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

Chapter 1668 Farewell to Pan Shizheng, the whereabouts of Li Chongzhao
After a night of fighting, the sky finally brightened.

The cool autumn wind swept across the mountain stream, and blood dripped from the broken corpse.

The sound of heavy horse hooves rang out, and then Li Xuan, dressed in black clothes and black armor, walked into Xuanyuan Pass.

The fighting has stopped. Those who surrendered were taken to Xuanyuan Town in the east. Those who did not surrender have turned into corpses on the ground.

Standing in Guanzhong, Li Xuan nodded to Li Duozuo and Qu Chongyu who were waiting on the side: "Brother Li, father-in-law!"

"Greetings, Grand Marshal." Li Duozuo and Qu Chongyu bowed to Li Xuan at the same time.

Li Xuan raised his head and looked towards the city gate, then asked curiously, "It seems that you two entered the city a little early last night."

Li Xuan did not expect that he could reach Xuanyuan Pass and completely pacify it in just one night.

This is a bit too fast.

Li Duozuo stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, there is no trace of Wei Yuanzhong in the city. In addition to him, there are also 5,000 elite cavalry missing. I have sent people to search for him everywhere, and I believe there will be results soon."

"Wei Yuanzhong is not here, and he took away 5,000 cavalrymen. No wonder." Li Xuan raised his eyes slightly and said sideways: "Let someone bring Ma Jingchen over."

"Yes!" Li Lang immediately bowed, then turned and left.

Li Xuan looked forward and said, "Arrange the checkpoints and send 3,000 people to guard here. Set up small checkpoints in front and behind for defense. If there is a threat, light the beacon immediately."

"Yes!" Li Duozuo and Qu Chongyu bowed at the same time, and then quickly made arrangements.

Li Xuan turned slightly, then looked in the direction of Songshan Mountain and said softly: "Next, it is time to offer sacrifices to Emperor Zhongzong. Pass the order down. Starting from noon today, all generals and lieutenant generals will lead their troops to attack the ten gates of Luoyang. Make sure that no one in Luoyang City can rest."

"Here!" Everyone raised their hands in unison.

Li Xuan turned to look at Qu Chongyu and said, "Where is Prime Minister Lu?"

"We arrived in Zhengzhou yesterday, and we can reach Xuchang today." Li Duozuo stepped forward and bowed.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "Please ask Prime Minister Lu to come to Gongling in three days. Also, all the generals above the rank of Lieutenant General in the army, please gather at Gongling at noon three days later."

"Yes!" Li Duozuo and Qu Chongyu looked at each other. They could both feel that Li Xuan was going to do something big.

He will offer sacrifices to Emperor Zhongzong at Gongling for three days.

Three days later, it was time for them to really start taking big action against Luoyang.

A burst of hurried footsteps came from behind. Li Xuan turned around and saw Ma Jingchen being pressed over by Li Lang.

He was dressed in blue, his armor had been taken off, his face was exhausted, his body was covered in blood, his right arm was drooping as if it was broken, there was no expression on his face, no light in his eyes, he looked like he was dead.

"Ma Jingchen!" Li Xuan called Ma Jingchen's name softly.

Ma Jingchen paused for a moment, raised his head with some difficulty, looked at Li Xuan, and bowed bitterly: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Xuan nodded calmly and asked, "Do you know where Wei Yuanzhong went?"

"Where did he go?" Ma Jingchen looked around in astonishment, only to find that Wei Yuanzhong was nowhere to be seen on the bloody battlefield. Wasn't he caught?

"Last night, when the Right Army Guard and the Right Guard rushed in, Wei Yuanzhong was nowhere to be seen." Li Xuan said softly with a hint of sarcasm on his face, "Or to be more precise, he fled with 5,000 cavalrymen last night when the fierce battle was going on at the foot of the mountain."

"Escaped?" Ma Jingchen suddenly turned around and looked at Li Xuan, his face full of disbelief.

Li Xuan turned sideways with a sarcastic look on his face, and turned to look in the direction of Luoyang.

Ma Jingchen suddenly gave a helpless smile and lowered his head. His laughter became louder and louder, and more and more sad.

Li Xuan turned around in surprise and looked at Ma Jingchen.

