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

Chapter 538: Under the Water, the Most Intense Undercurrent (Part of Lantern Festival Update)
Outside the Jinguan Gate, the wind was cold.

The flags are fluttering and the long spears are like a forest.

The war horses neighed softly as three tall horses slowly entered from the Golden Light Gate, followed by hundreds of personal guards.

Liang Jianfang, dressed in red and golden armor, rode ahead on horseback.

Later came the Yongzhou governor Qiu Xinggong and his son Qiu Shenqi.

"I've brought all the veterans with me this time. When you get to the front, you must listen to them." Qiu Xinggong looked at his son and whispered, "You must always remember the lesson of Ma Su's death at Jieting."

Qiu Shenji raised his eyebrows, then bowed and said, "Son, I'll remember this."

Qiu Xinggong glanced at Liang Jianfang in front of him, then whispered, "Your Majesty asked you to learn from that murderous scoundrel Liang Jianfang, so you should learn well. Although there are many talented young people in the Tang Dynasty, to be honest, there are only two people who are truly ruthless and reckless in killing people: you and Xue Rengui."

"Xue Rengui, Xue Rengui with the White Horse and Silver Spear, is he the same?" Qiu Shenqi looked at his father in surprise.

"Yes!" Qiu Xinggong nodded and said, "In the Tang army, every generation needs two people like this. In the previous generation, it was my father and that bastard Liang Jianfang. In this generation, it is you and Xue Rengui.

But compared to you, Xue Rengui wears the coat of a Hedong family, but his essence is the same as yours. Perhaps in the future, because of this, he will be inferior to you! "

Qiu Shenqi immediately understood that Xue Rengui was, after all, influenced by Confucian culture. Although he was cold and cruel in nature, he actually paid more attention to his personal image. Otherwise, he would not have had the nickname White Horse and Silver Spear.

Compared to him, Qiu Shenqi felt that his father was more trusted by the emperor.

After all, his father had eaten Liu Lan's heart and liver back then.

Qiu Shenjie felt that he could never do such a thing.

"What are you two talking about?" Liang Jianfang suddenly turned around. Qiu Shenqi subconsciously looked up and saw five thousand light cavalry parked outside the city gate.

"That old bastard." Qiu Xinggong cursed inwardly, then urged his horse forward and bowed to Liang Jianfang, saying, "Duke of Yanmen, please take good care of my son while he's heading to the front of the army."

"No problem." Liang Jianfang nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Qiu Shenji and said, "Don't think too much about what happened in the court that day. His Majesty sent the two of us to Qianzhou to kill people and break the backbone of the Three Xie Barbarians' resistance to the Tang Dynasty. The rest is up to the local governor."

"Yes, I will follow the Marshal's instructions." Qiu Shenji bowed seriously.

Liang Jianfang waved his hand, and Qiu Shenqi immediately joined the queue.

Qiu Xinggong automatically came to Liang Jianfang's side.

Liang Jianfang whispered, "I'm leaving now. Please keep an eye on Chang'an City for His Majesty. Everyone around His Majesty is involved in too many things and has too many concerns."

"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Qiu Xinggong nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid you have some ulterior motive for transferring you two out together this time. If the Qianzhou incident is really just in Qianzhou, then it wouldn't be a big deal. The biggest concern is that the Qianzhou incident is actually in Chang'an."

"It's not such a coincidence." Liang Jianfang turned his horse and said, "I will keep an eye on your son."

"I will try my best to mobilize the medicinal materials from Chang'an and Yizhou." After a brief pause, Qiu Xinggong looked at Liang Jianfang seriously and said, "You must be careful too."

"I understand." Liang Jianfang turned around and said, "So, His Majesty said that we should kill without hesitation."

……

Zhongnan is quiet and secluded.

The Chang'an City in the distance and the Wei River are all in sight.

A white-haired Taoist priest wearing a purple Taoist robe and with a light figure stood under the wooden pavilion, his eyes tilted towards the disciples of the Jin Guang Sect.

There was no movement for a long time.

Suddenly, there was a very slight sound of footsteps behind me, and then it stopped instantly.

The white-haired Taoist didn't turn around and said calmly, "You guys are responsible for what happened in Qianzhou."

Outside the wooden pavilion, a middle-aged man wearing a linen robe and with an extremely ordinary face said with a bow, "My family has some business in Qianzhou. Once Yanzhou is settled again, my family will benefit even more."

"Be careful not to be the first to come out." The white-haired Taoist calmly turned his head and looked in the direction of Taiji Palace, saying softly, "If Liang Jianfang and Qiu Shenji find any clues about your involvement, they will come straight to kill you."

"Don't worry, sir. Everyone in my family has already evacuated to Qianzhou. Unless they can capture Xie Shan who has already fled into the mountains, they will get nothing." The middle-aged man in hemp clothes was very confident.

"Disrupt Qianzhou and force the emperor to divert his attention away from it. Then you can make your move in Liaodong." The white-haired Taoist said calmly, "Why, do you want to do what Yang Xuangan did again?"

The middle-aged man in hemp clothes was stunned.

"Although the Emperor claims to be cautious this time, he has already seen some problems, as evidenced by his dispatch of Liang Jianfang, a ruthless individual, to Qianzhou." The white-haired Taoist raised his head slightly and said, "The Emperor will resolve the Qianzhou issue as quickly as possible. Your plan has failed, so it's best to withdraw now."

The middle-aged man in hemp clothes bowed bitterly: "How did the master..."

The white-haired Taoist waved his hand gently and said, "Okay, I've said everything I need to say to you. The rest is for others. You can go now."

