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

Chapter 99 The Emperor is Assassinated, Chang'an is under Martial Law

The sun is warm and the flags are fluttering.

On the Wei River, a huge three-masted royal ship was docked at the pier.

The emperor was wearing a scarlet and yellow dragon robe and a black jade hat. He stood at the bow and watched Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Li Zhi, Princess Jinyang, Princess Chengyang, Princess Gaoyang and other princes and princesses board the ship. He couldn't help but smile with joy.

Li Chengqian, along with several of his brothers and sisters, bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, your son pays homage to your father."

"Stand up." Li Shimin raised his hand with a smile.

"Thank you, Father." Li Chengqian stood up, then glanced sideways at Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang, and said, "Father, you don't need to take Zhinu and Sizi with you to Luoyang. If they stay in Chang'an, I can take care of them."

"Look for yourself, they are so happy to be able to go to Luoyang." The emperor looked at Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang, who were full of joy, and smiled happily.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian could only bow.

It was normal for the emperor to bring Li Tai, Gao Yang, Cheng Yang and others with him during his eastern tour to Luoyang.

Li Tai had his own Prince of Wei's Palace in Luoyang, which even occupied an entire block of land.

Of course, when Chengyang and Gaoyang go to Luoyang this time, the emperor will also give them a princess mansion.

This year, Chengyang and Gaoyang will both get married, and then they will move out of the palace and live in their own princess mansions.

But Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang just took them out to play.

The emperor smiled, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "I'm going to Luoyang this time. You must pay more attention to your brothers and sisters in Chang'an and take good care of them. In particular, don't let them get sick easily."

"Your son understands, don't worry, father." Li Chengqian immediately bowed with a serious expression.

The emperor still has several young children in Chang'an. Although they are taken care of by their own mother, it is difficult to say what will happen.

If someone were to fall ill and die young, especially if it happened when the emperor was on his eastern tour to Luoyang and Li Chengqian was regent, when the emperor investigated, Li Chengqian would be held responsible even if he was not.

Seeing Li Chengqian's serious look, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.

Compared with Li Tai, Li Chengqian treats his younger brothers and sisters very well.

Even Li Ke is the same.

On the night of the New Year's Eve banquet, Li Tai instigated Li Ke to toast Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian didn't care at all, but helped Li Ke out of the predicament.

Also, on the second day of the first lunar month, the emperor asked Li Ke to accompany him to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, but Li Chengqian didn't care much.

On the contrary, it was Li Tai who sent people to keep a close eye on Li Ke afterwards, and his vigilance was too obvious.

Originally, Li Shimin wanted to send Chai Lingwu to the Prince of Wei's Mansion on the 16th day of the first lunar month, but after seeing Li Tai's actions, the emperor directly rejected his idea.

After waiting for more than two months, Chai Lingwu was transferred to the Prince of Wei's Palace.

……

All the civil and military officials boarded their ships, and Wei Zheng, Hou Junji, Li Daliang, Zheng Shentong and others came to see them off.

Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and others went to Luoyang to accompany the group.

"Wei Qing!" The emperor looked at Wei Zheng, then at Li Chengqian, and said, "Although this isn't the first time the Crown Prince has been acting as regent, I'm still a little worried. This time, you'll stay behind to assist him. Please teach him the true way to govern a country."

Wei Zheng was slightly stunned, then he bowed earnestly and said, "I obey your command!"

"Thank you, Duke Zheng." Li Chengqian quickly turned around and bowed to Wei Zheng. He had memories from later generations and knew the difficulty of governing the world.

Everything in the world is in an endless struggle for interests at all times.

The emperor and the royal family, the emperor and local families, the emperor and local officials.

Imperial family and local noble families, imperial family and local officials, local noble families and local officials.

The royal family and themselves, the aristocratic families and themselves, the officials and themselves.

They fight against each other and compromise with each other.

Even if people have similar views on a matter, the documents they submit may have huge differences.

Even though Li Chengqian had the memories of later generations, he still lacked a lot in terms of how to deal with these things.

In particular, he didn't know much about the local families in the Tang Dynasty.

He had only one example before him, and that was the emperor.

What Li Chengqian really needs to understand and master is how the emperor maintains his rule and order in the world.

Wei Zheng was the only teacher he could learn from, and most importantly, Wei Zheng had a good impression of the prince.

