Yang Fan's purpose for this trip was to tour the world and relax his body and mind. Along the way, if he wasn't taking his son to various places of interest, going in and out of the alleys, enjoying the local customs, or climbing mountains with A 'Nu and Wan' er, the two beauties, playing the zither and the flute, enjoying the pleasures of fish and water.
But the waterway was smooth and after a few days, they arrived near Luoyang. Yang Fan wanted to change to a small boat and enter the Cao Canal to enter the Luo River and go directly to Luoyang City. He wanted to visit Luoyang again, but he didn't expect that there were many passes on the river and there were endless checkpoints. The soldiers on both sides of the river were aggressive and strict.
Yang Fan didn't take an official boat for this trip and didn't inform the local authorities, so no one knew that the boat was carrying the Defender-general Who Supports the Nation. Yang Fan didn't want to expose his identity, so he was also stuck at the entrance of the Cao Canal. At first, Yang Fan didn't care, but after a day and a night, he still didn't get a pass. Only then did he feel that something was wrong, so he ordered someone to bring his fish talisman to the local authorities.
The person who was being interrogated on the river was a County Lieutenant of Henan County, a minor ninth-ranked official. When he suddenly heard that the Defender-general Who Supports the Nation had been stopped at the mouth of the river for a day and a night, he was scared out of his wits. He hurriedly took the Great General's fish talisman and climbed onto the big boat to ask for forgiveness.
Seeing the fear on his face, Yang Fan smiled and comforted him, "There's no need to panic. I'm only traveling with my family and didn't want to alarm the authorities. I don't have the freedom to greet and send people off. I'm the one who hid my identity. What crime did you commit? You only need to know that I'm here, don't spread it. "
The County Lieutenant hurriedly complied. Yang Fan then asked, "What happened in Luoyang? Why is it so heavily guarded?"
The County Lieutenant hurriedly reported to Yang Fan. Yang Fan now understood the reason: Prince Qiao, Li Zhongfu, had rebelled!
Li Xian had four sons. The eldest, Li Zhongrun, criticized Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and was beaten to death along with his sister and brother-in-law by Wu Zetian. The second, Li Zhongjun, was repeatedly humiliated by An Le and was killed in the palace. The third, Li Zhongfu, was despised by Empress Wei and was sent to Lingnan to be the King. The fourth, Li Zhongmao, was the Emperor for eighteen days and was now living in the capital.
Li Zhongfu had never been at Lingnan and had written to his father, Li Xian, asking him to return to Lingnan. Empress Wei, Li Li Zhongfu. Li Emperor, and Emperor, Li Lingnan. Li Li. Li Li Emperor. Li But. Li Emperor Li Li. Li li Li and and and Yang. Li and he Changli Yang and he would would Li Li.
But not long after, Empress Wei also died, and the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, became emperor. Li Zhongfu feared Lady Wei as if she was a tiger, but he had no fear of this uncle whom he had only met a few times and whose temperament had always been gentle and indifferent. In his mind, even though he was not Li Xian's legitimate son, he was Li Xian's eldest son. After Li Xian's death, he should be the Emperor. Now that his fourth brother had abdicated the throne, he should be the one to abdicate the throne to him instead of his uncle.
Beside Li Zhongfu, there were a few strategists who overestimated their own capabilities. They were also looking forward to Prince Qiao's ascension to the throne so that they could leap over the dragon's gate. In their view, King Qiao was now the eldest son of the former Emperor and the most legitimate heir to the throne. As long as King Qiao made a call, the people of the world would respond and seize the throne in one fell swoop.
As a result, a few very foolish and naive schemers encouraged Li Zhongfu to take more than twenty guards, change into civilian clothes, and sneak out of the feudal lord's fief. They secretly came to Luoyang and stayed in the house of his brother-in-law, Pei Xun. They actively contacted some of the officials who had fallen in the coup d 'état and failed to achieve their ambitions in an attempt to rebel.
In Li Zhongfu's imagination, as long as he rushed to Luoyang, based on his noble bloodline and identity, he could barge into the barracks on the left and right side, and the army would immediately change sides. Then he would kill the garrison in Luoyang, occupy the eastern capital, and command the world. The vanguard of his army would point directly at Guanzhong, and the world would be under his control. As a result, he acted without the slightest scruple.
When he contacted the unsuccessful officials, he did not pay attention to secrecy at all. As a result, the people in his neighborhood were all wise, and there were even people who reported the news to Luoyang.
