Quickly wear it and insist on being an old man forever

Chapter 330 I Really Want to Live Another 2 Years ()

The twenty-second day of the first lunar month in the fifth year of Chang'an.

The sacred capital Luoyang, Shangyang Palace, and Xianju Hall.

Although it was already getting dark, Princess Taiping and Prince Li Dan, who learned that their coup had failed, immediately entered the palace anxiously to ask for an audience with Bai Sheng. Wu Sansi also entered the palace to ask for an audience, claiming that he was worried about the emperor's health.

At this time, Bai Sheng had already cleaned out the inner court of the imperial palace with thundering means, so he had nothing to worry about.

Summoned them directly!
As soon as he entered the hall, Wu Sansi immediately bowed his head in respect:
"I am guilty of not being able to detect the conspiracy of Zhang Jianzhi and others, which gave them the opportunity to enter the palace and cause cholera, thus disturbing the health of the emperor. Fortunately, your majesty is living a long and happy life, safe and sound.

However, I request that the Crown Prince be punished for forcing the emperor to abdicate, and that Princess Taiping and Prince Xiang be punished for knowing the truth and not reporting it, and for participating in treason!
Without their participation and cooperation, I would never have known about this matter, and this mess would never have happened."

Wu Sansi's impeachment speculation is actually not without reason. Now the forces in the court are mainly divided into three groups. The first is the Li family headed by the Crown Prince Xiang Wang and Princess Taiping, the second is the Wu family headed by Wu Sansi, and the third is the original body's white glove, the Zhang family.

Among them, the Wu family and the Zhang family hold the main power.

Or it comes from the original body.

The Li family is somewhat special. They have widespread support both in the court and among the people. A large number of officials and aristocratic families who are still willing to respect the Li Tang Dynasty actively support them. The Guanlong families are also happy to support them. If the original mother was not their biological mother, with the blessing of filial piety, those poor families who were promoted by her would probably not be her opponents at all.

It can be said that the power of the Zhang family and the Wu family is very vague, without deep enough roots and foundation, but this is not the case with the Li family.

Among them, Li Dan and Li Xian both served as emperors.

So their supporters are actually similar.

Princess Taiping's husband at this time was surnamed Wu. He was deeply loved by his original body and his surname was also Li, which gave him a lot of buffs.

Therefore, his power and connections are also extraordinary.

Without their secret cooperation and help, Zhang Jianzhi and others' joint efforts to force the emperor to abdicate would never have been so quiet. To put it bluntly, Crown Prince Li Xian, who theoretically should have been the core of the coup, might have been the last to know about it, or even been dragged into it.

After all, the crown prince lives in the East Palace and does not have many opportunities to negotiate with foreign officials. Prince Xiang and Princess Taiping have opportunities.

Therefore, there is no actual evidence to support Wu Sansi's statement.

But it is indeed a reasonable guess.

Bai Sheng, who knew the real history, also knew that his guess was actually correct. Later, all kinds of things were enough to prove that Princess Taiping and Prince Xiang were indeed involved in the Shenlong coup, but the specific extent of their involvement was not clear.

But at least they were informed.

When Princess Taiping and Prince Xiang heard Li Sansi's heart-wrenching words, they were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They hurriedly saluted and shouted loudly to protest their injustice.

Princess Taiping was relatively calm, she just loudly rebuked Wu Sansi for talking nonsense and alienating them, and said she knew nothing about it. Li Dan's mentality was worse, he didn't perform the etiquette properly, he almost collapsed to the ground, and his rebuttal was not very loud.

Just say he was not aware of it and it had nothing to do with him.

It really looks like he won't achieve much.

However, because parents are strong, their children's personalities will be weaker in many aspects. This is a personality change caused by acquired environmental factors, so Li Dan cannot be blamed entirely.

"Even if you were not directly involved, you must have known about it. Well, I'm tired, so go back first. Remember to attend the morning court tomorrow. We can also discuss what crime Zhang Jianzhi and his gang committed by forcing the crown prince to abdicate. Go back first and we'll discuss it at the morning court tomorrow."

It was indeed late today, and it was not appropriate to discuss the conviction of Zhang Jianzhi and others in private. Besides, she was not in the wrong in this matter, so of course she had to bring it up at the court to discuss what the crime of treason was.

At that time, regardless of whether it is a capital crime, all three clans will be exterminated.

It's all logical and legal.

After hearing Bai Sheng's words, the three people present had different expressions. Princess Taiping's mouth corners slightly raised, somewhat relieved, Prince Xiang's face was pale, and Wu Sansi was slightly disappointed. But no one dared to say more, they could only wish Bai Sheng good health and longevity again, then each of them bowed deeply, stood up one after another, and left.

