Imperial power has always made countless people crazy, especially the children of the clan. Even Li Linfu dreamed when he was young that he would be favored by Wu Zetian and become the prince.
So when the ministers unanimously agreed that the emperor must abdicate and a new emperor should be established, the news exploded in the clan like a nuclear bomb. Almost all the clan members could not calm down, and they were all eager for this huge pie to fall.
On your own head.
Although everyone knew that this was to pave the way for the regent, if the regent did not ascend the throne, they would hold on to hope, even if the hope was very small, less than one ten thousandth.
But human nature is like this. It's like buying a lottery ticket. Everyone knows how low the probability of winning five million is, but there are still so many people flocking to it.
More importantly, these clans were dissatisfied with the regent's ascension to the throne. Li Shuliang's descendant, Li Shuliang, was not even the emperor's biological brother, but just a cousin. He was not even in the fifth server.
Although these clans usually keep silent, at the critical moment, these clans all jump out.
The clans are divided into two factions, one is called the direct sect and the other is called the direct sect. To put it simply, with the Supreme Emperor Li Longji as the standard, the descendants of Li Longji are called the direct sect, and the direct clans other than Li Longji are called the direct sect.
There are five sons of Li Longji who are still alive today, including Yongwang Li Lin. He was pardoned on the eve of the death of Emperor Li Heng and restored the title of Yongwang.
Longevity King Li Hao, Yang Yuhuan's first husband, has been living cautiously for so many years since his wife was snatched away by his father.
Feng Wang Li Gong, who was once the protector of Anxi and Beiting, was dismissed because of his close relationship with Yu Chaoen.
There are also the King of Yi, Li Xun, and the King of Chen, Li Gui. They followed the Supreme Emperor and fled to Bashu. Later, they returned to Chang'an with their coffins. They have always kept a low profile.
These five people formed an elders' hall, and below them were hundreds of their nephews, including the descendants of the former emperor Li Heng.
At night, the back hall of Prince Yong's Mansion was brightly lit, and dozens of clan members gathered together. At the top sat the five oldest princes: Prince Yong Li Lin, Prince Shou Li Hao, Prince Feng Li Gong, Prince Yi Li Xun and Prince Chen Li Gui.
, in fact, they are all the younger princes among Li Longji's many sons, and they are not too old, only over fifty years old.
Among them, Yong Wang Li Lin sits in the middle. He is the successor designated by the Supreme Emperor. He has the most seniority and is also the oldest.
Next to him is the longevity king Li Hao. He is the most low-key and the richest. His mother Wu Huifei alone left him hundreds of millions in property. He is about fifty years old, but he is very well maintained, with fair skin and a well-proportioned figure. He looks
He was only forty years old, holding a fan in his hand. He was a military advisor and was responsible for making suggestions, but in fact, Li Lin was interested in his money.
On the other side of Li Lin sat Li Gong, Prince of Feng. He had a majestic appearance and was not angry at all. He had served as the Protector and Military Envoy of Beiting in Anxi for several years, so he had some military qualifications.
Sitting below are two rows of clan members on the left and right. There are more than forty people in total, all of whom are nephews of five people.
Li Lin is asking Li Qian, King of Jing, who is Li Heng's seventh son and is only more than 20 years old.
"Why doesn't your second brother come? What's his reason?" Li Lin sounded very dissatisfied.
Li Gan's second brother is Li Xi, King of Yue. He is currently serving as the Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple. He has changed from his previous absurdity, becoming humble and low-key, and serious about work. He has sent away all his wives and concubines, leaving him alone with his wife.
Li Xi's changes have gradually been recognized by the political affairs hall and the officials. The current Minister of Zongzheng Temple, Li Lin, is in poor health and is only in name. In fact, Li Xi is responsible for the internal and external affairs of Zongzheng Temple.
Therefore, Li Lin attaches great importance to Li Xi, because Li Xi holds the real power of Zongzheng Temple. If Li Xi supports him, he will have a better chance of winning.
