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

Chapter 1662: Copy of the Will, King of a Different Surname
In the Qianyang Palace, Yan Huaidan, dressed in red and golden armor, bowed solemnly and said, "Reporting to the Queen, King Peng has led his troops to Yique Pass, but he only tried once and retreated decisively when he failed. General Su Honghui of Yique Pass has already started to prepare to build a stepped dam in the upper reaches of the Yi River, trying his best to confuse King Peng, and then wait for him to attack the pass and release the flood in one fell swoop."

Sitting on the imperial couch, Empress Wu nodded with satisfaction and said, "Su Qing is still capable, but we must also be careful that King Peng will send people across Xiong'er Mountain to intercept the water. If the water flow is completely blocked, then he will have a chance to enter Yique Pass."

"Yes!" Yan Huaidan bowed solemnly and then returned to the train.

"Queen of Heaven." Fan Lubing stepped forward and said, "Luoyang is located in a low-lying area. Although there are many ditches connecting it, the Yi River, Luo River, Chan River, and Jian River flow into Luoyang. If King Peng cuts off the water flow and diverts the river water to flood Luoyang, it will cause great harm to Luoyang. Please make preparations early."

"No." Empress Wu shook her head and looked at Fan Lubing and said, "Mr. Fan, didn't you see that King Peng had no intention of forcibly attacking the city today? He is still playing the game of attacking the heart and wants to take Luoyang without any soldiers. He is too ambitious."

"Queen, that is true. But if King Peng only stores water and does not release it, the panic caused by this alone would probably be enough to make Luoyang uneasy. Moreover, this is one of his most skilled means of attacking people's hearts. If he uses other means as well, Luoyang will be in trouble."

Empress Wu frowned, looked at Fan Lubing, then smiled and said, "Then go and prepare. Tell everyone in Luoyang that King Peng is going to flood Luoyang in order to reduce losses. Tell every household to be ready and get on the boat and leave at any time."

Although Luoyang is not a water city like the Jiangnan region, the water transportation here is smooth. Not every household has a boat, but it is inevitable that there is a boat every five or six households.

Therefore, it is difficult to cause major damage through water attacks.

But if the people in Luoyang knew that Li Xuan was going to flood the city, then no one would care about the safety of their lives, the late emperor's will, or the death of Emperor Zhongzong.

"The Queen is wise." Fan Lubing immediately understood what Empress Wu meant, breathed a sigh of relief, and then returned to the train.

Li Xuan read out Emperor Gaozong's last will directly in front of the city gate, which made Fan Lubing's heart rise.

Not only him, but other people in the court are the same.

That will was written in the exact tone and manner of the late emperor.

Li Xuan was dismissed from his post as General of the Right Guard and given the title of Grand Marshal.

Li Xuan was dismissed from all his posts in Fanzhou and given the post of Imperial College Chief Academician.

This kind of balancing act was very familiar to everyone present.

"Empress." Dou Lu Qin Wang stood up and said with a folded hand: "King Peng will eventually refute it, especially the death of Emperor Zhongzong. If the world does not know that the death of Emperor Zhongzong was an accident, then I am afraid that the world will not oppose King Peng too much."

Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly.

Now Li Xuan has already reached Luoyang. If Hulao Pass is taken, Zhengzhou may be difficult to defend.

If he were to capture Yique Pass, the communication channels between Luoyang and Shannan would be cut off.

So what about those provincial governors, what will happen to them?
If they listened to Li Xuan and led their troops to support Li Xuan, it would be even more difficult for Empress Wu to defeat Li Xuan.

"I again request that Your Majesty be allowed to go to the city gate and refute King Peng." Dou Lu Qinwang bowed again.

"I second the motion!" Dou Xuande and many others stood up.

This time, even Guo Zhengyi stood up.

It was obvious that Li Xuan's presentation of Li Zhi's last will had a great impact on people's hearts.

"I second the motion." Fan Lubing stood up and bowed solemnly.