The eastern capital, Luoyang, governed two counties, Luoyang County and Henan County. This place was under the jurisdiction of Luoyang County. The magistrate of Luoyang, Mu Chengxuan, was shocked when he heard the news. He hurriedly sent a calm old constable to investigate the house of Pei Xun, the Commandant of Prince Consort's son-in-law. In the end, there was no need for the old constable to investigate. Before he even reached the door, he saw Prince Qiao, Li Zhongfu, and a few strategists swaggering through the market. They did not even bother to hide how they addressed each other.
This old supervisor had been an official his whole life. This was the first time he had dealt with a case of rebellion, and also the first time he had seen such a stupid rebel party. He immediately went to report to the magistrate. The magistrate of Luoyang, considering Prince Qiao's high status, did not dare to act on his own, so he reported to the garrison of Luoyang, Liu Xiantian.
This Liu Xiantian could be considered an evergreen tree in the political arena. Originally, he was Wu Zetian's confidant, but Wu Zetian lived in Luoyang for more than twenty years while he was far away in Chang 'an. Thus, the mark of his faction faded. In the following few disturbances, he was either very lucky to stand on the right side, or he was implicated because he was not in the central government. Now that the imperial capital had moved back to Chang' an, he was unexpectedly sent to the eastern capital, Luoyang, to guard the garrison.
As the garrison, he was responsible for supervising the officials' misdeeds. Why would he care about a prince who did not achieve his ambitions? He immediately ordered the Chief of Luoyang to lead the army to arrest him.
Li Zhongfu was shocked and hurriedly escaped from the Pei family. He went straight to the barracks on the left and right, thinking that once the tyrannical aura of a king was shaken, the army would immediately change sides. However, he did not expect that it would be completely different from what he had imagined. The gates of the barracks were tightly shut and arrows rained down, not allowing him to approach.
Li Zhongfu had no choice but to run to the Zuo Yemen of Luoyang's palace. He wanted to imitate Li Dan's method of seizing the military power of the Southern Yamen during the coup d 'état and seize the military power of the palace garrison. In the end, the gates of the Zuo Yemen were also tightly shut, ignoring him.
Li Zhongfu was furious and ordered his bodyguards to gather firewood to burn down the palace gates. He had just found a few bundles of firewood, but before he could light them, the officers and soldiers of the barracks had already received orders from the garrison of Luoyang to arrest him.
When Li Zhongfu saw that he could not imitate his Imperial Uncle Li Dan, he could only imitate his Imperial Brother Li Zhongjun and escape from Luoyang in a panic. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers knew his identity and did not dare to kill him without the Emperor's orders. He escaped from Luoyang alone and went all the way to the east, plunging into Mount Mang. The officers and soldiers continued to search up the mountain. Li Zhongfu saw that he had no way out and could only drown himself in the water.
Speaking of which, Li Zhongfu's rebellion was basically an absurd farce. It did not even cause a ripple. However, his identity was too sensitive and the nature of the incident was also very serious. The local officials of Luoyang did not dare to be careless. For the past few days, there was chaos everywhere in Luoyang, searching for the remaining members of the rebellion.
Yang Fan understood the whole story and told the County Magistrate to leave. Wan 'er walked out of the back cabin and sighed softly, "Truly preposterous!"
Yang Fan smiled as he pulled the beauty into his arms and said, "Prince Qiao's actions may be preposterous, but the desire to chase after power is very normal. Power is a bonfire, and who knows how many people are keen to be the moths flying into the fire. But my Wan 'er, you did not want to be the world famous Minister of Internal Affairs, and only wanted to be a little woman behind me. You are not a moth, but a lark. "
Wan 'er's eyes wandered and she smiled sweetly, "Then what is Langjun? The Kun Peng that soars above the nine heavens? "
The two looked at each other and smiled.
…
Prince Qiao was not the only one willing to be the moth. Princess Taiping was also flapping her wings and flying towards the world's brightest bonfire. However, it was not only the two wise men, Yang Fan and Wan 'er, who were willing to stay away from the bonfire. Li Chengqi also resisted the huge temptation.
Princess Taiping's persuasion to him to fight for the throne did not achieve the desired effect, and instead had the opposite effect. Although Li Chengqi did not suspect that Princess Taiping had the intention of coveting the throne, it was obvious that Princess Taiping had the intention of monopolizing power, which was why she wanted to interfere with the removal of the Crown Prince. Li Chengqi was afraid that his aunt would cause trouble again, so he suddenly went to the palace the next morning and requested to see the Emperor.
