Tang Dynasty Never Night

On the night of Li Zhi's death, there was a heavy snowfall, and the whole Luoyang city became a white world in an instant, and there were wailing sounds inside and outside the city, but at this time, Li Xian seemed to be completely absent from the place, kneeling in a daze There, until now he can't believe that Li Zhi really died like this.

He has always known that Li Zhi's health is not in good health, but everyone knows that Li Zhi's health is not good. Li Zhi has been critically ill before, and he also got through the difficulties in the end. At first, he thought it would be the same this time, but... ...was it because his prayers were not devout enough?

Li Xian wanted to feel sad for Li Zhi for a while, but the reality didn't give him this chance.

After the emperor passed away, the most important thing was probably the will. Everyone knelt on the ground to listen to the announcement: "The funeral will take place on the seventh day, and the crown prince will sit in front of the coffin. Take the day after punishment."

Li Xian woke up from the grief in an instant. He bowed his head and knelt on the ground and thought for a long time. He felt that there was something suspicious about this will, and Li Xian knew what Li Zhi meant.Li Zhi had always known that Empress Wu was ambitious. He suppressed Empress Wu during his lifetime, so it was impossible for him to return such great power to Empress Wu after his death. Li Xian judged that this edict must have been passive.

To be honest, Li Zhi's death caught Li Xian a little off guard, or he was not a qualified politician in essence. If it was Li Xian, he might have been on guard against Empress Wu's tampering with the will, and he But I didn't think of it!

Li Xian didn't have any expression on his face after receiving the edict. His whole body seemed to be numb, but he felt a little sad in his heart. The royal family is like this. Li Zhi's bones were not cold yet. Empress Wu began to calculate how to get more rights. I want to ask Empress Wu if she really loved Li Zhi?

But I also know that for Empress Wu, love is probably the most insignificant thing. The seven days of the emperor's funeral are probably the coldest days in the first year of Hongdao. It was useless to warm him, he seemed to be thrown into the ice and snow naked.

It’s just that even so he had to cheer up. Li Zhi’s posthumous title and temple name had to be discussed, which was different from the mixed evaluations of Li Zhi by later generations. At this time, Li Zhi was positive from top to bottom. attitude.

In the past 35 years of Li Zhi's reign, he has expanded Chang'an's territory and vigorously developed the economy. Every single thing is recorded. Li Xian sometimes feels that if it is not for Wu Zetian, a woman who is against the sky, maybe Li Zhi's evaluation in history may be higher.

In the end, just like in history, the ministers were posthumously called the Emperor of Heaven, and the temple name was Gaozong.

An era of Li Zhi has passed, but the new era is even more confusing. No one understands why Li Zhi wrote such a will in the end. Everyone is suspicious, but there is no evidence. Moved into the Zhenguan Hall, but Li Zhi found that apart from the East Palace, Zhenguan Hall, and Qianyuan Hall, all other places in the palace were controlled by Empress Wu.

Li Xian didn't panic, chaos is useless, when Li Zhi was here before, he was not as good as Empress Wu in controlling the harem, now it is not easy for him to be able to control the Zhenguan Palace and the East Palace.

Li Xian never thought of competing with Empress Wu for this kind of control. The only thing he had to do was to find the real will.It is impossible for Li Zhi not to be wary of Empress Wu. It is very strange that Empress Wu was able to obtain the will so smoothly and tamper with it.However, Li Xian did not find any trace of the edict in Zhenguan Hall or Qianyuan Hall.

And although his series of actions were somewhat concealed, they still alarmed Empress Wu. After Li Zhi left, Empress Wu was much more powerful than Li Xian. Many speculative people analyzed the power comparison between mother and son, and immediately stood by Empress Wu. What's more, Empress Wu has her natal family to help, ahem, although there are only a few nephews left in this natal family, they are stronger than Li Xian who doesn't even have a wife.

Empress Wu's surveillance of Li Xian became stricter, but Li Xian was anxious but still the same as usual. The only thing he had to do at the beginning of his succession was to confer rewards: first, Empress Wu became Empress Dowager, Princess Taiping became Princess Taiping, Prime Minister Li Lun , changed the title to King Yu, and changed his name to Li Dan.

