Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 622 Xiu Min

"His Majesty?"

When Li Chengyu heard Li Mi's address to Xue Bai, he smiled contemptuously and said, "Xue Bai is just a traitor. What kind of emperor is he?"

His tone was extreme, so Li Mi responded calmly without showing any stance.

"He has been on the throne for several years. He is at least the nominal emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"It was just a coincidence that the kings were fighting fiercely for the throne, and this traitor who was plotting to usurp the throne took advantage of it."

Li Chengyu may not really look down on Xue Bai, but it is for his own benefit that he deliberately suppresses him with words, but in fact, his expression shows that he takes him seriously.

He frowned inadvertently, and after thinking it over, he chose to trust Li Mi and told him his entire plan.

First, they produced evidence that the current emperor was not a member of the Li Tang royal family. This is a cliché and is no different from what Li Heng and others did back then.

"Sir, your loyalty to the Tang Dynasty is beyond doubt. I believe you will not sit idly by and watch the country fall into the hands of such a treacherous villain. Now I have contacted many parties and discussed with the ministers and righteous men. I plan to support the 20th son of Emperor Xuanzong, Prince Yan Li Yin, as the emperor. What do you think?"

Although Li Mi was very smart, he did not expect the situation to have reached such a point. He hesitated for a moment and replied, "What are the chances of success?"

Li Chengyu said: "With your help, great things will be accomplished."

Li Mi waved his hands and said frankly, "To be honest, the reason I came out of retirement was because Mr. Yan Zhenqing invited me to do so in order to maintain the stability of the country."

"Yan Zhenqing is Xue Ni's father-in-law. He keeps talking about 'the country', but he is just being righteous!"

"Then can you trust me?" Li Mi asked.

"Of course it's Mr. Xin."

"Then I will speak frankly. If supporting Prince Yan can give me a 60% chance of success and can protect the country from turmoil, I will definitely support him. But how does Prince Yan compare to Prince Zhong and Prince Guangping? In the past, when Li Qian had not yet ascended the throne, I was unable to help Prince Zhong and his son succeed, let alone now?"

Li Chengyu laughed when he heard this, and felt a little contempt for Li Mi's weak remarks.

But he admired Li Mi's frankness.

"In the past, the loyal prince could not accomplish anything because we chose Xue Ni, which was out of consideration for quelling the war as soon as possible. Although we made a mistake, it was not him who was powerful, but us. This is what is called 'He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world'. Now we have seen through Xue Ni's conspiracy, and his defeat is also inevitable."

Li Mi smiled bitterly. He knew that these people did not see through Xue Bai's conspiracy, but their interests were harmed by Xue Bai.

Of course, whether it is Yan Zhenqing or Li Chengyu, one side believes that Xue Bai is determined, and the other side believes that the aristocratic families are powerful. These are all one-sided opinions, and Li Mi needs to make his own judgment.

He then asked, "Even if war breaks out, does Lord Li still think so?"

"What's there to be afraid of?!"

Li Chengyu was a little excited and stood up and said, "Sir, just follow me and you will know."

He led Li Mi to the study, picked up a long joint letter and handed it to him, then went to get paper and pen and asked Li Mi to sign.

There was a densely packed list of names, all of which were ministers, generals, and celebrities.

Even a figure like Li Chengyu can only be listed at the back because he has no real power.

At the beginning of this list, Li Mi also saw several people who were completely unexpected to him.

He couldn't help but point at those names and asked in surprise: "Do they also support Prince Yan?"

Seeing his surprise, Li Chengyu was more certain that the plan would work, and said in a resounding voice: "This is the will of the people!"

"What's the plan?"

"Sir, I'm afraid you don't know yet, but the war has already started. All the towns have gathered their troops and are besieging the Eastern Capital, forcing the traitor Xue to abdicate."

Li Chengyu handed over the letter he had just been writing, which was addressed to Prince Yan Li Yin, saying that the civil unrest in Zhengzhou was out of control and the rioters might attack the Eastern Capital.

This was written for the people of the world to see, giving all the vassal states that opposed Xue Bai an excuse to send troops on their own.

The severity of the situation once again exceeded Li Mi's expectations, and he had to reassess the strength of both sides.

~~
Luoyang.

Since Yan Zhenqing was dismissed from his position as prime minister, Du Jin was no longer hindered from entering and leaving the palace, and there was no need to hide it anymore.

