Shi Siming saw that the big flag with the word "an" on top of Xiangzhou City was cut down, and the annoyance in his eyes disappeared a little.
It took much longer to break the city than he expected. Just yesterday, he received a message saying that Li Longji had returned Chang'an. The Tang Dynasty had ended the chaotic situation of political orders and had completed its power earlier than the Yan Kingdom.
handover.
This cast a gloomy tone on his mood, until finally good news came.
"Report, our army broke through the palace and captured An Qingxu at the north gate."
"Bring him here!" Shi Siming said, "and interrogate this traitor who killed the king and his father in the camp!"
The person responsible for detaining An Qingxulai was Shi Siming's eldest son, Shi Chaoyi.
Shi Chaoyi is thirty-one years old and has a short beard that is trimmed beautifully. He usually likes to play dominoes and does not matter who he plays with. Even an ordinary soldier can sit at the same table with Shi Chaoyi as long as the tiles are good.
Play on.
He was generous with his money. Although he didn't play much every time, he would distribute the money to the soldiers as long as he won. He mainly wanted to have fun. Because of this habit, he was very popular, and the officers and soldiers of the Yan army liked him very much.
After being ordered to arrive at Xiangzhou City, Shi Chaoyi soon saw An Qingxu being brought there by Wu Hua Da, looking very embarrassed.
"Shi Chaoyi, have you forgotten my grandfather's kindness to your father and son?" An Qingxu shouted as soon as he saw him, "How dare you raise an army and rebel?!"
"I know everything. The saint was captured by Xue Bai, and you arranged for someone to blow him up." Shi Chaoyi asked, "How did you do it?"
"I didn't." An Qingxu quickly denied.
The two were old friends who had known each other for many years. He knew that his virtuous character could not be hidden from Shi Chaoyi, so he whispered: "Save me, I can give up the throne to your grandpa."
"I also look forward to playing dominoes with you in the future. Alas, when I see Grandpa, I will intercede for you."
"Thank you, brother."
An Qingxu burst into tears with gratitude and cried as he walked, saying how helpless he had been along the way. Shi Chaoyi could not empathize with him at all and kept shaking his head. In his opinion, An Qingxu was in the situation he was in today because of himself.
When they arrived at the camp, An Qingxu looked around and saw that Shi Siming still had not half the respect he had when he was a general under An Lushan. His aura was much stronger than that of the Emperor of Yan, so he was so frightened that he quickly knelt down on the ground.
"The guilty minister An Qingxu comes to see the great sage King Zhou!"
Shi Siming was not a person who could be easily fooled. He was not flattered by this kind of flattery. Instead, he looked at An Qingxu with more vigilance. He thought that this man was capable of bending and stretching, and could be ruthless at critical moments. He must not stay. So, he
The murderous intention suddenly arose in my heart.
"You call yourself a sinner, but do you know what your sin is?"
An Qingxu was asked by him, so he borrowed his donkey from the slope and said: "As a minister of the great sage King Zhou, I was unable to manage the army well. I failed to defend Luoyang and was besieged here by the Tang army. It was a serious crime. Fortunately, the king came to my aid in time. Thank you.
As deep as the sea, I can only repay you with loyalty and ask your Majesty to be the Emperor of the Yan Kingdom!"
These words were very touching. Shi Chaoyi on the sidelines shook his head and thought that An Qingxu could save himself without the need to plead for mercy.
However, they all underestimated Shi Siming.
An Qingxu's words are effective for others, but Shi Siming's ambition is to conquer the world. Today, with An Qingxu abdicating the throne, he can easily take the throne of Yan. But in the name of "cruising against the traitors who killed the king and killed his father," how can he do that?
Go back on your word?
Because An Qingxu gave up the throne and showed his superiority, the world would only say, "Look, Shi Siming really just wanted to seize the throne, everything else is an excuse." If you can't practice what you say, how can you enforce strict military laws?
Thinking of this, Shi Siming suddenly became furious and shouted: "An Qingxu! As a human son, you kill your father and usurp the throne, which is unacceptable in the world. I sent troops to defeat the traitors for the late emperor, and you want to deceive me with flattery and false words?!"
"Your Majesty, forgive me."
An Qingxu didn't expect Shi Siming to be so determined, so he panicked and quickly looked at Shi Chaoyi.
Shi Chaoyi quickly stepped out of the queue and said: "Master, for the sake of the late emperor..."
"Shut up." Shi Siming scolded: "Do you want to excuse this traitor who killed his father?!"
This sentence was so serious that Shi Chaoyi panicked and did not dare to answer.
