On the vast plain to the east of Fengxiang City, soldiers and horses from both sides were arrayed, facing each other and preparing to fight.
Although Li Chu was the nominal marshal, he was still young after all. Most of the orders were issued by Pugu Huai'en. Pugu Huai'en did not rush to beat the drums and charge, but kept listening to the reports of the sentry horses and sizing up Huihe.
Where are the cavalry?
After noon, the drums finally sounded.
The first to charge was Pugu Huai'en's second son Pugu Bing. He took the lead and bravely went forward to kill Xue Tui's rebels.
"What a fierce general!" Li Chu was watching the formation from the rear and couldn't help but praise Pugu Huai'en again, "General Pugu played a great role in the revival of the Tang Dynasty."
In terms of bravery, although he is not as good as Li Tan, he is better at using people. When Li Heng and Xue Bai had a grudge, he was able to put aside his dignity and propose that his sister marry Xue Bai. Now he can get along well with the generals.
Pugu Huai'en was already brave, and Li Chu praised him generously, and he was even more willing to die in retribution. He kept motivating his disciples, and the soldiers' morale was high, and they soon gained an advantage on the battlefield.
"Report!"
Suddenly, a horse galloped towards me. The leader of the horse was pale and beardless, but it was Yu Chaoen who hurriedly shouted: "Your Highness, it's not good! Xue Shun has entered Xijing City!"
Before Li Chu had time to react, many soldiers around him were frightened and started talking about it.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't shake the morale of the army!" Li Chu quickly stopped, summoned Yu Chaoen to come to him, and asked in a low voice: "What happened?"
He couldn't believe that Xue Bai would attack Fengxiang without any clue, and thought that he had misunderstood. However, Yu Chaoen not only reiterated the matter, but also said that the saint was in danger.
Li Chu was surprised, and later realized that this matter was not without clues. Li Tan had warned him earlier.
"Didn't you say that Xue Bai is not in Jiucheng Palace?"
"My slave... I did see with my own eyes that the camp was empty." Yu Chaoen defended quickly, and then suddenly said: "My slave understands that King Jianning may have really colluded with Xue Ni, so the saint had to punish him."
"Shut up!" Li Chu was furious and said, "Don't slander my brother."
Now is not the time to pursue these matters, the most important thing is to return to the army to rescue him, so Li Chu then summoned his servant Gu Huai'en to discuss it.
Upon hearing this surprise, Pugu Huai'en immediately stated that he should withdraw his troops first to save the saint, and then he turned to look at the battlefield.
There, his son Pu Gubin had just broken into the enemy's formation. Once he retreated, Pu Gubin would be trapped in the enemy's army and would be unable to escape.
Gritting his teeth, Pugu Huaien chose to put the overall situation first and gave the order immediately.
Soon, the sound of ringing gold began.
Pu Gubin was fighting fiercely, and when he heard the sound of gold, he was overjoyed. He thought that Xue Ni's rebels had retreated, and shouted: "My sons, defeat the enemy!"
He drove his horse and advanced two more steps. Then, a spear came from diagonally. He was still wondering why there was no cover behind him, so he fell under the horse. When he looked up, he suddenly found that his soldiers and horses were completely useless.
The foreboding land actually retreated.
As the son of a general, he never dreamed of why his grandfather could suddenly retreat without informing him in advance. Was he being ambushed?
Blood spattered down, his soldiers were killed, and the rebels had cut off the knife in his hand and held him tightly.
~~
Looking at the big flag with "Pu Gu" written on it heading west, Lao Liang put down the telescope in his hand and frowned, wondering whether this was a trick by the loyal king's rebels to lure the enemy, or whether Lang Jun's surprise attack on Fengxiang had been successful.
?
In marching and fighting, such choices are often the key to victory or defeat. They test the wisdom and luck of the general. If you win, you will grow, but if you lose, you may die.
