Dongcheng Sanhualou north, Xuanzong's residence. Dozens of palace maids www.biquge.info pavilion were standing under the corridor outside the door of Xuanzong's study, all listening to the sound of smashing in the study. Ping-pong, sparse noise, broken vases, and the sound of tables and chairs overturning. These voices were also mixed with Xuanzong's loud scolding and yelling, which was exactly what Xuanzong frantically smashed the furnishings in the study.

None of the chamberlains and palace maids dared to go in to dissuade them, and the two chamberlains under the corridor who were covered with blood were dissuaded because they had just gone in, and then they were smashed by Xuanzong with an inkstone and a paper pressing stone, and they were kicked out, threatening that if anyone dared to go in and disturb them, they cut them with a sword.

I don't know how long it took, but the smashing in the study finally subsided. Through the hidden door, the sharp-eyed chamberlain saw Xuanzong sitting in the mess all over the ground, sitting there with his hair hanging down and his hair scattered, muttering to himself and not knowing what to say.

"Hehehe, hahaha, my good son, what a good skill. In the blink of an eye, such a thing was done. I just asked you to go to Lingzhou to discuss the matter of borrowing soldiers, but you are better to secretly go to Lingzhou to be the emperor and take my position through my mouth. How have I been handed down to you? The seal I gave you was only for you to sign a contract with the Hui people, and I trusted you so much, did you betray me like this? You rebel, a bold rebel. I was deceived by you, I was deceived by you. ”

Xuanzong sat among the cluttered books and muttered. He never thought that Li Mao, who was only submissive in his eyes and never dared to disobey him, would do such a rebellious thing. He ascended the throne as the emperor and respected himself as the emperor.

"Hehe, the Emperor? Am I rare to see this emperor? I can still be the emperor for many years, I don't want to be the emperor, I don't want to enjoy the blessings yet. Li Guangbi Guo Ziyi, you are also bold, you dare to support the new emperor, you have betrayed my trust in you, you all deserve to die. ”

Xuanzong was like a deranged madman, laughing for a while, and cursing through gritted teeth. From time to time, he smashed the things he touched in his hands far away.

I don't know how long it took, Xuanzong slowly stood up, patted the dust and dirt on the messy clothes, and slowly pulled out a letter from his sleeve. It was a letter sent by Li Mao to him in person, and it had been torn in half, and that was what Xuanzong had done in anger just now. But now, Xuanzong is much calmer, and he wants to take a good look at the letter to see how Li Mao justifies what he did.

"Father, please forgive your son's heinous sins. The father and emperor have enjoyed the country for a long time, and he has devoted himself to his ancestors, and he has worked hard, and his sons and ministers are very admired and admired. My Tang Dynasty is extremely prosperous in the hands of my father, which is completely caused by my father's painstaking efforts. However, the rebellion of the thieves in An Lushan shocked the world with thunder and thunder, and the hard work of the father and emperor was almost lost. After Ma Weipo, my father should know that your prestige is not as good as before. All the officials and the people are disappointed in their father, and you understand why. The reason why Erchen made this seemingly rebellious decision is actually because of Erchen's painstaking efforts to protect the country. ”

"Phew, what kind of hard work are you? Why did I lose my prestige? You rebel. When Xuanzong saw this, he gritted his teeth and scolded angrily, almost tearing the letter in his hand to shreds. Still, he patiently continued to watch.

"In today's situation, Wang Yuan is powerful and hegemonic, and his father is compromised and the emperor is compromised, what is the case? It's not that Wang Yuan has a heavy army in his hand and coerces His Majesty to order the world. In the long run, sooner or later, my Datang will fall into its hands. Erchen was aware of this situation, and his heart was full of sorrow. That Wang Yuan had already done a deceptive trip, deceived the world and stolen his name, and bought people's hearts. His father was forced by him to give military affairs to be self-dictatorial and monopolize the government. This person even chased and killed Fang Xuan in front of his father, saying that he wanted to quell the rebellion, but he allowed more than 100,000 troops to be fed and empty, and refused to recover Chang'an. All kinds of behaviors show that he has bad intentions, he doesn't think about the Tang Dynasty at all, and he doesn't have half of his loyalty to his father at all. However, since my father's entry into Shu, all of my Tang royal family have moved into Chengdu with him, all under Wang Yuan's control. In this case, once Wang Yuan launches, all my Tang royal family will be eradicated by him, and my Tang royal family will be cut off from the continuation of the bloodline. Every time he thought about it, Erchen couldn't sleep at night, and his heart trembled. ”

Xuanzong held the paper with a gloomy face, even if he hated Li Mao in his heart, he had to admit that what Li Mao said was also something he was often worried about. All the royal bloodlines are in Chengdu, and once Wang Yuan launches it, it will indeed eradicate the grass and cut off the bloodline.

