Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Pei Xingjian walked eastward for several miles surrounded by people. When he saw a large umbrella flag on a hillside by the road, he knew that was where the enemy's commander was. He jumped off his horse, took off his hat and shoes, and walked toward the mound regardless of his rider's dissuasion. When he reached the top of the hill and was still more than twenty steps away from Luo Umbrella, Pei Xingjian knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "Pei Xingjian, the defeated general, pays homage to General Wang!"

"What's wrong with Mr. Pei?" Seeing this, Wang Wenzuo hurriedly jumped off his horse, walked quickly to Pei Xingjian and helped him up: "Soldiers have been fighting battles since ancient times. The outcome is unpredictable. This time Mr. Pei was defeated by me. It's bad luck, not a crime of war! If Pei Gong is like this, if the world knows about it, won't he say that my king has a small weapon and humiliates the heroes of the world?" After saying that, he took off his cloak and wrapped it for Pei Xingjian. He went up and shouted: "Come here, quickly get my shoes and hats and put them on for Mr. Pei!"

"No!" Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "This time I don't know the right and wrong, and I'm looking for death. It's just that Pei has something unclear, please let the general know!"

"Mr. Pei, please speak!"

"After the general's victory, entering Tongguan and taking the pass was like picking up grass and mustard. Pei dared to ask, after the general entered Chang'an, did he have the ambition to aspire to the throne?"

Hearing Pei Xingjian's question, Wang Wenzuo smiled: "Don't worry, Mr. Pei, the destiny still belongs to the Li family, and the emperor is very kind to Wang. I don't have that kind of thoughts either publicly or privately. To be honest , the reason why I did not follow the imperial edict and go to Beijing is just because I command an army of hundreds of thousands, and I am as powerful as riding a tiger. If I do what the imperial edict says, I am afraid that my life will not be saved. Wang said that to be honest, the current plan will put the world in danger It is tied to the king, not because he cherishes his life, but because he does not want the world to be in turmoil and the people to suffer from war!"

After hearing Wang Wenzuo's words, Pei Xingjian made up his mind. No matter what Wang Wenzuo really thought, it was enough that he was willing to express this attitude at this time. Moreover, he later said that the safety of the world depends on him. It is not bragging. If he Now that he dies suddenly, Chang'an and Guanzhong will definitely suffer. He quickly fell to the ground and kowtowed: "If this is the case, how lucky the world is!"

"Pei Gong, please get up!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out his hand to help Pei Xingjian up: "For the current plan, I have one more thing to ask for!"

"General, please give me all your orders, and Pei will obey them all!" Pei Xingjian said.

"Pei's small victory may only alarm the emperor. If the emperor is alarmed, Wang will die without redemption." Wang Wenzuo said: "I will write a memorandum later to apologize, and ask Mr. Pei to go for me. I'm going to Chang'an and I'm going to send you a memorial! If there are treacherous ministers in the court who make slanderous remarks, please ask Pei Gong to say a few words on Wang's behalf!"

Upon hearing Wang Wenzuo's request, Pei Xingjian was stunned. After a while, he asked, "General, do you want to let me go back to Chang'an?"

"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If Mr. Pei doesn't return to Chang'an, how can he carry the message for me and explain it to the court for me?"

The expression on Pei Xingjian's face changed, and finally he sighed: "The general's magnanimity and magnanimity are truly unparalleled in the world. Pei actually dared to raise his troops to attack him before. He really overestimated his capabilities!"

"Why did Mr. Pei say that!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If possible, Wang really doesn't want to fight with Mr. Pei. After all, those who fell in the fight on both sides were all soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. The palms of their hands are made of flesh, and the backs of their hands are also made of flesh!"

Pei Xingjian looked at Wang Wenzuo's face carefully, but he couldn't tell whether it was true or not. He thought to himself that even if it was a lie, it still looked like the truth. He was really a rare traitor in the world, so he had better not go against him. , if you lose next time, you may not have the same good luck as this time. So Wang Wenzuo called Lu Zhaolin and asked him to draft a memorial. After he finished writing, he called for wine, food and new clothes to serve Pei Xingjian. He drank food and wine and changed into new clothes. One hundred fine cavalry were selected and escorted to Chang'an.

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Changan.

The news that Pei Xingjian's entire army had been wiped out spread like wildfire to all nearby cities, and the whole Guanzhong was shaken by it. Everyone was stunned with fear after learning the details of the entire battle.