When he was unsure about how to raise the flag, the sergeant from the front rushed back and reported: "General, we have captured a major enemy general named Pugu Bin, the son of Pugu Huai'en."
Lao Liang's eyes moved, and he immediately made up his mind and ordered: "Cover up and kill!"
Immediately the drums beat loudly in the army, and the cavalry flowed to the west like flowing water.
If you zoom out more than fifty miles to the southeast, the Wei River is flowing slowly. A pontoon bridge has been built downstream, and groups of Uighur cavalry are crossing the river, holding bows and knives high in their hands, looking murderous.
~~
Fengxiang, Marshal's Mansion.
Li Mi stayed up all night and was busy with official duties. He seemed eager to settle down the world as soon as possible and then retire to the mountains and forests.
"Sir!" A general hurried in and said, "I heard that King Jianning was sentenced to death, but is it true?"
The visitor's name was Ma Lin, a brave general in the Anxi army. After receiving the imperial edict, he brought three thousand people to King Lingwu Qin. Li Heng liked him very much when he saw his straightforwardness and loyalty, so he was promoted to the capital to recruit soldiers and horses.
Ma Lin was from Qizhou. Although he came from a prominent family, he lost his father when he was young and wandered around until he was twenty years old. Later, he read the Han Dynasty book Ma Yuan's biography that "the husband died in the field and returned home wrapped in horse leather", so he joined the army with sword in hand.
Serving in the Anxi Army... These were the words of loyalty he said to Li Heng, but the actual situation was that he failed to receive land after reaching adulthood and could not afford to pay the rent. In addition, the imperial court had been recruiting soldiers to expand the border, so he
Went.
After arriving in the Western Regions, he was indeed brave in battle and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats. He was highly appreciated by Meng Lingcha, the governor of Jiedu, but he was quite dissatisfied with Gao Xianzhi. At that time, there were many people in the Anxi Army who disliked Gao Xianzhi, such as the deputy
Because Gao Xianzhi was handsome, Cheng Ang privately said that he looked like a woman, while Gao Xianzhi said that Cheng Ang looked like a man but had a heart like a woman. In short, after returning to Guanzhong, Ma Lin was no longer suppressed and wanted to
After showing off his skills, he admired Li Mi very much and decided that he would do something great by following Li Mi.
Li Mi was still deeply saddened by Li Tan's death today, but he took the overall situation into consideration and did not complain about it. Instead, he said: "King Jianning violated the national law, and your majesty enforced the law strictly. Although the prince broke the law, he was as guilty as the common people."
In one sentence, a tragic case of killing a son for power was brought to light.
Ma Lin was in awe and said: "The saint will surely reshape the imperial court and revive the Tang Dynasty."
At this moment, a palace guard hurriedly arrived, broke into the lobby, and exclaimed: "Sir, Xue Ni has entered the city!"
Li Mi was greatly surprised and murmured to himself: "How could this be?"
"The saint is in danger, sir, please make the decision quickly!"
Li Mi did not react immediately, but thought of Li Tan's death and sighed longly.
"Sir?" Ma Lin asked hesitantly, "Is it because the Tang Dynasty has run out of energy?"
"No." Li Mi shook his head and said, "I once watched the stars at night, and the Tang Dynasty was booming, and there was no sign of the country's demise."
He spoke firmly and his tone was very convincing. When Ma Lin saw this, he remembered these words deeply in his heart. At the same time, he also cheered up and said: "Then please tell me, sir, to help the driver quickly!"
Li Mi immediately asked Ma Lin to rescue him. After that, he summoned the generals and made various arrangements.
During the crisis, he did not even forget to send people to send out all the clan members in the city and Li Tan's family members.
Ma Lin received the military order and rushed to the palace. From a distance, he saw the rebel cavalry riding their horses in the city and shouting: "The emperor of Chang'an suppressed the rebellion. His only crime is Li Heng, the loyal king, and the rest will not be ignored!"
