In the dim corridor, a soldier walked past with a few middle-aged men dressed as scribes, and reported outside the building: "General Guo, the envoy of King Yong has arrived."
"Hmm."
A dull reply sounded in the room, and after a while, Guo Qianli, half asleep, said: "Come in."
When Yang Xu, Li Taiqing and others entered, they saw a tall man with a beard on his face, half leaning on the couch with his round belly, yawning, and there was a strong smell of sweat in the room.
"We have been ordered by King Yong to come to express our condolences to General Guo." Yang Xu handed over a gift list with both hands and said, "This is a reward for the soldiers. The general will take a look at it."
Guo Qianli was sleepy and glanced at the long gift. He probably didn't see its weight, so he didn't have much reaction. He still looked like he was putting it on display to the sky.
"Do you know why I let King Yong enter Chang'an City?"
"The general understands justice well."
"Hey." Guo Qianli said: "Didn't King Yong say that? He wants to get rid of the traitorous eunuch and kill Dou Wenyang. Then kill him, I have long disliked that eunuch."
Yang Xu was speechless for a moment and said: "Things are not that simple."
Of course it is not simple. This is because King Yong wants to be the emperor.
He originally thought that all he needed to do was enter Chang'an, but unfortunately his ability and prestige were not enough, and he didn't know how to convince the officials and generals in Chang'an.
So I came to persuade them one by one.
"That's what I think. If you kill Dou Wenyang, the saint will still trust other eunuchs. The root of this trouble lies with the saint..."
"What?" Guo Qianli shouted and asked: "What do you mean by this? Do you still want to castrate the saint? You criticize Chengyu and don't want to live anymore?!"
Yang Xu opened his mouth and almost said that he was here to rebel.
However, Guo Qianli didn't pierce the window paper, and he was a little embarrassed.
Li Taiqing, who came with him, was more straightforward and said: "Has General Guo ever thought of supporting King Yong on the throne? From the dragon's merit, the prince will take it for himself."
Guo Qianli took out his ears and asked, "Why?"
Seeing his reaction, Li Taiqing licked his lips nervously and asked, "Whatever General Guo wants, just ask."
"What do I want?"
Guo Qianli thought for a while, feeling a little confused himself. He flicked the earwax in his fingernails at Yang Xu and muttered: "I want... to revive the Tang Dynasty and recreate a prosperous age!"
He was successful and famous, and had enough food and clothing. Thinking about it later, he was still a little excited when he said these eight words.
Li Taiqing was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed and he blurted out: "Are you really a member of King Yong's party?!"
Yang Xu quickly pulled him, and Li Taiqing immediately realized that he had made a mistake.
Guo Qianli laughed loudly and asked: "Do you also think that King Yong can revive the Tang Dynasty?"
"The background of King Yong is doubtful. It is a great grace to have the title he has today. How can he compare with King Yong? King Yong is the most sage among the kings..."
"Guo doesn't care about this." Guo Qianli waved his hands repeatedly, and his half-leaning posture became even more lazy, and he said carelessly: "I'm really telling you, I am not a member of King Yong's party, even if he and I are not
Even if you get close to him, I will not follow him to seize the throne."
Yang Xu and Li Taiqing were overjoyed.
Guo Qianli continued: "In short, I will not rebel. I will not rebel with King Yong, nor will I rebel with King Yong! Now King Yong has not rebelled, but has King Yong rebelled?!"
"Prince Yong... doesn't have it," Yang Xu said.
"No, no." Li Taiqing said: "King Yong came to Beijing to eliminate traitors and traitors under the imperial edict, and it was not a rebellion."
As soon as Guo Qianli heard this, he lay down directly in front of them, his belly still exposed, and his long black hair swaying slightly.
If Yang Xu and Li Taiqing had the courage, they could just suddenly rise up and disembowel Guo Qianli with a dagger, and they might be able to help Li Lin achieve his great cause.
But the two of them just stared at the tuft of black hair for a moment, and then retreated angrily.
Guo Qianli opened one eye and looked at their backs, muttering: "Prince Yong, this loser, doesn't even dare to come to see me in person, and he actually wants to be the emperor."
He turned over and was about to fall asleep again, but a soldier came over and handed him a letter.
When Guo Qianli saw the handwriting, he immediately became energetic, stood up quickly and said, "Okay, I'm finally back."
~~
Li Lin welcomed Yang Xu and Li Taiqing back with expectation and asked, "How is it?"
"I have betrayed the great trust of your Majesty and failed to convince Guo Qianli."
"How could this be?"
Li Lin was very disappointed. As a result, he could no longer control the palace and officials through force.