Li Shimin watched this scene with satisfaction, a hint of deepness flashing across his expression. He then nodded gently and said, "After I leave, Chang'an will be handed over to the Crown Prince, and the ministers will assist him. Guanzhong, Longxi, Jiannan, and the four towns of Anxi must be carefully governed. Tuyuhun, Tubo, the Western Regions, and the grasslands must also be monitored. If any problems arise, they will be reported to Luoyang immediately."

"We obey your order." Li Chengqian, Wei Zheng, Hou Junji, Li Daliang, Zheng Shentong and others all bowed.

"My lords, if everything is ready this year, we will climb Mount Tai together next year to offer sacrifices to God." The emperor waved his hand with an excited look on his face.

He had waited too long for the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

……

"What, the emperor was assassinated?"

In the darkness, Li Chengqian suddenly stood up from the bed, and Su Shu, who was wearing a golden green short skirt, also looked up in surprise.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and waved his hand, gently pressing Su Shu's shoulder, and whispered, "Don't worry, father is fine, you should rest first. You are pregnant now, don't move around."

Su Shu hesitated slightly and said with some concern: "Then your highness, be careful."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian immediately stood up, put on his coat and walked out of Cheng'en Hall.

The night is thin and the dawn has not yet risen.

The eunuch held a lantern and led Li Chengqian to the Cheng'en Gate. With a "creak", the Cheng'en Gate was completely opened.

"Your Highness." Li Anyan, Helan Chushi, and the Tongshi Sheren Lai Ji were standing outside Cheng'en Gate.

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Anyan and Helan Chushi, and finally looked at Lai Ji. He asked coldly, "Lai Sheren, what exactly is going on?" "Your Highness," Lai Ji said solemnly, bowing, "Just now, some imperial guards returned from Mount Li, saying that there was a commotion in the Hot Spring Palace and the sound of fighting."

"Where are the people?" Li Chengqian's face turned grim.

"The Duke of Wuyang has already escorted the person to Chengtian Gate." Lai Ji immediately bowed.

Li Daliang, Duke of Wuyang County, General of the Left Guard.

After the emperor's eastern tour, he appointed Li Chengqian as regent, Wei Zheng as assistant governor, and Li Daliang as commander of all internal and external armies.

"Where is Duke Zheng?" Li Chengqian walked out anxiously.

Lai Ji followed and said, "I've sent someone to notify them. They'll be at Chengtian Gate in two quarters of an hour."

……

The emperor went on an eastern tour, and the crown prince, Chengtianmen, was in charge of state affairs.

However, the emperor had just left Chang'an for only three days when he was assassinated, and everyone's hair stood on end.

"Last night at three quarters past midnight, the army was shocked. There were flashes of fire and sounds of fighting in the Hot Spring Palace. Later, the imperial guards came down the mountain to kill people. The army was in panic and many people scattered. I returned to Chang'an." A soldier in black chain mail knelt at the foot of Chengtian Gate with a terrified look on his face.

"It is inevitable that there will be military whistles in the camp. So, you should stay in the official residence of the Left Guard first. Someone will call you if there is anything." Wei Zheng comforted the soldiers and looked at Zheng Rentai, the General of the Left Guard.

Zheng Rentai immediately bowed and patted the soldier's shoulder. The soldier immediately followed Zheng Rentai's personal guards and left Chengtian Gate.

Li Chengqian watched this scene, turned to look at Wei Zheng, bowed slightly, and asked seriously: "Prime Minister Wei, how should this matter be handled?"

Wei Zheng calmly raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "What does the Crown Prince plan to do next?"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, then looked at Wei Zheng deeply, and then said thoughtfully: "The most important thing now is to find out what is happening in Mount Li now?"

Wei Zheng nodded slightly.

"We need to send someone to check it out." Li Chengqian raised his head and looked at Li Anyan who was standing to the side and said, "The housekeeper counts as one of them."

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian fell silent. Finally, he looked up and said, "The Crown Prince's Junior Secretary counts as one."

Li Daliang, the general of the left guard, on the side couldn't help but look over.

There are so many people in the Eastern Palace, including the Prince's Secretary Yu Zhining, the Prince's Chief Guard Officer Changsun Xiang, and the Prince's Servant Dugu Baobao, but the Prince only chose the Prince's Junior Secretary Zhang Xuansu. Why?
"It's safe." Wei Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement. Then he looked to the side and said, "The Duke of Susong should also go with us."