Today was not a Grand Assembly, so the princes did not need to go to the palace. Li Dan heard that his eldest son wanted to see him and was puzzled, so he hurriedly asked someone to summon him. Li Chengqi went up to the golden palace and said sincerely to Li Dan in front of all the civil and military officials, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is the public instrument of the world. When the country is safe, he can be the eldest son. When the country is in danger, he should be the first to perform meritorious deeds. If this rule is violated, the whole country will be disappointed, and it will not be a blessing for the country. King Ping has made great contributions to the country, so I dare to beg Your Majesty to make King Ping the Crown Prince with my life! "
His words were like a stone thrown into water, and the entire palace was in an uproar. All the civil and military officials did not expect the eldest son to be so virtuous and not be reluctant to take the throne that was so close to him.
Liu Youqiu was Li Longji's confidant, so he naturally hoped that Li Longji would be the Crown Prince. When he heard this, he immediately stepped out and echoed, "Your Majesty, those who remove the calamities of the world should enjoy the blessings of the world. King Ping has saved the country from danger and saved the emperor. In terms of merit and virtue, he is the most virtuous. Now that the eldest son has voluntarily abdicated the throne, I think Your Majesty need not hesitate to make King Ping the Crown Prince! "
After Liu Youqiu said this, Ge Fushun, Chen Xuanli, Chu Kuangge, Maqiao, and the other imperial generals all stepped out and said loudly, "I agree!"
When Li Dan saw that his son had come to the palace to publicly express his determination to not be the Crown Prince, he was very pleased and said to the officials, "What do you all think?"
The officials who supported Li Longji went without saying. They had originally supported the eldest son being the Crown Prince, but seeing that the eldest son had taken the initiative to abdicate, they had no one to support, so they also changed their stance. They either supported Li Longji as the Crown Prince, or they remained silent. Other than a few old fogeys who believed that only the eldest son could be the Crown Prince, the voices of opposition were extremely weak.
This matter quickly reached Li Longji's ears. When Li Longji heard about it, he was both terrified and excited.
He had two elder brothers. His eldest brother, Li Chengqi, was the eldest son of the wife, and his second brother, Li Chengyi, was a bastard son like him. He was neither the eldest son nor the eldest son. He had not expected that the position of Crown Prince would fall into his hands, but unexpectedly, his eldest brother had voluntarily abdicated the throne and recommended him to be the Crown Prince.
Li Longji had great ambitions and was not as indifferent as Li Chengqi. He was naturally willing to be the Crown Prince, but he wasn't sure if his eldest brother really had no interest in the throne or if he didn't want to covet other people's achievements. If his eldest brother wanted to be the Crown Prince, he wouldn't ruin their brotherly relationship even if he had the heart to do so. As a result, he personally went to the palace and announced his resignation to his father.
The two brothers began to compete with each other and began to give way in front of the Emperor. If Li Chengqi really wanted to be the Crown Prince, he could go with the flow since he was supposed to be the Crown Prince. Since Li Longji had publicly announced his resignation in front of all the civil and military officials, he would no longer be able to plot for the throne.
This was just like how Li Xian had hypocritically wanted to make Li Dan the Emperor's younger brother. He wanted to retreat in order to advance, forcing you to take the initiative to declare your position. However, Li Chengqi didn't do this. He knelt to the Emperor and resolutely refused. When he spoke of his feelings, he even shed tears. Li Dan finally made up his mind and announced that he would make Li Longji the Crown Prince!
During this period of time, Princess Taiping only instructed her subordinates to obstruct Li Longji for the first two days. Afterwards, she stopped all activities and completely gave up. Li Longji had just made a great contribution and was shining brightly. Li Chengqi's voluntary abdication of the throne was an even more unexpected variable. As intelligent as she was, she couldn't think of any reason to obstruct Li Longji.
However, she didn't give up just like that. She wasn't someone who gave up easily. To Wan 'er, her man was her sky, and her daughter was her earth. With them, she would have a complete world. But for Taiping, it had never been like this.
Xue Shao's grief and helplessness when he was sentenced to death, Li Tang's responsibility and ideals to revive Li Tang's empire, his ambition and aspiration to control the court, his love and expectations for his children, and his inextricable love with Yang Fan … all of these were shackles, but also motivation. But as long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would do her best to seize it.
Princess Taiping never thought of herself as a moth. Even if she was, if the fire was only a candle in her eyes, how could she know if she couldn't put it out if she bravely threw herself at it?
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