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

Chapter 412: Even an old and sick tiger can bite someone to death

On June 19th, the retired emperor set out for Cuiwei Palace in Zhongnan Mountain to recuperate.

Early in the morning, Li Chengqian and Su Shu sat on the imperial sedan chair and took Li Xiang, Li Jue, Li Yu and Princess Ankang out of Xianchun Gate.

Li Anyan stood outside the door and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty!"

The imperial carriage stopped, and Li Chengqian looked up and asked, "What happened?"

"Everything has been arranged. Eight hundred imperial guards have entered Cuiwei Palace. Five thousand Right Guards are stationed at the foot of the mountain. There are also Jinwu Guards patrolling back and forth. Thousand Oxen Guards have been infiltrated throughout the area to ensure that no one can sneak in." Li Anyan bowed and said, "The Emperor is in no danger at Cuiwei Palace."

"That's good." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's go and pick up our father."

"Yes!" Li Anyan took a step back and followed Li Chengqian, the queen, and several princes towards Ganlu Gate.

He and Dou Zhijie opposite him looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

The emperor is safe.

The Imperial Guards and the Thousand Oxen Guards that followed were all under the charge of Li Anyan, while the eunuchs and palace maids that followed were all under the charge of Dou Zhijie.

A moment later, the group arrived at Ganlu Sect.

At the Ganlu Gate, General Chai Zhewei of the Imperial Guard and General Li Xuansi of the Imperial Guard were leading their men to guard both sides of the palace gate.

Seeing the emperor arrive, the two men immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian nodded and asked, "How is Father?"

"Your Majesty is already making preparations." Chai Zhewei bowed his head with a solemn expression.

Now, the tiger talisman is in the hands of the emperor.

The North Gate Guards were completely under the emperor's control.

However, from the time he ascended the throne to the present day, the emperor has not made any major changes to the imperial guards.

Except for transferring some young captains of the imperial guards to Xianchun Gate and other gates in the palace, there were no changes to the other commanders, lieutenants, and lieutenants.

Not to mention generals and great generals.

The emperor was in control of the imperial guards, but he was doing it with the gentlest means.

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Xuansi, and Li Xuansi bowed.

Li Chengqian then looked at Chai Zhewei and said, "Cousin, when the emperor goes to Cuiwei Palace, Xue Qing will go with him. When the time comes, you will go guard the Xuanwu Gate."

Chai Zhewei looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, then immediately bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then waved his hand, and the imperial carriage continued to move forward.

Pass through the Ganlu Gate and arrive at the Ganlu Hall.

The guards followed closely behind.

……

Li Shimin sat back on the soft cushions in the rocking carriage and looked at Li Chengqian. "Your Majesty, have you heard about the visit from Prince Wu, Prince Ji, and the others?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "It is normal for several of my brothers to come to the palace to visit Mother. Your Majesty, don't worry. I am still hoping that after your health improves, you will give me more brothers."

After Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan became the Supreme Emperor, he gave birth to several sons and daughters in succession.

This gave Li Shimin several more younger brothers.

Hearing Li Chengqian say this to him, Li Shimin couldn't help laughing for a moment.

Wu Meiniang, who was kneeling beside her, also laughed softly.

The retired emperor only brought her with him on this trip to Cuiwei Palace in Zhongnan Mountain.

"You can handle the affairs in the palace." Li Shimin smiled relaxedly. The reason he said that just now was that he was actually considering dismissing the concubines in the harem.

Even if not all of the concubines, at least some of them.

When he was the emperor, he was naturally the one who took care of these concubines, but now he is the emperor emeritus.

The Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Household, and the Ministry of Finance were all controlled by Li Chengqian. Whether Li Chengqian would pay the money or not was another matter.

It's like an ordinary family. The father gives the power to manage the family to his son. Although the father can use his private money, he can no longer touch the money in the public housing account.

But what Li Chengqian said just now clearly told him that Li Chengqian was responsible for the affairs in the harem.

All expenses, as before, were paid by the Shaofu and Neifu.

Of course, no matter what, in the past, when the concubines in the palace had some secret matters that required money, they also took this route. No one investigated before, but now that Li Chengqian is the emperor, some people have to restrain themselves more or less.

