It's windy and snowy in the countryside, and I feel melancholy as no one holds the fishing rod.
From time to time, an official ship would pass by the bridge, and white gulls would fly away and land on the beach.
——"Snow Fishing Pavilion" by Jiang Kui (Song Dynasty)
…
After Bai Fu resigned, Suzong felt uneasy. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he still had no sleepiness.
As an emperor, he has said too much today.
If Li Cong, the king of Qing, had not entrusted him with the task, Li Mi guaranteed that no matter how much he admired Bai Fu, he would not have dared to reveal his true feelings to Bai Fu.
As an emperor, you must never let others spy on your interests, preferences, joys, sorrows, and joys.
This is an iron rule!
At this point, he has learned too many lessons of blood and tears:
His favorite concubine, the biological mother of Princess Qingluan, was demoted to a commoner and became a nun;
His beloved princess Qingluan was abducted on New Year's Eve;
General Wang Zhongsi, whom he sympathized with, was secretly arrested and died in the deep prison - "Lihentian";
…
I thought that if I sat on the dragon throne and ruled the world, these things would never happen again. However, the bad luck continued one after another and became worse:
The prince of Jianning, Li Tan, whom he relied on the most, was designed to alienate him and died in his own hands;
The emperor's younger brother Yongwang Li Lin, whom he cared about the most, was instigated to rebel in the south of the Yangtze River;
Li Mi, an important minister who was both his teacher and friend, did not dare to stay by his side and went into seclusion to avoid trouble;
Qingluan, the princess she loved most, was 'kidnapped' again;
As soon as Empress Zhang discussed with her the replacement of the crown prince, Prince Xing Li Ji, who was only five years old, died unexpectedly;
…
How many enemies are hidden around him, and what dangers are he completely unaware of? Thinking of these, Suzong shuddered, looking at the deep darkness, the empty and silent palace, and could not sleep at night.
Sitting on this dragon chair means you are alone!
…
Suzong recalled the scene when he first became the prince:
I was still young at that time, and it was a sweet time for fathers to be kind and sons to be filial.
On that day, Concubine Wu Hui, the biological mother of King Longevity Li Mao, was killed by a ghost and died of a sudden illness. He accompanied his father to Concubine Wu Hui's palace, and when he saw Concubine Wu Hui's death, he was so frightened that he huddled beside his father and sobbed softly.
Father's face was livid and he said to himself: "Heng'er, no one should ever know who your favorite person is. Otherwise, they will leave you one by one..."
As an emperor, the person you love is your shield and weakness. Once your opponent knows about it, he will definitely start from there.
Thinking of this, Suzong suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind and thought: "Father has seen this a long time ago, why do you still love Yang Yuhuan so much?
'The clouds think of clothes, the flowers think of face, the spring breeze blows the threshold and the dew is thick.'
Although Yang Yuhuan is beautiful and affectionate, there are three thousand beauties in the harem, all of whom are as beautiful as flowers. What's more, after so many years together, even if they are not annoying, they are all tired of her.
In order to let the noble lady eat fresh lychees from her hometown, she did not hesitate to mobilize meteor scouts and traveled ten thousand miles to rush to deliver the lychees to Chang'an.
This move is comparable to King Zhou You's beacon fire play on the princes.
Yang Yuhuan was loved by three thousand people, and no one in the world knew about it.
Why does the father want to make his love for the imperial concubine known to the world?
Why did the emperor deliberately create the public opinion that he does not love the country but loves the beauty?
…
The biggest cause of the Anlushan Rebellion was not Yang Guozhong, but his father. It was his father who tolerated traitors and raised the ungrateful Zhongshan wolf in Anlushan.
The rebels invaded Chang'an and burned, killed and looted. However, the imperial army was unable to take care of their families and could only follow the order and escape in embarrassment with the emperor's relatives.
Maweipo mutiny, the hatred of the Forbidden Army soldiers was not only against Yang Guozhong, but also against his father.
The original intention of the generals of the Forbidden Army was to take advantage of the chaos to get rid of the traitorous ministers such as the father and Yang Guozhong in the name of "Qing Jun Side", and to support the crown prince on the throne.
The reason why the purpose of the mutiny changed was because all the generals of the Forbidden Army were convinced that his father loved Yang Yuhuan more than his own life.
It was precisely by taking advantage of this that the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army, Chen Xuanli, suggested exchanging lives for lives. Killing Concubine Yang was the greatest punishment for his father, and would make him wake up and regret the rest of his life.