Tongzhou, Shaanzhou, Huazhou and other prefectures and counties located on the east side of the Guanzhong Plain began to prepare for defense in a hurry. Temporarily recruited militiamen and government officials stood guard at the city gates and walls day and night, but everyone knew What they were guarding against was a defeated army. When the cavalry of the Eastern Army appeared on the horizon, these states and counties obediently opened their city gates to express their submission. However, to the surprise of the residents, these victors behaved very politely. They only set up sentries at the city gate, asked for food and other military supplies from the city residents, and then camped outside the city, risking the lives and property of the residents. None were harmed.

For the residents of Chang'an City, the impact of this battle was completely different. If the residents of Tongzhou, Shaanzhou, Huazhou and other prefectures and counties can choose to surrender to any winner, whoever lives in Taiji Palace does not prevent them from paying taxes and serving labor. However, many people in Chang'an City You can't ignore these. They were still discussing with fear what would happen in the future. The old people recalled what happened when Tang Gong led his troops into Chang'an decades ago. Some even began to consider whether to follow the emperor to leave Chang'an and flee to Shu. The situation is obvious. After the fall of Tongguan, there are no geographical barriers or troops between Wang Wenzuo and Chang'an to hinder his progress. No matter how many troops and wealth the Tang Dynasty still has, at least the fall of Chang'an is already a matter of time.

Seeing this, it should not be difficult for readers to imagine the commotion caused when Pei Xingjian returned to Chang'an. This legendary defeated general who had been captured, died in battle, and fled actually returned to Chang'an safely under the escort of the Eastern Army, and also brought a confession from the victor. In the memorial, Wang Wenzuo, who already had Chang'an in his pocket, apologized to the emperor and argued that the reason why he was not ordered to disband the army and enter the court was because doing so would only destabilize the world and he would not be able to escape death, so he had no choice but to do so. He did such "the most evil thing in the world". Therefore, he begged the emperor to forgive his crime of treason. He would first open up water transportation as soon as possible and solve the food problem in Chang'an to atone for his crime, and then return to Beijing to wait for his crime.

Facing the contents of the memorial, the people in Chang'an City, regardless of their status, fell into a state of speechlessness for a while, forgetting how to evaluate it. No matter how low Wang Wenzuo's posture was in the memorial, no one would be stupid enough to ignore the reality of the balance of power - the rebels who have controlled Hebei, the entire Luoyang Basin and the Weihan Valley have actually put the tip of their swords against Chang'an. on a person's throat. Regardless of Wang Wenzuo's words about "treating the guilty" and "death penalty", everyone knows: no one can punish him for his crimes. In fact, the one who can punish the sins of Chang'an people is the sinner who is apologizing!

In this case, considering that Wang Wenzuo also claimed that water transportation should be restored first to solve Chang'an's food problem. People in Chang'an's perception of Wang Wenzuo has undergone subtle changes, or it can be said that Stockholm syndrome has occurred.

"So, General Wang has no choice but to do this!"

"A last resort? Fighting all the way from Liaodong to Chang'an City and beating the shit out of the imperial army. Is there such a thing that is not allowed?"

"There's nothing we can do about it! Didn't you read what the memorial said? If he follows what the edict says, the world will be in chaos, and his own life will be in danger!"

"Humph, there is a truth in this. He is just afraid of death! He is afraid of death alone, but he lets tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people accompany him to death. How can there be such truth in the world?"

"What you said is wrong. Who in the world is not afraid of death? Are you not afraid of death, or am I not afraid of death? It's just that you and I don't have the ability of General Wang. When something happens, we can only die obediently, but he can force You're just waiting for others to die. If you have the ability, it can't be considered a fault, right?" "Hey! Where are you on this guy? Why are you saying good things for that guy? You can't be benefiting from him, right? "

"I'm just talking about things, why do you say that! Besides, General Wang is rectifying the canal transportation. If you have the ability, don't eat the canal grain shipped by him! Otherwise, you can count as benefiting from him!"

"Fart, this water transport was originally good, but it was messed up by his people rebelling. He should have recovered, but why did I benefit from him? You bastard, you are always saying good things for him, I am here today I have to punch you a few times!"

"Let's do it. If you are so capable, why don't you go to Tongguan or Luoyang to compete with the Dongren army? Instead, you will go wild in Chang'an City!"

"I can't defeat the Dongren army, so I can't defeat you?"

"You two, you two, stop it, it's not worth it to break it just for the sake of words!"

