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

Chapter 1514: Your Majesty is like a father to me
In the Zhenguan Hall, the atmosphere was extremely solemn for a moment.

Even the dumbest person could sense the murderous intent hidden in that series of light-hearted and seemingly normal words.

Li Xuan, who was standing in the hall, refused to give up even after winning a game, and continued to ask questions.

Many people were worried about him.

Li Xuan bowed to Pei Yan solemnly, and then asked, "May I ask Prime Minister Pei, next June, the late emperor will be buried in Qianling Mausoleum. Will the late emperor's coffin go directly from Luoyang to Qianling Mausoleum, or will it first return to Chang'an from Luoyang and then arrive at Qianling Mausoleum from Chang'an?"

Pei Yan blurted out subconsciously: "Of course, I will return to Chang'an first."

"When will it return to Chang'an? How long will the body stay in Chang'an? When will the funeral be held from Chang'an?" Li Xuan asked a series of questions directly.

Pei Yan was slightly stunned, and his expression immediately became serious.

Now he finally understood why Li Xuan had originally wanted to leave these questions until after Li Xian was enthroned.

The late emperor's coffin was to be returned to Chang'an, so the emperor naturally had to escort it back.

When the emperor returned to Chang'an, all the civil and military officials in the court naturally had to return to Chang'an as well.

This kind of thing is not something Pei Yan can decide.

Although he was a regent, he did not actually have much power.

Although he has had many confidants over the years, not many of them occupy key positions in the government or the government.

He is far from having all the power in the government.

Faced with this kind of problem, he could only leave it to the emperor and Empress Wu.

Pei Yan turned around, looked at Li Xian and Empress Wu, and said with a cupped hand: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, what about this matter?"

Li Xian was the first to speak, "Returning to Chang'an is inevitable, but not in a short time, at least not within thirty-six days."

The ministers bowed their heads slightly. Although Li Xian's words were negative, he was actually saying that they could consider it at any time after thirty-six days.

There are many smart people among the ministers, and they know very well the difference between the emperor in Luoyang and Chang'an.

Not to mention anything else, the structure of the palace alone is enough to make people understand.

There is only one Ziwei Palace in Luoyang. When the emperor is in Luoyang, he will inevitably be suppressed by the Empress Dowager.

In Chang'an, there are two palaces: Taiji Palace and Daming Palace.

If Empress Wu was in the Daming Palace and the emperor was in the Taiji Palace, then Empress Wu's suppression, no, control, of the emperor would be close to zero.

Even if all government affairs were held in Taiji Palace in the future, Empress Wu's power would be greatly exploited.

Even though Empress Wu still had the imperial edict from the previous emperor allowing her to rule the country from behind the scenes during the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and even though the previous emperor's will clearly stated that Empress Wu could make decisions on any military or national affairs, the distance between Taiji Palace and Daming Palace was enough for the emperor to fully grow up.

Perhaps, this is what the late emperor intended.

As for other things, such as the fact that Chang'an had the most noble relatives in the court and Empress Wu was under greater pressure, etc., they are all secondary.

Empress Wu lowered her eyes slightly and landed on Pei Yan. Seeing him bowing without saying anything, she looked at the ministers and said, "In recent years, the late emperor would come to Luoyang and stay there for half a year every spring. You should understand that this is to allow the nobles in the court and the public to eat in Luoyang and reduce the pressure in Chang'an."

Li Xuan bowed solemnly, his face calm and solemn.

Empress Wu continued, "Although there is a Fengshan event this year, which reduces the consumption of grain and grass in Chang'an, it is also a big consumption event. Now that the New Year is coming and spring is coming, the spring famine is coming. If we can continue to stay in Luoyang, it will greatly reduce the burden on the court... Your Majesty, what do you think?"

"Mother, what you said makes sense." Li Xian bowed heavily. Empress Wu had put forward such a profound truth. If he did not agree with it, he would probably be blamed a lot.

Empress Wu nodded and looked at Pei Yan again.

