Before this, King Fan Yang never refuted or questioned any of Duan Shiang's decisions, but that was based on the premise that everything went well.
Duan Shiang led his troops southward and fought invincibly, sweeping them like a gust of wind to the eastern capital Luoyang. Along the way, King Fan Yang often woke up to hear that the army had conquered another city. This made him almost accustomed to this kind of life of sitting back and enjoying the victory.
Naturally, he did not hesitate to trust and rely on Duan Shiang, and even obeyed his words.
But things are different now.
After the defeat of the attack on Bianzhou, Zhengzhou and Xuzhou were lost one after another. Duan Shiang was injured, and the army suffered successive defeats, and was even besieged on three sides by Chang Suining...
Surrounded by such a crisis, King Fan Yang felt that his mind was much clearer.
He considered himself to have no big ambitions, and his biggest hobby in life was just delicious food and lust. For him, the opportunity for this incident was the pie that fell from the sky. This pie was so delicious and big that it made him dizzy.
Huhu, fluttering...
When King Fan Yang often looked at the capital, he always felt that all this was unreal and that it was too easy, as if it was all about luck.
And now it’s better!
Now, the difficult situation he was facing gave him a sense of reality, and he felt at ease...
Li Fu, are you cheap? King Fan Yang pointed at his nose in his heart and cursed to himself.
After scolding him, King Fan Yang began to face his own situation and thoughts.
Everything he got for free gave him a feeling that he had earned it for nothing. Everyone liked it, and if he was asked to give it back, he would grit his teeth and get over it...
All in all, he has no obsession with not dying until he reaches the Yellow River, nor is he determined to die together with the great cause.
King Fan Yang honestly accepted his intention to quit.
Withdraw.
While there are still foundations in the north, and before Chang Sui Ning blocks the retreat, hurry up and retreat to the north!
The north is so vast. If you can't do it, just go back to your hometown Fan Yang and close the door. As long as you run fast enough, are you still afraid of losing your way?
Of course, when he mentioned the idea of running away to Duan Shiang, Li Fu did not forget to call it: "Shiang, you can leave the green mountains without worrying about having no firewood..."
Duan Shiang almost bluntly rejected Li Fu's proposal.
"If the prince withdraws from Luoyang at this time, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted? Those forces that choose to support the prince because the prince is staying in Luoyang will also disperse one after another."
"With this retreat, the army's morale will be confused and its people will be scattered. It is destined to be defeated like a mountain."
"Why did the prince rush to retreat because of the temporary predicament? If Chang Sui Ning really had a good chance of winning, why did he delay in holding back his troops? In the end, she just wanted to use the siege to bluff. If the prince really retreated, it would have hit her right.
The plan to attack the heart is equivalent to giving Luoyang both hands to her!"
"The head-on battle has not yet begun. Your Majesty, you should stay calm and do not rush to inflate other people's ambitions and destroy your own prestige."
"Your Majesty, just leave this matter to your subordinates with peace of mind."
Disagreement like this has occurred several times between King Fan Yang and Duan Shiang.
King Fan Yang wanted to retreat, but Duan Shiang did not want to.
Duan Shiang did not expect the worst outcome, but his plan was fundamentally different from King Fan Yang——
Duan Shiang knew that King Fan Yang was afraid of death, but the life and death of King Fan Yang and the survival of Fan Yang's army were not his real considerations.
For Duan Shiang, it would be best if he could win the battle with Chang Suining, but even if he couldn't win, he would definitely do his best to contain and severely damage Jiangdu's army...
He is not afraid of confronting Chang Suining at all. He still has 170,000 troops here. Chang Suining does not have the ability to crush him in one fell swoop. Once the two sides start a full-scale war, he will be able to further disrupt Luoyang and Henan Province.
The situation created opportunities for Yizhou Rongwang Mansion.
Chang Suining is a serious problem in the eyes of the "Prince", and now he also has a vengeance with him. Therefore, even if he uses all the power of Fan Yang's army to kill him, he will definitely not hesitate!
He was not reckless, but Fan Yangjun's consequences were not seen by him.
Originally it was just a sword, so it doesn't matter if it is broken, as long as it can be put to its fullest use.
Duan Shiang was almost determined to let Fan Yang's army and Jiangdu's army die together, so he naturally ignored King Fan Yang's words of retreat.
When Duan Shiang was on his way to discuss matters with his subordinates, the guard commander responsible for supervising the Cui family's children came over, followed Duan Shiang, and lowered his voice: "General, the Cui family still hasn't left..."
He tried throwing them twice more, but still couldn't throw them away.
