As soon as Xue Bai arrived, the offensive faced by Heyang City immediately eased a lot.
The generals in the army did not know that it was Shi Siming's change of strategy, but they all thought that he had frightened Shi Siming, and they could not help but respect him more and more.
"King Yong alone is worth tens of thousands of reinforcements." While serving dinner, Yong Xihao sighed with emotion and asked curiously: "What do you think King Yong is here for? Can he fight better than the commander-in-chief?"
Li Riyue was not interested in this and said calmly: "Why are you asking about military information? Are you a rebellious craftsman?"
"I...you, a subordinate general, said that I am a craftsman?"
The generals were chatting casually on the school grounds. On top of the city, Xue Bai and Li Guangbi were walking and discussing matters.
Li Guangbi was not enthusiastic about Xue Bai's arrival. As the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, he hoped that Xue Bai, the nominal marshal, would only be responsible in name.
"Prince Yong is just out of town in Luoyang. When he comes to Heyang, aren't he afraid that others will say you stretch your hand too far?"
"Counterinsurgency is a big deal, how can we care what others say?"
Li Guangbi said: "The layout has already been arranged, unless you don't trust me."
Xue Bai stopped, looked at the rebel camp to the north, and bluntly laid out his plan, saying: "I am trying to drive a wedge between Shi Siming and his son, and try to encourage Shi Chaoyi to kill his father and seize the throne."
"Um?"
Li Guangbi was surprised to hear such an unexpected plan and asked, "Why do you have such an idea?"
Xue Bai didn't know what he was thinking, so he answered after a while: "I think it can be done."
"Because of An Qingxu?" Li Guangbi asked, "After you captured An Lushan, did An Qingxu really kill him?"
"yes."
Li Guangbi said: "I thought it was Shi Siming who framed him."
Xue Bai recalled this incident. At the time, he thought he had changed a lot of things, but he later realized that the struggle for power had not changed. In an era when fathers and sons were accustomed to killing each other, if someone started, others would follow suit and betray.
People often die of betrayal.
"There were also conflicts between Shi Siming and his son. I made people intensify their conflicts and encouraged Shi Chaoyi to kill Shi Siming."
"It sounds too mysterious." Li Guangbi still didn't believe that this could happen.
Xue Bai said: "How about making a bet?"
"What to bet on?"
"If I accomplish this, you and I will be sworn brothers?" Xue Bai turned his head and looked at Li Guangbi's gray beard under his chin.
"Prince Yong is the emperor's nephew, how can I dare to reach out to him?"
"I knew you would refuse, so I had to make a bet. If you are willing to bet, just admit defeat." Xue Bai said, "It will work out and the rebellion will go smoothly. You have an extra brother, so why not?"
Li Guangbi hesitated and asked, "What if King Yong's plan fails?"
"Then I consider you my adopted brother."
Li Guangbi laughed dumbly, shook his head, thought for a while, and said: "If I am lucky enough to bet correctly, King Yong will promise me that he will never mess with the Tang Dynasty, okay?"
"good."
"It's a deal."
The two high-fived each other on the city wall as an oath, and Li Guangbi began to send detective horses to harass the rebel camp. In fact, it was for the convenience of conveying news to Yan Zhuang.
Soon, the news came back, and Shi Siming's route map for decentralizing his troops to go south to Jianghuai and plunder was drawn and hung in the Heyang camp.
"More than ten soldiers and horses, I'm afraid it will be difficult to stop them."
"Then there will be no resistance. We will attack and defend. If we attack, we will save them."
Li Guangbi then clicked on Shangdang County on the map and said: "Let Guo Ziyi defeat Cai Xide as soon as possible and send troops to Xiangzhou, then Shi Siming can only return reinforcements."
Xue Bai didn't want to repeat the old story of Li Longji forcing An Lushan to fight, so he asked: "Is there any chance of fighting?"
