At dusk, the two people walked slowly on the wasteland between the mountains, and the setting sun stretched the shadows very long.
"Do you know what the famous general's beliefs are?" Wang Zhongsi asked suddenly. He had an arrow wound on his face and could only open his mouth slightly when speaking.
"Victory." Xue Bai replied.
"No." Wang Zhongsi said, "It's inheritance."
Xue Bai thought to himself, this is nonsense. It's just Wang Zhongsi who wants to talk about inheritance and just raises a question to lead the conversation to this point. It's not interesting.
Wang Zhongsi added: "In the 17th year of Kaiyuan, King Xin'an said, 'What's the point of living for the benefit of the country?' He overcame all opinions and personally attacked Shibao City. The following year, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo agreed to use Chiling as their base.
The two countries no longer have wars, and the people are herding and farming on the border. Do you know how precious those peaceful days were to the people?"
Xue Bai said: "Mr. Mojie told me that Cui Xiyi, the governor of Hexi Province, made an alliance with the Tubo general Kilixu to kill the white dog. They removed the garrison and enjoyed peace until the two countries fought again. Cui Xiyi was filled with regret and dreamed of the white dog.
Died of shock and suspicion."
"Then do you know why I didn't want to be called upon to attack Stone Castle?"
"I heard it's to preserve troops and support the East Palace?"
Wang Zhongsi was not in the mood to joke and sighed: "The war is for peaceful days. King Xin'an conquered Shibao City, and the soldiers lost their lives in exchange for a few years of peace. Whether it is worth it or not, at least there is an explanation. What I fear most is the city.
We captured it, our soldiers sacrificed their lives, and our commander-in-chief rewarded us, but we did not get peace."
When Xue Bai heard Wang Wei's story about "Everyone is protected by Yan Ran", he felt that Cui Xiyi had a weak heart and was scared to death by the white dog. Now he gradually understood that it was his obsession with peace.
"King Xin'an was able to capture Shibao City, but in the 29th year of Kaiyuan, the Tubo invaded and captured Shibao City. Gai Jiayun could not defend it." Wang Zhongsi said: "That year, King Xin'an was already over eighty years old.
Zhishi was at home. After hearing the news, he sighed and said, 'If there are no successors, what's the point of opening up more territories?'"
At this point, he finally returned to the topic he wanted to talk about.
Xue Bai looked at Wang Zhongsi and saw that he was bleeding from his wounds because he talked too much.
"I'll go back to Chang'an, and you stay in Hedong."
"If Marshal Jie returns to Chang'an, he will die." Xue Bai said, "I can't save you this time."
"I've saved him too many times, that's enough." Wang Zhongsi said, "I can't talk anymore. You stay, that's it."
"I bet the saint is old and fatuous. As long as we make our attitude clear, he will not dare..."
"Look at me, can I still kill you?"
Wang Zhongsi sat down against a tree, sighed, and looked at the sunset.
After fighting for a lifetime, even when he was imprisoned, he was recuperating and working hard to get better. He had not felt so relaxed at this moment in decades, because he handed over the burden on his shoulders to Xue Bai.
~~
The next day, Taiyuan.
As the Hedong Xuanwei envoy sent by the sage, Li Xian successfully quelled the "military farce" that occurred at Shiling Pass and returned to Taiyuan Prefecture with Wang Zhongsi.
When Li Xian was at Shiling Pass, he sent someone to inquire about An Lushan and ordered him to return to Fanyang immediately to wait for his fate. An Lushan handed over a respectful memorial, explaining the cause and effect.
According to An Lushan, on his way to Chang'an on the way to Chang'an, he heard that there were generals in the governor's house of Daizhou who colluded with the Khitan rebellion, so he quickly mobilized troops to guard Yanmen Pass. Afterwards, he sent He Qianyan to Taiyuan to report the news. Unexpectedly, He Qianqian was killed by Wang Zhongsi.
, the two sides clashed.
Compared with Xue Bai, who spoke of "rebellion" and "rebellion" when he spoke, An Lushan's rhetoric was much more docile, and it was possible for big issues to be reduced to trivial matters.
Li Xian then wrote a memorial, saying that Wang Zhongsi also learned that someone had colluded with the Khitan and mistakenly believed that He Qianqian was a traitor general, so he clashed with An Lushan.
His idea was that since he could not persuade the saint, he still wanted to preserve his strength for the time being, and should ease the conflict rather than intensify it. But after writing this memorial, he encountered a problem on one issue - how did Wang Zhongsi get to Hedong?
What about?
Li Xian put down his pen and sat there holding a tea cup, thinking deeply.
