More than forty miles east of Yanshi County is Gong County.
When An Lushan marched here, he ordered the vanguard troops to attack Luoyang first. He stopped and temporarily stayed in Gong County to rest.
He occupied the Gongxian government office to accommodate his fat body, letting the fat on his belly hang on the couch, and his temper burst out like a mountain torrent.
"Crack!"
With a loud sound, the whip struck Li Zhuer's back hard, tearing his clothes apart and revealing a bloody streak.
"Do you know that I can't sleep lately?!"
An Lushan cursed loudly, his eyes were red, showing a violent attitude.
Li Zhuer lay on the ground shivering. He knew why An Lushan couldn't sleep peacefully. It was because of fear and regret, but he didn't dare to answer because the answer would kill him.
A smell filled the air from his crotch. Ever since he was castrated, Li Zhuer couldn't control his urine. The situation got worse under this kind of whipping. Soon his crotch was soaked. "
Among the crackling sound of the whip, the extremely subtle "ticking" sound was even more humiliating to him. He lowered his head, as if he would not make a sound until he was beaten to death.
Finally, Yan Zhuang and Zhang Tongru came. An Lushan stopped his whip, turned around and cursed.
"You bastards, after listening to your bird calls, I will die, die! Then the officers and soldiers will cut open my belly, use my anointing oil to light a lamp, and shine it on your mother's vagina."
The more he cursed, the more unpleasant words he used. An Lushan was still upset, so he simply switched to Sogdian and cursed fiercely.
Zhang Tongru looked ashamed after being scolded and saluted: "Master, don't worry..."
With a "bang" sound, An Lushan smashed a jade carving that was the favorite of the Gong County magistrate onto Zhang Tongru, and it fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.
He vented his anger and slumped there, crying sadly: "It's over! I can't win. My good Prince Dongping has become a traitor."
"The situation is great, why did the Lord say this?!" Yan Zhuang said loudly, "If it is because Xue Bai occupied several small towns in Hebei..."
"Small town?" An Lushan scolded: "Now nineteen of the twenty-four counties have rebelled. How many small towns are you talking about? Just based on these two words, you want to blow me up to the sky?"
"Although Xue Bai's momentum is great, it is just for the sake of fame. Hebei's elite troops have long been mobilized by the prince. His few troops are just a mob, not to mention that each county has its own ideas. There is no need to wait for the soldiers to know the news and shake the morale of the army. General Shi
He must have recovered Hebei and captured Xue Bai. Don’t you believe him?"
An Lushan touched his bare belly, rolled around on the couch, worried, and shouted: "What you said is nice. Now the saint has sent Gao Xianzhi to Luoyang City to hold on. He is a famous general who destroyed the Xiaobolu Kingdom. In just a short time
He has recruited 80,000 soldiers and horses in a few days. Luoyang will definitely be difficult to fight. He is the same as Xue Bai. As long as he closes the city and holds on for a month, we will run out of food and grass and I will be burned!"
"Master, please listen to me. How many of the common people in Dongdu have ever fought in a war? I'm afraid they haven't even seen blood. Such a mob of 80,000 people..."
An Lushan's leg hurt so much that he interrupted their nonsense with a loud shout, saying that if Luoyang could not be captured, he would simply plunder it, kill Fan Yang, break the soil, seal the king, and separate his kingdom.
The closer he got to Luoyang, the more he had a bad premonition that there was danger lurking ahead. This was out of the awe and fear he had always had for the saint, just like a small animal smelling the scent left by a beast and not daring to enter it easily.
's territory.
Although he is fat, he is extremely keen, and this intuition has saved his life countless times.
However, Yan Zhuang and Zhang Tongru never supported returning to Fan Yang. They rebelled out of their ambition to "govern the country and bring peace to the world", and they tried hard to persuade them.
"Ten days, just ten days, as long as Fujun waits patiently for ten days, Dongdu will belong to Fujun."
"You are always good at talking nonsense, ten days after another."
Yan Zhuang knelt on the ground and said: "Chang'an and Luoyang have been soaked in drunken dreams and death by the Hunjun. The Lord of Fu has brought 200,000 border troops to kill, capture Chang'an, and seize the throne. It will be easy. Within ten days, if
If I can't break Dongdu, please kill me!"
"Really?" An Lushan became suspicious, he was not very confident.
Zhang Tongru said: "Everything owned by Hun Jun will belong to Fu Jun. Please think about the charming Concubine Yang."
"ha?"