After leaving the palace, the three of them went their separate ways and returned to their respective homes, while their families and officials had already gone out and gathered at their homes, waiting for them to return.

Wait for them to bring back the latest information.

Discuss what to do next?
At the Prince of Xiang's Mansion, Prince of Xiang Li Dan was helped down from the carriage. Seeing his appearance, his sons, wife, and even the chief of staff all felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, thinking that the situation was not good.

If he hadn't been frightened, this wouldn't have happened. I don't know whether this fright was a false alarm or a calamity.

However, the doorway was obviously not suitable for discussing matters, so of course they quickly welcomed the Prince back to the mansion and brought him to a room they thought was relatively secluded, and then sent their trusted confidants to guard the room on all sides to ensure that there were no outsiders.

It won't be monitored by anyone.

Only then did they start asking carefully.

"Father, can you please recall and recount in detail everything that happened after entering the palace, as well as all the comments?"

Li Longji was aware of his father's courage. At the same time, he didn't think his father could come back safely. There were no imperial guards surrounding Prince Xiang's Mansion, so there was a risk of them being killed. So he thought his father might have just scared himself.

It shouldn't be as dangerous as his father thought.

Li Dan was aware of his son's intelligence and was in urgent need of some comfort, so after taking a deep breath and calming down, he hurriedly began to describe in detail the process of entering the palace, the scene after entering the palace, and what everyone present said.
When he heard Wu Sansi's impeachment.

Many people were so frightened that they broke out in cold sweats.

After all, they themselves knew that they did know about the matter. Although they did not actively participate in it, they definitely helped to keep it confidential and even let it go as much as possible.

Otherwise, how could the five prime ministers have such great power? If the prime ministers joined forces, they could directly force the emperor to abdicate and rebel.

Which emperor can sleep peacefully?
However, when Li Dan finished speaking, Li Longji immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly comforted him: "Father, don't worry too much. Don't you understand? The emperor has already determined the nature of this matter. It is Zhang Jianzhi and others who coerced the prince to rebel. They are coercing the prince."

"It can be seen that His Majesty has no intention of pursuing the Crown Prince, at least he will never harm the Crown Prince's life. It's just that it's uncertain whether the Crown Prince can keep his position. But even the Crown Prince who directly participated in forcing the emperor to abdicate was able to escape safely. I think you and Aunt Taiping should not be in any great danger.

Therefore, father can rest assured.

The emperor still cares about the relationship between mother and son." Hearing this, Li Dan thought more and more that what his son said made sense. The word "coerced" could undoubtedly minimize the prince's guilt and highlight that he was helpless. The most important thing was that these words were not said by others, but by the current emperor. That was the emperor's will!
Prince Li Dan, who had been worried and anxious just now, suddenly felt much more relaxed.

If even Li Xian could save his life, he should have nothing to worry about. After experiencing so many years of fear and anxiety, worrying about not having a tomorrow after today, he did not dare to ask for too much. As long as his family was safe, that would be enough.

Unlike Li Dan who had to come back and tell his son what happened, and then his son would comfort and explain it, when Princess Taiping heard Bai Sheng say this, she understood that her life was safe and the prince's life was also safe, and at most their power might be partially reduced.

That's why she was glad when she left.

After all, her mother was old and her character was much softer than before, and she was unwilling to kill her offspring anymore.

However, even so, after returning to the princess's mansion, she immediately had a careful discussion with her trusted children, and then hurriedly and with great fanfare, took her husband and children to the pagoda she had built to pray for her mother, the current emperor, to prolong her life, and prepared to chant sutras and pray all night long.

She knew that the more she did at this moment, the more mistakes she would make. Instead of doing something petty in other areas, it would be better to admit her mistake quickly, show filial piety, and pray for her mother's longevity.

No one can find fault with this, and it might also make your mother, who loves Buddhism, happy.

Ignore her mistakes in this matter.

Or reduce inner disgust and dissatisfaction.

As for Wu Sansi who also hurried back home, he certainly understood what Bai Sheng meant. At the same time, he could feel that his aunt, the current emperor, did not seem as confused and easy to fool as before. When they met today, he seemed to have returned to the nervousness of more than ten years ago.

Out of caution, after returning home, Wu Sansi immediately sent someone to pass a message, asking the censors who had been contacted earlier to refrain from impeaching the prince and others at the court tomorrow morning, and wait and see the specific attitude of the current emperor.

