When Li Chengyu heard Li Mi's name for Xue Bai, he smiled contemptuously and said: "It's just Xue Ni, what kind of majesty is he?"
His tone was extreme, and Li Bitui responded calmly, without showing any stance.
"He has been on the throne for several years. He is at least the nominal emperor of the Tang Dynasty."
"It just happened to be a coincidence. The kings were fiercely competing for the throne, so the traitor who was plotting to usurp took advantage of it."
Li Chengyu may not really look down on Xue Bai, but he deliberately suppresses him with his words out of interest, but in fact he still looks very seriously.
He frowned inadvertently, and after thinking about it, he chose to trust Li Mi and revealed the entire plan.
First, he presented the evidence that the current emperor was not a member of the Li Tang clan. This was a commonplace topic, just like what Li Heng and others did back then.
"Mr.'s loyalty to the Tang Dynasty is unquestionable, and he will not sit back and watch the country fall into the hands of such a treacherous villain. Today, I have contacted many parties and discussed with the ministers and righteous people, and plan to support Emperor Xuanzong's 20th son, King Yan Li Bin
As emperor, what do you think, sir?"
Although Li Mi had a clever plan, he did not expect that the situation had reached such a point. He pondered slightly and responded: "How much success is there?"
Li Chengyu said: "If you help me, sir, great things will happen."
Li Mi waved his hand and said frankly, "To be honest, the reason why I came out of the mountain was because Yan Zhenqing invited me. The purpose is to maintain the stability of the country."
"Yan Zhenqing is Xue Ni's father-in-law. He keeps saying 'Sheji', which is just sanctimonious!"
"Then do you trust me?" Li Mi asked.
"Of course it's Mr. Xin."
"Then I will speak frankly. If supporting King Yan has a 60% chance of winning and can protect the country from turmoil, I will definitely support it. But King Yan is better than King Zhong, and what about King Guangping? In the past, Li Qian had not yet ascended the throne, and I could not help him.
Prince Zhong and his son have succeeded, let alone now?"
Li Chengyu laughed when he heard this, feeling a little contemptuous of Li Mi for such weak remarks.
But he appreciated Li Mi's frankness.
"In the past, King Zhong couldn't succeed because we chose Xue Ni. This was out of consideration of quelling the war as soon as possible. Although we were wrong, it was not him who was powerful, but us. This so-called 'get'
"He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world." Now that we have seen through Xue Ni's conspiracy, his defeat is doomed."
Li Mi smiled bitterly, he knew that these people had not seen through Xue Bai's conspiracy, but had their interests harmed by Xue Bai.
Of course, whether Yan Zhenqing or Li Chengyu, one side thinks that Xue Bai is resolute, and the other side thinks that the family is powerful, they are all speaking one-sidedly, and Li Bi needs to make his own judgment.
He then asked: "Even if war breaks out, does Mr. Li think so?"
"What's there to be afraid of?!"
Li Chengyu was a little excited. He stood up and said, "Sir, let me take a look and you will know."
He led Li Mi to the study, picked up a long joint letter and handed it over, then went to get paper and pen to ask Li Mi to sign.
I saw a dense list of names on it, all of them ministers, generals, and celebrities.
Even people like Li Chengyu can only be listed at the back because he has no real power.
And at the front of this list, Li Mi also saw several characters that completely surprised him.
He couldn't help pointing to those names and asked in surprise: "They also support King Yan?"
Li Chengyu was surprised when he saw him, and he was even more sure that things would work out, and said loudly: "This is the will of the people!"
"What's the plan?"
"Sir, I'm afraid you don't know yet, but war has already started. All the towns have mobilized their troops to besiege the eastern capital and force Xue Ni to abdicate."
Li Chengyu handed over the letter he was writing just now, which was addressed to King Yan Li Bin, saying that the civil unrest in Zhengzhou could no longer be controlled and the rioters might attack the eastern capital.
This is written for the world to see, giving all the vassal towns that oppose Xue Bai an excuse to send troops without authorization.
The severity of the situation once again exceeded Li Mi's expectations, and he had to re-evaluate the strength of both parties.
~~
Luoyang.
Since Yan Zhenqing resigned as prime minister, Du Kui's access to the palace was no longer hindered or covered up.
