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

Chapter 1728 The Blue and Black Handprints on the Emperor's Neck
A waterfall more than ten meters high falls from the sky and rushes into the lake below, and water vapor instantly rises.

"Creaky!" The stone door slowly closed.

Li Yuanjia's mind was still echoing with Li Zhen's last words: "Xuanwu Gate, Xuanwu Gate... The curse of Xuanwu Gate will forever entangle the bloodline of Emperor Taizong, and there will be no escape forever."

For some reason, Li Yuanjia's face looked pale.

At this time, Li Xuan's voice came from the front: "From now on, the few of you will be transferred to the Imperial Guards to guard this secret place. People will come up with water supplies and build houses here... No one is allowed to come here without my order."

"Yes!" More than a dozen black-armored soldiers bowed at the same time.

"Let's go." Li Xuan looked at Li Yuanjia, Li Yuangui, Chen Guang and Lin Renji who had complicated expressions, as well as Pan Shizheng and Shenxiu who had indifferent expressions.

Li Yuanjia glanced at Li Yuangui who was holding Xia'er, nodded and said, "Let's go."

Everyone immediately followed Li Xuan outside.

Soon, everyone reached the mountain path outside.

Li Yuanjia looked back at the black-armored soldiers standing outside the forest. If it weren't for them leading the way, he probably wouldn't have found this place at all.

Going down the mountain path, the black-armored soldiers on both sides were visibly tired, and their numbers were much smaller than before.

When he arrived at the foot of the mountain, Li Yuanjia's sight was immediately filled with broken limbs and a river of blood.

The smell of blood is pungent.

There were bursts of fighting coming from far away.

"The battle at the foot of the mountain ended first." Li Xuan's voice came. Li Yuanjia turned around quickly and heard Li Xuan continue to say: "The identities of these people have not been confirmed yet, but their weapons are not handy, and the number of crossbows and arrows is not enough. We let them climb the mountain and attack from above. When they are exhausted, they will rush down in one breath."

Li Yuanjia nodded slightly. This was indeed the key point of the mountain's defense. Not everyone could rush up there in one breath.

"As for the top of the mountain." Li Xuan raised his head slightly and said in a cold voice: "Tang Xiujing has obviously not been to Songshan many times. He is not as familiar with the environment here as Xuan. If he leads people down, stretching the team, conflict and slaughter... He is a scholar after all."

Li Yuanjia glanced up and immediately understood the real reason for Tang Xiujing's death.

Tang Xiujing might be good at formulating major strategies, but short-term fighting on the battlefield is his weakness.

Li Yuanjia's gaze fell on Li Xuan. Li Xuan had stayed in Songshan much longer than Tang Xiujing.

And it's more than once that I've stayed here for a long time.

"We should go back to the city now. We don't know what the situation is in the city now." Li Xuan's eyes showed a trace of worry. Suddenly, he turned to look at Monk Shenxiu and said softly: "Master, Master, you'd better hope that the White Horse Temple has not intervened in this matter. Otherwise, I may really have to change the White Horse Temple into the Qingyang Palace."

After saying this, Li Xuan suddenly jumped on the horse, urged the horse forward, and rushed out first.

The sharp spear fell into his hand in an instant, and countless black-armored cavalrymen quickly gathered from all directions.

"Let's go too." Li Yuanjia also jumped on his horse and followed closely.

The same went for the others. In the end, only Pan Shizheng and Monk Shenxiu were left there.

"Master!" Monk Shenxiu turned around and looked at Pan Shizheng.

"I can't help you with this matter." Master Pan shook his head, looked up at Mount Song, and said softly, "It's a relief that King Peng didn't ask about my alchemy. I'd better stay in the temple and practice."

"Then I'm afraid I have no choice but to ask Brother Huineng for help." Shenxiu sighed helplessly, then bowed and left.

Looking at Shenxiu's leaving back, Master Pan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Buddhism, Shenxiu and Huineng.

As everyone knows, Shenxiu was a disciple of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, and was a competitor of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. At that time, Shenxiu even sent people to hunt down Huineng.

After Hongren passed away, Huineng went to the south to preach, saying that he wanted to be tolerant and avoid Shenxiu, but Pan Shizheng knew that things were not that simple.

The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and Wu replaced Tang.

When Li Chunfeng's prophecy spread throughout the world, the masters of Buddhism and Taoism all knew that this day in the future would inevitably come.

Taoism flourished during the Tang Dynasty, and Buddhism flourished during the reign of Wu.

This is the tacit understanding reached after countless struggles between Buddhism and Taoism.

So Shenxiu stayed in the north.

But the Tang Dynasty lasted for 300 years, and this was also Li Chunfeng's prophecy.

