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

Chapter 417: The Emperor Wants to Be the Next Heavenly Khan (Part )

"Li Jing, no, the Emperor." Lu Dongzan looked up at Lun Qinling, his face pale as he gritted his teeth and said, "It was the Emperor who sent Li Jing to the northwest. He was heading for the Zamp."

"Father, how is this possible? This is impossible." Gar Qinling stepped forward and whispered, "Father, the emperor has just ascended the throne. How dare he start a war so easily?"

"The Heavenly Khan is still here." Lu Dongzan took a deep breath and said, "As long as the Heavenly Khan is still here, the Tang army is at our disposal. And Li Jing, the emperor is planning to take advantage of this opportunity to establish his authority in the northwest. He wants to become the second Heavenly Khan."

"Father." Gar Qinling quickly waved his hand and said, "Father, not to mention that Chang'an City and the entire Tang Dynasty are peaceful now, they have no signs of mobilizing troops. Besides, even if they want to mobilize troops, they need a reason."

Lu Dongzan stared at his son and asked, "What did you say before?"

"What did you say?" Qin Ling was stunned for a moment, then recalled, but in an instant, his face turned pale: "My son said that the Zamp should lead troops to the northwest to pick us up."

"If the Zamp had reported his intention to fetch us, he would have brought at most 10,000 or 20,000 cavalrymen with him. But now that Li Jing has arrived in the northwest, how many troops do you think he has available?"

"Ten thousand or twenty thousand?" Qin Ling looked up cautiously.

"Basically 10,000 or 20,000. But once he shows up, Tuyuhun's people can be mobilized, so it won't just be 10,000 or 20,000. Then, the Zamp's forces will be completely destroyed." Lu Dongzan's expression eased a little, and then he said, "So we... are wrong, wrong, wrong!"

"Dad, what's wrong?" Qin Ling looked at Lu Dongzan with some worry and confusion.

"That's wrong!" Lu Dongzan waved his hand and said bluntly, "The Emperor does intend to mobilize troops. He has also re-employed Li Jing. Even the Tang soldiers and generals are relatively obedient now. They should not be underestimated. But if the Zanpu leads 100,000 cavalry to attack us and engage in a face-to-face battle, he may be able to directly break through Songzhou and Lanzhou and penetrate the heart of the Tang Dynasty. Then not only will we be able to escape, but Tubo will also have an absolute advantage over the Tang Dynasty in the future."

"Father!"

"The emperor does have the intention of mobilizing troops to establish his authority, but it's just a gesture of authority. He's too young, and even if he wants to, he wouldn't dare to mobilize a large force." Lu Dongzan clenched his fist and said with a cold look, "Then this time, we will teach him a lesson, teach him what war is like."

"Yes!" Qin Ling nodded vigorously.

"Five things!" Lu Dongzan suddenly turned to look at Gar Qinling and said, "First, find four replacements. One will stay at the embassy for you, one will accompany the group back to Tubo, one will leave first, and one will leave later. If all three who leave Chang'an die, it means the emperor really wants to keep us."

Use three lives to test the strength of the Tang Dynasty's defenses.

Only the one who stays in the embassy may have better luck.

Gar Qinling nodded. He knew that he would probably have to hide for a while.

"Secondly, send people to check Chang'an and the movements of several large granaries nearby to see if there is any food or weapons. A large number of troops are being transferred to the northwest. Find out the exact number." Lu Dongzan's face became calm. If the Tang Dynasty wanted to go to war, it was most important to find out the scale of the Tang Dynasty's mobilization.

"Third, find a way to send a message to Goguryeo and ask them to make some noise in the northeast. This way, we will have less pressure." Having said that, Lu Dongzan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father." Gar Qinling's face was still worried. He said with some regret, "If only we hadn't done that back then."

"This has nothing to do with that." Lu Dongzan looked up at Gar Qinling and said, "Our original plan was that the emperor, in anger, would depose the crown prince. The crown prince, unable to contain his anger, would force the emperor to abdicate. No matter who lived or died, it would be beneficial to Tubo."

Qin Ling nodded. This was indeed their original plan.

"But who could have thought that they, father and son, would reconcile. The Khan suddenly abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor, while the prince directly ascended the throne and became the Emperor." Lu Dongzan gritted his teeth for a moment.

Li Shimin's magnanimity and Li Chengqian's forbearance.

All of this was far beyond their original expectations.

"Father, this isn't right!" Gar Qinling suddenly looked up, staring straight at Lu Dongzan and said, "Our plan didn't succeed. If that's the case, why did the emperor suddenly abdicate? Could it be that our plan succeeded?"

"It seems very likely now." Lu Dongzan nodded thoughtfully and said, "Father initially thought so too. After all, when the emperor ascended the throne, the retired emperor seemed fine. But if you think about it carefully, there are still many unnatural things. So the retired emperor must have been very ill, so seriously ill that he had to abdicate."

After a brief pause, Lu Dongzan looked up and said, "The most likely scenario is that the coup has already occurred, and neither we nor anyone else noticed it."

"What father meant was that the retired emperor was forced to abdicate." Gar Qinling felt inexplicably cold all over.

