In Shu County, in the newly built palace, beautiful singing sounded.
Li Longji did not change his past habit of enjoying banquets, and he continued to play and sing every day after Shu. Many state affairs were discussed at banquets.
The officials who participated in the imperial banquet were sitting behind the desk, their expressions a little reserved. Most of them were promoted after the Supreme Emperor came to Shu, and they were a little less bold and more cautious than the previous officials in Chang'an. This
Perhaps it is the difference in mentality between people in prosperous times and people in troubled times.
At the banquet, Yan Wu was inevitably mentioned. Gao Shi led his troops to the north of Shu County to ask for an audience with the saint. Everyone knew that they were sent by Xue Bai to invite the Supreme Emperor back. The situation was so embarrassing that even Emperor Li Heng surrendered.
, Li Longji, the "Emperor", was placed in an even more embarrassing situation.
Sitting close to Li Longji were several important ministers, such as Wei Jiansu, Zhang Bian, Cui Yuan, and Lu Qi. They were also the people who understood Li Longji's thoughts best, and they knew that the person whom the Supreme Emperor hated the most was Xue Bai.
"I can abdicate, but I can never be usurped."
When he heard that he was going back to Chang'an, Li Longji immediately resisted. He held the wine glass, his eyes were deep, and he talked about the things that he was worried about, saying: "Xue Bai is similar to An Lushan. He is ambitious and betrays my trust. I want to raise an army.
Who is willing to lead the army in the crusade against this traitor?"
He was good at employing people all his life, but the two traitors he met in his later years seemed to have shattered his pride and confidence in this area. Now he doesn't trust anyone, and he is vaguely suspicious when employing people, so he doesn't
Choose veterans who are familiar with military affairs, but ask the closest officials around you.
Wei Jiansu and Zhang Bian both remained silent and did not want to serve as the generals to conquer Chang'an. This was because they wanted to leave a bad name among the people of Guanzhong, and they had broken up with Li Cong. No one knew what would happen in the future.
In fact, the more suitable time to attack Xue Ni was when Li Heng sent troops to attack Chang'an. Unfortunately, Li Longji's foundation in Shu County was not strong at that time. He was busy rewarding officials and cultivating his confidants. As soon as he turned around, Li Heng was destroyed.
Seeing that no one answered, Li Longji's eyes fell on Cui Yuan and asked: "Cui Qing?"
"Going back to the Supreme Emperor, I think that there is no need to use troops against Xue Ni at the moment." Cui Yuan had no choice but to stand up and said: "I heard that Shi Siming has rebelled again and led his troops southward. If these two rebels fight, one of them will be injured. Why not just wait and see?
Japan? Rebellion will be eliminated."
Wei Jiansu also advised: "Today, Tubo deceives us about the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty and raises troops to invade. Jiannan's military strength is not enough to defend against Tibet, so it is not appropriate to use troops against Chang'an again."
"Then conscription."
Li Longji's face darkened, and with the same momentum that he had dominated the world for more than forty years, he issued his decree simply and forcefully.
Although he was old, he was not confused. How could he not know the inner calculations of these ministers? It was precisely because he knew that they would refuse to send troops to attack Guanzhong, and even refuse to recruit troops, that he deliberately asked this question.
Sure enough, Wei Jiansu, Cui Yuan and others were speechless.
Wei Jiansu stood there, not sitting down for a long time, listening to the misty music at the banquet, with a sad look on his face.
Since the Supreme Emperor entered Shu, the officials in Shu have tried their best to serve the Supreme Emperor so that the Supreme Emperor can continue to live a luxurious life. It seems that Sichuan and Shu are still in the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty. It is really the land of heaven in the Tang Dynasty, but in fact it is
?
Over the years, the imperial court had been burdened with heavy taxes and official administration, and the people of Shu actually had no food. In addition, Tubo repeatedly invaded the east, Nanzhao rebelled, and many soldiers and civilians suffered casualties. That is to say, Wang Zhongsi won a great victory in the southern expedition at that time, otherwise he would have suffered great damage to Sichuan.
Shu, and even the vitality of the entire Tang Dynasty; in addition, as more and more nobles, officials, and imperial troops rushed to Sichuan and Shu to follow the Supreme Emperor, they often invaded and plundered the local people... In short, the southwest is now also
Already exhausted.
At this time, the Supreme Emperor also decided to recruit troops and recruit brave men to quell the civil strife in the royal family. In Wei Jiansu's view, this was already a sign of militarism. He then looked at Zhang Bian, hoping that the emperor's beloved son-in-law could persuade him, but Zhang Bian
It's as if I haven't heard it yet, and I am immersed in the music.
