Chapter 4954: The sound of artillery fire in Lizheng Palace

Chapter 4954: The sound of artillery fire in Lizheng Palace
The Six Rates of the Eastern Palace were troops directly under the Crown Prince. Their original duty was to escort the Crown Prince and guard the Eastern Palace. However, the Tang Dynasty was not established for long and rebellions by princes were common. Any emperor had to be on guard against them. Therefore, after suppressing the rebellion of Prince Jin, the Six Rates of the Eastern Palace moved their original troops to a military camp near Baqiao outside the city, leaving only one rate to guard the main gate of the Eastern Palace, Jiafu Gate.

The general leading the army was none other than Qu Tuquan...

Compared with Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi and others, although Qu Tuquan also had a prominent family background, his father died early. Although Emperor Li II treated meritorious officials well and was willing to promote those second-generation children, it was not entirely out of kindness. He still had to pay attention to a reward. Qu Tutong was already dead, and his political life ended immediately. Naturally, he would leave children like Qu Tutong to their own devices and pay little attention to them.

Qu Tuquan had also been in the playboy circle for many years and was about to sink, but fortunately he met Fang Jun.

Because of Fang Junzhi's recommendation, he became the deputy general of the six generals of the Eastern Palace and was highly regarded by Li Chengqian, the crown prince at that time. After Li Chengqian ascended the throne, he made great contributions to following the dragon. From then on, his official career was smooth and he rose rapidly. To this day, he is no less capable than those children who have the support of their fathers and grandfathers.

Now that the former crown prince has become His Majesty, Qu Tuquan has not been promoted to the Sixteenth Guard, but continues to stay in the Sixth Commander of the Eastern Palace to support this crown prince...

Inside Jiafu Gate, there is a row of houses with their backs against the palace wall and facing north and back to the south. This is the military camp of the six commanders of the Eastern Palace stationed at this gate. There are one thousand soldiers stationed there all year round to guard the safety of Jiafu Gate. Together with Li Anyan who is stationed at the north palace gate to Demen, they support the defense of the entire Eastern Palace.

Heavy snow fell, and the entire East Palace was shrouded in wind and snow. An eunuch came running, and without even knocking on the door, he burst into the room, startling Qu Tuquan, who was lying on the bed with his clothes on. He jumped up and picked up a sword beside him, ready to kill the man with one blow...

"General, please spare my life. There is an oral order from the palace!"

The eunuch was so scared that he knelt down and begged for mercy.

Qu Tuquan finally came to his senses, jumped off the bed, put the knife aside, and asked in a deep voice, "Who gave the order?"

"It was the prince's order."

"What is the oral instruction?"

"The Crown Prince has ordered that no matter what happens in Lizheng Palace, the general must guard Jiafu Gate carefully. This is to prevent thieves from taking advantage of the situation and to leave a way for Lizheng Palace to escape."

Qu Tuquan frowned: "Empty words, what evidence do you have?"

The eunuch quickly took out the prince's token. Qu Tuquan carefully checked it by candlelight and nodded: "Go and report to the prince. As long as I am still alive, Jiafu Gate will be as solid as a rock!"

"Here!"

The eunuch stood up and hurried away to report.

Qu Tuquan turned around and grabbed a teapot on the table. He shook it and found that there was still half a pot of water. He tilted his head back and drank it all from the spout.

He wiped the water stains off his beard and shouted, "Come here, pass the order down. Everyone is on duty immediately. Everyone is responsible for their duties and positions. Only my order is not to move a single step. Those who disobey the order will be beheaded and their entire clan will be exterminated!"

"Here!"

There was a sudden commotion inside Jiafu Gate, and the soldiers were awakened from their sleep. Upon hearing the general's order, they dared not delay, and quickly got up, put on their armor, picked up their ice blades and rushed to their posts. Soldiers were stationed on the city wall in an instant, ready for battle.

Qu Tuquan pushed open the door, stood at the door with his hands behind his back, looking towards the direction of Lizheng Hall, his face as gloomy as water.

He had already learned from Fang Jun that the palace was in turmoil and undercurrents, and that the rebels might start an uprising in the next day or two. He had also made proper preparations, but facing the imperial order from His Majesty to guard the palace gates and not to set foot inside the palace, he could not help but feel worried.

He had no right to comment on His Majesty's strategy of "defense and counterattack", but he disagreed with using the prince as bait.

After all, he is the crown prince, the heir to the empire. What would happen if something went wrong in such a dangerous time of war?

However, thinking further, perhaps Your Majesty did it on purpose?

After all, the Crown Prince has the support of the Grand Marshal, and his foundation is solid and his strength is strong. Throughout history, there are few Crown Princes who have such a solid position. Although the Crown Prince is the Emperor's successor, he is also the Emperor's greatest enemy...

Suddenly, a flash of light flashed from the direction of Lizheng Hall, followed by an extremely dull cannon sound, followed by a series of gunshots and thunderous explosions.

The sound of fighting was like the roar of the sea.

The snowflakes falling in front of me were suddenly blown by a strong wind and became messy and flew everywhere.

……

Outside the Wude Hall, Li Siliang watched as more than a dozen old, hunchbacked eunuchs came into the hall one after another from nowhere. The chief eunuch, Wang De, was waiting at the door with his back bent. Usually the top eunuch in the palace, now looked as respectful as a young eunuch who had just been castrated and entered the palace. There was no trace of his usual domineering aura.

