The emperor Li Longji has been staying in the Linde Hall for the past two days, paying no attention to any of the concubines, not even Concubine Yang.
Like a frightened groundhog, he hid in his study for two days in a row, waiting for news with his ears pricked up. He was eager for news to come, but he was afraid of hearing worse news, that the rebels were approaching the city, or that they were about to kill him.
Chang'an and so on.
Two hundred thousand Tang troops were defeated and almost the entire army was destroyed. Of course, Li Longji did not think it was his own responsibility. He determined that the soldiers were greedy for life and fearful of death. Ge Shuhan underestimated the enemy and was incompetent, and actually fell into the enemy's trick to lure troops. It was simply
You have raised a bunch of losers for nothing.
At this time, Gao Lishi hurriedly walked in, bowed and saluted, "See your Majesty!"
"Quickly, is there any news about Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi?"
Li Longji was impatient, so he hoped that the Hedong Army and Shuofang Army fighting in Hebei could kill King Qin of Chang'an.
Gao Lishi bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, they have withdrawn their troops from Hebei, but it will take ten days at the earliest to reach Guanzhong."
"Ten days!"
For a moment, Li Longji only felt complete despair. He could not afford to wait for five days. In another ten days, his bones would be cold.
At this time, Yuan Siyi next to him said: "We can let the Jianghan Army in Xiangyang rescue Guanzhong."
Gao Lishi shook his head, "The Jianghan Army is too late. It will take at least ten days to get from Xiangyang to Guanzhong. Besides, once Xiangyang is empty and the rebels march straight in, they will sweep Jingxiang, and then march eastward or westward along the Yangtze River, south of the Yangtze River
We and Bashu will not be protected, and if we lose the south, the Tang Dynasty will be finished."
Li Longji was still sober. He knew the importance of Xiangyang, so he nodded and said: "Jing Xiang's army cannot be moved!"
He took two steps with his hands behind his back and sighed: "Pack up your things and prepare to tour west to Bashu."
It was late at night, and the lights were still on in Dugu Mansion. All the family members and servants of Dugu Mansion had gone south. Even Gu Ming had left with his wife and children. Only Dugu Lie was left in the entire Dugu Mansion, and there were two others from the Longwu Army.
son.
In the back hall, Dugu Lie was discussing countermeasures with General Yuan Yuan and Prince Shaobao Chang Sun Nanfang. The three of them represented the interests of the Guanlong nobles in Chang'an.
At the same time, the three of them also control the Longwu Army, Qianniu Guard and Jiumen Army.
Dugu Lie's eldest son, Dugu Jinyang, was instrumental in quelling the rebellion of Feilong and King Rong. He served as the deputy general of the Longwu Army and controlled the Third Army and the Fifth Army, a total of 12,000 troops. He himself also served as the general of the Third Army, and his brother Dugu Raoyang captured
He was successful in capturing King Rong and was promoted to General of the Fifth Army.
General Qianniuwei Yuan element controls ten thousand Niuwei, while Changsun Nanfang serves as the governor of the nine gates and also has ten thousand city gate troops in his hands.
The three of them are making a difficult decision. Emperor Li Longji's incompetence has seriously damaged the interests of the Guanlong family. Although their money has been shipped away in advance, their real estate cannot be shipped away, including hundreds of manors in Guanzhong.
The houses, shops, restaurants, etc. in Chang'an City, not to mention the heavy losses in Luoyang.
Although Li Longji believed that he had no responsibility and that the generals were incompetent, in fact, Dugu Lie and others knew very well that it was the emperor's stupidity and improper employment that led to An Lushan's rebellion, the fall of Luoyang and the fall of Tongguan, and the emperor Li Longji was responsible for
Have full responsibility.
Dugu Lie said solemnly: "I have talked with other Guanlong families, and everyone agrees that the emperor should take responsibility today and abdicate so that the prince can ascend the throne. We can write a joint letter and strongly demand that he abdicate."
They call themselves the Guanlong Family, but outsiders call them the Guanlong Nobles. They are the most powerful and wealthy interest group in Chang'an and even the Tang Dynasty, and are composed of dozens of families.
Among them, the Dugu family, the Yuan family and the Changsun family are their representatives.
The Changsun family was originally a small family. Because of Li Shimin's Queen Changsun and Prime Minister Changsun Wuji, the Changsun family pushed the Dou family out of the top three and became one of the representatives of the Guanlong family.
Changsun Nanfang shook his head, "He values the throne more than anything else. It is unlikely that he will abdicate. I feel that he will flee westward in the next two days."
Yuan Yuan said: "He can withdraw, but he wants to keep the prince to guard Chang'an City. With the army we have and recruiting tens of thousands of people, it will not be a problem to guard it for ten days. As long as the Hedong Army and Shuofang Army kill Chang'an,
We can successfully defend Guanzhong and successfully defend Chang'an. At that time, the prince will be popular and can be crowned emperor."
At this time, a confidant guard hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in Dugu Lie's ear. Dugu Lie was startled and smiled at the two of them: "My son-in-law is actually in Chang'an!"
