Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 119

Li Fuguo said, "There are rumors that it is in the Flying Dragon Stable."

Li Shi grew anxious and, ignoring Li Fuguo, asked Li Sheng to allocate him half of his troops. He then hurriedly circled around the west wall of the Daming Palace to the Flying Dragon Stables. From afar, he saw hundreds of Shence generals charge into the stables, among whom a golden-armored general, mounted on horseback and wielding a bow, stood out most prominently in the lamplight. Li Shi immediately drew his bow and arrow, and without a word, rode to within forty paces and fired a powerful arrow.

With a "bang," the arrow was released, and Prince Li Xian of Yan was shot off his horse.

Li Xi was captured, and Li Xian was seriously wounded and fell from his horse. With hundreds of Shence soldiers losing their leader, chaos immediately ensued. Li Yu seized the opportunity to shout, "You have been misled by treacherous people. Since you did not harm me, you should turn back now to avoid your past transgressions..." Li Ji, finding his words too polite, yelled at the top of his lungs, "Anyone willing to follow the Crown Prince to kill the rebels will have their past transgressions forgiven and will be richly rewarded!"

His voice was naturally loud, and this roar shocked the entire scene. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, several Shence Army generals raised their arms and shouted, "In the name of the Crown Prince, kill the rebels!" They then raised their spears and swords and chased down the eunuchs who had followed Li's faction.

Cheng Yuanzhen led his men over and brought Li Xi and Li Xian—the Shence soldiers ultimately dared not offend the prince, but merely made way, revealing the heavily wounded Li Xian—stripped of his armor and bound with ropes. Immediately, Li Yu ordered all the imperial horses in the stables to be brought over and distributed as rewards to the generals.

Thus, Li Shi was also able to enter the Flying Dragon Stables and meet Li Yu. The father and son held hands and wept. Li Ji impatiently reminded him, "The unrest has not yet subsided; Your Highness should not linger here any longer." He then asked Li Shi, "How is the palace?"

Li Shi briefly explained the situation, and Li Ji immediately said, "We must rush into Xuanwu Gate and capture the Empress!"

Li Yu hurriedly waved his hand: "You must not offend the Empress."

Cheng Yuanzhen presented Li Yu with the golden armor, but Li Yu refused to accept it, saying, "I have a long guard, which is better than armor." He then ordered, "The long guard is hereby bestowed upon you."

Li Ji replied, "The time is of the essence, and there is no time to put on armor. Your Highness, please come with me to the palace immediately."

So the group mounted their horses and, led by Li Ji and Li Shi, escorted Li Yu through Chongxuan Gate, and then Xuanwu Gate. Wherever they went, they ordered the surrendered Shence Army generals to shout and persuade them, and many soldiers came to surrender—including many brave soldiers who had previously guarded the palace gates but had been transferred by the Shence Army under false orders and imprisoned inside the gates—by the time they reached the Paoma Tower, there were nearly a thousand people.

At this time, the other two armies also arrived one after another and came to join them.

One of Li Fuguo's troops, with the assistance of Li Sheng, defeated the Shence Army. Soon after, the Weiyuan Army arrived to reinforce them. Li Fuguo first divided his forces to surround Empress Zhang at Penglai Palace, then took over the defense of Changsheng Palace. He himself hurriedly headed north to find Li Yu. Upon seeing Li Yu from afar, the old eunuch immediately dismounted, stumbled towards him, and knelt before his horse, crying out, "Thank goodness Your Highness is unharmed! This old servant almost could not see Your Highness again!"

Li Yu comforted him, saying, "Lord Li is a pillar of the nation, and now he has helped the young prince quell the rebellion. His merits are great for the country. I believe that when the emperor hears of this, he will surely appoint Lord Li as prime minister."

Li Ji, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. But then he saw that Li Fuguo had brought no less than a thousand people... Well, now is not the time to start infighting again.

The other reinforcement was the Yingwu Army led by Ma Sui.

