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

Chapter 1710 The domineering King Peng!
Pines and cypresses are everywhere, lush and green.

On Wanshou Plain, a thousand Jinwu Guards in red clothes and golden armor lined up under the Xianling Mausoleum.

Tall horses carrying dozens of royal princes, heirs to the throne, dukes, dukes and county dukes stopped outside the Xianling Mausoleum.

Li Xuan dismounted from his horse, his eyes involuntarily falling on Xue Shao who was behind the crowd.

As a son-in-law of the emperor, Xue Shao naturally has the qualifications to offer sacrifices to Emperor Gaozu, but today he cannot do so.

Today is the day when the royal family offers sacrifice to Emperor Gaozu, reporting that Li Chongzhao was lost in a shipwreck, and that Li Chongjun was re-established as the emperor.

Xue Shao was not allowed to enter the Xianling Mausoleum.

However, it seems that Xue Shao had no intention of entering Xianling.

Noticing Li Xuan's gaze, Xue Shao smiled awkwardly, then bowed and stood still.

"This Taiping!" Han Wang Li Yuanjia walked in front of Li Xuan, glanced at Xue Shao, shook his head slightly and said, "Emperor Gaozong's only two children are the Prince of Linzi and the Prince of Yongping. Today's event is not suitable for them to come. Taiping is probably worried that we will say something nonsense in front of our father, so he asked the prince consort to come and keep an eye on us."

Li Yuanjia even found it a little funny for a moment.

They had fought for Li Chongjun's throne. If they really didn't want to give the throne to Li Chongzhao, naturally Li Chengqi and Li Guangren would be waiting for them.

"Uncle, let's go." Li Xuan looked up at the sacrificial temple on the top of the Xian Mausoleum with a solemn expression.

"Yes!" Li Yuanjia nodded slightly, then took the lead and walked towards Xianling.

Prince Huo, Prince Shu, Prince Lu and others all followed, followed by Li Ne, Li Jing and Li Xuan, and then other smaller clan members.

Li Xiaoyi, Li Hui and Li Rong finished a little later.

Although the three of them all hold great power, their status at most is a duke, which naturally ranks behind the kings.

After entering the temple to worship Emperor Gaozu, Li Xuan followed Li Yuanjia and others to pay their respects, finally kneeling three times and kowtowed nine times.

For unknown reasons, Li Xuan felt a sense of sadness filling her heart, and tears flowed down her face uncontrollably.

……

"Are you feeling uneasy?" Li Yuanjia's voice sounded behind Li Xuan.

Li Xuan turned around and looked at Li Yuanjia on the stone steps, and said with a folded hand: "My nephew doesn't know what happened. When I entered the temple to worship my grandfather, I felt a wave of sadness."

"It's about Wu Ni." Li Yuanjia stopped and looked towards the corner of Chang'an in the distance, and said softly: "Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, even in the Xuanwu Gate Incident and the Zhangsun Wuji Rebellion, there have never been so many royal family members who died at once, and they died at the hands of outsiders."

At the end, Li Yuanjia couldn't help but sneer.

The Tang Dynasty royal family and the succession to the throne have always been bloody.

Li Shimin was fine, but Li Zhi, with the help of Zhangsun Wuji, dealt with Li Ke and his people, but the casualties among the royal family were only a few.

But this time, the succession to the throne was apparently very smooth, but suddenly a queen named Wu appeared, and more than 40 members of the royal family were involved, and many of them had the titles of prince or duke.

Li Zhi's lineage suffered heavy casualties, and Li Shimin's lineage was also severely injured.

Among all the royal family members who are now offering sacrifices to Emperor Gaozu, there is not a single descendant of Li Shimin.

The only ones with hope are Li Chengqian's sons Li Xiang and Li Jue, and Li Tai's sons Li Xin and Li Hui.

They were all exiled far away by Empress Wu. The court has sent letters to pick them up, but no news has come back yet.

"It's finally over." Li Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

Li Yuanjia waved his hand, shook his head and said, "Wang Bo has seen everything you have done. Don't worry, no matter what happens in the future, you will never be wronged."

"Thank you, Uncle Wang." Li Xuan bowed slightly, his face full of emotion.

Li Yuanjia patted Li Xuan on the shoulder, then walked past him and headed forward.

Now that the world is pacified, Li Xuan played a huge role in it.

Not to mention his contribution to the restoration of the Tang Dynasty, just now, the military obeys the orders of the Council of Ministers because of him.

The Political Affairs Hall was able to get along harmoniously with Liu Rengui because of his relationship with him.

If the replacement is inappropriate, there will be bloodshed immediately.

People like Li Yuanjia saw it very clearly that everything was stable in the court and the country. The only unstable factor was Cui Zhiwen, the minister.

