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

Chapter 1718 The Queen Mother's Order
He killed King Peng and took sole control of the court.

Outside the Ganlu Gate, Cui Zhiwen finally couldn't help but look up at the Ganlu Gate and asked in a low voice: "Where is the general of the imperial guard?"

"Imperial Guard General Li Rong, Imperial Guard General Li Xiaoyi, and Imperial Guard Lieutenant General Li Zhu have all gone to Prince Peng's mansion to present gifts. There are only a few Imperial Guard Lieutenants in the palace today, and they are irrelevant to the overall situation." Lu Chen explained in a low voice.

"Have the people from the Left and Right Jinwu Guards and the Left and Right Qianniu Guards also gone?" Cui Zhiwen still looked alert.

"No, General Qiu Zhenmu of the Right Jinwu Guard is still here, but he is inspecting Chang'an County, not in the palace." Lu Chen looked around and whispered, "Tonight, the generals in Chang'an City are either in Prince Peng's Mansion or patrolling everywhere. From now on, within half an hour, as long as we kill our way to Prince Peng's Mansion, they won't notice it at all, but..."

"But they will find out in half an hour, right?" Cui Zhiwen's eyes were full of sneers, but his expression couldn't help but relax.

"Yes!" Lu Chen nodded solemnly.

Now the entire Chang'an is under Li Xuan's control, and it is really not easy for them to get half an hour out of it.

Moreover, in half an hour, King Peng will enter the bridal chamber, and at that time, the generals in his family will also disperse.

In that situation, not only would they be in great trouble if one of them escaped, but even if someone got in touch with the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, there was a great chance that their plan would fail.

Therefore, everything must be resolved within this half hour.

"Now, it depends on whether our Queen Mother will give us the imperial edict and the Emperor's golden arrow tiger talisman." Cui Zhiwen's face turned cold and he looked forward.

Across from him, Zheng Xuankai had already walked out and bowed to Cui Zhiwen, saying, "Left Prime Minister, the Queen Mother has summoned you."

"I obey your order." Cui Zhiwen walked quickly into Ganlu Gate and then went towards Ganlu Palace.

The entire palace behind him was awe-inspiring.

Dozens of scholars blocked the gate of Suzaku Palace, sitting on the ground without any weapons, not saying a word.

Many people didn’t understand what was happening, so naturally no one would inform Li Xuan at this time.

……

In Ganlu Palace, Zheng sat on the imperial couch with an unhappy look on her face, teasing her son Li Chongjun. She looked up at Cui Zhiwen who walked into the palace and asked, "Prime Minister Cui, is there anything wrong? The palace gate will be locked soon."

"Your Majesty, something has happened." Cui Zhiwen cupped his hands and said to Zheng: "Your Majesty, listen!"

Zheng was slightly stunned and was about to say something when suddenly, a faint voice came into her ears.

"The imperial examination was cheated, we demand a re-examination; the imperial examination was cheated; we demand a re-examination..."

A burst of voices came from the palace gate which had been quiet just now, and Zheng's face turned pale instantly.

Putting the small pillow aside, Zheng couldn't help but stand up and looked at Xu Lu beside her and said, "See what's going on. Also summon Prince Peng... No, summon the left and right prime ministers to the palace immediately, and summon General Cui Ding of the Left Jinwu Guard to the palace..."

"Queen Mother." Cui Zhiwen couldn't help but interrupt Zheng, stepped forward, and said seriously: "Queen Mother, something happened. Someone reported cheating in the imperial examination. I have sent people to investigate. It turned out that a scholar got drunk overnight after the imperial examination and shouted that he bought the right questions. This was spread by his companions...

Now, more than half of the scholars in Chang'an City have arrived outside the Suzaku Gate, demanding a re-examination of the imperial examination and a thorough investigation of fraud... and more scholars are on their way."

At this point, Cui Zhiwen's expression couldn't help but tighten.

He didn't want to make such a big fuss. King Peng's spies all over the city would not be unaware of it.

But within half an hour, they still couldn't figure out what was going on.