Soon, the other party also saw Ma Lin's troops and shouted to him: "Since the person coming ahead is a general of the Tang Dynasty, why don't you abandon the dark side and join the bright side to share the prosperous age?!"
"Thief."
Ma Lin's face was stern, and he was not deceived at all. Instead, he raised his bow and drew an arrow. Seeing this, the rebel cavalry pulled the reins and left. Ma Lin shot an arrow, but still shot it down.
He continued to rush to the palace, and soon he saw Li Heng who was being hunted.
On the opposite side, it was Fan Lao who was chasing Li Heng.
Fan Lao turned around the long street and saw Ma Lin shooting his own soldiers. He was furious and decided to capture Li Heng first. He charged forward and killed several guards one after another. A spear had already arrived.
in front of him.
"when."
When the soldiers were fighting, Fan Lao's tiger's mouth was shaken, and the sword in his hand was almost knocked off. He quickly retreated and cursed: "Thieves, you don't know what is good and what is good!"
"I protect the Tang Dynasty loyally, what do I have to say to a traitor like you?!" Ma Lin shouted, and shot Fan Lao again.
The two fought in the street for several rounds. Li Mi had already arrived with his troops and left to protect Li Heng. Ma Lin cut off the rear and retreated while fighting.
Li Heng was granted amnesty and rushed to Li Mi, shouting: "Chang Yuan save me... Xue Bai wants to kill me!"
His memory was biased. In his panic, he only remembered hearing the words Xue Bai wanted to bury him alive, but he completely forgot who said it.
Li Bi frowned, secretly thinking that Xue Bai's character of "a favor must be repaid and a debt must be repaid" was really possible to do such a thing. This was the result of the saint's trust in the eunuchs back then, but it is a pity that he still does not
Change. Now is not the time to give advice. There is a big chaos in Fengxiang City, and the generals are difficult to command. Many people have surrendered to Xue Bai. The only way to go out is to go out of the city to look for Li Chu.
However, he did not run straight to the east gate, but continued to create suspicious formations and sent people to pretend to be Li Heng to disperse the troops pursuing the rebels, which gradually opened the distance between him and Fan Lao.
However.
"The one wearing the Taoist robe is Li Mi!"
After Li Heng's whereabouts were covered, as shouts like this continued to appear among Xue Ni's rebels, more people began to chase Li Mi. After all, no one knew that there was a "white-clothed mountain man" in Li Heng's court who had more power than the prime minister. ”.
Li Mi had no choice but to say in a low voice: "Your Majesty, go ahead. I will divert the pursuers away."
"No!"
This is the second time today that the same situation happened. Li Heng could let Li Fuguo do this. Even if Li Fuguo was captured and killed, it would be no pity, but he absolutely did not want Li Mi to be captured. What if Xue Bai got this unparalleled ability? People, things are going to be very bad.
He quickly reached out to pull Li Mi's sleeves, but the Taoist robe had already floated away like flowing clouds.
"Changyuan..."
Li Heng wanted to chase him, but he couldn't muster up the courage to face the murderous Xue Tui rebels, so he had to stamp his feet bitterly.
Zhang Ting, on the other hand, was quite calm and looked at his children from time to time along the way. After seeing this scene, he still did not forget to get rid of Li Bi, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, if you let him go, he will definitely surrender." Xue Ni."
"How could I not know? Alas!"
Although Li Heng could not let go of this matter, he could only escape for his life under Ma Lin's protection.
~~
"General Li Heng has gone missing. Please forgive me, King Yong!"
Fan Lao was originally full of confidence, but he didn't expect that he could not capture Li Heng under such circumstances, and he was very upset.
However, Xue Bai held a telescope and looked at the most intense street fighting in the city. He did not look angry, but only ordered: "Go and capture Li Mi and make up for your mistakes. Remember, you must live."
"Here!"
Fan Lao could tell that in Xue Bai's heart, capturing Li Mi was no less meaningful than capturing Li Heng, so he hurried off without resting for a moment.
