Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4961 Unexpected
The Wude Hall, which was originally filled with murderous atmosphere and where a war was about to break out, suddenly became quiet. All the royal family members stared with their eyes wide open, thinking they were hallucinating.

First they looked at Li Junxian in astonishment, then they all turned their heads and simultaneously cast their gazes on Li Shenfu's face, full of questions...

You said that His Majesty has died of poison, and we only need to force the Crown Prince to sign the abdication edict to accomplish our goal!

Now that the Lizheng Palace has been under siege for a long time, the threat to the Crown Prince has almost become a bubble, and His Majesty is safe and sound, and can still pass on the imperial decree...

Could it be that you, Li Shenfu, are His Majesty's "accomplice", tricking us into doing such a heinous thing and then catching us all in one fell swoop?

Li Shenfu was also a little confused. The cold wind was blowing and the snow was flying. He actually broke out in a cold sweat, but he reacted immediately and shouted, "Li Junxian, do you want to have your entire clan executed? His Majesty has been poisoned, but you are here to falsely convey the emperor's order. You are truly a traitor!"

"Don't let him deceive you. If His Majesty is safe and sound, there will be eunuchs or messengers around to pass on His Majesty's orders. How could a military commander like him be in charge of everything?"

"Li Junxian must be one of the traitors. Go ahead and kill him to avenge His Majesty!"

These words were extremely persuasive. Not only were the family soldiers he brought with him eager to shed blood for the empire, but even the guards of the Wude Hall were greatly confused. They watched the family soldiers around Li Shenfu rushing up, but were at a loss as to what to do.

They were guarding the Wude Hall the entire time, so they were naturally aware of the situation where the imperial physicians were unable to enter and leave, and the hall gates were sealed off and on full alert. This must have been because something unexpected had happened to His Majesty.

They are naturally loyal to His Majesty, but now Li Shenfu and Li Junxian each have their own opinions, which sound reasonable, but who is the loyal minister and who is the treacherous minister?
In the absence of an imperial edict, what should we do?

While he was stunned, the royal family's soldiers had already rushed up. The old soldiers of the "Yuancong Imperial Guard" were not afraid. They first shot down a large number of enemies with bows and crossbows, and then formed a formation and fought side by side with the enemy in front of the Wude Hall.

Although the old soldiers were old and their physical strength declined, they were all brave and willing to sacrifice their lives. The royal family soldiers and servants were young and strong, but their experience in risking their lives was inferior to those of the old soldiers who had fought in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield. Although they had the advantage in terms of military strength, they were evenly matched for a while.

"The old soldier Yuan Cong" refused to give an inch and guarded the palace gate to the death.

Seeing the guards of the Wude Hall cowering and making rough moves, Li Junxian shouted, "You are the emperor's personal guards, but you actually watched the thieves attack the emperor's bedroom. Do you really not want to live?"

The guards had no choice but to gather from both sides to support "Yuan Cong's old soldier", but they were still hesitant and unwilling to give their all.

After all, although Li Junxian is a close minister of His Majesty and is deeply trusted, his identity as the commander-in-chief of the "Hundred Cavalry Division" makes him more like an "emperor's lackey". His power makes people fear him, but he does not have the prestige to command people's hearts. When it comes to their lives and property, who would be willing to gamble everything just based on Li Junxian's empty words?
It's true that we are the emperor's guards, but if the emperor has passed away, then we are no different from ordinary soldiers and have to consider our stance...

Li Junxian's face was gloomy, but he stopped talking. He just stood on the steps in front of the hall and watched the battle in front of him coldly.

On both sides of him, more than a hundred skilled soldiers from the "Hundred Cavalry Division" stood solemnly with their hands hanging down, motionless.

At all times, we must reserve sufficient strength to deal with any possible accidents, and never go all out without reservation.

……

Sun Renshi took the lead and crossed Tianjie with his personal troops. The Right Guard troops swarming in front of Chengtian Gate were at a loss. They did not dare to attack without authorization without receiving orders from the general, and could only evade on both sides like the tide, allowing Sun Renshi to reach Chengtian Gate without any hindrance.

With him paving the way, Liu Li, Ma Zhou, Han Ai and others followed closely and had unimpeded access.

Arriving at Chengtian Gate, Sun Renshi rode aside and let Liu Li and others come forward to knock on the gate. This time, he single-handedly dispersed the Right Army Guards, which was enough to make him shine and have great achievements. As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little. From now on, he can keep a low profile and let the civil officials come forward...

Liu Li glanced at Sun Renshi, who was standing silently on his horse beside him, and felt deeply moved. A previously unknown general had joined Fang Jun's army and was promoted by him to become one of the Sixteen Generals of the Guards. To outsiders, it might seem that Fang Jun was nepotism, but Liu Li understood that Fang Jun was making use of his talent.

It’s strange, why is it that everyone who is favored by Fang Jun can shine and be talented?
Is it that Fang Jun has a good way of training his subordinates, or does he have the ability to judge people?

After calming down, Liu Li looked up at the top of the tower and said loudly, "I am the Minister of the Central Secretariat Liu Li, and I am accompanied by the Palace Attendant Ma Zhou, the Minister of Justice Han Ai, the General of the Right Jinwu Guard Sun Renshi, and others. We have received a call from Li Junxian of the Hundred Cavalry Division, saying that there has been a change in the palace, so we have come in a hurry to see the Emperor. Please open the door quickly!"

Although his tone was harsh, he also knew that it would not be easy to open the Chengtian Gate. As the palace gate was locked at night, it was basically impossible to open the door without an imperial edict or a token. The only possibility was that the general guarding the Chengtian Gate sensed the drastic changes in the palace and therefore opened the door to release people.

However, unexpectedly, almost as soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of a winch creaking, and the heavy Chengtian Gate slowly opened to both sides.

