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

Chapter 514: The Heroine Replaces the Tang Dynasty, the Truth of the Prophecy (Part )

Li Chengqian knocked on the table, the sound of "bang bang bang" made people anxious.

Zhang Ananda's expression became serious.

The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations.

From Emperor Gaozu, to Emperor Taizong, to Li Chengqian.

He is the third generation.

According to this prophecy, the throne that will be replaced by someone else is Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian's expression subsided, and he spoke slowly, "What happened with Concubine Xu shows that she is quite scheming. If she stays with the Empress, I worry about something happening to the princes and princesses. If I let her leave the palace, I worry about letting a tiger back into the wild. Do you have any solution to ease my uneasiness?"

The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and was replaced by a female warrior.

If this prophecy really happened to Wu Meiniang, she would be the biggest hidden danger to the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, how about..." Zhang Ananda stretched out his hand and slashed lightly.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Firstly, she is my father's concubine. It would be unlucky for me to kill her before my father's body is even cold. Secondly, if she is really just a pawn, killing her will shift destiny, and we don't know who will be the next one. If I keep her alive, I might be able to follow her to find the real culprit. Then, the matter in Shu may not be successful."

"Yuan Tiangang." Zhang Ananda slowly lowered his head.

If Yuan Tiangang was really the one behind all this, then he would definitely not be that easy to deal with.

"It's destiny." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious, and he said, "Destiny is unpredictable, so I will not release her from the palace."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda nodded. After a moment's silence, he said, "Concubine Su is newly pregnant and still a long way from giving birth. She is the one who is taking care of the Queen's children. After all, they are still in mourning for the late Emperor. Even if Concubine Wu does anything, it will be difficult."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Use this excuse to keep her here for now. After the late emperor's mourning period is over, you can either build a temple in the palace and imprison her there. Or, you can actually have her take care of the princes and princesses on behalf of the empress." Zhang Ananda bowed and said seriously, "I can guarantee that she is surrounded by your Majesty's spies. Even the slightest movement she makes will be under constant surveillance."

"So be it." Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction. With someone watching Wu Meiniang all the time and for her whole life, she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed slightly.

……

In the study, Li Chengqian put all the secret books back into the secret box one by one.

Then hid it in a secret compartment.

Lock it again.

In this secret box, a small part is about the investigation into the fact that "Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and Wu replaced Tang Dynasty".

Wu Meiniang and Li Ke are among them.

Li Junxian is one of them.

Li Shimin knew very early on that it was unlikely to be Li Junxian.

The reason why he attacked Li Junxian was that he wanted to see if there were any extra people involved in Li Junxian's incident.

But unfortunately, the result was no.

Those people were more patient than he thought.

Of course, there are many more suspects under investigation.

Most of them were innocent and were let off, but there were also some evil people who were killed.

The remaining majority is Li Shimin's personal evaluation of all senior officials during Taizong's reign, as well as some of their mistakes.

Although the mistakes were not serious, when necessary, Li Chengqian only needed to make them reflect on their mistakes temporarily, and he would be able to gain the initiative.

Being confined to reflect on one's mistakes is not a light punishment.

If someone does not follow the rules and meets outsiders while reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors, he can be directly demoted or even dismissed on the grounds of disrespecting the imperial power and harboring evil intentions.

After packing up his things, Li Chengqian slowly stood up.

There are two rows of bookshelves on both sides of the study.

One row contains memorials written by retired local officials. They played a great role in helping Li Shimin control local affairs and prevent him from being deceived by local officials and clerks.

One row is the personnel arranged by Li Shimin outside the secret guards. Some of these people are mid-level assistant officers in various royal palaces, some are local recorders and military officers, and some are kings and prime ministers of some small countries.

Before he knew it, Li Chengqian had reached the last row of bookshelves.

He was slightly startled, and saw that the last row of the bookshelf was empty.

A closer look reveals from the barely detectable traces of dust that there once was a row of books on it, but now, all these books are gone.

