Chapter 4880 Hedging your bets
Li Shenfu warned: "Those who want to achieve great things should remain calm and calm even if Mount Tai collapses in front of them. When the opportunity comes, they should move forward without thinking about their own lives. My nephew only needs to wait patiently. All plans are only in the old age. Even if great things fail, It will be up to the old man to bear the responsibility, and it will never ruin your future and life.”
"My uncle is so kind to me, how can my nephew repay me? But if I need my nephew, I can tell him whatever he needs me to do. He will live through fire and water, even if he dies."
"Okay, okay, you are worthy of my lineage as King Zheng. I am courageous and heroic. I am very pleased!"
The fathers of Li Shentong and Li Shenfu were Li Liang, the former governor of Haizhou in the Sui Dynasty. He was posthumously named "Prince Zheng" by Emperor Gaozu during the Wude period. Li Xiaoyi was the youngest son of Li Shentong...
……
Snow powder was falling non-stop. The snow on the street was cleared away by the civilian workers hired by the government, and then a thick layer fell on the back. The wheels turned and made a slight "creak" sound, and the horses sprayed out from their nostrils. The white air stirred the falling snowflakes and rolled them up and down.
Li Xiaoyi sat in the carriage and opened the curtain, looking at the falling snow outside the window. His heart was tangled with anxiety, fear, greed, and confusion...
As expected, Li Shenfu and others are about to take action. This time they are wooing him not necessarily to gain his support, but more to appease him. Even if they cannot get much help from him, they will definitely Don't let him spoil the big thing.
From what he could see, Li Shenfu and others did not have an army under direct control, and relied only on the clan. Li Xiaogong was getting old, and he was both incompetent and perfunctory in matters related to the clan. Li Yuanjia had little prestige and was more than willing to do anything. , such a large clan is actually torn apart, each with his own agenda.
For most clans, it doesn't matter who becomes the emperor. As long as it is His Majesty Li Er's son, there is no big problem. Everyone is more concerned about their own interests. If they can advance further in official positions and gain more benefits, perhaps He will not directly participate in the coup, but he can certainly do it by standing by.
This is where the confidence of Li Shenfu and others lies.
So what if the military fails to control it?
As long as a quick coup is launched to overthrow Li Chengqian and support the new emperor's ascension to the throne, even Fang Jun can only hold his nose and admit it - again, Li Chengqian's own prestige is not enough to gain the allegiance of the military, so for a group of people For the nobles who control the army, it doesn't matter as long as the successor is His Majesty Li Er's son.
But how exactly does Li Shenfu plan to launch a coup?
Once the coup is successful, should Li Chengqian be placed under house arrest or killed directly?
How to appease the various factions in the military afterwards?
How to deal with Fang Jun, who controls the Jinwu Guards?
Li Xiaoyi was flustered. After returning home, he sat in the study for a long time. When the sun set, the sky turned dark and the snow continued to fall. He could no longer sit still and got up to change clothes. He took a carriage without the family logo out of the back door and went there. The residence of Li Xiaogong, Prince of Hejian County.
Halfway through the journey, the driver suddenly turned around and went straight to the residence of King Li Yuanjia of Han...
……
In the palace of King Han.
The uncle and nephew sat opposite each other in the study. After listening to Li Xiaoyi's narration, Li Yuanjia frowned and said: "Such a major matter concerns the Emperor Zuo, why don't you report it to His Majesty?"
Li Xiaoyi shook his head and said: "Your Majesty seems to be weak, but in fact he is very confident. What can Chang'an City hide from His Majesty? It is of no great use to rush to report to Your Majesty without any basis or evidence."
Li Yuanjia glared angrily: "Uncle, why do you come to my mansion?"
The matter is of great importance, and others will do their best to avoid suspicion if they can. But now that Li Xiaoyi is being involved in it, it is inevitable that he will feel angry.
Li Xiaoyi sighed and said: "I'm afraid. Such treason cannot be washed away easily. Even if you don't care about your own life and death, can you still care about the lives of your family? So I came to find you. Give me an idea.”
Li Yuanjia sneered: "An idea? Haha, uncle, I'm afraid he wants to bet on both ends, right? The other side promised Li Shenfu that he would just sit back and enjoy the success when the matter is accomplished, and the other side reported to His Majesty in advance, so that even if the matter fails, it can still be undone. The room for escape and the reasons for escape should be clearly understood.”
"How can a good brother be so filthy and innocent? We have been colleagues in Zongzheng Temple for many years. You should know what kind of person Yu Brother is. Even if he is not a noble person, he can still be worthy of the four words of 'Zhongzheng Mianmei', right?" I am timid and fearful, but I never cause trouble. I am already very low-key within the clan.”
Li Xiaoyi called out to Tianqu.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Although Li Shenfu and Li Shenfu belong to the same lineage as King Zheng, Li Shenfu has been jumping up and down to stir up troubles in the past two years, but he has never been involved in it. Steady Dangdang's duty is to be an errand at Zongzheng Temple, and with the rest Those clan members who coveted him were completely different.
Li Yuanjia shook his head and said: "It's empty talk. My brother should prove his innocence."
"How to prove your innocence?"
"Find out exactly how those people plan to act, as well as the time and place of their actions, so that you can report them in front of His Majesty. Your Majesty will not only not blame you, but will also reward you for their merits. Maybe you can get the benefits promised to you by those people." Uncertain..."
