Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 802: Guoqiao Mutiny (Part )

The cold wind was still howling, and the temperature seemed to have dropped suddenly overnight. The hot air people exhaled turned into a white mist, as if everyone had turned into a dragon, puffing out clouds and mist.

The canal, which used to be bustling, came to a standstill because of the freezing of the river in winter. The porters, who had been tired for half a year, returned to their hometowns in neighboring counties with their money and belongings.

However, the brick kilns and weaving workshops never take holidays all year round. The furnaces and looms never stop working, like the heart of a giant, which never stops beating as long as it lives.

The sunlight pierced through the morning mist and shone on the ice of the canal like a mirror, the light making people dizzy.

However, the atmosphere in Bianliang City seemed a little different today. Every household had their doors and windows tightly closed. On several main roads, there were imperial guards patrolling, each of them fully armed and looking extremely solemn.

However, although the patrols in the city were strict, all the gates of Bianliang City were open! Everything outside the city was normal, and there were no soldiers stationed.

A posture that is relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside.

In front of the gate of the imperial palace in Bianliang City, Zhang Guangsheng was gazing into the distance, followed by a team of men with red chicken feathers on their heads, all wearing shiny helmets and paper armor.

These paper armors are painted in bright colors and look very eye-catching.

Zhang Guangsheng was waiting anxiously. Although there was no expression on his face, his palms were covered with sweat due to his anxiety. When the cold wind blew, he felt freezing cold.

At this moment, a personal soldier rushed over on horseback from a distance, then dismounted, clasped his fists and reported to Zhang Guangsheng: "General Zhang, the team that is going to surrender the prisoners is already waiting in front of the Donghua Gate."

"Hurry and report to the emperor that everything in the palace is normal and ready!"

Zhang Guangsheng said in a deep voice.

"Understood! I will report it now!"

The messenger galloped away, but Zhang Guangsheng's heart was already in his throat.

According to the "script", the team offering prisoners would enter the imperial palace in Bianliang City to offer them. After completing the ceremony, Yuan Zai would petition the emperor at the ceremony, hoping that the emperor would abdicate and give way to a wise man.

Then, Mr. Fang would stand up and scold him.

At the court meeting tomorrow, the emperor will take the initiative to propose abdication, but Fang Guanjia will refuse again.

The next scene is that the emperor goes on a hunger strike and asks to give up the throne, and Fang Guanjia reluctantly accepts it.

After the three refusal and three declines, the process is complete.

However, this game is still a little too gentle. It's not that it's bad, but it's not suitable for the current situation and lacks the deterrent effect.

Apart from this, it was too deliberate and hypocritical, and it was obvious at first glance that Fang Guanjia was pretentiously directing and acting in the play.

Zhang Guangsheng decided to give the emperor a little "surprise".

"Everyone, wealth and honor are achieved through risk. If you want to quit now, you can go home on your own, but you must keep your mouth shut!"

Zhang Guangsheng turned around and spoke solemnly to the team of "Paper Armor Army" behind him.

"Please rest assured, General! We will follow you till death!"

Everyone said in unison, each of them ready to die.

It’s not that they are not afraid of death, but the benefits after success are too great!

This kind of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. If you miss it, it will never come back again.

No matter what, you have to give it a try!

Of course, if it goes wrong, it will be a joke.

But how does the saying go? If you don’t take the opportunity when you have it, then what’s the difference between your life and that of a salted fish?

Soon, the captive surrender team slowly marched from Donghua Gate and entered Zhang Guangsheng's field of vision. The officers and soldiers in the team were all fully armed with shining helmets and armor.

It must be uncomfortable to march in armor in such cold weather.

But as I said, today is a special day, and everything is just for showing off.

How could the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army appear majestic and murderous if they didn't wear armor?

Today is not a war, but it is worse than war.

At this moment, although no one in Bianliang City was allowed to go out due to the ban, there were still many people lying on the wall, watching everything happening on the street.

There were many restaurants near the streets where the candidates lived. On the second floors of many of these restaurants, many people were sticking their heads out to watch, talking about it one by one, and were extremely excited.

These people don't have the courage to cause trouble, but they have the courage to watch the fun, and they are very brave.

As for those "Tibetan captives", they were all locked in prison cars, shivering in thin clothes. They were like props and no one cared about their life or death.

Seeing the captive surrender team approaching, Zhang Guangsheng made up his mind and reached out to his personal guard. The latter understood and handed over a bundle wrapped in black cloth.

