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

Chapter 1570: Regicide and the End of Mother-Son Relationship

Li Jingjia turned around in disbelief and looked at Ma Sizong behind him, who was holding a dagger and stabbing himself into the body. He fell to the ground powerlessly.

In a very short time, Li Jingjia died completely.

Everyone was stunned, including Li Xian.

Ma Sizong, former Lieutenant General of the Left Jinwu Guard and current General of the Right Guard, killed General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, Prince of Beiping Li Jingjia so easily.

No one knew how Ma Sizong became Empress Wu's man, but his actions showed that among the many generals in the palace, many were also Empress Wu's men.

Empress Wu looked at Li Xian calmly and said softly, "Sanlang, the entire hall has been sealed off. You can't go anywhere."

"Mother." Li Xian looked deeply at Empress Wu behind the pearl curtain and said with a heavy breath, "Last night, you killed the messengers that I sent to Hebei, Yangzhou, Chang'an and Shuzhong in this way, right?"

Empress Wu fell silent, with only the sound of the pearl curtain making a slight rustle.

All the ministers in the hall looked at the Emperor and Empress Wu in great surprise. They had never known that such a confrontation took place beyond their sight.

The next moment, the eyes of all the ministers fell on Ma Sizong.

Ma Sizong was the General of the Right Guard, and the Right Guard had nearly 5,000 men in Luoyang. With this military force, it would be easy to intercept and kill a few messengers as long as there was sufficiently accurate information.

However, Ma Sizong killed the messenger sent by the emperor yesterday, which means that he had already prepared to rebel yesterday.

And then there is the emperor.

The emperor actually sent a messenger to leave Luoyang last night. What did he send the messenger for?

Could it be that he had realized last night that Empress Wu was going to attack him today, so he made preparations in advance?

In the direction of Hebei, in Liaoxi there was Gao Kan, the General of the Left Guard, who was the emperor’s father-in-law.

In Yangzhou there was a general of the imperial guards named Pei Xingjian, who was the prince's guest when the emperor was still a prince.

There was the Left Prime Minister Liu Rengui in Chang'an. With Liu Rengui in charge, no one in the court dared to move.

Shu is a gathering place for all the kings. Li Xiaoyi is now the Inspector General of the Right Jinwu Guard. There is a large army stationed in the Songpan area to suppress the Dangxiang.

The emperor could suppress the rebellion in Chang'an by dispatching troops from any route at will. Who could have thought that Ma Sizong actually killed all the people sent by the emperor.

Li Xian spoke again: "Mother, I have a question that I cannot figure out. Why did you do all this?"

The bead curtain swayed gently, and it was still silent behind the bead curtain as it was back then.

"My father's will ordered my mother to attend the court on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. I have never had any other thoughts. Even all the important matters in the court were discussed with Pei Qing and reported to my mother for her to know. I really don't know what I did wrong to make my mother so deliberate and even use this witchcraft incident to harm herself in order to frame me."

Li Xian bowed heavily, and asked with a painful expression: "My son really doesn't know what he did wrong. Please help me solve this problem."

Behind the pearl curtain, Empress Wu's expression remained indifferent. She said calmly, "I know you are anxious, Sanlang, so you resorted to such despicable means, even telling people all over the world that my mother is old. But you are too cruel to practice witchcraft."

Li Xian was confused when he heard this. His mother still refused to admit that the witchcraft was her method and even said that he was telling the world that she was old.

Poor Li Xian, he had never done such a thing.

Suddenly, Li Xian raised his eyebrows and stared in disbelief: "My queen mother said that my son asked someone in the world to prepare a gift for your sixtieth birthday?"

The ministers in the palace were suddenly in an uproar.

They also knew about this matter, but no one expected that this incident would become the fuse of everything today.

"But my son did nothing wrong!" Li Xian felt extremely absurd and shook his head and said, "This October is my mother's 60th birthday. My father will be buried in late June, and my mother will celebrate her birthday in October. Three months is not enough time to prepare properly...