Looking at the traces of dust, the lost time is both new and old.

The old one is about a few years old, and the new one is not now, but it is not too long ago either.

Did Li Shimin place people somewhere and then eliminate them himself?

Since we've already placed people there, there's no need to clear...

Li Chengqian was stunned.

……

He slowly turned around, walked to the table and sat down, then raised his head, closed his eyes, and looked painful.

Who else could be a target worthy of Li Shimin placing people there, only to be eliminated by him in the end?

Li Tai, Li Zhi, and Li Chengqian.

Li Tai and Li Zhi were completely defeated in the fight for the throne, and there was no need to place people around them.

As for Li Chengqian, he has already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, so there is actually no need to keep the people around him.

After Li Chengqian ascended the throne, these people were completely loyal to him.

Li Chengqian's consciousness told him that he should find out the identities of these people and then investigate them, but deep down he didn't have the slightest desire to investigate.

Although these people were placed by Li Shimin around him before, they actually didn't do much to harm him when they were by his side.

And most importantly, Li Chengqian probably knows the identities of these people.

Take Qin Huaidao for example.

Although he was the Prince's Thousand Oxen Guard Commander of Li Chengqian, he was actually not a member of Li Chengqian's core circle.

Not much is known about Li Chengqian's core secrets.

He is now the governor of Changzhou.

He was conscientious in administration and capable in handling affairs, and was a very qualified local governor.

For Li Chengqian, it is enough as long as Qin Huaidao can serve as a good local official in the future.

At most, Li Chengqian would not transfer him back to Chang'an.

Opening his eyes, Li Chengqian looked at the secret letter on the table. Li Shimin didn't say a word about this matter.

Maybe he believed he could handle it.

Li Chengqian felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. He had done a lot of things over the years, and although he was very careful, he believed that many of his things still fell into Li Shimin's eyes.

But, from beginning to end, he didn't do anything to him.

As an emperor and a father, Li Shimin had done the best for Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and began to write the first reply letter.

It was given to the former secretary-general Xiao Deyan.

Xiao Deyan was once one of the important members of Li Tai's compilation of "Guo Di Zhi", but after the compilation of "Guo Di Zhi" was completed, Xiao Deyan, like Su Xu, broke off relations with Li Tai.

Later, when Li Tai rebelled, he did not participate.

After investigation, it was found that Xiao Deyan was not implicated or punished due to Su Xu's guarantee.

I retired last year and returned to Jiangnan.

Although Li Chengqian has Su Tan in Jiangnan, it is always good to have an extra pair of eyes watching the place.

The same is true of the world.

……

Under the bright candles, the palace is bright.

Li Chengqian walked out of the Ganlu Palace study, and Zhang Ananda immediately bowed, "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "There are five letters I just wrote inside. Send them out. Also, according to the previous rules, no one except you and me is allowed to enter or leave at will. Anyone who is warned twice or intrudes by force will be executed."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian walked towards the front hall, and Zhang Ananda went into the study to deal with the matter.

When they reached the front hall, Wu Meiniang, who had been waiting at the side, immediately bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded calmly, his eyes looking out at the night outside the palace, and then he said, "I understand what you are worried about."

Wu Meiniang immediately looked up with concern.

"Concubine Su is pregnant, and the Empress has three sons and one daughter. She also has to take care of the harem, so she's a little overwhelmed." Li Chengqian glanced at Wu Meiniang and said, "After your father is buried, you will move to the Sanqing Palace and help the Empress on weekdays."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wu Meiniang immediately knelt down and kowtowed in surprise.

Although she still had to abide by various rules while staying in the palace, and the Sanqing Hall was just as lonely, Wu Meiniang's status in the palace was still very high because she helped the queen take care of the princes and princesses.

Especially since she was the concubine of the previous emperor, her life was so much better than spending her beautiful life outside the palace with cold lights and ancient Buddhas.

After all, Wu Meiniang's situation is different from others.

