Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4950: Rebel Enters the Palace
At the beginning of the first hour of the Chinese New Year, the snow became heavier and the entire Chang'an city was shrouded in heavy snow. The few lights in various neighborhoods emitted a faint halo, which could not be seen clearly in the wind and snow.

Fortunately, there was no wind, and the snow was falling heavily, making the world peaceful and quiet.

Cheng Wuting and Wang Xuance stood under the Xing'an Gate Tower, looking at the streets and palace walls in the wind and snow, standing silently.

Out of sight, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the snowy night.

In a moment, a team of cavalry came galloping in the wind and snow, and stopped only when they were in front of him. Dozens of war horses were in uniform and aggressive.

The two men hurried out from the snowy shelter under the tower, knelt on one knee in the snow and said, "Greetings, Marshal!"

Fang Jun jumped down from his horse and said calmly, "No need to be polite! Let's talk inside."

Without stopping, he walked straight into a guard room at the foot of the city.

Cheng and Wang followed closely behind.

This duty room is where the soldiers who check people entering and leaving the city gate live. It is simply decorated with only a wooden table by the window.

Fang Jun sat on a stool beside the table and asked, "What's the situation?"

The two stood solemnly in front, and Cheng Wuting said, "Up to now, everything has been normal, and no suspicious movements have been found."

Wang Xuance stepped forward and poured Fang Jun a cup of hot tea.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and frowned, "But the Hundred Cavalry Division has sent news that many members of the royal family have disappeared without a trace, and Li Shenfu has not appeared for a long time, which is enough to prove that they have already started to act."

Cheng Wuting shook his head and said, "They definitely didn't go through Xing'an Gate. From here, they head south to Yanxi Gate. I have already arranged for the Left Jinwu Guards to patrol back and forth, and I am personally stationed here. There is no way those people can slip away from under my nose."

The most convenient way out of the city is through the Xing'an Gate on the east side and the Fanglin Gate on the west side. Cheng Wuting is stationed at the Xing'an Gate, and Sun Renshi is stationed at the Fanglin Gate. No trace of Li Shenfu and others was found at either of the two gates, so...

"Have the Danfeng Sect and the Yanzheng Sect sent anyone to keep an eye on them?"

In preparation for the construction of the Daming Palace, a city gate was built on the north wall of Chang'an City as the main gate of the Daming Palace. It is now being expanded, and it is initially planned to have five gates. It is the highest standard of city gates in imperial capitals of all dynasties, and it will be extremely magnificent after completion.

In addition, the Yanzheng Gate was built on the east side of the Yishanfang to allow the craftsmen who were building the palace to come and go...

Wang Xuance added, "I have been supervising these two city gates. I came here only after hearing that the commander-in-chief has summoned me. There are still hundreds of people left there to guard the gates."

Fang Jun hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Since there is nothing wrong with these city gates, we can only go through the water gate of Jingyao Gate."

Jingyao Gate is located between Anding and Xiude districts, with the Yong'an Canal passing through it and a water gate that is opened during the day and closed at night. Since it is closed now, it means that there are no soldiers coming and going to check. One only needs to bribe the captain guarding the gate and one can enter and exit freely without anyone noticing.

Cheng Wuting said hurriedly: "Then I will rush over immediately!"

"No need. It's already this late. We should have left the city long ago. The Xuanwu Gate is guarded by Wang Fangyi. There's no way those people can bribe them. As for the Zhide Gate... there's something wrong with this guy Li Anyan."

Fang Jun narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing, and he had already figured out the route the thief took to enter the palace.

"Should we inform the palace?"

"No need for that," Fang Jun said calmly after taking a sip of tea, "The palace has already been arranged. It is not within our defense range, so we cannot interfere."

Cheng Wuting and Wang Xuance both breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the current situation is tense and rebellion is imminent, and even the thieves may have sneaked into the Taiji Palace or the East Palace, people feel at ease when they see Fang Jun sitting here as steady as a rock and without making any noise.

"So what do we do now?"

"Don't do anything, just wait."

Fang Jun was at his ease: "When the battle in the East Palace starts, we will go out of Xing'an Gate, enter Zhide Gate, and rush to the East Palace to rescue His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Cheng and Wang were slightly stunned, and were extremely puzzled: Entering the palace to rescue the emperor, isn't that the same as rescuing His Majesty?
What's the point of rescuing the prince first?

Could it be that the rumors about the Queen and the Marshal are all true, and the Marshal is waiting for some unexpected event to happen on the side of His Majesty, and then help the Crown Prince ascend the throne, to act like "Lu Buwei of the Tang Dynasty"?
The two of them pursed their lips and looked at each other tacitly, and they both saw that the other person's thoughts were similar to their own...

Fang Jun didn't notice the two men flirting with each other, and gave the order: "Send people to set up sentry posts every thirty steps along Xing'anmen Street from south to north, and pay close attention to the movements in the East Palace. If anything goes wrong, immediately leave Xing'an Gate and enter Zhide Gate to protect the East Palace!"

"Here!"

The two men did not dare to think any more and quickly accepted the order and passed it down.

*****
In the wind and snow, Li Anyan looked at Li Shenfu and others who entered one after another from Zhide Gate, his face as gloomy as water.