"go!"

Zhang Guangsheng shouted, and those "paper armor soldiers" followed behind him. Each of them was unarmed and had no weapons.

The team that was offering captives was supposed to march into the imperial palace of Bianliang City in high spirits, but they were suddenly blocked by Zhang Guangsheng's troops and had to stop.

The leader Che Guangqian's hair stood on end and he quickly stepped forward to negotiate with Zhang Guangsheng.

He scolded with an unhappy look on his face: "Are you crazy? You have followed the emperor for more than ten years. Now you are causing trouble at this critical moment. Have you lost your conscience?"

"If the government doesn't speak out, we will commit suicide here!"

Zhang Guangsheng pinched his throat and threatened with a ferocious look.

The team of paper armor soldiers behind him also knelt on the ground, holding their throats with their hands.

"Okay, okay! You have guts!"

Che Guangqian was furious and was about to order her soldiers to shoot these people, but unexpectedly Fang Chongyong walked out of the team and waved to Che Guangqian.

The latter immediately and quietly stepped aside, as if he understood something.

"You were supposed to be inspecting the palace, what brings you here?"

Fang Zhongyong asked with a slight frown.

"Official, it is like this..."

As Zhang Guangsheng spoke, he opened the black bundle beside him, revealing a ochre-yellow brocade robe inside.

Fang Chongyong's face turned pale and he was about to retreat, but Zhang Guangsheng grabbed his arm tightly. The paper-armored soldier kneeling on the ground quickly stood up and put the brocade robe on Fang Chongyong.

Che Guangqian, who originally wanted to rush forward and draw his sword, and the personal soldiers behind him, seemed to be petrified and became motionless in an instant!

Then he slowly retreated back to his original position without making any sound.

"The emperor should be the emperor! If the emperor cannot be the emperor, then who else in the world can be the emperor!
Everyone, we will escort the emperor into the palace and ascend the throne! Today is the day to serve the king.

If anyone tries to stop me, I will kill them! " Zhang Guangsheng roared, and it was deafening!

Hearing this, Che Guangqian, who was standing by, didn't even think twice and shouted, "Protect the emperor! Escort the emperor into the palace!"

"Ascend the throne!"

"Ascend the throne!"

"Ascend the throne!"

In the team that was surrendering prisoners, countless soldiers began to shout in unison, and the momentum could not be stopped at all!
As for whether Zhang Guangsheng has broken the law or offended the government, please, who would care about him at this time!

Once this kind of thing starts, there is no way to stop it!

"Alas! You have caused me so much trouble! How can I face the emperor?"

Fang Zhongyong burst into tears and simply sat on the ground, unable to act like a spoiled child!
"Everyone, our shoulders are the imperial carriage, and they will carry you into the palace and ascend the throne!
"It is my duty to serve you!"

Che Guangqian shouted and winked at Zhang Guangsheng who was standing beside him. Zhang Guangsheng understood and, together with several paper-armored soldiers, lifted Fang Zhongyong up, lifted him over their shoulders, and let him sit on one of their shoulders.

Several trusted generals each took charge of one side and moved forward steadily.

The arrow has been shot, and there is no need to hesitate. Now forget about anything else and just do it!
"When an official ascends the throne, everyone else should give way!"

A personal soldier volunteered to go to the front of the team and beat the gong. Almost in an instant, the team that was presenting the captives turned into a team that was defending the king.
The imperial examination candidates in the Zhuangyuan Building witnessed this historic moment with their own eyes. It was not until the team that came to their senses had gone far away that they came to their senses. Their faces were filled with shock, and they could not calm down for a long time.

"Just now, the emperor was wearing a dragon robe by his officers, right?"

A chubby, round-faced candidate asked stutteringly.

"That's right. I expected that the emperor would have ascended the throne long ago. It's too late for him to do this now."

A kind-looking middle-aged candidate sighed and said, his name is Bai Jigen, a small county lieutenant during the Tianbao period. Now the world has changed, the previous official position is no longer valid, he plans to re-take the imperial examination to enter the officialdom.

Anyone with eyes can see what the world is like now. What is happening today is only a matter of time.

"Is the Tang Dynasty doomed just like that?"

A candidate in a white brocade robe sighed.

The round-faced candidate refuted: "During the Wu Zhou period, the Tang Dynasty was destroyed once, and the country's name was changed."

