If tonight is compared to the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the person who looks like Taizong is not Xue Bai, but Li Chu.
At least that's what Li Chu thinks.
He seems to be a forthright person, but his character is very sinister, good at disguise and deep-minded. In the past two years, he has openly surrendered to Xue Bai, but he is extremely unwilling in his heart. Tonight, the fire in his heart finally burned, and he wished to connect Xue Bai to the Zichen Palace in front of him.
Burned to ashes together.
However, just as the soldiers were about to attack the stone steps and eliminate the rebels in one fell swoop, the sound of neat footsteps suddenly came from the west.
It turned out that Fan Lao's men had bypassed Guangshun Gate, passed through Jixianyuan, passed Zhaoqing Gate, and surrounded Li Chu's side.
On the surface, Xue Bai went to the palace alone to meet Li Longji, as if he was willing to have a good talk, but in fact he was trying to deceive others and planned to kill Li Heng and his son first.
The order Fan Lao received was to kill everyone who dared to stop Xue Bai from ascending the throne, and Li Chu was the first to bear the brunt.
"Li Heng's regicide is a heinous crime. Kill him!"
The shouts echoed in the palace walls, greatly shaking the morale of Li Chu's soldiers and generals, and many of them stopped moving forward.
Palace change is not like going to the battlefield to kill enemies for the country. It is essentially speculation. If you win, you will have a bright future, but the bet is your own life. Who can not hesitate when making a bet?
When Li Chu saw this, he knew something was wrong. He had just had hope of becoming Taizong, but it was about to be dashed again in the blink of an eye.
If he wanted to fight for strength, he knew that the men he brought would not be able to kill Fan Lao's men. So, the only way to survive the desperate situation was to kill Xue Bai first.
"Follow me to kill the enemy!"
Li Chu then ordered some people to resist Fan Lao, and he personally rushed towards Xue Bai with a sword.
Others can risk their lives for the future, but they will not unleash all their potential in order to help him ascend the throne. At the critical moment, only he can risk everything and take the risk himself, in order to inspire the already shaky morale.
"kill!"
The platform in front of the Zichen Hall has three floors, and each floor has twenty-one steps.
The armor Li Chu wore weighed fifty kilograms, and the sword in his hand weighed eighteen kilograms.
He rushed very fast, raising his thigh high and stepping down again and again.
This is a road to progress. The harder and more tiring it is to climb, the more it proves that the high position is worth it.
"Huh-huh-"
Li Chu was gradually out of breath and felt that his lungs were about to burst. Sweat was flowing like rain across his steaming skin. The muscles in his legs were so sore that they seemed to have cramps.
He had already run past the two levels of the platform, and there were more than a hundred people fighting in front of him. There were only about thirty people left around Xue Bai, and there were more than a hundred people attacking with him.
"kill!"
Li Chu yelled with all his last strength. Finally, there were only a few steps between him and Xue Bai.
He couldn't wait to rush forward, swung his knife and slashed at Xue Bai.
This sword was blocked by the soldiers around Xue Bai.
Li Chu was in pain from the tiger's mouth. He was so tired that the blood could not reach his forehead. Suddenly his vision went dark and he almost fainted.
He almost fell down the steps and quickly steadied himself, telling himself that now was not the time to faint.
At this time, Xue Bai had already slashed his sword in front of his face. Fortunately, a guard stopped him for Li Chu.
"Follow the King of Yu to put down the rebellion!"
The generals fighting around him gave Li Chu a chance to breathe. He took a few deep breaths and his eyes became a little clearer. There was blood splashing everywhere.
Xue Bai had already taken a few steps back and deliberately distanced himself from the soldiers next to him, with a stern look on his face, as if he was deliberately giving Li Chu a chance to kill him.
Li Chu did not hesitate and pounced directly. Xue Bai retreated again, and when he reached the high threshold of Zichen Hall, Li Chu pursued him again, roaring and brandishing his sword.
"puff."
Xue Bai slashed Li Chu's face with a sharp knife, directly slicing through the bridge of his nose and cutting off half of his nose. However, the blade was blocked by the helmet, preventing it from completely cutting in.
This was severe pain. The strange thing was that although Li Chu was in pain, he had no time to feel the pain. The excitement and anger in his mind made his wounds seem to be paralyzed. He even forgot about fatigue and only focused on fighting back.
