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

Chapter 1534: The Third Face-to-Face Confrontation between Li Xuan and Empress Wu

Li Xian looked at the entire Qianyang Palace Square in front of him and said softly, "When my father was alive, my mother also met my uncle when he left the capital. My father is seeing me again, and I don't want to break this tradition. After all, my mother can check and fill in the gaps."

"I obey your order." Li Xuan looked stern.

Li Xian smiled, then turned around and looked at Li Xuan, saying, "Uncle Wang has always taught me good advice when he left the capital. What does Uncle Wang have to teach me today?"

Li Xian's eyes were solemn and his expression was sincere.

In the past, Li Xian had the support of the previous emperor, but after he ascended the throne, he became the one who held up the throne.

Before, he didn't feel much pressure, but now, he even found it difficult to breathe.

There was Pei Yan in the court and Empress Wu in the harem, and even Wei family gradually began to feel uneasy.

Fortunately, Li Xuan was there to help him in the army, and the pressure of political affairs in various states across the world had not yet begun.

Once spring planting begins, who knows how much more will happen.

Li Xuan bowed solemnly, and then said: "Your Majesty's worries are both internal and external. In my opinion, the court system is sufficient to solve the affairs of the court."

Li Xian looked at Li Xuan in surprise.

Li Xuan nodded, and then said: "Only the Imperial Censor and the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate are watching over the affairs of the six ministries. If Your Majesty has any doubts about the affairs of the three provinces, you can ask Prime Minister Pei. After Pei Yan's comments, you can ask Prime Minister Wang whether it is appropriate, and finally ask Prime Minister Xue whether it can be carried out."

The Zhongshu puts forward opinions, the Menxia reviews them, and the Shangshusheng executes them.

Nothing wrong with it.

Li Xian quickly understood what Li Xuan meant, and then asked, "What if the three provinces have different attitudes?"

Li Xuan smiled and said, "So, this means that this is a matter of both advantages and disadvantages. As long as there are advantages, no matter how big the disadvantages are, the decision will not be wrong, so Your Majesty only needs to ask the Queen."

"Hmm!" Li Xian's expression raised, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then his face became serious again.

Li Xuan naturally knew what Li Xian was worried about. With a sigh in his heart, Li Xuan said, "As for the internal troubles, there is one thing that Your Majesty may have overlooked. Although the late emperor died of illness last year, he was also 55 years old, and the Empress is older than the late emperor. This year, she is already 59 years old, and 60 years old in lunar age."

"It's our mother's sixtieth birthday." Li Xian understood immediately.

"October." Li Xuan nodded gently and said, "Sixtieth birthday, fifty-nine is too empty and not real. The late emperor was buried in June, and the Queen Mother's birthday is in October. Your Majesty can send people to all corners of the country to prepare for the Queen Mother's sixtieth birthday after the mourning period is over."

"This is a good thing!" Li Xian said subconsciously, and then he reacted, looked at Li Xuan and said in surprise: "This is a good thing."

Li Xuan nodded solemnly. The emperor was preparing for Empress Wu's 60th birthday, and at the same time he was also announcing to the world that Empress Wu was 60 years old.

Even though Empress Wu still looks energetic and healthy today, she is sixty years old after all.

Even those who don't think of this will subconsciously lean towards Li Xian.

This is a conspiracy.

Li Xian turned to look at Li Xuan and sighed softly, "It would be great if Uncle Wang could spend more time in the court."

Li Xuan bowed slightly, and the moment he lowered his head, his face looked helpless.

When the previous emperor was alive, Empress Wu already had a deep foundation in the court.

Now that the late emperor has passed away and Li Xian has ascended the throne, Empress Wu is eroding power faster than anyone imagined.

Especially since Empress Wu now seems to have given up power and is devoted to praying for the late emperor in the harem.

Even Pei Yan, after being on guard at first, gradually let down his guard.

In the end, once Empress Wu explodes, no one knows how many people will die at her hands.

"Your Majesty!" Li Xuan suddenly and unexpectedly knelt down in front of Li Xian with a plop.

