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

Chapter 1641 Three Days, Luoyang City

In the blink of an eye, it is mid-July.

Li Xuan stood calmly on the top of Hangu Pass, looking towards Luoyang in the distance.

There was a sneer on his face.

Empress Wu should have received the news that Wenshui fell into Wang Fangyi's hands. If under such circumstances, he still wanted to behead Ouyang Tong, Li Xuan would not mind actually digging up Empress Wu's ancestral grave.

As for Li Xuan, Li Xuan’s ancestral tomb is in his own hands.

Also in Li Xuan's hands were the families of nearly half of the officials in the court.

Thinking of Empress Wu, a trace of contempt flashed across Li Xuan's eyes.

Empress Wu did want to make Luoyang the capital of the Tang Dynasty, but unfortunately she couldn't say these words to others.

As long as she dared to say a word to others, Chang'an would be in an uproar, and Empress Wu's desire to change the dynasty would no longer be concealed.

Therefore, the families of many officials in the court were still in Chang'an, because they had never thought of moving their families to Luoyang.

After all, in their minds, they will have to return to Chang'an in the future. It is for this reason that these people were carefully selected by Li Xuan.

Because their families fell into Li Xuan's hands, when Li Xuan delivered his letter to Li Dan and the memorial to Empress Wu to those people, they would not think of sending these things to Empress Wu first, and would even try to hide them.

Even burn it.

However, it didn’t matter to Li Xuan whether it was burned or not. As long as those things entered their minds, then one day in the future, as long as Li Dan died, these people would immediately understand that it was Empress Wu who did it.

Regardless of whether Li Dan was killed by Wu Zetian or not, they would think that it was Wu Zetian who killed him.

Just like although Li Xian committed suicide in the end, all the officials in the court knew that he died at the hands of Empress Wu.

Once Li Xuan reaches the city of Luoyang, these people will become his most capable assistants.

Especially when Empress Wu started her crazy killing spree...

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Li Xuan did not turn around and asked directly, "What's the matter?"

"Reporting to the Commander, Minister Wei is here." Li Lang bowed solemnly to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded gently and said, "Call him over. It's time for him to come."

……

Wei Juyuan walked out of Hangu Pass and quickly reached the end of the mountain path. In the distance, on the bank of the Yellow River, stood a group of people. Leading them was a man in black clothes and black armor, who was none other than Li Xuan.

On the opposite side of the Yellow River, less than 60% of the water surface remains.

The rocks on the riverbed close to the shore have been exposed. If you are careful, you can even walk on them, but unfortunately, there is still a lot of water in the middle of the river.

Crossing the river is still not an easy task.

Wei Juyuan knew in his heart that this was because Li Xuan had completely cut off the Wei River.

The Wei River no longer flowed into the Yellow River, and the water volume of the Yellow River immediately decreased by 40%. No, it even decreased by more.

Throughout the summer, there was very little rain. If Li Xuan had not ordered Yongzhou Prefecture to use the Wei River to irrigate the fields in May, the entire Guanzhong Plain would have suffered a huge loss in harvest that summer.

But precisely because of this, Chang'an became increasingly pessimistic about Li Xuan's water attack tactics.

……

"General." Wei Juyuan came behind Li Xuan and bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan turned around calmly, looking at Wei Juyuan with a gaze that seemed to see through everything, and asked calmly, "Why is Minister Wei here?"

"Your Highness has been stationing his troops at Hangu Pass and has not returned to Chang'an. I'm afraid that no matter how chaotic Chang'an is, Your Highness will not care." Wei Juyuan stood up and looked at Li Xuan with gritted teeth.

Li Xuan's expression was calm, and he said calmly: "The food and grass transported to Hangu Pass by Jiannan Road was not delayed at all, and the weapons sent to Hangu Pass by the Ministry of Industry were not delayed either. No one interfered with the transportation of food and weapons along the way. For this king, everything is enough."

Wei Juyuan paused for a moment, not knowing what to say, but his expression had turned completely ugly.

Li Xuan nodded calmly and said, "Minister Wei has already said that Chang'an is in chaos. Tell me, why is Chang'an in chaos?"

"The news of the fall of Yangzhou has spread everywhere in Chang'an City. Doesn't Your Majesty care about it? At least you have to go back and appease the people of Chang'an." Wei Juyuan looked at Li Xuan with resentment, but there was a flash of inexplicable fear in the depths of his eyes.

Li Xuan nodded in realization and said, "It seems that Yuan Changshi did his best. The news of Yangzhou's fall was suppressed in Chang'an for two months before it could no longer be controlled. This person is very useful, very capable, and very usable."

"It turns out that the prince knew about the fall of Yangzhou two months ago." Wei Juyuan calmed down, looked at Li Xuan and asked: "Then may I ask, where is the emperor now?"

What the Wei family is most concerned about is the whereabouts of Li Chongzhao.

As long as Li Chongzhao is around, the Wei family will be one of the most powerful families in the world. If Li Chongzhao dies, the status of the Wei family will probably fall from heaven to earth immediately.

Falling into hell is not inevitable, but falling into the mortal world is inevitable.

Because Empress Wu would not let them go.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know, but before I entered Chang'an, Duke Jiang wrote to me, saying that if Yangzhou City could not be defended, he would take the emperor to evacuate Yangzhou. If I took Chang'an, they would take a long detour from Yangzhou back to Chang'an. Maybe they are on the way now."

"Two months." Wei Juyuan was not fooled by Li Xuan's words. He stared at Li Xuan and said, "It has been two months since the fall of Yangzhou. If the emperor wants to return to Chang'an from Yangzhou, then at least by now there should be news. But why is there still no news now?"