Li Xi usually showed great courtesy and respect to his uncle Li Lin, but unexpectedly, at the critical moment, Li Xi did not come, which really made Li Lin extremely annoyed.
King Li Qian of Jing bowed and said: "Second brother said that the child is sick. He will go to Fengtian early tomorrow morning. He is accompanying the child to see a doctor and cannot come!"
"Nonsense!"
Li Lin slammed the table and said angrily: "It's obviously an excuse, just to look down on me!"
Next to him, Li Hao quickly advised: "Brother, please don't be angry. Everyone has his own ambitions, so don't force him. It's actually a good thing that he doesn't come. If he has other intentions and goes to tell the truth, wouldn't it spoil the big thing?"
Li Gong nodded, "Eighteen Lang is right, now we have to be careful about those guard dogs. It's best not to bring in those who have different intentions!"
Helpless, Li Lin had no choice but to say: "The top priority now is to ruin the reputation of the regent. The matter of the former crown princess is a good starting point. Everyone should go out and publicize it."
Li Lin wanted to use the incident of former Crown Princess Shen Zhenzhu to discredit Li Ye so that he would lose his reputation and dare not make false claims about ascending to the throne.
"Everyone, let's go! Act according to my previous deployment."
Everyone stood up and left, leaving only six core figures in the hall: Yong Wang Li Lin, Shou Wang Li Hao, Feng Wang Li Gong, and their three sons.
"Eighteen Lang, can you get some more money?" Li Lin asked Li Hao.
Li Hao frowned and said, "I've given you 50,000 yuan, isn't it enough?"
"There are eight thousand people in total. Fifty thousand guan is enough! Bring out another 50,000 guan."
Ruining Li Ye's reputation is just an excuse. They all know that no one will care about the former crown princess's pregnancy.
The former prince had died a long time ago, and he was still an abandoned prince when he died. It was normal for his wives and concubines to remarry. Li Ye and the former prince were not related by blood, so there was nothing wrong with him taking the former prince as his concubine.
Using the former crown princess's pregnancy to mess with Li Ye would not have any effect, and Li Lin knew it well, so he used this matter as a cover. His real method was the eight thousand private army. As long as he found a way to kill Li Ye,
The imperial court would eventually have to ask their clan to take the throne.
Li Hao had no choice but to sigh and said: "I can only get another 30,000 yuan at most!"
Li Gong said next to him: "I'll take another 20,000 yuan! If it's not enough, I can only ask everyone to donate money and food."
Li Lin nodded, "I will send the money to the Huxian Manor tomorrow!"
While secret negotiations were taking place in Li Lin's mansion, in the Hanzhong County Prince's Mansion, Hanzhong Commandery Prince Li Yu was explaining something to his subordinates in front of a map.
Li Yu is the leader of the direct faction of the clan. He is the son of Emperor Jean Li Chengqi and one of the most outstanding disciples in the clan.
Although he had a good relationship with Li Ye, as he grew older, the ambition hidden in his bones began to emerge.
During the rule of the Eunuch Party, he openly ignored the Eunuch Party's ban on leaving the city and left Luoyang for Gong County, which angered Li Fuguo and deprived him of all his titles.
But it also made Li Yu famous. He became the first core clan member to resist the eunuch party, and he immediately became one of the clan leaders.
After Li Ye eradicated the eunuchs, Li Yu regained his title. At this time, his ambition to ascend to the throne could no longer be restrained, and he began to secretly train his private army.
Like Li Lin, their private armies come from elite men selected from major estates. Training them requires a lot of money and food.
Although Li Yu had some wealth, he could not afford the equipment expenses for five thousand people.
He wanted to seek support from his family, but was rejected by his elder brother Li Lin.
The anxious Li Yu suddenly thought of the wealth left by his master Feilong. He knew that Feilong was the former Supreme Emperor Li Dan, so the large amount of wealth and treasures buried with him in the Qiaoling Tomb were actually treasures without owners.
In his later years, Feilong always wanted to open the Qiaoling Secret Road and transport his wealth, but in the end he never got the chance.