On May 1 of the fourth year of the vertical arch, Tang Tongtai, a native of Yongzhou, went to Luoshui to fish for fish and shrimp, and fished out the purple white stone with the pattern of "Our Lady of Linren, Yongchang Emperor", and then presented the stone to the Empress Wu.

Empress Wu named this strange stone that resembles Dapeng as "treasure map" and placed it on the court for the ministers to visit.

Empress Wu said to the ministers: "In ancient times, dragon horses emerged from the Yellow River in Mengjin County, carrying the river map and offering it to the Fuxi clan, and the Fuxi clan became a gossip!" The turtle surfaced in the Luoshui in Luoning County, carrying the Luo book to Dayu, and Dayu succeeded in controlling the water! Therefore, the Book of Changes says, the river produces a picture, Luo produces a book, and the sage does it. ”

"Today, there is a treasure map in Luoshui again, with the eight words of Our Lady of Yongchang Emperor on it, isn't this the will of heaven?" The ministers talked about it, thinking that the will of heaven had returned!

Empress Wu was overjoyed and decided to worship Luoshui in person and accept the treasure map given to her by Luoshen. After the discussion of the ceremonial officials, Empress Wu issued an edict to pay homage to Luoshui on December 25, accept the treasure map, and then go to the southern suburbs to worship the heavens, thank Haotian God, and then go to Mingtang to accept the congratulations of the ministers.

Ordered the governors of all prefectures, the assassin history, the Li Tang clan, and relatives to gather in the Shendu ten days before she personally worshiped Luoshui.

After the edict was issued to the world, the civil and military officials were all figuring out the intentions of the Empress Wu, and then asked together to add the title of Empress Wu and respect her as the Holy Mother of God. When the Li Tang clan saw it, they were uneasy and panicked.

Our Lady God Emperor ordered the young superintendent to make a three-party jade seal for himself, and renamed the treasure map as the Heavenly Bestowal Holy Map!

In the Tongzhou Mansion, Huang Guogong Li Wei is seriously copying the calligraphy post, and in front of him is Li Dan commending him for his golden colorful auspicious cloud brocade holy decree, the words on the holy decree are written dignified and neat, strong and powerful, and it is written by Zhong Shaojing of Zhifeng Pavilion.

Master Lu hurriedly walked in and presented an official document, saying that it had just been delivered by the post station. Li Wei opened it and saw that it was an edict from Empress Wu, informing him that he must rush to the Shendu before December 15 and go to Mingtang to congratulate him.

Li Wei was taken aback, put down the Zihao pen in his hand, looked at the edict repeatedly, and felt that the content of the edict was not simple, and it was likely to be a bureau set up by the Empress Wu.

Li Xun thought about it for a long time, and didn't know what to do, so he wrote two letters, one to his father Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, and the other to his brother Li Chen, the party prince, asking for their views on this matter.

In the Jiangzhou Mansion, Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, was enjoying the performance of the musicians, holding a bamboo flute in his hand and playing it between performances.

The secretary of the army hurriedly walked in and presented an official document, also saying that it had just been delivered by the post station. Li Yuanjia opened it and saw that it was also an edict from Empress Wu. The assassins of all states have successively received the edicts of the Empress Wu.

After reading the content of the edict, Li Yuanjia felt that he was famous, and he was unhappy, so he waved his hand to stop the performance of the musicians, asked them to step back, hung the bamboo flute on the wall, and seriously figured out the meaning of the edict.

The more Li Yuanjia thought about it, the more wrong it became, the more she thought about it, the more restless she became, and felt that there was a murderous aura hidden in the edict of Empress Wu, and she wanted to kill the Li Tang clan, so as to sneak Tang Zuo and ascend the throne as emperor.

While he was thinking wildly, he suddenly received a letter from his son Li Xun, opened it and looked at it, asking him what he thought of Empress Wu's edict and asking for advice on what to do next.

Li Yuanjia picked up the spotted bamboo deer brush and wrote a reply, saying: "Aya heard that in the first year of Guangzhai, Empress Wu chased after the ancestors of the Wu clan and set up the ancestral hall of her five generations of ancestors, and then conspired with Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi to get rid of the Li Tang clan. The ministers didn't dare to speak, only Neishi Pei Yan came out to defend us! ”

"Now her desire to revolutionize and ascend the throne is becoming more and more obvious, and she has changed her title to Our Lady God Emperor, and she has built the Ming Hall on a large scale, and she wants to worship Luoshui and accept the treasure map, isn't this Sima Zhao's heart, everyone knows it?"

