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

Chapter 1346 How can I meet my father if I am left underground?

"Concubine Yue." Li Zhi looked a little unhappy because this matter was really hard to mention.

In August of the first year of Xianheng, Mrs. Rongguo passed away. Concubine Yan rushed to Luoyang to express her condolences. She suddenly fell ill in Zhengzhou and died of illness in Zhengzhou Posthouse in July of the following year.

Afterwards, Empress Wu held a grand funeral for him, and was even buried with him in Zhaoling.

There seems to be no problem here, but in fact if you examine it carefully, you can find something fishy.

In August of the first year of Xianheng, Mrs. Rongguo passed away. Concubine Yan set out from the south of the Yangtze River. If she had been quick, she could have arrived in half a month. However, she fell ill when she arrived in Zhengzhou. She did not die until July of the following year, nearly a year later. Zhengzhou Yishe.

For a whole year, people were sick in Zhengzhou.

It would be fine if we say that at the beginning, the royal family was busy with the funeral of Mrs. Rong Guo, but why did they still let people stay in Zhengzhou after the funeral was over.

This matter was eventually explained by the fact that Concubine Yan was seriously ill and unable to survive, but people are still speculating.

Zhengzhou and Luoyang are only so far apart that they can be carried there.

Not to mention that Zhengzhou is right on the canal. Even half a day is enough for a boat to reach Luoyang.

Although Luoyang is not as good as Chang'an, the King of Yue has his own residence in Luoyang.

In addition, there are countless famous doctors, so they will definitely be able to save her, but Princess Yan has been living in Zhengzhou Post House.

In the end, he even died of illness in Zhengzhou Post House.

Even Li Zhi can see the strangeness here.

Empress Wu sighed softly and said: "If I hadn't been so worried back then, the concubine of the Yue Kingdom would not have died of illness in the post. It was all my fault."

"It has nothing to do with the queen. At the beginning, you and I were worried that the concubine would be too sad and something would happen, and then there was the matter of Hong'er's wedding." When Li Zhi said this, he paused, and finally shook his head and said, "Everything is fine. It was a last resort. Even the concubine didn't say anything back then, and she even had her last words..."

Empress Wu fell silent. Yes, there was Li Hong's wedding that year, so He Lan Minzhi had to be involved, and Concubine Yan De and He Lan Minzhi had a good relationship...

It's all trouble.

Empress Wu finally spoke again: "I still didn't think carefully, otherwise I wouldn't have what happened today."

"Don't think blindly." Li Zhi's expression turned cold and he gritted his teeth and said, "It's his own ambition that deserves to be punished."

Li Zhi never had a good impression of King Cao Li Ming.

At that time, Princess Chao Yang was very popular in the palace, especially after the death of Queen Changsun. Emperor Taizong once wanted to make Yang his queen.

If Wei Zheng hadn't stopped him forcefully, this might have happened.

If it really comes to pass, Li Ming will be the legitimate son of the late emperor, and he will have the power to compete with the three brothers Li Zhi, Li Tai, and Li Chengqian for the throne.

What's more, because the queen is still alive, Li Ming is even more justified.

Especially after Li Zhi became the crown prince, Li Chengqian and Li Tai successively lost the chance to compete for the throne. However, if the former emperor had made Yang the queen at that time, then Li Zhi would not be able to sit on the throne for long.

This worry did not come to an end until the death of Princess Chao Yang.

But even so, Li Zhi was always worried about King Cao. It was not until the late emperor died of illness that he was completely relieved.

After ascending the throne, Li Zhi directly named the Yang family Princess Chaoci, and at the same time adopted King Cao Li Ming to his uncle, the late King Qi, and made King Chaoci Li Ming his heir.

This means that after accompanying the late Emperor Taizong for more than 20 years, Yang was directly sent back to his ex-husband, Emperor Taizong's younger brother, King Qi, by Li Zhi.

Finally, she was buried together with Li Yuanji in the name of the wife of King Qi.

This kind of irony and this kind of hatred can be imagined.