Liu Xixian didn't take the hundreds of Yingwu soldiers guarding the palace in the central and inner courts seriously at all. Moreover, Empress Zhang didn't want him to enter the palace. So, after handing over some troops to Prince Yue, Li Xi, and Prince Yan, Li Xian, Liu Xixian led the main force to surround the Yingwu Army's office.

The Shence Army had already silently locked all the gates of the outer court, blocking over a thousand Yingwu soldiers between the palace walls, Guangfan Gate, Jianfu Gate, and the Imperial Bridge. Liu Xixian rode out and loudly proclaimed, "The Empress has decreed that all Yingwu soldiers lay down their weapons and remain seated; none are to leave!"

Actually, the Yingwu Army wasn't allowed to go out casually, especially in the dead of night when the palace gates were locked, so his shout was unnecessary. That night, Ma Sui was on duty and was shocked to hear this. He realized that the Empress had used the Shence Army to launch a palace coup, and her target must be Crown Prince Li Yu.

Ma Sui knew very well that from Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming down to Li Ji, the core of the Yingwu Army was mostly the Crown Prince's faction, while he himself was a fence-sitter, unwilling to take a clear side. But even without a faction, as a scholar, if the Empress and the Crown Prince were to fight, he would definitely side with the Crown Prince—the Crown Prince was also known as the "foundation of the state," and changing the Crown Prince would shake the foundation of the state, something no one wanted to see; as for the Empress… although she was of higher seniority, in the traditional order of ruler and subject, she was ranked after the Crown Prince.

Therefore, Ma Xunmei hurriedly ordered the Yingwu Army to be armed and on guard, and then appeared to question Liu Xixian: "Even the Empress cannot order the Imperial Guards. The only ones who can order us, besides the Emperor, are the Crown Prince who oversees the country—where is the Crown Prince now?"

Liu Xixian's eyes flickered: "I don't know." Then he puffed out his chest: "Who dares to disobey the Empress's command? Xunmei would be better off obeying."

Ma Sui bowed deeply and said, "Lord Liu, this is a chaotic order. Please forgive me for not being able to obey." Before Liu Xixian could react, he immediately stepped back and ordered the Yingwu Army—"Shence has rebelled! Kill them!"

Liu Xixian was taken aback; he truly hadn't expected Ma Sui to dare to fight him.

Although the Northern Army is still divided into six armies, only the so-called "Upper Three Armies"—Yingwu, Shence, and Weiyuan—possess a certain level of armed force. The other three armies are merely ceremonial guards. Among the "Upper Three Armies," the Weiyuan Army guards the Imperial City and the offices of the officials, but has no right to set foot in the Forbidden City. Of course, they also guard the Taiji Palace, but everyone knows that the Taiji Palace is merely a prison for the retired emperor and the crown prince. The perennial third-ranked army is content with its lot, while only the Yingwu and Shence Armies have always been vying for power.

On the surface, the Yingwu Army, guarding the inner and central courts and being closer to the emperor, should rightfully be in charge. However, the Shence Army outnumbers the Yingwu Army by a factor of two and has only been in the capital for a short time, so its fighting strength has only slightly weakened. Consequently, the officers and soldiers inevitably underestimate the Yingwu Army to some extent. Especially considering their seniority, the Shence Army actually entered the capital before the Yingwu Army—when Li Heng was in Ding'an—so why do you think you can be superior to us?

Both armies were commanded by eunuchs, but the true leaders were Li Ji and Liu Xixian, respectively. The two had once quarreled and even fought directly inside the Mingfeng Gate. Since then, they had refused to exchange a single word and would glare at each other whenever they met. The grudges of their commanders naturally affected their subordinates. Fortunately, Li Ji often hosted banquets for the Shence Army generals, thus avoiding daily conflicts—Li Changwei himself dealing with the Shence Army was another matter entirely.

