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

Chapter 1697: Using the Imperial Censor to exchange for a prime minister? Get lost!
In the Qianyang Palace, all the ministers were silent.

Princess Taiping linked the emperor's legitimacy with Empress Wu's posthumous title, which indeed made many people feel difficult.

But it's just tricky.

Liu Jing, the Imperial Court Minister, stepped out from the ranks and bowed to Princess Taiping, saying, "May I ask, Princess, how should Wu's affairs be handled in her future?"

Princess Taiping was slightly stunned, and after a little thought, her expression changed slightly, but finally, Princess Taiping still said: "It's okay to give her a bad posthumous title, you can name her Empress Youli, and keep the emperor's orthodoxy, that's all."

"Then where should he be buried?" Liu Jingxian went a step further.

For a moment, all the ministers in the palace looked at Princess Taiping gloomily.

"Of course it's Qianling Mausoleum, where else could it be?" Princess Taiping said subconsciously. If the mother is not buried with the father, where should she be buried?
Liu Jingxian turned around, looked at Li Xuan and asked, "What did King Peng say? If Qi Xian remembers correctly, King Peng said that he would be buried in Qianling Mausoleum in the future?"

Before Li Xuan could speak, Princess Taiping's face suddenly changed.

She immediately realized where she had gone wrong.

In the hall, I wonder how many people hope to be buried in Qianling Mausoleum after their death. But if Empress Wu is also buried in Qianling Mausoleum, what will happen to them?
After her death, did she go before Emperor Gaozong and argue with Empress Wu?

Naturally, all the ministers in the palace did not want Empress Wu to be buried in Qianling Mausoleum, and no one supported Princess Taiping.

However, if Empress Wu was not buried in Qianling Mausoleum, then there would be no point in insisting on her title of empress.

Princess Taiping couldn't help but look at Li Xuan.

……

Li Xuan didn't look at Princess Taiping, but turned to look at Liu Jingxian and shook his head slightly: "Prime Minister Liu is wrong, being buried with her in Qianling Mausoleum was what I had wished for a long time.

A few months ago, when I was in Chang'an, I said that I would be buried with Emperor Zhongzong a hundred years later. Now I have sent people to Guanzhong to select a site for Emperor Zhongzong's tomb to be moved. As for Wu..."

"Thump thump thump..." A crisp sound of footsteps sounded at the palace gate. The ministers turned around and saw Su Baotong standing there with a serious expression.

Li Xuan turned and looked at Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang frowned, took a step forward, looked at Su Baotong and said, "General Su, is there anything wrong?"

Su Baotong walked quickly into the hall, and then, holding a piece of yellow silk, he bowed to Lu Yuanfang, Li Xuan, and all the ministers in the hall and said, "Reporting to Prime Minister Lu, I was ordered to clean the Zhenguan Hall, and I found a copy of the late emperor's will, so I hurried to deliver it."

"Last will?" Lu Yuanfang was slightly stunned and looked up at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan bowed in surprise, then quickly walked to Su Baotong, took the yellow silk, opened it slightly, and his expression changed instantly, with a look of disbelief.

Li Xuan waved his hand, and Su Baotong immediately bowed and retreated.

Li Xuan raised his head, took a deep breath, and walked towards Han Wang Li Yuanjia, handing him the yellow silk. "Uncle Wang, look, is this the handwriting of the late emperor?"

Li Yuanjia looked at Li Xuan with some surprise.

There is a last will from the late emperor, which should have been given to Lu Yuanfang first, then to the ministers, and finally to him. Why was it given to him first?

Li Yuanjia took the yellow silk, opened it and immediately looked at the contents with an expression of disbelief.

He handed it to Li Yuangui tremblingly, then looked up at Li Xuan and nodded heavily, saying, "This is the late emperor's will, written by the late emperor himself before his death."

With a loud "whoosh", there was an uproar in the hall.

No one expected that a will from the previous emperor would suddenly appear, and King Han took a look and confirmed that it was authentic.

What exactly is the content of the late emperor’s will?
Soon, the late emperor's will passed around among the kings and finally fell back into Li Xuan's hands.

Li Xuan took a deep breath, turned around and handed the late emperor's will to Lu Yuanfang: "Prime Minister Lu, the kings have recognized this will as authentic. Please ask Prime Minister Lu and the other ministers to confirm it."

Lu Yuanfang opened the will with some doubts, and was stunned when he saw the five words on it.

Rebellion against Wu and Tang, beheaded,

"This...this...could it be...could it be..." Lu Yuanfang suddenly grabbed Li Xuan's arm, gritted his teeth and questioned him, "On the day the late emperor passed away, Prince Peng was also outside the Zhenguan Hall. Why, why didn't you notice anything unusual and just let the late emperor die?"