On the side, Ji Guangchen saw this and was about to persuade Li Lin to retreat and do the next best thing, give up the throne and instead help the Supreme Emperor regain power.
The road to the top of power should be taken step by step.
However, when Yang Xu saw Li Lin being so disappointed, he spoke first and said, "I have a way."
"explain!"
"The reason why the civil servants and military generals in Chang'an City do not cooperate is simply because they despise the king and think that he does not have many troops. If the king secretly sends his soldiers out of the city at night and waits until daytime to march into the city in public, there will be a continuous flow of reinforcements.
Such a scene, the officials and people of Chang'an will naturally respect the king and regard him as the emperor."
Ji Guangchen frowned upon hearing this.
Jiang Ling did not send more reinforcements in the past few days. He felt very strange and had already sent people to inquire. Speaking of things, if you want to convince the public, it will not happen overnight. Use small tricks to increase your prestige. Wait until Li Cong summons
King Qin's soldiers and horses from all directions, or Xue Baiju and Fan Yang's soldiers and horses came to kill him, but it was still difficult to compete.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to persuade, Li Lin clapped her hands and shouted "Okay!"
"I will act according to Mr. Yang's clever plan." Li Lin said, "When my troops are strong, let's see who dares to resist me!"
Over the past few days, the officials and people of Chang'an saw that King Yong's reinforcements continued to enter the city every day, and their attitudes really changed.
Even Wei Jiansu's attitude was much more respectful every time he met Li Lin, and he even said that it was not impossible for him to ascend the throne. Now he was only worried that Li Cong would raise troops to counterattack Chang'an.
Li Lin asked Yang Xu if he could just continue to pretend to increase his troops until Li Cong was frightened, and the throne would be in his hands?
"That's right." Yang Xu said, "Just imagine, a cowardly lord who fled in the face of the wind heard that the king's army was strong and reinforcements were pouring in, how could he not surrender?"
"Ha ha ha ha."
Li Lin couldn't help but laugh, feeling high-spirited.
Just at this time, Ji Guangchen strode in and reported: "Your Majesty, something happened. King Yong conquered Jiangling half a month ago, and then joined forces with troops from Shannan, Huainan, Henan and other roads to approach Chang'an."
The smile on Li Lin's face gradually stopped, her face turned ugly, and she was about to get angry.
The bad news was not over yet. Ji Guangchen added: "In addition, Guo Ziyi has led his troops from the west and is about to arrive in Fengtian."
Li Lin almost jumped up and said angrily: "What does this mean? If I use the Jianghuai troops to attack Chang'an, can't it still be accomplished?!"
He seems to still not understand that entering Chang'an does not mean that the people of the world will regard him as emperor.
Ji Guangchen was very disappointed, thinking that a prince who had enjoyed himself in the house of ten princes since childhood would only have this little experience.
But he still suppressed the impatience in his heart and gave Li Lin advice, saying: "Your Majesty, today, the only way is to ask the Supreme Emperor to come forward to prove that Your Majesty's return of troops to the capital is not a rebellion, but an order to eliminate traitors. This may be able to prevent
Troops from all walks of life are marching in."
Li Lin was angry and frightened. He bit his fingers restlessly and said, "Is it useful? If the Supreme Emperor comes forward, can they not march? That Xue Sike has never taken the Supreme Emperor seriously."
He seemed to have forgotten that it was not long ago that he said what Xue Bai was.
Among all the troops of King Lu Qin, Ji Guangchen was most afraid of Xue Bai. After thinking about it and recalling the agreement that Xue Bai had made with Li Lin, he finally gave a suggestion that surprised Li Lin.
"Your Majesty can cooperate with King Yong."
"What?!"
Li Lin said angrily: "I cooperate with him? Why does he? What is my identity? What is his identity?"
Even if Xue Bai is really the son of Li Ying, he has been condemned and demoted, reduced to a slave, and at most he is the nephew of the current emperor. But he is different, he is the real son of the dragon and his grandson.
Ji Guangchen had completely figured it out. The reason why Xue Bai encouraged Li Lin to raise troops was to use Li Lin's hand to teach Li Cong a lesson and to keep his military power. However, in terms of strength, the two sides were not at the same level at all.
In other words, Li Lin was completely used by Xue Bai this time. In this case, it is better to cooperate.
He broke these truths into pieces and explained them to Li Lin. Finally, Ji Guangchen said: "At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu agreed that the one who entered Guanzhong first would be the king. Although Liu Bang entered Guanzhong first, he could only do it temporarily because of his lack of strength.