In addition, she often had important matters to discuss with Xue Bai, and the two of them often stayed in the open hall to plot and plot, and they seemed to be a couple. Compared with the past, when Du Jin always hid in the dark, there was a huge advantage.
different.
In the eyes of a caring person, one would inevitably think that "Your Majesty is starting to neglect the Queen."
Others don't know how Xue Bai and Yan Yan get along in private, but judging from past history, it is very common for powerful relatives to be suppressed.
The Tianjin Bridge on the Luoshui River has not yet been repaired. The mastermind behind the explosion must be Yan Zhenqing. Whether it is to assassinate the emperor or Du Jin, the Yan family is obviously on the side of the family.
On the other hand, Du Jin did always stand by Xue Bai's side in a series of incidents.
In fact, the Du family in Jingzhao had been putting pressure on Du Youlin. After Du Jin noticed it, he went to Du Youlin's study in person, smashed open the locked mailbox, took away all the letters, and then either warned, arrested, or exiled.
Either deposing them or even killing them, changing the attitude of the clan members in a way that was close to righteousness and annihilation of relatives. Then, she eliminated all the people under her command who had secret connections with the various clans of the ministers.
That morning, Du Jin stood in front of the window with a piece of information in her hand, thinking about it, and let her personal maid match her cloak.
It was still cold, so I wore it when I entered the palace later.
"This red one is beautiful." Qu Shui put on Du Jin's cloak and said unconsciously: "My lady comes to the Mingtang more frequently than the Queen recently."
"Shut up." Du Jin scolded: "Don't you know what you should say and what you shouldn't say?"
"Yes, I know my mistake."
"You are no longer a slave." Du Jin said, "According to the new law of the imperial court, you are also a registered person with a household. You are hired by me to do things."
"But I just want to be your lady's slave." Qu Shui said, "Your Majesty and Madam's new arrangement, I'm afraid people won't appreciate it."
"I don't want you to appreciate me."
While they were talking, Qu Shui applied some makeup to Du Jin, and they quickly left the house.
When they arrived at Ziwei Palace, the imperial guards saw Du Jin's talisman and let him go. However, the waiter outside the Mingtang said that His Majesty was summoning Cui Youfu.
Du Jin then ordered to visit the prince in the East Palace.
Now Li Zuo has also returned to Luoyang. He was deeply affected by Yan Zhenqing's resignation as prime minister and is feeling depressed.
He had a heavy workload and did not stop even under such circumstances. When Du Jin arrived, he waited for a while because he was studying.
"Godmother, I heard that Aweng was dismissed from office because he sent someone to assassinate you. Is this true?"
"Who did you listen to?"
"On the way back to Dongdu, I listened to the officials' discussion."
Du Jin could only say: "It was not Duke Yan who assassinated me, but someone deceived Duke Yan and assassinated Your Majesty."
These things are difficult to explain clearly, but Du Jin took the trouble to personally explain the causes and consequences to Li Zuo.
She believed that only if she said it herself, Li Zuo would not be misunderstood, and this was also a kind of teaching that could make Li Zuo an emperor better than learning from books.
She has no children and has always regarded Li Zuo as her own.
At the end, she patted Li Zuo's head gently and said: "That's how the Tian family is. It's not that there is no family affection, but there are too many things that you can't help yourself. You must learn to get used to it."
"yes."
Li Zuo still felt very uncomfortable.
As a child, he still couldn't understand why his grandfather had such deep conflicts with his father.
Tears welled up in his eyes, so he bit his lip and held it back.
"Go ahead."
Du Jin knew that he still had schoolwork, so he gently pushed his back.
"Right."
Then, she became curious about something and asked, "Didn't your mother-in-law tell you this?"
Li Zuo shook his head.
"She doesn't come to the East Palace to see you often?" Du Jin asked again.
Li Zuo said: "My mother is pregnant and is currently raising a baby."
"Okay, don't tell anyone else."
Du Jin was lost for a moment, and then smiled, thinking that Yan Yan was really able to keep her composure. The Yan family was in a state of turmoil, but she could still sit in the palace and just raise the baby.
It must be Xue Bai who can make Yan Yan feel at ease.
Du Jin quickly came back to his senses and no longer thought about these trivial matters.
Now that the situation is tense, she is Xue Bai's right-hand man, and she should be thinking about national affairs...