My son just asked someone to prepare in advance so that my mother could have a good time on her 60th birthday. I didn't expect that my mother would..."

Li Xian could not continue speaking, but his words were clearly understood by the court officials.

Li Xian was only being cautious so that Empress Wu could have a good 60th birthday, but Empress Wu thought that this was a reflection of her, so she was dissatisfied with the emperor and designed all this today.

Although Empress Wu did not take it seriously, she still pinned everything on Li Xian. The court officials had already fully understood that it was because Empress Wu herself was too sensitive and thought that Li Xian was reflecting her old age and shaking people's hearts, which led to the palace coup today.

Empress Wu looked at Li Xian calmly and said calmly: "What are you thinking? You can hide it from everyone, but can you hide it from your own heart?"

Li Xian still shook his head and said, "Did my son do something wrong? Shouldn't my son prepare for my mother's sixtieth birthday?"

All the ministers immediately raised their heads and looked behind the pearl curtain. They knew that the emperor must have some hidden thoughts behind his actions, but everything was aboveboard.

On the contrary, Empress Wu plotted a palace coup and will probably be nailed to the insidious pillar of shame in the future.

"But you did something wrong, didn't you?" Empress Wu looked at Yang Concubine who was kneeling on the ground, shook her head and said, "If you still have any sense of shame, then go to the side hall and I will discuss your punishment with the ministers. Don't worry, your mother will not treat you unfairly."

Li Xian couldn't help laughing, turned around and glanced at the person standing in the middle of the hall.

Zhang Qianxu led a group of guards and stood there, wanting to go up but not daring to.

Li Xian shook his head and said, "My queen mother is wrong. I think I am a filial son, but my queen mother framed her son and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty for her own ambition. Now, I am afraid that my son has no choice but to ask her to return to the harem and never come to the former court again."

Li Xian's hideousness was finally fully revealed at this moment.

He actually wanted to use this incident to completely deprive Empress Wu of her right to rule behind the scenes.

Many people have figured out what is happening today.

Empress Wu used various means to legitimately depose the emperor, and the emperor was also taking this opportunity to legitimately abolish Empress Wu's power behind the scenes.

Although Empress Wu's methods were amazing, their emperor Li Xian was also no ordinary person.

In time, he will surely become another powerful emperor like the previous one.

The beaded curtain swayed, and Empress Wu finally nodded and said, "So you are stalling for time?"

Li Xian turned his head to look at Zhang Qianxu and said softly, "Empress Mother, although Zhang Qianxu is holding me and the ministers hostage in the palace, there are also General Qin Shandao of the Left Jinwu Guard and General Li Dazhi of the Right Qianniu Guard at Chengtian Gate. Outside the palace, there is also General Sun Renshi of the Right Tunwei Guard. As long as time passes, they will be able to detect something unusual in the palace." At this point, Li Xian glanced at General Xue Guwu of the Right Jinwu Guard who was standing quietly by the side and shook his head gently, saying, "If everyone in the world betrays my son, I will accept my fate."

Empress Wu also looked at Xue Guwu, seeing him standing there with his head down and silent. She knew in her heart that the reason Xue Guwu acted like this was simply because he chose to remain neutral in this matter.

Although Xue Guwu sounds like his surname is Xue, his real surname is Xue Gu, and he is a descendant of Xue Guyan, a great general of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

In the past, the great generals in the army that led the late emperor to conquer Goguryeo included Jia Yong, who commanded the three armies of the army, the effectiveness of Queguan, Cheng Shu, the Eight Formations, and Biao's extraordinary feats of beheading generals. Later, he was granted the title of General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

Precisely because he had been with the late emperor for too long, Xue Guwu had a full understanding of Empress Wu, so when she sent people to visit him, he could only choose to remain neutral.

Moreover, among the important ministers appointed by the previous emperor to assist the new emperor, Xue Guwu was not among them.

Whether it was Li Xian, Pei Yan, Pei Xingjian or Yao Lingzhang, their relationship with the new emperor was much closer than Xue Guwu's, so in today's change, he chose to remain neutral.

