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

Chapter 1574 Empress Wu’s Fear

The moon is high in the sky and the hot wind is blowing on your face.

A team of imperial cavalry guards quickly crossed the Hangu Pass and rushed towards Chang'an.

Shortly after they left Hangu Pass, a black eagle flew up from the nearby forest and flew quickly towards Chang'an City.

The leading imperial guard general Zhang Qianxu raised his head sharply and instantly locked onto the Black Hawk flying high in the sky.

But he only roughly estimated the distance and had to put down the bow he had just raised.

Turning around, Zhang Qianxu shouted coldly: "Speed ​​up, even if it means running the horse to death, we must return to Chang'an in the shortest possible time."

"Yes!" Many of the royal cavalry guards responded in a muffled voice.

They were all Zhang Qianxu's personal soldiers, and of course they knew why Zhang Qianxu took the lead in returning to Chang'an.

The crown prince, Crown Prince Li Chongzhao.

In today's world, the Queen comes first, the Emperor comes second, and the Prince comes third.

The Queen now rules the world. The Emperor is dead, the new Emperor is on the throne, but the Prince is still alive.

Although Li Chengqi became the new crown prince, Li Chongzhao was still there.

It would be fine if it was just Li Chongzhao alone, but there are also Liu Rengui, Li Xuan, and Pei Xingjian.

If any of them got Li Chongzhao and made him emperor, the legitimacy of Li Dan's throne in Luoyang would immediately be questioned.

By then, not only them, but even Empress Wu, would become criminals of treason.

Thus, they will be forever nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

Especially Zhang Qianxu, who contributed the most in the whole thing.

Emperor Zhongzong hated him, and Emperor Li Dan hated him.

All the civil and military officials in the court hated him.

Even the Northern Gate Scholar, who was also under Empress Wu, looked down on him.

Only Ma Sizong could sympathize with him.

The most important thing now is to catch Li Chongzhao.

If Li Chongzhao is not caught, not only will Li Xuan and Pei Xingjian not let him go, even Empress Wu will not let him go either.

In order to stabilize the situation in Chang'an, the Queen Mother has issued an order that no one is allowed to pass through Hangu Pass for three days, but someone still leaked the news.

Just when Zhang Qianxu was feeling angry, at the moment when the eagle took off, in the dark well of the East Palace in Chang'an, a figure slowly opened his eyes.

The familiar eyes and stern look were none other than Li Miao.

No, it’s Li Xuan.

Ever since he made Linzi Prince Li Guangren ill the day before, Li Xuan went straight to Chang'an.

His next most important plan was for Crown Prince Li Chongzhao.

Before he led his army back to Chang'an, Li Chongzhao had to attract all of Empress Wu's attention instead of focusing it on himself.

As for everything in Luoyang, everything that needed to be arranged had been arranged.

As for the rest, he would have enough time to deal with it after finishing the affairs in Chang'an and returning to Luoyang.

……

Luoyang, in Qianyang Palace.

Empress Wu sat behind the imperial desk, seemingly calmly handling official documents, just as she did when the late emperor was still alive.

As for Emperor Li Dan, he had not yet been enthroned, and did not have his own six imperial seals, imperial token, or anything.

Even if Li Dan was officially enthroned in the future, Empress Wu would make him live in a separate palace and would not allow him to handle any political affairs.

This period will last for three periods.

Because these three years were the time when Li Dan observed mourning for Emperor Gaozong the Great.

Because Li Xian had the late emperor's will to replace months with days, he only needed to mourn for thirty-six days.

But when Li Dan became emperor, Empress Wu would ask him to set an example for the world and observe mourning for thirty-six months.

During these thirty-six months, Li Dan was not allowed to have any involvement in state affairs.

At most, he was only allowed to attend government affairs from the side hall.

It was not until thirty-six months, or three years later, that he was allowed to rule the country.

No matter whether it was Pei Yan, Liu Rengui, or King of Han Li Yuanjia, Empress Wu gave the same answer whenever anyone asked her about the reason.

