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

Chapter 1729 My son is dead, so I will have another child with her.

In front of the Taiji Hall, countless soldiers quickly moved back and forth, and military orders were passed down one after another.

Li Xiaoyi, Duke of Liang, was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, and Su Baotong, Li Duozuo, Li Gu and others were appointed as generals, and they immediately headed for Chang'an.

Ouyang Tong, Lu Yuanfang, Li Yuanjia and others walked out of the Daye Sect.

"Who would have thought that she would forge two imperial edicts at once? How could she be so crazy?" Ouyang Tong still found it hard to believe.

Forging a copy of Emperor Gaozong's will could be said to be for the purpose of framing Li Xuan, but forging Emperor Suzong's imperial edict was intended to completely overthrow Li Chongjun's throne.

Li Xuan's biggest problem was that no one had ever found the copy of Emperor Gaozong's will in his hand.

Not only him, but also Pei Xingjian, Su Liangsi, and Pei Yan, their copies of the wills were never found in the palace.

This was the case during the reign of Empress Wu, and the same was true later when Li Chongjun ascended the throne.

The palace was almost searched thoroughly, but in the end no one was found.

But this does not mean that Li Xuan's will is fake. When Li Chongzhao ascended the throne in Yangzhou, he had already given Li Xuan the title of Grand Marshal and the imperial edict to command all the military power in the world.

The copy of the edict was not found either, but we can't say it doesn't exist.

If they deposed Li Xuan from his positions as Grand Marshal, Vice Prime Minister and commander of the military power, Li Xuan might raise an army again to seek refuge with the emperor.

Therefore, even if the copy of Princess Taiping's will was authentic, Ouyang Tong and others would not recognize it.

Not to mention that after Li Chongjun ascended the throne, he actually appointed Li Xuan as the Grand Marshal and the Vice-President of State Affairs.

Li Xuan entered the cabinet in this dynasty and obeyed the emperor's edict, not the emperor's orders from anywhere else.

In particular, the edict from Princess Taiping was fake.

Ouyang Tong, Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen, Liu Jingxian, and Yao Chong, each of them is a great writer.

How could he be fooled by Princess Taiping's false edict? He also forged Li Chongzhao's edict, which negated everyone at once.

……

"She is not capable of doing so many things on her own. There must be someone instigating and supporting her from behind." Li Yuanjia's voice came from the side.

The ministers stopped and nodded in agreement.

Princess Taiping couldn't even imitate someone else's handwriting, so how could she forge a will?

"King Peng has already sent people to arrest him. I think there will be results soon." Ouyang Tong nodded slightly.

"The problem still lies in Chang'an." Lu Yuanfang finally spoke up and said, "She must have gone to Chang'an, and since the prince consort is involved, Xue Na must have been involved as well."

The expressions of the ministers suddenly became solemn.

When they were in Chang'an, Xue Shao and Xue Na, two brothers from the same clan, were very close.

Princess Taiping used the method of harming Li Chongjun to drag Li Xuan to Chang'an, while she herself took the emperor's golden tiger talisman, fled the palace and escaped into Mangshan.

The Royal Guards chased after her, but what they finally caught was just a substitute, and Princess Taiping had already disappeared.

It was precisely because of the problems in Chang'an that Li Xuan sent Li Xiaoyi to lead an army back to Chang'an to quell the rebellion.

"Alas!" Ouyang Tong sighed and said, "Since the emperor ascended the throne, this kind of thing has happened twice, a prime minister and a princess. Why?"

"Because the emperor is too young." Li Yuanjia's sudden words made all the ministers turn around in great surprise.

Li Yuanjia looked at everyone and sneered, "Everyone, just wait and see, there will be more such things in the future."

After saying this, Li Yuanjia took the lead and walked towards Chengtian Gate, followed closely by Li Yuangui.

"Is the King of Han provoked?" Lu Yuanfang frowned tightly, as if he saw some great danger.

"Slow down, it will be fine if you slow down." Zhang Da'an's voice came from behind, and the expressions of all the ministers immediately relaxed.

……

On Chengtian Gate, Li Mo, dressed in black, watched all this coldly.