"The Supreme Emperor." Wei Jiansu had no choice but to remonstrate with him, saying: "Now that the palace has just been built, the people feel a lot of burden. If we recruit troops again at this time, I am afraid that it will cause unrest and resentment among the people."
Before he finished speaking, Lu Qi stood up and said: "The imperial court recruits troops and gives generous rewards. How can it cause resentment among the people? Is it possible that Mr. Wei is unwilling to guard against Tibet and pacify Guanzhong?"
This was a very serious accusation. Wei Jiansu then said seriously: "Of course not."
Lu Qi's expression became even more impassioned, and he said with a salute: "Please, Your Majesty, please entrust me with the responsibility of recruiting strong men and protecting the country! I will do my best and will not neglect you."
He was so loyal and diligent that he immediately outperformed others. The other important ministers looked at each other and could not say anything.
Li Longji was very happy and gave Lu Qi a glass of wine to drink with him.
~~
Lu Qi came out of the palace with a look of satisfaction on his face, thinking that sooner or later he would have to defeat Wei Jiansu, Zhang Bian, Cui Yuan and others and become the independent prime minister.
Although his family is now restless and wars are raging, it should not be the time for internal fighting. However, since he has been favored by the Supreme Emperor, he has felt that the Supreme Emperor is wise and generous and can delegate power to him. On the contrary, several prime ministers have restricted everything and decentralized power.
How can you defeat the traitors when you work with such mediocre people? You must take over the power in order to achieve anything.
In addition, Lu Qi was a very small-minded person. He often had fights with his classmates when he was in the Imperial College, and developed the ability to be good at fighting against differences. To fight against differences, one needs to wait for the opportunity, but party members have to be early. Now he has many people under his command.
Comrades.
Returning to the government office, Lu Qi quickly summoned his staff and told them that he wanted to recruit more troops for the Supreme Emperor.
One of them, Wei Dubin, couldn't help but worry: "I'm afraid Xianggong Lu is boasting. The treasury has been exhausted of money and food. How can we still recruit troops?"
"I have my own plan."
Lu Qi was confident and said: "The saints recruit soldiers and pay a lot of money. There must be many people willing to be recruited. Can you believe it?"
Wei Dubin said: "Even so, where can we raise the money to pay these soldiers?"
"Ha ha."
Lu Qi waved his sleeves coolly and said with a smile: "I have a plan. I can recruit tens of thousands of troops without spending money or food. You go and post a notice and tell the sons of Shu County who are rich and idle, that this time the Emperor will recruit troops.
The ones we recruit are the guards of Bei Ya. Normally, the guards of Bei Ya are not suitable for ordinary people. Who is not a general, and is proficient in bow and horse. Now that we have opened the door, it is a good time to make achievements."
When Wei Dubin heard this, he clapped his hands and said, "Xiangong Lu's clever plan. If it is like this, wouldn't it be better to let these rich children spend money to buy the guards' places?"
Lu Qi deeply agreed and nodded: "Yes, there are many fleeing households, knights, and merchants in Sichuan and Sichuan. In order to avoid rent, mediocrity, and tariffs, there must be many merchants who want to name themselves in the army, so the price cannot be lower."
"Your Majesty knows." Wei Dubin agreed, but soon he had doubts again and asked: "But in this case, what should we do when the Supreme Emperor wants to use these troops?"
"When those rich children are in the army, why don't they just let us take orders? Let them spend their money and food and send out servants. Why worry about not having strong men?" Lu Qi said: "Now Shi Siming and Xue Bai are two rebels at war. Wait for them.
Both sides suffer losses, so we spend money and food to buy off their generals, and the great success of pacifying the world is achieved. This means that the troops and horses have not moved, but the food and grass have gone first."
"Listening to what Prime Minister Lu said today, you will know what it means to be a world-shattering talent. It is precisely in this predicament that no one else can do anything that you can reveal Prime Minister Lu's methods."
In Lu Qi's view, this was a way to kill three birds with one stone. It could not only solve the shortage of money and food, but also use the money and food to recruit soldiers from the poor and humble. In addition, this strategy had another effect.
The terrain of Sichuan and Shu makes it too easy to establish a country on its own. Since the founding of the country, the Tang Dynasty has been very wary of the powerful families in Sichuan and Shu, and basically does not allow Shu people to serve as officials in their native places. Officials above Jiannan Daozhou
Often foreigners.