The two of them slashed at each other several times, not caring about the splashing blood.
Finally, Li Chu grabbed Xue Bai's knife-holding hand with one hand, closed the distance between the two, and struck Xue Bai's armor three times with his knife.
Unfortunately, Xue Bai had more battle experience than him. As soon as he was entangled, the knife cut into the gap in Li Chu's armor at his elbow, forcibly cutting off a piece of flesh from his bones.
"Go to hell!"
Li Chu roared angrily, spittle and blood splattered all over Xue Bai's face.
He finally pressed the knife against Xue Bai's collarbone and pressed down as hard as he could.
The two looked at each other with a life-or-death cruelty in their eyes, not remembering the gentleness when they first met.
Li Chu's veins popped out. He was actually almost exhausted. With the determination to live towards death, he burst out his last strength.
He seemed to see that after the sword was struck, he would stand on this high platform and govern a glorious and prosperous era.
However, when Li Chu tried his best to hold the knife with both hands, Xue Bai only used one hand to block the knife, while the other hand had already taken out the dagger from his waist.
"puff."
"puff."
"puff."
The dagger stabbed Li Chu mercilessly again and again.
Xue Bai was very calm and said nothing. He felt the warm blood flowing on his hands, flowing down his wrists to his elbows. Feeling the passage of young life.
He killed him, but it will also carry his ambitions and wishes.
Every time he kills someone and continues to live, the load he carries becomes heavier. But he has already made up his mind and can face this calmly and fearlessly.
So every time he stabbed her, it was hard and sharp.
"I……"
Li Chu finally lost his strength and let go of his hand. Big, hot tears fell from his eyes. He was really unwilling.
"I...is...am..."
Blood kept pouring out from all his wounds, taking away his last bit of strength to speak.
Just now he was only focused on fighting. He actually had many, many things he wanted to say to Xue Bai, but now he couldn't even utter the last sentence completely.
"Destiny...fate...is..."
Xue Bai pushed Li Chu's body away indifferently, letting the heavy armor crash against the gold bricks.
Li Chu in the armor completely lost his life after this blow.
Xue Bai threw away the knife stuck in his shoulder armor, looked at the body on the ground, and said, "I don't believe in fate."
~~
Li Heng squinted at the platform base, trying hard to see what was happening under the majestic silhouette of Zichen Hall.
Zhang Ting walked up to him and asked: "Why did Li Chu kill Li Tan? He knew clearly that Li Tan was my brother-in-law and the person who helped you..."
"It doesn't matter now." Li Heng said: "You want to be the queen, he wants to be the prince, but the prerequisite is that I must be the emperor! I don't care how you fight, I just care who can help me support the throne."
He didn't even turn his head when he spoke, his eyes still staring straight ahead.
In fact, he also knew that the situation was not good for him now. Fan Lao and the imperial army had already arrived, and it would not be long before they could control the situation. By then, the soldiers who were still protecting him would probably surrender or even switch sides.
With Li Heng's noble status, if he didn't want to be caught and humiliated, he could have escaped.
But Li Chu was fighting to the death, and if Li Heng escaped, the situation would inevitably collapse quickly. He did not want to miss the throne that was within his reach because of himself. As long as Li Chu could imitate Taizong, he could not be inferior to Emperor Gaozu.
After a while, Zhang Ting faintly heard the voice coming from the platform, and couldn't help but said: "Something is wrong."
Li Heng couldn't help but shuddered and took two steps back.
Zhang Ting thought he was going to escape, but soon he stopped.
"We can't leave, we only have this one chance."
After tonight, with Xue Bai's strength, he can mobilize soldiers and horses from all over the country, and Li Longji has already contacted Da Zhalu Gong, and there are more or less soldiers and horses who are still loyal to him. On the other hand, Li Heng, if he can't do it now, wait.
His only certainty is death.
Thinking about this, a thin layer of sweat quickly formed on his forehead.
Unlike Li Heng, Zhang Ting had no way out. Seeing those wolf-like soldiers approaching, she planned to escape by herself. But then, she heard Li Heng's instructions to his generals.
"Don't panic, I have already made arrangements. Our old soldiers are about to kill you."
~~
After Li Longji escaped from the Zichen Palace, he looked back and saw that apart from Gao Lishi, there were only a few guards following him.