"So Aya thinks that on the occasion of the Bailuo ceremony, the Holy Mother and the Emperor will definitely send the guerrilla general Suo Yuanli, the criminal Shaoqing Zhou Xing and other cool officials to report and arrest our Li Tang clan and kill them cleanly!"

Shangdang Gong Li Chen also wrote a reply, saying: "Foolish brother thinks that going to the gods to participate in the Bailuo ceremony is equivalent to admitting that it is legal for her to sneak Tang Zuo, and you and I will be ashamed of our ancestors, so it is better to cut ourselves off!" If she doesn't go to the gods to participate in the Bailuo ceremony, she will violate the decree, and it is also a capital crime, and she has a reason to send troops to recruit us! ”

"So the foolish brother thinks that the current situation is very unfavorable to us, people are swordsmen, I am fish and meat, advance is also death, retreat is death, only to raise troops to resist, or there is life!"

After receiving the letter from his father and brother, Li Wei, the assassin of Tongzhou, was shocked and cried bitterly, because the good days of their Li Tang clan being able to enjoy a rich life without labor since birth were coming to an end, and they had to rebel or sit back and wait for the execution.

Rebelling? Like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang? The common people are living and working in peace and contentment, who will desperately follow a person with a golden key to rebel? So what is the strength of the Li Tang clan?

According to the official system of the Tang Dynasty, the prince's palace is equipped with officials, such as masters, counselors to join the army, literature, sacrificial wine, long history, Sima, record to join the army, record to join the army, master book, pawn sign, merit Cao to join the army, Bing Cao to join the army, Hu Cao to join the army and other officials.

The prince's palace is equipped with a military officer, a deputy military officer, 16 military officers, 16 military officers, 333 military officers, captains, brigade commanders, team leaders, and team deputies.

The Prince's tent is equipped with a military attache such as a warden army, a deputy warden army, 667 soldiers in the tent, a captain, a brigade commander, a team leader, and a team deputy, who are responsible for guarding and accompanying the prince.

It can be seen from this that all the soldiers and horses owned by the Prince of the Tang Dynasty, including civil officials, will not exceed 2,000 people, and even if a hundred princes are united, the combined strength will be less than 200,000.

And Empress Wu quelled the Yangzhou Rebellion and sent 300,000 people at once, so the threat of the Tang Prince's vassal power to the imperial court was very small and almost negligible.

It was precisely because Empress Wu saw this that she dared to make a bold move.

Li Xun thought about it, he had no clue, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, spinning around!

Zhao Dianqi saw that the master was worried, burned his heart with fire, pointed to the golden colorful auspicious cloud brocade holy decree placed on the desk, and reminded: "Why doesn't the lord use this to make a fuss?" ”

Li Xun looked at the holy decree and suddenly had an inspiration. He thought of Li Chong, the king of Bozhou Thorn Shi Langya, who was his childhood companion, brave and aggressive, and had a momentum.

If he forged the holy decree and sent it to Li Chong, he would definitely be hot-headed and immediately raise troops to serve the king. Thinking of this, Li Yi immediately took action. There is a collection of golden colorful auspicious cloud brocade in the cabinet, and he has also copied Zhong Shaojing's calligraphy, and there are existing holy decree formats that can be copied.

Li Wei took out the best pen and ink and inkstone in the house, first typed a draft on rice paper, and then carefully recorded it on the golden colorful auspicious cloud brocade. He also ordered someone to carve a jade seal, printed it with red clay, and covered it with brocade.

Zhao Dian signed it and said, "This holy decree can be confused with falsehood!" After the holy decree was forged, it was packed in a briefcase, and Li Yu sent Zhao Dian to sign the holy decree to Li Chong.

Zhao Dianqi rode a fast horse and rushed to Bozhou. Li Chong, the king of Langya, was playing in the mountains near the state capital with his entourage, and he held a slingshot in his hand to bounce at the jays on the paulownia trees, and the crows flew away in fright.

Li Chong laughed, and continued to play the sparrow with a slingshot. Walking from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, there was a clear pond at the bottom of the mountain, and Li Chong walked away sweating profusely, so he jumped into the pond to swim.