On the side, Zhou Zhi came out and said: "An Qingxu committed a heinous crime by killing his father and usurping the throne. He deserves death."
Shi Siming was anxious about the news from Chang'an and had no time to delay, so he immediately ordered his death.
Some soldiers dragged An Qingxu out of the tent and put a rope around his neck to tighten it.
"Brother...save me..."
An Qingxu looked directly at Shi Chaoyi, regarding him as the last straw. Soon, his face turned red and his eyes were full of pleading.
Shi Chaoyi looked at him and felt as if his heart was being tugged, but he did not dare to plead for mercy again. Therefore, he wished that An Qingxu was about to die.
Two people who have known each other since childhood, one watched the other being gradually hanged to death, feeling his fear, helplessness, and even curse.
Finally, An Qingxu died, and his face turned completely purple-black. As soon as the soldier let go, his severed neck could no longer support his head, and he immediately fell to the side, weird and sick, with only the rounded eyes.
His eyes were still staring at Shi Chaoyi like a dead fish.
Shi Chaoyi was horrified by the sight. He turned around, still feeling someone staring at his back. While Shi Siming was busy hanging An Qingxu's brother, he quickly asked someone to close An Qingxu's eyelids.
The friendship between the two people, which started and ended because of power, finally ended.
~~
After hanging An Qingxu to death, Shi Siming entered Xiangzhou City and purged the remaining troops of An Qingxu in the city. The next thing to do was to proclaim himself emperor.
Yan Zhuang was the first to persuade him to join.
He was originally sent to Weizhou, but after withstanding the temptation, he was able to return to Shi Siming's side.
"In the Tang Dynasty, the Hunjun was in power, and his strength was exhausted. The late emperor led Fan Yang's men to drive out the Hunjun, but he was killed before his achievements were completed. Therefore, the king was destined to help people and inherit the legacy of Yan. I invite you to take the throne as the emperor."
Zhou Zhi, Geng Renzhi and others had been with Shi Siming longer and had more seniority. They finally succeeded in assisting Shi Siming. Unexpectedly, they were beaten to death when trying to persuade Shi Siming to join. They were so anxious that they could only follow the advice.
According to custom, Shi Siming simply gave in twice and stopped arguing. He was a martial artist, and he was more concerned about some practical issues, such as the rewards for the generals of the Yan army after proclaiming himself emperor.
In addition, Yan Zhuang believed that it was time to return to Fan Yang to ascend the throne. Fan Yang was the foundation of the Yan Dynasty. All the wealth and population looted by the Yan army had been transported back to Fan Yang, which gave Shi Siming his current momentum. In addition, Luoyang was lost.
Naturally, Fan Yang should be regarded as Yanjing.
Shi Siming agreed with this in his heart. But it would take at least four or five months to do this. On the other hand, in the Tang court, the newly succeeded emperor was quickly stabilizing the situation and winning people's hearts.
If it dragged on any longer, he was afraid that Tang Ting would complete preparations to counter the rebellion faster than he expected.
"No."
Shi Siming was not as selfish and despicable as An's father and son. He was not deceived by external things and was very determined to achieve his strategic goals.
"I will ascend the throne in Xiangzhou and tell the soldiers that when Luoyang is captured, I will reward the three armies!"
When he called himself "I", he paused for a moment, still a little uncomfortable, but then he felt relaxed.
Soon, Shi Siming set up an altar to ascend the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, calling himself Emperor Yingtian of Dayan. He changed the Yuan Dynasty to "Shuntian" and made his wife Xin the queen.
But he did not make Shi Chaoyi the crown prince, but only named him King Huai.
In November, heavy snow fell in Hebei Province. Emperor Yan Shi Siming finally cleared away the internal chaos and led his army southward, preparing to regain Luoyang before the New Year.
He divided his troops into five groups and personally led the main force of the Chinese army to Pujindu to attack Li Guangbi who was stationed in Heyang. He ordered General Cai Xide to station at Hukou to prevent Shangdang Guo Ziyi from leaving Hedong, thus eliminating future worries. He sent Ling Hu Zhang
He led five thousand people to cross the Yellow River from Liyang and took Huazhou in Henan; he ordered Shi Chaoyi to go to Baigao Ferry; he ordered Zhou Zhi to go to Huliang Ferry.
Except for Cai Xide's troops who blocked Guo Ziyi, the other four armies agreed to meet up in Bianzhou after crossing the Yellow River.
~~
Amidst the heavy snow, the Yellow River has a tendency to freeze.
Someone was walking on the south bank of the Yellow River in the strong and fierce wind, looking towards the north with worry in his eyes.
