Li Zhi, who had always been gentle and unyielding, now heard the news that Cheng Yaojin was slowly approaching Feng Qiyuan without any hurry or delay. He couldn't help but burst into rage and burst into flames.
It's not that his city is not deep enough, it's actually that at the critical moment of life and death, Cheng Yaojin, an old man, blatantly overturned his previous promise and followed him closely with evil intentions, like a hungry wolf, which made him frightened.
How can you not be frightened and angry when you are cold and helpless?
Yuchi Gong was also filled with anger and said angrily: "I beg your Highness to give an order. I will lead my subordinates to turn around and fight to the death with the old thief. I will kill him off his horse and prevent him from hindering His Highness' great achievements!"
He and Cheng Yaojin had been at odds with each other all their lives, and they had done a lot of things to get him under the collar. Now that Cheng Yaojin was making such a move, it was very likely to undermine the great achievements of the King of Jin, and would also put him in great danger. How could it be
Can you swallow this breath?
Xiao Yu on the side shook his head and said: "Absolutely not! Although Cheng Yaojin is following us now, it seems that he has evil intentions and does not obey military orders, but he has never made a clear intention to oppose His Highness. It may not be that he is still weighing the pros and cons of each step.
.If the Duke of E turns around to fight with him at this moment, Li Jing will definitely not let go of such an opportunity. When the Duke of E is detained and the Sixth Army of the East Palace arrives, won't it mean that the tiger is driven out through the front door and the wolf is admitted through the back door? This cannot be done recklessly.
, we should also take a long-term approach.”
Yuchi Gong said angrily: "What a nonsense! Li Daozong has already entered the Taiji Palace. The imperial guards in the palace cannot stop him. It is easy to capture the Wude Palace. The left guard outside Xuanwu Gate is about to defeat the right guard. If we are defeated by
If we are entangled in this, what should we do when variables arise?"
This time even Xiao Yu was speechless.
Once Li Daozong storms into the Wude Palace to capture or kill the emperor, who can guarantee that he will not install another prince on the throne?
Unlike everyone present, the reason why Li Daozong attached to the King of Jin was not for his own benefit, but because he was loyal to Emperor Taizong and wanted to fulfill Emperor Taizong's last wish. But people's hearts are unpredictable. If the time comes, Li Daozong feels that he should support an emperor.
He could gain more benefits than by supporting the King of Jin to ascend the throne, and he also wanted to have a taste of power over the world, so what should Li Zhi do?
Continue to attack Chang'an, enter Taiji Palace, and then kill Li Daozong as well?
Once that happens, Li Daozong only needs to put Li Chengqian under house arrest, and then order the Sixth Army of the East Palace to cooperate with Li Daozong in the name of Li Chengqian. Then Li Zhi will have no choice but to lose and will never win...
At that time, it will not help if Xiao Yu has a hundred "confession letters" in his hands.
He couldn't help but glance at King Jin. He had planned it carefully in advance, but now the implementation was changing rapidly. It was too passive for King Jin...
Li Zhi calmed down. Although he wanted to skin and bones this old man Cheng Yaojin, he also knew that Xiao Yuzhi's words were reasonable. If he conflicts with Cheng Yaojin at this time, he will definitely be dragged down by him. Then the six leaders of the East Palace will besieged.
Now, can the 100,000 rabble under his command defeat Cheng Yaojin’s Zuo Wuwei and Li Jing’s Donggong Liuli?
Taking a deep breath, Li Zhi said: "Stand still for the time being, let the King of Jiangxia County restrain the Sixth Army of the East Palace so that they cannot enter the palace for rescue. The Duke of E will make preparations and accompany the king to meet Duke Lu in person!"
Everyone was shocked. Cui Xin, who had been silent all this time, tried to dissuade him by saying, "How can His Highness take personal risk when Lu Guogong's position is unknown? If he has evil intentions, it may be detrimental to His Highness!"
Xiao Yu also said: "I have met with him before, and I know that he is very unstable. If your Majesty goes to meet him, it will be very dangerous."
Who can guarantee that Cheng Yaojin will not rise up, hurt others and arrest Li Zhi? As a powerful general among Zhenguan ministers, even though he is not young now, Cheng Yaojin has always been praised for his bravery. Once he rises up,
It is not impossible to capture Li Zhi when he is unprepared.
If Li Zhi falls into the hands of Cheng Yaojin, the army of more than 100,000 will collapse instantly. No one can afford the consequences...
But Li Zhi was very firm, waving his hand and saying: "It doesn't matter. With the Duke of E accompanying you, how can we tolerate those privacy tricks?"
Yuchi Gong stood up, patted his breastplate and said: "Your Highness, don't worry, Cheng Yaojin's men have defeated the general. If he dares to take action, I will kill him on the spot!"
At that time, Emperor Taizong was haunted by a dream demon, and there was always evil and filth in his dreams, so he couldn't sleep soundly, so generals Chi Gong and Qin Shubao guarded the door, and then they suppressed the dream demon and fell asleep soundly. This shows that in Emperor Taizong's mind, this
The strength of the two men is the highest among Zhenguan ministers.
Cheng Yaojin is also a mighty general of our time, but in terms of force, he cannot compare to Yuchi Gong, who was the most brave among the three armies...
Others can't speak. Although the Shandong private army currently accounts for the absolute majority of the army under the command of the King of Jin, they are basically a ragtag group. There can still be a fight with the wind, but the anxious and hard battle can only be fought by the right guard. Yu Chigong's status can be said to be
It is unmatched.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Li Zhi settled the matter. Yuchi Gong went out to gather his own soldiers and sent someone to deliver a message to Cheng Yaojin.
