Chapter 46: Submitting a Ten-Thousand-Word Memorial to Force Li Er to Abdicate

"By imperial decree, the Duke of Wu is ordered to escort the Prince of Yi'an, Li Xiaochang, to the Taiji Hall for questioning. Should he dare to resist, execute him without pardon!"

Yuchi Gong had originally intended to use the pretext of conveying Li Xiaochang's demand to "purge the emperor's inner circle" as a cover to report to Li Shimin that the northern gate of the imperial city had fallen to the rebels. Instead, he was met with this stern edict from Li Shimin.

The command left everyone present, including Yuchi Gong himself, in an awkward predicament.

Li Xiaochang, in particular, never anticipated that Li Shimin would act with such overbearing arrogance. Without even inquiring into the nature of his grievances, Li Shimin had ordered Yuchi Gong to apprehend him and drag him to the Taiji Hall for interrogation.

Was that a mere discussion?

It was clearly a summons to trial under the guise of an imperial reprimand!

"It seems Li Shimin never intended to negotiate with me in good faith..."

Li Xiaochang narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to give the order to engage Yuchi Gong in battle.

Although he knew full well that he was no match for Yuchi Gong, the moment fighting broke out here, the forces stationed at the Xuanwu Gate would receive the news and undoubtedly storm the Taiji Palace as well.

Once Li Shimin's life was directly threatened, would Yuchi Gong still have the leisure to fight him?

Thus, Li Xiaochang's strategy was simple: strike first and figure out the rest later.

However, Yuchi Gong clearly had no desire to fight Li Xiaochang.

Raising his voice, Yuchi Gong hurriedly shouted, "Prince of Yi'an, do not act rashly! Let me clarify things first!"

Without waiting for Li Xiaochang's reply, he immediately turned to the messenger and demanded, "When did His Majesty issue this command?"

"Huh?"

The messenger froze for a moment, sensing that the atmosphere had turned tense. He quickly answered, "Reporting to the Duke of Wu, His Majesty issued the order this morning. Upon receiving it, this subordinate did not dare to delay for even a moment and rode here without rest to deliver it to you!"

"This morning?"

Yuchi Gong furrowed his brow, calculating the distance and travel time between the Chang'an imperial city and their current location. He said thoughtfully, "In other words, when His Majesty gave you this order, he knew nothing of the situation at the Xuanwu Gate?"

"What happened at the Xuanwu Gate?" The messenger asked, blankly once more.

Yuchi Gong breathed a silent sigh of relief. Ignoring the messenger, he turned back to Li Xiaochang and said, "Prince of Yi'an, this is all a misunderstanding. His Majesty is not yet aware of your grievances; he must have been misled by treacherous sycophants. How about this: I will send someone back to verify this decree. Could you wait a moment?"

"Ha!"

Li Xiaochang let out a cold, scornful laugh. "If we fight, we fight. Do you take me for a fool who would fall for your delaying tactics to buy time and send messages?"

"Now, now, Prince of Yi'an, didn't you say before that you are not staging a rebellion, but merely purging the court of bad advisors? If you attack now, it becomes an outright treasonous rebellion!"

"This..."

Hearing these words, hesitation flickered across Li Xiaochang's face.

Yuchi Gong added with a reassuring smile, "Besides, you have already seized the northern gate of the imperial city. What are you worried about?"

"Perhaps His Majesty is still unaware of that development. Once he knows, he might change his mind and agree to your demand to clear the court!"

Hearing this, Li Xiaochang felt there was some logic to the argument.

After all, marching his troops into the capital was never meant to be a treasonous revolt; his true goal was to secure greater political leverage and rewards.

However, once an actual rebellion was launched, the entire nature of the enterprise would change.

Given the current state of the Great Tang dynasty, an uprising would only turn him into another Li Yi.

The empire had endured years of warfare, and the common people were utterly weary of conflict. A rebellion lacking popular support was destined for only one outcome.

Therefore, after a brief moment of hesitation, Li Xiaochang ultimately decided to wait a little longer and see what new commands might come from Li Shimin.

Just as he was about to communicate his decision to Yuchi Gong, a shout suddenly echoed from the distance: "Prince of Yi'an—!"

"Prince of Yi'an!"

