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

Chapter 1841 The Princess Worships the Queen of Heaven in Luoyang
On the first day of the first lunar month, the night fell.

Light snow fell from the sky, covering the entire city of Chang'an.

Jiang Xia, drunk, pushed open the door and walked in. The moment the door opened, Jiang Xia stopped.

With a creaky sound, the door was closed again. Jiang Xia asked in a low voice, "Why are you here?"

"I heard that you were transferred back to Chang'an, so I came to see you." Guo Hui stood in the dark corner, looking at Jiang Xia calmly.

"I'm sorry, last year there were secret guards in Youzhou, so your father-in-law didn't meet the princess." Jiang Xia turned around and walked to the bed in the inner room in the dark.

"It's okay. It's the Xu family's business that's involved. It's not Governor Dou's fault." Jiang Xia paused for a moment and said, "But the emperor is inspecting Hebei this year. If Your Highness goes to Youzhou again, I'm afraid she will have to wait until winter."

"Where is Her Royal Highness the Princess now?" Jiang Xia couldn't help but ask.

Guo Hui looked straight at Jiang Xia. After a long silence, he said, "In Luoyang."

"Luoyang?" Jiang Xia's eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at Guo Hui and asked, "Why is the princess in Luoyang?"

"Of course it's for sacrifice." Guo Huiyue shook his head and said, "The emperor has so many people ambushing in Qianling Mausoleum every year, but he has never thought that the princess actually has a place that she can call home."

"Luoyang, the Queen Mother's Mausoleum." Jiang Xia finally understood that Princess Taiping had found such a loophole.

The place where Empress Wu was buried was usually visited by no one for worship, let alone people even thinking about it.

Not to mention others, even Li Chengqi and Li Chongjun, the growing grandsons, had never thought about Empress Wu.

Because their father was killed by their grandmother.

The emperor never thought of this.

Because even he did not expect that Princess Taiping was still thinking about Empress Wu.

You know, it was Empress Wu who harmed Emperor Gaozong, killed Prince Zhanghuai, Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong, and even had something to do with the death of Emperor Xiaojing.

Now, Princess Taiping is still thinking about Empress Wu, which makes Jiang Xia shiver.

"By the way, you haven't told me about your affairs yet, why were you transferred back to Chang'an?" Guo Huiyue suddenly set his eyes on Jiang Xia.

"Don't ask me, I don't know either." Jiang Xia reached out his hand in the dark, touched the teacup, poured himself a cup of tea, and then said, "The emperor's edict suddenly arrived in Youzhou, transferring me back to Chang'an to serve as the Right Guard Lieutenant General."

"Although you are only a gatekeeper guarding the city, you are also the Lieutenant General of the Right Gate Guard, and you can spy on the palace at any time." Guo Hui looked at Jiang Xia, shook his head in confusion, and said, "Is the emperor crazy?"

"That's not the case, because someone was also transferred back to Chang'an." Jiang Xia suddenly looked up at Guo Huiyue.

"Who?" Guo Huiyue suddenly looked serious.

"Li Xiang, Duke of Xun." Jiang Xia sighed and said, "Li Xiang has been transferred to the position of Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, and it is a real position."

"I haven't paid much attention to Jiannan Road recently. Why did the emperor suddenly think of transferring Li Xiang back to the court?" Guo Huiwu frowned tightly.

"Because Li Xiang is honest." Jiang Xia shook his head slightly and said with a wry smile: "Compared to the second son Li Jue, our eldest son of the King of Hengshan is surprisingly honest. In these years in Jiannan Road, he is really honest. He is not pretending, but really honest without any ambition."

Guo Huiyue was slightly stunned, then nodded helplessly and said, "That's right. After all, he is a bastard, but he inherited the throne. Now even if there is a chance, it won't be his turn. It's better for him to be a duke. Maybe the emperor will even confer him the title of prince at some point, and he will make a lot of money."

"But with him standing in the way, Li Jue will be in trouble." Jiang Xia shook his head and said, "Not only Li Jue will be in trouble, but I will be in trouble too."

Li Xiang is now the Prince of Hengshan County, the heir to Li Chengqian's title, and even the official bloodline of Emperor Taizong. He is the cousin of Li Chongjun and Li Chengqi.

He stood there, and those who wanted to speak for Emperor Gaozong's lineage had to go through Empress Wu; and those who wanted to speak for Emperor Taizong's lineage would not agree to him.

Jiang Xia was the son-in-law of Emperor Taizong's granddaughter, and Li Xiang was also his cousin, which made it difficult for Jiang Xia to take action in Chang'an City.

Guo regretted his expression and immediately darkened.

"But there is no way." Jiang Xia suddenly spoke, looked at Guo Hui and said, "The emperor is going to hold a military examination this year, and the conditions are very lenient..."

"Do you want to take action at that time?" Guo Huihui looked at Jiang Xia and frowned, "The emperor is not easy to mess with. Not only is he good at fighting, but he is also very good at judging the situation. Don't forget that it was he who destroyed Tubo. He has seen all kinds of situations."

"I don't want to take action now." Jiang Xia glanced at Guo Huiyue. He knew that Guo Huiyue had been in Tubo before. He was also in contact with Li Xuan at the beginning, but was later won over by the Queen Mother. After all, compared with the Emperor, the relationship between Taiyuan Guo and the Queen Mother was closer.

Especially at that time, there were many prime ministers, vice ministers, and generals with the surname Guo in the court.

It was at that time that Guo regretted betraying Li Xuan, and he also knew that the emperor was always ruthless towards those who betrayed him.

