SFS Chapter 44 Tanglong Coup
Chapter 44 Tanglong Coup
Lin Ke sighed, a look of regret on her face, which made Li Shimin's premonition even worse.
"In later generations, whenever the An Lushan Rebellion is discussed, Yang Guifei is inevitably mentioned, as is her ex-husband, Prince Shou, Li Mao."
"I don't know why, but in the Tang Dynasty royal family, there were always fathers who would take their sons' wives, and sons who would take their fathers' concubines. Perhaps it was a family tradition!"
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ...
All Emperors of the Tang Dynasty: ...
Liu Zhuzhu of the Han Dynasty: The emperors of later generations have truly broadened my horizons!
First Emperor: ...I don't understand, but I am greatly shocked!
Li Shimin was furious! Everyone was trying to provoke him!
……
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty
The 23rd year of the Kaiyuan era (735 AD)
Li Heng, who just got married, is currently enjoying a very happy time.
But he never expected that this future event would be revealed to him so soon.
Does she mean, will my father take my wife, Yu Huan, as a concubine in the future?
Father, are you not afraid of being scorned by the people of the world?
Besides, my mother is still alive, she shouldn't have facilitated this!
Li Heng had a bad feeling and hurriedly went to find Yu Huan. He couldn't feel at ease until he saw her.
……
Lin Ke: "Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who overturned half of the Tang Dynasty's golden age, actually did a very good job before the An Lushan Rebellion, and even created a prosperous era."
"So how exactly did he lead the Tang Dynasty into the An Lushan Rebellion step by step?"
"When Li Longji was young, his father, Li Dan, was laid off, and his grandmother, Wu Zetian, became empress."
"Subsequently, Li Longji and his family were placed under house arrest and forbidden from leaving, so his life at that time was extremely unstable."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: !!!
"When he was eight years old, Li Longji's mother disappeared after being summoned by Empress Wu. His father avoided discussing his mother's disappearance."
"Perhaps it was through this experience that Li Longji began to understand power, and also developed a touch of ruthlessness and obsession."
"He even gave himself a nickname—Aman. Does that name sound familiar?"
"That's right, it's Cao Cao, the one who would rather betray the world than let the world betray him."
Cao Cao: ...
Three Kingdoms Period
At this time, Cao Cao's camp
Cao Cao's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and he stared silently at Lin Ke on the screen.
However, their inner thoughts are quite rich.
Good heavens! Who knew Cao Cao had possessed this treasure for so long? All I can do is offer my comments!
You can't even get a few points!
What utter nonsense about not having permission!
If I'm not qualified, then who is?
Guo Jia, Xu Chu, and the others beside him, unaware of Cao Cao's thoughts, could only watch him with worry.
……
This is actually because the system imposes stricter restrictions on chaotic times, but it has gradually opened up since the system was upgraded. However, the number of light screens emitted is far less than in other times, and the same is true for other chaotic periods.
Lin Ke: "When Li Longji was sixteen, his grandmother Wu Zetian was overthrown from the throne, and his uncle Li Xian succeeded him as emperor."
During the reign of Emperor Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty
When Li Zhi first ascended the throne, he was frustrated by the many obstacles he faced. However, it was at this moment that he discovered this small light screen.
I met young Aye!
Aye is still as arrogant and prone to crying as ever!
Wu Zetian actually became the empress?!
……
During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty
Empress Wu Zetian frowned deeply when she heard Lin Ke mention that she had been forced to step down from the throne.
Wu Zetian was not worried about being overthrown in one fell swoop; the struggle for the throne was either a matter of the winner becoming king or the loser becoming a bandit.
This is obviously a perfectly normal thing.
But Li Longji overthrew most of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, yet he also created a golden age; both prosperity and decline were due to one person.
She didn't know how to treat him.
……
"After his uncle Li Xian succeeded to the throne, Li Longji was sent away to work elsewhere."
"Unexpectedly, two years later, something happened in the capital."
"Li Longji's uncle died suddenly, leaving the emperor's position vacant, which aroused the restless ambitions of various factions in the capital."
"First, Empress Wei, Li Longji's aunt, took the initiative."
"She forged an imperial edict to pass the throne to the emperor's youngest son, using the emperor to command the feudal lords—this tactic shouldn't be unfamiliar to her."
"That's right, she has a grand dream: to emulate Wu Zetian and become an empress."
Wu Zetian: ...
"At this point, Princess Taiping jumped out and disagreed, saying, 'You want to be the second Wu Zetian? I want to be too!'"
