Chapter 438: Sudden Change in Circumstances

At dawn the next day, the guards at Mingde Gate noticed something unusual—a large army had appeared five li outside Chang’an City, numbering tens of thousands, with a majestic presence and banners covering the sky. On a large purple flag were two huge black characters: “Anxi.” It was the Anxi army arriving. The guards at Mingde Gate dared not open the gates and rushed to report to Meng Yun, the commander of the southern army.

Meng Yun hurriedly climbed to the city wall to take a look. He saw that the Anxi troops were all cavalrymen, clad in black armor, wielding long halberds, with arrows and swords everywhere. The killing intent in the fields outside the city filled him with fear. He had betrayed Li Qing’an earlier and had always felt uneasy. Now, with Li Qing’an leading a large army, he remembered Li Qing’an’s order to exchange heads for Anxi’s troops, which filled him with even greater fear. He immediately ordered, “No one is allowed to open the city gates without my orders!”

He then rushed down from the city wall to report to Li Heng.

At this time, not only had the Anxi army arrived outside the city, but there was also a grand occasion inside Chang’an City. A procession composed of eight thousand students marched along Zhuque Street. At the front were over a hundred court officials led by Zhang Yun, the former Minister of Revenue. Among them were important officials such as Yan Zhenqing, the supervisor of the Imperial Academy promoted by Li Yu, Zhang Jie, the head of the Temple of Rites, and Wei Jiansu, the vice minister of Rites. They moved in an orderly manner, slowly heading toward Zhuque Gate.

At the very front of the procession was a five-zhang-high banner reading, “Support the crown prince to ascend the throne!” It was written in Yan Zhenqing’s own hand.

This news caused a sensation in Chang’an City. Countless people rushed out to watch. Zhang Yun raised his arms and shouted, “Oppose the emeritus emperor from ascending the throne! Support the crown prince!”

Nearly ten thousand scholars shouted in unison, “Oppose the emeritus emperor from ascending the throne! Support the crown prince!”

The momentum was enormous. Along the way, more than twenty officials, including the current Minister of Revenue Pei Min, Du Gu Haoran, the director of the Imperial Academy, Cui Guangyuan, as well as retired officials like Pei Kuan, Zhang Jieran, and Gai Jiayun, joined the procession. By halfway, thousands of officials had joined, all shouting the same slogan: “Oppose the emeritus emperor from ascending the throne! Support the crown prince!”

Within the procession, a huge scroll signed by many people, requesting the crown prince to be installed as emperor, was passed around. At the top was Zhang Yun, the Duke of Yuxiang County, followed by Pei Min, the Minister of Revenue. Below those two large names were numerous smaller names, one after another.

The marches by students and officials caused a sensation in Chang’an, making the proposal by Wang Gong and other officials for the retired emperor to ascend the throne seem weak and insignificant. At this point, the previously silent Yulin Army and Wanqi Camp, led by General An Baoyu, sealed off both the palace and imperial city, preventing the southern forces from entering. An Baoyu clearly stated that the selection of a new emperor should be determined through consultation between the government council and the empress, with no one allowed to override this process.

The situation changed abruptly the next day. Initially confident, Li Hen fell silent in the face of the strong public and official opinion. Especially with Li Qing’an’s troops stationed outside Chang’an, Li Hen dared not act rashly or suppress the marching students by force.

Inside the Prince Yong’s mansion, Li Hen paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, filled with frustration and regret. He had gotten up before dawn, eagerly awaiting that moment. But instead of waiting for Wang Gong and other ministers to request his ascension a second time, he faced the arrival of the Anxi army at the city’s gates and a massive procession of ten thousand people, which dealt a severe setback to his ambitions. He regretted not listening to Wang Gong’s advice and yielding three times the previous day; he should have seized power immediately before Li Qing’an’s troops arrived to secure his position. But now, it was too late for regret.

A servant reported at the door, “My lord, Mr. Linghu has arrived!”

Li Hen quickly said, “Please invite him in at once.”

Li Hen was deeply impressed by Linghu Fei. His strategic acumen and insight clearly surpassed those of Wang Gong. In this sudden change of circumstances, Li Hen thought of Linghu Fei rather than Wang Gong.

Linghu Fei could be considered the least connected and least experienced person in the government council. He was originally a Jinshi who failed the imperial examinations and had worked as a private secretary in Shu, remaining obscure. Later, Xianyu Zhongtong introduced him to the then-down-and-out Yang Guozhong. With Linghu Fei’s assistance, Yang Guozhong gradually rose to the position of Right Chancellor. In return, Yang Guozhong promoted Linghu Fei to Vice Minister of Revenue. Perhaps Li Longji also wanted to find a capable assistant for Yang Guozhong, so he exceptionally promoted Linghu Fei to Vice Minister of Personnel, ranking him alongside the heads of the central government, thus bringing him into the government council.

Li Hen had not paid much attention to this man before, but since Yang Guozhong successfully persuaded the Li Chenghong brothers last time, Li Hen began to see Linghu Fei in a new light. He realized that Linghu Fei was an extremely rare strategic talent and resolved to make him one of his trusted advisors.

A moment later, Linghu Fei hurried into Li Hen’s study, guided by a family member. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Your humble servant pays respects to the retired emperor.”

