People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1518: The Emperor Moves the Coffin, Empress Wu Is Indifferent

In the Zhenguan Hall, Li Zhi lay quietly on the imperial couch, his black crown looking particularly solemn.

His eyes were lightly closed and his expression was calm, as if he had just fallen asleep.

A green jade bead was placed in Li Zhi's mouth, revealing the cruelest truth.

The emperor is dead.

Empress Wu stood beside the imperial bed with a hint of pain in her eyes.

Li Xian, Li Dan, Princess Taiping and others knelt on one side, looking at Empress Wu with a hint of concern and worry in their eyes.

The two brothers Li Xian and Li Dan took turns to stand guard last night to protect the body of Emperor Gaozong. But in the morning, the two brothers discovered that their mother had not rested the whole night.

I just drank a bowl of porridge when I got up in the morning and didn't eat anything else.

This made the two brothers worry about Empress Wu's health.

When Emperor Gaozong died, their mother was naturally the most distressed.

However, these few days, until the first day of the New Year, will be very busy every day. If you don’t get enough rest, something might go wrong.

Li Xian had just stepped forward to say something when, at this moment, the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard from the direction of Chengtian Gate at the palace gate.

The ministers have arrived.

Fan Yunxian led the way in front, and led by Pei Yan, Li Yuanjia, Pei Xingjian, the prime ministers, kings, generals, chancellors, ministers, and countless officials, slowly walked into the Zhenguan Hall.

At the same time, there were even more people who were unable to enter the Zhenguan Hall.

They could only stand outside the Zhenguan Hall and bow solemnly.

Faintly, bursts of crying could be heard from outside the palace wall.

That was the sound of the people of Luoyang coming to the palace gate one after another to cry and offer sacrifice to the late emperor.

……

Fan Yunxian waved the whisk in her hand and said loudly: "All the ministers bow to the late emperor, kneel!"

"Your Highness, we are here to pay our respects to the Great Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. May Your Majesty enjoy eternal happiness." All the ministers inside and outside the court kowtowed in unison.

"prosper!"

"Thank you, late emperor." The ministers bowed and then stood up solemnly.

"All the ministers bow to the emperor!"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live forever."

"prosper!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"All the ministers bow down to the Queen of Heaven!"

"Your subjects pay their respects to the Queen Mother, may she be blessed with good health and happiness!"

"prosper!"

"Thank you, Queen." The ministers kowtowed, then stood up with solemn expressions.

Li Xian had stood up at some point and was standing on the right side of the imperial couch.

Pei Yan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, the late emperor's body will be laid to rest on the third day, and he will be buried."

Li Xian turned to look at Empress Wu, and said, "Mother!"

Empress Wu nodded coldly and said, "Yes!"

Li Xian then turned to look at Pei Yan and said, "Yes!"

"Yes!" Pei Yan bowed solemnly, then turned to look towards the palace door and said loudly: "Enter the coffin!"

……

"Get into the coffin!"

"Get into the coffin!"

"Get into the coffin!"

Amid the echoing sound, sixteen tall mourners carried a huge golden nanmu coffin from outside the palace gate, step by step into the palace, and finally into the Zhenguan Hall.

Finally, he carefully carried it onto the golden steps.

I don’t know when it started, but the space for the coffin has been vacated on the golden steps.

At this time, Fan Yunxian took a step forward, stood on the golden steps, and said to the ministers: "The late emperor is buried, and the ministers weep and pay homage to the late emperor."

"Your Majesty!" Someone among the ministers immediately started crying, and he burst into tears before he even knelt down.

In a very short period of time, countless ministers inside and outside the palace had all knelt on the ground and burst into tears.

Empress Wu stood beside the imperial bed and watched calmly as the mourners carefully carried Emperor Gaozong's body into the coffin.

Immediately afterwards, the imperial couch was quickly moved away and the golden nanmu coffin was placed on the wooden stool.

In a very short time, the altar, incense, candles, and offerings were all neatly arranged.

The sixteen mourners stood on both sides of the coffin in an extremely solemn manner.