At the same time, Ma Sui, under the instruction of Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming, allocated monthly activity funds specifically to bribe Chen Xianfu and Liu Xixian, thus establishing a superficially close relationship with Liu Xixian. Even in private conversations, Ma Xunmei would go along with Liu Xixian's lead and make a few disparaging remarks about Li Ji, which led Liu Xixian to consider him a close friend.

Therefore, Liu Xixian thought that if the opponent were Li Ji, even if he truly had the imperial decree in hand, Li Ji might still fight him. Now, he heard that the Empress had sent someone to say that Li Ji had been lured out of the city, and that Ma Sui was on duty in the Yingwu Army, who was a good friend of his. Surely he wouldn't turn against him? Moreover, if he persuaded him a little more, he might even listen to his orders, thus strengthening his own forces.

He never expected that in just a few words, before he could even finish his sentence, Ma Sui would lead his troops to attack!

This move caught Liu Xixian completely off guard, and even his Shence Army was stunned.

Because Ma Sui immediately accused the Shence Army of treason, slapping a heavy label on himself. But when the Commander of the Capital Garrison brought us here, he didn't mention the Yingwu Army's rebellion. The Empress's order was for the Yingwu Army to lay down their weapons and remain seated, forbidden from leaving. Therefore, their actions could at most constitute "disobedience," a serious crime, but a far cry from "treason"!

Then they "disobeyed orders" and "rebelled" against me... The morale of the Shence Army immediately fell into chaos.

Thus, with superior numbers, the Shence Army was surprisingly pushed to the back foot. Fortunately, Liu Xixian, the bravest of the army, led from the front, charging with his spear, barely managing to halt the retreat. Liu Xixian hated Ma Sui intensely and was determined to find Ma Sui in the enemy ranks and kill him with a single spear thrust—only by killing Ma Sui could they turn the tide of battle.

Unfortunately, Ma Xunmei was very clear about his own abilities and had a very accurate self-assessment—"Although I have also practiced archery and horsemanship, I am ultimately a civil official. Not all civil officials are as good at fighting as Li Ji." Therefore, he retreated to the rear and hid in the shadows to command the battle. Unless Liu Xixian broke through the Yingwu Army formation in front of him, he would not be able to touch Ma Sui at all.

Liu Xixian charged forward for a while but failed to achieve any success, so he had to retreat temporarily. Several generals surrounded him and asked, "Commander-in-Chief, what should we do now?" Liu Xixian stared wide-eyed and said, "What else can we do but fight the enemy with all our might! If we cannot defeat the Yingwu Army and have to wait for the Empress and the Prince of Yue to kill the Crown Prince and Li Fuguo before issuing an edict to order them to lay down their weapons, what merit can we have?"

Several generals looked astonished: "The Empress wants to kill the Crown Prince? Wasn't it only said that Li Fuguo was plotting a rebellion?!"

Liu Xixian had blurted out something indiscreet, and was inwardly annoyed, but there was no time to explain. He could only shout, "You all should refrain from interfering in matters of the imperial family and instead charge in..."

Before he could finish speaking, five or six long swords slashed down from different directions at the same time...

Some thoughts on Li Fuguo's palace coup

The palace coup that occurred before Emperor Daizong of Tang, Li Yu, ascended the throne has never had a proper name. This is probably because Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng, abolished the reign title system, making it inconvenient to come up with a term. Considering that Li Fuguo was the mastermind behind this coup, we will temporarily use his name for it.

The Old and New Books of Tang record differ on the causes and course of the coup. The Annals of Emperor Daizong in the Old Book of Tang states: "Emperor Suzong was critically ill. Fortunately, Empress Zhang had no children. Fearing that the emperor's achievements were too great to control, she secretly brought Prince Yue to the palace, intending to depose him. On the day of Yichou, the empress forged an imperial edict to summon the crown prince. The eunuchs Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen, who were aware of this, gathered troops at Lingxiao Gate. When the crown prince arrived, they escorted him into the Feilong Stable to await the coup. That evening, they gathered troops at the three palaces, arrested Prince Yue and the eunuchs Zhu Huiguang and Ma Yingjun, and imprisoned them. The empress was imprisoned in a separate palace."