After a long time, his confidant Dugu Ziwu rushed in and whispered: "Sanlang, we have found out something big."
"explain."
"Yang Guanghui was once held hostage by Xue Bai at Shiling Pass. He claimed to have obtained a lot of information during the process and wrote it on a secret note."
"Did you get the secret key?"
Dugu Ziwu was very thoughtful and responded: "I got it."
Li Xian took it and frowned when he saw Yang Guanghui's words. He secretly scolded Yang Guozhong for employing people who were nepotistic. When he looked at what was written on it, his frown deepened.
He closed it and asked, "Has anyone seen it?"
"Some officials from Taiyuan Prefecture."
"We will seize him and tell him clearly after interrogation." Li Xian said decisively, "Where is Yang Guangfeng? Bring him."
"Here."
In many cases, power is not only determined by official position, but also includes family background, talents, influence, etc. Li Xian, the consolation envoy, cannot be compared with Yang Guangfei, Taiyuan Yin.
Soon, Yang Guanghui was mentioned to the official residence by the generals of Xin'an County Prince's Palace.
"I've seen the envoy. It's too hard for the envoy to travel all the way." Yang Guanghui said flatteringly: "I'm going to prepare a banquet..."
"No need." Li Xian didn't need to greet him. He waved the secret note in his hand with a serious face and asked, "What's going on?"
Yang Guanghui didn't dare to answer immediately and glanced furtively, guessing Li Xian's thoughts.
"explain!"
"I beg your Majesty to promise to save this officer's life." Yang Guanghui was afraid of death and greedy for merit, so he tried and said cautiously: "Only my officer dares to say that."
Li Xian laughed angrily at his cowering look and said, "Okay, I'll save your life, just tell me."
He smiled, his eyes fell on the secret music, and his eyes became gloomy again.
When Yang Guanghui saw this, he understood that this was the first time he had heard of Xue Bai's identity. After all, he had not been in Chang'an these years and had many secrets that he did not know.
Thinking again, Li Xian is a member of the clan, and Xue Bai must not be allowed to conspire to usurp the throne. Yang Guanghui then said: "Returning to the envoy, this is what I have seen and heard with my own eyes. This matter has to be learned from Wu Huai, one of the servants of the saint.
To be honest, he was the first to accuse Xue Bai. At that time, no one believed it..."
The only thing left in the official chat room was this whisper, which continued for a long time.
"According to your opinion, Xue Bai is Li Ying's son and conspired to usurp the throne, that's why he did all this."
"That's right." Yang Guanghui said: "The envoy brought him and Wang Zhongsi back to Taiyuan. If they are not restrained, they may be in danger. If they are allowed to seize Taiyuan City, the consequences will be disastrous."
Suddenly, he stopped talking because one of Li Xian's hands touched his shoulder.
"Shijun, what are you doing?"
"I promise to save your life, and I will definitely do it." Li Xian clapped his hands and said, "Go ahead."
"Where to go?"
Before Yang Guanghui could react, suddenly, someone rushed over and knocked him down.
"Your Majesty, you..."
A ball of rag was stuffed into his mouth, and the rest of his words were stuffed back.
"Confined in isolation." Li Xian ordered: "He is not allowed to talk to anyone."
"Here."
Li Xian then continued to write the unfinished memorial. As for the question that confused him just now, he already had an explanation.
The deputy envoy of Hebei Jiedu, Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui, was greedy by nature. He accepted a large amount of bribes from the Khitans when he was in Chang'an, so he worked hard to seek a position in Hedong. He also used his friendship with Yuan Zai to coerce Wang Zhongsi and go north, hoping to control it as soon as possible.
Hedong Mansion...
The tip of the pen sketched small regular scripts on the paper, and a memorial to calm the situation was finished. Li Xian rubbed his forehead, his eyes fell on Yang Guanghui's secret memorial again, picked it up, and planned to burn it.
But just when the piece of paper was about to be handed to the candle, he took it back, folded it, and carefully put it into his sleeve.
"Sanlang." Dugu Ziwu came back and reported, "Yang Guanghui has been settled."
"Yeah." Li Xian said, "Forget about the news you found out today."
"Well, I don't quite understand why Sanlang protected Xue Bai?" Dugu Ziwu said, "I'm afraid this matter is not trivial."
Li Xian did not answer, thinking of many reasons.
His wife Dugu was the sister of the consort Dugu Ming, so Princess Jingle who died in the hands of Khitan King Li Huaixiu was also Li Xian's wife and nephew. Li Xian had heard Dugu Ming praise Xue Bai several times.