The word "filial piety" at least shut everyone up on the surface.

As for what will happen three years later, Empress Wu sneered lightly. After three years, when she has complete control of power, will she easily give it up?
Moreover, the first problem is that she has to be able to persist for three years.

Empress Wu's hand holding the thin bamboo gold pen couldn't help but pause slightly, then clenched it tightly, and her breathing became heavy at the same time.

Li Xian is dead, Li Xian is dead.

Today's events, in the final analysis, were still a palace coup.

Although Li Xian committed suicide in the end, all the court officials saw it and knew that Li Xian was actually forced to death by her.

In other words, Li Dan is now in her hands, forcing everyone to submit. At the same time, Empress Wu also gives sufficient rewards to all those who are willing to be loyal.

Before that, including the one appointed yesterday, there were a total of thirteen prime ministers in the court. Not to mention the entire Tang Dynasty, there have never been so many prime ministers from ancient times to the present.

In addition, four generals were appointed.

This made everyone temporarily forget the truth about Li Xian's death.

However, there is no doubt that deep down in the hearts of these people, they are still uneasy, and because they are uneasy, they will take action.

Once the action is too big, no one knows what will happen.

Empress Wu appointed the Northern Gate Scholars as the Six Ministries’ Assistant Ministers, effectively controlling the entire court in disguise. Therefore, even if the people in the center were uneasy, they could only resist through external forces. Pei Xingjian, Gao Kan, and Li Xuan.

In addition, there are two hidden dangers, Li Chongzhao and Li Xian.

Li Chongzhao was in Chang'an, and the royal family of the world was about to arrive in Chang'an, so Empress Wu anxiously sent Zhang Qianxu back to Chang'an quietly.

As long as Qian Xu took control of everything in Chang'an and controlled Li Chongzhao, and then Li Dan carried Emperor Gaozong's mausoleum back to Chang'an, the royal family in the world could feel temporarily at ease.

Of course, only temporarily.

From now on, every day, every hour, every moment, Empress Wu needs to keep her eyes wide open and stare at everyone.

Anyone who tries to resist her will be suppressed most brutally.

Until all dissenting thoughts are completely settled.

Thinking of this, Empress Wu felt inexplicably relieved.

A strange sense of security.

……

A light sound of footsteps was heard at the side. Empress Wu raised her head slightly and saw Shangguan Wan'er coming to her side with a bowl of white fungus soup.

"Queen, please eat something. You haven't eaten properly for a day." There was a hint of worry in Shangguan Wan'er's eyes.

Empress Wu smiled calmly and nodded slightly.

She still has a group of people under her, whether they are the scholars of the North Gate, the people of the Dou family and the Dugu family, as well as Zhang Qianxu, Ma Sizong, Xue Guwu and others, they will all try their best to help her consolidate her power.

Oh, and there are also descendants of the Wu family.

Empress Wu took a sip of the Tremella soup and then asked, "Where is Zhang Qianxu now?"

Shangguan Wan'er paused for a moment and said, "We should have passed Huashan Mountain. If we travel 800 miles quickly, we can reach Chang'an in another hour."

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded gently, and then said with emotion: "All the affairs of Chang'an will be entrusted to him."

Chang'an, Crown Prince Li Chongzhao.

And that's not all.

The day after tomorrow, Emperor Li Dan will escort Emperor Gaozong's coffin back to Chang'an.

However, Empress Wu would not go.

Yes, Empress Wu will not accompany them.

This was Empress Wu's biggest insurance, but also her biggest risk.

Li Xian’s death will not be so easy to get over.

In Luoyang, all the officials were temporarily appeased by her, but when they arrived in Chang'an, the officials, royal family members, and Longxi families would collude with each other and would inevitably cause trouble.

If Empress Wu did not leave, they would have no one to attack.

But in this case, they will inevitably have a target to attack.

