Chang'an is good

The mysterious death of the imperial army without a fight seemed to completely announce the fact that the current imperial court was doomed.

Without the deterrence from the imperial army, the people and forces near Daozhou no longer had any scruples, and the voices of resistance from the grassroots burst out like an ocean. Even without Bian Chunliang's incitement, those earth-shaking voices had spontaneously surged towards him, pushing him to the top.

Almost overnight, the people's hearts and manpower were won, and the war horses and food were collected. At this time, a deputy general under Bian Chunliang accidentally discovered an unguarded armory in a mountain within the boundaries of Hengzhou.

The weapons stored there are of all kinds and in considerable quantity, and are of high quality, which are completely incomparable to the crude products made by the people.

This "accidental" harvest was regarded as a sign of God's will by Bian Jun and the people. They became more and more convinced that Bian Chunliang was the reincarnation of a god or Buddha who came to save the people. The people's calls rose to the point of excitement and madness.

Bian Chunliang did not stop the spread of this statement, but he knew very well in his heart that this was by no means fate or coincidence.

He and his staff found traces of the words "Yuewang Mansion" among the weapons...

Two years ago, the King of Yue planned to rebel but failed, and was attacked by the Japanese army. The King of Yue's rebellious intention was thus exposed, and he fled Yuezhou with the remnants and has not been heard from since. Therefore, it makes sense that the King of Yue privately forged weapons and did not have time to use them.

But it doesn’t make sense that this armory appeared out of nowhere in Hengzhou, thousands of miles away from Yuezhou.

Bian Chunliang was not unaware that someone was secretly manipulating all this, trying to use him to achieve a certain goal, but he didn't care -

Now he has more popular support than before, and the imperial court he dislikes is already on the verge of death. He has already staked his entire fortune on this cause, and has experienced success and failure, life and death, and even lost two sons... At this moment, such a great opportunity for revenge is right in front of him, and there is no reason for him to refuse when he has almost nothing!
No matter whether the conspiracy is true or false, what he holds in his hands now and what he will get in the future are all true!

This time, Bian Chunliang did not issue a large number of manifestos to solicit support and recognition from more forces. Instead, he attacked directly to the north without even a moment's hesitation.

Wherever Bian's army passed, it was like a prairie fire, with smoke and flames scorching the sky, blood flowing on the hills, and the rivers all turning red.

And wherever they passed, the strength of the Bian army would increase exponentially, and they would rush forward without stopping.

This rapidly growing army was formed by the gathering of countless public indignations and grievances, and in the name of God's will and justice, it swept towards the capital like a roaring gale; it was also like countless insects and ants gnawing forward madly, with a murderous aura to destroy the world, devouring everything along the way, turning it into bloody nutrients, and constantly growing its body.

When Xiao Min learned the news, Bian's army had already passed Yuezhou.

At this time, Xiao Min had secretly penetrated into Qianzhong Road and was secretly carrying out an important event with Changsun.

After the camp riot broke out, Lou Jingshan tried his best to maintain order and awaken the people, but failed. Although he failed to prevent the disaster from happening, under his command, nearly a hundred generals and 8,000 soldiers escaped from the camp.

Lou Jingshan repeatedly instructed them to go to Lingnan Road to look for General Xiao.

When Xiao Min received the letter and learned the news of Lou Jingshan's death, his eyes turned red.

Those were young generals whom he was willing to support and teach regardless of their positions, but they died in this way at the hands of his own soldiers.

But, are those soldiers who went crazy and hurt others or themselves really wrong?

Endless wars, unjust killings, rulers who never reflect, corruption that seems to have no end... For a long time, it is the soldiers and the people who have borne all of this and paid the price for it.

Now, these two major groups, who are like ants and unable to decide their own destiny, have finally launched a full-scale revenge against the imperial court. Even if it means self-destruction, they will drag the almighty imperial court into purgatory together.

This is an inevitable backlash against the people.

There may be people who deserve to die and are fanning the flames, but it is by no means something that can be brought about by one person alone, nor can it be stopped by one person alone.

But even if this riot ends in the capital, it does not mean that the world will usher in a new life...

The ambitious are still gathering their strength, the swords of foreign races are showing up, and the catastrophe for the people may have just begun.

Xiao Min looked towards Jiannan Road and suppressed all the grief and anger in his heart. He recalled what Chang Suining had said to him after he dealt with Li Xian in Yuezhou.

She said that when she saw the suffering of the people, she could not turn her back.

She also said that the sword bearer should protect the people from disasters. If the fate of the world is in trouble, they should do their best to change the fate of the people, rather than accept their fate for them.

