Chapter 510: The Battle of Ascension (Part 2)

Wanian County was submerged in darkness and silence. Around Zhang Yun’s residence in Wubenfang, a force of about five hundred soldiers from Guanzhong surrounded it—something that had never happened since the establishment of Zhang’s family estate. Even during Zhang Yun’s father, Zhang Shuo’s time, no army had ever encircled their home.

Inside Zhang’s residence, chaos reigned. The maids and servants were terrified, hastily packing up their belongings, ready to leave. Zhang Yun’s many wives and concubines, though too afraid to openly pack, secretly gathered their savings, planning to have someone take them back to their families.

Despite the chaos, Zhang Yun himself remained motionless. Not long after the news of the emperor’s death spread, he locked himself in his study, refusing to see anyone or eat dinner. The study was quiet, with only the sandalwood incense in the corner emitting wisps of smoke that twisted into various shapes. Zhang Yun sat at the desk, arms crossed, eyes half-closed, brows furrowed as if struggling to solve some perplexing problem.

In truth, Zhang Yun was making a crucial decision that would affect the rest of his life and the fate of his entire family.

At that moment, the door was gently knocked on. His son, Zhang Zhijie, spoke up, “Father, may I come in?”
“Come in.”

Zhang Yun sighed softly, emerging from his thoughts. The door opened, and Zhang Zhijie entered, bowing and saying, “I’m sorry to disturb you, Father. A palace guard came to inform us that there will be an emergency court session tomorrow to discuss urgent matters. Father must attend.”
“Close the door first.”

After his son closed the door, Zhang Yun pointed to the seat across from him. “Sit down.” He then picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for his son. Zhang Zhijie was flattered and quickly said, “Thank you, Father. It should be me who pours tea for you.”
“There’s no need for such formality between father and son.”

Smiling, Zhang Yun asked, “How is it outside? Is everything in chaos?”
“Yes! Everyone is terrified, thinking our estate will be raided any moment. It’s truly chaotic. Father, what’s going on? Didn’t you support Li Hen in dissolving the Council of State? Why is he treating you like this?”

Zhang Zhijie was confused. He still didn’t know that Li Shi had died. The news had spread in Chang’an County, but in Wanian County, it remained strictly concealed. Zhang Yun had received the first report from the palace.

“Sigh!”

Zhang Yun sighed softly and said, “This is the stupidest thing my father has done since entering politics. I thought I was clever, but I was played by others. It’s too late to regret now.”
“Father, do you mean Li Hen?”
“Who else could it be?”
Zhang Yun gave a bitter smile and continued, “I thought Li Hen wanted to dissolve the Political Affairs Hall so as to seize four ministerial positions by some means after re-establishing it. So I proposed that I be appointed as the governor of Henan Circuit. Li Hen finally agreed, which is why I helped him this time. But unexpectedly, the emperor passed away suddenly at this critical moment.”
“The emperor has passed away!”
Zhang Zhijie was so shocked that he stood up, his eyes wide open, unable to believe his father’s words. “Father, is this true?”
“Of course it’s true. I guess the news has already spread in Chang’an County. But Li Hen has blocked news from Wannian County. His heart is truly despicable!”
Zhang Zhijie slowly sat down. He suddenly began to understand—it must have been Li Hen who did this. He poisoned his own son and then his grandson. What kind of person is this!
“Do you understand now?”
Zhang Yun asked his son, “Why did Li Hen want to dissolve the Political Affairs Hall?”
“Could it be he wants to ascend the throne?”
“You’re absolutely right!”
Zhang Yun was somewhat satisfied with his son’s reaction. He added, “By dissolving the Political Affairs Hall, Li Hen no longer has any obstacles to ascending the throne. He must have planned this long ago. It’s a pity I didn’t realize it and was used by him for nothing. If I’m not mistaken, tomorrow’s court meeting might not be about electing a new Political Affairs Hall, but rather about the ministers asking Li Hen to ascend the throne.”
Zhang Zhijie also became nervous. He quickly asked, “Then does Father support that?”
Zhang Yun didn’t answer directly. After a while, he slowly said, “Third son, do you remember that I once considered sending you to Anxi?”
Zhang Zhijie nodded silently. Back then, Li Qing’an invited him to serve in Anxi, and his father had initially agreed. But for some reason, his father never brought it up again, leaving it unresolved.
Zhang Yun took a letter he had just written from the table and handed it to his son. “The reason I didn’t send you to Anxi right away was that I thought the time wasn’t right. Now it is. Early tomorrow morning, after I leave, you must rush to Chang’an County. Leave the city and head straight to Anxi. Deliver this letter to Li Qing’an. Tell him that I, Zhang Yun, am no longer a fence-sitter. The Zhang family also recognizes Prince Jiancheng as the legitimate heir of the Tang dynasty.”
……

