If the news of Duguxiao's poisoning and death, and the First Prince's rebellion with the Empress to force the abdication had happened a year ago, Ding Yun would have been aware of it in advance.
This was because at that time, she had been planning her own rebellion.
Therefore, her surveillance of Chang'an City had been extremely tight.
She couldn't claim to know everything that happened in Chang'an, but she was confident that most events would not escape her notice.
However, a year prior, she had felt that taking control of Chang'an City was not difficult at all. It was the aristocratic families that posed a greater challenge. Thus, she had redeployed most of her personnel from Chang'an City to prepare for dealing with them.
With fewer people.
Her ability to gather information naturally declined.
Coupled with the fact that the First Prince and Empress had acted in concert, even deceiving Duguxiao, how could Ding Yun, whose control over the palace was already weak, have known?
Therefore, Ding Yun only received a delayed report from her subordinates when fighting broke out in the palace.
And the report was not detailed. She only knew that Duguxiao had died suddenly, the First Prince, with the Empress's help, had led a contingent into the palace, was currently maintaining order, and was summoning officials.
In addition, there were several other princes who had received similar news and rumors. They were quickly contacting their own forces and preparing to enter the palace to "defend the emperor." In reality, they were unwilling to concede and planned to lead their own contingents into the palace to try their luck, as success meant becoming emperor.
"Princess, what should we do next?"
Although Ding Yun had never revealed her intention to rebel, it was common knowledge that the First Prince had coveted her assets, wanted to seize them, and that she had counterattacked, nearly costing him his chance at succession.
Therefore, as soon as Ding Yun's subordinate received the news, he immediately felt that if the First Prince were to successfully ascend to the throne, he would undoubtedly target their mistress, the Eldest Princess, first.
Even if not immediately.
He would certainly cause trouble for her in the future.
This was why he had urgently asked Ding Yun for instructions.
He mainly wanted to know if Ding Yun intended to intervene and prevent the First Prince from ascending the throne.
"Mobilize all available personnel and make preparations. Also, send out an urgent signal to notify those stationed not far from here, including all personnel from the escort agencies, to quickly gather their men and rush over.
Go now. I will arrange the rest.
There's no need to be secretive this time. We'll do it openly. Chang'an is in chaos anyway, and no one will pay attention. Even if they do, they won't be able to stop us."
Since things had reached this point, Ding Yun could not just wait for death. She had to immediately decide to overturn her previous plan and focus on securing Chang'an first, ascending the throne, and then formulating new plans.
She had no choice but to fight now.
Based on her understanding of her elder brother, the First Prince, over the years, if he truly ascended the throne, he would never let her off. Rather than being forced to rebel later, it was better to deal with him now before he ascended the throne and seize it herself.
After Ding Yun gave her orders, the person who had delivered the message acknowledged her and left in a hurry.
Ding Yun then immediately went to the carrier pigeon room.
She began to send out orders using carrier pigeons.
After sending the orders, she quickly took her trusted subordinates and left the Eldest Princess's mansion, heading to the Chang'an Garrison Command and the leader of the Imperial Guard's home, with whom she had established contact and cooperation. She instructed them to bring their men and meet her outside the palace gates to prepare.
After completing these tasks, Ding Yun also sent someone to escort her daughter out of Chang'an through a secret passage. Only then did she don her armor, mount her horse, and head directly to the agreed-upon location with the other contingents, where she met them smoothly.
If the personnel who had arrived earlier were still somewhat nervous, fearing failure, their hearts were completely settled once all the forces had gathered.
With so many people, if they still failed.
They might as well give up and go home to farm.
"This operation can only succeed, not fail.
I hope you all understand. You don't need to divide your forces anymore. We will go directly to Chang'an Palace and capture the regicidal traitor first, taking control of the entire palace.
We'll deal with other matters later!"
With Ding Yun's command, everyone and the large number of men they had brought followed swiftly. Although they encountered some resistance along the way, it was like hitting a wall of mud against Ding Yun's forces, who were strong and equipped with rudimentary gunpowder weapons. The resistance quickly collapsed, unable to withstand them.
Soon, they successfully advanced to Chang'an Palace.
They either killed or captured the guards outside Chang'an Palace, successfully taking control of the outer perimeter. Ding Yun, along with a few generals, broke through the gates.
"You!"
Upon her appearance, the eunuchs, palace maids, and the First Prince, who was preparing for his coronation, all looked at Ding Yun, who had broken through the gates, with disbelief.
"What are you doing here? Are you here to help your big brother? It's a bit too late to show your filial piety now!"
The Empress did not realize that her daughter might also be vying for the throne. She had no concept of a woman ascending the throne and did not consider it. Therefore, she naturally assumed that Ding Yun had come to help.
She believed that her daughter, realizing the situation was irreversible, had come to help mend their relationship.
"Mother, you flatter yourself too much. Didn't you hear the sounds of fighting outside? Do you think those sounds were my forces engaged in a friendly conversation with your and big brother's men? What a joke.
I officially inform you that your forces outside have all been annihilated by me. The residences of the other princes are either already surrounded by me.
Or perhaps they have already been dealt with or tied up.
So, do you two surrender, or do you wish to be rebels and regicides, unrepentant, and die pierced by a thousand arrows?"
After Ding Yun said this dismissively, a large number of troops rushed in behind her, holding bows and arrows. In the next instant, the arrows in the archers' hands were aimed at the Empress and the First Prince.
It seemed that if they made any further moves.
They would be shot full of holes.
"You... what exactly do you want to do?
If you're worried that your big brother won't treat you well after he ascends the throne, I can have him swear now that once he becomes emperor, all your past grievances will be settled, and you can even be enfeoffed as the Grand Princess who Guards the Nation.