Li Shenfu approached, cupped his hands and said with emotion: "The general is an old subordinate of the hidden prince. After so many years, he still remains loyal. It is really admirable. The current emperor is foolish and unruly, close to treacherous and cunning people and stays away from wise ministers. We cannot sit idly by and watch the Li Tang dynasty be destroyed in his hands. Fortunately, we have joined hands with the general today to create great achievements and change the world!"

Li Anyan was unmoved. He did not seek great achievements, nor fame or fortune. He just wanted to repay Li Jiancheng's kindness in recognizing his talent and fulfill the duty between a monarch and his subject. That was all.

He said in a deep voice: "I wonder if you all come here alone, or are you accompanied by soldiers?"

Li Siliang was slightly dissatisfied with his attitude. He snorted coldly and said, "Of course there are soldiers accompanying us. Although we rely on the general's strength to enter the East Palace, we will not let the general fight alone."

Not to mention how many Eastern Palace guards Li Anyan can control, even if the entire Eastern Palace is under his control, it is impossible to make him try his best - all the credit belongs to Li Anyan alone, so how should he be rewarded after the success?

It’s impossible that all the benefits should be taken by Li Anyan alone, right?
Li Anyan looked serious and asked, "How many soldiers are there and where are they now?"

"There are two thousand of them, all of them are elite warriors. They are in the forest outside the Zhide Gate in the West Inner Courtyard. With just one command, they can charge into the East Palace."

When the Li Tang dynasty was founded, the royal family made great contributions. Many of the Li clan members were sent to fight in the army and served in the front lines. Many of them died on the battlefield, but those who survived were officers in the army. Even if they retired from the army, they still had countless family soldiers and followers. Although many of them were killed in Li Yuanjing's attack on Xuanwu Gate, there were still many left.

It is not difficult to gather three or two thousand elite soldiers.

Li Anyan frowned: "There is no such item in the previously agreed plan!"

The previous plan was very simple. They only needed to wait for the news from Taiji Palace and then launch an attack suddenly. They would capture Lizheng Hall and capture the Queen and the Crown Prince at lightning speed, then break into Taiji Palace and force the Crown Prince to sign the abdication edict in front of Li Chengqian's spirit. The edict would be announced to the public and the world, and once it became a fait accompli, everyone would have to submit.

There is no need for a large-scale army at all. After all, compared with the imperial guards inside the palace, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, and the Left and Right Leading Army Guards outside the palace, once a large-scale battle begins, no matter how many people are there, they will be useless.

The key to this battle is "speed". We will strike directly at the vital points and determine the overall situation in one fell swoop before any other parties can react.

The most taboo thing is to act on your own and get involved in trivial matters.

Once an unexpected event causes the situation to be delayed, it basically means failure...

All the royal family kings looked unhappy, but Li Anyan was the most important person in this uprising, so even if they were dissatisfied, they endured it.

Li Siliang said: "With more people, the probability of success will naturally increase. After all, what we are doing is a major undertaking that cannot be reversed."

Li Anyan snorted: "Do you think that the West Inner Courtyard, with its dense forests and rivers, is a safe place to hide soldiers? Maybe now your so-called death warriors have been discovered by the scouts of the Hundred Cavalry Division and the Jinwu Guards and turned into corpses."

Li Siliang glared: "You..."

"Alright, alright, why are you arguing at this time?"

Li Shenfu comforted the two men: "Now that things have come to this, there is no point in arguing about this. All of us must obey General Li's orders and no one is allowed to disobey!"

Li Anyan was respectful to Li Shenfu and bowed to him. "It's not that I am unreasonable. It's just that this matter is serious and we have to eliminate all hidden dangers. But what the prince said is right. Now that things have come to this, it's useless to blame each other. We can only do our best."

Li Shenfu nodded, took two steps forward, and patted Li Anyan on the shoulder: "Thank you, General. After the mission is accomplished, we will reward you according to your merits, and you will be the first to receive the credit!"

After saying this, he turned around and looked at the gloomy and quiet East Palace in the snow, his heart burning with anger: "Emperor Taizong killed so many people here and made the blood flow like a river. Did he ever think that one day he would lose the throne he had snatched? Things go round and round, and retribution will come!"

Li Anyan didn't have so many emotions. He had already expressed the emotions many years ago. At this moment, his heart was as calm as water. He said calmly: "Please go into the hall and rest for a while. Although everyone around you is my confidant, if the news leaks out, it will be very bad."

The area he controlled was within Zhide Gate. The closer he got to Lizheng Palace from the south, the weaker his control became. If the whereabouts of Li Shenfu and his men were discovered before he started the rebellion, and his plan failed, he would be in trouble.

Li Siliang was very nervous after hearing his words. He was also worried about the assassins, so he asked, "How should we arrange for those assassins?"

Li Junxian thought for a moment and said, "We should keep sending people to contact them and report back every quarter of an hour. If they haven't revealed their whereabouts by the time the battle starts, we will immediately send them to the palace from Zhide Gate to help. If they are discovered during this period, we don't need to wait for news from Taiji Palace. We can immediately capture Lizheng Hall, coerce the Crown Prince, and then charge into Taiji Palace!"

For such a major event, one must be decisive and act with all his might. It is better to make mistakes than to delay. If one does it, there is still a chance of success, but if one delays, there will be no recovery.