When Li Cong established the crown prince, he also appointed many official positions in the court.
For example, Yan Gaoqing was appointed as the imperial censor and the governor of the Eastern Capital, and Zhang Xun was appointed as the governor of Bianzhou and served as the transshipment envoy to the south of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Obviously, they were all for the grain and grass of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.
At that time, the Hebei officials who accompanied Xue Bai to raise the flag in Changshan were led by Yuan Luqian, including Lu Quancheng, the governor of Raoyang, and Li E, the governor of Qinghe. Many of them had already retreated to Chang'an during the reign of King Li Guangbi. In addition,
, Hebei rebels who were instigated by Xue Bai, such as Yan Zhuang, also received important positions.
Even Dugu Wensu and Li Shiyu, who had turned to Li Heng after being instigated by Xue Bai, were recruited by him to join the army as officials of Prince Yong's Mansion, giving them the opportunity to continue serving.
Most of these people are from Hebei or have close connections with Hebei. They understand the situation in Hebei and sympathize with Hebei's situation. They were specially selected by Xue Bai to solve the problem in Hebei.
"I have to admit that Hebei is in chaos again."
There was a large sand table in the big office under Zhongshu's door. Xue Bai pointed at it and said: "The latest information is that the rebel Cai Xide's troops are still attacking Shangdang County, including Luzhou City. His Majesty has issued an order to let Guo Ziyi rescue
In Luzhou, Guo Ziyi and Cai Xide are now confronting each other in Zhangshui, but the consumption and chaos caused by the previous civil strife in the imperial court have yet to be resolved."
How can there be no problem? Generally speaking, even the emperor has changed, and generals like Guo Ziyi who are in charge of the army must return to the court to express their loyalty to Li Cong. There are many voices in the court, but Xue Baili defies all opinions and asks Guo Ziyi to directly
He led his army to rescue Luzhou. However, the generals were undecided and lacked food and grass. It was difficult for Guo Ziyi to appease the generals, and it was difficult to win for a while.
"On Li Guangbi's side, we have to retreat here, Heyang."
Xue Bai pointed to a place on the sand table located on the north bank of the Yellow River, not too far from Mengjin Ferry.
An official asked: "Why did Li Guangbi retreat?"
"How can we not retreat?" Xue Bai said: "Shi Siming's 130,000-strong army came with great momentum, not just to save An Qingxu, but also to Luoyang. If Li Guangbi was defeated, the states and counties behind him could not even raise food and grass. How could he
Block it? Who can afford it when Luoyang falls again?"
He could understand that Li Guangbi's situation was not easy. Not only Li Guangbi, but also Zhang Xun, Wang Sili, Li Sheng and other generals in Henan were also in dire straits.
"Heyang City is regarded as the gateway to Luoyang. If you advance, you can regain Hebei, and if you retreat, you can defend Luoyang. This is a safe strategy."
Yan Zhenqing still approved of Li Guangbi's strategy, but his face was still worried and said: "If Shi Siming takes advantage of Li Guangbi's unstable footing, he immediately goes south. There is no time to repair the city of Heyang, there is no time to reserve food and grass, and even the officials in Henan and Huainan have not yet obeyed the imperial order.
, I’m afraid I can’t hold it.”
"yes."
"The most urgent task now is to welcome back the Supreme Emperor and clarify the misunderstanding to the people of the world." Yan Zhenqing said, "Only when the imperial court orders a sect to defend against the enemy."
"It's coming soon. I believe the Emperor will return to Chang'an soon."
Xue Bai also knew about this, but he was currently unable to do something that required imperial power.
He was waiting for news from Yan Wu, Gao Shi and others.
"We still have to stop Shi Siming from going south and buy more time." Xue Bai turned to someone and asked, "Brother Changyuan, what do you think?"
Every time he discussed the situation, he would bring Li Mi with him.
Li Bi was unwilling to make suggestions for Xue Bai. He often stayed out of the matter and sat in the corner wearing Taoist robes, which was out of tune with other officials.
When he didn't answer, Xue Bai said again: "Li Heng also sent people to negotiate with Shi Siming at that time. You know many details. How about you tell me?"
Since even Li Heng abdicated and committed suicide, and what was being discussed was a major matter of defending against enemies and suppressing rebellion, Li Mi still spoke.
"The reason why King Zhong was able to recruit Shi Siming was because there were people under Shi Siming who were loyal to the imperial court. There were two key figures among them, one was Wu Cheng'en and the other was Geng Renzhi. Wu Cheng'en was originally appointed as the governor of Xindu, and An Lushan raised troops
Shi Siming had no choice but to surrender. After King Zhong's envoy contacted him, he tried his best to promote the recruitment. Geng Renzhi was Shi Siming's staff and persuaded Shi Siming to accept the position of King Guiyi. They must also be persuading Shi Siming to withdraw his troops."
