Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 509: Cutting off the grass must remove the roots

While waiting anxiously for Guo Ziyi to come to the rescue, the food and fodder in Jingzhou City gradually became scarce.

Even Li Heng's camp was running low on food and clothing. At this time, Zhang Ting, contrary to her usual simplicity, ordered people to slaughter the chicken that laid eggs every day for her son to make soup. After the meal, she asked the servants to boil water for her to bathe. As there was a shortage of water in the city, Li Heng had not bathed for a long time.

"Oh!"

Zhang Ting had just come out of the bathtub and was wiping herself when she heard someone kicking the door and the servants screaming.

"saint……"

Li Heng rushed in angrily, ignoring Zhang Ting's graceful body. He pointed at her and scolded her, "What are you doing? Have you finally stopped pretending to be virtuous?!"

"Why are you still pretending?" Zhang Ting asked sarcastically, "At this point, do you still think of yourself as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Heng had always been quite respectful of her, so after scolding her, his tone softened and he said, "Why don't you just be patient? Guo Ziyi will be coming to the king's defense soon."

"He won't come." Zhang Ting said, "If Guo Ziyi showed any sign of coming to the king's defense, Li Chu would have encouraged the people. But look at him, he is only thinking about persuading you to surrender, which shows that the situation is irreversible."

Zhang Ting claimed to be Li Chu's enemy, so she knew him very well. Although she wanted to get rid of Li Chu, she also knew that he was more capable than Li Heng.

"Wait a little longer." Li Heng stepped forward and advised, "What if things turn around? I really want to make you the queen."

"Your Majesty, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences." Zhang Ting sighed, "I have no hope of becoming the emperor, but now that I have surrendered, I will still enjoy wealth and glory."

"That's not what you said when you advised me before. I don't understand why you gave up. You shouldn't be this kind of person."

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten?" Zhang Ting suddenly became unhappy, her eyes fixed, and she looked like she was going crazy. "How many times have I told Your Majesty? Qi'er is sick, I will take him back to Chang'an to invite the best doctor. We mother and son can't stand this kind of wandering life! I was born in a noble family, and I have suffered countless hardships since I married you. Have I ever enjoyed any happiness?!"

Li Heng was stunned and opened his mouth.

He vaguely remembered that his son Li Qi was indeed ill, and Zhang Ting did often talk about it. But he was so worried recently that he didn't care about it.

"I...I also hope..."

Zhang Ting threw away the bathrobe in her hand, walked up to Li Heng wetly, and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Let's go back to Chang'an. I've had enough. When we get back to Chang'an and Qi'er is cured, we'll think of a solution."

This woman, who had always been strong and ambitious, suddenly became so weak when Li Heng needed her the most.

She lost her ambition, and after going crazy, she leaned her head on Li Heng's shoulder, as if she wanted to rely on him.

At this moment, Li Heng was not moved at all, he had already ignored her beauty. He felt more sad, because he suddenly realized that relying on a woman as a backbone was ultimately unreliable.

The cold, wet hair stuck to his neck, but he pushed Zhang Ting away, staggered two steps, turned around and walked out.

"saint?"

"You all only care about yourselves." Li Heng murmured, "Xue Ni wants to bury me alive. I will never surrender."

"He won't," Zhang Ting said, "He's not as unwise as Li Jingzhong."

"You are wrong. He will bury me alive one day."

Li Heng walked out muttering to himself, not knowing where to go. He didn't want to see Li Chu, Du Hongjian and others who advised him to abdicate and surrender, nor did he want to go to the top of the city to see Xin Yunjing, Ma Lin and others defending the city.

Although he was in a supreme position, he felt that he could not find even one supporter. In the end, he returned to the lobby of the headquarters and saw that only eunuchs such as Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoen, and Luo Fengxian remained loyal to him.

"You tell me, what should I do?"

"I swear to defend the saint till my death."