Li Guangbi smiled rarely and asked: "All the generals under Shi Siming are preparing to go to the Jianghuai River to plunder the children of gold and silk. How can Cai Xide be determined to guard against Guo Ziyi?"
As soon as he said this, Xue Bai felt confident and said, "My sworn brother is still thoughtful."
"The bet has not yet come to fruition, so we should not be called this by King Yong."
Li Guangbi did not dare to get involved with Xue Bai, lest he be regarded as a party to King Yong, so he quickly distanced himself from him and wrote a letter to Guo Ziyi.
~~
Yan army camp.
Shi Siming was busy with military affairs that day, but Zhou Zhi came over and whispered a few words.
"Your Majesty, there are some rumors in the army that Your Majesty wants to withdraw from Fan Yang..."
After hearing this, Shi Siming immediately expressed hesitation and asked: "Where did the words come from?"
Zhou Zhi was very embarrassed and did not dare to answer.
"I let you say it!"
"I'm guilty." Zhou Zhi knelt on the ground, "It's not that I have any quarrel with King Huai. I just follow your majesty's wishes and want to be friendly with King Huai. I just repay the truth according to the truth."
At this point, Shi Siming already knew who had spread the rumor. He was furious and shouted: "Call that traitor!"
Soon, Shi Chaoyi was brought to the tent again and knelt on the ground.
"I'm asking you, but you told the general that I will return to Fan Yang?"
"My son..."
Shi Chaoyi was suddenly sweating profusely.
He didn't understand how it could reach Shi Siming's ears so quickly, even though he had only spoken to a few people he trusted most.
Glancing at Zhou Zhi secretly, he knew that Zhou Zhi must have planted an informant around him. This villain was really hateful.
"You still dare to look at it?!" Seeing his sneaky look, Shi Siming knew that he was resentful and shouted: "You did something wrong, do you blame others?!"
Shi Chaoyi still wanted to quibble, but his back was already in severe pain and he was whipped.
A new wound was added to the scar that had just healed.
But he was not convinced in his heart. Shi Siming clearly wanted to return to Fan Yang. He was the only one who kept this matter secret. Now he was just angry at being exposed and used it as an excuse.
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
The whip wounds crawled all over Shi Chaoyi's back like centipedes.
In the evening, Yan Zhuang held the golden medicine in his hand, applied it carefully, and said with emotion: "How can your Majesty be willing to commit such a deadly act? Your Majesty, you are his biological son!"
"Since I was a kid, he thought I was a drag."
Shi Chaoyi is also a grown-up man, and when talking about these old things, he actually looks sad.
Yan Zhuang was a good listener. He listened while applying the medicine, and sighed with emotion from time to time, which made Shi Chaoyi's emotions even more ups and downs. Afterwards, he even shed tears.
"My father used to be a slave, selling prisoners of war to nobles. My mother-in-law was a slave girl who was sold by him. He took her and wanted to sell her for a good price. As a result, she was not sold yet.
Mom, he got into trouble and ran away from it."
Yan Zhuang heard about Shi Siming's escape and planned to deceive King Xi. He captured General Xi and offered him to Zhang Shougui, who became a general of the Tang Dynasty.
Shi Chaoyi continued: "Later, when he came back after performing meritorious service, my mother-in-law had given birth to me. Counting the time, she was very sure that I was his son, but he always felt that I was not like him. I was too tolerant and good at
Reading, gentle and elegant. A few years after I was born, my mother-in-law died after being tortured, and within two days, my father married the daughter of the Xin family, a wealthy family in Youzhou."
He said with a sneer on his face, and said: "My father often told people that when he had nothing, Mrs. Xin accidentally met him and begged his parents to marry him, and gave him a generous dowry.
.In fact, on the other hand, it was my father who became lustful as soon as he saw the Xin family. He came to visit her for many days. The Xin family couldn't do anything about him, and they also liked his talents, so they had no choice but to marry a daughter. After they got married, they gave birth to a child.
Son and daughter, my father loves them more than me."
"well."