Lu Qi believed that what he was doing was to suppress the wealthy families of Shu for the imperial court. With the help of Emperor Nan's luck, Sichuan and Shu truly became the heaven of the Tang Dynasty. It was also an attempt to suppress annexation and weaken the wealthy families.
~~
In Yizhou City, in a large house not far from Jinli, someone was pushing dominoes.
Since the rise of dominoes, they have been very popular among Shu people. Perhaps because Mrs. Guo is from Shu, they feel that dominoes are particularly close to them; perhaps it is because Shu is rich in products and has rugged roads, which has made Shu people not like to go out.
character; perhaps there is no special reason at all.
"Have you heard? The Emperor is recruiting troops again."
The person who spoke was the gate guard of Yizhou City, named Guo Qianren. He came from a wealthy family in Shu, but he was not considered a prominent family. Over the years, he gave some gifts to Xianyu Zhongtong and was able to stay in his hometown and serve.
Not a big official.
Because the people who played dominoes together were old friends who had always been close to each other, they didn't have too many scruples about what they said, and they just said whatever they thought of.
"There is no peace of mind either. Ever since the Supreme Emperor returned to Shu, he has first built a palace and then installed the imperial army, which has caused a lot of trouble. If there is another conscription like this, life will be even more difficult."
"The conscription is naturally to defeat Xue Bai."
"Asking Xue Bai doesn't stop us from playing dominoes." Guo Qianren put a card on the table and said, "As far as I know, the Emperor is so angry because of Concubine Yang, right?"
"Isn't it true?" Several poker players said mysteriously, "Xue Bai plotted to usurp the throne because of Concubine Yang."
Now that Shu County has closed down private newspapers, it can't help people's discussions. On the contrary, after the official news disappeared, more anecdotes appeared.
"A few years ago, Xue Bai had an affair with Concubine Yang. Xue Bai also caught and injured Concubine Yang, and the injury was fatal. Her skin was like snow but left two scratches. What should I do?
?He had an idea and made a costume, wrapped up Concubine Yang tightly, and wrote "The Romance of the West Chamber" from this costume."
"That's it, what a fool."
The four of them were rubbing dominoes, talking animatedly about these romantic affairs, and laughing at the fact that the Supreme Emperor raised an army out of jealousy. After that, the topic returned to the recruitment of soldiers.
"Remember Jia Xiu?"
"Remember." Guo Qianren said, "You served as a soldier in Jiannan under me for several years, and later moved to Huayang County, right?"
"Yes, just last month, one of Jia Xiu's sisters was kidnapped by the Forbidden Army. That group of Forbidden Army said they wanted to settle down in Shu and buy property, and they also beat Jia Xiu's brother-in-law to death."
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Guo Qianren said: "I have met his sister-in-law twice. He is a good person."
"Who says otherwise? Brother Guo might as well take advantage of this recruitment and send Erlang to the Forbidden Army for training."
"Ha." Guo Qianren snorted coldly and said, "Although my son is useless, he doesn't mean to use his power to bully others."
"In this world, you don't want to use your power to bully others, but you also have to think about not being bullied by others. Lu Qi tried every means to make money for the Supreme Emperor, even worse than Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong. I heard that he also came up with a circumstantial tax."
Guo Qianren shouted: "Another tax increase? How are we collecting this?"
"Take your house as an example. The area within the two pillars at the front and back is considered one room, and the six pillars in the lobby are considered two rooms. The tax for each room in the upper class is 2,000 yuan a year, the tax in the middle class is 1,000 yuan, and the tax in the lower class is 1,000 yuan.
five hundred."
"Shit!"
Guo Qianren snapped and shouted angrily: "Although the house I live in is big, my family has long been empty. When the family was separated, my brother didn't want the ancestral house and took the money to do business in Yangzhou. So what do you say?!"
"Come to think of it, why did you mess up your cards? I'm about to lose my mind..."
After a quarrel for a while, the card game dispersed. Guo Qianren sat alone under the shelf of his house and thought for a long time, then ordered his servants: "Go and call Erlang."
He believed that letting his son join the Forbidden Army was the best way to protect this family fortune.
~~
North of Yizhou, Yan Wu's camp.
Jiang Hai has been thinking about attacking Shu County recently, but starting a war is not a trivial matter. He had to send someone to ask Xue Bai, saying that the Supreme Emperor was more stubborn than expected, and he might not be able to take him back without using force.
On this day, the messenger came back from the north. From the south, the envoy sent by Li Longji to announce Yan Wu also arrived. The two groups of people arrived almost at the same time, which made Yan Wu a little confused, so he asked Jiang Hai to pick up Xue Bai's letter.
