When Liu Xiangchang, who was left behind in Yanjing, saw Shi Chaoqing's three thousand cavalry running out of the city gate, he couldn't help but sigh. But on the other hand, he also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the violent and terrifying atmosphere had eased a lot, and he could finally get the chance.
It was peaceful for half a day.
He liked elegant things, so he returned home and summoned a dancing girl to sing and dance for him.
The popular tunes in Yanjing City all come from Xue Bai. Although this son was an enemy of Yan, the Yan court could not prohibit his poetry. After all, the Emperor of Yan liked poetry and was a famous poet.
The reason why Xue Bai is called "Xue Bai" instead of "Li Qian" here has a lot to do with his poems.
The song ends.
The dancer with bare white thighs turned her waist and sang the last line with an independent attitude.
"When I suddenly looked back, that person was there, in a dimly lit place."
Liu Xiangchang clasped his hands with great joy, picked up the golden cup and took a sip of wine, thinking that in the past he had the ambition to help the world, but now he was living among the barbarians, doing the things of animals. Looking back suddenly, he was filled with sadness.
But when the sage captured Chang'an, captured a great scholar like Xue Bai, and wrote poems to Yanxiao, it was actually the same.
Thinking about this while holding the gold cup in his hand, feeling the dancer touching his face with the tulle, and smelling the faint fragrance, Liu Xiangchang was about to do something more elegant.
"Alang!"
Suddenly, the sound of a report disturbed his elegance.
"Li Guiren has retreated in defeat, and more than a thousand riders are calling for the door at the foot of the city."
"So fast?"
Liu Xiangchang quickly got up and rushed to the tower. Looking down, although he saw Li Guiren's flag, he saw no one.
He frowned and refused to open the city gate. He only asked the soldiers to put down the hanging basket and let the envoy come up to speak.
The envoy went to the top of the city, handed over Li Guiren's command talisman, and said: "I have seen the left-behind officers. Xiongwu City cannot be defended. The general is personally cutting off the rear. Please open the city gate and let us enter the city to strengthen the defense."
Liu Xiangchang took the order and verified it, and it was indeed true. He thought for a while, waved to the envoy and asked the envoy to follow him for a few steps, and went to a quiet place to talk.
"Tell me first, how many officers and soldiers are there?"
"Tang General Feng Changqing led more than 5,000 Anxi cavalry and more than 10,000 Fan Yang soldiers of the rebel general Tian Chengsi, and they were rushing to the capital to kill."
"You don't have to hide it from me." Liu Xiangchang said, "You are officers and soldiers, right? If you are really under Li Guiren, how can you be so polite to me?"
He saw at a glance the Tang army's plan to deceive the city. When he saw that the other party did not answer, he said again: "You only have a thousand people, but there are tens of thousands of fierce soldiers in Youzhou City. How can you control them after entering the city?"
?”
"According to Liu Gong's opinion?"
"I have long wanted to surrender to the imperial court. If the imperial court can grant me the post of Jiedu Envoy, I will give up the secret and surrender to the bright. In addition, I have a few small conditions..."
The envoy could not make the decision, so he went down from the city and returned to the army, where he informed Zhang Guangsheng of Liu Xiangchang's intention.
"Liu Xiangchang said that he could surrender, but he could not let the general enter the city to avoid panic among the soldiers and civilians in the city. But he could block the city gate and prevent Shi Chaoqing from entering the city. When Wang Shi defeated Shi Chaoqing and his son, he would change his flag and return to the Tang Dynasty.
, then the imperial court will only need to grant him the title of Military Envoy of Fan Yang, and he will ensure Fan Yang's stability."
Zhang Guangsheng sat astride the saddle and listened silently, his eyes gradually showing displeasure.
He traveled thousands of miles to attack Fan Yang, not just to establish another military governor of Fan Yang who would support his troops and respect himself. He allowed the soldiers to go through life and death to the last step, how could he allow others to take away the final results?
But he pondered for a long time and then said: "Tell him, I promise him."