"The reason why my father only appointed me as King Huai is because he loves his youngest son Shi Chaoqing more." Shi Chaoyi's eyes were filled with tears, "As soon as you said that he wanted to return to Fan Yang, but you hid it from me, I knew that he was determined.
My heart is to establish the history and the Qing Dynasty."
Yan Zhuang's eyes were filled with light. He put his finger into the medicine box and applied the ointment fiercely. He said, "Your Majesty, you don't know how to cherish it. You have such a good son like Your Highness. If it were An Qingxu who was treated like this, he would have killed his father and become a self-reliant person."
.”
"An Qingxu?"
Shi Chaoyi murmured this name, and the image of An Qingxu before his death appeared in his mind.
Originally, he thought they had become two completely different people, but at this moment, he suddenly admired An Qingxu's courage and courage.
"I made a mistake. Your Highness, please rest."
Yan Zhuang stood up and exited the big tent.
He looked into the distance and heard that the stables were quieter than usual tonight. The soldiers and horses sent by Shi Siming to rob various places in the Jianghuai River had already set off one after another today.
Without further ado.
Yan Zhuang thought for a while, but instead of walking to his tent, he went to the camp of Shi Chaoyi's trusted general.
Luo Yue, Cai Wenjing and others were drinking dejectedly. When they were ordered to attack Bianzhou, they followed Shi Chaoyi to attack Luoyang without authorization and returned in defeat. They had been severely punished and now was the most frustrated time.
As soon as he saw Yan Zhuang coming, he immediately hugged him and asked, "How is King Huai?"
"The injury is serious." Yan Zhuang sighed, looked around, and sat down next to the fire.
Luo Yue understood and drove away the rest, leaving only a few trustworthy people.
"Mr. Yan, King Huai has always been kind to us. What mistakes did he make that caused Your Majesty to punish him so many times?!"
"King Huai's only mistake was that he was displeased by His Majesty."
"What does Mr. Yan mean?"
Yan Zhuang looked troubled and said, "I shouldn't have said anything about this."
Luo Yue came closer and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Yan, no one else will know."
"Oh, well, after your Majesty whipped King Huai today, he whispered a few words to me and Zhou Zhi."
Yan Zhuang spoke in deep thought, but did not finish the sentence in one breath, which made the generals scratch their heads and scratch their heads.
He tried their patience and aroused their emotions, and then continued: "Your Majesty said, 'The more I look at him, the less like my son King Huai is.'"
As soon as these words came out, all the generals were shocked. Luo Yue said angrily: "How could your Majesty say such a thing?"
Yan Zhuang was silent for a while, looking at them, his eyes gradually filled with pity.
"Mr. Yan? What's wrong?"
"I don't want to say anything, but... generals, please run for your lives."
Luo Yue was shocked and asked: "Your Majesty really wants to kill King Huai?!"
He was very smart and had already expected this. He also knew that people like him would not be able to escape once Shi Chaoyi died.
Cai Wenjing said: "How could he... take tiger poison and still not eat its seeds?"
Luo Yue looked ugly and said, "As I said just now, your Majesty has never regarded Prince Huai as his biological son."
Yan Zhuang sighed: "It seems that the general also knows your Majesty's intention. He is determined to make the legitimate son of Queen Xin the heir apparent."
"What should I do? Please save me, Mr. Yan."
"What can I do?" Yan Zhuang said, "Xue E, who used to stay for Your Majesty, is not here. Let's escape while the camp is not well-defended."
He patted his knees, stood up calmly, said no more, and returned to his tent.
In the tent, there was a person waiting there. When he saw Yan Zhuang coming back, he quickly saluted and whispered: "Sir, King Huai asked me to invite you over."
Yan Zhuang frowned, thinking that not long after he left, Shi Chaoyi wanted to meet again. It seemed that he had already figured it out.
~~
At this time, in Shi Chaoyi's tent, several close generals were surrounding him to advise him.
"Your Highness, if you don't take action, your Highness and we will both die!"