This is my own family, and then there are the elders in the family: the governor of Zezhou, the king of Han Li Yuanjia as the Taiwei, the governor of Yuzhou and the king of Teng Li Yuanying as the third division of Kaifu Yitong, the governor of Jiangzhou and the king of Lu Li Lingkui as the prince and grand teacher. The governor of Xiangzhou and the king of Yue, Li Zhen, were the prince's Taifu, and the governor of Anzhou, and the king of Ji, Li Shen, was the prince's Taibao.There are also people such as Li Yuanjia who have too high a reputation. Both Empress Wu and Li Xian are a little worried about these people, fearing that they will change, so they just add vacancies to appease them and want real benefits. Sorry, no.

Then there are the officials: Liu Rengui is the minister Zuo Pushe, Cen Changqian is the minister of the Ministry of War, Wei Xuantong is the servant of the Huangmen, and still knows political affairs.Liu Qixian is the servant, and Pei Yan is the order of Zhongshu.

During the awarding process, did Empress Wu and Li Xian have disagreements, and this disagreement was on Zheng Qi.

Logically speaking, Zheng Qi can be regarded as Li Xian's "old man", Li Xian's accession to the throne is naturally to favor his own people, and the Manchu Dynasty is full of civil and military affairs, so Zheng Qi is considered a princeling, and the rest of the people have a good relationship with Li Xian There are many, but there are really not many who are said to be hardcore princelings.

However, when Li Xian was negotiating the reward, he deliberately suppressed Zheng Qi. He didn't want Zheng Qi to be promoted, but Zheng Qi's position is too important. If Zheng Qi leaves this position, then this place must be When Empress Wu's people come forward, it will be equivalent to the entire palace in the hands of Empress Wu.

Therefore, he would rather suppress Zheng Qi than allow Empress Wu to succeed. Fortunately, he also has a saying when suppressing Zheng Qi: "Aniang, Zheng Qingcheng is still too young. Now he is in the position of Jiuqing. If he is promoted again, there will only be six departments." It's not appropriate for Shang Shu."

"What's inappropriate? Wasn't he young when he was Jiuqing?"

"That's different. Daddy is brilliant and powerful. Naturally, I can't compare it. It was Qingcheng who became Jiuqing because of his own meritorious deeds. Now, Aunt let him be a minister because of me. This is different. If Aniang loves him , just give him a place in the title." Li Xian's face was calm, as if he really thought so.

One insisted on being promoted, and the other insisted not to be promoted. In the end, there were still many people who supported Li Xian. Li Xian thought of who Zheng Qi was, and there was a Zheng family behind him, even though he was not too close to his family. , but the Zheng family still has many political enemies, and Zheng Qi himself has provoked many people.

Empress Wu's party certainly didn't want someone else to occupy the position of Shangshu. In the end, Zheng Qi still remained in his original position, and his title was not even promoted.

This time he asked for it himself. After hearing that Empress Wu intends to promote his title to marquis, Zheng Qi was very worthy of his name, and said solemnly: "The noble rewards merit, and the salary rewards ability. I am ashamed." I can't take it!"

In the end, this matter came to nothing, but it was still intentional to give a title of Prince Shaofu, but since there is no prince now, and there is not even a candidate, this is no different from a false position.

After a series of conferments, because the new year is coming soon, although the year is doomed to be a bad one because of the national mourning, the year still needs to be changed, and the year name that was finally discussed is still Sisheng. Li Xian still feels quite complicated when he sees this year name .

Zheng Qi told him that this year name actually only lasted for a little more than a month. Yes, Li Xian in history was abolished by Empress Wu one month after his succession to the throne. The speed of Empress Wu's actions is unbelievable. .

But this time, Li Xian didn't have a wife, so naturally he didn't have a father-in-law, and he wasn't someone who would lose his head casually. This time, Empress Wu...what is she going to do?It's just that before that, he needs to hold back a little bit.Although Li Xian was at a loss as to what to do when he became emperor, the only advantage was probably that he became aboveboard when he summoned Zheng Qi, and he didn't need to make any excuses.