Before dawn the next day, the loud drums of the court ceremony began to sound in the Daming Palace. The thunderous beats echoed throughout the entire city of Chang’an. Chang’an County was quiet, while in Wannian County many officials still set out for court, though the crowd was clearly not as busy as before. After news spread overnight, many officials in Wannian County learned the truth. Most decided to resist Li Heng, but some saw it as an opportunity for promotion and hurriedly left as soon as the drums sounded.

Zhang Yun also set out. As usual, his fifty armed bodyguards protected both sides of his carriage, but a group of about two hundred cavalrymen from Guanzhong also surrounded his carriage, forming a semicircle around it.

Li Heng had thought everything through carefully. If Zhang Yun refused to go to court, he would use various means to force him there. Fearing that Zhang Yun might flee halfway, he ordered his men to follow closely, ensuring he attended court that day. Zhang Yun was a highly important figure; if he supported Li Heng’s ascension to the throne, Li Heng would have at least one foot firmly on the throne.

Wubenfang was located directly opposite the imperial city. Usually, Zhang Yun would go through the imperial city to reach court, but today he did not take that route. The cavalry watching over him prevented his carriage from entering the imperial city, forcing the coachman to head straight for Danfeng Gate with threats of swords. This took Zhang Yun by surprise. He had planned to escape through the imperial city but found it under strict surveillance by Li Heng’s troops. With no choice, he ordered the coachman to head straight for Danfeng Gate. His only hope now was that his son could escape successfully.

As the carriage neared Danfeng Gate, it stopped. Hundreds of officials going to court were trapped there. Zhang Yun pulled back the curtain and asked an officer riding nearby, “What’s going on?”

The officer was shocked to see it was Zhang Yun and quickly replied respectfully, “Reporting to Minister Zhang, it seems someone is causing trouble in front of Danfeng Gate.”

“Someone causing trouble?” Zhang Yun was extremely surprised. Who would cause trouble at this moment in front of Danfeng Gate?

……

In front of Danfeng Gate, Changsun Quanxu wore a helmet and armor, holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. Behind him were over a thousand soldiers from the Yulin Army who had rushed from the imperial city to provide support.

“Soldiers of the Yulin Army, do you really intend to support a rebel? To support a man who poisoned the emperor? This will bring everlasting shame to our Yulin Army. Come here and stand behind me.”

His voice was like thunder, his shouts echoing inside and outside Danfeng Gate, filled with utmost sincerity and longing. More than three thousand soldiers of the Yulin Army had gathered outside Danfeng Gate. It was still dark, but torches illuminated the area as if it were day. Each soldier’s expression was complex—some showed disdain, while many felt an urge to run away.

“Soldiers, come here! Return to my side. Stop helping the tyrant!”

At that moment, Xu Ziyao appeared on top of Danfeng Gate’s tower. He cursed at Changsun Quanxu, shouting, “You old bastard! Go back home and guard your son’s grave. You have nothing to do here anymore!”

As he cursed, he quietly drew his bow, loosed an arrow, and it flew like a meteor, arriving instantly in front of Changsun Quanxu. Changsun Quanxu was prepared; he raised his shield to block it, and the arrow struck the shield.

That arrow served as a signal, and chaos erupted outside Danfeng Gate. Countless soldiers rushed toward Changsun Quanxu like a herd of horses breaking free from fences. The officers behind them couldn’t stop them. In just an instant, more than half of the Yulin Army soldiers defected and joined Changsun Quanxu.

Xu Ziyao was stunned. He suddenly realized the enemy’s numbers far exceeded his own. In panic, he shouted, “Close the palace gates! Close them now!”

The gates of Danfeng Gate slammed shut. By then, Changsun Quanxu already had more than three thousand Yulin Army soldiers at his side. He couldn’t help but laugh loudly, saying, “What satisfaction! Justice lies in people’s hearts!”

