Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 499 Huangtai Gua Ci
Li Chu's words sounded like he was reaffirming the heroic death of Pugu Yan. But to Li Heng and Zhang Ting, they understood that he was concluding that Xue Bai was not in Jiucheng Palace. In other words, Li Chu thought that Li Tan might be lying about military intelligence.

A barely perceptible smile appeared in Zhang Ting's eyes.

Li Heng thought that it was possible that Xue Bai had arranged three thousand decoy troops and he himself led a small group of troops to take a detour, so he decided to send people to support him.

The more important thing of this trip was to find out the authenticity of Li Tan's news. The candidate must be a confidant whom he could trust. After much deliberation, he finally decided on Yu Chaoen.

Yu Chaoen had been friendly with the Eastern Palace for a long time. After the Chencang Incident, he first followed Li Heng, and later went on a diplomatic mission to Shu County on his behalf, bringing back national treasures and Li Longji's recognition. He was truly loyal and trustworthy.

"When you arrive at Jiucheng Palace, if you encounter the enemy Xue, send a fast horse to report. If you do not encounter the enemy, find out the reason for this incident."

"I obey your command." As soon as Yu Chaoen heard it, he knew that his master had doubts in his heart, otherwise he would not have added the second half of the sentence.

When he was about to leave the palace, a palace servant came to stop him and secretly took him to see Zhang Ting.

Zhang Ting had previously intended to cooperate with Li Tan to deal with Li Chu. She sent Li Fuguo to test the waters. As a result, when Li Fuguo came back, he said, "Prince Jianning not only scolded us, but also complained to Your Majesty."

In this case, she thought that sooner or later she would have to get rid of Li Chu and Li Tan, so she took the opportunity to get rid of as many as possible now, so she told Yu Chaoen: "If Xue Ni did not attack Jiucheng Palace, it would be suspicious that King Jianning spread false information; if Xue Ni really went, how did King Jianning predict it in advance? You must also investigate this matter."

Yu Chaoen understood and agreed immediately.

Unexpectedly, someone stopped him that day. They were Li Chu and Li Mi. The two seemed to have expected this and waited at the north gate of the city. When Li Chu saw Yu Chaoen, he asked, "Who did you meet before leaving the palace?"

"I have seen your majesty."

Li Chu's face was serious, and he said, "Don't pretend I don't know. If you dare to help the tyrant and harm my brothers, don't blame me for not forgiving you."

Yu Chaoen had no choice but to respond, "Your Highness has misunderstood. I have absolutely no such intention. I will tell Your Majesty the truth about what I saw in Jiucheng Palace."

After he swore and swore, he was finally able to get away and go to the barracks outside the city to lead the troops. Looking at his back, Li Chu looked at Li Mi and said with emotion: "Fortunately, you are so good at predicting things and saw through the tricks of that vicious woman."

Li Mi said: "You can prevent it for a while, but you can't prevent it for a lifetime."

"The overall situation is more important." Li Chu said, "It won't be too late to deal with the vicious woman after we recover the two capitals."

~~
Two days later, Yu Chaoen rode a horse and led his men to Jiucheng Palace. After climbing to a high place, he saw that there were indeed traces of fierce fighting in the east of the city, and there were also enemy camps outside the city.

The camp was not big. Flags could be seen erected in front of the camp, but no one was seen leaving the camp.

"Xue Bai has not attacked the city for three days." Li Tan said: "I guess he took a detour."

Yu Chaoen asked, "Did the King of Jianning send troops to investigate?"

Li Neng said, "Before, Jiucheng Palace had few soldiers, and I was afraid of being tricked, so I didn't dare to leave the city rashly. Now that reinforcements have arrived, I should go and find out something."

Therefore, they sent out scouts to the small camp.

Looking from the top of the city wall, one could see the scouts first spying into the camp from a distance, then gradually approaching, shooting arrows, and even jumping over the moat and bypassing the chevaux de frise. Not long after, more than twenty Xue Ni cavalrymen with flags ran away from the east.

"It seems like it's just a fake camp." Yu Chaoen sighed.

Li Neng frowned and said, "Xue Bai took a detour. We should inform our father as soon as possible so that Fengxiang can make preparations early."

Yu Chaoen looked thoughtful and asked, "The Saint has sent someone to guard Jiucheng Palace. How about asking Prince Jianning to go back and report to the Saint in person?"