Everyone could see clearly that after Liu Rengui retired, Cui Zhiwen wanted to use his relationship with the Queen Mother to step into the position of Shangshu Zuo Pushe and become the Prime Minister of the Zhengshi Hall.

But unfortunately, his merits were not enough.

The next Shangshu Zuo Pushe were Lu Yuanfang and Wang Dezhen. As for Cui Zhiwen, he would be promoted to Zhongshu Ling at most.

But even so, Liu Rengui and Liu Shenli would not let him take charge of the Secretariat alone.

No matter who they were, Li Yiyan or Yao Lingzhang, they could have been promoted from the position of Zhongshu Shilang to the position of Zhongshu Ling, and check and balance him, or even with the assistance of other ministers, they could have suppressed him firmly.

But Cui Zhiwen would never be so willing.

That's why Li Yuanjia said that if there are any changes in the future, the royal family will be the most solid backing behind Li Xuan.

The one who has changed is Cui Zhiwen.

They are the three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng.

……

As soon as we got down from Xianling, a fast horse came from afar.

Li Lang stepped forward to take the secret letter, then turned around and handed it to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan opened it and saw that it said that the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Yongzhou Prefecture had beaten to death more than 60 members of the Wei family, including more than 20 direct descendants...

"This method is too cruel." Li Jing poked his head out from behind Li Xuan and saw the contents clearly at a glance.

Li Xuan sighed, shook his head, and said, "This is only half..."

Li Xuan handed the document to Li Na who came over and said softly, "I heard that Prime Minister Cui has begun to arrest the Dou and Du clans who committed serious crimes with the Wei clans. If too many people are killed or injured, I'm afraid this matter will not be easy to resolve!"

"No matter how difficult it is, it is Prime Minister Cui's own business." Li Yuangui climbed onto his horse and looked at Li Xuan, Li Jing, and Li Ne, saying, "Xu'er is the governor of Wuzhou, Jing'er is the chief of Jingzhou, and Ne'er is now the minister of rites. Your generation is gradually stepping onto the stage, so be careful."

"Yes!" Li Xuan, Li Jing and Li Ne all bowed.

Seeing Li Yuangui riding forward, Li Ne sighed and said, "The emperor will not ascend the throne until tomorrow, and the queen mother will not become the queen mother until tomorrow. Prime Minister Cui is so impatient to kill people today. I'm afraid this kind of thing will come back to haunt him in the future."

"Maybe." Li Xuan took the reins from the guard beside him, climbed on the horse and said, "Uncle Wang is right. In the end, Prime Minister Cui will have to bear the consequences himself. Go!" Seeing Li Xuan riding away, Li Jing and Li Ne looked at each other, a trace of pity for Cui Zhiwen flashed in their eyes, and then they mounted their horses and followed the team.

……

Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, Li Xuan changed into a red dress and golden armor, stood up and walked into the yard.

The night is hazy and the sky is full of fireworks.

On New Year's Eve, the city of Chang'an was filled with heartless laughter.

Liu Jinyu, Qu Douer, Pei Shitong, Liu Shubi, and a few children were standing in the yard. When they saw Li Xuan changed into armor, Liu Jinyu walked up first.

"Is the palace safe?" Liu Jinyu asked vaguely as he helped Li Xuan tidy up.

"Don't worry, it's safe." Li Xuan patted Liu Jinyu's hand and said softly, "She hasn't become the queen mother yet, so she won't cross the river and destroy the bridge now."

Once Li Chongjun became emperor and Zheng became empress dowager, the relationship between them and Li Xuan would take a sharp turn for the worse.

As the emperor's mother, Zheng naturally had the power to manage power for him when he was young. But now, half of the power in the world is firmly grasped by Li Xuan, and even spread out. The whole world is in his hands.

Only when those things were deliberately revealed between his fingers did others think that the world was still in the emperor's hands.

"If the Queen Mother truly holds power in the palace, then she will inevitably use the eunuchs in the palace. The examples of the Later Han Dynasty are all there for us." Liu Jinyu was still a little uneasy.

He Jin, the great general of the Later Han Dynasty, died at the hands of those eunuchs.

"It's okay. I still have some early warning methods. If something happens to those people, it means that the Queen Mother has already made plans to tear her face off." Li Xuan stopped and looked at the Queen Mother above her head, and said softly: "When that time comes, you can't help yourself, so don't blame me. You know, Emperor Taizong was also helpless back then."

According to historical records, the Xuanwu Gate Incident was planned by Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, who planned to kill Li Shimin before he sent out troops to inspect the army.

After the news leaked out, Li Shimin had to take the initiative.

