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

Chapter 549 Yuan Tiangang: How about killing the emperor? (Fourth update)
On March 14th, the spring rain fell.

A black-covered carriage slowly entered Chang'an City from Yanxing Gate.

When passing an intersection, a white-haired Taoist priest in a blue robe suddenly flashed into the carriage.

The white-haired Taoist priest sat firmly in the carriage and looked at the square-faced, calm middle-aged man opposite him and asked, "Sanlang, why did you come to Chang'an in person?"

Yang Sanlang, Yang Sina.

The eldest son of Prince Guan Yang Xiong and the third son of Duke Guan Yang Gongren.

Yang Sina, the governor of Fengzhou.

"My two brothers are not allowed to move, so I am the only one who can come." Yang Sina bowed to the white-haired Taoist priest opposite him and said, "Greetings, uncle."

"No need to call me uncle, my last name is Yuan." Yuan Tiangang raised his head slightly, his eyes as calm as a thousand-year-old well, but with endless sharpness hidden in them, which made people feel awe invisibly.

Yang Sina didn't know what to say for a moment.

Among the entire Hongnong Yang family, only the three brothers knew Yuan Tiangang's true identity.

The father of these three brothers, Duke Guanguo Yang Gongren, was the eldest son of their grandfather Yang Xiong, and Yang Shidao was already the seventh son.

……

The wheels of the car creaked softly outside, and Yuan Tiangang spoke calmly, "Such a big thing has happened in Chang'an City this time, and you are only reacting now. It's too late."

"There's nothing we can do about it. There's been a lot of rain this spring." Yang Sina sighed and said, "The court has sent people to repair the canals along the Yellow River in various prefectures to prepare for this summer's floods. Shanzhou is low-lying, so it's the focus of this effort. The Yang family has spent several months here."

Yuan Tiangang suddenly looked up and said, "Could it be that the emperor is deliberately calculating this?"

"Hmm?" Yang Sina was stunned, then shook his head gently. "It's unlikely. This happened long before the imperial examination. Twelve Lang didn't even make a move in Chang'an. The emperor doesn't have that ability. Besides, repairing the river is a serious matter. Even if the emperor doesn't mention it, we have to do it."

Yuan Tiangang nodded slightly.

Yang Sina asked in a low voice, "My uncle is in Guanzhong. What's the situation in Chang'an now? The letters from home don't tell me clearly."

"A few days ago, the Imperial Censor Li Yifu submitted a memorial impeaching Qilang for selecting inappropriate personnel." After a brief pause, Yuan Tiangang said, "Before that, the various families in Guanzhong had mobilized their forces and sent over thirty impeachment memorials to the palace. Li Yifu's impeachment put the final nail in the coffin."

Yang Sina fell silent. After a moment, he asked, "Is there any news about Shi Er Lang?"

"No." Yuan Tiangang shook his head and said regretfully, "After the five scholars who had been looking for him were beaten to death by the emperor, there was no way to find Shi Erlang anymore."

"Just as my uncle said, is it possible that the emperor was really behind this matter?" Yang Sina looked up with a serious expression.

"Although it has now been discovered that the real instigator of this matter was Lu Zhaolin of the Fanyang Lu family, it is still possible that the emperor was plotting this." Yuan Tiangang subconsciously turned slightly and said, "Just last autumn, the tomb I left in Shuzhong was split open by lightning."

"Your Majesty, did you know that my uncle is not dead?" Yang Sina was startled, and then asked quickly, "Didn't Shu send anyone to silence them in time?"

"It's all blocked, but I suspect the emperor was the one who split open my grave." Yuan Tiangang looked up and said, "The reason I'm here today is because the emperor has been sending people to cut down trees since last winter."

"The heavy snow last year?" Yang Sina had some impression of this incident.

Yuan Tiangang nodded and sighed, "At first, I also thought that the emperor was taking care of the people and sent people to the mountains to cut down trees for winter firewood, so he hid deep in the mountains. However, this spring, the emperor began searching the mountains again under the pretext of sending people to plant trees.