In this July weather, he was wearing dull armor, as if he was being steamed in a pot, and his whole body was dripping with sweat. He drove his horse and ran not far from Li Mi. When he saw the wide and light Taoist robe, he couldn't help but He scolded: "This Taoist priest really knows how to enjoy life... Stop, don't hurt that Taoist priest!"
Those who raised their crossbows and raised their bows had to put down their weapons.
When Li Mi saw this, he immediately ran into an alley. Fan Lao jumped on his horse, reached out and lifted Li Mi onto his saddle, as if he had captured a prey.
?????55.?????
This was exactly the technique he used to catch thieves when he was a bad guy in his early days.
"Okay!" The soldiers cheered.
Only then did he let go of the depression in his heart. He laughed heartily twice and escorted Li Mi to see Xue Bai. Unexpectedly, before he reached the top of the city, Xue Bai had already rushed down and cursed him.
"Nonsense! Who told you to treat Brother Changyuan like this? Don't let it go!"
"It's the last general who is rude."
Fan Lao had never experienced officialdom, so he didn't know what Xue Bai was thinking, so he was really frightened and quickly helped Li Mi off the saddle.
Li Mi smiled bitterly and said to Xue Bai, "Why should we be so hypocritical between you and me?"
He was captured, the Taoist crown on his head was scattered, and his clothes were in a mess. He was clearly in a state of embarrassment. But strangely, he still seemed to have a calm, immortal and elegant temperament.
When an acquaintance met, Xue Bai couldn't help but smile and said: "This is my sincerity to Brother Changyuan."
"That's not necessary." Li Mi waved his hand, "You and I can be friends, colleagues, even enemies, but we cannot be monarchs and ministers."
"Brother Changyuan said something serious."
"I have made up my mind," Li Bi said, "If you force me, you might as well kill me."
Xue Bai asked: "Have you never thought that Li Heng is really rebellious? And I am really the grandson of the Tang Dynasty emperor."
"It's not important." Li Bi said, "It's more important to be honest. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it has experienced Xuanwumen, Wuzhou, Shenlong, Jinglong, Tanglong, and innate changes. What it needs is not a wise and powerful saint, but a wise and powerful saint.
A legitimate succession."
"Stop talking." Xue Bai said: "There is also the Chencang incident, and it was planned by Li Heng behind it. Is this what you call 'justifiable'?"
Li Mi looked at Xue Bai and smiled, obviously thinking that the incident in Chencang was planned by Xue Bai, and said: "Let's stop, for the sake of the stability of the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years to come."
"Don't worry, one day you will find that I am right."
"Xue Bai, it's time to turn around..."
At this time, the horn sound came from the top of the city, and Xue Bai said: "I'm still busy, so I won't talk to you. Next, we will have plenty of opportunities to chat."
He was very confident because Li Mi had become his prisoner.
Li Mi smiled and seemed quite confident. He knew that Li Chu's troops had arrived at the city, so Li Heng had probably escaped from the city safely.
~~
Li Chu raised his head and glanced at Fengxiang City, with an extremely anxious look in his eyes.
Behind him, the sentry horses kept reporting news, saying that Xue Ni's rebels had come from the east. Now his morale was plummeting, and he did not dare to fight with the three thousand elite cavalry again. He just hoped to be able to defeat them.
Rescue Li Heng before reaching the end, and retreat for now.
He murmured to himself, "It must be safe." At the same time, he thought in his heart that if he lost his father now, then just because of his status as the grandson of the emperor and the title of the county king, great things would not be expected. Maybe he could only
Fleeed to Shu County.
Finally, a bloody general came out from the front. First, he picked off several rebels with a spear. Then, a brave figure jumped out of the horse. It was Ma Lin.
Li Chu was overjoyed and quickly asked Pugu Huai'en to lead his troops to respond.
The two fierce generals fought fiercely and finally managed to snatch Li Heng out.