According to what Yang Guanghui said, Xue Bai secretly brought Wang Zhongsi out with the cooperation of Gao Lishi and Li Tan. If so, once this case is revealed, it will definitely cause turmoil in the court, but this is not a big case at this time of year.
Another point is that Li Xian promised Wang Zhongsi that he would definitely keep Xue Bai.
This is the condition for Wang Zhongsi to return to Chang'an, and Li Xian must do it.
~~
At night, there was no curfew in Taiyuan City. Li Xian carried the wine and food to the post house and knocked on the door for a long time before seeing Xue Bai come over and open the door sleepily.
"Huh? You can actually sleep?" Li Xian was surprised.
"This is the time to sleep."
Li Xian was not polite, pushed the door in, put the side dish wrapped in lotus leaves on the table, opened it, and said: "Yang Guanghui left a secret message in Shibao City, do you know?"
Xue Bai rubbed his eyes and said, "If I had known, I wouldn't have fallen asleep here."
"Okay, I'll settle it for you." Li Xian said, "I'll see you tonight to talk about your views on Hedong."
Xue Bai sat down, picked up the dishes on the table with bamboo chopsticks, and looked at them in the dim candlelight. There were sauced pig ears, deboned meat, haggis, and sausages, all of which were local specialties.
"When it comes to Yang Guanghui, I think he is not suitable to be the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu and the Yin of Taiyuan."
"Then who do you think is suitable?"
Xue Bai said: "Wang Zhongsi asked me to inherit his legacy. I thought you were going to recommend me as the governor of Hedong."
"It can't be done." Li Xian smiled, "It would be great if I could save your life. You don't even think about the big mistake you have made."
"Then what's the inheritance?"
"Why rush? You are still young and you will definitely have a promising future."
Xue Bai expressed his attitude first, and then got back to the main topic, saying: "I have proposed to the court before that Gao Xianzhi should replace Fan Yang's military envoy, and Li Guangbi should be the deputy military envoy of Hedong."
He didn't know Gao Xianzhi or Li Guangbi, and his proposal was purely out of consideration for the overall situation.
Li Xian pondered: "Since the imperial court has appointed Xianyu Zhongtong as Fan Yang's deputy envoy, it will definitely not appoint Fan Yang to an official position. Especially after the Battle of Shiling Pass, it is even more afraid of forcing An Lushan to rebel."
"If you don't force him, won't he rebel?"
"Han Xiulin is dead. I can recommend Gao Xianzhi to the saint as the governor of Hedong, and Li Guangbi will assist him. What do you think?"
Xue Bai was a little surprised. This was a very good result in his opinion, so he asked: "Can the general do it?"
"The saint ordered me to comfort Hedong, and now I am the eye of the saint." Li Xian smiled slightly and said: "In fact, Li Guangbi has returned to Chang'an. Before I set off, he was waiting to fill the gap. Now he may have been appointed as the leader of Hedong.
Jiedu stayed behind."
"I hope so." Xue Bai put a piece of deboned meat into his mouth.
The atmosphere relaxed, Li Xian poured himself a drink and suddenly asked.
"Do you know your life experience?"
"Um?"
"Does this mean you know it?"
Xue Bai said: "The general is a descendant of Emperor Taizong and a nobleman of the clan. How can he care about the life experience of a slave of lowly origin like me?"
"I heard some rumors and wanted to warn you."
As he spoke, Li Xian's face gradually became serious, feeling full of oppression.
"I hope you won't become greedy because of these baseless rumors, go beyond the rules, and covet things that don't belong to you."
Xue Bai heard half of it and had already gathered all his energy to deal with it.
He had been deliberately condoning the rumor, and everyone who heard it was surprised and doubtful, suspecting that he was the emperor's grandson, but dared not say it. Only Li Xian pointed out the truth of the matter in one sentence, pointing out his ambition.
Xue Bai was not sure whether this was a coincidence or because he had been seen through. He was thinking about how to respond, but couldn't think of a better answer, so he said: "I didn't understand what the general was saying."
"It's okay if you don't understand." Li Xian said, "But people must first know who they are, what they should do, and what they shouldn't do."
"Yes, there are things a real man should do and things he shouldn't do."
Li Xian could feel the arrogance in Xue Bai's bones. He couldn't suppress it and couldn't help but feel a faint worry.
~~
Before dawn, the side door of the Taiyuan City Government Office had been opened, and a group of armored soldiers walked out, leading a carriage.
Holding torches, they took advantage of the bright dawn and rushed to the south gate of Taiyuan City.
In front of the city gate, there were several figures waiting there. They stepped forward to stop the team that was about to leave the city and said, "Let me see Commander-in-Chief again."