Oh, and of course there are excuses to be had.Li Xian didn't do anything after seeing Zheng Qi, but handed him several blank manuscripts, all of which were stamped with the seal of the jade seal.

Rao Zheng Qi couldn't help but change his face when he saw these written instructions, and he didn't know what to say for a while.These handwritten orders represent a signal that Empress Wu may have new actions, or Li Xian feels that Empress Wu will have new actions, so he has to reserve for later because he is worried.

This is the right granted by Li Xian to Zheng Qi. When necessary, Zheng Qi can use these orders to save him, and at the same time, this is also a very heavy trust, which means that Li Xian is not worried at all that Zheng Qi will use these things to harm him. own interests.

Zheng Qi touched the "dragon head" boldly after receiving the handwriting: "Saint, please take care."

What he can do is very limited, the rest is up to Li Xian himself, so Zheng Qi is telling Li Xian so.

After hearing this, Li Xian was stunned for a moment. After a while, he realized that the phrase "saint" was referring to himself. He couldn't help but smiled wryly and said, "I don't know how long I, a saint, can do."

Zheng Qi was slightly silent after hearing this, many things were different from what he remembered, they could only take one step at a time, otherwise Li Xian would not have to take the risk of handing over the handbook to Zheng Qi.

Empress Wu also seemed to have noticed Li Xian's actions. She didn't know where Li Xian had given Zheng Qi a blank letter, but she only knew it. How could Zheng Qi let her get the evidence?

Naturally, Empress Wu was not reconciled, and directly used the excuse that the emperor passed away, the saint was sad, and he had a serious illness, and put Li Xian under house arrest in the East Palace.

Empress Wu did not use the palace guards to put Li Xian under house arrest, but the ten raters of the East Palace and the eunuchs. To be honest, Li Xian was not surprised by this result. After the house arrest, Li Xian also heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had finally arrived.

Empress Wu was too quiet before, she didn't do anything, and she didn't even promote her own people. At that time, Li Xian had a feeling that the other party was brewing a bigger conspiracy. He has been doing nothing these days, except for a few For emergency situations, such as the war against the Turks, Li Zhi has done almost everything before, and the reason why it has been delayed until now is because the war is still going on, and many things can be done as long as Li Zhi’s previous orders are continued. There is no need for Li Xian to bother.

What Li Xian was waiting for these days was Empress Wu's next move, and Empress Wu really lived up to Li Xian's expectations, but this time she didn't have an excuse to abolish Li Xian, so the two sides fell into a confrontation for a while, and the outside world The news of the newly appointed emperor was lost, and all orders were issued through the queen mother, and there was a lot of discussion between the government and the opposition.

But Li Xian, who was under house arrest in the East Palace, was very calm, and he even had time to play with Fatty Bai and Saburo.

Saburo now has an official name called Li Chongyi, Li Chongyi is a very sensible child, Li Xian is too busy to play with him often, he has his own teacher to teach him, and this teacher is recruited by Li Xian from Plum Blossom Academy Of course, it is through formal channels. This person is quite special in Plum Blossom Academy. He is not an orphan, but a child of an ordinary family. It is just because his parents treat him badly. It is better not to have parents.

But this also happened to allow him to come in through the formal channel for the exam. This person is called You Mingquan.You Mingquan is not a person suitable for politics. I don't know if it is related to his childhood experience. He is a bit too jealous. Jealousy is not a bad quality, but if it exceeds a certain limit, it can be regarded as extreme.

But You Mingquan has real talents and learning, and it's not bad to be an enlightenment gentleman.You Mingquan had been silent before, but now that Li Xian was under house arrest in the East Palace, You Mingquan became visibly anxious.

Li Xian didn't accompany Li Chongyi to study every day these days, but only occasionally, but he didn't know what You Mingquan said to Li Chongyi. On the seventh day of Li Xian's house arrest, Li Chongyi looked at him hesitantly after finishing his homework. Li Xian asked: "Sage, sir, you are under house arrest by the Queen Mother, right?"