"The reason why Erchen made the decision to ascend the throne as emperor was actually the result of Erchen's repeated thoughts. If the son does not succeed to the throne, the Tang Dynasty will be held hostage by Wang Yuan, because holding his father hostage is equivalent to holding the world hostage. Once the son succeeded to the throne, his father became the emperor, and this move smashed Wang Yuan's conspiracy to command the world by holding his father hostage. His father became the Emperor Taishang, his son was the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and he broke away from Chengdu, which was controlled by Wang Yuan, so Wang Yuan had no more bargaining chips in his hands. This is the reason why Erchen made this anti-heaven move, and Erchen wanted to break the situation with this move and let Wang Yuan's conspiracy fail. This move is precisely for the sake of the survival of my Tang Dynasty, and I will not allow it to fall into the hands of powerful ministers. Please think deeply about it. ”

Xuanzong frowned and closed his eyes, looked up to the sky and sighed, and slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't help but admit that Li Mao's method really broke the situation of Wang Yuan holding himself hostage and controlling the government at once. When the emperor changes hands, he will no longer be valuable, and where the emperor is, the court will be there. The imperial court here in Chengdu has actually disappeared.

"Erchen has borrowed 100,000 troops from Pei Luo, plus the 60,000 army in the hands of Li Guangbi, and now the elite soldiers in Lingzhou have reached 160,000, and their strength is above Wang Yuan. Wang Yuan will never act rashly because of this matter. When Erchen wrote this letter, our army was on its way to Chang'an. Soon after, Erchen will recapture Chang'an City and welcome his father back to the capital. Erchen's actions today, maybe the father is very resentful, but the son-in-law can only do this, after the son-in-law recaptures Chang'an, when the father returns to Beijing, if the father can not forgive the son-in-law's move, the son-in-law can apologize in person, and the father is still in the emperor. However, at this moment, only this move can break the situation, and the sons faithfully hope that the father and the emperor will hope for the country, and keep the same tone with the sons and daughters in the matter of passing on the sons and daughters. If the father and emperor denied the minister, it would give Wang Yuan and other ill-intentioned people the excuse to raise an army. In that case, the world will inevitably be in chaos, the counterinsurgency will be difficult to achieve, the disaster will be a small wall, and the society will wither and erode out of control. In this matter, the sons and daughters knelt down and begged their fathers and sons to work together for the revival of our Datang society, which will be the luck of the Tang Dynasty and the happiness of the society. Wan Wang's father's candle illumination, think deeply and decide. Unscrupulous retainer Li Mao suddenly cried blood. ”

Xuanzong stood quietly for a long time, his face was bright and cloudy, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Outside the door, an inner attendant approached boldly and reported in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the king of the political affairs hall, Xiangguo, Wei Zuo, and Yan Zhongshu have come to ask for a meeting with hundreds of civil and military officials. ”

Xuanzong was slightly stunned, took a long breath, and reached out to put the letter on the candle flame and lit it. After watching the letter crumble to ashes on the table.

"Son, do you really think I didn't know you would do that? I know you're going to do it, and if you don't borrow soldiers, you'll do it if you do. I've been an emperor for so many years, and I've seen all kinds of people, and I can see everything they're thinking. I asked you to go to Lingzhou just to know that you would come to such a hand, even if there is no letter from you to explain, I will let go for the sake of Datang. I hope you don't let me down, I hope you can save my Datang from danger, and I hope this is the most correct decision I have made in my life. ”

Xuanzong stood for a long time, then turned around and said in a deep voice to the waiter standing aside: "Go and tell them to wait in the hall of the Scattered Flower Building." Ma Dezhong, waiting for me to change my clothes and hair. ”

……

In the hall on the first floor of the Sanhua Building, Wang Yuanwei saw that Zhenqing and dozens of civil and military courtiers were standing solemnly. Not long ago, they also got the news that Li Mao had ascended the throne in Lingzhou, and for these people, the news was as shocking as a thunderbolt in the clear sky. After a short period of deliberation, of course, they needed to meet with Xuanzong on this matter to verify something.

