Chapter 175: Driving Collapse
After the conversation that day, the relationship between Ming Huashang and the retired emperor seemed to have eased a little. When it was her turn to be on duty in the side hall, the retired emperor would also chat with her.
Of course, to Ming Huashang, it was just idle chat, but to the emperor, it might be a deliberate attempt to lead or test him. Ming Huashang smiled on the surface, but in fact, he was always nervous and did not dare to make any mistakes.
Days like this are like water, neither salty nor bland, without waves or ripples. When she came to her senses, a long time had passed. She and Li Huazhang not only spent the Mid-Autumn Festival at Shangyang Temple, but also the Double Ninth Festival and the Winter Solstice.
Ming Huashang actually didn't believe that the retired emperor would be willing to abdicate, and Li Huazhang obviously didn't believe it either. A centipede is dead but still alive, and it's not like the retired emperor to accept defeat so calmly. During this period, Li Huazhang seemed to be concentrating on taking care of the patient, but in fact he was always maintaining the defense of Shangyang Palace. He held his breath and waited for the empress to launch a final counterattack. He knew that Han Jie was also hiding in the dark at this moment, waiting for the retired emperor's order.
Unexpectedly, on a cold and sunny afternoon in November, the condition of the retired emperor suddenly worsened, and Li Huazhang hurriedly called all the imperial doctors in Shangyang Palace. People came and went in the bedroom. In the evening, the winter sky was dark early. The last imperial doctor came out of the palace and shook his head at Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang.
Everything is self-evident. The Emperor has reached the end of his life, and it is time to prepare for his death.
Ming Huashang had expected this day, but when it really happened, she was still stunned, her head buzzing. Li Huazhang stood there, his face pale and bloodless. Everyone else was shocked by this sudden change, but he was the first to act, walking into the hall without saying a word.
Ming Huashang reacted and hurriedly followed him into the palace. The retired emperor was lying on the couch, his face was haggard, his hair was messy, and he was completely different from the high-spirited empress two years ago. But her expression seemed relatively calm. She noticed someone coming in, glanced sideways, and said lightly: "Come here."
Li Huazhang walked past the screen and knelt silently in front of the couch. Ming Huashang knew that Li Huazhang was upset, so she knelt beside him silently.
The emperor seemed to be very nonchalant about his own death, and said slowly: "I have never believed in fate in my life. I have been fighting all my life, fighting against people, fighting against fate, and fighting against heaven. Now, I finally have to admit that I can't fight anymore. I am old."
Li Huazhang's lips moved, but she couldn't speak. The emperor was surprised that she was so clear-headed and calm. Her fingers touched something, and a compartment at the head of the bed opened. Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang were both surprised, and the emperor signaled them to take it out.
Li Huazhang stood up and reached into the secret compartment. As soon as he got the things in his hands, his pupils were shocked and he looked at the emperor in surprise.
The Emperor leaned back on the pillow, half-closing his eyes, as if he was resting his mind when he was tired. He said, "When I first came to Shangyang Palace, I was unwilling to accept it. Even if I die, I will teach those unfilial descendants a lesson. But you two have been taking care of me every day, and you are so honest and pitiful. I really can't bear it, so I thought, why not just forget it."
Ming Huachang's eyes gradually widened, and he realized what was in the secret compartment. The emperor sighed and said, "The world will eventually be handed over to your Li family. Now that it has been decided, any further trouble will only add to the jokes in the history books, and in the end, only the people will suffer. Forget it, take this black iron tiger talisman and this country."
Li Huazhang turned his head subconsciously and looked into Ming Huachang's eyes. With her by his side, the cold iron token in his hand didn't seem so heavy. Li Huazhang calmed down and asked, "In terms of relationship, I am only your grandson, and in terms of loyalty, I have betrayed you. Why don't you give this token to Han Jie, or Princess Taiping and Prince Xiang?"
