Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 538: Personal Reign
On October 24th of the second year of Yingshun, the New Year was approaching.

Chang'an, heavy snow.

Yang Xu led his horse into Chunming Gate and looked up. In front of him, he saw wine flags waving, foreign girls dancing, and noble men singing. It was a lively scene.

After a turmoil, when I returned, it seemed as if it was still the Tianbao period.

He sat down in a tavern, ready to inquire about some news. Before the wine was served, he was attracted by the discussion in his ears.

It was about a man and a woman having an affair, which was quite erotic. From time to time, people in the crowd would exclaim, "No way?"

"They are both at the age of being as fierce as wolves and tigers, how can they hold back?"

"Didn't you say that the person is dead?"

"If you fake your own death and escape, you can stay together forever, every day."

"The rumor has always been about him and Third Sister Yang."

"You don't understand this, hehe..."

A knowing smile also appeared on Yang Xu's face. After listening for a while, he had already heard who the two people being talked about were.

The beautiful and graceful beauty who brings disaster to the country is undoubtedly Yang Guifei. As for the young man whose name cannot be mentioned but who holds great power, he is also an obvious person.

His eyes fell on the person who brought up the topic and revealed the most inside information, and he noticed that the person looked a little sneaky.

Sure enough, the other party quickly changed the subject slightly.

"Everyone says how great his contributions are, but how despicable must a person be to covet his grandfather's woman."

"Even animals wouldn't do that..."

Yang Xu's eyes rolled, and he had a guess in his mind. When the man left, he didn't even bother to drink, and immediately followed him. Sure enough, he saw the man go to the next tavern to discuss.

There is actually no need to deliberately spread rumors about romantic affairs, as they have already spread and cannot be suppressed. But in order for them to not be forgotten, someone still has to spread them, and it would be best if someone could comment on them and give a final verdict on certain people.

If you ask who in Chang'an City can do this, the result is actually not difficult to guess.

After leaving a tavern, the man walked towards the north of the city. Yang Xu quickly followed him, but after passing a gate, he suddenly lost track of the other person.

He looked around and walked a little further. Suddenly, a question came from behind him.

"Brother, why are you following me?"

Yang Xu turned his head, a smile on his face, and bowed, saying: "I have no ill intentions, I just want to meet your master, and I have a generous gift for you."

~~
The carriage loaded with all kinds of treasures arrived at Dou Wenyang's house. He counted them and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

As soon as Yang Xu came in, he expressed his opinion, saying, "As the saint's closest brother, Prince Yong is naturally willing to present treasures to the saint."

Dou Wenyang put on a high attitude and said, "The Tang Dynasty has no practice of sending kings to govern local areas. The saint originally wanted to recall Prince Yong, but he did not issue an edict out of consideration for the brotherhood. What is this? It is trust."

"The Saint really trusts Prince Yong too much." Yang Xu was very sensible, "I will thank the Saint on behalf of Prince Yong."

Then, he changed the subject and asked in a questioning tone: "It is said that the kings did not leave the local areas, but King Yong went to Fanyang. It seems that the saint also trusts King Yong very much?"

Dou Wenyang looked down at Yang Xu and asked, "What is Prince Yong's attitude?"

"Prince Yong respects the saint, but he is concerned about Prince Yong, fearing that he may not be content."

Dou Wenyang thought that it would be a good thing if he could join forces with Prince Yong to deal with Xue Bai. His attitude immediately improved a lot, and he did not hide anything. He frankly pointed out that Xue Bai had become too powerful to be eliminated, and it would not be easy to weaken him.

Yang Xu immediately expressed on behalf of Prince Yong that he was willing to contribute money and effort to this matter.

Dou Wenyang was overjoyed, and since he had accepted Yang Xu's gift, he soon treated him as a guest of honor.

After getting along harmoniously for two or three days, Yang Xu began to give Dou Wenyang advice. He mentioned the rumors in Chang'an City and pointed out that the saint should use the power of the emperor to deal with Xue Bai.

Some time ago, Li Cong's proposal to let Zhang Yi and Chen Xilie be appointed prime ministers had already aroused Dou Wenyang's vigilance. He still had deep fear of Li Longji in his heart, so he kept silent when he heard it.

Yang Xu saw his hesitation and said, "Dou Gong, you and I should consider the saints in the long run. Let me say something extremely treasonous. How old is the emperor, and how old is Prince Yong?"

Dou Wenyang was a small-time man who didn't want to give up even a little bit of power. But the reason was not difficult to understand. After Yang Xu's explanation, he also understood that it would be difficult to deal with Xue Bai without joining forces with the saint's father and brother, and considering Xue Bai's age, he would not give them a chance in the future.

