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

Chapter 920: Prince Li Xian, borrowing a knife to kill someone

Li Xian stood in front of the inner courtyard door, watching Li Xuan leave the East Palace all the way, looking slightly thoughtful.

Unconsciously, the surrounding guards had quietly retreated.

At this moment, a slight sound of footsteps appeared behind Li Xian.

Li Xian did not look back, but asked softly: "Mr. Zhang, did you do anything wrong regarding the British Duke?"

The prince's concubine Zhang Da'an walked to Li Xian's left side and said calmly: "Your Highness has done nothing, so why did you do anything wrong?"

"After all, I am interceding for the British Duke." Li Xian sighed softly and said, "Uncle Wang is full of hatred for the British Duke. If he alienates Uncle Wang because of this matter, the gain will outweigh the losses."

Zhang Daan frowned slightly. He didn't know the importance of King Nanchang, but King Nanchang and Dong Palace had never been really close.

In particular, the Crown Prince of Nanchang praised the good doctor, but he had almost no contact with the officials in the East Palace.

Only when he met the prince, he gave a few words of advice, but his advice and the path Zhang Daan and the others chose for the prince were almost completely different. It was strange that the two sides could come together.

But the East Palace must not break up with King Nanchang, not only because King Nanchang himself has extraordinary abilities, but also because both the emperor and the queen attach great importance to King Nanchang.

Some of the suggestions put forward by the King of Nanchang in the court and the combat prowess displayed on the front line were valued by the emperor and the queen, and could even affect national policy.

More importantly, the King of Nanchang was the grandson-in-law of Left Prime Minister Liu Rengui.

With this kind of relationship, who dares to fall out with the King of Nanchang?

But they must do Li Jingye's matter.

Because they were never targeting Li Jingye.

"The British Duke asked Prince Pingyang to come to plead for mercy. No matter what, His Highness needs to express his opinions." After a slight pause, Zhang Daan continued: "The matter of the British Duke seems to be discussed by the Yushitai, Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. But don’t forget, Your Highness, there is another character here who cannot be ignored.”

"Who?"

"Prime Minister Zuo." Zhang Daan looked at Li Xian seriously and said, "Why does the British have to do so many things at this time to solve the Tibetan smuggling case? It's because Prime Minister Zuo will return to Chang'an before the 23rd. . Once the Zuo Prime Minister returns to Chang'an, anyone who does anything must go through the Zuo Prime Minister."

"The Left Prime Minister is the Grand Marshal of the Northwest Road March, and he has always been in control of the expedition against Tibet. The British privately smuggling Tibet is equivalent to leveraging the corner of the army. The Left Prime Minister will not allow it, and the northwest armies will not allow it either. This is why The reason why the British duke wanted to kill the duke of Pingyang County."

Huangfu Gongyi said the most important thing, and finally, he added: "If my guess is correct, I am afraid that Prime Minister Zuo will never leave Chang'an again when he returns to Beijing, which means that the case of the British Duke The verdict will never be overturned.”

The emperor was afraid that the two generations of Liu Rengui and Li Xuan would hold military power on the front line, so he had to transfer one of them back.

When the situation is less tense, bringing Liu Rengui back is an inevitable choice.

After all, Li Xuan was just a general, at best a border governor, but Liu Rengui was the left prime minister of the DPRK.

Shangshu Zuopushe had extremely heavy powers and responsibilities. Even if he was temporarily transferred to the plateau due to Tubo affairs, he could not be allowed to stay on the plateau forever.

There are many more important matters in the DPRK that need him to handle.

"That's why the British Lord caused so many things and almost burned down Shiro's palace." Li Xian couldn't help but shook his head slightly, with a solemn look on his face.

Li Jingye was too bold to do what he did.

"This matter is very dangerous." Huangfu Zhengyi took a step forward, looked at Li Xian and said: "Your Highness, if something happens to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and Li Jingye tells the outside world that we instigated him to do this, then Your Highness's The position of the prince may be affected."

Li Xian was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously: "But there is no such thing as..."

"Li Jingye, in order to protect himself, will inevitably not frame His Highness." Zhang Daan gave Huangfu Zhengyi a strange look, then looked at Li Xian and said: "After all, if something happens to this matter, His Highness will gain nothing." maximum."