Because helping the weak is the duty of the strong. And lending a hand to fellow human beings in distress is the greatest meaning of being human, different from ordinary animals and plants.

Xiao Min did not get overly immersed in his emotions. He soon went to meet the Changsun clan members again to continue his original plan, while also preparing for the upcoming changes in the situation.

Ten days later, Jingzhou was captured by Bian's army.

This crucial strategic location once stopped Bian Chunliang from advancing. After a long siege, he was defeated again and again, and even retreated to Daozhou. He was repeatedly in desperate situations and it seemed that everything was about to come to nothing.

But in the blink of an eye, the situation turned around, and he survived the desperate situation and took Jingzhou with ease.

Bian Chunliang once made a bold statement that he would "take Jingzhou and destroy the royal court." This ambitious statement once ended up as a sloppy joke. However, this time with his comeback, these six words are already within his reach and are about to become the verdict he writes for the court with his sword.

After breaking through the barrier of Jingzhou, heading towards the capital area would be almost as easy as walking on flat ground.

Jingzhou is the biggest barrier between Shannan East Road and the capital region in terms of terrain, and it is also the last barrier for the people of Shannan East Road. Its collapse at the hands of Bian Jun made many people feel desperate and fearful.

Faced with the Bian army that was like a swarm of locusts, many local officials in Shannan East Road chose to grovel and beg for surrender, which made Bian Chunliang's pace of approaching the capital more rapid and unstoppable. Due to the changes in the war situation and deployment over the past year, there was no heavy military guarding the east of the capital at this moment, and almost all the elite troops were bet on the war in Shannan West Road.

The court urgently summoned the army back to protect the capital, but before Chai Ting and his entourage could execute their orders, they were suddenly surrounded and blocked by the entire force of Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road.

The imperial army's pace of returning to the capital was strictly halted, and all officials were like ants on hot pot. Some even sent urgent orders to Xiao Min on express horses. The news that Xiao Min killed the imperial eunuch had just been received not long ago, but the court had no time to investigate. They promised Xiao Min a great promise and generous reward, and let him lead his troops back to the capital to protect the emperor.

But most officials knew clearly that Xiao Min and his 100,000-strong army were far away in Lingnan. Even if Xiao Min rushed back quickly after receiving the military order, he could not get around the Qianzhong Road controlled by King Rong... This road was almost impossible!

The court could only try to mobilize troops nearby, but many civil unrests broke out near the capital, and each place was unable to take care of itself. There were also many people with disloyal intentions who were unwilling to die for the court. After all kinds of mobilization, they finally managed to mobilize 40,000 troops to protect the capital.

Seeing that it was impossible to raise enough troops to compete with the Bian army, the court, with the emperor's instructions, finally sent a message to Luoyang by express horse, ordering Chang Suining's generals stationed in Luoyang to send troops to rescue the capital - for the court, this was a decision made out of necessity.

They were well aware of Chang Suining's ambitions. Allowing Chang Suining's subordinates to enter the capital openly at this time would be tantamount to inviting another wolf into the house. Otherwise, they would not have made the decision until the last minute, but the court had no choice at this moment.

If the two jackals could fight each other, it would be better than letting the imperial court be devoured in one bite!
However, what they did not know was that Chang Suining had less than 20,000 troops stationed in Luoyang at that time, and the rest of the troops were scattered in various states in Henan and Hebei, and it was impossible to mobilize a large number of troops in a short period of time.

Chang Suining was far away at the Yinshan front at this moment and did not know the specific situation in the capital. The person who could really make decisions in Luoyang City was Luo Guanlin.

After repeated consideration and consultation with the military staff, Luo Guanlin made a compromise decision.

Luo Guanlin looked at the overall situation and it was very clear to him that this catastrophe caused by public anger was beyond their control. If they intervened at this time, they would fall into a trap...a ​​trap set by King Zhongrong.

This incident happened too suddenly and no one was prepared, and Bian Chunliang's journey was too smooth. Luo Guanlin would never believe that there was no involvement of Prince Rong.

The empress fell into the trap.

From the moment she decided to send troops to Shannan West Road, the empress had fallen into the trap.

If Luoyang sent troops on behalf of the envoy at this time, it would be equivalent to a direct fight with the Bian army and the people's hearts. The outcome would be unpredictable, and at least it would end in a situation where both sides would suffer losses... By then, the only beneficiary would be the Prince Rong's Mansion.

Whether to send troops to aid the capital is not a test of moral bottom line, but a huge bait.

At this time, the Bian army was only one step away from the capital. The turmoil and casualties caused along the way were irreversible, and the Bian army did not leave anyone the opportunity to stop it.