"General?"
"This matter is important." Zhang Guangsheng said, "I need to go to the city in person to discuss it with him."
So the envoys went to the top of the city twice. After discussion, Liu Xiangchang allowed Zhang Guangsheng to lead thirty guards to the top of the city.
In Liu Xiangchang's view, this was an unknown person, and it was normal for him to be timid, but unlike him, he had to deal with brutal and brutal Hu generals all the time.
He didn't pay much attention to Zhang Guangsheng, but was worried that Zhang Guangsheng was of low status and power and could not make the decision, so he threatened him a few times.
"Time is running out. When Shi Chaoqing comes back, I will annihilate you and others. As long as you agree to my conditions, I will lead the city back to the Tang Dynasty."
"If Liu Gong is willing to surrender, it will be a blessing." Zhang Guangsheng said, "The imperial court will naturally praise Liu Gong for his great achievements."
Liu Xiangchang smiled while stroking his beard, and then inquired about news from various sources, asking: "Did Feng Changqing really capture Xiongwu City?"
"certainly."
"Xiongwu City is well-fortified, but I didn't expect it to be conquered by officers and soldiers so quickly."
"After the New Year, Shi Siming was defeated in Heyang. When Li Guiren heard the news, he felt uncertain and his fighting spirit was not strong. In addition, we have Tian Chengsi, the surrendered general, leading the way. Tian Chengsi and a man from Xiongwu City
The generals were familiar with each other, so they contacted each other secretly."
Zhang Guangsheng then talked in detail about the experience of capturing Xiongwu City.
Liu Xiangchang also knew that Tian Chengsi surrendered to Xue Bai at Xiangji Temple, so he asked: "What happens next?"
"Then, Tian Chengsi climbed to the top of the city with the support..."
Zhang Guangsheng pointed at the city wall and talked about the siege situation at that time, and Liu Xiangchang looked over.
Suddenly, a cold light flashed.
Zhang Guangsheng quickly pulled out the knife, grabbed Liu Xiangchang's head with one hand, and cut his neck like a chicken.
"puff."
Blood spurted out, frightening the surrounding Yan soldiers.
But the most intimidating thing is Zhang Guangsheng's confident temperament. He is in the enemy formation and is at risk of being hacked to death by the Yan army's swords at any time, but he is very experienced in this area, and he glances at him with his cold eyes.
, Liu Xiangchang’s head was cut off and held high.
"The King's Master has arrived. Surrender to avoid punishment, otherwise you will be executed for treason!"
The surrounding Yan soldiers were shocked and surrendered one after another.
Zhang Guangsheng immediately ordered people to open the city gate, let his troops enter the city, and took control of the west gate.
He immediately sent his generals to capture the other three city gates.
Not long after, the confidant Shi Siming left behind in the city got the news from Xiang Runke, and quickly ordered the brave general Xin Wannian to guard the palace, and sent general Wei Minghe to recapture the west gate.
The two sides then fought in the streets of the city.
Although Zhang Guangsheng is not afraid of Wei Minghe, time is passing by little by little. By the time Shi Chaoqing returns with his troops, if he still cannot control all the city gates, Shi Chaoqing will be able to enter the city through other gates.
~~
Along the Sanggan River, the grass is green and everything is revived.
More than a hundred horses were running wildly with their hooves spread, and the things under their crotches were getting longer and longer, swaying.
They waded across the river in the shallow water, and a group of mares were drinking water by the river. They saw a male horse running towards them, and some of the mares raised their hooves to show their refusal.
"Eh."
The stallion opened his mouth and looked up to the sky and roared, showing off his majesty. The mare allowed him to stretch her neck and come over to sniff...
"Hahaha."
Shi Chaoqing was worried that his grandpa's beloved horse had gotten lost, so he led his men to chase it. When he saw this scene, he couldn't help laughing.
In the distance, a woman washing clothes by the river was alarmed by the huge battle. She picked up her wooden basin and wanted to run away. Shi Chaoqing clapped his horse forward and shot down one of the men with a single arrow.