The carriage stopped and the curtain was opened. In the carriage, Wang Zhongsi looked increasingly weak. He looked up and saw Wang Nan and Li Sheng, but did not see Xue Bai.
He knew that even if he returned to Beijing to shoulder the blame, Xue Bai's guilt would still be considerable. What he was most worried about was that Xue Bai would also be severely punished after he left.
"Where's Xue Bai?"
"When we left the posthouse, he was still talking to Li Xian at night."
Wang Zhongsi felt a little relieved and asked again: "Is nothing wrong?"
Wang Nanlan stepped forward and whispered in his ear: "There is some bad news from Yang Guanghui..."
Listening, Wang Zhongsi's breathing gradually became heavier and he coughed twice with difficulty.
Because he had also experienced it, he was most disgusted when a general was involved in a dispute over the reserve position or similar power struggles when he was serving his country abroad. He did not expect that Xue Bai would have to encounter this at such a young age.
"Let's go."
The soldiers who were escorting Wang Zhongsi back to the capital had already begun to rush and lowered the curtains of the carriage.
The team continued on their journey and waited only for a short moment in front of the city gate before it was time to open the city gate.
"Slow down!"
Wang Zhongsi heard Xue Bai's voice and immediately asked the team to stop. He opened the curtain and looked around, and saw Xue Bai reining in the front.
"Is there something unexpected?"
"Don't worry." Xue Bai stepped forward, gave a solemn salute, and said: "Thanks to Commander Ji, General Li is willing to protect me, so no one will throw dirty water on me."
"That's good."
"There is two more good news for Hedong. The successors of Jiedushi and Deputy Envoys are Gao Xianzhi and Li Guangbi. They will surely be able to maintain the results of the war, account for the sacrifice of the soldiers, and inherit the legacy of Jiedu."
Wang Zhongsi was very pleased. He waved to Xue Bai and said slowly, "I hope that after them, you can defend the Tang Dynasty and become a famous general."
"good."
Xue Bai only had time to respond to one word. The escorting team had already started, forcibly ending their conversation and heading out of the city towards the ancient road.
After driving the horse for a while, Xue Bai still reined in the reins, knowing that he might never see Wang Zhongsi again...
~~
Li Xian stood on the tower for a while, looking thoughtfully at the scene of Xue Baixiang seeing off Wang Zhongsi.
They had not finished talking about some topics last night, and they interrupted for a while to see Wang Zhongsi off. When Xue Bai came back from outside the city, they went to sit down at a restaurant by the Fen River and ordered breakfast.
"General, why don't you go see Wang Jieshuai off?"
"The friendship between friends has been discussed a few days ago." Li Xian said: "It is a business matter to escort him back to Beijing. It is a business matter and there is no need to send him away."
Xue Bai said: "That's right. When the general returns to Chang'an, we can still reminisce with him."
Li Xian turned his head and looked out the window. He had not slept all night and his eyes were swollen.
He is a decisive person, but he spoke with some hesitation at this time, and said slowly: "There is one last thing to discuss. So far, your appointment is still the Grand Administrator of Changshan..."
"Does the general want me to go to Changshan?"
"I said before that in order to protect you, we must first let the saint know that you are doing things according to the order." Li Xian said: "You were on the road to Changshan Mountain, and coincidentally, you were involved in Wang Zhongsi and Anlu Mountain.
conflict."
"Okay." Xue Bai agreed and stood up immediately.
Li Xian said: "Have you thought about it?"
Xue Bai asked: "Do I have a choice?"
Both of them knew very well that Changshan County was located in Hebei and was within Anlu Mountain's sphere of influence. It would be very dangerous for Xue Bai to pass there. Wang Zhongsi sacrificed himself in exchange for Li Xian's intervention to save Xue Bai. He obviously did not want Xue Bai to die there.
Changshan.
But when Li Xian agreed to Wang Zhongsi, he had not yet seen the letter from Yang Guanghui, nor had he felt the arrogance and faint rebellious spirit in Xue Bai's bones. It must be said that since last night, he had been a little hesitant.
Do you want to continue to protect Xue Bai?
"have."
Li Xian was a man who valued his promises, so he finally responded: "If you are not sure of surviving in Changshan, you don't have to go."
"Then I am disobeying the order?"
"I'll find a way."
"The general will stay in Hedong until Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi take office?"
"That's natural."
Xue Bai asked another strange question: "Now is the twelfth year of Tianbao?"
"certainly."
"Okay, I'll go and take the job."
"Don't think about it anymore?"