He was only in his forties, but he was already full of white hair, very thin, his cheeks were deeply sunken, and his cheekbones were like iron.
The wind ruffled his beard, but it failed to change the firm look in his eyes.
This person was Zhang Xun, the newly appointed governor of Bianzhou by the Tang Dynasty.
"Your Majesty!"
A knight came from the wind and snow. Before the horse could stop, he quickly dismounted and put a thick coat on Zhang Xun.
"Why do you, your Majesty, come out to patrol the river when you are so thinly dressed?"
When Nan Jiyun spoke, white gas kept coming out of his mouth.
He was filled with hot blood, and his breath was naturally warm, and the white breath he exhaled was bigger and thicker than others.
"There is good news. The official document from the imperial court has arrived. Bianzhou is fighting against the enemy. The imperial court has ordered a supply of grain and grass to be sent from the south through the canal." Nan Jiyun said, "With this document, if Helan enters the Ming Dynasty and tries to detain our grain and grass, it will be a serious crime.
"
Zhang Xun had always known Helan Jinming's character, and was worried that he would find other excuses to delay, so he said: "You order a group of people to go to Ningling again to urge for food and reinforcements."
"Here!"
Nan Wenyun took out another letter and said: "Envoy, this is a letter from King Yong."
He didn't know much about the content of this letter.
Zhang Xun took the letter and read it over, with a look of thoughtfulness in his eyes.
Xue Bai asked him in the letter what he thought of a person. That is the person with the highest official position and the most power in Henan Province, Li Zhi.
Li Zhi was an important official of the clan, the great-grandson of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and the grandson of King Wu Li Ke. He was canonized as the successor king of Wu during the Shenlong period. During the Tianbao period, he served as the prefect of Dongping. Due to the rebellion of Anlu Mountain, Li Longji granted him the title of prefect of Chenliu, Henan Festival.
As an envoy, he was also given the title of Taipuqing and Zongzhengqing, allowing him to take charge of the situation in Henan Province.
At that time, Zhengzhou and Luoyang fell one after another, and Li Zhi stayed in Dongping. He even took refuge in Mount Tai for a time and was isolated from the imperial court. Unlike Zhang Xun and others who faced the rebels directly and fought fiercely, their momentum was not high.
But his status is there, and the Shandong area is not a major battlefield, so it is relatively peaceful. As a military governor, Li Zhi is quite powerful and is a force that cannot be underestimated in Henan.
Before Li Heng surrendered to Li Cong, Li Zhi obtained the edict from the Supreme Emperor and raised a flag to attack Xue Ni.
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Now, Xue Bai wrote to Zhang Xun asking what he thought of Li Zhi, either to prevent Li Zhi from harming Shi Siming when he was causing trouble, or to take the opportunity to deal with Li Zhi.
With King Yong on one side and King Wu on the other, Zhang Xun looked at the letter and couldn't help but look embarrassed.
~~
"Hush!"
Nan Jiyun reined in the reins in front of a tall city.
Even his breath was white. He looked up and saw the word "Ningling" on the city gate through the snowflakes in the sky.
Last year, when he came to ask Helan Jinming to send troops to rescue Xue Bai but failed, the arrow he shot on the city wall out of anger was no longer there.
His resentment towards Helan Jinming can also be eliminated. After all, the country is in trouble right now, and the most important thing is to work together to calm the chaos and make the people live and work in peace and contentment... The premise is that Helan Jinming is willing to cooperate.
After handing over the talisman and carrying the official document, Nan Jiyun led twenty people into the city. However, Nan Jiyun did not see Helan Jinming, and was only arranged to stay in the post house.
"This is a military emergency."
Nan Jiyun shook the document in his hand and said: "I want to see Prefect Helan immediately, otherwise I will delay the important task of suppressing the rebellion. Can you afford it?"
"The prefect has received the imperial decree and is busy raising supplies to send to Bianzhou. He also asked the general to wait for two days."
After receiving this answer, Nan Jiyun had nothing to say and suppressed his temper and waited in the post house.
On the other side, the government offices were still singing and dancing.
Helan Jinming was as elegant as ever, sitting on the main seat, but there was a little more thoughtfulness between his brows.
He was having a banquet with several aides, talking about the changes in the situation in the DPRK.
"A few days ago, I received a favor from the Supreme Emperor, and you all know the content. It was just to make us loyal to the Emperor of Chang'an. Among them, my attitude towards Xue Ni has changed."
One of the staff responded: "It must be Xue Ni who kidnapped the Supreme Emperor and issued the edict."