Forbearance. Now King Yong is in desperate need of allies. If your Majesty can support him in making him the crown prince, he will be able to keep his position for the future."
"What?!"
Li Lin was even more surprised.
It was agreed at the beginning that he would be the emperor, but when Li Longji entered Chang'an, he made him the prince. Now, the prince has to be given to Xue Bai, so who does that mean?
It is clear that we are winning all the way, but the results are getting worse and worse. Is it tolerable, and which is intolerable?
Li Lin almost blurted out the word "fight".
The worst thing is to fight, with Xue Bai or Guo Ziyi!
"Your Majesty, it's not too late." Ji Guangchen said, "General, you can go and talk to King Yong."
Li Lin opened her mouth, but she couldn't spit out the harsh words for a long time, but her face became paler.
~~
Fengtian.
Since the saint took refuge here, the city inside and outside Fengtian has been heavily guarded, and people are in panic.
On this day, a piece of good news came, which finally cheered people up.
"Coming! Coming!"
A eunuch rushed through the streets of the city and finally arrived in front of Dou Wenyang. He prostrated himself and said, "The reinforcements are coming! Guo Ziyi has been ordered by King Qin and will arrive in Fengtian soon!"
"What? So fast?!"
When Dou Wenyang heard this, his face turned pale.
He had heard before that many people, including Prince Li Qiu, were very dissatisfied with his monopoly on the country and had secretly sent people to contact Guo Ziyi.
Therefore, when Guo Ziyi's reinforcements arrive, when everyone thinks that the saint has turned the corner, Dou Wenyang's head will be chopped off and sacrificed to the heavenly sworn master.
If Dou Wenyang wants to save his life, he must find a way to prevent this. This is almost a dead end, but he actually thinks of a way.
"I have to see the saint."
Li Cong caught a cold today and felt a little unwell. He was lying there in a daze, sighing and lamenting his bad fate. When Dou Wenyang entered, he first reported the news of Guo Ziyi's imminent arrival with great joy, so that the saint could be happy first.
Then, he said without concern: "However, Fengtiandi is close to Qianling, which is the resting place of Emperor Gaozong. If Guo Ziyi's army comes and disturbs Emperor Gaozong, I'm afraid the world will accuse the saint of being unfilial."
Li Cong was surprised, pushed himself up and sat up, saying: "Things have happened one after another. If the trouble had already been caused, why would it be missed this time?"
"Your Majesty, be careful." Dou Wenyang saluted solemnly, "King Yong rebelled, but pretended to be following the edict of the Supreme Emperor. Now that he has occupied Chang'an, he will definitely use this matter to damage the reputation of the saint. Guo Ziyi originally followed the edict of the Qin King.
It has become unknown.”
Li Cong was silent, still thinking about whether this matter was so serious.
If no one mentions the so-called disturbing the ancestral mausoleum, everyone will pretend not to know and just ignore it. But once someone points it out, given his status, he can never say that this matter is irrelevant.
Dou Wenyang added: "I think that instead of letting Guo Ziyi rush to Fengtian, it is better to order him to recover Chang'an directly. If he can recover Chang'an, it will prove that he is indeed loyal to the saint, and it will also prevent him from coming to Fengtian to harm the saint.
.”
"You suspect Guo Ziyi also..."
"I don't dare." Dou Wenyang said, "I'm just worried about what might happen."
Li Cong spent time with him day and night, and soon caught the strange look in Dou Wenyang's expression, and asked: "What happened? Tell me."
Dou Wenyang didn't dare to speak and hesitated.
However, he could not withstand Li Cong's questioning, so in the end, he had to report the truth, saying that the prince had secretly sent someone to contact Guo Ziyi.
What he told was indeed the truth, but he concealed that the purpose of Li Qiu sending people to contact Guo Ziyi was to get rid of him.
Li Qiu was young and not safe in his work. If Dou Wenyang could find out about it, there would naturally be witnesses and physical evidence.
As soon as the evidence was brought up, Li Cong's eyes became uncertain.
People's hearts are apart. After all, Li Qiu is not his biological son. Faced with the current situation of internal and external troubles, it is hard to say what Li Qiu can do.
"I dare not drive a wedge between the saint and the prince." Dou Wenyang said quickly: "The prince must have wanted to share the saint's worries and sent someone to urge Guo Ziyi to send troops. I just feel that, just in case, it is better to let Guo Ziyi go and recover Chang'an first."
Of course, it was impossible for Li Cong to react too much and nod just because he heard that Li Qiu was dating the general.
"Just do as you say."
"Here."
Dou Wenyang was overjoyed and immediately drafted a decree and sent an envoy to Guo Ziyi's army.
