Tibet.

Chapter 1230: Surrender of Military Power
In Qinghe County, Beizhou, in a field close to the Yongji Canal, stands a manor covering thousands of acres. The manor is surrounded by high walls and there are no villages within twenty miles around it, so most people don't know what's going on inside the manor.

Although some farmers went in to help, they all kept their mouths shut and refused to tell anyone about the situation in the manor, with fear in their eyes.

This manor is not only mysterious but also low-key. The gate of the manor is closed all year round and no one in Qinghe County mentions this manor.

Let us look over the high walls and find that this huge manor is actually a ranch. Hundreds of horses are walking leisurely on the ranch. In the distance is a building covering an area of ​​more than 20 acres, with carved beams and painted rafters, and extremely beautiful. There are rockery and fish ponds inside, beautiful scenery at every step, and dozens of beauties living there.

This is a temporary palace of Wei King Tian Chengsi. Although Tian Chengsi proclaimed himself King of Wei, in fact his various expenses and clothes are comparable to those of an emperor. Only emperors have temporary palaces, and he has one, but these palaces are very low-key and mysterious, and the locals don't know about them.

At this time, Tian Chengsi was hiding in the palace in Beizhou, but his eyes were fixed on the distant Shandong.

Tian Chengsi was wearing a white cotton robe, which he had just bought from Chang'an. He was tired of all the fur cloaks, and he also wanted to try this most popular cotton robe in Chang'an. Although it looked a little bloated, it was very warm. If he wore a sheepskin vest on the outside, it would be even warmer.

There was a sand table of Hebei Province placed in the lobby. Tian Chengsi's gaze was fixed on Qizhou on the sand table, which was the capital of Li Zhengyi.

There is a small red flag on Caozhou on the sand table. Guo Ziyi is leading more than 100,000 Tang troops stationed in Caozhou.

As long as Tian Chengsi judged from Guo Ziyi's position, he would know the next move of the Tang army. Guo Ziyi's official position was restored to the Defense Envoy of Henan Province. The army under his command was constantly increasing and had increased to 150,000 troops.

Tian Chengsi knew that the first person Li Ye wanted to deal with was Li Zhengyi. Come to think of it, once Li Ye entered the court, he would definitely stabilize the south first, wipe out Li Xilie in Jianghuai, use the Huai River as the boundary, and stabilize the area south of the Huai River.

Then the next step will inevitably be to cut the line with the Yellow River as the boundary, and everything south of the Yellow River must be cleared out, and Li Zhengyi will be doomed.

The most difficult thing for Tian Chengsi now is whether to send the Hezuo Army to rescue Li Zhengyi. If he doesn't go, it is written in black and white in the covenant! The four parties signed the contract. If one party is in trouble, the Hezuo Army must rescue it. But if it doesn't rescue, then the Hezuo Army will lose its meaning and face the risk of disbanding.

Currently, the Hezong Army is stationed in Xiangzhou, but Lei Wanchun also leads 50,000 troops to Weizhou. Once the army rushes to rescue Li Zhengyi, what will happen to Xiangzhou? Even his own nest Weizhou is in danger.

Tian Chengsi was extremely conflicted and couldn't make a decision.

At this time, Wang Lun, a trusted aide, whispered: "My lord, there is actually a third plan. It can be called a rescue plan, but it does not harm the troops."

"What plan?"

Wang Lun smiled slightly, "Wait until the Yellow River thaws!"

"clever!"

Tian Chengsi immediately gave a thumbs up and said, "It's not that I don't want to come to the rescue. The army has already reached the Yellow River, but they just can't cross it!"
Tian Chengsi just wanted to give an explanation to Li Baochen and Zhu Ci. As for Li Zhengyi, let him live or die!
After figuring this out, Tian Chengsi suddenly felt relieved.

In Weizhou, Lei Wanchun led an army of 50,000 to Ji County. The army was stationed outside the county, while there were 15,000 people led by Xue Song inside the city.

The enemy forces on both sides were the 50,000-strong combined forces stationed in Xiangzhou.

At noon that day, Xue Song received an invitation from Lei Wanchun, asking him to watch the military polo trials.

