Tiantang

Chapter 472

Chapter 476

Cheng Qianli was taken down by the emperor from the position of Marshal of Beiting Dufu, and sent back to the capital to wait for disposal.Chen Xilie saw that Cheng Qianli was also a veteran of the three dynasties, so he didn't make it too difficult for him, but he was confined in the mansion, and he was not allowed to move around, let alone make friends with foreign ministers.

This is a bit of dispensable affection.Otherwise, Chen Xilie can take advantage of the problem and imprison Cheng Qianli in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.

Although Cheng Qianli could not be kept under confinement, the movements inside and outside the city, as well as the government and the public, could not be hidden from his ears.

Li Tan came to look for his son Cheng Huoer, he knew it well.

And it was Li Tan who slowly opened the door of ambition deep in Cheng Qianli's heart.

Human ambition is like this. If there is no suitable opportunity, suitable occasion, and suitable external environment, you may not even emerge in your life.But once the conditions are ripe, budding is inevitable.

To Cheng Qianli, the news of the emperor's death was like rain from the sky.If the emperor returned to court in class, he would definitely be punished.Although he did not commit any capital crimes, his dereliction of duty in controlling Beiting led to the sudden invasion of Beiting, and he also concealed the truth.

Even, if the emperor was more ruthless, he could be killed, and even the nine clans would suffer.

Cheng Huo'er sent Li Tan away and hurried to see his father.

"Father, Li Tan is gone." Cheng Huo'er said in a low voice.

"What did he say?" Cheng Qianli raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice.

"He said that if the great event is accomplished, Li Tang will restore the country, and his father will be canonized as the head of all officials and the prince of the county king." Cheng Huo'er said, glanced at his father, and said, "Father, my son thinks that now is also an opportunity. The emperor passed away, the court was in chaos, and now everyone in the court is ready to move. If Guo Ziyi and others return to the court, I am afraid that no one in the court can hold him down..."

"Father, the news from the army is absolutely true. My son thinks that the reason why Guo Ziyi did not write to the court and tried his best to conceal the news of the emperor's death is nothing more than trying to cover the sky with one hand and control the entire court. He is one of the six prime ministers, and is Minister of the Ministry of War, the commander of the Western Expedition Army, with great military achievements, if he returns to the court, who in the world can compete with him?"

"It's even possible to replace him and proclaim himself emperor!" Cheng Huo'er said anxiously, "Time doesn't wait for me, father, please think twice!"

"Guo Ziyi is not this kind of person. He may become a powerful minister, but he will never presume to be the emperor. The emperor died, and there are still princes. Guo Ziyi must support the little prince in the palace to ascend the throne, and then take power by himself. However, he is certainly powerful. It’s extremely big, if you want to cover the sky with one hand, I’m afraid it’s not that easy, can the person surnamed Yang agree?”

Cheng Qianli sneered, "A rascal like Yang Guozhong is not easy to mess with."

Cheng Huoer rubbed his hands.In fact, he didn't care who Yang Guozhong or Guo Ziyi was in power. What he cared about was how the Cheng family stood out from the crowd in this sudden turmoil, turned the danger into a breeze, and reached the peak of power.

Cheng Qianli fell silent.He is a veteran in politics. Supporting Li Tan's restoration of the country is treason. If it fails, the whole family will die without a place to bury him.It's just that he is also on the edge of the cliff now, if he doesn't advance, he will retreat, and there is an abyss behind him.

"Father, Li Tan is still waiting for his son's reply..." Cheng Huoer lowered his voice.

Cheng Qianli raised his head suddenly, "Don't worry. Li Tan is also a character. It is not so easy for him to restore the country. It is not enough to rely on us alone. Guess for my father, he will definitely go to Yang Guozhong, but Yang Guozhong I definitely won't be walking with him. Maybe Yang Guozhong won't even see him."

"The Li family's father and son hated Yang Guozhong so much, how could Yang Guozhong come back to help the Li family's father and son restore the country. When Li Tan gets rejected from the Yang family, he will definitely come back again."

"At that time, my father can come forward to help Li Tan win over Li and Tang's old friends, choose the right time, control Zhongjing in one fell swoop, and change the dynasty. Most of the people in this court are old officials of Li and Tang, even Guo Ziyi is no exception. As long as Li and Tang restore the country, Guo Ziyi There is no other way."

"It's just that the action must be fast, and it must be completed before Guo Ziyi's army squadron returns to the Central Plains, otherwise, it will be a fleeting moment..." Cheng Qianli sighed, "Our move is a dead end. If we fail, we will succeed, and there must be no mistakes. what!"

"Father, don't worry!" Cheng Huoer got a reply from Cheng Qianli, turned around excitedly and left, and followed Cheng Qianli's instructions to stay at home and wait for Li Tan to visit again.

……

……

Chen House.

Chen Xilie paced back and forth in the main hall, restless.The situation in Zhongjing City was about to break out, and a catastrophe was imminent. As the chief minister of the dynasty, the anxiety in his heart could be imagined.

Chen Anshi, the eldest son of the imperial censor, stood beside him, silent.

Chen Xilie stopped suddenly, turned around to stare at Chen An, and said in a deep voice, "Has there been any news from Tong'er yet?"

Chen An shook his head.Chen Tong was in the army of the Western Expedition and beside the emperor, the specific situation should be grasped.But Chen Tong has not sent any information back to his family, and there is no trace of the person sent by the Chen family to contact Chen Tong.

