Chapter 51: Weeping at Zhaoling Mausoleum

Chapter 51: Weeping at Zhaoling Mausoleum

Weeping at Zhaoling Mausoleum was an old tradition of the people of the Tang Dynasty, as well as an established custom. Whenever subjects suffered an injustice, they could go to Zhaoling to weep and air their grievances.

The Tang poet Li Dongyi once wrote: "If justice cannot be found at this time, a lifetime of bitter weeping at Zhaoling is the only end." This gives a clear glimpse of the practice.

This also serves as indirect proof of the standing Li Shimin held in the hearts of the people of the Great Tang. Otherwise, why would you never see them weeping at Li Zhi’s Qianling Mausoleum?

And now, the subjects of the Great Tang, battered and tormented by the Wu clan, naturally had to seek out their lifelong white moonlight—Emperor Taizong Wen—to pour out their grievances when wronged.

Throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, it was much like a child in pain running to its mother, or an adult in suffering yearning for their beloved.

Seeing how deeply the people of the Great Tang missed him, Li Shimin could not help but well up with tears.

Why are my eyes filled with tears? Because I love this land with a profound and heavy love.

"Let us go to Zhaoling together, to lodge our grievances before His Majesty Taizong!"

Someone shouted out in the crowd, and countless others immediately echoed the call.

"Let's go together!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!"

"Let us follow them as well," Li Shimin said, standing with his hands behind his back. "I want to see for myself if this Great Tang is truly nearing its end, and if it has really reached the point where the Wu clan can blot out the sun with one hand in my empire!"

With that, he did not forget to plant a kick on Li Zhi.

It was all because of this good-for-nothing creature, useless as a sesame flatbread! If he hadn't given heavy authority to the Wu clan, how could there ever have been so many maddening troubles?

Li Zhi ruefully patted the spot where he had been kicked, daring neither to show his anger nor to voice his complaints. There was nothing he could do; the trouble was of his own making, the unfilial son was his own flesh and blood, and the one doing the kicking was his own father. He would just have to bear this blame. As long as it could bring peace of mind to his esteemed father, any price was worth it.

Thus he consoled himself.

And so, the four-person vanguard party followed the crowd all the way toward Zhaoling Mausoleum.

Zhaoling was located on Mount Jiuzong in the suburbs of Chang'an, setting the precedent for the Tang dynasty imperial tomb tradition of "using the mountain as the tomb." The teahouse was not far from Zhaoling, so it did not take long for the crowd to arrive at the foot of Mount Jiuzong.

The guards of the mausoleum seemed accustomed to this spectacle and made no attempt to stop them, merely offering a few symbolic warnings against entering before standing aside to watch.

Watching this, Li Shimin felt a sourness rise in his chest. In his view, the guards' reaction meant that people coming here to weep and appeal was an everyday occurrence.

Li Zhi furrowed his brows and asked in confusion, "Didn't the Wu family fall from power? How is it that Wu Sansi can still wield absolute power at court?"

According to common sense, upon the restoration of the Li-Tang Dynasty, a thorough reckoning with the Wu family should have been carried out, especially since the Wu clan had previously spared no effort in purging the imperial clan of the Tang. Even Li Zhi believed that had he been ruling, he certainly would have settled accounts ruthlessly.

"The rise of Wu Sansi is inseparable from three women," Li Qing said, resting an arm on Li Zhi's shoulder. "First is Princess Anle, Li Guor'er. She was herself the wife of Wu Chongxun, the son of Wu Sansi."

"Precisely because of this familial tie, Princess Anle became the emotional liaison between Wu Sansi and Li Xian."

"The second is Shangguan Wan'er. During the Wu Zhou period, she served Empress Wu, and had once been intimately entangled with Wu Sansi. By the time of the Zhongzong reign, Li Xian took a fancy to her talent and beauty, and made her a imperial concubine... Because of this connection, coupled with her desire to seek political allies outside the palace, she introduced Wu Sansi to both Li Xian and Empress Wei."

"The third one is an even bigger heavyweight: Empress Wei, the wife of Li Xian. It is said that Empress Wei was particularly fond of playing the *shuanglu* board game with Wu Sansi. To keep Empress Wei happy, Li Xian would simply stand by the side, holding the tea and serving water."