Also within half an hour, Cui Zhiwen had to obtain not only the Queen Mother's edict, but also the Golden Arrow Tiger Talisman before he could reach Prince Peng's mansion.

It would be best if King Peng was willing to surrender and be killed...

"Then summon Minister Ouyang to the palace as well. He is the chief examiner this year, so we should find him if anything happens. Also, call in Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Yao, and Prime Minister Liu." For some reason, Zheng refused to mention Li Xuan's name.

"Queen Mother." Cui Zhiwen suppressed his anxiety and bowed again, saying, "No one knew what the test questions would be before the test was opened. However, these test questions were all set by Prince Peng. No matter what, they are inseparable from Prince Peng. I request that Prince Peng be brought to the palace immediately to explain everything and control the situation."

Zheng's brows immediately furrowed, and she looked up at Cui Zhiwen and said, "Prime Minister Cui should know that today is the day when King Peng takes a concubine, and the one he marries is a woman from my family Zheng. Why does Prime Minister Cui insist on linking this matter to King Peng... And even if it was King Peng who asked the question, he didn't know he would be chosen before the emperor made his selection, right?"

"That's why if anyone leaked the test questions, it could only be Prince Peng." Lu Chen couldn't help but continue, and then said, "Perhaps Prince Peng accidentally leaked the test questions, but only in this way can we explain why such a strict imperial examination would have leaked the test questions."

"Prince Peng has been in the government hall for three days, how could he leak the questions?" Zheng looked at Cui Zhiwen and Lu Chen, and she keenly smelled something different.

"Before that, King Peng might not have known that he would be selected, but before the imperial examination, he accidentally leaked the test questions." Cui Zhiwen quickly added.

"I see." Zheng turned sideways, looked at Xu Lu and said, "Send someone to inform Prince Peng and have him enter the palace immediately."

"Yes!" Xu Lu bowed, turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment." Cui Zhiwen immediately stopped Xu Lu, turned to look at Zheng and said, "Queen Dowager, this matter is of great importance. If King Peng is anxious and makes any inappropriate moves, the situation will be troublesome. It is better to let this old minister go and ask the Queen Dowager to grant the golden arrow. I will go and invite King Peng immediately..."

"Prime Minister Cui!" Zheng shouted coldly, interrupting Cui Zhiwen and angrily said, "What do you want to do, Prime Minister Cui? There will be a curfew soon. Even if some scholars want to petition the palace, how many people can come? Even if there is a commotion, how big can it be? The matter has not been clarified yet, and you want to go to King Peng with a golden arrow... No, I think you want to arrest King Peng, right?"

Cui Zhiwen was stunned. He didn't expect that his plan would be exposed by Zheng's words.

"Someone come." Zheng suddenly looked outside the hall and shouted, "Someone come!"

"No one will." Zheng Xuankai spoke softly, and Zheng suddenly looked at him in disbelief. Zheng Xuankai bowed to Zheng and said, "Queen Dowager, don't you realize that now in Chang'an City, King Peng has all the power in control of the military and politics? As long as he makes a wrong decision, he will immediately take a step forward and directly replace Chongjun as the emperor... Queen Dowager, now we are just planning for the future, stabilizing the world and eliminating hidden dangers."

Zheng looked at Zheng Xuankai with a strange expression. She didn't expect Zheng Xuankai to say such words.

If it was her father in the past, Zheng might have believed it, but ever since Li Xuan told her the way of balance, Zheng would never listen to one side of the story again.

Zheng sat down slowly, no longer looking at her father, but just lowered her head to look at Li Chongjun without saying a word.

There was silence in the hall for a moment. After a moment, Cui Zhiwen suddenly woke up, stepped forward and said, "Please give the order, Queen Mother."

Zheng still didn't look at Cui Zhiwen. Cui Zhiwen's face changed slightly. He looked at Zheng in disbelief, then turned to look at Zheng Xuankai and said decisively: "Go to the inner hall and take out all the emperor's command arrows and tiger talismans. Don't worry about this rebellious girl... She is no longer the daughter of your Zheng family. Go quickly, we have no way out."

