49: Three thousand cavalry entered Chang'an and forced the emperor to abdicate!

The atmosphere in the study instantly reversed; the earlier oppression was swept away, replaced by a nearly fanatical excitement.

“Good!”

“With Chancellor Fang’s words, we are relieved!”

“Tomorrow, we must let that young brat know our power!”

Cui Minkan stood up, a grim smile appearing on his aged face.

He bowed deeply to Fang Xuanling.

“In that case, we trouble Chancellor Fang.”

He straightened up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, his voice suddenly rising, full of unbridled arrogance.

“Everyone, listen well! Tomorrow, we will exhaust all our strength to let every Official in the imperial court see our determination!”

“We will make sure that the high and mighty Crown Prince, and His Majesty on the Dragon Throne, clearly understand!”

“Whose Heaven this Great Tang’s Heaven truly is!”

Cui Minkan’s voice echoed in the study.

Sharp, piercing, with a confidence that bordered on madness.

This fervor quickly ignited everyone present.

“Exactly! Heaven is the Heaven of our Five Surnames and Seven Clans!”

An Official from the Wang Clan of Taiyuan, flushed with excitement, slammed the table, making the teacups clatter.

“Tomorrow, I want to personally witness that young upstart speechless in the imperial court!”

Another person from the Boling Cui Clan loudly agreed, his eyes full of the pleasure of revenge, “My Boling Cui Clan’s disciples are spread throughout the court; with a single command, impeachment memorials could drown the Taiji Hall!”

“And my Fanyang Lu Clan! Half of the Officials above the third rank in the court have received favors from my clan elders; they dare not remain silent!”

For a time, the study was filled with fervent excitement, everyone eager, already envisioning the scene at tomorrow’s morning court where Crown Prince Li Chengqian would be in disarray, bowing his head in submission.

They were aristocratic families, renowned clans with a Legacy of centuries.

In their eyes, emperors could change, dynasties could be altered, but only they were the eternal Dominator of this land.

A wet-behind-the-ears Crown Prince dared to challenge them?

It was simply courting death!

Fang Xuanling sat quietly in the main seat, his expression as calm as still water, merely picking up the now cold tea and taking a small sip.

He watched the group of “allies” before him, whose minds were clouded by arrogance, a cold sneer in his heart.

A bunch of fools.

The Crown Prince’s slaughter of the Jing Province clans was indeed excessive, but it also precisely showed that he was no longer the mediocre Crown Prince who could be manipulated at will.

These people still believed that with the residual prestige of their ancestors and their intricate network of connections, they could sway the court and shake imperial power.

They simply didn’t understand that times had changed.

However, their foolishness and arrogance were exactly what he needed right now.

Only a sharp enough blade could test the depth of the Crown Prince’s armor.

“Chancellor Fang,”

Cui Minkan turned to Fang Xuanling, a hint of an imperceptible command in his tone, “Tomorrow, we will follow your lead. You see, this vanguard…”

Fang Xuanling slowly put down his teacup, raised his eyes to look at everyone, his gaze calm and unruffled, yet it instantly quieted the noisy study.

“Everyone, calm down.”

His voice was not loud, but it possessed a convincing power.

“This matter is not the achievement of one person, nor the affair of one family. At tomorrow’s morning court, you only need to truthfully present every single action of the Crown Prince in Jing Province.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over each person, “Remember, we are eliminating evils for the country and pleading for the common people, not forming factions for selfish gain. Justice resides in the hearts of the people.”

His words were grand and impeccable.

Cui Minkan and the others nodded repeatedly in agreement, feeling even more that Fang Xuanling was a seasoned statesman, their pillar of strength.

“Chancellor Fang is absolutely right!”

“We will strictly follow Chancellor Fang’s instructions!”

After discussing details for a moment, everyone, satisfied and triumphant, rose to take their leave.

Fang Xuanling personally saw them to the door, watching them one by one disappear into the night with their heads held high, before the smile on his face slowly faded.

He turned and returned to the silent study, a chill rising from his feet.

He walked to the window, gazing at the crescent moon in the sky.

Tomorrow, what a bloody slaughter it would be.

And he, personally, had drawn back the curtain on this slaughter.