While they were hunting, some soldiers who had fled from the west ran over and told them that Xiongwucheng had been defeated and that the Tang army had pursued and killed Li Guiren.
"Is this happening?!"
Before Shi Chaoqing could figure out where the Tang army had gone, he suddenly heard the shouts of the horsemen.
But someone on the other side of the river whistled and used ponies to attract the mares away, and his magnificent stallions also followed him.
"Fell into a trap!"
Shi Chaoqing was furious and finally realized something was wrong. He immediately sent people to chase the horse back, and at the same time turned around and ran back to Yanjing City.
Running wildly all the way, they saw from a distance that the flag of the Tang army had been replaced at the top of the city. The soldiers of Yanjing were immediately shocked and could not believe that the Tang army had captured the city of Yanjing so quickly.
"You." Shi Chaoqing pointed at a few generals and shouted: "Take people to other city gates to see!"
Relying on his bravery, he rode his horse to the bottom of the city, drew his bow and arrow, and shot at a defender on the top of the city.
Shooting from bottom to top at this distance, he actually hit one person.
"I am the Crown Prince of Dayan. If you dare to betray me, I will cook you into rotten meat!"
Many soldiers on the city wall who had just surrendered to the Tang army became anxious again and did not dare to shoot arrows at Shi Chaoqing.
Everyone has endured his cruelty for a long time and has a deep fear of him. Even if they want to resist, it is difficult to muster the courage. Today's Tang army is an opportunity, but the Tang army has few soldiers, and it seems that people have not mustered up enough courage.
courage.
Shi Chaoqing was able to show off his power and return to the formation.
After a while, his personal guard general Cao Minzhi rushed back and said: "Prince, the Tang army has captured the south gate, but the east gate is still resisting!"
"Follow me into the city!"
Shi Chaoqing rushed into the east city and found that Xin Wannian was fighting with the Tang army in the streets. He immediately led his troops to support him and the two sides fought in Fanyang City.
By the evening, the Tang army was gradually losing its strength.
Shi Chaoqing couldn't help but be very proud, feeling that his martial arts skills were extraordinary and he was worthy of being Shi Siming's favorite son.
But the Tang army seemed to be very difficult to bite. They were clearly trapped in a heavy siege, but they refused to retreat. The Tang general's flag pressed towards Shi Chaoqing several times. This made Shi Chaoqing feel dangerous and didn't understand what the opponent had in store.
Confidence.
He then began to suspect that someone among his personal guards was secretly communicating with the Tang army.
In fact, the reason why he did those cruel things in the past was because he felt that he was too young to suppress others and had to make them afraid of him.
At this moment, a soldier rushed to his side and said: "Prince, Feng Changqing's troops have arrived."
"So fast?"
Shi Chaoqing felt that the Tang army was advancing rapidly and without losing any step, and he immediately felt a little weak.
No matter how cruel and violent he was in the past, he quickly gave in when faced with a tough situation and said: "Retreat to the palace!"
This means giving up the outer city perimeter.
Once he gave up, he could only wait until Shi Siming returned to the army to relieve the siege. Fortunately, there was a lot of money and food in the palace, and Shi Chaoqing was able to hold on.
"Back off!" he shouted fiercely: "Back off!"
The order was sent to the front. Wei Minghe, the general of the Yan army, was fighting fiercely with the Tang army. When he saw the soldiers behind him retreating, he was caught off guard and quickly reined in the reins to retreat. With a "pop", the head fell to the ground.
"Kill! Kill!"
Tang Jun shouted loudly and was very excited.
As the war drums continued to beat, a large army came from the west.
Feng Changqing's main force arrived in time, entered the city directly, and began to control Youzhou City.
As the chief general of the Tang army, Feng Changqing's role in this battle seemed very small. He relied entirely on Zhang Guangsheng to attack and capture the city. But killing people is easy, but convincing people is difficult. Since Feng Changqing took Xiongwu City, he has gathered all the way.