, and he himself goes to meet the will.
Yan Wu met with the envoy sent by Li Longji. The content of the decree was that Tibet invaded Zhezhou, and he was ordered to go to defend Zhezhou. He also promised that he would have his own supply of food and grass when he arrived in Zhezhou.
"I accept the decree. Now that Tubo is invading the east and Yizhou is in danger, I will ask the Supreme Emperor to return to the capital." Yan Wu still did not forget to urge Li Longji to return to the capital.
The envoy waved his hands and retreated, fearing that Yan Wu would kill him, so he hurriedly left.
After receiving the order, Yan Wu first discussed with Gao Shi.
"The Emperor resolutely refuses to return north. We are stationed here and will soon run out of food and grass." Gao Shi said: "If you accept the order, it is for the sake of the country's justice and resist the enemy; if you do not accept the order, we will attack Yizhou and hold the Emperor hostage, and go to
Regardless of how future generations will view me, I may not be able to win."
Yan Wu didn't say anything, but what he was thinking was that if Jiang Hai got the news that he could kidnap the Supreme Emperor, he would take action.
After that, they went to the tent at the rear to see Jiang Hai. They saw that Jiang Hai had just put Xue Bai's secret letter on the fire and burned it. He was looking down at the flames on his fingers and crushing the ashes.
"Hide it from me?"
Yan Wu snorted with a stern expression, threw the imperial edict in his hand to Jiang Hai, and said: "I have nothing to hide from you, just see for yourself."
Jiang Hai took the decree and read it, but he just grinned. He had always made this indifferent expression, which made his face a little crooked, making him look very fierce and difficult to deal with. But this time, what he said was upright and solemn.
"Since the country is in trouble and Tubo invades the border, please ask General Yan to guard against Tibet."
"Telling something sarcastic?" Yan Wu asked.
"No." Jiang Hai said proudly: "I am a soldier of Longyou. Of course I will not let Tubo invade our Tang Dynasty!"
Although Yan Wu was hesitant to send troops, he wanted to bet on the side of the Chang'an court and make a great contribution to welcome the Emperor back, so he asked: "What did King Yong say? But he appointed someone else?"
"King Yong said that the reason for welcoming back the Supreme Emperor was in the name of great righteousness. So at this time when Tubo is raising troops, how can we abandon the reality of great righteousness and only use it in vain? General Yan should take precautions for autumn first and there is no rush."
"All right."
Yan Wu turned to look at Gao Shi and asked him to arrange the camp. After Gao Shi left, he said to Jiang Hai: "Although Gao thirty-five is an old acquaintance of King Yong, he has an old-fashioned personality and has the air of a scholar. Jiang Hai
If the general has any inconvenience to talk to him, you can talk to me about it."
Jiang Hai chuckled and whispered into Yan Wu's ear.
"King Yong has sent a letter to Wang Tianyun, Li Fei Yuanli and others. The saint has also given them official titles and ordered them to guard Tubo. With your ability and cooperation with them, Tubo will be defeated soon. It will be better than the emperor expected.
Much faster.”
Yan Wu raised his eyebrows. During the Battle of Nanzhao, he was just a member of Wang Zhongsi's staff, while Wang Tianyun and Li Fei Yuanli were already generals and had fought alongside each other, but now he actually doesn't want them to divide him.
of credit.
"By the way, I heard that Tibet once again coerced Nanzhao into rebellion?" Yan Wu asked: "General Wang, General Li Fei, don't you go south to guard Wenchuan, Fangwei, Qionglai and other places?"
"Prince Yong has written to Zheng Hui about this matter. Cui Guangyuan asked, but the Supreme Emperor is blocking Shu County and it is difficult for the court to intervene in Nanzhao. You and I should solve the current matter first." Jiang Hai said.
"What's going on right now?"
Jiang Hai whispered: "To defeat Tubo, you can fight side by side, but after that, only you and I can handle the kidnapping of the Supreme Emperor."
"Okay." Yan Wu is indeed a ruthless person, and his face does not change even for such a big event.
"When you defeat the Tibetans, leave some of the Tibetans' armor and flags, and use a few of your confidants to attack the palace. By then, the Supreme Emperor will think that the Tibetans will flee after they are killed."
"While he is running away, we will protect him and return to Chang'an."
"That's right." Jiang Hai said: "In this way, we not only completed the major task of autumn defense against Tubo, but also did not bear the infamy of holding the emperor hostage, and also established the merit of protecting him. Isn't it three birds with one stone?"
