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

Chapter 532: Cenotaph, Yuan Tiangang's Fake Death (Part )
Early morning, inside the Daming Palace.

The autumn frost gradually dissipated on the grass.

The weather gradually got colder.

According to the will of the late emperor, the construction of all palaces and temples was stopped, so the construction of Daming Palace, which was supposed to be completed by the end of this year, was stopped again.

Li Chengqian was wearing a black robe with golden threads and walked calmly in the Daming Palace.

He had a yellow canopy on his head, and was followed by more than a dozen eunuchs and palace maids in front and behind him. There were also a large number of imperial guards not far away.

Yan Liben and Yang Wulian followed behind Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian sighed softly, looking at the Daming Palace, which was more than half built in front of him, and asked, "Mr. Yan, if we want to rebuild this place, how long will it take to complete the repairs?"

"About half a year." Yan Liben cupped his hands and said, "If we prepare in advance, we can shorten the time."

"Let's start the renovation in June next year and complete it by the end of the year. The year after, I won't have to go to Cuiwei Palace to escape the summer heat and delay state affairs." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly. His father liked to go to Cuiwei Palace to escape the summer heat, but Li Chengqian didn't like it. He had just ascended the throne, and leaving Chang'an would make him feel like everything was out of control.

"Yes!" Yan Liben bowed seriously.

"After the Daming Palace renovations are complete by the end of next year, we'll transfer people to Luoyang. The Luoyang Ziwei Palace will also begin renovations." Li Chengqian said as he walked forward, "Next year, it will be the anniversary of my father's death. I will stay in Chang'an, but the year after, I should visit Luoyang."

The emperor's eastern tour was intended to inspect the various states in Hedong and to seek food in Luoyang to relieve the pressure in Chang'an.

So, this is a must.

At the same time, the Tang Dynasty also had to prepare for war against Goguryeo. With the emperor keeping an eye on things from Luoyang, everything would be more convenient.

"Yes!" Yan Liben bowed seriously.

His brother is now the Minister of Revenue, and Yang Wulian next to him spends more energy on military equipment, so the construction of Daming Palace and Ziwei Palace are the tasks that Yan Liben has to do.

"Let's go." Li Chengqian continued walking forward, looking at Yang Wulian and saying, "At the beginning of November, I will be inspecting the troops. We need to hurry up with the crossbow training."

"Yes!" Yang Wulian's expression became solemn. This was the first time the emperor had reviewed the military forces since he ascended the throne, so he had to come up with something.

Li Chengqian looked at the entire Daming Palace.

Once the renovation here is completed, the many secret experiments being conducted in "Kaogongzhi" will be moved from the East Palace to the Daming Palace.

"It's really interesting to say. The King of Wei's "Guo Di Zhi" has been edited and completed for seven years, but my "Kao Gong Zhi" is still in progress and will even continue for a long time in the future." Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel a little funny while sighing.

"They release something new every year, so preserving it would be beneficial." Yan Liben followed Li Chengqian and whispered, "Perhaps Your Majesty, the Kaogongzhi should find an opportunity to formally expand it into the Kaogongsi, under the purview of the Jiangzuojian, so that everything can be carried out in accordance with court regulations. That would be more appropriate."

"You are right." Li Chengqian nodded and said, "After a few days..."

Before Li Chengqian finished speaking, a burst of hurried horse hooves came from the direction of Xuanwu Gate.

Li Chengqian looked up and saw three dusty Qianniu Guards jumping off their horses at the gate of Daming Palace.

Li Chengqian's expression grew serious. He looked at Zhang Ananda standing to the side and said, "Take them to the Purple Palace."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Yan Liben and Yang Wulian, nodded and said, "You all should go and do your work first. I have something to do here."

"We will take our leave." Yan Liben and Yang Wulian immediately bowed, then turned and walked out of the Daming Palace.

They all knew that the emperor had secret matters to deal with.

……

The Purple Palace is one of the three main halls in the Daming Palace.

The Hanyuan Hall and Xuanzheng Hall in front have not been fully completed yet.

Behind the Zichen Hall is the Penglai Hall, which was actually the first to be completed.

Of course, there is also Penglai Pool, which was renovated during the reign of Emperor Gaozu.

Three Thousand Oxen Guards hurried into the back hall and saw the emperor standing at the railing, looking at the Penglai Pond in front of him. One of the Thousand Oxen Guards stepped forward solemnly and bowed, saying, "I, the Thousand Oxen Guards, lead Zhou Cang to pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"How is the investigation going?" Li Chengqian asked calmly without turning around.

"I waited all summer, and finally, during a thunderstorm last month, lightning struck Yuan Tiangang's tomb open." Zhou Cang bowed and said, "Yuan Tiangang's tomb contained only a slightly decayed purple Taoist robe, a golden crown, and a copy of 'Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Liu Ren Ke'. Nothing else."

"A cenotaph." Li Chengqian sighed softly, looking at the Penglai Pond in front of him, and said softly, "It's just as I thought. He faked his death."

The prophecy that "the Tang Dynasty will last for three generations, and a female ruler, King Wu, will replace the Tang Dynasty and establish her own kingdom" was originally fabricated by Yuan Tiangang.

If we talk about it literally, she is referring to Wu Meiniang and Li Ke, but if we study it in depth, Yuan Tiangang's "Tui Bei Tu" was actually summarized based on the historical development of the Han Dynasty.

