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

Chapter 1553 How did Xue Rengui die?

In the Qianyang Palace, Li Xian, Pei Yan, Li Yiyan, Wang Dezhen, and Liu Jingxian stood in the palace with solemn expressions.

Empress Wu, with a pale face and gently supported by Shangguan Wan'er, walked into the hall with a sad expression and sat directly on the throne.

Li Xian just stood there, not daring to stop Empress Wu from sitting down, nor daring to sit down next to her.

At this moment, even if Li Xian was the emperor, he would not be so tactless.

Empress Wu raised her head, looked at Pei Yan, and asked with a sad face, "What happened?"

"Reporting to the Queen Mother." Pei Yan cupped his hands and said seriously, "After Duke Pingyang returned to Daizhou, he started to eat only once a day, and later only once every two or three days. The Xue family in Daizhou only has a cousin of Duke Pingyang, and it is impossible to persuade them."

Empress Wu clenched her fists tightly and turned her face away so as not to let the ministers see the sadness in her red eyes.

Pei Yan continued, "By the time his son Xue Na rushed over from Lantian, Duke Pingyang had only his last breath left. After he arranged his funeral arrangements, Duke Pingyang passed away... Here is the will Duke Pingyang wrote a few months ago."

Pei Yan took out Xue Rengui's will from his sleeve and handed it to Fan Yunxian, who carefully handed it to the emperor.

Li Xian opened it and took a look before handing it to Empress Wu.

Empress Wu took it, opened it, and saw a familiar handwriting: "Your Highness, my name is Xue Li. I am from Dahuang Village, Longmen Town, Jiangzhou. When I was young, my family was poor and I made a living by farming. I had a low status. In the 18th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong personally led an expedition to Liaodong and recruited brave men. I responded to the call and served under the command of Duke Zhang Shigui..."

This simple memorial describes Xue Rengui's life in detail.

As Empress Wu read every word, she couldn't help but feel a sense of suffocation in her heart.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Xue Rengui stood out in the Liaodong War and was appointed by the emperor as General of the Right Guard and stationed in Xuanwu Gate.

But he was appreciated by Empress Wu and the late emperor in the fifth year of Yonghui, when a flood broke out in Wannian Palace and Xue Rengui risked his life to save lives. Since then, he became the most trusted military general of Empress Wu and the emperor.

After that, he pacified the Western Turks, conquered Goryeo, conquered Tianshan with three arrows, and was defeated at Dayuechuan. He was reappointed as the chief of Jilin Road, and then was demoted to the governor of Xiangzhou because of too many massacres. Then, due to his outstanding political achievements, he was transferred to the governor of Daizhou. During the Yifeng period, he participated in the Battle of Dayuechuan and defeated Lun Qinling in one battle, thus avenging his previous humiliation.

Later, when the Eastern Turks were in turmoil, Xue Rengui led his troops out of Daizhou to stabilize the border. Finally, the Eastern Turks were pacified and he continued to guard the border.

Until today...

When the late emperor passed away, Xue Rengui felt as if his soul had passed away as well.

His memory began to deteriorate.

I even forgot to eat.

So he wrote his will two months ago and submitted it to the emperor after his death.

In his will, Xue Rengui lamented his life. The defeat at Dafeichuan was his greatest humiliation. Although he avenged himself in the end, the countless souls of the wronged were weighing on his heart every day.

He felt guilty about these wronged souls throughout his life, and hoped that Empress Wu would order people to send sacrifices to the inscription on the stele in Dafeichuan every year.

As for his son Xue Na, he did not want any special treatment. He just wanted Xue Na to be treated fairly throughout his life.

Finally, if the emperor and the empress dowager feel pity for his miserable life, they should let him be buried in Qianling Mausoleum.

Finally, he jokingly said that if the emperor and the empress dowager would allow him to have his portrait hung in the Lingyan Pavilion, he would be able to smile in his grave even after his death.

Empress Wu raised her head and looked at Pei Yan, saying, "I have agreed to the burial of Duke Pingyang in Qianling Mausoleum. As for the painting of his portrait in Lingyan Pavilion..."