According to common sense, he should have fled to the west. He could escape into the West Inner Garden through the right Yintai Gate, and then go to Taiji Palace, where there was a group of soldiers and horses that he had subdued.
But he said: "Go east, to Qingsi Hall."
He had rich experience in escaping, so he was quite calm at this time. He glanced back and saw no one was chasing him, and said: "Li Qian must have guessed that I would go to Tai Chi Palace and arranged it in advance to avoid his interference."
Gao Lishi said uneasily: "But there is nothing in Qingsi Palace, how can we ensure Sanlang's safety?"
"Don't worry." Li Longji said: "Let's wait until those traitorous descendants kill each other. After that, it won't be too late for me to clean up the mess."
The group of people were still walking in a hurry while talking, and soon bypassed Yiwei Hall and entered a rather deserted place.
The Daming Palace occupies a vast area, and the buildings are all similar. It is easy to get confused. They quickly escaped from the fighting in the Zichen Palace by virtue of their familiarity with the terrain.
Li Longji also took the time to rest for a while and put on a pair of boots.
Gao Lishi took advantage of this effort to lead people to explore the way forward, and then came back to help Li Longji walk forward slowly.
"Tonight reminds me of the first year of Tang Long's reign, when you and I secretly went to the Forbidden Garden to recruit Zhong Shaojing to surrender." Li Longji said: "Looking back, it has been almost fifty years, right?"
"The situation that Saburo faced at that time was much more dangerous than it is now." Gao Lishi said.
Li Longji did not agree with this statement, shook his hand and said: "Li Qian's city is not comparable to Li Guo'er."
He looked at the moon in the sky and said with emotion: "In my life, I have been blessed by the gods and developed martial virtues. However, I have suffered many setbacks in these years. In the past two years, I have often wondered why this is the case. Recently, I finally became enlightened."
Gao Lishi's eyes flashed and he asked: "What did Sanlang mean?"
"Immortal Master Xuanjing once said that if you want to achieve immortality, you must practice this mortal body and reshape your muscles and bones. These are my experiences. I feel that I am about to get a glimpse of the door."
Gao Lishi was silent.
Li Longji added: "Do you remember that on Chencang Mountain, I was guided by a magic chicken when I was in danger? It was God's will to help me practice. I have a hunch that the next auspicious sign is coming soon..."
Before he finished speaking, a shadowy figure appeared in front of him.
When Li Longji saw it, he couldn't help but smile and said, "It's just as I expected."
He could already see that they were dozens of armored soldiers.
So, with his status and momentum, he can easily conquer these people.
This is the blessing he just mentioned.
"Who's in front?"
Neither party held a torch. When the other party saw someone approaching, they immediately shouted and asked.
"You are very lucky." Li Longji put his hands behind his hands and said calmly: "Tonight, you have found a great future."
However, the other party did not understand the rules like the ordinary imperial guards. After hearing his voice, he said directly: "Surround us!"
Li Longji did not panic, and scanned the opponent with his majestic eyes, intending to calm the opponent with his aura.
"Do you know who I am?!"
In this Daming Palace, there is obviously no one else who has such an imposing manner and calls himself "I".
"Of course I know!"
"The one I want to take is you, a stupid king who indulges in treachery and extorts money!"
"We killed the enemy for the country, but the foolish king allowed Wang Fei to drive our children to death, and even killed General Huangfu. How could we not fight back?!"
Li Longji was stunned for a moment when he heard the long-lost name.
We have all experienced the Anshi Rebellion and coups one after another. Who would have thought that the old cases from back then have not been forgotten.
"Walk!"
Li Longji felt a strong push on his back, staggered two steps, and was driven back to the Zichen Palace like a sheep and dog. He couldn't help but be angry at the rudeness of these people.
What he didn't know was that in the eyes of these veterans, this was considered a very respectful treatment.
~~
"Everyone stop!"
In front of the Zichen Palace, Zhenglie was fighting, but many people didn't notice that the first ray of sunlight shone on the eaves at some point.
Suddenly, denser footsteps came from all directions. Someone was leading the main troops of Beiya and Nanya to surround us.
Because Zhang Ting believed Li Heng's so-called arrangement, she didn't have time to escape. She turned around and saw Guo Qianli being carried over by the soldiers.
