An Qingxu failed to attack Jingxiang and lost the opportunity to enter Guanzhong from Shangluo Road in the southeast.
The battle at Tongguan was very unfavorable. The commander-in-chief Gao Xianzhi had rich experience. He commanded the Tang army to take advantage of the natural dangers of Tongguan and defend the city. One hundred thousand Yan troops attacked the city for a month, and the Yan army suffered more than 30,000 casualties, but it was still unable to break through the gate of Tongguan.
That morning, An Lushan came to the city in person and lay down on the dragon chariot carried by sixteen people. His face was ashen. He suddenly whipped his general Cui Qianyou in the face with his backhand, and a streak of blood suddenly appeared on his face. Cui Qianyou was frightened. He immediately knelt down, and dozens of generals behind him followed suit.
An Lushan cursed: "You are a bunch of losers. I have raised you all in vain. You can't even capture Tongguan. How can we expect you to capture Chang'an?"
Cui Qianyou clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Chang'an is easy to attack, but Tongguan is difficult to attack. I have a suggestion, and we can also attack Chang'an!"
"What suggestions? Tell me quickly!"
"Wei Chen suggested dividing the troops to attack Pujin Pass. Although Pujin Pass is also a military fortress, it is indeed easier than Tongguan."
An Lushan said bitterly: "You are the commander-in-chief, you can just decide. Do you still want to ask me?"
"Wei Chen obeys the order!"
An Lushan immediately returned to the camp, and Cui Qianyou immediately ordered his deputy general Sun Xiaozhe to lead an army of 30,000 people, cross the Yellow River from Fengling, cross Zhongtiao Mountain, and attack Hedong City.
An Lushan returned to the camp gloomily. Prime Minister Yan Zhuang advised: "Your Majesty is actually a little hasty in attacking Guanzhong. Although the Tang Dynasty is corrupt, its centuries-old heritage is still there. It is not wise to attack with force. It is the right way to use both soft and hard tactics."
An Lushan nodded, "Tell me, what is a soft attack method?"
"Your Majesty, Bian Lingcheng is the supervisor of Tongguan. Isn't it a pity that such a greedy villain cannot be used? There is also Prince Li Wan who holds military power. He will not aspire to the position of prince? There is also a flying dragon lurking in Chang'an, ready to make a move. , Now the attack is too hasty, and their contradictions have been suppressed by foreign enemies. As long as Your Majesty withdraws his troops slightly to reduce their war pressure, their various internal contradictions will definitely break out. When they break their legs, we can't attack Guanzhong again. Not too late!"
An Lushan thought for a moment and said, "You are right, I was a little too impatient."
He immediately ordered: "Pass my decree, the army will suspend the attack on Chang'an and withdraw its troops back to Shaanzhou to rest and recuperate."
Cui Ganyou and other generals of the Yan army breathed a sigh of relief. Sun Xiaozhe, who had just prepared to cross the river and go north, also withdrew. Although Pujin Pass was easier to attack than Tongguan, it was not easy to cross Zhongtiao Mountain, and it was even more difficult to attack Hedong City. In fact, the difficulty was also the same.
An Lushan also ordered Fei Ge to send a message to Chang'an intelligence chief Liu Luogu, ordering him to bring treasure worth fifty thousand guan to bribe the supervisor Bian Lingcheng.
Yan Zhuang indeed saw accurately that under the strong military oppression of the Yan army, all internal conflicts in the Tang Dynasty ceased.
Although Li Longji hated Li Ye deeply, under Gao Lishi's repeated persuasion, he had to put the overall situation first, established the Jianghan Jiedu Mansion, named Li Ye the Jianghan Jiedu Envoy, and at the same time dismissed Li Dai from the Nandong Road Tuanlian the duties of an envoy.
There is also the prince. Li Longji has believed Feilong's words and the prince will launch a mutiny against him. He is already considering deposing the prince. However, the situation in Tongguan is tense and he has to suspend the decision to depose the prince.
With An Lushan's withdrawal, the pressure on Tongguan eased. Li Longji took a breath and his mind became active again.
In the imperial study room of the inner palace, Li Longji was listening to Yuan Siyi's report. Yuan Siyi had become more and more trusted by Li Longji in the past two years and had gradually surpassed Gao Lishi.
"Your Majesty, King Guangning had a secret meeting with Fang Guan, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, at noon yesterday, and in the evening he went to the Prince's East Palace under the pretext of greeting his father. The prince actually communicated with the outside world through King Guangning."
Of course, Li Longji knew that the prince was in contact with the outside world through King Guangning, and he was the one who let go of this gap. He had loosened his grip on the other princes, and also loosened the prince's connection with the outside world.
