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

Chapter 1563: Killing Three Clans and Conspiring Nine Clans

The night was dark and the palace gates were locked.

In the Huiyou Palace, Empress Wu looked at Qiu Huan calmly and said, "Have you put away all your things? Li Lingwen is guarding the Daye Gate. It will be difficult for you to do anything now."

Qiu Huan cupped his hands and said, "Everything has been prepared."

Empress Wu breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, "Everyone would like to stay away from the palace, but some people are desperate to get involved. Don't they know that in this kind of situation, if you make a mistake, you will be killed immediately."

Qiu Huan bowed calmly without saying a word.

Empress Wu raised her head and looked at the white candle on the side. The candle flame flickered, and Empress Wu suddenly came back to her senses and said, "Everything in the palace is going according to plan... Don't you have any news about Zhenzhou?"

Qiu Huan bowed his hands with a bitter look on his face and said, "Your Majesty, Zhenzhou is far to the south of the sky. Even if the news spreads at the fastest speed, it will take half a month. And the last time they sent a message, they were still in Guangzhou... Guangzhou is prosperous, and that person went to Guangzhou and disappeared in the city of Guangzhou."

"Didn't they go to the Secret Guard Guangzhou Station to ask for help?" Empress Wu couldn't help but frowned.

Qiu Huan bowed and said, "They went, but the Secret Guard Guangzhou station was short of manpower, so they found an excuse to borrow the power of Guangzhou Prefecture, but Guangzhou Governor Lu Yuanrui did not allow it. They could only go to Zhenzhou first to monitor Murong Jiabin and Liu Neyan."

"What's the situation with those two people?" Empress Wu frowned.

"Those two are relatively well-behaved. After all, they have been exiled, and their health is not very good. According to the news that has been brought back, if this continues, they will probably die in Zhenzhou in another year or two." Qiu Huan breathed a sigh of relief.

Empress Wu nodded slightly, and suddenly, she thought of something and asked, "I heard that someone took the trade route from Guangzhou to Tianzhu. Is that true?"

"Yes!" Qiu Huan nodded subconsciously.

Empress Wu then asked, "Then it shouldn't be far from Tianzhu to Fanzhou, right? So, how long does it take to get from Guangzhou to Fanzhou by sea?"

Qiu Huan's face slightly changed, but he calmed down in an instant. After thinking for a moment, he said carefully: "Queen, if you want to go to India by sea from Guangzhou, you need to set out in late spring. If there is no storm at sea, you can probably reach East India by winter. But from East India to Lhasa..."

Qiu Huan shook his head and said, "From East Tianzhu to Luoshui, even if you have the Tang Dynasty's seal, you can't go to Luoshui without the protection of Tang soldiers. If you don't have the Tang Dynasty's seal, it will be even more difficult for slaves to move in Tianzhu."

"What if there happen to be Tang envoys and soldiers in Tianzhu?" Empress Wu raised her head and looked directly at Qiu Huan, saying, "If I remember correctly, King Peng sent people to Tianzhu last year, right?"

"But a year has passed, and Fanzhou has not given any follow-up report on this matter." Qiu Huan lowered his head and said, "According to the earliest report from Fanzhou, it takes at least three months to get from Fanzhou to the south bank of East Tianzhu, but it takes about half a year to return from East Tianzhu."

"It took longer to come back?" Empress Wu was a little surprised.

"After returning to Tianhou, due to the terrain, Fanzhou is a plateau, while Tianzhu is low, just like the road from Chang'an to Fanzhou, it is even steeper and more dangerous, and the road is difficult to travel."

Qiu Huan tried hard to recall the secret files he had read before, but he still shook his head and said, "Going from Guangzhou to Fanzhou by sea is a life-threatening undertaking. Even if you reach East India, it is still difficult to reach Luoshui, not to mention that King Peng has already gone to the Western Regions..."

After a short pause, Qiu Huan continued, "Your Majesty once announced to the world that King Peng was killed and sent to the Western Regions. If that person is smart, he will know that he should not go to Fanzhou to look for King Peng. Moreover, the best way to get from Zhenzhou to Fanzhou is from Zhenzhou to Guizhou, to Yongzhou, and then to Kunzhou, Wuzhao, and go up the Nujiang River. Half a year is enough."