In addition, she often discussed important matters with Xue Bai, and the two of them often stayed in the hall to plot and scheme, looking like a couple. This was a huge difference from the past when Du Jin had always been hiding in the dark.

If someone were to look at it with ulterior motives, they would inevitably come to the conclusion that "Your Majesty is beginning to neglect the Queen."

Others don't know how Xue Bai and Yan Yan get along in private, but based on past history, it is very common for powerful relatives to be suppressed.

The Tianjin Bridge over the Luo River has not yet been repaired. The mastermind behind the explosion must be Yan Zhenqing. Whether it was to assassinate the emperor or to assassinate Du Jin, the Yan family obviously stood on the side of the aristocratic families.

On the other hand, Du Jin did always stand on Xue Bai's side throughout a series of changes.

In fact, the Jingzhao Du family had been putting pressure on Du Youlin. After Du Jin noticed this, she went to Du Youlin's study in person, smashed open the locked mailbox, took away all the letters, and then warned, arrested, exiled, dismissed, or even killed them to silence them. She changed the attitude of the clan members in a way that was almost like sacrificing one's own family for the sake of justice. Then, she purged all the people under her command who had secret contacts with the various nobles and families.

Early that morning, Du Jin stood in front of the window, holding a piece of intelligence in her hand, thinking, while her personal maid helped her put on a cloak.

The weather is still cold, so I'll wear that when I enter the palace.

"This red one looks good." Qu Shui tied the cloak on Du Jin and said unconsciously, "Madam has been coming to the Mingtang more often than the Queen recently."

"Shut up." Du Jin scolded, "Don't you know what you should and shouldn't say?"

"Yes, I know I was wrong."

"You are not a slave anymore." Du Jin said, "According to the new law of the court, you are also a registered person with a household registration. I hired you to do the work."

"But I just want to be your servant." Qu Shui said, "I'm afraid your majesty and your majesty's new method will not be appreciated."

"I don't want you to appreciate it."

As they were talking, Qu Shui had already put some makeup on Du Jin, and they quickly left the house.

When they arrived at the Ziwei Palace, the guards saw Du Jin's badge and let her pass, but the waiter outside the Mingtang said that the emperor was summoning Cui Youfu.

Du Jin then ordered to go to the East Palace to visit the prince.

Now Li Zuo has also returned to Luoyang. He is depressed because he was hit hard by Yan Zhenqing's dismissal from his position as prime minister.

He had a heavy workload and he did not stop even in this situation. When Du Jin arrived, she waited for a while because he was reading.

"Godmother, I heard that Aung was dismissed from office because he sent someone to assassinate you. Is that true?"

"Who did you listen to?"

"On the way back to Dongdu, I heard the officials talking about it."

Du Jin had no choice but to say, "It was not Lord Yan who assassinated me, but someone deceived Lord Yan and assassinated Your Majesty."

These things are difficult to explain, but Du Jin took the trouble to personally explain the cause and effect to Li Zuo.

She believed that only by saying it herself could Li Zuo avoid misunderstanding, and this was also a kind of teaching, which would help Li Zuo become an emperor better than learning from books.

She had no children and had always treated Li Zuo as her own.

Finally, she patted Li Zuo's head gently and said, "This is how the royal family is. It's not that there is no family affection, but there are too many things that are beyond your control. You must learn to get used to it."

"Yes."

Li Zuo still felt uncomfortable.

As a child, he still couldn't understand why his grandfather had such a deep conflict with his father.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he bit his lips hard and tried to hold them back.

"Go."

Knowing that he still had schoolwork to do, Du Jin gently pushed his back.

"correct."

Then, she became curious about something and asked, "Didn't your mother tell you this?"

Li Zuo shook his head.

"Doesn't she come to the East Palace to see you often?" Du Jin asked again.

Li Zuo said, "My mother is pregnant and has been taking care of the baby recently."

"Okay, don't tell anyone else."

Du Jin was distracted for a moment, then smiled, thinking that Yan Yan was really patient. The Yan family was in turmoil, but she could still sit in the palace and take care of her pregnancy.

I guess it’s Xue Bai who can make Yan Yan feel at ease.

Du Jin quickly came to her senses and stopped thinking about these trivial matters.

