The sky can grow old and the sea can turn over. It is difficult to eliminate this hatred. I often hear that envoys are sent to ask for peace. When will the tortoises return?
——"Ruan Langgui·Walking on the Poyang Road in heavy snow in Yimao, Shaoxing" Xiang Ziyi (Song Dynasty)
…
Just as Bai Fulihentian's military training was in full swing, changes were quietly taking place on the battlefield in the Central Plains.
On this day, Bai Fu received secret reports from Yan Zhuang and Tang Kui at the same time: After An Qingxu fled to Yecheng, he returned to his old ways, indulged in sensuality every day, and handed over the affairs of the country to his close ministers Gao Shang and Zhang Tongru.
The minister was Gao Shang, and Zhang Tongru was fighting for power every day, fighting each other openly and secretly, making the puppet Yan court a mess, and the government was weak. Cai Xide, the general of the Yan army, was strong and straightforward, and couldn't stand Gao. Zhang and Zhang repeatedly gave advice to An Qingxu.
, offended Zhang Tongru.
Zhang Tongru was determined to retaliate, and he falsely accused Cai Xide of secretly surrendering to the Tang Dynasty. As an internal agent, he was about to attack and kill An Qingxu. An Qingxu was furious when he heard this, and killed Cai Xide regardless of the objections of the soldiers of the three armies.
When Cai Xide died, his direct subordinates were greatly disappointed, and thousands of them fled. The generals of the Yan army were full of complaints, resentment and anger, and no longer tried their best to execute military orders.
An Qingxu then appointed Cui Qianyou as the military envoy to the world, commanding all the forces of the Yan army. Cui Qianyou was stubborn, violent, cruel and murderous, and the soldiers refused to obey. The morale of the army was gradually weakened, military discipline was ruined, and the officers and soldiers of the three armies were no longer willing to serve An Qingxu.
Bai Fu nodded secretly and thought to himself: "What Master Zhongsi said is true. If you use spies well, you will always be successful. Now, without any effort, you can use Yan Zhuang and others to get rid of the rebel general Cai Xide.
His hero is my enemy. Once this man dies, An Qingxu will have no more powerful generals under his command. Gao Shang, Zhang Tongru, Cui Qianyou and the like are not worth worrying about."
…
After Cai Xide's death, the Yan army was in civil strife and the world was shaken. The puppet Yan government and opposition parties were at odds with each other, and the news that the generals were at odds with each other soon spread to Chang'an.
At this moment, there are many conflicts within the rebel army, which is the best opportunity to eliminate the remnants of An Lushan.
On September 21, Suzong recruited Guo Ziyi, the governor of Shuofang, Lu Jiong, the governor of Huaixi, Li Huan, the governor of Xingping, Xu Shuji, the governor of Huapu, Li Siye, the governor of Zhenxi and Beiting, and Zheng
Cai Jiedushi Ji Guangchen, Henan Jiedushi Cui Guangyuan and other seven Jiedushi envoys and Pinglu military envoy Dong Qin. The Eighth Route Army assembled a total of 200,000 infantry and cavalry to attack An Qingxu.
Suzong also ordered Li Guangbi, the military governor of Hedong, and Wang Sili, the military governor of Zelu in Guan Nei, to lead their troops to assist.
What is puzzling is that Suzong did not set up a commander for the more than 200,000 troops. Instead, he appointed eunuchs to supervise the army. Yu Chaoen, the third minister of Kaifu Yi, was appointed as the envoy to watch the army, Rong Xuanwei, and command and dispatch the nine-way army.
.
Bai Fu secretly told something wrong. The matter was serious, so Bai Fu rushed back to Chang'an overnight to learn the details.
Back at the Bashu Guild Hall, Bai Fu summoned Huang Zhen and Tang Kui to discuss the matter.
Tang Kui said bitterly: "Yu Chaoen is a secret agent of Anlu Mountain. It's okay if your Majesty doesn't believe it. How can you use this person in such a important way?"
Bai Fu said: "If I told you that Brother Zhen is an Anlu Mountain spy, would you believe it?"
Tang Kui said: "How is that possible? I have known Huang Zhen for more than a day or two."
Bai Fu said: "If you think so, His Majesty will think so too. What's more, Yu Chaoen is a eunuch and has been serving
If you stay by your Majesty's side, in front of the saddle and behind the horse, and watch your every move, you will definitely win your Majesty's trust.