An Lushan laughed happily and agreed to wait another ten days. But when they retreated, he still felt uneasy.
After a while, An Qingxu also arrived. Seeing his son, An Lushan's face darkened, and he ordered someone to hand a letter to An Qingxu.
That was a letter written by Dugu Wensu to Zhang Xiancheng.
Zhang Xiancheng is the son of Zhang Shougui, and Zhang Shougui is An Lushan's old boss and adoptive father. This shows Zhang Xiancheng's status in the rebels. He is now the governor of Tanzhou and stays behind Fan Yang.
The content of the letter was that Dugu Wensu persuaded Zhang Xiancheng to surrender to the imperial court. Most of it was a cliché. But there was one sentence that said someone very close to An Lushan had agreed to kill An Lushan to quell the rebellion.
Seeing this, An Qingxu's pupils trembled with shock. He raised his head in fear and said, "Master, I..."
An Lushan squinted his small eyes and stared at his son's expression.
Every time he went to Chang'an, he would dance in front of the saint to dispel the saint's wariness, which made him suspicious. He was a master at hiding his true feelings, and he was also the most suspicious and suspicious person.
"Who do you think it could be?" he asked.
An Qingxu was frightened and said: "My grandpa is surrounded by trustworthy people. I'm afraid this is their counterintuitive plan!"
At this time, An Lushan's face showed the majesty of a saint.
"It must be Xue Bai's trick. He instigated Dugu Wensu and Li Shiyu to rebel in this way." An Qingxu swallowed and added: "If I believe him, I will really fall into the trap."
Mentioning Xue Bai, An Lushan felt even more uneasy, so he asked: "Has Yanshi County been captured?"
"Yes, captured."
"Is there anything unusual?"
An Qingxu hesitated for a while and said: "It's nothing unusual, it's just that... the officials and people in the city all fled after hearing the news."
"Escaped? Where can you escape to?"
"There are people who have fled to various places, such as Luoyang and Nanyang, and some people have fled to Shouyang Mountain." An Qingxu said: "My uncle asked this because he is noble? He cares about Yanshi County very much."
An Lushan waved his fat hand and dismissed An Qingxu, wanting to stay alone for a while.
He didn't tell anyone what he was thinking.
A few days ago... a small incident happened. After the rebels captured Xingyang, Cui Wuxu, the prefect of Xingyang, committed suicide in the battle to break the city. However, before the battle, he also sent a troop of troops to guard Sishui Pass, led by the general.
Commander Li Fei Shouyu. The rebels continued to break through Sishui Pass and entered Poppy Valley. Li Fei Shouyu actually led the remaining troops to resist. He was indeed a rare brave man with superb archery skills. He killed Guancheng even after the city fell.
killed hundreds of rebels.
At that time, An Lushan's chariot had not yet entered the Poppy Valley, and he was observing the terrain. Suddenly, there was a "swish" sound, and a sharp arrow was nailed to his chariot. The arrow shook and buzzed. He was immediately furious.
, ordered Li Fei Shouyu to be captured and chopped into pieces. As a result, Li Fei Shouyu actually threw himself into the Yellow River.
This battle seemed smooth, but it left a big shadow in An Lushan's heart. He didn't even dare to pass through Poppy Valley, but took a detour to the south.
Coupled with Zhang Xiancheng's letter and Gao Shang's concern for Yanshi County, he was a little worried that Yanshi County and Shouyang Mountain would be the next Poppy Valley, which led to what happened today.
"Don't be afraid." An Lushan murmured to himself to comfort himself, "Little uncle, I have guessed everything you are thinking. Don't be afraid, I will just go around."
After that, he twisted his body uneasily, and asked with a doubtful tone, "But saint, what are you thinking about? Hu'er has already attacked Luoyang."
~~
Chang'an, Xingqing Palace.
Yang Guozhong walked into the main hall of the Qinzheng Building with fear and fear. Feeling the solemn atmosphere inside, he bowed cautiously, not daring to look at Li Longji's majestic face.
The news of An Lushan's rebellion reached Chang'an on the seventh or eighth day after the rebellion, exactly one month has passed.
Within this month, Li Longji didn't believe it at first, thinking that people who hated An Lushan, such as Yang Guozhong, were making up lies. When he was finally convinced of the fact of the rebellion, he became furious. Everyone in the palace had never seen such a saint.
Terrible rage.
