Tiantang

Chapter 130 Li Heng is so close to the throne for the first time (second update)

Chapter 140 Li Heng is so close to the throne for the first time
Gao Lishi understood Zhang Xuan's intention. He wanted to block the news that the old emperor was seriously ill, so as not to cause turmoil in the court and the world.This kind of thinking is right, and Gao Lishi naturally does not reject it.

It's just that Zhang Xuan proposed to let the prince come over, which obviously has the obvious intention of supporting the prince.This is obviously inconsistent with the "plan" in the old emperor's mind.Although the old emperor temporarily promised not to abolish Li Heng, Gao Lishi, as his absolute confidant, knew that the old emperor was investigating Liang Wang Li Zhen recently.

Li Sui is the No.20 ninth son of the emperor. His first name was Ji, and his mother Wu Xianyi.In July of the 23rd year of Kaiyuan, he was named King of Liang. In February 24, he changed his name to Sui.

Li Xuan is the youngest living son of the emperor. He is more than ten years younger than Li Heng, and he is in his prime.

But this is just a very immature "investigation" of the old emperor, which has not yet been turned into actual action.At this moment of crisis, Gao Lishi also understood that if the emperor could not fully recover, the possibility of Li Xuan's ascension to power was zero.

If Zhang Xuan and Yang Guozhong joined forces to elect the prince Li Heng to succeed the throne, even if the emperor wanted to oppose it, there would be nothing he could do.

Therefore, Gao Lishi tactfully kept silent, and did not sing against Zhang Xuan.

In terms of reason, the emperor was seriously ill, so it was normal to summon the prince over immediately.

Gao Lishi went out to call Li Jingzhong, and said in a low voice, "Go quickly to Yang Xiang's mansion and pass on His Majesty's oral order to announce that Yang Guozhong will enter the palace immediately to see him!"

Li Jingzhong's heart trembled, he didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly took the order and left.

Looking at Li Jingzhong's leaving back, Gao Lishi let out a sigh of relief.

Gao Lishi collected himself and walked slowly towards the layman.

The group of imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Office, led by Imperial Physician Order Qian Yilin, still stood in the square against the cold wind. The bright and cold moonlight shone down, making this group of imperial physicians of different sizes, fats and thins shiver. His figure was elongated and shortened, with irregularities.

Gao Lishi walked over slowly, and waved to Qian Yilin with restraint.

Qian Yilin trotted over in a hurry, gasped, and bowed to salute, "I have seen General Gao!"

"My lord Qian, Your Majesty is suffering from a sudden illness, and you will have to work hard for the imperial physicians in the past few days." Gao Lishi said slowly.

"Don't dare, this is the duty of the lower officials today." For Gao Lishi, the number one supervisor next to the emperor, Qian Yilin had enough awe.Of course, there are not a few people in the imperial court who have the same awe as Qian Yilin.

"Everyone, don't leave the palace for the time being. Just rest in the Hall of Glory and wait for His Majesty's summons at any time. In addition, His Majesty has a decree that no one should spread the word about His Majesty's illness. .”

Gao Lishi's words of "killing Wushe, punishing the nine clans" are very understatement and very calm, but it just fell into Qian Yulin's ears, but it was a thunderbolt that shook the sky.

"Here. Your Majesty respectfully abides by the Holy Order. General, your Majesty will go to the Hall of Glory and settle down here, waiting for His Majesty's summons at any time."

Qian Yilin forced a smile, bowed down and bowed down.

Gao Lishi waved his hands wearily, "Go, go, you must abide by the rules in the palace."

……

……

The old emperor babbled a few vague words, then salivated for a while with his mouth crooked, and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhang Xuan turned around slowly, avoiding the old emperor's bed, and stood on the side of the screen.

Yang Yuhuan came over with light steps, and stood in front of Zhang Xuan, her gaze faltered slightly, and there was a sense of bewilderment.

Zhang Xuan stared deeply at Yang Yuhuan.He was well aware of her state of mind at the moment.

This peerless confidante who was originally the most unlucky in history, undoubtedly became flustered and at a loss because of Li Longji's sudden onset of stroke.If Li Longji dies, how will she go about the rest of her life.

Yang Yuhuan was full of thoughts, but she didn't know how to talk about it.

Zhang Xuan smiled, and suddenly reached out and hugged Yang Yuhuan, hugging him tightly.

Yang Yuhuan was taken aback and struggled a little, but immediately sighed quietly, and despite Zhang Xuan's embrace, she fell into his arms and whispered softly, "You little enemy, you are so bold, what is the reason... ..."

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, leaned over and kissed him suddenly.

After this passionate kiss, Yang Yuhuan was out of breath, her face flushed.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here for everything. No one will, and no one dares to hurt you - remember my words, you are my woman." Zhang Xuan suddenly leaned into Yang Yuhuan's ear, and then gently pushed her away Yang Yuhuan motioned for her to stay in the room, while he strode out.

Yang Yuhuan stood there looking at Zhang Xuan's back, and couldn't help but be fascinated by watching and thinking.Zhang Xuan's words were domineering and confident, full of the taste that she could not refuse and resist, but Yang Yuhuan was very happy in his heart, and his chaotic mood gradually settled down.

Or, what she needs and is waiting for is a promise from Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan walked out of the inner room quickly, and met Gao Lishi who hurried in in the outer hall of the imperial study.

