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

Chapter 1542: Tripping Empress Wu
In Huiyou Hall, the candlelight flickered.

Empress Wu knelt before the Buddha statue and chanted Buddhist scriptures silently.

There were light footsteps, and Shangguan Wan'er, dressed in plain clothes, walked in from outside holding a tray of silver candles, and carefully replaced the candle that was about to burn out.

Empress Wu took a deep breath and asked, "What time is it now?"

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, it is the beginning of the Hai period!" Shangguan Wan'er bowed and stood carefully to one side.

"Hmm!" Empress Wu glanced at Shangguan Wan'er and said, "You don't have to do this kind of thing yourself in the future. Just let others do it."

"Wan'er is just worried that they will disturb the Queen." Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head softly.

"Alas!" Empress Wu sighed softly, then raised her head and asked, "Where is the prince now?"

"Return to the Queen." Shangguan Wan'er whispered, "We have passed Hangu Pass."

"We can return to Chang'an the day after tomorrow, right?" Empress Wu's expression calmed down.

"Yes!"

"Send people to keep an eye on Prince Peng's every word and action in Chang'an, especially who he contacts. Find out everything." Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er agreed immediately.

"Prince Peng." Empress Wu sighed and said, "I and the late emperor have placed enough people around him, so it won't be a problem to restrict him. As for the other sixteen generals of the guards, Pei Xingjian can be put aside, Xue Li doesn't need to worry about him, Quan Shancai doesn't need to be taken care of, the Gao family doesn't need to be considered, Sun Renshi doesn't need to be concerned, and Xue Guwu can be at ease."

Together with Li Xuan, Shi Liang and Cheng Wuting, they made up all the sixteen generals of the current dynasty.

It’s all in Empress Wu’s mind.

"But in addition to these nine people, there are actually two more." Empress Wu sneered and said, "Now in the court, if you count Sun Renshi and Xue Guwu, there are a total of four generals, the former left Qianniu Guard General Wang Jishan, and the former left Leading Army Guard General Duan Baoxuan."

One is the Chief Justice of Dali Temple and the other is the Minister of Justice. The arrangements made by the emperor before his death are particularly interesting.

"But it doesn't matter. There are still many things waiting for them later." Empress Wu's eyes flashed with a hint of pride, and then asked, "How is the diagnosis of Prime Minister Xue's illness going?"

"My Queen." Qiu Huan stepped out of the shadows and said, "Prime Minister Xue's stomach is not in good condition. It may be related to his exile in his early years. He has been working too hard as prime minister, so his condition is getting worse. The imperial physician said that if he can't resign immediately and take good care of himself, he may not live long."

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded gently and said, "The imperial examination will be held in the second half of the month. Let Prime Minister Xue help take care of it."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan and Shangguan Wan'er responded at the same time.

"Among all the ministers, the Left Prime Minister is old, Xue Prime Minister is sick, Li Prime Minister is low-key, Wang Prime Minister is calm, but Liu Jingxian is a little hard to figure out." Empress Wu suddenly smiled and said, "Forget it, he is not close to Your Majesty, especially with Jiang Yan, let's put it aside for now."

"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head slightly. She knew that the reason why Liu Jingxian could be let go was because although Liu Jingxian was Liu Xiangdao's son, to be honest, his prestige in the central government was not deep and his foundation was not enough.

If Ouyang Tong were to become prime minister, the situation would be completely different.

"There's no need to worry about the six ministers." Empress Wu looked forward, terrifyingly calm, as if she already had enough means to deal with the six ministers.

“By this calculation, there are only two people left, Pei Yan and Pei Xingjian.” Empress Wu’s eyes became solemn.

Pei Yan was the regent, and Pei Xingjian was the general of the imperial guard, the prince's tutor, and the chief secretary of the Yangzhou Grand Marshal's Office.

They all come from the Pei family of Wenxi and are the most difficult people to deal with.

"But it's not that difficult to deal with them." Empress Wu sighed and whispered, "They have never gotten along. It's enough to use one to deal with the other, and then deal with the remaining one. Especially since Princess Dai is here."

Princess Pei of Dai, although from a different branch than Pei Yan and Pei Xingjian, was a direct descendant of the Pei family of Wenxi.