"Historical records state that Princess Taiping resembled Empress Wu Zetian in both appearance and personality, and Wu Zetian doted on this youngest daughter."
"Therefore, it's quite normal for Princess Taiping to have this idea. Many officials in the court were promoted from Princess Taiping's household; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she wielded immense power."
"But she had no army at her disposal, so she thought of her nephew, Li Longji."
"Li Longji was no ordinary man either; he went straight to her door and said, 'Aunt, let's rebel against Empress Wei!'"
"Li Longji's confidence wasn't without reason. Firstly, the well next to his house suddenly started gushing water, and someone divined that there was an aura of an emperor there."
"Secondly, the young emperor adopted the reign title Tanglong, which Li Longji felt was like it was given to him! This also shows that Li Longji's ambition was not small."
"It wouldn't make sense for Li Longji to rebel based solely on this unusual phenomenon, but in reality, he had been planning this coup for a long time."
"Before the coup, he won over the elite Imperial Guard of 10,000 cavalry. He chose the 10,000 cavalry because most of the soldiers in them came from poor backgrounds or were from foreign lands."
"After identifying his targets, Li Longji would invite them to drink every day, and they quickly became close friends."
"There are two people who are very close to him: Chen Xuanli and Ge Fushun."
"Now, Li Longji has troops, and Princess Taiping has power; all they lack is a legitimate reason."
"Soon, Li Longji and Princess Taiping launched a coup, citing the pretext that Empress Wei had poisoned the late emperor and plotted to endanger the dynasty; they had just jointly executed Chu and Wei that very evening."
"On the night of June 20th, 710 AD, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Li Longji disguised himself and sneaked into the palace, leading his brothers all the way to Xuanwu Gate. It was at this Xuanwu Gate that he had once been."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ...
"Chen Xuanli and Ge Fushun walked straight to the Yulin Guard camp guarding Xuanwu Gate, killed the Yulin Guard general stationed there by Empress Wei, and shouted that slogan to the Yulin Guard soldiers."
"As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The Imperial Guards soldiers, upon hearing that they were familiar with the coup, quickly joined Li Longji's army."
"On the other side, Empress Wei in the palace was awakened from her dream by the sound. With her hair disheveled, she ran towards what she thought were allies, only to be beheaded by the coup troops."
"Thus, Empress Wei's dream of becoming emperor proved to be nothing but a pipe dream; her daughters, accomplices, and clansmen were all executed."
"And so, Li Dan, Li Longji's father, took over the throne from his nephew."
"Princess Taiping's power is growing, and the ambitious woman will not stop there."
"She planned a series of steps. First, she intended to force her brother to abdicate and let Li Dan's weak eldest son, Li Chengqi, succeed to the throne. Just like Empress Wei, the weaker and more incompetent the emperor was, the more she could rule as regent."
"As for Li Longji, whom she was cooperating with, Princess Taiping didn't take him seriously at all. A mere illegitimate son, how could he possibly want to be emperor?"
"From this perspective, Princess Taiping is playing the role of her mother, Empress Wu Zetian, while Li Longji is playing the role of the second princess, since the troops at Xuanwu Gate are still under his control."
"Li Chengqi burst into tears upon hearing that his aunt, Princess Taiping, wanted him to be the crown prince. One was a second Wu Zetian, the other a second Li Shimin—both ruthless figures. Did he dare to accept the position?"
Princess Taiping was speechless. She had no choice but to eliminate Li Longji first. That very night, one of her stargazing ministers went to Li Dan and said that Venus had appeared, which meant someone was about to ascend the throne. She almost bluntly said, "Your son Li Longji is going to usurp the throne! It's not like your Li family hasn't had such a precedent."
Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty: Just give me my name!
"This Li Dan is quite a talent; he directly said, 'I've long since given up on being emperor; give it to him!'"
"So on the third day of the eighth month in 712 AD, Li Longji proclaimed himself emperor. This action by the father and son almost drove Princess Taiping to her death with anger."
"If soft tactics don't work, then we'll have to resort to hard ones. Princess Taiping plans another coup. After all, the Tang Dynasty has nothing but coups; she's got plenty of experience."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: !!!
"However, this time Princess Taiping's information was leaked, and Li Longji mobilized the imperial guards to kill her and deal with a group of officials from Princess Taiping's faction."
Princess Taiping was also ordered to commit suicide three days later.
"Having dealt with all these matters, Li Longji changed the era name to Kaiyuan, and thus, a golden age of the Tang Dynasty was about to begin."