Zhangsun Anye called out twice, as if terrified that Li Xiaochang might not hear him.

"Commander of the Gate Guards, why are you here?"

Hearing the cry, Li Xiaochang turned his gaze toward the source of the voice.

Zhangsun Anye came riding up like a gale of wind, drawing to a halt before him, breathing heavily. "I... I was afraid the Prince of Yi'an was... taking the wrong path!"

"The wrong path?"

Li Xiaochang frowned. "What wrong path?"

"I heard that His Majesty sent someone to convey an order for the Duke of Wu to escort you to the Taiji Hall for questioning, and I was afraid you would act rashly and go to war with the Duke!"

"Ah..."

Li Xiaochang felt an awkward moment of hesitation before chuckling wryly. "What is there to be worried about? Yuan Hongshan and Liu Deyu have already seized control of the northern gate of the imperial city. The strategic advantage is entirely ours!"

"You are being foolish, Prince of Yi'an!"

Zhangsun Anye said with an expression of profound exasperation. "With the forces we currently hold in our hands, even if we fight our way into Chang'an, we will eventually be crushed by His Majesty's loyalists!"

"Don't we have thunder-charges? What do we have to fear from them?"

"The lethality of thunder-charges is limited, and we don't have many left. How many enemies can you possibly wipe out with them?"

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"My suggestion is to go and have an audience with His Majesty first! See how he decides to handle this! If he remains stubbornly unyielding, we can fight him to the death. But if he is wise to the times, we kill Zhangsun Wuji first, seize control of the court, and force the Emperor to abdicate!"

"If we force him to abdicate, aren't you afraid of his loyal retainers?"

"Have you forgotten the Retired Emperor? Unless they all have a death wish, would they dare to make enemies of the entire Great Tang empire?"

"True!"

Li Xiaochang slapped his thigh in realization. "Why didn't I think of that? We still have the Retired Emperor!"

"Heh..."

Zhangsun Anye smiled noncommittally and continued, "However, just to be safe, we must make thorough preparations!"

"What kind of preparations?" Li Xiaochang asked, his curiosity piqued.

Zhangsun Anye countered directly, "How many thunder-charges do you have left?"

"Twelve jars!"

"Good! Then bring all twelve jars! Let us go to the Taiji Hall together!"

"What?"

Li Xiaochang was startled. "What are you planning to do?"

"What am I planning?"

Zhangsun Anye sneered. "Back then, Li Shimin presented the severed heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to Li Gao. Bringing a crate of thunder-charges to meet him now hardly seems excessive, does it?"

"This..."

Li Xiaochang asked with a mix of shock and doubt, "Will he agree to let us bring those inside?"

"They won't know what we are carrying. We will simply tell them it is a ten-thousand-word petition from Yuzhou, beseeching His Majesty to halt the reduction of the fiefs granted to the princes!"

"Brilliant!"

Li Xiaochang's eyes lit up.

Zhangsun Anye pressed on, "Besides, Yuan Hongshan, Liu Deyu, and the others control the northern gate of the imperial city. How much leverage does Li Shimin really have to give us a hard time?"

"Haha, excellent! What you say makes complete sense! Let us do it your way!"

"Then..."

"I will go inform Yuchi Gong! Surely he will not refuse!"

"Good! Go ahead, and I will make the preparations!"

With that, the two men spurred their horses and parted ways.

Before long, Li Xiaochang approached to within a hundred paces of Yuchi Gong and said coldly, "Duke of Wu, let us dispense with the complications. Since His Majesty commanded you to escort me to the Taiji Hall for discussion, I shall accompany you!"

"Oh?"

Yuchi Gong was taken aback, clearly not expecting Li Xiaochang to yield so readily.

Recovering from his surprise a moment later, his expression darkened. "State your conditions!"

"Hah, the Duke of Wu is a sensible man. My conditions are simple: I wish to bring Zhangsun Anye and the Yuzhou petition to an audience with His Majesty!"

Zhangsun Anye?

The Yuzhou petition?

What kind of condition was that?

Yuchi Gong felt somewhat baffled, but seeing no reason why such a demand would pose a serious problem, he pondered for a moment before agreeing readily, "Very well! Then bring your petition and accompany me to the Taiji Hall!"