Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 122 Detailed News about Luoyang, the Divine Capital

His tone returned to normal, as if he weren't the one who had just acted recklessly.

Shangguan Wan'er took a deep breath, seemingly trying to put the absurd scene from just now out of her mind.

She gathered her thoughts, her gaze sweeping between Li Xian and Liu Jianjun, her voice regaining its usual calmness and order, though slightly hoarse: "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was indeed furious upon hearing of the events in Yangzhou."

"However, the good news of the princess's pregnancy reached the capital in time, which greatly appeased the Empress Dowager's doubts. This time, the summons of Your Highness and the Chief Secretary is ostensibly for a family visit, but in reality, it is for observation."

Li Xian thought to himself, "Shangguan Wan'er is indeed a rare talent."

At least Li Xian would find it difficult to be doing *that* one moment and then act as if nothing had happened the next.

Liu Jianjun nodded as expected and asked, "When do we depart?"

"The itinerary is set. We will depart in three days. Wan'er will accompany the two of you. In addition..."

She lowered her voice and continued, "Although Pei Yan is in prison, his cronies have not been eliminated, and there are undercurrents in the court. The capital is not a peaceful place now, and the two of you need to make preparations as soon as possible."

Liu Jianjun nodded: "Let me first tell you in detail what has happened in the court during this period. The letter only mentioned a few words and I was confused... Let's start with when Empress Wu and Pei Yan started their conflict."

Shangguan Wan'er thought for a moment and replied, "The initial cause was that the Empress Dowager wanted to posthumously honor her ancestors and build seven temples for the Wu clan. The ministers did not dare to express their opinions, but Pei Yan said that it was against ancient etiquette for the Empress Dowager to build seven temples for her maternal family. He even used Empress Lü as an example to threaten the Empress Dowager, saying that if the Empress Dowager continued to act willfully, she would probably end up like her."

Li Xian was taken aback: "The Seven Temples of the Jianwu Clan?"

Liu Jianjun clicked his tongue and said, "Good heavens, the Empress Dowager is building the Imperial Ancestral Temple. She's openly testing the reactions of the court officials!"

Shangguan Wan'er nodded: "Since then, Pei Yan's relationship with the Empress Dowager has become increasingly tense, until the incident of Pei Yan being accused of treason occurred."

"The Empress Dowager has clearly cultivated her own loyalists in the court. Two people contributed the most to the process of convicting Pei Yan."

"One was the censor Cui Cha, who said that if Pei Yan had no ulterior motives, why would he force the Empress Dowager to relinquish power?"
"One of them is Li Jingchen, a Fengge Sheren. Li Jingchen didn't have a specific explanation, but he insisted that Pei Yan was definitely plotting a rebellion, thus stating his attitude and stance."

"Fengge?" Li Xian interjected curiously.

Shangguan Wan'er suddenly realized and explained: "As soon as the Yangzhou rebellion broke out, the Empress Dowager changed the reign title to Guangzhai for this year, changed all the flags from red to gold①, renamed Luoyang Palace to Taichu Palace, and changed the official titles, the names of the court offices and official positions were all renewed."

"Among them, the Ministry of Personnel was renamed Wenchangtai, the Ministry of the Secretariat was renamed Fengge, the Ministry of the Chancellery was renamed Luantai, and the six ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works were renamed the six ministries of Heaven, Earth, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter..."

This time, before Shangguan Wan'er could finish speaking, Liu Jianjun interrupted: "Tsk tsk, changing the reign title, changing the flag, changing the capital title—these are all signs of a change of dynasty. What she's planning is as clear as day."

"It seems she's really planning to reveal her hand. Go on."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded and said, "Because Pei Yan was accused of treason, the proposal to establish seven ancestral temples for the Wu clan was finally passed. After all this was done, the Empress Dowager posthumously honored the ancestors of the Wu clan, posthumously conferred the title of king upon her ancestors within five generations, and the title of queen consort upon her wife. At the same time, she promoted members of the Wu family. Wu Chengsi was officially appointed as prime minister, and Wu Sansi was promoted to Minister of War..."

