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

Chapter 1735: Please issue an edict of repentance and abdicate
At the Liangyi Gate, all the ministers stood in silence.

Lu Zangyong's eyes were fixed on all the ministers, especially the top right prime minister Wang Dezhen.

Wang Dezhen looked at the ministers, waved his hand, and said, "Everyone go back. The matter of Lingyan Pavilion will not be discussed privately until the court issues a unified decree."

After saying that, Wang Dezhen walked towards Cen Wenben and asked, "Jingren, who is the one who benefits the most from the painting in the world now?"

"It's not about who benefits the most, but who has entered the Lingyan Pavilion and seen the Lingyan Pavilion Twenty-Four Pictures?" Cen Wenben raised his head and looked at Wang Dezhen and said, "Also, Right Prime Minister, it would be best to look for a copy of the pictures in the palace and find someone to describe them."

“There is no copy.” Wang Dezhen shook his head and said, “Mr. Yan did draw a lot of them, but in the end, except for the one in Lingyan Pavilion, all the others were destroyed.”

"There should be some in the palace, and there must be some." Cen Wenben suddenly grabbed Wang Dezheng's arm and stared at him seriously.

Wang Dezhen immediately understood what was going on and nodded solemnly.

"By the way, where is King Peng now?" Cen Wenben suddenly changed the subject.

"In Luoyang, they are recruiting troops and contacting Hebei, preparing to send troops." Wang Dezhen shook his head again and said, "I have checked it out. It has nothing to do with King Peng. It is..."

"Who is it?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Wang Dezhen turned his head subconsciously and saw Tang Jianri, a doctor from the Ministry of Works.

Tang Jianri was the son of Emperor Taizong's Princess Yuzhang and Tang Shanshi, who was the son of Tang Jian, Duke of Ju.

Tang Jian was also one of the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion.

"Greetings to Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Cen." Tang Jianri bowed solemnly, then asked, "May I ask, who burned down the Lingyan Pavilion?"

"It was just an accident." Wang Dezheng turned around and looked at the ministers behind him.

Among the ministers, many people looked on curiously, while some just stood there motionless.

Some of them are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion, and some are their nephews and nieces.

Perhaps like Lu Yuanfang, he has a family marriage relationship and can also have a say.

But Tang Jianri's identity is definitely the top one except for those people just now.

But unfortunately, the emperor could only meet so many people at one time, so it was not his turn.

"Wait for the news." Wang Dezhen looked at the ministers and said, "No need to stand and wait, go back to your troops."

"Your Majesty's words make sense." Tang Jianri bowed solemnly. After he stood up, he looked at Wang Dezhen seriously and said, "One more thing. May I ask the Right Prime Minister, how is your Majesty's health? It has been a month and a half since the beginning of August. Your Majesty did not show up in the three court sessions. I am really concerned about your Majesty's health."

"Doctor Tang, didn't you just meet His Majesty the day before yesterday?" Wang Dezheng frowned. He looked at Tang Jianri and gradually smelled a different smell.

"Your Majesty was in good health the day before yesterday." Tang Jianri stepped forward and bowed, "But it's only been two days since then, how come Your Majesty is ill again? What is Your Majesty's illness? Will you be able to attend court in the future? How many days will you be unable to attend court? Will it be a few days, a few months, or a few years, or a dozen years? It can't be a dozen years. Your Majesty will summon all the ministers like this, right?"

After Tang Jianri said this, all the ministers stopped and looked at the three people intently.

Liu Jingxian couldn't help but shouted coldly: "Doctor Tang, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Ouyang Tong and Yao Lingzhang's faces also darkened at the same time.

Wang Dezheng stared at Tang Jianri. Before, he didn't care much about Tang Jianri, so he knew very little about him as a doctor in the Ministry of Works.

But now, he was disgusted with this man to the extreme.

At this time, saying these things and challenging the emperor, what does he want to do? Support someone else?

Wang Dezhen's mind flashed with Li Xuan's figure for a moment, but as far as he knew, Li Xuan and Tang Jianri had little contact at all, so it was impossible for her to order him.

Not only that, Tang Jianri's mother was Princess Yuzhang, who was the adopted daughter of Empress Wende.

If it was Li Xuan who did the trick here, then Tang Jianri was pushing Li Xuan to the throne. However, once Li Xuan came to the throne, the throne was transferred away from the lineage of Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende.

As Empress Wende, he can be called Tang Jianri's grandson. Once Li Xuan comes to the throne, it will be extremely unfavorable to Tang Jianri.

So, it was either Princess Taiping, or Prince Li Chengqi and the Dou family.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Tang Jianri looked at Wang Dezhen, Liu Jingxian, Ouyang Tong and other prime ministers, bowed solemnly and said: "My dear prime ministers, I am not offending you. I just want to ask, when can Your Majesty give an explanation about the Lingyan Pavilion in front of all the ministers? If not..."

"If you can't, then what?" Wang Dezhen stretched out his hand to stop Liu Jingxian and Ouyang Tong who were about to get angry, stared straight at Tang Jianri and asked, "What?"