"My son, I came too late to save you. Please forgive me, Father."
"Let's go." Li Heng was so shocked that he couldn't think of anything else to say for a moment.
Li Chu still wanted to look for Li Mi and looked into the crowd, but he couldn't find her. Fortunately, he saw his beloved Dugu Qin, and he quickly got off his horse and went to support her, asking: "Are you okay?"
Dugu Qin said: "Fortunately, Mr. Li arranged for people to escort the slaves out in time."
"That's good. Don't worry, I will protect you."
"Sister Shen lives far away and is among the palace people..."
Li Chu said "hmm" and glanced around. Seeing that his children were still there, he stopped worrying about his family members and went to ask Li Heng for his regards. This time he heard about Li Mi being trapped in the city.
"Lost your husband? How could you lose your husband?!"
This was the first time that Li Chu lost his composure in front of Li Heng. He knew very clearly that if he wanted to wipe out the bandits and restore the Tang Dynasty, he could not do without Li Mi's talents.
Li Heng did not realize the blame in his son's tone, and ordered: "Quickly, send your generals to rescue Chang Yuan."
"Report! The rebel cavalry has been pursued to the east five miles away."
Suddenly there was another military report. Li Heng couldn't help but frowned and asked Li Chu how to decide whether to attack Fengxiang or retreat temporarily.
Soon, another general escaped and said that Li Mi had been captured alive. The faces of the father and son suddenly changed. Zhang Ting lost no time and said: "He must surrender to Xue Bai."
"No."
Li Chu closed his eyes in pain, helplessly enduring the worry caused by Li Mi's capture, but unable to refute Zhang Ting.
The gains and losses of one city and one place are not worth cherishing. Li Chu quickly made a decision and said: "Your Majesty, withdraw."
The sound of gold sounded again, and before more Xue Tui rebels arrived, Li Heng's troops decisively withdrew from the battlefield.
~~
"Wan Sheng!"
Cheers rang out in Fengxiang City.
In this battle, although Xue Bai failed to capture Li Heng, he foiled Li Hengdong's plan to capture Chang'an in one fell swoop. This was bound to have a crucial impact on the popular support of people all over the world.
All officials of the Tang Dynasty must begin to rethink whether Li Cong, who has only served as crown prince for a short period of time, is qualified to succeed to the throne without Li Longji's approval, and whether Xue Bai, whose life experience is still unclear, is qualified to be crowned king. Although there are problems like this, Chang'an's new court once again proved its strength.
Xue Bai did not indulge in the joy of a small victory, but strictly ordered his soldiers to stop robbing the people in the city.
Since the rebellion broke out, it has gradually become a routine for officers and soldiers to rob and capture people, and the trend is becoming more and more intense. The martial arts are gradually becoming domineering, and the court is indeed out of food, so it is actually very difficult to restrain them.
Xue Bai had several temporary methods, one was to use salt to supplement military expenditures, the other was to build military garrison, and the third was to reward military merit with farmland instead of financial rewards. He hoped to restore the agriculture and economy in Guanzhong as soon as possible, and to have an army with farmland. A direct military force composed of good family members from the local family.
Of course, everything is still early, and various measures have pros and cons. He urgently needs a big talent to help him promote the reform and construction of these systems, and Li Mi is a good candidate.
All in all, on the day the city was broken, Xue Bai not only restrained the soldiers, registered military merits, but also appeased the newly surrendered generals. Although there was a small commotion in the city, it gradually calmed down.
That night, a woman's exclamation sounded in the alley in the east of the city.
A group of soldiers who were patrolling the city stopped, and the leader of the school general said: "Go over and take a look."
He walked quickly, holding a torch and walking through the alley. He saw two scoundrels chasing a woman, presumably taking advantage of the chaos in the city.
"Take it!"
The soldiers quickly captured the two scoundrels, but the rescued woman, perhaps afraid of these soldiers, still kept her head down and ran.