Yang Guozhong knew that he had forced Anlushan to rebel, and that he was the first target to be killed in the slogan of the Qingjun side of the rebels. He was always in fear, fearing that the saint's anger would be poured out on him. Fortunately, the saint did not say that he wanted to conquer personally.
"I want to go to Luoyang and see Hu Erti coming with an army of 200,000 people. If he dares to kill me, why don't he kneel in front of me and beg for my life?"
When she was young and killed Empress Wei with a sword, Princess Taiping's wise and martial appearance reappeared, like the light at dusk shining on a bright mirror, as brilliant as the rising sun.
At that time, Yang Guozhong was in awe of the emperor's domineering power, and he didn't know what to say. However, he waited and waited, but received no further instructions from the saint.
And as time passed day by day, the news of the fall in the wind came like snowflakes from the counties in Hebei. Finally, Yang Guozhong realized it and delivered a message to the palace. That night, Yang Yuhuan knelt in front of the saint, crying like rain.
I begged him not to go on a personal expedition with his chariot, saying that if a rogue rebel rebelled, how could he bother the saint to do so in person?
The most touching sentence is "How could Sanlang be willing to risk his own life and make his concubines worried and restless?"
The saint helped her up and sighed: "I am trapped by Taizhen's tenderness."
Therefore, the proposal of the emperor's personal expedition was abandoned.
Many officials in the court secretly scolded Yang Guozhong and Yang Yuhuan for this, but Yang Guozhong felt deeply wronged. In fact, he was confused when the rebellion started, and he had no idea.
Soon, the saint appointed Gao Xianzhi, who happened to be in Chang'an, as Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi to send troops to quell the rebellion.
Xue Bai mentioned this appointment to Li Linfu many years ago, and also mentioned it to Yang Guozhong a year or two ago. Now it has finally been reached.
Unfortunately, it's too late.
At this moment, Yang Guozhong stood in the main hall, recalling the situation when Xue Bai persuaded him in the past, and regretted it, lest the saint would accuse him of being incompetent.
"What do you think of Wang Chengye's memorial?" Li Longji suddenly asked.
Yang Guozhong was stunned, surprised that the saint's tone was so calm. An Lushan was about to attack Luoyang, but the saint didn't seem to panic? He was not as angry as before.
He didn't know why, so he quickly raised his head and took a peek, but couldn't see anything. Then his mind returned to Wang Chengye's memorial, remembering that it was for Xue Bai, Yuan Luqian, Li Guangbi, Wang Nannan, Li Sheng, Dugu Wensu, Li
Shi Yu and others asked for merit, and the heads of Li Qincao and Gao Miao were also sent, which greatly inspired the courtiers.
"Return to the saint, it can be seen that the counties in Hebei are devoted to the saint."
First, he said a few words of flattery, but Yang Guozhong couldn't say anything more reasonable, so he continued to follow the strategy stated in Xue Bai's letter to him.
"Although An Lushan reached Luoyang, the troops burned, killed, and looted wherever he went, and the officials and the people resented him. Now Wang Chengye, Li Guangbi, Xue Bai and others have cemented the wells and guarded Changshan, and spread the word to the counties in Hebei. Sooner or later, the rebels will lose their morale.
There was a big chaos, and we returned to the army in panic. According to what I saw, it can be as Wang Chengye said, if any prince is appointed as the marshal of the expedition and sticks to Luoyang, the rebellion can be stopped within ten months."
Yang Guozhong really didn't want Gao Xianzhi to perform meritorious service, and wished he could replace him with his confidant. Unfortunately, Gao Xianzhi offered prisoners several times and was very popular with the saint. Now he had to follow Xue Bai's plan to perform meritorious service. Fortunately, Wang Chengye recommended it, and this strategy was also adopted by him.
If you offer it, once the rebellion is suppressed, he will be the first to do so.
To be honest, after giving the advice, even he could feel Xue Bai's painstaking efforts. He had distributed the credit in all aspects and created a fairly favorable counter-insurgency situation.
However, when Li Longji spoke again, it was beyond his will.
"I'm not asking you about this. Can you see what's wrong with Wang Chengye's memorial?"
Yang Guozhong was surprised when he saw that the eunuch handed the memorial over again, and he quickly took it and looked at it carefully. He looked horizontally and vertically, but he didn't notice anything wrong.
"I am stupid, please forgive me, the sage."
"It has only been a month since Hu'er's rebellion. In a moment, all the twenty-four counties in Hebei Province surrendered without a single loyal minister. In a moment, as soon as Xue Bai sent a message, Hebei returned to the imperial court again. Why?"