"How could I do this?"
Shi Chaoyi lay on the couch, burying his face and crying endlessly.
Luo Yue had no choice but to say again: "Abolition has happened since ancient times. We just want to ask your Majesty to abdicate and let you, Your Highness, take over. This is what the military wants."
Shi Chaoyi still didn't dare to agree, so he turned his head and glanced outside, waiting for Yan Zhuang to come.
However, Luo Yue knew that the matter could not be delayed and said: "If Your Highness really can't bear it, we can only surrender to the Tang Dynasty to save our lives."
He immediately knelt down on the ground, said goodbye to Shi Chaoyi, and cried loudly: "When I leave, I will no longer be able to serve His Highness. If we meet again in the future, I will be your enemy."
Shi Chaoyi was frightened and moved. He quickly struggled to get up and helped Luo Yue up, saying: "I have lost my grandpa's love, how can I let down your loyalty again?!"
"Your Highness agreed?"
"Please general, please handle it properly and don't scare grandpa."
Luo Yue was overjoyed when he got the promise, and kowtowed: "General, we will definitely get it done!"
He immediately returned to camp and quietly ordered three hundred elite soldiers.
Over there, Cai Wenjing has sent people to investigate, and it is Shi Siming's general Cao You who is on duty tonight.
In the name of Shi Chaoyi, they sent someone to summon Cao Wei.
As soon as Cao You arrived, Luo Yue and others immediately put a knife on his neck and said: "General Cao, your majesty is jealous and cruel and kills innocent people indiscriminately. We are not satisfied and kill them at every turn; King Huai is kind and generous and cherishes his soldiers. Today
If we want to support King Huai, how about we invite the generals to join us in our achievements?"
"I guessed what you were going to do before I came," Cao You said, "but I came anyway."
Luo Yue was overjoyed when he heard this. He put down his sword and asked, "General, are you willing to work with us to achieve great things?"
Cao Wan said: "Your Majesty woke up from a nightmare at night and asked me, 'I dreamed of a herd of deer crossing the water. The deer died and the water dried up. What's the explanation?' I didn't dare to answer, but I knew that this was a warning from God. Your Majesty's royal aura
It’s over.”
"Okay, let's go!"
Several people immediately rushed to Shi Siming's tent.
The guards who were on duty outside the tent immediately stopped them, and Cao You shouted: "You even dare to stop me?!"
The guards became frightened and stopped trying to stop him.
Luo Yue acted decisively and without saying a word, he immediately led his troops into the tent. Some of the attendants were startled and shouted: "Who dares to break in..."
"puff."
After the blood spattered, Luo Yue slashed several times and rushed to Shi Siming's bed. After a closer look, he was shocked and surprised to find that Shi Siming was not in the tent.
"What's going on?!"
"Hey!"
Suddenly there was a horse neighing, Luo Yue turned around and saw a figure stepping onto Shi Siming's horse, whipping and trying to escape.
"Stop him!"
Luo Yue knew very well that there was no turning back when he opened his bow. If he couldn't succeed tonight, he would definitely die. Therefore, he straightened his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot down the figure on horseback with one arrow.
Immediately afterwards, he drew his sword and strode forward to capture Shi Siming.
"Your Majesty, I'm offended."
The next moment, Luo Yue was shocked, because he looked under the moonlight and saw that the person hit by the arrow on the ground was not Shi Siming at all.
"puff."
His arm felt cold, and the arm holding the knife was cut off with one knife.
In severe pain, he fell to the ground, turned around and saw Cao Xuan walking over with a proud look on his face, carrying a Mo knife, and put the knife on his neck.
"I guessed what you were going to do before I went over there." Cao Hang shouted: "You are so brave, how dare you make trouble?!"
"puff."
The sound of dense footsteps came, and soon, the sounds of knives and axes striking flesh and screams could be heard.
Shi Siming personally led the guards to surround them and mercilessly killed the three hundred elite soldiers brought by Luo Yue.
