Chang'an is good

Chapter 587: The Sword Given in the Past
The Rong Palace, which was invited by "people all over the world" to take charge of the overall situation, naturally began to prepare for the military action.

Before that, Prince Rong's Mansion needs to first clear the obstacle blocking the Shannan West Road, that is, the imperial army that failed to return to the capital to rescue the emperor.

Li Yin personally went to Shannan West Road.

Different from the last time he met Chai Ting alone on a snowy night, this time Li Yin appeared openly in front of the imperial army and sincerely invited nearly a hundred generals in the army to discuss important matters together.

Among these nearly one hundred people were Chai Ting, the eunuchs who supervised the army, and the generals who obeyed the empress. They had tried their best to rush back to the capital to rescue the emperor, but were hindered by the Shannan West Road troops who had only defended and not attacked. Even the Qianzhong Road sent troops to cut off their way back.

They knew very well who was behind this... The capital was conquered by the Bian army, and this Prince Rong was not without responsibility!
But in fact, no one from any party put the blame on Li Yin. It was their court that took the initiative to attack Shannan West Road first, and all the consequences were due to the court's wrong decision... And to this day, Li Yin has never acknowledged the master-servant relationship with Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road. Even now, he is sitting here, appearing as a "peacemaker."

Many times, the truth may not be hidden very well, and the reason why no one exposes it is simply out of consideration of the gains and losses.

Just like Duan Shiang's rebellion and the death of the governors of Shuofang and Lingnan, did no one really question Li Yin? But even so, it did not prevent everyone from praising Li Yin's benevolence wherever he went.

For some ambiguous right and wrong issues, the person at the top only needs to explain or deny it, and after the person in the middle agrees with him, the people below will have no choice but to believe it.

These nearly one hundred generals could barely be considered middle-level people, so they still had room for thought. However, the countless lower-level people simply did not have the ability and power to distinguish between truth and falsehood. They could only blindly obey whatever voice came down from above.

The truth always lies in the hands of those who have the power to speak.

As intermediaries, they might try to question and expose the truth, but what would that mean to them? What would they gain from arguing with Li Yin about right and wrong, black and white?
In this world, success or failure can never be determined by a single word of right or wrong.

The capital was lost, and the emperor and the crown prince fled to Luoyang in a panic. However, Luoyang was already under the control of Chang Suining...

After half a year of fighting and a whole winter of losses, their original army of 150,000 is now reduced to only 110,000.

And with the collapse of the imperial court in the capital, these 110,000 people began to show signs of forming their own factions. The emperor and the crown prince must have tried to convey orders to them from Luoyang, but... they have never received a single imperial edict.

All their contacts and connections with the imperial court had been cut off, and they had little food and fodder left.

Looking around in recent days, everyone in the army is in danger and the morale is at a loss and uneasy.

Ordinary soldiers were panic-stricken and confused, and the generals had to start facing up to their own situation.

They lost their connection with the court, and the court also lost control over them. The military orders and royal orders that had been pressing down on them like a mountain suddenly disappeared, and the boundaries of their positions became blurred. Then, some voices that they had never dared to hear before began to emerge in their hearts.

Prince Rong might have had some moral problems, but were the imperial court and the emperor really righteous? If so, why did the people lose their morale wherever the Bian army went?

The answer is so simple that it even makes the question itself seem extremely childish and ridiculous.

So perhaps the real answer is that it is pointless to talk about morality.

In this chaotic world where moral bottom lines are blurred, many people have come to this conclusion.

They then gave up trying to determine how much of King Rong's virtue was real and how much was false.

Li Yin's appearance at this time showed his grasp of the timing and his control over people's hearts.

Li Yin did not say any threatening words. He did not even classify this conversation as "persuasion to surrender", but called it a "cooperation" - as a member of the Li family, he proposed to all the generals that in the face of the overall situation, they should unite to attack the Bian bandit, eliminate the rebellion, and welcome back the emperor and the crown prince.

This decent enough proposal gave everyone the necessary stepping stone, even the eunuchs in charge of the army who were essentially afraid of death but hesitated over whether to defect to Prince Rong due to many considerations.

This step preserves their face and more effectively buffers and blurs their political stance.

Even though they knew that this was probably just a temporary measure by Li Yin, they really had no better choice at the moment.

During the few days that Li Yin stayed in the army, people began to express their willingness to "cooperate" with the Prince Rong's Mansion.

But not everyone only cares about life and death. There are still people in the army who are unwilling to compromise, especially the generals in Xuan Ce's army.