Empress Wu bowed her head slightly and said, "It's closer from Kunzhou to Shuzhong, right?"

Qiu Huan suddenly thought of something and fell completely silent.

Empress Wu raised her head slightly and said, "General Linghu Zhitong of the Left Guard should still be in Yizhou. I asked him to keep an eye on the affairs of Bazhou. I hope he hasn't forgotten."

"General Linghu, please follow my orders. News from Bazhou will be reported back every five days. Everything is safe." Qiu Huan bowed seriously.

"It's about tomorrow." Empress Wu sighed and said, "Let's call the Princess of Dai and the Prince of Linzi to the palace as well!"

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed solemnly.

Although Prince Linzi Li Guangren was the adopted son of Emperor Xiaojing Li Hong, he was actually the son of the deposed Crown Prince Li Xian.

If Li Guangren is involved in tomorrow's events, not only will he be in trouble, but Princess Dai will also not have an easy time.

The most important thing is that the Princess of Dai's surname is Pei. If Pei Yan is connected with her at all costs, he will have no chance of survival.

Punish three clans and exterminate nine clans.

This is Empress Wu’s real plan.

"Queen, do you want to invite Princess Peng and Princess Fuchang?" Qiu Huan lowered his head and looked at Empress Wu.

Queen Wu's face darkened and she began to think seriously.

After a moment, Empress Wu asked, "Have you found all of Prince Peng's men in Luoyang?"

Qiu Huan looked cautious and said, "Your Majesty, there aren't many people in Prince Peng's mansion who are connected to the outside world. Most of them are either in the Yulong Garden of Prince Peng's mansion or in the thirteen medicine shops of Prince Peng's mansion throughout Luoyang. As for the others, most of them are taken care of by Song Jing of Henan County and Di Renjie of Luozhou Prefecture."

After a brief pause, Qiu Huan added: "When the General of the Left Jinwu Guard was in power, he also sent a team of people to patrol near the North City, and the Prince Peng's Mansion is at the west gate of the North City. There is nothing else."

Empress Wu raised her head slightly, looked at Qiu Huan and asked, "There aren't many Right Guards outside the city entering the city, right?"

Qiu Huan's face changed slightly. Li Xuan was the general of the Right Guard, and the Right Guard was the only manpower that King Peng could really mobilize.

You don't need too many. Thirty to fifty elite soldiers are enough at the critical moment.

Qiu Huan bowed and said, "After Prince Peng left the capital, Prince Peng's mansion has been under surveillance. No one in Prince Peng's mansion has shown any signs of contacting the Right Guard."

After a short pause, Qiu Huan said, "When King Peng was in Luoyang, he was particularly concerned about this."

"That's right. He is a very cautious person." At this point, Empress Wu looked up at Qiu Huan and said, "Why do I feel like you spoke a lot for Prince Peng tonight?"

Qiu Huan then bowed his hands and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I am not speaking for King Peng, but I think it is better not to involve King Peng in the current situation for the time being, as he has been implicated in too many things.

The Minister of Personnel, the Minister of War, the Minister of Punishment, the Minister of Works, the Minister of Rites, and even the Minister of Revenue are all related to him, not to mention the Left Prime Minister. "

Empress Wu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Lu Yuanfang traveled with Li Xuan from Yangzhou to Chang'an, and then from Chang'an to the Western Regions.

Ouyang Tong is Li Xuan's uncle.

Duan Baoxuan was Li Xuan's boss during the reign of Empress Wu, and they fought side by side in Muzhou.

Huang Rensu and Li Xuan knew each other earlier, second only to Ouyang Tong.

Li Xuan made great efforts to help Wei Daijia become the Minister of Rites.

Even Dou Lu Qinwang, Li Xuan and Li Dan had good relations. Empress Wu then sneered and shook her head, saying, "If there is nothing wrong, these people will naturally help, but if there is something wrong, they will not even care about the emperor, let alone a King Peng. But now is not the time to make trouble... King Peng must still have people in the King Peng's mansion. If something happens to Princess Peng and Princess Fuchang, he might really lead his army back to fight, which would be troublesome."