If a fire breaks out in the Prime Minister's Mansion, even if one or two royal family members are affected, the Prime Minister will be severely punished.

Shi Doulu, the chief minister of the prime minister's palace, and the scholar Ming Chongyan, as well as the bachelors from the north gate who gathered around Li Dan, couldn't think of anything easy.

Isn't it Li Xian's biggest gain to have defeated his biggest political opponent without having to do it himself?

"Is he crazy?" Li Xian turned around suddenly and stared at Zhang Daan. At this moment, he was already aware of the dangerous situation he was in.

Once Li Jingye opens his mouth to make false accusations, Li Xian will be in a deep crisis.

It is even very possible that the group of North Gate bachelors will seize the opportunity to frame him. This is extremely possible.

The most important thing is that there is indeed some connection between Li Xian and Li Jingye.

Although this cannot be regarded as a handle, it will indeed become a fierce blade in Li Jingye's hand that can stab Li Xian at any time.

Now it is almost certain that Li Jingye must have thought of such a strategy when he burned the prime minister's palace.

"His Highness has already interceded with the King of Nanchang on his behalf." Zhang Daan comforted him softly and said, "Just pass this news to Li Jingye."

"No matter what the outcome is, I don't want to see him in Chang'an again." Li Xian waved his hands directly with a displeased face, and his disgust for Li Jingye was clearly visible.

Zhang Daan nodded and said, "I once heard a rumor. It was said that Li Jingye was already very good at bow and horse when he was young. The British Duke lamented many times that Li Jingye's appearance was not good, and he might bring harm to his family in the future, so , one time while hunting, the British official ordered Li Jingye to go deep into the forest to drive away wild animals, and then he took advantage of the wind and set fire to try to burn Li Jingye to death."

"This is nonsense." Li Xian glared at Zhang Daan and said dissatisfied: "The British public is an upright man, how could he do such a dehumanizing thing? Don't mention this kind of thing again in the future."

"Yes!" Zhang Da'an slightly cupped his hands, but still stood up straight and continued: "I also heard what my father said about this matter. Although it is false, it may not be without some truth."

Li Xian's heart skipped a beat. The father of Prince Zuo's concubine Zhang Da'an was Zhang Gongjin.

Zhang Gongjin served Wang Shichong in his early years. In the first year of Wude, he returned to the Tang Dynasty. Later, on the recommendation of Li Ji, he became Li Shimin's staff and participated in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Finally, he paid homage to General Zuo Wuhou, was granted the title of Duke of Dingyuan, and served as the governor of Daizhou. , and later followed Li Jing to destroy the Eastern Turks, and he was granted the title of Duke of Zou and the governor of Xiangzhou.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Zhang Gongjin closed the city gate alone and blocked Feng Li, Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang and others from the Xuanwu Gate. His bravery was extraordinary.Although Zhang Gongjin was recommended by Li Ji to join Li Shimin in the early days, he later followed Li Jing into battle many times, and his relationship with Li Ji became estranged.

Zhang Daan now said that Zhang Gongjin told him that matter, so the truth or falseness of this matter must be carefully studied.

Seeing Li Xian's gentle expression, Zhang Da'an followed up and said: "At that time, Li Jingye saw that the fire was spreading and knew that it would be difficult to escape safely. He immediately killed his beloved horse and fell into the horse's belly. He waited until the fire was burned out. Afterwards, he escaped covered in blood. Seeing that Li Jingye escaped safely, the British public knew God's will and stopped taking action."

After hearing these words, Li Xian was shocked, but he didn't have much reaction.

At this time, Huangfu Zhengyi on the other side stepped forward and said: "The British public is not a ruthless person, and is more loyal to the country. How could he so cruelly burn his grandson to death? There are too many absurdities in this matter."

Li Xian nodded subconsciously, and then Huangfu Zhengyi followed up and said: "But if this matter is true, I'm afraid there is a reason for it!"

Li Xian was stunned. A grandfather wanted to burn his grandson to death with his own hands. How could he do this so easily without a huge reason?

Unless this person did something that seriously endangered the safety of the British government.