Li Xiaoyi was shocked: "Have I ever accepted benefits from those people?"
Li Yuanjia smiled meaningfully: "So, even I don't believe you with your empty words. How can you make His Majesty believe you?"
Li Xiaoyi was helpless and sighed: "When I go to His Majesty, I speak empty words and have no evidence at all. It is a serious crime to criticize and frame a county king, not to mention that he is my uncle? I'm afraid there will be no place for him. , that’s all, let’s stop this matter. If we have real evidence, we can go to His Majesty later.”
His original intention was to provide some relief to Li Yuanjia. After Li Yuanjia couldn't wait to report the news to His Majesty, he could also receive a share of the credit. In this way, if Li Shenfu and others failed, he could also distance himself from any involvement.
But if you go directly to report to His Majesty, you will completely break with Li Shenfu and others and fight to the death. If Li Shenfu and others succeed in the future, you will suffer a big loss...
So Li Yuanjia hit the nail on the head when he said that he had both sides and tried to please both sides...
As for whether the leak of his visit to Li Yuanjia would anger Li Shenfu, he didn't care. It was no secret that Li Shenfu and others were restless. His Majesty could only wait patiently due to various constraints. He struck later and did not disclose the plans of Li Shenfu and others in detail. Why should Li Shenfu be angry with him?
What's more, his current value is to help Li Shenfu and others appease the clan after the uprising. It is very important. Even if Li Shenfu is dissatisfied, he can only endure it. If it succeeds that day and he takes the most credit, how can Li Shenfu still do it? Remember what happened today...
Li Yuanjia looked cold and silent.
He also understood Li Xiaoyi's intention, but he was helpless. Because he had no evidence at all, not only was he unable to file a complaint in front of His Majesty, but he also had to thank others for coming to report the information...
Li Xiaoyi knew that Li Yuanjia would definitely go to His Majesty to report his visit to the palace. His purpose had been achieved, so he stood up and left.
"My loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and to His Majesty can be seen day by day. There is nothing I can do if others misunderstand me. I just hope that my dear brother will put the overall situation first and say goodbye."
Li Yuanjia did not insist on staying, and sent him out the back door. He watched the carriage disappear into the snowy night. After standing there for a while, he asked someone to prepare the carriage. He wanted to go to the palace overnight to report to His Majesty.
……
Nowadays, the curfew system in Chang'an City has long existed in name only. Restrictions have been relaxed, population flow has increased, and various materials are abundant, making the city with a population of one million burst out with huge commercial potential. Even after dark, the east and west cities are still brightly lit and crowded, and the Han people , Turks, Xueyantuo, Persians, etc. conducted trade day and night.
The generous commercial taxes have caused those ministers who only have public security in Gyeonggi to keep their mouths shut. Although the cancellation of the curfew has security disadvantages, the continued implementation of the curfew means that such prosperous commercial trade will be cut off. The two powers are harmful to each other, which is the lesser. We can only acquiesce in the abolition of the curfew.
However, the martial law in the imperial city and the palace city has become increasingly tight. The Tianjie Street that runs from east to west and the Zhuque Street that runs from north to south are patrolled on time after nightfall. , with a horizontal sword on his waist Wuhou can be seen everywhere. Whenever he encounters people who disturb the public order or act strangely, he will come forward to question or arrest them. If they are Han people, they have a better attitude, but if they are Hu people, they will be arrested on the spot and sent to the prisons of Chang'an and Wannian counties. Strict interrogation.
The Hu people are vulgar and ignorant. When they are discriminated against, they do not gather together to demand rights. Instead, they wish to lose all their money and buy the identity of a Tang Dynasty person. From then on, they will be superior to their tribesmen and become superiors...
When Li Yuanjia arrived at Chengtianmen, the palace gate had already been locked. There were only a few people in the government and the public who were qualified to call the gate. Fortunately, Li Yuanjia, who was in charge of Zongzheng Temple, was one of them...
When they arrived at the gate, the chamberlain on duty hurried to the Wude Hall to report to Wang De, the chamberlain's chief steward. Wang De, who had fallen asleep, got up from the bed, put on his clothes, and went to the palace where Li Chengqian slept. He asked the chamberlain to wake up the emperor and inform the King of Han to ask for an audience.
After receiving the emperor's verbal order to summon him, Wang De personally went to the small gate on the side of the Chengtian Gate to welcome Li Yuanjia into the palace. He led him to the Wude Hall with a lantern. Li Chengqian was already waiting in the imperial study.
Li Chengqian was sitting casually in the imperial study room wearing a robe. Even though the ground dragon was still burning late at night, the room was very warm.
Li Yuanjia entered the room to be greeted, then sat on one side and reported in detail Li Xiaoyi's words and deeds after he came to the door. At the end, Li Yuanjia was worried and said: "Those rebellious ministers and traitors have such obvious evidence and barely cover up. How can your majesty continue to condone them just because you care about your own reputation? If you continue to cut them off, it will be easy to feed a tiger! In my opinion, , he ordered the left and right military guards to defend the palace city, and then summoned the Duke of Yue to control the left and right Jinwu guards to block the four gates and enter the city to capture the rebels and completely eliminate the hidden dangers. "