The area around the big tent suddenly became a hell on earth, with flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Finally, with the horse's hooves treading a pool of blood, Shi Siming drove his horse to Luo Yue and asked: "Who instigated you to cause chaos?"
"No one... no one instructs..."
Shi Siming then swung the knife gently and deftly, and cut off Luo Yue's other arm.
Amidst the screams, he did not ask Luo Yue anymore, but turned to Cai Wenjing and asked: "Who instigated you to cause chaos?"
"Huai...huai Wang."
"puff."
Shi Siming got the answer and cut off Luo Yue's neck with one clean stroke.
"Bring that bastard here!"
~~
There was a loud sound.
Shi Chaoyi was held down and his knees hit the ground full of blood.
He was frightened and couldn't wait to explain: "Father, this matter was definitely not my instruction! I never agreed..."
"Crack!"
Shi Siming stepped forward and slapped Shi Chaoyi with such force that he fell to the ground.
"If you dare to do something, and I appreciate that you are courageous, maybe I will make you the crown prince."
Shi Chaoyi didn't know whether to believe this or not, and was stunned and didn't dare to speak.
Shi Siming had already picked him up, with an angry look on his face, and asked, "Do you know what makes me most angry tonight?"
"I really didn't instigate it!" Shi Chaoyi was already crying in fear.
"You are stupid, you are stupid, you are weak and incompetent. I have long been accustomed to these things. What annoys me the most is that you are unworthy! You are not like my son at all. You have no ambition. If you have any ambition, you should put that little bit of ambition behind you.
My mind is devoted to conquering the world. If you and I take Chang'an and then kill my father, I will treat you as Li Shimin and die in peace!"
"My son doesn't dare, my son doesn't have one!"
"waste!"
Shi Siming threw away the trash in his hand and said contemptuously: "After all, you can't help me achieve my great cause."
He stood up, took the long knife, and wanted to kill the son himself.
Zhou Zhi hurriedly caught up, knelt in front of Shi Chaoyi, and advised: "No, no! Your Majesty must not imitate the name of a cowardly king who kills his son. Please put King Huai under house arrest and give him another chance to change his ways."
At this moment, it seems that he is the only one who still remembers that Shi Siming asked him to live in harmony with King Huai.
"Kill him?" Shi Siming said: "It wasn't me who killed him, it was him! Bring him here."
After a while, Geng Renzhi led a team and escorted several people up, but the ones being escorted were Yan Zhuang, Wu Chengen, and their entourage.
Yan Zhuang originally thought he was going to see Shi Chaoyi tonight, but he was taken into custody after only a few steps. He didn't understand where he had exposed his secret, but when he saw Geng Renzhi and Wu Chengen, he finally understood.
These two people were both people who played an important role when Li Heng recruited Shi Siming, and the purpose of Yan Zhuang's mission was to declare to them and let them assassinate Shi Siming. Presumably, Shi Siming found out from them
Got a clue.
But Yan Zhuang was very cautious, thinking that the time was not right, so he never contacted these two people, and even the decree was burned. So what happened?
"Your Majesty, this is the edict from the Tang court to Wu Cheng'en." Geng Renzhi picked up a secret edict and handed it to Shi Siming.
When Yan Zhuang heard this, he was greatly surprised. He stared at the edict, wondering why there was such a thing. Since King Yong secretly ordered him to carry out the alienation plan, why bother to do this?
I saw Shi Siming read the secret decree and threw it in Wu Chengen's face.
"What a great Fan Yang, Pinglu Jiedushi! How can I feel sorry for you? You want to betray me like this?!"
"I am guilty, I deserve to die." Wu Chengen kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, calm down, this is a conspiracy of the Tang court."
Shi Siming gave Shi Chaoyi a hard look and said, "Listen to me... you tell me!"
He pointed to a follower behind Wu Chengen.