In addition, Cui Lang and others have not gone out much these days. They seem to be a little tired. They just stay in the mansion eating, drinking and having fun every day.
Duan Shiang, who was still injured, was worrying about the situation of the battle. Hearing these words, he only frowned and said: "Let them go and take care of them."
Letting go of the Cui family members was Yizhou's signal. Presumably the "Prince" had secretly reached an agreement with the Cui family——
But on the surface, he was actually working for King Fan Yang, so he couldn't openly let Cui Lang and others leave. Since these losers didn't want to miss Shu, then just let them go, as long as they were alive.
Seeing that Duan Shiang had no time to pay attention to these trivial matters, the guard commander paused and did not continue to move forward after he agreed.
…
It was in the afternoon, and King Fan Yang had a nightmare when he was taking a lunch break. When he woke up, he was sweating profusely.
"I just dreamed that the enemy troops stationed in the west were approaching Luoyang for another thirty miles..." King Fan Yang sat up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and murmured: "Fortunately, it was just a dream."
"Father, you are dreaming too much..." A young man guarding the couch said in surprise: "Just now someone came to report that the Huainan Dao army in the west has advanced another fifty miles towards Luoyang!"
The tone that Wang Fanyang had just let go was suddenly raised again: "...What!"
Fifty miles?
It was twenty miles longer than in his dream!
"Is Chang Suining about to call?!" King Fan Yang lifted up the quilt and walked to the bed. The young man hurriedly put on his clothes.
King Fan Yang said anxiously: "What should we do?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Father, don't worry, General Duan is already dealing with it." The young man said: "Even if we start a fight, we won't be able to break into Luoyang City for a while. Let's wait. That’s the news about General Duan.”
"You don't care about everything. You have to roast a sweet potato first when your butt is on fire. The strings in your head are a bit looser than the waistband of an eighty-year-old man!" Li Fu hit the young man's head a few times. He asked angrily: "What are you doing here?"
"My son did not come alone." The young man said, "Cui Liulang is also outside. He wants to see his father."
This young man's name is Li Yun, and he has been in close contact with Cui Lang these days. This is because the two of them share the same noble hobby: fighting crickets.
King Fan Yang was upset when he heard Cui Lang's name. Not only was he useless, but he was also very good at spending his money. The expenses of the thirty children of the Cui family seemed to catch up with the military salary of his 10,000 soldiers!
King Fan Yang subconsciously waved his hand and refused: "Go, go, let him go back."
However, at this moment, Cui Lang's voice sounded outside the curtain: "Your Highness, are you awake?"
Li Yun quickly responded: "Wake up, wake up! Come in quickly!"
After receiving this invitation, Cui Lang walked in very familiarly and saluted King Fan Yang with a grin.
King Fan Yang had always cultivated an image of being courteous to the Cui family's children, so Cui Lang was not hindered from entering and leaving Luoyang Palace, not to mention that Li Yun was accompanying him.
"Cui Liulang, please sit down quickly." Li Yun enthusiastically greeted his father.
Cui Lang sat down in the chair next to the small table without any courtesy. Li Yun sat down on the other side and peeled the pine nuts for Cui Lang.
King Fan Yang, who was wearing a robe, sat beside the couch and snorted at the sight. He was originally laughing at how loose his mind was, but he didn't expect that the Cui family was even worse. .
"Why does Cui Liulang want to see this king?" King Fan Yang took the tea from the maid and asked Cui Lang.
Cui Lang didn't answer but asked: "Has the prince been worried recently?"
King Fan Yang drank a few sips of tea. Hearing this, he raised his eyelids and looked at Cui Lang, and said honestly: "My life is hanging by a thread. Do you think I am worried?"
"That's right." Cui Lang smiled, cupped his hands and said, "I'm here to offer suggestions for relieving the prince's worries."
Li Yun was very surprised when he heard that Cui Liulang came here for business? Cui Liulang also had business?
King Fan Yang put down the tea cup and sighed: "Even if Cui Liulang dares to offer this, I may not dare to use it."
Although there is not a single word of dislike, every word is disgust.
"Your Majesty, please at least listen first." Cui Lang said, leaning towards King Fan Yang, and lowering his voice slightly: "This method is very simple, Your Majesty only needs to kill one person."
"Oh, who to kill?" King Fan Yang asked casually.
Cui Lang: "Duan Shiang, General Duan."
King Fan Yang looked at him.
Li Yun's eyes widened at the side, and when he was about to speak, his father waved his hand, and the two maids in the room bowed and left.
"You want me to kill General Duan——" King Fan Yang looked at Cui Lang amusedly: "So that I can surrender to Chang Sui Ning?"
