In the big tent, Cui Qianyou heard an angry curse as soon as he entered. He turned around and saw that the person scolding him was Wu Lingxun.
Both of them are An Lushan's confidants, but Cui Qianyou has a withdrawn temperament and is not as close to An Lushan as Wu Lingxun. This closeness sometimes seems to be transformed into some kind of power, making Wu Lingxun regard himself as an official and ask for help. The generals at the same level shouted at each other.
Cui Qianyou didn't respond when he was scolded. He had a cold face and showed no anger.
"The prince deliberately feigned defeat and attracted Wang Zhongsi to pursue him." Wu Lingxun then scolded: "You can't even succeed in setting up an ambush. It will delay the important event and you are a waste!"
This move frightened Yang Guanghui who was behind him. He waved repeatedly, hoping that the imperial envoy sent by the saint would pay attention to his own safety. However, Li Xian did not see it at all, and Yang Guanghui did not dare to step forward and was so anxious that he stamped his feet.
Compared with Wang Zhongsi, who was raised by Li Longji since childhood, these two generals were bolder in some aspects.
"That's right, Cui Qianyou missed the opportunity to fight and wasted the Lord's plan to lure the enemy!"
Li Xian looked him up and down and said, "In the eyes of the saint, you are the ones who rebelled."
Xue Bai said: "The saint's will is opposite to the future of the country. How is it possible for the general to coordinate the two?"
"What do you expect the situation to be like?" Li Xian asked. He wanted to know what Xue Bai would have done if he had not come. Maybe he and Wang Zhongsi would occupy the east of the river and no longer listen to the imperial decree?
"Guess."
Xue Bai didn't understand and frowned: "What does this mean?"
He guessed what was going on, then pointed at Wu Lingxun and shouted: "You found someone to give false testimony, don't think I don't know! There are also treacherous ministers around the prince!"
"Ji Wen! You are indeed a spy sent by Yang Guozhong!"
Li Xian did not answer immediately, but only looked at Xue Bai, using silence to exert psychological pressure, but Xue Bai had been tested for a long time and showed a magnanimous look, as if he had no selfish intentions.
"That's right, send people to various checkpoints to check."
~~
Shiling Pass.
With a year or two of appeasement, he can better contain An Lushan.
"I heard someone ask your grandpa before, why go to war in the north and south, why not hide your strength and bide your time. He said that everyone is thinking about themselves, and there is no shortage of him. When the Tang Dynasty is handed down to this generation, there will always be someone who has to bear the responsibility... "
After saying that, he turned around and looked at the city gate of Shiling Pass. The city gate was still open, and a group of officials were still waiting there anxiously for Li Xian.
Blood flowed from his stomach and dripped down his crotch.
"Not me!"
"That's great." Xue Bai did not hide his surprise, and even deliberately exaggerated his expression of surprise, saying: "This is better than I expected."
However, Wang Ruolan changed his attitude today and said: "Tan Ma Tan has found out that An Lushan has retreated to Fan Yang."
Xue Bai had indeed admired Li Xian for a long time and knew that he was a very important figure.
~~
The wind blew, and Ji Wen turned to look south.
"Yes...well!"
Including Ji Wen, he was also very active, helping to recall and analyze last night's battle, trying to reach a consensus with everyone. However, suddenly, someone said something that shocked and scared Ji Wen.
Li Guiren was hesitating whether to return to camp when he suddenly heard a call. He turned around and saw that it was An Qingxu.
"Wang Jieshuai was injured and is recuperating." Xue Bai said: "General Li asked me the same thing."
~~
Entering the tent, Li Xian saw that there was no one else around, exhaled and said directly: "Do you know that what you are doing is tantamount to conspiracy?"
Amid the buzzing discussion, An Lushan, who had become increasingly irritable in recent years, actually sat there without saying a word. It wasn't until Cui Qianyou sneered and was about to speak back, that he waved his hand and said: "That's enough! Can you blame me?" Do you get Cui Lang? Don’t let me hear you arguing with each other again.”
He was very motivating, and when he raised a question, the generals in the tent agreed one after another and talked endlessly.
The generals in the tent were all unkempt and disheveled. They were in a state of disarray because they had fled for their lives in a hurry when they were defeated. Some of them even had their heartbeats slowed down. They were deeply afraid that An Lushan would be held responsible for the defeat, and they were extremely frightened.
