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

Chapter 550: A Little Trick to Split the Yang Family and Yuan Tiangang (Part )
The night rain is cold and bleak.

It brought with it a late spring chill and swept across the entire city of Chang'an.

Pingkang Square.

The backyard of Fengzhou Jinzouyuan.

The black-covered carriage slowly stopped, Yang Sina lifted the curtain and walked out of the carriage.

Under the dim light, Yang Sina just took two steps forward and stopped. A familiar figure stood in front of him.

Yang Sina was stunned and whispered, "Seventh Uncle, why are you here?"

"Of course I came to see you." Yang Shidao raised his head, looked at Yang Sina and said, "You entered the city early this morning. You've been running around all day, right?"

"Yes!" Yang Sina took a deep breath and bowed, saying, "My nephew went to meet the heads of the six families, Wei, Pei, Xue, Liu, Du, and Dou, today and agreed on some future matters."

"Is it about my resignation as Minister of Personnel?" Yang Shidao looked at Yang Sina, sighed, and said, "This may make things difficult for you, Sanlang. Five days ago, knowing you were coming to Chang'an, I submitted my retirement petition, and today, His Majesty approved it, allowing me to retire, advance to the rank of Special Advancement, and stay in Chang'an City for consultation."

Yang Sina's face darkened instantly.

Although Yang Shidao was the elder and the Minister of Personnel, he was not the head of the Hongnong Yang family.

According to the rules, if Yang Shidao resigned from the position of Minister of Personnel, which was a key position related to the interests of the entire family, he had to inform his family in advance, but he did not say anything and just resigned, and retired.

This made Yang Sina, who had been doing business with other families for a day, feel a little angry.

Yang Shidao voluntarily resigned as the Minister of Personnel, which should have been one of the biggest bargaining chips in their hands.

When Yang Shidao voluntarily resigned, he recommended the next successor to the emperor. Regardless of whether what he said was successful or not, as long as he opened his mouth, it would be worth trading with others.

But now Yang Shidao has ruined everything.

"Uncle, you are the elder, and the position of Minister of Personnel belongs to you." Yang Sina looked up, stared at Master Yang and said, "But why are you doing this?"

Yang Shidao shook his head slightly and said, "The Minister of Personnel is His Majesty. His Majesty's decision to have Li Yifu submit a letter of impeachment is his final ultimatum. If I don't understand, I'm afraid I won't even have the chance to see the Emperor again."

Li Yifu impeached Yang Shidao.

Yang Sina suddenly remembered what Yuan Tiangang had said, and he realized that he seemed to have missed a lot of key information.

Yang Shidao looked at Yang Sina and sighed softly, "Sanlang, some things at home have gone too far. I don't know why you did it, but this matter makes it difficult for His Majesty not to think of Yang Xuangan."

Yang Sina suddenly looked up, his pupils dilated.

Who?
Yang Xuangan?
Why did the emperor suddenly think of Yang Xuangan?
Eastern expedition to Goguryeo.

Yang Sina understood instantly that the reason why the emperor wanted to take action against the Hongnong Yang family was not because they were related to the prophecy, nor was he aware of their relationship with Yuan Tiangang.

After all, the only people in the world who knew about the relationship between the Hongnong Yang family and Yuan Tiangang were the three brothers and Yuan Tiangang himself.

Therefore, the emperor was taking action against the Hongnong Yang family, and the emperor was suspecting that Yuan Tiangang was not dead, but these two things were unrelated.

Because Yang Shidao retreated smoothly.

Although he had retired, he was still promoted to the rank of imperial son-in-law and commander of the imperial guards, and stayed in Chang'an for consultation, so his status was not bad.

Back then, Li Jing was also a special advancer and did not manage affairs, but now he is the prime minister guarding Xichui.

There was also Wei Zheng, who also retired, but the emperor would still visit the Duke of Zheng's mansion whenever he had time.

No one dares to underestimate Li Jing, and no one dares to underestimate Wei Zheng.

