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

Chapter 1637: Digging Empress Wu’s Ancestral Tomb

"Your Majesty, I have something to say." Bi Jing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up and bowed seriously.

On the imperial couch, Empress Wu raised her head and said, "Please speak, Mr. Bi."

"Reporting to the Queen Mother." Bi Jing bowed and said, "There are millions of people in Chang'an, and they consume tons of grain every day. But since the first year of Guangzhai, the grain from Yangzhou could not be delivered to Luoyang, and the grain consumption in Chang'an has also increased. The grain price in Chang'an is now several times higher than usual."

After a short pause, Bi Jing continued, "Especially before the autumn harvest this year, when there is a famine, the grain price in Chang'an will definitely collapse. If we can do something about it, or even make it collapse earlier, it will definitely have a miraculous effect."

Empress Wu's eyes flickered, and she turned to look at Wu Youning and said, "You go to Chang'an in person and make sure that the affairs of Yangzhou and the grain are properly handled."

"I obey your order." Wu Youning stood up with a serious expression and bowed to receive the order.

Empress Wu nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the ministers and asked, "Do you have any other suggestions?"

"Your Majesty, I have a plan." An imperial censor in a blue official robe stood up.

"Lai Qing!" Empress Wu looked at the Censor Lai Junchen and asked in surprise, "What do you want to say, Lai Qing?"

"Empress." Lai Junchen bowed and said, "When King Peng raised his army, the people he brought with him were nothing more than the heir to the throne, following the will of the previous emperor, so few people in the world questioned it. However, in my opinion, King Peng is the source of the world's troubles.

I suggest that all the kings of the country be summoned to the capital to refute King Peng and accuse him of changing the will of the previous emperor in order to destroy his foundation. "

Lai Junchen bowed, and all the ministers in the hall fell silent.

He issued an edict to all the kings in the world to refute King Peng.

This move... is really cruel.

King Peng was the son of King Pengsi, who was the twelfth son of Emperor Gaozu.

Among Emperor Gaozu's sons, Li Yuanjia, Prince of Han, Li Yuangui, Prince of Huo, Li Yuanming, Prince of Shu, and Li Lingkui, Prince of Lu, were still alive.

Of course, Prince Teng Li Yuanying, who died of illness in Chang'an last year, was an exception.

In other words, King of Han Li Yuanjia, King of Huo Li Yuangui, King of Shu Li Yuanming, and King of Lu Li Lingkui were all uncles of King Peng.

If they all stood up and accused Li Xuan of launching a war and even forging a will, then Li Xuan's foundation would collapse.

If we add to that the skyrocketing grain prices in Chang'an and the fall of Yangzhou, I'm afraid Li Xuan's entire rear would be in complete chaos.

Good means, good means.

Empress Wu calmly raised her head, looked at Qiu Huan and said, "Pass on the order."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed.

Empress Wu nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Lai Junchen and said, "Lai Qing has made meritorious contributions in making suggestions, and he will be promoted to the position of Imperial Censor in the Palace."

"I thank the Queen Mother for her great grace." Lai Junchen, who was in his thirties, immediately knelt down in surprise and kowtowed solemnly.

Empress Wu gently waved her hand and said, "The situation is difficult, you must do your best."

"Yes!" Lai Junchen immediately kowtowed again, looking excited.

All the officials in the palace bowed their heads at the same time. They knew that from now on there would be one more mad dog biting people in the court.

Empress Wu looked up at the ministers and said, "Everything in Chang'an should be done according to the procedure, but the affairs of the world should not be ignored. It is now mid-May, and the autumn grain harvest in Jiangnan will begin in June and July. The Ministry of Revenue needs to keep a close eye on the prefectures and counties, and make sure that the autumn tax is not delayed today, especially once Chang'an is recovered, more grain will be needed."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed again with solemn expressions.

"Cheng Wuting will lead his troops back to Luoyang for safety. The Ministry of War, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Rites all matters must be arranged properly." Empress Wu's eyes became stern again.

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed at the same time.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "Let's adjourn the court."