Both Yuan Yuan and his eldest grandson Nanfang knew that Dugu Lie had only one daughter, and his son-in-law was Li Ye. They both laughed and said, "Invite him in quickly!"
Dugu Lie nodded to the guards. After a moment, Li Ye walked into the back hall. He quickly stepped forward to greet the two generals, "See you two seniors!"
Changsun Nanfang was not very familiar with Li Ye and had met him a few times, but Yuan Yuan was very familiar with Li Ye. Yuan Yuan smiled and said: "How many troops will Jiedu bring this time?"
"I only brought a few hundred soldiers with me and planned to take my parents back to Xiangyang. Unfortunately, my father refused to leave. He would persist until the last moment."
Yuan Yuan nodded, "Li Xiangguo is indeed a loyal and kind person with respectable integrity!"
Dugu Lie said: "We are discussing supporting the prince to defend Chang'an and waiting for the rescue of Hedong Army and Shuofang Army. Does the wise son-in-law think we can defend Chang'an?"
Li Ye said calmly: "Father-in-law, do you want to hear the truth, or do you want to hear some morale-boosting words?"
Dugu Lie sighed: "At this critical moment, of course you must listen to the truth!"
Li Ye nodded, "Anlushan's army is very powerful. Ge Shuhan's 200,000-strong army was completely destroyed. They are no match for Anlushan's army. Although I defeated the 60,000-year-old Yan army in Dengzhou, it was not me.
The army is stronger than them, but I used tricks to make them underestimate the enemy, and I defeated them one by one. With the current Chang'an army and recruiting some people to guard Chang'an, it will be defeated in one day at most, or even less than one day, and it can be conquered in one battle.
Go to the top of the city."
Changsun Nanfang frowned, "Is An Lushan's army so powerful?"
"Senior Zhangsun, they are not strong, they are fierce. When they attack the city, they fight to the death. They are hit by several arrows, their arms are cut off, they are covered in blood, and they still rush forward desperately. They are more ferocious than tigers and wolves. I once saw a Xi man
The soldier, with his eyes hanging on his face, shouted and rushed to the city. Finally, his head was cut off by me with a knife, and his body fell down the city. The blood from his neck even sprayed on my face. It was so bloody.
Can the Tang army and ordinary people defending the city withstand a fierce battle?"
The three of them were silent. If An Lushan's army was really so fierce, they would definitely not be able to defend Chang'an. If they lost the prince, they would become the sinners of the Tang Dynasty.
Dugu Lie sighed, "If the emperor takes the prince and flees to Bashu, then the entire north and northwest of the Tang Dynasty will be lost, and the Tang Dynasty will soon perish."
Li Ye said slowly: "Please believe me, three seniors. The prince can also see the crisis that we can see. Even if the emperor wants to flee to Bashu, His Highness the prince will definitely stay."
"Then what should we do? Does Jiedushi have any suggestions?"
Li Ye nodded, "If the emperor escapes, don't defend the city. Instead, withdraw your troops to Yong County and wait. His Royal Highness will definitely come to join you."
Dugulie pondered for a moment and said, "Xianxiu, can you tell us the reason?"
Li Ye had no choice but to make it clear: "Chen Xuanli will help the prince leave when the time comes."
The three of them looked at each other and realized that Chen Xuanli already belonged to the prince.
Yuan Yuan and his eldest grandson Nanfang said goodbye and left. Only Dugu Lie and Li Ye were left in the back hall. Dugu Lie smiled and asked: "When a good son-in-law comes to Chang'an at this time, it is not just as simple as picking up his parents!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "A series of major events will happen soon. In fact, I am mainly here to remind my father to take sides, and also to remind my father-in-law to take sides!"
"When you say you're taking sides, you're on the side of the prince, right?"
Li Ye nodded, "The prince is not just colluding with Chen Xuanli, there is a high possibility of a mutiny."
Dugulie was taken aback and asked anxiously: "Is the news reliable?"
"It was Feilong who told me before he died."
Dugulie was a little hesitant, how did Feilong know?
"Father-in-law, do you still remember that the day before Feilong's mutiny, the emperor issued a warning order to the prince?"
Dugu Lie nodded, "I remember, it's obvious that the emperor has decided to depose the prince. Could it be related to Feilong?"
"It should be that Feilong has some evidence that the prince and Chen Xuanli colluded secretly, which made the emperor very angry, so the emperor decided to depose the prince."
"You mentioned collusion. I remembered it. It should have been the time when Long Wujun went to Xiangyang to arrest you. Chen Xuanli revealed the news to the prince, and the prince told me that your uncle Dugu Feige sent a message to Xiangyang.
From this incident, we know the relationship between Chen Xuanli and the prince."
Li Ye added: "But the mutiny of Feilong and King Rong saved the prince and made the emperor suspend the abolition of the prince. Now it is even more impossible."
Dugu Lie sighed, "If you say this, I completely understand, and I will follow your advice and take sides."
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[My old mother is not feeling well today. She has been struggling for a long time and asked for leave. Today there are only two chapters, morning and evening. Please forgive me!]