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

Chapter 1732: Entering the court without bowing, entering the palace with sword and shoes, and adding the nine gifts

On the north side of the Wei River, 30,000 cavalrymen crossed the Wei River in an orderly manner and headed towards the military camp in Chang'an.

Li Xuan stopped his horse at the north bank of the Wei River, looked at Li Lang beside him, frowned and asked: "Prime Minister Yao has arrived at the Jinguang Gate and led all the officials of Chang'an to welcome the king?"

"Yes!" Li Lang bowed and said solemnly, "Prime Minister Yao suddenly arrived in Chang'an last night, and this morning he gathered all the officials in Chang'an and went to the Jinguang Gate to welcome the prince back to the capital."

"Something is wrong!" Li Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Xuan turned sideways and looked at Chen Ziang and asked, "Bo Yu, what do you think?"

"I can't figure it out for the moment?" Chen Zi'ang shook his head. They had too little information at the moment, and they really couldn't see what Yao Lingzhang was trying to do.

"I'm afraid he has bad intentions." Wang Bo rode forward gently, looked towards Chang'an, squinted his eyes, and said, "Prime Minister Yao doesn't have an imperial decree to reward him, right?"

Li Xuan was slightly stunned, then turned to look at Wang Bo with a cold expression.

"Your Highness has suppressed Princess Taiping's rebellion and expelled the Turkic tribes. Now that he has returned to the capital, the court will naturally reward him. Are you going to promote him to Grand Marshal?" Chen Zi'ang's words caused the faces of the people nearby to change at the same time.

Li Xuan now commands all the armies, nominally relying on his positions as the Grand General of the Imperial Guard and Grand Marshal.

Even if one of these is removed, it may have a huge impact on Li Xuan.

Once he lost his nominal command of the troops, no matter what he did, it would be treason.

After a short pause, Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "It's not necessary. I am so loyal to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will not put away the bow after the birds are all gone, let alone now that the birds are not all gone."

A sneer flashed across Li Xuan's lips. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He was worried that someone would bet on his loyalty, force him to be loyal, and want him to abdicate for the sake of stability in the court.

"There should be an additional title. Although it is not to the Grand Marshal and the General of the Imperial Guard, it is not necessarily a good thing." Li Xuan's face became solemn.

"No need to name when praising or bowing, no need to rush when entering the court, only need to wear a sword and shoes when entering the palace, and be granted the nine gifts." Wang Bo said lightly, and the faces of the generals around him changed immediately.

He was conferred the title of king, and was granted the nine gifts. He was granted the title of Huang Jian, the chief minister, the chief grand tutor, the prime minister, the general, the governor of Jing, Yang and Yizhou, the commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad, and was given the same title as the three officials. He was allowed to enter the palace with a sword and shoes, and did not have to rush when entering the court. He did not have to name his name when praising or bowing, and he could go out on patrol and enter the carriage.

Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, Sima Yi, and Yang Jian, although they did not follow this step exactly, they were pretty much the same.

Let’s take a look at Li Xuan’s current situation. He is the heir to the throne, the Vice Prime Minister, the General of the Imperial Guard, and is in charge of all military affairs at home and abroad, holding the same rank as the Three Officials.

Even when he was granted the Nine Gifts, nine kinds of special items, including carriages and horses, clothes, music, red doors, steps, tiger guards, axes, bows and arrows, and chang, Li Xuan also had several of them.

The distance is just one step closer.

"He has no bad intentions towards me." Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "After all, Prime Minister Yao came out of the Eastern Palace with me. He has deep feelings for Emperor Zhongzong and treats me well. He may want to warn me, rather than wanting me to reveal myself as a traitor who usurped the throne and plotted rebellion in front of the world."

Everyone around fell silent. Li Xuan could say this either way.

"Well." Li Xuan raised his head, looked in the direction of the Golden Light Gate, and said, "Li Duozuo!"

"I'm here!" Li Duozuo stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

"You lead the main force of the army back to Chang'an, and all the troops will be stationed in their garrisons. You personally lead the banner into the city. I will not return to the capital, but stay at the manor at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain for a few days." Li Xuan looked at everyone and said gently, "Prime Minister Yao does not want me to go back and add pressure to the court, so I will not go back for now. Let's see what happens."

"Yes!" Li Duozuo bowed solemnly. He seldom questioned Li Xuan's orders.

He believed that Li Xuan had already made plans in many aspects.

With a wave of his hand, Li Duozuo led tens of thousands of soldiers towards Chang'an City. In the end, only three thousand black-armored cavalry were left.

"Let's go to Heihe Villa." Li Xuan waved his hand and took Wang Bo and Chen Ziang and headed directly southwest.

……

After flowing out of Chang'an, the Wei River splits into two at Hedi Town, the Wei River in the west and the Heihe River in the southwest.

more specifically.

The Wei River flows from Longxi to Chang'an, and finally merges with the Heihe River flowing down from Zhongnan Mountain at Hedi Town, and continues forward into Chang'an City.

In the corner where Heihe turns towards Zhongnanshan, there is a lush and green farm covering an area of ​​more than ten hectares.