Yang Xu continued to persuade him, "It is said that Prince Yong and Concubine Yang had an affair, and the emperor has lost face. He wants Prince Yong to die more than anyone else. Then you, Lord Dou, will be the first contributor to saving the country."

This matter was spread by Dou Wenyang. He only thought of ruining Xue Bai's reputation. Only now did he realize that he could kill two birds with one stone.

He finally nodded in agreement.

Yang Xu also suggested that as the New Year was approaching, he wanted to pay respects to the retired emperor on behalf of Prince Yong to fulfill his filial duty.

Now that everyone has discussed this point, they will work together to deal with Xue Bai, and Dou Wenyang can't refuse.

After all, although he received a generous gift, Prince Yong's tribute to the Zuo Cangku had not arrived yet.

As for Li Cong, he had little say in this matter.

Li Longji lived in the deep palace for a long time and was very happy to see one or two foreign officials occasionally. He gave a glass of wine to Yang Xu, an unknown minor official, and during the meal he proposed to move to Xingqing Palace to live.

If Li Cong did not agree to his father's wish, he would be unfilial. But he was very unwilling in his heart, so he simply closed his eyes and refused to answer, letting Dou Wenyang refuse on his behalf.

"Xingqing Palace has been in great disrepair due to the war and is not suitable for the emperor to live in. It is better for the emperor to live in Taiji Palace."

Being able to stop the retired emperor's wish undoubtedly gave Dou Wenyang a lot of power.

Gao Lishi could not bear to see his arrogance, so he turned around and scolded him: "Since the rebels have not yet entered Chang'an, how can Xingqing Palace be in such a state of disrepair? The emperor is willing to live here, so why should a servant like you have the right to make decisions?!"

Dou Wenyang's face changed. He had been taught a lesson by Gao Lishi time and time again. He had made up his mind to demote Gao Lishi and then assassinate him.

He also looked serious and said, "Mr. Gao has lived in the palace for a long time and doesn't know what's happening outside the palace. Since An Lushan's rebellion, the people have been living in poverty. How can the court have the money to repair Xingqing Palace?"

This was a satire on Li Longji's stupidity, his tolerance of the rebellion and his blocking of speech.

But on the other hand, he also exposed Li Cong's current predicament of lack of money, and he would have to compromise sooner or later.

The matter was settled, and on October 28, before the New Year's Day, Li Cong issued an edict to appoint Chen Xilie as prime minister.

Li Longji influenced this matter, and the Secretariat did not object. The Tang Dynasty has always had a system of multiple prime ministers, but Yan Zhenqing has always been the sole prime minister since he was appointed prime minister. Previously, it was because of the need to coordinate money and grain during the war. It would be unreasonable to oppose someone else's appointment as prime minister now.

During the war, after Chen Xilie was captured by Xue Bai, he also did several things for Xue Bai, which could be considered meritorious.

Appointing him as prime minister was a more acceptable outcome for Prince Yong's faction than appointing someone else.

As for Zhang Yi, since he had shaved his head and become a monk, he finally missed the opportunity to become prime minister again. This was also the result of weighing the pros and cons of all parties.

October passed quickly, and the second year of Yingshun came to an abrupt end.

In just ten months, Li Cong put down the rebellion in Hebei, captured and killed the Khitan Khan, and gradually gained some power in court governance, seemingly having the potential to become a wise ruler who would rebuild the Tang Dynasty.

He felt that the two years of Yingshun's second year were two years of transition. Xue Bai had exerted too much influence on him. Behind every one of his achievements there was the shadow of Xue Bai, which made him very uncomfortable.

Next, he will dominate the world and show his prowess.

~~
In the first year of Shangyuan, the first day of the first lunar month.

Today is a day off, so Yan Zhenqing did not go to the government office and stayed alone in his deserted home.

It was said to be deserted because Wei Yun had also gone to Yangzhou and had not yet been brought back, so there were few people in the family. But in fact, many officials came to visit the prime minister, and the gate was actually crowded with people.

Yan Zhenqing did not see anyone else except Du Youlin.

"Are you worried about the situation in the court, Lord Yan?" Du Youlin asked.

"Why worry?" Yan Zhenqing asked back.

Du Youlin said: "Chen Xilie is weak and incompetent, wavering. The sage appointed him as prime minister so that he could obey the sage's will, but is Chen Xilie really carrying out the sage's will? I'm afraid it's Dou Wenyang's will."

Yan Zhenqing did not answer, knowing that according to Du Youlin's idea, the end result would be nothing more than letting Xue Baiqing remove the emperor's side, and the war that had been finally quelled would then break out again.