“Lord Linghu, please don’t hesitate—sit down quickly!”
Li Heng invited him to sit affectionately and ordered good tea to be brought. Though anxious inside, he remained calm on the surface, showing no signs of worry, which made Linghu Fei secretly admire him—truly, experience makes one wise and composed!
“I wonder if the Retired Emperor summoned me regarding the chaos in Chang’an?” Linghu Fei couldn’t help but ask first.
Li Heng nodded and sighed, “The situation in Chang’an has changed suddenly, and I’m a bit at a loss. That’s why I invited you here to discuss the current situation and possible solutions.”
Linghu Fei smiled slightly and said, “I observed things on Zhuque Street today and noticed some interesting phenomena. I might as well share them with the Retired Emperor.”
Knowing Linghu Fei must have something meaningful to say, Li Heng immediately said, “Please go ahead!”
Linghu Fei picked up his teacup, took a sip, and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “The parade started from Anyi Fang near Mingde Gate. At first, it was led by Zhang Yun, and almost all the officials participating were part of Zhang’s faction. Zhang Yun is a leader in the Tang literary world and former head of the Imperial Academy, so he had great influence among the students. That’s why he could easily gather eight thousand students. As for Yan Zhenqing, the head of the Imperial Academy, I think he was somewhat forced to join, fearing the students might cause too much trouble. Starting from Anyi Fang was clearly a deliberate choice. But when they reached Lanling Fang, Pei Min led a large group of officials and retired high-ranking officials to join the parade. What does the Retired Emperor think?”
“You mean Pei Min?” Li Heng was surprised. “Wasn’t he under house arrest? How did he get out?”
“Does the Retired Emperor not know? I heard Pei Min was rescued last night, killing over twenty South Army soldiers—most likely done by Li Qing’an’s spies.”
Li Heng indeed didn’t know about this; Meng Yun hadn’t reported it to him at all. He grew angry—was Meng Yun already starting to deceive him?
Seeing the conversation veering off track, Linghu Fei quickly said, “Retired Emperor, actually, Pei Min’s escape isn’t important. What matters is that he joined Zhang Yun’s parade—that’s the real issue.”
Li Heng pondered for a moment before saying, “Could it be they colluded in advance?”
Linghu Fei smiled and said, “Exactly. Zhang Yun has always supported the King of Shu and the late emperor, but today he suddenly changed his stance and started supporting the crown prince. Isn’t he afraid the late emperor will accuse him of being fickle?”
“Zhang Yun has always been fickle. There’s nothing strange about that.”
“No! Not entirely.”

Linghu Fei explained, “No one gets up early without a reason. If there’s no tangible benefit at hand, would Zhang Yun risk offending the late emperor and the King of Shu for a young crown prince?” These words suddenly awakened Li Heng. Recalling Pei Min joining the group halfway, he realized what was going on and said, “Could it be that Zhang Yun and Li Qing’an have already reached a secret agreement?” Linghu Fei nodded. “That’s likely. Otherwise, Li Qing’an wouldn’t be so reckless as to station his troops five miles outside Chang’an City. He’s clearly there to support Zhang Yun.” At that, Linghu Fei added with a smile, “There’s another interesting detail. When the group reached Chongye Fang, I saw Ji Wen, the Right Vice Minister of War, also join them. An Lushan even supports the crown prince’s ascension, which clearly shows his intention to side with the court.” Li Heng was in a state of turmoil. He didn’t know what to do. With a soft sigh, he said, “I’m very confused now. I really want to know what to do next. I hope you can give me some useful advice.” Linghu Fei could clearly sense Li Heng’s reliance on him. He knew this was his chance. Yang Guozhong was already declining and not worth relying on. So, Li Heng—this powerful figure—was likely to become his future support. He had to seize this opportunity at all costs. After pondering for a moment, Linghu Fei said, “If the Retired Emperor is willing to settle for second best and become the regent, I wonder if he’ll accept it?” Li Heng had no choice but to say resentfully, “Of course I don’t want to back down. But if I have to, there’s nothing I can do.” Linghu Fei smiled bitterly and said, “It’s not a matter of whether the Retired Emperor wants to or not. Given the current situation, he has to make concessions, and quickly. Once Li Qing’an proposes that there’s no need for a regent, with the Political Council acting as advisors and the Empress Dowager temporarily handling state affairs, the Retired Emperor might even lose his position as regent. Moreover, I’ve heard that Guo Ziyi also supports the crown prince’s ascension. If war breaks out, does the Retired Emperor think he can defeat Li Qing’an and Guo Ziyi’s combined forces with the armies of Geshu Han and Meng Yun? And with the Jiannan army in Hanzhong watching closely, if they take advantage of the situation, Li Qing’an can retreat to Anxi, Guo Ziyi can retreat to Shuofang—where can the Retired Emperor go?” These words awakened Li Heng from his thoughts. He remembered that his father, Emperor Li Longji, was also waiting for an opportunity. If he and Li Qing’an both suffered losses, it would truly benefit his father. The strong public opinion and Li Qing’an’s pressure finally made Li Heng realize that ascending the throne was indeed unrealistic. He was forced to make concessions. “Very well! If there’s no other choice, I agree to become the regent.”

“Your Majesty, mere verbal concessions are not enough. In my opinion, the key lies with Li Qingan. Whether he is willing to let Your Majesty serve as regent remains uncertain. Therefore, I suggest that before making any concessions, it would be best to talk to Li Qingan in person.”
“You mean I should go and talk to Li Qingan myself?”
“Yes! Sometimes, sitting down and talking face to face is much better than mutual suspicion. After all, Li Qingan also doesn’t want the late emperor to ascend the throne—that’s what you have in common. If Your Majesty goes in person, it will be far more effective.”
Li Heng walked a few steps with his hands behind his back. Finally, he nodded. “Very well! I’ll go talk to him. Please accompany me as well.”