Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 380: Burning the Hot Spring Palace, His Majesty's Edict (Part )

"Your Highness, the Prince of Jin has left the city." Xu An handed the secret letter to Li Chengqian and said, "This is a secret letter sent by the Duke of Xindu through the Imperial Household, reporting that the Prince of Jin is plotting something illicit."

Li Chengqian sighed softly, shook his head and said, "This actually makes it difficult for me."

After a moment's thought, Li Chengqian said, "Have the Imperial Censor Sun Fujia go to the foot of Mount Li immediately. Accompany him, Dou Dexuan and Li Xiaoyi, the General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guards, to the camp of Li Junxian, the General of the Right Guards. Have them contact our father. Everything will be subject to the Imperial Censor's orders."

"Your Highness?" Xu An looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Too many people have seen this, it can't be hidden."

"Yes!" Xu An immediately bowed, turned around and left the hall.

Li Chengqian stood on the steps of Chongde Hall, looking at the gradually darkening night sky above his head, and hearing the sound of the evening drum that was about to reach the end.

He shook his head slightly. In this matter, he should actually do nothing.

In this way, when Li Zhi rebelled, he was the one waiting behind the scenes.

But Tian Ren would do this unnecessarily, forcing him to take action. This would actually be the most beneficial, as his father would still be in control of everything in the end.

Li Chengqian sighed softly.

Zhinu, you have to put in more effort.

……

The stars are shining and the night sky is charming.

At the foot of Mount Li, three hundred cavalrymen rushed from Chang'an City.

Li Zhi looked at the main gate of the Hot Spring Palace two miles ahead, then calmly stopped his horse.

Tian Renhui followed on one side and couldn't help but look at the dozen or so war horses running out of the camp on the east side, and his eyes couldn't help but jump.

"Your Highness, Li Junxian's men are here?" Tian Renhui bowed to Li Zhi with a serious expression.

Li Junxian was ordered to lead 3,000 right guard cavalry to camp at the foot of Mount Li to suppress the four directions and protect the emperor.

There are still a thousand guards on the mountain.

There were still five hundred Jinwu Guards patrolling back and forth on the official road from Chang'an to Mount Li.

It was impossible to capture Mount Li with just the 300 cavalrymen brought by Li Zhi.

Even if we add the five hundred Jinwu Guards, it is still not enough.

Not to mention, the first person they need to face now is Li Junxian.

The one who arrived was a Right Guard General, leading ten of his cavalrymen. He quickly arrived in front of Li Zhi and Tian Renhui, then solemnly bowed and said, "I, Right Guard General Pei Su, greet Your Highness the Prince of Jin and the Duke of Xindu. I'm here to ask why Your Highness and the Duke are here."

If there were only thirty or fifty riders going to the Hot Spring Palace, they would naturally be stopped and questioned by the palace guards, but if there were only three hundred riders, that would be their own business.

"By order of the Crown Prince." Li Zhi opened his mouth and Tian Renhui looked at him in disbelief.

Li Zhi turned sideways to look at Pei Su and asked, "Did Princess Gaoyang go to the hot spring palace just now?"

"Yes!" Pei Su raised his eyebrows, and understood in his heart that this was the princess's business.

They saw it clearly just now. Princess Gaoyang led thirty riders to rush straight to the Hot Spring Palace and clashed with the guards of the Imperial Guard for a while. Then Princess Gaoyang entered the Hot Spring Palace with three guards.

There have always been many rumors about Princess Gaoyang's savagery in Chang'an City.

Li Zhi nodded and asked, "How much do you know about Master Bianji's disappearance in Sanmenxia?"

Pei Su's face darkened, and he bowed and said, "Didn't Master Bianji return to Chang'an?"

"Back to Chang'an?" Li Zhi was stunned, then said, "Back to Chang'an if you want. Pass on the Crown Prince's order: No Right Guards may be deployed in Wenquan Palace tonight without His Majesty's order... Pei Qing, I will leave half of my men here, and you will lead the guards.

Before dawn tomorrow, if anyone comes down from the mountain without the emperor's order, stop them first."

At this point, Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh: "Gao Yang!"

"I obey your command." Pei Su didn't dare let Li Zhi continue. If he heard something he shouldn't, it would be troublesome.

He had heard of Princess Gaoyang's ridiculous stories before.

Especially from his name, you can tell that he is from the Pei family of Hedong, and some of his things are exactly the topics of conversation among people like them.

"Duke Xindu, let's go." Li Zhi turned sideways and looked at Tian Renhui.

Tian Renhui came back to his senses and immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

The gate of the Hot Spring Palace is in the distance.

