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

Chapter 1634 Queen, are you crazy?
Empress Wu sat on the imperial couch, looking at the memorial in front of her.

There are three more letters.

Empress Wu casually opened the first letter.

A letter from Li Xuan to Master Cao Ren.

The words "water attack" immediately appeared in Empress Wu's eyes.

Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly, looked up at Lou Shide, and asked, "Does Hangu Pass know that the court has captured Yangzhou?"

"We have sent people to pass the news to Hangu Pass, and even tried to send people across Hangu Pass into Guanzhong, but the soldiers we sent out were either forced back or died in the mountains. I'm afraid the entire passage has been blocked by King Peng."

Lou Shide cupped his hands and said, "Now that Wang Fangyi is heading north to Bingzhou, we can only go further north to go around Chang'an. I hope we can succeed."

Empress Wu nodded calmly, but her eyes turned to Wu Youning. Now he was in charge of the secret guard affairs.

Wu Youning stood up with his hands clasped in fear and said, "Reporting to the Queen, the secret guards have not sent back any news from Chang'an for several days. I have sent a message to Hanzhong, asking the secret guards in Hanzhong to go to Chang'an to investigate the details of Chang'an."

Empress Wu looked back at Lou Shide and asked, "How do you plan to respond to King Peng's water attack tactics?"

Lou Shide bowed his hands seriously and said, "I'm afraid we have to withdraw half of the troops at Maojin Ferry. In addition, we need to transfer a navy from Luoyang to prevent the navy under King Peng from following the rising water and attacking Shanzhou or even Hulao Pass."

"Hulao Pass?" Empress Wu frowned. She had not paid attention to this name for a long time. She squinted her eyes and said, "Do you think that Prince Peng will attack Luoyang from Hulao Pass?"

"Emperor Taizong won a great victory at Hulao Pass and began to isolate Luoyang from the world step by step. Once Prince Peng breaks into Hulao Pass and then goes south and defeats the army returning from the south of the Yangtze River, we will have no choice but to be trapped in Luoyang." Lou Shide's expression was extremely solemn.

They broke out of Hangu Pass and entered Hulao Pass, then turned south and entered the area south of Songshan Mountain. They then encircled the army from the east and west, defeated the army on the Luo River Plain, and finally surrounded Luoyang. They waited until Luoyang was completely out of ammunition and food, and finally destroyed Luoyang in one fell swoop.

All the ministers in the palace are well-versed in history books.

They had all seen and even studied in depth the process of Emperor Taizong's extermination of Wang Shichong.

With such a successful example in front of her, it is only natural for Li Xuan to imitate it.

As for whether Li Xuan has the ability like Emperor Taizong?

The ministers couldn't help but think of Li Xuan's military achievements over the years.

Actually, it’s just three things.

He defeated Lun Qinling and destroyed Tubo.

Defeat the Arabs and destroy the Western Turks.

Defeated Wang Xiaojie and entered Chang'an City.

I don’t know how many people’s faces turned completely gloomy at this moment.

Wang Xiaojie's defeat caused the court to lose the entire Guanzhong area.

Especially now, when King Peng integrated the power of Chang'an and attacked again, they actually felt the possibility of destruction for a moment.

……

"Mobilize the navy from Dengzhou." Empress Wu made the decision in a blink of an eye. Looking at the two words on the letter, she calmly shook her head and said, "Water attack has always been a time-consuming technique, and the Yellow River is rugged and steep, with many hidden reefs. Unless there is really... the heavy rain that year, Grand Historian Order."

"I'm here!" Li Yan stood up and bowed to Empress Wu, saying, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the Bureau of Astronomy has observed the astronomical phenomena and found that there will still be little rain in the north this summer. There may be one or two days of heavy rain occasionally, but there will definitely not be the continuous heavy rain for half a month that year. I guarantee this with my life."

Empress Wu frowned and said, "In any case, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau will monitor the celestial phenomena at all times. If there are any changes, report them immediately."

"Yes!" Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed back.

