This time, the Prince of Xiang truly did not want to watch with folded arms. Last time, he had stayed out of the affair because the crown prince was the main cause, but the crown prince himself was cowering and cowering. The main cause himself had not taken the initiative, but now he was being asked to take the risk to speak up for Wei Yuanzhong? The Prince of Xiang was angry, but he was no saint and did not want to bring disaster upon himself.
But at the time, he had not realized that his mother was so protective of Second Zhang that she would even blindly shield a heinous crime. The ministers had joined forces to wage war against Second Zhang, and even though they had the legal foundation, they had still been defeated by his mother's partiality. The Prince of Xiang felt afraid.
As an important member of the Li clan, his interests were intertwined with the crown prince's. If Second Zhang really was allowed to control the emperor and seize power, the consequences would be unthinkable. Now that the crown prince had decided to take the initiative, the Prince of Xiang naturally would not pass on this responsibility.
In order to carry out such a major undertaking, the Prince of Xiang immediately thought of Princess Taiping. He knew that this sister controlled an enormous political force, and he was even more aware that in terms of courage and intelligence, this sister was superior to both him and his seventh brother.
Besides this, this sister was also the daughter-in-law of the Wu clan, and the Wu clan currently controlled the majority of the armed forces in the capital. If he wanted to carry out a military remonstrance, he could not bypass the Wu clan. He had to communicate with the Wu clan, and this sister was the most suitable candidate, so he had to pull her into this matter.
Princess Taiping met with her brother in the study. Li Dan did not conceal anything in front of his sister. As soon as he sat down, he bluntly stated the purpose of his visit. Li Dan first recounted the events of Zhang Jianzhi's visit to him today. He then said to Princess Taiping, "Second Zhang is so favored, it is really beyond your brother's expectations. With Mother's serious illness and Second Zhang in control of the palace, it is even more worrisome. I feel that it is time to take special measures. "
Princess Taiping's delicate brows perked up as she asked, "How confident does Brother Wang think they are?"
Li Dan shook his head. "Not them, but us! They have already remonstrated with Mother, but what was the result? It is impossible to rely on just a group of civil officials. This time, we must carry out a military remonstrance. Only if the Crown Prince, you, me, and the Wu clan are of the same mind and work together will there be a chance of success. "
Princess Taiping asked, "The Crown Prince agreed?"
Li Dan nodded. "Yes! Zhang Jianzhi said it himself! "
Princess Taiping heaved a sigh of relief and murmured, "In other words, this time, we are fighting against the Emperor with all our power."
Li Dan laughed bitterly. "When Song Jing accused the second Zhang of being a 'Prime Minister', he had already used all the power of the court, but didn't he still suffer a crushing defeat? This time, we need the full cooperation of the Li and Wu clans, but most importantly, since it is a military remonstrance, we need to use force. Force is the foundation. "
Princess Taiping slowly stood up and paced in the room. Her skirt swayed gently with her movements like the rhythm of water. Li Dan knew that for such an important matter, her sister needed to consider it carefully. The main point of her consideration was not whether or not she would participate, but how likely it was to succeed.
Princess Taiping paced back and forth for a long time before she suddenly stopped and resolutely said to Li Dan, "Right now, mother is seriously ill and has not appeared in court for a long time. Imperial edicts have been passed down from the rear palace and the Second Zhang's henchmen have been repeatedly promoted. Only by carrying out a military remonstrance, killing the second Zhang, and purging the Emperor's side, could they turn the situation around. Ling Yue is willing to follow you two brothers and carry out this important matter together! "
Li Dan said cheerfully, "I knew that you would agree!"
Princess Taiping's eyes flashed. "How much force do you have now?"
Li Dan shook his head. "Right now, it is still too early to talk about force. We must first determine how many allies we have and who is willing to participate. Only then can we divide the work and discuss the specific plan. Right now, I only know that no matter how many people participate, our only option is to carry out a military remonstrance. And there is only one way to carry out a military remonstrance. If we try to use any other means to reach the palace and kill the second Zhang, mother will have enough time to mobilize the troops and quell the riot. "
Princess Taiping said in a low voice, "The Black Tortoise Gate?"
Li Dan nodded forcefully. "Yes! It is the Black Tortoise Gate! Right now, there are a thousand cavalrymen guarding the Black Tortoise Gate, and their commander is Yang Fan. This person is of utmost importance. You … do you have the confidence to make him stand on our side? "
Taiping was silent, and Li Dan was in no hurry to press him. Although as Taiping's brother, no one would be stupid enough to publicize the love affair between Taiping and Yang Fan in front of him, he had more or less heard about it. However, he did not think that this relationship could guarantee that Yang Fan would stand on their side.
They thought that they were carrying out a military remonstrance against the Emperor, but to the Emperor, this was no different from plotting a rebellion. Once they failed, the result would be the death of their family. When faced with the great crime of rebellion, there had been cases of wives suing their husbands and sons suing their fathers. This had happened before in history. Things like love and affection could not guarantee anything.