Lowering the soldiers and appeasing the people essentially stabilized the north and provided Zhang Guangsheng with support.
The two of them have already cooperated like this a long time ago.
At this dusk, Zhang Guangsheng stood in Fanyang City covered in blood, with murderous intent in his eyes. His anger was not extinguished by the retreat of the rebels, but became even more intense.
He was already red-eyed, his past failures and humiliations were in his mind, and he wanted to go on a killing spree.
At this time, Feng Changqing's palm gently patted his shoulder.
"Victory."
"Finally won."
Zhang Guangsheng loosened his grip and dropped the knife to the ground. His eyes turned red and he burst into tears.
Looking back at his life, he has had incomparable brilliance, but he has also fallen into the dust, failed to recover, and suffered defeat after defeat. He relied on his generals to sacrifice their lives to survive, cut off his face, abandoned his name, and hid in the darkness where no one knew and waited.
No one can understand the suffering he went through for today's victory.
There were countless times when he thought he would never win another battle.
Feng Changqing was also very emotional. He didn't care about Xue Bai's good for anything else, but Xue Bai's people rescued his old friend and benefactor in Tongguan, so he had to accept this sentiment.
He picked up the knife on the ground and said with relief: "I won't kill you anymore, this is not the Western Region."
Zhang Guangsheng turned his head to the west and looked at the sunset on the horizon. He walked over there without saying anything. Rather than boasting about his military exploits, he now preferred to watch the sunset alone... He was used to it.
~~
"Tell the people that when the king's army enters the city, no one will commit any crime. For rebel generals, those who surrender will be exempted from death penalty, and those who surrender the thief's head will retain their titles."
Feng Changqing is different from Zhang Guangsheng. He has a different style. He is calm and considers the overall situation. After entering the city, he immediately issued orders to calm the people.
In his opinion, it is not important how many people are killed now. What is important is to pacify Fan Yang as quickly as possible and send troops south to defeat Shi Siming. If the officers and soldiers can win a big victory, completely eliminate the rebellion and restore the prestige of the imperial court, Hebei's people will be happy.
Able to settle down temporarily.
At the same time, he also had a tough side and ordered "Anyone who dares to take advantage of the chaos, regardless of the Tang army rebels, will be killed without mercy!"
There was a chaos in the city. The rebels looted gold and silk and many people fled for their lives. Feng Changqing personally led his troops to kill them and hung their heads on the city gate to show his authority.
With such kindness and power, the fighting soon stopped. By noon the next day, the Yanjing generals surrendered, and the outer city quickly fell under Feng Changqing's control.
Only those in the palace were still stubbornly resisting.
Feng Changqing was not in a hurry. He counted the money and food while maintaining order, and at the same time sent people to recruit Xiang Yuan's guests.
The messenger went to the palace wall and shot the surrender letter into the palace.
I received a letter from Xiang Runke and asked General Xin Wannian to discuss it.
"Feng Changqing had Shi Chaoqing killed and surrendered. He said that he would retain his official title, but he refused to retain the position of Zhongshu Shilang given to me by the saint. He only restored my position as a judge in the Tang court. It is too deceiving."
Although Xin Wannian had a Han name, he was actually a Hu man. He had been a Tibetan slave of Queen Xin's family in his early years. Because of his bravery and loyalty, he was given the surname "Xin" and was given this name.
When he saw Xiang Runke acting like this, he became wavering. He knew that the Yan Kingdom was in ruins, but he was not willing to surrender to the Tang court.
"I thought of a way out." Xin Wannian suddenly said.
Xiang Runke was overjoyed and asked hurriedly: "What?"
"puff."
Xin Wannian stabbed Runke's heart with a knife, giving him a way to die.
After that, he cut off the head of this important minister of the Yan Dynasty, summoned his generals, and said loudly: "I can't bear the death of my brothers, and want to find a way out for everyone, so we will take Xiang Runke's head and ask the court for pardon.
how?"
"good!"
"But we can't just rely on Tang Ting's forgiveness. How can we leave our lives to others?"