Jiucheng Palace had high and solid walls, and Li Tan could rest assured as long as there were enough soldiers. He was more worried about Fengxiang, so he agreed. He acted decisively and gathered his men and horses that day, galloped all the way, and arrived at the foot of Fengxiang that night.

The defenders in the city would not open the gate to let them in, so Yu Chaoen had no choice but to sleep outdoors with Li Tan for a night, suffering from mosquito bites.

After finally making it to dawn, they went to meet Li Heng and reported what had happened in Jiucheng Palace.

"It seems like it was a false alarm." Li Heng hadn't slept well these days because he was thinking about this matter. He looked a little tired. He heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this.

Li Neng reminded: "Xue Bai is still determined to launch a surprise attack on Fengxiang, so he may attack from a detour."

"Since I already knew about it in advance, how could he launch a sneak attack?" Li Heng said calmly, "Thanks to your vigilance this time, go and recuperate."

Li Neng was indeed seriously injured, and his father took care of him, so he thanked him and took his leave.

After he left, Li Heng asked, "What's going on with Jiucheng Palace?"

Yu Chaoen immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I dare to speak out, Your Majesty, and I beg you to forgive me."

"Tell me, I don't blame you."

"From what I have seen, the King of Jianning seems to have lied about the military situation. The barracks of the traitor Xue outside the city are actually fake. He probably wanted Your Majesty to send more troops to him to command, but he did not expect that the Saint sent an old slave who could not obey his orders."

Li Heng stood up suddenly, paced a few steps, and asked, "Are the injuries on Sanlang's body also fake?"

Yu Chaoen asked, "If Prince Jianning was injured, how could he have come back on such a fast horse without changing his expression?"

This was not the first time Li Heng had heard about Li Tan's ambitions. He immediately showed suspicion and turned to Li Fuguo and asked, "What do you think?"

Li Fuguo bowed and said, "I suddenly remembered that the emperor trusted the treacherous and appointed Prince Qing as the heir, so Prince Jianning defected to Prince Qing."

With just one word, Li Heng's face instantly turned gloomy. He felt that Li Tan didn't even care about the relationship between father and son, so there was nothing he couldn't do.

"The two capitals have not been recovered, the state is not at peace, and I am extremely worried. At this time, he is still only concerned with fighting for power and ignoring the overall situation."

Li Fuguo sensed the atmosphere and pretended to be terrified, then said, "Please calm down, sage. Prince Jianning is a man of both civil and military talents, and he is very talented. It is reasonable for him to contribute more to the country."

"You don't have to hide it for him." Li Heng said, "I know that he has always been arrogant and wants to compete for the position of crown prince."

Yu Chaoen heard this and responded, "I have an idea."

"explain."

"Why didn't the saint establish the foundation of the country earlier to calm the people's hearts? When Prince Guangping became the crown prince, Prince Jianning's mind would fade."

Li Heng shook his head and said, "I have discussed this matter with Mr. Li a long time ago. He asked me to recover the two capitals and welcome back the retired emperor, and then ask the retired emperor to make the decision. This is the duty of a son."

Yu Chaoen said, "The situation has changed. Why don't you ask Mr. Li again, sage?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fuguo glanced at Yu Chaoen but said nothing.

Li Heng thought it made sense, so he summoned Li Mi to ask.

Li Mi had answered this question for Li Heng once after Lingwu became emperor. When he heard it again, Li Mi immediately realized that someone was trying to harm him, and hurriedly bowed and said, "I still think this matter is not possible for the time being, but Your Majesty has repeatedly asked me, and someone must want to alienate me and Prince Guangping. I ask Your Majesty to send someone to ask Prince Guangping, he must put the recovery of the two capitals first and Your Majesty's reputation first, and resolutely resign."

Li Heng had no choice but to send someone out of the city to ask Li Chu, who was leading the troops to fight the enemy. As Li Mi said, Li Chu was indeed determined not to accept the position of crown prince at this time.

Comparing the two, the eldest son is indeed much more stable and filial, while the actions of the third son Li Tan are really worrying.

Li Heng then asked Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen to ask the soldiers Li Tan brought back from Jiucheng Palace what exactly happened in the battle of Jiucheng Palace...

After this incident, Li Mi felt that trouble was coming and dared not interfere too much in Li Heng's family affairs.

In the next two days, he was busy with practical work. Li Neng came to see him twice, but he avoided them both because he knew that if they met, it would bring disaster to both of them.

When it came the second time, Li Mi had to whisper to the visitor, "Prince Jianning should not come at this time. Advise him to take good care of his injuries and not to walk around too much."

