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

Chapter 1589: Emperor Xiaohe, Emperor Xiaojing

East of Chang'an City, Yanxing Gate.

Li Xuan, dressed in a black Taoist robe, walked out of the city calmly.

There were crowds of people all around, and the soldiers guarding the gate had no time to check carefully, so they had to let everyone in.

Li Xuan gathered the handwritten letter from Pei Yan to Liu Shenli in his sleeve.

With this letter, Li Xuan didn't need to worry about the content of the letter. He was confident enough to get the full support of tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the four towns of Anxi under Liu Shenli.

You should know that Liu Shenli was not only the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Road at that time, but his father Liu Dewei was also a general under Pei Xingjian's father Pei Renji.

It is precisely because the relationship between the Liu family and the Pei family is so close that Liu Shenli's cousin would marry Pei Yan.

It’s just that Liu Shenli himself and Pei Yan don’t have a good relationship, just like Pei Xingjian and Pei Yan have a bad relationship.

But even so, when the news that Pei Yan and his entire family were executed reached the Western Regions, Liu Shenli would have no other choice.

Yes, Pei Yan and his entire family will definitely be executed.

Even if Li Xuan reminded Pei Yan today and allowed him to escape this disaster, he would still be dead.

Empress Wu would not let him go.

The only difference is whether he can send his children and grandchildren out of Chang'an before Empress Wu takes complete action.

Li Xuan looked up in the direction of Chunming Gate.

There, one could faintly see rows of flags and flashing long spears.

Amid the strict guard of countless soldiers, a bright yellow carriage with six horses slowly came towards Chunming Gate.

……

Empress Wu sat in a bright yellow carriage, wearing a black robe with a small phoenix pattern. She held a memorial in her hand and her brows were slightly furrowed.

Zhang Qianxu actually died.

He died at the hands of Yuchi Xunyu, the commander of Chunming Gate.

This made Empress Wu's original plan to make a big splash out of this incident come to nothing.

Just as Empress Wu was thinking about what to do next, Shangguan Wan'er's voice rang out from outside the car: "Empress, we've arrived in Chang'an."

"Hmm!" Queen Wu's expression turned indifferent. She put the memorial aside, stood up calmly, and walked out of the carriage.

The bright morning light fell into my eyes, and the sound of mountains and seas roared from all around: "Your subjects pay their respects to the Queen of Heaven, may the Queen of Heaven be blessed with long life and good health!"

The door curtain was lowered behind her, and Empress Wu stood on the dragon chariot. Everything around her appeared clearly in front of her eyes.

At the front of the dragon chariot, bowing his head, was Emperor Li Dan, who had just ascended the throne a month ago.

Standing behind Li Dan were Liu Rengui and Pei Yan.

Further behind them were Wang Dezhen and Fan Lubing, Duan Baoxuan, Wei Daijia, Huang Rensu, and countless other officials.

Li Yuanjia, Li Yuangui, and Li Yuanming, led a group of princesses from the royal family and stood on the left.

Xue Guwu, Ma Sizong, Li Lingwen, Cheng Chubi and other military generals stood on the right side of the queue.

There were countless soldiers all around.

The flags are waving and the atmosphere is majestic and powerful.

Empress Wu calmly stepped down from the dragon chariot and came in front of Li Dan.

Li Dan bowed solemnly and said, "Mother."

Empress Wu nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty has worked hard during this period."

"Everything is what I, your son, should do." Li Dan bowed quickly.

Empress Wu nodded, walked to Liu Rengui, and said softly, "Left Prime Minister."

"I'm here, your old minister." Liu Rengui bowed again.

Empress Wu sighed and said, "Si Lang has just ascended the throne. The left prime minister still needs to give more advice on state affairs. Don't mention retirement anymore."

After saying this, without waiting for Liu Rengui to reply, Empress Wu looked around and asked, "Where is Yuchi Xunyu, the left guard general?"

"Your Majesty, I am Yuchi Xunyu, the left gate guard general, and I am here to pay my respects to the Empress." Yuchi Xunyu walked out from the crowd and half-knelt in salute, three meters away from Empress Wu.

Empress Wu looked at the young and handsome Yuchi Xunyu, who had now become a mature and steady young general. She nodded slightly and asked, "When did you realize Zhang Qianxu's evil intentions?"

