The eunuch in charge of delivering the order saw in despair that following Zhang Wu's order, the roaring war drums sounded, and the soldiers in the front row drew their weapons one after another.
The envoy from the East Palace wanted to retreat, but Zhang Wu was not prepared to give him this chance.
A cold light flashed, and the last thing the East Palace envoy saw was the coalition forces of Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun striding into Shi Chaoyi's camp.
The bright yellow imperial edict flew into the air, then landed heavily on the mud, and was immediately stepped into the mud by a foot.
Shi Chaoyi watched helplessly as the Tang army entered the camp. When he wanted to organize resistance again, he found that there were no more soldiers around.
He grabbed Luo Yue's collar and said:
"Why is this happening? Didn't we surrender to the Tang Dynasty?"
Luo Yue was also full of questions. Even though he was extremely resourceful, he still couldn't figure out why Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun acted so unreasonably.
His surrender to the prince was confirmed by the imperial decree of the Emperor of Tang Dynasty. The two men risked disobeying the imperial decree and wanted to kill Shi Chaoyi.
Luo Yue couldn't understand no matter how hard he thought about it, did he and Zhang Wunan Jiyun have such a big hatred?
Isn’t it rationally the best choice to just stop fighting?
Luo Yue didn't understand that if he was loyal to the Tang Dynasty, he should accept the emperor's order and obediently make way for Shi Chaoyi to go south.
If you are not loyal to the Tang Dynasty, you should preserve your strength at this time and don't have to come up and fight with your side?
But what did Zhang Wu do? While he beheaded the eunuch who announced the decree in the East Palace, he ordered his troops to march at all costs. What was the purpose of this?
Shi Chaoyi's camp was breached. From this moment on, Shi Chaoyi's destruction became a matter of time.
Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun rode side by side. Nan Jiyun looked at the rising smoke and said:
"Brother Zhang, I have prepared a memorial to apologize to the court, and also sent a letter to Zhang Liushou in Luoyang. If the court dismisses me from my official position, I will return to my hometown to farm."
Zhang Wu looked at Nan Jiyun in surprise. Zhang Wu was a player, so he could naturally indulge in any grudges in this world. However, Nan Jiyun, a native general, could be so pure. This made Zhang Wu feel even more dissatisfied with Nan Jiyun.
Respect.
Nan Jiyun asked:
"Brother Zhang, we are doing this for the Tang Dynasty, right?"
Zhang Wu nodded and said:
"Of course, we are doing this for the Tang Dynasty and for the justice of millions of people."
Zhang Wu said calmly:
"When did this world start to get bad? It started when no one paid attention to justice, everything was based on interests, and everyone pursued interests."
Zhang Wu sighed and said:
"Benefit is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You can't have both. It's righteousness that you relegate to others."
Nan Jiyun was stunned and agreed:
"Brother Zhang and I have the same idea. Compared with benefit and righteousness, I will still choose righteousness."
Zhang Wu shook his head and said:
"But which one is more important, profit or justice, is not so easy to weigh."
"Oh? Didn't the saint say that justice is more important than profit?"
Zhang Wu said seriously:
"If personal interests are compared to the justice of the world, of course the justice of the world is more important."
"Just like today, if I let Shi Chaoyi go south, it will protect my personal interests, but it will harm the justice of the world. Therefore, Zhang would rather be punished by the court than kill Shi Chaoyi, a national thief."
Nan Jiyun nodded. He hadn't read many books, and it was Zhang Xun who taught him how to read and write, but he still understood what Zhang Wu said.
Zhang Wu changed the subject and said:
"But what if the benefit of the world is compared with justice?"
Nan Jiyun was stunned. He had never thought about this problem.
Zhang Wu continued:
"Leaving aside the interests of the world, if Shi Siming wanted to surrender to the Tang Dynasty at this time, how would he make a decision?"
Nan Jiyun was stunned again.
Although Shi Siming showed signs of decline, he still occupied several states in the northern part of Henan Province and a town in Hedong, and still had hundreds of thousands of elites in his hands.
If the imperial army and Shi Siming fight a tough battle, the outcome is still unknown, and now that Tian Siming is set, the entire Tang Dynasty really doesn't want to fight anymore.
In this case, how should the court make a decision?
Nan Jiyun was silent. It was also a surrender, but Shi Siming's surrender was much more complicated. It really affected too many people.
"Brother Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Wu said: "It is better to chase the poor bandits with bravery than to pretend to be the overlord. If I were to accept Shi Siming's surrender, I would definitely resolve the Hedong rebellion!"
Then Zhang Wu looked at the military camp where the shouts of killing gradually subsided, and said to Nan Jiyun:
"Your mission and mine have been completed. Shi Chaoyi has been destroyed, and we can be considered worthy of Qilu's fathers and fellow villagers."
On June 24, Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun teamed up to break through Shi Chaoyi's camp. Shi Chaoyi's head was cut off by his men in the rebellion, and his adviser Luo Yue was captured alive.
