Light smoke rose from the cauldron, and a layer of oil floated up. Gradually, the water began to boil, and the aroma overflowed, making the Yan troops around them stretch their necks to smell it.
Behind the camp is the place where the meat was slaughtered, and there are still blood stains on the ground.
The wind blew, and a few strands of hair were blown up, higher and higher, and floated near the Chinese army's tent. Faintly, it also blew the sounds of the Yan army's arguments, as if to say, "Give General Xie the meat between your breasts." Eat" and so on.
When Tian Chengsi strode into the tent, Cui Qianyou was looking at the map with his hands behind his hands. He turned around and saw him coming, and went to get a wine bag himself and threw it away.
"Did you get the food and grass?"
"We fell into a trap." Tian Chengsi said: "There is no food and grass at Pujin Ferry. They only have an ambush and let the Tang army kill hundreds of us."
As he spoke, he wiped the blood on his face before he started drinking. The blood was not left during the battle, but was caused by his execution of the defeated generals who had returned.
Cui Qianyou asked: "Where is the boat?"
"Even if we think about it, we know that without a boat, the Tang army just wants to trap us in the pass."
"I should have captured Chang'an then." Cui Qianyou's eyes were still ruthless.
"It sounds like it can be captured." Tian Chengsi did not feel that Cui Qianyou's decision was wrong. At that time, they divided their troops and Li Guangbi cut off the baggage line. If they continued to struggle under Chang'an City, I'm afraid the losses would not be small. , "Let's look at the present first. If we want to return to Fan Yang, the only way is to attack Tongguan, but Tongguan is heavily guarded."
"There's no rush." Cui Qianyou said, "Let me think about how to fight the next battle."
"We ran into walls everywhere in Guanzhong, and even fought." Tian Chengsi complained, then touched the strong beard on his chin and said: "Our rebellion is not considered a defeat. At least we dethroned the old Hunjun from the throne, which is worth it."
The reason why he said this was because he already had a premonition that he would be at the end of his road. After paving the way, he said: "I thought that the conditions given by Li Heng were good, two Jiedushi positions, and still leading the troops under his command... It turned out to be a trap. You Say, was it Li Heng who tricked us, or Li Cong?"
Cui Qianyou's tone was cold and he said: "If you want to have good conditions for recruitment and surrender, you have to kill them ruthlessly and kill them until they are frightened. Otherwise, the Tang army will kill us 'evil leaders' and reorganize our troops." .”
"Morale of food and grass..."
"You don't have to worry about food and morale." Cui Qianyou said firmly, "There's more."
"We've already run out of wine, how many more can we have?" Tian Chengsi drank all the wine in his bag, turned around and took a look inside the tent, and asked, "Where are the maids in your tent?"
"It's used as military rations."
Tian Chengsi was stunned for a moment, and then said after a long time: "Don't give it to me to eat, or I will fall out with you."
Cui Qianyou was too lazy to pay attention to him and asked: "Did you say that Chang'an City started cannibalism?"
"Maybe."
"If Chang'an's food reserves run out, Li Guangbi will definitely want us to retreat and it will be impossible to hold Tongguan." Cui Qianyou said, "In other words, Chang'an City has food supplies."
Tian Chengsi asked: "From where?"
Cui Qianyou drew a mark on the map and made a guess. Then he looked at the time and closed his eyes without saying a word.
After a while, sentry horses came back one after another and reported the information they had obtained.
Among them, a sentinel reported: "The general has found out that the Tang army will transport a batch of grain and grass from the east of the river to Chang'an via Pujin Ferry in the next few days."
"Ha." Cui Qianyou sneered.
"Will the general... go explore again?"
"roll."
Wang Chengsi was impatient and kicked the sentry out. Since he had been fooled once, he would not fall for the second time.
Gradually, more information was obtained, and they pieced together Chang'an's supply situation from it.
"It's not hard to guess that it must be transporting grain from the Qinling Mountains."
"Let's go here."
Cui Qianyou pointed to his mark on the map, where there were three crooked characters that read "Shaoling Plateau".
~~
Solution County.
Now that Wang Jin is here, after meeting Xue Bai, he also goes out to meet a group of officials brought by Xue Bai. Only when he uses these people to govern Taiyuan can he completely fall over to the Peking King's party.
This group of officials are all very young. Among them, Yuan Jie, Yan Jiming, and Wang Jin are acquainted with each other. Although Wang Jin does not know the rest, he has heard a little about their talents.
"This is Chang Gun, a Jinshi for the twelfth year of Tianbao. He was originally the crown prince. Now he may be appointed as the chief registrar in Taiyuan County."
