Xue Bai kept staring at the battlefield, so he quickly noticed something unusual in Guo Ziyi's army.
When Jiang Hai's troops broke through the left defense line, Guo Ziyi did not order reinforcements in time. As time went on, the gap on the left wing became wider, putting the Chinese army in a passive position.
But Guo Ziyi has not yet made adjustments.
"Too many flaws suddenly appeared, how could it happen?" Xue Bai murmured to himself.
This should have been a good thing, but he frowned. The first thing he felt was confusion and vigilance. Worried that it was a trick, he did not dare to immediately order an all-out attack. Instead, he ordered his cavalry to go and investigate.
After a while, Hou Qi came back and brought a strange news.
"Your Majesty, Guo Ziyi's flag command is very confusing, and the general cannot understand his flag language."
"How did you swing it?"
We are all soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and the flag language was originally the same, but Guo Ziyi suddenly used a new flag language, which inevitably made people suspect that he was communicating secretly with his generals.
In addition, it was almost dusk and the sky was getting dark, so it would be easy to get caught if you were too aggressive.
Xue Bai discussed with several close generals, and they all believed that since they had the upper hand today, it would be more beneficial for them to postpone the war to a later stage, and there was no need to take risks.
But Xue Bai had a gut feeling that this might be an opportunity.
"It is impossible for Guo Ziyi to think that such a tactic to lure the enemy can deceive me, so this is probably not a tactic to lure the enemy."
"Having said that, Your Majesty, there is no need to take risks."
"No, if the stalemate with Guo Ziyi continues, there will inevitably be changes."
At this time, a soldier came to report: "Your Majesty, Li Bi wants to see you."
"Li Mi?"
When Xue Bai heard this, he vaguely guessed something. He nodded and ordered Li Mi to be summoned.
After a while, a Taoist robe floated over like clouds.
Just looking at Li Mi's calm and calm look, Xue Bai knew that the chaos in Guo Ziyi's army was indeed related to him.
"Your Majesty, the envoy from Chang'an is here. The ministers are willing to welcome your Majesty back to the capital." Li Bi said.
When Xue Bai heard this, his first reaction was not that he was happy.
He and Guo Ziyi were in a fierce battle, and when they were about to decide the winner, the nobles of Guanlong surrendered, making the battle end hastily, with a strong sense of sloppiness.
In this regard, he did not appreciate Li Mi, but felt that Li Mi was too troubled.
"It seems that you have secretly persuaded the Guanlong nobles to surrender for me."
Li Mi soon noticed Xue Bai's displeasure and said: "I persuaded them to surrender not for Your Majesty, but to protect them."
"oh?"
"Your Majesty will attack Guo Ziyi with a thunderous force, and he will definitely win. If the officials of Guanzhong persist in their stubbornness, they will be punished. I feel pity for them, so I urge them to change their ways and follow your Majesty's will."
"You are very smart." Xue Bai said, "The precious people are short-sighted and do not use thunderous methods. They must not be afraid."
"They surrendered just because they knew they were afraid." Li Bi said, "Your Majesty defeated Guo Ziyi and established his authority, and his goal was achieved."
"What I want is not this kind of victory."
Li Bi said: "Your Majesty has won."
He said this in an unquestionable tone, rarely showing a sense of loyalty.
"Although I allowed your majesty to win earlier, I am as loyal to your majesty as every soldier, and my strategy also belongs to your majesty's strength. Therefore, your majesty defeated Guo Ziyi today with dignity and dignity!"
"You are such a Taoist priest with a lotus tongue. You pity the Guanlong nobles and appease them without telling me, but you want to confuse me with your words?"
"I am proclaiming His Majesty's divine power to make them fear and obey Your Majesty." Li Bi said, feeling extremely confident.
Xue Bai was actually speechless by his rebuttal.
Now, what is in front of us is that the other side has surrendered. Without any conditions, we will directly help Xue Bai defeat Guo Ziyi without any hesitation.
If he doesn't even accept this, that's too much.
There is nothing to be pretentious about on the battlefield. You cannot let go of any opportunity to win, no matter what means you use to get it.
"Pass my order, the entire army crosses the river and captures Guo Ziyi's Chinese flag."