After Lu Yuanfang's words, some smart people among the ministers looked up in disbelief.

Could it be that Lu Yuanfang meant that the late emperor was killed by Empress Wu?

Li Xuan lowered his head in shame and said, "That night, the late emperor was mentally disturbed and had some arguments with the Queen Mother. Later, the Queen Mother left the palace and we were driven thirty feet away, so we didn't know what happened in the palace afterwards."

Lu Yuanfang looked at Li Xuan with some reproach, then handed Li Zhi's last will to Wang Dezhen.

Wang Dezhen took a look and his face instantly turned pale.

Cui Zhiwen, Liu Jingxian, Yao Lingzhang, everyone's face was filled with pain after reading Li Zhi's will.

Finally, the will returned to Li Xuan's hands.

Li Xuan held the will and said helplessly, "After the death of the previous emperor, Xuan was ordered to dismantle the remains of the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song. At that time, the secret guards in the palace searched extensively in Mount Mang, west of Luoyang, and even east of Luoyang. Later, they sent people to Yangzhou. Xuan felt it was strange at the time, but there was no news at that time, so he did not take any action."

"Now it seems that this is the will they are looking for." Yao Lingzhang sneered.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "This will later arrived in Yangzhou. No one knows where it went, but in the end, it should have fallen into the hands of the Imperial Censor. In order to avoid mentioning the name of the respected emperor, the Imperial Censor attacked alone and mobilized Wei Yuanzhong's power to persuade Wu Sansi to rebel, but Wu Sansi was incompetent, so in the end, only the Imperial Censor had to step in, but..."

"But Wu used the same method to deal with the prince and killed the Imperial Censor." Yao Lingzhang looked at Princess Taiping and said, "Your Highness, Prince Peng executed the traitor Wu in accordance with the will of the late emperor. The late emperor..."

At the end, Yao Lingzhang stopped talking, shook his head and said, "The late emperor abolished the Wu family. It has nothing to do with Zhongzong, Ruizong, the current emperor, Prince Wei, Prince Linzi, Prince Yongping, and your Highness. Therefore, the Wu family shall be given the posthumous title of Youli Shuren and buried in Mangshan."

There are countless lonely graves in the thousand-mile Mang Mountain.

Princess Taiping was about to refute when Li Xuan handed Li Zhi's will to her.

Looking at the contents of Li Zhi's will, Princess Taiping stared in disbelief, and then fell completely silent.

……

"So be it." Lu Yuanfang completely set the tone, then looked at the ministers and said, "Now is the second thing. During the period when Youli commoner was in power, countless people were killed, including Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Ruizong, Empress Zhongzong, Empress Ruizong, Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Ping'en, Prince Anle, Prince Ji, Prince Xu and other royal relatives, and generals such as Pei Yan, Wei Daijia, Su Liangsi, Li Jingjia, Li Yi, and other court officials who were killed by them in their early years, such as Shangguan Yi and others. They all need to be rehabilitated and posthumously honored." "Yes!" The ministers bowed their hands in unison.

Lu Yuanfang looked at Li Xuan and said, "The royal family, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Zongzheng Temple should work together to handle this."

"Okay, I will take responsibility for this matter." Li Xuan nodded, then looked at the ministers and said, "For all these matters, we should bury them in Qianling Mausoleum, as well as the mausoleums of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong to appease people's hearts. For example, Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Anle, Prince Ji, Prince Xu, Shangguan Yi, Pei Yan, Li Jingjia and others will be buried in Qianling Mausoleum. As for the others..."

After a short pause, Li Xuan said: "The mausoleums of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong should be sent to Chang'an to speed up the selection and construction so that they can be properly buried by the end of the year.

The coffins of Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Ruizong and others were sent back to Chang'an at the end of the month, and all the officials and generals in Luoyang also returned to Luoyang to restore order. "

"Good!" Lu Yuanfang nodded in agreement.

The other ministers bowed at the same time: "Yes!"

"Prime Minister Lu!" Li Xuan nodded and returned the power to handle state affairs to Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang nodded slightly, then looked at the ministers and said: "Youli common people caused chaos in the government. Wu Sansi, Zhang Qianxu, Ma Sizong, Cheng Wuting and others all committed serious crimes. Therefore, although they are dead, the responsibility must still be pursued, their property must be confiscated, and their entire family must be exiled. They must not be let off. After that, Yan Huaidan, Fan Lubing, Guo Daiju and others will be investigated and convicted by the three judicial departments.

Those who made contributions last night, such as the Prince Consort, Gong Siye and others, will be pardoned, given official positions, and properly dealt with."