Li Xian was immediately extremely surprised and subconsciously wanted to help Li Xuan up: "Uncle Wang."

"Your Majesty!" Li Xuan stopped Li Xian, looked at him seriously and said, "My mother is old. When I return, I want to take Concubine Pei back to Chang'an, and leave Princess Liu in Luoyang to offer sacrifices to the late emperor. But if my mother is sick, please allow Princess Liu to take her children back to Chang'an to take care of her and return as soon as she recovers."

"Uncle Wang, what are you talking about? This is the right thing to do. If my father's body had not been kept in Luoyang, I would have allowed the women of the families to return to Chang'an long ago..."

Li Xian was halfway through his words when he saw Li Xuan's serious expression. He hesitated for a moment and finally nodded and said, "Okay!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Xuan did not stand up, but remained kneeling on the ground. He looked at Li Xian and said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember that during these years when I was away from the capital, I always sent letters to Your Majesty and the late emperor?"

"Yes!" Li Xian nodded. It was because of this that he really learned a lot from Li Xuan.

"Therefore, I suggest that Your Majesty should select a group of ministers and entrust them with confidants. Every ten days, have them report the details of local governance to the central government. It would be better to select more people and have them submit more memorials to the central government. Let Prime Minister Pei read it, and let the Queen Mother read it. Let the memorials be more numerous and more complicated..."

Li Xuan stopped talking here, and Li Xian was a little confused for a moment.

Li Xuan bowed his head solemnly and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself. I will be away from the capital for two years at the least, and it may take four or five years at most to return to Chang'an. I wish Your Majesty a long life and blessings to the world."

Li Xian looked at Li Xuan who was kneeling in front of him, and he finally understood what Li Xuan meant.

Work, memorials, and reading.

Sixtieth birthday.

The corners of Li Xian's mouth twitched slightly, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say it.

Inexplicably, Li Xuan just said that he wanted the women in his family to return to Chang'an, and that it would take him four or five years to come back.

The caution and obscurity mentioned here are not something that ordinary people can hear.

Li Xian's breathing became heavy. Looking at Li Xuan who was kneeling on the ground, he finally understood the other party's intentions.

"This..." Li Xian said one word, and for a moment he didn't know how to say the rest.

"When His Majesty realizes the danger, it's almost time to start." Li Xuan still lowered his head, but his voice was clearly heard by Li Xian.

Li Xian's mouth twitched slightly. He knew that what Li Xuan said would only work at the last minute, when it was absolutely necessary.

"If your majesty has nothing else to do, I will take my leave. The Queen is still waiting." Li Xuan kowtowed to Li Xian again. This time, it might be the last time he kowtowed to Li Xian in private in his life.

"Uncle Wang, be careful." Li Xian said softly.

Li Xuan then stood up, bowed heavily to Li Xian, then turned and left towards Huiyou Palace.

Li Xian looked at Li Xuan's leaving back and inexplicably felt a sense of immense danger.

The danger came from around his own body.

He was not aware of the danger at all, but Li Xuan was.

Li Xian really wanted to denounce Li Xuan's absurdity, and wanted to denounce Li Xuan's alarmist and deceptive remarks, but when he thought of Li Xuan's serious expression, Li Xian knew that Li Xuan was right.

As a frontline general who has fought countless battles on the battlefield, Li Xuan's sense of danger is probably better than anyone else in the court.

Li Xian turned around and glanced at Pei Yan, who was still respectful in the hall, and a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes.

Since taking office as regent, Pei Yan has become somewhat tired from his initial high spirits.

It was precisely because Li Xian had been dragging him to meet provincial governors from all sides during this period, and most of the time he was not given a seat, it would be strange if he was not tired.

Pei Yan is now over 50 years old, and long-term lack of energy can be fatal.

Likewise, negligence can be fatal.

Li Xian couldn't help but look up in the direction of Huiyou Palace. After he ascended the throne, his mother took the initiative to leave the court on the grounds of praying for his father.

Even the Scholar of the North Gate has been quiet during this period.

Li Xian finally realized what he had overlooked.

The Queen Mother has been quiet during this period.

It's so quiet.