The trumpet sounded loudly, and the soldiers faced the setting sun, shouting and rushing towards the flag with the word "Guo" written on it. They were extremely excited because today they were going to defeat a myth.
Until this moment, Guo Ziyi still did not issue an order.
"What's going on?"
Guo Xi looked back at the Chinese military platform again and again, knowing that Guo Ziyi might have been deprived of military power.
Today, the Guo family and his son are fighting for the Li Ancestral Temple. Unfortunately, not so many people care about the Li Ancestral Temple, at least not more than their own lives.
"Surrender!" Seeing that the situation was over, Guo Xi decisively ordered.
"But general, our attack on the imperial commander is a serious crime of treason. How can we surrender?"
Guo Xi said: "Remember, we are being used."
He surrendered very calmly.
He thought that the reason for this battle was that "the Li family's ancestral temple cannot be shaken", but behind him, there were so many descendants of the Li family who were forcing Guo Ziyi to stop fighting regardless of their ancestral heritage.
It’s not a fair loss, the reason was wrong from the beginning.
As a result, all the soldiers under Guo Xi's command threw away their weapons, and they could not bear to lose unjustly.
None of Xue Bai's soldiers cared about whether they won honor or not.
The battlefield is the most cruel place. The only thing that matters is the winner and the loser. Victory is victory and defeat is defeat.
Soon, even Guo Ziyi's flag was lowered, and Guo Ziyi ordered the entire army to surrender, ending the battle.
Suddenly, the cheers of the soldiers under Xue Bai's command shook the surrounding areas, as if they could reach Chang'an City.
Although the victory came too suddenly, Xue Bai did win.
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
Their emperor defeated Guo Ziyi, who was famous all over the world, and there could be no bigger rebellion, which meant that they had once again achieved the feat of following the dragon.
What was in sharp contrast to the cheers was the deathly silence of the defeated army. Each of them knew that their so-called act of protecting Li's shrine became treason.
Each of these soldiers had fought against the Tibetan army on the anti-Autumn front, and had made great contributions in protecting their homeland. But now, they had thrown away their weapons, lowered their heads, and sat on the ground, waiting for the punishment of fate.
.
A group of officials wearing purple and red robes walked through the defeated army.
Compared to the defeated soldiers, they looked so alive.
Even though they, as the culprits, should bear the heaviest responsibility, there is hope in them.
They will once again begin their performance of tongue-splitting lotuses.
"Your Majesty!"
"I tried to stop Guo Ziyi several times, but I failed to stop him from committing such a heinous crime!"
"Guo Ziyi openly rebelled. Please kill Guo Ziyi."
"..."
Xue Bai didn't want to listen to the noise of this group of people and said: "The rebel is not Guo Ziyi, but me."
The ministers were stunned, they really couldn't understand this sentence.
Has any emperor rebelled since ancient times?
"Don't you know? I have announced to the world that my name is Xue Bai and I am not the heir of Emperor Li Tang."
Immediately, a red-robed official stood up, puffed his beard and glared, and wanted to argue a few words, but was immediately pulled by other officials and fell to the ground again.
"I am following your Majesty, no matter what your name or surname is!"
Li Qijun took the lead in saying something, and everyone agreed.
For Xue Bai, this was a test of obedience. Since these Guanlong nobles were so weak that they could even tolerate this incident, no matter how Xue Bai changed his methods in the future, they would never dare to openly resist again.
In this way, Xue Bai's goal was achieved, and there was little point in killing them again.
But he didn't expect them to be so shameless, and he felt bored. He waved his hand and told them to leave, and only called Guo Ziyi to see him.
~~
Guo Ziyi was stripped of his armor and was only wearing a middle coat. He was tied up with five flowers and escorted into the tent.
His face was full of helplessness. Today's defeat was indeed a "crime other than war."
Xue Baiping stepped back from the others, took a deep look at Guo Ziyi, stepped forward, and personally untied the rope from his body.
However, Guo Ziyi took a step back.
"No, I raised an army to rebel. If I am not punished, if someone else follows my example..."
Xue Bai ignored him and took out his dagger to cut off the rope.
He asked: "In the end, it was you who ended up like this. Is it worth it?"
Guo Ziyi responded: "There is no telling whether it is worthy or not. Those who are ministers should receive their salary and fight for the ancestral temple."