He was promoted to the position of Tongshi Sheren after Li Chengqian ascended the throne. He was qualified to enter the palace and even stay overnight. He did not know the situation inside the imperial palace. However, Li Anyan had held a high position during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, and was a brother-in-law of Crown Prince Yin, who was highly regarded by him. He had heard some things about the palace.

It is said that the reason why His Majesty was injured, fell ill, and eventually died suddenly in Liaodong was because he left the Taiji Palace, and the group of skilled and loyal old eunuchs who had always guarded him were unable to accompany him...

Could these be the group of old eunuchs left behind by Emperor Taizong?
The incident happened suddenly. The Queen and the Crown Prince were in the East Palace, and the Lizheng Palace was quite a distance away from them. In such a hurry, no one could guarantee whether someone was lying in ambush on the road to kill the Crown Prince. The royal family and ministers could not arrive in time. Only these old eunuchs were the most suitable people to protect His Majesty's safety.

So the expected chaos did not occur.

There are indeed many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the imperial palace...

However, this is of no use. The civil and military officials cannot arrive for a while, and there is no one to take charge of the overall situation. Once Li Shenfu and his brother force the prince to come, they can quickly settle the situation in the face of the emperor's death. As long as the prince signs the abdication edict and agrees to the abdication, the major event can be settled and there will be no reversals.

I just don't know which prince Li Shenfu brought into the palace to accept the crown prince's abdication and then succeed to the throne?
Soon, more than ten imperial doctors on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau hurried over and went straight into the palace.

Li Siliang was a little nervous. These Chinese medical masters all had unique skills. It might be an exaggeration to say that they could bring people back to life, but they could easily cure all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases. Even if they couldn't save His Majesty's life, it might be possible to stimulate His Majesty's potential and make him sober for a while...

Fortunately, this worry did not last long. With the faint shouting and screaming coming from the East Palace, Li Siliang's anxious heart finally settled down.

A team of "Hundred Cavalry Division" came galloping over. When they reached the entrance of the palace, Li Junxian had already come out to greet them. He shouted, "What happened in the East Palace?"

A captain of the "Hundred Cavalry Division" said in a hurry: "Reporting to the commander, the Eastern Palace Qianniu Beishen Li Anyan led his soldiers to break through the gate of Yichun Palace and are now attacking Lizheng Palace!"

Li Junxian's hair and beard stood on end, and he flew into a rage: "Is this fellow rebelling?"

The captain replied, "He started his army at Zhide Gate and marched southwards to capture most of the Eastern Palace, saying, 'Your Majesty has been killed, and the Crown Prince has also fallen into the hands of the thieves, so we should rescue the Crown Prince and help him ascend the throne.' The Eastern Palace guards who were bewitched by him and attached themselves to him, or who adhered to their duties and refused to rebel, were all beheaded."

"How many soldiers does the rebel have?"

"There are more than a hundred elite soldiers, and there are hundreds of guards attached to them. They are unstoppable. I implore the commander-in-chief to send troops to help as soon as possible, otherwise Lizheng Palace will surely fall!"

Li Junxian snorted angrily: "How dare you, a mere thief, rebel and usurp power? Pass the order down, all the people are to gather around the Wude Hall, and all the palace gates are to be closed. No one is allowed to enter or leave!"

The captain was stunned: "Uh... No, no rescue Li Zhengdian?"

Li Junxian's eyes widened with anger, and he shouted, "Are you questioning my military orders?"

The lieutenant was startled and said hurriedly, "I dare not!"

"A bunch of clowns, who are unaware of their imminent death, are trying to stop a chariot with their arms and shake a tree with their gnats. It's ridiculous! Don't worry about the East Palace. The most important thing is to guard the Wude Hall!"

"Here!"

The captain didn't dare to say anything more and hurried to deliver the military order.

Li Siliang, who was hiding in the corridor, opened his eyes wide with an expression of disbelief. The prince was in danger, but Li Junxian just stood by and watched, leaving it alone. Why?

Logically, it is Li Junxian's duty to send troops to rescue. Otherwise, no matter whether His Majesty is alive or dead, or what the situation is afterwards, he cannot escape the charge of "ignoring the crown prince's danger". Not only will his head be in danger, but the whole family will be in trouble!

Therefore, Li Junxian must have something to rely on to dare to do so.

But what does he rely on?
Did Your Majesty foresee this and give the order in advance?
But since Your Majesty had anticipated this, why did he not care about the safety of the Crown Prince? Did he want to follow the example of Emperor Taizong and change the crown prince?

Or do you have complete confidence in the prince's safety?

Thinking of this, Li Siliang's heart suddenly jumped. However, before he could start thinking about the idea that just came to his mind, he heard a dull "boom" sound beside his ears, and the ground under his feet trembled a few times, as if a thunder had exploded...

How could thunder come in such a snowy day?
It was clearly a cannon shot!
Li Siliang stood up suddenly and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw flames rising into the sky from the direction of the Lizheng Hall in the East Palace. The previous shouting and screaming seemed to have paused for a moment.

I was instantly scared to death!

How could there be artillery in Lizheng Hall? !

Who dares to hide the cannon in the Lizheng Hall? !

The sound of the cannon stopped, and flames shot up into the sky from the East Palace, followed by a burst of dense gunfire...

His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and it was a little difficult to breathe. Li Siliang turned his head to look at Li Junxian, and his eyes met with Li Junxian's. The other person's face was serious and expressionless, but Li Siliang could clearly read a trace of emotion from his eyes... ridicule? ridicule? or pity?

Li Siliang opened his mouth and saw the other party turn around and enter the hall.

In the shadow of the corridor, Li Siliang was in a panic, frightened, and had a bad premonition in his heart.