"I'm sleepy, wake up and start again." Xue Bai waved his hand, turned around and left.
The breakfast Li Xian ordered hadn't been served yet, and he was already hungry again, so he sat there waiting alone.
"Oh." Xue Bai stopped and said, "We have made some good changes, keep it."
"What?"
Before Li Xian understood, Xue Bai had already left.
~~
It was April weather, and the peach blossoms had faded. Xue Bai walked along the Fen River for a while, and the petals fell all over his body.
He returned to the post house and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already noon. He called Diao Bing and asked, "Is it too late for us to leave the city and stay at the east post in the city?"
"I'm afraid I have to walk a long way at night."
"Let's go, pack your luggage, and stay on the mountain as usual." Xue Bai stretched out and said, "It's good to take a walk under the moonlight."
"The moon is not bright at the beginning of the month."
Having said that, the Diao brothers have packed their luggage neatly.
Diao Geng couldn't help but ask: "Lang Jun was not in a hurry about Changshan before, why are you so anxious today?"
"Hedong has achieved good results, let's keep up the good work." Xue Bai said.
His original plan to occupy Hedong under Wang Zhongsi was more risky, but now with Li Xian's help, although there are some minor conflicts between them, it is rare to have a very powerful teammate, so he can try to capture Changshan County.
First of all, Changshan is not far from Taiyuan. This is relative to the distance from Fan Yang to Taiyuan.
From Taiyuan to the east, passing through Jingxing and passing through the Taihang Mountains, you can reach Changshan County. Xue Bai's light carriage and simple followers were obviously able to reach Changshan before Anlu Mountain returned to Fanyang. Anlu Mountain was marching with a large army, and news came and went.
Due to the time difference, Xue Bai might even have a month to run his forces in Changshan.
He was officially appointed by the imperial court as the prefect of Changshan. He took up the post with a personal talisman in hand, and he was justly appointed. He could also take advantage of the fact that Li Longji did not notice him and showed that he was acting according to the order. This would increase his advantage when he quarreled with the imperial court in the future.
More importantly, if he can manage Changshan well, he can become a roadblock in the way of Anlushan's rebellion.
For the time being, by preventing An Lushan from trying to seize Hedong, and then driving a big nail on his way south from Hebei, there might be hope of stopping or minimizing the impact of An Lushan's rebellion.
It is now the twelfth year of Tianbao, and there are still two years before the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion in history. Xue Bai is not sure whether the changes he has brought will make the rebellion advance, delay, or even not happen at all.
All he can do is travel under the stars and night...
Half a month later, Daizhou.
An Lushan has suffered from severe leg pain in recent years and cannot even ride a horse for long periods of time.
Therefore, his team did not return from Xinzhou to the north very quickly. As they walked, they still coveted Taiyuan.
If after the imperial court executed Wang Zhongsi, a loser like Yang Guanghui was still guarding Taiyuan, he could also consider making a comeback, occupying Hebei first, and then using the Khitan threat as an excuse to ask the saint to let him concurrently serve as the governor of Hedong.
However, since it was Li Xian who came to comfort Hebei, this idea gradually disappeared. Only because of the prestige of Xin'an King Li Yi in Hedong, An Lushan did not dare to take action against his son easily.
On April 18, news came from Shuofang. An Lushan read it and summoned his advisers.
"Fortunately, after listening to Zhang Tongru, the imperial court asked Li Guangbi to guard the east of Hedong. How can it be easily conquered by force? If we are not prepared then it will become a rebellion, but it will be bad."
Most of Fan Yang's generals had never heard of Li Guangbi's military exploits and were disdainful, thinking that except for Wang Zhongsi, the other generals might not even be able to control the arrogant and powerful generals in Hedong, let alone defeat them.
An Lushan was furious and shouted: "People who are highly respected by An Sishun, you are not convinced? You can't win the battle, you will only yell all day long! The Yiluohe army is gone!"
The generals did not dare to speak, but they felt very disappointed in their hearts. Morale in the camp was inevitably low.
Under such circumstances, a force quietly grew among them, inspiring their confidence.
"What you can really rely on is not the Eight Thousand Yiluohe, but our Hebei soldiers!"
The one who spoke was noble and solemn, and the one standing behind them was An Qingxu. What surprised the generals even more was that Cui Qianyou, who had always been withdrawn, was also there.
Cui Ganyou is a man of few words and often doesn't speak, but his presence is a reassurance.
"We have a plan." Yan Zhuang continued, "After returning to Fan Yang, the court will definitely punish Wang Zhongsi severely in order to appease us. Those fools must think that this is the purpose of the prince. They are wrong..."