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

Chapter 1638: People who know how to be grateful deserve to die the most
Before I knew it, a month had passed.

There was a huge crowd of people at the gate of Dingding in Luoyang.

A middle-aged Taoist priest wearing a bamboo hat calmly walked into Luoyang City after being inspected by the soldiers.

Luoyang City is still prosperous.

The people of Luoyang City had not seen any changes in the past due to the sudden succession of Li Chongzhao to the throne in Yangzhou in the east, and now they had no worries about Li Xuan's deployment of troops at Hangu Pass.

Of course, there are still changes.

Since the wealth from the Western Regions could not be transported to Luoyang via Chang'an, the people of Luoyang would naturally lose some income.

But fortunately, not much time has passed so it has not really affected the people of Luoyang.

Moreover, they also believe that Li Xuan’s problem will be resolved soon.

Just like Li Chongzhao from Yangzhou.

Especially once Yangzhou is opened up, the tax grain from the south will soon be sent to Luoyang, causing the high grain prices in Luoyang City to fall rapidly.

There may be changes deep in people's hearts, but on the streets of Luoyang, the crowds are surging and the people are bustling, without any signs of decline.

"Gee, gee, gee!" A loud shout came from behind, and the crowd on the street quickly made way for the central road.

A general dressed in blue and golden armor, looking exhausted, and accompanied by a dozen personal guards, quickly headed towards the direction of the imperial palace.

The horse's hooves moved incredibly fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Cheng Wuting." The Taoist under the bamboo hat calmly uttered the name of the visitor.

The reason why he chose to come to Luoyang today was because he already knew in advance that Cheng Wuting would return to Luoyang today.

Turning around, the Taoist was already heading towards the north city on the east side.

Guiyifang is located in the southwest corner of Taipei City.

Pei Yan's house is right there.

……

Ziwei Palace, under the Chengtian Gate.

Cheng Wuting was wearing a clean blue robe and golden armor. He stood at the gate with a solemn expression and looked forward calmly.

At dusk, the setting sun cast a long shadow on the palace road.

At this moment, a blue-robed eunuch came quickly from the front, then stood not far from Cheng Wuting and said loudly: "The Queen Mother has issued an order to summon Cheng Wuting to the audience."

"Your servant Cheng Wuting obeys your order." Cheng Wuting bowed solemnly, then looked up and followed the eunuch, walking quickly towards Qianyang Palace.

In the Qianyang Palace, Empress Wu was looking down at the memorial in her hand with a serious look in her eyes, and it was unknown what she was thinking.

Suddenly, a deliberately light sound of footsteps was heard, and Empress Wu immediately came back to her senses and looked up at the entrance of the palace.

Cheng Wuting walked into the hall carefully. When he saw Empress Wu looking up, he immediately stopped and bowed solemnly, saying, "Your Highness Cheng Wuting pays respect to the Empress. May the Empress be blessed with good health and happiness."

Empress Wu looked Cheng Wuting up and down and could see that although Cheng Wuting was clean from head to toe, it was also because he had been deliberately cleaned.

In fact, he was in a hurry on his way back from Yangzhou.

Empress Wu nodded slightly, then asked, "How is the situation in Jiangnan?"

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, all the states in the south of the Yangtze River have submitted their surrender." Cheng Wuting said seriously: "Except for the states controlled by the Wei family, all other states have not stopped the army from entering."

"There's none in Hangzhou either." Empress Wu looked at Cheng Wuting with a smile.

"No." Cheng Wuting cupped his hands and said, "Hangzhou Governor Jia Dunshi did nothing except for the usurpation of the governor's power by Hangzhou Navy Commander Ji Xiao when Princess Peng was here. He also could not do anything else."

Empress Wu smiled with satisfaction and nodded, "That's right, he can't do anything. What can a 95-year-old man do?"

That’s right, Jia Dunshi is already ninety-five years old.

Jia Dunshi was born in the tenth year of Kaihuang during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, he passed the imperial examination and was promoted from a county magistrate to a governor. In the first year of Xianheng, he was promoted to the chief officer of Luozhou and the inspector of the right son of the crown prince, who was Li Hong.