"Prince Jianning has something important to discuss with you..."

As he was speaking, a scout came and reported at a high speed: "News from Chencang: the Huihe cavalry has driven back Tian Chengsi's troops and will be returning soon. Prince Guangping invites you to discuss the military affairs."

Li Mi nodded and immediately returned to the Marshal's Mansion to discuss the matter of repelling the enemy with generals such as Li Chu and Pugu Huai'en.

After careful discussion, they decided to launch the offensive two days later and sent a fast horse to contact Crown Prince Yehu, asking him to return and attack Xue Ni's rear. By then, after repelling the three thousand elite cavalry outside the city, it would not take long for Guo Ziyi to make progress in Hedong and Henan. Chang'an would not be able to hold out, and the overall situation would be decided.

As for the rebel army that Li Neng mentioned about attacking Jiucheng Palace, Li Chu sent out scouts to investigate but found no trace. If Li Neng was not lying, then a small group of soldiers and horses went to attack tentatively and then retreated. In short, this side is well prepared and should not be attacked by surprise.

It was not until nightfall that Li Mi walked out of the Marshal's Mansion. He watched the heroic Li Chu mount his horse and lead his troops away, with a look of relief in his eyes.

"Mr. Li!"

But someone came running over breathlessly, prostrating himself and saying, "Please, sir, save Prince Jianning!"

"What happened?"

"The Saint... The Saint wants to sentence King Jianning to death."

Li Mi was greatly surprised and hurried to the palace. He had always been calm and composed, but today he ran too fast and fell twice. However, he did not care about the dust on his body, and hurried to the palace, took out the letter and rushed in. He was the only one who had the privilege of seeing Li Heng at any time.

In front, I finally saw Li Tan's handsome figure kneeling in front of the hall, holding a wine jug in his hand, surrounded by a group of guards.

"Prince Jianning!"

Li Mi shouted to stop them, and a group of guards rushed forward to stop him.

Li Neng did not look back, but raised his head high, picked up the wine pot, and poured the wine into his throat. In the firelight, one could see his throat rolling up and down, and this heavy drink was full of hearty enjoyment.

"Prince Jianning!"

Li Mi stared at the scene with his eyes wide open. As smart as he was, he had never expected that even though his power exceeded that of the prime minister, there would still be a scene of royal father and son killing each other.

"Let go! I want to see His Majesty!"

He struggled to break free from the guards' obstruction, but they did not dare to really hurt him and allowed him to rush to Li Tan.

Li Mi knew medicine, so he took the wine pot and sniffed it, then used his finger to dip some of the remaining wine to taste what kind of poison it was. However, the dying Li Tan pulled him and said, "Don't disobey the order..." "What happened? We will persuade His Majesty to change his mind."

"This is the fate of our Li family... We cannot escape it." Li Tan's face gradually turned blue, but a relieved smile appeared on the corners of his mouth. He murmured, "Please advise Your Majesty not to rely on eunuchs, not to trust women blindly, and not to look down on the Huihe and Tubo..."

He could not quite remember what had happened. His originally strong body was twitching in pain, and he struggled twice on the ground.

The violent twisting in his stomach made his head sweat profusely. He looked up to the sky and screamed in pain. Then he was overwhelmed with grief and cried out, "God, please bear witness! God, please bear witness..."

The crying stopped abruptly.

Li Mi slowly stretched out his trembling hand, touched Li Tan's mouth and nose, and found that he was no longer breathing.

He couldn't imagine that Li Tan would die so suddenly, and he stood there in a daze. After a long while, he stood up and staggered two steps to ask to see Li Heng.

~~
"Am I not sad?"

Li Heng sat there with his hair uncombed and his back slumped, looking very depressed, muttering, "Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but I have to kill my own son. Isn't it painful for me?"

Li Mi said: "Since ancient times, suspicion between fathers and sons has often led to the destruction of the country and the family. Why doesn't Your Majesty summon me to discuss this?"

Halfway through his words, he realized that he had said something wrong, so he stopped and said, "I don't know what King Jianning has done wrong, maybe he was wrongly accused."

Li Heng shook his head and said, "He has made many contributions to me, but he was not able to command the army. He is upset. You can see for yourself... The facts are indisputable. For the sake of the country, I have no choice but to kill him even if my heart aches."

That was the confession of the imperial guards who followed Li Tan to guard Jiucheng Palace. Li Mi only took a few glances at it and his face changed.