So, Huineng went to the south.

One in the south and one in the north, they can ensure the prosperity of Buddhism, and at the same time ensure that Buddhism will not decline due to the rise of the Tang Dynasty.

After all, there were many cases of Buddhism being destroyed during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

At worst, a Shenxiu will die.

Unfortunately, however, a Li Xuan appeared in the Taoist sect.

In the end, Empress Wu was completely purged after only a few days of being emperor.

Shenxiu finally got in touch with Li Xuan, but in the end, he was severely betrayed by the White Horse Temple.

But, did Shenxiu really not know about what happened in the White Horse Temple and Princess Taiping?

Or maybe it was because the world was about to be stabilized, so the Buddhist sect changed its strategy and wanted Shenxiu and Huineng to come to Luoyang.

It looks like it’s time for Sima to come to Chang’an.

I heard that when he was in Wuzhou, he and King Peng had a Taoist relationship.

When I turned around, Master Pan was walking towards the mountain.

His gaze inadvertently fell in the direction of the secret room, and a hint of deep meaning flashed in his eyes.

……

Countless black-armored cavalry came from all directions, but soon left in all directions.

On the Dingding Gate, Qu Chongyu stood solemnly, and the soldiers around him bowed solemnly.

Seeing the black tide coming from afar, Qu Chongyu waved his hand and the soldiers below immediately opened the tightly closed gate.

Soon, the black-armored cavalry rushed into Luoyang city.

Almost in the blink of an eye, two teams of black-armored soldiers had rushed to the top and bottom of the city gate and completely occupied the key points of the city gate.

At this time, Li Xuan, who had changed into black clothes and black armor at some point, finally appeared under the city gate.

Qu Chongyu quickly arrived at the gate and bowed to Li Xuan, saying, "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, two hours ago, the palace received an order from the Left Prime Minister and the Minister of the Central Secretariat to close the gates of Luoyang. At the same time, the Luoyang guards were not allowed to move without the emperor's order."

"Yeah!" Li Xuan nodded, looked in the direction of Sigongfang, and said softly: "How is Sigongfang?"

"Five hundred thugs pretended to be ordinary people and suddenly rushed into Sigongfang and attacked Yulongyuan, but they were ambushed and killed by the thousand archers in Yulongyuan. Those who escaped were also killed by the Zuo Jinwu Guards." After a short pause, a hint of excitement flashed in Qu Chongyu's eyes. Yulongyuan had made preparations long ago and mobilized a thousand archers to hide inside.

When Princess Taiping's men rushed into the courtyard and the thousand hidden archers came out from the rooms on both sides with endless arrows, those people had no chance of survival.

The situation inside the city is different from that outside the city. Outside the city, Tang Xiujing could still mobilize a large number of armors for his soldiers to wear, but inside the city, everyone only has a sword.

Even outside the city, they did not have enough crossbows and spears. When Li Xuan quickly mobilized his forces, they had no choice but to be defeated.

"Have someone carefully examine the bodies." Li Xuan looked towards the palace across Dingdingmen Street and said calmly, "There should be quite a few servants from the Ming and Dou families among them. Even though they are dead, they can still be identified."

All of Li Dan's men were forced to go to Chang'an by Li Xuan, and Princess Taiping was left with few manpower to mobilize.

Most of them were refugees, and the rest were the backbone forces composed of servants and private soldiers of the Ming and Dou families.

With these people, Li Xuan can bite off a piece of meat from the Ming family and the Dou family.

"Send an order to the left and right leading guards, approach the palace from the north gate. Send an order to the left and right guards, cut off all roads leaving Luoyang from the east and west sides. Continue to block the gates of Luoyang except for the Dingding Gate." After Li Xuan finished speaking, he urged his horse forward and headed quickly towards the palace.

"Yes!" Qu Chongyu bowed, raised his eyes and looked towards the direction of the imperial palace, his breathing became heavier.

Another sound of horse hooves was heard. Qu Chongyu turned around and saw Prince Huo, Prince Han, Princess Fuchang, Chen Guang, Lin Renji and others returning.

Qu Chongyu stood by the road and bowed solemnly.

……

On the Tianjin Bridge, Li Xuan rode slowly on horseback.

The Duanmen Gate opened, and Zhang Huan, the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, bowed and saluted.

Li Xuan rode his horse forward, and the right guard behind him quickly climbed up to the city gate. Instead, the imperial guards on the city gate and the Jinwu guards in the city headed towards the palace.

When the officials around saw this scene, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

When the palace issued an order to close all the gates of Luoyang, all officials felt that something was wrong.

Afterwards, bursts of shouting and killing were heard from the direction of Sigongfang, which made people feel even more uneasy.