After Li Hong passed away, Jia Dunshi was appointed as the governor of Huaizhou, then the governor of Runzhou, and finally the governor of Hangzhou. He was already 95 years old.

"Yes!" Cheng Wuting bowed his head and said, "I remember that Governor Jia has submitted a memorial requesting to retire."

"Retire?" Empress Wu shook her head and said, "It's not the right time yet. I have already transferred him to be the chief officer of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office. Send today's autumn grain first."

"Yes!" Cheng Wuting's expression calmed down again.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "I have received not only his request to retire, but also the governor of Yuezhou. What do you think of his situation?"

Cheng Wuting hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "My Queen, I think Lai Jingye should no longer serve as the governor of Yuezhou."

"Oh!" Empress Wu narrowed her eyes slightly, raised her head and said, "Go on." "Yes!" Cheng Wuting said solemnly, "I have carefully checked the situation in the various states in the south of the Yangtze River during the Yangzhou turmoil. Except for Hangzhou Navy Commander Ji Xiao and Wuzhou Governor Wang Fanglin who actively responded, most of the other states just followed suit without knowing the situation. After the army defeated Yangzhou, the states quickly put things right, which led to the Duke of Jiang taking... to Maoshan."

"Speaking of professionalism." Empress Wu waved her hand. She knew a lot about the situation in Jiangnan.

"Yes." Cheng Wuting restrained his expression and said seriously, "Duke Jiang had tried to mobilize the 3,000 soldiers of Kuaiji Prefecture more than once, but was rejected by the governor. Later, the Hangzhou navy was forced to go to sea, which was mostly the result of the support of the soldiers of Kuaiji Prefecture from the south."

"If what you said is true, we should reward Lai for his dedication to his work." Empress Wu looked at Cheng Wuting with a smile.

Cheng Wuting shook his head firmly and said, "I suspect that Governor Lai may have known about the Luoyang incident long ago. The reason why he did not take action is that he is waiting and watching. If Duke Jiang wins a great victory in Yangzhou, he may lead his troops directly to the north to help. So we need to be careful about his intentions."

"Most people from aristocratic families are like this. It's not surprising." After hearing what Cheng Wuting said, Empress Wu calmed down.

She looked at Cheng Wuting and said, "That's why such a person is so useful. I have transferred him to be the governor of Runzhou to assist Wei Qing in finding Chongzhao. I have issued a death order to him. He must find Chongzhao, otherwise, he will never be able to return to the court again."

"Yes!" Cheng Wuting was slightly surprised, but still bowed respectfully.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "You don't need to worry about Jiangnan's affairs anymore. You already know about King Peng's affairs. Have you ever thought about how to deal with it?"

"I have thought about it." Cheng Wuting bowed and said, "If we want to solve the rebellion of King Peng, the best way is to break through Hangu Pass."

Empress Wu looked serious and nodded, "Go on."

"Yes!" Cheng Wuting took a deep breath and said, "I have read the military report sent by the court. Three days ago, Shanzhou reported that the water level of the Yellow River has dropped by 30% compared to before. This also means that a road has appeared on the waterway, a passable road. As long as we follow this road, we can go directly to Tongguan from the north side of Hangu Pass, and then outflank Hangu Pass..."

Empress Wu waved her hand slightly and said, "It's not like no one in the Ministry of War has thought of your idea. Even earlier, Wang Xiaojie had already used it when he was in Shanzhou, and that proved that everything was just a trick of King Peng... If you follow suit, once you fight your way to the Wei River, King Peng will release the water without hesitation, and then all your men will be drowned."

Empress Wu paused, shook her head, and said, "Prince Peng has always been known for his resourcefulness. The left prime minister and the late emperor also praised him, and even wanted to make him the assistant minister of the Ministry of War to specialize in military planning. But unfortunately, Fanzhou used him more... But this also explains a lot of things. What you can see, he can also see."