The biography of Empress Zhang states: "Emperor Suzong was critically ill. Empress Zhang, along with eunuchs Zhu Huiguang, Ma Yingjun, Dan Tingyao, Chen Xianfu, and others, conspired to establish the line of the Prince of Yue. They forged an imperial edict to summon the Crown Prince to attend to him. Eunuchs Cheng Yuanzhen and Li Fuguo knew of their plot. When the Crown Prince entered the palace, the two men claimed it was difficult to report and requested that the Crown Prince stay in the Feilong Stable. Yuanzhen led the imperial guards to arrest the Prince of Yue and capture Zhu Huiguang and others. Soon after, Emperor Suzong died, and the Crown Prince assumed regency. Empress Zhang was then moved to a separate palace and died in seclusion."

The Annals of Emperor Daizong in the New Book of Tang states: "Empress Zhang of Emperor Suzong disliked Li Fuguo and wanted to plot against him. She summoned the Crown Prince for questioning, but the Crown Prince refused. She then conspired with Prince Yue Xi. Emperor Suzong fell seriously ill. On the day of Dingmao in the fourth month, the Empress and Xi were about to summon the Crown Prince to the palace. Cheng Yuanzhen, the Deputy Envoy of the Flying Dragon, learned of their plot and informed Fuguo. Fuguo prevented the Crown Prince from entering, led his troops in, killed Xi and Prince Gun Xian, and imprisoned the Empress in a separate palace."

The biography of Empress Zhang states: "When the emperor was seriously ill, the empress conspired with the eunuch Zhu Huiguang and others to establish the line of the King of Yue."

Comparing the two accounts, the *Old Book of Tang* states that Empress Zhang intended to murder Li Yu, but this was discovered by Li Fuguo, Cheng Yuanzhen, and others, who then mobilized troops to help Li Yu eliminate Empress Zhang's faction. The *New Book of Tang*, however, claims that Empress Zhang's original target was Li Fuguo, but because Li Yu refused to kill him, she conspired with the Li faction to summon Li Yu to the palace…

Sima Guang, in compiling the Zizhi Tongjian, basically agreed with the statements in the Old Book of Tang, but I have some different opinions.

If Empress Zhang could eliminate Li Fuguo first, then Li Yu, who had long resided in the Eastern Palace and did not interact with outside officials, would not be a problem for her and would be easy to control. However, if she only murdered Li Yu, Li Heng would still have a large group of sons eyeing him covetously. Li Fuguo could choose one to support instead of following Empress Zhang's lead and supporting the Li faction or Empress Zhang's own son, Li Tong.

This is mainly because Empress Zhang had virtually no military power. Both the old and new historical records agree that the Imperial Guards were controlled by Li Fuguo, and his henchman Cheng Yuanzhen, whose old scribe titled "Inner Archery Officer" and new scribe titled "Inner Archery Officer and Deputy Commander of the Flying Dragon Stable," should have been the top two leaders of the Heroic Army (Palace Archery Officers). As for Empress Zhang? Only the Zizhi Tongjian mentions her briefly: "She ordered Duan Hengjun, the Director of the Inner Palace Attendants, to select more than two hundred brave and strong eunuchs and armor them behind the Changsheng Palace."

To send two hundred eunuchs against several thousand imperial guards from the Northern Palace is suicidal. It's like Cao Mao, the Duke of Gaogui Township, leading his palace guards and servants out in a clamor. Besides, neither Empress Zhang nor the Li faction has the emperor's crown on their heads yet.

Therefore, this author believes that Empress Zhang's primary target for elimination was Li Fuguo. She first ordered Li Yu to kill him, but Li Yu was not foolish and resolutely refused. Thus, Empress Zhang conspired with Li's faction to summon Li Yu to the palace and force him to comply. Upon learning of this, Li Fuguo led his troops to prevent Li Yu from entering the palace and abducted him to the Feilong Stable, where Cheng Yuanzhen served. Thereupon, he used his position as Crown Prince and Regent to launch a coup, eliminating Empress Zhang's faction.