In the past year, Guo Ziyi has been busy pacifying Hebei and defending against Tubo. He finally survived the severe winter and began to take charge of military settlements. Of course, military settlements were not Xue Bai's unique policy in Hebei, and the two of them had the same views.
Originally thinking that the world would be peaceful, some soldiers were gradually allowed to remove their armor and return to their fields. Unexpectedly, trouble broke out again, and Guo Ziyi had to hurriedly unite the army to put down the rebellion.
He had already planned that when he came this time, the first thing he would do was to persuade the saint to kill the traitorous eunuchs who were causing trouble in the imperial court, and then support the saint in returning to the capital, and persuade him to appoint virtuous people and work hard to govern.
Unexpectedly, before arriving at Fengtian, an edict came and the saint did not see him at all.
Guo Ziyi inevitably felt a sense of disappointment and became increasingly worried about the future of Datang.
"I accept the decree!"
He still accepted the order and ordered the army to turn around and go directly to Chang'an to quell the rebellion. Li Lin's rebels were actually nothing in his eyes.
However, just after arriving at the Weishui River, a fast horse came from the front and handed him a letter.
When he saw the handwriting, Guo Ziyi's eyes narrowed slightly and he stroked his long beard, not knowing whether he was happy or worried.
~~
The sound of dusk drums came from afar, passing between the numerous square walls, forming a unique rhythm of Chang'an City at dusk.
In the Miyagi Zhongshu Province, Chen Xilie put down the letter in his hand, his eyes as old as timeless wells.
"King Yong is back."
He said these five words, and the ministers in front of him breathed a long sigh of relief involuntarily.
In fact, most of the people here are not Xue Bai's party at all, and are even very hostile to Xue Bai, but they have to admit that as long as King Yong comes back, the situation will become stable.
The officials were finally fed up with the weak, ignorant and anti-king behavior, and urgently needed a truly wise man to preside over the situation.
Li Longji's long-term neglect of government had already accumulated many disadvantages during the prosperous age. Coupled with the experience of a rebellion and the fierce struggle for power between the DPRK and the Central Government, the Tang Dynasty was in an extremely complex and difficult situation. The generally intelligent king
It is difficult to manage them well, let alone Li Cong and Li Lin, who have been trapped in the Ten Kings' House and have not received any training.
They worked hard to show off their merits and prove their wisdom, but in the eyes of the officials and the people, they just suffered one disaster after another.
It's time to end.
Comparatively speaking, although King Yong was accused of "conspiracy to usurp", he actually did not do anything too extraordinary. The time when he assisted the saint really gave the Tang Dynasty a breath of relief.
"King Yong will return to the court to assist the saint and calm the troubles. This is a blessing for the country."
Hearing what the courtiers said, Chen Xilie stroked his beard and smiled, knowing that this time it was not that simple.
Before, King Yong assisted the saints and neither fought for the crown prince nor attempted usurpation. However, he was subject to a lot of suspicion, was transferred to outsiders, and was dismissed from power. Now that there is great chaos in the court, and King Yong has returned to put down the rebellion, how can his status not be improved at all?
"The saint is not in Chang'an, King Yong is rebellious, and the Supreme Emperor is old. At this time when the country is in turmoil, I thought I should ask King Yong to supervise the country." Chen Xilie said, "What do you think?"
When Wei Jiansu heard this, he immediately stared at Chen Xilie with wide eyes, gritted his teeth and whispered: "You are indeed a member of King Yong's party."
"No." Chen Xilie waved his hand and said solemnly: "What I have always considered is the Tang Dynasty. Whose party member could I be?"
The fact that Li Longji proposed to Li Cong to appoint Chen Xilie as prime minister is enough to prove that Chen Xilie is not Xue Bai's person.
He just has soft bones.
It is precisely because of his soft bones that Chen Xilie was able to work for Xue Bai before, and later he was able to quickly change his position and became the most suitable person to balance the power of the court.
But now, when Xue Bai sends someone to tell him, he can immediately know what to do.
"I put the overall situation first," Chen Xilie said, "If King Yong is not allowed to supervise the country, how will this mess end?"
Wei Jiansu said: "I should ask the Supreme Emperor to come forward."
Chen Xilie said: "Ask the generals of the Forbidden Army, such as Guo Qianli, if he agrees?"
Wei Jiansu frowned when he heard this. After a long time, he finally sighed in disappointment.
This matter was not without a chance. If Li Lin was decisive enough, he would put Li Longji in charge as soon as he entered Chang'an City, and then negotiated with Li Cong, promising to retain the throne and let him return to Chang'an. In this way, father, son and brothers united to quickly stabilize the situation and stabilize the situation.
