After a long time, Xiao Yu broke the silence with a gentle sigh. He tapped the eucalyptus on the table in front of him with his fingers and asked softly: "In the current situation, do you think His Highness King Jin can still contribute to the Wude Palace and occupy the center of the empire?"
It is important whether Li Chengqian is dead or alive, but more important is whether he can control the center of the empire. As long as Wude Palace is captured, the entire Taiji Palace will fall into the hands of King Jin. At that time, he can tell the world and ascend the throne. As for whether he will succeed in the future.
The separation of the East and West and the confrontation between the North and the South are all things for later. If the King of Jin cannot ascend the throne, nothing will happen.
But now it seems that it is extremely difficult to capture Wude Palace...
Cui Xin's gray eyebrows were tangled in one place and he was speechless.
This time, the Shandong family supported the King of Jin in launching an army. It can be said that the Shandong family made every effort and made no reservations. Until now, the losses of the Shandong family have been shocking. Even if the King of Jin took preferential policies after he ascended the throne, it would take twenty years to recover.
, not to mention that if the King of Jin is defeated, the Shandong family will be in catastrophe.
Even worse than the Shandong Family was the Guanlong Clan. Regarding the depth and breadth of involvement in the mutiny, the Guanlong Clan spared no effort compared to the Shandong Family. Once the army was defeated, the backlash would naturally be heavier, especially
Guanlongmen valve had already suffered heavy losses before, and it was getting worse.
In contrast, the Jiangnan gentry who were the first to raise private troops to march north to Guanzhong suffered the least losses. In the Battle of Yanziji, although a hundred thousand private troops were defeated by naval artillery and were completely defeated, that was all.
The Jiangnan nobles did not take any action under the intimidation of the navy. They obediently surrendered to the muzzle of the navy and never suffered any losses again...
Cui Xin had previously gloated about the limited contribution of the Jiangnan gentry during the mutiny. After the King of Jin ascended the throne and rewarded the Jiangnan gentry, the Jiangnan gentry was far inferior to the Shandong gentry. Shandong was able to completely trample the Jiangnan gentry with this mutiny.
Underfoot, it will be difficult to turn over within a hundred years.
As a result, now, he is envious of Xiao Yu...
I am really angry and regretful.
Chu Suiliang glanced at Cui Xin, who was silent, coughed slightly, and said slowly: "I wonder what you two think about Li Jing and Xue Wanche's delay in entering the palace?"
"Um?"
Xiao Yu was stunned and asked: "What does Dengshan mean by this?"
The reason why Li Jing and Xue Wanche did not enter the city to reinforce Wude Hall was because troops from all over Guanzhong rushed to Chang'an to support the King of Jin. In order to prevent Chang'an from being besieged, the troops fell there and could not escort Li Chengqian to retreat to Hexi in the worst case scenario.
To regroup, Li Jing and Xue Wanche did not dare to act rashly.
This matter is obvious, is there any conspiracy?
Chu Suiliang thought for a while and said softly: "From the time when the King of Jin escaped from Taiji Palace and raised the flag to raise troops, His Majesty actually did not go all out to suppress the rebellion. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the King of Jin to escape to Tongguan, and it would be difficult for the Shandong family to do so."
Rushing to aid Tongguan, let alone leading the army into the pass and reaching Chang'an so smoothly..."
Cui Xin looked at Chu Suiliang in surprise, and Xiao Yu also frowned: "What you mean is that all of this must have been done intentionally. He deliberately let King Jin out, allowing King Jin to gather all the forces that were not loyal to His Majesty, and then once and for all.
, to avoid future troubles forever?”
Chu Suiliang nodded: "I am just guessing, but looking at Li Jing's movements and performance, it is difficult to give other explanations. Of course, the King of Jiangxia County raised troops from the Xuanwu Gate and entered the Taiji Palace. Perhaps it was not part of His Majesty's plan.
That was an accident."
