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

Chapter 1537: Li Xuan has the final say on the contents of the will
Shangguan Wan'er bowed her head solemnly and said, "Prince Peng is the heir to the throne of the royal family, the General of the Right Guard, the Governor of Fanzhou, the Chief of the Army of Luoshui Road, and in charge of 60,000 elite troops. If he moves, the entire court will be in danger."

Empress Wu nodded calmly: "Do you think that day will come for him?"

Shangguan Wan'er fell silent.

Empress Wu smiled lightly and did not ask any more questions. She changed the subject and asked, "What do you think is the weakness of King Peng?"

Shangguan Wan'er took a deep breath and said carefully, "Prince Peng is very filial. The Concubine Dowager Peng has lived in Chang'an for a long time. Prince Peng's family is harmonious. Princess Peng lives in Luoyang to mourn for His Majesty. Prince Peng loves his daughter as if she were his life. Princess Fuchang and Prince Jinchang are by Princess Peng's side."

"Haha!" Empress Wu smiled twice, then her eyes turned cold. She shook her head calmly and said, "Prince Peng has killed many people on the battlefield. Over the years, at least hundreds of thousands of people have died at his hands. It's true that he has concerns about his family, but it's not necessarily his weak spot."

Shangguan Wan'er raised her eyes slightly, and then whispered: "Peng Wang's concubine Qu and Peng Wang's concubine Liu Siniang have already gone to Fanzhou with him, and they also took their sons with them."

"Yes, with descendants passing on the throne, the central government's control over him is not that strong." Empress Wu sighed and said, "King Peng is an extremely smart person.

It is possible that he had foreseen what happened today in the past. After all, he was once the Imperial Pharmacist of His Majesty."

Shangguan Wan'er fell silent. Li Xuan was not only the Imperial Pharmacist, but also one of the rare famous doctors in the world.

He knew the emperor's physical condition better than anyone else.

"But he is not without weaknesses." Empress Wu raised her head and looked at the Buddha statue in front of her, and said softly: "His weakness, his weak spot, his biggest weak spot is the emperor."

Empress Wu's words were so decisive that Shangguan Wan'er was stunned.

Emperor.

King Peng’s weakness is the emperor.

Empress Wu nodded gently and said, "Since Prince Peng entered the government, the late emperor has taken great care of him and carefully cultivated him, so that one day he can become the right-hand man of the new emperor. Prince Peng has lived up to the late emperor's trust and has fought several battles, pacified Tianyin, and destroyed Tubo, doing his best to repay the late emperor. Although they are brothers in name, they are actually father and son."

Shangguan Wan'er stood aside and listened silently.

Empress Wu continued, "After the late emperor passed away, Xian'er ascended the throne and still trusted him. He even gave him the title of Grand Tutor of the Second Rank Crown Prince. Not to mention, they grew up together."

Shangguan Wan'er pursed her lips tightly and her breathing became heavy.

Empress Wu looked ahead and said softly, "When the late emperor was alive, King Peng never refused any of his appointments. He did whatever he was asked to do without hesitation. Now Xian'er is in charge, and he is the one who is doing all the bad things that are hard to say or hear."

As she spoke, Empress Wu couldn't help but laugh softly.

Shangguan Wan'er's breathing became heavier.

"So as long as Xian'er is still here, Prince Peng will be fine." Empress Wu raised her head slightly. She already had a complete plan for Li Xuan.

Li Xian was the most useful chess piece in Empress Wu's hand to control Li Xuan.

"In this world, some people want power, some are lustful, some love money, and some seek fame. King Peng actually belongs to the latter. The word "loyalty" is enough to control him completely." There was a hint of sneer in Empress Wu's eyes.

Shangguan Wan'er bowed gently, and her expression gradually calmed down.

Empress Wu looked up and said softly, "Not to mention that the late emperor and I have done enough work around him. If he really makes any rash moves, the people around him will arrest him with a secret decree and then take over the entire army."

Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head slightly and moved her fingers lightly.

"If he doesn't take any action, let him be. The Western Regions still need him, and the Arabs also need him to deal with it." Empress Wu's expression became solemn.

Apart from anything else, the safety of the four Anxi towns is extremely important to the entire Tang Dynasty. Even Empress Wu did not dare to be careless about this matter.

The Arab Empire was thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty, but the Four Anxi Towns were right in the middle of the two.

After destroying Persia and gradually annexing it, the Arabs began to gradually infiltrate Western Turkestan.

Once the Western Turks were completely annexed by the Arabs, the four towns of Anxi would immediately fall into the hands of the Arabs.

That would be fine, but what Empress Wu was really worried about was that the Eastern Turks would become uneasy again because of the unrest in the Western Turks.

She needs Li Xuan to stabilize the border for her.

From this perspective, there is actually not much difference between Li Xuan and being exiled.

A burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded behind her, and Empress Wu frowned.

Shangguan Wan'er turned around immediately and saw Qiu Huan walking in quickly from outside.

"Queen, something happened!" Qiu Huan stood in front of the door of the back hall and bowed with a serious expression.

"Speak." Empress Wu looked terrifyingly calm.

"The Eunuch Wang Fulai passed away due to illness." Qiu Huan bowed solemnly.

Empress Wu sighed softly, looked at the Buddha statue in front of her, and said softly: "Wang Qing has been in the palace for more than 40 years. He has served the royal family since the reign of Emperor Taizong, and has been a trusted minister of the late emperor until the reign of the late emperor.

The death of the previous emperor also made him feel bad. He was depressed and tired, and he accidentally caught a cold and eventually died."

Shangguan Wan'er listened calmly.