After all the kings and ministers had completely disappeared from his sight, he spoke: "Spread the conversation between Minister Ouyang and King Han throughout Luoyang and Chang'an."

"Yes!" More than a dozen people stood up at the same time, bowed, and quickly disappeared.

Li Mo raised his head and looked at the entire Luoyang city in front of him.

The emperor was young and there were constant coups in the palace.

How to do?
Replace the emperor with an older one.

Just fine.

……

Three days later, outside Chang'an city.

On the north bank of the Wei River, the autumn wind is bleak.

Countless black-armored cavalrymen entered the Daming Palace from the north bank of the Wei River and then headed towards the Taiji Palace.

Chang'an did not fall.

Li Xuan rode on horseback in the Daming Palace, with Su Baotong and Li Gu following on both sides.

Li Gu was appointed General of the Right Guard and stayed behind to guard Chang'an City.

"That day, Cui Ding was assassinated, and the Right Jinwu Guard suddenly crossed Suzaku Street and entered Wannian County, but Liu Changshi decisively ordered me to enter the city, and then drove the Right Jinwu Guard back. Then, they actually rushed to Taiji Palace and forcibly took over the palace's imperial guards on the pretext that the remaining imperial guard general Li Rong had been assassinated, but Li Rong escaped."

Li Gu sighed. At the same time, General Cui Ding of the Left Jinwu Guard and General Li Rong of the Imperial Guard were assassinated at the same time. The fact that the Right Jinwu Guard was mobilized without the approval of the prime minister and Yongzhou Prefecture showed many problems.

But the only lucky thing is that Cui Ding and Li Rong are still alive.

Especially Cui Ding, who only suffered minor injuries, but Li Rong was unlucky, as he was stabbed in the lower back. I'm afraid he will have a hard time in the future.

"After that, the Right Jinwu Guard sent someone with Li Xiang's order to forcibly take over the gate guards, but Yuchi completely rejected him." Li Gu lowered his voice and said, "The Right Jinwu Guard also wanted to take over the guards in Chang'an. Fortunately, General Yun Hui showed up at this time and sent people to take over the guards. Then the guards entered the city at the same time and took over the city defense and the watchtowers. Only then was Chang'an saved."

"After that, I followed the Duke of Liang back to Chang'an." After a short pause, Su Baotong said, "It was then that we discovered that although the Right Golden Guards controlled the Taiji Palace, they could not get out at all. As soon as their people came out, they were immediately driven back."

"We did not attack Taiji Palace until the imperial edict from Luoyang arrived." Li Gu said in a low voice.

Taiji Palace is the imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty after all. Even though it has fallen into the hands of the rebels, it is difficult for them to attack without an imperial edict.

"After I arrived, I immediately surrounded the Taiji Palace and quickly recaptured the Suzaku Gate and the Xuanwu Gate." After a short pause, Su Baotong said, "As soon as Duke Liang and the Imperial Guard General Li Rong showed up, the Imperial Guards in the palace immediately rebelled. Now the Right Jinwu Guard has retreated to the Taiji Gate and the Ganlu Gate."

"At this time, we finally discovered that something was wrong with the Right Golden Guard." Li Gu's expression became solemn, and he whispered: "There are only about a thousand people in the Right Golden Guard, who are the original soldiers of the Right Golden Guard. The remaining three thousand people do not even seem to be soldiers in the army."

"Xue Na is not right either." Su Baotong followed up and said, "I have never seen Xue Na since I returned to Chang'an."

"I have seen him once, on the day when we drove the Right Jinwu Guard back to Taiji Palace. Xue Na appeared on the city wall, but only that time." Li Gu's expression also became solemn.

"Maybe. Xue Na is the son of the Duke of Dai after all. Maybe because of the late emperor and the empress, he had to help the princess, but ultimately his heart is with the Tang Dynasty." Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "Let's go to Suzaku Gate."

"Yes!" Li Gu and Su Baotong bowed at the same time.

……

Li Xuan did not enter the palace from Yeonhee Gate, but continued to move forward towards Suzaku Gate.

Although he did not want Princess Taiping's rebellion to affect too many people in Chang'an City, nor did he want the incident to have too great an impact, the fact that he had returned needed to be known to others after all, especially the families of high-ranking officials who lived close to the palace.