Just at this moment, a heavy sound of footsteps was heard.

When the Queen Mother looked up, she saw Wei Siqian, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, solemnly entering the hall from outside with the spirit tablet of Emperor Gaozong in his hands. He then handed it to Prince of Han Li Yuanjia, and finally from Prince of Han Li Yuanjia to Emperor Li Xian.

Li Xian was about to place the spirit tablet on the altar, but at this time, Empress Wu walked over quickly, stretched out her hand and helped him to place the emperor's spirit tablet neatly.

After doing this, Li Xian immediately took a step back and knelt down.

Then, he started to cry bitterly: "Father, Father, why did you leave me like this?"

……

The sound of Li Xian's crying mixed with that of his ministers, and the entire Zhenguan Hall was suddenly filled with endless sadness.

Empress Wu stood calmly beside the coffin, with a strange lack of sadness on her face.

She just stared at the emperor's spirit tablet, and no one knew what she was thinking.

After a long time, Empress Wu gently turned around and looked towards the hall.

All the ministers in the palace were crying bitterly, and too many of them were crying sincerely, missing the late emperor.

After all, when the late emperor was alive, he was very kind to many people.

Xue Yuanchao and Duan Baoxuan were even the former emperor's old ministers when he was in his private residence.

But among all the ministers, the one who cried the most exaggeratedly was the Dali Temple Minister Wang Jishan.

In his early years, Wang Jishan was the Prince's Right Guard Commander of Li Hong. Later, because of his proper advice and remonstrance, he was finally promoted to General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard, and finally he became the Grand General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard.

Of course, the emperor's deliberate support was also indispensable. But unfortunately, Li Hong died too early.

Empress Wu glanced coldly at Wang Jishan. This man was just an old servant under the emperor.

It is precisely because of his presence that a part of the secret guards is always in the emperor's hands.

Even in the end, the entire situation is still in the hands of the emperor.

Wang Jishan, she wrote it down.

The entire hall was filled with people with sad faces, looking as if they were in great pain.

Some people are sincerely in pain and mourning the late emperor, while others are somewhat hypocritical or even perfunctory.

Empress Wu also kept these people in mind.

Looking at the weeping people all over the hall, Empress Wu felt inexplicably familiar.

Yes, the late emperor, no, it was Emperor Taizong.

Back then, she was one of the people crying bitterly below.

At that time, she cried for Emperor Taizong and for her uncertain fate in the future.

Isn't this the case with these people right now?

I don’t know how many people are thinking about their uncertain future.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, it is natural for him to confer titles on his ministers.

But, if some people want to be on top, others have to step down.

For old and incompetent people, it is possible to give them some rewards and let them retire. For those who have committed mistakes and committed crimes, it is not impossible to directly dismiss them.

Some people have real positions and real power, and are very powerful.

Some people only received some official titles and rewards, nothing else.

After all, the higher you go, the fewer spaces there are.

How to obtain the greatest benefit when the new emperor ascends the throne and bestows rewards depends on one's own means.

A sneer flashed across Empress Wu's eyes. From now until the new emperor ascends the throne, there will be a lot of things to do.

Empress Wu's gaze swept across the officials in the Eastern Palace and finally fell on Li Xuan.

Just as Li Xuan knelt on the ground, his face full of tears, he roared in endless grief: "Your Majesty, why are you leaving? What are you going to do in the future, Your Majesty..."

It is so sad and makes people cry!
The people around him were also crying very sadly.

Empress Wu frowned and thought about it, but still felt a little annoyed.

Before the late emperor passed away, he had already issued an edict to appoint him as the Prince's Guardian. Although he can issue a new decree now, it is difficult to do anything about it.

Empress Wu's gaze flew across the ministers and fell on Li Xian, Li Dan and Taiping who were standing aside.

The three of them were also crying with tears streaming down their cheeks.

Empress Wu turned around and looked inside the coffin.

My late emperor, sometimes you do too much.

……

At Chengtian Gate, most of the ministers had left, but there were still many people waiting outside the gate.