Empress Wu looked at Li Xian and said, "Your Majesty, over the years, countless court officials have worked hard for the country. Now that the late emperor has passed away, we must sum up the past. How many of the officials of this dynasty have made contributions worthy of being included in the Lingyan Pavilion? The court should give a conclusion."

Li Xian bowed solemnly: "Yes!"

"We obey your order." Pei Yan, Li Yiyan, Wang Dezhen, Liu Jingxian and others all bowed with excitement.

He was buried in Qianling Mausoleum, worshipped in Taimiao, and his portrait was hung in Lingyan Pavilion.

The people in the court were suddenly in an uproar.

Empress Wu sneered barely perceptibly, but in an instant, the sneer completely disappeared.

She looked at Pei Yan and said, "I don't think it's necessary to discuss the posthumous title of Duke of Pingyang. I will give him the title of Zhongwu and posthumously confer him the title of Grand Commander of Bingzhou and Duke of Dai. His son Xue Na will succeed him as Duke of Pingyang.

Find someone else to go to Daizhou and bring back the remains of the Duke of Dai, and bury them together with the late emperor in Qianling Mausoleum."

Duke of Dai, such a title is not something that ordinary people can have. Basically, no one except the royal family can bear the title of Duke of Dai. But after all, Xue Rengui served the Tang Dynasty all his life. Now that he is dead, there is no problem in posthumously conferring him the title of Duke of Dai.

"I accept your order." Pei Yan bowed, then raised his head and said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the Minister of Rites Wei Daijia is now supervising the construction of Qianling Mausoleum, so I'm afraid he can't go to Daizhou."

"Let General Cheng Chubi of the Left Jinwu Guard go." After a brief pause, Empress Wu said, "Let the Minister of Justice Duan Baoxuan go too. After all, they had some friendship in the army back then, and there aren't many old men left."

"Yes!" Pei Yan bowed solemnly and lowered his head slightly, but the moment he lowered his head, Pei Yan frowned.

It would be fine if it was Cheng Chubi, but why did he let Duan Baoxuan go as well?

But Pei Yan had no reason to refute the opinions raised by Empress Wu.

After all, Duan Baoxuan was the General of the Left Guard back then, so it was reasonable for him to go.

Moreover, Cheng Chubi was a close confidant of Empress Wu, and adding another close confidant of the emperor was a safe bet.

"Oh, right." Empress Wu's voice continued to ring out. She looked at the emperor and asked, "How is Prime Minister Xue? I heard not long ago that his health is not good."

"Yes!" Li Xian's expression became serious, and he said with a folded hand: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, not only Prime Minister Xue, but also the Right Tunwei General Sun Renshi is not in good health. Duke Yan and other retired old ministers are also in poor health recently."

"Send someone from the palace." Empress Wu spoke directly, "Send someone from the palace to accompany each old minister. Send an imperial physician and an imperial physician to serve him until the late emperor is buried. I don't want to see anyone else die during this period."

"Yes!" Li Xian bowed his head heavily. ...

One after another, the former emperor's former ministers died of illness, which made Li Xian feel uneasy.

After the court was dismissed, Li Xian returned to the harem. He did not go directly to the queen's bedroom, Zhuangjing Hall, but went to Zheng's bedroom, Renshou Palace to the west.

Compared to the tough character of Wei, the gentle personality of Zheng made him more relaxed.

Gao was also a man of few words, but she had a cold personality. As for Yang, she was simply arrogant and stubborn.

The maidservant beside him brought a bowl of lotus seed soup to Li Xian. After Li Xian drank the lotus seed soup, the maidservant left.

The eunuch Xu Lu stood silently to the side, watching Ye Wanwan leave without saying a word.

After Ye Wanwan returned to the back hall, she personally washed the soup bowl used by the emperor.

As the night fell, Li Xian finally left Renshou Palace.

No matter how much he liked Zheng, Li Xian was very concerned about etiquette and had to go to the queen's bedroom to rest every night.

Only in this way can there be peace in the palace.

……

With a "crash", countless memorials were thrown to the ground by the angry Li Xian.

