This is in the eastern part of Qingzhou, Shandong, in the Weifang and Laizhou areas, on the edge of the Bohai Sea.
In the fifth year of Tianbao, Li Yong served as the governor of Beihai and was called "Li Beihai". When the Du Youlin case broke out, Li Yong was almost implicated by Liu Ji. Later, because of Xue Bai's relationship, the case was hastily closed, but Li Yong was already old. Gao, he returned to his hometown as an official within two years, and the current governor of Beihai is Helan Jinming.
The Helan family comes from Xianbei and was Hanized very early. They were relatives as early as the Northern Wei Dynasty, and they are still called "noble" today. Like the Xue family, their family has many handsome men and beautiful women, and many people marry into the imperial family. Helan's ancestors in the Ming Dynasty and Wu Zetian was related to a well-known person in his ancestors named He Lan Minzhi, who was famous for his "young beauty".
Helan was forty-six years old when he entered the Ming Dynasty. He had a good appearance. When he was young, he was handsome and handsome. Now he is elegant and elegant. He is also very talented and learned. He was awarded the Jinshi at the age of twenty. He writes good poems and loves ancient times. Liberal and elegant.
Such a person would naturally look down on a bastard like An Lushan. Although An Lushan's army passed by and Helan Jinming was forced to surrender due to the situation, he knew very well that the Tang Dynasty was at its peak and the saints were wise. Shenwu, sooner or later, would have to put down the rebellion, and he was worried about this. He was deeply afraid that he would be liquidated by the court after the rebellion was put down.
Two days ago, he had received a message from Yuan Luqian of Changshan County. He was willing to respond, but he was worried that the time had not come yet and the imperial court had not had time to send troops.
This matter is really difficult to grasp.
"well."
It was a hot day. Helan Jinming was wearing a plain gauze singlet and wearing wooden clogs, sitting in the lobby and thinking.
"Brother, there is another message!"
His younger brother Helan Zhijia hurried from the front yard, holding two rolls of paper, and unfolded one of them in front of him.
Helan Jinming looked at it intently, and the first thing he noticed was the handwriting. It was an extremely upright regular script that did not hide the murderous spirit in the strokes. The iron strokes and silver hooks were majestic.
"Good words."
Looking at the content again, it was a message from Xue Bai, the prefect of Changshan, who said that he had killed the rebel generals Li Qincuo and Gaomiao, and brought tens of thousands of elite soldiers from Hedong. They defeated the rebel general Cai Xide at Jingxing and beheaded 1,300 people. Now we are sending an appeal to the twenty-four counties in Hebei Province to promote righteousness together.
Compared with Yuan Luqian's impassioned letter, Xue Bai's letter did not have many words, but its content was very powerful.
Helan Jinming was moved, stood up quickly, and said, "Has the imperial army arrived?"
Not long ago, he was afraid that it would be too early to start a rebellion, but now he was worried that it would be too late to initiate justice anyway.
"It's not mentioned in the memorandum, but Yuan Luqian said that the imperial court has appointed the prince as generalissimo and sent 300,000 troops."
"What Yuan Luqian said doesn't count." He Lan Jinming frowned and said to himself, "Why didn't Xue Bai mention it?"
"Yan Gaoqing, the governor of Pingyuan, has also advocated justice. Brother, look at it."
Helan Zhijia sent another message and told the latest news.
"Not only Changshan, it is said that Pingyuan County is also very powerful. There were originally 3,000 Jingsai Army soldiers there. Yan Gaoqing recruited 10,000 more soldiers, appointed Li Zejiao, Diao Wansui and other generals, and gave them a big reward at Ximen. Soldiers and horses, morale is high."
"What do you want to do?" Helan Jinming asked.
"We also respond!" Helan Zhijia said: "Yan Gaoqing was so impatient when he first arrived in Pingyuan. It must be because he is related by marriage to Xue Bai, has connections in the court, and is well-informed."
Helan Jinming nodded immediately after hearing this and said: "Okay."
"Brother, in my opinion, we can't stick to Beihai." Helan Zhijia continued to give advice, saying: "Beihai is located in a remote place. If the rebels come to kill, there will be no way to escape; if the officers and soldiers suppress the rebellion, the credit will be lost.
Show."
"What about that?"
"Recruit troops and lead the army to Changshan to support Xue Bai, Yuan Luqian and others. Changshan County is close to Jingxing and is a strategic location. It can respond to the imperial army as quickly as possible. If you see the prince, if something goes wrong, you can retreat to Taiyuan to protect your safety.
troops."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Helan Jinming has an elegant personality, and his younger brother helps him make decisions on many things. This has been the case since they were young.