After a long wait, when the ministers were already restless, the shrill and piercing voice of the chamberlain sounded in the side hall.

"Your Majesty has arrived!"

The ministers immediately stood solemnly, dressed up and crowned, and looked at the entrance of the curtain on the side. The heavy purple side curtain was slowly opened, and an attendant stood on tiptoe to lift the curtain, and then, Xuanzong slowly walked out and appeared in everyone's field of vision.

Xuanzong's face was calm and unwavering, but some of the colors were dull, and the wrinkles on his emaciated face were like ravines, deeper and deeper than before. But the expression on his face was by no means as angry as everyone imagined, calm as a pool of stagnant water. The ministers also quickly discovered that Xuanzong's dress today was different from usual. Xuanzong basically wore regular clothes on weekdays, wearing a crown of heaven or a crown of wings, and thick-soled boots on his feet. Or sometimes it is more casual, such as riding a horse or after a feast, he does not change his clothes, casually wears a bright yellow coat or a martial arts suit, and even puts an ordinary square scarf on his head to see his subordinates. It seems informal.

However. Today's Xuanzong is wearing a veritable set of imperial gorgeous clothes. On his head was a crown, and the twelve rows of jade beads were as colorful as a bead curtain, swaying and swaying with Xuanzong's slow steps. He was wearing a wide and gorgeous dragon pattern bright yellow gown, and his feet were wearing thousand-feuille black satin official boots. The width of the jade around the waist is up to eight inches, and the gems are inlaid on it, and the gold and silver are carved out, which is extremely exquisite. This set of costumes is more expensive than the specifications of the dragon robe, which is the big dress that the Tang Emperor used to worship the ancestors and sacrifice to the heavens and the earth. In the impression of many old ministers, His Majesty will only wear it on major festivals or sacrificial days. Of course, on the day Xuanzong ascended the throne, he also wore this set of ceremonial clothes that symbolized the highest etiquette and noble status. However, today Xuanzong wore this dress on his body.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live." The ministers knelt down and saluted, and shouted loudly.

Xuanzong sat quietly on the throne, his eyes scanning the ministers kneeling on the ground below, his eyes flashing with nostalgia and sadness. He didn't know how many times he had seen this scene, since he ascended the throne as emperor, for decades, he had long been accustomed to the scene of ministers bowing down in front of him and shouting long live. However, today's scene made Xuanzong extremely nostalgic and sad. Because after this time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to see such a scene in my life.

"Get up." Xuanzong said softly in a hoarse voice.

The ministers got up and lined up on either side according to their ranks. Xuanzong's gaze and Wang Yuan's gaze met in the air, and he saw a sneer on the corner of Wang Yuan's mouth, and his heart chuckled, but it quickly returned to normal.

"Did the Qing come to see me for King Shou's accession to the throne in Lingzhou? Xuanzong said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan slowly stepped forward and arched his hand, and said in a calm voice: "Your Majesty seems to have received the news." Half an hour ago, the political affairs hall received a holy decree from Lingzhou. The decree was issued by King Shou, who ascended the throne as emperor in Lingzhou. King Shou ascended the throne in Lingzhou and changed the Yuan to De. and respect His Majesty as the Emperor. When the ministers heard the news, they were all shocked. I came to see the driver to inquire about this. ”

Xuanzong nodded slightly, "I know that you are here for this matter. Ask if you have anything to say. ”

Before Wang Yuan could speak, Yan Zhenqing preemptively asked, "Your Majesty, the ministers do have a lot of questions. But first of all, the ministers wanted to know whether the matter of His Majesty's biography of King Shou was true. Knowing the answer to this matter, the ministers waited for the following. ”

Xuanzong sat quietly on the throne, he looked at the puzzled and expectant faces in front of him, and finally said in a low voice: "This matter ...... True. It is indeed the king of Shou, and I know about his accession to the throne in Lingzhou. ”

The ministers were in an uproar, buzzing like ducks. It turns out that this matter is true, and His Majesty really passed on Li Mao, that is to say, Li Mao's accession to the throne is legitimate, and his throne is legitimate, not as everyone guessed before, Li Mao is a traitor to his father and self-reliance.