Du Youlin continued, "If you say Chen Xilie is not worthy of attention, I think it won't be long before he will bring in Wei Jiansu as prime minister. This man should not be underestimated. If so, Lord Yan will soon be dismissed from his position as prime minister."

Yan Zhenqing was not a person who clung to power. He smiled bitterly and waved his hands, saying, "If it is really Wei Jiansu who is appointed as the prime minister, it would be fine for me to resign."

Seeing him like this, Du Youlin stopped forcing him and turned to ask his own questions.

"Prince Yong wants to transfer your brother Yan Gaoqing to Fanyang with Yuan Luqian and others to serve as the garrison commander and take charge of military settlement. Your brother once served as the military farm judge in Hebei, so he is the most suitable candidate."

"Yes." Yan Zhenqing said, "It is more suitable for my brother to go to Fanyang than to stay in Hebei."

Du Youlin said, "In this way, the candidate for the position of governor of the Eastern Capital will be vacant. This position should be recommended by Prince Yong. In terms of qualifications, although I am not talented, I am still suitable. However, if I go to Luoyang again, I am afraid that no one will support Lord Yan in the court."

Yan Zhenqing said: "The military settlement in Hebei is a big deal. You have served as a transport commissioner and are familiar with the situation in Luoyang. This arrangement is very appropriate. There is no need to delay the important work because of the party struggles in the court."

"So, I'll take office at the beginning of the year?"

Du Youlin had actually anticipated the sage's determination to dismiss Yan Zhenqing from his position as prime minister, which is why he made this visit today.

After a rather deserted Lantern Festival, Du Youlin went to Luoyang to take up his post in the first month of the year.

As the most senior person in the Yong Wang line, his appointment was accompanied by a series of personnel transfers, which represented that the Yong Wang line shifted its focus eastward and northward, and from the court to the local areas.

Chen Xilie was a very smooth person. The first thing he did after returning to the position of prime minister was to write a letter to Xue Bai to express his loyalty. He was also very polite to Yan Zhenqing, a junior. He also kept silent when discussing state affairs, as if he was in the period when Li Linfu was prime minister.

But before the beginning of the first month, a case occurred in Chang'an City.

A student of the Imperial College accused Yan Zhenqing of having conspired with Wei Shu, Zheng Qian, Su Yuanming and others, criticizing the emperor and falsely claiming that it was a prophecy.

Li Cong immediately expressed his absolute trust in Yan Zhenqing and ordered the student who filed the complaint to be imprisoned. The order was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but Yan Zhenqing did not dare to execute it and simply submitted a petition to retire. As he was a meritorious official, Li Cong would naturally not allow him to retire, so he ordered Chen Xilie to thoroughly investigate the case and clear Yan Zhenqing's name.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of forcing Yan Zhenqing to recuse himself from presiding over the case, Chen Xilie began to take control of government affairs, and reinstated Wei Jiansu as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, thus putting him in the ranks of prime ministers.

In this way, matters that were previously decided by Yan Zhenqing alone could now be discussed and voted on by the three prime ministers, and to deal with a matter, it would be enough if two of them agreed.

As long as the case was not resolved, Yan Zhenqing would have to avoid suspicion and could not serve as a director in the province. A few days later, he again submitted a letter of resignation, with sincere words.

Li Cong had no choice but to approve the matter.

Therefore, less than a year after the rebellion ended, the heroes who had suppressed the rebellion were either sent to the frontier or to defend the northwest. The prime minister who remained in the court also retired. Correspondingly, the power of Prince Yong's faction in the court reached its weakest point.

Li Cong worked hard for so long and finally cleared away the obstacles and took control of the court.

The first thing was naturally to appoint officials. Dou Wenyang promoted many of his confidants to important officials in the court. These people regarded themselves as loyal ministers of the emperor and were good at flattery, which soon made Li Cong feel elated.

After the officials were appointed, they naturally needed to have political achievements. What were the political achievements? Naturally, it was to fill the national treasury, so Dou Wenyang asked officials at all levels to find ways to increase taxes.

After the policies on talent and money were decided and implemented, the biggest problem to be faced was Xue Bai, who was a serious threat to him.

At the daily court meetings, the ministers gathered together and offered their own brilliant ideas. They all believed that the time had come to let Xue Bai return to Chang'an to guard Li Ying's mausoleum and to remove him from his post as the Grand Marshal of the Army.

In short, Li Cong has already taken control of Chang'an, so he has to take action before Xue Bai takes control of Fan Yang.

~~
Jizhou.

The rolling mountains ended, and to the north was a flat grassland dotted with black and white cattle and sheep.