This is Li Xuan’s Heihe villa.

Of course, many locals also call it Pengwang Villa.

Yao Lingzhang led a large group of people out of the Jinguan Gate in Chang'an and quickly headed towards the Heihe Villa.

Flags of various colors fluttered in the autumn wind, but everyone looked a little embarrassed as they ran.

When Prince Peng returned to the capital, the prime minister personally went to welcome him, but Prince Peng suddenly avoided the prime minister. Anyone could guess what was going on.

In particular, Yao Lingzhang suddenly arrived in Chang'an last night, and this morning he gathered all the officials in Chang'an and went to Jinguan Gate to welcome Li Xuan back to the capital.

Li Xuan had not issued any orders before, and according to his usual habit, the military marched and the civilians did their own things, and no one interfered with each other.

Everyone has gotten used to it.

Moreover, as the prime minister, Yao Lingzhang could go to the Suzaku Gate to meet Li Xuan instead of going to the Jinguan Gate.

In the past, the emperor would only send people to welcome the general when he won a great victory.

The last time this happened was when Li Xuan destroyed Tubo and Pei Xingjian pacified Western Turks.

Now Li Xuan is just patrolling the northern border. He has not won any great victory and does not need a prime minister to welcome him.

After thinking about it carefully, everyone immediately understood that Yao Lingzhang had ulterior motives, and Li Xuan also saw through this and simply avoided him.

So after Yao Lingzhang had settled all the troops, he immediately rushed to Prince Peng's villa.

……

In front of the wide gate of the villa, three hundred black-armored cavalrymen stopped all the officials, leaving Yao Lingzhang alone to enter.

After passing through one courtyard after another, Yao Lingzhang finally arrived at the bank of the Heihe River in the backyard.

Li Xuan, dressed in a green robe, was sitting by the river fishing quietly. In a stone pavilion not far away, Wang Bo and Chen Ziang were playing chess against each other.

Seeing Yao Lingzhang arrive, the two men just stood up and bowed, then sat down to continue playing chess.

Light footsteps sounded behind him. Li Xuan turned his back to Yao Lingzhang and said softly, "The autumn water is still warm, and the autumn fish is plump and delicious. Please stay for dinner."

Chief Secretary!

Hearing these two words, Yao Lingzhang couldn't help but feel dazed.

When he was the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Ying's Palace, Li Xian and Li Xuan both called him that. Later, when Li Xian became the crown prince, he and Li Xuan also called him that.

"Your Highness!" Yao Lingzhang bowed to Li Xuan and said, "Yun came to see Your Highness today just to get an answer. What exactly is Your Highness planning?"

"Xuan just heard the rumors in Chang'an City. It was Xuan's fault for not suppressing them and even letting the Chief Secretary make this trip in person." Li Xuan put down the fish tank, raised his head, looked forward, and said solemnly: "However, some things still need to be made clear. I have only three words here: fifteen years." "Fifteen years?" Yao Lingzhang was a little unresponsive for a moment.

"Fifteen years." Li Xuan nodded affirmatively and said, "Fifteen years later, the emperor will take power, and Xuan will lead his army to the Western Regions, guard the Caspian Sea, fight against the Arabs, and never return."

"What about within fifteen years?" Yao Lingzhang's voice lowered.

"For the next fifteen years, I will command the army and participate in government affairs. I will not easily get involved in the internal affairs of the three provinces and six ministries. However, I have the right to veto the appointment of ministers." Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Yao Lingzhang, saying, "This is also for the stability of the court. Apart from that, unless the emperor and the ministers beg me to do so, I will never take a step forward."

"The emperor begs, the ministers beg?" Yao Lingzhang carefully pondered what Li Xuan said.

"All the prime ministers." Li Xuan waved his hands, laughed, and said, "If that time really comes, I'm afraid my Tang Dynasty will be close to destruction. Naturally, I will take the lead. So, Changshi, try to live a few more years."

After a long silence, Yao Lingzhang raised his head, bowed to Li Xuan with a solemn expression and said, "In that case, thank you very much, Your Highness."

……

On the bank of the Black River, Wang Bo walked behind Li Xuan and looked at Yao Lingzhang's receding figure. He said calmly, "I thought Prime Minister Yao wanted the prince to swear the Black Water Oath."

"This is not Luohe, and the Luohe oath is not very effective." Li Xuan sighed and said, "It's just a gentleman's agreement."

"But it's a gentleman's agreement. If Your Majesty doesn't want to be ridiculed by future generations, I'm afraid you can't violate it at will." Wang Bo looked at Li Xuan solemnly.

"Of course." Li Xuan nodded decisively.

"So the prince had already made arrangements?" Wang Bo couldn't help but ask.

"I can't say it, I can't say it." Li Xuan shook his head lightly, his face becoming serious: "The more we have to wait until now, the more we have to keep our composure."

"Yes!" Chen Zi'ang and Wang Bo bowed solemnly at the same time.

……

Luoyang, under Chengtianmen.

The first day of September is the first day of the lunar month.

All ministers stood up and all officials were silent.

The palace gate had not yet opened. Lu Yuanfang glanced at the ministers behind him, and everyone's expressions were much more relaxed.

