Chapter 3885 Secrets of the Past
In the ninth year of Wude, the generals of Tiance Mansion were unwilling to sit back and wait for death in the face of the aggressiveness of Prince Jiancheng, so they tried their best to persuade His Majesty Li Er to give it a go and risk his life to survive. However, His Majesty Li Er has always made plans before taking action. How can he dare to risk his life and fight against the odds only when he is sure?
At the critical moment, a piece of news came from the palace, which strengthened His Majesty Li Er's determination to launch a mutiny.
That news came from Emperor Gaozu's most favored eunuch, Wang Shoushi...
Therefore, His Majesty Li Er had no luck in his heart, and was completely disappointed with the brotherhood between father and son. In anger and grief, he led the generals of Tiance Mansion to fight to the death, and bribed the Xuanwumen garrison general Chang He, and designed to lure Prince Jiancheng and King Yuanji of Qi to the throne. Entering the palace, when the two of them passed by the Xuanwu Gate, they were captured and killed in one fell swoop.
Then he took advantage of the situation and entered the palace, forcing Emperor Gaozu to change his name to crown prince. Later, he imprisoned Emperor Gaozu and forced him to "abdicate" and ascend to the throne...
Among them, the eunuch Wang Shoushi made the greatest contribution.
However, because of his status as a eunuch, he had no children, no home, no career, so he declined some rewards. In the early years of Zhenguan, he could still be seen in the palace from time to time, but since then he gradually disappeared from everyone's sight and was completely forgotten.
If Changsun Wuji hadn't mentioned it at this moment, even Yu Wenshiji wouldn't have thought of this person...
Changsun Wuji looked solemn and said slowly: "Can you remember what happened at the Xuanwu Gate?"
Yu Wenshi nodded, how could he forget this?
That blood-soaked mutiny in Chang'an City completely reversed the fate of His Majesty Li Er, Tiance Mansion, and all the Longmen clan. It can be said to have flipped the trajectory of the entire Tang Dynasty to another level. Otherwise, if the crown prince succeeded to the throne, I don’t know what the Tang Dynasty looks like today.
Changsun Wuji continued: "Back then, we fought under the Xuanwu Sect, and then the generals of Tiance Mansion cooperated with the Guanlong army to wipe out the troops loyal to the prince one by one. But at the same time, His Majesty had already entered the palace, and quickly Stabilize the situation, put Emperor Gaozu under house arrest easily, and take control of the power.”
Yu Wenshi raised his eyebrows: "What's wrong?"
Changsun Wuji sighed and said: "His Majesty took control of the Taiji Palace too quickly! I had doubts at that time, but after His Majesty occupied the palace, he completely sealed it off. The people who guarded the palace gates were all the generals of Tiance Mansion. I want a There was nothing we could do to find out, so we had to leave it at that. Looking back now, I think someone was secretly assisting His Majesty.”
As time has passed, this doubt is destined to remain unanswered, but thinking about the causes and consequences, and the entire process, Yu Wenshiji has to admit that there is something fishy in it, and perhaps there is an unknown method hidden among them to control the Long clan.
"Do you think it was Wang Shoushi who assisted His Majesty?"
"Exactly."
"Unlikely..."
Yu Wenshi said: "Although Wang Shoushi is a favored eunuch of Emperor Gaozu, how can he be able to assist His Majesty in completely occupying the entire palace and defeating all the imperial guards loyal to Emperor Gaozu? Unless..."
He pondered, thinking of a possibility.
Changsun Wuji met his eyes, nodded and said: "That's right, unless he controls a secret power."
The two looked at each other speechlessly.
This speculation is groundless, but Lenovo back then and now, we increasingly feel that this is very likely to be the case...
Yu Wenshiji touched the teapot and found that the tea was already lukewarm. He gave up the idea of drinking the water and asked with a frown, "Your Majesty is marching in person and you are accompanying him. Didn't you find anyone acting suspicious around your Majesty?"
The reason why it is speculated that Wang Shoushi assisted His Majesty Li Er in quickly and stably occupying the palace was because if Wang Shoushi had such a secret force back then, then he would naturally be able to complete the task of assassinating Fang Junzhi today.
After all, there is no more reasonable explanation than this from both the government and the public.
And if this guess is true, then Li Jilai may not be responsible for executing the edict left by His Majesty Li Er. After all, Wang Shoushi's loyalty to His Majesty Li Er has never changed, and the mysterious power under his command is also very powerful...
This is a subversive result to all previous calculations and speculations.