"It's a battle of interests and a class war between me and them. Who really cares about the ancestral temple? You are the only one who bears the biggest sin because of unrelated things."
Guo Ziyi loosened his ties and calmed down, saying, "I have thought carefully about this battle."
"Yeah?"
"The world cannot be in turmoil again. If I win a battle, Your Majesty should know to restrain himself and stop messing around. If I lose, the noble families will be afraid and will not dare to oppose the imperial decree. Compared with
The ministers who were massacred in Luoyang, thanks to this battle, I was able to save the officials and people of Chang'an."
Xue Bai shook his head and said: "If you are willing to help me, naturally no one will dare to oppose the imperial decree."
Guo Ziyi smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest, I don't support the new law in my heart."
"Then you were not defeated unjustly."
"Your Majesty, this battle was worthwhile." Guo Ziyi said, "After getting rid of us old stubborns, your Majesty will be able to govern the country as he pleases. But I only want one thing from your Majesty."
He didn't wait for Xue Bai to answer, and then said his request.
"After defeating the old minister, Your Majesty no longer has to be angry with the officials. You can implement the new law however you want, and there is no need to change your name. As your Majesty just said, if you don't care about the ancestral temple, why bother to abolish the Li family's ancestral temple?"
"No."
Xue Bai decisively rejected him.
Guo Ziyi then asked: "How do you want to honor your ancestors and which ancestors do you want to worship?"
In the current world, Xue Bai really had no ancestors to worship.
This is also the reason why Li Longji was willing to recognize him.
"I will no longer think of myself as Li Qian, because Li Qian represents weakness."
For Xue Bai, if he chooses to be Li Qian, it will not only be a compromise for the officials, but also a compromise for himself.
The ministers of the family will feel that he can be persuaded again, and he will embark on an easier, but not far, road.
Guo Ziyi sighed: "When your Majesty reaches the age of an old minister, will you still care about whether you are weak or not? That is just the opinion of others."
"That's because I haven't reached Duke Guo's realm yet."
~~
Two days later, Xue Bai returned to Chang'an City.
Surprisingly, there was a war in Ba Shang, but Chang'an City remained calm as usual.
Perhaps it's because the frivolous things that the powerful care about have nothing to do with the lives of ordinary people.
When Xue Bai arrived outside the Daming Palace, he saw a middle-aged man wearing only linen clothes, kneeling on the ground and shivering.
"I am guilty, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Who are you?" Xue Bai called him forward and asked.
"My name is...Li Bin."
Xue Bai said: "You are a descendant of the Li family. Now I tell you that I have usurped the Li family. What are you going to do now?"
Li Bin was stunned for a moment and said: "Your Majesty is joking. I never believe those rebellious people in Luoyang who slander you. They deserve death and death!"
"I'm not kidding, my name is Xue Bai, not Li Qian."
"Your Majesty did have a surname of Xue. If anyone in the world dares to question it, I will be the first to object!"
"Listen clearly, I have usurped your Li family's empire."
"Then...then..." Li Bin had no choice but to hesitate and said: "May I please ask the Li family to abide by your majesty?"
Xue Bai laughed at his shamelessness and waved him away.
Li Bin was pardoned and fled quickly.
The imperial driver then entered the palace directly, and Xue Bai returned to the living room of Penglai Palace. Looking around, he saw that the decorations in the palace were exactly the same as when he left, without any changes.
But he could tell that the carpet had been rewashed, because he remembered that someone in the palace accidentally spilled the ink when he left.
Apparently, someone came in and soiled his carpet. As a result, he washed the carpet because he was afraid of him.
This may be the obedience of those Guanlong nobles who bully the weak and fear the strong.
That night, Du Jin went into the palace to discuss with Xue Bai, and performed the Wanfu ceremony with great joy.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty. Let's see who dares to oppose Your Majesty in the future."
"Don't be deceived by their appearance." Xue Bai said, "You know whether they dare to die or not. They will obey the rules and violate the rules."
"They can even accept your surname as 'Xue'? What else can you do that you dare to do openly and secretly?"
"Too many excuses." Xue Bai said: "They have found too many excuses before they are willing to admit that I am not Li Qian. They are unwilling. If they are asked to pay taxes on their fields in the future, they will only be even more reluctant."