Now that An Lushan is dead, even if he was a fish and a rat in the past, he is now fully loyal to His Majesty.
It is in his interest. Therefore, His Majesty is not worried.
I once asked the Grand Tutor: Why do emperors in all dynasties love to kiss villains and virtuous ministers? Even if this emperor
Wang Xiong is a man of great talent and strategy, and he is wise and powerful."
"What did the Master say?" Huang and Tang both became interested.
Bai Fu smiled faintly and said: "The Tutor only has one sentence, 'It's easy for a villain'!"
After hearing this, Huang and Tang fell into deep thought and carefully savored the profound meaning of Xu Taifu's words.
After a moment of silence, Bai Fu asked: "Has Your Majesty told the courtiers why he did not choose Marshal Guo or Guang Guang?"
General Bi is the commander-in-chief?"
Tang Kui said: "Your Majesty's reason is that both Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi are the founders of the empire, and it is not good for anyone to rule the other."
Huang Zhen sneered and said: "The reason is high-sounding. On a whim, the emperor asked an eunuch who does not understand military affairs to command the nine military governors who have experienced hundreds of battles, and have full power to mobilize the world's troops. Isn't it child's play?"
Bai Fu pondered for a moment and said: "In my opinion, this is not a whim of His Majesty, but the result of careful consideration."
Tang Kui said: "Brother Fu, how do you say this?"
Bai Fu sighed: "It seems that what I was most worried about has happened. Your Majesty has learned from An Lushan's mistakes and does not dare to leave the world's soldiers and horses in the hands of one person again.
These more than 200,000 soldiers and horses are the main force of the Tang Army, and other troops will be gathered one after another in the future. Once the commander uses the Tiger Talisman to defect before the battle, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Putting this terrible power that can overthrow the world in the hands of eunuchs who live with you day and night will make your majesty feel more at ease than putting it in the hands of military governors who fight and kill."
Huang Zhen said: "In that case, why not follow the original example and let the prince lead the army as the marshal, with Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi as the left and right deputy marshals respectively? In this way, wouldn't the problem be easily solved?"
Bai Fu said: "I don't know what Prince Li Chu did during this period? It seems that His Majesty is suspicious of him.
To put it another way, as the crown prince, Li Chu is the authority of the world. Once the generals in charge, such as Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, swear allegiance, they can support the crown prince at any time and ascend to the throne at any time.
From this point of view, Li Chu is a greater threat than Shi Siming and An Qingxu. Therefore, once His Majesty is worried about the prince, he will definitely not hand over military power to Li Chu."
After saying this, Bai Fu changed the topic and said: "The war is imminent, and the enemy's spies will definitely sneak into Chang'an. I also ask my two brothers to contact the gangs in Chang'an and pay close attention.
Once discovered, don't capture them, just keep an eye on them secretly. If necessary, they may be our pawns.
In addition, we must not only pay attention to the spies brought from Yecheng and Fanyang, but also to the spies from Tubo and other places. If the war in the Tang Dynasty drags on for a long time, the surrounding barbarians will definitely have different intentions, so we must be on guard."
Tang Kui suddenly became alert and quickly wrote it down, thinking: "In terms of planning the overall situation, there is a huge gap between me and the real military strategists."
After the discussion, it was almost three o'clock, and the three of them went back to their houses to rest. Bai Fu had many thoughts on his mind, and it took him a long time to fall asleep.
After learning the news that Bai Fu had returned to Chang'an, Princess Qingluan hurried to the Bashu Guild Hall early in the morning, as excited as a little bird, and told Bai Fu the interesting stories in Chang'an recently.
Bai Fu asked: "Has the prince offended your majesty recently?"
Princess Qingluan was stunned and said: "How do you know?"
Bai Fu said: "What exactly is going on?"
Princess Qingluan sighed: "It's not because of Grandpa Huang. Grandpa Huang has always liked my brother. A few days ago, brother Huang went to Xingqing Palace to pay his respects to Grandpa Huang.
The emperor said that Mrs. Guo Guo did not follow the rules of women and hooked up with a local squire in Luoyang. Now that Mrs. Guo Guo is dead, all the properties and mansions of Mrs. Guo Guo in Luoyang have been taken over by this squire.
Gao Lishi had to take care of the emperor's grandfather and it was inconvenient to go to Luoyang, so he asked the emperor's brother to come forward and handle the matter. The emperor's grandfather promised that after the matter was completed, he would give half of Mrs. Guo Guo's land to the emperor's brother.