You can even enjoy the stipends of a Prince of the First Rank!
Don't you agree, A Jing!"
The Empress still hadn't realized Ding Yun's true intentions and was still patronizingly trying to persuade her, even tugging at her eldest son by her side as she spoke.
At this moment, Dugu Jing was also somewhat flustered. He was too panicked to deeply consider what Ding Yun's actions truly meant. He merely complied with his mother's instructions and hastily made various assurances to Ding Yun:
"That's right, that's right, A Luan. I haven't kept any of your past actions in mind. As long as I can ascend the throne, you will certainly not be shortchanged.
It's perfectly fine to grant you a fiefdom.
I promise, and I will keep my word!"
"Heh heh, it does sound very tempting.
But since I've come this far, why should I need your assurances? I haven't staked my entire fortune on whether others will keep their oaths. I don't need what I want to be given as charity.
I can take it myself.
How can a Grand Princess who Guards the Nation be as good as an Emperor?
Why can't I sit on this throne?"
"Take action! Arrest them all. If any resist, say they died in the crossfire. It doesn't matter if they were accidentally stabbed or trampled.
Ding Yun let out another scornful laugh and then, in front of them, declared her ambition. She immediately ordered her subordinates to arrest them. At this stage, even if some of her subordinates were learning of her ambition for the first time and felt a sense of unease, there was no turning back.
Because they were all in the same boat, all tied to the same rope. They could not possibly turn against her.
So, at this moment, they could only obey orders.
Following this, of course, was the pacification of the palace, taking complete control of it, and then, after pacifying the palace, continuing to pacify the entire city of Chang'an.
All the ministers, whether they were willing or unwilling, were "invited" to Chang'an Palace for discussions.
The entire upheaval lasted for nearly three hours before it was basically concluded. All the relevant individuals were "invited" to Chang'an Palace by Ding Yun's men.
This included all officials, nobles, royal family members,
And those rebellious princes.
Since things had progressed to this point.
Ding Yun saw no need to hesitate any longer. She directly sat on the dragon throne in front of everyone and began to verbally condemn the princes.
The First Prince and the Empress were guilty of regicide and patricide.
The other princes who had raised armies were guilty of rebellion.
She, however, was the one who had sent troops to defend the emperor and restore order.
Whether others acknowledged this or not, with hundreds of soldiers holding knives to their throats, they had no choice but to acknowledge it. Anyone who refused would immediately lose their head and be reunited with their entire family.
Ding Yun did not state this directly, but she implicitly conveyed it to everyone present. Even if someone was willing to risk their head for a good reputation, they would not be willing to sacrifice their entire family's reputation for it.
Therefore, everyone could only reluctantly accept it.
Those with some integrity simply remained silent.
Those without integrity had already begun to offer their support and praise.
Under normal circumstances, the best course of action would have been to eliminate the princes and the Empress, to cut off all future troubles. However, Ding Yun, considering that the original owner did not necessarily have to be emperor and did not seem to harbor extreme hatred towards her family, at least not to the point of wanting them all dead,
To avoid the original owner's displeasure at her family being wiped out.
Ding Yun ultimately showed mercy. She merely demoted them all to commoners and confined them to randomly chosen residences, keeping them alive for the time being.
When the world had stabilized,
It was not impossible to release them.
In addition, Ding Yun announced her intention to ascend the throne.
In comparison, the actions she had taken earlier, while shocking to the ministers and nobles, were not entirely unprecedented. They had witnessed internecine strife and massacres within royal families in historical records and had grown accustomed to them.
Even if a princess was involved.
It was not a rare occurrence.
However, for an involved Eldest Princess to declare her intention to ascend the throne herself was truly unprecedented.
For a moment, all the ministers were dumbfounded. Some even forgot about the knives at their throats and immediately voiced their opposition, citing the natural order of heaven and earth, that a woman's ascension was a reversal of yin and yang, that a hen crowing like a rooster would inevitably lead to chaos in the world, and so on.
Some also said that a female emperor was unheard of in history.
She would surely be rejected by heaven and earth.
In short, compared to Ding Yun's declaration of her intention to ascend the throne, her previous actions were mere child's play. The ministers could still barely tolerate those previous events, but this matter was too much for them.
It was one thing for a woman to be a princess, but now she wanted to rule over them as emperor. This was intolerable.
How arrogant was Empress Lü back then?
She still had the guise of Empress Dowager.
Ultimately, she did not dare to tear down the pretense and ascend the throne directly.
What did this Eldest Princess intend to do now? Was she trying to ascend the throne directly as the daughter of the late emperor? If she succeeded, would that mean that princesses would have the right to inherit the throne in the future? This was utter nonsense. They would not accept it, even if it meant their deaths.
Of course, most of the ministers initially found it difficult to accept, and some were fearless of death.
After Ding Yun brought their sons and grandsons to them, to be reunited with them, with soldiers holding swords and looking at them with warm enthusiasm,
They could no longer hold their ground and compromised.
After this harmonious exchange, Ding Yun's ascension to the throne was finally finalized. The next step was to await the Ministry of Rites to arrange and organize a new coronation ceremony.
Of course, during this interim period.
Ding Yun was not idle.
She did two things: first, she gradually brought her hidden forces into the open, and replaced all officials responsible for security and military power in Chang'an with her own personnel, ensuring her own safety and the security of Chang'an.
Second, she specifically prepared some decrees, which were beneficial to the aristocratic families. She did not yet have the ability to openly confront them. Moreover, a woman ascending the throne was not accepted in the current era. It was possible that some aristocratic families might not cause trouble.
Therefore, she had to offer them some incentives.
To stabilize them.
Once she had firmly established her throne and the populace had begun to accept her, she would then gradually deal with these aristocratic families.
At that time, they would have to pay back double for what they had received.