As a last resort, I could only hide in Chang'an City, but at this time, I began to doubt whether the emperor did all this just to find me."

"Uncle, what you're saying is that His Majesty discovered last summer that Uncle was faking his death, and then sent people to Shuzhong to open the grave and investigate. After obtaining the results, they determined that Uncle was hiding in Zhongnan Mountain, and began to find ways to search for him there, in order to force him down from Zhongnan Mountain." Yang Sina looked up and said, "At the same time, His Majesty took action against Seventh Uncle."

Yuan Tiangang nodded slightly.

Yang Sina's face was extremely solemn. He looked at Yuan Tiangang and asked, "There's only one question here. How did Your Majesty know that my uncle was alive in the first place? How did he suspect my uncle so clearly? Even Li Chunfeng doesn't know about my uncle's affairs, right?"

"Do you still remember what happened last summer?" Yuan Tiangang raised his head slightly.

"The late emperor passed away." Yang Sina murmured.

"The late emperor died, and the emperor began to doubt me." Yuan Tiangang narrowed his eyes and said, "Before the late emperor died, I'm afraid the thing he remembered most was the prophecy."

The Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and a female ruler, King Wu, succeeded the Tang Dynasty.

"My uncle meant that the late emperor suddenly became suspicious of me before his death, so he asked Your Majesty to investigate." Yang Sina's lips trembled slightly as he spoke. "Your Majesty found the empty tomb, then Mount Zhongnan, and then, from my uncle's background, he suspected Yang. Your Majesty suspects that the prophecy was written by Yang?"

"Although the Hongnong Yang family has kept a low profile in recent years, in the late Sui Dynasty and the pre-Sui Dynasty, the Hongnong Yang family was the best at creating and using prophecies. In addition, Shanzhou is located at the strategic point between the east and the west and is a major transportation route. With a little investigation, these things are not difficult to find out." Yuan Tiangang nodded at Yang Sina.

Yang Sina took a deep breath, stared at Yuan Tiangang, and said, "So, Your Majesty is going to completely uproot the Hongnong Yang family... I was wondering why, apart from my seventh uncle, there's not a single useful person in the entire Chang'an. It turns out that His Majesty has transferred them all away."

Since last year, the children of the Hongnong Yang family who were working in Chang'an were transferred out of the city for various reasons.

This made Master Yang realize that after today's incident, his position had become even more important, and he couldn't escape it any more. "If we look at it from the worst-case scenario, judging from the feedback from all sides, it's indeed the case." Yuan Tiangang nodded calmly.

He had always been standing outside the situation, so when everything was deduced, a terrible conclusion appeared before his eyes.

The emperor wanted to completely eradicate the entire Hongnong Yang family.

"This conclusion shocked me at first, but after careful consideration, I feel that this is the only answer." Yuan Tiangang looked up and said, "You must know that the Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and the third generation mentioned in the prophecy of a female ruler, King Wu, replacing the Tang Dynasty, is him, Li Chengqian."

Yang Sina couldn't help but tremble a little.

After a long moment, Yang Sina lowered his voice and asked, "Uncle, although your inference is accurate, there are two questions that need to be clarified: How did the late emperor suspect you? And, since Your Majesty didn't know about your relationship with the Hongnong Yang family, why did you attack them?"

Yuan Tiangang fell silent.

He couldn't explain these two questions clearly at the moment.

"You are right. I had the same doubt, so I stopped the plan." Yuan Tiangang sighed lightly.

"Plan, what plans does uncle have?" Yang Sina asked curiously.

"Kill the emperor." Yuan Tiangang said lightly.

On the opposite side, Yang Sina's pupils were dilated with horror.

Yuan Tiangang suddenly laughed, shook his head, and said, "Actually, I think I was a bit too extreme. The Hongnong Yang Clan is such a behemoth, how could a mere emperor, who has been on the throne for less than two years, easily shake it? In fact, he is more likely to rely on the power of various parties and act cleverly. He only needs the Yang Clan to unite..."