According to the confession, after escaping from Chang'an, Li Shen led the imperial guards and led the troops in every battle. He was very popular in the army and thought that he could get troops by lying about military intelligence. As for the gunpowder that broke down the city wall, it was obtained by Li Shen when he defected to Prince Qing. He also often sent his confidant Gao Xiaoyi to the so-called "enemy camp" to deliver messages. Finally, it was said that Li Shen planned to raise a private army, disguised as a rebel, and kill Li Chu from behind.

"Someone must be trying to harm Prince Jianning," Li Mi said firmly. "Prince Guangping and Prince Jianning have always been in harmony with each other. What this confession says is absolutely impossible."

He recalled that when he realized that someone was slandering him, he was only concerned about protecting himself, but did not expect that it would end up harming Li Tan, and he could not help but feel remorseful.

"Sir, you don't need to say more. He has always been extreme in character. He has fought in front of me more than once or twice. It was my negligence in disciplining him that led to such a disaster." Li Heng was sad to begin with, and with tears in his eyes, he said, "The matter is over. Let's focus on the overall situation now."

"When I was young, I heard a poem called 'Huangtai Guaci'. Has your Majesty heard it?" Li Mi recited in a low voice: "Planting melons under Huangtai, the melons are ripe and the seeds are scattered. Picking once makes the melons good, picking twice makes the melons rare, picking three times is still okay, picking four times will bring the vines home."

This is a poem by Li Xian, the second son of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian. He was eventually forced to commit suicide. The poem uses the metaphor of picking melons to describe fratricide, satirizing Empress Wu Zetian.

Li Mi's implication was very clear. He was worried that there would be another Wu Zetian around Li Heng.

~~
"I will never reconcile with that vicious woman!"

When Li Chu learned that his brother had been killed, he felt like he was struck by lightning. He was in a daze for a long time and then became extremely sad. He even lost his composure and said that he wanted to kill Zhang Ting.

"Be careful with your words." Li Mi advised: "At this time, the war should be the most important. If you act rashly, it will give Concubine Zhang Shu an opportunity to slander His Majesty. First, recapture the two capitals and welcome back the emperor."

Li Chu was so grief-stricken that he could only agree with tears in his eyes.

What made him even more sad was that he had lost his loved ones but was still busy with the war and could not go in person to overturn Li Tan's verdict.

"Sir, this is all my fault." Li Chu said guiltily, "Sir, you clearly warned me that Yu Chaoen might be used by the vicious woman, but I didn't take it seriously and thought that just threatening him a few words would be enough."

"The dead are gone." Li Mi said, "What is more important now is to protect you from being harmed by Concubine Zhang Shu."

~~
When Zhang Ting heard that Li Neng was dead, he felt a little regretful and sighed.

"He is ignorant of the current situation." She commented, "I originally wanted to join forces with him."

From her point of view of interests, Li Tan's death means little to her. At present, the people she fears most are Li Chu and Li Mi.

Li Mi seemed fair, preventing her from becoming the queen and Li Chu from becoming the crown prince. But back in Chang'an, Li Chu's position as the crown prince was secure, but her position as queen was not. If she were to be enthroned now, her son would be the legitimate son, and Li Chu might also die in battle.

Li Fuguo was ordered by Li Heng to tell Zhang Ting the news, but ended up discussing it with her and whispered, "Prince Jianning was destined to die, but because of his death, Li Mi read the Huangtai Guaci in front of Your Majesty."

"This is coming for me." Zhang Ting's eyes were filled with ruthlessness. "We'll have to get rid of him sooner or later."

Afterwards, she glanced at Li Fuguo with some confusion and asked, "Why do you say that Li Tan is destined to die? It was obvious that I just decided to deal with him on a whim."

Li Fuguo was slightly stunned, and replied: "Before that, he surrendered to Prince Qing, and the Saint had a grudge in his heart."

Zhang Ting nodded, frowned again, and continued to think about how to deal with the really important enemies, but he found that it became more difficult after this.

~~
The next day, when Li Fuguo went to hold Li Dan's funeral, he met Yu Chaoen again. The two looked at each other and nodded.

"I'll trouble you to take care of everything here."

"Mr. Li is too polite."

Li Fuguo nodded, his demeanor more dignified than usual. He walked into the mourning hall and saw Xiao Ezi kneeling behind the coffin in a sackcloth and crying. He went up to her, held her hand, and said, "Follow me."

