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

Chapter 1536 King Peng is in danger

"Those people who should have died but didn't." Wang Fulai sighed lightly. These people were the last trump card of the late emperor.

When the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Court were completely isolated and the slightest movement by the Northern Court's Imperial Guards would likely result in a bloody massacre, this group of people was the emperor's last resort.

Because these people may cause earth-shaking consequences, but at the same time, they may not cause any splash at all in the end.

"How to find them?" Xu Lu asked urgently. Now the time left for him was getting less and less.

Wang Fulai shook his head slightly and said, "People like this no longer have a past, so naturally they have no future. It's hard to find them, unless you know what's written in the secret decree and who it's addressed to. But unfortunately, no one knows."

"Except for those who have left, are there any other people like this in the palace?" Xu Lu stared at Wang Fulai.

"Yes!" Wang Fulai nodded and said, "Since these people followed him in and out of the palace, they must be eunuchs or imperial guards. But seeing that they were able to enter and leave the palace without being stopped, they can only be eunuchs. Qiu Huan has been checking the imperial guards, but he never thought that these people were under his command."

Xu Lu fell silent, and finally asked, "How do we contact them?"

"There's no way to contact them because no one knows who they are?" Wang Fulai raised his head, looked at Xu Lu and said, "But these people have a characteristic."

Xu Lu leaned forward slightly. Wang Fulai took a deep breath and said, "These people only obey the emperor's orders. As long as the emperor gives an order, they will actively carry it out, but they hide in the crowd and do not compete for credit... They are the best chess pieces."

Xu Lu's breathing calmed down, and he looked at Wang Fulai and bowed, "Take care, Wang Jian."

Wang Fulai smiled palely, looked at Xu Lu and said, "There is no need to take care of yourself when you are dying."

Xu Lu nodded and turned to leave. At this moment, Wang Fulai suddenly said, "Tell Prince Peng to be careful of Zhang Qianxu."

Imperial Guard General Zhang Qianxu.

Xu Lu carefully wrote down Zhang Qianxu's name, then carefully retreated into the tent.

The breeze swayed the curtains, and the figure disappeared behind them.

Wang Fulai lay flat in the corner, listening to the normal footsteps outside, a smug smile appearing on his pale face.

He completely relaxed all of a sudden.

Being able to explain everything before dying was the greatest satisfaction for him.

Wang Fulai counted the time calmly. Faintly, he seemed to hear some sound, but at this moment he no longer cared.

The phantom of Taiji Hall appeared before his eyes.

He was still very young at that time and was responsible for guarding the Taiji Hall.

One day, he heard a clear laughter. When he walked in, he saw a group of palace maids cleaning the house. The most conspicuous among them was Wu Meiniang who was laughing the whole time.

Almost in the blink of an eye, she had gone from being Concubine Wu to Concubine Wu, and finally to the Queen.

Decades passed in the blink of an eye, the emperor died of illness, and Empress Wu became the empress dowager.

She was cold and ruthless, with white hair already appearing on her temples, and she sent Wang Fulai directly to his death.

As his last thought, Wang Fulai let out a sigh.

Empress Wu was indeed powerful, but she relied on the emperor's foundation.

Once there is no emperor, what use is it even if she can control Chang'an and Luoyang? With war raging all over the country, no matter how much power she holds, it will be nothing but a castle in the air.

Castles in the air will eventually collapse.

A burning tower seemed to appear in front of Wang Fulai's eyes, and it collapsed completely in the flames.

Finally return to nirvana.

……

In the Huiyou Palace, Li Xuan knelt behind Empress Wu and said with a wry smile, "Empress, I am not making false statements. It is just that the prime ministers are our elders and appointed by the late emperor, Empress, and Your Majesty. How can I speak nonsense?"

"It's okay, just say it, it's no big deal." Empress Wu waved her hand calmly.

Li Xuan could only bow bitterly: "Yes!"

After a short pause, Li Xuan said thoughtfully, "The Left Prime Minister is old, and now he has to follow the Crown Prince back to Chang'an to supervise the country. To be honest, I am somewhat uneasy. I don't know when I can let the Left Prime Minister retire and live in peace."

"It will be soon. It will only take one or two years." Empress Wu nodded calmly.

Li Xuan heaved a long sigh of relief, and then said, "Prime Minister Xue is a bit indecisive."

The indecisive Xue Yuanchao!

Empress Wu smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed."

"Prime Minister Pei is the opposite. He has a strong character and cannot tolerate any sand in his eyes. He is also very proactive. When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, Prime Minister Pei was the regent and the head of the Political Affairs Hall. He was a well-informed governor of the world. The late emperor's choice was extremely appropriate." Li Xuan bowed slightly.

Empress Wu couldn't help but frown. She had indeed done a lot of things during this period of time, but in fact, not everything was satisfactory.

The biggest obstacle here is Pei Yan.

Although Pei Yan did not have many confidants in high-level positions, he was energetic enough. He was also the head of the Council of State and the regent. All matters, big and small, in the court were gathered in his hands, and many things could not be hidden from his eyes.

Many of Empress Wu's personnel arrangements were thwarted by him.

However, Empress Wu has been busy with other things in recent times and has not paid much attention to Pei Yan, so she has somewhat neglected him.

Especially since Li Xuan was about to leave Luoyang, Empress Wu actually focused a lot of her energy on Li Xuan.

It seems that after Li Xuan leaves, we will focus on dealing with Pei Yan.

……

"You continue." Empress Wu said softly.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "Yes!"