Xue Bai didn't think Li Heng's move was a sign of appeasement, but thought it was more like a compromise. To eradicate the trouble, he must first defeat Shi Siming completely. It was useless to just ask him to retreat.
"Shi Siming is now powerful, but Wang Shi has missed the best opportunity to fight. Is there any way to defeat the enemy?"
"There is a way." Li Bi said: "You can promise Wu Cheng'en and allow him to be the Jiedushi of Fan Yang and Pinglu Town, as long as he can get rid of Shi Siming."
Xue Bai nodded when he heard this, but remained silent for a long time.
Dugu Wensu thought for a while and said: "Mr. Li's plan is brilliant. The rebels are not monolithic. Shi Siming was originally just a subordinate of An Lushan. Now he has become so powerful that he wants to replace An Qingxu. It is inevitable that some people will become disloyal. That's right.
use."
Xue Bai said: "Although this plan is good, but... Let's not talk about what will happen if it doesn't work out. Even if it does, how will the majesty of the court be shown. Replacing Shi Siming with Wu Cheng'en as the governor will ultimately treat the symptoms but not the root cause."
Li Bi understood Xue Bai's intention, sighed slightly, and said: "No matter how far-sighted we are, there are no soldiers or food at the moment, and the government's decrees cannot be issued. We can only take care of it slowly and solve the urgent needs first."
"That's fine."
Xue Bai thought about it and found that although Li Mi's strategy could not eradicate the long-standing evils, it could alleviate the situation without too much loss. At least it had no harm and was indeed worth a try. As for the longer term, the court's own problems still had to be solved first.
"Then we will act according to Brother Changyuan's plan. We need to send someone to contact Wu Chengen."
"I can go and convince Wu Chengen." Someone answered, but it was Yan Zhuang.
Seeing this, Yuan Luqian frowned slightly, thinking that Yan Zhuang volunteered to go as an envoy, maybe he wanted to take the opportunity to defect to Shi Siming, so he said: "I am also willing to go."
"I have other important matters that require Mr. Yuan to praise the painting. It is enough for Weizhou to go to Yanzhuang."
Xue Bai still believed in Yan Zhuang. When he was still regarded as rebellious by Li Longji, Yan Zhuang could be instigated by him to rebel. Now that he has become King Yong, an ambitious man like Yan Zhuang will definitely want to make progress with him.
.
After the discussion, he gave Yan Zhuang a few more words in private.
"It's gratifying to use Wu Cheng'en to get rid of Shi Siming, but if you go this time, you will at least delay Shi Siming from going south. If you would rather let him proclaim himself emperor, you will inevitably fight An Qingxu..."
~~
Soon, Xue Bai summoned a secret edict, conferring Wu Cheng'en the title of Fan Yang, Pinglu Jiedushi, and ordered him to get rid of Shi Siming.
In his heart, Yan Zhuang still hopes that one day he can become the prime minister again, this time a real prime minister, and he has high hopes for his trip.
He had a hollow wooden staff made and hid the secret message inside. He then said goodbye to Xue Bai and set foot on the road to Weizhou.
When he came to Luoyang again, he found that the people in Luoyang were panicked, and the officials and people were talking about the rebels coming again. Li Guangbi retreated to Heyang City not far away, and the news spread quickly.
When Yan Gaoqing first took office, after discussing with Wang Sili and Li Sheng, although he also used newspapers to appease public opinion, he did not clearly state that Luoyang would be safe and sound, and actually had an attitude of moving people to other places for refuge at any time.
Because Yan Gaoqing had previously guarded Yongqiu with Zhang Xun, he knew the situation in the Jianghuai region best, and knew that Helan Jinming not only refused to support grain and grass, but also regarded them as traitors. In this case, once Shi Siming's army crossed the Yellow River, Luoyang would not be able to do anything.
Hard to hold on to.
"You don't have to worry, Mr. Yan." Yan Zhuang said, "I'm going here to delay the time for Mr. Yan and prepare for the battle."
"I hope so."
The relationship between the two had not been very good when they were officials in Hebei together. Now, facing Shi Siming's 130,000 troops on the same front, they finally put aside their personal grudges.
Yan Zhuang continued north, crossed the Yellow River, and returned to Hebei, which he was familiar with. In the midst of the war and chaos, he went directly to Weizhou to see Shi Siming.
