People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1122: Only follow the emperor’s orders

On the north bank of the Tongtian River, Lun Qinling stood on horseback, with his hand on his sword and his eyes fixed on the opposite side.

On the opposite bank of the river, countless Fuyuan crossbows were arranged at intervals, pointing straight to the other bank several miles away.

There are ten Fuyuan crossbows every other mile.

The entire north bank of the Tongtian River is densely packed with thousands of Fuyuan crossbows, completely eliminating all kinds of sneak attacks by Lun Qin Ling.

Every other mile, there is a waterwheel on the other side of the river.

The water wheel rotated, and the power it brought out was transmitted to the back, and no one knew what it was doing.

"Rong Qin, do you have a feeling that the power of King Nanchang on the other side seems to be increasing every moment." Lun Qinling turned sideways and looked at Qamdo guard Rong Qin beside him.

Rong Qin clasped his fists and said seriously: "Prime Minister, no matter how strong the King of Nanchang is, he can't take Qamdo."

Lun Qinling smiled, then sighed softly and said: "I have been fighting with him for many years. If nothing else happens, he will still use the same method of making false claims in the east and attacking in the west. Starting from Tanggula Town, he will go east, south, and west. He keeps attacking and pulling us, but once we lose our composure and rush out, he will immediately appear without a trace."

Rong Qin was silent. He didn't need to study more about Li Xuan's story. He had the deepest understanding of it just from the battle in Qamdo last year.

"Pass the Prime Minister's order, all ministries must guard the key points. Without the Prime Minister's order, they must not attack easily." Lun Qinling's eyes were solemn and he said softly: "Once he finds the opportunity, he will take it down in one go. Once he has an opening, he will It will immediately attack crazily and completely tear the entire defense line apart."

"Yes!" Rong Qin accepted the order with his hands raised.

"Qamdo has prepared such a big chess game, so he has no choice but not to take the bait." When Lun Qinling said this, his expression became gloomy: "Has the Guang Army arrived?"

"Four thousand troops of light have gathered in Qamdo." Rong Qin held his hands in awe.

"Deploy two thousand and prepare them. In July this year, they will cross the Tuyuhun land of Dangxiang from the northeast and go straight to Taozhou." Lun Qinling threw out his trump card.

"Taozhou?" Although Rong Qin was confused, he still accepted the order.

"Not going directly to Taozhou." Lun Qinling sneered softly and said: "Let them lurk first and exchange for Tang army equipment... Once the weather changes in Chang'an, let them take the banner of Nanchang King and attack Tianshui, with King Qin protecting them. "

Rong Qin's brows jumped and he immediately raised his hands: "The great minister is brilliant."

Lun Qinling waved his hands indifferently and looked at the other side with deep eyebrows.

……

Outside Maduo City, countless military tents stand.

Soldiers are training together, and the blade of the sword is cold.

Zhang Daan rode past the armies and then quickly rushed into Maduo City.

In the official mansion of the Governor of Changzhou, all the people were gone, and only Li Xuan was sitting there.

Everyone behind him was stopped, and Zhang Daan walked into the official house with some doubts.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Daan seriously raised his hand to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan raised her head, put her hand on the desk, and said calmly: "Mr. Zhang, official documents are here from Chang'an."

"What happened?" Zhang Daan's expression suddenly became serious, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Li Xuan shook his head and said: "It's not a big deal. Your Majesty has already patrolled Luoyang eastward. Prince Chang'an is supervising the country. Prime Minister Zuo, Prime Minister Hao, and Prime Minister Zhao are assisting the government. However, General Fang Xianzhong of Zuo Jinwu Guard is accompanying Luoyang."

Li Xuan picked up an official document from the desk and handed it to Zhang Daan.

Zhang Daan took the official document and read every word on it. After a long time, he sighed: "Chang'an is just a cover. The real key lies in Luoyang. If nothing else happens, the prince will be called to Luoyang soon. "

"That's right." Li Xuan nodded and said: "Your Majesty asked the prince to inspect the hidden fields in Henan Province this year. These things need to be completed in Chang'an in the early stage, but in the later stage, he still needs to go to Henan Road for on-site inspection. I believe the prince also understands this. a little."