Not only him, but many officials and generals in the court also chose to remain neutral.

Because Empress Wu promised them that she would only depose the emperor and then enthrone Prince Xiang as the new emperor.

But even so, outside the palace, the emperor had more military power than Empress Wu.

There are some people you just can't convince.

For example, the reason why Empress Wu transferred Cheng Chubi out of Luoyang was also because of a hint of distrust.

But when Cheng Chubi left, Qin Shandao came back.

Empress Wu sighed, looked at Zhang Qianxu and said, "You see, the emperor is stubborn and unyielding. Let's do it."

"Yes!" Zhang Qianxu's expression suddenly became solemn and stern. He gently swung his right hand forward. The next moment, ten guards in red clothes and golden armor raised their spears and approached the golden steps step by step.

Li Xian glanced at Zhang Qianxu calmly, and in an instant, six guards in black clothes and armor stepped forward at the same time, thrusting their spears forward without retreating.

Li Xian turned around and looked at Empress Wu and said, "Since your majesty can't wait any longer, then I will personally escort you back to the harem."

Li Xian nodded slightly to the side, and two black-clad secret guards stepped forward, thrusting their long spears diagonally upwards behind the pearl curtain, trying to abduct Empress Wu.

Even if Zhang Qianxu had countless soldiers, as long as Li Xian had Empress Wu in his hands, he would be invincible...

With a "bang", a figure flashed by, and the two black-clothed secret guards flew backwards at the same time, fell to the ground and spit out blood. The next moment, the two were completely dead.

Li Xian looked at Qiu Huan who was standing in front of Empress Wu in disbelief. He never knew that Qiu Huan had such good skills.

Li Xian suddenly turned around and looked at Fan Yunxian on the side.

Under the emperor's surprised eyes, Fan Yunxian actually took a step back.

It turns out that he is also Empress Wu's man.

Qiu Huan walked up to Li Xian step by step, lowered his head, stretched out his skinny old hand, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please."

Hearing the sound of spears clashing behind him, Li Xian knew that it was Zhang Qianxu's men who had held back his secret guards.

Li Xian looked up at Empress Wu and sneered, "So that's why. No wonder my mother is never afraid..."

Before Li Xian finished his words, the next moment, a sharp sword light suddenly flashed and swept across Qiu Huan's chest like a piece of silk.

A flash of blood appeared and the enemy official retreated violently.

When he stood up again, there was a deep cut on his right chest.

The blood instantly soaked the clothes.

……

Behind the pearl curtain, Empress Wu finally stood up.

The beaded curtain was opened, and Empress Wu looked at Li Xian holding the long sword with some surprise, and asked softly: "Sanlang, when did you hide this sword?"

"Mother." Li Xian held a cold long sword in his right hand and said softly, "Mother, have you forgotten that when I was a child, I also trained with the Qianniu Guard method."

Empress Wu fell silent, and finally said softly: "Do you understand what it means that you have moved the sword?"

"I understand. There are only two possible outcomes: matricide or regicide." Li Xian looked at Qiu Huan and said, "Of course I dare not kill my mother, but do these bastards dare to kill their king?"

With the word "regicide", the whole hall suddenly became solemn and murderous.

Empress Wu shook her head slightly and looked at Qiu Huan.

For some reason, the blood in front of Qiu Huan had completely stopped flowing at this time.

Seeing Empress Wu's gaze, Qiu Huan smiled grimly, and the next moment, he rushed forward.

With just a flash, he was already in front of Li Xian. With a flick of his hand, the sword in Li Xian's hand flew out.

Qiu Huan flipped his hand, and the long sword fell into his hand, and then it was placed across Li Xian's neck.

The situation changed suddenly.

Qiu Huan calmly looked at Li Xian who was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, whether it is regicide or not, your Majesty has no say in it."

"Really?" Li Xian looked up indifferently.

The next moment, his neck was fiercely hit by the sword blade.

Blood suddenly appeared.

(End of this chapter)