Chapter 509: The Battle of Ascension (Part 1)

The sudden news shocked everyone. They looked at one another, almost simultaneously realizing that this was the major event Pei Min had spoken of—Li Hen’s long-planned scheme to dissolve the Council of State at this critical moment and kill the young emperor.
“Your Majesty!” Zhang Gao knelt facing north and wailed in grief. Cui Huan was both shocked and enraged, cursing loudly, “How dare he defy heaven and kill two emperors? Isn’t he afraid of ending up in the abyssal hell after death?”
At that moment, Pei Min also regained his composure from extreme shock. He immediately said to everyone, “This is not the time to cry. Hurry and take your families to Chang’an County! No! No—there’s no time to care for family. We must go to Chang’an right now to take shelter. If we delay even a moment longer, we won’t be able to escape.”
Everyone understood Pei Min’s meaning and hurriedly headed toward the gate. Pei Min walked last, taking his wife with him as well. Everyone boarded their carriages, and the drivers cracked their whips as the carriages sped toward Chang’an County.
They were very lucky. As soon as the carriages crossed Zhuque Street, Li Hen issued a martial law order. The gates of all districts in Wannian County were closed, and squads of Jinyiwei soldiers rushed through the streets, ordering passersby to return home immediately. The Pei and Wei families’ residences in Wannian County were surrounded by soldiers.
The sudden martial law in Wannian County left the people of Chang’an puzzled. Some began to suspect that something serious might have happened in the court, but the truth was kept secret. All they could do was wait until dawn the next day to find out what was going on.
For those who knew the truth or were involved, it was undoubtedly a sleepless night. This short night would completely change the history of the Tang Dynasty.
High above the Hanyuan Hall in Daming Palace, Li Hen stood with his hands behind his back, gazing down at the entire city of Chang’an. He felt as though he could embrace the whole realm in his arms, and now that feeling became reality.
Daming Palace was completely isolated from the outside world. Aside from a few eunuchs who had escaped to report the news, no one else could enter or leave. Fully armed Yulin Army soldiers tightly controlled Daming Palace. Currently, the Yulin Army in charge was led by General Xu Ziyao, who had been completely bought over by Li Hen. Meanwhile, An Baoyu’s mother had passed away last month, allowing him to take three months of mourning leave, which gave Li Hen the opportunity to take control of Daming Palace.
However, Li Hen could not control Taiji Palace and the imperial city. The 5,000 soldiers there were under the command of General Zhao Yuxin, a close confidant of the former Yulin Army general Chang Sun Quanxu. To control Zhao Yuxin, one would have to win over Chang Sun Quanxu first. Unfortunately, after the Pinglou incident, Li Hen no longer had the chance to reconcile with Chang Sun Quanxu.

But it’s impossible to cover everything. He couldn’t control the 5,000 Imperial Guards in the imperial city, nor the 20,000 Bull Guards in Chang’an County—though that wasn’t a big deal. What was more important was that Li Hen had 200,000 troops in Guanzhong under his command, so he wasn’t afraid of anyone causing him trouble, not even the Anxi Army. That was true strength. As for the historians’ writings, he feared them even less. Once he ascended the throne, wouldn’t history be at his mercy?

Behind him stood the Imperial Guards and court attendants. General Xu Ziyao stepped forward and said with flattery, “Your Majesty, I humbly request that you ascend to the throne.”

Gazing at the thousands of lights in the city, Li Hen suddenly burst into loud laughter. He laughed so heartily that all his years of frustration were forgotten in that moment. He turned abruptly, staring at the throne he had longed for for nearly twenty years. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he strode toward the supreme throne in the Hanyuan Hall.

……

The night was deep. Several warhorses raced like lightning along the roads west of Chang’an. Hu Peiyun bit his lip tightly. He spurred his horse even faster, his eyes filled with utter hatred. He felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation—as the head of Chang’an’s internal affairs department, he had been completely unaware of Li Hen’s plans. It filled him with shame and disgrace. But since things had already happened, he could only do his best from now on and apologize to the general later.

They rushed past like a gust of wind. In less than an hour, they arrived at the Anxi Army camp in Xianyang. After reporting, they were quickly taken into Yan Zhuang’s tent by the on-duty soldiers.

“Manager Hu, you always come to see me in the middle of the night!” Yan Zhuang yawned and complained tiredly.

“Please forgive me, sir. Something serious has happened in Chang’an, so I had to come at once.”

“Take your time. Sit down first!”

Yan Zhuang invited him to sit and said with a smile, “Let me guess.”

After pondering for a moment, he said, “Has the young emperor passed away?”