But no matter what, the news of Li Xuan's return to Chang'an spread throughout the city at the first opportunity.

Especially during these days, the gates of Chang'an were not closed. Anyone who wanted to leave could leave at any time, and anyone who wanted to come in could come in at any time.

Now, news from Luoyang has come.

The emperor was young, so there were constant palace coups. What to do? Just replace him with an older emperor.

When Li Xuan led his army back to quell the rebellion in a low-key manner, too many people in Chang'an City wanted to figure out what was going on.

Although the judgment of Princess Taiping and Xue Na did not have much impact on the people of Chang'an, people tried to rush out of Taiji Palace every day and were driven back. How could they not care? Especially when Li Xiaoyi led his army back, he directly surrounded Taiji Palace and began to attack the city.

Even though these things did not affect the people of Chang'an, they were still very nervous.

Now, the person who can solve the problem completely has returned.

Silently, people's hearts change.

……

Under the Suzaku Gate, Li Xuan rode in slowly on horseback.

Just as he reached the end of the palace road, cheers suddenly came from within the imperial city.

"Reporting to the prince, the Ganlu Gate has been taken, and the Right Jinwu Guard has retreated to the Liangyi Gate." Li Duozuo glanced at the flag on the Suzaku Gate and immediately bowed to Li Xuan.

The ones who entered from Xuanwu Gate were Li Xiaoyi and Li Rong.

Although Li Rong was seriously injured, he still got up and fought, but he was not needed to fight.

When he and Li Xiaoyi appeared outside Xuanwu Gate, the imperial guards at Xuanwu Gate knew what to do.

Now that Li Xuan has returned to the court, the two of them have taken over Ganlu Gate in a blink of an eye.

"That is to say, now except for the Taiji Hall between Taiji Gate and Liangyi Gate, the entire palace is in our hands." Li Xuan looked up calmly.

"Yes!" Li Duozuo, Su Baotong, Cui Ding, Li Gu and others bowed at the same time.

"What else can we do? We can launch an all-out attack on the city and capture the Tai Chi Hall." Li Xuan waved his hands suddenly.

The next moment, the four generals returned to their respective positions at the same time, and more soldiers arrived from behind, each holding a drawn bow in his hand.

With a "boom", countless crossbows flew up from the ground and finally fell heavily on the city wall.

Suddenly, the soldiers guarding the city wall were killed or wounded.

For a moment, several gaps appeared in the city, but no one filled them.

Princess Taiping actually had only 4,000 loyal followers under her command. After several battles, as many as 1,000 of them were killed or wounded. This was also the result of Li Xuan's generals not going all out to attack the city.

Now that Li Xuan has arrived, they no longer stay.

The Taiji Gate and the Liangyi Gate attacked the city at the same time, and there were immediate casualties throughout the palace.

"Kill!" After three waves of crossbow arrows, a large blank area appeared on the city wall, and more soldiers rushed up with ladders.

……

With a "creak", the Tai Chi door opened.

Li Xuan rode his horse slowly into the city. At a glance, he saw Princess Taiping, Xue Na and Prince of Yuzhang Li Dan who were surrounded at the gate of Taiji Palace.

Countless black-armored soldiers stood on both sides, and more soldiers were chasing after the remaining rebels.

Li Xuan rode his horse through the soldiers and finally stopped at the entrance of Taiji Hall. His eyes fell on Li Dan and he asked, "Are these the death warriors in Prince Shu's mansion?"

Li Tan's mouth twitched slightly and his face turned pale. Now that things had come to this, he could no longer hide anything.

Li Xuan looked at Xue Na and said, "Xue Shao and Xue Guan have been arrested. Duke Pingyang, what do you think I should do with the Xue family in Hedong?"

Xue Na's face changed involuntarily. The lessons learned from the Wei, Cui, Zheng, and Lu families were about to fall upon Xue.

Li Xuan looked at Princess Taiping again and said, "Taiping, let go."

Princess Taiping was dressed in red and golden armor, holding a long sword. She stepped forward, stared at Li Xuan and asked, "Uncle Wang, what's the matter with the copy of the will?"

Xue Na and Li Dan looked at Li Xuan at the same time.

