Chapter 4335 Prepare for the worst
As the well-deserved "number one in the military", British Duke Li Ji did not have any direct troops under his command. This was a common practice and a precaution against powerful figures to avoid the emergence of powerful ministers who combined military and political power.
However, Li Ji's past achievements and status destined that his influence in the army is rarely matched by others. If he raises his arms and responds, many responders will gather. If he leaves the palace at this time to summon his old troops to contact the troops stationed in various places, it will be easy to attract another powerful force. ……
In the final analysis, because of Li Ji's previous performances, Li Chengqian felt that there was a problem with his position, and he must be restrained in the palace instead of letting the tiger go back to the mountain.
Li Ji understood Li Chengqian's intentions, but he didn't feel any humiliation or anger. It was true that he showed no support, no objection, and stood by when Li Chengqian came to the throne. How could he expect Li Chengqian's unreserved trust?
Li Junxian strode into the palace, saluted, and reported the latest battle situation: "The rebels stormed the inner gate. The defenders of the inner gate were defeated, and the city gate fell. The rebels entered from the inner gate, and outside Xuande Gate. The garrison entered the palace to assist in defense, but the rebels advanced very quickly. Cheng Wuting As a last resort, he led his troops to the front lines of Ganlu Palace and Shenlong Palace to assist the Imperial Guards in building a defense line. The battle is fierce now, the guards are weak and the casualties are heavy. The front line of Ganlu Palace may be breached by the rebels at any time. Your Majesty should prepare early."
Taiji Palace has a distinction between court and sleeping. Behind Taiji Palace is Zhuming Gate, and to the north is Liangyi Gate. The cross street between Zhuming Gate and Liangyi Gate is the boundary between court and sleeping.
The dormitory area is divided into two rows of palaces in the front and back by a Yongxiang. Four horizontal gates are added in the Yongxiang: Donghengmen, Xihengmen, Rihuamen and Yuehuamen. The south of Yongxiang is the living area of the emperor, that is, the "Emperor's Bedroom", and the north of Yongxiang is the living area of the queen and concubines, which is the "Queen's Bedroom". Foreign ministers are absolutely prohibited from entering.
In the middle of the front row is the Liangyi Hall complex. To the north of Hengjie Street, in the middle is the Ganlu Gate, and inside the gate is the sleeping hall Ganlu Hall. There are Shenlong Hall and Anren Hall on the left and right of Ganlu Hall, and Daji Hall, Baifu Hall, and Chengqing Hall on both sides. Each of these halls has its own courtyard.
To the north of Manlu Hall is the rear garden, which has now been completely occupied. Once the rebels break through Manlu Hall, they will enter the "back sleeping area". The palaces and pavilions here are staggered, which is very unfavorable for blocking defense. Once the rebels break through, the troops will be scattered. If they each work independently, their military superiority will be completely revealed, and they will only be one step away from the Wude Palace.
A gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall. No matter how rigorous Li Chengqian's preparations were in advance, he should have made preparations at this time, either to move to Taiji Palace to temporarily take charge, and when the situation completely deteriorated, Chengtianmen evacuated the palace city, or directly to use military force. Leaving the capital through the secret tunnel under the De Palace, completely giving up on the Tai Chi Palace and admitting defeat...
Li Chengqian shook his head: "It is not yet critical, so there is no need to panic. If I move out of the Wude Palace for safety at this time, it will not only destabilize the morale of the guards in the palace, but also shake the stance of the government and the public, and the gain will outweigh the loss. You don't need to persuade me anymore, When the real defeat is decided, I will not sit still I am waiting to be killed. I am the crown prince enthroned by my father’s golden code. I have been blessed by heaven and earth and ascended the throne. I have great righteousness and my name is justified. How can I watch the traitor steal the great treasure and poison the world? The thieves are at odds with each other!”
During the Guanlong Rebellion, he was once forced to rush to the Xuanwu Gate to prepare for exile. At that time, he was already weak-minded and even had a desire to die. He was full of despair about his future and wanted to die.
But now he is definitely not in the same state of mind as before. As the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, even if Chang'an falls, he is confident to regroup and regain the lost mountains and rivers.
Everyone also breathed a sigh of relief. As an emperor who controls the world, his self-esteem and pride are naturally extraordinary. Sometimes it is difficult to accept failure. If Li Chengqian could not bear the blow and became discouraged and lost his fighting spirit, it would be a disaster for those present. It's the end of the road. As long as Li Chengqian's fighting spirit remains intact, what if Chang'an is captured by the rebels?
The worst case scenario is that the country will be divided into separate states, and they will recuperate and then attack Chang'an again...
Li Ji asked: "Does the Duke of Yue have anything to convey?"
Li Junxian shook his head and said: "The leader of the army is Cheng Wuting. The Duke of Yue has never been on the road. Perhaps he is still in the military camp outside Xuandemen."
Li Ji frowned: "At this time, Fang Jun is not leading the army to resist the rebels, but he is still staying in the Jinyuan military camp?"
Something is clearly wrong.
Fang Jun is not a rough person, on the contrary, he is the kind of person who you can feel completely at ease as long as you leave anything to him. No matter how difficult the matter is, he will always handle it properly. At such a critical moment, only one Cheng Wu was allowed to lead the army, and he hid himself?
Something must be happening.
At this moment, Wang De, the chief chamberlain, entered the palace, came to Li Chengqian's side, bowed and whispered: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Highness Changle has come to join with others from Shujing Palace. How should we arrange it?"
Li Chengqian was shocked. The rebels suddenly rose up and directly attacked the inner gate and quickly broke in. The entire Taiji Palace was filled with fierce battles and dangers. He actually didn't think about the safety of Shujing Palace where Changle was. What if this happened? What an accident, I am in trouble in this life...