"Half a month ago." Yuchi Xunyu said calmly, "Half a month ago, someone began to spy on the city defense of Chunming Gate. Within half a month, they spied on the city defense for half an hour every day. Although the time of appearance was not fixed, the spying time was basically maintained at about half an hour."

"What a fool!" Empress Wu snorted coldly, and then asked, "What happened last night?"

"Reporting to the Queen, the people who were spying on Chunming Gate the day before yesterday did not show up, and today the Queen is going back to Chang'an, so I became alert." After a little tidying up, Yuchi Xunyu continued, "Yesterday, the front and back teams of the Imperial Guard took over the city defense with the token of the Imperial Guard General, but they wanted to recruit my men, so I tried to test them..."

Empress Wu nodded. Although Zhang Qianxu had made a lot of preparations, it was normal for him to be suspected and discovered when facing someone who was already on guard.

The most critical thing is that he does not have enough manpower to mobilize.

Although Zhang Qianxu was the general of the imperial guard and a confidant of many parties, when Empress Wu was about to return to Chang'an, Zhang Qianxu, who was confined at home, suddenly wanted to occupy Chunming Gate.

Anyone who is not a fool can guess his purpose.

It was already very difficult for him to mobilize a hundred absolute trustworthy warriors. If there were more, even one more, he would be in danger.

After all, Zhang Qianxu was very clear about how powerful the secret guards under Empress Wu were.

"Then how did you kill him?" Empress Wu looked at Yuchi Xunyu and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Yuchi Xunyu lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, "I guessed that he might have made some moves yesterday, so I transferred a few old people from home and set traps in some places where people might escape."

"Haha!" Empress Wu was stunned, then she started laughing.

Yuchi Xunyu was the grandson of Yuchi Gong, Duke of E.

It's just that because his father Yuchi Baolin died too early, the Yuchi family's status began to decline.

In addition, during those years, Li Zhi began to suppress the generals and meritorious families of Emperor Taizong, especially those who had no military achievements, so the Yuchi family fell the fastest. It was not until Yuchi Xunyu became Li Xian's warehouse assistant that things got better.

Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "I remember that you have been the commander of the Left Guard for some time now."

"Yes!" Yuchi Xunyu lowered his head and said seriously, "In the first year of Yifeng, the Empress personally appointed me as the Sima of the Right Guard of the Crown Prince. In the third year of Yifeng, the late Emperor transferred me to be the Langjiang of the Left Guard. It has been four years now."

"The first year of Yifeng." Empress Wu nodded slightly. At that time, Yuchi Xunyu served as a military officer in Li Xian's warehouse, but was not valued very much. Later, he teamed up with Li Xuan to solve the case of Wanxiang Pavilion, and was finally promoted to Sima of the Prince's Right Guard by Empress Wu's personal order.

However, the relationship between Li Xuan and Yuchi Xunyu was also rather ordinary, because Li Xuan supported Li Xian, while Yuchi Xunyu supported Li Xian.

Not only that, later I heard that Li Xuan also looked for Yuchi Xunyu, but was rejected by Yuchi Xunyu.

Whether out of self-respect or family, Yuchi Xunyu kept his distance from Li Xuan.

There is no need to mention the past now, but seeing that Yuchi Xunyu mentioned today that it was she who promoted him to be the Prince's Right Guard Sima, Empress Wu knew that she could use Yuchi Xunyu.

Empress Wu turned her head and said sideways: "Send Zhang Qianxu's body to the three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and sixteen guards."

"Yes!" Guo Daiju walked out from the back and bowed solemnly.

Empress Wu turned around, looked at Yuchi Xunyu, and said, "Promote Yuchi Xunyu to General of the Left Guard, commanding the Chang'an Left Guard Army to protect the capital."

Yuchi Xunyu suddenly looked up. He did not expect that Empress Wu would suddenly promote him to the rank of General of the Left Guard.

General Zuowei, among the sixteen guards, each may have his own role, but when it comes to fighting on the battlefield, the left and right guards have always been the strongest.

Moreover, he was not the General of the Left Guard, but the General of the Left Guard. The gap between the two is extremely large.

Yuchi Xunyu quickly came to his senses, knelt on one knee and kowtowed, saying: "I thank the Queen Mother for her grace, and I am willing to die for her."

Empress Wu smiled with satisfaction. She glanced at the ministers around her, who immediately looked horrified.

Although Yuchi Xunyu executed Zhang Qianxu, he directly promoted him to the rank of General of the Left Guard. Wasn't that a bit too much?