Li Heng was relieved by the eunuchs' firm attitude. He felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw and even thought of letting them be the commander-in-chief to defeat Xue Bai.

Upon hearing this, several eunuchs were horrified. Although they spoke nicely, they were actually afraid of death and might not be as brave as Zhang Ting.

Yu Chaoen quickly bowed down and said, "Saint, although I am willing to fight to the death for you, I am afraid that I may have wronged you."

"I think that instead of fighting to the death, it is better to unite with Prince Qing to deal with Xue Ni..."

Li Heng was furious and scolded: "After all, you are no different from Li Chu, Du Hongjian and other Confucian scholars!"

"No." Li Fuguo knelt on the ground, crawled two steps, kowtowed and apologized: "Your servants are different. You are concerned about the safety of the saint."

"Do you know why you can become my attendant? It's because Li Jingzhong was killed by Xue Ni!"

"It is precisely because of Xue Ni's brutality that I am worried that he will harm the Saint after he breaks into the city." Li Fuguo said, "And if he returns to Chang'an, for the time being, Xue Ni will not dare to touch the Saint in order to appease the officials of various regions."

"But what about later?"

"The Saint can unite with King Qing to get rid of Xue Ni first."

"It's easy for you to say, but once I abdicate, will it still be up to me?"

Li Fuguo hurriedly said, "I and the others will help the saint to eliminate the evil."

Luo Fengxian also chimed in, "Fighting on the battlefield is not my forte. When we get to Chang'an, I will contact Prince Qing and persuade him to join forces with the Saint to deal with the traitors who have usurped the country. I will definitely do it."

Yu Chaoen said, "Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured. With this servant here, we will definitely be able to get rid of the traitor Xue."

"At worst, we can just assassinate him." Li Fuguo said, "In any case, it will be easier to deal with him than confronting the two armies right now."

The shrill voices were talking back and forth, and Li Heng finally hesitated and asked, "Really?"

"I will definitely not let the Saint down!"

The eunuchs swore an oath in a resounding voice, appearing to be very manly.

Yu Chaoen added: "After we get rid of Xue Bai, Prince Qing is weak and childless, how can he be a match for the saint?"

"Yes, there will be saints in this world sooner or later," said Li Fuguo.

Li Heng finally wavered. All along, the military failures and shortage of food and fodder had made him tired of fighting.

Perhaps, we should try another method and use political tactics to get rid of Xue Bai. In terms of political tactics, who can compare with him who has been the crown prince for more than ten years and is known for his forbearance?

As soon as this thought came to his mind, he began to miss Chang'an, and even couldn't wait to return to Chang'an as soon as possible.

"Xue Ni...will not harm me for the time being?"

"Don't worry, Saint." Li Fuguo said, "I'm sure he won't dare."

~~
Li Heng finally decided to abdicate.

He issued an edict, saying that the reason he temporarily ascended the throne was because the clan society was not at peace and the country was in trouble. Now that he had accomplished his mission, he would retire and enshrine his elder brother as the emperor.

When the abdication edict was issued, many people in Jingzhou were still sad. For example, Ma Lin was determined to protect Li Heng and guarded the city every day. He did not expect that Xue Ni did not come, and Li Heng gave up on his own initiative.

Ma Lin then looked up to the sky and cried loudly, saying, "I am willing to die for the country, but why did Your Majesty surrender first?!"

No matter how reluctant he was, he could not stop Li Heng from surrendering.

On the day the edict was issued, Li Heng, with his hair loose and dressed in plain clothes, led the civil and military officials of Jingzhou out of the city to surrender.

As he was walking on the main street in the city, he heard the eunuchs report: "Your Majesty, a famous official hanged himself at home. He was a chaste man."

Li Heng was stunned and thought, once he left the city gate, he would no longer hear others calling him "saint".

After a while, he came back to his senses and asked, "Which official?"

