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

Chapter 1554: Who controls the tens of thousands of troops in Daizhou?
April 28th, the weather was fine.

Outside the city of Lhasa, countless military tents were set up, and densely packed soldiers were training with all their might under the supervision of their respective superiors.

The solemn murderous aura soared into the sky.

Even the warmest sunshine can hardly dispel it.

The sound of hurried horse hooves rang out at the gate of Lhasa City, and then rushed straight to the central Red Mountain.

Li Xuan, dressed in black clothes and black armor, walked through the streets with a gloomy face, followed closely by a team of black cavalrymen.

Wang Yinke followed Li Xuan and ran quickly, his eyes quickly sweeping through the streets and alleys on both sides.

Countless Lhasa people, when they saw Li Xuan in black clothes and black armor, could not help but kneel down and chant the "Black-Clothed Heavenly King Sutra" in a low voice.

Seeing this scene, Wang Yinke's eyes were already extremely solemn.

Li Xuan's personal prestige in Luoshui has surpassed that of the entire Tang Dynasty.

Although Wang Yinke was a little worried, he didn't have much to do.

Because this kind of thing happened not only to Li Xuan, but also to Li Jing, Li Ji, Xue Rengui, Su Dingfang, Pei Xingjian, all the generals in the army.

Moreover, this prestige can further help the court stabilize the local areas.

If it were normal times, Wang Yinke wouldn't care so much, but many changes would happen soon.

If Li Xuan really mobilized all the people in Fanzhou at that time, it would definitely be a huge pressure for Empress Wu.

But there was no way, he couldn't find any traces of Li Xuan's deliberate organization, as if all this was generated spontaneously.

Wang Yinke knew that these were originally spread by the Tuyuhun cavalry of the Right Guard.

When Li Xuan was fighting in Western Tuyuhun, he simply defeated the nearly 100,000-strong coalition force of Western Tuyuhun and Tubo with only a few thousand cavalry.

Although they also borrowed the power of Eastern Tuyuhun, wherever the 3,000 black-clad right guards went, almost all the Tuyuhun cavalry fled like birds and beasts.

The Tuyuhun people themselves made up the "Black-robed Heavenly King Sutra", which even quickly spread among the entire Tuyuhun ethnic group.

Someone reported this matter to the late emperor at that time, but after the late emperor knew about it, he just laughed and did not take it seriously.

Now it all fell on Empress Wu. Although Wang Yinke had also made secret reports, Empress Wu didn't seem to care much.

Because in the eyes of the court, these former Tibetan people who were defeated by the Tang Dynasty would be easily defeated when they faced the Tang cavalry again.

But in Wang Yinke's opinion, there is a deep crisis hidden in this.

Especially in Changzhou which was still in turmoil, he vaguely realized that Li Xuan was using the Tuyuhun cavalry and the belief in the Black Heavenly King to drive the Tuyuhun people to cause trouble.

But in Tuyuhun, no signs were found that the Black Heavenly King was involved in the Tuyuhun unrest.

In Fanzhou, Wang Yinke had been following Li Xuan, and he also did not notice any signs of these things.

It seemed as if beyond his sight, there was another Li Xuan who was controlling everything remotely.

"Whoa!" A sudden sound interrupted Wang Yinke's thoughts.

He raised his head and realized that, without him noticing, the Luoshui Dao Pacifier's Mansion, the Fanzhou Governor's Mansion, and the Fanzhou Governor's Mansion were already right in front of him.

……

Li Xuan dismounted from his horse and went straight to the central hall. The officials and soldiers around him all bowed their heads in silence.

Li Xuan walked directly into the lobby of the Pacifier, where Heichi Changzhi, Zhang Da'an, Zhang Hongyu, Yu Ze and others were all waiting.

Wang Yinke, Li Zhu, Zhou Qian, Cui Ding and others followed Li Xuan into the hall.

Li Xuan sat down in the hall and Zhang Daan immediately handed him the official document.

Li Xuan lowered his head and opened the document directly.