Li Xuan stood in front of the palace gate, staring blankly at the Qianyang Palace in his sight, and the Zhenguan Palace further behind.

It seemed as if he was still immersed in grief and unable to extricate himself.

His sight fell on both sides of Qianyang Palace. Chief Secretaries from other states, generals of the various guards, doctors of various departments, captains, etc., entered in order and walked towards Zhenguan Palace to mourn.

In front of them were hundreds of provincial governors, six ministers, junior officials of the various temples, generals of the various guards, and so on. In front of them were dukes, marquises, earls, and women of various families...

Everyone entered the Zhenguan Hall in order to mourn. Each group had to cry for at least a quarter of an hour, and with the kowtows back and forth, the duration lasted even longer.

Li Xuan is now waiting for Liu Jinyu, Pei Shitong, Xiaer, Zhaoer and Changer. Although he has given many instructions, there are still some villains who might cause trouble, so it is better to be careful.

Only by guarding the fence firmly by yourself can you avoid giving others the opportunity to stir up trouble and bring trouble.

"Your Highness!" A voice sounded beside Li Xuan.

Li Xuan turned around subconsciously and saw the prince's household steward Wei Hongmin standing respectfully on the side.

"Brother Wei." Li Xuan forced a smile on his face.

Wei Hongmin bowed and said, "Your Majesty, may I borrow your help for a moment?"

"Okay." Li Xian nodded and followed Wei Hongmin to the side.

After the others took a look, they paid no more attention.

Li Xuan was the emperor's prince's guest, and Wei Hongmin was the emperor's prince's household steward. They were both the emperor's confidants.

At this moment, what the two of them must be discussing is the emperor's affairs.

Some smart people even guessed what they were discussing.

But at this time, no one would be stupid enough to come forward.

It's reasonable and understandable for them to discuss it among themselves, but if you go up to them, it would be a bit shameless.

Li Xuan ignored the gazes of the people behind him. He calmly walked to the shadows and looked at Wei Hongmin.

Wei Hongmin cupped his hands, looked at Li Xuan, and said carefully: "Your Highness, I heard that the Ministry of Personnel had already begun to draw up a list of rewards yesterday. Many people in the palace wanted to inquire about it. However, Minister Lu and Minister Guo kept the news very secret, so no one else could get to know. I wonder if Your Highness could ask Minister Lu..."

Li Xuan frowned instantly and whispered, "Brother Wei and the colleagues in the East Palace can directly come to His Majesty if they have any ideas about this matter. A warrant from His Majesty, even if it is just a signature, is enough for Minister Lu to take it seriously."

Although Li Xuan has a good relationship with Lu Yuanfang, Li Xuan rarely interferes with other people's normal official duties.

Not to mention it’s not for yourself.

"It is indeed correct to ask Your Majesty about this matter." Wei Hongmin said with a wry smile, "But now is a special time. Although I can see Your Majesty, I don't have many opportunities to talk privately. I am worried that even if Your Majesty makes any move, the Ministry of Personnel may not follow it, especially Minister Guo."

Guo Zhengyi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was from the Guo family of Taiyuan, and was of the same clan as Guo Daiju, the Left Chancellor of the Ministry of Rites.

Guo Daiju became Empress Wu's man, which inevitably reminded people of the fact that Empress Wu's own sister once married into the Guo family of Taiyuan.

Every move Guo makes will inevitably cast doubt on Guo Zhengyi's stance.

Empress Wu wanted to compete with the emperor for power, but Li Xuan tried to stop her yesterday. This not only frightened the ministers, but also reminded many people of the past.

At this time, there were suddenly too many people who did not want Empress Wu to continue to interfere in state affairs.

Guo Daiju, the left chancellor, and Guo Zhengyi, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The combination of these two people is extremely harmful to the officials.

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It is better to let His Majesty take action first, and then the Eastern Palace will respond accordingly. It will be more stable. At this moment, there are more people watching the Eastern Palace than those watching Minister Guo. In addition, we can also ask Prime Minister Pei for help on this matter..."

(End of this chapter)