How about buying gold, silver and jewelry and letting the family go outside the Great Wall to take care of each other?!"
"well!"
The rebel soldiers under my command deserve to be louder.
Xin Wannian did what he said and immediately asked a group of tribesmen to take Xiang Runke's head to incite the Yan army and create chaos.
He took advantage of the chaos in the palace and personally led people to rob the jewels.
These people rushed into the palace like wolves and tigers. When they saw the palace maids, they rushed to peel off the silk and satin from their bodies, and even took off their jewelry. This led others to think that the Tang army had invaded the palace, and they either knelt down to beg for mercy, or followed them to rob them.
, I want to be happy before I die.
Shi Chaoqing was furious when he heard the news. He stood in the main hall and shot dozens of people in succession. However, no matter how he terrorized people in the past, he could not stop the chaos at all.
"Kill Shi Chaoqing!"
The crowd suddenly erupted into angry roars, igniting a certain emotion like dry wood meeting a raging fire.
Many Yan troops turned around and charged towards the main hall, their hatred for Shi Chaoqing even outweighed their greed for money.
Shi Chaoqing was frightened, dropped his bow, turned around and ran away.
Xin Wannian ignored all this and led people to loot along the way. Everyone carried several bags of gold and silver. Not satisfied, he rushed directly into Queen Xin's palace.
Empress Xin was talking to the Crown Princess today. When she saw the rebellion, she scolded with a frosty face: "Dog slave, you are so brave! Have you forgotten who gave you a bite to eat?"
"You were born to be rich and noble, so do I deserve to be grateful for your little rewards for the rest of my life?!"
In fact, Xin Wannian had already robbed enough money, but at this time he still stepped forward and ordered people to peel off all the silk and satin from the bodies of Xin and the Crown Princess, and ransacked the dormitory.
The cry was shrill.
No one thought that during the decisive battle between Shi Siming and the Tang army, his wife and children would be so humiliated.
"General, the Tang army has entered the palace through the Rihua Gate!"
"Let's go!" Xin Wannian said, "Let's go north."
The group of people hurriedly ran north, the lights gradually dimmed, and finally saw a small palace gate.
"Open the door!"
The palace door slowly opened, and Xin Wannian grinned, as if he had seen his future as a hero in northern Saibei.
However, what they saw face to face was only rows of Tang troops standing neatly.
"Fire the arrow!"
"Puff puff puff..."
Xin Wannian was hit by dozens of arrows in an instant. He and the soldiers around him fell to the ground, and gold, silver and jewelry fell all over the ground.
~~
Gao Ruzhen held the knife and walked through the many courtyards in the palace, looking for Shi Chaoqing.
When he saw footsteps near Xiaoyao Tower in front of him, he quickly walked there.
Shi Chaoqing's three thousand personal guards had almost fled, but at this time, a group of people were rushing towards Xiaoyao Tower from the other direction, and they happened to meet Gao Ruzhen.
"General Cao."
Gao Ruzhen recognized the other party as Cao Minzhi, Shi Chaoqing's personal guard general and his superior.
"Is it you?" Cao Minzhi looked suspicious and asked, "Why are you here?"
Gao Ruzhen subconsciously took a step back and said, "I'm looking for the prince and protecting him."
"Me too."
The two looked at each other, Gao Ruzhen saluted, and planned to retreat.
Cao Minzhi suddenly said: "Let's go together."
Gao Ruzhen stopped and unconsciously clenched the long knife in his hand, a little wary.
"I know you want to kill Shi Chaoqing." Cao Minzhi simply said it, and said calmly: "Me too."
"I..." Gao Ruzhen was still worried that this was a test.
Cao Minzhi threw a knife to him and said: "I know that you secretly contacted the Tang army and revealed the news that Shi Chaoqing went out of the city to hunt. In fact, I have wanted to kill him for a long time."
Gao Ruzhen grinned, picked up the knife on the ground, and followed Cao Minzhi's footsteps.
