The weather was very cold in mid-October, and the gunpowder dried slowly in the shade. Liu Xiang did not dare to risk his life by lighting a fire, so he could only wait patiently.
There was another commotion in the city last night, and there was a fire in the Weiyang Palace. It was much more chaotic than during the day, but he still ordered the troops to stand still.
The defenders on the city wall were not in disorder at all. The Liangzhou soldiers had poor military discipline and committed many evil deeds, but their combat power was not weak at all. The losses suffered by the forceful attack were too great.
With the black powder as a base, it is very certain to break through the city gate. Who would think of letting his soldiers go to the city wall to die? Right?
"My lord has so much confidence in those two cars that crashed. I can't understand why." Guo Jia looked at Liu Xiang resentfully and complained about his betrayal. It was too torturous.
Unsatisfied curiosity was a ravage to the mind. I didn't sleep well all night, and my mind was filled with speculations about the two crashed cars.
Guo Jia was not the only one to be tortured. The officials and ministers in the city were really tortured.
At dawn, they were asked to write a memorial to persuade them to join the party, and those who dared to refuse were beheaded on the spot.
This is still lucky.
Unfortunately, those who had their hands and feet chopped off screamed in agony, excrement and urine flowed out, and were tortured to death, or bled to death.
These were performed in front of everyone in the front hall of Weiyang Palace. If Li Jue was not persuaded to enter, he would be tortured to death.
From morning to noon, the yelling and wailing did not stop. Even Zongzheng Liu Ai, who was originally the commander of the Liangzhou Army, was beaten to death with sticks. This was a personal grudge, and Fan Chou took it upon himself to do so.
.
If you write a form of persuasion to rebellious officials and traitors, not only will your family be humiliated, but you will definitely be liquidated in the future. At the very least, you will be a traitor, and your life will not be saved. In the worst case, you will be expelled from the Yi clan.
No one would think that Liangzhou people could win.
Taiwei Yang Biao was beheaded.
Sima Rixi was beheaded.
Sikong Zhangxi was beheaded.
Shangshu Wang Long mourned and died.
Guang Luxun and Liu Yuan bled to death.
Guardsman Sun Rui, Imperial Servant Han Rong, Court Commander Xuanfan, Da Honglu Ronghe, Grand Secretary Nong Zhu Jun, General Craftsman Liang Shao, and Tunqi Colonel Jiang Xuan all died.
In one morning, thirty-seven people from the imperial court were killed.
Counting Situ Wang Yun who was beheaded in the street during the counterattack on Chang'an, the three princes were killed many times and most of the nine ministers were killed.
After the servants laid down their troops, Xi Liu, the imperial censor, Zhong Ji, the captain of the Changshui school, Zhaoxin, the general and the prince, surrendered, Wu Shuo, the Yilang, Zhao Yan, the Yilang, and others surrendered.
I have to persuade you to submit forty-eight letters.
The reception platform in the palace was still being built. Li Jue, Guo Si and others invited Duan Xuan, Hu Zhen, Li Meng and Wang Fang to have a banquet in the North Palace to discuss important matters.
Among the five palaces in Chang'an City, the Weiyang Palace where the emperor and queen lived and handled government affairs was occupied by Li Jue, the Changle Palace where the Queen Mother lived was occupied by Guo Si, and the Mingguang Palace where the palace officials were housed was occupied by Fan Chou. These three palaces, Duan Xuan and others were
I won’t go. It’s easy to get in but hard to get out.
Therefore, the Gui Palace, where the concubines lived, and the Beigong, where the emperor used to play, became the choice for an alliance. However, the Gui Palace was next to the west wall and was Zhang Ji's sphere of influence.
Beigong became the best place to attend the meeting.
Several people want to kill the black ox and the white horse there, and make an alliance through their blood.
But, the four Li Jue were just lieutenants under Niu Fu, the commander-in-chief. After capturing Chang'an, the four of them reported to the group to get promoted and get rich, and their mouths were full of food.
But Duan Xuan and Hu Zhen, who were originally Zhonglang generals, are still Zhonglang generals now. They are also participants in the counterattack on Chang'an. How can they feel happy when they are squeezed out?