The three words "Xuance Army" determined, in a certain sense, that they had more complete military ethics than ordinary soldiers. The suspicion of killing military generals committed by King Rong was a mistake that they could not ignore.

At this moment, dozens of Xuan Ce army officers gathered in Chai Ting's tent. One of them suggested, "General Chai, why don't we go to the northern border and help the general to defeat the Northern Di! It's better than getting involved in this mess and being controlled by such hypocrites!"

Chai Ting, who was sitting at the desk, looked over and asked firmly, "Go to the northern border? Where will the food and grass be supported? Where will the escape plan be? Will we fight to the death with the three armies in the hands of Prince Rong?"

The soldier was stumped by the question, but his face remained indignant.

"When we left Beijing, there were 60,000 of Xuan Ce's comrades among the 150,000 troops. Now there are only 40,000 left..." Chai Ting's old voice was filled with anger and sorrow: "Do you want all 60,000 of your comrades to be killed in the civil strife before you are satisfied? Do you want me to be the eternal sinner in Xuan Ce's mansion?"

"General Chai's words mean that he wants to follow Prince Rong Li Yin?!" The deputy general was also sad and angry: "The general is probably too old and confused, and his bones are too soft. He only cares about life and death, but can't distinguish between justice and right and wrong!"

"What is justice and right? The Bian thief is in power now, and clearing up the internal strife is the most just and important thing for the country!" Chai Ting said in a resounding tone: "The court has lost the support of the people, and Prince Rong Li Yin is of an orthodox family, which is the general trend. It is the duty of the Xuan Ce Mansion to worry about the country and the people!"

The deputy general wanted to retort, but Chai Ting had already ordered his men to remove his badge, dismiss him from his position as deputy general, and punish him with ten military sticks as a warning to others.

Anyone who stood up to plead for mercy or expressed opposition to associating with Li Yin was also dismissed and punished.

The voices of opposition turned into the sound of clubs being beaten when being punished. After the generals left, Chai Ting sat quietly behind his desk, with the color in his eyes changing.

Even though the Xuan Ce Army has qualities far superior to those of ordinary armies, no matter how excellent the military discipline is, it is still composed of countless ordinary people, and people's hearts are likely to be shaken.

Chai Ting knew that among the dozens of generals just now, many of them had secretly sided with Prince Rong...

Those people have become King Rong's eyes, so his attitude as the head coach is particularly important, otherwise his position may have to be replaced tomorrow.

On that snowy night, Chai Ting was also shaken. After seeing the public opinion described by Prince Rong, he was further shaken.

Therefore, he could understand the hesitation of his subordinates. Prince Rong was not perfect, but the court had long been less worthy of loyalty. It seemed that following the will of the people was the best outcome.

It was dark and the soldiers in the tent lit an oil lamp.

Chai Ting used his dry and old hands to slowly pull out a secret letter from under a pile of official documents.

This was a secret letter he received this morning. He was a little surprised that someone could deliver the letter to his tent even though the army was trapped here. However, what really surprised and shocked him was the content of the letter.

He had read every word of the letter over and over again, and now he had to destroy it.

Chai Ting lit the letter paper and envelope above the oil lamp. The flame illuminated the old man's eyes, revealing some tears and some renewed determination.

Chai Ting's attitude soon reached Li Yin's ears through the mouths of several generals of Xuan Ce's army.

Li Yin was not surprised. As early as that snowy night, he had planted the seeds in Chai Ting's heart. Chai Ting's choice now was within reason and human nature.

Soon, eight or nine out of ten of the nearly one hundred generals expressed their willingness to "cooperate".

As for the remaining one or two, Li Yin didn't need to do anything as they had already been cleared up and settled by the eight or nine out of ten people.

Li Yin only needed to give a clean and honest salute: "Generals, you care about the people of Dasheng, which is a blessing for all people. Regardless of success or failure in this trip to the capital, I would like to thank you for your generosity on behalf of the people of the world."

The generals, led by Chai Ting, raised their hands and saluted.

In addition to the 110,000 troops here, Prince Rong's Mansion has selected another 90,000 troops, integrating a total of 200,000 troops, and will soon send troops to the capital to attack Bian Chunliang.

This battle will be led by Prince Rong Li Yin himself. He has announced to the public that after the rebellion in the capital is quelled, he will go to Luoyang in person to bring back the emperor and the crown prince.

"Welcome back the emperor and the crown prince..."

It was getting dark. Li Yin sat behind his desk, slowly wiping a long sword that he had not used for a long time. He repeated to himself the words he had been saying to various places in recent days.