Cheng Wuting's face became serious. What happened to Wang Xiaojie was a precedent for him.

However, in Cheng Wuting's heart, he was still somewhat dissatisfied.

If Empress Wu had not transferred him back to the court, then with him guarding Changzhou, King Peng would not have so easily seized the military power of the Right Guard, and then unified the Tuyuhun people of Eastern and Western Tuyuhun, and then defeated Wang Xiaojie in one fell swoop, and finally entered Chang'an, stationed in Hangu Pass, and threatened Luoyang.

Taking a deep breath, Cheng Wuting bowed and said, "If the Queen does not attack Hangu Pass directly, and Wang Fangyi attacks Bingzhou in the north, then we can only defend Shanzhou."

There is not only one way to march into Chang'an, namely, through Hangu Pass. Another way is to attack from Bingzhou in the north into northern Shaanxi, and then take a detour to march into Chang'an. There is also a way from the south.

Crossing the vast plank road and entering Lantian is also a way, but marching on the mountain plank road is difficult.

A person like King Peng would never give them such an opportunity.

So they had only one choice, which was to retreat to Shanzhou.

Use Shanzhou as a bridgehead to resist Li Xuan. At the same time, reinforcements may come out from the valley behind at any time, and the navy in the north can also attack and support. If you think about it carefully, there is a solution.

"Shanzhou cannot be defended." Empress Wu shook her head slightly and said, "Prince Peng is storing water upstream. Once the water floods Shanzhou and the navy moves south, Shanzhou will become a turtle in a cage."

"So what does the Ministry of War mean?" Cheng Wuting looked at Empress Wu carefully.

Empress Wu nodded and said, "The Ministry of War means to abandon Shanzhou. If King Peng wants to flood it, he can do so. We will set up an ambush on the ancient road of Xiaohan. If he dares to come in, we will bury all his men. Then the navy will move westward, outflank him from behind, and completely destroy him."

There was endless excitement in Empress Wu's eyes.

Cheng Wuting understood with a quick glance that on the mountain road, it was either a stone attack or a fire attack, which caused great casualties to Li Xuan's soldiers, and then the navy encircled the rear, which was considered a water attack.

Li Xuan has always liked to use the method of water and fire. Empress Wu is now using his own method to treat him. No wonder she is like this.

But, is Li Xuan so easily fooled?

Cheng Wuting suppressed all the words in his heart and said, "The plan is feasible, but I think if we can ambush a group of people in Shanzhou City, then we can not only cut off King Peng's retreat, but also delay King Peng's escape time in case of any accidents. But it would be best if we can attack suddenly..."

Cheng Wuting gently slashed forward with his right hand, and Empress Wu's eyes lit up instantly.

Empress Wu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Okay, let's do as you say. Please rest in Luoyang for two days and I will transfer 5,000 soldiers to Shanzhou with you."

"Thank you, Queen." Cheng Wuting bowed heavily. After a little hesitation, he said, "Queen, I want to visit Prime Minister Pei before I leave. King Peng is full of tricks. Perhaps Prime Minister Pei can give me some inspiration."

As soon as Cheng Wuting finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire hall suddenly turned cold.

Cheng Wuting lowered his head heavily. Although there was fear on his face, his expression was firm.

Empress Wu's scrutinizing gaze fell on Cheng Wuting. After a long while, she spoke, "Well, the matter in Yangzhou has been settled. After investigation by various departments, it is found that Prime Minister Pei has no contact with Yangzhou. How about this, when you go to see him, tell him that when the matter of Prince Peng is settled, he can finish his recuperation and return to the court to perform his duties."

"Thank you very much, Empress." Cheng Wuting's face was filled with unbelievable surprise. He bowed solemnly to Empress Wu, then stood up and said, "In that case, I will take my leave."

"Go." Empress Wu waved her hand gently, and Cheng Wuting bowed and backed out of the hall.

Empress Wu looked at Cheng Wuting's back as he left, her eyes narrowed slightly: "He is a man who knows how to be grateful!"

The most damnable!

(End of this chapter)