Then many people stood up and bowed with serious concern.

Empress Wu sat on the imperial couch and nodded slightly. She could now finally see clearly how great the threat posed by Li Xuan's reading of Li Zhi's will was.

"There is no problem with this." Empress Wu raised her head and said, "But it's still early now. The emperor can come to the city in person, but the timing is crucial, at least not now."

Fan Lubing nodded slightly, and said with a folded hand: "The Queen is wise."

Empress Wu looked solemn, and said to the ministers, "This palace and all the ministers know that the late emperor gave a will to each of the three, Prince Peng, Duke Jiang, and Pei Yan. But the problem now is that not only is Pei Yan's will not be found in the palace, but even Prince Peng's will is also missing. What's going on?"

All the ministers looked up suddenly and looked at Empress Wu in disbelief.

How is it possible that there is no copy of the will in the palace?

When the late emperor bestowed three edicts on Li Xuan, Pei Yan, and Pei Xingjian, they all knew about it. Many people even saw the three men walking out of the palace holding the sandalwood boxes containing the edicts...

"The will in Prince Peng's hand doesn't look fake." Dou Xuande frowned. He was startled when he finished speaking, then stepped forward and said, "Empress, regarding the will, although I was not in the palace, I also know that there is another person who has the will of the late emperor."

"Su Liangsi." Empress Wu nodded slightly.

Ever since Li Xuan attacked at Xishi Pass, Empress Wu placed Su Liangsi under house arrest for fear that Su Liangsi and Empress Wu would collude with each other.

Empress Wu paused, looked at Dou Xuande and said, "My dear minister, what you mean is that the late emperor handed all the copies of the three edicts to Su Liangsi."

"That's possible." Dou Xuande cupped his hands and said, "When the late emperor summoned the three of them, he must have told them that they could only open the sandalwood box under special circumstances.

The edicts in the hands of Prince Peng, Duke Jiang, and Prime Minister Pei should all be genuine, but in order to restrain the three of them, Your Majesty did not place the copies of the edict in the palace..."

"Instead, it was placed in Su Liangsi's hands." Empress Wu nodded slowly. She finally understood everything.

"Yes!" Dou Xuande responded in a deep voice, but when he lowered his head, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

If the late emperor really wanted to keep a copy of the will, it should have been left to the Queen Mother.

With the Queen Mother in charge of the copy of the imperial edict, and then controlling King Peng, Pei Xingjian and Pei Yan, the world will absolutely be stable.

Could it be that the late emperor...he was...

Empress Wu raised her head, looked at Fan Lubing and said, "Mr. Fan, you should go there in person now and retrieve the copy of the will from Su Qing's hand. I want to know whether Prince Peng forged the will." "Yes!" Fan Lubing immediately bowed, then turned around and walked outside.

Dou Xuande bowed and returned to the train.

……

Empress Wu knocked lightly on the table, and all the ministers' eyes were focused on her at the same time.

"Prince Peng is very ambitious. Few people know about the will. If he tampered with it, few people would know about it either." Empress Wu raised her eyes slightly and looked at the ministers. She said, "This point should not only be known to everyone in Luoyang City, but also to everyone under Prince Peng's command."

The ministers seemed to understand Empress Wu's intention, and they bowed uncertainly and said, "Yes!"

Empress Wu nodded and said, "You all have connections with the people under King Peng. You have many connections with Master Tang, Nan Ju, Su Baotong, Li Duozuo, etc. The situation is critical now. If anyone is willing to go to the front of the king's army and contact the generals, and can gain something, I guarantee that you will be promoted one level.

If you can completely suppress the rebellion of King Peng, you will be granted the title of nobility and appointed as prime minister without any problem."

The ministers' eyes lit up, but then they calmly bowed and said, "Yes!"

The ministers in the palace were either Wu Zetian’s confidants or Li Dan’s confidants, and it was inevitable that they would be granted titles of nobility and appointed as prime ministers in the future.