"Obituary: General of the Left Guard, Governor of Daizhou, Duke of Pingyang, Xue Gong Rengui, died of illness in his official residence in Daizhou on April 23rd of the first year of Sisheng. He was given the posthumous title of Zhongwu, and posthumously awarded the title of Grand Governor of Bingzhou, Duke of Dai, and buried in Qianling Mausoleum. His son Xue Na succeeded him as Duke of Pingyang."

Looking at the official document in front of him, Li Xuan felt heavily depressed.

General Xue Rengui, who was famous both in his time and in later generations, died of illness.

In later interpretations, Xue Rengui was portrayed as a scumbag and the king of the Western Liang Kingdom.

But in fact, there was no Western Liang Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty. Even if you look through the history books, there was only a Western Liang Kingdom that lasted for 22 years during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The founding ruler of that Western Liang Kingdom was Li Hong, the ancestor of the Li Tang clan. Xue Rengui had nothing to do with it.

However, it probably reflected the defeat at Dayuchuan, but at that time, Xue Rengui was already in his fifties.

"When I was in Chang'an, I was taught by the Duke of Pingyang, which led to the victory over Dafeichuan." At this point, Li Xuan said with some nostalgia: "In that battle, I was quite unkind and hid the Duke of Pingyang until the very end, and only then did I defeat Lun Qinling's army with one blow."

Wang Yinke and others listened calmly. Many people in the hall were actually direct participants in that battle.

They also knew that Li Xuan was the real mastermind behind that battle.

To put it bluntly, everyone involved in that battle was just a chess piece on his chessboard.

Of course, the reason for this is that the strategy Li Xuan implemented when he was in Chang'an had already been approved by the emperor, the prime minister, and even the generals.

There was that battle at the end.

At that time, Liu Rengui often told people that the most suitable position for Li Xuan was actually the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

This is not an empty statement.

Wang Yinke had studied in depth the secret files left by Li Xuan in the palace, and he was well aware of these things.

"When we were in Luoyang in February, the Duke of Pingyang was still in good health. It's only been less than three months, and he..." Li Xuan couldn't help but lower his head, tears already flowing uncontrollably.

The atmosphere of sadness permeated the entire lobby.

"Your Highness, please accept my condolences." Heichi Changzhi persuaded in a low voice.

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, raised his eyes and glanced at Wang Yinke, then said with some pain: "How could he be gone? How could he be gone?"

"Bang, bang, bang!" Li Xuan slammed the table hard. Endless pain seeped out from his eyes and facial expression.

The corner of Wang Yinke's mouth twitched slightly.

He was also aware of Li Xuan's suspicious look. Li Xuan suspected that he was the one who killed Xue Rengui.

No, it was suspected that Empress Wu had killed Xue Rengui.

Wang Yinke lowered his head slightly. He knew that this was the consequence of the death of his uncle Wang Fulai.

Because ever since my uncle Wang Fulai came, many people have had vague suspicions about the cause of his death.

Wang Yinke had his doubts, but after investigating among the secret guards, he found out that his uncle did die of typhoid fever and it had nothing to do with the Queen Mother.

Maybe he died at the wrong time.

Moreover, soon after Wang Fulai came, even the Duke of Zhao Li Jingxuan passed away. This matter could not be the work of the palace.

Not to mention Xue Rengui, the Duke of Pingyang.

Xue Rengui was a general in the army. Over the years, countless Turks wanted to kill him.

Even now, when the Eastern Turks have been pacified, there are still people who are obsessed with restoring their country and attempt to kill Xue Rengui.

Everyone knew how Xue Rengui could be poisoned so easily.

Wang Yinke felt that he was really wronged.

Was it wronged?

……

Li Xuan turned over a new page of official documents, which recorded more details about Xue Rengui's death.

Not only did Xue Rengui start to eat less and less after the death of the previous emperor, but he also wrote his will two months in advance.

All this is enough to show that Xue Rengui already knew that he was going to die two months ago.

Li Xuan sighed softly. He knew in his heart that even if Empress Wu really wanted to kill Xue Rengui, Xue Rengui would be willing to die.

Because in this way, he wouldn't have to face the conflict between Empress Wu and the new emperor.