The situation is tense now. She is Xue Bai's right-hand man, so she should be considering national affairs...

Mingtang.

When Du Jin arrived, Cui Youfu had already left.

But when she looked out from the Mingtang, she could still see Cui Youfu's back as he walked down the stone steps.

"Are these nobles coming here to threaten your majesty?"

"He proposed some very pragmatic national policies." Xue Bai agreed, and then asked, "Why do you have some hostility towards him?"

"It's a life-and-death situation."

As Du Jin spoke, she took out the latest news she had received this morning and handed it to Xue Bai personally.

"This is the intelligence captured from Guancheng Posthouse. The Longxi Li family delivered it using their own express horses. The messenger was very careful and did not reveal his identity, but he was noticed by our people while resting at the posthouse. They stole his letter at night and found that it was important intelligence, so they delivered it to us as soon as possible."

The letter was written by Li Chengyu to Lai Zhen, the governor of Xiangzhou. The content of the letter was that the rioters in Zhengzhou wanted to attack the Eastern Capital, and he asked Lai Zhen to come to the rescue. The detailed plan of "coming to the rescue" was then described, involving many people.

Xue Bai looked at it and asked, "Could it be a counter-espionage plot?"

"Not likely." Du Jin said, "At this point, they don't need to hide it anymore."

"You are openly opposing me." Xue Bai said.

Despite such important news, Du Jin did not rush to see Xue Bai. When she was stopped, she ran to see Li Zuo first.

She thought Xue Bai would be a little anxious, but he was not. After putting down the letter, he looked at the map in a daze.

"I have made a list, and most of those who opposed the new law and colluded with the rebellion are listed on it."

Du Jin once again demonstrated her powerful intelligence gathering ability and took out a densely written file.

The names listed above range from important court officials such as Cui Youfu and Li Xian to local officials and celebrities, and there are thousands of them.

Xue Bai looked at it and said, "I have always known that these people are against the new law."

Du Jin said: "I can kill them."

"It's useless." Xue Bai said, "Opposing the new law does not necessarily mean rebellion. Even if you are a rebel, how many people can you kill by assassination?" As he spoke, he took out several memorials.

Du Jin took it and read it, and found that generals including Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing, etc., had submitted memorials one after another, asking the court to temporarily suspend the inspection and quell the civil unrest.

Although their tone was calm, their advice was unpleasant to the ear and sounded like an ultimatum.

And Du Jin obviously could not assassinate Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi as well.

"We have to fight a battle." Xue Bai said slowly.

Du Jin originally thought that she could deal with it through her pervasive assassination and intimidation methods, but she didn't expect that mobilizing an army was beyond her ability, and even she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"But if Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing and others also stand on the opposite side this time."

"That's got to be fought too."

Xue Bai had considered it for a long time and had prepared for the worst.

~~
Ever since the news of the Zhengzhou uprising came out, the imperial court has issued several decrees ordering officials and soldiers from Henan Province to quell the rebellion, but the uprising has only intensified.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, the memorials that were handed to the imperial desk like snowflakes seemed to be intended to scare Xue Bai.

Seeing that Xue Bai was not intimidated, he issued repeated orders as soon as spring came, demanding a strict investigation into the progress of local spring seedling loans. Any local officials who dared to collude with wealthy households to lend high interest rates would be executed immediately.

This attitude made local officials even less motivated to suppress the rebellion, and the uprising swept towards the Eastern Capital.

Some officers and soldiers in Henan watched the "rioters" crossing the border but did not stop them, while many pacification envoys from various places secretly led their troops to the border without receiving the imperial edict.

Compared to the An-Shi Rebellion, this rebellion itself was not large. The affected area was small, that is, around the Eastern Capital, but it happened to surround the emperor; the number of people was not large, so the emperor had few troops to mobilize.

Xue Bai did not mobilize Guo Ziyi from Guanzhong to come, but only ordered Lao Liang to take over the defense of Luoyang and ordered Jiang Hai to advance eastward to quell the civil unrest.

As soon as Jiang Hai's troops left Luoyang, the so-called rioters immediately retreated eastwards. Jiang Hai then pursued them all the way, but was unable to fight for several days.

At this time, Lai Zhen, Li Xian and other local pacification envoys also arrived with their troops and requested to enter Luoyang for guarding.