Before he could hear the answer, there was a loud noise in front of him, and the city gate had already opened. Not knowing the name of the martyr, Li Heng had to put the matter aside and looked at Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoen, Luo Fengxian and others to boost his courage.

The eunuchs either came forward to help him straighten his clothes or whispered encouragement to cheer him up.

With a long sigh, Li Heng walked out of the city gate.

From afar, one can see Xue Bai wearing bright armor, majestically sitting astride a tall horse.

When the distance between them became closer and closer, until they were only a few steps apart and others could see both of them at the same time, they would understand why Xue Bai won and Li Heng surrendered.

The two men have completely different temperaments. Xue Bai is firm and confident, with a calm and deep gaze; Li Heng is haggard and uneasy, with an evasive and anxious look.

If one side is strong in heart and has a long-term vision, while the other side is weak and only cares about small gains and forgets about the greater good, then victory or defeat is already determined.

Li Heng raised his head and looked at Xue Bai, thinking of that afternoon in the fifth year of Tianbao when Li Jingzhong carefully came in front of him.

"Your Highness, someone from the Du family has arrived. The person Suo Douji is pursuing said he has brought evidence."

"Can the verdict be overturned?"

"I'm afraid that's difficult. I'm worried that if I overturn the case for the Du family, it will implicate Your Majesty even more. Or is it better to cut ties with the Du family?"

"Ah."

"Then I will do it?"

"Um……"

Memories flooded back, and Li Heng felt regret for the first time. He couldn't help but wonder how good it would have been if he hadn't listened to the eunuch Li Jingzhong.

I hope Xue Bai will keep his promise and not retaliate against him right now.

really.

"What did Prince Zhong do wrong?" Xue Bai said, "At that time, the Hu rebels were in turmoil and the country was in turmoil. Prince Zhong was also trying to boost people's morale."

"Yes."

Li Heng responded in a low voice without saying more. Li Chu behind him also remained silent.

Anyway, having said this in public, Xue Bai couldn't possibly kill them again.

Just as they were preparing to enter the city, Xue Bai suddenly changed the subject.

"But, the Saint has already been made the Crown Prince. Prince Zhong has declared himself the Emperor without authorization. Someone must have been instigating him with ulterior motives!"

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Especially ministers like Du Hongjian who had made great contributions to the enthronement of the King, all lowered their heads, thinking in their hearts how could King Yong go back on his word and trick them into surrendering and then pursue the matter, which would greatly lose the support of the people of the country.

Du Hongjian even persuaded Li Heng to surrender, and he regretted it deeply.

He looked up and saw Xue Bai had raised his hand and pointed at Li Heng. Li Heng's face turned pale and he froze there in fear.

"Li Fuguo."

Xue Bai called out his name and Li Fuguo shuddered in response.

"Take it!"

Before everyone could react, two soldiers pounced on Li Fuguo like wolves and tigers and pinned him down.

Li Heng was standing aside and felt the strong wind passing by his ears. Then he heard Li Fuguo screaming and felt cold sweat running down his back.

But it wasn't over yet, Xue Bai was still calling the roll.

"Yu Chaoen."

"King Yong, please spare my life!" Yu Chaoen was so frightened that his face turned pale.

"Luo Fengxian."

"Cheng Yuanzhen."

"Zhu Huiguang."

"Ma Yingjun."

"..."

Xue Bai started reading out the names of more than 30 eunuchs, including the eunuchs around Zhang Ting, who were almost the core eunuchs of Li Heng. Soon, more than 30 eunuchs were escorted out, wailing in shrill, high-pitched voices.

"Your Majesty, please save this slave!"

When Li Heng heard Li Fuguo's cry for help, his face changed drastically and he shouted, "Don't call me... Don't call me Your Majesty!"

He felt that he was almost killed by this slave.

"Lord Zhong, I am innocent!" Li Fuguo cried again, "Please save me."

"Are you wronged?"