However, as soon as he reported his name outside Weizhou City, he was immediately arrested, and the Yan army rudely escorted him to Shi Siming.
"How dare you come?" Shi Siming scolded in a deep voice: "Skin off this rebellious man who betrays the Lord and seeks glory, take out his heart and liver, and sacrifice it to me, Saint Dayan!"
"Great Sage King Zhou, you misunderstood." Yan Zhuang quickly called Shi Siming's strange self-proclaimed name and said: "It was Li Zhu'er who betrayed the saint. I only found out after the fact. The reason why I surrendered at that time was because I wanted to
I tried to save the saint, but I didn’t expect An Qingxu to kill the king and his father!”
Shi Siming raised his hand and stopped the soldiers.
It was An Qingxu who promised to give up the throne of Emperor Yan to him, so he led his army south. But now that the siege of Xiangzhou was solved, An Qingxu no longer mentioned the matter of giving up the throne, and seemed to want to get over it. So, Yan Zhuang is here
, but it became a witness, allowing him to legitimately replace An Qingxu.
"Did An Qingxu really kill his father?"
"Absolutely true."
Shi Siming said: "Tang Ting sent you here for what purpose?"
Yan Zhuang hesitated slightly, smiled self-deprecatingly, and said: "Some changes occurred in the Tang court. Li Heng abdicated and committed suicide. Li Cong became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He issued an edict to name the King of Guiyi, Fan Yang, and Pinglu Jiedushi that Li Heng had promised at that time.
If you don’t count, you must ask the king to go to Chang’an again to proclaim himself a minister and ask for a title.”
After he spoke, Shi Siming looked at him with an even more terrifying look.
"How dare you come and proclaim such a decree?"
"No one in the Tang Dynasty dares to come as an envoy." Yan Zhuang said, "I have no choice but to come."
Shi Siming asked: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Afraid, very afraid." Yan Zhuang said: "But I can't do anything and am depressed and frustrated."
Shi Siming's face grew colder and he had murderous intentions again. But he still needed to use his dignity to prove An Qingxu's crime of patricide, so he forced himself to endure it.
"I have great ambitions!" Yan Zhuang said, "Although I am from a humble background, I aspire to hold great power and rule the world. Therefore, I always persuaded the late emperor to raise troops. Without me, how would there be such a great Yan?"
Having said this passionately, he changed the topic and said: "It's a pity that the late emperor died before he started his business half way. An Qingxu was by no means a good master, and Tang Ting didn't trust me at all. It's a pity that I have great ambitions and can't display them."
.Therefore, no one in the Tang court is willing to come here, but I am willing to come."
After hearing this, Shi Siming stood up, the murderous look on his face gradually faded away, exuding the powerful aura of a hero.
Yan Zhuang sensed his overbearing aura, bowed his head and said, "I am not here to declare an edict for the Yongzhu of the Tang Dynasty, but to join the true dragon of the world."
??????55.??????
After being quiet for a while, Shi Siming spoke up and asked, "Do you know my ambition?"
Yan Zhuang said: "My lord's talent and ambition are far better than An's!"
"I am different from An Lushan." This time, Shi Siming no longer concealed it and called An Lushan by his name, saying: "I started the rebellion not for my own enjoyment. I wanted to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and create a new era.
I will work hard to rule the dynasty and make achievements for hundreds of generations."
Hearing this, Yan Zhuang burst into tears and said, "If Mr. An had this ambition, my half-life efforts would not have been in vain."
Shi Siming stepped forward, helped Yan Zhuang up with his own hands, and said, "It's not too late. If you are willing to assist me, I will make you a prime minister."
"My lord, I am willing to do the work of dogs and horses for my lord."
In the hall, Geng Renzhi, who was Shi Si's wise advisor, and Zhou Zhi looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes.
After Yan Zhuang retreated, Zhou Zhi immediately said to Shi Siming: "My lord, Yan Zhuang has turned his back on the Lord to seek glory, and now he comes again. This is very suspicious."
Geng Renzhi also said: "Yes, slaves with three surnames cannot be trusted at all."
"Hahaha." Shi Siming laughed and said, "Why didn't I think of what you said? Let's keep him here and see what his plans are."
At night.
Shi Siming hosted a banquet in honor of Yan Zhuang. Almost all the military generals were present, and the atmosphere was high-spirited. They were all talking about the army's march south to scare off Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi's feats. When the wine was full, they even said that when Shi Siming became emperor, everyone would be the founding hero of the country.
.
Among them, Yan Zhuang met Wu Chengen.
Wu Cheng'en also paid close attention to him and toasted him with two glasses of wine. When Yan Zhuang went to the hut holding the wooden stick containing the secret decree, Wu Cheng'en also followed him, and the two exchanged a few words.