The shortest route from the East Palace to the Daming Palace in the Eastern Inner Palace is through the Jianfu, Mingfeng, and Wangxian gates of the Outer Court; even if it's inconvenient to go through the Outer and Inner Courts, one could go through the Youyintai Gate or Jiuxian Gate on the west side of the Daming Palace. However, Li Yu deliberately took a long detour to the Lingxiao Gate on the north side of the Taiming Palace, which is highly illogical. The only explanation is that Li Yu was already abducted by Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen before reaching the Lingxiao Gate, and not merely "escorted" to the Feilong Stable by them from the Lingxiao Gate.

In conclusion, palace coups do not necessarily require the use of troops, or even large numbers of troops. The first to abuse force was not Empress Zhang, but Li Fuguo.

However, this would make the story quite uninteresting, essentially devoid of suspense. Empress Zhang would simply be waiting to die, Li Yu, with Li Fuguo by his side, would be winning by default, and the role of the protagonist, Li Ji, would be negligible. Therefore, the author has made some adjustments to the assessment of the situation within the palace at that time.

In any case, due to Li Ji's instigation, even if the overall situation remains unchanged, the details will inevitably be distorted. For example, Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun might not have died, Yaoluogedun Mohedagan might have become the Uyghur Khan twenty-one years earlier, and Tibet might not have been able to fully acquire Longyou, and so on. The impact could be both good and bad. Therefore, it is not impossible that the Shence Army might side with Empress Zhang due to the rift between Liu Xixian and Li Ji.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Breaking the Law and Violating Prohibitions

Li Ji had long ago secretly placed his pawns beside Liu Xixian.

This time, Liu Xixian, lured by Empress Zhang, assisted in launching a palace coup, killing Li Yu and Li Fuguo, and installing Prince Yue, Li Xi, as crown prince. He promised that after the success of the coup, he would be promoted to General of the Shence Army, effectively in charge of the Northern Army, or be sent to a military governorship. He knew that conflict with the Yingwu Army was inevitable—although he did not expect Ma Sui to make such a swift decision—so he dared not bring out those generals who often dined at Li Ji's banquets, and instead left them all to guard the government office.

However, there were a few generals who had once been on good terms with Li Ji, but who "repented" in time after Li Ji and Liu Xixian broke off relations and stopped attending the banquet. Liu Xixian was not so wary of them. To be honest, he couldn't be wary of them all. If he kept all the generals who had been "tainted," he would be almost a commander without troops, and it would be difficult for him to control thousands of soldiers.

These generals were initially hesitant. Although Li Ji had given them some advance warning that there might be unrest in the palace and that Liu Xixian was plotting a rebellion, the situation was still unclear, and Li Ji wasn't present... They had originally surrounded him to persuade Liu Xixian to end the conflict with the Yingwu Army and try to resolve the issue through negotiation.

This battle was fought inexplicably. Let's put aside the fact that we lost, but if we had won, we would have inflicted heavy casualties on the Yingwu Army. How would we explain that to Erlang in the future?

Unexpectedly, in his haste and anger, Liu Xixian blurted out, "Wait until the Empress and the Prince of Yue kill the Crown Prince and Li Fuguo." The generals exchanged glances, then simultaneously raised their swords and viciously slashed at Liu Xixian...

With Liu Xixian dead, the battle ended in less than a quarter of an hour. Ma Sui ordered the generals who had defected to restrain their troops, and captured more than ten of Liu Xixian's followers, bound them, and imprisoned Liu Xixian's body in the Yingwu Army headquarters. He then dispatched troops to control the outer and inner courts.

Ma Xunmei's plan was this: once I control the Yingwu Army, then take over the main force of the Shence Army, and occupy the Hanyuan and Xuanzheng Palaces, I can transform from a pawn into one of the players. Regardless of who wins or loses in the palace infighting, this formidable force cannot be ignored and must be appeased—in other words, even if the Empress wins, I can still be a hero. The Empress was thus forced to transfer the rewards originally intended for Liu Xixian to me.