He knew very well that whether the Crown Prince, Prince of Xiang and others could fall did not depend on how many people he could contact to impeach them, but on the attitude of the current emperor, his aunt.

If his aunt is senile, then you can indeed persuade her to take action against the crown prince and the prince by blowing pillow talk or exaggerating threats. But if she is not senile and you are determined to protect the crown prince, then if he contacts people to impeach the crown prince and the prince, he is undoubtedly going against the current emperor.

How can there be a good ending then?
Taking into account the change in Bai Sheng's attitude that he had just experienced personally, as well as the clarity of his pupils, Wu Sansi still gave the order very firmly even though his sons objected. He still had to take some precautions and not be too hasty.

He really deserves his name of "Think Twice".

Rebellion and forcing the emperor to abdicate may require decisiveness, but trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts requires thinking twice before acting.

As the three of them came back, the news of what happened today basically spread throughout the entire divine capital Luoyang. The five ministers who directly participated in forcing the emperor to abdicate, a few other officials, and the leader of the Xuanwu Gate Imperial Guards, Li Duozuo, and their entire families were arrested and thrown into the Tianlao. Because the Tianlao was full, places like the Dali Temple prison also took up some of the responsibilities.

So there is actually nothing much to say about their reaction.

Who are the ones who are reacting the most right now? It’s those families who are related to their families by marriage. They are the most nervous now, and their internal emotional fluctuations are also the greatest.

Because they were not sure whether they would be implicated after these damned relatives were executed.

This is no small matter, this is forcing the emperor to abdicate, and to put it more seriously, it is no different from rebellion. The current empress has never been lenient towards rebellion. All those guys who failed in previous rebellions suffered heavy casualties.
A lot of members of the Li Tang royal family died.

He is simply the master of cleaning the Li Tang royal family.

It can be said that the closer the relationship with the in-laws who were directly involved in forcing the emperor to abdicate, the more afraid they are now, and they wish they could just break off the relationship and never have any contact with each other again.

Some have already started to blame each other.

It’s all your fault for finding such in-laws!
However, no matter how nervous and worried they were, they dared not do anything. They could only wait quietly and pray in their hearts that the matter could be resolved safely without resorting to murder.

……

The next day was not originally a day for a grand court meeting, but because the matter was rather serious, Bai Sheng convened a court meeting anyway. Everyone was quite aware of this, and except for a few royal family members who were really scared or had been bedridden for a long time, almost everyone else came.

When Bai Sheng appeared with his back straight and his face rosy and healthy, many people felt a sinking feeling in their hearts and their imaginations went wild.

Some people suspected that his previous serious illness was a sting operation.

Some prayed that this was a last gasp.

Others worry about whether she can continue to live healthily.

After all, her mother, Lady Rongguo, died at the age of 92, and the current emperor is only 82. Theoretically speaking, it is not outrageous for him to live another ten years.

But can the loyal ministers of Li Tang wait another ten years?

Ten years later, how many loyal ministers are left?
"Your Majesty, may God grant you happiness and a long life!" Imagining things is one thing, and performing salutes is another. As Bai Sheng appeared, everyone immediately saluted and congratulated him in unison.

This is a blessing made up of the four reign titles of the original body.

The original body was also quite satisfied with this.

So it has continued.

"You all should be well aware of what happened yesterday. The Crown Prince was forced to abdicate, and the Duke of Ye and the Duke of Heng were brutally murdered. Please come and discuss how to deal with this."

Bai Sheng said that discussing things was fake.

Recognize that all the civil and military nobles in the court are real.

As she got older, her energy was a little weak, and it was difficult for her to perfectly control the government. She mainly relied on her trusted male favorites, her daughter and nephew, and some promoted children from poor families. These people who had power also worked hard to promote their trusted people to positions, so in reality, the original body only knew about the high-level officials in the court.

She really had no idea who the lower and middle classes belonged to.

The Prime Minister Xue Xuanwei, whom she promoted yesterday, directly betrayed her. So now it is really hard to say who can be trusted and who cannot be trusted among the civil and military officials in the court. Bai Sheng needs to re-examine them and may have to promote people again.

This is a good time to discuss this matter.

Analyze what camp they are probably in.

However, some ministers were still pretending to be stupid, trying to show that they never snooped into the inner court and said they didn't know anything. Therefore, Bai Sheng could only let Shangguan Wan'er, who might not be so loyal but still useful, briefly tell him what happened yesterday and which people and families were all imprisoned.

Shenlong was the reign title changed after Li Xian took over as agent of state affairs. If he had not succeeded, the reign title should still have been Chang'an.