If they don't restrain themselves now, Li Chengqian alone can put them in a life-or-death dilemma, without having to wait until the emperor dies.

But that was for other people. For the retired emperor, Li Chengqian would be seriously responsible for all his expenses.

"By the way, how is the situation with Lu Dongzan?" Li Shimin raised his head slightly.

"He was startled." Li Chengqian chuckled softly and said, "I said I want to continue to hold the Fengshan Ceremony for my father and ask them to stay in Chang'an for another six months, waiting until after the New Year's Day court next year before leaving the capital. In addition, An Yan has been openly investigating and closing in step by step. Lu Dongzan has been frightened."

"A guilty conscience." Li Shimin's eyes turned cold.

"Yes," Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yesterday, Lu Dongzan submitted a memorial, requesting that I send his son, Gar Qinling, back to Tubo to report the important events in Chang'an to Songtsen."

"You won't let Gar Qinling leave, right?" Li Shimin saw through Li Chengqian's thoughts. "Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded calmly, saying, "Those people are guilty. If I keep them under control for a few more days, Lu Dongzan might allow Gar Qinling to sneak out of the capital. By then..."

"At that time, you will send someone to kill Gar Qinling." Li Shimin nodded calmly.

"If it weren't for me, Gar Qinling might have died at the hands of bandits in the mountains, or perhaps contracted an illness on the Tuyuhun Plateau." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "But no matter what, his death will have nothing to do with the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty won't even know the cause of his death."

"What about Lu Dongzan?" Li Shimin continued to ask.

"Six months later, when he leaves Chang'an and returns to Tubo, I will have him take a letter to Songtsen. The Hundred Cavalry Division has already begun administering a slow-moving poison to Lu Dongzan. Any long, bumpy journey will cause the poison to enter his stomach." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian continued, "I will try to make him die in front of Songtsen, vomiting blood before him. This will be the outcome of their conspiracy."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, and suddenly sighed softly, and asked, "Have you been poisoned now?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly. This is the Tang Dynasty, this is Chang'an. If they come to Chang'an and stay there restlessly and make some unnecessary moves, they will have to bear the consequences of their unnecessary moves.

Li Chengqian didn't even understand, were they really not afraid of him turning the table over?
"Once the two of them die in Chang'an, Songtsen will lead his troops down the plateau. What will you do?" Li Shimin revealed Lu Dongzan's real reliance in one sentence.

In the 12th year of Zhenguan, after invading Tuyuhun and Dangxiang, Songtsen Gampo gathered an army of 200,000 and marched towards Songzhou.

Now, Tuyuhun and Dangxiang are both in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, but if Songtsen really wants to get angry, he can easily prepare 60,000 to 70,000 elite cavalry.

This is what Lu Dongzan relies on.

"Songtsen wouldn't want a major war." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, his eyes clear as he spoke. "Songtsen lost his only son, leaving only a one-year-old grandson. If he led his troops down the plateau, Lhasa would be vulnerable. Even if he did leave the plateau, without Lu Dongzan and his son, Songtsen's chances of victory wouldn't be high."

"What about you?" Li Shimin continued to ask.

"Wang Fangyi, the military officer of Songzhou, is quite capable strategically," Li Chengqian said with a smile. "With Pei Xingfang and Liu Fan in Chengdu, if a war really breaks out, we should be able to hold out until the main force arrives."

"Wang Fangyi." Li Shimin nodded slowly and looked at Li Chengqian in amazement: "Your ability to judge people is better than mine."

"I dare not." Li Chengqian paused for a moment and said, "In Lanzhou, Xi Junmai and Xue Wanbei can hold out for a while. Together with Li Xiyu of Shazhou, Guo Xiaoke of Anxi, and Zheng Rentai, it won't be a problem to hold out for a while. After that, at worst, I can ask the Duke of Wei to come out again."

Li Jing, Li Jing.

Li Chengqian's biggest trump card is Li Jing.

Li Zhi could not control Li Jing, but Li Chengqian could.

Li Jing's eldest son, Li Dejian, was Li Chengqian's absolute confidant in the Eastern Palace.