If Your Majesty firmly believes that the army of Li Jing, Xue Wanche, and Fang Jun is enough to defend Chang'an City, then it is not impossible to "lead the emperor into captivity". After all, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, there has been a lot of public opinion in the government and the public, and there are many people who are unwilling to surrender. Use this
It is indeed a good method to cut off those disloyal ministers in one fell swoop, and it is not too dangerous.
The only surprise should be Li Daozong's rebellion, which opened the Xuanwu Gate and led the rebel troops to the Wude Palace, putting Li Chengqian in danger. If he had known about this situation in advance, Li Chengqian would not have dared to take such a risk.
But since the Youtun Guards can withstand the rebels' violent attack, Li Jing and Xue Wanche can naturally wait a little longer, waiting for more forces who are impatient to support the King of Jin to rush to Chang'an and jump out on their own...
Xiao Yu looked at Cui Xin, their eyes met, and they both saw the other's shock and approval.
After a while, Cui Xin asked in a hoarse voice: "If this is really the case, what should we do?"
The current situation is extremely unfavorable to King Jin, and destruction is imminent. If all this is really His Majesty's plan to "lead the king into captivity", it means that Your Majesty has already secured victory, and King Jin will definitely fail.
Where will the Shandong aristocratic family that fully supports King Jin go?
Where do the Shandong private troops who are desperately guarding Chengtian Gate go from here?
After Cui Xin asked this question, his hand on the table trembled uncontrollably, and chills rose up in his heart. Thinking about the consequences, he couldn't help but feel chilled to the bone.
Something must be done, we can’t just sit back and wait...
Chu Suiliang sat up straight, looked at the two people with solemn expressions, and suggested: "Why don't you... bring order to the chaos and rectify the position of the monarch and his ministers."
Xiao Yu and Cui Xin were not surprised.
There was already a tacit understanding between the two of them when they were at the Zhaode Hall, but they just didn't know how and when to act. Now the situation has taken a turn for the worse, and there is no need to delay. They must have a frank talk.
Xiao Yu said: "What does Mr. Cui mean?"
Cui Xin had already expected that these two people were in Cao's camp and their hearts were with the Han Dynasty, so he immediately nodded: "Just follow the instructions of Duke Guo of Song."
Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He was most afraid that Cui Xin would be unwilling to accept the huge losses suffered by the Shandong family. He would rather die than support the King of Jin to the end. Since Cui Xin can take it and let it go, this is the best.
"Now there is a question, who should we surrender to anyway?"
Chu Suiliang and Cui Xin were stunned and silent.
Your Majesty is now sitting in the Wude Palace. Not only can you not see him, but you can't exchange information. Naturally, you can't directly submit a letter of surrender to your Majesty. Fang Jun also led his troops to fight fiercely in the Taiji Palace, so he can only fight with Li Jing, Xue Wanche, and Liu Rengui.
Choose one among the people.
But there is a huge difference between who surrenders to. This is a huge meritorious service, which is enough to make the surrendered person's status in the court rise sharply and his authority to increase. Correspondingly, he must spare no effort to protect the life of the surrendered person.
, interests, otherwise reputation will be damaged and betrayal...
In terms of status, Li Jing is naturally the highest, and his reputation as "Military God" is well-known throughout the army. When the Jin Dynasty rebelled and the rebels besieged the city, Li Chengqian even handed over all the defense outside Chang'an City. He was very trustworthy. Li Jing has always been a low-key and honest person.
Honest and trustworthy.
The King of Jin's rebellion involved countless clans and royal relatives. After the war, Xue Wanche was bound to become one of the few generals in charge of the army among the royal relatives. Moreover, during the King of Jin's rebellion, Xue Wanche always followed Li Chengqian's footsteps.
If you stand firm and unwavering, it is inevitable to be rewarded and rewarded after the war.