Wu Meiniang did not have a top family background. Although her father was Yingguogong Wu Shihuo, in fact, the relationship between Wu Meiniang and her brother Yingguogong Wu Yuanqing was very bad.

This is because Wu Meiniang had been the concubine of the previous emperor in recent years, and even a third-rank imperial concubine, so Wu Yuanqing treated the relationship between them better.

Once she was exiled from the palace to become a nun, she believed that her brother would not only not support her, but would even suppress her and her mother in every way.

Thinking of such a future, Wu Meiniang couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Similarly, she was even more delighted that she could stay in the palace, and she was grateful... grateful to the emperor.

Li Chengqian saw Wu Meiniang's expression. This woman would do anything for her own benefit, just like when she stripped naked and seduced him in the Lishan Hot Spring.

If she is kept in the harem, there will be a lot of fun in the future.

However, without the experience of Ganye Temple outside the palace, Wu Meiniang would not have gone to such extremes.

In addition, with Zhang Ananda in the palace keeping a close eye on her, it was difficult for Wu Meiniang to escape from Li Chengqian's clutches.

"You continue to live in Ganlu Palace for now and stabilize the people's hearts. After my father is buried, the imperial edict will be issued." Li Chengqian nodded calmly, then walked out of Ganlu Palace.

Wu Meiniang kowtowed deeply behind him: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Bowing to the ground, Wu Meiniang completely relaxed.

Her future was assured.

However, when she lowered her head, a hint of disappointment flashed in Wu Meiniang's eyes.

After all, she didn't have a son of her own.

……

Li Chengqian stood on the steps of Ganlu Hall, his eyes passing over Ganlu Gate, Liangyi Hall, Taiji Hall, and looking at the entire Chang'an City.

During the mourning period for the late emperor, marriage and entertainment are prohibited throughout the country.

Chang'an City is rarely peaceful.

The prophecy that "the female ruler Wu will replace the Tang Dynasty" is apparently about Wu Meiniang, but its foundation is actually the Hongnong Yang family.

Although Wu Meiniang was the queen of Li Zhi in her previous life, without the support of the Hongnong Yang family, she would not be able to hold on to the throne even if she forced her way to the throne.

During the period when Wu Meiniang was emperor, the one who benefited the most in the world was not the Wu family, but the Hongnong Yang family.

In the end, only the Wu family was truly liquidated.

The Hongnong Yang family was the biggest beneficiary of this prophecy.

Therefore, no matter whether this prophecy was fabricated by the Hongnong Yang family or not, Li Chengqian only needed to suppress the Hongnong Yang family.

Although Wu Meiniang is now controlled by Li Chengqian, they still have Li Ke.

Li Chengqian even suspected that the prophecy of "a female ruler, King Wu, will replace the Tang Dynasty" was actually fabricated by the Yang family of Hongnong for Li Ke.

Because not only was Li Ke's mother from the Hongnong Yang clan, but even his queen was also a woman from the Hongnong Yang clan.

Not only that, if Li Ke seized the throne from Li Chengqian, then he would also be considered the third generation, and the real female protagonist, King Wu, was actually Li Ke's princess.

Once Li Ke's princess became the queen, the Hongnong Yang family might imitate the way Yang Jian seized the throne from the Northern Zhou Yuwen family and seize the throne from the Li Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian smiled softly.

Everything finally made sense.

What Li Chengqian needs to do next is to target the Hongnong Yang family and Li Ke...

No, he doesn't even need to do anything, Changsun Wuji will do better than him.

He just needs to hide behind Changsun Wuji and act as a judge.

What Li Chengqian really needs to do is to stabilize the entire world.

Increase taxes, increase population, pacify the four directions, and achieve the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

Gather back all the hearts of those who were scattered due to Li Shimin's death.

Then even if there are ten thousand prophecies, it will be meaningless.

Isn’t that what the Golden Sword Prophecy is all about?

It’s useless even if you spread it ten thousand times.

(End of this chapter)