The biggest failure of their plan was that the copy of the will that could bring disgrace to Li Xuan was a fake.

If that copy could work, then with the help of the ministers in Luoyang, they would be able to control the entire city and the entire world. That was the purpose of Princess Taiping entering the Ziwei Palace.

But unfortunately, Ouyang Tong determined that the copy of the will was a fake.

"Your Highness, where did you get the copy of the will?" Li Xuan looked up calmly.

"Of course..." Princess Taiping was about to say the Secretary General, but she instantly understood that the person in charge of the Secretary General now was Yu Ze, and that place was a complete trap.

……

After a long silence, Princess Taiping raised her head and stared at Li Xuan, then said, "Uncle Wang, Taiping has been defeated this time. Taiping wants to ask, what do you plan to do with Taiping, uncle?"

"The prince consort will be executed, the princess will be imprisoned in Beiyuan, and her descendants will be exiled." Li Xuan's eyes were terrifyingly cold.

"Uncle Emperor, don't you give Taiping any leeway at all?" Princess Taiping's expression finally changed.

Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Xue Na: "The Duke of Pingyang was imprisoned in Beiyuan."

Xue Na's expression changed immediately.

"Uncle Wang, I'm sorry." Princess Taiping took a step forward, holding the long sword, and looked at Li Xuan and said, "Since Uncle Wang won't let me live, then Taiping can only take it herself."

Li Xuan looked at Princess Taiping in surprise.

Princess Taiping waved her hand, and the dense crowd of soldiers behind her immediately made way for a path leading directly to the imperial bed in the Taiji Hall.

A thin figure wearing a bright yellow dragon robe sat on the imperial couch.

The man was none other than the successor king, Li Guangren, and his hands and feet were tightly supported.

Li Xuan raised his nose and immediately smelled the smell of kerosene. His face suddenly changed: "Taiping, you are crazy."

"Uncle Wang, it's not that Taiping is crazy, but you are unwilling to give him a chance to live." Princess Taiping took a torch from behind, then looked at Li Xuan and said through gritted teeth: "Uncle Wang, if you let Taiping go, Taiping will let Guangren live. How about that?"

Li Xuan was stunned, looked up at Li Guangren on the imperial couch, and said hesitantly: "Taiping, do you have to do this? You can live."

Princess Taiping's expression was stern: "Life is worse than death, it's better to die."

"Where can you go if you leave Chang'an?" Li Xuan looked straight at Princess Taiping.

A hint of sarcasm flashed across Princess Taiping's lips, but she said no more.

Li Xuan took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the determined soldiers on his left and right, and finally looked at Princess Taiping, and said firmly: "I will not allow one person to harm the world."

"Uncle Wang, don't force me." Princess Taiping took a step back, and the people behind her also began to slowly retreat into the hall.

"Prince Yuzhang, capture the princess and I will let you go..." Before Li Xuan finished his words, the long sword in Princess Taiping's hand had instantly pierced into Li Tan's throat.

Blood splattered, and in front of countless people's incredulous gazes, Princess Taiping took a step back and shouted madly, "If we have to die, let's die together!"

The torch fell to the ground instantly with a loud bang. In front of everyone's horrified eyes, the Tai Chi Hall was suddenly engulfed in flames.

It completely submerged Princess Taiping and also submerged Li Guangren behind her.

"Rescue!"

……

Outside the ruined Taiji Hall, Su Baotong bowed gently to Li Xuan and said, "Your Majesty, I am in deep sorrow!"

Li Gu, Li Xiaoyi, Li Rong, Li Duozuo and others bowed to Li Xuan at the same time and said, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."

Li Xuan wanted to say something, but finally swallowed it back.

"Clean and rebuild the Taiji Hall, and inform Luoyang of the death of Princess Taiping and the King of Dai." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said, "Please ask the Queen Mother of Dai to come to the East Palace, and I will personally tell her the news of the King of Dai's death."

Qian'er, I... no, I, I am here to tell you the news of your adopted son's death.

At worst, you and I can have another child in the future.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked in the direction of Liangyi Palace, and said softly: "Pass the order, soldiers in the army, rest for three days."

(End of this chapter)