Pei Yan immediately bowed and said, "What the Queen Mother said is true, but the return of the late emperor's coffin to Chang'an must have a date."

Empress Wu nodded and said, "The late emperor was buried in Qianling Mausoleum in June. Qianling Mausoleum will be repaired and ready in mid-April. In my opinion, let's do it in early May."

"We obey your order." All the ministers in the hall bowed at the same time.

Li Xuan was the same, with a calm expression.

On the contrary, Li Xian, who was on the golden steps, couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, but he was relatively relaxed in his heart.

Because in Chang'an, he was indeed much more relaxed than in Luoyang.

May is not too far away.

……

Seeing that Li Xuan had no more questions, Empress Wu's eyes turned slightly, and then she said, "Just now we talked about the Fengshan matter. It was originally an act of the late emperor to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. Now that the late emperor has passed away, Fengshan is no longer necessary. In my opinion, Prince Peng, you should be responsible for the relevant abolition matters."

Empress Wu's revenge came almost instantly.

Li Xuan, who knew Empress Wu's ambition best, certainly understood the importance of staying in Luoyang to her, so he also expected that she would take some action.

Li Xuan bowed his hands solemnly and said, "I accept your order."

Seeing Li Xuan being so decisive, Empress Wu couldn't help but frown secretly.

Then, she continued, "Mr. Fan, you are responsible for assisting King Peng in this matter."

Fan Lubing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up without hesitation and accepted the order: "I accept your order."

Empress Wu nodded, looked at the ministers and said, "What else do you want to say?"

The ministers were silent and no one spoke again.

Now that the late emperor has just passed away, in seven days, the emperor will be enthroned. No matter what matters they have, they can wait.

At this moment, the struggle between Empress Wu and the emperor has already emerged, and there is no need for them to get involved.

Empress Wu nodded slightly, looked at the ministers and said, "In that case, we will once again pay our respects to the late emperor, and you may leave."

"We accept your order." The ministers bowed again. Fan Yunxian stepped forward and said to the ministers, "Kneel..."

"His Majesty……"

……

Amid the sound of calm footsteps, countless officials from the court and the public walked in an orderly manner towards Chengtian Gate.

Li Xuan followed behind Li Jing, the successor to the King of Zheng, and walked towards Chengtian Gate.

The others all looked at Li Xuan to varying degrees, with a hint of something strange flashing in their eyes.

Today, Li Xuan was arguing with Empress Wu in the palace. Anyone smart could see the conflict between the new emperor and Empress Wu behind it.

Everyone knows that Li Xuan has rarely been involved in state affairs. In the eyes of the ministers, although he has made outstanding contributions and is trusted by the emperor, he is relatively low-key.

Today's actions inevitably refresh people's perception of him.

After walking out of Chengtian Gate, the ministers scattered.

Although the emperor has passed away, the government still has to run. But looking at the expressions of the people, you can tell that the things that happened in the Zhenguan Hall today will inevitably be discussed repeatedly.

"Prince!" Su Liangsi's voice came from behind.

Li Xuan stopped, turned around and bowed to Su Liangsi, saying, "Brother Su."

Su Liangsi bowed and said, "I am sorry for causing trouble for you today. I should have done what happened today, but today, Your Majesty... I am a little dazed."

Su Liangsi was the Imperial Censor and was promoted by the previous emperor to assist Li Xian.

Today's power struggle is what he, as the Imperial Censor, should do, but because the emperor had just passed away, Su Liangsi didn't react at all. Instead, it was Li Xuan who noticed the hidden danger in time.

If we don't pay attention to these things now, there will be endless hidden dangers in the future.

Today, Empress Wu's seal can play a role when the six seals of the previous emperor are invalidated and the six seals of the new emperor have not yet been made.

Then in the future, at certain special times, it will still be able to play a role.

For example, when Li Xian was deposed, in the middle of Li Dan's accession to the throne, or even after Li Dan ascended the throne.

The officials in the world were used to Empress Wu's seals, so they could not notice the great turmoil in the center.

In addition, Luoyang was Empress Wu's base, and the power she possessed in Luoyang was far greater than that in Chang'an.