"What happened to the Cheng family?" Chen Xilie asked again.

Chen An sighed softly, "Father, Li Tan recently made an unannounced visit to Li Tang's old friend, and today he went to Cheng Qianli's residence. There is no doubt that the Li family has the intention of restoring the country."

Chen Xilie frowned, and said with a sneer, "Idiots talking about dreams!"

"Li Tang's past is all over the world, just because His Majesty Longwei suppressed it. Now something unexpected happened to His Majesty... Li Tan climbed up and shouted, I'm afraid..." Chen An worriedly said softly, "Father, why don't you contact Guo Ziyi and let Guo Ziyi hurry up?" Quickly enter Beijing? As long as Guo Ziyi leads the army back, the storm will calm down!"

"Li and Tang are old..." Chen Xilie sighed with emotion. The Chinese Dynasty was newly established, so there are naturally many old Li and Tang. This is not only a problem of the royal family, but also many scholars and subjects who have illusions about Li and Tang's court.The emperor had nothing to think about in them, but the death of this wise and mighty emperor made these people's thoughts alive.

In desperation, it is not impossible to support the restoration of Li and Tang.

"It's not that easy. Li Tang Gujiu is just a mob with no soldiers and no power, so it's hard to accomplish great things. By the way, where is Yan Zhenqing now?" Chen Xilie gritted his teeth.

"Returning to my father, Yan Zhenqing used the name of training soldiers and horses to mobilize soldiers and horses in the capital to protect the capital. At the same time, the purpose of sending troops to strengthen the defense in the direction of Tongguan is probably to guard against Fan Yang's Zhang Tong."

Chen Xilie was silent.

After a long time, he sighed and said, "Among the many ministers of your Majesty, Yan Zhenqing is probably the most loyal. The capital is important, Yan Zhenqing controls the civil and military power, and has an army of [-]. If Yan Zhenqing does not move, the capital will still not be chaotic, and the root cause will not be hurt. ! Moreover, the old man is worried..."

There was a strange light in Chen Xilie's eyes, "Your Majesty died suddenly on the battlefield. No matter how you look at it, it seems strange. If there is a lie, Guo Ziyi's failure to refute the rumor immediately will be a death penalty; but if there is no lie, Wouldn't it be absurd for the emperor to collapse in battle under a great victory?"

"Father means..." Chen An asked hesitantly.

Chen Xilie shook his head, "There is going to be a storm, and I have been ordered to keep the door closed and no one to stir up trouble outside. I am recuperating in the mansion for my father. If there is any movement in the court, An'er, you must remember that I am Chen Jiashen. Receive the great favor of the emperor, and you must not have any disobedience! Even if your majesty is not here, there are still the empress dowager, empress and prince! Remember what you said as a father."

Chen An nodded, "Son, I wrote it down."

"Half of the people in the court are unreliable. They may follow Li Tan and Cheng Qianli to make trouble, and they may follow Yang Guozhong to make trouble, but the only thing is, as long as Yan Zhenqing doesn't move, they will be fooling around."

"Besides, Fan Yang's Zhang Tong... is not sure if this person is reliable, as a father." Chen Xilie's eyes flickered, and he waved his hand abruptly, "Go to Yan Zhenqing's place and tell Yan Zhenqing that if Zhang Tong If there are any unruly changes, someone will clean him up and let him concentrate on stabilizing the capital."

……

……

Compared with the chaotic situation outside the palace, the situation inside the palace is extremely calm.

After giving birth, Su Hudong and Li Tengkong, as well as the emperor's concubine Zhuoma in Tubo, had just returned to the palace. Now, among the women around the emperor, except for Hua Nuer and Wan Chun, they all gave birth to the emperor. child.Of course, there are still a few concubines in the palace that the emperor has not favored, such as the daughter of Pu Gu Huai'en, the daughter of General Zhang Tong, etc.

Empress Dowager Liu has recently been contented from ear to ear. So many daughter-in-laws have given birth one after another, which makes her very happy.Although the news of the emperor's death had already spread throughout the capital, the empress dowager was kept from it.

The children of Empress Cui Ying and Third Sister Yang are already two or three years old, and they have already babbled and run around all over the place, becoming the most beloved pistachios in the palace.

Of course, the palace is not unprepared for the movement outside the palace.In order to take precautions, Yan Zhenqing secretly replaced all the palace guards and replaced them with her absolute confidants, and then the emperor's brother-in-law Xiao Shisanlang was appointed as the general of the palace guards to control the security of the palace.

And all the girls gathered in the palace of Empress Cui Ying. Outside the palace, the security was strict. Xiao Shisanlang was on duty day and night, and he dared not neglect anything.All the relatives of his brother Emperor His Majesty live in this palace, so there can be no mistakes.

Empress Cui Ying's face was a little gloomy.Although she doesn't believe that something happened to her emperor's husband, it's true that her whereabouts are unknown and no news has come back, and it's even more true that those people outside the palace are trying to make trouble.

Wan Chun's face was even more ugly.As smart as she is, how can she not guess what Li Tan and his son want and are doing in this situation.

A guard hurriedly came to report, and said respectfully, "Empress, ladies and gentlemen, Master Xiao Hou came to report, saying that Yang Guozhong, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Yang Kai, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, have entered the palace to ask for an audience."

For the sake of safety, Xiao Shisanlang replaced most of the eunuchs in the middle palace and replaced them with his own confidants of the imperial guards.

(End of this chapter)