.
However, Yan Zhuang did not read out the secret decree, but simply said with emotion, "It's good to be back."
That night, Yan Zhuang stayed in the post house in Weizhou. He deliberately asked someone to boil some water. When the fire was lit, he walked over, snapped the wooden stick into two pieces, and directly
It was thrown into the fire.
~~
Since Shi Siming became king in Weizhou and solved the siege of Xiangzhou, the morale of his soldiers was very high.
Zhou Zhi then advised Shi Siming to take advantage of the victory and pursue Luoyang first, and then proclaim himself emperor.
What he said makes sense. At present, the internal fighting between the two emperors of the Tang Dynasty has ended. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi will cooperate with each other sooner or later, and it will be difficult to deal with them. It is better to take advantage of the fact that the Tang Dynasty is still in chaos to help
Li Longji first captured Henan in the name of quelling the rebellion.
Shi Siming was a man who knew how to fight. He knew that the opportunity to fight was fleeting. He agreed very much with Zhou Zhi's proposal and couldn't help but nod his head when he heard it.
"Now, we only need to send a general to seize Huguan and isolate Guo Ziyi from supporting Li Guangbi. Then the Tang army in Henan will never be my lord's opponent." Zhou Zhi added: "As for An Qingxu, he is just a waste. What will happen when the lord has established his foundation?"
Are you worried that he won’t give up his position?”
Shi Siming believed it, but his eyes swept over Yan Zhuang, and he asked tentatively: "What do you think?"
"Zhou Zhi's brilliant plan." Yan Zhuang said: "I only have one worry."
"What?"
Yan Zhuang said: "An Qingxu promised to give up the throne of Dayan to the lord, but now he has broken his promise. Although the lord does not care, he may not be suspicious of the lord in his heart and has the intention of persecuting him. What if his contact with Guo Ziyi is cut off?
The army has a way out, what should we do?"
The An family's rebellion was completely defeated because the battle line was too long and they were constantly raided by the Tang army and cut off all communications.
Shi Mingsi will not make the same mistake as An Lushan.
Then, the only thing he should do is to solve An Qingxu's problem.
~~
Xiangzhou.
Zhang Tongru strode to An Qingxu and saw that An Qingxu was drinking and having fun. His face fell and he stepped forward to persuade him earnestly.
"Sage, it has been many days since Shi Siming defeated the Tang army. It is time for the saint to greet him."
"Welcome him?" An Qingxu's cheeks turned red and he sneered: "If I go to meet him, will he let me go?"
Zhang Tongru was helpless and sighed: "Since the saint has promised to give up the throne to him, if he doesn't give up now, he will definitely take it by force, and I'm afraid he will even kill the saint. Only by giving up, he may still be able to remember the past."
Please be more open-minded online."
An Qingxu suddenly threw the wine glass in his hand at Zhang Tongru's feet and cursed: "I'm so annoyed! Get out."
In fact, he knew very well in his heart that whether he gave up the throne now or not, he would be dead, so it would be better to enjoy himself in time.
When Zhang Tongru saw how decadent he was, he sighed, retreated, and discussed with Ping Lie and others about going to meet Shi Siming, so as not to be liquidated by Shi Siming later.
An Qingxu didn't even bother to stop him.
Zhang Tongru and Pinglie rushed to Weizhou. To their surprise, they saw Yan Zhuang.
Many years ago, the three of them went to Beijing together to take the exam, drank with others in Wubenfang, and discussed state affairs. Now that they meet again, things have changed. The Tang Dynasty is no longer prosperous, and rebellious officials and traitors are frequent. They also have their contributions here.
.
They recalled the past and cried bitterly. Later, when they talked about the current situation, Zhang Tongru made a statement on behalf of An Qingxu, saying that An Qingxu was willing to surrender.
Yan Zhuang said: "Having said that, if the king goes to Xiangzhou City, there is no guarantee that he will not be killed because of his great achievements..."
"Of course it won't be like this." Zhang Tongru said hurriedly.
"Your Majesty will not believe it unless the saint comes out of the city to meet him."
Zhang Tongru knew An Qingxu's character. He would not dare to leave the city no matter what, for fear of being killed by Shi Siming, so he couldn't help but feel very embarrassed.
Yan Zhuang saw that he was in trouble and said: "It's better than this. I had no choice but to surrender to the Tang court when I was in Luoyang. The saint must hate me very much. How about I go to see the saint on behalf of the king? If the saint is not suspicious of the king, he will naturally not kill him.
I, I can persuade him to go out of the city in person to meet the king."
