Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 8 The Capable Empress Wu
Outside Ganlu Palace, Xue Rengui was arranging the defense work of the guards when he suddenly saw Empress Wu's phoenix carriage approaching and hurried over to pay his respects.

Empress Wu sat on the phoenix chariot and said calmly, "General Xue saved the saint's life, so he is my benefactor. From now on, you don't need to be polite in front of me. Just raise your head."

Xue Rengui stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

The phoenix chariot stopped outside the palace. Empress Wu slowly stepped down and asked, "Is the Saint in the palace?"

Xue Rengui said: "Your Highness, the Saint has gone to the harem."

Empress Wu nodded and hooked her finger, motioning Xue Rengui to follow her.

The two of them walked around the main hall and came to the bedroom, and Empress Wu walked straight in.

Xue Rengui stopped at the door of the bedroom. Although he was a Qianniu Guard, he could not enter the bedroom without the emperor's consent.

Empress Wu turned her head and glanced at him, saying, "Come in, I have something to ask you."

Only then did Xue Rengui accept the order and enter the hall.

Empress Wu sat down on the dragon couch, drank a sip of tea, and said calmly: "General Xue, what are your thoughts on the court's attack on the Western Turks?"

Xue Rengui thought for a moment and said seriously, "I believe that General Cheng and General Wang are both veterans. Helu rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and is unpopular among the Ten Turkic Clans. This battle will surely be won by the Tang Dynasty."

Empress Wu smiled slightly and said, "General Xue, what you said is encouraging. General Xue, do you think we can destroy the Western Turks in one battle?"

Xue Rengui hesitated for a moment and said, "I should be 80% sure."

Empress Wu's eyes flickered as she thought to herself, "This Xue Rengui doesn't seem very smart. He hasn't figured out His Majesty's purpose in transferring Cheng Zhijie away from Chang'an. I don't know why His Majesty values ​​him so much."

She clapped her hands, and a maid walked into the hall with a set of chess pieces in her hands.

"General Xue, you will be responsible for His Majesty's safety from now on. You must do your job diligently and not slack off. This is a set of Lantian jade chess pieces, as a reward to you."

Xue Rengui was startled, knelt on one knee, and said with a folded hand, "Your Highness, I have not made any contribution, so I dare not accept the reward."

Empress Wu glanced at him and said calmly, "Are you unwilling to accept the reward, or are you unwilling to accept my reward?"

A few drops of sweat suddenly appeared on Xue Rengui's forehead.

He had long heard that Empress Wu was very powerful and anyone who dared to go against her, even the regent Chu Suiliang, would not have a good ending.

After hesitating for a moment, Xue Rengui took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I will take my leave."

Empress Wu did not show any anger on her face. Instead, she smiled and said, "Very good, you can go."

Although she was smiling, her eyes were cold and icy.

Xue Rengui was feeling uneasy and was at a loss as to what to do when a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Xue Qing, since the Queen has given you a reward, you should accept it."

Empress Wu and Xue Rengui were both surprised to find that Li Zhi had been standing in front of the doorway to the main room without them noticing.

Empress Wu was secretly annoyed: "When did Your Majesty come in? Why didn't those idiots outside warn you in advance?"

With a bright smile on her face, she said, "Everyone, you are finally back. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Zhi walked over to Xue Rengui, helped him up, and said with a smile: "Xue Qing, next time the Queen gives you something, just accept it and treat it as a reward from me."

Xue Rengui said happily, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." He took the chess piece and left.

Li Zhi slowly walked to the other side of the dragon bed and sat down. He took the cup of tea handed to him by Wu Meiniang, took a sip, and said lightly: "Queen, Xue Qing is my benefactor. Please don't embarrass him again in the future."

Wu Meiniang's eyebrows twitched a few times, and she said angrily, "He doesn't give me face like this, so I'm naturally a little angry, but I don't intend to do anything to him."

Li Zhi said slowly, "He's a court official, and you're the empress. If the harem bribes the officials, wouldn't that just give the Guanlong faction another excuse? It would also be detrimental to your reputation."

Wu Meiniang was slightly startled, and said softly, "I will remember it."

Li Zhi blew on the tea in his cup and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Wu Meiniang glanced at him and said, "I heard from Sister Xu that everyone will hold a court meeting tomorrow, so I came here to discuss it with everyone."

Li Zhi said, "What are you discussing?"

Wu Meiniang waved her hand, and all the servants in the palace withdrew. Only Wang Fusheng did not retreat, and looked at Li Zhi. Li Zhi nodded, and then he withdrew.

Wu Meiniang walked over to sit next to Li Zhi and whispered, "Jiulang, Wang Wendu has sent a letter."

Li Zhi was slightly stunned. Just as he was wondering who Wang Wendu was, a new memory came to his mind.

This memory actually gave him a chill. It turned out that in May of this year, Emperor Gaozong of Tang had appointed Cheng Zhijie as the commander-in-chief of the Congshan Road Army, with Wang Wendu as his deputy commander-in-chief, to fight against Helu of the Western Turkic Khaganate.