Cui Lang smiled noncommittally.
"Not to mention that even if I do this, I may not be able to save my life, and the imperial court may not be willing to forgive me lightly..." King Fan Yang seemed to be puzzled and said: "Just talking about the situation at this time, if I withdraw, I will not be able to save my life."
If there is a way to survive, why would you cut off your arms to survive?"
Cui Lang said with a smile: "But with General Duan here, whether this army will stay or not, my lord, I'm afraid it won't count if you say it -"
Nine out of ten of the military power of Fan Yang's army was held by Duan Shiang.
Cui Lang continued: "What if General Duan will not agree to withdraw anyway, and has never thought of leaving a way for the prince to survive?"
King Fan Yang laughed for a while and then said: "Shiang and I will both lose. Why would he want to cut off my life?"
Cui Lang: "Your Majesty is so sure that General Duan will be loyal to you?"
"It turns out that we are not relatives, but I know how loyal Shi'ang is to me." King Fan Yang trimmed his beard and said with a smile: "But before the great cause is accomplished, he will keep me safe...
The king needs him, so why doesn’t he need the king?"
Cui Lang's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but it did not stop him from continuing: "But what if there is someone else who General Duan really wants to support?"
"Oh?" King Fan Yang seemed to be interested: "Who is it?"
Looking at each other, Cui Lang said: "Rong Wang of Yizhou."
King Fan Yang raised his slightly sparse eyebrows: "Li Yin?"
His expression couldn't tell whether he believed it or not.
"Think about it..." Cui Lang still said in a casual tone: "He has other loyalties. He wishes that you and Fan Yangjun's lives could be used to contain the imperial troops so as to pave the way for King Rong. How can he take care of you?"
Choose to retreat north because of the danger to your safety?"
"There is some truth in that statement..." King Fan Yang stood up from the couch with his hands on his knees: "But where is the evidence?"
"Shi'ang is my good general. If I kill him by mistake because of a few unsubstantiated assumptions, how can my conscience be at peace?"
While King Fan Yang was pacing in his clothes, he quickly drew out the sword hanging by his side, turned the sword slightly, and pointed it at Cui Lang's neck.
Li Yun was so frightened that his legs went weak and he quickly knelt down: "Father..."
"Although I don't want to offend the pen in the hands of the Cui family, if the Cui family tries to sow discord in order to help King Rong succeed, they will treat me as a brainless idiot..." King Fan Yang
There was still a smile on his round face: "I can't kill a clever Cui baby like you."
Looking at the sword blade so close at hand, Cui Lang leaned back, leaned his head against the back of the chair, and gave a slightly stiff smile.
Who says King Fan Yang is just a brainless puppet?
People understand it in their hearts.
In these few words, the Cui family's position is clearly understood.
It looks like a fat cat, but it actually has claws.
At this moment, Cui Lang has reason to believe that if Duan Shiang can really support King Fan Yang to enter the capital, if the former moves slowly, King Fan Yang will definitely be able to cross the river and demolish the bridge - get rid of the hero with a smile, and then shed a few drops of sadness afterwards.
tears.
King Fan Yang is not easily frightened.
The reason why Chang Sui Ning had not rashly revealed the relationship between Duan Shiang and King Rong to King Fan Yang before was because she had no real evidence in her hands. If she publicized the matter prematurely, it would only alarm Duan Shiang. Once Duan Shiang became wary, he would not think twice.
It's even harder to get evidence.
Therefore, Chang Suining chose to besiege Luoyang step by step, making King Fan Yang want to retreat. Chang Suining knew very well that Duan Shiang would not retreat from Luoyang. When the two of them had differences because of this, it was the best time to attack——
And Cui Lang, who recommended himself to stay as an internal response, is undoubtedly the most suitable person to do this.
In the eyes of outsiders, he is quite a playboy and useless, and people around him will not become wary easily when waiting for him. It is especially convenient for him to do many things.
But at the same time, this is also very risky.
Many of these measures need to be carefully grasped by Cui Lang, and there must be no laxity or luck.
In addition, this requires his unconditional trust in Chang Suining. After all, the information he received was all informed by Chang Suining in writing, and he did not personally experience any process of analyzing the truth.
If the information given by Chang Suining is wrong, or if Cui Lang hesitates even a little bit during the execution, death will be waiting for him.
Alertness, courage, and determination are all indispensable.
At this time, Cui Lang stretched out two fingers as calmly as possible, placed them on the spine of the sword, pushed the sword slightly to one side, and said softly: "The evidence that the prince wants will arrive later..."