Changsun Wuji thought carefully and shook his head: "There is nothing unusual. His Majesty sits, sleeps, and lives normally. There are only a few people around him. Whether he is marching or camping, everything is normal around the Chinese army. Of course, if Your Majesty took Wang Shoushi with you, and it was very easy to avoid everyone’s eyes and ears.”
There are hundreds of thousands of troops, and there are countless people coming and going. If you really want to hide a person, it is simply a drop in the ocean, making it impossible for outsiders to notice.
Yu Wenshiji sighed. He made such a guess and had no clue. What could he be sure of?
On the contrary, the changes in front of us are more difficult.
"Zhang Shigui sealed the Xuanwu Gate, but took no action. He was obviously still weighing the pros and cons and hesitating, but he must have been more willing to follow His Majesty's decree. But now as long as the news of Fang Jun's assassination reaches Zhang Shigui's ears, He must be afraid. After all, the imperial edict is just an imperial edict, not an instruction from His Majesty. No matter how steadfast the loyalty is, there is a limit. Who knows if he will get mad and simply join the prince? "
Yu Wenshi was very worried.
Changsun Wuji said helplessly: "So, if this matter is really Wang Shoushi's doing, then he is really an old fool! Originally, as long as we continued to put pressure on the East Palace, Zhang Shigui would definitely make the decision to obey the imperial edict at a critical moment. Completely block the Xuanwu Gate, and even give the prince a fatal blow. But now something unexpected happened, only the devil knows what Zhang Shigui will choose!"
No one doubts Zhang Shigui's loyalty, but the problem is that now His Majesty Li Er is dead, and the life and death of the prince is related to the future of the entire empire. So in Zhang Shigui's opinion, does following the imperial edict count as loyalty, or does supporting the prince's overall situation count as loyalty?
After all, His Majesty Li Er is one with the Tang Dynasty. His Majesty Li Er represents the Tang Dynasty. Loyalty to the Tang Dynasty naturally means loyalty to His Majesty Li Er...
Yu Wenshiji said decisively: "Don't pay attention to it. On the one hand, we will continue to increase the troops to maintain pressure on Taiji Palace and keep attacking. On the other hand, we will contact people who have friendship with Guan Long in the Eastern Expedition Army to secretly investigate whether there are Wang Shoushi and His Majesty." Who will execute the imperial edict? At this point in the situation, the initiative is no longer in our hands, and all we can do is do our best and obey fate.”
Who issued the order to assassinate Fang Jun, which force did the dead soldiers used belong to, and whether Li Ji was ordered to carry out His Majesty's edict... Every question involves the changes in the current situation, and is even enough to completely reverse the situation.
But for the Guanlong clan, it is difficult to grasp one of the problems and completely understand it. The only thing they can do is continue the previous strategy and see if they can defeat the six rates of the East Palace and completely occupy the Taiji Palace.
As long as this is done, the initiative will return to the hands of the Guanlong Clan, and they can sit at the negotiation table to discuss the life and death future of the Guanlong Clan. Even if the situation develops smoothly, they can even seize it in this mutiny. Some benefits, a share of the pie.
Outside the door, Yu Wenjie knocked on the door and said in a low voice: "It stopped raining outside!"
"Huh?"
The two stood up suddenly and looked out the window.
The night was still dark and boundless, but the rain was already pattering and the wind had stopped. The two of them did not pay attention when they were discussing...
Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice: "Immediately pass the order, and all the ministries are in their respective positions. After the adjustments are made, there is no need to ask for instructions, and the war will begin!"
All the preparations behind the scenes, all the hidden conspiracies, all the forces in the dark, everything depends on whether the current war can be won. If the Taiji Palace is successfully invaded, even if the prince escapes from the Xuanwu Gate, the trouble will be with Li Ji or other people who carry out the imperial edict. The Guanlong clan will have a chance to sit at the negotiating table and control their own destiny.
If it is still impossible to break through the defense line of East Palace Sixth, even if you understand all the preparations of all parties behind the scenes, what can you do?
Guan Long will still be labeled as a "rebellion", and he will be purged after the war. I don't know how many people have been executed, expelled from the army and sent to the army...
"Here!"
Yu Wenjie received the order, responded in a deep voice, and then quickly withdrew, giving orders to the various Guanlong troops stationed in Chang'an City.
As the conveyor of the order, he clearly knew that the current Guanlong clan was at the end of its strength, and the serious lack of food and fodder had caused the morale of the army to drop again and again. If he could not take advantage of this last opportunity to capture Taiji Palace in one go, then the only thing waiting for the Guanlong army would be It's hard to describe the defeat as a rout...
Changsun Wuji took off the clothes hanging on the wall and said to Yuwen Shiji: "You go back to your home to recuperate first, and I will go into battle to supervise the battle!" (End of Chapter)