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

Chapter 144 The Yangzhou Rebellion Comes to an End
Although Li Xian was still curious about the meaning behind Liu Jianjun's actions, Liu Jianjun stopped explaining and simply said to wait and see.

Because of the urgent situation in Yangzhou, Li Xian has not been able to leave the State Guest House recently.

However, news kept coming in from the palace, giving Li Xian a general understanding of the situation in Yangzhou.

As Liu Jianjun said, the imperial army that suppressed the rebels only suffered a setback in the first large-scale battle. Moreover, this so-called setback was merely that they failed to defeat the enemy. To be more objective, the two sides fought to a draw.

It was only because the imperial court had 300,000 troops facing 100,000 rebels that it was still unable to decisively defeat them, which made people feel frustrated.

Then, news began to come in one after another.

Li Jingye led his troops south, intending to seize Jinling. Liu Jianjun said that this move was simply foolish. Li Jingye was originally fighting under the banner of supporting the Tang Dynasty. Instead of taking advantage of the victory and pressing on Luoyang under the banner of killing the empress, he thought of going to Jiangnan to establish a separatist regime. Wasn't this a good hand being played terribly?
Li Xian glared at him.

Because the "demon empress" that Liu Jianjun was referring to was his own mother.

"From what you're saying, it sounds like you're still hoping Li Jingye will win?"

Liu Jianjun chuckled awkwardly: "Winning is impossible. I'm just hoping he can weaken your mother's power as much as possible."

Sure enough, things turned out exactly as Liu Jianjun had predicted; winning was out of the question.

His uncle adopted Wei Yuanzhong's advice and stopped focusing on fighting Li Jingye's main force, instead targeting his younger brother Li Jingyou first.

Firstly, Li Jingyou was just a spoiled brat, making him relatively easy to deal with. Secondly, although Li Jingye's 100,000-strong army sounded impressive, it was actually a motley crew. Once they suffered a defeat, their morale would plummet, and they would collapse without a fight.

Therefore, the imperial army immediately turned its attention to Li Jingyou.

As Wei Yuanzhong had predicted, Li Jingyou's army suffered a crushing defeat, and the imperial army finally began to show the upper hand in the face of the Yangzhou rebellion.

Li Xian also heard many other things.

For example, Yu Baojia, who presented the method of making copper boxes, was executed because someone had slipped a letter of denunciation into the copper boxes, claiming that he had once manufactured weapons for Li Jingye. As a result, Yu Baojia died, and the whistleblower was rewarded.

By the way, the whistleblower's name is Lai Junchen, and he's a street thug.

He also heard that Yangzhou had received the Empress Dowager's proclamation to the world, causing chaos. Li Jingye had no choice but to find someone who looked very much like himself and say that the person in Luoyang was an imposter, and that the one they had was the real Li Xian.

I also heard that Li Jingyou was killed by his general Wang Naxiang, and the rebel army he led scattered like monkeys when the tree fell.

In short, it is extremely bizarre and absurd.

Similarly, I heard that Cheng Wuting, who had distinguished himself in the fight against the Turks in the north, was summoned back to Luoyang by the Empress Dowager for pleading for Pei Yan, and was executed on the grounds that he had colluded with Pei Yan to rebel.

Liu Jianjun was right; the Empress Dowager had gone mad for that position.

Pei Yan and Cheng Wuting, one in politics and the other in the military, were undoubtedly pillars of the Tang Dynasty. However, the Empress Dowager, in order to eliminate dissidents, forcibly deposed both of them.

If even someone like that has been caught, then the rest are even less of a concern.

Anyone who posed a threat to Empress Wu was thoroughly investigated and purged. After repeated purges, the court was practically empty. With a stroke of her pen, Empress Wu directly appointed several fifth-rank officials as prime ministers.

This is even more absurd than when Li Xian was in power, setting a new historical low. But Liu Jianjun said this: "Your mother already knew that only small people would obey her, and the court composed of these shrimp soldiers and crab generals would no longer pose a threat to her rule."

Finally, in November of the first year of Guangzhai, news of a great victory arrived.

The imperial court and the Yangzhou rebels fought a decisive battle at Gaoyou. The battlefield was at Axi, where the riverbanks were covered with reeds. The northwest wind was strong, and the reeds were withered. Wei Yuanzhong suggested to Li Xiaoyi that they use fire to attack the river and set it on fire with the wind at their backs.

Soon, Li Jingye's troops were routed, with 7,000 men beheaded and countless others drowning while trying to escape across the river.

Li Jingye led his remaining troops to retreat from Yangzhou, preparing to cross the sea to seek refuge in Goryeo. However, he was killed by his subordinates en route. Luo Binwang, a great talent who was as famous as Wang Bo, was also killed on the way.

Empress Wu ordered that this matter be announced to the world, and stripped him of his surname Li, restoring his original surname Xu.

"Look at the realm today, whose world is it? It seems the answer has already been revealed."

Liu Jianjun expressed deep sorrow over Luo Binwang's death, but showed neither sympathy nor condemnation. He simply said, "The general trend of history is like the mighty Yangtze River, which will always break through dangerous shoals and seize perilous gorges, rushing forward."

“My dear son, I tried to get Wang Bo to rescue him, but Wang Bo said… Luo Binwang has gone mad. He regards overthrowing Empress Wu as the highest ideal, shouting that he would rather die than serve a woman. So he went off with Li Jingye in a great hurry.”

Liu Jianjun's expression was strange, and Li Xian couldn't describe it. He continued, "That's how history is. The victor is king and the loser is villain. Luo Binwang chose his path and paid for it with his life. Perhaps this is the stubbornness in the bones of a scholar."

When Li Xian heard this, he didn't know how he felt.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "And what about us? Which path should we take?"

“We still have a long way to go.” Liu Jianjun stood up and walked to the window. “Although the Yangzhou rebellion has been quelled, your mother’s power is now more secure. However, this may not be a bad thing. As I said, if Heaven wants someone to perish, it will first make them go mad.”

"Your mother is already showing signs of madness, but she will be at her most insane when she truly stands at the pinnacle of power."

“My sir, we only have one chance. We cannot be like Luo Binwang, nor like Li Jingye or Xu Jingye. We must be like Li Xian, the legitimate successor of the Tang Dynasty.”

Li Xian nodded.

"Alright, now that you're prepared, prepare to receive your mother's decree. If nothing unexpected happens, she will definitely summon you to the palace at this time, both to announce the decree ordering you to return to Chang'an and to use this opportunity to warn and intimidate you, as well as the civil and military officials in the court."

Liu Jianjun thought for a moment and said, "Just treat her as if she's trying to show off. Listen to what you should listen to, and even if you shouldn't, just bear with it and make yourself suffer a little."

Almost as soon as Liu Jianjun finished speaking, an announcement came from outside the door: "Your Highness Prince Pei, someone from the palace has come to deliver an imperial decree."

Liu Jianjun was startled, then immediately crawled onto Li Xian's couch and covered his head with a mattress.

"What are you doing?"

"Pretending to be sick, too lazy to listen to orders, too lazy to kneel!" Liu Jianjun didn't even turn his head and started groaning.

At that moment, a eunuch entered carrying an imperial edict, announcing loudly, "The Empress Dowager orders Prince Li Xian of Xuanpei to immediately enter the palace for an audience."

……

(End of this chapter)