When Yang Yuhuan's hanged body was placed in front of the formation of the three armies, the generals finally let go of their resentment towards their father, and the three armies were relieved and their old grudges were settled.
What a trick to lose the car and save the commander, Li Daitao is deadlocked!
Chen Xuanli's clever trick was to divert attention, mislead the generals, and instantly resolve such a dangerous matter as the mutiny of the Forbidden Army.
No wonder his father didn't blame him afterwards. To this day, he still has Gao Lishi, the chamberlain supervisor, and Chen Xuanli, the general of Zuo Longwu, by his side, as close as ever...
The truth of this matter has been sealed for a long time, and I am afraid that only these three people in the world know it.
It's a pity that the lady actually believed her father's words, thinking that she just took medicine and faked her death in order to deceive the Imperial Army. I guess Yang Yuhuan was still thinking secretly underground: 'I wish to be a winged bird in heaven, and a twig on earth.'
Ginger is still spicy when it’s old!”
Thinking of this, Suzong looked at Xingqing Palace where Xuanzong lived in the distance, with an indescribable complex expression in his eyes...
…
On the way back to the Bashu Guild Hall from the Daming Palace, Bai Fu's head was like a precision-made armillary sphere, repeatedly calculating every detail:
Who is the biggest beneficiary after Su Zong is eliminated?
Judging from the bright cards, once Suzong dies, the candidates who have a chance to ascend to the throne are: Prince Li Chu (Li Yu), Supreme Emperor Li Longji, and Yue King Li Xi.
Of course, this is only a superficial interest. Whether there are hidden people behind it still needs to be further explored.
Although the current situation is complicated and complicated, the order of the imperial court is in order. Suzong holds the power, and most of the important ministers and military commanders in the court obey Suzong. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to seize power by relying on ordinary means.
In the case of Xuanzong, Prince Li Chu, and King Li of Yue, if they wanted to usurp the throne, they could only resort to extraordinary means, such as poisoning, assassination, and launching a palace coup.
Regarding diet, emperors of all dynasties have strict verification procedures. If you want to poison your diet, it is almost impossible.
In the same way, if you want to kill the king through assassination, you have almost no chance of winning. After Jing Ke assassinated Qin, it rarely happened.
Moreover, through poisoning, assassination, etc., if successful, the throne of the king will inevitably fall on the crown prince. The beneficiary is too obvious, so once it is implemented, the prince is the first suspect. Unless someone deliberately framed the prince, otherwise
Such measures will not be taken.
Because of this reason, if Xuanzong and Yue King Li Xi wanted to usurp the throne, they would not choose poisoning, assassination, etc. The best solution would be to launch a palace coup and take advantage of the chaos to seize power in one fell swoop.
When it comes to launching a coup, Xuanzong is very experienced and expert. He relied on the "Tang Long Coup" to rise to power and became the ultimate winner.
So, will history repeat itself?"
…
Back at the Bashu Guild Hall, Bai Fu found Huang Zhen to discuss the matter together.
Huang Zhen was now the helmsman of the Chang'an branch of the Sichuan Gang, and he acted more alertly and wisely. After Bai Fu returned to Chang'an this time, he quickly integrated into the capital, which was not unrelated to Huang Zhen's plan.
Bai Fu asked: "Brother Zhen, Xuanzong was just an ordinary member of the royal family back then. He was able to secretly plan and finally launch the 'Tang Long Coup' by hiding in the dark.
Now Xuanzong has no soldiers and power, and is closely monitored by Suzong. If he wants to usurp the throne, his power will be as high as the sky. But I don’t know why, but I just doubt him?"
Huang Zhen thought for a while and said: "'Lihentian' has imprisoned you for three years. Xuanzong and you have a deep hatred. Could it be that you took the lead?"
Bai Fu frowned and said: "This is also possible. I even suspect that it is precisely because of this that your Majesty chose me to be the leader of the Qianniu Guard.
But if Xuanzong really wanted to launch a coup, who would he use to accomplish it?"
Huang Zhen took out a few pieces of letterhead from the secret box, handed it to Bai Fu, and said, "I can't say. I recently received intelligence that the Maitreya Cult has resurfaced in Chang'an. Is there some connection between the two?"
Bai Fu read the secret letter and said, "Master Fang is still in Chang'an, right? The 'catcher' has a fiery eye. It is estimated that none of this can escape his discernment."