"In addition, there is another possibility, it is a prophecy." Zhang Daan added immediately.

After hearing the prophecy, Li Xian's expression became extremely scary.

Today in the Tang Dynasty, the most unmentionable prophecy is that the Wu family will succeed the Tang Dynasty.

Yuan Tiangang made a prophecy by observing the sky at night.

Li Xian had also dismissed this prophecy earlier, after all, it was his own biological mother.

But since becoming the prince, although no one mentioned it in front of him, Li Xian always felt that people were saying these things in his ears all the time.

The latest thing that made Li Xian feel nervous was the prophecy Li Xuan sent back from Qingnan: The Western Star has fallen.

Not long after, the secret guard sent back the news that Mangsong Mangzan, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom, had most likely died of illness.

Careful calculation revealed that the day when Li Xuan observed the stars was actually the same day that the secret guard and the deputy Tibetan envoy met with the Tibetan leader.

……

Li Xian instantly extinguished all thoughts about Empress Wu in his mind, and his thoughts focused on Li Jingye.

If someone really made some prophecies about Li Jingye back then, then it would be justified for Li Ji to do this to his direct grandson.

At least Li Ji was more loyal to the Tang Dynasty than his family.

"If I remember correctly, Yuan Tiangang should still be alive at that time." Li Xian raised his head and looked at Zhang Daan.

Zhang Daan nodded lightly and said: "What His Highness said is true. At that time, it was Yuan Tiangang's last year or two."

"So it is very likely that before Yuan Tiangang passed away, the British Duke asked him to meet his grandson." Huangfu Zhengyi immediately took over.

Yuan Tiangang's accuracy in facial recognition is rare in the world.

Du Yan, Wang Gui, Wei Ting, Dou Gui, Cen Wenwen, Zhang Xingcheng, Ma Zhou and others all asked Yuan Tiangang to meet him, and they were all accurate.

In addition, the so-called use of Wu to replace the Tang Dynasty also comes from the fact that Yuan Tiangang personally visited Empress Wu when she was young.

It was later used by Li Chunfeng.

But even the emperor didn't care about this prophecy, so what could Li Xian do, and what could everyone in the world do.

"This person cannot be kept." A rare hint of cruelty flashed in Li Xian's eyes.

"But we can't kill him. After all, His Highness just pleaded for mercy." Huangfu stepped forward and shook his head in a low voice.

"You can let Ming Chongyan take action." Zhang Daan lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Although there was no fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was still guilty of negligence. Li Jingye was originally going to take action, so let him add one more thing."

The exchanges between Dong Gong and Li Jingye are far from what Li Xian and Li Xuan said. There is only one thing like Xue Rengui, the Duke of Pingyang, interceding for mercy.

Li Xian took a deep breath and said, "Two teachers will arrange everything. I only want the results."

"Here!" Zhang Da'an and Huangfu Zhengyi took a step back at the same time and held their hands in a deep hand.

"Yes!" Li Xian nodded, then looked forward and walked towards Yichun Hall.

……

Zhang Daan and Huangfu Zhengyi stood there, and the voices around them suddenly became lower.

Huangfu Zhengyi spoke first and said softly: "Mr. Zhang, this matter is too dangerous. Once any news leaks out, the King of Nanchang and all the clans will be pushed to the side of the Prime Minister."

"This matter has nothing to do with Zhang." Zhang Daan shook his head slightly and said solemnly: "In this matter, Zhang originally just wanted Li Jingye to find someone to blame for Lu Qinwang's mistake during the wedding. Who can show off a little bit? To think that he could be so bold."

Zhang Daan's goal has always been Doulu Qinwang, not people like Ming Chongyan.

Targeting Doulu Qinwang is just a beating, but targeting Ming Chongyan is going to war, and setting fire to the prime minister's palace is a life-or-death feud.

"I hope so." Huangfu Zhengyi handed over his hands and said, "The rest of the matter, please leave it to Mr. Zhang."

"Brother Huangfu, don't worry." Zhang Daan raised his hand and raised his head. Huangfu Zhengyi had already turned around and left.

In an instant, Zhang Daan's expression turned cold.

(End of this chapter)