Yan Wu nodded, thinking that no one else dared to kidnap the Supreme Emperor, so he could only accomplish this great feat by himself.
~~
Soon, Yan Wu led his troops west to Zhezhou to defend against the Tibetans, while Jiang Hai led dozens of elite confidants to Yizhou quietly to explore the terrain, bribe officers and soldiers, and prepare to escort the Supreme Emperor back to the north.
After arriving in Yizhou, he collected intelligence every day, and what he heard most was that the people scolded Lu Qi.
Lu Qi was only in his thirties this year. Because of the reputation left by his father Lu Yi on the day of his death and his great contribution to saving the emperor, he was named the minister of the family.
They hold positions such as Minister of the Ministry, Duzhi Envoy, Salt and Iron Transport Envoy, etc. They hold high and powerful positions, such as Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, but they are still younger than when they became powerful.
Jiang Hai seemed to have returned to Chang'an during the Tianbao period. Yizhou City seemed prosperous and prosperous, with peaceful singing and dancing, but in fact corrupt officials were rampant.
Every day, merchants and ordinary people were arrested on the streets of Yizhou, and their homes were confiscated. The imperial troops collected taxes rampantly and often broke into the rooms of many houses. Too many people could not pay the room tax, so they carried the shackles.
Capture people.
Jiang Hai entered the city disguised as a merchant. For some reason, he only stayed for seven days when he was searched by the imperial army. He thought his identity was revealed. But in the end, they came to collect his tax. He didn't know what it was. Anyway,
They counted the goods he brought and took away 20% of the money.
Later, Jiang Hai found out that he had been reported by other merchants. In addition to paying the tax, he also paid the one thousand reward that the person who reported him would receive.
"unlucky."
In short, Lu Qi used these rich means to demonstrate in front of the Supreme Emperor that he was comparable to Yang Shenjin, Wang Xian, Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and others. This made Jiang Hai very worried. Before Yan Wu returned, he had no way to
Established a foothold in Yizhou.
Things in the world often happen in unexpected ways, catching everyone off guard.
After some time, just as Jiang Hai was counting on Yan Wu's return, a rebellion suddenly broke out in Yizhou, disrupting his plan.
It was the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival. It was a sunny day in Yizhou and the air was crisp and clear.
However, a murder occurred on Jinli West Street. A group of Forbidden Soldiers had a conflict while collecting taxes. One of the young Forbidden Army soldiers failed to fulfill military orders and was ordered by the school general to produce twenty pieces of silk as an apology.
"Isn't it okay if I don't wear this dog skin anymore?!"
"How dare you speak out and criticize Chengyu?!"
"I don't want to accept your trap of being a general in Guanzhong. Since I was called, I haven't seen a penny in salary, but I have paid you a lot of money to move in..."
"Crack!"
The whip was swung down hard, and the captain of the imperial army was furious and ordered: "Teach him a lesson!"
So the Imperial Guards nearby rushed to take action, and finally something unexpected happened.
"General, it's bad, he...is dead."
"What?"
"Hit someone to death!"
As the news spread, chaos soon arose among the Forbidden Army.
"Damn, they recruited us just to squeeze out all our wealth. If Guo Er is dead, can we still sit back and wait for death?!"
"what to do?"
"I have a solution!"
As a result, the children of Shu County who had been recruited into the army by Lu Qi soon became furious... and ran home to complain.
~~
"What?"
Guo Qianren was playing dominoes when he heard the news of his son's death.
Before he put down the cards in his hand, he was already stunned.
He originally wanted his son to join the imperial army in order to preserve this little bit of family property, but these days, he has paid a lot of taxes and invested a lot of money in order for his son to be promoted. Unexpectedly, it all turned out to be in vain.
"Crack!"
Suddenly there was a sound, but a person sitting opposite Guo Qianren started to slap the case. This person was his former subordinate Jia Xiu. Jia Xiu had long been dissatisfied because his family had been kidnapped, so he immediately made a shocking statement.
"If the imperial court is like this, why don't you rebel against it?!"
Guo Qianren was agitated, thinking that today he was still an officer and soldier in Yizhou, but tomorrow he would be implicated in the death of his son, and the generals of the Forbidden Army would not care whether he was a slave or not.
He then gritted his teeth and said immediately: "Reverse!"
The old garrison officer of Yizhou City was originally just an inconspicuous little character. He never dared to think that he could gather a few people by climbing up and shouting, and hurt the Supreme Emperor in the slightest.