Zhang Tongru and Ping Lie had nothing to do with this, so the three of them went to see Shi Siming together.
Shi Siming was very happy that Zhang Tongru could come in Pinglie and gave him a lot of rewards. He also sent Yan Zhuang to go with them to see An Qingxu and told An Qingxu that he would treat him well.
Yan Zhuang then went to Xiangzhou again. On the way, he asked about some prisoners who were in Luoyang at that time, such as Ge Shuhan.
"Although Geshuhan suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, he carried the saint with him all the way to the north."
"Why? You must have thrown away a lot of gold and silver, so why bring a cripple." Yan Zhuang said: "If it depends on me, I will kill him directly."
Zhang Tongru said: "The main generals of the Tang army attacking Luoyang at that time were Wang Sili and Li Sheng. They were very concerned about the life of my brother Shuhan. I asked people to escort him to stop the pursuing troops, at least to stop the Tang army from firing arrows."
"I see."
Yan Zhuang sneered slightly and asked, "Can I go and see you?"
Zhang Tongru thought he wanted to kill his brother Shu Han, so he hesitated a little, but he couldn't refuse Yan Zhuang and had no choice but to comply.
After Ge Shuhan was captured, he was granted the title of Sikong, and he was under the same title as Zhongshu. In fact, he was no different from a prisoner. When he arrived in Xiangzhou, he also had a separate small courtyard to live in, and was taken care of by Cao Buzhe and Cao Buzheng.
.
When Yan Zhuang met his brother Shuhan, he didn't say anything, he just made a few sarcastic remarks.
Afterwards, he went to see An Qingxu, his tone became even more stern, and ordered An Qingxu to go out of the city to meet Shi Siming, otherwise he would wait for a military encounter.
An Qingxu knew that once he left the city, he would be a swordsman for others and a fish for others, so he asked: "I would like to be a brotherly country with Shi Gong, and we can stand together as a tripartite. How about that?"
Yan Zhuang immediately became cold-faced, scolded An Qingxu for being dishonest, and then threw down his sleeves and walked away, leaving only the words "wait to die."
An Qingxu was furious and thought that if Yan Zhuang had not betrayed An Lushan, he would not be in this situation. He raised his hand and asked Zhang Tongru to recruit people to kill Yan Zhuang. However, these people had already voted for Shi Siming.
, heard the words and refused to take action.
Under such circumstances, An Qingxu knew that everyone was betraying his relatives and that he was not far from death, so he had no choice but to drink to drown his sorrows. He no longer had to worry about the arrogance of his subordinates.
After two glasses of wine, he actually heard that Ge Shuhan asked for an audience, which was strange. Since Ge Shuhan surrendered, this was the first time he asked for an audience, so he hurriedly invited him.
Ge Shuhan was carried in sitting on a chair. After receiving the greetings, he quickly talked about his purpose.
"Shi Siming came here to seek the position of a saint. Why didn't the saint resist?"
"Sigh." An Qingxu sighed, "I have never thought about closing the city to resist, but Shi Siming has an army of 130,000. You see, this man is so frightened that he doesn't dare to fight with him."
"May I ask the saint, how many soldiers and horses are there?"
An Qingxu thought for a while and said: "If you can still obey my orders, the only ones who can be trusted are the 3,300 soldiers. They were regrouped after their defeat in the Battle of the Yellow River. They are loyal and reliable."
Ge Shuhan pondered for a while and asked: "Can the saint give me a chance to fight against Shi Siming?"
"You?" An Qingxu was greatly surprised.
"I am willing to fight for the saint." Ge Shuhan said: "If we win, Shi Siming will not be able to take away the kingdom of Yan from the saint."
An Qingxu actually knew that his brother Shuhan was not loyal to him, but wanted to consume Dayan and delay time for Datang... He was not stupid, he could see it all.
But why not give it a try? He has nothing to lose. Shi Siming must seize the throne and kill him. Then why not gamble with the lives of others for a chance of survival.
As for whether it is too much of a loss to Dayan's strength, we have to wait until we get Dayan back.
"OK."
An Qingxu quickly agreed and said: "I will make you the general marshal of the world's soldiers and horses."
"My lord, I will definitely live up to the saint."
Brother Shuhan, who had suffered a stroke, could not perform the full ceremony. Looking at the drunk An Qingxu, he also felt that this situation was a bit ridiculous.
But at this moment, he still remembered the time in Chang'an when the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty appointed him the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses and asked him to guard Tongguan. That time, he failed to defend the Tang Dynasty.
Now he finally had another chance. Although he only led a few rebels, he didn't want to lose again...