"I've met Wang Shaoyin."
"I have read his poems in the newspaper, and they are very good." Wang Jin commented casually, and then said to Xue Bai: "The King of Peiping ran a newspaper, and he discovered how many talents in the world he had discovered."
"Yes." Xue Bai was not humble and said as if joking: "Because of this newspaper, all the talented people in the world are among them."
Wang Jin felt a little embarrassed because he quoted Emperor Taizong's words. He did not dare to answer and looked at another person.
"Fifth Qi."
Xue Bai then continued to introduce a calm and taciturn middle-aged man who was over forty years old and said: "In the 14th year of Kaiyuan, Ming Jing became an official and held many important positions. He once helped Wei Jian to open water transportation. He was later implicated and demoted to the rank of beggar. Jiang County Magistrate, I recommended him to return to the court a few years ago to serve as an official. Now he will accompany Yuan Jie to Taiyuan as a deputy envoy, and he will definitely be of great help to Wang Shaoyin."
When Wang Jin saw that Wu Qi, although he had been demoted many times and had a low official position, he exuded a powerful and majestic air, he knew that this person was not a simple person.
Chang Gun just now was just a young man who had just entered the officialdom. Wang Jin still looked down upon him, but now he realized that the people Xue Bai arranged around him were all powerful people, which showed his determination to control Taiyuan Mansion.
"I have met Wang Shaoyin." Wu Qi was a very upright person. He stepped forward to meet Li and said, "The reason why I came to Hedong is to recommend myself to King Maosui of Beiping. The most important thing in the country today is to counter the rebellion, and the counterinsurgency teacher needs someone." Money and food. I think, apart from the Jianghuai River, the only way to pay for military expenses is to collect salt."
"No rush, no rush." Wang Jin could feel Wu Qi's strength, waved his hand and said with a smile: "We'll talk about it after we take office."
Xue Bai promptly expressed his support for these officials, saying: "Chang'an's food cannot only rely on Shu County, but also needs support from Hedong. After the rebellion is over, the tax system must be reformed. After you take office, you must start measuring the acres of land. This rebellion brought back the hidden population of the wealthy gentry. You are all still very young, and you need to take a long-term view. The opportunity to make achievements lies not only in quelling the rebellion, but also in reforming the long-standing shortcomings."
Of course, according to the current situation, the rebellion is about to be put down soon, and the impact is not serious. Accordingly, we can make more adequate preparations for various subsequent reforms, and do not need to be too radical to reduce the innovation process. labor pains.
Xue Bai had high expectations for Hedong. Long before he became an official, he had already started to implement salt tax in Hedong when he was assisting Yang Wei as prime minister. Later, he retained Wang Zhongsi to guard Hedong. Now he came again to make Hedong a better place. It has completely become a basic place that can not only suppress the rebellion, but also protect Guanzhong and support Chang'an with some money and food.
"King Peiping, there is an urgent military situation!"
While talking, a messenger quickly walked in and handed a piece of information to Xue Bai's hand.
Wang Jin was very curious. Seeing Xue Bai unfolding the information, he asked, "But the battle situation has changed."
Perhaps in order to strengthen Wang Jin's confidence, Xue Bai did not hide it from him and said bluntly: "The rebels turned south."
"Attack Tongguan?"
"Looking at their movements, they are probably attacking the Shaoling Plain and seizing our army's food route."
Wang Jindao: "Should we send someone to remind Li Jieshuai immediately?"
"No need." Xue Bai said calmly, "This is still the plan Li Guangbi and I decided to lure the enemy."
Wang Jin raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes really calmed down.
Xue Bai walked to the map, pointed to the south of Chang'an, and said: "Shaoling Plateau borders Chang'an to the north, Ziwu Valley of Qinling Mountains to the south, Yinghe River to the west, and Shenhe Plain to the east. The terrain is low in the north and high in the south. The rebels want to To cut off our food route, we can only attack from the northeast and attack the hillside from above, and the terrain here is complex, which is not conducive to cavalry attacks."
"Li Jieshuai wants to have a decisive battle with him?"
"No." Xue Bai said: "When the rebels arrive, our army will retreat into Ziwu Valley."
"What about Chang'an grain?"
"When the rebels attack the Shaoling Plain with all their strength, I will personally supervise the transportation of a batch of grain and grass from Hedong to Chang'an."
Wang Jin said: "The terrain along this road is flat. What if the rebels learn of the movement in advance?"
"I have deliberately spread the word and told them." Xue Bai said: "If they believe it, they will send more sentries. But I guess, after the previous ambush at Pujin Ferry, they will not believe it. Pujin It's not far to cross to Chang'an, and the chance to rob me is fleeting."
