Tangzhou is an important place. Although it is only a Zhongzhou with a small population and cannot be called a wealthy place, its strategic location is too important. But with this place in hand, Xiangzhou's army will If we approach Luoyang, there will be no big obstacle. In addition, including the elite troops secretly arranged by the King of Yue's group nearby, we can conquer Luoyang in one fell swoop. At that time, the world will naturally become the King of Yue. Li Zhen would not understand this truth, but the problem is that Li Zhen was not sure that Tangzhou could be so smoothly obtained. Even if Empress Wu vowed to do so, Li Zhen did not take it seriously, because Li Xian was not What a soft persimmon. Once the Yue Prince's family really came into contact with Li Xian, there would be absolutely no good fruit to eat. Although the bait in Tangzhou was sweet, Li Zhen really didn't have enough courage to eat it.
"Shou De, Wu Shuang, do you have any advice on this matter?"
Although Li Zhen had decided not to swallow the fragrant bait that Wu had given her, she did not show it directly because the bait was too fragrant. Even if there was a slight chance, Li Zhen did not want to let it go. Of course, , he himself did not have the courage or the courage to bite the hook directly, so he could only place his hope on the wisdom of the two great counselors Pei and Chen.
"Replying to the prince, the son-in-law thinks that this is a strategy to drive away the tiger and swallow the wolf. The man in the palace obviously has no good intentions. If we forcefully come forward, we will definitely offend the prince. Even if the impeachment can be successful, the most we will do is kill a few tigers. It's just a scapegoat. It may hurt the prince's face, but it will never hurt the prince's foundation. On the contrary, with the prince's full resistance, Tangzhou may not really be able to succeed. In this way, except for the prince in the palace, In addition to getting an advantage, it is a lose-lose situation for both me and the East Palace. This fact is not advisable!"
Pei Shoude had been severely lectured by Li Xian several times, and from the bottom of his heart he did not want to play head-on with Li Xian. Even though he saw the importance of Tangzhou to the Yue King family, he still raised objections.
"Hmm..., what does Wushuang think of this matter?"
What Pei Shoude said was exactly what Li Zhen had thought before, but Li Zhen still had the last trace of luck and did not comment on Pei Shoude's suggestion. Instead, she turned her head and looked at the silent Chen Wushuang, full of thoughts. He asked politely.
"The times have changed, and today, it's time to come to an end!"
Chen Wushuang was the calmest person in the Yue Prince's family. He had always opposed direct confrontation with Li Xian, but today he was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic and made shocking remarks as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Um?"
"Er..."
"this……"
…
As soon as Chen Wushuang said these words, everyone who was not prepared at all was stunned, and the voices of surprise and suspicion couldn't help but grow louder.
"Sir, what do you mean by this?"
Not only Li Chong and others were shocked, but the King of Yue was also surprised. He raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion.
"Your Majesty, in your opinion, how long does the Holy Spirit have left?"
Chen Wushuang did not answer Li Zhen directly, but asked a somewhat treasonous question.
"this……"
Although Gaozong's condition was an extremely confidential matter, to Li Zhen, who had deployed many people in the Imperial Hospital, it was not a secret at all. Li Zhen still felt a little guilty just because she wanted to openly talk about Gaozong's condition. Even though this study room is full of his confidants.
"Your Majesty's time must be running out. If not, the empress will definitely not make such a move!"
Chen Wushuang couldn't say anything shocking today. Before Li Zhen could react, he had already said something more harsh.
"Why did you say this, sir?"
Regarding Gaozong's condition, as far as Li Zhen knew, the Imperial Hospital had never come to an accurate conclusion. Li Zhen knew this secret herself, but had never mentioned it to others. At this time, when she heard Chen Wushuang's assertion, she
He couldn't help but turn pale with shock, and hurriedly asked a question.
"It's very simple. If there is still enough time, the empress does not need to provoke the prince and the prince to fight. She only needs to isolate internal and external communication, forge the imperial edict step by step, and slowly wear away the strength of the prince. It doesn't take much, just have a plan of two to three years.
Coupled with the cooperation of the prince, the power of His Royal Highness in the government and the public can be completely eliminated. By then, even if His Royal Highness is brave, it will be nothing more than fish and meat on the board. In other words, if the Holy One has two
Years of time, the empress does not have to worry at all, and you can ensure your chance of winning by walking slowly, but now that the empress actually takes this dangerous move, it only shows that the empress no longer has any illusions about the body of the Holy Emperor."
Chen Wushuang smiled confidently, slowly shook his white feather fan, and explained the mystery.
"Huh..., that's it, then..."
Li Zhen had always had great trust in Chen Wushuang. When he heard his detailed analysis, he was convinced. But when he thought of having a fight with Li Xian at this moment, he didn't have much confidence, so he was hesitant.
It's inevitable.
"God has given Tangzhou to the prince. How long will it take to replace it?"