"The prince is also confusing your majesty." Zhang Da'an sighed, shook his head and said, "Huangfu Gongyi and Liu Nayan's methods were used in the wrong place."

"Perhaps this is the prince's own idea." Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said: "In Chang'an and Luoyang, everything is in the hands of His Majesty and the Queen, and the fate of the prince is in the hands of destiny.

I called Duke Zhang back today just to ask, should Duke Zhang go to Yangtong or stay in Changzhou?

All choices are personal. "

"Haha..." Zhang Daan suddenly laughed, shook his head, and said sadly: "The prince thinks too highly of Zhang. Zhang has been with the prince for three years, but to be honest, the relationship between him and the prince has long been gone. What happened last year is over, and as for the future, it’s just about the rest of my life.”

If Li Xian doesn't move, he will be defeated. If he moves, he will be defeated.

If Li Xian doesn't move, there is no need for Zhang Daan to help him.

Once Li Xian moves, Zhang Daan will no longer be able to help him.

Li Xuan sighed softly and said: "Mr. Zhang, in the final analysis, the matter in the East Palace only depends on one person."

"Your Majesty." Zhang Daan nodded silently. If the emperor didn't want to depose the prince, no one could do it. But if the emperor wanted to depose the prince, no one could save him.

"So, the chance of the East Palace is very small." Li Xuan looked at Zhang Daan and said: "What needs to be considered now is how to prevent things from affecting the battle of Changzhou... Zhang Gong, do you think there is a problem in the whole of Changzhou? How many of them are people secretly planted by His Majesty?"

"Why bother?" Zhang Daan raised his head, looked at Li Xuan, shook his head, and said, "Isn't the prince himself just following the emperor's orders?"

"Yes." Li Xuan nodded directly, and then said: "But in addition to this king, there are people from all over Changzhou, Sima's chief secretary, all levels of soldiers joining the army, all the generals of the guards, and the generals of the middle rank. Who might have a secret decree in their hands?" , if someone really makes a move, I'm afraid they will be taken immediately... Zhang Gong, even I can do it."

Clan generals are always the focus of attention for the emperor.

Once there is any movement in the DPRK, vigilant eyes will immediately fall on Changzhou.

If Li Xuan had the slightest idea of ​​leading troops back to Chang'an, the people around him would jump out immediately.

"So, Mr. Zhang, I have tightened the rules on all kinds of official documents sent from the imperial court to Changzhou. Only after Xinghai has been screened, will they be sent to Maduolai." Li Xuan raised her eyes and looked at Zhang seriously. Da'an said in a deep voice: "Mr. Zhang, if you receive any news here, please think about it, what would happen if a long time has passed?"

"What the prince means is that someone has already screened a layer of information in Chang'an. There may be delays or mistakes after that, just waiting for someone to take the bait." After Zhang Daan finished speaking, he fell completely silent.

The thoughtful person here is, in the final analysis, himself.

Li Xuan was silent, and Zhang Daan was silent.

The entire official house fell into complete silence. "August." Zhang Da'an suddenly spoke and said: "The Turks will send troops either in April or April; in August, according to the prince's original plan, Qamdo should have been captured by that time, and the Tubo people should have Tanggula Mountain fought fiercely with all its strength."

Li Xuan nodded lightly and said: "Each of the nine checkpoints in Tanggula Mountain is extremely tight. After the fall of Qamdo, Lun Qinling will probably not attack easily again. The rest is to minimize the consumption of soldiers' lives. , to open up Tanggula Mountain."

"At that time, if there is a change in the situation in the DPRK, it will definitely happen at that time." Zhang Daan lowered his head slightly, looking sad.

He knew that once Li Xian took action, he, the prince, would be deposed.

As a result, the major families in Hebei, with the Qinghe Fang family as their backbone and attached to Li Xian, will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

The Cui family of Qinghe is also a member of the Qinghe family. This was the reason why Cui Zhiwen was even close to the prince.

But unfortunately, the prince pushed the Cui family away.

In this way, once the prince is deposed, there will not be many people willing to help.

