attack the city, and then accumulate the last wave of water. After opening the city, the army divides its troops. The King of Nanchang uses himself as bait to attract the Tibetan army to besiege, and finally the heavy cavalry makes a surprise attack... "

"Heavy cavalry, I read in the report that there were two thousand heavy cavalry, but why were three thousand Zuo Xiaowei mobilized?" The emperor pointed out the ambiguity in this sentence.

Cui Ding held up his hands and said: "It is true that three thousand Zuo Xiaowei were mobilized, and there were indeed two thousand heavy cavalry. What makes people misunderstood is that among the three thousand cavalry of Zuo Xiaowei, one thousand light cavalry. It was wrapped by two thousand heavy cavalry, so the Tibetans mistakenly thought it was three thousand heavy cavalry."

The emperor immediately understood that Li Xuan had played a trick here.

Using two thousand heavy cavalry to package one thousand light cavalry makes people subconsciously think that they are also heavy cavalry and dare not attack them. In this way, the light cavalry is used to fulfill the role of heavy cavalry.

"What a good method." Li Zhi sighed softly and said: "There are not many commanders in the Tang Dynasty who can come up with such commanders who can try their best to avoid their own weaknesses while maximizing their own strengths at critical moments."

Cui Ding stood there with his hands folded, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Li Xian quickly raised his hand and said: "No matter how powerful the commander is, in front of the father, he is as respectful as a chicken seeing an eagle."

Li Zhi couldn't help but laugh, shook his head, and said: "This is a pleasant thing to say, but the frontline commander still has to be a little arrogant."

"Yes!" Li Xian handed over his hand.

Li Zhi looked at Cui Ding and asked, "What about attacking the city next?"

"Reporting to your majesty, after attacking the city, the King of Nanchang used various means such as cutting off water, food, and aid, and also asked his ministers to read out his majesty's "Complaint to Tubo" in public. Then at night, the civilians and slaves in the city were persuaded by insiders , opened the city gate."

Cui Ding held up his hands and said seriously: "I was the first to ascend the city. The civilians and slaves in the city were frightened by the countless bloody casualties, so the city was destroyed in just six days."

"That's right, the King of Nanchang uses you to attack the city. You have repeatedly charged and broken the formation, which shows that he has not misjudged the person." Li Zhi sighed lightly and nodded with satisfaction.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cui Ding bowed deeply to Li Zhi.

……

Xin Hongzhi, dressed in purple court uniform, stood among the ministers. His eyes slowly drifted from Cui Ding, and finally landed on Di Renjie.

But in an instant, Xin Hongzhi looked away.

Di Renjie had indeed studied with him, but he had only taken his course. I don't know how many people were like him.

To be more respectful, Di Renjie would call him teacher; to be more polite, call him "jijiu", which would already be a great honor.

Xin Hongzhi didn't say much to Di Renjie about this matter. He just arranged for a few students from Bingzhou to come to tell Di Renjie that the King of Nanchang was suspected of treason.

He believed that Di Renjie would never remain indifferent, and indeed...

"You should take a good rest during your stay in Chang'an. It's already the end of August. I'm afraid it won't be until next year before you return to the front line. I might as well go back next year..." Before Li Zhi finished speaking, among the ministers, Di Renjie had already walked out: "Your Majesty."

For a time, countless eyes fell on Di Renjie. Xin Hongzhi, Yuan Wanqing, Cui Zhiwen and others all looked at Di Renjie.

Di Renjie cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have some questions and would like to ask General Cui Zhonglang."

With one word, the entire hall became completely silent.

(End of this chapter)