"Zizhan, we..." Gao Lishi forced a smile, cupped his hands, and stopped talking.

Zhang Xuan chuckled, "General, taking advantage of Prime Minister Yang and the crown prince's future, Zhang Xuan has a few words from the bottom of his heart that he wants to communicate with the general first."

"Zizhan, please speak."

The two sat down, and soon a maid brought tea.

"General, Your Majesty suddenly fell ill. Zhang Xuan thought that we need to do two things." Zhang Xuan bowed his hands in a salute, "First, the news of His Majesty's illness has been kept secret. The general also knows that the imperial court is currently promoting the reduction of feudal vassals and mergers. According to the policy, the governors of many feudal towns have not yet arrived, and the situation in the world is not stable. If there is news that His Majesty is critically ill, Zhang Xuan is worried that someone will be ready to move and cause disaster."

"Besides, King Rong's rebellion has just subsided, and Chang'an City and the court are in ruins. At this time, not announcing the news of His Majesty's illness can also prevent people's turmoil."

Gao Lishi nodded silently, "Of course. What Zizhan said is true, and a certain family thinks so too. This is easy to deal with, just block the news."

Seeing that Gao Lishi did not object, Zhang Xuan continued, "Secondly, the authority of the crown prince must be established as soon as possible."

"Once His Majesty dies, the crown prince will successfully ascend to the throne, which will play a vital role in stabilizing the Tang Dynasty. If at this time, the candidate for the crown prince is still unclear, there is no guarantee that there will be no greater disturbances. And when there is civil strife in the court, An Lushan will definitely take the opportunity to revolt. Zhang Xuan believes that the general has a better understanding of this point than I do."

Gao Lishi sighed, "Zizhan's words are not in vain. The ambition of An Lushan's wolf has become more apparent in the past two years. It's just that An Lushan's beard has always been afraid of His Majesty's heavenly power. If His Majesty drives Collapse, a certain family is also worried that no one in the Great Tang court can deter him. Hey...just..."

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth, "Forgive Zhang Xuan for speaking bluntly. Among the many princes of His Majesty, the one who is most suitable to be emperor is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The other princes are not suitable. For a ruler, benevolence is the most important thing." Virtue, and His Royal Highness is the king of benevolence."

"Prince Rong, Li Wan, is quite talented, and he is second to none among His Majesty's princes. However, King Rong is a rebel, he raised troops to force the palace, has no father and no king, and his virtues are ruined. That's why he ended up ruined."

"Zhang Xuan believes that His Royal Highness may not be a pioneer, but he will definitely be a successful one."

Gao Lishi's expression changed.It's not that Zhang Xuan didn't understand what he said.It's just that he has always been loyal to the old emperor, and he is unwilling to go against the old emperor's true intentions.

Moreover, he also understood that the reason why the old emperor didn't like Li Heng very much was because Li Heng was too cowardly, the master was weak but his ministers were strong. The old emperor was worried that once he died, Li Heng, the emperor, would be ostracized by powerful officials like Yang Guozhong.

As for Gao Lishi, what worries him now is not only Yang Guozhong, but also Zhang Xuan.

Once Li Heng is on the throne, Zhang Xuan will have the merit of supporting him.He was the assistant minister of the East Palace from the beginning, and now he is the big backer behind the prince.Crown Prince Yuji, Zhang Xuan's power must have overwhelmed Yang Guozhong in one fell swoop, becoming the most powerful official in the Tang court from the emperor down.

With Zhang Xuan's means, I am afraid that Yang Guozhong will not be his opponent at all.

Zhang Xuan knew what Gao Lishi was worried about, but he smiled and said nothing.

He expected that apart from Li Heng, Gao Lishi had no choice now.He and Yang Guozhong would both oppose supporting other princes.Only by choosing Li Heng can a balance of interests be reached.

Gao Lishi was silent.

Zhang Xuan smiled, and suddenly interrupted, "General, after the situation stabilizes, Zhang Xuan is willing to leave Beijing and set up a feudal town to guard the border for the Tang Dynasty, so as to relieve the General's worries."

Gao Lishi's old face turned red, he waved his hands awkwardly and said with a smile, "Zi Zhan must not misunderstand, that is not the meaning of a certain family..."

"General, Zhang Xuan always seeks to be worthy of his heart in doing things for others." Zhang Xuan laughed loudly.

When the two were talking, Li Heng had already arrived.

Suddenly something happened to the emperor, because Gao Lishi and Zhang Xuan blocked the news, the East Palace didn't know about it at all.It wasn't until the inner eunuch went to announce the decree, and Li Heng came over in a hurry, that he guessed a general idea.

And he stood quietly at the entrance of the hall, and after listening to the conversation between Zhang Xuan and Gao Lishi, he was even more ecstatic and moved.

Happily, the throne has never been so within reach as it is today.He has been the prince for more than ten years, but he has never been the real prince of a country for a day; and what is touching is that Zhang Xuan has never been a prince in the past or in the present, whether it is a small assistant minister in the East Palace in the past or a high position and power today. Always stand by his side and work hard for him to ascend the throne.

Even before, everyone including the emperor stood against him as the prince, but Zhang Xuan still did not change his original intention.

For a moment, Li Heng's eyes turned red, and he stood there and shed two lines of tears.

It's been too hard for him to be the prince, and he's too aggrieved.

(End of this chapter)