"I just hope that His Highness the Crown Prince can be safe." Zhang Daan sighed softly.

From the founding of the Tang Dynasty to the present, a total of three princes have been deposed.

Li Jiancheng, Li Chengqian, Li Zhong.

Li Jiancheng died earliest and most quickly.

After Li Chengqian was deposed, he died in exile only one year later.

Li Zhong was established as a prince at the age of ten. He was deposed at the age of thirteen. He was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned at the age of seventeen. At the age of twenty-two, he was convicted of rebellion and sentenced to death.

Li Xian's current situation is most similar to Li Chengqian's.

Once any action is taken, he will immediately be deemed to be treasonous, and then be exiled and die!

……

Zhang Daan raised his head, looked at Li Xuan, and said seriously: "I wonder if the prince can save the prince's life after this?"

Li Xuan lowered his head, then spoke, "Mr. Zhang, you should know that if Xuan comes forward, not only will he not be able to protect the Crown Prince, but he may even be implicated in it.

Therefore, Xuan will remain silent on this matter, but the King of England will come forward, and both the Prime Minister and Princess Taiping will come forward. "

After a slight pause, Li Xuan said: "Xuan has warned His Highness the Crown Prince that the escape route has been left to him. Whether he can catch it or not is his business."

"To save His Royal Highness, we have to wait until the position of the King of England is stable?" Zhang D'an immediately understood the subtext of Li Xuan's words.

Li Xuan sighed softly and said: "Mr. Zhang, it is unrealistic to rely on others to save the prince. Moreover, the less we save the prince, the better for him. Maybe some people are attacking the prince today, but tomorrow, he will He has been deposed, but there are still people in the court who keep mentioning him, so it will be someone else who wants to attack him."

This other person is not necessarily the emperor or Empress Wu, but most likely Li Xian or Li Dan.

Once Li Xian is deposed, others can only help Li Xian at the lowest level.

Once you have, you will immediately be subject to endless suspicion.

Zhang Daan lowered his head. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Mr. Zhang." Li Xuan spoke again and said: "Many times, doing things depends on the timing. If it is not done at the right time, saving people will also cause harm, but if it is done at the right time, even if things are not done right, they can still save people successfully." people."

"What the prince said makes sense." Zhang Daan nodded slowly.

"The only thing we can hope for now is that the prince's crimes will be smaller." Li Xuan sighed softly.

The laws of the Tang Dynasty were strict, and the only thing that could determine Li Xian's final fate was his own actions.

The smaller the circumstances around him are, the lighter his punishment will be.

"It's a pity that I haven't received news from the East Palace for a long time." Zhang Daan shook his head slightly.

Since he was demoted to Changzhou, his contact with the East Palace has been much less.

"This is the best." Li Xuan interrupted Zhang Daan and said seriously: "Mr. Zhang, let us focus on Lun Qinling on the other side now. That person is not easy to deal with. No one knows what he is secretly doing. Prepare any means."

"Okay!" Zhang Daan nodded seriously.

"In another half month, the water will rise, and then we will send troops to Yangtong." Li Xuan talked about the war arrangements, and Zhang Daan listened carefully.

But when she raised her head, Li Xuan's expression flickered.

There was something he didn't tell Zhang Daan.

All messages sent from Chang'an to Changzhou, except for imperial edicts and official documents from the imperial court, were intercepted.

Xinghai Yao Yi's place is even the last line of defense.

Before Changzhou, he had already sent people to intercept them in Kuozhou, Hezhou and Taozhou.

There are even places like Lanzhou, Shanzhou, etc., all information will be strictly screened by the local governor's office.

In front of Zhang Daan, Li Xuan pinned the matter on Changzhou, but deliberately intercepted it in Kuozhou, Hezhou, Taozhou, Lanzhou and Shanzhou.

The purpose is to prevent those who are interested from having any chance to send troops to Chang'an.

……

It is not only Li Xuan who is really on guard against this, but also Empress Wu.

There were people from Empress Wu at all the checkpoints from Changzhou to Luoyang.

Once Li Xuan's threat is seen by Empress Wu, even he will suffer a lot.

(End of this chapter)