There was a hint of solemnity in Empress Wu's eyes. It was not so easy to deal with Li Xuan.

Li Xuan is not the kind of blindly loyal old scholar. He is a general in the army and is decisive in killing.

The only ones who can really restrain him are his family. If anything happens to his family, he will lead his troops back at all costs.

Especially since he is likely to have great power in his hands.

Empress Wu shook her head and said, "Forget it. In that case, let's forget about Princess Peng and Princess Fuchang."

Qiu Huan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Empress Wu had thought the matter through. Even if she wanted to deal with Li Xuan, it would not be done within a short period of time tomorrow. She needed to do it step by step and solve them one by one.

After calming down, Empress Wu looked up and said, "Okay, go ahead. Be careful. There can't be any mistakes tomorrow."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed and left Huiyou Hall. It was at this time that Shangguan Wan'er was summoned from the side hall to the main hall.

For many things, even Shangguan Wan'er would be told every little bit by Empress Wu.

……

Inside the gate of Renshou Palace, under the shadow of lanterns.

Xu Lu frowned and looked at everything outside.

At the end of the sight, the Jixian Palace is quiet and peaceful.

Everything seemed normal, but Xu Lu had a vague feeling that outside the Jixian Palace, there seemed to be a pair of eyes staring at him, and those eyes were hidden very deeply.

Xu Lu's cultivation level is considered quite high in the entire imperial palace, and there are only a handful of people who can truly hide from his eyes.

Xu Lu immediately understood who that person was.

Hatred of eunuchs.

It can only be him.

Concubine Yang in the Jixian Palace was the emperor's prince's concubine. She was born in the Hongnong Yang family and had a respected status.

The people in the palace were busy paying their respects, so how could they dare to spy on him privately?

Unless they were ordered to do so.

There are only three people who have this power in the palace: the emperor, the empress and the queen mother.

It was normal for the Emperor to like Concubine Yang, and the Empress didn't care about her either, except the Queen Mother.

Ever since Concubine Yang entered the palace, Xu Lu has been keeping an eye on her.

From the very beginning, Empress Wu had great ill will towards Concubine Yang entering the palace.

By using Concubine Yang as a pawn, the only person Wu Zetian could calculate was the emperor.

It's all about to begin.

Xu Lu understood from the beginning that Empress Wu would not let the emperor go.

She wanted too much power, and the emperor was the biggest stumbling block in her way.

Empress Wu had been planning carefully in secret, and now it seemed that the time had finally come.

Seeing that Qiu Huan suddenly stared cautiously tonight and even had plans to do it overnight, it means that all the mysteries will be revealed tomorrow.

The really big thing is going to happen tomorrow.

Xu Lu sneered, looked back at Zheng's bedroom, took a step back, and retreated into the deep darkness.

Not long after Xu Lu retreated, Ye Wanwan suddenly appeared where he had been standing.

After taking a deep look in the direction of the Jixian Palace, Ye Wanwan also disappeared into the darkness.

……

Under the endless night, under the Xinzhong Bridge of Luo River, Li Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Big changes are coming.

Qiu Huan suddenly stared at the Jixian Palace, which meant that Empress Wu was planning to detonate the means hidden in the Jixian Palace.

On May 17, the coffin of the late emperor returned to Chang'an.

On May 15th, the emperor held his last grand court in the Qianyang Hall in Luoyang.

Similarly, that was also the last time the Queen Mother appeared in front of the officials in the Qianyang Palace in Luoyang.

After May 15th, we will return to Chang'an.

Once the emperor returned to Chang'an, the situation would immediately become difficult for Empress Wu, so the most legitimate day for her to depose Li Xian was May 15th.

But the real action will take place tomorrow, May 14th.

Empress Wu wanted to depose Li Xian, but she lacked a reason that could convince the world.

Especially now that Li Xian and Pei Yan have joined forces.

So there is only tomorrow.

Li Xuan floated up from under the bridge and went straight to the Dai Palace.

(End of this chapter)