Empress Wu did not say this to them, but to others.

If other people could convince one of Li Xuan's generals to turn against him, then not only that general, but also they would have the opportunity to be granted titles of nobility and become prime ministers.

Even more than just marquis, duke, and general, Empress Wu would bestow them at this time.

Seeing that the ministers understood her meaning, Empress Wu nodded and said, "The last one is Prince Peng. If anyone can persuade him to turn back, then I will also give him the title of a county prince."

The king of a different surname, Empress Wu threw away a more important chess piece.

The ministers could not help but burst into an uproar.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there have been only two kings with different surnames.

Du Fuwei, King of Wu; Luo Yi, King of Yan.

Both of them were given the surname Li because of their great contributions, but were later executed for being involved in treason.

Smart people will stay away from this position, but ambitious people will also see opportunities.

For example, Wu Sansi.

His eyes lit up in an instant.

"Think carefully!" Empress Wu's voice came from above. Wu Sansi immediately stood there with his hands clasped in a solemn manner: "I am here."

"The emperor's personal letter has been written. You will hand it to the prince consort in person and ask him to deliver it to Prince Peng tomorrow. Make sure that everything that needs to be said is done properly." Empress Wu looked at Wu Sansi calmly, without any sign of abnormality, and then waved her hand and said, "Dismiss the court. Everyone, keep an eye on the city gates to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes!" The hearts of the ministers suddenly tightened. The news of Li Xuan reading out the late emperor's will had spread from the city wall to Luoyang City. If someone really opened the city gate regardless of the consequences, then everything they had done would be in vain.

……

In front of the Zhenguan Hall, Empress Wu looked calmly in the direction of the Zhuangjing Hall and asked in a low voice: "How is the emperor?"

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, His Majesty is fine, but he has not eaten much in the past two days, and seems to be on a hunger strike." Qiu Huan bowed with some concern.

Empress Wu sneered and said, "Si Lang has never suffered since he was a child. His hunger strike is just a demonstration to me. Don't bother with him. He will know how to eat after three days of starvation."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed and accepted the order.

"Let's go to Renshou Palace." Empress Wu turned and walked towards Renshou Palace.

Qiu Huan looked up and glanced at Shangguan Wan'er in surprise. Shangguan Wan'er shook her head in confusion, then followed Empress Wu lightly.

In front of the gate of Renshou Palace, Empress Wu stopped. Just as the waiter at the door was about to bow, she waved her hand and looked directly into the palace.

In the palace, one could vaguely hear the sound of a baby crying softly, but then the baby started giggling again, as if it was amused.

At this time, Empress Wu couldn't help but reveal a hint of kindness on her face.

Then, Empress Wu turned aside and said, "The daily necessities of Renshou Palace shall all be provided as provided by the imperial concubine, and not the slightest deduction shall be made."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan lowered his head heavily, and a hint of horror flashed in his eyes the moment he lowered his body.

Empress Wu turned and walked towards Huiyou Palace. Since it was certain that Li Xuan would not force an attack on the city in a short time, as long as they defended Yique Pass, Luoyang City would be safe for the time being.

At least Empress Wu can have a good sleep now.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the direction of Daye Gate, and Empress Wu subconsciously stopped.

Qiu Huan immediately turned around and looked at the palace eunuch who was chasing him. After hearing what the other party said, Qiu Huan's face was full of surprise.

Then, he walked quickly back to Empress Wu and said excitedly, "Empress, the Imperial Censor Wei Yuanzhong has led 20,000 cavalrymen to Mount Song."

"What!" Empress Wu was immediately surprised, and then she said, "Let Wei Qing come to the palace immediately. Oh, and keep it secret. The news of the 20,000 cavalrymen arriving at Songshan should also be completely blocked. Also, summon the Minister of War Miao Chuke to the palace.

Tonight we have to discuss how to give King Peng a surprise!"

(End of this chapter)