He didn’t know if he was right or wrong; he only knew that in this game of chess, he could not lose, and he could not afford to lose.

The dawn in Chang’an City always arrived silently and majestically.

When the first ray of morning light crossed the eaves of Zhuque Avenue and fell upon the cold bluestone slabs, a dull, thunderous roar rolled in from the direction of Chunming Gate.

It was not the usual clamor of carriages, nor the hubbub of a market opening.

It was a heavy, uniform, metallic-sounding footfall, as if an ancient beast was approaching the center of this Empire with earth-shaking strides.

The Bad People centurion guarding the city gate, yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes, was startled awake by this sudden, unusual sound.

He quickly climbed the city wall, looked out, and his pupils instantly contracted to pinpricks.

On the horizon, a black torrent appeared.

Three thousand knights, clad in impenetrable black heavy armor, both man and horse encased in steel, with only their eyes, glinting with cold light in the morning sun, visible.

Their long lances were like a forest, and black banners fluttered in the breeze, bearing no official Tang Dynasty emblem, only a single blood-red character — “Han.”

This army exuded a suffocating aura of killing, like a demonic army that had crawled out from the depths of Hell.

Their marching formation was terrifyingly precise; the iron hooves of three thousand warhorses somehow struck the same rhythm, each step a heavy hammer blow to the heart.

“Tie… Iron Pagoda!”

The centurion’s teeth chattered, his lips white.

Although he hadn’t seen them with his own eyes, he had heard countless descriptions of these legendary heavy cavalry.

“Quick! Go report to His Majesty!”

He shrieked, his voice changing pitch, “Just say… just say Crown Prince’s army has reached Chang’an City!”

A Bad People scrambled down the city wall, frantically grabbed a fast horse, not even bothering to saddle it, flipped onto its back, and whipped the horse’s rump with all his might, galloping towards the Imperial City… Taiji Palace, Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin had just risen and was being attended to by an inner servant, who was helping him put on his Dragon Robe.

Last night, he had tossed and turned, his mind filled with the shadows of Fang Xuanling and others’ secret meeting and the bloody news from Jing Province.

He knew that today’s morning court would be a storm directed at his son.

He had even thought about how to respond, how to admonish, how to balance.

Just then, outside the Hall, there was a series of hurried, undignified footsteps and a sharp announcement.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!”

A eunuch, covered in sweat and panting, rushed in, falling to his knees with a thud, his voice tearful, “Urgent report from Chunming Gate! An… an unidentified heavy cavalry unit, about three thousand strong, has reached the city gates! They are… they are advancing towards the Eastern Palace!”

Li Shimin’s hand, which was fastening his jade belt, suddenly froze. He slowly turned around, the wide sleeves of his Dragon Robe tracing a majestic arc behind him.

There was no expression on his face, but his eyes instantly became as cold and chilling as ten thousand years of ice.

“Whose army?”

His voice was very soft, yet it caused the temperature of the entire Hall to drop.

“The banner… only has a ‘Han’ character… The Bad People guarding the city say it’s Crown Prince’s troops.”

The eunuch trembled as he replied, his head buried in the ground, not daring to look up.

“Chengqian…”

Li Shimin whispered the name, his teeth grinding audibly.

An uncontrollable rage, mixed with deep disappointment and bone-chilling coldness, surged from the depths of his heart.

What did he want to do?

Slaughtering in Jing Province wasn’t enough, and now he dared to lead three thousand Iron Pagoda directly into Chang’an?

Was this a show of force?

A provocation?

Or… a forced abdication?!

The scent of blood from Xuanwu Gate once again assailed his nostrils at this moment.

He closed his eyes, and Li Chengqian’s face, always somewhat deferential yet hiding a deep intensity, appeared in his mind.

So, that wasn’t deference; it was a disguise.

So, that so-called mediocrity was merely to conceal the fangs he had long sharpened.

“Good… Good indeed, my Crown Prince!”

Li Shimin suddenly opened his eyes, pushed away the inner servant beside him, and strode out of the Hall, “Prepare the imperial carriage! I want to see with my own eyes what kind of surprise my good son intends to give me!”

This was three thousand Iron Pagoda entering Chang’an, a military remonstrance to force abdication!