It was not because Empress Wu had any special rights in Luoyang, but because there were too many powerful noble families and numerous foreign envoys in Chang'an.

With all these forces connected, even though Empress Wu held enormous power, it was difficult for her to achieve much effect in Chang'an.

On the contrary, in Luoyang, even if Wu Zetian had the same power, other forces in Luoyang were much weaker. The power obstacles Wu Zetian encountered in Luoyang would be far less than those in Chang'an, which would greatly benefit her in exerting her power.

With just a few words today, Li Xuan had already put a heavy shackle on Empress Wu's head, and in disguise he had deeply offended her.

Seeing Su Liangsi's somewhat self-blaming eyes, Li Xuan calmly shook his head and said, "It's okay, the Queen is magnanimous and won't care about these things."

Su Liangsi raised his eyes and immediately understood the meaning of Li Xuan's words.

Then, he asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, did you do this on purpose?"

Li Xuan smiled but did not answer. He just looked at Su Liangsi and said, "Brother Su, for me, the worst that can happen is that I can return to Fanzhou as soon as possible. But in Chang'an, I'll leave it to His Majesty..."

Before Li Xuan could finish his words, a burst of hurried footsteps came from Chengtian Gate.

"King Peng, King Peng, please wait." Fan Yunxian had already called from a distance, and soon ran to Li Xuan's side, bowed and said: "King Peng, the Queen Mother summons you."

Su Liangsi and Li Xuan looked at each other, and a hint of worry flashed in their eyes at the same time.

……

In the east side hall of the Zhenguan Palace, Empress Wu sat behind a desk, having her breakfast with a calm expression.

Empress Wu had not eaten much from last night till now. Today, she had the opportunity to deal with everything and hurried to eat.

Not only him, but also the Crown Prince, Prince of Xiang and others were having their meals in the West Side Hall.

Fan Yunxian walked in from outside the palace, came to Empress Wu, and said with a bow, "Empress, Prince Peng is here."

"Spread!" Empress Wu calmly put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked towards the door.

Li Xuan walked into the palace with a solemn look, then kowtowed to Empress Wu and said, "Your servant, Peng Wang Xuan, pays homage to the Empress."

Seeing Li Xuan kowtow as soon as he entered the room, Empress Wu's eyes flashed with something strange. She turned sideways calmly and said, "Prince Peng, you will return to Fanzhou in February next year, right?"

"Yes, Queen." Li Xuan did not even raise his head and said directly: "The late emperor left a will ordering me to return to Fanzhou in February next year and then prepare to march to Anxi."

"Anxi." Empress Wu was slightly startled, then nodded and said, "Okay, you can get up."

"Thank you, Queen." Li Xuan then stood up.

"So, you mentioned today that the late emperor returned to Chang'an because you are going back to Fanzhou?" Empress Wu looked at Li Xuan with some uncertainty.

Li Xuan's face was slightly sad. "That's right. The late emperor had told me many times that he wanted to return to Chang'an, so I was wondering if I could send the late emperor off again when I return to the west."

Empress Wu sighed and said, "You know, if this happens, the late emperor's painstaking efforts to reduce the burden on the people will be undermined."

"I know." Li Xuan admitted it unexpectedly. Then he suddenly knelt down in front of Empress Wu with a plop. He said in a choked voice, "I am guilty. My crime is unforgivable. Please punish me, Empress. I am doing this for the sake of the late emperor..."

Li Xuan didn't know when he had started to cry softly. He looked up at Empress Wu and said with a sad face: "Although the late emperor was my lord and brother, I have been taken care of by him since I was a child. Therefore, the late emperor treated me like a father. I...I...I can't give up on the late emperor!"

After saying this, Li Xuan knelt heavily on the ground and cried loudly: "Emperor, Emperor, why did you leave... Emperor, if you leave me behind, how can I live in this world... Emperor, please take me with you."

Seeing Li Xuan so grief-stricken that he was about to faint from crying, Empress Wu was stunned.

(End of this chapter)