The rest is the usual method of Taoism, using vague words to fool people.

The Han Dynasty lasted for three generations, and Empress Lü Zhi of Han almost usurped the throne.

After the death of Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Ying, although he had descendants, it was Liu Ying's younger brother, Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, who finally took the throne.

Although Liu Heng was Liu Bang's fourth son, he is recorded in history as the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty lasted for three generations, had female rulers, and five kings succeeded the Tang Dynasty.

This is the Liu family's prophecy.

It fell to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and a female ruler, King Wu, succeeded the Tang Dynasty. In fact, the Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and King Wu of Anzhou succeeded the Tang Dynasty and established himself.

There must be something else fishy here.

Even if Li Ke seized the throne from Li Chengqian, it cannot be said that he had a name on his head, so Yuan Tiangang was actually referring to someone else.

In the end, Li Ke was nothing more than a pioneer for the king.

This person must be a foreigner with whom Li Ke has a close relationship.

Li Ke's princess's surname was Yang, the same as Yang Jian's.

Li Chengqian retracted his gaze and asked sideways, "What's behind?"

"We took a quick look, then cleaned up the traces and left." After a brief pause, Zhou Cang said, "It rained heavily that night, and all traces, even the clothes and books in Yuan Tiangang's tomb, were soaked."

"The more natural, the better." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I am not interested in the fishing tools Yuan Tiangang placed in his grave."

"Yes!" Zhou Cang bowed and continued, "It was on the third day that villagers passing by discovered that Yuan Tiangang's tomb had been struck by lightning. Afterwards, they told the village chief, who hired someone to repair the tomb. He then sent someone to pass the news on to Linxi County."

"Master Yuan?" Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows. Yuan Tiangang's tomb was struck by lightning, so it made sense to pass the news to Master Yuan.

"Your servants also focused their main attention on Master Yuan Ke, but still left two people in the village. Half a month later, Muramasa secretly sent people to spread the news." Zhou Cang's face became solemn.

"Where did it spread to?" Li Chengqian suddenly turned around and stared at Zhou Cang.

"Chang'an!" Zhou Cang bowed and said, "To be more precise, it's Louguandao. However, the Louguandao inside and outside Zhongnan Mountain are closely guarding, so it's inconvenient for me to go up. I watched for a few days, and after the messenger returned to Bashu, I sent people to follow him back to Bashu and sent people back to Chang'an at the same time..."

"Send the order immediately, keep an eye on the messenger's men, bypass him immediately, and go to the Songzhou Governor's Mansion ahead of time to investigate the Tubo's movements." Li Chengqian interrupted Zhou Cang directly.

Zhou Cang immediately bowed and said, "I will arrange it right away."

Zhou Cang quickly realized that if Yuan Tiangang was not dead, he would suspect that someone was investigating whether he was dead or not.

The most convenient way is to keep an eye on the person who came from Bashu to deliver the message and see if anyone is watching him.

Fortunately, Mount Zhongnan is very close to Chang'an, and only half a day has passed, so it is still in time to stop it.

Li Chengqian turned around again and looked at the Penglai Pond in front of him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Yuan Tiangang was not dead after all.

Everything was confirmed.

Yuan Tiangang himself had a very close relationship with the Hongnong Yang family.

Or to be more precise, he has a close relationship with the Yang Jian and Yang Guang families.

Put aside all appearances and get to the bottom of things.

What Yuan Tiangang really wanted was to overthrow the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

And prophecy through one side is the simplest, cheapest, and easiest to realize prophecy...

Changsun Wuji.

For some reason, the figure of Changsun Wuji popped into Li Chengqian's mind.

If it is said that Wu Meiniang forced the prophecy of "Tang will last for three generations and a female ruler will replace it", then if he wanted Li Ke to ascend the throne, he would have to get rid of the most powerful helper around the emperor, and this person was undoubtedly Zhangsun Wuji.

"Someone come here!" Li Chengqian stepped aside.

"I'm here." Zhang Ananda bowed and stepped forward.

"From today on, keep an eye on Chongrenfang and every Taoist priest who appears in Chongrenfang." Li Chengqian's eyes turned cold.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda didn't ask anything and just bowed.

Li Chengqian glanced at him and said, "Yuan Tiangang is a Taoist priest, and Taoist priests have a problem that is not a problem. That is, when they change their clothes, they use either down-and-out Taoist priests or wandering Taoist doctors. It's a mess, but they always look like Taoist priests."

"Your Majesty is right." Zhang Ananda nodded immediately.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If Yuan Tiangang realizes someone is watching him this time, he will come to Chang'an, observe outside the Duke of Zhao's mansion, and then find a way to get close to him... The Taoist sect has many ways to get close to people."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda's face became serious.

"So, we need to send someone to keep an eye on the outside of Duke Zhao's residence." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Don't follow him around, just send someone to keep an eye on him. This is the only way to avoid an old man like Yuan Tiangang."

"Yes." Zhang Ananda bowed and then asked, "Your Majesty, what if Yuan Tiangang doesn't show up?"

"He has close ties with the Hongnong Yang family. Perhaps the Duke of Ande's position as Minister of Personnel should be dismissed." Li Chengqian looked towards Mount Zhongnan and said softly, "We can always force Yuan Tiangang to show up."

(End of this chapter)