The memorials were submitted to the palace, but Xue Bai rejected them all and ordered them to return to their respective residences, otherwise they would be charged with treason.

However, all the townspeople refused to leave, and showed their concern for the emperor's safety and their loyalty.

They did not completely break up, and actually left Xue Bai a way out.

This surprised Li Mi a little.

Back then, he assisted Li Heng and Xue Bai in fighting for the world, and Li Heng had never been in such an advantageous situation.

On the contrary, although these clans seem to be a loose group, they actually show extremely powerful strength when their interests coincide.

However, as more troops gathered in Luoyang, the various towns did not rush to attack the city and inexplicably waited for another two days.

Li Mi thought about it for a moment and understood the reason.

On the other side, Li Chengyu was so anxious that he finally found Li Mi to ask for advice.

"Sir, what do you think we should do? I have urged Lai Zhen, Li Xian and others several times, but they just refuse to attack the city."

"Excuse me, Lord Li, are you their commander?"

Li Chengyu was just against the reform. He was from a wealthy family and didn't want to take the risk of treason. He waved his hand and said, "Of course not. I just followed the cause."

Li Mi said: "Since he is not the head coach, it is useless to urge him."

"But I don't understand. Since everyone has the courage to lead the troops to force the palace and has no way to retreat, why don't they attack the city when they are at the gate?"

"It's one thing to make trouble for the salary, and it's another to mutiny," Li Mi said. "As long as the arrows are not fired, the blades are not stained with blood, and the sage surrenders, they are not rebelling, but serving the king."

"If Xue Ni had surrendered, the situation would not have come to this." Li Chengyu paused for a long time, and then added: "Besides, the reason why we are raising troops to fight against the rebellion is because Xue Ni is not a descendant of the royal family at all!"

This is the problem.

People who cared about this matter, such as Li Heng and Li Chu, died long ago. Xue Bai has been on the throne for several years. Now everyone is here for profit. Even Li Chengyu sometimes forgets his excuse. How can he have appeal?
Since they are here for profit, they naturally want to maximize the profit, which is to force Xue Bai to surrender.

Li Mi saw through all this and knew that Xue Bai could grasp people's hearts.

He then asked, "Do you think it's going too smoothly, Lord Li? Even Prince Zhong didn't have such a good result back then."

"It went fairly smoothly."

"At this time, I'm afraid you have to be careful." Li Mi reminded: "If you are indecisive, be careful not to be surrounded in Luoyang City."

Li Chengyu was startled and reacted immediately.

If Xue Bai had guessed earlier that they would raise troops and anticipated that they would not dare to attack Luoyang immediately, and had arranged troops in advance to cut off their food supplies, the disaster would have been over.

He hurried to consult with the generals of various towns.

"Mr. Li is overthinking."

Most people don't take this seriously.

"We are here to serve the king. We are not rebelling openly. Under what pretext did he take the initiative to attack us?"

"Yes, in the name of serving the king, he blocked Luoyang City and ordered that no one could enter or leave. It won't be long before he has no choice but to compromise."

"You guys!" Li Chengyu said, "Didn't we agree to support Prince Yan?"

Li Xian was a member of the royal family and had the most say in this matter. He said, "So we should surround Luoyang City so that the emperor cannot communicate with the outside world. Chang'an cannot get any news from the emperor. Then we can persuade Guo Ziyi to support Prince Yan."

"Is that what you're thinking? Instead of relying on others, why don't you just charge into the city?"

"Mr. Li also has his own troops, why not go there in person?"

Li Chengyu shook his head and said, "You are the governors of various places, and you all lead elite soldiers and generals. I am just a country boy, how can it be my turn?"

Previously, when facing the court's investigation, everyone felt that Xue Bai was committing evil deeds, so they united in resistance. Now that the situation is in their hands, all kinds of selfish calculations have come to the fore.

During the argument, someone suddenly shouted loudly.

"Are you guys really here to rebel?!"

When everyone looked over, they saw a tall figure standing up. It was Lai Ting.

Lai Zhen has always been well-known, and his character, ability and achievements are very convincing. As soon as he opens his mouth, everyone around him becomes quiet.

"When the monarch makes a mistake, the ministers should advise him. The current emperor's reforms are inappropriate, causing the people to live in misery. The court officials have repeatedly advised the emperor to change, but he has failed, causing the rioters to attack the Eastern Capital. Since we have come to serve the king, we will meet the emperor in person and speak out our opinions!"