Someone else mused: "Perhaps the Supreme Emperor and the Saint put the overall situation first and recognized the son of the deposed Prince Ying. Now that the Crown Prince has been established and the throne has been determined, it is just one more prince and title, which will not hinder the state affairs."
"No." Helan Jinming frowned and said: "When I was in Hebei, the saint once issued a secret decree to me. Xue Ni pretended to be the emperor's grandson and colluded with Anlu Mountain to cause chaos in the world. Now this traitor will not be eliminated.
How can it be a good thing for the country to be high above the temple?"
He thought about his brother again and the grudge with Xue Bai. Now that Xue Bai is in power, he has not touched him for the time being. That is because Shi Siming's rebellion has not been settled, and Xue Bai chose to appease him first. But when Xue Bai took action
Come on, how can you let him go?
"Ming Gong, at present, the emperor and the saints do not speak out about Xue Ni's crimes. I am afraid it will be difficult for us to solve the big problem by ourselves."
"The reason why the Supreme Emperor and the Saint are like this is because the current situation is turbulent and it is not the time to question Xue Bai." Helan Jinming said, "But sooner or later there will be an edict ordering us to go to the capital to serve the king and eradicate this traitor."
At this point, he finally revealed his thoughts and said: "Therefore, we must not follow this imperial edict and let Xue Ni consume our money, food, and soldiers. Now we should accumulate strength and wait for the imperial edict to eliminate the traitors in the future."
"
Without the foreshadowing, Helan Jinming's words meant that he wanted to do both good and bad things, accumulate his own strength, and later raise an army to clear the emperor's side.
But when he was in Hebei before, he did have Li Longji's secret decree. Now he used it to prove that the Supreme Emperor had convicted Xue Bai of a serious crime, which showed that he was very loyal and worked hard.
Soon, everyone understood He Lan's idea of entering the Ming Dynasty. Only Huainan general Wang Zhongsheng had some doubts and asked: "Ming Gong, now Shi Siming is sending troops south. If we don't help Zhang Xun defend the city, what if Bianzhou is captured by the rebels?"
.”
Helan Jinming said, "Shi Siming didn't go south in the morning or in the evening. He went south at this time. He must be in collusion with Xue Ni. The Supreme Emperor has noticed it a long time ago, don't you understand?"
"The general understands!"
Wang Zhongsheng then bowed his hands and accepted, not daring to say more.
There was another general standing behind Wang Zhongsheng, named Liu Zhan, who also lowered his head after Wang Zhongsheng, but when he looked at this scene, there was a trace of sneer in his eyes, as if he had seen through the little thoughts of these people.
Everyone discussed for a while, and an aide reminded Helan to enter the Ming Dynasty. In order to avoid being blamed by the court, or to avoid being killed by Xue Ni, he should contact Henan Jiedushi and the successor Wu King Li Zhi to reach a consensus.
He Lanjin had frequent correspondence with Li Zhi tomorrow morning, and immediately wrote another letter, expressing his difficulties and worries in earnest words, and asking Li Zhi to guard against Xue Ni together with him.
…
Nan Jiyun waited in Ningling City for two days, and went to the canal dock to take a look and found that the Ningling defenders had not loaded the grain and grass in the warehouse at all.
He then realized that he had been deceived by Helan Jinming.
In anger, Nan Jiyun decided to question Helan Jinming again. When he held the handle of the knife, he saw his broken finger.
Last time at Helan Jinming's banquet, he had no choice but to cut off his fingers to leave. What could he do this time? He was a boatman by trade, so he actually couldn't think of many ideas.
So, he went to see Helan Jinming anyway.
Just like last time, there was still a banquet in the government office, and there was still the same singing and dancing. Even though it was snowing, there were still dancers singing and dancing, and their skin was looming under the gauze.
"General Nan is here again, please stay for a few more days." Helan Jinming said, "I have received the document from the imperial court and am making arrangements accordingly. Food, grass, baggage and reinforcements will arrive in Bianzhou soon."
"Prefect Helan will be a three-year-old child at the end of the day." Nan Jiyun frowned and said, "There is not even a grain ship on the canal. Is this what you said will be delivered soon?!"
"You are outrageous. I act in my own right. How can you spy on military affairs?!"
Nan Jiyun held up the official document and asked: "The rebels are about to cross the river, and the governor of Helan refuses to obey the order. Is he colluding with Shi Siming to rebel?!"
He pointed at the words on the official document with one finger and read word for word: "Anyone who dares to delay the military aircraft will be punished for treason."