Yang Sina immediately bowed solemnly to Yang Shidao: "Uncle, Sanlang knows his mistake."

Yang Shidao looked at Yang Sina, sighed softly, and said slowly: "Some things cannot be put at ease by just admitting mistakes... Forget it, you can handle it yourself."

Yang Shidao shook his head and walked out of the alley.

A carriage stopped at the exit of the alley.

Yang Shidao stopped, looked back at Yang Sina, and said, "Sanlang, the Hongnong Yang family has been passed down for 800 years. Don't destroy it."

Yang Sina was stunned, and then his expression became extremely serious.

At this time, Yang Shidao had already boarded the carriage and left quickly.

Yang Sina breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he whispered, "Go to Xiaoyun Pavilion in Pingkangfang and spread the news quickly!"

In the darkness, a figure quickly bowed, then turned and left.

Yang Sina sighed softly and said, "I hope it's not too late."

……

It was late at night and Yang Sina was sitting on a round stool.

Suddenly, with a "creak", the window suddenly opened and then quickly closed.

Before Yang Sina could react, a figure was already sitting opposite him.

Yuan Tiangang's somewhat aged voice rang out: "Why are you sending a message so urgently? What's the urgent matter?"

"Seventh Uncle submitted his retirement petition five days ago, following Li Yifu's impeachment." Yang Sina looked at Yuan Tiangang and said solemnly, "Just today, His Majesty approved Seventh Uncle's retirement petition, promoted him to Special Advancement, and allowed him to remain in Chang'an for further investigation."

"Li Yifu!" Yuan Tiangang didn't care about Yang Shidao's affairs; he cared about Li Yifu's name. "That villain submitted a memorial. Was it the Emperor's will?" Yuan Tiangang narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Uncle!" Yang Sina moved closer and said to Yuan Tiangang, "Your Majesty, do you have any thoughts on personally leading an expedition against Goguryeo?"

Yuan Tiangang suddenly looked at Yang Sina and whispered, "He wants to be the next Yang Guang by personally conquering Goguryeo... No!"

Yuan Tiangang quickly understood what Yang Sina meant and whispered, "You mean he's worried that the Hongnong Yang family will become another Yang Xuangan, so he took action in advance."

"Yes!" Yang Sina nodded and said, "When the previous emperor conquered Goguryeo, he also took corresponding measures. The emperor is doing the same thing now."

Yuan Tiangang became serious, nodded slowly, and said, "You mean to say that the emperor probably hasn't realized the connection between the prophecy and promoting the Yang family."

"Yes!" Yang Sina breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "My uncle's matter was probably a measure left by the late emperor, and now the Yang family's matter is the emperor's own concern. There is even Zhangsun Wuji's arrangement in this. They should only suppress and control the Yang family. Seventh uncle's retirement and granting of special advancement is an example."

Yuan Tiangang looked straight at Yang Sina and said softly, "What if you are wrong?"

Yang Sina took a deep breath and said, "Test it first."

"How to test?"

"The reason why Sanlang came to Chang'an this time is actually because once his seventh uncle is dismissed from the position of Minister of Personnel, there will be no one in the three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five prisons in Chang'an, so someone is needed to replace his seventh uncle and stand in the court." Yang Sina's expression became serious.

"So after all your choices, that person is you." Yuan Tiangang nodded and understood.

"Yes, as long as Sanlang can gain a firm position in the court this time and the fundamental interests of the Yang family are not damaged, it will be clear at a glance whether the emperor wants to completely eradicate the Hongnong Yang family." Yang Sina looked serious.

Why did he agree with Yuan Tiangang's plan to assassinate the emperor?

This is because once the emperor knew the relationship between Yuan Tiangang and the Hongnong Yang family, and knew that it was they who fabricated the prophecy that "a female ruler, King Wu, would succeed the Tang Dynasty for three generations", he would probably take action to destroy the entire Hongnong Yang family.