When the emperor's brother needed money, he ordered Luoyang Yin to help investigate the matter.
Unexpectedly, this Luoyang squire was very powerful in the local area. Not only did he refuse to hand over the land, he also obtained a copy of the emperor's brother through the imperial censor.
The father summoned his brother into the palace and asked him what he wanted so much money for.
The emperor's brother replied, seeing that winter was approaching, many soldiers of King Qin's army such as Shuofang Army and Anxi Army were still wearing summer singles and had no winter clothes, so he wanted to raise some silver coins and give them to the soldiers of the Tang Army to calm the morale of the army.
I don’t know which part of my brother’s answer was wrong. My father was furious and ordered my brother to stay in the East Palace and shut himself up to think about his mistakes..."
It turned out that the Tang clan's disguised "Li Man" followed Bai Fu's instructions and sold off the land in Luoyang. Since the land deed was also signed by Mrs. Guo Guo, the news spread quickly.
Suzong's daughter, Princess Yanguang, once married Pei Hui, the son of a lady from Guo State, and gave birth to a son, Pei Ye. When she fled with Xuanzong, Pei Hui died in the Maweipo Incident.
Speaking of which, Pei Ye is the only heir of Mrs. Guo Guo. After the death of Mrs. Guo Guo, the property in her name should be inherited by him.
After Princess Yanguang learned the news, she coveted the wealth and rushed to Luoyang to compete with the prince for the land of Mrs. Guo.
Of course, Luoyang Yin did not dare to offend the prince, so he was a little biased in handling the matter. Princess Yanguang was furious and sued the emperor to Suzong.
Of course Suzong knew that Li Mo was Xuanzong's pseudonym, and he also knew about Mrs. Guo's past affairs in the palace.
In order to maintain the dignity of the royal family, Suzong knew that the Tang clan's "Li Ma" might be an imposter, but he still insisted on issuing an edict and allocated half of the land to "Li Ma" and the other half to Pei Ye.
…
Since Xuanzong had confessed it in advance, Li Chu did not inform Suzong of the matter.
After the incident was exposed, Suzong was greatly dissatisfied with Li Chu's series of measures to deliberately cater to the emperor and win over Guo Ziyi and other Tang army generals.
In addition, Queen Zhang was fanning the flames, and Suzong was so angry that he banned the prince, with the intention of deposing the prince.
Li Chu was frightened and trembling. He no longer dared to act rashly and lived in the East Palace every day.
On the other hand, Xuanzong's scandal with his wife Guo was exposed to the world, which was quite embarrassing. However, Suzong knew the identity of "Li Miao" and ruthlessly deprived him of these lands.
Xuanzong was so ashamed and embarrassed that he became bedridden in anger. After several months of treatment, he slowly recovered and was able to walk on the ground.
From then on, Xuanzong and his son no longer had the kindness and filial piety they had when they regained Chang'an, and the rift between them gradually grew and they drifted apart.
…
The whole thing was planned by Bai Fu behind the scenes and was advanced step by step according to the pre-designed steps.
Seeing that his plan was successful and that even though Xuanzong was the Supreme Emperor, he still could not escape the disaster, Bai Fu let out a bad breath and felt very happy.
When Xuanzong sent Bai Fu to the heavenly prison, did he ever think that this insignificant ant-like figure could trip up a "giant elephant" with his "ant legs"?!
Even so, Bai Fu couldn't bear to see Princess Qingluan frowning for Xuanzong and Li Chu, sobbing softly, with her clear eyes hazy in the mist.
Bai Fu secretly sighed in his heart: "Children from a poor family are children from a poor family. Compared with those high-ranking children from the royal family, my heart is still too soft and it is difficult for me to achieve great things.
Empress Zhang finally waited for the opportunity for the prince to make a mistake, how could she let it go so easily? She would definitely take the opportunity to provoke him.
Li Chu is very likely to lose his position as crown prince because of this. Li Chu is the brother of Princess Qingluan. Once he loses his title as prince, Princess Qingluan will also be affected.
Suzong's reign was good, but once he dies and his favor is no longer favored, Princess Qingluan's fate will be unpredictable and her good or bad will be uncertain."
Thinking of this, Bai Fu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, temporarily put aside the grudges in his heart, and said to Princess Qingluan: "Your Highness is worry-free. I have three strategies to keep the prince safe..." (To be continued)