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

Chapter 1672 Li Dan hangs himself, Empress Wu ascends the throne

Under the city of Luoyang, Li Xuan urged his horse forward again.

After three steps, the warhorse stopped.

Li Xuan looked up indifferently and asked softly, "Where is Li Dan? Where are the others?

Three days ago, I said I would move the graves of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Xiaojing. Why didn't he, as a brother, show up? Could it be that he can't even see this tacit understanding?"

Yan Huaidan, standing behind the shadow of the parapet, holding a long knife, looked at Wei Yuanzhong, who spat out a mouthful of blood, sat on the ground with thin breathing, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

He became like this just because someone called him a "traitor". Even if Yan Huaidan was dumb, he could see that there was something strange about it.

Your Majesty, why didn’t you come?

You know, a few days ago, the Queen Mother said that Your Majesty should come to Jianchun Gate at noon today. Why didn’t you come?
Wei Yuanzhong used the excuse of spitting blood to avoid King Peng's questioning. What did he know?
Under Yan Huaidan's gaze, Wei Yuanzhong opened his eyes with some difficulty. He raised his head with force, raised his eyes slightly, and signaled Yan Huaidan to face Li Xuan.

Yan Huaidan shook his head firmly. He would never do such a thing as letting 30,000 people point at him and call him a traitor.

What's more, it was their fault in the first place.

Wei Yuanzhong stared at Yan Huaidan, and Yan Huaidan stared at Wei Yuanzhong. The two men looked at each other, neither of them facing Li Xuan outside the city.

Just at this moment, a heavy sound of footsteps came from downstairs.

Wei Yuanzhong and Yan Huaidan turned around at the same time, and saw Dou Xuande and Dou Lu Qinwang slowly walking up to them.

Behind the two of them was Wu Sansi.

But there is only Wu Sansi.

……

Dou Xuande walked alone to the women's wall and looked outside the city with a serious expression.

Outside the city, Li Xuan, dressed in white linen mourning clothes and riding on a tall black horse, and 30,000 black-armored soldiers tied with white silk, all stood silently.

"King Peng." Dou Xuande looked at Li Xuan and nodded first.

"Mr. Dou." Li Xuan bowed for a rare moment, then raised his head and asked directly, "Where is Silang? Where did he go? Why didn't he come today?

Regarding the matter of honoring the Emperor and Emperor Zhongzong, this prince needs him as a brother to speak to him face to face."

Dou Xuande opened his mouth slightly, but then closed it again. After a brief pause, he shook his head and said, "Your Majesty is ill and cannot come to see King Peng. However, your Majesty does not allow the tomb to be moved, and neither does the Queen Mother."

"Is he ill?" Li Xuan caught Dou Xuande's words and asked coldly, "Is Silang ill? What's wrong with him? When did he get sick? Has the imperial physician seen him? What medicine did he prescribe? When will he get better? And Mr. Dou, have you seen Silang? How is his complexion?"
Or, Mr. Dou, you have never met Silang at all?"

Dou Xuande wanted to refute at first, but when Li Xuan finally asked him if he had never met Li Dan, Dou Xuande was slightly stunned and then fell completely silent.

He had indeed never met Li Dan.

When he entered the palace today, the Queen Mother did not allow him to see Li Dan at all.

It was originally agreed that Li Dan would come to Jianchun Gate today to stabilize the people's hearts, boost morale, and suppress Li Xuan. However, Empress Wu said that Li Dan was ill, so she sent him, Dou Lu Qinwang, and Wu Sansi to Jianchun Gate to see Li Xuan.

Looking at Dou Xuande's appearance, Li Xuan fell silent.

After a moment, he asked softly, "Mr. Dou, has Silang been in trouble? Some of my men have entered Shendu Garden, where they found the remains of Prince Yiyang, Prince Ji, Prince Xu and other princes of the royal family.

Did that incident implicate Shiro?"

Dou Lu Qinwang suddenly walked up from behind, stared directly at Li Xuan and asked, "Prince Yiyang, Prince Ji, Prince Xu, and the princes of the royal family of Shendu Garden, are they all dead?"

"I have found the remains of eleven members of the royal family. There are also hundreds of remains that do not belong to the royal family. There must have been a massacre there." Li Xuan shook his head slightly.

"Massacre, massacre..." Dou Lu Qinwang looked at Li Xuan in disbelief. Then, he turned around abruptly, rushed over and grabbed Wu Sansi's collar, gritting his teeth and saying, "Duke of Liang, Duke of Liang, why don't we, the prime ministers, know about these things? Why did you kill the princes of the royal family without going through the court? What do you treat us, the prime ministers, as?"

Wu Sansi was grabbed by the collar by Doulu Qinwang, but he still looked at Doulu Qinwang calmly and said, "Sansi doesn't know about the affairs of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Prince Yiyang, Prince Ji, Prince Xu and others. Who knows if Prince Peng is talking nonsense?"

"Then what about Your Majesty? The Queen Mother has said more than once that she wants Your Majesty to confront King Peng. Why has it been delayed again and again? Even today, she made up a lie that Your Majesty is sick. You should know that we just saw Your Majesty more than ten days ago?" Dou Lu Qinwang was breathing rapidly, his expression was cold, and he gritted his teeth.