Hu Peiyun was shocked and quickly asked, “How did you know?”

“I saw the report you sent the day before yesterday. It said the emperor was ill. I thought that if the emperor died of illness at this time, it would be a good excuse for Li Hen. I didn’t expect him to actually take action.”

Yan Zhuang looked quite pleased, proud of his ability to accurately anticipate Li Hen’s moves. But Hu Peiyun was extremely depressed. “It’s a pity he still succeeded. I’m incompetent!”

“No! No! No!”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly reassured him, “It’s not a bad thing for us that he succeeded. This is exactly what the Great General expected. Ever since he supported the young emperor to ascend the throne, he knew this day would come. If you had stopped him, it would have ruined the Great General’s plans. Do you understand?”
Yan Zhuang’s explanation eased Hu Peiyun’s guilty feelings. He smiled bitterly and said, “Though it was a bit lucky, it’s undeniable that we failed to see it coming.”
“Let’s not talk about that for now.”
Yan Zhuang waved his hand and said with a smile, “So, what’s the situation in Chang’an now? Has the Council of State reacted?”
Reports to the Xianyang camp were sent every two days. The Council of State had been disbanded yesterday morning, but Yan Zhuang still didn’t know.
“That’s the second thing I need to report to you. Since the four prime ministers of the Council of State resigned at the same time, it was disbanded yesterday.”
“Is that possible?”
Yan Zhuang was stunned. After a while, a bitter smile appeared on his lips as he sighed, “Good! What a clever Li Heng. No wonder the Great General told me not to underestimate him. He truly has skills. By dissolving the Council of State at this critical moment, Li Heng has removed the biggest obstacle to his ascension.”
“But without the Council of State leading the support of the ministers, how can he ascend the throne?” Hu Peiyun still didn’t quite understand.
“You don’t get it. The Council of State has been disbanded, right? We can just form another one—three or five prime ministers, it doesn’t matter. It’s laughable that Zhang Yun thought he could navigate both sides successfully, but this time Li Heng played him hard. I’m afraid he’s regretting it deeply now. I have to admit, this Li Heng is an expert at manipulating power.”
Hu Peiyun pondered for a moment before asking, “Since you anticipated this, what do you think we should do next?”
Yan Zhuang nodded and said, “Good question. These next few days are crucial. You and Nan Jiyun must follow my instructions. We need to take action tonight.”
……
Chang’an was divided by Zhuque Street, showing a stark contrast between two worlds—one of chaos and fire, the other of order and peace. Wannian County was under martial law by the Jinwu Guard, with lights turned off early in every household, and the neighborhoods eerily silent. But Chang’an County kept its gates open all night, with endless streams of people and vehicles, bright lights everywhere. The Western Market was also allowed to operate as a night market, with shops loudly advertising their goods, and customers crowding the streets.
Soldiers from the Qianniu Guard patrolled the streets in teams. After the hour of Hai, Chang’an County began to quiet down as well. At that time, military police wearing red armbands distributed leaflets door to door, and the content of those leaflets was shocking.

“Fathers killing sons, ancestors killing grandsons—morality has vanished; it’s utterly horrific.”
The leaflets revealed in great detail how the retired emperor Li Heng poisoned the former emperor in the imperial estate last year, as well as the tragedy that had taken place at Daming Palace today. The young emperor had only caught a cold from falling into water, but died of poisoning that very night. Everyone knew who the murderer was.
The leaflets were distributed to every household. Those who were illiterate went to those who could read to understand them. Soon, the news in the leaflets shocked Chang’an County. Though it seemed unbelievable at first, upon closer thought, it made sense.
Every family discussed this astonishing news behind closed doors. At that moment, officials came from Daming Palace and informed the officials living in Chang’an County one by one that an important matter would be discussed at the morning court session the next day, and all officials of rank seven or above in Chang’an were required to attend.
Worry enveloped every official of the Tang Dynasty. Although it was already late, the court officials living in Chang’an County spontaneously gathered in groups at Taiping Fang. Other officials also arrived upon hearing the news. Gradually, over a thousand court officials gathered in the square in front of the Du Gu family’s residence. Among them were some low-ranking officials and some high-ranking nobles of rank five or above. Regardless of their status, everyone was filled with confusion and worry—what would become of the Tang Dynasty?
The area around Du Gu’s residence was tightly guarded by thousands of Qian Niu Wei soldiers. Every arriving official had to have their identity verified. The family members of Du Gu even lit dozens of large lanterns in the square, casting bright light like daylight. Six high-ranking officials, including Pei Min who had fled from Wannian County, were temporarily staying at Du Gu’s residence. They also came out and discussed strategies for the next day with the more than a thousand officials. Whispers filled the square.
Wei Tao hurriedly brought an official to Pei Min. “Prime Minister Pei, this is Song Ji, an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. He has an important matter to report to you.”
The official stepped forward and bowed. “I pay my respects to the prime minister!”
Pei Min, who recognized him, smiled and asked, “What important matter does Minister Song have to say?”
“Prime minister, I am very good at playing polo. Moreover, those of us from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War who share this interest often go to play polo outside the city during the ten-day holidays. We usually don’t bother running to deliver messages, so we use homing pigeons instead. I am in charge of coordinating this. I can use homing pigeons to inform more than a dozen officials living in Wannian County, so they can understand the truth and stay in step with us.”
“That’s a good idea!” Pei Min immediately praised. “Have them also find ways to inform the members of the Prince Zhao faction and the pro-royal faction in the same district to stay away from court tomorrow.”