The middle-aged man in hemp clothes had slightly trembling lips and a confused look on his face. The white-haired Taoist suddenly said something and let him go.

"Some things are not meant to be told to you, and you don't need to know them." The white-haired Taoist raised his head calmly and said, "Tell your master that the best way is to find a way to make your daughter or granddaughter the Crown Princess; or, at least, make her the Queen."

The middle-aged man in hemp clothes took a deep breath and bowed, saying, "My granddaughter might be able to think of a way, but my daughter can never become the Crown Princess... No emperor of the Tang Dynasty would allow his daughter to become the Empress. Those in Chang'an would not agree to it."

The white-haired Taoist said calmly, "So, you feel you miscalculated with Prince Jin, so you won't dare try again?"

"My family has its own plans." The middle-aged man in hemp clothes bowed and said, "I'll take my leave!"

The white-haired Taoist didn't say anything to stop him and let him leave.

……

The cold wind blew hard, and only the white-haired Taoist was left on the top of the mountain.

He raised his head, looking straight towards Chang'an, and said softly, "The emperor has been on the throne for a year. He uses Zhangsun Wuji and guards against him, but he is still protecting him. With Zhangsun Wuji around, it's difficult to do anything he really wants to do."

Li Shimin abdicated the throne and Li Chengqian ascended the throne. Li Chengqian had been emperor for a year while Li Shimin was still alive, which surprised many people who had originally planned to watch the fun.

Generally speaking, after a powerful emperor, his successor will inevitably find it difficult to be as virtuous as him and will inevitably have many problems.

As powerful as Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Hui of Han, Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han, Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Zhao of Han, even Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperor Ming of Han suffered from the scourge of eunuchs and the chaos of law and imprisonment.

The most direct examples are Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui, who directly destroyed their country.

Everyone was waiting to see how weak Li Chengqian would become after Li Shimin's death, but no one expected that Li Shimin would not be able to defeat Li Chengqian.

He was forced to abdicate.

Yes, in the eyes of many people in the court, Li Shimin's abdication was a wise move, but in the eyes of many people in the opposition, Li Shimin was forced to abdicate.

Even a figure like Li Shimin was forced to abdicate, so their new emperor might still have some outstanding methods.

When Li Shimin was alive, Li Chengqian's methods were not obvious, but now that Li Shimin is buried and Li Chengqian is facing the world alone, his methods can be seen.

Through a military training, he completely controlled the Sixteen Guards.

The white-haired Taoist sighed softly.

He understood very clearly that the Tang Dynasty used Guanzhong to rule the world.

In addition, after Li Shimin was buried, the ministers inspected the country, causing many people who wanted to make changes to give up.

……

Under the wooden pavilion, the white-haired Taoist priest's expression became solemn.

Judging from the current phenomena, the new emperor Li Chengqian is definitely not that simple.

Although he had been on the throne for only a year, the speed at which he took control of the world far exceeded people's imagination.

Even Baifa was a little suspicious. He had already suspected the man in hemp clothes and himself.

Also, the transfer of Liang Jianfang and Qiu Shenqi to Qianzhou this time was probably a trap to lure the people behind the man in hemp clothes to take action.

The white-haired Taoist was a little worried that they might take action.

Closing his eyes slightly, the white-haired Taoist looked towards the direction of the palace again.

Let's just say they failed over there, the key issue still lies with the emperor.

He still had the inherent view that they should find a way to deal with the Queen or the Crown Princess.

This is what they have been doing over the years.

However, the emperor's wisdom is far greater than they imagined, and other methods would be difficult to achieve, so...

The means must be directed against the emperor himself.

Assassination and poisoning are both means to succeed.

"We have to find a way to make him sick, a serious illness, so that people will become suspicious, especially towards Changsun Wuji." The white-haired Taoist narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking of one method after another in his mind, but he rejected them all in the end.

Suddenly, the white-haired Taoist looked towards Luoyang.

Luoyang Ziwei Palace and Qianyang Hall will be renovated in a few years.

A cold wind swept over the wooden pavilion, and the figure of the white-haired Taoist priest had disappeared from the pavilion.

……

In front of the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian stood on the steps outside the hall, raised his eyes, and stared closely at the direction of Zhongnan Mountain.

Just now, he had a feeling that someone was watching him, so he came out to observe.

But soon, that feeling disappeared.

Li Chengqian's expression became serious.

Sure enough, things in Qianzhou are not that simple.

In addition, Liang Jianfang, General of the Right Jinwu Guard, and Qiu Shenqi, General of the Left Qianniu Guard, two key figures in all aspects, left Chang'an, which would inevitably leave loopholes.

Someone who is interested may have seen it.

Yuan Tiangang.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly. He always felt that the relationship between Yuan Tiangang and the Hongnong Yang family was not as close as he imagined.

But no matter what, as long as someone falls into the trap, he can set it up.

A burst of hurried footsteps could be heard from the side of the Taiji Hall ahead. Cen Changqian quickly approached the Liangyi Hall, holding a memorial in his hand. He addressed Li Chengqian, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Geng, the youngest son of the late General of the Left Guard, Feng Ang, and the Sima of Gaozhou, Feng Zhidai, have come to the capital to pay tribute, following the orders of the Gaozhou Governor, Feng Zhixun. They have now arrived in Tanzhou."

"You see, the Feng family's real goal is still Chang'an." Li Chengqian turned sideways and glanced at Li Yifu beside him.

Li Yifu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I cannot wait any longer."

"Come on, everything will be easy once we get to Chang'an." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

Snowflakes fell gently from the dim sky.

(End of this chapter)