However, Li Zhi's approach was approved by both the government and the public, because it was more in line with etiquette and law.

Because of this, the late emperor's virtuous name can be protected to a greater extent.

For more than 20 years, everything went smoothly until Li Ming was involved in Li Xian's rebellion, and Li Zhi directly deposed his prince and demoted him to the county king.

But when Li Ming's hands and feet were found to be involved in the Changzhou rebellion in May this year, Li Zhi had already begun to murder him.

I just didn’t expect that the deeper I dug into this matter, the more things I would uncover.

At the beginning, Li Zhi fell on Li Ming's staff.

When Li Ming was deposed as a prince, most of his staff stayed away. Only the governor of Suzhou, Shi Kongzhen, occasionally sent people to visit him.

However, it was finally discovered that Kong Zhen and Li Ming did not have many private contacts, and the person who was really connected was Yang Shangui, a descendant of the Hongnong Yang family.

It was he who traveled between Changzhou and Qianzhou to deliver news to Li Ming.

The emperor then asked Li Zhaode to investigate.

Li Zhaode, an official, finally found out not only the descendants of the Yang family, but also the Xiao family who was involved.

But at the beginning, Li Zhi set his sights on the Yang family, and even made a plan with Empress Wu to divide the Yang family.

But it was at this time that the secret guard found out about Xiao.

Youwei Zhonglang General Xiao Shoudao, Minister of War Xiao Dezhao, and countless officials from the Xiao family all over the world. The emperor then arranged for Li Xuan to go to Pengzhou and finally return to Songshan quietly.

……

Li Zhi took out a portrait, delivered it to Empress Wu, and said with a stern expression: "This is Yang Shangui who escaped from Qianzhou, and he contacted Zhou Xing."

"Use the Hongnong Yang family to attract attention, while the Xiao family hides behind the scenes; use the unscrupulous people in Chang'an to attract attention, but hide the troops in Luoyang." Empress Wu looked up at Li Zhi, frowned and said: "Your Majesty, this kind of method It’s not something that ordinary people can think of.”

"The queen is right. The one who really came up with this was Xiao Decong, the chief official of the Yue King." A sneer appeared on Li Zhi's face.

"The cousin of the Minister of War?" Empress Wu was a little surprised.

Since the incident involved the Yang family, the only thing Empress Wu did was to marry a Yang family daughter into the East Palace. After that, she asked no more questions about this case.

Now that everything has come to light, it's no wonder that Li Zhi paid so much attention to Xiao Dezhao that he sent Li Xuan to Luoyang to deal with him.

"King Peng is still dedicated. As long as he hesitates even half a moment, the matter of King Yue will not be found out." Li Zhi shook his head and said: "Now that everything is clear, it makes me even more sad. King Yue, Brother Eighth Prince, why are you like this?" ?”

Although Li Zhi was the third son of Empress Changsun, he was ranked ninth among Emperor Taizong's sons.

"Your Majesty is wrong." Empress Wu looked at Li Zhi with bright eyes, and said with gritted teeth: "On the surface, the King of Yue is doing it for Erlang, but in fact, he is doing it for himself. Once he really succeeds, Your Majesty, he will How long can I tolerate Erlang?"

Li Zhi immediately clenched his fist tightly.

The current conspiracy is to wait until Li Zhi goes to Luoyang next spring and summer, and then they will take action during the Dragon Boat Festival or when the emperor worships Songshan Mountain.

At that time, perhaps Li Zhen, the king of Yue, might want to go to Beijing, so he would have the opportunity to lead troops.

After all, the emperor's enthronement is such a big event, and when the time comes, King Li Zhen of Yue will enter the capital no matter what.

They colluded internally and externally, stormed the palace, ushered in the deposed crown prince Li Xian and ascended the throne, and then Li Zhen assisted in the government.

There may be other means here, all in Li Zhen's plan, but these, none of this will happen.

"They are so stupid that they don't even think about it. Does anyone in the prime minister support them? Does anyone in the world's famous families support them? Does anyone in the clan support them?"