"But how much food and grass can be transported like this?"
"Don't ask for more. It's enough to wait until An Qingxu escapes from Luoyang and Cui Qianyou's army is shattered. By then the rebels will be trapped in the complex terrain of the Qinling Mountains. Our army will only need to seize Shenheyuan to eat them."
Wang Jin looked at the map for a long time, bowed his head and said: "We are lucky to have the King of Peiping and Li Jie to make plans."
~~
When Xue Bai returned to the post house, it was already very dark.
There is a wall between his residence and Li Tengkong's courtyard, and a wind chime hangs on the eaves of the wall. The wind chime usually does not ring because Xue Bai stuffed a strip of cloth inside, and he took it off after he came back.
When I clicked it, it made a crisp sound.
The bell rang three times. There was no candle light in the room over there, but Jiaonu's snoring could be faintly heard. Xue Bai was still very familiar with this. When he was in Du's house, Jiaonu slept in the common room and not only snored.
He snores and has the habit of talking in his sleep.
But after waiting for a long time, Li Tengkong still didn't come out.
"Asleep?"
Xue Bai muttered to himself and went back to the house to sleep.
At midnight, he heard movement in a daze, opened his eyes, and saw Li Tengkong tiptoeing over with his shoes in hand under the moonlight. His sneaky appearance was very different from the calm and gentle look of the past.
Because he had experienced what happened to the Du sisters, he gained wisdom every time. When the soft body entered the bed, he first asked: "Didn't you hear the bell just now?"
"Suppressed by Ji Lanzi."
Xue Bai clamped her cold feet with his calves and covered her. He measured her height with his body and confirmed that it was Li Tengkong.
Yes, otherwise, who else could it be? He secretly thought that he was too suspicious.
"Speaking of which, they all know about our relationship, so why bother?"
"Ji Lanzi doesn't know."
"I think she knows."
"No, I concealed it very well."
In private, Li Tengkong also had a coquettish tone, put his hand on Xue Bai's abdomen and covered it, and said: "Besides, even if she really knows, I don't want to be intimate with the same person in public."
"Why?"
"I am a Taoist."
"Okay." Xue Bai said: "In a few days, we will return to Chang'an."
Li Tengkong stiffened slightly and whispered: "I prefer to stay with you outside Chang'an. The world is vast. I am very happy these days in Jie County. But it doesn't matter if I return to Chang'an, it can be seen that the rebellion will be put down.
, people in the world will suffer a lot less."
She was the only one who cared about the world when she was with Xue Bai. Du Jin never cared about the life or death of others. Even though Du Jin had a very gentle personality, her gentleness was mostly directed at the people she cared about. On the contrary, Li Tengkong was the most kind-hearted.
, maybe the kindness that Li Linfu lacks is all in his daughter.
"Don't worry, it's coming soon." Xue Bai said: "With the great power of the Tang Dynasty, rebellions have never been difficult to put down... as long as the internal power struggle is properly handled."
"Then you can go pick up Yan Yan, right?"
"Yes, once Luoyang is recovered, maybe before the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"That's great."
Xue Bai can feel that Li Tengkong actually doesn't like returning to Chang'an. As the daughter of a traitor, she can feel people's slander against her most when she is in Chang'an. And outside of Chang'an, she can stay freely with Xue Bai.
Together, you don’t have to worry about being seen by others.
He then touched her head and said, "Don't worry, we can stay together when we return to Chang'an."
"I'm afraid that others will criticize your identity because of me."
"No." Xue Bai said jokingly: "Today is different from the past. I have the final say in Chang'an City."
"Covering the sky with one hand, is it like my grandfather used to do?" Li Tengkong asked with some reminder.
"No." Xue Bai shook his head and said, "There are some things that I can't do anything about."
Li Tengkong stepped forward and blocked his mouth, preventing him from speaking anymore.
Even though she was a Taoist priest, sometimes she couldn't help but covet his face and body.
~~
On the same night, Qingcheng Mountain thousands of miles away.
There is a temple in the mountain that now has a new plaque with three characters "Longju Temple" written on it, and there are layers of guards inside and outside the temple walls.
Behind the main hall of Qingdeng Ancient Buddha, in the largest Zen room, music could be heard.
When the music stopped, the girl playing the pipa stood up. The candlelight reflected her slim figure on the window. After waiting for a long time, she took off her clothes, lowered her head, and turned around the screen.
Candlelight flickers.
Behind the screen, the girl playing the pipa lay down on the couch. The white-haired Li Longji narrowed his old eyes and stared at her youthful body. He stepped forward, leaned over, and smelled with the tip of his nose.