Helan Jinming's eyes fell on the hand he was holding the official document on, and saw his missing middle finger. He regretted being shocked by him last time and letting him go. He couldn't make the same mistake twice.
"Come here, Nan Jiyun spied on the secret, capture it!"
"Who dares to touch me?!"
What's the difference between this visit and the last one? Nan Jiyun thinks it's because the name is different. He came with a document from the imperial court, and standing behind him was the governor of Bianzhou, King Yong, and the great righteousness.
Last time Helan Jinming refused his request for help because he was acting cheaply, but this time he was disobeying orders and resisting orders.
Nan Jiyun was undaunted, and turned to look at the soldiers who were about to step forward, and said loudly: "You went all the way south from Beihai County, don't you care about your parents, wives and children? Why don't you want to put down the rebellion as soon as possible and return to your hometown with honor?!"
"This is an official document from the imperial court. This is the only way to wipe out the bandits. If Helan Jinming dares to resist the decree, he will be dismissed from office. Do you want to follow him and suffer humiliation, or do you want to gain wealth and honor with Zhang, the governor of Bianzhou?!"
When Zhang Xun's name was mentioned, the soldiers couldn't help but stop.
Nowadays, in the Hehuai area, who knows that Zhang Xun resisted the rebels going south and expelled An Qingxu from Luoyang? Zhang Xun was promoted from county magistrate to governor, and he was obviously about to be promoted. Everyone who followed Zhang Xun also
There are rewards, which is much better than following Helan into the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, there were some soldiers from Beihai County who had followed Xue Bai in fierce battles with the rebels in the plains. They knew that Xue Bai had become King Yong, and they regretted it long ago.
So, everyone looked at each other and stopped trying to capture Nan Jiyun.
Nan Jiyun strode towards Helan Jinming, his expression cold and menacing.
At this moment, he remembered the vow he had made——
"I will leave an arrow today to show my ambition. When I return from defeating the thief, I will kill Helan and enter the Ming Dynasty!"
Feeling the murderous intent, Helan Jinming was stunned and quickly ordered the guards around him to stop him.
"Stop him!"
"puff."
Nan Jiyun rushed forward, grabbed a sword and beheaded one person. As blood spattered on the spot, everyone at the banquet screamed in fright and fled in all directions.
Helan Jinming did not dare to stay, so he turned around and ran away. While running, he kept giving orders.
"What are you doing standing still? Take down this murderer!"
Rushing to the courtyard, he happened to meet Wang Zhongsheng, Liu Zhan and others coming in armor. Helan was overjoyed and called for help repeatedly.
Nan Jiyun chased after him with his sword in hand, and shouted angrily: "He Lan refused to comply with the order of rebellion in the Ming Dynasty and delayed the military plane. Who dares to stop me and take someone away?!"
Helan Jinming then took out his old decree from his sleeve and shouted: "I didn't resist the decree, this is what I am..."
While he was talking, someone suddenly bumped into him.
It was Liu Zhan. He ran towards Helan Jinming. Perhaps he was too anxious and knocked down Helan Jinming.
"puff."
Before He Lan Jinming could unfold the old plan in his hands, he had already fallen backwards.
Nan Jiyun took advantage of the situation and thrust the knife in his hand into Helan Jinming's back. The white blade went in and the red blade came out.
He had nothing to fear from killing this so-called Hebei envoy. He had already been given an explanation.
"Anyone who ruins the military situation will be killed!"
Nan Jiyun kicked Helan Jinming's body down, threw away the bloody knife in his hand, raised the official document again, and shouted: "Who dares to disobey the imperial court's order?!"
~~
The post horse rushed and delivered an official document to Chang'an and delivered it to the lower province of Zhongshumen.
"Helan Jinming is dead?"
Yan Zhenqing read it, handed the document to Xue Bai opposite, and said, "Did you arrange it?"
If others asked, Xue Bai would definitely deny the matter, saying that it was an accident and the court failed to arrange new officials in advance to replace Helan Jinming.
But in fact, he did know for a long time that Nan Jiyun had a grudge against Helan Jinming, and planned to let Zhang Xun temporarily take charge of Bian and the Song Dynasty, so that soldiers, horses, money and food would not be restricted to deal with Shi Siming's attack.
Thinking about how to answer, Xue Bai responded slowly: "I can tolerate Helan's entry into the Ming Dynasty, but I will not allow anyone to dare to delay the suppression of the rebellion. Luoyang cannot be lost again. This time, we must minimize the impact of the rebellion. , then there must be power. The thorns that do not obey orders must be removed, and they must be removed as quickly as possible.”