Similar quarrels were taking place in every wine shop, teahouse, and cockfighting ring in Chang'an City. Some even within the same family quarreled over differences in political stance, and even resorted to violence. Compared to these places, the deep palace where the fate of the empire is truly decided is surprisingly calm.

"Hey——!" Li Hong put down the memorial in his hand and let out a long sigh. Pei Xingjian, who was kneeling in the hall, took a deep breath and prepared to accept his fate.

"Mr. Pei!" Li Hong asked, "What do you think of what Wang Wenzuo said in this memorial?"

"I believe that what General Wang said in his memorial is the truth and not lies!"

"Hahaha!" Li Hong smiled bitterly: "You were beaten like this by him, but you said something nice for him?"

"Report to Your Majesty!" Pei Xingjian said: "I am not saying good things for General Wang. I am speaking from my heart. After all, judging from his current situation, there is really no need to lie anymore!"

Li Hong fell into silence. After a while, he sighed: "I never thought that one day I would be suspicious of Saburo. Really, I have already called him back to assist the government. One person is worth ten thousand people." Why does he still do these things among people? What else can he do in the end, other than usurping the throne?"

"Your Majesty!" Pei Xingjian kowtowed: "You may have misunderstood the situation of the general. At that time, he had an army of hundreds of thousands. If he wanted to enter the capital, he would have to disband it. And this was hundreds of thousands of people. How could it be so easy to disband it?" ? There will inevitably be troubles, and these troubles will inevitably fall on him. At that time, he was in Chang'an, without a single soldier in his hands, but he was impeached and slandered by all parties. I am afraid that this situation will pass in a day. Don’t go down!”

"With the widow protecting him, who can hurt him? In the end, he still can't trust the widow!" Li Hong sighed: "What about now? Will it be fine?"

"Please forgive me for speaking frankly!" Pei Xingjian said: "Now that the matter has come to this, no one dares to impeach the general!"

"That's true, now that things have reached this point, no official will come to impeach him anymore!" Li Hong sighed: "But why must things get to this point?"

Pei Xingjian lowered his head and said nothing. For this reason, he did not dare to speak.

Li Hong sighed for a long time on his throne and waved his hand for Pei Xingjian to stand up: "Mr. Pei, someone advised me to move to the center of Shu and issue an edict to summon soldiers and horses from all over the world to attack Wang Wenzuo. What do you think?"

"Absolutely not! This is a sinner who has brought disaster to the country and the people!" Pei Xingjian was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Although Wang Wenzuo acted domineeringly, it was for self-protection and had no intention of usurpation. But if Your Majesty, you flee to Shu, Even if it is not contrary, it has become a real rebellion. Not to mention that the road from Guanzhong to Shuzhong is dangerous, but only one point is that if we want to conquer Wang Wenzuo, we must recall the soldiers guarding Longyou, Beiting and other places. Tubo will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to invade, and the Tang Dynasty Decades of hard work will inevitably be lost. Even if Wang Wenzuo can be defeated by then, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"You're right!" Li Hong sighed: "If we do this, the Tang Dynasty will no longer be the Tang Dynasty! If I do this, I will become a sinner who brings harm to the world, and will never be able to see my ancestors again!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I am worried too much!"

"Mr. Pei, how do you think we should respond?" Li Hong asked.

"In my opinion, the imperial court's current plan should first admit the fait accompli!" Pei Xingjian said: "Didn't General Wang say that he wants to rectify the canal transport? Simply let him rectify the canal transport first and let him dispatch the armies. Let him do it. Everything has been approved by the imperial court, and it will not be too late for him to return to Chang'an when everything is settled. The old minister feels that there are some things that require your majesty to have a face-to-face talk with the general. A talk between you will win the day. After passing, I will wait outside and say ten thousand words! This is what I think!"

"That's what Mr. Pei said! I should talk to Sanlang!" Li Hong smiled: "I don't know why the world is in such a bad situation today. I originally just wanted to let Sanlang go out of the capital and put the Liaodong war under control. It’s calmed down. I didn’t expect that even though the war in Liaodong calmed down, it would cause even greater chaos. In the final analysis, the moral character of a few people is shallow and not enough to determine the world’s affairs!”

Hearing Li Hong's words of self-blame, Pei Xingjian didn't dare to intervene, so he just kept silent for a while. Li Hong asked: "Pei Gong, what are your next plans? Should you stay in Chang'an or -" (End of Chapter)