"I bet that An Lushan cannot abandon Yanmen Pass. Only by occupying Yanmen can he isolate Shuofang and Hedong. And returning to Fan Yang does not mean that he has no ambition." Xue Bai said: "On the contrary, returning to Fan Yang will make it easier to raise troops."
Yang Guanghui looked at the soldiers and horses under Guancheng, as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
Of course Wang Jieshuai is not a weak person, on the contrary, he has a harder heart than Xue Bai, saying: "I understand what you mean, but Wang Jieshuai just talked to us, and he wants to use himself to fight for more opportunities for us. "
The situation before him was that if he did not open the city gate and let Wang Zhongsi in, the enemy might attack easily; but if he opened the city gate, he did not think he could successfully capture Wang Zhongsi and fulfill the saint's instructions.
An Qingxu was so disappointed that he wanted to rebel soon. He was about to persuade An Lushan again, but Pingli gave him a hand, shook his head, and said something in his ear.
Zhang Tongru looked bitter and thought to himself, the facts proved that these generals were no match for Wang Zhongsi, which showed that his method was correct. However, these people were more noisy. When doing big things, they were most afraid of this kind of crowd excitement. Blindly follow the trend.
"That's fine."
Things are of course very difficult at the current stage. Fortunately, Yang Guanghui is a weak opponent, and Xue Bai has the confidence to convince him and continue to "defend" Taiyuan. As for the court, it depends on how Gao Lishi turns things around.
"Who brought the grain yesterday?"
"General Lee."
"I'm old and sick." Wang Zhongsi raised his hand, held Li Xian's hand, and murmured: "Seeing you reminds me of the time when I studied the art of war with your grandfather."
He was hanging at the camp gate, his empty body swinging in the wind like an eaves bell.
"Um?"
"Yang Guanghui is so bold." Li Sheng was also surprised, "Aren't you afraid that we will kill him?"
"Li Xian wants to take Wang Jieshuai away." Xue Bai said, "If we want to keep Hedong, we can only rely on Wang Jieshuai's prestige."
涓€涔濅簲涓? 涓€椓夊叓涓€浜?
Xue Bai then kicked the horse's belly and drove the horse forward.
“Where is Yanmen Pass?”
"What are you doing?"
There is a reason for this fear. You must know that the last time An Lushan was defeated by the Khitan, he killed Ge Jie to take the blame. Later, Shi Siming gathered his troops and returned to Fan Yang. He even sighed in private, "To behave in society, you must advance and retreat appropriately.
, if I came back earlier, maybe I would be the one who was killed."
His words reminded Wang Nan and Li Sheng that An Lushan was here to occupy Hedong. If he failed to occupy it, he should not have started an uprising directly in Hedong. That would be a sign of being hot-headed.
"What's the point of waiting?"
"You are so brave!"
"Let's just send troops, march into Chang'an, and seize the throne!"
"Yanjian."
"That's enough! It's not your turn to teach me!" Li Xian yelled angrily.
"What?"
"A Xun doesn't want to come see me?" Li Xian glanced at Xue Bai and then scanned the troops in front again.
"I?"
He was frightening Xue Bai, using a rebellious word to force Xue Bai so that he could no longer stop him from taking away Wang Zhongsi.
"We have already raised our troops, how can there be any reason to withdraw them again?!"
Xue Bai shook his head and said: "I don't believe that he can save his life after returning to Beijing, and once he dies, Hedong will still lose control."
"Long time admiration."
"You don't know the saint, but I know him." An Lushan could not refuse to rebel, and waved his hands and said: "Since we can't defeat Wang Zhongsi, we should go back to Fan Yang and wait for the saint's order to get rid of him."
…
"The whole world knows An Lushan's intentions, but the saint always wants to protect him. This is a betrayal of the people of Shengli and a betrayal of the ancestral community."
There was a voice in his heart that encouraged him to boldly offend Li Longji. The old and dim emperor was no longer able to deal with major disturbances. If Wang Zhongsi could adopt a tough attitude, he thought Li Longji would give in and send someone to appease him.
In other words, even if An Lushan wants to start trouble, he will return to Fan Yang first.
"The war has already started, brother, are you still hesitating?"
Xue Bai dared to detain Li Xian and then forcefully entered Shiling Pass to control Taiyuan Mansion. He would rather bear the name of disobedience than to save Wang Zhongsi and Taiyuan Mansion. This was a bet that the seemingly wise and powerful Li Longji would end up
Will compromise.
"That's right." Li Xian said: "General Gao persuaded Yang Guozhong to recommend him and let me clean up this mess in Hedong."