Empress Wu raised her head and said, "The matter of Prince Peng has been delayed for too long. Send an order to Cheng Wuting to speed up the withdrawal of troops. I want to see him within half a month."

"Here!" All the officials in the palace raised their hands at the same time.

The court had already captured Yangzhou several days ago, and the news had reached Luoyang even before Li Xuan captured Chang'an.

It’s a pity that when the news was transmitted from Luoyang to Chang’an, Chang’an fell.

Moreover, they only learned about the fall of Chang'an when Wang Fangyi attacked Hangu Pass.

Fortunately, the commander of Hangu Pass retreated to Hejin in time, burned the wooden bridge, and urgently dispatched troops from Shanzhou Prefecture, otherwise Wang Fangyi would probably have directly attacked Shanzhou.

Of course, the natural barrier of the Yellow River is not so easy to break, otherwise Li Xuan would not have used water attack to break this natural barrier.

"Wang Fangyi wants to go to Bingzhou." Empress Wu said after a moment's pause, "Order Cui Sijing, the chief officer of Bingzhou Military Governor's Office, to move troops westward to contain Wang Fangyi."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed.

"And Hanzhong." Empress Wu looked up at Wu Youning and said, "Dispatch some secret guards to Hanzhong to investigate the military deployment and wait for the army to march."

"Yes!" Wu Youning quickly stood up and bowed.

Empress Wu nodded slightly, looked at the ministers and said: "The threat from King Peng is nothing more than after the dam is completed. Before the dam is completed, it is just a threat. Therefore, we only need to recapture Chang'an before the dam is completed. Tell Cao Renshi not to always think about hiding. Although Hangu Pass is difficult to attack, it does not mean there is no way out."

"Yes!" Lou Shide bowed his head solemnly.

Empress Wu waved her hand slightly, and Lou Shide immediately stood back in the train.

……

Empress Wu opened the letter paper with the words "water attack" written on it, and took away the top memorial. There were two letters underneath.

One letter was from Crown Prince Li Chengqi, addressed to Li Dan.

One letter was written by Li Xuan to Li Dan.

Empress Wu's expression became solemn. The fall of Chang'an was not important. What was really important was that Li Chengqi fell into Li Xuan's hands.

Li Chengqi was the only son of Li Dan. If anything happened to Li Dan, Li Chengqi would succeed to the throne smoothly.

But now that Li Chengqi has fallen into Li Xuan's hands, the entire Tang Dynasty's imperial succession is in question. If Li Dan is in trouble, will Empress Wu let Li Chengqi ascend the throne in Chang'an, or choose Li Chongfu to ascend the throne in Luoyang?

But Li Chongfu is Li Xian's son.

After Wu Zetian killed Li Xian and made Li Dan the emperor, did she end up returning the throne to Li Xian's son?

This is a joke.

Empress Wu casually opened the letter written by Li Chengqi to Li Dan.

There was not much in the letter, just that he was living well in Chang'an and his uncle did not treat him harshly. He now lived in Zhaode Palace with Linzi Prince Li Guangren every day.

In addition to handling state affairs every day, my great uncle also explained to them why he handled them in this way.

On weekdays, we also invite scholars from Chongwenguan to give lectures to them.

The treatment such as food, clothing and daily necessities has not deteriorated.

From time to time, you can see other court officials.

It feels even more comfortable than when he was the crown prince.

I just miss my father a little, and I don’t know when I can see him again.

Empress Wu savored the words carefully and could tell that these were Li Chengqi's words.

But the choice of words is very careful.

It can be seen that after this incident, Li Chengqi has indeed grown a lot.

However, it can be seen between the lines that although Li Xuan did not treat them harshly, it was impossible for him to have an easy life like when he was the crown prince.

But in the end, he was not treated too unfairly.

This is why Li Xuan asked Li Chengqi to write this letter to Li Dan.

After all, they are a family. No matter what happened, it has not reached the point where blood will be shed.

Empress Wu picked up the envelope, handed it to Qiu Huan beside her, and said, "Send this letter to the emperor."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan immediately bowed, took the letter, turned and walked out of the hall.