He hurriedly said: "Just take the queen directly. In addition, have Jinyang and the other princes and princesses been properly accommodated?"
Since he ascended the throne, since the Taiji Hall was almost destroyed during the Guanlong Mutiny and has been in a state of repair, he has stayed in the Wude Hall to handle official duties and meet with foreign ministers, and has not gone to the Shenlong Hall where the emperor stayed. The situation has been unstable recently. There were many civil servants and generals coming and going in Wude Hall, so they took a rest in the Li Zheng Hall on the west side. Queen Su was also there.
Wang De replied: "Your Majesty, don't worry. When the rebels attacked the inner gate, the old slave had already sent people to pick up all the princes, princes and princesses and temporarily placed them in Daji Hall."
Li Chengqian was relieved and said: "Send them all to the Li Zheng Palace and let the queen take good care of them. No accidents will happen."
"Here!"
Wang De agreed, turned around and walked out of the hall with his waist hunched against the wall.
Li Chengqian met everyone's gazes and ordered: "Send an order to Duke Wei, and ask him to assemble the six troops from the East Palace who have already defended the Bashui line to return to Chang'an and enter King Qin of the capital. In addition, keep a close eye on the Jin King's army in the south of the city. Since Li Daozong When the rebels entered Xuanwu Gate, the King of Jin must have responded by storming Mingde Gate and must have blocked it, otherwise the situation would have been dangerous due to a flanking attack from the north and south. "
Li Ji said happily: "Your Majesty is wise."
At this time of life and death, Li Chengqian did not panic and panic, but responded calmly and calmly. It can be seen that although his temperament is a bit cowardly, he still has some integrity in the face of danger, and he is indeed prepared in advance for the situation. Prepare for every change in advance.
But he didn't know the details at all, which showed that he had long been excluded from the emperor's confidants...
But instead of being depressed, he felt very relaxed. The reason why he stood by and watched the fire during the Guanlong Rebellion and even when Li Chengqian came to the throne was because he did not want to get involved in the center of power again and make his "great achievements shake the master", which would eventually lead to the emperor's suspicion and fear.
When the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon waxes and wanes, everything cannot be perfect, otherwise it will inevitably suffer backlash.
Now that the emperor can confidently resist the rebels without his involvement, the odds of winning look great, so why not?
He had already begun to wonder in his heart, if the rebellion succeeded and the King of Jin came to power, should he follow Li Chengqian in exile and become a loyal minister of Zhengshuo, or should he stay in the court and surrender to the King of Jin, assist him in stabilizing the court and become a wise minister?
No matter what you choose, you can achieve your own reputation, but no matter what you choose, there are flaws...
*****
Li Zheng Palace.
Under the light rain, the night was deep, and the servants and guards were hurriedly lighting all kinds of lanterns and candles. The brilliance was mixed with an atmosphere of depression and panic. Even the light reflected by the glazed tiles on the roof of the temple was... It seems a bit heavy and restrained.
When Princess Jinyang walked in from the Qianhua Gate, she stepped on the blue bricks on the ground that had been washed clean by the rain. The lanterns of the palace ladies beside her reflected the reddish glow on the ground. She was in a daze for a moment...
Since she was born, she has lived in this palace, living with her father, mother, and ninth brother. She is loved by her parents and brothers, and has far more family happiness than the other sisters. She has never experienced that so-called "Golden branches and jade leaves style alone".
After the death of her mother, she continued to live here with her ninth brother and was raised by her father himself.
The red walls, gardens, houses, and attics in front of her were all familiar. The corners of the alleys and the back corridors of the houses seemed to have traces of her childhood, and a string of laughter like silver bells vaguely echoed in her ears. ……
Now that she has reached adulthood, she has finally become what she dreamed of when she was a child, but she no longer has the happiness she had back then.
The gentle, beautiful, dignified and courteous queen mother passed away, and the optimistic and cheerful father who ruled the world passed away. The ninth brother who grew up with him and was inseparable also led his troops to rebel and wanted to overthrow the eldest brother of the same mother. Sit on the supreme throne by yourself...
All the family affection was crushed in the courtyard of the supreme palace in the world. The Tai Chi Palace, which symbolized the supreme power in the world, had long become a cold tomb, burying all the happiness she had had since her birth.
She walked into the hall in a daze, and Queen Su who was waiting here came forward. She first held Princess Jinyang's hand, and then found that something was wrong with her expression. She was startled, and her beautiful face was full of worry. He held her delicate body in his arms and asked softly: "Is Si Zi frightened?"
This princess, a direct descendant of Queen Wende, was loved and cherished by her brothers and sisters because she was seriously ill since childhood but was well-behaved and well-behaved. It would be terrible if she was frightened by this mutiny.
Princess Jinyang finally came back to her senses and forced a smile: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm fine..."
Then he was stunned, feeling a hard bulge on the queen's chest, and asked in shock: "What is hidden in my sister-in-law's arms?"
Queen Su's expression paused for a moment, then she said calmly: "I'm just taking some things with me to make preparations."
As he spoke, he took out a delicate finger-sized porcelain bottle from his arms.
The expressions of the surrounding chambermaids and maids changed greatly. They all knelt on the ground and kowtowed. One of the close maids cried sadly from behind: "The Queen must not..."
Princess Jinyang's eyes focused and she understood.
She held Empress Su's palm with her backhand, her eyes filled with eagerness: "Sister-in-law, what's the matter with this?" The rebels had just entered the inner gate, and it was still unclear what the situation would be like, but there were still many troops loyal to the emperor outside the palace. Well, why put poison on your body?
(End of chapter)