Li Xian's face couldn't help but darken, then he smiled lightly and walked into the Qianyang Palace.

……

Outside the Huiyou Palace, Li Xuan nodded slightly to Qiu Huan who was standing outside the palace: "Qiu Jian."

"Greetings, Prince Peng!" Qiu Huan bowed slightly, made way and said, "The Queen Mother is already waiting."

"Thank you, Qiu Jian." Li Xuan nodded slightly, then walked up the steps and walked into the hall.

Shangguan Wan'er stood at the door, looked at Li Xuan, and said solemnly: "Your Highness, please come in."

"Thank you, Mr. Shangguan." Li Xuan nodded calmly.

Shangguan Wan'er was a lady of the rank of talented person in the palace.

To be precise, she was Emperor Gaozong's talented woman and his concubine, just like Empress Wu to Emperor Taizong.

Shangguan Wan'er did not lead Li Xuan into the inner hall, but walked through the central hall and into the back hall.

In the rear hall, a half-meter-tall golden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was enshrined on it. Empress Wu knelt on the ground and chanted in a low voice.

She stopped chanting when she heard footsteps behind her.

Li Xuan entered the hall, glanced at the Buddha statue, then knelt down behind Empress Wu without any hesitation and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, I, Peng Wang Xuan, pay my respects to the Queen Mother."

Empress Wu sighed softly, looked at the Buddha statue in front of her and said, "Does King Peng still remember this Buddha statue?"

"I remember. It was I who transported it back to the court from Lhasa." Li Xuan bowed lightly.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "After you go to the Western Regions, remember to send more things back."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed solemnly.

"This time, Cheng Wuting was promoted to the rank of General of the Right Guard, which has somewhat blocked the way of Heichi Changzhi. After returning to Luosu, remember to say a few words to him. This matter was the will of the late emperor, and neither I nor Your Majesty can do anything about it." Empress Wu glanced at Li Xuan sideways.

Li Xuan's heart tightened immediately, and he said, "I accept your order, but in my opinion, Duke Fuyang is not the kind of person who cares too much about power. I will enter the Western Regions from Fanzhou in May, and then I will let Duke Fuyang take charge of the entire Luosi Road for me."

"Is Heichi Changzhi in charge of this place?" Empress Wu raised her eyebrows slightly.

Li Xuan bowed his head and said, "That's right. Duke Fuyang is in charge of Luoshui as the deputy general manager of Luoshui Road. Xiao Siye is transporting grain and grass. Originally, Sima Xing should be responsible for assisting in the transportation. Now it seems that it will be handed over to Wang Changshi. I will go to the Western Regions to explore the way first."

"Explore the way?" Empress Wu looked sideways at Li Xuan with some confusion.

Li Xuan said cautiously: "It's not that I'm arrogant. If it's just the Western Turks, three years would be enough for me to completely pacify them. But I know too little about the Arab cavalry. Five thousand cavalrymen rushing out from key positions at a critical moment could be fatal."

Empress Wu nodded and said, "The Duke of Pengcheng has reported that the Arab cavalry is indeed fierce."

"Yes!" Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "If possible, I will mobilize 20,000 cavalry this time. If the situation is difficult, we will need the Duke of Fuyang to lead 20,000 cavalry to reinforce. I am afraid the situation will not be easy."

"Be careful. It's better to lose than to be defeated."

"Here!" Li Xuan bowed deeply.

"When do you plan to set off?" Empress Wu asked in a low voice.

"On the second day of February, the day when the dragon raises its head, the Left Prime Minister happens to escort the crown prince back to Chang'an to supervise the country. I would like to borrow the crown prince's fortune." Li Xuan bowed and smiled embarrassedly.

"It's okay. As long as you can achieve enough results in the Western Regions, I won't hesitate to lend you the fortune of the entire court." Empress Wu waved her hand indifferently.

"Thank you, Queen." Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Empress Wu calmly raised her head and asked, "The emperor has ascended the throne, Taiping has married and has children, and now I am worried about Silang. What do you think is the most appropriate way to deal with the matter of the prince?"

Li Xuan was startled: "Ah?"

(End of this chapter)