Liu Jie: "..."

I wonder who is on duty at Chengtian Gate tonight, and how could he be so easy to talk to?
And so bold?
However, there was no time to think about it. Seeing the palace gate open, Liu Li looked around and said in a deep voice: "Please follow me in!"

"The Minister of the Central Secretariat, please come first!"

"No need to be polite, just go into the palace as soon as possible!"

Liu Li nodded, accepted the responsibility, and went straight into the palace.

But after walking two steps, he turned back and looked at Sun Renshi, who was standing on his horse without moving, and asked curiously, "Isn't the general going to the palace with me?"

Firstly, Sun Renshi is the general of the Right Jinwu Guard, with tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command. If a mutiny occurs in the palace, it can be quickly put down. Secondly, entering the palace at this time would be a great achievement no matter what, or at the very least an unparalleled qualification that anyone would want, but the other party seems indifferent?
Sun Renshi sat upright on his horse, holding the reins, and replied, "The Grand Commandant has ordered that the left and right Jinwu Guards must strictly prevent treacherous people from colluding with the rebels to attack the palace, and at the same time maintain the law and order of the entire city. They are not allowed to enter the palace."

Liu Li frowned and looked at Ma Zhou, Han Ai and others, especially Ma Zhou. Seeing that Ma Zhou also looked confused and obviously didn't know the truth, he could only shake his head slightly, turned around and entered the palace gate, but the doubts in his heart lingered.

Looking at the court, when it comes to "loyalty", no one can compare to Fang Jun. After all, not only did he consistently and firmly support Your Majesty back then, but he also served as a pillar of support and defeated the rebel rebellion twice in a row and protected Your Majesty's throne. Don't look at the many rumors that have been spread before, but both publicly and privately, the stability of Your Majesty's throne can ensure Fang Jun's greatest interest.

To be frank, the person who cares most about your majesty's safety should be Fang Jun...

But Fang Jun now strictly orders his subordinates not to enter the palace. Is it because he has everything under control in the palace and has sufficient confidence in the safety of Your Majesty?

Walking through the doorway, Liu Li stopped in shock when he saw the palaces shrouded in snow in the dark night.

A man wearing armor and a helmet stood at one side of the door with his hands behind his back. The wind and snow blew his white beard, but his face did not have many wrinkles due to the passing of time. He was as elegant as he was in the past.

He was a military general, but also a Confucian official.

Liu Li stepped forward respectfully and bowed, "Junior greets Lord Ande."

Behind him, Ma Zhou, Han Ai and others also came forward to pay their respects.

It's not that everyone is not eager to enter the palace, but since this person appears here and is responsible for the safety of Chengtian Gate, it can be seen that His Majesty has already made arrangements. All the current chaos and crisis are just false alarms.

In addition, Li Ji and Fang Jun have not shown up yet, and Sun Renshi refused to enter the palace... With all these signs added together, it is easy to draw a conclusion.

Your Majesty will be absolutely safe...

The old man was none other than Yang Shidao, the Duke of Ande, a famous official of the Wude era and a close confidant of Emperor Gaozu.

In the tenth year of Zhenguan, Yang Shidao succeeded Wei Zheng as the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Liu Li's claim to be a junior was justified...

Yang Shidao stroked his beard and nodded slightly: "No need to be polite. The sudden change in the palace tonight will surely affect all parties. You are the pillars of the empire and the wings of His Majesty. Go to the palace quickly to calm the situation. Don't delay here."

Everyone bowed again and then walked quickly towards the Wude Hall.

Yang Shidao looked at the backs of the group of people, then looked up at the Chengtian Gate Tower surrounded by wind and snow, and sighed softly.

"The flute adds a parting song, the wind carries the heartbreaking sound... My dear brother Shen Fu, why did you come here?"

He is an old minister of Emperor Gaozu and has always been on good terms with the brothers Li Shentong and Li Shenfu. Now that he sees Li Shenfu digging his own grave, how can he not be filled with emotion?

Although the Tang Dynasty has only been established for 30 years, it has experienced several mutinies, both large and small. Perhaps the Second Emperor Li set a good example in the "Xuanwu Gate Incident", telling the Li Tang clan that "the throne can be obtained by taking risks". If Li Chengqian was also overthrown by the mutiny, it would probably become a tradition, and his descendants would follow suit...

……

Liu Li and others hurried towards the Wude Hall. They seemed hurried and anxious, but in fact their state of mind was very different from before.

Since His Majesty has been prepared, it is clear that everything is under control...

"Your Majesty actually asked Duke Ande to leave the Chengtian Gate. This is really unexpected."

Han Ai couldn't help but sigh.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, all the officials in the court were outstanding people of the time, and each of them was a general or a prime minister with outstanding abilities. Although Yang Shidao once served as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the head of the civil officials, he was also a rare general.

When he was the governor of Lingzhou, he defeated the invasion of the Eastern Turks twice, forcing Jie Li, who had just ascended the throne of Khan, to abandon his armor and flee in panic, not daring to approach Lingzhou...

The fact that Yang Shidao, who has retired for many years and is suffering from many illnesses, is temporarily guarding Chengtian Gate is enough to show Your Majesty's prudence. This old man has both experience, prestige and ability. With him in charge, Chengtian Gate will naturally be safe.

Just as they arrived at the Zhaode Hall, which was destroyed in the last Jin Prince's mutiny and has not yet been rebuilt, they heard shouts and screams coming from the Wude Gate. The group's faces changed drastically and they quickly quickened their pace, feeling confused and puzzled.

Since Your Majesty has made all the necessary preparations, how could you allow the rebels to reach the Wude Hall?
Could it be that he was using himself as bait to lure the snake out of its hole? !
(End of this chapter)