Du Ruhui showed genuine interest. He turned his head and asked Sun Simiao,
"Imperial Physician Sun, if a person dies from poison, can it still be determined even after a thousand years?"
Sun Simiao stroked his beard, looking somewhat troubled. For a moment, his feelings were mixed, both pleased and uneasy.
The pleasure came from seeing that later generations' medicine had flourished enormously, divided into precise disciplines. Even the toxicology of drugs had become an independent field of study.
The unease came naturally from realizing that medical learning was just as vast and boundless. By the time he passed from this world, how much of that sea of medicine could he truly measure?
As for Du Ruhui's question, the answer itself was actually simple.
"That is only natural," Sun Simiao said. "Poison must penetrate the flesh and bones in order to take a life."
"Just as death by burning, drowning, or strangulation can all be determined from skeletal remains, death by poison is no different."
Methods of corpse examination used by coroners were not unfamiliar to Sun Simiao. He immediately gave Du Ruhui a brief explanation of the most direct characteristics seen in those who died from poisoning.
"As for Li Xian's death…"
Sun Simiao paused for a moment, then continued.
"From the Spring and Autumn period until now, any poison capable of killing a person suddenly will cause agonizing pain that corrodes the bones after ingestion. If the Son of Heaven consumed such a thing, the pain would be obvious within moments. He would only need to summon the imperial physicians to know he had been poisoned."
With Sun Simiao's explanation, Du Ruhui understood. If Li Xian truly had been poisoned, the intense pain would have been immediately apparent. He could have called the physicians at once, and the truth would have been exposed. The matter could never have been quietly covered up afterward.
But no matter how one looked at it, the whole issue was overly complicated. In his heart, Du Ruhui rather agreed with the later generations' evaluation of Li Xian.
He was like an idiot.
After all, even Sima Zhong had once said, "This is the blood of Attendant Ji. Do not wipe it away."
Li Xian's earlier alliance with the Wu clan could barely be explained as shoring up imperial authority. But his later indulgence of Wu Sansi, along with his unrestrained pampering of his wife and daughters, showed that he had already lost his head. Under such circumstances, Empress Wei and Princess Anle, who dreamed of becoming a second Wu Zetian, truly had no need to poison him.
Li Shimin had no interest in these details and went straight to the core of the matter.
"Whether he was poisoned or not does not hinder Li Xian's death."
How he died was not important. What came after his death was.
Zhangsun Wuji immediately stepped forward in agreement.
"'The Wei clan should replace the Tang mandate?' Such despicable vermin dare to show off their power, with no thought at all for how Wu Sansi ended up offering his neck to the blade."
"In my view, this is simply them rushing toward self destruction. Our Tang still possesses a flourishing mandate and will surely let these disasters understand what it means to charge a chariot like a mantis, knowing advance but not retreat."
Du Ruhui curled his lips inwardly. As if this needed to be said. Li Longji already looked like a man holding victory in his grasp.
But unlike Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui was not speaking empty words. He analyzed the situation based on reality.
"If one were to imitate Empress Wu's old precedent, the most suitable person would clearly be Princess Taiping. What does this have to do with Empress Wei and Princess Anle?"
By now, everyone in Ganlu Hall could see it clearly. Once Wu Zetian fell, and with a muddled and weak ruler like Li Xian on the throne, the remaining princesses and empresses all began to covet the old example of the Heavenly Empress.
Now that Li Xian had died, Empress Wei and Princess Anle had instead lost their greatest support. Since the opportunity to revive the old precedent lay right before them, who could say that Wu Zhou could not reclaim its state name?
At this moment, Du Ruhui watched Li Longji methodically contact the Imperial Guards, and his mind suddenly drifted back to the days when His Majesty had still been the Prince of Qin, pacifying the realm.
Less than a hundred years had passed since the Tang was founded, and these mediocre and ugly figures scrambling for power had already forgotten that the Tang empire was carved out inch by inch by the Prince of Qin with bow and blade in hand.
Without soldiers willing to die under one's banner, how could one be called the Son of Heaven?
[Lightscreen]
[In Li Xian's era, Princess Taiping may not have flaunted her power openly, but no one ever dared to ignore this great presence.
By status, she was the biological daughter of Emperor Gaozong and the female emperor herself. By power, after Li Xian ascended the throne, she was granted the title "Princess Taiping Who Stabilizes the State," with an actual fief of five thousand households and the right to establish her own offices.
Written as a princess, she was in reality already a regional prince.
Moreover, during the Wu Zhou period, whether she wished it or not, Princess Taiping had received personal instruction from her mother. She was equally adept at political maneuvering. As for the relationships among the key women of Emperor Zhongzong's reign, the historical records described them like this.
"Empress Wei and Lady Shangguan, both considered their intelligence inferior to that of the Princess, and greatly feared her."
Thus, Li Longji's entry into the fray was remarkably clear headed. He recognized that he did not have the ability to sweep away all the empresses and princesses. In that case, he might as well enter the game and borrow strength to strike strength. After all, the two sides had cooperated quite well during the Shenlong Coup.