The connection between them cannot be removed.

Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly and pulled in the Princess of Dai, the widow of the filial emperor and the mother of the Prince of Linzi, thus achieving three goals at one stroke.

By the way, the entire Wenxi Pei family’s power in the court will be eliminated.

After regaining her composure a little, Empress Wu raised her head and said, "Let's take our time. Let's see your Majesty first..."

The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted Empress Wu's words, and she couldn't help but frown.

Qiu Huan carefully took a step back and walked out of the back hall. A eunuch in blue clothes whispered a few words to him with a serious expression.

Qiu Huan's face couldn't help but darken.

Turning around, Qiu Huan reentered the back hall, walked quickly behind Empress Wu, bowed and said, "Empress, Yang Concubine sent someone to see you."

The palace suddenly fell silent, but Empress Wu suddenly smiled: "Tell Concubine Yang to stay here peacefully every day, and let her enter the palace after things have calmed down for a while."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan immediately bowed in response, and Shangguan Wan'er beside him lowered her head even deeper.

Empress Wu continued, "Issue an imperial decree to promote Gao Chongde, the General of the Imperial Guards, to the position of Governor of Qinzhou, and order him to return to the court within one month to report on his work."

"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er turned around and hurried to write the imperial edict.

She knew that the emperor would definitely agree to this imperial edict.

The Empress Dowager gave the order and the Emperor nodded. Even though Pei Yan was the regent, he had no room for rebuttal.

But this matter is not that simple, far from it.

Back in the duty room, a beautiful female official had already started grinding ink.

"Seventh Lady." Shangguan Wan'er smiled slightly, then walked to the desk and quickly wrote the imperial edict.

After writing and letting it dry a little, Shangguan Wan'er took the imperial edict and left quickly without saying anything more to He Miao.

After Shangguan Wan'er left, He Miao just sat down calmly and even closed her eyes gently.

……

In the dim cabin, Li Xuan opened his eyes.

Walking out of the cabin, the eastern horizon had already turned red, and in front of us, the shadow of Chang'an City was gradually emerging.

"Prince!" Li Zhaode's voice sounded behind Li Xuan.

"Changshi." Li Xuan nodded calmly, then asked casually: "Why did Changshi go back to Chang'an this time? It might be better for Minister Duan to go back to Chang'an." Duan Baoxuan was the Minister of Justice. Although he had served as the General of the Left Guard in his early years, he had been away from the army for many years. His stay in Luoyang was far less helpful to Li Xian than Li Zhaode, the Vice Minister of Justice and former Commander of the Secret Guard.

Li Zhaode shook his head calmly: "Your Majesty has his own considerations. Perhaps Lord Duan would be more convenient for some things."

"Oh?" Li Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he heard something different in Li Zhaode's words.

Li Zhaode turned around and smiled, looking at the shadow of Chang'an City on the western ground line, and said: "Besides, Chang'an is the capital of the Tang Dynasty. It is not necessarily a bad thing to go back to Chang'an to make arrangements earlier."

"I see." Li Xuan immediately understood what Li Zhaode meant.

Li Xian had already begun to prepare to restrict Empress Wu's power after he and she returned to Chang'an and the late emperor was buried.

Li Xuan slightly turned sideways and said softly, "It's the prince!"

Li Zhaode nodded slightly, and Wu Sansi and Fan Lubing returned to Chang'an. Li Xian was a little worried that the prince would be controlled by Wu Sansi and Fan Lubing, so he asked Li Zhaode to go back to take care of him.

After all, few of those people in the Eastern Palace are rivals to Fan Lubing.

And now Su Liangsi is in Luoyang.

As long as Su Liangsi did not get into trouble, Empress Wu could not do anything to Li Xian.

One Su Liangsi and one Pei Yan, indeed, seem to be enough on the surface, but it is in Chang'an that someone needs to pay attention.

"If..." Li Xuan pondered for a moment, and something came to his lips.

"Please speak, Your Highness!" Li Zhaode looked at Li Xuan with some curiosity.

Li Xuan looked around and confirmed that no one was around before he spoke: "What if the Queen Mother deliberately used various means to transfer all the confidants around His Majesty out of Luoyang?"