Why? The emperor asked himself silently. Maybe it was because they had taken care of her day and night during this period, so that she could leave the world with dignity; maybe it was because a dying person's words were good, and she saw that Li Huazhang was so serious about practicing the virtues of a gentleman, and Ming Huashang was so serious about loving life, she couldn't bear it, and didn't want to launch a coup again to disrupt their peace.
Perhaps it was the responsibility of an emperor that always reminded her. She was the empress of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, and now the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. But no matter how the country's name changed, the people living on this land never changed. As an emperor, she had to be responsible for the people of the world. She could not wantonly start a war and disrupt the lives of the people because of her own selfish desires.
Maybe, she, the deposed emperor, just wanted to do one last thing for the people of the Great Zhou.
Xuanxiaowei was a dark network she had built herself, combining spying, surveillance, and murder. It was because of this that she knew how terrible it would be if this power got out of control. With her around, she could shock the ministers below, but if she was gone, there was no guarantee that Han Jie would not have second thoughts.
As for Taiping and Prince Xiang, it goes without saying. Taiping's ambition has long been nurtured. If the Xuanxiao Guard is handed over to Taiping, she will certainly be ecstatic. At that time, she will unite the internal and external forces to stir up trouble. No matter who sits on the throne, it will not be safe. However, Taiping's own ability is not enough to be the emperor.
Prince Xiang is the heir to the throne. With Li Xian's character, he won't be able to sit on the throne for long. The Tang Dynasty will have to rely on Prince Xiang to succeed. It's not a good thing to let an emperor succeed to the throne too smoothly, but we can't really leave him alone. Therefore, the killing weapon of Xuanxiaowei must be handed over to someone who is talented enough to protect the emperor, but has a high moral character and will not have any other intentions towards the throne.
After much searching, she found that the most suitable person was Li Huazhang. If the worst happened and Li Huazhang wanted to fight for the throne, the result would not be too bad. At least she had chosen a talented emperor for the world.
As for why it was in front of Ming Huashang, it might be understood that the token was given to both of them at the same time. Li Huazhang was too upright. You must know that being too strong will lead to humiliation, and being too rigid will easily break. It would be fine if he was just an ordinary person, but being in the center of the vortex, this kind of character could easily lead to his own destruction.
People should be like water, which can be as hard as ice or as soft as a gurgling stream, and endure everything that cannot be endured. Li Huazhang is not gentle enough, nor is he cruel enough. He is like a sharpened sword. If the steel is too refined, it will break easily.
He needs a scabbard to protect him, remind him, or destroy him. Ming Huashang can be his other half to protect him, or he can be his ultimate weapon to destroy him.
The emperor did not answer, but said calmly: "Whether it is the Great Tang or the Great Zhou, the world belongs to the people, not the Li family. I hope you can keep your promise and protect the Great Tang in the dark for your whole life, without seeking fame or fortune, and without caring about life or death."
Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang both calmed down. The emperor coughed for a while, then leaned back on the pillow exhausted, his fingers slowly relaxing: "After I die, omit the title of emperor and call me Empress Wu Zetian the Great Saint, and bury me with Emperor Gaozong. Pardon Empress Wang, Concubine Xiao Shufei, and the criminals and relatives involved in Li Xian's rebellion. I hate being judged by others the most in my life, and after I die, there is no need to write an epitaph. Just leave a blank stele, and let future generations judge my merits and demerits."
"Take the token and go to Yizhou to find Han Jie. I gave him a secret order before, but the disease came too suddenly, and I didn't have time to order him to cancel the action. If he heard that I had passed away, he would definitely start a rebellion. You go to Yizhou quickly and convey my oral order to him to stop all actions and obey the orders of the tiger token in the future."
The hands of the retired emperor fell deeply on the couch. She finished her last sentence with great effort, and her head fell heavily as if she was extremely tired. Li Huazhang held the token tightly in his palm. The tiger talisman made of black iron almost hurt his hand. Ming Huashang silently covered the back of Li Huazhang's hand. Li Huazhang finally closed his eyes helplessly, kowtowed deeply, and saluted the person on the couch.