Xue Song is the grandson of Xue Rengui and a nobleman in Chang'an. He has been obsessed with polo since he was a child. When the Ministry of War announced last year that the polo competition would be resumed this year, Xue Song was immediately excited and he wanted to select a polo team himself.

Xue Song came to the military camp outside the city excitedly, and was invited into the big tent by Lei Wanchun's personal soldiers.

"General Lei, when will the polo players be selected?" Xue Song asked excitedly.

Lei Wanchun smiled and said, "We have to wait a while. Why don't I treat Envoy Xue to a glass of wine first?"

Xue Song was a little puzzled and asked with a laugh: "General, it's wartime now, can we drink?"

"It doesn't matter if we have a drink occasionally. Actually, I just want to talk to Envoy Xue!"

"Let's talk?"

The smile on Xue Song's face gradually disappeared, and a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes, "General, are you going to set up a Hongmen Feast for me?"

"I have no ill intentions. You can leave at any time. I won't stop you." "Really?"

Xue Song turned and left. When he was about to reach the tent door, Lei Wanchun said calmly, "It's not me who wants to talk to the envoy, it's His Royal Highness the Regent who wants to talk to the envoy!"

Xue Song stopped walking, turned around and asked, "What does the Regent want to talk to me about?"

"Given Envoy Xue's attitude, you should just leave! It's better not to talk about it."

Since the regent was mentioned, Xue Song knew that he could not leave the tent. He walked back again, sat down and said, "General, this attitude should be okay!"

Lei Wanchun sat opposite him, poured him a glass of wine, and handed him two volumes of appointment letters.

Xue Song opened the appointment letters. One of them appointed him as the Minister of the Honglu Temple and conferred him the title of Duke of Anyang County. Another one appointed him as the Governor of Xiangzhou. Both were appointment letters handwritten by Li Ye.

"Envoy Xue can choose one of the two."

"What do you mean? The second Tian Shengong?"

Lei Wanchun nodded, "There will be no more vassal states in the Tang Dynasty, and there will be no more military governors."

"So the Regent wants to deprive me of my military power?"

"It's not that you are depriving your military power, but that you are being made a civilian official, and the army is under the control of the imperial court."

"What about my brothers and sons?"

"Your brother, go home and rest! The envoy's sons, if they wish, can continue to serve as generals in the Tang Dynasty and become my subordinates."

Xue Song narrowed his eyes and sneered, "What if I don't agree? Will the executioners come and kill me?"

Lei Wanchun said sincerely: "Of course not, Envoy Xue can leave at any time, but it's a pity that he gave up this opportunity."

Xue Song was somewhat puzzled. "If I defend Ji County, can you take it down?"

Lei Wanchun took out another letter of allegiance and unfolded it. On it was a list of people who were willing to swear allegiance to His Royal Highness the Regent, with more than 30 names and fingerprints.

Xue Song's face turned pale. Except for his brothers and several sons, all the other generals were there.

"This this."

Xue Song gritted his teeth and said, "You are so despicable!"

"Envoy Xue thinks this is despicable?"

Lei Wanchun sneered, "Guo Ziyi has an army of 100,000 soldiers, and he has also handed them over to the court. And Lai Zhen, Ma Lin, Zhang Boyi, Tian Shengong, who all have tens of thousands of soldiers, have pledged allegiance to His Royal Highness the Regent? Are they all stupid?

They, like your generals, all know the current situation. I'm afraid you are the only foolish one. Like Tian Shenyu, your whole family was wiped out in the end. It's a pity that your grandfather's reputation was ruined by you in the end."

The letter of allegiance before him shattered Xue Song's last glimmer of hope. He knew that as soon as he walked out of the camp, the generals in the city would start to rebel and would never give him the chance to return to the city to settle accounts.

The cruel reality finally sobered Xue Song, who was obsessed with power. He thought of the scene of his own murder and the heroic reputation of his grandfather, General Xue.

Xue Song's back was immediately covered in sweat. He quickly knelt on one knee and clasped his fists, saying, "Thank you, General, for your warning. Xue Song almost made a big mistake!"

Lei Wanchun nodded. "There are two letters of appointment. Please choose, Envoy Xue!"

Xue Song sighed, "I am tired too, so I will go back to Beijing and serve as the Minister of the Honglu Temple!"

(End of this chapter)