"General, you belong to the Li clan! Then I dare to ask General, if you inherit the blood of Taizong and are worshiped by the people, do you have the responsibility to contribute to the country and the ancestral temple?!"
He felt relieved and ashamed of Ji Wen.
When everyone looked at it, the soldier's bloody palm was spread out, and a heart was displayed in front of them, and it actually seemed to be beating slightly.
"Jinwu General Li Xian."
He has been taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of his subordinates against the Tang Dynasty, promising them better prospects, and has come step by step to this day. But now he is the king of Dongping County, and he has become the one who is least willing to take risks.
Li Guiren was very surprised. In his opinion, they were already fighting each other, which was equivalent to An Lushan rebelling, but they were still discussing this topic.
"That's not right." Ji Wen suddenly exclaimed.
An Qingxu also frowned and said slowly: "I still want to wait and see if the court believes that he has rebelled or that Wang Zhongsi has rebelled."
"After saying so much, the general still wants to take away Wang Jieshuai?"
He just felt that Xue Bai was really too courageous. No wonder he could instigate Wang Zhongsi to go against the will of the Holy Spirit. In this way, this errand would be difficult to handle.
Following these words, someone drove their horses out of Shiling Pass.
He held up a telescope and could see Yang Guanghui's general reaction.
Li Xian said: "What you mean is... that the saint has rebelled?"
"Write a letter and reply," he thought to himself.
Suddenly someone called Li Xian's cousin outside the tent. Li Xian heard that the voice sounded like Wang Zhongsi's, but was a little different. He turned around and saw Wang Zhongsi being carried in.
"I will not harm Ah Xun." Li Xian said: "Your situation is also very dangerous. The threat from Wang Zhongsi is too great at the moment, and the saint has not noticed you yet. Only by taking him away can I try to save you."
He looked at Gao Shang, Yan Zhuang, Ping Lai and others, knowing that they could see the situation clearly, and hoped that they would speak a few words. However, these people were bent on rebellion and knew that this was not a good opportunity, so they still kept silent.
At this time, there was another movement on the official road to the south, and soon a soldier came to report: "Yin, the saint's decree has arrived."
An Qingxu walked quickly to the camp gate and lowered his voice: "General, don't worry. This battle was because Ji Wen colluded with Wang Hao and launched a sneak attack on Yiluohe. The general is not to blame. I have already explained it clearly to my grandfather."
Yang Guanghui still didn't know what this sentence meant, but with a "swish", an arrow was nailed to the battlement in front of him. He was so frightened that he fell into the arms of two soldiers. When he took a closer look, he saw the shaking arrow.
There is a letter tied to it.
"despair."
"Axun! How about coming up and meeting?!"
Unfolded, it was Xue Bai's handwriting, inviting him to talk privately.
This is the agreed upon plan.
"Zhang Tongru, do you still have the nerve to speak?! If it weren't for your crooked idea, we would have taken Taiyuan long ago!"
Yang Guanghui thought about what he had to talk about with this rebel. Then he thought about Xue Bai's life experience and his relationship with Gao Lishi and Li Tan in the court, and he hesitated whether he really wanted to form a relationship with such a character.
hatred.
"I plan to leave everything to him." Wang Zhongsi murmured, "He can also bear it."
"Jie Shuai is willing to return to Chang'an to see the saint for the last time." Wang Nan said: "He hopes to leave the unfinished business to you."
Seeing that he was still trying to please him, Li Guiren felt a little more at ease as he tried to win over him.
It is easy to apologize, but difficult to take responsibility. Seeing that Wu Lingxun could not blame Cui Qianyou, he glanced at the tent and still could not see Li Guiren. The general of Yiluohe who should bear the greatest responsibility may have died in the rebellion.
First of all, Li Xian's life experience is unusual. His great-grandfather was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, his great-grandfather was Li Ke, King of Wu, and his father was Li Yi, the former Shuo Fang, the Jiedushi of the two towns in Hedong, and the king of Xin'an who had the most military exploits during the Kaiyuan period.
Nowadays, almost all the major foreign enemies of the Tang Dynasty, including the Turks, Khitans, Xi, and Tubo, were defeated by Li Yi. Shibao City was recovered by him, and the Khitans and Xi were conquered by him. Unfortunately, his successors failed to continue his military exploits. , lost Shibao City, rebelled against Li Huaixiu, Li Yanchong, and a series of subsequent incidents occurred.