After gathering his thoughts, Li Xuan continued, "The Duke of Pengcheng is now in the Western Regions. He is our old superior. He is cautious and meticulous, but bold enough. He is the most suitable person for the Secretariat. As for Li Xiang, he is a low-key person, and I don't have much contact with him."

Empress Wu nodded. In her impression, Li Xuan and Li Yiyan had very little contact. "In the Ministry of Personnel, I have had a lot of contact with Wang Xiangchen. He is just as cautious and meticulous, and has expertise in money and grain. In my opinion, Wang Xiangchen is the most suitable candidate for the Minister of Revenue, but Shizhong is also fine. If you know him well enough, you can supervise him enough."

After a brief pause, Li Xuan shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Liu and I really have no contact at all."

Li Xuan had basically no private contact with Liu Jingxian, the Yellow Gate Minister and the third-rank official of the Secretariat, except for meeting him in the court.

"As for the six ministers," Li Xuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I can only say that the late emperor, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty have appointed the right people and given them the right positions."

"So you're not going to tell anyone about the Sixteen Guards Generals, right?" Empress Wu glanced at Li Xuan sideways, and Li Xuan smiled bitterly.

He dared to comment on several prime ministers because their positions were high enough.

If Li Xuan made a few comments in front of Empress Wu, no one would take it seriously. However, if he said too much to the six ministers, it would be suspected of affecting their careers.

That would be considered as offending people to death.

Even if Li Xuan wanted to commit suicide, it would not reach that point.

"Okay, I won't force you anymore." Empress Wu turned around, looked up at the golden Buddha in front of her, and said softly: "From what I have seen these days, the emperor's actions are still methodical, but the crisis in the world is never in the court, but in the world."

Li Xuan leaned forward gently, looking cautious.

"The aristocratic families in the world take advantage of loopholes in the court system to steal power and wealth from the entire world. Once the court is weak, they will rise up and rebuild the world. This is what the late emperor was most worried about, so he appointed Pei Yan as regent, but Pei Yan is too strong." Empress Wu sighed lightly.

Li Xuan's heart suddenly tightened.

"So the late emperor left a will." Empress Wu turned to look at Li Xuan and said, "If Pei Yan rebels, then King Peng will be ordered to execute him with the will. Is that it?"

Li Xuan suddenly felt endless pressure falling on himself, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

Finally, the truth is revealed.

Li Xuan's expression suddenly became solemn, and he bowed slightly and said, "The late emperor did leave a will."

"Last words." Empress Wu frowned slightly and looked at Li Xuan and said, "Didn't the late emperor leave a will?"

The day before Li Zhi's death, he summoned many of his trusted ministers, including Li Xuan.

All of this was recorded by the Sheren, Jieshizhong, Zuoshi and Zuoshi, so Empress Wu was able to know everything clearly and accurately.

But unfortunately, her focus was on the will.

Li Xuan bowed and said, "The late emperor did leave a will, but it was locked in a box. However, the late emperor left a will that I should open it after two or three years. I have never done so, so I don't know what the contents are."

After a brief pause, Li Xuan said in a deep voice: "The late emperor did have a will, but I don't know whether it matches the will. Or maybe..."

"Maybe something?" Empress Wu's face turned slightly cold.

Li Xuan smiled bitterly and said, "Perhaps, I will never open the will one day. Perhaps, the box does not contain any will to kill Prime Minister Pei. It may even be empty."

"Empty?" Empress Wu was stunned for a moment, then she realized, "You are afraid of what happened to Dou Ying back then."

Li Xuan kowtowed heavily, his face full of bitterness, and said no more.

Empress Wu wanted to say something, but in the end she couldn't open her mouth.

Of course, Empress Wu knew the contents of the edict because there was a copy of it in the palace.

What she needed was to take the will from Li Xuan's hands.

But now, Li Xuan admitted that he did get the box from the late emperor, but he didn't know what was inside the box.

After all, the late emperor's last will was for him to open the items after a few years.

If there is really nothing inside.

What will Li Xuan be by then?

Therefore, he could only try his best to find ways to check and balance Pei Yan, so that he could stabilize the court and not go to the last step.

That way he wouldn't have to open the box.

But now, if Empress Wu continued to want to get the box in Li Xuan's hand, but in the end she opened it and found nothing in the box, then what would it mean?
Was it not originally there, or did Li Xuan hide it somewhere else and not want to give it to her?

What will she do then? Will she execute Li Xuan on the pretext of losing the will?

No, that's simply not feasible.

Because the late emperor's last will was left to Li Xuan, and he was asked to open it in a few years. If Empress Wu forced it now, the court officials would immediately be in an uproar.

Ask her what she is going to do.

By then, the real trouble would be Empress Wu.

Empress Wu glanced at Li Xuan sideways, and the reason that he had never opened the box blocked all of her attempts.

Empress Wu calmed down, nodded, and said, "In that case, you should keep it well. I hope you will never need it."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed calmly, as if he didn't care at all about Empress Wu's special intentions.

"Go, and serve the emperor well in the Western Regions." Empress Wu sighed and said, "Your Majesty and I will take care of your family affairs."

Li Xuan seemed not to understand Empress Wu's threat. He bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you, Empress. May you be safe, live long, and be blessed. I will take my leave."

Empress Wu raised her head slightly, and Li Xuan slowly retreated.

……

Shangguan Wan'er walked in quietly, bowed and said, "Queen of Heaven."

Empress Wu calmly raised her head, looked at the Buddha statue in front of her, and asked in a low voice: "Wan'er, what do you think of King Peng?"

"very dangerous."

(End of this chapter)