"This is not something I can know." After Li Xuan finished speaking, Wei Juyuan's eyes suddenly changed. Li Xuan smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Minister Wei, don't worry. There are only three possible answers to the emperor's whereabouts."

"What three?" Wei Juyuan asked subconsciously.

"The first one." Li Xuan's expression calmed down, he looked towards Yangzhou and said softly: "The first one is that the emperor is still alive and even on his way to Chang'an, but because of the serious inspections along the way, he was delayed on the road..."

Wei Juyuan gritted his teeth and looked at Li Xuan without saying a word.

Li Xuan turned and looked towards Luoyang, and said softly, "The second possibility is that the emperor is still alive, but has fallen into the hands of the Queen Mother and is being forced to Luoyang. He may even be sent to Hangu Pass at any time. By then, whether he is at Hangu Pass or in Luoyang, I can take the emperor back."

"What about the third option?" Wei Juyuan's breathing became heavy.

Li Xuan turned around and looked at him, saying seriously, "The third possibility is that the emperor is already dead, and it is even possible that his body is on the way to Luoyang."

"Ah!" Wei Juyuan gritted his teeth and looked at Li Xuan and asked directly, "Is there any news about King Peng?"

Li Xuan shook his head with some disappointment, and then said: "There is no news. Mount Xiao is blocked very tightly. Even if there is news, it is Luoyang who deliberately let us know, so it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the false."

After a short pause, Li Xuan's expression became solemn. He looked at Wei Juyuan and said seriously, "Brother Wei, I'm just saying what if. If something really happens to the emperor, then your Wei family needs to be prepared to welcome Prince Ping'en as the emperor. At the same time, I hope that I can successfully capture Luoyang."

Wei Juyuan's breathing suddenly became heavy, and his body stiffened involuntarily in an instant.

He looked straight at Li Xuan and asked through gritted teeth, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"Go into Luoyang and rescue Prince Ping'en. The difficulty here is not only to reach the city of Luoyang, but also to open the city gate of Luoyang and enter the palace. The most important thing is that we must do it before the Queen Mother kills Prince Ping'en." Li Xuan's face suddenly became stern.

"The Queen Mother!" Wei Juyuan's face had completely tightened. He looked at Li Xuan and said in disbelief, "The Queen Mother wouldn't attack the Prince of Ping'en, would she?"

"Emperor Zhongzong is dead, Prince Yong is dead. If the emperor is dead, will the queen still care about her other grandson?" Li Xuan snorted coldly, and Wei Juyuan's face turned pale. Li Xuan leaned forward, looked at Wei Juyuan, and said seriously: "Brother Wei, once I kill at the gate of Luoyang City, I need the Wei family to contact the people in Luoyang City?"

"How will we contact each other when the city gates are closed?" Wei Juyuan said subconsciously.

"Brother Wei will definitely find a way." Li Xuan smiled gently. He had never underestimated the power of the aristocratic families, especially those in the palace.

Wei Juyuan's expression gradually calmed down, and he was no longer so worried.

Whether Li Chongzhao was dead or not, as long as the body was not delivered to them, they could deny it. Even if the body was delivered to them, they still had Prince Ping'en to rely on...

Wei Juyuan suddenly raised his head, looked at Li Xuan in surprise and said, "Could it be that the prince has found a way to escape from the Qiaohan Ancient Road, and..."

And it happened recently.

Wei Juyuan finally caught the hidden meaning in Li Xuan's words. At the same time, his calmness and confidence could be explained clearly.

The news of the fall of Yangzhou was spreading like wildfire in Chang'an.

Yuan Jiazuo had been suppressing the situation for two months and was almost unable to hold it back, but Li Xuan was still calm. There was only one reason that could explain everything, and that was that he had found a way to break out of the Qiaohan Ancient Road and would be able to reach Luoyang soon.

"Three days." Li Xuan raised his head, looked at the Queen of Heaven, and said softly, "Three days. After three days, the army will go out and attack the Qiaohan Ancient Road."

"Okay!" Wei Juyuan nodded blankly, still a little bit unbelieving in his heart.

Three days, the army can be dispatched in three days?
Then what about attacking Luoyang?

Wei Juyuan suddenly shuddered, and he immediately understood that the most critical day was not far away.

"I will return to Luoyang immediately and suppress all the voices. The Wei family will do everything in its power to assist His Majesty." Wei Juyuan gritted his teeth and bowed.

"Be careful, don't leak the news too early." Li Xuan nodded calmly to Wei Juyuan.

Wei Juyuan didn't say much. He bowed, turned around and walked towards Hangu Pass, and soon headed towards Chang'an.

Li Xuan said sideways: "Send someone to follow him and see if there is anyone watching his whereabouts. If there is, arrest them all."

"Yes!" Zhou Qian bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Li Xuan looked at Li Lang and said, "Order Nan Ju to completely block the Yellow River within three days. Order Cui Ding to send 500 more people to destroy all checkpoints along the way from Hangu Pass to Shanzhou within three days."

"Yes!" Li Lang bowed, then immediately turned and left.

From Hangu Pass to Shanzhou, there is indeed no large military garrison, but there are still many small outposts between the mountain roads.

Especially since Li Xuan stationed his troops at Hangu Pass, the checkpoints on the mountain roads have become a kind of early warning device.

Once Li Xuan mobilized his troops, they would immediately send the message back to Shanzhou through beacon fires.

It is also because of this that Li Xuan would send people to clear these checkpoints every once in a while until reinforcements from Shanzhou arrived.

But this time, if Li Xuan wants to charge into Shanzhou City in one breath, then these checkpoints must not emit any signal fire.

This depends on Cui Ding's ability.

Within three days.

Li Xuan raised her head slightly, and the hot wind was already blowing across her face.

Three days, Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)