There are many different standards for determining whether a country or a regime has perished, and they are also controversial. For example, when Wu Zetian was in power, the country's name was changed, and there were all kinds of abstract operations, but can you say that the Tang Dynasty really perished at that time?

It’s hard to say, at least it’s controversial.

If Fang Qing issued an edict tomorrow, saying that he was the descendant of Li Longji, and then asked the Li clan members in the Zongzheng Temple to endorse him, then is he really the emperor of the Li clan? Is the Li Tang still there, and has it perished?

These things are often just political narratives. Even if the person involved is still the same person and the country is still the same country, the different statements will give people a different impression.

"Instead of worrying about this, you should think about how to praise the emperor during the imperial examination this year. Don't write the wrong title then."

Bai Jigen said meaningfully.

Everyone was silent. What happened today was too powerful to affect the future political trend. The Li clan, which still had some residual power in the past, would be no different from a drowned dog in the future.

This only refers to the Li Tang royal family. In fact, those families that have intermarriage with the Li family will also be affected.

The specific impact will only be seen in the future, it is hard to say now.

On the other side, the team that was defending the king had already reached the gate of the imperial palace in Bianliang City. He Changqi, who was in charge of guarding the imperial palace, understood everything immediately after seeing this situation.

He walked straight forward, and the other party saluted with a fist and said, "Your Majesty, let me lead the way for you!"

"Go."

Fang Zhongyong nodded, too lazy to explain anything.

Da da! Da da!
Da da! Da da!
Da da! Da da!
The soldiers' footsteps were steady yet faintly exciting.

Go through the archway, cross the square in front of the main hall, and arrive at the main hall of Zichen Hall.

The child emperor Li Chang sat beside Empress Wu. Yuan Zai, who was in charge of the order in the hall, showed a look of shock and then quickly disappeared.

Why is this plot different from what we agreed on?

A hint of surprise flashed through Yuan Zai's mind.

Fang Chongyong had made arrangements before. He, Yuan, would take the lead in building momentum for the abdication, and he would also have to refuse and decline the throne three times.

Why are you so impatient to do that today?

However, Yuan Zai was an extremely smart man. When he saw the current situation, he knew that he could not continue to deploy according to the previous routine.

He did not bother to discuss with Fang Zhongyong, but directly took out an imperial edict from his sleeve, unfolded it, and read it loudly to Fang Zhongyong: "The emperor is young and feels incompetent. The empress dowager also thinks that she cannot properly handle government affairs, so she gave up the throne to Fang Qing. From now on, Li Chang is the Duke of Rendang, and the throne will be inherited by his descendants."

It was originally an edict for a military review, and the words written on it had nothing to do with abdication, but Yuan Zai went so far as to make up an abdication edict on the spot.

Empress Dowager Wu and her child emperor Li Chang were both shocked and couldn't believe it.

But it didn't matter whether they believed it or not. The guards in the hall took the two away. As for what they would say in the future, no one cared.

Power does not come from the top down, but from the bottom up. The people below think Fang Qing is the emperor, so even if he is not the emperor, he will become the emperor. It is that simple and straightforward.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

The ministers and generals in the hall all saluted each other solemnly and bravely in unison, their voices uniform, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.

Haha, never underestimate the desire for survival of political animals.

Fang Chongyong sneered in his heart, but sat on the dragon throne with an expressionless face.

He casually threw the dragon robe he was wearing aside, looked around at everyone and said, "I am not worthy of the title of Son of Heaven. Since you all support me, I am willing to lead you to do something for the people of the world. Even if I have the title of Son of Heaven, it is really superfluous. It is better not to have the title of Son of Heaven in the future. If you don't agree, I will commit suicide here."

Can it still be like this?
Everyone in the hall looked at each other, stunned by Fang Zhongyong's words.

Yuan Zai was the quickest to react. He stepped forward, crossed his arms, and saluted Fang Zhongyong, saying, "Your Majesty is wise, and what you said is absolutely right. Your Majesty is the head of all officials, and it is legitimate for you to issue orders."

"Yes, it doesn't matter if the emperor doesn't want it."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened."

Everyone in the hall was talking and plotting loudly to show their loyalty.

Fang Zhongyong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Many times, plans are not as fast as changes. Even if Zhou Xiang is arranged, various accidents may occur. At this point, this is the only way.

"Your Majesty, even if there is no emperor, the coronation ceremony cannot be abolished."

Yuan Zai stepped forward, saluted, and suggested.

(End of this chapter)