This Helu is the prototype of a certain detective, but the Turks at that time could not be compared with the Tang Dynasty.

Strictly speaking, Helu gradually became powerful by relying on the Tang Dynasty. He was originally a Turkic Yehu, who had a disagreement with the former Western Turkic Khan and defected to the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, Emperor Taizong of Tang was attacking the Kingdom of Kucha. When he learned that Helu had surrendered, he was very happy and asked him to serve as a guide. After the war, he was appointed as the Governor of Yaochi.

Helu began to expand his power under the name of the Tang Dynasty. As soon as Li Shimin died, he immediately rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, controlled the ten tribes of the Western Turkic Khaganate, and blocked the road to the Western Regions.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang sent troops to attack Helu once but failed to eliminate him. In May of this year, he sent Cheng Zhijie and Wang Wendu to attack Helu again.

However, this deployment was not simply aimed at Helu.

The real purpose of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu was to transfer Cheng Zhijie out of Chang'an to pave the way for deposing Wang and enthroning Wu!
At that time, Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Zhangsun Wuji were fighting fiercely.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty tried to compromise several times and visited Zhangsun Wuji's residence, hoping that Zhangsun Wuji would agree to depose Wang Liwu, but Zhangsun Wuji refused every time.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang had no choice but to prepare for a complete break with Zhangsun Wuji.

The two most influential people in the army at that time were Li Ji and Cheng Zhijie.

Since Emperor Gaozong of Tang ascended the throne, Li Ji had been suppressed by Zhangsun Wuji. When Emperor Gaozong of Tang wanted to depose Wang Liwu, Li Ji also secretly supported him.

Cheng Zhijie was different. In order to deal with Li Ji, Changsun Wuji had been trying to win him over, and the two had a good personal relationship.

Before Emperor Gaozong of Tang deposed Wang Liwu, he also visited Cheng Zhijie to gain his support, but Cheng Zhijie expressed his unwillingness to get involved.

Changsun Wuji was the one who planned the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and Cheng Zhijie happened to be in charge of the Taiji Palace guards for a long time.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang was worried that the two would join forces to launch a coup, so he transferred Cheng Zhijie out of Chang'an. At the same time, he sent his confidant Wang Wendu to be his deputy and be responsible for monitoring him.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang also gave Wang Wendu an order, asking him to try his best to guide Cheng Zhijie into making mistakes so that he could take back his military power.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang had to attend court every day to review memorials, so he handed over the matter of contacting Wang Wendu to Wu Meiniang.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi took a breath and said, "What did Wang Wendu say?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Wang Wendu said that Cheng Zhijie seemed to have noticed something and was deliberately slowing down the march."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's fine. Let Wang Wendu continue to watch."

Wu Meiniang warned, "I'm worried that Zhangsun Wuji and others will use this incident as an excuse to impeach Cheng Zhijie, forcing him to return to Chang'an and then recommend Li Ji to lead the troops. If this happens, the army in the capital will be out of control."

Li Zhi glanced at Wu Meiniang and saw that she was smiling, so he said, "Have you thought of a plan to deal with this?"

Wu Meiniang smiled gently and whispered a few words into Li Zhi's ear.

After listening to this, Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh that Wu Meiniang was indeed capable and praised: "Not bad, the queen has worked hard."

Wu Meiniang continued, "By the way, Jiulang, my mother told me that Pei Xingjian, the prefect of Chang'an, once publicly discussed the matter of deposing the empress."

"Oh, what did he say?" Li Zhi's eyes lit up.

Wu Meiniang snorted and said, "This person is extremely despicable. He said that Jiulang, canonizing me as queen is the beginning of a national disaster."

Li Zhi secretly laughed. If Wu Meiniang hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten that there was such a talented person in the court who was both civil and military.

He said calmly, "Well, I understand. Mei Niang, please leave. I have something else to arrange."

After Wu Meiniang left, Li Zhi called Wang Fusheng over and whispered a few words to him. Wang Fusheng took the order and left.

At this moment, an official from the Secretariat came to request a memorial, saying that the prime ministers had jointly submitted a memorial, asking whether the emperor's health had recovered and whether the court sessions would continue on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

Tomorrow is November 15th, not an ordinary morning, but one of the two new and full moon mornings in a month.

There were three types of court meetings in the Tang Dynasty: grand court meetings, new moon and full moon court meetings, and regular court meetings.

The grand court session is held in the Taiji Hall on New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, and is the most grand.

Not only officials above the ninth rank in Beijing had to participate, but also the imperial envoys from various prefectures and counties, the candidates from the Imperial College, and the local prefectural and county schools could participate.

The New Moon and Full Moon ceremonies were held on the first and fifteenth day of every month. They were held in the Liangyi Hall with ceremonial guards. All officials in the capital had to attend, and it was very important.

During the regular court session, several ministers would discuss matters with the emperor in Ganlu Hall. Currently, the court session is held every two days, and the emperor can also ask for leave at any time, which is quite flexible.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Go tell the prime ministers that everything will proceed as usual on the first and fifteenth day of tomorrow's lunar month."

(End of this chapter)