Chen Wushuang burst into heroic spirit, and his whole body suddenly became full of energy. He waved the white feather fan in his hand and spoke with high spirits.
"Okay, according to what Mr. Wang said, this king of Tangzhou is going to be settled. Well, how should we deal with the matter of impeachment?"
Li Zhen had always coveted Tangzhou. After hearing what Chen Wushuang said, she became more energetic. However, her fear of Li Xian did not lessen. She just said "Hello" and turned around.
He came, but he showed a worried look.
"At this point, it's time to see the truth. If your Majesty wants the prince and His Highness to fight to death, then let's fight. It's just a matter of court politics. It doesn't matter if His Highness the Prince wins. As long as he can get
Tangzhou, that is victory, not to mention that if I, Prince Yue, and the empress attack me with all their strength, His Highness the Prince will be able to escape easily without even seeing it, and he will have to skin off him even if he is not dead. As for the Prince's counterattack, what about the Prince's counterattack?
It's just something that was expected. Even if we don't take action this time, once His Highness the Crown Prince gains power, he will never let us go. In this case, why should we worry too much!"
Chen Wushuang had been following Li Zhen for a long time, so he was very aware of Li Zhen's temperament which was more than slippery and not strong enough. Seeing that he was still looking forward and backward at this point, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his heart. However, he was sinking into the Yue Wang family.
It was so deep that there was no possibility of turning back. With all the help, he could only suppress the loss in his heart and spoke out loud words to encourage Li Zhen.
"Okay, then it's settled, Shoude. I'll contact the other end immediately and tell him that the king has made up his mind. He should follow the lead of the Queen of Heaven and be sure to ask the Queen of Heaven to take the time to issue the order to the governor of Tangzhou."
Li Zhen was an ambitious person after all. When she heard that Chen Wushuang had already said this, she no longer hesitated and made a decision with a fierce look on her face.
"No, my son-in-law will do it right away!"
Being overshadowed by Chen Wushuang once again, Pei Shoude was quite disappointed, but he didn't dare to reveal anything in front of the King of Yue. He could only respond respectfully, and hurriedly exited the study, going to arrange relevant matters without mentioning it.
…
On October 27th of the first year of Yonglong, it was time for the morning court again. This was the first morning court after Gaozong fell ill. The ministers did not dare to ignore it. Even if they were slightly unwell, they all
They rushed to participate in the morning court - among the two hundred and seventy-three courtiers who were qualified to attend the court, except for a dozen who were not in Luoyang due to official duties, the rest were all present, and the huge Deyang Palace was packed to the max.
But no one talked privately, but everyone waited with bated breath for the arrival of the two protagonists, Empress Wu and the Crown Prince.
"The Queen of Heaven has arrived!"
The ministers did not wait for too long. Just after a while, a high-pitched voice sounded. Empress Wu, dressed neatly in court uniform, was slowly walking out of the back hall, surrounded by a large group of eunuchs and maidens.
The prince Li Xian who followed him obviously kept a much lower profile, with only Gao Miao and two young eunuchs accompanying him.
"I will bow to the Queen of Heaven."
When they saw that Empress Wu had arrived, all the courtiers did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly paid homage to her.
"Everyone loves you for your peace of mind."
Empress Wu's mental state was quite good, her face was red and tender, and her eyes were bright and clear. She seemed not to be affected by Gaozong's illness in bed, and her voice was obviously a little more energetic than before.
"I would like to thank the Empress of Heaven for your kindness!"
Empress Wu shouted, and all the courtiers had to express their gratitude according to the court regulations. This is the meaning of the title, but there is nothing to say.
"Let's start the memorial for your Majesty, I will give you the memorial!"
The courtiers had just settled down in civil and military positions, and before they could stand firmly on their feet, they saw the King of Yue, Li Zhen, striding out from the ranks of civil servants, bowing, and reporting loudly.
"Uncle Eighth, if you have any questions, just play this chapter. I'm here to listen."
As soon as she saw that the King of Yue had indeed stood up as promised, Empress Wu's eyes immediately lit up, but she did not express any other words, but gave orders calmly.
"No, I want to impeach His Highness the Crown Prince for being arrogant and arrogant. He allowed the East Palace Guards to act recklessly and beat up the Yulin officers and soldiers. This is a serious crime of deceiving the king and disregarding the superiors. We should not let it go lightly. I sincerely ask the empress to issue an edict to investigate this case!"
The King of Yue stood up straight with a solemn expression, spoke with indignation, and unceremoniously labeled Li Xian as a bully.
"Buzz..."
Yesterday's conflict between the Yulin Army and the East Palace Guards was actually not serious, but the well-informed courtiers were already aware of it. Most of the courtiers were already aware of the possible disturbances in today's morning court.
, but they never expected that at the beginning of the morning court, the King of Yue would target Li Xian so directly, and he did so without any mercy. They were all shocked and started talking privately.
The noise started to get louder, and for a while the whole hall was as noisy as a vegetable market...