But now Li Longji wants to find evidence against the prince. He needs to find an excuse to depose the prince. The key is to see who the prince contacts?
Contacting the court civil servants is of little significance to deposing the prince. The prince also reads the memorial and needs to express his own opinions. So contacting the court civil servants is probably for this purpose. At least he has such an excuse.
The key is to contact the military, the vassal town or senior military officials who hold military power. This is what Li Longji is most taboo about, and it is also where he can find an excuse to depose the prince.
"Does he have any contact with Xiangyang?" Li Longji asked with a long face.
"Nothing has been found so far. There may be a connection, but through which channel they contacted, I can't find out yet."
"Is there any connection between King Guangping and Dugu Mansion?" Li Longji asked sharply.
"Nothing found yet!"
Li Longji pondered for a moment and said: "When you have time, ask Feilong, if one day the prince wants to launch a coup, where will his army come from?"
"Old slave, I understand!"
"Go for it!"
Yuan Siyi left in a hurry, and Li Longji felt a splitting headache. He slowly took out a pill from the drawer, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. After a while, his face showed a look of pleasure, and he squinted to enjoy the ecstasy.
moment.
He also knew that the Fu Shou Pills he was taking contained aphrodisiac, which would be harmful to the body if consumed in excess, but he could no longer quit. The best he could do was to ask the imperial doctor to make a reconciliation and remove the aphrodisiac ingredients in them to reduce the toxicity, although it caused him to lose his man.
However, after taking Fushou Pills, he found another paradise.
After a long time, Li Longji sighed softly. This ecstatic feeling made him happy.
At night, inside the Xuandu Temple in Chang'an, two young Taoist priests were leading the way with lanterns, and Rong Wang Li Wan was following behind. Behind him were two guards with high martial arts skills.
Since Prince Qing Li Cong was forced to commit suicide by taking poison, Prince Rong Li Wan has now become the most likely prince to replace the crown prince and take over the East Palace. He has attracted more people's attention and has gradually become the focus of the court's attention.
But Li Wan also knew that his own foundation was not enough, and he had to get the support of more powerful people.
It's just that Li Wan was a little naive. He didn't know the real reason why his brother Li Cong was given poison to commit suicide. He always thought that his brother killed An Qingzong, and his father was afraid that An Lushan would rebel, so he was given death to apologize to An Lushan.
If Li Wan knew that the real reason why Li Cong was killed was that he colluded with Feilong, then Li Wan would not have appeared in Xuandu Temple anyway.
Li Wan arrived in Chang'an this afternoon and was preparing to report to his father tomorrow. He seized the opportunity in the evening to meet Fei Long.
Like Li Cong, Li Wan always thought that Feilong was a member of the clan and became a monk. He had no idea that Feilong was his imperial grandfather.
Not long after, Li Wan arrived at the small courtyard where Feilong lived quietly. Feilong was already waiting for him in the courtyard.
Li Wan stepped forward and bowed, "See you, senior!"
Feilong nodded and said with a smile: "Please come and sit in the room!"
The two came to the room and sat down. The little Taoist boy came in and served tea. Li Wan was silent for a moment and said: "Senior has always advised me to seize the opportunity, but sometimes it is difficult for me to make up my mind. After all, he is my father!"
Feilong squinted his eyes and said: "When he killed your brother, did he ever have the feeling of father and son? When he killed Li Ying, Li Yao and Li Ju, did he ever think that this was his biological son? Looking back forty years, he
He launched a congenital coup, killed his aunt Princess Taiping, and forced his father to abdicate. Does he have any sense of father-son ethics in his heart? Your Highness, if you want to take the throne, you must be as hard as iron and ruthless, or you should not have this idea."
Li Wan sighed, "I'm afraid the army won't obey me? They won't listen to my command then!"
Feilong sneered and said: "Why did I give you 10,000 troops? Don't you understand that these 10,000 troops are the cornerstone of your ascension to the throne, not the army of the imperial court? Did you bring these 10,000 troops?"
"
Li Wan nodded, "They are stationed in Bashang!"
Feilong took out a box from the cabinet and handed it to him, "This is a plan that I have prepared for a long time. It's called the Second Xuanwumen Incident. It involves entering the Daming Palace through Chongxuanmen and Xuanwumen."
Li Wan took the box and said for a long time: "When will we do it?"
"Three days later, on the first night of June, during the first watch!"
Feilong saw the hesitation in his eyes and said seriously: "This is your only chance. You will never have another chance to lead an army in the future. Almost half of the army in Guanzhong is in your hands. If you give up this opportunity,
I will definitely regret it for the rest of my life.”
Li Wan finally made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and said, "No poison, no husband, okay! I will listen to my seniors and I will risk my life this time."