Empress Wu glanced at the generals beside her, then looked back at Yuchi Xunyu and said, "You should still be the Marquis of Sui County for now."

"Yes!" Yuchi Xunyu lowered his head solemnly.

Empress Wu nodded in satisfaction and said, "From today on, I will grant your father and grandfather the title of Duke of E, with a fief of 800 households."

"I thank God for his grace. I would rather die than refuse." This time, Yuchi Xunyu did not hesitate at all. He knelt on his knees and kowtowed solemnly.

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded, and without looking at the ministers, she walked straight towards the dragon chariot.

Then, Empress Wu said from the carriage: "Go back to the palace."

"We, the ministers, respectfully send off the Queen of Heaven!" All the ministers bowed immediately.

……

Empress Wu, Empress Dou, Crown Prince Li Chengqi, Princess Taiping and her husband Xue Shao, Guo Daiju, Lu Yuanfang, Qian Weidao, Wei Xuantong and others returned to Chang'an together.

The person in charge of protecting everyone was General Wang Xiaojie of the Left Guard.

Li Dan boarded the carriage of Queen Dou, and the others followed the team back to the city.

Pei Yan followed calmly along the way, his eyes sweeping across the entire team silently.

Not all the people in Luoyang returned to Chang'an.

The deposed empress, Princess Ying, Wei, Prince Ping'en, Li Chongfu, Princess Dai, and Prince Linzi, Li Guangren, Princess Peng, Prince Jinchang, Princess Fuchang, and many other princes and nobles did not return to Chang'an with them.

These people are more or less related to Emperor Zhongzong.

In addition, Ouyang Tong, the third-rank official of the Secretariat and the Minister of Revenue, Wang Jishan, the Minister of Punishments, Qin Shandao, the general of the Left Jinwu Guard, Qin Ming, the general of the Left Jianmen Guard, and others did not return to Chang'an with them.

In fact, those people have been gradually excluded from the core of the government and the opposition.

Pei Yan had a feeling that even though Empress Wu had left Luoyang, Luoyang was still completely under her control.

It is even possible that she has set up countless traps in Luoyang, and no matter who wants to do anything, they may face a desperate situation.

In any case, when Empress Wu arrived at the Taiji Palace, paid homage to the late emperor, and ascended the throne in the Taiji Hall, this place had already become the center of the Tang Dynasty.

……

Sitting behind the pearl curtain, Empress Wu's eyes fell on Li Dan, and then on the ministers in the court, and she said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please stand up."

"Thank you, Queen Mother, and thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers slowly stood up. Although they did not look up, their eyes fell on Li Dan.

Li Dan did not hold court in another palace.

Empress Wu continued, "Tomorrow, the late emperor's coffin will depart from Chang'an and head to Qianling Mausoleum. Minister Wei, how are the preparations?"

Wei Daijia stood up and said, "Everything is fine."

"Yes!" Empress Wu nodded, then looked at Liu Rengui and said, "Let the emperor return to Chang'an first this time, and I will be one month behind. In fact, I have been thinking about the affairs of Emperor Zhongzong after his death."

All the officials immediately bowed their heads.

Empress Wu continued, "I have thought carefully and have made many mistakes in my judgment regarding Emperor Zhongzong. I was especially deceived by Imperial Guard General Zhang Qianxu, which made me make even more mistakes. I hereby order that the entire clan of Imperial Guard General Zhang Qianxu be executed for treason and their conspiracy be thoroughly investigated."

The ministers were slightly stunned, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "The Queen is wise."

Empress Wu continued, "Emperor Zhongzong was wrong, but his posthumous title of 'Li' is too harsh, so he should be given the posthumous title of 'Xiaohe', Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty."

With these words, the ministers in the palace were even more surprised, but they all reacted immediately and bowed their hands in unison, saying, "The Queen is wise."

The voice was more relaxed and firmer than before.

There were even tears in the eyes of many people.

Empress Wu continued, "The body of Emperor Zhongzong will be kept in Luoyang for five months, and will be buried in Gongling Mausoleum in mid-October... Let him go to accompany and pay respect to the emperor."

Emperor Xiaohe and Emperor Xiaojing, it is a special feeling to have two brothers accompany each other.

The ministers bowed again and said, "We accept your orders."

Empress Wu continued: "As for the matter of the ministers retiring..."

(End of this chapter)