Chapter 676: Human Weakness

A few days after the Southern Tang Palace Coup, Li Qing'an was already in Junyi County, which is the prefecture of Bianzhou, which is today's Kaifeng. He walked dozens of miles south along the Bian River and arrived in Chenliu County.

He had already arranged the plan for inspection of the canal transportation and Jiangnan. The reason why Kaiyuan was able to flourish was that the young Li Longji worked hard to govern the country, and the famous ministers emerged, and the world was governed in an orderly manner.

Another key point is that Jiangnan was developed and the grain transportation was cleared, so that Jiangnan materials were transported to Guanzhong in large quantities, the official warehouses were abundant, taxes were reduced, prices were low in various places, and people's lives were generally abundant, and Kaiyuan prosperity was able to emerge.

However, as Li Longji indulged the annexation of land by the powerful and the wealthy, the wealth of the world was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the powerful and the wealthy. The richer the richer and the poorer the poorer. After all, it is still a question of cutting cakes, and the same is true in ancient and modern times.

However, with the An Lushan rebellion and the great changes within the court, the world's wealth faced a reshuffle. As the one who controls the world's power, Li Qing'an first had to consider restoring order and restoring the livelihood of Hebei, which was destroyed by the chaos of the military. This required the court to master a large amount of resources, the most important of which was food.

He was preparing to spend ten years resting and resting, so that the population of the Tang Dynasty could be restored to the level of the early years of Tianbao, and the economy would be restored to the tenth year of Kaiyuan, when the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty would appear again.

In all his plans, canal transport and Jiangnan are extremely important links. Canal transport is not just an official transport. Canal transport is actually a kind of transportation. There was no car and train in the Tang Dynasty, but it could not appear, but it could vigorously develop water transport. The large and convenient water transport can also communicate between the north and the west, and play a huge role in the exchange of goods and materials.

After the world gradually calmed down, his focus will also shift to the economy.

Junyi is one of the most important transit stations for the canal transportation. The Bian River and Baigou River meet here. As early as the Kaiyuan period, huge warehouse groups and material storage areas were built along the Bian River. Due to the blockage of the canal river, it gradually became deserted in the later period of Tianbao, and the supplies were less and less. The huge warehouse groups also became a habitat for countless refugees and wild dogs and cats. The economy of Junyi County, which was originally prosperous due to the canal transportation, also began to decline.

However, with the court's re-emphasis on the grain transport, Cui Ning, the left prime minister, personally went to the Jianghuai River to clear the grain transport in Henan. As the central hub of the entire Henan Road, as the Henan Road Observation Envoy and the Henan River Transport Administration, the important position of Junyi County was once again demonstrated.

Li Qing'an's eastern tour was mainly about boat rides. More than 20 official boats were sailing in Bianhei. There were still cavalry guards on both sides. The world was drizzling. There were two rows of windproof trees on both sides, with lush trees. Large areas of farmland and villages could be seen in the gaps between the trees. Winter wheat had been harvested, rice was planted, and there was a green scene in the paddy fields.

From time to time, farmers working in the fields looked up and looked up here. They wore bamboo hats and were busy in the fields. The banks of the Bian River seemed to be a calm and full of vitality.

Li Qing'an stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back and admired this beautiful picture from afar. Henan Road was not destroyed by the Anshi Rebellion, which always made him feel very relieved. Although Hebei was in a mess, the area was not large after all, and most of the people had moved smoothly. The disaster of the Anshi Rebellion had been minimized. The two hinterlands of the Central Plains of Hedong and Henan were not destroyed, which laid a solid foundation for his plan to revive the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, a personal soldier shouted: "General, you have arrived at Junyi Wharf ahead."

The Junyi Wharf two miles south is clearly visible, and a huge group of warehouses appears from above the treetops. They can feel the welcoming atmosphere of beating drums and drums on the wharf on the boat. It is estimated that all local officials have arrived.

Li Qingan suddenly remembered something and smiled at Wei Qingping: "When I passed by Chenliu a few days later, I wanted to go ashore to see an old friend. I guess his injury is almost healed."

Wei Qingping did not answer. Li Qingan looked back and saw that his aide Wei Qingping was sitting in front of the map, holding a teacup in his hands, looking worried, and did not hear him speak. He has been like this since the morning. Li Qingan couldn't help but smile and asked, "Mr. Wei is still thinking about Chengdu?"

Wei Qingping sighed and said, "I didn't expect that in the end it was Li Shi who won. This person advocated force and had a violent personality. It would be difficult for him to surrender. He would definitely resist with all his strength. I'm worried about the catastrophe in Shu!"

"Um!"

Li Qingan also nodded, "The so-called plan is in people, and success is in heaven. King Peng Li only occupies the right time, place, people, but he lost in the end. It can only be said that God did not favor him, and it can only be said that he was not as good as the Li party in decision-making in major matters. Li only failed, so he would definitely be unable to escape. Unfortunately, Yan Kai was unable to escape and was burned with the jade. This is also my loss. Treating his family well can also be considered an explanation!"