Mingtang.
When Du Jin arrived, Cui Youfu had already left.
But when she looked out from the bright hall, she could still see Cui Youfu's back as he walked down the stone steps.
"A noble man like this is here to threaten His Majesty?"
"He proposed some quite pragmatic national policies." Xue Bai agreed and asked, "But you are somewhat hostile to him?"
"It's come to a point where we are fighting to the death."
Du Jin said, taking out the latest news she received this morning and handing it to Xue Bai.
"This is information robbed from Guancheng Post. The Li family in Longxi delivered it using their own express horse. The messenger was careful not to reveal his identity, but he was noticed by our people while he was resting at the post, and his message was stolen at night.
, I found out that it is important information and sent it as soon as possible.”
The letter was written by Li Chengyu to Lai Ai, the governor of Xiangzhou. The content was that the rebels in Zhengzhou wanted to attack the eastern capital and invited King Qin Qin. Later, he described the detailed plan of "King Qin", which involved many people.
Xue Bai looked at it and asked, "Could it be a counter-intentional plan?"
"It's not like that," Du Jin said, "At this point, they no longer need to be secretive."
"You want to rebel against me openly." Xue Bai said.
With such important news, Du Jin didn't rush to see Xue Bai just now. When he was stopped, he ran to see Li Zuo first.
She originally thought that Xue Bai would be a little anxious, but he was not. After putting down the letter, he looked at the map in a daze.
"I made a list to oppose the new law, and most of the rebels are listed on it."
Du Jin once again demonstrated her powerful intelligence search ability and took out a densely written dossier.
The names above range from Cui Youfu, Li Xian and other important court officials to local officials and celebrities, and there are thousands of them.
Xue Bai looked at it and said, "I have always known that these people are against the new law."
Du Jin said: "I can kill them."
"It's useless." Xue Bai said, "Opposing the new law does not necessarily mean rebelling, it means being a rebel. How many people can be killed by assassination?"
As he spoke, he took out several memorials.
Du Jin took it and read it, but the generals including Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing, etc. all petitioned the court to suspend the inspection and quell the civil unrest.
Although their tone was calm, their words of advice were harsh and sounded like an ultimatum.
And Du Jin obviously couldn't assassinate Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi.
"We have to fight." Xue Bai said slowly.
Du Jin thought that she could deal with it through her pervasive assassinations and intimidation methods, but she did not expect to raise an army. This was beyond her ability, and even she couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"But this time Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing and others also stand on the opposite side."
"Then we have to fight."
Xue Bai has thought about it for a long time and prepared for the worst.
~~
Since the news of the Zhengzhou civil uprising came out, the imperial court issued many edicts, ordering the officers and soldiers of Henan Province to quell the rebellion, but the civil uprising only intensified.
Regardless of whether it is true or false, the memorial handed to the imperial court like snowflakes seems to be intended to scare Xue Bai.
Seeing that Xue Bai was not intimidated, he made repeated orders as soon as spring began to strictly investigate the progress of local spring seedling loans. Any local officials who dared to collude with large households to lend high interest rates would be immediately beheaded.
This attitude made the local officials even less interested in suppressing the rebellion, and the civil uprising spread across the eastern capital.
Some officers and soldiers in Henan watched the "rioters" crossing the border but did not stop them, while many pacifiers from various places came privately with their troops without receiving the order from King Qin.
Compared with the Anshi Rebellion, this rebellion itself was not big. The area affected was very small, that is, around Dongdu, but it surrounded the emperor. There were not many people, so the emperor had few troops to mobilize.
Xue Bai did not mobilize Guo Ziyi from Guanzhong, but ordered Lao Liang to take over the defense of Luoyang and ordered Jiang Hai to march eastward to quell the civil unrest.
As soon as Jiang Hai's troops left Luoyang, the so-called rebels immediately withdrew eastward. Jiang Hai pursued them all the way, but could not fight for several days.
At this time, local pacification envoys such as Lai Yi and Li Xian also arrived one after another with their troops and requested to enter Luoyang to guard.
The memorials were delivered to the palace, but Xue Bai refused them all and ordered them to return to their respective places, otherwise they would be punished for treason.
However, all the towns refused to leave, showing their concern for the emperor's safety and their loyal attitude.