There was only one thing on which he ever disagreed with his brother, and that was about his first wife.
When Helan Jinming was eighteen years old, he was unparalleled in beauty and talent. He was admired by the daughter of the Linghu family in Dunhuang. The Linghu family fell in love with Helan Jinming. In order to please him, he often gave gifts to his family, which made the Helan family full.
However, Helan Zhijia disliked this Linghu family very much and deliberately lied to her that her brother wanted a lacquer-backed golden flower mirror from the Youxiang Mansion. The next day, Linghu family actually went to the Youxiang Mansion.
He visited Li Linfu's eldest daughter and secretly sneaked into Yanyue Hall. Unexpectedly, he was shot dead by the guard with an arrow while escaping.
This matter sounded extremely ridiculous and unbelievable, so some strange theories were derived, saying that the Linghu family was the incarnation of a white fox, and that the guards of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion only shot one fox. But in the end, it was still the Linghu family.
I fell in love with Helan so deeply that I lost my head completely.
Helan Jinming later blamed his brother for this incident, but Helan Zhijia only said, "I was just joking. Who knew she would really go, let alone the people in the Youxiang Mansion would release arrows without any explanation."
.
It was an unintentional mistake after all, and the two brothers finally reconciled.
Helan Zhijia had no intention of pursuing an official career, and had always stayed with Helan Jinming to take care of his affairs. Unlike his brother who was quaint and elegant, he was very resourceful in his actions.
So, within a few days, they recruited soldiers and horses, plus the original defenders of Beihai County, totaling five thousand people, and rushed to Changshan County to respond to Xue Bai.
By the time they arrived, 15 of the 24 counties in Hebei had responded.
~~
In the distance, the towering Taihang Mountains can be seen.
Zhending City is already in sight. Deep trenches have been dug outside the city, and earth walls have been piled up one after another to block cavalry charges.
There are many banners on the city top, not only the banners of the Hengyang Army of Changshan County, but also the Taiyuan Tianbing Army, Pingyuan Jingsai Army, Boling Beiping Army, etc., sounding fiercely in the wind.
From time to time in the south, you can see horses galloping past, waving flags towards the top of the city.
There were people supporting the old and the young, pushing wheelbarrows toward the west, and rows of officers and soldiers were escorting them on horseback.
Helan Jinming raised his eyes and looked into the distance, murmuring: "What is that?"
"Could it be that the population is being sent to Hedong?"
"Isn't Xue Bai confident in holding Hebei? Didn't he say that the imperial court's 300,000 troops are about to arrive?"
Thinking like this, Helan Jinming felt worried in his heart.
The top of the city had long noticed the movements of their large group of soldiers and horses, and a school captain led his troops to come forward to inquire.
They then replied loudly: "The governor of Beihai has led five thousand elite troops to support us!"
But Changshan seemed very cautious. Even after checking the official seals and talismans, they still did not let them cross the border immediately. They actually waited for officials in the city to come down to identify them. Then they arranged for them to be stationed in the camp outside the city that had been set up.
"Why don't you see Prefect Xue?"
"Forgive me, Prefect Helan. The prefect has just met someone from Pingyuan County and will come to greet him immediately."
"Oh? Yan Gaoqing is here too?"
"No, I sent an envoy."
Helan Zhijia said: "Prefect Xue went to greet the envoy, but left my brother and cousin the prefect here to hang out?"
"Shut up." He Lan Jinming stopped his brothers and said, "Let's set up camp first..."
Before he finished speaking, a loud shout came from the distance.
"Wang Tao, the prefect of Ye County, has led three thousand elite troops to respond to Prefect Xue! I would like to recommend Prefect Xue as the leader of the alliance against thieves!"
More than 3,000 people shouted in unison, the momentum was overwhelming.
Helan Jinming turned to look at the city gate and saw a row of heads of rebel generals hanging there. He couldn't help but whisper to Helan Zhijia: "The leader of the traitor alliance is much more majestic than expected."
"Originally we were both county guards, but with one order from him, more than 20 counties bowed their heads at the same time. This is so majestic." Helan Zhijia murmured, "This is the power of the Jiedushi."
"This is how a man should be born."
Hearing what his brother said, Helan Zhijia immediately began to think. He rolled his eyes left and right twice and said: "Xue Bai is young and has no qualifications. I don't know what credit he has to convince so many county guards?"