Li Zhi had a sneer on his face. The Cui family, the Xue family, the Pei family, the Liu family, and many aristocratic families all had relatives inside and outside as prime ministers, and they would not support Li Zhen at all.

As for the clan members, in the eyes of the emperor, it was too late for the princes of King Han and King Huo to hide. As for the younger generation, Li Xuan and Li Xian were tied too deeply.

The other disciples had no say in this matter at all.

"Your Majesty." Empress Wu looked at the emperor and whispered: "There are many in-laws in the Xiao family, as well as the scum of the Yang family. It is inevitable that the prime minister is involved among them. As for the king, has your majesty forgotten? There are also Ji king."

Li Zhi's face suddenly turned cold. Ji Wang Li Shen was the only heir of Emperor Taizong besides Li Zhi and Yue Wang Li Zhen.

If Li Zhen really succeeds, it is absolutely possible for Li Shen, the King of Ji, to support Li Zhen, regardless of others.

Li Zhi took a long breath, then waved his hands and said, "Don't make assumptions about things that haven't happened."

Empress Wu nodded slightly. King Cao Li Ming was dead. King Li Zhen of Yue was punished for presiding over a conspiracy and rebellion this time. The emperor's only remaining brother was King Ji Li Shen.

If King Ji Li Shen is also punished due to various involvements, then Li Zhi will still have a stain on him until the end of his life.

"King Yue." Li Zhi sighed softly and said, "How to deal with him is also a difficult problem. If I really kill him, how will I see my father underground?"

Empress Wu suddenly fell silent. His merits and demerits in his life and his reputation after his death have always been one of the things Li Zhi cared about most.

In his life, he has surpassed the late emperor in many things, but when it comes to brothers fighting each other...

"A decree was sent to the governor of Yuezhou to work hard and seize the Yue Palace. The governor of Yangzhou, Shi Pei Xingjian, immediately went to Changzhou and joined the Changzhou governor Shen Qian to seize all the properties of the Xiao family in Nanlanling and identify all the Xiao family members involved in the case. People who should be caught, those who should be killed, and those who should be released, properties and lands that should be confiscated, "Li Zhi's eyes turned cold instantly.

Empress Wu gently raised her head and looked at the emperor. She knew that the reason why the emperor allowed the situation to develop so far was for the sake of the fields.

If the Xiao family and the Yue Prince's Mansion can open a gap in these two aspects, then the imperial court's investigation of hidden fields in Jiangnan can go a step further.

"And Caizhou." Li Zhi turned sideways and asked, "Where is King Peng now?"

From the shadows under the pillars, Zhao Gong came out and solemnly raised his hands and said: "Report to Your Majesty, return to the Queen of Heaven, after King Peng inspected Xiao Shilang's residence last night, he had all the documents sent to Chang'an overnight. Luo Governor's History Yuan Jiazuo is tracing all the people involved in the case in Luoyang City, and Prince Peng should have gone to Mang Mountain now. "

"Mangshan?" Li Zhi raised his head in surprise and asked, "What did he go to Mangshan for?"

"Reporting to your majesty, the thirty pairs of armor seized by the Xiao Mansion did not come from the army, nor did Xiao Shilang obtain them through his own channels, but were bought by Xiao Guan himself in Mang Mountain... Prince Peng found out that they were bought in Mang Mountain There is a private armor-making workshop in the mountain, which can produce hundreds of armors every year..."

"What?" Li Zhi couldn't help but stood up and said in shock: "Hundreds of pairs?"

One hundred pairs of armor a year, five hundred pairs in five years.

With such a batch of armor, coupled with the war horses and elite soldiers that the Tang Dynasty never lacked, if they could still get 500 long spears, these people would probably be invincible once they entered Chang'an.

"Tell King Peng to investigate everything in Mang Mountain. No matter who is involved, they will be investigated endlessly." Li Zhi nodded heavily.

"Here!" Zhao Gong cupped his hands, then cupped his hands toward Empress Wu, and then retreated silently.

Li Zhi spoke softly: "It seems that these things are far from over yet."

(End of this chapter)