A large cloud floated over, very low, as if it wanted to overlook what the large group of people on the grassland were doing.

It was a market, a trade fair between Khitan, Xi and Tang peoples.

A messenger came galloping from the south on horseback, found a team of fierce guards, and asked, "Where is King Yong? He has a letter for you."

"Keep your voice down and I'll take you there."

A guard led the messenger forward and saw Xue Bai, wearing an ordinary robe, arm wrestling with a Khitan boy.

Everyone in the army knew that Prince Yong was very strong and could wield a spear weighing dozens of kilograms without any problem. However, they did not expect that the Khitan boy's thin arms also contained great strength. The two men were in a stalemate.

The dark and thin face of the Khitan boy turned a little red. It was clearly a young face, but it had a sense of vicissitudes and maturity that came from years of experience. Only his eyes retained the innocence and simplicity of a young man.

Seeing the messenger coming, Xue Bai increased his strength, the muscles on his arms became more prominent, and he finally pushed him down.

He didn't know how the thin arms of the Khitan boy could have such great strength. He was immediately annoyed, stood up, and said in his not-so-fluent Chinese: "Okay, I'll sell you my horse."

Xue Bai smiled and bought his horse. It was a very majestic colt with powerful hooves that didn't want to stop once it started running.

When Xue Bai saw the horse raising its head and neighing when the Khitan boy pulled the reins, he took a liking to it at first sight and went forward to ask the price. The Khitan boy wanted to sell it but was reluctant to do so. He said that he had many horses at home, but this was the only one he rode, and he needed to buy necessities to take back, so he was tempted by Xue Bai's price.

After receiving the money, he enthusiastically invited Xue Bai to his home and asked him to drink mare's milk, revealing the unique enthusiasm of a young man.

When Li Linfu valued the Hu people, he said that they were strong and simple-minded. When Xue Bai came into contact with them, he found that it was indeed true.

"Prince Yong, I'm afraid you have to go back to Fanyang immediately."

The messenger finally found an opportunity to deliver the letter from Chang'an and convey Yan Zhuang's words.

Xue Bai read the letter, but waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, just follow the scheduled itinerary."

A few days later, he met with the new Khan of Khitan in the grassland further north, intimidated him, and then slowly returned to Fan Yang.

Officials including Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian had already arrived and greeted Xue Bai at the city gate.

They were comrades-in-arms in Changshan and were very happy to see each other again.

When talking about the issue of military farming, Yan Gaoqing was indeed very knowledgeable and answered many of Xue Bai's questions.

They also mentioned that the court was going to collect taxes from Hebei.

It was thought that Xue Bai, who had his own army and was very powerful, would definitely not hand over the civilian register and land register to the court, let alone pay taxes.

"Two years ago, the imperial court issued an edict promising not to increase taxes, but now it has repeatedly broken its promise. If this continues, where will the imperial court's prestige be?"

As expected, Xue Bai first expressed his resistance to this, but then he changed the subject and said, "But Hebei is also part of the Tang Dynasty. We have not paid taxes in the past two years due to the rebellion. Now that we have recovered it, the taxes we should pay will not be reduced."

After saying this, he asked someone to hand over the land register and the population register to Yan Gaoqing.

He has ambitions to rule the world, so there is no need for him to start a separatist movement just for a little money.

The urgent matter that the messenger mentioned that required Xue Bai to rush back was not this, but the official decree of the court, which relieved Xue Bai of all his official positions including the Grand Marshal of the Army and ordered him to return to Chang'an to guard Li Ying's tomb and perform filial piety for three years.

"Prince Yong, raise your army."

History always repeats itself in an amazing way. Just as the Anshi Rebellion was quelled, Yan Zhuang once again stood in the lobby of the Fanyang Jiedushi Mansion and said the same words.

He had already thought about it. Right now, the power of Prince Yong's faction in the court was at its weakest, and Yan Zhenqing was not in the position of prime minister. If Xue Bai gave up his military power and returned to Chang'an, he would surely die.

But if he didn't go back, it would be disobeying the emperor's order, so he might as well start a rebellion. Taking advantage of the remaining power of suppressing the rebellion, it would not be difficult to capture Chang'an.

Xue Bai was very calm and asked, "In the name of what?"

Yan Zhuang also considered it. Of course, he couldn't raise an army in the name of not wanting to guard the mausoleum and fulfill his filial piety, so he answered simply: "Clear the emperor's side."

He put on a righteous and stern expression and said in a deep voice: "Since the saint has been using eunuchs, he has been doing perverse things, which has long displeased the people of the world. Prince Yong should raise an army in the name of executing Dou Wenyang in accordance with the emperor's order."