……

Empress Wu looked at the remaining memorial and letter and opened the memorial.

The letter was written by Li Xuan to Li Dan, but the memorial was written by Li Xuan to Empress Wu.

Empress Wu calmly glanced over the preface and looked at the following text: "Your Majesty, I heard that the Empress Dowager has been ill in Luoyang for a long time..."

"Hehehe..." Empress Wu couldn't help but laughed through gritted teeth, a hint of hatred flashing across her face.

What does it mean to have been ill in Luoyang for a long time? This sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but think about what Empress Wu did in Luoyang?

He killed Li Xian, re-established Li Dan, and then imprisoned Li Dan. He then sent Zhang Qianxu to Chang'an to massacre the Eastern Palace, and then attacked Yangzhou.

She did all these things in Luoyang.

The first sentence Li Xuan said was actually, Queen, are you crazy?
Empress Wu had read countless memorials over the years, but she was still so angry that she laughed at Li Xuan's first sentence.

The ministers in the hall looked up in surprise, saw Empress Wu's face full of resentment, and then quickly lowered their heads.

Empress Wu calmed down and continued to read Li Xuan's memorial: "Your Highness Xuan says: I heard that the Empress Dowager has been ill in Luoyang for a long time, and we should not disturb her. However, the Emperor will hold the coronation ceremony at the Taiji Palace in Chang'an on the first day of the first lunar month next year, and urgently needs the Empress Dowager to witness it. I would like to go to Luoyang to pay my respects. Please approve my memorial."

Empress Wu narrowed her eyes and planned to hold a coronation ceremony for Li Chongzhao in Chang'an next year. Prince Peng was very brave.

Empress Wu looked up at Dou Lu Qinwang, Fan Lubing, Wang Dezhen and Guo Daiju and asked, "Did you find out about the matter in Yangzhou?"

Li Chongzhao, the crown prince of Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian, was demoted to a commoner by Empress Wu after he ascended the throne in Yangzhou.

Dou Lu Qinwang stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, after Yangzhou was captured, the commoner Li Chongzhao was taken to Runzhou by the Duke of Jiang. Later, the army crossed the Yangtze River to pursue him, all the way to Maoshan, but lost sight of him. Now the army has retreated northward, and the Palace Censor Wei Yuanzhong is still investigating, but the specific results are unknown."

When he spoke to the end, Dou Lu Qinwang glanced at Empress Wu carefully, his eyes full of caution.

To be honest, the ministers and the chancellors had no idea whether Li Chongzhao was alive or dead.

Li Chongzhao might still be alive and have retreated deep into the south of the Yangtze River. However, the army is useless in finding him, and the secret guards and local prefectures and counties can only cooperate to deal with it.

Moreover, the army retreated northward because Li Xuan had captured Chang'an and no longer allowed Cheng Wuting to lead the army to stay in Jiangnan.

After Li Xuan captured Chang'an, the next step was to attack Luoyang.

Originally, Cheng Wuting led his army eastward, and Wang Xiaojie led his army westward. There were not many troops left in Chang'an. Even if Luoyang had more troops than Chang'an, it would not be much more.

Once Li Xuan breaks through the ancient Xiaohan Road, the next step will be the Luo River Plain. If the Luo River Plain cannot be stopped, he will immediately attack Luoyang.

Chang'an can't stop Li Xuan, so what about Luoyang?
Even if Luoyang can hold out, how long can it hold out? Therefore, Cheng Wuting's troops must be transferred back.

This is also the consensus between the government and the opposition.

As the army marched south, the court was actually really worried that the army would stir up chaos before there was any rebellion in Jiangnan, which would make it difficult to collect the autumn tax this year.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "Tell Wei Yuanzhong that Chongzhao must be found alive and sent back to Chang'an."

"Yes!" Dou Lu Qinwang bowed quickly, his eyes lowered, his mind racing.

Either he must be found alive, or he must not be let others know. In the end, Li Chongzhao died at the hands of the imperial army.

He died at the hands of his grandmother, Empress Wu.

(End of this chapter)