At that moment, Wei Tao smiled and said, “Our Wei family also has homing pigeons. I can use them to inform the Wei family members in Wannian County and the ministers who are closely related to us, asking them not to attend court tomorrow.”

Reminded by him, Pei Min realized that the Pei family could do the same. There were many Pei clan members in Chang’an County as well, and they could be asked to find ways to inform their kin in Wannian County to resist tomorrow’s morning court session.

He immediately turned and walked up the steps, waving his hand and shouting loudly, “Colleagues, please be quiet and listen to me.”

Seeing that it was Pei Min, the Right Prime Minister, speaking, more than a thousand officials immediately fell silent and turned to look at him. Pei Min declared loudly, “At tomorrow’s so-called morning court, Li Heng will surely be trying to ascend the throne. If he does, it will bring shame to our Tang Dynasty. This is a disgrace to Tang. Perhaps we cannot stop his madness, but we will not recognize his legitimacy. We must resist his ascension. We must let everyone in the world know what kind of person wants to seize Tang’s throne, killing his own sons and grandchildren—where is propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame? Where is human morality? I, Pei Min, the Right Prime Minister of Tang, urge you all: we would rather be commoners or peasants than hold any position under him!”

“Let’s resist him!” Cui Huan shouted, raising his arms.

“Resist him!” More than a thousand officials were inspired and joined in shouting.

“Very good! Not only must we resist him, but we must also find ways to let the officials in Wannian County know the truth. We must all resist together. Everyone, get involved! Ask your family members to intercept your relatives and friends on the road tomorrow during the morning court session and tell them to go back and not attend court.”

Pei Min’s suggestion received an enthusiastic response from everyone, who started discussing various methods eagerly. At that moment, the gates of the Du Gu family mansion opened, and over a dozen maids escorted Princess Zhao, Du Gu Mingyue, out. She had to come out—for the sake of her husband. Mingyue also understood that the people coming to the Du Gu mansion voluntarily had a deeper purpose: they hoped to get news about Li Qing’an from her.

The wet nurse behind Mingyue held her child, Li Qing’an’s only son at the moment, with several bodyguards protecting the child on either side.

Mingyue stepped onto the steps, and the square in front of the Du Gu mansion fell silent once again. Everyone turned to look at her. In her hands was a pigeon message containing the latest battle updates from the Anxi Army, which Nan Jiyun had quietly given her earlier.

It didn’t matter what was in the message; the key was that it had to be announced by Princess Zhao, making it more convincing. This was also what high-ranking officials like Pei Min hoped for—they wanted Princess Zhao to calm the anxious hearts of the officials.

“Let everyone’s anxious hearts calm down first!”
Moonlight’s voice was extremely gentle, yet clear and firm, with each word striking the hearts of the officials.
“Though dark clouds may temporarily cover the sun and moon, the north wind will eventually blow them away, restoring clarity to the world.”
Someone took the lead in clapping, and soon thunderous applause filled the square. When the applause subsided, Moonlight raised the red letter tube and declared loudly, “This is an urgent message sent just now by His Highness the King of Zhao. It’s written in his own hand. I’ll read it to you all.”
She unrolled the thin silk under the lantern light and read aloud, “Before even engaging in battle, we receive good news! Our Tang army has killed the Tibetan king inside A’huán City in Turfan. The entire army is inspired, and defeating the Tibetan forces is just around the corner!”
After a brief pause, cheers erupted throughout the square. The officials hugged each other and cheered together. The sight of such joy over victory brought tears to Pei Min’s eyes. This good news came at just the right time—it was like a bright lamp, illuminating everyone’s hearts and bringing hope. Their anxiety and worries vanished in an instant.