There was only one person who didn't speak quietly, and that was Wang Yuan. After Wang Yuan recovered from the initial shock, he immediately realized that this incident was a means for the father and son to play. Regarding the conclusion of Li Mao's betrayal of his father and self-reliance judged by the ministers, Wang Yuan scoffed. Because Wang Yuan knew that no matter whether Li Mao's actions were instructed by Xuanzong or not, in this matter, his father and son would definitely be of the same caliber. Because this is a brilliant move to get the Tang Dynasty out of his control, but he has been completely tricked.

"Your Majesty, are you saying that the accession of King Shou to the throne has already been arranged by His Majesty? Did His Majesty ask him to go to Lingzhou to ascend the throne? Yan Zhenqing's brows furrowed into a pimple, and he asked in a deep voice.

Xuanzong glanced at Wang Yuan, who had a calm face and didn't know what he was thinking, and said slowly: "I just promised to make him the crown prince and pass on to him soon. But it did not let him ascend the throne in Lingzhou. But it's nothing, sooner or later I will pass on the throne, whether he ascends the throne in Lingzhou, I am exhausted, and I don't want to take care of government affairs anymore. Leave it all to him. ”

Xuanzong could only defend himself with lies, put part of the blame on Li Mao, and told Wang Yuan that he was not hiding from him to let Li Mao ascend the throne to avoid angering Wang Yuan.

"Your Majesty, since you have already agreed to pass on the throne to Li Mao, why didn't Your Majesty say anything when we asked to meet and discuss the candidate for the crown prince's position a few days ago? Not only did you not say it explicitly, Your Majesty, you also pretended to agree to King Feng as one of the candidates for the crown prince, why did you play us so tricky? Yan Zhenqing was so angry that he couldn't wait to scold people with his straight nature, but he could still restrain himself after all.

"I ...... I didn't intend to hide it from you. I do think it is appropriate for you to propose King Feng as the crown prince, but I did promise to succeed Li Mao before that. That's why I didn't accede to your offer at the time, but wanted to think about it again. Xuanzong smacked his lips and said.

Yan Zhenqing's face turned red, he actually saw that Xuanzong's words were wrong, this matter was obviously Xuanzong's concealment, he didn't want to think about it at all, maybe he just delayed time to find a solution. And Li Mao's sudden succession to the throne may be an extreme countermeasure.

"Wang Yuan, Zhongqing's family. At this point, I don't think I need to dwell on it. Didn't you always say that if the foundation of the country is not established, it is difficult to calm the hearts of the subjects of the world? I have also heard a lot of words, saying that I have lost the hearts of the people and it is difficult to save the Tang Dynasty. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, I can be regarded as conforming to the will of heaven and the people, right? From now on, the Tang Dynasty will rely on you to support the new emperor and restore the former glory of my Tang Dynasty. I'm old, and it's time for me to retire. Xuanzong said softly.

The ministers looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Yan Zhenqing looked at Wang Yuan and said, "Wang Xiangguo, you say something, what should I do about this matter?" ”

Wang Yuan smiled and spread his hands: "What should I do?" The new emperor has ascended the throne, His Majesty has approved, what else can be done? Could it be that we can still go against the holy will to raise troops and hold the new emperor accountable? After King Shou ascended the throne, I am the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty, from now on, as His Majesty said, we must work together to support the new emperor. ”

Xuanzong stroked his palms and said: "Sure enough, it is Wang Yuan, who knows the general situation and knows the big festivals." I have entrusted King Shou to you. I think that I will arrive in Chengdu in a few days, and then I will ask you to go to Lingzhou to serve the order of the new emperor. The structure of the imperial court will not change, the political hall is still there, the six ministries are still there, and the yamen are still there, so you don't have to worry. ”

Wang Yuan shook his head with a smile and said: "The ministers won't worry about this, since the new emperor has ascended the throne, the minister should also step down." If it weren't for Your Majesty's insistence on asking the minister to take this position, the minister would have resigned long ago. Now that His Majesty has abdicated as the Emperor, the new Emperor may have a better candidate, and the minister will resign from the post of Prime Minister. As for going to Lingzhou to serve the new emperor, I'm afraid I won't be able to go. Millions of refugees and civilians in Jiannan and Hexi need to be protected, and your majesty is still in Chengdu, and the minister must shoulder the responsibility of protecting the emperor and the people. Other colleagues, you can go to Lingzhou to serve the new emperor by order, and I will write a fold to explain to the new emperor. ”

As soon as Wang Yuan's words came out, all the ministers were buzzing. Wang Yuan seems to be the backbone and pillar of their minds, and now that Wang Yuan wants to resign from the phase, he will immediately be leaderless, and his heart is like numbness. However, many people also understand in their hearts that once the son of heaven and a courtier, Wang Yuan and King Shou had a disagreement before, how could King Shou be the prime minister again? Moreover, once Wang Yuan and the personnel in the political hall are replaced, they will give others more opportunities. There are many ministers who can't wait to see the new emperor and show their loyalty.