Some officials refused to work upon hearing this. Prince Yong had just said that these people were guilty of "inciting Prince Zhong to become emperor." If these eunuchs were innocent, could it be that there were other people who were influencing Prince Zhong?

As a result, many officials stood up and righteously pointed out Li Fuguo and others.

Li Fuguo was furious when he saw these people putting all the blame on him. He shouted, "Du Hongjian, say something! Who was the one who first supported Prince Zhong? Tell me!"

"I have devoted my life to the great Tang Dynasty!"

Du Hongjian interrupted immediately and bowed to Xue Bai, saying, "Prince Yong, it is you who asks Prince Zhong to return to Chang'an..."

"You are shameless!" Li Fuguo cursed, "You are more shameless than us eunuchs!"

"You treacherous villain! Even now, you still don't repent."

"You old bastard! You gave me money and asked me to speak well of you in front of the saints so that they would let you become the prime minister!"

"you you you……"

Xue Bai did not stop them, and let them make so much noise, and bring out one ugly thing after another.

On the other side, Cheng Yuanzhen saw that Li Heng had no intention of helping him, so he turned to Li Chu and cried, "Your Highness, please save this old slave."

Li Chu sighed and closed his eyes without answering.

"God have mercy on me. I have always served Prince Guangping and never instigated Prince Zhong to become emperor." Cheng Yuanzhen howled.

When Xue Bai heard him mention Prince Guangping, he signaled his subordinates with his eyes, and someone immediately brought out an imperial edict.
"Prince Guangping Chu has inherited the legacy of his ancestors and has been able to carry on the legacy of his ancestors. He should be given an additional title of prince, and can be given the title of Prince of Yu."

The officials were all stunned.

It was a simple decree that used only two words to praise Li Chu, saying that he could inherit his father and grandfather's business and carry forward the family business.

But this sentence has two meanings. Maybe it means that Li Heng has been deposed and Li Chu is to inherit the family business of Prince Zhong; but it is also possible that Emperor Li Cong intends to cultivate Li Chu.

This inevitably reminds everyone of the time when Li Cong just became the crown prince and tried to win over Li Tan in the same way, but what was the result? Li Tan was therefore deeply suspected by Li Heng and ended up dying with a bad reputation.

So let’s try the same trick again.

After being stunned for a moment, Li Heng turned around and looked at Li Chu with disbelief in his eyes.

In an instant, he understood why Li Chu changed his previous attitude and persuaded him to surrender. It turned out that he wanted to sell him out.

Li Chu did not expect that Xue Bai could get the imperial edict so quickly. He originally thought that he would have to wait until he returned to Chang'an.

Without the emotional buffer, the relationship between father and son seemed to be torn apart.

"Grandpa, I..."

Li Heng didn't say anything, but just turned his head indifferently.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Ting smiled, but her eyes were somewhat sad. If it were before, she really wanted to see the father and son break up, which was something she had tried for a long time but failed to do, but Xue Bai made it happen with just one sentence.

Unfortunately, Li Heng had nothing to inherit except the vague title of "King of Succession".

"Prince Yu." Only Cheng Yuanzhen was still begging for mercy without any tact, crying, "Please save me, considering that I have worked hard even though I have not made any contributions over the years."

Cheng Yuanzhen also knew that Li Chu was difficult to convince, so he looked at the women behind him and shouted, "Madam Dugu, please persuade Prince Yu to save me. I have done so much for you. Concubine Cui..."

When Yu Chaoen heard this, he seemed to have found a life-saving straw and asked Li Chu for help.

"Prince Yu, please save me too. I have done so much for you."

Seeing these two people like this, even Li Fuguo turned to look at Li Chu and shouted: "Prince Yu, don't forget me."

Li Heng and Zhang Ting were both surprised and didn't understand how these slaves and servants suddenly became Li Chu's people.

Zhang Ting figured it out first, and realized that Li Chu had schemed and used her in many things without her knowing it, and she became furious.