"What on earth is going on? Didn't we ask the imperial physician to take care of him personally? Why did Prime Minister Xue still pass away? It's only been less than three days?" Li Xian's angry roar echoed throughout the Qianyang Hall and then spread throughout the entire palace.

The death of Shangshu You Pushe Xue Yuanchao made Li Xian even more sad.

The Duke of Pingyang, Xue Rengui, had just passed away, and so had the Marquis of Fenyin, and the Shangshu You Pushe, Xue Yuanchao.

You should know that Xue Yuanchao was not only the childhood friend and cousin-in-law of the late emperor, but also Li Xian's teacher, and the Prince's Left Secretary, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and the Minister of the Left for many years.

Xue Yuanchao held a very important position in the court.

Especially when the previous emperor passed away and Li Xian had just ascended the throne, Xue Yuanchao was in charge of the Secretariat and was able to greatly balance the power between Li Xian and Pei Yan.

Now that Xue Yuanchao is dead, the balance of power in the entire Political Affairs Hall is immediately out of control.

"Your Majesty, be steady." Pei Yan stepped forward and bowed earnestly, saying, "The most important thing now is that in addition to discussing Prime Minister Xue's funeral, we must also decide on the candidate for the Shangshu You Pushe. Otherwise, everything in the Shangshu Province will be decided by Shangshu Zuo Cheng Guo Daiju."

Li Xian's eyes jumped involuntarily, and he immediately calmed down.

Although Li Xian did not see all the tricks played by Empress Wu when he ascended the throne, people gradually explained those things to him later. Now, Shangshu Zuo Pushe Liu Rengui is in Chang'an. Unless Liu Rengui is transferred to Luoyang immediately, everything will be decided by Guo Daiju.

Empress Wu could even give orders directly to Guo Daiju, bypassing Li Xian and Pei Yan.

Li Xian looked at Pei Yan deeply and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Pei?"

"In my opinion, the Duke of Pengcheng can be promoted to the position of Shangshu You Pushe, and Guo Daiju can temporarily act as the Shangshu Province. However, there will be no prime minister in the Shangshu Province. So on weekdays, the six ministers and the nine temple ministers can go directly to the Qianyang Palace to participate in the regular court sessions. What do you think, Your Majesty?" Pei Yan looked at Li Xian seriously.

Li Xian pondered for a moment, he was not unfamiliar with Pei Yan's methods.

Both Li Xuan and Li Zhi had taught him how to use the six ministries to bypass the Council of State.

Now Pei Yan did this not to use the six ministries to undermine the Council of State, his real purpose was to directly control the six ministries.

In other words, Pei Yan wanted to be appointed as the Minister of the Secretariat and also wanted to be the Inspector of the Right Minister of the Secretariat.

Of course, he would never say it openly, but in reality he was doing just that.

A feeling of disgust suddenly flashed through Li Xian's heart.

Before the late emperor passed away, Li Xuan had proposed to send Pei Yan directly to the position of Shang Shu Zuo Pushe, so that he could directly confront Empress Wu, but the late emperor first appointed him as Zhong Shu Ling, which made Li Xuan's plan fail.

But Li Xian knew clearly that the late emperor simply wanted to give him a chance to show some favor to Pei Yan.

If Pei Yan had already served as Shangshu Zuo Pushe during the time of the previous emperor, it would have been difficult for Li Xian to show favor to him no matter what he did in the future.

But the final outcome was only the latter one, Li Xian destroyed Pei Yan.

Of course, before that, Pei Yan needed to complete his mission of fighting against Empress Wu.

Thinking of this, Li Xian's mind completely calmed down. He nodded and said, "Let's do this. Pei Qing will draft the edict and I will stamp it. This matter will be settled. As for the rest of Xue Xiang's affairs, Pei Qing will take more care of them."

"I obey your order." Pei Yan bowed solemnly.

……

At dusk, Pei Yan, who had been busy all night, finally returned to his mansion.

After sending all the servants away, Pei Yan finally couldn't help laughing.

After a long time, Pei Yan, who had calmed down, saw the letter from Chang'an on the table.

He opened it casually and just took a look, Pei Yan's face changed drastically.

In Chang'an, someone was spying on the house.

(End of this chapter)