They were really afraid of another palace coup.

It has only been one year since Li Chongjun ascended the throne, and these things seem to happen every six months. The last time it was Prime Minister Cui Zhiwen, who is it this time?

When will the world be completely stable?

Everybody is really fed up.

Chengtian Gate opened and Qin Shandao bowed.

The imperial guards on the city wall quickly walked down the city gate, and the defenders at Duanmen quickly occupied the city gate.

The Right Guards replaced the Duanmen guards, and the Duanmen guards replaced the Chengtianmen guards, layer after layer, it looked like a change of guard, and people's hearts were greatly calmed down.

"Where are the prime ministers?" Li Xuan rode his horse slowly forward and looked at Qin Shandao.

Li Xuan led his army into the city, but none of the six prime ministers in the palace came out to inquire about the matter.

"They were all called to the Zhenguan Hall." Qin Shandao sighed and said, "The princess held your majesty and the queen mother hostage. The left prime minister, the right prime minister and Prime Minister Liu were detained when they went to the Zhenguan Hall to report. Afterwards, the princess falsely passed on the imperial decree to call in Prime Minister Yao, Minister Ouyang and Prime Minister Zhang. The princess also wanted to call in the generals of the imperial guards and the six ministers, but..."

"Yeah!" Li Xuan nodded slightly. The generals of the imperial guards and the six ministers were the foundation of his rule over the world, so how could he take risks easily?

Although Li Xuan is still using the ministers to stabilize the states in the world, with the operation of the six ministries, the role of the ministers is actually gradually declining.

Daye Gate, Zhulong Gate, Li Lingwen, and Li Xiaoyi quickly gathered around Li Xuan.

Groups of guards quickly rushed out from all directions and completely surrounded the Zhenguan Hall.

At this time, Li Xuan also came to the Zhenguan Hall.

It can be clearly seen that there are dozens of men with fierce eyes holding long swords and crossbows in the Zhenguan Hall, but there is no sign of the emperor, the empress dowager and the prime ministers.

"Something is wrong." Li Xuan hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Charge!"

With a "boom", a group of heavily armored infantrymen, holding lances, rushed directly into the Zhenguan Hall.

Behind them were archers holding crossbows and swordsmen holding swords and shields.

With the heavy infantry acting as cover and clearing the way ahead, the crossbowmen and sword and shield soldiers quickly killed and finished off the enemies. In less than half a quarter of an hour, all the people inside had been slaughtered.

Stepping on the blood flowing under his feet, Li Xuan calmly walked to the door of the inner hall.

Looking at the big lock on the door of the inner hall, Li Xuan's face couldn't help but darken.

"Come here, clean the hall immediately, and call the supervisor to open the lock." Li Xuan's order was quickly passed down.

……

With a "click", the big lock opened.

Li Xuan immediately walked in, and bursts of low sobbing came from the bed.

Li Xuan walked quickly to the bed and looked at Li Chongjun who was twitching in Zheng's arms. Li Xuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But he immediately lowered his eyes and saw the blue and black handprints on Li Chongjun's neck.

Suddenly, Li Xuan couldn't help but shout, "Is she crazy? The emperor is her nephew."

"Queen Dowager, I want to see Your Majesty." Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Zheng.

Zheng turned around and looked at the other prime ministers in the hall. The other prime ministers nodded, and Zheng then handed Li Chongjun over to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan carefully picked up Li Chongjun and checked his injuries carefully. Fortunately, no bones were broken.

"Before leaving, the princess pinched Your Majesty hard. Her purpose was to hold you back so as to buy time for her to escape." Ouyang Tong walked behind Li Xuan and explained in a low voice.

Yes, Princess Taiping left, leaving a large group of people to guard the Zhenguan Hall, and even found a substitute to replace her, but she herself died quietly.

"She can't leave." Li Xuan shook her head slightly and said softly, "There is no place for her in this big world."

"She took out a draft of Emperor Gaozong's will and said that you forged the late emperor's will and that the late emperor never allowed you to be the Grand Marshal and the Vice-Chancellor." As soon as Ouyang Tong finished speaking, Li Xuan turned around in surprise.

Ouyang Tong waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it's not real. The draft of the will is a forgery. Although it is very similar to yours, there are still some problems with the handwriting."

Ouyang Tong was a great writer in the world. Even over the past hundred years, the only people who could surpass him were his father Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan.

"Tang Xiujing also took out an imperial edict in Songshan, saying it was an imperial edict from Emperor Suzong." Li Xuan took out the imperial edict from his sleeve and handed it to Ouyang Tong and other prime ministers.

Everyone's expressions suddenly became solemn. There had been no news of Li Chongzhao for a long time.

(End of this chapter)