"Hahaha." An Lushan showed his naive smile again and asked: "Do you think Ji Wen's heart is loyal or not?"
Ji Wen had wronged others all his life, and he was so anxious that he was wronged. He simply knelt down in front of An Lushan and shouted: "Master Fu, do you want me to cut my heart out and show it to you? I really didn't collude with the king." rare."
In the tent, Wang Zhongsi whispered: "You have also seen my situation. It doesn't matter if you can't save me, but you have to save Xue Bai."
"It hasn't been found yet."
Li Yi was not only the leader in martial arts in the clan, he was also good at teaching his children. His three sons, Li Xian, Li Yi and Li Xian, are all famous sages today.
"Your Majesty, make up your mind!"
If someone saw his nervous look, they would inevitably be suspicious. But in this tent, there were so many advisers and powerful generals that no one looked at him.
Therefore, seeing Wu Lingxun find a target to attack, people soon started to support him.
When Li Xian was young, he became famous in Chang'an and went to practice Buddhism. Later, due to various reasons, he became an official and served the country. Over the years, he has been serving in various places, and Xue Bai met him for the first time today.
Li Xian frowned.
Cui Qianyou didn't say anything after being scolded just now, but he didn't say anything when faced with An Lushan's relief, and still stood there with a sullen face.
Ji Wen quickly opened his mouth to defend himself, stating that he would never collude with Wang Zhongsi, but it was better that he did not speak, but when he did, his stench offended others.
"Er Lang, don't be anxious. It's not a bad thing to go back to Fan Yang..."
Li Xian actually got off his horse, raised his hand, and asked Xue Bai to take him to the tent to talk.
"..."
The light in the cave was poor, so we could only see this man wearing light armor, tall and straight, his horse was very slow, and he looked very calm and calm, giving people a strong sense of oppression.
"General Gao recommended me because he believed in me." Li Xian asked, "What about you? Do you believe him or not?"
After that, he left the tent, leaving Wang Zhongsi and Li Xian space to talk alone.
"Axun, how did you... become like this?"
"Guanpi, why did I wrong you?"
From the first half of this sentence, Xue Bai could already feel his attitude and asked: "Why is General Li here?"
"I can't persuade the saint yet." After a while, Li Xian finally showed his cards and said: "I want the saint to believe that it was An Lushan who rebelled. That's a story for later. The more important thing at the moment is to calm down the saint and keep Wang Zhongsi.
, to protect you, and also to protect Hedong from falling into the hands of An Lushan."
Li Guiren raised his head and saw a pair of soles, so he took two steps back, only to see that the dead person was Ji Wen.
"Xue Lang, let me talk to Yanjian alone."
He was still able to accept his defeat to Wang Zhongsi. He put on a relieved smile on his fat face and said: "Cui Lang, don't pay attention to them. They are all rough people and they speak without restraint."
Xue Bai pondered and asked: "Is it related to General Gao?"
However, soldiers soon came back to report that Wang Haolan's Yunzhong Army followed Ji Wen's team to Shiling Pass with military orders to transport grain.
"First of all, we must let the saint know that his will can still be implemented to the letter in Hedong." Li Xian emphasized: "This matter is very important. Only by obeying the order can you explain that you have not rebelled."
Accusing An Lushan of being traitorous."
It wasn't until he came into the sunshine that Xue Bai saw his appearance clearly. He was a handsome man in his forties, with bright eyes, a calm and strong temperament, and no anger or authority.
A soldier had already covered Ji Wen's mouth and dragged him out.
He was stunned for a moment, thinking that if he had returned earlier, he would definitely be the one who was killed.
He was not afraid of the soldiers arrayed outside the city, and drove his horse to within a stone's throw. He reined in the horse only ten steps away from Xue Bai, opened his mouth, and shouted in a clear voice.
Xue Bai thought for a moment and said, "It's not Yang Guanghui."
An Lushan had a deep relationship with him. Seeing that his expression was sincere and did not seem to be fake, he couldn't help but become suspicious.
After hearing this, An Qingxu raised his eyebrows and nodded.
To the north of Shiling Pass, Xue Bai was stationed on horseback looking at the city.
"Prefect, be careful." Someone on the top of the city immediately exclaimed, "That's Li Sheng of Longyou!"
Li Sheng thought about something and before he spoke, Xue Bai waved his hand, still unwilling to let Wang Zhongsi return to the capital.