"The Duke of Weiguo once led an army to defeat Tuyuhun. He knows all too well about the problems on the plateau. If Songtsen Gampo really dares to mobilize his troops..." Li Shimin shook his head and mourned for Songtsen Gampo in his heart. Once his heir started to plot against someone, he would use endless means.

Not to mention that he had been keeping an eye on Tubo since the 14th year of Zhenguan.

The Eastern Palace has too many people in the northwest.

Many of them were even deliberately let go by Li Shimin.

Once the war broke out, Songtsen Gampo, unprepared and filled with rage, led his troops down the plateau, and there was only one result.

He will lose miserably.

Then came what Li Chengqian had said, that is, to dismember Tubo step by step and completely destroy the country.

"Songtsen is unprepared." Li Shimin suddenly looked up at Li Chengqian and said, "Songtsen's eyes are now on India. If he suddenly turns to attack the Tang Dynasty, many things will be unprepared, especially since he came down from the plateau to take the initiative to fight. You wait for him to tire himself out, and Songtsen will be in big trouble... No, you calculated all this from the moment you attacked Lu Dongzan."

When Li Chengqian began to poison Lu Dongzan, he had already calculated the ultimate consequences of all this.

Li Chengqian nodded gently and said, "If they hadn't acted recklessly and angered me, I wouldn't have done this."

Li Shimin fell silent. Although his misfortune was somewhat coincidental, it was fundamentally Lu Dongzan's plan. Li Chengqian's revenge was reasonable.

Especially when he figures it all out.

"If the Tang Dynasty had taken the initiative to attack Tubo, then I would naturally need a few more years to prepare." Li Chengqian shook his head calmly and said, "But now that Songtsen is unprepared, I am prepared instead. Half a year is enough for me to deploy sufficient troops in the rear of Yizhou and Lanzhou, and then defeat Tubo completely in one battle."

"Songtsen is a smart man. He won't be ambushed so easily." Li Shimin raised his head slightly and said, "The battlefield is dangerous and the situation is ever-changing. He should have a chance, but if it's Li Jing facing him, he won't have any chance at all. He will retreat."

"But Songtsen's health is not very good." Li Chengqian smiled lightly and said, "As long as I can drag Lu Dongzan and Gar Qinling to death in Chang'an, Songtsen will be even more tired in Lhasa. The more tired he is, the worse his health will be, and as a result..."

"Die!" Li Shimin nodded gently and said, "Once Songtsen dies, Tubo will be in chaos. The key to suppressing Tubo is Lu Dongzan. If he gets angry and really uses a large army to force you to release the people... But, Cheng Qian, are you really ready for war?"

Li Shimin could see that although Li Chengqian had already made plans, he still left some hope in his heart.

This will cause trouble.

"Tomorrow, I will immediately appoint the Duke of Weiguo as the Inspector General of the Northwest Road, and send him to the northwest." Li Chengqian said with a stern expression, "I will also order the Yizhou Military Governor's Office to prepare troops, military provisions, and military equipment, ready for immediate support. Finally, in Chang'an, I will have the Minister of Revenue, Yan Lide, begin transporting food and fodder to Lanzhou, and he will also obey the Duke of Weiguo's orders."

Yan Lide was also a general. He served under Li Jing and was also a good general.

"The Tang Dynasty is fully prepared for war." Li Shimin's expression calmed down, and then he said, "Songtsen will also send troops to test the waters. Be prepared for a battle. Tuyuhun and Dangxiang must be controlled in advance."

"It's under control." Li Chengqian nodded. His first target was still Tuyuhun.

"Better be careful." Li Shimin gently closed his eyes and said, "Even an old and sick tiger can bite someone to death in its final moments."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian's expression became solemn, and the last bit of hope in his heart was completely extinguished.

Wu Meiniang knelt behind Li Shimin and watched the whole process.

She watched with her own eyes as Li Chengqian's aura gradually changed from elation and complacency to cold and murderous.

At this moment, Li Chengqian suddenly looked up and cast a cold gaze on Wu Meiniang.

She couldn't help but shudder.

(End of this chapter)