"Little lady, there is no need to panic, we are the king's masters, Qiu has no fault... is it you?"
The school general caught up with the woman and took a torch to shine on her. He couldn't help but be surprised. He never dreamed that he would see Shen Zhenzhu again.
"Ms. Shen, don't be afraid. It's me, Gao Shen, who escorts you to Pingliang." Gao Shen felt that Shen Pearl would not remember him, so he informed her of his name.
"I know."
Seeing that she couldn't leave, Shen Zhenzhu closed her eyes sadly, and tears kept flowing down.
Gao Jian saw this. Although he was a little soft-hearted, he still hardened his heart and said: "Ms. Shen, please."
He escorted Shen Zhenzhu to the palace where he was demoted to the Qizhou government office again. On the way, some soldiers asked him who this beautiful woman was. After telling him, the soldiers didn't believe it.
"No way? After all, the princess who gave birth to her eldest son can still lose her twice?"
"Zhan Luan got away."
"The child hasn't escaped yet, but it's strange that such a big and beautiful lady can escape."
Some soldiers shook their heads and said: "If I had such a beautiful lady, I would have her tied to my leg even in my dreams!"
They were all a group of rough people, laughing one after another. Some people shouted: "Hahaha, Wang Datou, which leg are you talking about?"
"Shut up!"
Gao Shen shouted loudly and cursed: "King Yong has made three orders and five orders, saying that we are the king's masters and it is forbidden to molest women from good families. Do you want to eat my military law?!"
It was rare for him to be so angry. After scolding these soldiers with a red face, he looked at Shen Zhenzhu's graceful back in front of him with a sad posture, scratched his neck, and lowered his head in humiliation.
When he reported the matter to Xue Bai, Xue Bai was also surprised that Li Chu's woman could be lost twice.
"You should be lucky that you met Master Wang, otherwise, you would know your fate." Xue Bai looked at Shen Zhenzhu and said.
Shen Zhenzhu and Xue Bai had nothing to say, so they prostrated themselves and cried, "Please grant me death."
"It's not your fault that you were not protected in the troubled times. Why did you die?" Xue Bai said, "Don't worry, I will send you back to Li Chu again."
Shen Pearl was stunned.
"Let's settle in first."
After Xue Bai gave the casual instructions, he looked at the map and frowned. He had just received news that the Uighur troops had arrived at Pan's Town, not far away, and were looting everywhere.
Just as he was thinking about how to crack it, soldiers came to report that it was Prince Ye Hu of Uighur who sent someone here.
Xue Bai nodded and allowed him to come and meet him. Soon, several Huihe people were led and walked into the lobby arrogantly. They did not bow to Xue Bai when they saw him, but looked at him coldly.
"Previously, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty asked us to send troops to support him, and promised to give us gold and silk children in Chang'an and Luoyang after success. Now that he has been defeated, we cannot come in vain."
Hearing this, Xue Bai's face turned cold.
The envoy from Huihe continued: "Now Prince Ye Hu also gives you a chance. If you can give us the gold and silk children of Qizhou, Jingzhou, Longzhou, and Yuanzhou, we can withdraw our troops..."
"Cut out his tongue."
Before the Huihe envoy could finish speaking, Xue Bai had already given the order.
The generals in the hall immediately stepped forward, held down the Huihe envoy, and allowed him to struggle and shout. They grabbed his tongue and slashed it with daggers.
"What are you doing?! Datang is..."
"The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is your Heavenly Khan." Xue Bai said: "If you dare to offend the Heavenly Khan, you will be punished. This is the rule."
He turned to the few Uighurs who had come with the envoy, and seeing that their faces were pale, he said: "Go back and tell Ye Hu to go to Chang'an and surrender to the real Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to plead guilty. Otherwise, he will not come to Guanzhong this time.
It will be regarded as an intrusion into the territory of the Tang Dynasty by Master Wang."
After that, he had the envoys taken away, leaving only half of the tongues on the ground.