What if the empress, being a narrow-minded woman, disregards the bigger picture and insists on opposing him?

Ma Sui had just gained control of the situation when he sent someone out of the palace to invite Li Shi and the prime ministers—he didn't invite Li Ji. If he had the prime ministers, he would have more leverage to negotiate with the palace. If he had Li Shi, he could simply raise an army under the banner of the eldest grandson of the emperor to avenge the crown prince!

However, Li Shi and the prime ministers had not yet been invited—and the former could not be invited at all—Ma Sui sent people into the palace to investigate. After roughly understanding the development of the situation, he accepted Li Fuguo's summons and personally led five hundred brave soldiers into the palace to welcome Li Yu in front of the Paoma Tower.

It was past midnight, and Venus was beginning to appear in the east. The situation in the palace was basically settled, and everyone surrounded Li Yu, seeking his instructions. Li Yu first asked Li Fuguo, "Is His Majesty well?"

Li Fuguo bowed and replied, "This old servant ordered men to guard the Hall of Longevity from a distance, not daring to disturb the Emperor... He is probably still asleep."

Li Yu nodded and then asked, "How is the Empress?"

"In the Penglai Palace, this old servant dispatched troops to surround and protect it, and it is safe and sound."

Li Yu sighed softly, "Why did it have to come to this..." He paused, then looked around and said, "Shouldn't we first report to the Emperor?"

Li Shi suggested: "We can send Li Ji to report to the Emperor."

Li Ji glanced at him and asked, "Do you need to wear armor?"

He understood Li Shi's meaning: he wanted him to be the modern-day Yuchi Gong.

Back in the "Xuanwu Gate Incident," Yuchi Gong led seventy horsemen to aid Prince Qin (Emperor Taizong Li Shimin), personally shooting and killing Prince Qi, Li Yuanji. He was then ordered to enter the palace to report the rebellion. At the time, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan was boating on the lake, completely unaware that his sons were fighting amongst themselves. Suddenly, he saw Yuchi Gong, clad in armor and carrying a spear, striding towards him. Li Yuan was greatly alarmed and asked, "Who is causing this rebellion? What brings you here?" Yuchi Gong replied, "Prince Qin, because of the rebellion of the Crown Prince and Prince Qi, has raised an army to kill them. Fearing to alarm Your Majesty, he specially sent me to guard you."

Li Shimin was ruthless. Instead of reporting to his father first that he had killed his elder brothers, he sent his general Yuchi Gong, fully armored and armed, directly to Li Yuan. Li Yuan must have been internally screaming with rage, thinking, "Second brother, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to intimidate me? If I don't acknowledge the legitimacy of your coup, will this big, dark-skinned guy just jump up and stab me with a spear on the spot?!"

Therefore, Li Yu was somewhat timid and dared not face his father directly. Just as he hesitated, Li Shi suggested, "Let Li Ji report to the Emperor." His thinking was exactly the same as Li Shimin's back then. Li Ji immediately understood, thinking that Yuchi Gong had gone in armor, which forced Li Yuan to reluctantly agree to Li Shimin's actions without even stammering. So, shouldn't I also put on armor before meeting Li Heng?

Although he knew Li Shi was using him as a pawn, Li Ji had no intention of backing down. He was also quite curious to see what kind of expression that bastard emperor would have when he saw him. Would he be as "at ease" as Li Yuan in the historical records, or would he suddenly lose his mind and fly into a rage?

Before the question could even leave his mouth, Li Yu flew into a rage, glaring and shouting, "Li Ji, shut up!" Then, realizing this wasn't quite right, he turned to Li Shi and said, "Shi'er, shut up!"

Just then, someone reported, "The Empress has sent someone to see the Crown Prince."

Li Yu was taken aback upon hearing this: "Who is it?"

"He is from Shenshan."