Zheng Rentai bowed in surprise: "Yes!"

"Pass the order down. Today, the Tonghua Gate, Chunming Gate, and Yanxing Gate in the east of Chang'an City will all be opened one hour later. The left and right guards will immediately send a thousand cavalrymen to impose martial law in the east and west. They will gather all the disorderly soldiers fleeing from Mount Li back to Chang'an along the way. At the same time, they will wait for news from Mount Li. As soon as the emperor's edict arrives, they will immediately go to Mount Li to protect him." Wei Zheng made arrangements in a very short time.

Li Daliang bowed solemnly and said, "I obey your orders."

Wei Zheng nodded, then turned to look at Li Chengqian and said solemnly, "Prince, please stay at Chengtian Gate and wait with me."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed without any hesitation.

The emperor was assassinated. Who is the biggest suspect?
No need to ask, it’s the prince.

At this moment, the prince's every move may cause misunderstanding.

If we are not careful, the prince may rebel and rivers of blood may flow.

The incident involving Prince Liu Ju of the Western Han Dynasty was something that every emperor had to be cautious about.

Even if this matter was finally resolved safely, any behavior of Li Chengqian in the process would be magnified.

Any wrong step may lead to irreparable disaster.

So you have to be careful, careful and careful.

……

Mount Li, a hot spring palace.

The emperor sat on the couch, frowning as he looked at the two tightly bound and kowtowed guards. He said with a puzzled look on his face, "We've investigated and found out that it was only these two who were behind this plot. No one else was involved."

General Chang He of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it was only these two who shot arrows at the sleeping chamber, but the chaos that followed was started by their own soldiers."

"Because he was afraid of the journey, he hoped to frighten the emperor and stop, so he shot at the palace at night."

Li Shimin looked up at Chang He, squinting his eyes and said, "Chang He, do you think I will believe this excuse?"

When the emperor went on tour to the east, he would usually travel from Chang'an to Luoyang on horseback. If he did not stop for the long distance, it would only take a few days.

In this case, what's there to be tired of?

No matter how tired he was, he would not shoot arrows at the emperor's bedroom.

According to Tang law, anyone shooting an arrow into a palace was sentenced to two years in prison if the arrow hit the palace wall; two and a half years if the arrow hit the palace wall; and if the arrow entered either the palace wall or the palace wall, the crime was increased by one level. If the arrow entered the upper gate of the pavilion, the person was sentenced to hanging; if the arrow reached the hall where the emperor was sitting, the person was beheaded.

This time, arrows were shot into the emperor's bedroom as many as five times.

There were as many as five arrows shot into the emperor's bedroom, not to mention the others that did not, at least dozens of them.

Moreover, he had prepared in advance to have his subordinates create chaos, which shows that it was not a spur-of-the-moment act at all, but a lot of preparation had been made in advance.

"When their arrows were pointed in my direction, they already had rebellious intentions." Li Shimin looked up at Chang He and said with narrowed eyes, "Investigate, use all means to find out who is behind this."

"Yes!" Chang He immediately bowed and waved his hand. The Qianniu Guards on both sides immediately stepped forward and pulled the two men down.

Li Shimin then looked at Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yang Shidao and the others, and said with a smile, "I just wanted to come to Mount Li to soak in the hot springs for a few days. Who could have known that something like this would happen? I wonder what kind of chaos will break out in Chang'an if they find out what happened?"

"Your Majesty!" Zhangsun Wuji frowned and bowed, just as he was about to speak when a voice from outside rang out, "Your Majesty, Zheng Rentai, the General of the Left Guard, Zhang Xuansu, the Junior Secretary to the Crown Prince, and Li Anyan, the Crown Prince's Household Officer, request an audience."

The emperor was slightly startled, then relaxed. He looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "I originally wanted to summon the crown prince to Mount Li, but it seems that is not necessary."

"Li Anyan is the prince's most capable man, Zhang Xuansu is extremely loyal to Your Majesty, and Zheng Rentai was probably sent by Wei Zheng. Chang'an should be safe." Changsun Wuji bowed slightly.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, his brow furrowed in thought.

It has nothing to do with the prince, so who is it?
(End of this chapter)