More than ten days ago, when Li Xuan was still in Hangu Pass, when he went to court on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Empress Wu asked Li Dan to come out and meet the ministers.

Afterwards, he repeatedly said that he agreed to let Li Dan meet Li Xuan, but in the end he used the excuse of being sick to prevaricate.

"Minister of the Secretariat, please be careful with your words. There is no need for the Empress Dowager to make up lies when doing things. If you want to see Your Majesty, you can wait until the first day of the month in a few days before the grand court session." Wu Sansi pushed Doulu Qinwang away, but Doulu Qinwang retreated in a daze.

Although Wu Sansi said that he would be able to see Li Dan again in a few days, Dou Lu Qinwang had a bad feeling in his heart.

What time is it now? Li Xuan has already reached Jianchun Gate. Judging from his posture, if he is not responded to, he will attack the city immediately.

Now in the court, the most important thing to fight against Li Xuan is to delay time.

Once Luoyang is completely engulfed in war, all of them will be sinners.

Wu Sansi looked up at Dou Xuande, but Dou Xuande had retreated from the top of the city wall at some point in time. He didn't know what he was thinking and was completely dazed.

"Prime Minister Dou." Wu Sansi shouted angrily, but Dou Xuande just looked up at him and lowered his head again.

Wu Sansi looked at the others, Wei Yuanzhong, Yan Huaidan, and everyone turned away.

Wu Sansi cursed inwardly, took a deep breath, walked forward calmly, stood behind the parapet, and looked at Li Xuan: "King Peng!"

"Duke of Dang, no, now he is Duke of Liang." Li Xuan glanced at Wu Sansi, then his expression calmed down and he looked at Wu Sansi and said, "I just want to ask one question now: Silang, is Silang dead?"

As soon as Li Xuan said this, everyone in the city and outside the city fell silent at the same time.

The emperor is dead.

For the soldiers on the city wall, the reason why they were still resisting Li Xuan was because although Li Xian died in an ignominious way, the one who succeeded to the throne was still the legitimate son of Emperor Gaozong.

Although Li Dan was a puppet, Empress Wu, who was ruling the country from behind the scenes, was the empress of Emperor Gaozong and the current empress dowager.

At present, Li Xuan's uprising is, after all, nothing more than a power struggle among the Li clan.

But, if Li Dan also died, it would be completely different.

Even though Empress Wu was the Empress of Emperor Gaozong and the current Empress Dowager, if Li Dan also died...

"King Peng..." Wu Sansi suddenly became angry and pointed at Li Xuan and said, "Son of Heaven..."

"Stop talking." Li Xuan interrupted Wu Sansi and said to him, "Duke of Dang, ask yourself, do you think Silang is still alive?"

Wu Sansi was slightly stunned. Just as he was about to speak, Li Xuan shook his head and said, "Forget it. You are the one who wants him to die the most in this world."

Li Xuan said this, and in an instant, Dou Xuande, Dou Lu Qinwang, Wei Yuanzhong, Yan Huaidan and others all looked at Wu Sansi with suspicion.

……

"Emperor Xiaojing Li Hong, Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian, Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian, and now with Silang, there are four sons." Li Xuan's voice trembled slightly, full of disbelief, "How could she bear to do it? They are her own sons, four of them. They are the only four legitimate sons left by Emperor Gaozong!"

Inside and outside the city, countless people looked towards the direction of the palace in disbelief.

Dou Xuande, Dou Lu Qinwang, Wei Yuanzhong, and Yan Huaidan all changed their expressions because they all knew what Li Xian said before he died.

If it was really as Li Xian said, Emperor Xiaojing Li Hong was most likely killed by Empress Wu, and there was also Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian who was strangled by Ma Sizong, Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian who committed suicide in a palace coup, and now Li Dan, those were her four biological sons...

"The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and Wu replaced Tang. She must have been really crazy. She thought she could really replace Tang, so she killed her four sons." Li Xuan looked towards the direction of the palace with disgust.

"King Peng, stop talking nonsense." Wu Sansi suddenly interrupted Li Wei.

"Nonsense?" Li Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked at Wu Sansi, then he slowly narrowed his eyes: "Wu Sansi, you don't want Wang Mang, do you?"

After Li Xuan's words, Dou Xuande, Dou Lu Qinwang, Wei Yuanzhong, and Yan Huaidan all looked at Wu Sansi with cold eyes.

Wang Mang was the nephew of Wang Zhengjun, the last empress dowager of the Han Dynasty.

Wang Zhengjun was the empress of Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, the biological mother of Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, and Emperor Ai of Han, Liu Xin.

When Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, ascended the throne, Wang Zhengjun was honored as the empress dowager.

Emperor Ai of Han, Liu Xin, succeeded to the throne, and Wang Zhengjun was honored as the Grand Empress Dowager
The words "Grand Empress Dowager" were also familiar to them.

When Li Chongzhao ascended the throne in Yangzhou, he honored Empress Wu as the Grand Empress Dowager.