Even Ouyang Tong is the same.

The promise made by Li Xuan was passed on to the ministers through Yao Lingzhang, and everyone immediately felt that the political situation was stable.

Li Xuan has always been a man who keeps his promises, and he rarely says things that go wrong.

Especially Ouyang Tong, he never taught Li Xuan to be a villain.

Li Xuan has no plans to make further progress in the next fifteen years.

This was enough, especially for them. Fifteen years later, even if Li Xuan spoke out of turn, how many of them would still be standing?

Besides, fifteen years later, even if the emperor wanted to seize Li Xuan’s power, it would be the emperor’s own business.

At this moment, with a "creak", the Chengtian Gate opened.

The eunuch Xu Lu walked in from the door, flicked his whisk, and said to the ministers: "The emperor is a little unwell, so the court session will be suspended today."

After saying this, Xu Lu looked at Lu Yuanfang, Liu Jingxian and Ouyang Tong and said, "The Queen Mother is already waiting in the Zhenguan Hall. Please ask the Left Prime Minister, Prime Minister Liu and Minister Ouyang to report today's court affairs."

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang bowed solemnly, then turned to look at the ministers and said, "Everyone go back to work, and submit all matters to the Council of State Affairs."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed in unison and then gradually dispersed.

Lu Yuanfang, as Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Liu Jingxian, as Zhongshu Ling, and Ouyang Tong, as Shizhong, went to Zhenguan Hall to report on state affairs and at the same time pay their respects to the Emperor.

When everything is over, everyone will return to their three provinces.

After walking out of the palace, Lu Yuanfang headed towards the Secretariat.

Turn left from Tianjie and the first place you will see is the Ministry of Industry.

Today was supposed to be a grand court, but the emperor didn't attend, and the officials were not busy. There weren't many people on the streets. At this moment, a whisper came from behind the stone lions and reached Lu Yuanfang's ears: "On the full day of August and the first day of September, there were two grand courts that didn't take place. Do you think the emperor is seriously ill?"

"Don't say certain things carelessly." Another voice sounded alertly, and then whispered, "It's best if the emperor is not sick. It's okay if the emperor is sick. It's even better if the emperor is seriously ill. In this way, after experiencing it for the last time, he will be completely at peace. He has had enough of living in fear every day."

The companion fell silent, and then he whispered, "Who do you think will attack King Peng next time?"

"Left Prime Minister!" A voice sounded from the side. The two men were startled and quickly shrank their heads and hid back in the Ministry of Works.

Lu Yuan walked forward with an expressionless face. The emperor was seriously ill and could not take it anymore. What should he do if someone else did something wrong?
Li Xuan’s promise immediately appeared in Lu Yuanfang’s mind, “Unless the emperor and the ministers beg me to do so, I will never take a single step forward.”

What if there is another accident or someone forces Li Xuan again?
"Kill!" Lu Yuanfang's expression became cold. He had no right to interfere in the emperor's affairs, but he would not allow others to provoke Li Xuan.

While thinking, Lu Yuanfang returned to the Council Hall.

At this time, Wang Dezhen came quickly with a memorial, looked at Lu Yuanfang with a serious face and said, "Something happened to the left prime minister. The commander-in-chief of the Lingnan Road reported that he had no intention of rebellion and asked the court to remove him from the post of commander-in-chief of the Lingnan Road and left general of the guard... The memorial was accompanied by a handwritten letter from Princess Taiping."

"Princess Taiping, didn't she commit suicide by burning herself?" Lu Yuanfang looked at Wang Dezheng in disbelief.

"I don't know. This letter was received after Princess Taiping's death. Chen was terrified and submitted a memorial to apologize." Wang Dezhen pushed the memorial in front of Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang flipped through the memorial with a serious expression, and then said, "Send someone to appease them."

"Who's going?"

"Wang Fuzhi, Junior Minister of Rites, previously served as the county magistrate of Nanping, so it just so happens that I have some connections with him." Lu Yuanfang made the decision instantly.

"Okay!" Wang Dezhen nodded and was about to leave, but turned around and asked, "Left Prime Minister, it's September now. If the emperor doesn't set out to return to Chang'an, we need to announce it to the world as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang nodded and said, "Let Feng Yuanchang draft the memorial. The emperor will be in Luoyang this winter..."

A burst of hurried footsteps came from outside, and General Li Dazhi of the Right Thousand Bull Guards walked in quickly. He bowed to Lu Yuanfang and others and said hurriedly, "Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, someone in Zhengzhou has discovered the whereabouts of Princess Taiping. The Queen Mother has ordered that Prince Peng be transferred back to Luoyang."

Wang Dezhen and Lu Yuan looked at each other.

……

Chang'an, Heihe Villa, Li Xuan put away his club and stood up, looking at Wang Bo and Chen Ziang who also stood up and said: "The emperor is going back to Chang'an, and we should go back too."

"Yes!" Wang Bo and Chen Ziang bowed at the same time.

"Once the emperor returns to Chang'an, everything can begin." Li Xuan looked at Heihe's expression and said softly, "This is your first court visit, so do it well."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)