Li Fuguo sent men to surround Penglai Palace and search for the "Five Traitors." Without his orders, no eunuch or palace maid could be released outside the palace. Only this "Shenshan Man" had a special status, and the soldiers dared not stop him.

Shen Taizhi, also known as Shen Shanren, was a renowned Taoist practitioner from the Hu and Heng regions. He was said to be skilled in Taoist arts, capable of summoning wind and rain and turning stones into gold. Emperor Li Heng, having heard of his fame, summoned him to the palace, where he gained the favor of the emperor and empress. Pang Chengding, the governor of Tanzhou, arrested and interrogated Shen Taizhi on charges of spreading heresy while he was traveling. However, Li Heng instead recalled Shen Taizhi and imprisoned Pang Chengding. Yan Ying, the Dali Sizhi (a judicial official), defended Pang Chengding, but was dismissed by Li Heng and ultimately executed, while Yan Ying was exiled to Jianzhou.

Therefore, even Li Yu dared not underestimate Shen Taizhi, and immediately beckoned him over. Shen Taizhi, adorned with a feathered crown and crane-feather cloak, arrived gracefully, bowed deeply before Li Yu, and said, "Your Highness, the Empress has instructed me to convey her message to you..."

Li Yu instinctively leaned forward: "Does the Empress have anything else to say?"

With a flick of his sleeve, Shin Tae-ji suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, its cold light flashing as he thrust it straight at Li Yu!

Caught completely off guard, Li Yu had no time to prepare, not even the luxury of closing his eyes and awaiting death. He could only watch helplessly as the dagger approached his chest...

In the blink of an eye, a kick suddenly flew out from the side, hitting Shen Taizhi squarely in the ribs. With a "thud," the sorcerer was kicked more than ten feet away, landing face down on the ground, where he immediately fainted.

The one who stepped forward was naturally Li Ji. Everyone else respected this "Shenshanren" (a Taoist priest), but Li Ji had always looked down on monks and Taoists who practiced feudal superstition—proper religious figures usually wouldn't claim to have any magic or supernatural powers; especially since my brother was also a Taoist priest and a hermit, so why would he know any sorcery?

Therefore, no one paid any attention to Shin Tae-ji. Lee Ji-ke kept glancing at him sideways. Before Shin Tae-ji could even pull out his dagger, Lee Ji-ke saw his eyes gleam. Instinctively, he took a step forward, raised his leg, and kicked Shin Tae-ji away, saving Lee Yu's life once again.

Li Yu was so frightened that he was out of his wits and couldn't recover for a long time. Li Fuguo, however, kept rubbing his hands together, saying, "This must have been sent by the Empress... This Empress really cannot be allowed to live!"

Li Yu took a few quick breaths, calming himself slightly. He first nodded slightly to Li Ji as a gesture of thanks, then turned to Li Fuguo: "Lord Li, no, I cannot bear the name of murdering my mother..." He then sighed deeply: "I can only go to the Emperor to plead for the Empress's removal..."

There's no other way, I'll have to go see my dad in person.

So, under the protection of the crowd, they headed straight for the Hall of Longevity. Upon reaching the hall's entrance, Li Yu waved his hand, and everyone stopped. He then stepped in hesitantly alone. Li Ji thought to himself, "What a pity! I won't be able to witness Li Heng's amusing expression upon hearing of the palace coup."

Not long after, Li Yu's crying suddenly came from inside the hall, followed by a loud shout: "His Majesty has passed away!"

Li Ji was startled, thinking, "No way, could he have been murdered by you?! I reckon Li Yu wouldn't have the guts... he was probably scared to death by you..."

Good riddance, wonderful death, a glorious death! Don't jump! It saves us the trouble of cleaning up the Taiji Palace again and imprisoning Li Heng as the emperor.