If someone really forced Li Xuan today, then it would be understandable for Li Xuan to take the first step, and everyone in the world can understand it.

Today, what Li Yuanjia and Li Xuan said was essentially to persuade Li Xuan to exercise restraint.

If you receive any news, don't act rashly. They will help Li Xuan to eliminate all problems, and this problem is Cui Zhiwen.

But is it really just Choi Ji-won?
"My lady, you don't have to worry too much about what's happening outside. Just keep an eye on Kaihuafang, and everything will be fine. The Jinwu Guards, Qianniu Guards, Left and Right Guards, Left and Right Gate Guards will all obey Kaihuafang's orders. When the time comes, a slight mobilization of troops will be enough to silence everyone." Li Xuan patted Liu Jinyu's hand and explained everything to her.

Li Zhu, Li Bi, Li Mo, Li Yan, and Li Gu were all raised in Prince Peng's mansion.

Over the years, people from Pengzhou have already infiltrated every corner of Chang'an.

Jinwu Guard, Qianniu Guard, Zuoyou Guard, Zuoyou Jianmen Guard, Yongzhou Prefecture, and even the two counties of Chang'an and Wannian.

There was a reason why Li Xuan transferred Liu Zhirou to be the Chief Officer of Yongzhou.

Although Liu Zhirou and Liu Shenli were not from the same family, they were both from the Pengcheng Liu clan, and their grandfathers were both prefect-level figures in the former Sui Dynasty.

There is a Suiyang County and a Piling County, both of which are around Xuzhou.

Because the emperor was away, Li Xuan deliberately transferred part of the jurisdiction of Chang'an and Wannian counties to Yongzhou Prefecture.

Liu Zhirou, the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, is in no way inferior to the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple and the Minister of Justice.

The net has been spread and the trap has been set, it just depends on who gets in.

……

Bonfires were everywhere, the flames were bright.

Golden silk was hung in every corner inside and outside the Taiji Hall.

Zheng Xuankai carefully arranged every detail.

Other officials from the Ministry of Rites, Zongzheng Temple, Guanglu Temple, and Taichang Temple had already said goodbye and left as everything was arranged securely, but he was still making every adjustment with concern.

"Thump, thump, thump..." A series of neat footsteps came from behind, and Zheng Xuankai turned around subconsciously.

The long spear is sharp and the golden armor is dazzling.

Li Xuan, holding the eight-sided Han sword in his hand, led a whole team of royal guards in red clothes and golden armor and walked over with a cold expression and a solemn demeanor.

"Greetings, King Peng." Zheng Xuankai was the first to bow for some reason.

"Father-in-law." Li Xuan returned the greeting, looked inside and outside, and asked, "How are the preparations going?"

"It's basically done." Zheng Xuankai's expression relaxed. He looked at the magnificent layout of the hall and nodded with satisfaction.

"That's great." Li Xuan was about to say something when a burst of hurried footsteps came from behind.

A eunuch in blue stood at the side of the palace and bowed to Li Xuan, saying, "Your Highness, the Queen Mother has summoned you."

Concubine Zheng had not yet become the empress dowager, but people in the palace had already started calling her that.

Li Xuan looked up at Zheng Xuankai and said, "The Queen Mother is probably going to ask about the arrangements in the city. I will go and report it now."

"Your Highness, thank you for your hard work." Zheng Xuankai quickly bowed politely.

Li Xuan nodded, then turned around and led his people away.

Watching Li Xuan's back going away, Zheng Xuankai's face suddenly turned cold, and he cursed in a voice that only he could hear: "What a domineering King Peng!"

……

In the Ganlu Palace, yellow silk was everywhere.

Li Xuan bowed to Concubine Zheng behind the silk curtain and said, "Your Majesty, everything is ready in front of the Suzaku Street, Tianjie, and Taiji Palace. At noon tomorrow, all the generals will be in front of the Suzaku Gate to wait for orders."

"I always trust Uncle Wang to do things, but..." Zheng's voice was very gentle, with a hint of worry in it. She looked around and said, "All of you go down. I have something to ask Uncle Wang."

"Yes!" All the palace maids and servants around retreated.

Li Xuan bowed solemnly and the yellow veil in front of him was lifted.

Zheng, dressed in a white gauze, walked out with her delicate bare feet, walked in front of Li Xuan, and asked timidly: "Uncle Wang, if Prince Yong returns one day, what should Chongjun do?"

"Empress Dowager." Li Xuan shuddered suddenly.

Zheng was too close to him, and the image of her beautiful face after nine years suddenly filled his eyes. Her eyes were full of worry, which made him look particularly pitiful.

"Uncle Wang, call me Jiu Niang..."

(End of this chapter)