Li Chu's face was also extremely ugly. He had thought that he could deal with Xue Bai secretly after returning to Chang'an, but he did not expect Xue Bai to cut off the source of the problem in advance and break up his previous relationship with Li Heng.

He wished he could grab a knife and kill the talkative Cheng Yuanzhen, Yu Chaoen and others, but he could only bear it and wait for Xue Bai to give the order to kill them.

But Xue Bai was very patient and was reluctant to give any orders. He watched this farce as if it were a joke.

So Li Chu stared straight at Xue Bai and released his anger.

It is regrettable that Cheng Yuanzhen, Yu Chaoen and others only mentioned many things briefly, hoping to threaten Li Chu and force him to help. If they really wanted to shout it out in public, they really couldn't do it because of their servility over the years.

Xue Bai saw that his goal had been achieved, and he was too lazy to watch their ugly behavior any longer, so he waved his hand and said, "Behead them."

"cut!"

Outside Jingzhou City, the executioners were lined up. The surrendered officials, including their wives, did not have time to enter the city, so they watched the execution as a warning.

Zhang Ting narrowed her eyes, and Gu Duqin covered her eyes in fear.

"cut!"

Li Fuguo's waist was bent by a pair of strong hands. He tried to raise his head, but still could not see Li Heng.

When he was about to die, he felt more regret than fear, because he had thought he could change his fate.

From being the most humble slave, he thought he had worked hard enough all the way. He sacrificed too many things, including his penis, his name, his loved ones, and even his own personality. Yet, after giving so much, he was still teased by fate?
An image suddenly came to his mind. It was when he was in the palace before and accidentally saw the retired emperor blindfolded and playing hide-and-seek with a group of beautiful palace maids... It was such an enviable scene. They wanted to be such a retired emperor all their lives.

But when he tried to catch something with his eyes covered, he caught nothing. He wanted to catch freedom, a moth, and dignity, but in the end, he lost everything. He tried hard to catch the power that was within his reach in the darkness.

"puff."

Li Fuguo's head fell to the ground.

"Puff puff puff puff puff..."

The executioners swung their swords one after another, and the heads of more than 30 eunuchs including Yu Chaoen, Cheng Yuanzhen, and Luo Fengxian rolled to the ground.

Big heads, small heads, like watermelons scattered all over the ground.

The surrendered officials all breathed a sigh of relief. They knew that King Yong was trying to establish his authority, but he was very considerate of him not using them to establish his authority.

"Killing the treacherous eunuchs is a great... great relief to the people."

"I have long felt that it is inappropriate for eunuchs to interfere in government affairs."

The wind blew with the smell of blood.

Xue Bai stopped his horse and looked at the head on the ground, thinking that if he failed in the end, the trend of eunuchs interfering in politics in the Tang Dynasty would be wiped out.

If you can solve one problem, then solve it.

~~
Changan.

The Daming Palace is still majestic and magnificent.

On the straight passage from Danfeng Gate to Zichen Hall, there were several tiny figures running hard.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Li Cong, who was becoming more and more majestic, frowned unhappily and asked, "Why is there so much noise?"

"Your Majesty, good news, good news!"

Several eunuchs, sweating and panting, knelt on the ground and said with joy: "Prince Zhong has abdicated and accepted Your Majesty as the ruler of the Tang Dynasty! Prince Zhong will be taken back to Chang'an soon."

"Your Majesty, once you have suppressed Prince Zhong's rebellion, you will surely rebuild the Tang Dynasty."

Li Cong also showed joy on his face.

Ever since he was scratched on the face while hunting, he has been bullied by his brothers. As the eldest son, he cannot become the crown prince. He has been cowardly for decades. Now he finally gets his revenge.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to say."

The speaker was an eunuch named Dou Wenyang, who was specially found for Li Cong by Li Cong's wife Dou Yu not long ago.