Lu Dongzan nodded and continued, "So, what we need to do next is to find out the health of the retired emperor, and then decide what to do next. If the retired emperor is really ill and the Zamp leads a large army to attack, the Tang Dynasty may really be in chaos."

"Yes!" Gar Qinling couldn't help but look excited.

……

"If all those people who went back to Tubo on your behalf are dead, then you must be prepared to stay in Chang'an until the end of the year, and then be prepared to follow the princess back to Tubo after the Fengshan ceremony." Lu Dongzan raised his head slightly.

"But..." Gar Qinling's face was filled with worry again. He looked at Lu Dongzan and said, "Father, the Qianniu Guards are investigating very strictly. If they really find out something, it will be troublesome."

The reason why Gar Qinling was unwilling to stay in Chang'an and wanted to return to Tubo was because of the incident in the palace. Although they had killed the witnesses in time, the emperor was still investigating.

Moreover, the emperor was not in a hurry. He spent a lot of manpower and resources, kept a close eye on the case, and investigated it carefully without any haste.

Although they have killed people to silence them, every action will leave clues behind, and it is impossible to completely eliminate them.

So as long as he is given time, the emperor will definitely be able to find clues about Gar Qinling.

Then, it will be time to catch him and kill him.

Even Lu Dongzan would be arrested. It was because of the princess and Tubo that they couldn't act too directly, otherwise, they would have died long ago.

This is Chang'an after all!

This was also the reason why the emperor wanted to trap Gar Qinling to death in Chang'an.

He could either stay in Chang'an and wait for evidence to be found and for him to be tried and killed, or he could flee Chang'an now and be killed on the road.

……

"So, the fourth thing is to silence them." Lu Dongzan looked at his son with a cold look in his eyes. "The only one who truly knows your identity is that person. The only one who knows about this matter is the remnant of Prince Yin's party. If we silence them all, no one will be able to find out about you."

"But, Father, we're being watched very closely right now." Qin Ling said with a worried look on his face, "If we go and get some information now, maybe no one will care. But if we really kill someone, I'm afraid we'll be caught right away... And Prince Yin's gang won't be easy to kill!"

"So, if all those people we sent back to Tubo really died on the way, then you can go to the Imperial College to study." Lu Dongzan sighed and said, "Go to the princess and ask her to find a way to send you to the Imperial College. Then, from there, you can contact others and use it as a cover to kill people."

There are many people in the Imperial College, and each of them has a different status, so even the Qianniu Guards find it difficult to monitor them all.

Even the people in the Imperial College were very fixed, and it was very difficult for outsiders to enter the Imperial College without being discovered.

"The Imperial College is the best cover. With the cover of the Imperial College and the help of my men, if you still can't kill all those people in half a year, then when the Tang Dynasty traces it back to you, don't blame your father for killing you for the sake of justice." Lu Dongzan's eyes were cold, but there was a hint of reluctance on his face.

In other words, when the situation really becomes unavoidable, Lu Dongzan will not be able to help but use Gar Qinling as a scapegoat.

In this way, as long as Gar Qinling took all the responsibility himself, Lu Dongzan would be able to return to Tubo with Princess Wencheng.

"Yes!" Qin Ling's expression changed slightly, and then he bowed.

"And more." Lu Dongzan was slightly stunned, and continued, "When you arrive at the Imperial College, you can use the princess's name to interact with the children of the Tang Dynasty's noble families, especially the children of princes and princesses. You will be able to find out some of Cuiwei Palace's secrets. You can even bring people to Cuiwei Palace at critical moments."

"Father!" Gar Qinling was instantly shocked.

Lu Dongzan took a deep breath and said, "Investigate the situation in the Tang army. If the emperor really wants to follow the example of Tian Khan and go to war with Tubo again, then if Tian Khan dies of illness during the battle, the front line will be affected, and we can only win. This is also the fifth thing we must do in Chang'an."

"Yes!" Gar Qinling bowed solemnly. If this battle really happened, it would definitely be a war that would determine the fate of the two countries, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, in the next twenty years. No one could neglect it.

It's worth paying any price.

……

Lu Dongzan returned to his room somewhat tired.

Sitting on the short couch, he picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of strong tea, then raised his head and looked outside the room.

He needs to think carefully about what to do next.

Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

And his son, Gar Qinling.

Naturally, he didn't want his son to die, but how to save him, their own actions were important, and the attitude of the emperor sitting on the imperial couch was also important.

After a long time, Lu Dongzan took the letter paper and began to write.

No matter what, the affairs of Chang'an must be reported to the Zamp.

Especially when the two families have not yet completely torn their relations apart, communication will not be hindered.

From time to time, Lu Dongzan picked up the dark tea and took a sip.

Before I knew it, I had already written three full pages.

He had finished a cup of tea, but for some reason, Lu Dongzan didn't feel sleepy at all.

He walked back to the bed, lay down, and looked up to think carefully about Li Chengqian.

What kind of person is the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty?

The Tang Dynasty will start with Tubo, and he will be a person that all the high-level officials of Tubo will need to think carefully about in the future.

The candle flame went out with a puff.

Only a hint of dark red light flashed by the edge of the teacup on the short couch and long table.

Gone in a flash.

(End of this chapter)