After a while breaststroke and a moment of backstroke, Li Chong was so uncomfortable that he simply lay on his back in the water and did not move, looking at the blue sky. Zhao Dian signed in to the Bozhou Mansion and waited for a long time, but he didn't come back, so he had to go back to the hotel to rest.

The next day, Zhao Dianqi came to the Bozhou Mansion again, and after seeing Li Chong, the king of Langya, he solemnly took out the briefcase and took out the holy decree to offer. said: "This is the holy decree sent by His Majesty the Emperor to secretly send Fan Nei Shi to Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, because the matter is confidential and the stakes are important, so it cannot be sent publicly one by one, only to the respected King Han, and the King of Han will take the lead in informing Li Tang of the clan!" ”

Li Chong unfolded the holy decree and saw that it was written: "I have been imprisoned by the Queen Mother, please send your own troops to rescue and go to King Qin of Luoyang together!" ”

Li Chong had also received the edict from Empress Wu before, and he was feeling in a dilemma, and his heart was pounding, but now he saw the holy decree of Emperor Li Dan, and felt that Li Tang's world was under great threat and was about to be usurped, so he wept bitterly and was sad.

Zhao Dianqi was secretly happy when he saw this, and the purpose of sending the false holy decree was achieved, so he got up and said goodbye. When he returned to the Tongzhou Mansion, he reported Li Chong's situation to Li Wei, the Duke of Huang Guo, and Li Wei was very proud.

Li Chong acted resolutely, did what he said, and immediately sent the chief Shi Xiao Dezong to recruit troops and prepare to send troops to the king. It's not like Li Wei, who knows everything, but doesn't act.

Changshi Xiao Dezong took out a lot of money from the palace and set up a recruitment flag, and only recruited 5,000 soldiers and horses for a month. Taking 5,000 soldiers and horses to fight against the court is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg!

Li Chong convened a meeting of his staff to discuss countermeasures. At the meeting, Li Chong took out the holy decree of Emperor Li Dan and showed it to his staff, in order to strengthen their determination to go to Luoyang Qinwang!

Wei Sima had seen the Emperor's Seal Book before, and after he carefully read the holy decree, he pointed out the flaws in it, saying that this holy decree was fake! The officials attending the meeting were all taken aback, and after a closer look, there was indeed a problem.

Li Chong said in surprise: "Hey, it turns out that the seal book sent by Huang Guogong Li Yu is a forgery!" What can I do? The movement of our flag recruitment is very big, and it is impossible to disband it again! ”

Xiao Dezong took the case and said: "Our Lady God Emperor has issued a clear edict, and the governors of all prefectures, the assassin history, the Li Tang clan, and relatives gathered in the divine capital ten days before she personally worshiped Luoshui!" In other words, King Langya must arrive in the Shendu before December 15 and go to Mingtang to congratulate. ”

"If King Langya goes to Shendu on time according to the requirements of the edict, he will definitely send sheep into the tiger's mouth, and if he doesn't go, he will be charged with violating the edict! So our current situation is a dilemma, if we don't have troops to resist, is there a third way to go? ”

Li Chong's younger brothers, Li Qia and Li Wen, applauded and agreed with Xiao Dezong's opinion.

Li Chong said: "Raising an army to resist is the only way we can take now, the question is how do we strive for victory?" Only victory can ensure the safety of all of you! ”

Wei Sima pointed to the false holy decree and said: "Why don't we also draw a scoop according to the gourd, forge the emperor's seal, and then send messengers to tell the kings, and each order to raise troops and go to the king of Shendu Qin?" ”

Li Chong applauded the case and said, "This is a good idea!" As long as all the kings can send their own troops, it is possible to gather hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Luoyang! ”

So, Li Chong sent the secretary office to join the army to draft the draft of the emperor's seal, and Wei Sima carefully forged the holy decree, and after it came out, it was almost the same as the real one!

The emperor's seal book said: "Our Lady God Emperor wants to infiltrate the Li family and establish the Wu dynasty to replace the Li family." The kings are all relatives of the country, entrusted by the sect and society, and now they are not willing to give up their lives to take righteousness, but when? Please send your own troops to defend your home and country! ”

Li Chong sent envoys to various states with the emperor's seals, and sent them to Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, Li Lingkui, the king of Lu, Li Yuanliang, the king of Huo, Li Zhen, the king of Yue, and Li Shen, the king of Ji, with high hopes for them.