"Your Majesty, you don't understand." Ma Jingchen's smile suddenly stopped. He raised his head and said with self-mockery, "I led the army to fight at the foot of the mountain, but General Yan on the city wall was unwilling to send anyone out of the city to help. And behind us, that Wei Yushi ran away without even saying hello."

Li Xuan was silent for a while, then he asked, "Where is General Ma from?"

"Fufeng, Longxi Fufeng." Ma Jingchen immediately shook his head and said, "Although I was born in Fufeng, I am a marginal member of my family. I have fought on the battlefield for more than 30 years and only recently got the position of General of the Central Army from the Queen Mother. Even so, I was easily abandoned by her."

"Children from poor families, there are so many of them in the world!" Li Xuan sighed lightly. Children from poor families have always been the focus of Empress Wu's efforts to win over.

Since Empress Wu came to power, the government has been stable because there are so many children from poor families in the middle and lower classes who silently support her.

Although Yuan Wanqing, Liu Yizhi and others are dead, Fan Lubing, Miao Chuke, Han Chubin and Guo Zhengyi are still there.

Many of their peers, juniors, fellow townsmen, and children serve in middle and lower-level positions in the court, and they all have good abilities.

It was these people who actually supported Empress Wu's rule in the court.

This is true for both civil officials and military generals.

Even more military generals.

However, compared with civil officials, the hereditary system of military generals was more serious, and even if Empress Wu wanted to promote them, it was not easy.

Although the military worships the strong, they worship military achievements even more.

It was not easy for Ma Jingchen to be promoted to the rank of General of the Left Guard.

However, although he was useful in the eyes of Empress Wu, he was still far inferior to people like Wei Yuanzhong and Yan Huaidan.

Especially those who were born in Taiyuan, because of their various marriages with the Wu family, their official positions have risen like rockets since Empress Wu came to power.

When the time comes for sacrifice, the first to go are naturally people like Ma Jingchen.

Li Xuan sighed, then looked at Ma Jingchen and said, "Although you have different affairs for different masters, you have done some things wrong after all, so I will relieve you of all your military duties as the Grand Commandant."

Ma Jingchen suddenly looked up and looked at Li Xuan with surprise.

Li Xuan's words meant that he would not be killed.

"The death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be forgiven." Li Xuan looked at Ma Jingchen and said calmly: "I will make you the vanguard flag bearer of the army. You will hold the flag of the army and march in front of the army. When there is a battle, you will be the first to charge into battle."

"Yes!" Ma Jingchen bowed stiffly. Although he was still very close to death, he survived after all.

Qu Chongyu on the side glanced at Ma Jingchen deeply. Vanguard flag bearer, charge?

Shit.

From Qu Chongyu's understanding of Li Xuan, he knew that Li Xuan placed Ma Jingchen in such a prominent position not for him to rush in and kill. He definitely had other intentions.

There is definitely a deep calculation behind this method.

But unfortunately, Li Xuan didn’t say it and Qu Chongyu couldn’t see it.

……

"He went to Gongling and said he would attack the prince there." Ma Jingchen told everything he knew.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "I think he has no choice but to go there. Only there can he save everything. But unfortunately, the terrain of Gongling is flat... Oh, yes, the terrain is flat, it is not easy to ambush, but it is also not easy to dodge. As long as the army rushes down from Songshan, it can directly break through the army's obstruction. What a good method."

"That should be the case." Qu Chongyu looked at Li Xuan and asked, "Do you still want to go?"

"Go ahead!" Li Xuan smiled, and then said, "If there are 30,000 cavalrymen moving at the same time, and he still dares to charge, I don't mind sending him away directly."

Li Xuan's eyes could only carry a hint of coldness. If he didn't know, it would be fine, but now that he knew, if Wei Yuanzhong dared to come again, Li Xuan would definitely not mind destroying him directly.

Li Xuan looked up and said, "The left and right guards will chase eastward from Taishi Mountain. As for them, they will go to the Zhongyue Mountain Temple first."

Xuanyuan Pass is located between Shaoshi Mountain and Taishi Mountain, with Shaoshi Mountain to the southwest and Taishi Mountain to the northeast.

Zhongyue Mountain Temple, also known as Taishi Mountain Temple.

It is located in Taishi Mountain in the northeast behind Xuanyuan Pass.

Li Xuan is going to offer sacrifices to Gong Mausoleum, and he needs an important person to lead the way.