Du Jin whispered: "What do you mean, you haven't killed enough yet?"
"Don't kill for the sake of killing." Xue Bai said, "Check it out to see if they are sincerely surrendering or if they have some other conspiracy behind their backs."
"good."
"Has Yuan Zai checked?"
"Still checking." Du Jin said.
Xue Bai nodded and talked about another thing casually.
"How about giving Jin Niang a title?"
"What?"
"Concubine."
Du Jin was stunned for a moment, and his eyes couldn't help but shine a little.
She opened her mouth as if she was about to agree, but hesitated for a moment and said, "How about your majesty letting me think about it?"
"What worries do you have?" Xue Bai said, "Now you don't have to think about your identity anymore."
"I have done many things for you. Once it comes to light, the courtiers will accuse me of interfering in politics." Du Jin said, "At this time, there is no need to cause unnecessary trouble and wait."
With that said, she leaned into Xue Bai's arms and said, "I'm very happy that you have such a heart."
She was indeed happy, and the night was as tender as water. Although she did not have the name of a noble concubine, she had the reality of being a noble concubine.
…
The next day, Du Jin left the palace. Thinking of Xue Bai's instructions, she immediately asked her spies to inquire about Chang'an officials to see if they had any conspiracy.
In the afternoon, Yuan Zai came to ask for an audience.
Du Jin didn't want to meet him at first, but thinking about Xue Yaoying's incident, he met him anyway.
"I've met Er Niang."
"Are you here for Xue Yaoying?"
"No, I'm here for Li Mi."
Yuan Zai got straight to the point and said: "This morning, the sage issued an order to worship Li Mi as prime minister."
"I know." Du Jin said, "It's expected."
"Li Bi once loyal to Li Heng. Looking at his personality, how can he sincerely assist His Majesty? This person must be acting in an overt and treacherous manner."
Du Jin knew that the reason why Yuan Zai was so anxious was simply because Li Bi had touched his interests.
But when the words "Yang Feng Yin Biao" hit her ears, she thought of something else.
"During the battle with Guo Ziyi, Li Qijun and other officials surrendered due to Li Mi's persuasion." Du Jin said, "Li Mi was in Luoyang before. I had sent people to keep an eye on him. It was unlikely that he had any contact with Li Qijun. He was the only one who accompanied His Majesty.
After the expedition, he fell out of my sight in the army."
Yuan Zai said: "He must be colluding with Li Qiyun."
"On the day Guo Ziyi sent the envoy, Li Mi went to the Qinling Mountains to practice Taoism on the pretext of going to Qinling. Go and find out what he said to the envoy."
This matter is difficult to investigate, because the conversation between Li Mi and Zhang Yong is probably only known to them.
But Yuan Zai did not hesitate and immediately agreed, promising to get to the bottom of the matter.
~~
After Li Mi was re-appointed as prime minister, he quickly demoted a large number of officials who did not support the reform, including those who changed their attitudes and welcomed Xue Bai into Chang'an.
After that, he personally intervened and promoted a large number of officials who had actual achievements and were willing to implement the new policies.
This changed the atmosphere in the court in the fastest possible time.
It was under such circumstances that Li Qijun was demoted from the capital. Before leaving, Li Mi went to practice for him.
Zhang Yong and others were also present. After a few glasses of wine, Li Mi and Li Qijun went to a quiet place to talk privately.
"I demoted you out of the capital. You must blame me in your heart."
Li Qijun said: "I have come to this point entirely because of myself. I don't dare to blame you."
"Since even Guo Ziyi cannot win, it is absolutely not advisable to use force to oppose the New Deal. No matter what happens in the future, you must not act impulsively." Li Bi said, "Leave the rest to me."
"Then please."
Li Qijun saluted, turned around and prepared to embark on the road to be demoted. After thinking about it, he turned around and said something else.
"In retrospect, you saved all of our lives. Otherwise, we would have died in vain like the Duke of Luoyang. Now you have finally comforted him. If you are not completely sure about the assassination, you should not make any moves.
Once you anger him, the consequences will be disastrous."
Li Bi said: "Thank you for reminding me, I will do my best."