"Brother Gou'er... wuwuwu... my lover is gone..."

"Yes." Li Fuguo said, "But I am different now. I can protect and take care of you now."

He tried hard to look sad, but he couldn't hide the smile and longing in his eyes.

"The saint said that he would give me the entire Heyang as a fiefdom, and our small Magang Village is of course included in it. When I take you back, everyone will envy you. Do you know how high my position is?"

The little moth just cried.

Li Fuguo was a little unhappy. He was in a hurry and had many important matters concerning the Tang Dynasty waiting for him to do for the emperor. But she would only cry for others and waste her time.

Sure enough, not long after, someone hurried over and asked him to return to the palace early.

"What happened?"

"A general from the Anxi Army sent someone to report that a bandit army had arrived at the city of Anding and was trying to cut off the grain route to Fengxiang. A baggage train that was about to enter the city was nearly robbed."

Li Fuguo was surprised to hear this. This time when he recaptured Chang'an, Li Heng did not appoint Feng Changqing as the main general, but ordered him to ensure the food and supplies in the rear. Now that Feng Changqing's men have come, doesn't it mean that Xue Bai may have gone around to the back of Fengxiang Prefecture?

Could it be that the military intelligence Li Tan described was not true?
He was in a hurry to return to the palace, so he quickly pulled up Little Moth and said, "Don't cry, come with me."

"I want to stay with my husband!" The little moth refused to leave and struggled and cried, "Brother Gou'er...you hurt me..."

Hearing the name "dog", everyone, including the messenger who delivered the message, was stunned for a moment and looked at Li Fuguo.

"Don't call me Brother Gouer." Li Fuguo said in a low voice.

The little moth didn't care and flew onto Li Dan's coffin again.

At this time, a horn sounded from far outside the city. It was Li Chu who led his troops to attack the rebels. This showed how busy Fengxiang, the capital of Xijing, was.

Li Fuguo finally didn't care about Xiao Gezi anymore, and ordered two confidants to take her to a safe place, while he went to whisper something with Yu Chaoen.

Behind him, the little moth was crying and making a fuss, refusing to follow his confidant. He frowned when he heard it, and led Yu Chaoen a few steps forward, saying, "It was said to be a fake, but now it has gone around to the back. How can we explain it to the saint?"

"It may not be the same army." Yu Chaoen said, "How can I talk nonsense about military and national affairs?"

Li Fuguo said: "Since you have sent scouts to investigate, then..."

"Oh!"

Suddenly there was a sound, and the little moth's crying stopped abruptly.

Li Fuguo turned around and was stunned. When he looked down, the little moth had already crashed into Li Tan's coffin and died.

For a moment, it made him feel like everything he was doing had lost its meaning.

Many years ago, he entered the palace for her. At first, he didn't know what that cut meant, and when he understood, he didn't even have time to feel sad. It was also for her that he betrayed the eunuch supervisor and completely sided with Li Heng. If he had an accident at that time, he would have died. It was also for her that he hated Li Tan and slandered him to get rid of this heroic and wise king...

Li Fuguo walked to the dead body of Xiaogezi in a daze, knelt there, and murmured with trembling lips: "How could you? How could you? You still don't feel that I am better than him."

He really believed that he could bring her more than Li Neng. He leaned over to her ear and whispered in a very confident tone: "I am much stronger than Li Neng. I have much more power than him. I am the one who wants his life. I only need one sentence to take his life. I can protect you better."

As he spoke, Li Fuguo's palms opened unconsciously, as if he wanted to grasp something, perhaps power, or perhaps destiny.

"Not very pretty either." Yu Chaoen came over and said in a shrill voice, "Not worth it."

"You do not understand."

"Heh." Yu Chaoen chuckled and walked away.

Li Fuguo narrowed his eyes and stared at his back. For a moment, he thought that getting rid of Li Tan was not in vain...

"Boom!"

Suddenly there was a loud noise in the distance. Li Fuguo was so scared that he fell to the ground and turned around in confusion.

In an instant, he thought of many things, such as Xue Bai and the Anxi Army's baggage delivery team... Xijing Fengxiang should not have had such a mistake and been taken advantage of by others, but recently everyone's mind was not on the war.

Li Fuguo suddenly got up and rushed to the palace.

In times of crisis, he must rush to the saint's side as soon as possible.

Behind him, the little moth's body was still lying there, and blood gradually gathered under her body, like a blooming red flower.

(End of this chapter)