They didn't completely break up, but actually left a way out for Xue Bai.
This actually surprised Li Mi a little.
Back then, he assisted Li Heng and Xue Bai in their fight for the world, and Li Heng had never had such an advantage.
On the contrary, these aristocratic families seem to be scattered, but when their interests are aligned, they actually show great strength.
However, as more soldiers and horses gathered in Luoyang, the towns did not rush to attack the city and inexplicably waited for another two days.
Li Mi thought about it briefly and understood the reason.
Over there, Li Chengyu was so anxious that he finally found Li Mi for questioning.
"What do you think we should do, sir? I urged Lai Qi, Li Xian and others several times, but they refused to attack the city."
"May I ask Mr. Li, are you their coach?"
Li Chengyu only opposed the reform. His family had a great business and did not want to take the risk of rebellion. He quickly waved his hand and said: "Of course not, I am just advocating for justice."
Li Bi said: "Since I'm not the coach, urging is of course useless."
"But I don't understand. Since everyone had the courage to lead troops to force the palace, and there was no way to retreat, how come they didn't attack the city when they got to it?"
"It's one thing to make a fuss about pay, but it's another thing to rebel." Li Bi said, "As long as the arrow is not fired, the blade is not stained with blood, and the saint surrenders, they are not rebelling, but Qin Wang."
"If Xue Ni could have surrendered, the situation would not have reached this point." Li Chengyu paused for a while and then added: "What's more, the reason why we are raising troops to fight against the rebellion is because Xue Ni is not a descendant of the royal family at all!"
This is where the problem lies.
People who care about this matter, such as Li Heng, Li Chu, have long since died, and Xue Bai has been on the throne for several years. Now everyone is here for profit. Even Li Chengyu sometimes forgets excuses. How can he have appeal?
Since he is here for profit, he naturally wants to maximize the profit, and that is to force Xue Bai to surrender.
Li Mi saw these things very clearly and knew that Xue Bai could grasp people's hearts.
He then asked: "Does Mr. Li think it is too smooth? King Zhong did not have such results back then."
"It went quite smoothly."
"At times like this, I'm afraid you have to be careful." Li Mi reminded: "If you are indecisive, be careful of being surrounded under Luoyang City."
Li Chengyu was horrified and reacted immediately.
If Xue Bai had guessed that they would come with troops and expected that they would not dare to attack Luoyang immediately, he would have arranged troops and horses in advance to cut off their food and grass, and the matter would be over.
He hurriedly went to the generals of the towns to discuss the matter.
"Mr. Li is worrying too much."
Most people disagree with this.
"We are here to see King Qin. He is not rebelling on the surface. In what name does he take the initiative to attack us?"
"Yes, in the name of King Qin, Luoyang City is blocked, and the imperial edict prohibits entry and exit. Soon, he will have no choice but to compromise."
"You!" Li Chengyu said, "Didn't we agree to support King Yan?"
Li Xian was from the clan and had the most say in this matter. He said: "Therefore, the city of Luoyang must be surrounded so that the emperor cannot communicate with outside the city and Chang'an cannot get news from the emperor. Then we can persuade Guo Ziyi to support King Yan."
"
"Is this what you care about? Instead of counting on others, why not just attack the city?"
"Li Gong also has a song, why not do it himself?"
Li Chengyu shook his head and said: "When you are waiting for Jiedu, you will lead all the best soldiers and generals. I am just a countryman, how can I take my turn?"
Faced with the imperial court's prosecution before, everyone felt that Xue Bai was acting perversely, so they united and resisted. Now that the situation was in their hands, all kinds of selfish calculations came out.
During the quarrel, someone suddenly shouted loudly.
"Are you really here to rebel?!"
Everyone looked around and saw a tall figure standing up, it was Lai Yi.
Lai Yi has always had a good reputation, and his character, abilities, and achievements are all very convincing to everyone. As soon as he opens his mouth, everyone else becomes silent.
"The emperor has made mistakes, and his ministers should remonstrate with them. Now the emperor has made improper reforms, which has caused the people to live in dire straits. The courtiers have repeatedly advised the emperor and he cannot change, causing the chaos to attack the eastern capital. Now that we have come to King Qin, we will see the emperor face to face and dare to speak out and remonstrate directly with him.