Yang Fan had a family, a career, and a fourth-rank official. He was a rational and mature adult. He would definitely not choose to stand on the other's side on such an important matter because of love and affection. So if Taiping rashly believed in Yang Fan, he would instead have to remind his sister to be careful.
Taiping was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "I will first probe his mouth on this matter before deciding whether or not to tell him everything."
Li Dan breathed a sigh of relief and showed an admiring look. She said, "This is a serious matter, and we should be extra careful. Yang Fan is the key, and the other key is the Wu family. The Wu family controls the elites of the Northern Office. If the Wu family does not agree to the military remonstrance, the possibility of success of this plan is very small. "
Princess Taiping nodded and said, "After several years of recuperation, we have indeed accumulated a force in the imperial court. But the biggest problem is that we have never had the opportunity to control the military power. During the military remonstrance, it may not take many people to rush into the palace and kill Zhang. But to control the palace and the imperial city, we must have the military power in our hands. And without the consent of the Wu family, who now controls the military power, we have no chance. "
Li Dan said, "So, we must persuade the Wu family to cooperate with us."
Princess Taiping nodded and said, "Leave it to me!"
The brother and sister discussed it again. Because now was the time to connect all forces, and the allies had not been determined, they could not determine the specific military remonstrance plan. So they could not discuss too many specific things.
It was a very common thing for Li Dan to visit her sister. But because the two were now planning an earth-shattering event, they naturally felt a little guilty. Li Dan did not dare to stay for a long time. Seeing that it was almost time, she hurriedly said goodbye.
Taiping sent her brother away and returned to the study to sit down. After thinking for a long time, she looked up at the dust on the ceiling and said slowly, "Emperor Gaozu wanted to establish Jiancheng, but Emperor Taizong launched a mutiny in Xuanwu Gate and took back everything he was about to lose. Do you think if we launch another mutiny in Xuanwu Gate, can we succeed like Emperor Taizong?"
There was no one else in the study except for her, but her tone did not sound like she was asking herself. So, who was she talking to?
Behind Princess Taiping was a screen with "Flowers in Bloom and Riches" on it. Beautiful and delicate peonies were painted on the screen. Following Princess Taiping's question, a person quietly walked out from behind the screen. He was tall and slender, and his clothes were as light as snow. His handsomeness revealed an exuberant heroic spirit. It was Yang Fan.
Yang Fan did not come today to inform Princess Taiping. Although he had already faintly sensed some signs because he had many tentacles, he only knew that Zhang Jianzhi and some other people were secretly contacting each other through his people. As for the specific content of their discussion, he naturally did not know.
In this kind of situation, he would not reveal the information that could not even be counted as groundless rumors to Taiping. Even if he already knew all the inside information, he would not hastily come to Taiping and tell him everything. He would definitely think of a more appropriate method first. Otherwise, with Taiping's intelligence, he would definitely immediately realize that he controlled a huge force.
In fact, Yang Fan came today because he sensed that Zhang Jianzhi and a group of his henchmen seemed to have a plot. He was not sure whether Princess Taiping was also one of the participants in this secret, so he came today to inquire about the information from Princess Taiping. As a result, Li Dan suddenly came to visit and he heard everything.
Princess Taiping could have placed him somewhere else, but she did not think that there was any secret that could be hidden from Yang Fan. She did not want her lover to think that she treated him as an outsider, so she let him hide behind the screen. As a result, he heard all the plan to carry out the military remonstrance.
From this point of view, women and men were indeed innately very different. Men were always relatively more rational. If it was Yang Fan, even if it wasn't a secret like the Succession Hall, which was absolutely unacceptable under the standpoint of peace, as long as it was a secret, he wouldn't rashly let her know.
Even if Yang Fan did not have the sensitive identity of the Succession Hall Master of the Obvious Sect and had no secrets that he could hide from her, he would rather think carefully before revealing it to her. Most women were not so rational when it came to feelings. Even the Heaven's Pride Wu Zetian could not avoid this. Naturally, she could not demand Taiping.
The Black Tortoise Gate was the only choice to carry out the military remonstrance. Sooner or later, Yang Fan would be pulled in. Now that Yang Fan had heard everything, Princess Taiping simply bypassed the normal process of probing, contacting, and joining hands, and directly discussed the important matter with him.
"Man proposes, God disposes!"
Yang Fan said the words that he had said when he was looking at the ancient battlefield of the Three Kingdoms in the Five Zhang Plains.
"Even the most perfect and meticulous plan can fall short of success because of a small mistake or accident. But even a plan full of loopholes, if luck is good enough, it may not necessarily be impossible to succeed. What you need to consider now is not the final success of the matter, but … whether or not you want to participate. "
Yang Fan sat down opposite Taiping. He sat on the seat that Li Dan had just sat on. The cushion under his buttocks seemed to still be warm.
Princess Taiping said word by word, "I have already decided to participate. What I have decided will not be changed!"
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