"If you can't, please ask Your Majesty to issue an edict of repentance and abdicate." Tang Jianri gnashed his teeth and looked at Wang Dezhen, staring at him and said, "Only in this way can we give an explanation to the world about the Lingyan Pavilion matter."

"What do you mean by this?" Taifu Cheng Qu Tu Zhongxiang stood up and stared at Tang Jianri.

Wang Dezhen glanced at Qu Tu Zhongxiang, the second son of Qu Tuquan, the governor of Yingzhou, and grandson of Qu Tutong, the Duke of Jiang.

It wasn't just Qu Tu Zhongxiang, many others too, were staring at Tang Jianri.

"What else could it be?" Tang Jianri said with a tearful look, "On the afternoon of the day before yesterday, the Queen Mother summoned the ladies of the Zhu family, and the Emperor was playing with the children. Suddenly, a kite broke its string and flew into the Lingyan Pavilion, knocking over the candles, and then ignited the entire Lingyan Pavilion. Many people in the palace knew about this, and the ladies of the Zhu family also knew a lot.

Now the Queen Mother has summoned all the ministers and others into the palace, probably to discuss how to deal with the aftermath."

Qu Tu Zhongxiang fell silent, then looked up at Tang Jianri and said, "Even if the truth is like this, you cannot let His Majesty abdicate."

After saying this, Qu Tu Zhongxiang turned to look at Wang Dezhen, cupped his hands and said, "Right Prime Minister, if this is really unintentional on the part of your Majesty, please issue a self-blame edict and admit your fault."

One confessed his sins, the other abdicated.

Although Qu Tu Zhongxiang seemed to have taken a step back, in fact, the substance remained the same.

Once the emperor issues an edict of repentance, he will soon be ready to abdicate.

"Please tell us the truth, Right Prime Minister." A familiar voice came from the side, and Wang Dezheng looked up at Du Shenyan.

Du Shenyan stood up and bowed his hands in earnest, saying, "At this point, no matter what, we need to give an explanation to the people of the world, especially Your Majesty... Emperor Jing of Han did make mistakes back then, but he also became a wise emperor in the end, didn't he?"

Du Shenyan was talking about an incident when Emperor Jing of Han was young and he hit Liu Xian, the son of King Wu, with a chessboard because he couldn't beat him in chess.

Later, it laid the foundation for the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion.

But later, Emperor Jing of Han still became a wise emperor throughout history.

"That doesn't mean Your Majesty can issue a confession of guilt." Wang Dezheng stared at Du Shenyan, but as soon as he said this, he saw strange looks from everyone.

……

In Ganlu Palace, Zheng looked at Lu Yuanfang, Li Yiyan, Zhang Da'an and others, and said with emotion: "That day, Prince Xiang and his other companions were playing with kites, which accidentally flew into the Lingyan Pavilion and caused a fire. This palace is deeply saddened, so I have ordered Prince Xiang to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. Now let's see how to punish Prince Xiang and how to make up for this matter?" Lu Yuanfang, Li Yiyan, Zhang Da'an, Li Yuangui, Qin Shandao, Li Rong, Cheng Chuzheng and others were silent.

Wei Shuyu, the Junior Minister of Imperial Households, was a little confused. He stepped forward and saluted, saying, "What the Queen Mother said is very true. Although the Lingyan Pavilion is a place of great respect for the officials of the Tang Dynasty, it is a dead thing after all. As for the Prince of Xiang, I think he should be fined for ten years. I happen to be in charge of this matter. As for making up for it, the officials also have portraits of their ancestors in their homes. Although they are not as extraordinary as the one of Minister Yan, they can also be used for worship."

"Wei Qing is indeed a wise minister." Zheng looked at Wei Shuyu in surprise, nodded, and then said, "But a ten-year salary deduction, is that too much?"

"Queen Heaven, Lingyan Pavilion is, after all, a place revered by the officials of the Tang Dynasty. If it is not treated with respect, how can we quell the anger of the court and the public?" Wei Shuyu bowed heavily, his voice soft but with a hint of sharpness.

"So it is..." Before Zheng could finish her words, Xu Lu walked in from outside with an anxious look on his face. Without paying any attention to the ministers, he whispered a few words in Zheng's ear.

Zheng's face changed slightly, and she subconsciously gritted her teeth and said, "They all deserve to die. They all deserve to die. Prime Minister Li immediately dispatched troops to arrest all those traitors outside, and... and the Dou family. They must be the ones behind the conspiracy. Send troops to raid the Dou family and exterminate the entire clan."

"Queen Dowager, please calm down." Lu Yuanfang, Li Yiyan and others knelt down without knowing why. Then Lu Yuanfang asked carefully, "May I ask, Queen Dowager, what happened?"

Zheng gritted her teeth and said with rapid breathing, "They spread rumors outside, saying that Your Majesty burned down the Lingyan Pavilion, and they also said that Your Majesty should issue an edict of guilt and abdicate."

The expressions of Lu Yuanfang, Li Yiyan and others changed instantly.