Only Liu Rengui was just a mere general in the Navy. His official position, title, status, power, etc. were not comparable to the first two, but behind him stood Fang Jun...
Xiao Yu pondered for a while and said slowly: "Liu Rengui."
Li Chengqian's trust in Fang Jun may even be higher than that of Queen Su. Although it is not said clearly, regardless of the two mutinies launched by Guan Long before or this time, the response strategies adopted by the court must have been the same.
It was Fang Jun who could entrust all matters of life and death to his hands. What kind of trust is this?
And Fang Jun repaid this trust with successive victories.
Therefore, when Li Chengqian quelled the rebellion and eliminated his disloyal ministers, Fang Jun would inevitably become the most powerful person in the court. No one in Li Chengqian's dynasty could come close to him.
As long as they reach a surrender agreement with Liu Rengui and receive indirect recognition from Fang Junzhi, their power and interests will be guaranteed.
Cui Xin nodded: "Yes."
Chu Suiliang also nodded in approval.
Xiao Yu stood up: "Without further delay, I will send someone to contact Liu Rengui to reach the conditions for surrender as soon as possible. I'm afraid it will be too late."
"That's exactly what it should be."
Now that you have decided to abandon the King of Jin and surrender to Li Chengqian, you should make the trip as soon as possible. The sooner you can win more benefits, otherwise, if you wait until the King of Jin is defeated before surrendering, there will be almost no room for bargaining...
Xiao Yu immediately stood up and walked out, arranging for someone to contact Liu Rengui.
…
On Tianjie, the fierce battle between the two sides has never stopped. Although there are inevitable modifications during the period, the battle continues. As time goes by, the Shandong private army faces the Mo Dao team who are armed to the teeth. The heavy armored infantry have already lost their courage.
, the morale is depleted. After all, it is not a regular army. It is difficult to maintain the morale of the army. It is okay to fight a smooth battle. It is not easy to be able to persist until this moment and still not collapse when encountering such a bloody battle.
However, the Modao team pressed forward step by step, slowly advancing the battle line, and had already arrived near Anrenfang, one step away from the Zhuque Gate. Once the Suzaku Gate was breached, Chengtian Gate would face the front of the navy troops.
The situation is extremely urgent for the Shandong private army...
The headquarters of the naval force has been constantly moving with the forward pressure of the front. It is now located in a temple in Guangfufang. Under the rain, the weather is gloomy, and the pines and cypresses planted everywhere in the temple are evergreen, but in the past they were divided.
The peaceful Buddhist pure land outside was now polluted by the shouting and shouting soldiers coming and going.
Liu Rengui was sitting in a room on the left side of the mountain gate, listening to the battle report, adjusting his strategy, and talking to Xue Wanche.
There was no trace of the rebels in the south of the city, but without orders from Li Chengqian or Fang Jun, Xue Wanche did not dare to lead his troops into the city, but he was worried about the civil war in the city, so he put on an ordinary military uniform and went to Liu Rengui to inquire about the news.
A soldier came in outside the door to report that an old friend was here. Liu Rengui and Xue Wanche looked at each other and said with a smile: "If it's as expected, he must be an old friend from Jiangnan or Shandong."
Xue Wanche was a little depressed, shook his head and said nothing.
Seeing that the King of Jin was about to be overthrown, those who followed him in the mutiny would inevitably have to find their own way out. Surrendering was inevitable anyway, but he was considered a great master and qualified enough to accept the surrender of the rebels, but in the end they chose
A mere naval general, a huge achievement passed by...
Liu Rengui said to the captain Danran: "No matter whether he is an old friend or not, let him go back and tell the messenger that if he wants to surrender anyway, then ask him to come here in person. Otherwise, there is no need to talk. I will wait until the entire Shandong private army is destroyed and I will kill him."
Go to Chengtianmen!"
Xue Wanche was stunned. They had already come to surrender, so why be so aggressive?
This is such a huge achievement, actually extrapolating it...