"this……"
Yang Guozhong couldn't answer because he didn't understand these things.
Li Longji's eyes were full of suspicion and he asked: "If you want any prince to be the marshal against thieves, who do you think is suitable?"
"It should be... the prince?"
"Why?"
"The prince has the highest status, and the East Palace is newly established. It is time for the prince to gain experience. If the other princes are in charge, it may cause an imbalance."
"Who told you?"
"No one has told me that I am..."
Yang Guozhong originally wanted to say "I think about it", but stopped mid-sentence.
Li Longji did not ask further questions and remained silent.
The atmosphere became increasingly depressing.
At this time, Yang Guozhong realized that there were not many waiters in the hall, not even Gao Lishi. So, no one else could hear what was discussed today. At this moment, he suddenly realized that he felt that he had vaguely captured the saint's thoughts.
"I see, something is indeed wrong. Anlushan can only hold two towns of soldiers and horses, and its strength is far inferior to that of Wang Shi. According to common sense, the officials of Hebei counties should not dare to rebel. Why did they allow the rebels to fight to the Yellow River and then join again?
The situation? It seems like they deliberately let An Lushan go to Luoyang?"
Speaking with a sense of probing, Yang Guozhong peeked over again and found that the saint's head hidden in the darkness apparently nodded slightly.
It seems that this brings out the true suspicion of the saint.
"Hebei surrendered in anticipation of the wind, Henan collapsed at the first touch, and Hedong relied solely on Taiyuan to hold on. Less than a month after the rebels raised their troops, they directly attacked the eastern capital. The local officers and soldiers were in such a mess that I had to wonder..."
Yang Guozhong followed the holy will and guessed this. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, and he was so frightened that he didn't dare to say anything.
"What are you doubting?" Li Longji asked.
"With the battle going like this, I'm thinking, maybe..." Yang Guozhong hesitated: "Is someone using An Lushan to force the palace in the name of 'Qingjun's side'? Are there some people secretly working together?"
Two words that are extremely familiar.
These two words seemed to be the root of all changes during the Tianbao years. Every time something happened, Li Longji could always find the answer from these two words.
"Construction?" He asked slowly and deeply: "Construction of what?"
"Construction...East Palace?"
It seems that this is not the 12th year of Tianbao, but everyone has returned to the 5th year of Tianbao. After Yang Guozhong blurted out four words, he forgot about the rebels who were close at hand and found his true responsibility as prime minister.
He looked at Wang Chengye's memorial again and saw some reluctance between the lines and found some ambiguous hints.
"I am guilty." Yang Guozhong knelt on the ground and said, "I have recently heard about a mysterious thing. Because it is too ridiculous, I am still verifying it and have not reported it to the saint."
"explain."
"I dare to ask the saint to summon a witness, Yang Guanghui."
"Yang Guanghui? He is not dead?"
"Replying to the saint, Li Xian had ulterior motives and detained him privately..."
Returning to the familiar power struggle, Yang Guozhong has become more confident.
He has long been wondering, how did An Lushan, an obese and incompetent waste, reach the Eastern Capital with such unstoppable force?
Others always say that the saint neglected government, plundered people's wealth, and spent money like water, which led to gangsters taking over, the country's affairs were deteriorating, and the government was corrupt, which gave An Lushan an opportunity... Fart!
The mediocre people are so blind that they cannot see that there is actually someone deliberately manipulating behind this.
This time, Yang Guozhong will no longer be fooled by Xue Bai. He will follow the holy will and expose all this. Let the world see what kind of conspiracy is hidden behind Anlu Mountain's "Qing Jun Side".
"I, Yang Guanghui, have paid homage to the saint. I am wronged!"
As Yang Guanghui paid his respects to the Qinzheng Building, names were revealed one by one.
Just like Li Linfu's case of Wei Jian and Du Youlin's case, there must be many people involved in the East Palace. Wang Zhongsi, Li Xian, Li Guangbi, Wang Jinwan, Yuan Luqian, Gao Xianzhi... and even Gao Lishi and Li Tan were involved.
Only by connecting these important figures together, all the problems will suddenly become clear.
Why would An Lushan, who was clearly trustworthy, rebel? These people forced him to.
A saint who has been wise and wise all his life will never make mistakes. Everything has a reason.
"Your Majesty! I saw these with my own eyes at Shiling Pass!"
The more Yang Guanghui spoke, the more he felt that the saint agreed with his words, so he followed the holy will and spoke more energetically.