At this moment, Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xian and explained, "Let's not talk about your mother posthumously honoring the Wu family ancestors. To put it bluntly, it's about creating momentum. But the dead can't control the living. So if your mother wants to consolidate her power, she still has to rely on her family. That's why she promoted the Wu family members."

Li Xian nodded, indicating his understanding.

Liu Jianjun then looked at Shangguan Wan'er and asked, "Okay, continue talking about the struggle between Pei Yan and Empress Wu." Shangguan Wan'er nodded and continued, "As for Pei Yan's alleged rebellion, Empress Wu naturally couldn't produce any evidence. So, the officials who supported Pei Yan's faction said that if Pei Yan rebelled, wouldn't they all be rebelling as well?"
Empress Wu replied, "I know Pei Yan has rebelled, but I know you all will not."

Liu Jianjun scoffed: "Good heavens, this is what it means for a woman to be in power—lacking confidence and evidence, relying mainly on what I think, right?"

Li Xian also found this matter unbelievable, because according to the Tang Code, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution, not the defense. In other words, Pei Yan did not need to provide evidence to prove that he did not commit treason. On the contrary, the Empress Dowager had to provide evidence to prove that Pei Yan did indeed commit treason in order for the case to be classified.

However, no matter how much the Empress Dowager talked, she never presented any solid evidence, which only shows that she hadn't found any evidence either.

Liu Jianjun was right after all. Pei Yan was probably just thinking of observing, but in the end, he was forcibly arrested by the Empress Dowager.

At this point, Liu Jianjun asked again, "What about the Yangzhou rebellion?"

Shangguan Wan'er thought for a moment and said, "Luo Binwang is indeed a man of great talent!"

Then, he raised an eyebrow and glanced at Liu Jianjun, the meaning of which was very clear.

Liu Jianjun retorted, "So what if I wrote a 'Proclamation to the World on Behalf of Li Jingye'?"

Li Xian was taken aback: "What proclamation?"

Shangguan Wan'er glanced at Li Xian and recited: "The usurper Wu is not compliant by nature, and her origins are truly humble..."

Shangguan Wan'er had an excellent memory and memorized the entire proclamation, which captivated Li Xian.

He couldn't help but murmur, "Look at this realm today, whose world is it really..."

Shangguan Wan'er was right after all. Luo Binwang was a man of great talent. This article is written in parallel prose, with perfect antithesis, apt allusions, and a fresh and natural style. It can even be called a masterpiece among the proclamations of the past thousand years.

To put it another way... he used really foul language to insult his mother.

Liu Jianjun asked curiously, "What about Empress Wu? What was her reaction when she heard this proclamation?"

Shangguan Wan'er paused, then sighed sincerely, "Empress Wu remained calm and composed in the face of adversity. After reading this proclamation, she only remarked, 'This is the prime minister's fault. How come such a talent was not discovered earlier?'"

Liu Jianjun sighed in agreement, "Such a scathing denunciation, revealing all our secrets, was immediately stabilized with just one casual sentence. This old woman truly has the air of an emperor. And then what?"

"Then, Empress Wu began to mobilize troops, quickly gathering 300,000 soldiers within seven days to fight on the battlefield. Wan'er also heard Liu Gongzi's suggestion and recommended a member of the Li clan to lead the troops. In the end, Empress Wu decided that Li Xiaoyi would lead the troops..."

Liu Jianjun interrupted, asking, "Who is Li Xiaoyi?"

Li Xian replied, "This person is my father's cousin. In terms of seniority, I should also call him my great-uncle. He is a person of high seniority and prestige in the imperial clan."

Liu Jianjun pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Xian: "Do you know why I suggested that Wan'er recommend someone from the Li clan to lead the troops?"

……

(End of this chapter)