"Queen, can General Zhang clean up the situation in Chang'an Road?" Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"It has to be done even if it's impossible." Empress Wu calmly shook her head and said, "Sanlang... Sanlang died at his hands. If I don't go to Chang'an, everyone's anger will be vented on him. If he doesn't want to die, he has to calm everyone's anger, and the only way is to kill him, and let the blood flow like a river."

After a short pause, Empress Wu said with a cold look, "Either he kills his way through Chang'an and there is no longer any strange sound, or he is killed by others in Chang'an. At worst, I will posthumously confer the title of Duke of Fanyang on him... The words Fanyang are not so easy to put in front of others."

Zhang Qianxu was born into the Zhang family of Fanyang, so there was no problem for Empress Wu to grant him the title of Earl of Fanyang County.

But the people of Fanyang Lu would never agree to this. They would take the initiative to directly or indirectly direct all their anger towards Zhang Qianxu.

Either Zhang Qianxu killed everyone until they were convinced, or Empress Wu used his head to calm the anger of the people.

After all, Li Xian eventually died at the hands of Zhang Qianxu.

Empress Wu shook her head and said, "Don't worry too much about Chang'an. Zhang Qianxu left ahead of time. The day after tomorrow, the emperor will leave for Chang'an. Xue Guwu and Ma Sizong will accompany the emperor. Together with the Minister of the Central Secretariat Dou Lu Qinwang, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Wang Dezhen, the Minister of Personnel and the Third Rank Official of the Central Secretariat Dou Xuande, and Fan Lubing, it will be enough to settle everything."

After a brief pause, Empress Wu said softly, "After that, Ma Sizong will go south to Bazhou."

Shangguan Wan'er immediately lowered her head and dared not utter another word.

Empress Wu raised her head and said softly, "The issue in Chang'an has been resolved, and the hidden dangers of the royal family have been temporarily suppressed. The remaining ones are Prince Peng, Duke Liao, and Duke Jiang. Duke Liao should be the least problematic. Tell him to let Concubine Gao leave the palace and return home after a while. As for Duke Jiang, it won't be difficult either. Zhao Gong and Guo Qizong are in Yangzhou."

The only one left is King Peng.

Shangguan Wan'er's expression became solemn. Prince Peng was the most difficult to deal with.

He was promoted by Emperor Gaozong, and Emperor Zhongzong was the official successor chosen by Emperor Gaozong. He and Li Xuan were childhood friends and were trained by Li Xuan.

Just by looking at the big fuss Li Xian made today, Empress Wu knew how successful Li Xuan's teaching was. It also indirectly proved how difficult Li Xuan was.

"We still have to remove his military power!" Empress Wu sighed softly, her eyes looking towards the Western Regions, and said softly: "But now, the Western Regions may have already gone to war with the Western Turks. If we touch him easily, the whole situation may get out of control. We must not act rashly."

"Send a message to Changzhou and Dunhuang. Within one month, no one is allowed to leave for Fanzhou and the Western Regions. Send a message to Prince Yinke to quickly take control of all power in Fanzhou. If Prince Peng makes any unusual moves, cut off his support immediately." Empress Wu's expression turned grim.

"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er bowed seriously.

"We have to delay it for a while, at least until the Western Turks are pacified, and then send someone to take the imperial edict to the Western Regions to allow King Peng to return to Beijing for the New Year."

Empress Wu raised her head and said softly, "If he is willing to work for Silang and for me, I will marry him a daughter of the Wu family. If he is not willing..."

So they had no choice but to let him die.

Empress Wu didn't say it out loud, but that's what she meant.

No matter how capable a person is, if he cannot serve you, then he should die.

"Then who should go then?" Shangguan Wan'er asked softly.

Empress Wu fell silent for a moment, then she spoke: "Son-in-law Xue Shao is the chief envoy, Zhao Gong is the deputy envoy, and Fan Yunxian is hiding among them."

Shangguan Wan'er immediately understood that if Li Xuan refused to surrender, Fan Yunxian would ensure that Li Xuan would die immediately in the Western Regions.

Empress Wu would never hesitate when it came to killing people.

(End of this chapter)