"The three judicial departments, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have people, but the Censorate is short of a Censor-in-Chief." Li Xuan said, looking at Lu Yuanfang, "How about letting Duke Xing take over as the Censor-in-Chief?"

Wang Jishan couldn't help but look up. Him?

"Duke Xing is the Minister of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice. It's fine for him to be the Imperial Censor." Cui Zhiwen stood up and said, "But Minister Ouyang ranks before Duke Xing. How about letting Minister Ouyang be the Imperial Censor?"

Ouyang Tong, former Minister of Revenue, third rank official of the Secretariat; Wang Jishan, former Minister of Justice.

As soon as Cui Zhiwen opened his mouth, the situation suddenly became uncertain.

Wang Dezhen stood up and shook his head, saying, "After all, Minister Ouyang has never dealt with criminal matters. Now, all matters need to be resolved quickly and cannot be delayed for too long. Let Duke Xing come."

"Let's call it Duke Xing." Liu Jingxian also stood up.

……

The sharp-eyed ministers have already seen the problem.

Ouyang Tong was the former Minister of Revenue, and a third-rank official under the Secretariat, and was a prime minister. Now, it was only because Yun Hongyin had become the Minister of Revenue that Ouyang Tong could no longer be the Minister of Revenue, but he had been a prime minister after all.

Now, because Su Liangsi is dead, the position of Grand Censor is vacant.

If Ouyang Tong were to become the Imperial Censor now, he would no longer be able to become the Prime Minister.

There are rumors that the Left Prime Minister may retire after the new year. After his retirement, the position of Prime Minister will be vacant. People tacitly believe that this person is Ouyang Tong.

The left prime minister was King Peng's father-in-law, and Ouyang Tong was King Peng's uncle.

Logically speaking, everyone should be wary of this relationship, but those who are familiar with Liu Rengui and Ouyang Tong know that they will never let Li Xuan go.

On the contrary, their presence can help restrain Li Xuan.

After all, once Li Xuan starts to think of something, it’s not just ordinary means.

Yao Lingzhang nodded, stepped forward and said, "Let's go with Duke Xing."

The six prime ministers, Li Xuan, Wang Dezhen, Liu Jingxian, and Yao Lingzhang, all supported Wang Jishan, and only Cui Zhiwen supported Ouyang Tong.

Although Lu Yuanfang did not speak, it actually did not have much effect, as the Council of State ultimately decided by voting.

"In that case, then let's appoint Duke Xing as the Imperial Censor and deal with all matters as soon as possible." With these words, Lu Yuanfang completely settled the matter.

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

……

"There are also matters concerning rewards." Lu Yuanfang looked up at Li Xuan and said, "To all the officers and men in the army and officials in Chang'an, put order out of chaos. The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel should discuss a reward strategy."

Wang Fangyi, Yun Hongyin, and Zhang Daan stood up and bowed at the same time.

"The positions of other ministers will also be determined according to the previous strategy." Lu Yuanfang smiled, looked at Li Xuan and said, "King Peng has always been a man of rules. When he was in Chang'an before, he had already considered the positions of the ministers and made some reservations, which was very appropriate."

"I dare not." Li Xuan became alert instantly. What Lu Yuanfang said was not that simple.

"All the ministers from the three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five academies are here now. May I ask King Peng when can the ministers take over the duties of the ministry? The whole world is waiting for them." Lu Yuanfang looked straight at Li Xuan.

For a moment, all the ministers' eyes fell on Li Xuan.

Now, the main force of Li Xuan's army has firmly occupied the Ziwei Palace. If he does anything to the various departments at this time, it will be very troublesome.

Although Lu Yuanfang has a friendly relationship with Li Xuan, he is still cautious about some things.

Li Xuan smiled helplessly, but then his expression became serious: "Three days, Xuan needs to clean up the palace. After all, there are many old people of Wu family in the palace. For the safety of the emperor and Prince Wei, the palace needs to send those who are not safe out of the palace.

Of course, some people cannot get out alive, and the deaths of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong must be thoroughly investigated.

Three days later, after cleaning up, you can all return to the yamen to handle affairs.

During these three days, the people and officials in Chang'an and Luoyang will celebrate together, and at the same time send people to announce it to the world.

how is it? "

Lu Yuanfang looked at Li Xuan. He didn't expect that Li Xuan was going to kill someone in the palace.

The palace has always been a place where filth and corruption are bred. Now it is involved in the deaths of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong. I am afraid many people will die.

Lu Yuanfang hesitated for a moment, then said, "One day. I will only give King Peng one day. It is better to have some killing than less."

Li Xuan nodded slightly: "Okay!"

(End of this chapter)