"As for what the two of them played when Li Xian wasn't around... well, we can only guess. But it seems your family's tradition of wearing green cuckold hats is hereditary. Here, put it on properly."

With that, Li Qing produced a green hat and slapped it squarely onto Li Zhi's head.

And he was not wrong. First, Li Yuan's Consorts Zhang and Yin had been rumored to have affairs with Li Jiancheng; second, Li Shimin had his home raided and usurped by his own son; and as for Li Zhi himself... better left unsaid.

And now there was Zhongzong Li Xian, who was cuckolded as well, not to mention Li Longji later on, who would play the role of the primary offender in a NTR drama...

Looking at it this way, they were truly miserable.

As they drew closer with the crowd, they unexpectedly found people already wailing bitterly at the foot of the Mausoleum Lookout Pagoda, among whom were even a few individuals clad in official robes.

After exchanging words, they learned that these mourners were family members and former subordinates of Cui Xuanwei and Jing Hui, two of the "Five Princes."

"Pitiful is my father, who served the country with absolute loyalty all his life, only to meet an end where he was carved to pieces by torturers at the very end!"

The son of Jing Hui embraced the imperial stele, striking it repeatedly with his forehead in agonizing grief, producing hollow, thudding sounds.

"That brutal executioner, Zhou Lizhen, before torturing my father to death, boasted of how he had tortured and killed Prince Huan of Fuyang and Prince Yuan of Nanyang... Because the Prince of Hanyang and the Prince of Boling died of illness on the road, when he caught up with the Prince of Fuyang in Guizhou, he unleashed all the fury in his heart upon him!"

Jing Hui's son wept with a hoarse voice, recounting the atrocities of the executioner, moving everyone around them to tears.

"After catching up with the Prince of Nanyang, he forced him to swallow wild kudzu juice. The Prince of Nanyang suffered such unbearable agony that he clawed at the mud with his fingers until every single nail was worn away, before Zhou Lizhen finally ordered him beaten to death with clubs!"

"When that executioner returned to the capital, Wu Sansi immediately promoted him to Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat! To think that three loyal ministers who gave their all for our Great Tang were tortured to death alive by Wu Sansi's men! Can it be that our Great Tang truly has no door left to knock for justice?"

All these events had occurred just last year, namely the second year of Shenlong. Because the transportation of the Great Tang was underdeveloped and the transmission of information was slow, it was entirely normal for the common people to be unaware.

Additionally, the third year of Shenlong and the first year of Jinglong were in fact the same year.

"Wu Sansi's actions are meant to strike at the hearts of men," Li Shimin said, his deep gaze fixed upon the weeping family members of Jing Hui. "He wishes to use such inhuman methods against his political opponents, thereby striking terror into the hearts of those who oppose him, forcing them to think of the fate of others before they dare to stand against him, Wu Sansi."

Over in the crowd, people were still weeping over the recent evils of the Wu clan. Hearing the mourners lamenting the Commandant-General of the Palace Cavalry, Wang Tongjiao, Li Shimin could not help asking: "Who is this Commandant Wang? Why are they all mourning him?"

"Commandant Wang, named Tongjiao, is the husband of Li Xian's daughter, Princess Ding'an, and a principal participant in the Shenlong Coup. He is a figure worthy of being recorded in the biographies of loyal and brave men in the history books," Li Qing sighed.

"Dissatisfied with Wu Sansi's usurpation of power, he plotted to assassinate him. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by a petty person. Once Wu Sansi learned of his plan, he had someone falsely accuse Wang Tongjiao of treason before Li Xian. And so, Wang Tongjiao was executed by Li Xian at the Luoyang Station."

Hearing Li Qing's introduction, someone in the crowd shouted loudly: "Commandant Wang was a man of fierce integrity and unyielding blood! Before his execution, his expression never changed as he strode proudly to his death. He died to rid the state of traitors, and every single one of us holds him in awe!"

"Yet the Emperor actually listened to slanderous tongues and murdered a loyal subject! What on earth has happened to this Great Tang?!"

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Please keep reading, yingyingying qwq

(End of this chapter)