Because this prophecy itself is a rebellion.

Look at Li Junxian. If Li Chengqian hadn’t spoken up for him, he would have been killed by the sword long ago.

That's why Yang Sina was a little frightened.

Especially the emperor, he is the third generation in the prophecy.

But now, Yang Sina discovered that the emperor was very likely unaware of the relationship between the prophecy and them, so his originally extreme emotions quickly calmed down. He then realized that there was a lot of room for maneuver here and there was no need to go to extremes.

After all, the Hongnong Yang family has been around for eight hundred years, and many dynasties have passed, but the Hongnong Yang family is still there.

As for the plan with Yuan Tiangang, they were just taking a precautionary approach, otherwise Yuan Tiangang would not have lived in seclusion in the mountains for decades.

They are planning for the future, and once an opportunity arises, they will seize it like a volcanic eruption.

If they didn't have this opportunity, they would steadily develop their own power.

A large family that has existed for hundreds of years naturally has its own way of survival and survival inertia.

If it wasn't a life-or-death situation, they wouldn't risk everything.

"What if the emperor doesn't agree?" Yuan Tiangang raised his head slightly, looked at Yang Sina, and said, "What if the emperor really wants to kill Yang?"

"The Hongnong Yang family is not a lamb to be slaughtered." Yang Sina smiled confidently, and then said, "Over the years, the Yang family has had extensive marriages with various families. If the emperor wants to take action against the Yang family, the Yang family is capable of retaliating. Even assassinating the emperor is not impossible, and it can be done more thoroughly."

"After all, you want me to stop what I will do in Da Ci'en Temple tomorrow." Yuan Tiangang nodded slightly.

"Yes!" Yang Sina said seriously, "Uncle, there are still two questions that remain unanswered: How did the late emperor suspect you? And, why did Your Majesty connect you to the Hongnong Yang family?"

Yuan Tiangang nodded slightly. He was actually thinking about Yang Sina's question.

Although the emperor destroyed his tomb and even tried to find him in Zhongnan Mountain, he ultimately failed to find him. This gave him the opportunity to create another fake tomb and deceive the emperor again.

Since he was not exposed to the emperor, the Hongnong Yang family had even less reason to do so.

Before, they just couldn't understand why the emperor wanted to take action against the Hongnong Yang family, so they used extreme means to test him. Now that they have a reason, they naturally have to restrain themselves.

"You handle your own affairs." Yuan Tiangang raised his head calmly and said, "I will make some adjustments to my affairs, remove some minor details, and draw the emperor's attention elsewhere. However, the assassination will continue."

"Do you want to continue?" Yang Sina looked at Yuan Tiangang in astonishment.

"The essence of this assassination attempt was actually just a test of the emperor's true character." Yuan Tiangang picked up the whisk on the table and spoke calmly, "Some people grow up in luxury and appear to have everything their way, but when faced with a matter of life and death, their true nature is immediately revealed, and they become as frightened as a chick."

Yang Sina raised his eyebrows slightly, and a somewhat familiar figure emerged from his mind.

Yuan Tiangang glanced at Yang Sina and continued, "Although the emperor has been plotting and scheming in the palace for so many years and has gradually gained control of the world, he will not perform well in the face of life and death, especially sudden life and death."

An emperor who fears life and death will cause the noble families of the world to become disunited.

"If he fails to handle this properly, the people he's been trying to rally since the Zhenguan era will simply dissipate." Yuan Tiangang sneered softly, saying, "They'll rely even more on Changsun Wuji, and Changsun Wuji will become even more arrogant and domineering. Eventually, a conflict will erupt between the two of them. No matter who dies, King Wu's chance will come."

This is the plan that the Hongnong Yang family has been secretly promoting.

"What if the emperor handles it well?"

"How can someone who has never experienced life and death possibly handle something like this?" Yuan Tiangang walked to the windowsill and whispered, "If that's the case, we can only start with the next generation."

"Or really kill him."

(End of this chapter)