Guo Qianli had been assassinated not long ago, and his face was still very pale, but his prestige in the army was still there. As soon as he came forward, both parties who were taking action stopped.
The sky brightened quickly, and everyone woke up as if from a dream, staring blankly at the corpses on the ground.
Li Heng's face turned pale. He looked up again and saw neither Li Chu's flag nor the old soldiers who had arranged for him. He was greatly disappointed. He knew that he had lost, as if he had lost his soul.
Fan Lao had already led his troops to fight in front of Li Heng, but unfortunately he was stopped by Guo Qianli.
"General, what do you mean by this?!" Fan Lao said, "It is a heinous crime for a loyal king to kill the king."
"Because it is a serious crime, how can I allow you to be lynched?" Guo Qianli's voice was weak, and he waved his hand feebly and ordered: "Take them into the palace and talk about it."
"Here."
Jinwu General Zhang Xiaojing then stepped forward, but did not touch Li Heng. He just raised his hand and said: "Please, King Zhong."
This was a signal for Li Heng to enter the Zichen Hall.
Zhang Ting felt very strange, why did Xue Bai not let Fan Lao kill Li Heng with one blow, but sent Guo Qianli, who was still recovering from his injuries, to calm the situation?
What happened?
She lowered her head, hoping not to attract the attention of others. Unfortunately, including her, all Li Heng's confidants present were escorted to the Zichen Palace.
As for the soldiers, they were all left under the platform to wait for orders.
Li Heng climbed the stone steps step by step, and blood flowed from the top of each step. When he stood in front of the Zichen Hall, he saw Li Chu's body lying there, and he couldn't help but feel sad.
He has received a lot of support in his life, including Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming, Du Youlin, Wang Zhongsi, Li Tan, Li Chu... these people all held great power or commanded heavy troops. Unfortunately, most of them were given up by him.
In the end, Li Chu was left alone and unable to support himself.
Li Heng wanted to lie down next to Li Chu's body and cry, but he still wanted to live.
So he didn't dare to stop, crossed the high threshold, and entered the temple.
Xue Bai was covered in blood and was sitting on the royal steps bandaging his wounds. He glanced at him casually.
"You win." Li Heng whispered: "I admit defeat."
He walked a few steps dejectedly, prostrated himself on the ground and stopped talking.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ting sobbed silently and knelt behind Li Heng.
After that, more people entered the palace, and more people were driven into the palace, all waiting for Xue Bai to declare victory, end the palace coup, and a new emperor emerge with bloodshed.
"Li Heng."
Xue Bai finally spoke and said: "You killed the saint..."
"I don't!"
Li Heng suddenly reacted.
He was just wondering why Xue Bai didn't let anyone kill him on the battlefield. He thought it was to spare his life, but he didn't expect that it was to punish him.
If he couldn't survive, he would simply fight with Xue Bai.
So, Li Heng suddenly stood up and said loudly: "I have never committed regicide. When the saint died, I was still imprisoned in the Ten Kings' House by you! You are the rebel who committed regicide!"
"Bang!"
Xue Bai dropped his helmet to the ground with a muffled sound.
"I am the prince! Why are you rebellious?!"
Everyone in the hall was shocked and fell into silence.
Xue Bai said: "Before I led the troops to go to war, the saint showed signs of improvement. Why did he abandon all the people and drive away as soon as I left? With the state of affairs like this, could he bear to let go?! If you hadn't killed him, why would you have killed him that night?
Right in the palace?!"
Li Heng's lips were trembling so much that he could not speak.
When Li Cong died, Xue Bai was not even in Chang'an City. Li Heng could not blame Xue Bai for regicide. He unexpectedly discovered that Xue Bai had done so many treasonous and unethical things, but he still lost in terms of righteousness.
Gave it to Xue Bai.
It is no longer clear whether Xue Bai is Li Qian or not.
"You...you had an affair with Concubine Yang!"
Li Heng pointed this out angrily. Before he could finish his words, someone from behind suddenly shouted: "The Emperor is here!"
He was about to deny Xue Bai in the name of Li Longji, but he didn't expect that Xue Bai had already caught Li Longji. He couldn't help but be disappointed. He knew that it was useless to argue anymore, and his heart was filled with despair.
But just when he was at the end of his rope, Li Heng looked up and suddenly felt a twist.
He saw that Li Longji was followed by dozens of armored guards.