After hearing this, Li Xian didn't say anything else but said: "Don't think too much. Didn't you say something else? You should call him Uncle, not Saint." Because it probably won't be called twice.

Li Chongyi hesitated for a moment and said, "Uncle, is it because of me that the queen mother put uncle under house arrest?"

Li Xian touched Li Chongyi's little head and said, "Don't think too much after you've said it all? This matter has nothing to do with you, understand?"

Li Chongyi responded sullenly, and Li Xian smiled and said, "Okay, I'll leave the matter to you, okay? Huh? Where's the white tiger?"

After Li Chongyi heard this, he turned his head and looked around and said with some puzzlement: "It was still there just now."

As a result, at this moment, there was commotion outside. Li Xian heard the guards of the East Palace say "Over there!" "Over there!" He knew that this fat man must have caused trouble again.

Li Xian took Li Chongyi's hand and went out to see what Fatty Bai was doing, and then saw Fatty Bai approaching with a very familiar bright yellow book in his mouth from a distance. People waved their hands. Although those people were looking after Li Xian, they didn't dare to directly disobey him, so they had to retreat.

Li Xian took out the drool-filled imperial edict from the fat man's mouth, still wondering, all the edicts he wrote before have been issued, and there is no blank edict in the East Palace, where did the fat man get it from? ?

It's just that he almost knelt down when he opened it and took a look - this is Li Zhi's real will!

The reason why Li Xian dared to say that it was Li Zhi's real will was mainly because there was a distribution plan for Li Zhi to distribute his inheritance to his sons and daughters!Li Xian said that there was something wrong with the previous edict. The emperor also had private money, and the emperor also had an inheritance. Moreover, in the edict, Li Zhi also specifically mentioned Li Xian, who named Cao Wang's eldest son Li Ming For the sake of Lingling County King, Li Xian was exiled to Bazhou by the way, and then Li Ming was also kicked to Bazhou to become the governor of Bazhou!

This is to preserve Li Xian in a disguised form. Seeing this, Li Xian knows that this edict is true. When Li Zhi passed away, he was probably most worried about his sixth son. I don't want Li Xian to die.

Of course, Li Zhi didn't suspect that Li Xian would treat Li Xian badly, the main reason was that he didn't trust Empress Wu!After Li Xian succeeds to the throne, he will definitely start a series of struggles with Empress Wu. During this process, it is good that Li Xian can keep himself, but he may not be able to keep Li Xian, so Li Zhicai wrote this matter in the will. .

Li Zhi thought very clearly, that's why he wrote all the things he worried about in the will. Even Empress Wu couldn't ignore his will, otherwise the ministers would definitely not let Empress Wu take power, not even the whole world. Will admit that Empress Wu is in power.

Li Xian looked at Li Zhi's will, and suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. With this, he has a bargaining chip, but now he really wants to know where Fatty Bai found this will?

Li Xian patted Fatty Bai's head and said, "Where did you find this thing?"

The fat white man licked his mouth with a groan, as if begging for a reward, Li Xian took out the jerky and fed it two pieces of dried meat. After the fat man had eaten enough, he took Li Xian to his favorite tree. Under the tree, as soon as Li Xian looked up, he saw a bird's nest on the tree, and suddenly felt very strange, how could there be a bird's nest on the tree in the East Palace?Some have also been moved away, this bird's nest is definitely not the closest.

Who put the bird's nest up there?Is the will still placed in the bird's nest?By chance, Fatty Bai saw it coming over?

This series of questions made Li Xian a little confused. He turned around and went back to hide the edict. He didn't intend to lift the cards right now, after all, Zheng Qi hadn't made any moves yet.

And two days after Li Xian discovered the will, Empress Wu came over, she looked at Li Xian and said, "Aren't you willing to plead guilty?"

Li Xian poured tea for Empress Wu calmly: "Have you got the evidence?"