At this point, the change of ownership of the capital was almost a foregone conclusion. If troops were sent out at this time, it would have nothing to do with morality or loyalty, but would be motivated by only one political purpose - to take control of the capital while the chaos was going on!
This was a huge temptation. With the imperial power within reach, Luo Guanlin was tempted for a time, but he quickly calmed down...

Because the envoys took away most of the troops and were still dispatching troops to the northern border, there were not many troops available in Luoyang at this time. If the troops stationed in various places were summoned, the states that had just been pacified would be left in vain. Once the deterrence of the troops was lost, those who had not yet developed a sense of loyalty would surely take the opportunity to revolt... If one was not careful, the situation that the envoys had worked so hard to pacify would return to turmoil again, and countless people would once again be plunged into suffering and displacement.

Even so, without the envoy personally leading the troops, there would be no chance of them winning easily if they rushed to the capital to fight against the Bian army.

At the same time, Prince Rong would never watch them successfully seize the capital. Even if they defeated the Bian army, Prince Rong would surely raise his army to "clear the court". By then, they would be exhausted from the battle and would end up being slaughtered when facing Prince Rong's army.

Therefore, when Prince Rong was setting up a trap for the emperor, he had already taken their envoys into account, and Bian Chunliang was just a chess piece of Prince Rong - what Prince Rong would like to see most is these three fighting each other and consuming each other to the greatest extent.

In this battle, the capital was both a bait and a slaughterhouse, and Prince Rong was the reaper standing quietly outside the field.

History books have documented countless tragic endings for ambitious people who lack patience and determination.

Now, in Luo Guanlin's opinion, his lord has the talent to govern the world, he should be like a towering tree standing proudly, rather than a fleeting flash in the pan.

Therefore, before Chang Suining's reply reached Luoyang, Luo Guanlin decided not to get involved in this situation.

However, facing the letter from the capital, Luo Guanlin did not intend to ignore it.

"Your Highness Prince Rong has taken so much trouble to set up this trap. If we do nothing, wouldn't it be a waste of the intention of the trap setter--" Luo Guanlin said in a give-and-take tone: "Send a letter to the capital. The situation in the capital is over. Luoyang cannot mobilize sufficient troops in a short period of time. Please ask the emperor and the crown prince to condescend to move to the Eastern Capital! We are willing to wait for the emperor in Luoyang!"

As long as the emperor and the crown prince move away, the capital will be just an empty shell.

Even if Bian Chunliang forcibly proclaimed himself emperor as a rebel, as long as the emperor and the crown prince were in the hands of his family's envoys, if Li Yin still wanted the Li family's reputation for dignity and orthodoxy, he would have no chance of ascending the throne smoothly!

By then, the one who truly takes the initiative will not be Li Yin, but the one who holds the emperor and the crown prince hostage!
Attacking and defending are completely different. At that time, they will be guarding Luoyang, with Henan Road, Hebei Road, and Huainan Road as their retreat. They can also naturally mobilize troops from other places in the name of the emperor's crown prince. If Bian Chunliang wants to take the initiative to attack, he needs to think twice.

In this way, he could preserve and even increase his strength without damaging his reputation as a loyal envoy, avoid falling into the dirty trap set by Li Yin, and then have the hope of turning the tables in this struggle for orthodoxy!
Luo Guanlin had made up his mind, and a bold and outrageous idea came to his mind. For a moment, Luo Guanlin even thought he was crazy, so crazy that he almost didn't recognize himself... However, after calming down, he still felt that for the sake of the people of the world, there was nothing he couldn't do!
On that day, in addition to sending a letter to the capital, Luo Guanlin also wrote a personal letter to his master and had it secretly sent to the northern border. In this secret letter, Luo Guanlin stated his treason.

At the end of February, Bian Chunliang, who had been advancing with great momentum, led an army of 200,000 and approached the gate of the capital.

Following a spring rain, a spring thunder sounded above the capital.

The spring thunder struck a side hall in the palace, causing a fire. The palace people were in a panic and felt that this was a bad sign.

The rain did not stop Bian's army from attacking the city.

That night, the rain had not stopped. Inside the Ganlu Palace, the empress sat quietly on the dragon throne. Below her was the pale-faced Crown Prince Li Zhi, and a group of anxious ministers who looked out of the palace from time to time.

Until a eunuch figure, soaked by the rain, rushed into the hall, knelt on the ground, and cried tremblingly: "The Bian army has broken through the city gate... Bian Chunliang led more than 10,000 soldiers and is heading towards the palace!" (End of this chapter)