Wei Qingping was still a little unwilling to give up, and he asked again: "Your Highness, is there no possibility of avoiding the catastrophe in Shu? Hebei Road has been destroyed. If Bashu is destroyed again and the people are in trouble, the revival of the Tang Dynasty will not be so easy. Your Highness, what I am most worried about is this."

Li Qing'an pondered for a moment, "Mr. My concern was actually mine. The reason why I have been slow to launch an attack on the Southern Tang is that I hope that there will be changes within them. We will take the Southern Tang Dynasty by defeating others without fighting. If Li Heng is willing to surrender, I can even let him be a Xiaoyao Prince. Of course, I also know that this is impossible, so I want to use the battle for the prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty to weaken the strength of the Southern Tang Dynasty as much as possible. But I didn't expect that Li was only so weak, but there is room for recovery. Everyone has weaknesses. As long as we grasp the weaknesses of key figures, we may also avoid the military disaster in Shu."

Wei Qingping seemed to understand something, and he was surprised: "Have the general arranged it?"

Li Qing'an nodded and smiled, "I have arranged for the Intelligence Hall to do it. I believe the Intelligence Hall will not disappoint me."

Li Qing'an looked at the rich land in front of him, the numerous rivers on the plain, the simple farmers working in the fields, the villages emitting smoke from cooking, and the Junyi County town that was clearly visible in the distance, he felt emotion, how could the countryside be so beautiful, how could it be destroyed by war disasters again?

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It has been five days since the Li family ascended the throne in Chengdu. Chengdu City is still shrouded in a tense and depressing atmosphere. The martial law has not been completely lifted, but people can go shopping within two hours of the afternoon. Only at this time can the city be a little more energetic.

The most crowded city in the whole city is Nanshi. Due to the uneasiness and fear of the future, every household in Chengdu began to store grain and various daily necessities, and only Nanshi was supplied with these supplies. Every afternoon, a large number of people in Nanshi flocked to the store selling daily necessities, which was crowded with all the shops that sold daily necessities.

The horse industry is no exception. The shops are crowded with people coming to buy cattle and sheep. Although killing cattle was a serious crime in the Tang Dynasty, everyone was not attentive to it when the war was in chaos. The name was to buy cattle to plow the fields. In fact, everyone was tacitly aware that the price of cattle was relatively expensive, and several families often bought one together.

The Qianli Horse Shop is also crowded with wealthy families who buy horses, but buying horses is not for slaughtering, but mainly because of the need for carriages when escaping.

However, the number of horses, cattle and sheep is limited, and most people return empty-handed. There are crowds of three or five everywhere on the streets, and people full of resentment in their hearts.

"Do you know? Last night, Yang Shenjin's mansion next to my house was banned. The charge was for colluding with the Northern Tang Dynasty. Yang Shenjin was arrested in prison. His wife heard that Xuan Liang committed suicide. One of her two sons ran away and the other... Alas! The new emperor was too cruel. He was nothing but the nominal King Peng Fu, and he would not let him go."

A group of people gathered together to discuss and exchange various news. Many officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty have suffered a catastrophe in recent days. All 138 officials who jointly supported King Peng were liquidated, at the least they were dismissed, and at the worst they were searched. Many old enemies and enemies of Li Fuguo were also cleaned up.

Everyone was labeled as colluding with the Northern Tang Dynasty. Even Cui Yuan, the left prime minister who supported him after the coup, was not spared, and was relieved of all official positions and demoted to common people. Zhang Ye, the Minister of Rites, was promoted to the Right Prime Minister's Secretariat, and Wang Gong was renamed the Minister of the Left Prime Minister. If Wang Gong had not secretly given Li Fuguo 50,000 ounces of money, he would have been doomed.

"What's Yang Shenjin!"

Another old man said disdainfully: "The clan family is so miserable! The 78 clans in Chengdu have heard that more than 60 households have been confiscated, and many of them have been jailed. It is probably because they were executed secretly. The head of the king Siqi was cut off. It is so miserable! The emperor's tricks are so vicious that he is afraid of being the name of father-killing, so he attacks the clan."

"Shh! Someone is here."

Everyone did not dare to speak anymore, but saw a carriage coming out of the alley next to the Qianli Horse Walk and running towards the gate of Nanshi.

The carriage left Nanshi and drove all the way to the Prince's Mansion of Jinchang County, not far from Nanming Palace.

The Jinchang County Prince's Mansion, which was the original Siqi Prince's Mansion, has now been occupied by Guo Yingyi and has become his new prince's mansion. These days, Chengdu martial law has been ruled, and Guo Yingyi also stayed in the city, enjoying the huge benefits brought by supporting the new emperor ascending the throne.

However, Guo Yingyi was a little nervous today. He had just received two information from the Jianzhou defenders that the 100,000 troops of the Northern Tang Dynasty had already gone south and occupied Yichang County. The troops were sent to Jianmen Pass. The commander of the Northern Tang army was Li Guangbi.

Another information was that the Northern Tang general Li Sheng led 50,000 troops from Yiling to advance into Shuzhong. The Northern Tang army advanced rapidly and the army arrived in Fengjie. The vanguard had already arrived in Yun'an County and was about to enter Wanzhou.