"There is another thing that I dare to confirm. The reason why Xue Bai acted so wantonly is because he is the orphan of the three common people case and the son of the deposed prince Ying..."
"Boom!"
Li Longji suddenly pushed down the imperial court in front of him, whether out of anger or shock.
The cups and plates fell to the floor, and after the clanging sound, the hall became quiet. Yang Guangfeng knew that he was talking too much, and he was so frightened that he didn't even dare to breathe.
Li Longji still maintained the movement of reaching out, but there was only one thought in his mind.
"Impossible!"
It was absolutely impossible. He had seen the child's body with his own eyes. Later, King Rong Li Wan gave birth to another child, and he gave the name "Li Qian" to the newborn child, and the matter passed like this.
For more than ten years, he had never thought about it again.
It's fake, either Xue Bai is pretending, or Yang Guangfeng confusedly admitted his mistake.
But how could Gao Lishi participate? Did Gao Lishi also admit his mistake?
Li Longji tried to recall it, and suddenly found to his surprise that he could not remember what the grandson he saw before he saw the body looked like. He only remembered that the child was somewhat unpleasant and looked down.
Head, speaks softly and softly, not bold and lively enough.
Will he grow up to be like Xue Bai later?
Speaking of which, who did Xue Bai inherit his talent from?
Li Longji suddenly shook his head and felt a biting sense of crisis. He thought of the one in ten thousand possibility that what Yang Guanghui said was true, and what kind of hatred Xue Bai came to him with.
And all this time, he didn't see any trace of hatred... This was the most terrifying thing.
"you."
Yang Guozhong hesitated for a moment, then realized that the saint was calling him, and said hurriedly: "I am here."
"Go ask Li Heng why he buried Xue Bai alive?"
"I... obey your order."
"That's all." The next moment, Li Longji waved his hand calmly and said: "Yang Guangfei is confused, but I will not listen to such ridiculous remarks."
Having said that, he has realized that behind An Lushan's rebellion is probably a campaign to force him into the palace.
The real crisis is not the military front directed at Luoyang. A bastard with dirty blood should not threaten such a noble emperor as him. The threat comes from his bloodline. Only those who inherit his noble bloodline can harm him.
to him.
~~
Luoyang, the eastern capital.
This city is located in the north and south of Luoshui, and has an extremely magnificent scene.
It is richer than Chang'an. The grain and various goods from the Jianghuai River are first transported to Luoyang and then dispersed to Chang'an or other places.
For the officials and people of Luoyang City, the war was sudden.
It seemed that not long ago, they had admired the blooming peonies all over the city and indulged in the wonderful life of the prosperous age. The next moment, it was clear that tens of thousands of sailors were coming to Luoshui, and the sound of the rebels' iron hooves was approaching.
Fortunately, the famous general Gao Xianzhi rushed to Luoyang City before the rebels reached the city.
He came almost alone. On the day he received the appointment, he galloped on his horse and went straight to Luoyang without stopping. When he arrived, the horse fell to the ground and was foaming at the mouth. The cloth under his crotch had been completely torn.
, the bleeding doesn't stop.
Gao Xianzhi is a person with a strong personality and a cold heart, and he starts recruiting soldiers regardless of his concerns.
It only took him a few days from coming alone to recruiting an army of 80,000. This was an almost impossible task, but he had the determination to overcome all difficulties and dared to put his sword to every honor in Luoyang City.
On your neck, no matter what merits the other party's ancestors have made, whether his surname is Li or Wu, Wang or Cui, as long as there are servants in the family, he will take them all away.
Rangers in the city, farmers on the outskirts of the city, and men between the ages of fourteen and forty who were able to carry a sword were directly recruited into the army by him.
He knew that such an army was a rabble and had no fighting power. But even if he forced their bodies to block the rebel cavalry, he still had to slow down the rebel offensive. He believed that he could use his life to sharpen an army capable of fighting.
's army.
As long as we can defend for twenty days, the frontier troops from Longyou will surely arrive to support us. Coupled with the efforts of the counties in Hebei to correct the chaos, the situation will be different.
However, before Gao Xianzhi was ready, the vanguard of the rebels had already arrived at Kuiyuan outside Luoyang City. He was not one to sit still and wait for death, so he immediately decided to personally lead his troops to fight against Tian Chengsi.
When the battle was about to begin, soldiers hurriedly arrived.
"General, someone asked to see you, and I brought this."
Gao Xianzhi squinted and the first thing he saw was a telescope...