They entered Xiaoyao Tower and used torches to disperse the darkness inside.
"Your Highness, we are here to protect you." Cao Minzhi said loudly.
Gao Ruzhen pursed his lips and looked around.
They climbed up the tall buildings one by one, but failed to find Shi Chaoqing.
"Your Highness is fearless and cannot hide from us." Cao Minzhi said: "Since he didn't respond to me, he must not be here anymore."
"Let's go."
"I'm really worried about Your Highness. The Tang army has already entered. If we can't escape with Your Highness, there will be no way out."
Cao Minzhi said this and sighed.
Just as they were about to leave Xiaoyao Tower, a voice sounded behind them.
"I'm here."
They turned their heads and discovered that Shi Chaoqing pushed aside a floor tile and stuck his head out from underneath.
"The Tang army has already invaded?"
"Not yet, I'm here to kill you!"
Cao Minzhi shouted loudly, stepped forward, grabbed Shi Chaoqing's hair, and pulled him out of the secret room.
Shi Chaoqing was in pain and cried loudly, begging for mercy.
"General, why would you kill me? My grandfather is still here, and I have six brothers. What's the use of killing one of me?"
Cao Minzhi said: "I am not killing you for merit. It is you who are cruel and inhumane and deserve to be killed!"
Shi Chaoqing did not expect that the personal guards who used to get along day and night would repay kindness with hatred. He was so frightened that he cried: "I just ask the general to spare me. I will definitely change. I will never dare to do it again."
A smell of irritation emerged, and everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"He peed?"
Gao Ruzhen didn't mind it being dirty, so he stretched out his hand to touch Shi Chaoqing's crotch, and it was really wet.
"Eating dog intestines makes me think you are a ruthless person, such a loser."
"I'm a coward, I'm really a coward." Shi Chaoqing looked down and cried: "My belt is made of pure gold and I gave it to the general. I just beg the general to spare his life."
Cao Minzhi sneered and said: "You don't have to give it away. I will take it myself after you die. What kind of thing is this big Yan that we didn't capture for you?"
Gao Ruzhen also said: "I don't want your golden belt."
"Then what do you want...ah!"
Shi Chaoqing suddenly let out a shrill scream.
Gao Ruzhen actually crushed him directly.
The screams pierced the night sky, attracting more guards from around. However, these guards who arrived took Shi Chaoqing's salary, and what they said after they arrived were very treasonous.
"Don't let him die too easily."
"Let's cut each of them into pieces."
"Cook him to pieces."
"Then chop it and cook it..."
~~
The moonlight shines on the mountains of gold and silver jewelry.
Feng Changqing stood in front of the Jinshan Mountain, smelling the strong smell of blood in the wind, and his eyes began to turn red again.
Gao Xianzhi once said that he could not be a good general because he was so easily moved. He would fight for the general with all his bones and become ruthless. But he said that it was precisely because of his constant compassion that he wanted to be the best general.
He never relies on killing people to establish his prestige. He does not get angry and establish his prestige, because his anger is towards the heaven and the earth, and he is unkind to the heaven and the earth, and treats all things like a stupid dog.
"Jie Shuai, we found Shi Chaoqing!"
"take me."
Feng Changqing strode to the main hall.
From a distance, I could see many rebels surrounding a large cauldron making fire and boiling water. They did not surrender to him, but tied up one person and were cutting off the man's flesh piece by piece and throwing them in the cauldron for boiling.
The tied man's legs had been shredded to pieces, leaving only a bloody skeleton, but he was still alive and letting out weak and pitiful cries.
This scene made many soldiers of the Tang Dynasty unable to bear it. They planned to stop him, but Feng Changqing raised his hand to stop him.
He just stood there, looking at this cruel scene, as if he saw an even crueler chaotic world through it, and murmured to himself.
"It's time to end."
But there is still one last battle. On the banks of the Hutuo River, the main forces of the two armies are facing off. Feng Changqing must lead his troops to support as soon as possible to defeat Shi Siming in one fell swoop and completely end this troubled world.