That scene was actually a bit strange. How could there be any reason for the Supreme Emperor to enter the palace and the soldiers to follow him step by step?
When others look at it, they will obviously think that Xue Bai sent someone to escort Li Longji back.
Presumably even Xue Bai himself thinks so.
But only Li Heng knew that those soldiers were not Xue Bai's people, but the old soldiers of Longyou assigned by him.
For a moment, his thoughts suddenly returned to the night of Shangyuan in the fifth year of Tianbao.
That night during the Lantern Festival in Chang'an City, the lights were bright and bustling. He quietly met Wei Jian in Jinglong.
"Huangfu Weiming sent old soldiers from Longyou to the capital in batches. I also hid the armor and weapons in Guangyun Lake in the name of launching water transport. Everything is ready, and great things can be expected."
"Isn't it going to be noticed by Emperor Father?"
"The saint has long been suspicious of His Highness. Now that things have come to this, Your Highness cannot hesitate any longer. Don't forget the lessons learned by the three common people."
At that time, Wei Jian advised Li Heng to be resolute and not to be like Li Ying who went into the palace wearing armor but didn't finish the job.
Unfortunately, that very night, Li Linfu reported that Wei Jian had colluded with Huangfu Weiming to rebel.
In a hurry, Wei Jian immediately sent someone to tell Li Heng to launch the plan. But Li Heng wanted to avoid being caught when he entered the palace wearing armor like Li Ying, so in order to clear up the relationship, he quickly reconciled with Wei Shi.
Sure enough, he won the favor of Li Longji.
This delay is twelve years.
Unexpectedly, the arranged soldiers, armor, and weapons were still there.
They are all old, almost forty years old, their faces are covered with wrinkles, their hair is gray, their armor is stained with green rust, and their weapons are all rusty. But their loyalty is still there, and their anger is still there. There is something in their eyes.
He has the perseverance that only an old soldier from Longyou can possess.
Li Heng recognized them at a glance.
Although they had interacted with each other countless times in the past twelve years, this was the first time they met. Li Jingzhong, Pei Mian, Li Fuguo, and Cheng Yuanzhen who were responsible for contacting them all died one after another, but the bond was not broken.
His eyes were sore and he couldn't help but shed tears.
"I'm sorry for you. I was too indecisive and looked forward and backward, so I let those loyal ministers and good generals die one by one, and let the Tang Dynasty go through catastrophe."
In unison, the old soldiers all looked at Li Heng.
This small gesture touched Li Heng and gave him strong confidence.
He looked around the hall and found that Xue Bai did not deploy much force in the hall. All the soldiers were under the platform. There were only some officials and generals present. The most powerful force was the dozens of old soldiers.
Then, with just one order from him, he can get rid of Xue Bai and Li Longji and become the most qualified person to ascend the throne.
A piece of idle chess left behind twelve years ago has become the key to today's fight for the world.
Destined to return!
Li Heng felt proud and shouted: "Father! Have you forgotten that this evil beast has an affair with your concubine, corrupts human relations, is disobedient and unfilial, and deserves death?!"
After hearing this, Li Longji's expression changed.
"Li Heng." Xue Bai was still sitting there bandaging the wound. He turned around and looked at it. He was extremely surprised and shouted: "How dare you kidnap the Supreme Emperor?!"
"Kill him!"
As soon as Li Heng pointed at Xue Bai, an old soldier suddenly attacked Xue Bai with a knife. At the same time, Li Heng quickly ran towards the old soldiers and sought their protection.
There was a sudden chaos in the palace.
"clang."
In an instant, an old soldier slashed at Xue Bai's armor with a knife, and Xue Bai quickly rolled on the ground to avoid it.
At this time, Xue Bai shouted: "Save the Supreme Emperor!"
"Evil beast!"
Li Longji cursed Li Heng.
But at a certain moment, Li Longji suddenly realized something, looked at Xue Bai, and cursed again.
"Evil beast!"
"Father." Li Heng supported Li Longji and whispered: "We must get rid of him first to protect the ancestral temple and the country."
His smile was slightly proud, and he even wanted to tell Li Longji that he really wanted to rebel against Wei Jian back then.
Li Longji's eyes filled with anger, and he cursed: "You traitor! You..."
"puff."
Suddenly, there was a soft sound, which was the sound of a knife piercing flesh.