There were flickering lights at the palace gates and in the military camps.

You can vaguely see that the entire hot spring palace is rising up the mountain, and the outermost layer of the city wall is just a wall.

There are military camps and patrolling guards outside the palace to protect it.

"Your Highness used only 150 cavalrymen to tie down Li Junxian's 3,000 cavalrymen. It was indeed a stroke of genius. But does Your Highness really think that with just the remaining 150 cavalrymen, we can control the entire Hot Spring Palace?" Tian Renhui looked sideways at Li Zhi with an ugly expression.

Li Zhi smiled softly and said, "Lord, although the Hot Spring Palace has nearly a thousand guards of various kinds, at least half of them have already returned to the camp. The rest must guard the city gates carefully. Therefore, as long as we are fast enough, it will not be a problem to break into the Changsheng Palace. The real trouble lies in breaking into the Changsheng Palace, but..."

"But what?" Tian Renhui asked subconsciously.

"Who said we only have one hundred and fifty people?" Li Zhi smiled, and then brought Tian Renhui to the main gate of the Hot Spring Palace.

"By order of the Crown Prince, I present to Your Majesty!" Li Zhi repeated the same words. He handed the long sword hanging from his waist to the guard and asked in a low voice, "How long has Princess Gaoyang been inside?"

"Your Highness, it's been two hours." The guard's mouth twitched slightly, and he did not doubt Li Zhi.

Princess Gaoyang brought people to the Hot Spring Palace two hours ago and rushed directly to the city gate, which really scared everyone.

They almost killed someone.

Later, Princess Gaoyang was summoned by His Majesty and made a big fuss, but unfortunately, His Majesty had already fallen asleep, and it was Chu Suiliang who forcibly suppressed Princess Gaoyang.

Some of the words here inevitably leaked out.

At this time, most people were talking about Princess Gaoyang and Bian Ji, and some even brought up some rumors from Chang'an City.

There is also the relationship between Princess Gaoyang, Fang Yiai, and Fang Xuanling.

"This Gaoyang!" Li Zhi sighed lightly and walked through the palace gate. In front of him was the Jinyang Gate.

From Jinyang Gate to Wannian Hall, although one has to pass through several gates in the middle, there are actually not many obstacles. The only ones that were truly blocked by Li Zhi are Jinyang Gate and Zhaoyang Gate.

Darkness enveloped the area, the patrolling guards in the distance gradually walked away, and the Jinyang Gate opposite was vaguely visible.

The torches were scattered, and one could vaguely see some people on the Jinyang Gate, but the faces of most people could not be seen.

Tian Renhui stood beside Li Zhi, his expression becoming serious: "Your Highness!"

At the outermost gate of the Hot Spring Palace, most of their people would be stopped, and only three or five people with official positions would be allowed to enter the Hot Spring Palace with Li Zhi, but with them... A "puff" sound suddenly came from behind, and Tian Renhui was stunned, because he was too familiar with this sound.

The sound of swords, no, there was also the sound of crossbows firing.

Countless similar voices rang out, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps...

People have already fought their way to the city gate.

The low and swift sounds of fighting ended completely in a very short time.

Didn't alarm anyone.

The speed was so fast that even the patrolling generals at the opposite Jinyang Gate, Jinyang Gate and the palace gate did not notice it.

Tian Renhui turned around stiffly, and then saw that dozens of gatekeepers at the city gate had fallen in a pool of blood.

There are swords and crossbows.

But there are more crossbow arrows.

Dozens of well-trained people carried out the cleansing and occupied the palace gates at the same time.

Everything was done skillfully, as if he had practiced it countless times.

"The Hot Spring Palace really has the same omissions as the Jiucheng Palace!" Li Zhi's calm and emotional voice made Tian Renhui shudder.

Li Zhi turned around, looked at Tian Renhui, and said, "Jun Gong, do you still remember what happened at Jiucheng Palace?"

"Yes!" Tian Renhui has completely understood.

Jiucheng Palace, in April of the 13th year of Zhenguan, the emperor visited Jiucheng Palace.

Ashina Jieshe, the General of the Right Guard, led more than 40 assassins and planned to attack Jiucheng Palace at night while Li Zhi was meeting the emperor. If Li Zhi had not been delayed by one day due to illness, he might have succeeded.

Hot Spring Palace and Jiucheng Palace are the same.

The emperor came here temporarily to stay for a few days, and the guards were not familiar with the environment here at all.

Taking advantage of such an opportunity and making a quick breakthrough may actually lead to success.

