Chapter 23 twenty two

At this time, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were on their way into the palace, not far from Xuanwu Gate.The emperor summoned two people in the painting boat in Taiye Pool. It was not a short distance to get there. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanjigui were princes, and they both had military exploits. He and Li Yuanji were both riding horses, and when they could see the eaves of Xuanwu Gate, a man who looked like an eunuch hurried over and stopped them.The eunuch reported his family background, saying that he was from Zhang Jieyu's palace, and he came to report an important situation to the prince and King Qi under the secret order of his wife Jieyu.It turned out that after Laiye Zhang Jieyu was temporarily imprisoned by the emperor's order, he was puzzled and sent his confidants to inquire about the whole story. It was not until this morning that he found out that it was King Qin who entered the palace and secretly read a copy of her and Concubine Yin De to the emperor, and sued them. Fornicating with the East Palace and the Qi Mansion, today the emperor will call the Prince and King Qi to Taiye Pool for interrogation.Zhang Jieyu is a more scheming person than Concubine Yin De. Although she is favored, she entered the palace later and her taste is also low, so she has never been as big as Concubine Yin De, and her popularity is better than Concubine Yin De. She pays attention to cultivating herself in the court. power.Although Li Shimin's accusation of her adultery with the East Palace and the Qi Mansion was pure nonsense, in fact she had secretly colluded with Li Yuanji.Worried that something might happen, she hurriedly sent someone out of the palace to report to Yuan Ji so that he could be prepared.

Li Yuanji was startled when he got this news all of a sudden. He immediately proposed to Li Jiancheng to go back and watch the situation.However, Li Jiancheng believed that the king of Qin was clearly making a false accusation. The emperor did not directly announce their crimes, which is enough to show that he did not fully listen to the king of Qin. At most, he just asked them to find out the truth of the matter. Come here to prove that the two have ghosts in their hearts, and make the emperor even more suspicious?Of course, Li Jiancheng did not advocate going back to wait and see. The main reason was that the planned murder was imminent. If he did not explain the matter clearly to the emperor, there would be extra complications, which would delay the important event of killing Li Shimin. This was the last thing he wanted would like to see.Li Jiancheng persuaded him a few words, but Li Yuanji still didn't dare to go forward, showing a look of hesitation, so Li Jiancheng sent a personal follower to Xuanwu Gate to inquire first, to see who the guard on duty was and whether there was anything unusual .Soon, the entourage came back to report that everything was as usual, and the guard on duty was Chang He, the guard of the right prison.Hearing the name Chang He, Li Jiancheng felt relieved, and he told Yuan Ji with a smile that there is no need to worry, the person guarding the Xuanwu Gate today is an old subordinate of himself when he conquered Liu Heitai.Li Yuanji was finally persuaded by Li Jiancheng, and the two brothers rode their horses and continued to walk forward.While walking forward, he scolded the King of Qin for being unethical, such nonsense can also be made up.

Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji never imagined that when they stood on the road and looked at the Xuanwu Gate hesitantly, there was a pair of eyes in the gatehouse quietly watching them. The powerful political enemy Qin Wang Li Shimin was murdered the next day.Before dawn, Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji took Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, Zhang Gongjin, Liu Shili, Gongsun Wuda, Dugu Yanyun, Du Junchuo, Zheng Rentai, Li Mengchang and other nine generals of the King of Qin, in Changhe. Under the cover of He Jingjunhong, he boarded the gate tower of Xuanwu Gate.Because they were afraid of exposing their targets, they only brought a hundred cavalry from the Qin family, and they all changed into the uniforms of the imperial guards and mixed with the defenders.The other eight or nine hundred people were led by Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji's uncle Gao Shilian to stay in the Qin Mansion. They would rush out of the Qin Mansion as soon as Li Shimin and the others gave a signal in the palace. Rush into the palace and control the Xuanwu Gate.When the eunuch stopped Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, the hearts of everyone in the gate were in their throats.The trap has been set, and if the prey retreats, the consequences will be disastrous.Fortunately, when Li Jiancheng came with his horse, he saw Chang He who was guarding the gate. The two were old acquaintances in the army. The man smiled and walked away, and then, things went back to the way they were supposed to be.

Li Jiancheng and others came to the door. According to the regulations, the front is the forbidden area of ​​the palace. All the followers stopped and dismounted. Only Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji rode their horses and continued to move forward.Standing in the dark gatehouse holding his breath, Li Shimin's heart beat violently when he heard the sound of horseshoes coming from the doorway under his feet.Ten years ago, someone had prophesied to him that sooner or later there would be a shopping battle among the three brothers, and today, this prophecy was finally about to be fulfilled! After the sound of hoofbeats left, Li Shimin signaled to his subordinates. Under the guidance of Jing Junhong, they quickly descended from the steps behind the door, stepped on their horses and divided into two groups: Changsun Wuji and Hou Jun Gathering seven generals and thirty cavalry, he was responsible for eliminating the followers of the second Li outside the gate, and then sent a signal to lead the eight or nine hundred people in the Qin mansion into the palace to guard the Xuanwu gate, while Li Shimin himself led the nine generals Yuchi Jingde, the most skilled in martial arts, led seventy cavalry to chase and kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

Because they were called into the palace, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji didn't bring many followers, Hou Junji and the others took care of them without any effort.Changsun Wuji ordered to ignite a pile of water-drenched forage, and a thick smoke rose into the sky. Soon, a deafening sound of horseshoes crossed the city and went straight to the Xuanwu Gate.The number of eight hundred cavalry is not too many, but these soldiers of the Qin family were carefully selected by Li Shimin from tens of thousands of soldiers over the years. The aura of the street is truly frightening. At the same time, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had already rode their horses to a place not far from Linhu Hall. They bypassed the main hall, turned around a small door and walked up three hundred steps, and they could see Li Yuan preparing to summon them. That boat is gone.There were two palace guards standing in front of the Linhu Palace, as if they had been waiting there for a long time. Seeing the crown prince and the king of Qi riding horses, they rushed forward to salute: "I have seen His Highness the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, the emperor has He wants to talk to Mr. Pei, Mr. Chen, and Mr. Xiao first, please wait for a while." Li Jiancheng replied, "Got it!" He got off his horse, and Li Yuanji also got off his horse at the same time. Gossip.Suddenly, there was a sound of horseshoes behind them, and when they turned their faces, the two of them couldn't help but change their faces: it was Li Shimin who was coming on the horse, holding a long lance in his hand, the tip of the lance was glaring with silver light, and his eyes were wide open. He stared straight ahead at them, followed by Yuchi Jingde and a group of cavalry in full armor.As soon as they saw the long lance, they both understood their situation!Without the emperor's permission, no one would be able to lead troops into this forbidden area. Now either the emperor asked Li Shimin to take them down, or Li Shimin launched a coup and took control of the palace.