How can we let Xue Bai fish in troubled waters?
At that time, Li Cong will be the nominal emperor, and Li Longji will use his methods to give way to Li Lin at the right time. Naturally, the country can be passed down steadily in their hands.
It's a pity that in the end, there are some short-sighted and selfish people who can't achieve great things.
Thinking about it again, it is true. Anyone who was wise and decisive among the kings was deposed or killed by the Supreme Emperor in his early years. The so-called "most virtuous" by King Yong was nothing more than that.
Chen Xilie patted Wei Jiansu on the back and sighed: "You have tried your best, but the Emperor is old and it is time to take care of himself."
Wei Jiansu couldn't help but think of the dream that the Supreme Emperor told him about being picked up by a dutiful son in plain clothes after falling down. He really didn't want to live up to the Supreme Emperor's trust in him, but he was indeed too tired.
The sage and the eternal king cannot help him up no matter how hard he tries.
"I am exhausted mentally and physically, and want to resign and go into seclusion." Wei Jiansu said sadly.
Chen Xilie nodded, then shook his head, thinking that Wei Jiansu was not motivated enough after all.
How can a truly motivated person give up because of this small setback?
He turned around, looked at the other officials, and continued: "I want to ask King Yong to supervise the country. Who else is opposed to this?"
If you ask who agrees, not many people may stand up. But if everyone is to oppose Xue Bai face to face, no one can bear the responsibility. For a moment, there was silence in the hall.
Therefore, Chen Xilie arranged for people to greet Xue Bai, and at the same time sent an envoy to contact Guo Ziyi to convey the opinions of the court officials.
As for how to deal with Li Lin? He didn't think this was a problem. Can King Yong be defeated by King Yong?
~~
"Do you think I rebelled or did I not rebel?"
Yang Xu suddenly heard Li Lin's question and was a little confused.
I saw Li Lin's face changing, sometimes not angry, sometimes scared.
"Although I raised troops to the capital, I did so in the name of purging traitors. It is not considered a rebellion. It's too late to stop now." Li Lin murmured, "But I am unwilling to accept it. It took a lot of effort to get to this point, and I am just missing.
A little bit."
Yang Xu heard that Jiangling City was lost, and that Xue Bai, Guo Ziyi and all the troops of King Qin had arrived. He thought that Li Lin had given up the idea of proclaiming himself emperor, but he didn't expect that he was still struggling.
"Your Majesty, otherwise... let's have a battle!"
Yang Xu shouldn't have been so bold, but he thought about it. Once everything dies down, Li Lin might be able to keep his power because of his status as a prince, but aides like him who make suggestions are the most vulnerable to being killed.
It's better to go all the way to darkness.
He then said: "Your Majesty did not rebel, he was ordered to eliminate traitors. There are two traitors, one is Dou Wenyang, and the other is King Yong... No, it should be called Xue Ni. I have a clever plan that may help your Majesty succeed.
"
"Say it quickly!"
"Since Ji Guangchen wants to negotiate with Xue Ni, the king can secretly order him to take the opportunity to sneak attack Xue Ni and kill him." Yang Xu said, "As long as Xue Ni is killed, the siege in the east will be lifted, and the king will establish his authority in Chang'an. Then.
Then in the name of the Supreme Emperor, we can send an envoy to see Guo Ziyi, and in recognition of our great righteousness, we can order Guo Ziyi to kill Dou Wenyang."
Li Lin swallowed and asked, "Can it be done?"
"The key lies in Ji Guangchen. As long as he can make another contribution to the king, great things can be expected."
Faced with Yang Xu's instigation, Li Lin was worried and tempted. After hesitating for a long time, he was finally unwilling to admit defeat, so he called Ji Guangchen again to explain his ideas.
"Why did the king change his mind again?"
Ji Guangchen was already ready to see Xue Bai. When he heard this, he was surprised and said: "When it was time to be decisive and enterprising, the king was indecisive; now when it is time to retreat and get out of the way, the king is unwilling to leave. Isn't this the way to bring disaster?"
"
Li Lin had a straight face and said angrily: "I owe you a lot of kindness. Now is the time to employ people, but you are going to shirk it?!"
Ji Guangchen wanted to persuade him again, so he opened his mouth, but then took it back.
He once thought of assisting Li Lincheng in a big undertaking, so he was unmoved by the gold and silver beauties sent by Cui Yuan, but now he was greatly disappointed.
"The last general...takes the order."
"Go." Li Lin was overjoyed and encouraged: "As long as you bring back Xue Ni's head, I will make you king."