At this moment, Pan Shizheng, the real person who is still in the Zhongyue Mountain Temple, is the most suitable candidate.

……

Songshan, in front of the gate of the mountain temple.

Countless black soldiers stood solemnly.

Two figures slowly walked out from inside, Li Xuan in black clothes and black armor, and Pan Shizheng in a solemn purple Taoist robe.

"I am quite surprised that the Immortal did not return to Mount Mao." Li Xuan asked curiously while looking at the familiar scenery of Mount Song.

"It's nothing, actually." Master Pan smiled calmly and said, "Since the Queen Mother came to power, she has been estranged from the Taoist sect, so the Louguan Taoist hopes that I can stay in Songshan permanently. As for Maoshan, Ziwei will take care of it."

"Master Daoying, I haven't seen you for a few years." Li Xuan sighed. Back then in Muzhou, he and Sima Chengzhen had a lot of good conversations with each other, but unfortunately, Li Xuan had been fighting outside for so many years and had not had much contact with Sima Chengzhen.

Master Pan's expression was slightly solemn. "In the past few months, since Yangzhou was captured, people have been going to Mount Mao to look for the whereabouts of the emperor, but they have searched all over Mount Mao and still cannot find any trace of the emperor."

"You are talking about Wei Yuanzhong, right? Perhaps it was because of him that the emperor was forced to flee into the mountains." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said, "Tiantai Mountain stretches for thousands of miles. It is normal that he cannot escape for a while, especially when he has not received any news... Can the emperor come out after receiving the news from Luoyang?"

"Your Highness is right." Master Pan nodded slightly.

As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived at the gate, where a carriage had been prepared by Master Pan.

Later, a dozen Taoist priests from Pan Shizheng followed him.

Seeing Master Pan getting on the carriage, Li Xuan could not help but look higher up, where there seemed to be the sound of a waterfall.

……

Gongs and drums roared, mournful music filled the air,
The sound of horse hooves and crying were deafening.

One day, the people of the East City of Luoyang suddenly heard a series of funeral sounds coming from outside the city, as if someone was holding a funeral.

Some people wanted to climb to the top of the city wall to see what was going on, but countless soldiers holding sharp swords and spears on the wall drove them down completely.

But soon, a secret message spread among the crowd.

This is King Peng wearing mourning clothes and crying for three days for Emperor Zhongzong.

When Emperor Zhongzong died, Prince Peng was not in the capital, and even when he was buried, Prince Peng was not in the capital.

Now that King Peng has returned to Luoyang, it is natural that he will offer sacrifices to Emperor Zhongzong.

When mentioning the two Emperor Zhongzongs, the people of Luoyang couldn't help but think of the cause of Emperor Zhongzong's death, and couldn't help but sigh in their hearts.

They couldn't help but look towards the direction of the imperial palace, wondering what was happening inside the palace now.
……

Gongling is 40 miles east of Luoyang City.

It is surrounded by the undulating Hutuo Mountains with dense forests, and further away is the majestic Songshan Mountain.

Countless cavalrymen ran back and forth from the foot of Mount Song to Hutuo Ridge, on high alert.

In Gongling, Li Xuan, wearing white linen mourning clothes, knelt in front of Li Xian's tomb and kowtowed solemnly.

His expression was filled with sorrow, tears already flowing silently.

Master Pan, dressed in a purple Taoist robe, was standing on one side, and behind him, a dozen red-robed Taoists were chanting in a low voice: "At that time, the Heavenly Venerable Savior of Suffering filled the ten directions, and often used his divine power to rescue all living beings and free them from the lost path. Living beings are unaware, like a blind man seeing the sun and the moon. I am originally in the middle of nothingness, and I lead to the boundless, and the auspicious cloud opens the door to life..."

Beneath the mausoleum, mournful music was played in the background.

Ma Jingchen stood on one side holding a large black flag, and kneeling beside him was Xue Guwu.

It was unknown how long it had been, but Li Xuan finally stood up. Everyone stepped back, and Ma Jingchen picked up Xue Guwu and strode forward to the tomb of Emperor Zhongzong.

Xue Guwu raised his head with difficulty and looked at Li Xuan in front of him. His expression was extremely sad, yet indifferent.

He knew that his death was approaching.

(End of this chapter)