Abdicate, those two words rang in their ears like thunder.

"Issue an order to summon Prince Peng back to the capital immediately and let him deal with this matter." Zheng suddenly turned her head and looked at Xu Lu.

Xu Lu was about to bow, but Lu Yuanfang immediately interrupted her and said, "Queen Dowager, it is not the time to ask Prince Peng to return to the capital. How about I and the other ministers deal with this matter first... No matter what, I will put an end to those nonsense that should not be said."

Zheng looked at Lu Yuanfang deeply, nodded gently and said, "One day, I will give the left prime minister one day. If this matter is not settled within one day, don't blame me for killing someone."

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang bowed, then turned around and left quickly. The others also bowed solemnly, then turned around and left.

Only Wei Shuyu looked at the emperor in surprise, with deep disbelief in his eyes.

After everyone had left, Zheng turned to look at Xu Lu and said, "Send a message to Luoyang immediately and tell King Peng what is happening now. After he receives the news, he should quietly withdraw his troops. I'm afraid today's matter will not be so easy to resolve."

"Yes!" Xu Lu turned around and left quickly.

Zheng turned sideways and looked at Li Chongjun, who lowered his head timidly.

"Oh!" Zheng was speechless for a moment.

……

In the government hall, all the ministers sat in their seats.

Tang Jianri, Qu Tu Zhongxiang and Du Shenyan stood at the bottom, while Li Yuangui and Wei Shuyu stood at the side.

Qin Shandao, Li Rong, Cheng Chuzheng and Yuchi Xunyu were standing outside the door.

More court ministers stood outside the government hall.

The matter of Lingyan Pavilion has already affected the stability of the court, and a conclusion must be reached today.

Lu Yuanfang stared at Tang Jianri intently, gritted his teeth and asked, "Tang Jiuyi, what are you going to do?"

"Whoever burns down the Lingyan Pavilion should come forward to apologize in person. This is what I mean." Tang Jianri bowed calmly, showing no intention of backing down.

"After investigation, it was found that the Prince of Xiang was flying a kite in the palace, and the rope broke, causing the kite to accidentally fly into the Lingyan Pavilion, which eventually caused a fire. The court discussed and decided to confiscate all of the Prince of Xiang's salary until it was used to offset the cost of rebuilding the Lingyan Pavilion, which may take more than ten years."

Ouyang Tong interrupted, looked at Tang Jianri, and said calmly: "If you still feel unwilling, I can ask the Prince of Xiang to go to your house and apologize, how about that?"

Ouyang Tong's words immediately eased the atmosphere in the entire government hall.

"Ha!" Tang Jianri sneered and said, "What this humble official wants is the person who really burned Lingyan Pavilion, not the scapegoat, the Prince of Xiang. The Prince of Xiang was not in the palace that day."

Tang Jianri's words immediately caused many people inside and outside to whisper.

Li Chengqi was not in the palace, but he had to take the blame. Of course, the person who had to take the blame was the emperor.

Is there anyone else in the world for whom Li Chengqi can take the blame?

"Someone, go and invite the Prince of Xiang, and ask him in person whether he was in the palace that day." Ouyang Tong calmly turned sideways, and an attendant immediately bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

"Mr. Ouyang." Tang Jianri's expression changed instantly.

At this moment, the expressions of the prime ministers in the Council of State suddenly darkened.

The person behind Tang Jianri is Li Chengqi, or in other words, he did this today in order to push Li Chengqi to the throne.

Ouyang Tong lowered his head calmly and said no more.

Tang Jianri immediately turned to look at Du Shenyan and asked, "Brother Du, are you just going to let them confuse right and wrong?"

Du Shenyan's face became serious. He turned to look at Tang Jianri and asked, "Brother Tang, you said that it was His Majesty who burned down the Lingyan Pavilion. Who is the witness? You said that the Prince of Rixiang was not in the public. Who is the witness?"

"They, they have already blocked everyone's mouths. Who dares to tell the truth today?" Tang Jianri raised his head and said loudly: "Emperor Taizong, are you going to let them insult the heroes of the Tang Dynasty like this?"

A loud "boom" suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone who had not yet reacted to Tang Jianri's words was stunned.

……

Under the night sky, outside Tai Chi Gate.

Countless court officials stood densely on Tianjie, refusing to leave.

Leading the group were none other than Tang Jianri, Wei Shuyu, Qu Tu Zhongxiang and other descendants of the heroes who had won the Lingyan Pavilion.

In the government hall, Lu Yuanfang looked at the express letter in his hand, looked at everyone with an unpleasant expression, and whispered: "Everyone, Zhaoling... the southeast corner of Jiuyi Mountain has collapsed."

Mountains collapsed and the sky and earth changed color.

……

In the Taiji Palace, dark clouds were looming.

In Ganlu Palace, Xu Lu walked in quickly, handed the letter in his hand to Zheng, and said hurriedly: "Queen Mother, a secret letter from Prince Peng!"

Zheng immediately snatched it away, took a look at it, and her eyes gradually brightened.

(End of this chapter)