The attendant's knees immediately weakened and he knelt down on the ground, saying: "The villain is here to convey the decree to Wu Cheng'en on the orders of the Holy Lord...the Lord of the Tang Dynasty. He hopes to recruit Wu Cheng'en to surrender."
Geng Renzhi sighed and said to Shi Chaoyi sadly: "King Huai, you have fallen into a trap. Wu Cheng'en and I both obtained the Tang court's secret decree. After questioning, we found out that the Tang court had issued a similar decree before. Then
It must have been carried by Yan Zhuang. If you check his whereabouts again, you will know that he wants to alienate you, but you... alas!"
Only then did Yan Zhuang realize how he had been exposed.
It must have been that the Lord of the Tang Dynasty took advantage of King Yong's absence and began to reach out to the government. At this time, instead of consulting with King Yong, Guo Ziyi, and Li Guangbi, he chose to let Wu Cheng'en save Fan Yang and Pinglu. It seemed stupid, but in fact there was something hidden behind it.
Deep meaning.
For the Lord of the Tang Dynasty, firstly, it can calm down the war as soon as possible and relieve the military power of King Yong; secondly, Wu Chengen can lead Hebei to compete with King Yong; thirdly, it can establish the Lord of Tang's own prestige and avoid the reputation of counterinsurgency.
The general's achievements surpass those of his master.
I can only regret that when I was about to achieve great things, I met such a foolish king who was holding me back.
"Hunjun!"
Yan Zhuang was extremely angry and cursed: "The Tang Dynasty has such a foolish king, and his strength is exhausted. I should really assist Dayan to capture Chang'an in one fell swoop and kill the Li family!"
Shi Chaoyi's eyes widened, surprised at Yan Zhuang's reaction so quickly, and cursed: "Traitor, you are trying to drive a wedge between me and my grandpa with your sweet words."
"Your Majesty." Yan Zhuang knelt and moved forward, saying: "Recruit all the guilty ministers. The guilty ministers were ordered by Xue Bai and they acted like this as a last resort. The guilty ministers are useful and can reveal many secrets of the Tang army!"
"I still want to live after you have caused misery? Traitor!" Shi Chaoyi said sadly: "Master, it was all caused by him and has nothing to do with me!"
"Even now, you still don't understand." Shi Siming said coldly, "I want to take over the world, and I only care about who can help me take over the world."
After saying that, he stepped forward with the knife without hesitation and stabbed Shi Chaoyi to death.
"Well."
Shi Chaoyi's eyes widened and he couldn't believe that his grandfather would actually kill him with his own hands.
Father and son looked at each other.
There was no reluctance in Shi Siming's eyes, only relief.
He finally got rid of the fear of dying at the hands of his son. In fact, he had long realized that the eldest son would one day kill him and seize power.
When did this idea come from? Maybe it was the day Shi Chaoyi interceded for An Qingxu, maybe earlier, maybe it was the day he strangled Shi Chaoyi's biological mother to death, maybe it was because he had heard that Li Longji killed three sons in one day...
…
In short, no one can take away his throne of Great Yan Emperor.
"I didn't kill my son, it was Xue Bai who killed my son." Shi Siming then showed grief and said loudly: "Those who violate military law will be killed!"
The generals were solemn.
Shi Siming pointed to Yan Zhuang again and said: "Torture him severely, break his brain to pieces, and write down everything he knows."
"Here!"
The wind blew with the smell of blood, but tonight's events were not over yet. There were still more Shi Chaoyi's henchmen in the army who had not been purged, and they had to be killed.
However, besides the smell of blood, there seemed to be the sound of horse hooves in the wind.
Shi Siming was about to walk towards the tent when he suddenly turned around. Out of a beast-like intuition, he felt the tremor of war.
"Enemy attack!"
As if in response to his prophecy, the long horn of the Tang Army suddenly sounded, making people cry like they were complaining.
"Woo——"
Shi Siming has always longed for a decisive battle with Li Guangbi. On this night when his son died, the decisive battle he longed for came, and the enemy who killed his son, Xue Bai, also came.