Empress Wu frowned. If she really got the evidence, she could directly issue an imperial edict to abolish Li Xian!It was because she didn't get it, that's why she wanted to put Li Xian under house arrest. When Li Xian couldn't help but show his flaws, she didn't expect Li Xian to be so calm, as if he was waiting for something from the beginning to the end.

"Are you waiting for Zheng Qi?"

Li Xian shook his head with a smile: "How is it possible? At this time, even if he has the heart, he may not have the ability. What's more... Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, and they fly separately when disaster strikes. He and I are not husband and wife. I'm desperate?"

This is pure nonsense for Li Xian, if Zheng Qi was there, he would not believe these words, but Empress Wu believed it, because what Li Xian said was exactly what Empress Wu thought.

Empress Wu did not believe that Zheng Qi would work hard for Li Xian when it was obvious that he was not strong enough, because Zheng Qi was a smart man, smart but not straightforward. same as the minister.

After hearing this, Empress Wu continued to ask: "He took your letter but refused to act. Do you still believe him?"

Li Xian was not fooled at all: "Who said he took my handwriting? How could my handwriting be given to others easily? Don't be joking, Madam."

Really improved, Empress Wu looked at Li Xian quietly, sneered, turned around and left: "Think about it yourself."

Li Xian knew that if he admitted that he would be abolished, but his life would definitely be fine, but if he could live, Li Xian would not be able to live. It is too late for Empress Wu to target Li Xian, but if he is abolished, then that is not necessarily the case Well, Li Dan is not as strong as him. Anyway, the merits on his body make Empress Wu dare not touch him easily. If it is Li Dan... forget it.

Li Xian needs a turning point, and Zheng Qi also needs a turning point, and they are both patiently waiting for this turnaround.And it was not without purpose that Empress Wu talked to Li Xian this time, she was warning Li Xian that life would not be so easy for Li Xian if he was disobedient.

The quality of the food has seriously declined, he can bear it if he is deducted and even has cold food, but Li Chongyi can't bear it. Fortunately, no matter how much Wu Hou targets Li Xian, he will not dare to touch the white fat man. Now the only person in the entire East Palace who can maintain the standard of food is probably That is Fatty Bai, Li Xian had no choice but to distribute some fruits from Fatty Bai to Li Chongyi to ensure the child's nutrition.

Fatty Bai didn't protect his food either, but Li Xian suddenly felt that he was a bit overbearing. Empress Wu hadn't seen any tricks in the harem for so many years?What methods have not been used?He had always wanted to confront Empress Wu in the open, but he forgot that Empress Wu had many ways to force him to commit a crime.

If this continues, he will have to think about whether to compromise once.At least alive is better than dead.What he didn't expect was that in spring and March, when the temperature was generally relatively high, suddenly a cold wind blew through overnight, and it snowed heavily in most parts of the country.

Li Xian was standing in spring clothes at the gate of the East Palace and was terribly cold. Just when he was worrying about this year's harvest, that You Mingquan, who he always thought was too clear about right and wrong, ushered in a turning point for him.

I don't know how this kid bribed him, but he ran out of the East Palace in the middle of the night, ran all the way to the gate of Qianyuan Hall, and shouted: "Yangyang Datang, the supreme saint, was trapped by a woman, The sky is bright!"

Then he slammed his head against the pillar and died. You Mingquan's actions seemed too strange. There were so many guards in the palace, how did he get to the Qianyuan Hall?

Li Xian's face was very pale when he found out, but he knew that the time had come. Sure enough, Zheng Qi lived up to everyone's expectations, took Li Xian's handbook and led the guards all the way to the East Palace to escort him.Li Xian put on the padded coat that Zheng Qi brought him, took Li Zhi's edict, stepped out of the East Palace and stepped on the thick snow to the Qianyuan Hall. At this time, the Qianyuan Hall was already brightly lit. The body was gone, but Li Xian could vaguely see blood on the ground.

He took a look and then looked back. After calming down, he stepped into the Qianyuan Hall, and then he saw Empress Wu asking angrily: "Zheng Qi, are you going to rebel?"

Zheng Qi didn't answer, Li Xian looked up at Empress Wu and said calmly, "Aniang, now...we can talk."