Upon hearing the devastating news, everyone outside the palace knelt and wept bitterly. Li Ji, not wanting to stand out, could only follow suit. Of course, he only let out a few empty cries before glancing at Li Shi. The little guy did seem to be genuinely crying… Indeed, although Li Heng was incompetent, and Li Shi often lamented the emperor's foolish decisions in private, Li Heng had always treated his eldest grandson well. In terms of kinship, Li Shi's feelings for his grandfather were definitely not as deep as his feelings for his father.

After weeping for a while, Li Fuguo stopped crying, stood up and bowed deeply to Li Shi, then stepped into the hall. Not long after, he helped Li Yu out and advised him, "The emperor has passed away, and the country is without a ruler. Your Highness must take charge of all matters and not grieve too much... In my opinion, Your Highness should temporarily take charge of the affairs of the palace. Your Highness should go out to meet with the prime minister to reassure the people and stabilize the country."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji quickly declared, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the valiant army to protect Your Highness as you go to see the Prime Minister."

Li Fuguo said, "The affairs of the palace will be temporarily managed by Your Highness," implying that he wanted to take control of the Imperial Guards—the old eunuch had long coveted control of the Northern Army. Li Ji, understanding the implied meaning, immediately reminded Li Yu: "At least the Yingwu Army should be entrusted to me for protection; it cannot all fall into the old eunuch's hands."

It's just that it's unclear whether Li Yu, with his intelligence, can understand it; Li Shi, on the other hand, will definitely understand, but perhaps in his grief and distraction, he won't be able to react immediately...

Li Yu sobbed, "We are all relying on Lord Li..." He paused, then added, "Shence is unreliable. They can be transferred to the capital, and the outer court can be defended by the Weiyuan Army."

"Here."

Li Yu pointed at Li Ji: "Changwei, Yingwu Army will still be under your command; Shence Army will be temporarily under Ma Sui's command, and Weiyuan Army will be given to Li Sheng."

The three generals accepted the order in unison. Li Fuguo was stunned for a moment, wanting to smile bitterly, but he dared not—a bitter smile is still a smile, after all, the emperor had just died, how could he smile? He could only purse his lips and lower his head.

Li Yu was escorted out of the Zichen Gate to meet with the prime ministers and perform the rites of regency. Li Fuguo and Li Shi each gave a brief account of the previous events to the court officials. On the same day, an edict was issued to grant a general amnesty and restore the reign title system, with the first month of the year still designated as the beginning of the year, thus establishing the "Baoying" first year.

Like Li Heng, he first asked, "Who is my father?"

"He is from Shenshan."

Li Fuguo sent men to surround Penglai Palace and search for the "Five Traitors." Without his orders, no eunuch or palace maid could be released outside the palace. Only this "Shenshan Man" had a special status, and the soldiers dared not stop him.

Shen Taizhi, also known as Shen Shanren, was a renowned Taoist practitioner from the Hu and Heng regions. He was said to be skilled in Taoist arts, capable of summoning wind and rain and turning stones into gold. Emperor Li Heng, having heard of his fame, summoned him to the palace, where he gained the favor of the emperor and empress. Pang Chengding, the governor of Tanzhou, arrested and interrogated Shen Taizhi on charges of spreading heresy while he was traveling. However, Li Heng instead recalled Shen Taizhi and imprisoned Pang Chengding. Yan Ying, the Dali Sizhi (a judicial official), defended Pang Chengding, but was dismissed by Li Heng and ultimately executed, while Yan Ying was exiled to Jianzhou.

Therefore, even Li Yu dared not underestimate Shen Taizhi, and immediately beckoned him over. Shen Taizhi, adorned with a feathered crown and crane-feather cloak, arrived gracefully, bowed deeply before Li Yu, and said, "Your Highness, the Empress has instructed me to convey her message to you..."

Li Yu instinctively leaned forward: "Does the Empress have anything else to say?"

With a flick of his sleeve, Shin Tae-ji suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, its cold light flashing as he thrust it straight at Li Yu!

Caught completely off guard, Li Yu had no time to prepare, not even the luxury of closing his eyes and awaiting death. He could only watch helplessly as the dagger approached his chest...