Xue Bai asked, "What if Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing and other generals lead their troops to stop us?"

Yan Zhuang hesitated for a moment, then licked his lips nervously about what he was going to say next.

The reason why the court dared to recall Xue Bai was that it was betting that these famous generals would not condone Xue Bai's rebellion. Once he raised an army, Feng Changqing would be able to hold Xue Bai hostage from behind.

"Please ask Prince Yong to invite Feng Changqing to a banquet in Fanyang, and get rid of him during the banquet to seize the military power of Pinglu. Then send an envoy to win over Li Guangbi. I heard that he has long been dissatisfied with the saint's use of eunuchs and has resentment in his heart. He should be able to be persuaded. In this way, there is only one Guo Ziyi, and with the sharpness of Prince Yong's army, he should be able to defeat him."

Xue Bai asked again: "Look at my generals, which one is completely loyal to me and has the ability to defeat Guo Ziyi?"

"Fanyang surrendered generals." Yan Zhuang said, "Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi and others are loyal to Prince Yong and will definitely help Prince Yong seize the throne."

Xue Bai looked over and could see that Yan Zhuang's eyes were extremely eager, as if he couldn't wait for him to start a rebellion. He must have felt the same way when he had advised An Lushan.

But Xue Bai is not An Lushan. He has his own considerations and will not disrupt his rhythm because of a few words of instigation.

Now he seemed to have great prestige, but in fact many of his generals followed him to support the Tang Dynasty. To start a rebellion at this time would be to destroy his own foundation. And there was no need at all. He believed that there would be a better opportunity in a few years.

"Do you know what the biggest difference between me and An Lushan is?"

Yan Zhuang was stunned for a moment, and replied, "Prince Yong is gifted with heroic spirit and extraordinary martial arts. He is definitely not comparable to An Lushan."

Xue Bai said: "He is a traitor, but I am loyal to the court. How can I follow his example and start a rebellion?"

Yan Zhuang didn't believe it. He could see at a glance that Xue Bai's high-sounding words were used to deceive the world, and there must be more powerful means behind it.

It's just that he hasn't guessed it yet.

But the next day, Xue Bai actually submitted a petition to the court, accepted the imperial edict and expressed his gratitude, and stated that he was willing to give up his military power and return to Chang'an. However, the military camp in Fanyang had just begun, and he could not bear to give up halfway and leave the soldiers without food, so he had to wait a month or two before he could set off.

When this memorial was slowly delivered to Chang'an, Li Cong was overjoyed after reading it.

His uneasy heart finally settled down. Thinking back on his path to seizing power, he felt that he was truly a master at what he did.

Looking back, since the beginning of the year was changed, it was like luck had come, and many things went smoothly. Even he thought that maybe it was really God's gift.

Perhaps a comet really appeared in the east that night, foreshadowing that he would become a wise ruler whose achievements would be remembered for generations.

~~
After the New Year, Yang Xu set out from Chang'an and returned to Jiangling.

Although he did not bring back Li Longji's secret order, he gained a lot and contacted a group of officials in the court.

These officials either saw through Xue Bai's ambition and were unwilling to join the rebellion, but were not valued by Li Cong. Or they saw Li Cong's incompetence and had high hopes for Li Longji and were quite fond of Yongwang Li Lin.

Their intention was that Prince Yong would be able to increase the authority of the retired emperor and enable him to correct the mistakes made by the sage in state affairs, such as the excessive use of eunuchs.

But after listening to Yang Xu's description, Li Lin thought that these officials wanted to support him as emperor, and his confidence suddenly increased.

"Tell me, if I raise an army now to purge the emperor, what are my chances of success?"

Yang Xu was startled and asked, "Isn't it a bit too hasty?"

Unexpectedly, Li Lin said something that shocked him.

"Xue Bai and I have agreed to raise troops and march to Chang'an together. Whoever enters Guanzhong first will be the emperor. I plan to take the initiative. What do you think?"

"This……"

Yang Xu was even more surprised and asked, "Why did he make this agreement with Prince Yong?"

"He sent someone to contact me long before I took up my post." Li Lin said, "That's strange. I didn't show off before, so how did he know that I had such great ambitions?"

"Prince Yong has the aura of an emperor, and I think he has seen it." Yang Xu said, "If he wants to raise an army, Prince Yong will wait for him to start the rebellion, and then lead the army north in the name of attacking him. Wouldn't it be more appropriate?"

"If he enters Guanzhong, how can I attack it?"

Li Lin had already made up his mind and ignored the advice. He said arrogantly: "We should seize the throne while these two tigers are fighting each other!"

(End of this chapter)