Xuanzong saw it in his eyes, and his heart was very happy. This move immediately made Wang Yuan and the ministers attached to him wilt like frosted eggplants, and the effect was immediate. Of course, although Wang Yuan is not a prime minister, this person has a heavy army, but he can't be offended too hard, otherwise the consequences will be embarrassing. Now it seems that it is right for Huairou to appease and stabilize this person. I had to remind Li Mao that he couldn't be too rude to Wang Yuan, and he had to figure it out slowly.

"Wang Yuan, I don't want you to say such discouraged words. I abdicated as the emperor, but you are still the mainstay of my Tang Dynasty and the minister of the humerus. The new emperor still needs your strong assistance. I will not allow the new emperor to allow you to resign as prime minister. Looking at the world, only you can stabilize the situation in the court. If you resign, the new emperor will not agree. Xuanzong said slowly.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Okay, everything is up to the new emperor." ”

Xuanzong nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Fellow ministers, you have worked with me for many years and experienced hardships, and today I am about to abdicate, and you will treat the new emperor as if you were loyal to me in the future." In the more than 30 years since I ascended the throne, although I have made achievements, there are also negligence. The situation has become so erosive, and I am responsible, and I am very ashamed. But I am really old, and the future responsibilities can only be entrusted to the new emperor and you, and I hope that you can work hard with the new emperor to make up for my mistakes. ”

Only then did the ministers remember that the old emperor in front of him was going to abdicate today, which was also a big deal. After all, Xuanzong has been the emperor for many years, but today he has abdicated, and he can't help but feel a sense of sadness in his heart. Some of the ministers have even shed tears.

"Come here, draft an edict, I announce my abdication, from now on, I will live in a secluded place and don't ask about political affairs."

A master of the Hanlin Academy stepped forward to write a pen, and Xuanzong personally dictated and wrote the edict of abdication. In Xuanzong's oral account, he reviewed his nearly forty years of imperial career since he succeeded to the throne, reviewed the big and small things he had done, and reviewed how the Tang Empire went from the dictatorship of the Wu family to the return to the hands of the Li family. How to change from chaos to prosperity and prosperity and so on.

Wang Yuan and the ministers stood quietly and listened quietly. Even if Wang Yuan has no good impression of Xuanzong, listening to Xuanzong's self-description, Wang Yuan has to admit that Xuanzong's life is indeed a wonderful life, a life of doing many great things. He was able to become the Shengming monarch in history, created a prosperous generation, and single-handedly built the Tang Dynasty into the most powerful country in the world, for which he has indeed made outstanding contributions. It's just that what happened later covered his life with dust and left his brilliant life with huge regrets and flaws, which is also helpless.

After the abdication edict was written, Xuanzong read it and raised his hand to hand it to the inner servant Gai Yuxi to release it to all parts of the Tang Dynasty. After the chamberlain left with the edict in his hand, Xuanzong breathed a sigh of relief, slowly got up, reached out to hold the crown on his head, and slowly took off the big robe on his body.

The chamberlain stepped forward to help, but was stopped by Xuanzong waving his hand. Xuanzong folded the clothes he had taken off, put them in a brocade box, put them in a coat and hat, and after thinking about it, he asked the attendant holding the jade seal to put the jade seal into the box. After closing the lid of the box, Xuanzong was silent for a long time, and finally ordered in a deep voice: "Send these clothes to Lingzhou, the new emperor ascended the throne in a hurry, I'm afraid he didn't even prepare for the clothes." Be a gift from me. ”

On this cold winter day, a generation of Ming Emperor Tang Xuanzong abdicated. Although he was extremely nostalgic for the throne of emperor where he had sat for decades, he had to make such a choice under the pressure of the situation. I have to say that Xuanzong's final choice was to abandon his personal desires, and he dedicated his last effort to the sake of the Tang Dynasty. Just like what he did on Ma Weipo, he wielded a knife to cut love.