Zhang Wu just asked Luo Yue to confirm Shi Chaoyi's identity, and then left a sentence: "Wenhe and Wuwu, it will be a disaster for such people to stay in troubled times", and then ordered his men to kill Luo Yue.
Then Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun reorganized Shi Chaoyi's surrendered troops and sent Shi Chaoyi's head to Chang'an. Zhang Wu then ordered his men to send Luo Yue's head to Bianzhou.
Prince Li Chu, who was waiting hard for news of Shi Chaoyi's surrender in Bianzhou, received the news that the envoy from the East Palace had died and that Shi Chaoyi's troops had been defeated by Zhang Nan and his two men.
At first, Li Chu couldn't believe the news. Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun were just generals, but they actually felt like they were disobeying the imperial edict?
But soon the news came that Shi Chaoyi and Luo Yue were dead, and the eunuch he sent to deliver the order also died in the rebellion.
On June 26, Luo Yue's head was delivered to Bianzhou City. Li Chu looked at the mastermind Shi Chaoyi who had been living in his house a few days ago and was chatting with him. He drew out his sword angrily and expressed his
We should write a letter to impeach Zhang Wu and Nan Jiyun.
Just when the whole world's eyes were focused on the fact that Zhang Nan and his two men defied the imperial edict and resolutely annihilated Shi Chaoyi, another major event happened that shocked the court.
Shi Siming, who was fighting fiercely with Guo Ziyi in Xiangzhou, suddenly asked for surrender from the Tang court.
Guo Ziyi was unwilling to accept Shi Siming's surrender at first, but after receiving the news that Shi Siming was willing to surrender, Li Fuguo, the eunuch on the front line, immediately rushed to report to the Chang'an court.
Guo Ziyi could not hide the news, so he could only send a memorial to the court, asking the court not to accept Shi Siming's surrender.
Guo Ziyi's reason is also very simple. This is the second time Shi Siming has surrendered. This man has jumped repeatedly and is a villain with no credibility. If he accepts his surrender today, he will continue to rebel after he regains his strength.
Guo Ziyi also pointed out that the current situation is different from the last time Shi Siming surrendered.
Now the imperial army has advanced to Xiangzhou, Pinglu and Fan Yang have changed their banners, and the rebellions in the Central Plains have been put down. The victory of this counter-insurgency war has been established.
Doesn’t accepting Shi Siming’s surrender at this time mean that we have failed in our efforts?
But before Guo Ziyi's memorial was sent to the court, Chang'an was already cheering for Shi Siming to send the memorial.
Because of Shi Siming's surrender this time, Shi Siming was very respectful. He first expressed his guilt and was willing to withdraw his troops from Xiangzhou and return to Taiyuan, and then concentrate on guarding the north for the imperial court.
At the same time, Shi Siming also expressed his humility and expressed his willingness to withdraw from the Hedong vassal town. He would only serve as the military envoy of the Hedong Army and asked the court to send officials to manage Hedong.
This time, Shi Siming's offer of lowering his status was very humble, and the conditions he offered also tempted the court.
For the imperial court, there has always been the problem of northern border defense.
The imperial court needed the defense of the northern frontier, and Anlushan relied on the defense of the northeastern frontier to make his fortune.
The imperial court needs northern frontier defense, but if the northern frontier defense is undertaken by the army directly under the imperial court, it will cost too much financial resources and force.
The position of Jiedushi was born under this situation. The imperial court contracted out the taxation and personnel rights of some areas and let Jiedushi assume the task of defending the northern frontier. This was the best choice economically.
However, Jiedushi would have the problem of enlarging the vassal town and threaten the security of the court, so this was a dilemma.
Now that Shi Siming has asked to surrender, there is a new choice.
The imperial court could appoint officials to Hedong to take charge of government affairs, and Shi Siming, who had done meritorious service, would definitely be able to take on the task of defending the northern border. At least the imperial court would not have to worry about the defense of the northern border in the next few years.
This was an option full of temptations for the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty.
Chang'an's intelligence was sent to Li Tan's case. Li Tan handed the news of Shi Siming's surrender to Li Mi. Li Mi shook his head and said:
"This is just Shi Siming's tactic to delay the attack, but given my understanding of His Majesty, I'm afraid he will still fall into the trap."
Li Tan also nodded and said:
"Shi Siming's letter of surrender was very well written. It just touched my father's heart. I am afraid that all the princes in the court will not want to continue the fight."
Li Mi sighed and said:
"The problem with the Tang Dynasty is that everyone wants to leave the problems to future generations to solve."
"I believe in the wisdom of future generations. It is easier to be a paper framer than to completely solve the problem."
Li Tan said sternly: "But this time we can no longer let my father do whatever he wants. The imperial court invested so much manpower and material resources for the Anshi Rebellion, and so many soldiers sacrificed their lives. How could we get such a result?"
"I want to write a letter to my father, opposing Shi Siming's surrender. The Hedong Rebellion must be completely wiped out!"