"Ah!" Li Zhaode's eyes widened immediately. Suddenly, he shuddered for no apparent reason and shook his head in a low voice, "That can't be the case."

"Be careful." Li Xuan gathered his thoughts, turned around and walked into the cabin, saying, "Let's see what Su Sima has been doing during this period."

"Okay!" Li Zhaode finally nodded with a serious expression.

Entering the cabin, Li Xuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had originally agreed not to care.

But there are some words that I couldn't help but say in the end.

I don’t know what the final outcome will be.

……

At Weicheng Wharf, willows sway in the wind.

Led by General Qin Shandao of the Left Jinwu Guard, all the court officials, generals, relatives, envoys, and countless common people respectfully welcomed the prince back to Chang'an.

When the emperor died, although he issued a strict order not to let the nobles in the court and the local governors go to Luoyang to mourn, this incident actually happened when the emperor was preparing for the Fengshan ceremony.

Outstanding local governors, nobles in the court, and almost all those who could go to Luoyang went there.

But even so, Chang'an was still guarded by a large number of people, especially relatives of the emperor and retired officials. Only very few of them could go to Luoyang.

The Crown Prince entered Chang'an from Chunming Gate in the west of the city, and then walked straight to Zhuque Gate along the main road.

On both sides of the avenue, countless people knelt in silence, welcoming both the Crown Prince and the late Emperor.

Although the late emperor's coffin did not return to Chang'an this time, the prince brought back the emperor's edict to the officials and people of Chang'an.

After entering the Suzaku Gate, the prince went straight to the Taiji Gate and finally read the new emperor's edict in the Taiji Hall.

The late emperor's coffin was returned to Chang'an in May, and his clothes and coffin were placed in the Taiji Hall for the people to pay their respects and mourn.

Afterwards, he rewarded and comforted the officials in Chang'an, headed by Qin Shandao.

Finally, the prince returned to the East Palace.

Compared to the Taiji Palace, the prince in the East Palace is obviously much more relaxed.

After the prince was settled, at dusk, when the city gates were locked, Li Xuan, Liu Rengui and others left the palace.

……

Looking at Qin Shandao who was guarding the palace gate on the Suzaku Gate, Li Xuan sighed in his heart.

General Cheng Chubi of the Left Jinwu Guard and General Qin Shandao of the Left Jinwu Guard.

One is the son of Cheng Yaojin, and the other is the son of Qin Qiong.

Both of them were loyal to Emperor Taizong and also to the late emperor.

If the Queen Mother really wanted to take action against Li Xian, these two would be the first ones to be dealt with.

Qin Shandao is fine, he is in Chang'an. As for Cheng Chubi, Empress Wu would not really think that Cheng Chubi would obey her orders.

If Cheng Chubi died in Luoyang...

Li Xuan retracted his gaze, got on his horse and rode slowly forward, escorting Liu Rengui's carriage towards Shengyefang.

Suddenly, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Liu Rengui looked out at the Chang'an Street. After a moment, he looked at Li Xuan with a sense of sadness: "My dear son-in-law, you know, this is the fourth time that my father-in-law has served as prime minister. Going back to the Qin and Han dynasties, there were not many people who served as prime minister four times."

"Mr. Yue is highly respected and trusted by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager." Li Xuan smiled softly, then said, "Besides, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are not in Chang'an. Mr. Yue will assist the Crown Prince in governing the country until at least May, and he may have important tasks after that."

"There is still an important task!" Liu Rengui chewed lightly in his mouth and sighed for the last time.

He is an eighty-year-old man who has gone from Luoyang to Chang'an and assisted in the administration of the country. It has been so difficult, and he still has important responsibilities to shoulder in the future.

Liu Rengui raised his head, looked at Li Xuan, and asked, "My dear son-in-law, what important task do you mean? Also, when Li Yiyan came to see you last time, what did he say about the future of the court?"

Li Xuan was slightly stunned, then he became solemn. After a brief pause, Li Xuan sighed and said softly, "If there is a change in the court, Prime Minister Li will take sick leave and retire."

The guards around them were already far away from them silently.

(End of this chapter)