Xue Bai knew what this meant, and Li Longji must have issued an edict, ordering An Lushan to return to Fan Yang and not to act rashly. But until now, An Lushan is still playing the role of an obedient minister.
Ah Xun is Wang Zhongsi's nickname, and this man is obviously Wang Zhongsi's old friend.
"I'm ready to die unjustly." Xue Bai replied: "But it doesn't matter if Wang Jieshuai and I die, lest no one dares to remind the saint again, when the rebels raise an army, all lives will be ruined, and the country will be destroyed."
"Master Fu, please take a look."
Yang Qixuan didn't notice what order was given just now. His heart was anxious and his armpits were sweating. After waiting for a while, he saw the soldier running back with his hands full of blood.
~~
"Reverse it!"
Xue Bai asked back: "Does General Li know that An Lushan is going to rebel?"
Yang Qixuan was stunned when he heard this conversation. He didn't expect that Ji Wen would guess like this. Thinking about it again, Ji Wen himself is such a person. What he thought and saw was naturally the same.
His small action failed to stop Xue Bai's rebellion.
Xue Bai asked: "How to do it?"
An Lushan had no choice but to slam the case and shouted: "Shut up! Before I even raised the flag, my Eight Thousand Yiluohe was gone. There is nothing else to say. I have made up my mind to go back to Fanyang to rest!"
A pot of water that was about to boil was temporarily suppressed by his lid.
However, Xue Baizhen answered.
Jiwen couldn't believe it and was dumbfounded.
"Chicken tongue plague, I've long seen that you are not the same as us!"
"We don't have much time, and we cannot be weak at this time."
Yang Qixuan's heart was lifted immediately. He took a peek and saw that Ji Wen had twisted his neck and looked towards him. The two looked at each other. He wanted to hide, but it was too late. Ji Wen opened his mouth and shouted.
Xue Bai reminded again: "Jie Commander should know that if you are not here, Hedong still cannot be defended."
"I'm not. Mr. Fu, please listen to my explanation."
Li Xian had just been watching Xue Bai's leaving figure, and now he turned around and said, "He is younger and sharper than I thought."
In the commotion, no one noticed that someone was trying to shrink his body and hide behind An Shouzhong and An Qingxu. That was Yang Qixuan, who was lowering his head and glancing at Ji Wen with furtive eyes.
"Xue Bai, the prefect of Changshan, is fortunate enough to accompany Wang Jieshuai to resist the rebels. May I ask who you are?"
"Master Fu, it's rare for the king to suddenly come out from behind. I find it very strange."
His strong aura was revealed at this time, and he was not afraid of being cold or embarrassed. After a while, An Lushan felt a little embarrassed. Because Cui Qianyou was a talented general and was of great use, he could not kill him, so he had to laugh twice. Pointing at Wu Lingxun, he said, "Quickly apologize to Cui Lang."
Li Xian did not forget that he came to the camp alone.
In this manic atmosphere, An Lushan, who was sitting in the main seat, was very patient.
Li Guiren walked into the big tent and unexpectedly found that what filled the big tent was no longer the shadow of defeat, but a kind of excitement and restlessness.
"Be calm and don't be impatient." Zhang Tongru had no choice but to stand up and said: "What Mr. Fu said is a truly wise move. It is precisely because our established strategy is correct. Wang Zhongsi was anxious and took the risk of a sneak attack. Although he preached, He won by luck, but could this change the saint's mind? The saint would still kill him, we just have to wait and see what happens. On the contrary, it would be a big mistake for us to lose control due to a small defeat and rush to raise our troops. How wrong.”
"yes."
"I remember, I remember." Li Xian said, "Stop talking about it, I will take you back to Beijing to intercede with the saint, okay?"
Wang Zhongsi turned his head to look at Xue Bai and saw Xue Bai shaking his head.
"Did Wang Nan come with the food transport team?"
In his sight, Yang Guanghui opened the letter, and as expected, he didn't tear it up. He walked back and forth for a while and left the city. But to his surprise, after a while, the city gate slowly opened.
While he was struggling, a general drove his horse to a place under the city wall.
~~
Xue Bai came out of the tent and soon found Wang Nan and Li Sheng.
"What is more important right now is not to pursue the blame. It is that the matter has come to this, and it is time to decisively raise troops." An Qingxu said, "We are ready to persuade Grandpa."
Xue Bai thought he had heard wrongly. In terms of military exploits and official positions, he was not as good as the king.
Wang Nan said: "I have discussed it with Li Sheng, and we also hope to keep you first..."