Li Chengyu shook his head repeatedly after hearing this. He thought that it was fine if each town had its own thoughts, but with the intrusion of such a person who valued reputation and integrity, he might mess up things at the critical moment because of his pedantry.

They came to attack Xue Ni because he usurped the throne. How could they come to speak out and give direct advice?

But Lai Zhen said another sentence that made Li Chengyu's eyes light up.

"I have contacted all the officials in the city and asked them to let us in to meet the emperor. Once we enter the palace, we can express our opinions!"

Li Chengyu opened his mouth in surprise. He didn't expect that Lai Zhen, who looked old-fashioned, would be so decisive in his actions.

The very next day.

"Jiayu Gate is open!"

Li Chengyu was a little bit unbelieving when the shouts came out, but he soon saw the soldiers moving forward.

Reports from the front indicated that Lai Zhen had personally taken control of the Jiayu Gate and was letting troops into the city to take over the defense of the palace.

"What a great person to take over the defense of the palace!" Li Chengyu praised excitedly and looked at Lai Chen with even greater admiration.

Soon, as the troops entered the city, Li Chengyu also passed through the Jiayu Gate tunnel.

He turned around and saw Li Mi still following behind him, so he said, "I guess it was Cui Youfu who opened the city gate for Lai Zhen?"

"I guess so." Li Mi nodded.

Li Chengyu said with emotion: "Do you believe it, sir? Lai Zhen, Cui Youfu and others opposed the reform not for personal gain, they only had a few acres of land. But they knew very well that this was a bad policy."

Li Mi said: "Now that you have entered Chang'an, remember that you are not here for the purpose of reform."

"Yes, we are here to deal with Xue Ni's conspiracy to usurp the throne." Li Chengyu also emphasized to himself.

The reason why he always forgets is not because he is young and has a bad memory.

But the change of dynasty was too far away for him. He wanted to protect his own interests at the beginning, and then too many people rebelled together, which gave him the courage to take this step...

"I heard that the emperor was trapped in Sizhou and there was an explosion in Luoyang City. I was shocked to hear about the turmoil and led the troops to protect the emperor before I could obey the imperial edict. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Lai Chen shouted outside the palace: "I am worried about the safety of the emperor, and I beg for an audience!"

Li Chengyu listened and thought to himself that this was a good reason. Not only did he doubt that the emperor's background was fake, but now he was even more doubtful whether the emperor had really returned safely after his tour.

"We want to see the emperor!"

"We want to see the emperor!"

The troops who came to support the king arrived at the gate of the palace and made loud noises, claiming to be protecting the emperor, but in fact they were intimidating people inside the palace.

Li Mi watched from afar and thought that if Li Heng could encircle Xue Bai in the small palace city today, great things would be accomplished. However, Xue Bai did not dare to take the risk of letting Li Heng do that.

After a while, an important official finally rushed to the top of the city.

They are Cui Youfu and Yuan Zai.

The two men loudly comforted the soldiers. After a long time, Cui Youfu came down from the top of the palace city and rushed to the Mingtang.

Li Chengyu stood far away and couldn't help muttering, "What are they talking about?"

Li Mi said: "I think Lai Zhen, Li Xian and others want to see the emperor and make sure he is safe. Cui Youfu and Yuan Zai can't refuse, so they have to go back and report."

"Then why was Cui Youfu the one who reported it?"

"Maybe Yuan Zai was worried about him and was afraid that he would be left alone, so he opened the palace gate?"

Li Chengyu said: "Yes, several prime ministers have been dismissed one after another. Cui Youfu's prestige in the court is very high now. If he wants to open the palace gate again, I am afraid that few people can stop him."

Li Mi thought about it and suddenly shook his head.

"If he had opened the city gate, how could he open the palace gate?"

Li Chengyu said: "So, Yuan Zai didn't let him stay alone..."

At this moment, cheers suddenly came from the front, and it turned out that the palace gate had been opened.

Even Li Chengyu was stunned for a moment, somewhat unable to believe it.

If he entered the palace like this, wouldn't the coup be successful immediately? It was actually much smoother than he expected.

Is this what it means to win the world by winning the hearts of the people? Xue Bai has completely lost the hearts of these elite people.

(End of this chapter)