All this is too familiar, especially Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, whose posthumous title was Emperor Xiaocheng, and now, Li Hong is Emperor Xiaojing and Li Xian is Emperor Xiaohe.

Li Dan, his posthumous title would not be Emperor Xiaocheng.

Suddenly, a chill filled the bodies of Dou Xuande, Dou Lu Qinwang, Wei Yuanzhong, and Yan Huaidan.

Although they were loyal to Empress Wu, they were also loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

Wu Sansi didn't know how to refute for a moment, because he had never thought of becoming Wang Mang, but after Li Xuan said this, an inexplicable thought appeared in his heart.

……

"Emperor Zhongzong is dead, Li Dan is also dead. Is this Luoyang City still the Luoyang City of our Tang Dynasty?" Li Xuan looked at Wu Sansi, who had a grim expression on his face, on the city wall, and gently waved his right hand to the side.

The next moment, a huge catapult was pushed up from behind.

Standing beside the catapult was the Shaofu Supervisor Wei Hongji with a solemn look on his face.

This is a catapult that is twice as tall and wide as the ones on the city wall.

The catapults on the city wall have the advantage of being high up and having a long range, so Li Xuan built a bigger catapult that could hit farther.

Although Li Xuan can't bring out much, his toughness of steel is stronger than that of Empress Wu.

Build a catapult that is more than twice as big, just right.

A grass ball was put into the catapult and quickly ignited, turning into a violent fireball.

The next moment, a fireball was thrown fiercely towards the city.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the fireball had passed over the city wall and hit the roof of a house on the street in Huairenfang in the city. A raging fire instantly broke out.

The thick smoke was quickly blown onto the city wall by the northwest wind, and the people on the wall couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses.

"Starting today, one hundred fireballs will be thrown into the city every day." Li Xuan raised his head, looked towards the city wall, gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone, the northwest wind is strong in autumn and winter, you should be careful."

As soon as he finished speaking, the army behind him silently made way for a path. Li Xuan turned around and rode away slowly on horseback.

Wang Fangyi, Qu Chongyu, Tang Zhenxing, Su Baotong, Nan Ju, Liu Dingyuan, Cui Ding, Zhou Qian, Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others left one after another.

Only Li Duozuo stood calmly on his horse at one side.

Looking at so many brave generals in the army, Yan Huaidan and Wei Yuanzhong couldn't help but breathe heavily.

In the end, Lu Yuanfang and Xue Qianfeng also emerged from among the troops.

It was fine for other people, but when he saw Lu Yuanfang, even Dou Xuande, who didn't want to care about it anymore, couldn't help but breathe heavily.

Lu Yuanfang, former Minister of Personnel, Prince's Left Secretary, and third-rank official of the Secretariat, was appointed Minister of the Secretariat after Li Xuan captured Chang'an, assisting Liu Rengui in managing the government affairs hall.

Now that Lu Yuanfang has appeared at the gates of Luoyang, it means that the government office in Chang'an has begun to move eastward, and at the same time has taken over the trapped Luoyang and taken control of the world.

This also means that Luoyang City has lost the world.

……

In the Qianyang Palace, Wu Hou sat on the imperial couch.

Wang Dezhen, Guo Daiju, Liu Jingxian, Fan Lubing, Guo Zhengyi, Wei Xuantong, Qian Weidao, Miao Chuke and others stood in the hall with solemn expressions.

There are not many of them, only a dozen or so, but they are important and indispensable officials of the six ministries and nine temples in the court.

A Qianniu Guard quickly came in from outside and handed a piece of paper to Qiu Huan.

After Qiu Huan took it, he quickly handed it to Empress Wu.

After taking a look, Empress Wu took a deep breath and looked up at the ministers. Empress Wu said, "Prince Peng has led his army to retreat, leaving Li Duozuo behind to attack the city with catapults throwing fireballs in an attempt to burn down the entire city."

"Queen, you can demolish all the houses within the range of the catapults outside the city to prevent the entire Luoyang from being burned down." Fan Lubing stepped forward and bowed, but still said solemnly: "If you want King Peng to withdraw his troops, I still want to ask the emperor to show up."

Empress Wu clenched her fists tightly, and then she slowly said, "Don't you just want to see the emperor? Okay, come with me."

Empress Wu stood up and walked towards the harem.

The ministers looked at each other and then followed closely.

……

With a "creak", the door of Zhuangjing Hall was gently pushed open.

At the dim and solemn entrance of the hall, Empress Wu's voice rang out calmly: "The Emperor is inside, everyone go in."

The ministers looked at each other without hesitation. Fan Lubing gritted his teeth and walked in first.

Inside the bedroom on the left, two white silks hanging from the beams blocked Fan Lubing's view, but then he saw Li Dan and Prince Xiang's concubine Dugu lying on the couch, pale and without any breath.

Both of them died.

The last legitimate son of Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi left in the world.

Li Dan.

Emperor Li Dan is dead.

After Li Dan's death, who will succeed him?

Empress Wu stood indifferently at the entrance of the hall.

(End of this chapter)