These two intelligences made Guo Yingyi feel as if the end of the world was coming. He had a hint of luck. The Northern Tang army would not attack Shuzhong for the time being, but his luck was shattered. The Northern Tang army really attacked the Southern Tang in an all-round way. He locked himself in the study room for the whole morning, considering his own way out, his life, his gold jewelry, and his beautiful relatives like flowers.

Guo Yingyi was frightened. He didn't dare to tell the new emperor Li Shi about this information. He would not tell anyone until he considered his retreat.

"Master General!" A personal soldier at the door reported in a low voice.

"I'm so annoying. I said I'm not allowed to bother me!"

"Master, you'd better take a look! It's very important."

Guo Yingyi was a little confused. His personal soldiers didn't know his habits. If they insisted like this, maybe something important might be true.

He walked up to open the door and saw a box in his hand.

“What is this?”

Guo Yingyi took the box, which was heavy and seemed to have metal inside. He opened the box and his eyes were so shocked that he immediately closed the box and asked nervously: "Where is the person coming?"

"Just wait outside the mansion."

"Take him to my study, wait!"

Guo Yingyi called his personal soldiers again and told him: "Take him in through the side door and don't let anyone see it."

The personal soldiers went, and Guo Yingyi returned to his seat and couldn't help but open the box. The box was filled with a gold medal with the words "King of Zhao" engraved. Behind it is "General Tiance and the governor of Anxi". This is Li Qing'an's identity gold medal. Of course, Guo Yingyi knew that Li Qing'an would not be in Chengdu, but the appearance of the gold medal was equivalent to his appearance.

After a moment, the personal soldiers brought a burly man wearing a hat and covering his face. The man took off the hat and smiled and said, "Governor Guo, I haven't seen him for many years."

"It's you!"

Guo Yingyi was stunned for a moment. He suddenly recognized this person. He had dealt with many times when he was the governor of Qinzhou, and Geshuhan's general Shi Jingzhong.

"Why are you in Chengdu? Haven't you returned to Longyou?"

Shi Jingzhong pointed to the gold medal on the table and smiled, "Does Governor Guo still understand that gold medal?"

Guo Yingyi suddenly realized, "So you are the chief leader of the Northern Tang spy in Chengdu."

"Not bad, it's me!"

Guo Yingyi suddenly reacted again, and pointed at Shi Jingzhong and said in surprise: "I understand, you must have shot the arrow from Linghu Fei."

He had studied the crossbow arrow that killed Linghu Fei, and he concluded that this man had been immersed in the crossbow for at least ten years before he could hit the middle of his forehead in the moving carriage.

Now that he saw Shi Jingzhong, he immediately realized that it must be this person.

"That's right, I am also the one who shot and killed Linghu Fei!"

Shi Jingzhong admitted it very readily, and he smiled and said, "Does Guo Shuai just want to bother me with these little things?"

Guo Yingyi quickly asked him to go into the room and sat down, and ordered his personal soldiers not to disturb him. If the new emperor came, he would say he was sick.

Shi Jingzhong seemed confident. He admired the general's eyes very much and focused on Guo Yingyi. Judging from the information he had, Guo Yingyi was a lustful and ungrateful person. This man betrayed Li Longji and betrayed Li Heng. He only had interests but no loyalty. However, such a person also had one of the biggest weaknesses, that is, he was afraid of death. He was greedy for wealth and wealth, so he was afraid of death more than anyone else. From then on, when a person invited himself to the mansion, he knew that the general's judgment was completely correct. If he wanted to solve the Southern Tang Dynasty at the lowest cost and eliminate the catastrophe in Shu, the key was this person.

Shi Jingzhong also received information this afternoon. Li Guangbi and Li Sheng had launched an attack on Nan Tang at the same time. The last moment was about to come, and he believed that Guo Yingyi also knew about it.

Guo Yingyi picked up the gold medal and watched it for a while. He came to Shuzhong because of Li Qing'an's criticism. Now the Northern Tang army has come to fight. Does he still have a chance?

Even if he could use the geographical advantage to stop Li Guangbi, he could not stop Li Sheng's army. The combat effectiveness of the Southern Tang army was so weak that it might be okay to deal with the unarmed villain, but he had no confidence in fighting against the elite army of the Northern Tang Dynasty.

He sighed and asked, "What does Your Highness Zhao mean?"

"Before I'll tell Guo Shuai something before I talk about His Highness Zhao's oral orders."

"What's the matter?"

"Jia Chongguan and Nanzhao have surrendered to the Northern Tang Dynasty, so Guo Shuai should not think about going to Annan."

Guo Yingyi's face changed drastically. He thought about it all morning. The only way to retreat was to retreat to Annan and stand there. However, Jia Chongguan and Nanzhao surrendered to Northern Tang, blocking the last way to retreat.

There is no way out, Guo Yingyi is like a deflated ball and completely loses confidence.

"Tell me! What is the oral order of His Highness Zhao?"
To be continued...