But these princes basically stood still and only verbally expressed their support, and only Li Chong's father, Li Zhen, the king of Yue, was actively preparing for war and recruiting troops.

Li Chong also sent an envoy with his own handwritten letter to the neighboring Jeju Thorn Shi Xueyi, asking him to act with him, echoing from afar, and jointly opposing the Holy Mother of God.

Xue Yi read Li Chong's letter to his younger brother Xue Xu and his concubine Xue Shao, and they both expressed their support for Li Chong's actions. As a result, Xue Yi sent a record to join the army, and Gao Su made weapons and recruited soldiers to prepare for the uprising.

Li Zhen, the king of Yue, also wrote a personal letter, sending Cheng Pei Shoude of Runan County to his aunt Princess Changle and Shouzhou Thorn Zhao Gui, asking Princess Changle to raise troops in response.

Princess Changle hated the Holy Mother of God because of the starvation of her beloved daughter Zhao Wenying, so of course she agreed with Li Zhen's plan and planned to respond. But Zhao Gui's strength is limited, and he can't recruit many soldiers.

At that time, the kings of the clan disturbed each other, and letters were exchanged frequently, some accusing the Holy Mother of God, some hesitating, and some talking.

The ears and eyes of the Holy Mother Divine Emperor were dense, and of course the movements of the Li Tang clan were under secret surveillance. When she learned that the Li Tang clan was disturbing each other, she laughed.

She said to Wu Chengsi, Wu Sansi and other courtiers: "I have long known that they are giants in language and dwarfs in action.

I wasn't scared at all, I didn't take them seriously, they were all people who just talked and didn't do anything, and they were not the opponents of our martial arts family at all. ”

Wu Chengsi served as Zong Zhengqing, was in charge of the family registration of the relatives of the Li Tang royal family, was responsible for compiling the Li family genealogy, and was very familiar with the Li Tang clan.

He said: "In the Li Tang clan, Li Yuanjia, the king of Jiangzhou Assassin Han, Li Yuanliang, the king of Qingzhou Assassin Huo, Li Lingkui, the king of Xingzhou Assassin Shilu, Li Zhen, the king of Yuzhou Assassin Shiyue, Li Yuanjia's son Huang Guogong Li Xu, the son of Li Yuanrail, the son of Li Feng, the son of Li Feng, the son of Li Rong, the son of Li Lingkui, the king of Fanyang, Li Ai, the son of Li Zhen, and Li Chong, the king of Langya of Bozhou, either like to write poems and write endowments, or like to collect books and ancient books, or like to play the flute and whistle. ”

The Holy Mother Divine Emperor said: "I just saw through the kings of the Li Tang clan that it was useless, so I dared to do something to them, and they couldn't make any big waves!" You go and inform Suo Yuanli and Zhou Xing, and ask them to expand the Luozhou Prison and prepare to accept more prisoners! Ha ha. ”

Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi arched their hands together and said: "The minister obeys the order!" The Holy Mother and Emperor said, "You do your job well, and I will allocate more officials and slaves for you to enjoy, haha!" ”

Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi said respectfully: | Thank you, Your Majesty! The ministers are terrified, but they are afraid that the family members of the Li Tang clan have been pampered since childhood, and they will not serve people, and they will have to wait for the good students to bother to teach a lesson! Hehe. ”

The Holy Mother and Divine Emperor were pressing forward step by step, and the Li Tang clan was uneasy. Li Xu, the king of Jiangdu, and Pei Chengxian, the eunuch in the palace, were friends who studied together, and they had a good relationship.

Li Xu told the other clan members about the secret affairs of the palace through letters. Li Xu's father, Li Yuanliang, the king of Huo, and Li Zhen, the king of Yue, exchanged letters and conspired with each other to raise troops.

The wife of Li Xu, the Duke of Poyang, was the daughter of Deng Xuanting, a celestial official, and Li Xu and other members of the clan consulted Deng Xuanting in order to establish Li Zhe, the king of Luling, as emperor.

Li Wei, the king of Runan, was a friend of Deng Xuanting again, and once asked Deng Xuanting about the emergency plan at a critical moment, but Deng Xuanting always remained silent, trying to protect himself, and did not answer Li Xuan and Li Wei's questions!