After he finished speaking, he uttered a very light chuckle.

It's really funny. He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the capital to lure Chang Suining into taking action. As long as she took action, he could kill three birds with one stone... But not only did she not take the opportunity to attack the capital directly, but she opened the gates of Luoyang to welcome Queen Ming and Li Zhi to "escape from disaster."

What's even more ridiculous is that, considering the time it took to make the decision, this was probably not Chang Suining's instruction, but the plan of her advisers.

It turned out that she had such a calm and resourceful man under her command, who chose not to join the game under such a huge temptation, but instead outwitted him, holding the empress and the crown prince hostage in Luoyang, forcing him to "welcome back the emperor and the crown prince" afterwards, creating another obstacle on his way to the throne.

He could ignore the empress, a defeated outsider, but Li Zhi's child, who was supposed to die under Bian Jun's sword, was the rightful crown prince of the Li family.

This was really troublesome, but for now he could only take it back to the capital.

Li Yin quietly wiped the sword and looked into the eyes reflected on the blade.

In a trance, those eyes seemed to slowly turn into a pair of cold girl's eyes.

Li Yin stopped wiping and narrowed his eyes slightly.

This sword was given to his uncle, the prince, by Yu Zeng on the eve of Ah Shang being crowned as the crown prince.

It was a fine sword made by a skilled craftsman, and he fell in love with it at first sight.

A Shang gave him something he liked and wanted to share the good news with him. He should have been happy, and he was, but that joy was not just for A Shang.

He originally thought that both he and Ah Shang were pitiful people, and that Ah Shang, who was watched and taught by him when he grew up, was similar to him. Of course, he still thought so until that moment, but he couldn't help but think... since they were similar, and since he taught him, then, if Ah Shang could get it, he might not be able to get it, right?

At that moment, he suddenly laughed.

At this moment, Li Yin also smiled. He put the sword into the scabbard, placed it beside him, and said, "Come in."

Outside the study, the person knocking on the door pushed it open and walked in, raising his hand to salute: "Your Majesty."

Li Yin looked up, with admiration in his eyes: "Bian Jun's smooth entry into the capital is due to Cong'er's contribution."

Whether it was the camp riot, the discovery of the armory, or the subsequent unstoppable force of the Bian army, Li Cong was behind every detail.

Li Cong said, "I failed to persuade Xiao Min to surrender, so I dare not take credit for it."

In the face of his recruitment, Xiao Min has always been unclear about his attitude and has not moved his troops in Lingnan. He tried to get rid of him, but Xiao Min rarely showed up in public, and the troops of Qianzhong Road were previously used to delay the imperial army. He tried to mobilize some scattered forces in Lingnan Road, but was unable to cause serious damage to the other side for the time being.

"You have helped me a lot." Li Yin said, "As for Xiao Min, we really can't keep him here any longer. His attitude is strange. I suspect he has secretly surrendered to Chang Suining... If we don't get rid of him, there may be trouble in the future."

"You are already very familiar with the situation in Lingnan and Qianzhong, so I will leave this matter to you." Li Yin looked at the young man in front of him with trust and admiration in his eyes: "I am going to the capital this time, and all the affairs in the rear will be handed over to my son."

Li Cong bowed his head and said, "Yes, I will not let you down... I hope you can wipe out the chaos of the Bian army, revive the Li family, and ascend to the throne!"

Li Yin laughed loudly and nodded, saying, "Okay, then, you and I, father and son, will be reunited in the capital."

Late at night, after leaving Prince Rong's Mansion, Li Cong returned to his residence in Yizhou City.

He had been away from Yizhou for many days and had not returned during the New Year. The woman who had not seen her son for a long time waited and waited, and finally saw him coming back. She hurriedly got up and went forward to check on her son and asked him if he was injured as usual.

"My son was not injured." In front of his mother, Li Cong's voice was a little muffled: "But I may not be so lucky next time."

The woman was stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered her voice and asked, "...The troops are about to be mobilized, why don't you follow the prince to the capital?"

Li Cong turned his face to one side, his jaw tense: "The prince asked me to go to Lingnan again to eliminate the military threat in the rear."

The woman frowned. Li Lu was accompanying them, but she wanted her son to take risks and do hard work at the rear?

Normally, she wouldn't have any objections, but now it has come to this...

Li Cong suppressed his depression and asked, "I asked my mother to investigate before I left. Has there been any result?"

He wanted to know whether his father had a third son.

Goodnight everybody.