"We, the ministers, respectfully bid farewell to the Queen Mother. May she be blessed with good health and longevity!" All the ministers knelt down at the same time and kowtowed heavily to the ground.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the golden steps and soon disappeared at the door of the side hall.

Only faintly, a voice came: "Go see the emperor."

"Yes!" The voice of Qiu Huan bowing in response was heard.

Many people in the hall frowned.

Prince Peng sent a memorial and three letters today, two of which were addressed to the emperor.

Even the last letter that King Peng wrote to the emperor was burned by Empress Wu in front of all the ministers.

Now that Empress Wu is going to see the emperor again, it is hard not to worry. The emperor is likely to be implicated by Prince Peng.

Fan Lubing stood up and saw Dou Xuande and Dou Lu Qinwang standing not far away. The two were already whispering something.

Fan Lubing's gaze swept across the two of them and fell directly on Wu Sansi and Wu Youning who were further behind.

At this moment, Lai Junchen, Suo Yuanli, Gong Siye and others were talking to Wu Sansi and Wu Youning.

Lai Junchen in particular, although he bowed his head, there was infinite danger flashing in his eyes and words.

Fan Lubing couldn't help but sigh. He knew that Lai Junchen's proposal to let the kings come to Beijing was definitely not that simple.

Emperor Zhongzong died in unclear circumstances, and the people who cared most about him in the world were actually the princes of the royal family.

If we let them go to Beijing now, if anyone says something wrong without paying attention, I'm afraid there will be a river of blood flowing immediately.

Even the emperor might be implicated if one is not careful.

Fan Lubing couldn't help but feel worried. At the same time, he was a little suspicious. What was the purpose of King Peng sending memorials and letters to Chang'an this time?
He would not come just to anger the Queen.

He must have other purposes.

Such a purpose must ultimately be for himself.

But what exactly is it?

Stir up civil unrest in Luoyang and give him an opportunity to take advantage?

But in the current situation, it is obvious that the people in the court are the ones who can take advantage of the opportunity.

What on earth is he planning?
Fan Lubing had a feeling that what Li Xuan was planning this time was definitely something that could decide the life or death of Luoyang.

But Fan Lubing couldn't figure out what this thing was for a while.

Shaking his head, Fan Lubing couldn't help but look at Wu Sansi who had already walked out of the hall.

Fan Lubing couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Now he is facing internal and external troubles.

Outside, there was a King Peng who tried to invade Luoyang, and inside the court, there was a Wu Sansi who tried to squeeze into the Political Affairs Hall and seize the dominance of the Political Affairs Hall. As for the latter, the Queen Mother said nothing, as if she was waiting for that day to come.

Shaking his head, Fan Lubing walked out of the hall helplessly.

……

Outside the Hangu Pass, the mighty Yellow River flows eastward, and two wooden forts stand at the pass.

A team of Jinwu Guards stood outside the camp. The leading captain of the Jinwu Guards returned Li Xuan's memorial to Li Xuan, then bowed, turned and left.

There are rugged mountains along the Yellow River and only one road leading to Chang'an and Luoyang, but it is completely blocked at Hangu Pass.

Looking at the Jinwu Guards going away, Li Xuan smiled faintly.

From here to Shanzhou City, because of the mountainous terrain, it is impossible to hide many soldiers.

The location of Hangu Pass is too dangerous. If we can't take it, there won't even be a good place to station troops in this mountain.

It won't take too long, just three to five days, and they will have to retreat.

With Hangu Pass in hand, they had the initiative in the war and marched all the way to Shanzhou City, which is exactly the border between Mount Xiao and Mount Dongxiao.

The two valleys in the north and south lead directly to the Heluo Plain.

Shanzhou City and Hangu Pass have the same terrain. It is difficult to attack Hangu Pass from there, and similarly, it is not easy to attack Shanzhou from here.

Li Xuan did not return to Hangu Pass immediately, but remained standing at the entrance of the valley, riding his horse slightly forward. In front of him, the Yellow River was flowing mightily eastward.

But if you look closely, you can find that even the Yellow River water has a much lower depth than before.

Even the rugged rocks on the river bank were visible.

Anyone can see that Li Xuan has already started to make moves upstream.