These things do not require any obvious actions.

Xue Rengui knew Empress Wu well enough and realized that no one could stop her desire for power.

Especially after the death of the previous emperor.

So Xue Rengui hid.

So it is meaningless to investigate his death now.

The key lies in what the situation in the army will be like after Xue Rengui's death.
Xue Rengui once saved the lives of Empress Wu and the late emperor, and the relationship between the two sides has always been close.

Although Empress Wu was unwilling to see Xue Rengui reinstated after the defeat at Dayuechuan, it would not necessarily be harmful to him.

After the emperor's death, Xue Rengui was undoubtedly one of the greatest helpers to Empress Wu. With him around, many things became convenient for Empress Wu.

However, if he were asked to choose between Empress Wu and the new emperor, Li Xuan believed that Xue Rengui would eventually choose Li Xian.

Because Li Xian was the most formal heir chosen by the previous emperor, he ascended the throne as the crown prince.

Not only that, many of the things Li Xian did after he ascended the throne were very effective in winning the hearts of scholars and common people all over the world.

Not to mention, Empress Wei and Crown Prince Liangti Zheng had successfully helped him win over the Guanzhong clan and the three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng.

As long as Li Xian continues to move forward according to what is happening now, he will have a great chance of becoming a wise ruler.

So, maybe Xue Rengui was not killed by Empress Wu, but his death was strangely not a bad thing for both of them.

Li Xuan opened the subsequent arrangements, and General Cheng Chubi of the Left Jinwu Guard and Minister of Justice Duan Baoxuan went to Daizhou to welcome the body of General Xue Rengui of the Left Guard back to Beijing.

This round trip will take at least half a month.

Moreover, Xue Rengui's body was first transported from Daizhou to his hometown in Hedong, and then to Chang'an, to be buried in Qianling Mausoleum with the late emperor.

So for quite a long time, Cheng Chubi and Duan Baoxuan could not return to Luoyang.

Duan Baoxuan is an old minister of the previous emperor when he was in his private residence. Once there is a change, he will stand on the side of the emperor without hesitation.

Although Cheng Chubi had been a close confidant of Empress Wu for many years, they more often regarded loyalty to Empress Wu as a symbol of loyalty to the emperor.

There were many such people under Empress Wu, including many scholars from the North Gate.

If Li Xian made a serious mistake and Empress Wu deposed him and made Li Dan the emperor, they would naturally support him for their own future.

But if Empress Wu wanted to proclaim herself emperor, then those who once supported her would stand up against her.

This was the original history, but by that time, there was no one in the Li family waiting to stand up.

Cheng Chubi and Cheng Wuting are both such people.

Empress Wu saw things very clearly, so using Cheng Wuting and Duan Baoxuan to hedge was the most cost-effective for her.

……

Li Xuan suppressed his grief a little, looked up at Wang Yinke, and asked casually, "Sima, do you know who is in charge of the tens of thousands of troops on the border of Daizhou?"

Wang Yinke bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "It should be the Chief Clerk of Bingzhou Military Governor's Office, Li Hui, the Magistrate of Hejian County."

Li Hui was the second son of Li Xiaogong, Prince of Hejian.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "According to the rules, Li Hui, the son of Hejian County, should go to Chang'an for the late emperor's burial. He should arrive in Chang'an before the late emperor's coffin arrives in Chang'an. So once Li Hui leaves Taiyuan, the person in charge of the military affairs of Bingzhou and Daizhou and commanding tens of thousands of troops should be General Wang Guo of the Left Guard."

Before Li Xuan left Beijing, Empress Wu ordered her trusted generals to go to the four major military governorates of Bing, Yi, Jing and Yang to garrison. General Wang Guo of the Left Guard happened to be guarding Taiyuan.

After Li Xuan said this, Heichi Changzhi, Zhang Da'an, Zhang Hongyu, Yu Ze and others all looked at Wang Yinke.

They all have their own connections in the court, and they know about these things.

Now, with Xue Rengui's death, Empress Wu has already taken control of tens of thousands of troops.

Once the Bingzhou army moves south, it can even directly threaten Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)