Li Zhi asked around: "Where are Xue, Liu and Zheng now?"
Chu Suiliang, who was responsible for military battle reports and document exchanges, replied: "More than 30,000 troops under the three armies are moving from Bailuyuan to Shenheyuan, but the progress is not fast, and they seem to be afraid of Cheng Yaojin in front of them."
Li Zhi nodded, feeling even more worried.
If Cheng Yaojin completely surrenders to the emperor, plus the coalition forces of Xue, Liu, and Zheng, the strength of the troops will instantly reach more than 60,000, and his retreat will be blocked instantly. If Li Jing leads the six troops from the East Palace to encircle and suppress him, he will be no closer to defeat.
It’s not far away. Even if Li Daozong successfully entered the Wude Palace to overthrow Li Chengqian’s imperial power, he still doesn’t know which prince would be able to ascend to the throne with the support of Li Daozong in the end...
Therefore, the most urgent task is to convince Cheng Yaojin that as long as Cheng Yaojin stands on his side and blocks the coalition forces of Xue, Liu, and Zheng for him, he can lead his army into Chang'an and reach Chengtian Gate, taking the initiative to seize the throne.
*****
Wude Hall.
The light rain outside the window stopped, and the waiter opened the window to let the breeze blow in, clearing the turbid air in the palace.
Li Chengqian stayed up all night, and his eyes were bloodshot. Although he had made all preparations and had backup plans, after all, this battle was about the throne, life and death, and huge pressure was weighing on him like a mountain, and he had to do it in front of the ministers.
To pretend to be attached as if nothing happened and to be in control, it was a great psychological torment.
All the civil servants and generals had arrived at the palace. Although the rebel offensive was imminent, they all expressed their support and confidence in the emperor at this time.
Ma Zhoudao: "The city of Chang'an is still peaceful at the moment. All the officials from the Jingzhao Mansion have entered the city to take charge of the security of various areas. Occasionally, people who disobey the emperor's orders have been properly dealt with. In addition, the road from Chengtianmen to Chunmingmen has been put under martial law.
Blockade, you can quickly reach the military camp outside the city in times of crisis, everything is foolproof."
The original plan was that once the King of Jin broke through the city from the south and approached the palace, the emperor would withdraw through Xuanwu Gate. However, now that Li Daozong unexpectedly rebelled, Xuanwu Gate was naturally unable to leave. He could only leave the palace through Chengtian Gate and then Chunming Gate. Meet up with Li Jing and Donggong Liusu.
Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, put down the cup, shook his head, and said calmly: "I won't leave. I will wait here for the rebels and the pheasant slaves to see who is destined to be my destiny."
Everyone was silent.
Although rationally we should advise His Majesty to leave the palace to escape, we all know that once he leaves the palace at this moment, the morale of the defenders will be severely damaged, and they may completely collapse and collapse thousands of miles away.
At that time, can we only support His Majesty and flee in panic with the Sixth Army of the East Palace? The empire will fall into division and war will continue for years?
Unless absolutely necessary, no one would dare to say anything to persuade Li Chengqian to flee.
When the waiter changed the tea, Li Chengqian asked: "How is Duke Lu doing?"
Li Jidao said: "The king of Jin, Chen Bing, has his army at the gate of Mingde and can launch an attack at any time. Duke Lu has already led his army to leave the station and move southward along Fanchuan, so the king of Jin dare not act rashly. The coalition forces of Xue, Liu and Zheng are in Lu Guogong then slowly approached and was about to arrive at Fanchuan."
The current trend in the south of the city is that the three parties are arranged vertically, restraining each other, and no one dares to act rashly.
The King of Jin was afraid that Cheng Yaojin would bite him, and Cheng Yaojin was afraid of being suddenly attacked by the coalition forces behind him, so he was cautious and waited for the opportunity. The three parties gathered nearly 200,000 troops, but the situation was unexpectedly calm...
Li Zhi nodded and asked again: "Is there any news about Duke Yue?"
Li Ji shook his head: "The scouts reported back earlier that the Duke of Yue had sneaked back to the right guard to try to stop the mutiny and repel the left guard. But until now, no specific news has been sent back, and the situation outside the Xuanwu Gate has not been known yet. It can be known.”
Xuanwu Gate is so important. Once it is completely controlled by the rebels, the troops stationed in various places in Guanzhong are very likely to immediately surrender to the King of Jin and enter the palace through Xuanwu Gate to support Li Daozong. By that time, the King of Jin will be almost invincible.
However, if Fang Jun can turn things around and capture Xuanwu Gate, the situation will be completely reversed. Li Daozong, who is deep in the Taiji Palace, will be isolated and helpless. The garrison in Guanzhong, blocked from Xuanwu Gate, will most likely continue to wait and see, rather than end immediately.
However, the Right Guards first divided their troops and garrisoned at Xuandemen, and then encountered Li Daliang's instigation of rebellion. They also experienced a melee, resulting in casualties and a huge blow to the morale of the army. It was difficult for the Left Guards to stand a chance of winning against the Zuo Guards, who had already planned and prepared strong troops.
Putting himself in his shoes, Li Ji felt that even if he or Li Jing took command, he would lose more than he would win...
Li Chengqian frowned, a little worried about Fang Jun's safety, and of course more worried about the situation outside Xuanwu Gate, but the most important thing at the moment was Cheng Yaojin.
"Although the Duke of Yue met with the Duke of Lu before, the Duke of Lu has never clearly expressed his position. Now the focus of the entire south of the city is on the Duke of Lu. His position can almost determine the outcome... Can another person be sent there? Can you persuade Lord Lu to persuade him with emotion and reason, and get a firm commitment from him?"