Li Qijun nodded and said: "Actually, the new law is not necessarily bad. I am just afraid that if it is not implemented properly, it will cause endless trouble. Now that you are taking the lead in the government, I feel more relieved."
"I may not be able to compare with Mr. Yan." Li Mi sighed with emotion.
"At least the situation didn't get worse after Mr. Yan left." Li Qijun said, "You should be lucky."
They all know that it was Yan Zhenqing who asked Li Bi to come out despite the hard work of the journey to maintain the current situation. Otherwise, they really don't know how far Xue Bai would have gone.
If they don't cherish it anymore, once Li Mi is gone, there won't be such a famous minister to clean up the situation.
"Take care of yourself."
"Take care of yourself."
The two of them said goodbye, and Zhang Yong came over and looked at Li Qijun's back. Finally, he asked in a low voice: "When do you plan to take action, sir?"
"I dedicated the red pill to him and took it, just wait and see."
Zhang Yong asked: "Then...the Tang Dynasty will not be in chaos by then, right?"
"Don't worry." Li Mi still said in a calm tone.
Zhang Yong hesitated for a while and said in a low voice: "When the time comes, who do you want to support to succeed you?"
"What do you think?"
"King Chu Li Qiu, can you please?"
Li Mi remained calm, just nodded and waved goodbye to Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong is now implicated by Guo Ziyi and has been demoted to a commoner. This is the result of Li Mi's intercession on his behalf.
The Guo family was in catastrophe, and he lost his future. Naturally, he was under great pressure. Now he has sold the luxurious house and lives with his wife and children in Baoningfang in the south of the city. On this day, after he said goodbye to Li Mi, he did not
Return home.
Instead, he went to visit someone.
"Mr. Yuan, I have already met Li Mi."
Yuan Zai said: "I also have good news for you. Guo Ziyi can save his life."
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan!" Zhang Yong was overjoyed and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Tell me, what did Li Mi say?"
~~
Daming Palace, Xuanzheng Hall.
If we only look at the memorial, Xue Bai is still satisfied with the results of the reform since Li Mi became prime minister.
In this matter, it is not that Li Mi is much better than Yan Zhenqing, but that the situations they face are different and the resistance is also very different.
Nowadays, a group of the opposition have been killed by Xue Bai, and the rest have been frightened by Xue Bai's defeat of Guo Ziyi, so things will naturally go much smoother.
On that day, Li Mi took out the results of the Gyeonggi inspection and submitted them to Xue Bai for analysis, and finally received a compliment from Xue Bai.
He had already made a draft in his mind, and when faced with praise, he immediately took the opportunity to give advice.
"This is not the credit of my ministers, but the help of His Majesty's divine power. As long as the government is harmonious and people are harmonious, your Majesty must have achieved his goal?"
When Xue Bai heard this, he knew what kind of medicine Li Bi was selling in the gourd and asked, "So?"
"So I congratulate your Majesty and want to give him a title." Li Bi said: "This is also the praise of your majesty's achievements by all the officials."
As he spoke, he took out a joint memorial letter from his sleeve with a graceful movement.
“I, please honor your Majesty as ‘Emperor Zhang Wuxiao, the Holy God of Qianyuan’.”
This was another great event, but Xue Bai's expression didn't change at all.
He knew that once he accepted this title, he would be reconciled with the nobles.
The reason why it is said to be "reconciliation" rather than "compromise" is because under Li Mi's efforts, the officials and nobles have made great compromises. Even Xue Bai was surprised that they could make such a big concession. In short,
Li Mi kept the court in good order, meeting Xue Bai's basic requirements for smooth governance.
But Xue Bai is still considering whether to stop here.
The initiative is his, and he is not in a hurry.
"How can I be so virtuous?" Xue Bai waved his hand and said, "Let's not mention this matter for now, let's do things pragmatically first."
"I obey the decree."
Li Mi stopped persuading him and quickly withdrew.
But this dispute has gradually subsided because of his intervention.
Immediately afterwards, Yuan Zai came to ask for an audience. As soon as he entered the palace, he looked like he was facing a formidable enemy.
Obviously, Yuan Zai did not want this dispute to end.
"Your Majesty, I found out that Li Biyang violated the law and had evil intentions. Please punish Li Bi!"