His breath was very heavy, spraying on the delicate skin, and the old man's smell on his body spread into the woman's nose, inevitably making it stink.
When she looked around, she saw white hair like a cluster of pear blossoms going back and forth on her body, and sometimes she could see the deep wrinkles. She finally shivered with fright, but did not dare to whimper.
"Do you smoke incense?" Li Longji asked.
"Slave... this slave smells benzoin."
"I didn't smell it." Li Longji said.
"This slave is really incense."
The girl smelled it and could indeed smell the faint fragrance of herself besides the smell of the old man.
But Li Longji was still unhappy, shook his head, and whispered to himself: "I didn't smell it."
The girl didn't understand, so what if she didn't smell the fragrance.
Li Longji stroked her for a while longer, sat up, and said, "Let's talk about music. You and I just played a piece together. What do you think?"
"I don't know, slave, that piece of music... I have been practicing according to the score for ten years."
"What about your own feelings?"
"Slave... I don't understand."
Li Longji turned around and took a look, and found that although this woman had a beautiful face, her eyes were very empty. There was no admiration in them like those concubines and beauties had when they looked at him before.
He then became confused and asked, "Don't you want to serve me?"
"My slave is willing! My slave is very willing!" the girl said anxiously and with a trembling voice.
But in fact, she didn't feel the charm of the old man in front of her.
She was originally the dancing queen of the county magistrate. Although the magistrate was no longer young, he often made her feel admired because of his power.
As for the saint in front of her, although she could make the county magistrate nod and bow down, when she got close to him, she could detect a hint of fear and eagerness in him. He eagerly wanted to conquer her, as if he wanted to prove something with this.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to conquer her.
It's because she has never been out of Qingcheng Mountain and her knowledge is too limited. She has never heard of the sage's splendid past, nor can she appreciate the beauty of music. She can't even lie.
Facing such a woman, Li Longji felt bored, waved his hand and said: "Practice according to the rules? Country woman, go ahead, you have lost the opportunity to sleep with her."
…
The next day, Lu Qi rushed to Qingcheng Mountain and hurried inside to pay homage. He said: "Your Majesty, the expansion of Xuanzhong Temple has been initially completed. Your Majesty can return to the palace to stay."
"Let's set off tomorrow." Li Longji said, "Has anyone from Chang'an arrived?"
"Come on, the kings and ministers have passed through Hanzhong." Lu Qi said, "We are just waiting for His Majesty to return to the palace."
"Okay, okay, I want to see Taizhen." Li Longji said.
Lu Qi was stunned, hesitated, and responded: "Your Majesty, it seems that the imperial concubine is not in the team this time... However, King Zhong has sent people to send Concubine Mei, Meiren Fan and other concubines."
"That's enough." Li Longji said coldly: "What's the point of Xue Bai holding Taizhen?"
"According to what the messenger said, in Chencang, His Majesty has given death to the noble concubine."
Midway through his words, Lu Qi felt the terrible pressure from the emperor and quickly stopped talking.
Li Longji said: "If the decree is sent to Chang'an and I still cannot see Taizhen before the Chinese Valentine's Day, I will take Li Cong and Xue Bai to task."
"But rebellion..."
"At that time, they will be the biggest rebellion!"
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Qi's forehead, and he quickly obeyed the order.
He had understood what the saint meant. Compared with the overall situation of the world, the saint now cared more about Concubine Yang.
But what he didn't understand was that since the saint cared so much about the imperial concubine and could even ignore the overall situation of the world, why would he kill the imperial concubine in Chencang and abandon the imperial concubine?
~~
Xue Bai collected food and grass and personally escorted him back to Chang'an. More than ten days passed.
In total, it took him more than a month to make this round trip. It was almost June, and the weather was getting hotter.
The first thing Xue Bai did after returning to Chang'an City was to see Li Guangbi and inquire about the situation of the battle.
After not seeing each other for more than a month, Li Guangbi's hair has turned a lot whiter and his temples have turned gray, but his demeanor remains calm.
"We had already withdrawn when Cui Qianyou attacked the Shaoling Plateau. Some of them retreated to Chang'an, and some of them retreated to Ziwu Valley, leaving only empty camps. The rebels are still stationed there, intending to cut off our food routes and compete with us to see who is more powerful.
Food will be cut off late."
"Can their food and grass last?"
"Yes, they eat people."
Xue Bai frowned and paced anxiously.
The reason why he trapped the rebels in the pass was to annex this army. Otherwise, he would let them out of Tongguan and pursue them all the way, which would cause more casualties.
But he didn't want soldiers who had eaten human flesh, as he was worried about uncontrollable situations in the future.