He turned his horse around and shouted at the officials who were trying to enter the palace, “My soldiers still know what shame is. Are you scholars who’ve studied the classics worse than a common soldier? Do you want to serve a villain who has killed his own king and son? If you refuse to see reason, you’re disloyal and unfilial. How can you face life with such shame? I’ll count to three. If you don’t leave, I’ll have my soldiers kill you traitors! One!”

Changsun Quanxu’s voice became extremely harsh, his eyes seemingly spewing fire. “Two!”

The hundreds of officials blocking his path were in chaos. They turned their horses and fled. Some didn’t know what was going on before but now realized it and tried to escape. Others wanted to use this opportunity to get promoted and didn’t want to leave, but Changsun Quanxu and his men were too fierce, so they decided to avoid trouble for now.

At that moment, as the officials fled, Changsun Quanxu saw two hundred cavalry soldiers from Guanzhong surrounding Zhang Yun’s carriage. He suddenly remembered the death of his son and felt a sharp pain in his heart. Immediately, he raised his sword and ordered, “Guys, cut off the heads of those vicious dogs!” Hundreds of Yulin soldiers charged at those two hundred Guanzhong cavalry, who were terrified and turned their horses around to flee, ignoring Zhang Yun altogether. Seeing the opportunity, Zhang Yun’s coachman pulled hard on the reins, and the carriage quickly set off toward Changsun Quanxu, breaking free from Guanzhong’s control. The streets fell quiet. Zhang Yun pulled back the curtain of the carriage and bowed to Changsun Quanxu, saying, “Thank you, General Changsun, for helping me escape from this perilous situation.” Changsun Quanxu glanced at him and said in a mocking tone, “There’s no need for thanks, Minister Zhang. But I heard that you also supported the dissolution of the Political Council, didn’t you?” Zhang Yun’s face turned red with shame as he said, “I failed to recognize the right people and fell for Li Heng’s trap. Now I’ve realized my mistake. As you said, I will never support someone who has killed his emperor and son and is unloyal and unjust. I’m going to Chang’an County now. Please send someone to escort me.” “Well said!” Changsun Quanxu smiled cheerfully. “It’s admirable that you’ve realized your mistake, Minister Zhang. Li Heng’s Guanzhong troops will arrive soon, so it’s not safe to stay here. Please come with me to Chang’an County.” With a wave of his hand, thousands of Yulin soldiers escorted Zhang Yun’s carriage swiftly toward Chang’an, soon disappearing into the dark night. …… As dawn approached, 50,000 Guanzhong troops entered the city through Chunming Gate and regained control of Wannian County. Meanwhile, the Yulin soldiers from the imperial palace also retreated to Chang’an County. 10,000 Anxi troops arriving from Xianyang also reached the Yanping Gate of Chang’an County. Together with 20,000 Niwei soldiers, these 30,000 Anxi troops controlled Chang’an County, facing off against the Guanzhong troops. The situation wasn’t critical—at least the Anxi troops wouldn’t oppose Li Heng’s ascension until they received orders from Li Qing’an. They only watched to see if the Guanzhong troops violated the agreement by crossing Zhuque Street. Li Heng had also given strict orders to the Guanzhong troops not to cross Zhuque Street under any circumstances. At this critical moment, he didn’t want to provoke a conflict with the Anxi troops. Protests against Li Heng’s ascension were intense only among the court officials. Many officials living in Wannian County took advantage of the occasion when all officials went to court to cross Zhuque Street and hide in Chang’an County. Only some of Li Heng’s close allies still went to Daming Palace to support his ascension.

The Hanyuan Hall was empty. Li Heng wore a towering crown and a red-yellow robe, with a jade belt around his waist. He had already taken his seat on the imperial throne. He had stayed up all night the previous evening. Normally, before ascending the throne, he should have paid homage at the Imperial Ancestral Temple to obtain the approval of his ancestors, but the temple was inside the imperial city and controlled by another group of Yulin soldiers loyal to Changsun Quanxu. Unable to go there, he secretly paid homage to his ancestors inside the Daming Palace at the fourth watch of the night.

Now, the appointed time was approaching, yet in the Hanyuan Hall, which could hold over ten thousand people, there were only a little over a hundred court officials, mostly low- to mid-ranking officials from various temples and supervisory agencies. Officials from the Secretariat, the Chancellery, the Censorate, and the six ministerial departments were almost nowhere to be seen.

Li Heng stared coldly down at them. The sense of disappointment in his heart was indescribable. The grand scene he had dreamed of—thousands of officials paying homage and nations coming to offer congratulations—was nowhere to be seen. With just these hundred or so people, it resembled a farce.