"The Yang family is not united." Yang Sina interrupted Yuan Tiangang with some helplessness, and said with a wry smile: "Each branch has its own ideas, and there are also the influences of the King of Yue and the King of Zhao. Moreover, the younger sister of my third uncle's family entered the palace last year and became the emperor's beauty...Uncle, the emperor's harem is very small now, and the vacancies for Consort Xian and Consort De are still vacant."

"Therefore, the emperor will not take comprehensive action against the Hongnong Yang family. He needs to find out the true relationship between me and the Yang family, find out who in the Yang family has contact with me, and then take action precisely." Yuan Tiangang raised his head and looked straight at Yang Sina.

Yang Sina's lips trembled slightly. The person Yuan Tiangang was talking about was from their family.

Yang Sina closed his eyes and thought about his current situation. He looked up at Yuan Tiangang and said, "Your Majesty, you can no longer focus on the Hongnong Yang family."

"That's right, so the plan to assassinate the emperor must continue." Yuan Tiangang said with an indifferent look in his eyes, "I originally thought of three plans, but now only one is barely feasible."

"Uncle, please tell me in detail."

"Find someone to pretend to be the Qianniu Guard who came back from Qianzhou to deliver the military report. When the emperor worships at the Da Ci'en Temple tomorrow, go directly to the Da Ci'en Temple to meet the emperor, and then assassinate him in person." Yuan Tiangang stared at Yang Sina.

Yang Sina frowned and said, "It's not easy. Even if it's a military report, it may not be able to get close to the emperor, not to mention the guards around him."

"The second method is to send someone to lurk in the Da Ci'en Temple in advance, and wait until the emperor is offering sacrifices, and then shoot him to death with a crossbow." Yuan Tiangang's eyes were still cold.

"Three days ago, the Jinwu Guards, the Imperial Guards, and the Qianniu Guards had already sealed off the Da Ci'en Temple. Even if my uncle really found that kind of expert who doesn't eat, drink, defecate or urinate, it would be difficult for him to hide under the detailed investigation of the three guards, not to mention the Baiqi Division." Yang Sina raised his head slightly.

"You're right. These are indeed difficult problems." Yuan Tiangang shook his head and said, "But the real reason I gave up this plan is not here."

"That is?"

"Xuanzang." Yuan Tiangang sighed softly and said, "It's as difficult to take action in front of him as it is in front of Yin Wencao."

Why did Yuan Tiangang not mention Taiyi Qinghua Temple? Because in Taiyi Qinghua Temple, Yin Wencao, the head of Louguan Taoism, would always be by the emperor's side.

The same goes for Xuanzang.

"What about the third method?" Yang Sina was a little helpless.

"Find a way to find Qilang and get that large Fuyuan crossbow, or even a bed crossbow." Yuan Tiangang looked at Yang Sina and said, "Does the Yang family have the blueprints for this thing?"

Yang Shidao once served as the Minister of Works. Who knows how much he did in the Ministry of Works?

"No, His Majesty is investigating very strictly, and it involves production, so Yang Wulian is always watching from the side." Yang Sina couldn't help but sigh. Yang Wulian was born in the Yang family of Yangzhou and was not very close to their Hongnong Yang family. On the contrary, he was the emperor's confidant.

"So, we can only use the first method." Yuan Tiangang looked at Yang Sina and said, "We can use assassins. I have three assassins from the Zoroastrianism. I can use them to assassinate the emperor. If it succeeds, that's the best. If it fails, we can divert the emperor's attention to the Zoroastrianism, which is also good."

"Uncle, what if we are wrong?"

"The purpose of the assassination is to make everyone realize that the emperor does not actually have complete control over the country." Yuan Tiangang looked at Yang Sina and said, "The assassination case cannot be traced to us, so right or wrong is irrelevant.

As for the other things, another thing that needs to be done is to build a real tomb for me, so that the emperor will think that I am really dead, and then he will stop suspecting Yang.

This way, you will have time to move forward with your original plan."

"King Wu!"

(End of this chapter)