Of course, it's not yet time for the decisive battle, it will be soon.
While discussing strategy with Li Guangbi, a messenger came quickly and said: "King Peiping, there is a decree from Shu County, and it is a decree for you."
Xue Bai then resigned from Li Guangbi and went to receive the order. After reading it, he was somewhat silent.
He could feel the hint of anxiety revealed by Li Longji between the lines. In fact, it was not necessarily for Yang Yuhuan, but for his dignity, or the endless nostalgia for the peaceful life of singing and dancing in the past. He was very persistent and even a little crazy.
If it were a normal power struggle, everyone would threaten the other party and test the other party's bottom line when negotiating terms, because there is indeed a bottom line. But Li Longji's decree is crazy and disregards the bottom line. If Xue Bai does not hand over Yang Yuhuan,
Then let's finish it together.
~~
Two days later, Tai Chi Palace.
Yang Yuyao came to visit Yang Yuhuan today. First, she couldn't help but praise Yang Yuhuan for her good complexion and smooth and shiny skin. After that, she talked about some gossip, saying that she was with Xue Bai, the Du sisters, and Li Qiniang yesterday.
Had a meal.
Although the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty is open nowadays, women often boldly associate with men. But on the other hand, these women are often very strong and cannot tolerate men to have sex everywhere.
In other words, although these women all like Xue Bai, they may not be able to tolerate the other women. Being able to gather them together shows how capable Xue Bai is.
But Yang Yuyao was still somewhat jealous and came here to complain to her sisters.
"I couldn't help it before. In the future, he will never let me endure his new love!"
"The third sister is not his wife, so she is too lenient." Yang Yuhuan ate a cherry, spit the seeds into his hand, and said, "Ah, it's so sour."
"What do you mean?" Yang Yuyao was surprised and annoyed, and asked, "Who are you speaking for?"
Yang Yuhuan said casually: "To be honest, how many good things does a man have? If my guess is correct, he went to pick up Li Qiniang specifically this time, right? After all, they are from the same clan."
"So what if I'm from the same clan? He's still my sworn brother." Yang Yuyao lowered her voice and said, "But please don't talk to others about this matter. You know it and I know it."
"Promise, you owe me a favor?"
"I came to chat with you to relieve my boredom, but I owe you a favor?"
"No matter." Yang Yuhuan smiled, "If you want me to keep it a secret, you owe me."
"Who are you trying to seduce with a smile like this?" Yang Yuyao reached out and hooked her chin, looking like a male fox.
Then, Zhang Yunrong entered and reported: "The King of Peiping met General Gao in the side hall."
"Why did he come here at this time?" Yang Yuhuan was a little confused.
"You came with me." Yang Yuyao said, standing up and taking two steps outside.
Not long after, Xue Bai entered the palace. First he looked at Yang Yuhuan from a distance. He avoided her eyes and was held by Yang Yuyao.
This time, with Yang Yuyao present, it was much easier to speak directly. Xue Bai quickly took out the imperial edict. Yang Yuhuan looked at it and didn't make any more fuss, but there was a sad look in his eyes.
"How are you doing?" she asked softly.
Xue Bai said: "For the sake of the overall situation, we must send another group of people south. This time, Gao Lishi will be the main envoy. I will send people to protect them, and the imperial concubine will naturally go with us."
Hearing this, Yang Yuhuan was stunned, surprise and disappointment flashed across his beautiful eyes, and he murmured: "For the overall situation, right?"
"yes."
Xue Bai walked a few steps in the hall, looked around, and made sure that no one was eavesdropping. Then he continued: "But now the rebels occupy the Shaoling Plain and block the Ziwu Valley. The team can only go west. See if they can
Please go through Chencang Road."
Tears already fell from Yang Yuhuan's eyes, and the pear blossoms were raining.
Yang Yuyao felt very distressed when she saw it, and couldn't help but whisper to Xue Bai: "You don't know something. Although we grew up in Shu County, the saint has given Yuhuan death. If she goes this time, wouldn't it be dangerous if she encounters another mutiny? What's more, this
The journey is so dangerous, if the saint really cares about her..."
"Because this journey is dangerous, I arranged for Du Wulang to escort you."
"Du Wulang?" Yang Yuyao was stunned and said, "Isn't it more dangerous for those stupid people?"
Xue Bai said, taking out a small map from his sleeve and said: "Yes, so when the team gets here, they will encounter rebels and rob them, and the 'noble concubine' will also die here, and her beauty will disappear.
"
Yang Yuhuan wiped the tears on her face, looked around, and saw where Xue Bai's finger fell, there were the words "Jincheng County".