Li Meng, the captain of the Soubing Academy who made the greatest contribution, was only mentioned as a lieutenant general. You must know that on the night when the city was broken, the Soubong soldiers fought alone in the city to capture Yongmen. They really fought hard and suffered a lot of casualties.
Just because the remaining combat power is insufficient and he is squeezed out, can he be willing to do so?
"When Li Jue and the four of them were fighting for the benefits, they never thought of sharing the profits with us. Now that they have caused a huge disaster, they want to hold us back. Why?
There is no such truth in the world."
Duan Xuan felt that there was nothing wrong with what Jia Xu said, but the appearance of Li Jue and others was too ugly.
Why can Jia Xu talk to Duan Xuan?
The two of them were from Wuwei, and it was because of this relationship that they persuaded Lao Duan to counterattack Chang'an.
The most important thing is that Jia Wenhe came up with the plan, but he didn't reap any benefits. He used to be a school captain, but he is still a school captain now, so Lao Duan regards him as one of his own.
Although it was Jia Xu's own choice not to be promoted to a noble position, Lao Duan didn't know.
Also regarded by Duan Xuan as one of his own is Hu Zhen.
It would be impossible not to join the regiment, because he was bullied, so Hu Zhen, who had surrendered to the court together, regretted it together, and was ostracized all the time, was naturally the best candidate to win over.
We are both fallen people from the end of the world.
Their common experiences brought them together to form an alliance to deal with the oppression by Li Jue and others.
It hit it off right away.
In this way, three forces were formed in Chang'an City. Li Jue, a group of four, was the strongest and had the most combat power; Duan Xuan and Hu Zhen had nearly 30,000 troops and were the second most powerful; Li Meng and Wang Fang had no choice.
There are a total of 10,000 soldiers, and they can only join the regiment to keep warm.
As for Jia Xu, he was wandering among various forces. He only had a thousand people, and he relied on his ingenuity to control the situation. On the surface, he wanted to unite all the armies to fight against foreign enemies, but in fact... no one suspected that he had other ideas.
Respected and trusted by all parties.
After all, Liangzhou is a place where there are only a few people with brains that can be beaten.
The banquet in the Beigong was held in the evening. The afterglow of the setting sun reflected the golden-red sunset that swept across half the sky. It was magnificent and desolate. Jia Xu sat in the pavilion, admiring such beautiful scenery, and was blown away by the cold winter wind.
Cold.
"Liangzhou is coming to an end. I hope Liu Qiaoqi didn't deceive me." He said to himself in his heart.
Today, he wanted to bury the Liangzhou Army with his own hands and end with his own hands the military group that he had hoped would bring about the rise of the Liangzhou people.
He has despaired of these people.
As for Han Sui, Ma Teng and dozens of other rebels, they will only make Liangzhou even more impoverished.
You have to find a way out. I was born here and grew up here, how can I bear to give it up?
There are more than 80,000 garrison troops in the city. If we really fight hard, we might be able to repel Liu Qiaoqi, but what happens after they are repulsed? In addition to looting and looting over and over again, the few generals who led the troops know nothing, and in the end they only
can lead to destruction.
There is no need to fight anymore.
The promise of opening a trade route to the Western Regions was not a lie to himself, even if it was just to show him his efforts. He knew how difficult it was and did not dare to expect success in the short term.
"Captain, the arrangements have been completed and the North Palace is under control."
Jia Xu's thoughts were interrupted by his subordinates. None of the eight people could trust the other, so the defense of the Beigong and the arrangements for the banquet were all his people.
He felt flattered to be trusted so much, so the arrangements were extremely strict. In order to avoid a fight on the spot, the eight people who came to the banquet could not bring in a large number of personal guards. Everyone agreed on this.
No one wants a bloodbath at a banquet.
It's a pity that I have to betray your trust.
Of course he would not kill everyone, he would always leave a few to restrain the army, and he would be too embarrassed to kill his true allies.
"Captain, the banquet has started, General Li and others are looking for you."
"I know, I'll go over right away."
If someone is looking for death, he doesn't mind starting early.