"He said in his statement that he defeated Cai Xide's troops."
Helan Zhijia said: "Have we not seen many false reports of military exploits in recent years? For a nepotistic minister who associates with people like Yang Guozhong, isn't the best thing he is good at doing?"
"Yang Guozhong." Helan Jinming stroked his long beard and shook his head to show his disdain for Yang Guozhong.
As a result, Xue Bai's image became much clearer in the eyes of the two brothers. They also had a ready reference, that is, their brother-in-law He Lan Minzhi, a libertine who was good at getting under the covers of women and using women to wield power.
.
After waiting for a while, Xue Bai simply held a banquet and invited the Helan brothers to the big tent to discuss the matter of countering the rebellion, as people from all counties were sent.
It would inevitably appear rude for young people to do this, so Helan Jinming decided to see what kind of person this was.
"Brother, there is no need to be curious. I bet that Xue Bai will not be able to control so many people."
…
There were no luxurious decorations in the big tent, and it was filled with the smell of blood.
But the soldiers guarding outside the tent had sharp eyes and a murderous aura all over their bodies. This could not be achieved through training alone, but only through the baptism of the battlefield.
Their spears were held diagonally. The blood on the wooden poles had dried and turned ink, but the spear tips were wiped clean. The iron tools were polished to a sharp point, reflecting a breathtaking light.
As soon as Helan Jinming entered the tent, he recognized Xue Bai. He was standing at the top, talking to someone about something.
At first glance, Helan Jinming thought that Xue Bai looked too much like himself when he was young, talented, handsome, and charming. But soon, he realized that the two were different.
At this time, Xue Bai was wearing armor, which had not been washed for several days. The armor was covered with blood, in various colors. The blood was covered with mud, and the mud was covered with blood. He must have killed people at different times, but he was not wearing it. He was wearing a helmet, so he could see the blood stains left behind when he wiped his face but failed to wipe his temples.
His eyes were resolute, revealing a decisive and decisive look, not stained by the romantic charm of Chang'an City.
"I am Xue Bai, this is Changshan Changshi Yuan Luqian, and this is Yunzhong Army Envoy Wang Ruolan. Today, regardless of the hardships and dangers, you have come to Changshan County to respond to your righteousness. Yuan Changshi, I, and General Wang have neglected you. "
"Prefect Xue is welcome."
But Xue Bai was not polite, and said in a matter-of-fact tone: "Fortunately, after the rebellion was put down, I was promoted to a higher position, and my name will go down in history. Everyone is not short of good hospitality, so please bear with it for now."
"good!"
In the tent, there were Lu Quancheng, the governor of Raoyang, Wang Huaizhong, the chief historian of Qinghe, Li Guan, the Sima of Jingcheng, Wang Tao, the governor of Yejun, and others, who all applauded.
Since Xue Bai was respected as the leader of the alliance, he showed no intention of humility. He walked to a huge map with an unyielding momentum, pointed at it, and explained the "imperial court's" next strategic intention.
"Now An Lushan has arrived at the Yellow River to attack Luoyang. He claims to have 200,000 troops, but in fact he has only more than 100,000 troops, and they are all gathered along the Yellow River. And where will his food, grass and baggage be supplied? Xiongwu City, Youzhou, the entire The logistics line has been completely cut off by us."
Just as he said this, a whistle came from the distance, followed by warm cheers.
"Report!"
A group of cavalry rushed to the tent, dismounted, and reported: "Report to the prefect, we defeated another rebel carriage team, beheaded thirty-seven people, seized eighty carriages, two hundred healthy mules, and five hundred grains." Stones, eight hundred stones of beans, and more than a hundred sheep."
"Pass on the order, make rice and cook the sheep, and reward the whole army."
"Here!"
Wang Tao, the prefect of Ye County, quickly ran out of the tent and looked outside the camp. Sure enough, he saw a lively scene of many mule carts returning to the camp, and the soldiers were busy going back and forth.
In this way, everyone's confidence is greatly increased and their morale is boosted.
Xue Bai was not surprised. He even tapped the map with a straight face and a little impatiently, drawing everyone's attention back to analyzing the situation.
"You ask where the generalissimo appointed by the imperial court is and where the 300,000-strong army is. I'll tell you. The vanguard army has arrived in Taiyuan and is currently being prepared. That's why I can lend 5,000 troops and horses from Taiyuan.
Open up Jingxing. Where are the rest? Here."