Zheng Xuankai's face turned pale, and the next moment, he gritted his teeth and rushed towards the inner hall.

Immediately, there was a commotion in the inner hall, but soon, Zheng Xuankai rushed in with a golden medal.

"Let's go!" Cui Zhiwen took the golden medal and rushed out immediately.

At this moment, Zheng suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Prime Minister Cui, you stole the emperor's order arrow and tiger seal for your own use. This is treason!"

Cui Zhiwen paused, then strode out. Does he have any choice now?

……

After leaving Ganlu Palace, Cui Zhiwen stopped immediately, turned around and looked at Zheng Xuankai, glared at him fiercely, and said: "You stay here and watch this rebellious girl of yours. If she makes any move, immediately..."

Cui Zhiwen finally didn't say the word "kill". He gritted his teeth and turned to walk outside.

In the current situation, Zheng is opposed to it. Even if they kill King Peng, they will still have to face Zheng's questioning when they return.

If Zheng does not give in in the future, even if they kill Li Xuan, they will not be able to achieve their goal of taking sole control of the government.

But now they have no choice, everything is in the future.

Before leaving the palace, Cui Zhiwen dispatched a team of completely trustworthy Jinwu Guards to accompany him.

These were the personnel they had placed in various departments of the Jinwu Guard with great difficulty, and they were all transferred out tonight.

As soon as they left the palace, soldiers wearing red clothes and golden armor, the Jinwu Guards, joined their team. A rough count showed that there were over a thousand of them.

There were people trying to stop them from the front, but they were blocked by Cui Zhiwen's command arrow.

Seeing that the people behind were all their own people, the Jinwu Guards did not blow the whistle because they didn't know what was going on.

Kaihuafang, red lanterns are hung high.

Dozens of imperial guards were still patrolling the walls vigilantly. When they heard the sound of horse hooves outside, they immediately became alert.

Then, Cui Zhiwen appeared outside the gate with hundreds of Jinwu Guards. He glanced upward and said expressionlessly, "The Queen Mother has issued an order that King Peng will get married, and there are gifts from the palace."

"Yes!" Dozens of guards bowed at the same time and immediately made way. Hundreds of Jinwu Guards rushed in, and more footsteps were heard outside.

The imperial guards immediately realized something was wrong and wanted to draw their swords, but the Jinwu Guards on the opposite side had already put their swords on their necks.

In Prince Peng’s palace, there were sounds of ritual and music.

Cui Zhiwen still appeared at the door with hundreds of Jinwu Guards and said to the guards at the door: "The Queen Mother has issued an order to congratulate Prince Peng on his wedding. Go and ask Prince Peng to prepare."

"Yes!" A guard immediately ran into the palace, and then Cui Zhiwen slowly walked into the palace.

The Jinwu guards on both sides immediately stepped forward, forced the guards of Prince Peng's mansion away, and dropped their weapons.

More Jinwu guards rushed in and surrounded the entire Prince Peng's Mansion.

As we walked into the middle courtyard, we could hear shouts from both sides.

Cui Zhiwen looked up and saw dozens of military generals and dozens of officials from various departments all here.

Shangshu Youcheng Wang Yinke, Xingbu Shilang Li Zhaode, Dali Temple Qing He Yiqiu, Secretary Shaojian Yu Ze, Yushi Zhongcheng Zhang Hongyu, Zhongshu Sheren, Jieshi Zhong, Shiyushi, a large number of people are all here today.

On the opposite side, Li Xuan, dressed in a red groom's suit, walked out calmly.

The two looked at each other, both of them were eerily calm.

"The Queen Mother has issued an order!" Cui Zhiwen took out an imperial edict from his sleeve and said loudly to Li Xuan, "Prince Peng, receive the order!"

Li Xuan stood there, looking at Cui Zhiwen calmly, and said softly: "Prime Minister Cui, without the seal of the Ministry of Personnel, the Queen Mother has no right to issue an imperial decree."

Cui Zhiwen clenched his hand holding the imperial edict, and the atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly became solemn.

(End of this chapter)