And the choice of partner was indeed a single option. There was no way Li Longji could go to Empress Wei and seek cooperation. That side was already dreaming of claiming the throne. Cooperating with them would be equivalent to digging up the ancestral graves of the Li clan.
In short, Princess Taiping was quite happy to see this cooperation happen. The histories described her attitude with just two words: "the Princess rejoiced." She even sent her son, Xue Chongjian, to assist Li Longji.
Once everything was prepared, Li Longji's coup group suddenly realized something was off.
Where was the Prince of Xiang?
In truth, the answer was obvious. Li Longji had not grown a third eye, nor did he possess some kingly aura that made men kneel at first sight. The Imperial Guards were willing to listen largely because of Li Dan's status as Prince of Xiang. After all, fraternal succession was hardly rare before the Song dynasty.
Li Longji responded with righteous indignation. He said that they had gathered here to save the state. If they succeeded, it would benefit all under Heaven. If they failed, then they could execute him to preserve loyalty and filial piety. How could they drag his old father into danger and make him worry?
He further analyzed the situation. If they invited the Prince of Xiang and he came, then it would mean Li Longji had personally placed his father in danger. If they invited him and he did not come, then would their plan not be exposed?
The unspoken implication was obvious. If his father did not wish to act, could they kill him? That was something even Taizong had not done.
This well reasoned speech left everyone ashamed. With no time to waste, they acted that very night.
Under meticulous planning, the entire coup could be described as lacking any particular twists.
Li Longji led his confidants to coordinate from within and without, taking control of the northern imperial gardens of the palace. His subordinates, formerly of the Northern Gate Imperial Guards, directly entered the guard camps, led their men, and beheaded Empress Wei's confidants. Standing atop high ground, they shouted that Empress Wei had poisoned the former emperor and that tonight they would purge the court and enthrone the Prince of Xiang.
"The Yulin guards all gladly obeyed."
Li Longji then personally took control of Xuanwu Gate, securing the armory and the Northern Gate Guards. This both provided support for those entering the inner palace and ensured a clear retreat.
Yet events progressed far more smoothly than Li Longji had anticipated. As the guards entered the palace to purge the traitors, even the inner palace guards "all donned armor and responded." The entire palace became a killing ground for Empress Wei's faction.
Empress Wei herself fled in panic and was beheaded by an Imperial Guard, who carried her head before Li Longji's horse to claim merit. Princess Anle and Wu Yanshou, the last surviving member of the Wu clan, both died amid the chaos.
Shangguan Wan'er was terrified. She produced Li Xian's final edict, the one appointing the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, as regent, hoping the two sides could cooperate.
Li Longji found it unimpressive and chose to have Shangguan Wan'er executed beneath his banners.
At dawn, Li Longji donned armor and went to see his father to plead guilt. Upon meeting, father and son embraced and wept with deep emotion.
Li Longji said he had acted without consulting his father and deserved punishment. Li Dan replied that his son had stabilized the cosmos and rebuilt the state, making him a great contributor to the realm.
Once the formalities were complete, the two exchanged a smile and went to the palace to see the thoroughly terrified young emperor, Li Chongmao. After that, the pair divided their tasks with flawless coordination.
Li Longji dispatched the Imperial Guards and, in a single day, exterminated Empress Wei's faction from top to bottom. The young emperor Li Chongmao, accompanied by Li Dan, went outside the palace gates to face the people and pacify public sentiment.
The coup took place on the night of the twentieth day of the sixth month.
On the twenty first, Empress Wei's faction was completely eradicated.
On the twenty third, with Princess Taiping's assistance, Li Chongmao abdicated the throne to Li Dan.
On the twenty fourth, Li Dan formally ascended the throne. The Tang realm seemed to settle once more.]
Liu Bei recalled the various "purges of state traitors" in the Han dynasty, then compared them to this Tang affair that left no loose ends in a single day. In the end, he could only comment,
"It is rather practiced."
"That it is," Zhang Fei immediately agreed with his elder brother. "With predecessors demonstrating the way, later generations can naturally fill in the gaps."
Liu Bei choked on his words, unsure whether his third brother's "predecessors" referred to Li Longji's great grandfather Li Shimin, or to the Han and Jin dynasties before the Tang, including their own era.
Jian Yong watched this clean and decisive coup and spoke in a tone that was both praise and lament.
"For Li Longji, not yet thirty years of age, to act in this manner, he may indeed be called a resolute man. Clearing chaos and restoring order, he rendered merit to the state."
Even if Jian Yong disliked such bloody palace coups from the heart, he understood all too well that when Li Xian was alive, even the empress and princess dared to openly sell offices.
If they had waited until the empress dowager ruled from behind the curtain, or truly became a female emperor, the realm and the common people would have been sold off wholesale. By then, regret would come far too late.
Thus his praise was entirely sincere.
As for his sigh, everyone present understood it clearly. Thinking of the An Lushan Rebellion, Jian Yong shook his head.
"Compared to such heroic bearing, it is no wonder later generations often sigh and say that it would have been better had he died early."