Empress Wu continued, "I order that Wang Qing's remains be carefully collected and preserved in the palace. When the late emperor is buried, he should be buried with him in Qianling Mausoleum. By the way, give him the posthumous title of Liang."

good.

Warmth, goodness and joy are called good; order and habit of doing good are called good.

Being careful and respectful in doing things is called good; being warm, respectful and taciturn is called good.

A nature of filial piety and respect for elders is called virtuous; a nature of caution and reverence is called virtuous.

To have good plans and strategies is called good; to be loyal and open-minded is called good.

A good person is one who is honest and straightforward.

Undoubtedly, Wang Fulai deserves the title of "good".

"Yes!" Qiu Huan attacked seriously.

Empress Wu waved her hand and said, "You all go, I will pray for the late emperor."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed again, then retreated with Shangguan Wan'er.

……

Walking on the palace road, people are coming and going all around.

Li Xuan nodded calmly and indifferently, but he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart.

Empress Wu was indeed worried about him.

He asked about his attitude towards the Prince of Xiang, about the attitude of his courtiers, and finally brought up the matter of the late emperor's will. This was also the most fatal matter.

Although many people knew about what the late emperor said to Li Xuan before his death, they were all close confidants of the late emperor and Empress Wu, and they all knew what to say and what not to say.

The record of that scene has been stored in the palace's secret vault.

Only the emperor and Empress Wu could access it.

Yes, Empress Wu can check it out.

Empress Wu could even check the palace backup of the late emperor's will in Li Xuan's hands.

Although Li Xuan did not doubt whether the secret files of the late emperor in the palace were the same as those in his hand, the will in his hand was eventually locked in a secret box.

According to the late emperor's last words, Li Xuan would not be able to open the secret box unless Pei Yan committed treason.

So no one knows what is inside the box.

If there is an imperial edict inside, or it is the same as the original file left by the late emperor in the palace, everything will be fine.

But if Empress Wu opened the box and found nothing inside, what would she think?
Did Li Xuan open the box in advance and take away the secret decree, or did the emperor not put anything in the box at all?

After all, there was the lesson of Dou Ying, and Li Xuan would be beheaded if he was not careful.

So when Empress Wu hinted that she wanted to take the secret box from Li Xuan, Li Xuan also said that if there was nothing in the secret box, Empress Wu would not hold him responsible.

So, is there a will in the box?

For Empress Wu, if there was, everyone would be happy, but what if there wasn't?

Did Empress Wu want to punish Li Xuan? If so, given Li Xuan's status, she had to at least inform the court before punishing him.

Not to mention what the court and the emperor would think at that time, even if it was Li Xuan, he would not hand over the edict under such circumstances.

But if Empress Wu agreed to Li Xuan's request, but there was nothing in the box, would she believe that there was really nothing in it, or would she suspect that the thing was hidden by Li Xuan?

This becomes a paradox.

Or to explain it with a term that Empress Wu could not understand, it could be called Schrödinger's cat.

Something that could have major consequences but is uncertain.

Empress Wu finally chose to let go.

Until Li Xuan calmly walked out of Chengtian Gate, no one came to call him back.

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, a team of Jinwu Guards patrolled past, led by Zhao Gong.

Zhao Gong didn't even look at Li Xuan, and then he continued patrolling the imperial city with the soldiers of the Zuo Jinwu Guard.

A hint of excitement flashed across Li Xuan's eyes, but it calmed down in an instant, and then he continued walking forward.

Leaving the imperial city, he got into the carriage and slowly headed towards Sigongfang.

With a team of Right Guards, a team of Jinwu Guards, and a team of Qianniu Guards, all appointed by the Emperor, Li Xuan's safety was guaranteed to the greatest extent.

Sitting in the corner of the carriage, watching the crowd passing by outside, Li Xuan's heart gradually calmed down.

To be honest, the reason why Empress Wu cared so much about the secret decree was that what she was really worried about was what the emperor had left in the box. It was not a backup plan against Pei Yan, but a plan against her.

The emperor's death is in doubt.

Empress Wu didn't know how many people had guessed this, but she didn't want to let go of any possible hidden dangers.

But there was no way. The emperor's unintentional measure turned out to be the best weapon to protect Li Xuan.

Schrodinger's cat.

This left Empress Wu completely at a loss as to what to do.

It also saved Li Xuan from danger.

The carriage slowly passed by Jingxingfang, and suddenly, a triangular black flag was hung under the eaves.

Li Xuan's breathing suddenly became heavy.

The news from the palace spread.

When Li Xuan was in the palace, he knew that Wang Fulai was dead, but he didn't know whether Xu Lu had succeeded.

Now it seems that he has succeeded.

Li Xuan calmly passed through the northern city and returned to Sigongfang.

After talking to Liu Jinyu for a few words, Li Xuan returned to the back hall.

On the altar in the back hall, there was a rosewood box lying flat.

Li Xuan looked at the box deeply, then turned around, walked to the corner of the house, and took out another identical box from under the floor.

……

Looking at the box containing the late emperor's will, Li Xuan did not open it. He just weighed it and he knew there was something inside.

But he felt that it could not be a move aimed at Empress Wu.

Because when Li Zhi gave this thing to Li Xuan, he had not yet seen through Empress Wu's true face.

So there was no backup plan against Empress Wu.

The reason why Empress Wu is so suspicious now is that she is somewhat guilty and has something to hide.

However, Empress Wu's actions today also gave Li Xuan an important reminder.

If Empress Wu deposed Li Xian in the future, then Li Xuan would have the final say on the content of the late emperor's will in his hands.

As for the old files in the palace, Empress Wu had already deposed Li Xian, so who would care about the old files?

This is a powerful weapon!

(End of this chapter)