!”
Li Chengyu shook his head repeatedly after hearing this, thinking that all the towns had their own agendas, but someone who respected honor and integrity just sneaked in. At the critical moment, he was afraid that he would be too pedantic and cause trouble.
They came to crusade because Xue Ni usurped the throne. How could they come to speak out and remonstrate?
However, Lai Yi said something again, which made Li Chengyu's eyes light up.
"I have contacted all the officials in the city and let us enter the city to have an audience. When we enter the palace, we can express our opinions!"
Li Chengyu opened his mouth in surprise. He didn't expect that Lai Qi looked old-fashioned and acted so resolutely.
Just the next day.
"Jiayu Gate is open!"
Li Chengyu couldn't believe it when the cry sounded, but he soon saw the soldiers moving forward.
Reports from the front revealed that Lai Yi had personally taken control of Jiayu Gate and was sending King Qin's troops into the city, preparing to take over the defense of the palace.
"What a great person to take over the defense of the palace!" Li Chengyu was full of praise and looked even more admiringly at Lai Yi.
Soon, as the soldiers and horses entered the city, Li Chengyu also passed through the city cave of Jiayu Gate.
He turned around and saw that Li Mi was still following him, so he said, "It must be Cui Youfu who opened the city gate for Lai Ain, right?"
"I guess so." Li Mi nodded.
Li Chengyu said with emotion: "Sir, do you believe it? Lai Yi, Cui Youfu and others did not oppose the reform out of selfish motives. They only have a few acres of land. But they know full well that this is bad government."
Li Bi said: "Now that we have entered Chang'an, please remember that you are not here just for the reform."
"Yes, we are here for Xue Tong's conspiracy." Li Chengyu also emphasized to himself.
The reason why he always forgets is not because he is young and has a bad memory.
But such a big event as changing the dynasty is indeed too far away for him. He wanted to protect his own interests at the beginning, but later too many people resisted together, giving him the courage to go to this point...
"I heard that the emperor was trapped in Sizhou and that there was an explosion in Luoyang City. Therefore, I was shocked to hear about the chaos. Instead of obeying the imperial edict, I led my troops to escort him and asked the saint to forgive me!"
Lai Yi shouted outside the palace: "I am worried about the emperor's safety, and I sincerely ask to see you!"
After hearing this, Li Chengyu thought to himself that this was a good reason. Not only did he doubt that the emperor's life experience was false, but now he also doubted whether the emperor really returned safely after his patrol.
"We want to meet the Holy Spirit!"
"We want to meet the Holy Spirit!"
King Qin's soldiers and horses arrived at the palace gate and made a loud noise, claiming to be escorting them, but in fact they were intimidating the people inside the palace.
Li Bi looked at it from a distance, thinking that if Li Heng surrounded Xue Bai in the small palace today, great things would happen, but Xue Bai did not dare to take the risk of letting Li Heng do this.
After a while, some important ministers finally hurried to the city.
It's Cui Youfu and Yuan Zai.
The two loudly appeased the officers and soldiers. After a long time, Cui Youfu descended from the top of the palace city and rushed to the Mingtang.
Li Chengyu stood far away and couldn't help but murmured: "What are they talking about?"
Li Bi said: "I must have come to visit Li Xian and others to see him. They must confirm the saint's safety. Cui Youfu and Yuan Zai couldn't get rid of it, so they had to go back and report."
"Then why did Cui Youfu report it?"
"Is it because Yuan Zai didn't trust him and was afraid that he would be left alone, so he opened the palace door?"
Li Chengyu said: "Yes, several prime ministers have been dismissed one after another. Now Cui Youfu has a high prestige in the court. If he wants to open the palace gate again, few people can stop him?"
Li Mi thought for a while and suddenly shook his head.
"If he had opened the city gate, how could he open the palace gate again?"
Li Chengyu said: "So, Yuan Zai won't let him stay alone..."
At this moment, cheers suddenly sounded from the front, but the palace door had already opened.
Even Li Chengyu was stunned for a moment and couldn't believe it.
If he entered the palace in this way, wouldn't the coup be successful immediately? It would be much smoother than he expected.
Could it be that the people in the world win the hearts of the people? Xue Bai has completely lost their desire to show off the people.