Once he succeeds in storing water, the flood will pour down and the entire Shanzhou city will be affected by the flood.

It was also because of this that Shanzhou had no intention of taking the initiative to attack.

Li Xuan looked at the height difference between the river water and the river bank, silently calculating something in his heart.

If Shanzhou wanted to attack Hangu Pass, it would be impossible without paying the lives of tens of thousands of people, especially since the one guarding Hangu Pass was Li Xuan, who had always been famous for defending the city.

Perhaps many people in the court have forgotten this, but Empress Wu has not.

That’s why Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu used Li Xuan to attack Tubo.

Others might forget, but Empress Wu wouldn't, especially now that Cheng Wuting has not returned to the army.

Once the casualties were too great at Hangu Pass, Li Xuan would take advantage of the situation and attack out of the ancient Xiaohan Road.

Once Li Xuan killed them at the gates of Luoyang, Empress Wu could even imagine how ugly the situation would be.

It is precisely because of this that Shanzhou City, located at the intersection of Mount Xiao and Mount Dongxiao, is the key to their blocking of Li Xuan.

The main thing Li Xuan relies on to capture Shanzhou City is the Yellow River in front of him.

Although the Yellow River is turbulent and the river channel is dangerous, there are skilled water workers who guide the way on the river, so people can go back and forth smoothly.

But now, the Yellow River shipping has long been completely cut off.

Li Xuan's side is easy to deal with, but in the downstream, someone has already buried wooden stakes and pulled iron chains in the river. Even if the water level rises, it will not be easy to reach Shanzhou.

Not to mention, Empress Wu had already transferred navy from Dengzhou.

Yes, Li Xuan could not hide the affairs of the court from him at all.

Although Empress Wu put Ouyang Tong, Li Zhaode, Di Renjie, Yao Lingzhang, Yao Chong, and Song Jing all in prison, Li Xuan still had many of his own people in the court.

Many of them were even arranged before Li Xuan entered the court.

However, at that time, many people were still outside the family, and some had not even taken the imperial examination.

As Li Xuan moved up step by step, many of these people were promoted by him intentionally or unintentionally.

Among them, only those from the Censorate had real access to government affairs.

Even a simple censor may come into contact with more things than anyone else in the court.

They even show up at every court meeting.

A few days ago, the court meeting held in Qianyang Palace in Luoyang naturally reached Li Xuan's ears.

He deliberately chose May 15th to send the things to Chang'an.

Therefore, all the words that Empress Wu said at the court meeting and the arrangements she made were also reported to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan tried to kill all the carrier pigeons coming from Luoyang, but for some reason, Luoyang didn't seem to have any such intention.

Shaking his head, Li Xuan withdrew his gaze from the Yellow River to the memorial.

Now his layout on the Yellow River has just begun, and no one has even figured out how Li Xuan plans to take over Luoyang.

……

Li Xuan lowered his head, put away the smugness at the corner of his mouth, and then opened the memorial with an indifferent expression.

There was a line of words clearly written on it: "Approved. I am in Qianyang Palace, waiting for Prince Peng to arrive. Please do not allow any accidents to happen."

Li Xuan smiled.

He could imagine the gnashing of teeth in the air when Empress Wu wrote these words.

And that's exactly what he wants.

Li Xuan turned aside and said, "Send a message to the prince, asking him to capture Bingzhou and enter Wenshui within one month."

"Yes!" Li Lang bowed and accepted the order, then quickly turned and headed north.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked towards Chang'an, and sneered lightly.

You can threaten me, and I can threaten you.

Empress Wu wanted to use Ouyang Tong's life to force Li Xuan to capture Shanzhou and reach Luoyang within two months.

In her anxiety, Li Xuan is bound to make mistakes, and once she makes a mistake, she is likely to fall into a trap.

Li Xuan sneered. How could he allow Empress Wu to manipulate him when his life and property were at stake?

Empress Wu held Ouyang Tong in her hand, so Li Xuan threatened her clansmen in her hometown of Wenshui and the ancestral tomb. What would she do now that the ancestral tomb was gone?
(End of this chapter)