Xue Bai clicked on the word "Tongguan" on the map. He looked determined, as if he knew the entire battlefield well.
"The saint has ordered the generals to leave Tongguan and fight An Lushan at the foot of Luoyang City..."
Suddenly, someone interrupted Xue Bai and asked the first question. It was Helan Jinming. He didn't quite believe Xue Bai and asked: "Who did the saint send to lead the army?"
"Gao Xianzhi." Xue Bai quickly went through it in his mind and said, "Gao Xianzhi is in Chang'an and has already rushed to Luoyang at starry night."
Helan Jinming asked again: "An army of three hundred thousand? Can the court mobilize it in a hurry?"
Xue Bai's face sank, and he said: "Why does Prefect Helan ask such a question? Can't Luoyang, the capital of the capital and the sacred capital, have only 300,000 troops and horses mobilized?!"
Helan Jinming had no ill intentions at first, but he just thought that the Nanyafu soldiers in Chang'an City were not able to fight, so he asked casually. He never expected to be scolded by Xue Bai. Although he knew that he had said the wrong thing, he was still very unhappy in his heart.
"Shuzi!" Helan Zhijia immediately stood up and said: "How dare you be so rude to my brother, do you really think you are above the county governor?!"
Xue Bai actually ignored him at all, looked around the tent, and said to everyone: "I reiterate, the situation is extraordinary, and anyone who dares to disturb the morale of the army will be punished without mercy, regardless of intention or unintentional!"
Recently, people from all counties came to visit, and there were all kinds of problems. Xue Bai had to take care of everything. In order to preside over this situation, it was useless to explain in a nice manner. He must have strong measures.
It was not directed at Helan Jinming, but he asked this kind of question without restraint. If Xue Bai answered it, there would be more consequences. It would be better to push back from the beginning. Whether it is embarrassing or tense, let others realize
When the leader of the alliance speaks, he cannot be interrupted or questioned.
When Helan Zhijia saw Xue Bai ignoring him, he was stunned for a moment and wanted to make trouble. With a "bang", Wang Ruanlan had drawn his sword and spat out two simple and powerful words.
"Deliberation."
Xue Bai then ignored this small conflict and continued: "Since the officers and soldiers were confronting the rebels in Heluo, at this time, if we cut off the rebels' food routes and their way back, the rebels will inevitably be in morale disorder. If An Lushan dares
If you send troops to attack us, the troops will be insufficient and we will be defeated by the officers and soldiers."
As he spoke, he drew a line on the map from Changshan County to Pingyuan County.
"We only need to concentrate our forces to defend Changshan County, Zhao County, and Pingyuan County. This will be enough to cut off the rebels' food routes, concentrate our forces, and hold on. We can just wait for the rebels to be defeated."
Xue Bai probably knew what changes he had triggered. He prompted Taiyuan to send troops to protect the main road of Jingxing, and advanced the time for the counties and counties in Hebei to surrender to the Tang Dynasty before Anlu Mountain captured Luoyang.
This will definitely have an impact on the morale of the rebels.
Regarding the Battle of Luoyang, he had done everything within his capabilities. As for whether the imperial court could win or not, it did not depend on him. Only the emperor could decide who to send to fight, how many troops and horses to send, and what strategy to use. Decide.
Even a prince has to wait until he ascends the throne before he can influence such a major event.
And Xue Bai is not even a prince yet.
In short, he painted cakes for these people. There were many deceptive parts in his words to encourage people's hearts, but they were not entirely false.
By sticking to the cities in Hebei, they can indeed create very favorable conditions for the battle of Luoyang.
Under such circumstances, the possibility of the officers and soldiers winning should be greatly increased.
~~
Yang Qixuan was also in the tent during this military discussion. Although he was squeezed into a corner, he felt his confidence doubled after listening to it.
He touched his knocked out front teeth and realized that he had been so stupid before and actually chose to compete with Xue Bai to be jealous. Now that a big chaos has fallen, Xue Bai's life experience and abilities have been revealed. How can this be a love rival? It should be Someone worth serving.
It was finally late at night, when all the chores in the army were done, and Yang Qixuan immediately went to ask for an audience with Xue Bai.
"Mr. Lang!"
"Get up." Xue Bai hadn't taken off his armor yet, rubbing his eyes that were almost too sleepy to open. He caught a glimpse of Yang Qixuan kneeling on the ground and said, "Speak directly if you have something to say, and don't say anything useless."
"Yes, I found out today that He Lan Jinming was not convinced by Lang Jun, so I came here specifically to remind Lang Jun."