Jiang Xia sorted out his thoughts a little, and then said: "I want to send someone to infiltrate this group of people and pass the military examination. At least these people will be valued by the emperor. If they can stay by his side, then..."

Jiang Xia gently made the shape of the word "behead", and Guo Huiyue immediately understood its meaning.

However, Guo regretted and shook his head gently, saying, "My people will not be involved in this matter. Their identities cannot withstand too much scrutiny. Your people can, and if it succeeds, we will contact each other then."

"What? You don't think it will be a good idea." Jiang Xia immediately understood what Guo Huiyi meant.

Guo regretted and shook his head gently, saying: "The emperor is using these people, if nothing unexpected happens, to conquer Goryeo, how could he give you a chance?"

"That's perfect." Jiang Xia lowered his head slightly.

Guo Huiyue frowned and began to ponder. He nodded and said, "It's feasible, but are you sure you want to do this?" Jiang Xia hesitated for some reason. He looked up at Guo Huiyue and asked, "What you do may not be the same."

"At least we are far enough away. If something really happens, we won't be covered in blood. Besides..." Guo regretted hesitating slightly, but still said: "Sometimes, failure is not necessarily a bad thing, and success is not necessarily a good thing."

"You have other plans." Jiang Xia immediately understood what Guo Huiyue meant.

“The Tang Dynasty can be defeated by Silla, but it cannot be a big defeat. Otherwise, it will easily unite the people in the court. And it would be best if... we could conquer Silla and win the hearts of the people in a righteous way. After all, the matter of the Queen Mother leaves too many problems.” Guo regretted and looked helpless.

"But there should be no problem for people to enter." Jiang Xia brought up the old matter again.

"Of course, but if you want to contact the Silla people, it's best to go through us." Guo Huiyue added.

Jiang Xia was slightly stunned, then said speechlessly: "You are really thoughtful."

"Okay, that's it." Guo stood up regretfully and said, "I will stay in Chang'an for a while to see what other arrangements the emperor has for Silla..."

After a brief pause, Guo regretted looking at Jiang Xia and said, "You'd better not act rashly. Your position is very important for your future."

"I understand." Jiang Xia nodded seriously.

……

In the dark room, only Jiang Xia's breathing could be heard. Finally, he was sure that Guo Huihou had left.

However, he finally confirmed that Guo Huihui and Princess Taiping had a complete plan regarding the emperor.

They were ambitious and tried to use this incident to seize control of all military power in Youzhou, Hebei Province, and Andong.

After all, they still have Tang Xiujing's connections from that time in their hands.

That is Yingzhou.

The original Yingzhou, plus his father-in-law's Youzhou, and Feng Yuanchang's Jizhou, what a wonderful layout.

However, first Di Renjie went to Yingzhou, and then Feng Yuanchang's clan in Jizhou was investigated, and now only their Jizhou is left.

Jiang Xia could even vaguely sense that the emperor was suspicious of Jizhou, but because they did not take any action, and because he married the daughter of the Dou family, he did not take any major action. However, the absence of major actions does not mean that there will be no action.

Jiang Xia himself was transferred back to Chang'an, which was an effort by the emperor to dismantle Jizhou's power.

As for what will happen in the end, Jiang Xia can't say for sure yet.

However, he had a feeling that it would not be too late for the emperor to take action against Silla, otherwise he would not have suddenly come up with a military examination this year.

The crackling sound of firecrackers continued to ring out in the city of Chang'an outside.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year in the fifth year of Kaiyuan!
……

In the blink of an eye, it is already early March.

A list was placed in front of Li Xuan.

List of candidates for the palace examination in the liberal arts category in the Jichou year of the fifth year of Kaiyuan.

The first-ranked top scholar was named Huangfu Rixiu, a native of Chaona County, Anding County, and a descendant of Huangfu Song, a famous general of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Li Xuan couldn't help but glance at Lu Zhaolin.

Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song had a close relationship.

Shaking his head slightly, Li Xuan looked at the second place, the runner-up was Yuan Dan.

Li Xuan was slightly stunned. He was from the Yuan family in Henan. However, it was written on the side that he was the grandson of Wei Hongji, the Shaofu Supervisor, and was raised in the Wei family since childhood.

Li Xuan immediately understood that Wei Hongji was using his own merits to pave the way for his grandson, and at the same time he was also ensuring that his grandson had nothing to do with the Yuan family.

Li Xuan smiled, read Yuan Dan's article carefully, and finally shook his head and put Yuan Dan's name at the top. He was the top scorer in this subject.

The name placed third is Ma Huaisu, the third place winner, from Dantu County, Runzhou.

Li Xuan was slightly stunned. He had heard of this name. This was Li Shan’s apprentice!

Taking a deep breath, Li Xuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. It would be great if he wasn't from Jiangnan.

With a restrained expression, Li Xuan gently pushed the list forward and said calmly: "That's it!"

"Yes!" Liu Jingxian breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, they thought that Yuan Dan should be the top scholar, but Yuan Dan and Yuan Wanqing were members of the same clan, so they pushed it back a little.

After all, Yuan Dan is connected with the Yuan family of Henan and the Wei family of Jingzhao. If it weren't for Wei Daijia, these two families would have probably declined completely long ago.

At this moment, Li Xuan suddenly raised his head, and he seemed to hear a faint voice in his ear: "Military report, urgent military report from Andong Protectorate six hundred miles away...Military report, urgent military report from Andong Protectorate six hundred miles away..."

Li Xuan's expression suddenly became serious. Something happened to Anton.

(End of this chapter)