Dou Wenyang was a hereditary servant of the Dou family. When Dou Yu married Li Cong, he became her dowry and served in the Qing Palace. Now that Li Cong was in need of someone, he asked Dou Yu to find a trustworthy and talented eunuch among the palace people, and Dou Wenyang stood out.

This man is indeed a talent. Taking advantage of Xue Bai's absence from Chang'an, he became the Junior Eunuch and also recruited many talents for Li Cong in the outer court.

Li Cong respected him very much and said, "You say."

"I believe that the day when Prince Zhong is taken back to Chang'an will be the opportunity for Your Majesty to enthrone Prince Chu as the Crown Prince." Dou Wenyang whispered.

The King of Chu refers to Li Cong's favorite son Li Qiu, who was canonized on the same day that Xue Bai was canonized as the King of Yong. Unfortunately, nowadays people in the world only know the King of Yong but not the King of Chu.

Li Cong said: "I'm afraid Li Qian won't agree."

He is one of the very few people who calls Xue Bai "Li Qian". Although he himself may not agree with it in his heart, he hopes that others will agree with it. At the same time, he does not want Li Qian to compete for the throne, and he feels very conflicted.

Dou Wenyang said, "He had no choice but to agree. A few days ago, the Prince of Yong sent a fast horse back to Chang'an and asked Your Majesty to draft an edict to confer the title of Prince of Yu. Your Majesty thought that since even Li Chu had been conferred the title of Prince of Yu, a crown prince must be appointed, and the sooner one is appointed, the better for the King of Chu."

“Yes, otherwise Li Qian’s foundation will only become stronger and stronger.”

Li Cong also agreed with this, but after thinking about it, he hesitated and said, "But Li Qian will definitely object on the grounds of 'wait until the emperor is welcomed back'."

Dou Wenyang said: "In the past, the wars continued and Chang'an was in danger. All officials had to listen to Prince Yong for the sake of the overall situation. Now that the crisis in Chang'an has been resolved, there must be a large number of officials who are concerned about the country and will support Your Majesty."

"Okay, okay."

"Besides, I have inquired. The reason why Prince Yong was able to persuade Feng Changqing to surrender was because Feng Changqing was loyal to Your Majesty. He forced Prince Yong to promise not to fight for the throne."

Li Cong was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "There is such a loyal minister?!"

Dou Wenyang also smiled and said hurriedly: "Feng Changqing is your Majesty's most loyal minister."

This situation was like Emperor Xian of Han, who was held hostage by Cao Cao, hearing about Uncle Liu. Li Cong was overjoyed and wanted to take the opportunity to establish a crown prince to check and balance Xue Bai.

But he changed his mind and became worried again, and asked, "I'm afraid that if this happens, Li Qian will think that I want to deal with him?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry." Dou Wenyang said, "I'll contact Feng Changqing and let him make the proposal. In addition, persuade Li Chu, Guo Ziyi and others, and the King of Chu will be the crown prince. This is the general trend."

Li Cong quickly put his hands on Dou Wenyang's shoulders and praised him, "Great! God has given me a wise minister. I think you are more suitable to be the prime minister than Yan Zhenqing."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. It is your majesty who is wise and discerning. You chose me. I will repay your majesty with my life!"

The love between master and servant was so deep that both of them were deeply moved.

Then, Dou Wenyang introduced to Li Cong some of his newly selected capable eunuchs one by one.

"Bai Zhongzhen, Huo Xianliang, Wang Shoucheng, Yang Zigong..."

Just by hearing these names, Li Cong knew that they were loyal and respectful, and were all his good ministers.

At this time, there were brothers fighting each other and nephews plotting to usurp the throne. Outside, military officials were domineering and would not listen to the orders of the court. Most of the civil servants were from aristocratic families and each had his own private agenda.

Only these eunuchs and palace servants know him inside out, are loyal to him, and are closely tied to his interests. They are his confidants and can be relied upon as his right-hand men.

"Good, good, good. With your loyalty and wisdom, why should I worry about not being able to restore the Tang Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)