Li Heng hated Changsun Quanxu to the bone, wishing to grind his bones to dust. It was this man’s provocations that had completely ruined his plans. Originally, thousands of court officials were supposed to attend the court session, but they had all fled.

Li Heng had considered everything except the possibility that Changsun Quanxu would return to exact revenge. The incident at Pinglou had ultimately led to such serious consequences.

In the hall, aside from some officials with ulterior motives, the rest were his supporters from the regency party: Wang Gong, Fang Gan, Linghu Fei, Li Lin, Li Qiu, Daxi Xun, Zhang Jie… This Zhang Jie was the younger brother of Zhang Yun and the husband of Empress Li Longji’s daughter. He held the position of Minister of Rites. His presence was unexpected for Li Heng, but he understood that this man was not a representative of Zhang’s faction. There was a deep conflict between him and Zhang Yun, and as long as Zhang Yun remained in power, Zhang Jie would never have a chance to rise. Li Heng decided to promote him to Left Chancellor and Minister of the Chancellery.

A bell rang outside the hall, signaling that the time had come. At that moment, a eunuch hurried forward and whispered a few words in the ear of Li Fuguo, the supervisor of the inner servants standing beside Li Heng. Seeing this, Li Heng asked in a low voice, “What happened?”

“Your Majesty, Empress Dowager Shen was released by the Yulin soldiers guarding her and escaped from the Imperial City through the Taiji Palace. It is said she has taken refuge in Taiping Fang, Chang’an County.”

“That damned bitch!” Li Heng cursed angrily. He had planned to poison her in a few months, but she had escaped. Though filled with hatred, he was helpless. At that moment, Wang Gong stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the auspicious time has arrived. We may begin now.”

Li Heng gathered his thoughts and nodded at Li Fuguo. Li Fuguo stepped forward, unrolled the imperial edict, and proclaimed loudly, “The current emperor has unfortunately passed away due to illness—a great misfortune for the realm and a sorrowful event for the Tang Dynasty. The whole nation should mourn and hold a grand funeral. Yet the country cannot remain without a ruler even for a single day. Now, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yong is acting as regent. As the third son of the former emperor, he was made Prince of Shan at the age of two and appointed Grand Protector of Anxi and ambassador to the various tribes in the four towns of Hexi at the age of five. He was naturally kind, wise, and virtuous. In the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era, on the day of Gengzi in June, he was made crown prince. Having long resided in the Eastern Palace, his kindness and virtue make him fit to inherit the throne. Now, with the support of all officials, we request that he ascend to the throne!”
At this, Li Fuguo shouted, “All officials, kowtow and support His Royal Highness to ascend the throne!”
A sparse hundred or so people in the Hanyuan Hall knelt down simultaneously, and a voice that failed to convince anyone echoed through the hall: “We pay our respects to Your Majesty and wish you a long life, forever and ever!”
…
In the third month of the second year of the Zhenzhi era, the young emperor Li Shi died under mysterious circumstances. Without the support of the officials, Li Heng forced his way onto the throne, changed the era name to Daan, appointed Empress Dowager Shen as the Grand Empress Dowager and moved her to the Taiji Palace. He made Zhang, a concubine, the empress and his second son Xi the crown prince, also appointing him as the supreme commander of all military forces.
He also appointed Wang Gong as the Right Chancellor and Minister of Personnel, Zhang Jie as the Left Chancellor and Minister of War, Fang Guan as Minister of Revenue, Linghu Fei as Minister of Justice, Li Lin as Minister of Rites, and Daxi Xun as Minister of Works. Li Qiu was appointed as the tutor to the crown prince. These seven people all held the position of co-chancellors and formed a new government council.
Meanwhile, Pei Min, Cui Huan, Wei Tao, Zhang Gao, Pei Zunqing, Lu Huan, Zhang Yun, and others had their positions revoked and were demoted to commoners. Yet Li Qingan, the most crucial figure among them, was not mentioned at all in Li Heng’s edict.
Just as Li Heng’s edict was issued, Empress Dowager Shen wrote a protest letter. Nine hundred and sixty-four officials, including Prime Minister Pei Min, Zhang Yun, Cui Huan, Wei Tao, and others, jointly issued a call to the whole country, urging local governments not to recognize Li Heng’s ascension and revealing to the public the fact that Li Heng had poisoned two previous emperors.