"What can be done if he refuses to accept it?"
Yang Qixuan had no opinions, mainly to show his attitude of considering Xue Bai wholeheartedly.
So, he took two small steps forward and whispered: "Helan Jinming is a blind person. He is jealous of Lang Jun being promoted as the leader of the alliance. But he doesn't know that he has no qualifications to be jealous."
Xue Bai closed his eyes and fell asleep, seemingly listening but not listening.
Yang Qi preached: "In my opinion, so far, regardless of whether the counties in Hebei can defend it or not, Lang Jun's purpose has been achieved."
"Huh? Why did you say 'can you keep it or not'?"
"Mr. Lang, please don't blame me for disturbing the morale of the army. I am planning with you in private."
"good."
Yang Qixuan whispered: "Others don't know, how come I don't know that I came out of Chang'an? In such a hurry, it is difficult for the imperial court to mobilize troops to defend Luoyang, and it is impossible to send troops to Hebei for the time being. That man An Lushan has a hot temper, and he will definitely send troops to Luoyang immediately. When the general comes back, we will not be able to defend these small towns that are in danger with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from all sides, but I am afraid that they will be difficult to defend."
Xue Bai didn't answer. He tapped his knees lightly with his fingers, and the scene in Yanshi County came to mind again.
When Yang Qixuan came tonight, what he really wanted to talk about was not the battle situation, but the struggle for power that he was better at.
"Mr. Lang, you don't have to worry. I just said that your goal has been achieved. He advocated righteousness and was elected as the leader of the alliance by the counties in Hebei. Such a reputation is enough."
"What is my purpose?"
"Of course it's to protect the Tang Dynasty!"
Xue Bai did not refute.
Seeing that he was right, Yang Qixuan said again: "Now the rebels are approaching Luoyang City, which is only separated from Chang'an by Tongguan. The country is in danger. From what I see, Lang Jun does not need to stay in Hebei for too long, but should take the safety of the saint as his priority.
Seriously, recruit people from Yan and Zhao, lead tens of thousands of people through Hedong, and return to the capital to serve the king!"
He boasted that he had come up with a brilliant idea, and when he talked about it, he became excited and salivated.
"Lang Jun, think about it. Since the rebellion, you have been the only one who has shouldered the heavy responsibility and won the trust of the generals of the two towns. You are also the pillar of the East Palace. If you return to Chang'an at this time, the saint will definitely reward you, and the prince will definitely rely on you even more.
With your ability and these tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, it is not difficult to get the prince to take command. If you ask the prince to vindicate the unjust case, you can lead the troops to quell the rebellion as the county king..."
Sure enough, Xue Bai opened his eyes and glanced at Yang Qixuan.
At this moment, Yang Qixuan was a little different from the past. He vaguely looked like the rebellious Wang Wen back then, no, more like Li Shiniang.
As long as he dares to think, his ambition will be ignited and he will become crazy.
Yang Qixuan was a little frightened by Xue Bai's eyes. He simply knelt down on the ground again and said in a trembling voice: "I said something rude, but it was all for your consideration. Hebei must be the most powerful place for An Lushan's troops."
Attacking the land can enhance your reputation, but if you want to protect the country, you have to look at Chang'an."
"Let me ask you." Xue Bai said: "Did you think of these yourself, or did Dugu Wensu, Li Shiyu and others say this?"
"Yes...yes..." Yang Qixuan hesitated for a while and said, "I was deeply inspired by my conversation with them."
"Then why didn't they tell me?"
"They are not as sincere to my husband as I am." Yang Qi declared: "I only think about my husband, they have too many distracting thoughts."
Xue Bai shook his head, knowing that Li Shiyu was loyal to Dugu Wensu and would not persuade him to abandon Hebei and flee so quickly. After all, it still made sense to stay here now.
But he did not pour cold water on Yang Qixuan, and was actually willing to have a few words with him.
"Do you know why I asked Yuan Luqian to surrender?"
"Because Changshan County just couldn't resist the rebels at that time." Yang Qi declared: "Let the rebels pass through the border and then cut them off so that they can't see each other."
"Yes, I have brought about this current situation. How can I let it go so easily?"
"But even so," Yang Qixuan whispered: "How can the imperial court have 300,000 troops to guard Luoyang?"
Of course Xue Bai also knew this. He thought that Anlu Mountain should be approaching Yanshi soon, and he sighed rarely and said: "Some things you said are good, but they are not perfect. If I want to return to Chang'an, I have to be so famous that