Ming Huashang also sighed silently, raised his hand and bowed to see the emperor off.
At this time, the palace people found something wrong, and the Xianju Palace was in chaos. After a while, the post horse set out from Shangyang Palace and rushed to Chang'an.
"Urgent report, the emperor has died!"
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As the postman rushed along the official road in the severe cold and strong wind, the Taiji Palace was filled with fragrance and warm as spring. The emperor was reading the greetings from the governors of various states when suddenly a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind and said in a coquettish voice, "Saint, who do you think I am?"
The emperor laughed out loud: "Anle, stop making trouble."
Princess Anle was guessed. She pursed her lips but did not put down her hand. She said coquettishly, "I don't care. Anyway, I win. You have to give me a gift."
The emperor was naturally generous in rewarding his beloved little daughter. He said generously, "Of course, just ask for whatever you want."
Princess Anle showed a triumphant smile, still pretending to be innocent, and said coquettishly: "I haven't thought about it yet. You put the jade seal on this white paper first, and I will go back and think about it slowly."
The emperor's expression became serious when it came to the imperial seal. He stopped playing with his daughter and gently pushed Princess Anle's hand away. He lowered his head and saw the memorial in front of him.
It was not the blank paper that Anle mentioned. There were words written on it, and they were words that deposed the Crown Prince and made Princess Anle the Crown Princess. These words were extremely treasonous.
Princess Anle realized that she had failed to trick the emperor into stamping the imperial seal on the memorial, so she stopped pretending and hugged the emperor's arm and said coquettishly, "Father, I want to be a princess. Why can that bastard Li Chongjun be the princess but I can't? You can depose him and let me be the princess. I will definitely be filial to you and mother in the future."
The emperor sighed, he really couldn't do anything to his most beloved little daughter: "Gui'er, change to another reward. Apart from this, I can agree to anything you want."
Princess Anle saw that she could not be persuaded, so she could only reluctantly say, "Okay. Then I will appoint my retainer as prime minister."
When the emperor heard Anle was about to interfere with the appointment of a third-rank official, he hesitated. But he had just rejected his daughter's request, and Princess Anle sulked, so the emperor couldn't bear it anymore and said hurriedly: "Okay, okay, it's up to you. If you want to recommend your retainers to be officials, you should cultivate talents well and don't hang out with those bad people."
The questionable people the emperor was referring to were naturally Princess Anle's lovers. Princess Anle curled her lips, not taking it to heart, and said casually, "I know."
The emperor and Princess Anle chatted for a long time. At this time, an eunuch hurriedly ran in from outside the palace, his face was very panicked: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report."
The emperor saw this and sent Princess Anle away. Princess Anle was very upset that the emperor sent her away. She was the future princess, what urgent matter could she not listen to? She walked out of the hall, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned around and walked towards Queen Wei's palace.
The cold wind howled outside the window, and the candlelight shook violently. Li Chongjun listened to the eunuch's report and pinched his fingers tightly into the armrest.
After the eunuch who delivered the message left, the staff member Su Rong bowed to Li Chongjun and said, "Your Highness, Queen Wei and Princess Anle have already intended to depose you. If they fail to deceive you today, they will definitely come up with another trick another day. Now is a time of trouble. The Queen and Prince Liang are very close. If the Emperor dies at this juncture, the power of the Wu family will all fall into the hands of Prince Liang. If you don't take action now, when the Queen and Prince Liang join forces, you will be the next Prince Zhang Huai."
How could Li Chongjun not understand? He stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, feeling extremely anxious: "But my father and I are not close, and he only favors An Le. The queen is trying to win over the King of Liang, and half of the people in the court are his men. How can I fight them alone?"
The staff came closer, raised his hand and made a beheading gesture, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, it is better to strike first. The emperor has passed away, and the Prince of Liang has no backing. As long as they are killed, the power of the Prince of Liang's Mansion and Princess Anle will be scattered. By then, who can threaten your position as the crown prince?"