Li Zhi's desperate gamble this time was not a delusion, but a lesson learned from previous experiences.

Similarly, from the actions of those people just now, it is enough to see that Li Zhi has prepared for today countless times.

……

"Lord of the County." Li Zhi took the long sword from a guard on the side, then looked at Tian Renhui and said, "Lord of the County, please guard the city gate yourself. No guards outside the palace are allowed to enter the palace. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed."

"Yes!" Tian Renhui's mouth twitched slightly.

Li Zhi smiled and said calmly, "My Lord, remember, this is the Crown Prince's order."

"Yes!" Tian Renhui lowered his head stiffly. He had not expected that Li Zhi was not only ruthless, but also had a sinister mind.
"Let's go, we don't have much time." Li Zhi walked forward calmly. Ji Jiafu, dressed in red and golden armor, brought ten guards in red and golden armor to escort Li Zhi towards Jinyang Gate.

Tian Renhui stood at the city gate, watching Li Zhi go away. When he turned around, he was shocked to find that all the people at the city gate were his personal soldiers, less than 30 people.

Half of the people brought by Li Zhi climbed up the city gate, and the other half hid outside the city.

Once someone comes, Tian Ren will be the one to face them immediately.

It's not difficult.

Because Tian Renhui had guarded the palace gates, Zhuque Gate, Chengtian Gate, and even Xuanwu Gate for the emperor more than once.

This is how Li Zhi uses him today.

Not only did he have to suppress all 500 guards outside the city, but he also had to deal with the guards patrolling back and forth between the gate of Wenquan Palace and Jinyang Gate.

Tian Renhui's face was full of gritted teeth.

If he didn't react properly, the crossbow arrows above his head would immediately shoot down.

Tian Renhui looked at Li Zhi and sighed softly, Prince Jin, please hurry up.

Prince, you should hurry up too.

……

Jinyangmen.

The commander of the imperial guards saw Li Zhi approaching the gate and looked towards the palace gate in surprise, but the guards were patrolling as normal.

Li Zhi took the badge from his waist and handed it to the guard, saying, "I am here by order of the Crown Prince to see His Majesty. I hope Princess Gaoyang has not disturbed His Majesty."

The guard was slightly stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief and said subconsciously: "No, His Majesty has gone to bed, Princess..."

"The fire is breaking out!" A dozen chaotic shouts suddenly came from inside the Jinyang Gate. It could be vaguely seen that a palace in the northwest was on fire.

"Hurry up and put out the fire." Li Zhi grabbed the guard and said anxiously, "Put out the fire quickly and don't disturb my father."

The guard's face tightened and he immediately ordered his men to put out the fire.

A group of imperial guards rushed directly towards the fire, and the imperial guard commander turned anxiously to look at Li Zhi...

With a "swish", a long sword pierced into his chest.

Li Zhi calmly pushed the man to the ground. When he raised his head, all the guards at the palace gates on both sides had been killed by crossbows.

It was at this time that outside the main gate of the Hot Spring Palace, a team of cavalry rushed directly towards the Jinyang Gate and rushed in.

At the same time, more flames were blazing all over the hot spring palace.

The entire palace guard was in complete chaos.

"Tell the Duke of Xindu to personally pass the order outside the city, asking the guards at all gates to guard the gates carefully and not to move rashly." Li Zhi looked sideways at Ji Jiafu. Ji Jiafu bowed, then quickly passed the order away. At this time, Tian Renhui could no longer escape.

The sounds of firefighting and shouting mixed together, making it impossible to tell what was happening.

Li Zhi raised his head, looked towards the Wannian Palace, and said softly, "Father, you should wake up now."

A burst of hurried footsteps came from the front, and a circle of white silk cloth tied around the left arm could be vaguely seen.

In the darkness, Xue Yuanchao, accompanied by a green-robed official and a dozen guards, walked quickly to Li Zhi.

"Cousin, why are you here? Shouldn't you be accompanying Xue Rengui at Zhaoyang Gate?" Li Zhi's face became serious.

"Princess Gaoyang caused trouble, and General Xue summoned Prime Minister Chu. I was also expelled, but Prime Minister Chu passed on the emperor's secret decree." Xue Yuanchao stepped aside slightly, took the yellow silk paper from the green-robed Guangyuan, and said to Li Zhi, "The emperor's decree orders the crown prince and all officials in Chang'an not to act rashly."

"Your servant Li Zhi accepts the order." Li Zhi looked up and met Xue Yuanchao's eyes. Both of them could not suppress their excitement in their eyes.

The prince is finished.

(End of this chapter)