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

Chapter 1679: Luozhou Chief Secretary, Liu Zhirou
In the dim night, a long arrow suddenly fell at the feet of a gray-robed young man who was running at night, and the young man stopped.

A group of soldiers were on guard in front with weapons. The leader held a longbow and shouted coldly: "The army has issued an order. After leaving the city, the people of Luoyang can go directly to Jingzhou, Bingzhou, Yongzhou, and Zhengzhou. They are not allowed to stay in Luozhou or get close to the army. Those who disobey the order will be executed. This is a warning!"

The gray-robed young man looked embarrassed. He looked at the brightly lit Zuowei camp opposite and said pleadingly, "General, I was born in Dunhuang and am an old friend of General Tang's hometown. Please let me know. I will reward you handsomely."

"The army has issued an order that civilians who leave the city are not allowed to approach the army. Those who disobey the order will be executed. This is the second warning!" The team leader raised his bow, and the long arrow in his hand flew out instantly, accurately hitting the young man three feet in front of his feet.

The gray-robed young man was slightly startled, and quickly took out a letter from his arms, and said sincerely: "My father is..."

With a "whoosh" sound, the long arrow shot out and instantly pierced through the chest of the gray-robed young man. Blood instantly splashed out from his front and back at the same time.

With a "bang", the gray-robed young man fell to the ground with disbelief in his eyes. The dark night sky was above his head. He couldn't believe that he was going to die like that.

What he had was a family letter from the Chief Secretary of Fengzhou. The Chief Secretary of Fengzhou and Tang Zhenxing were both from Dunhuang and had an old friendship, so there should be no problem for him to meet Tang Zhenxing with this letter.

Also, why, why did the other party shoot and kill him after warning him twice?

You know, even in Luoyang City, after curfew, when the Jinwu Guards patrolled the streets and encountered people who violated the ban, they would warn them by shooting arrows three times and then they would kill them if they did not stop.

Why is it twice in the Left Guard?

The leader in black clothes and armor walked forward expressionlessly, looked at the young man in gray robe, sneered, and said, "It can be seen that he is a person of status in Luoyang City. He knows the patrol rules of the Jinwu Guards and the distribution of our generals. He is not an ordinary person. He came to meet people secretly in the night. I am afraid he is here to harm the general again. Come on, carry the body aside and burn it."

"Yes!" The soldiers behind him turned around quickly, carried the corpse to a pit on the side, and then poured kerosene on it and set it on fire.

There was a pit on one side with a burned body inside. It was someone that Empress Wu sent out to contact Tang Zhenxing during the day.

Tang Zhenxing didn't even see it and just had people kill him and burn him.

If before, Luoyang City was still the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and the officials and people in the city were all officials and people of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Zhenxing might have given the other party some face. But now, Luoyang City has become the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If they still have any contact with the other party, they will deserve to die.

The generals in the army all agree on this matter.

Moreover, there has always been a lack of spies under Li Xuan in their army, and they themselves are well aware of this.

……

After a night, the sky became bright.

The empty fields were once again deserted.

Li Xuan stood on horseback on the north side of Xingluo Lake, looking at the extremely strict Dingding Gate, and asked with interest: "Baotong, do you think they have ever thought of leaving the city for a surprise attack?"

Su Baotong stepped forward in surprise, thought for a moment, and said, "I should have thought about it, but with the strictness of our army, they dare not rush out easily, otherwise they will definitely end up with no return."

Li Xuan smiled. Although the wilderness in front of him looked empty, it was actually just because the cavalry had been patrolling all night.

Last night, many people in Luoyang City secretly left Luoyang, but they were all led by cavalry and left Luozhou through various checkpoints.

Those who were able to avoid the guidance of the cavalry, the patrol in the middle, and subsequently reach the military camp were all people who came out of Luoyang City.

Nine out of ten times, they were sent by Empress Wu.

In order to avoid killing the wrong person, Li Xuan's order gave two chances.

If someone is a fool and ignores these two opportunities during a large-scale military battle, he will make a mistake in killing.

"How many people escaped from Luoyang city last night?" Li Xuan's expression became solemn. He put more effort into this matter than others.

"A total of 824 people left Luoyang City." Su Baotong bowed earnestly and said with some surprise: "With Luoyang City's guards, more than 800 people were able to leave Luoyang City. I am also impressed."

Li Xuan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone has emotions and desires, and everyone has relatives and friends. As long as there is some connection, and you are not optimistic about the future of Luoyang, it is normal to escape early."

"Yes!" Su Baotong bowed again.

"Send an order!" Li Xuan's face turned cold. He raised his head and looked towards Luoyang. He said calmly, "Double the number of people who left Luoyang last night, and send them into Luoyang City with catapults. Tell the soldiers on the top of the city that a total of 1,648 people left Luoyang City last night by grabbing rope ladders and have left Luozhou."

"Yes!" Su Baotong bowed solemnly, then turned around and quickly went to pass on the order.

Li Xuan's eyes were cold, and he looked gently in the direction of Qixia Gate with a serious expression.

Everyone knew that he wanted to use these people who left Luoyang to tell the world that Empress Wu had changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou, and that Empress Wu was also using his methods to make the people of the world adapt first.

However, neither of their goals was that simple.

Empress Wu's purpose was to contact the generals under Li Xuan through these people who left the city, but Li Xuan also had his own calculations.

If his plan succeeds, Luoyang City will be captured directly within two or three days.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan's breathing couldn't help but become heavy.

Turning sideways, Li Xuan asked, "Where is Governor Zhao?"

"I have already arrived at Xuanyuan Pass with 5,000 cavalrymen." Chen Zi'ang took a step forward with a solemn expression.

Zhao Gui was the father of Princess Zhao Qi of Li Xianying, the husband of Princess Changle, and the governor of Kuazhou.

Before Zhao Qi died, Zhao Gui was the General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, and Zhao Gui's father, Zhao Chuo, was the General of the Right Guard during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

He was an important official who helped Emperor Taizong establish the Tang Dynasty.

Although Zhao Gui's military ability was not outstanding, he had no problem commanding 5,000 cavalry.

This was Li Xuan’s backup plan.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan raised his head and looked towards Luoyang City...

……

In Luoyang City, news spread quickly, especially things related to the city gates.

The Queen ascended the throne, changed the name of Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty, and exempted Luoyang from taxes for three years. Although such a huge benefit did make the people of Luoyang happy for a while, it completely disappeared with the raging flames of Dingding Gate, no, the ten gates of Luoyang.

Yesterday, after Li Xuan burned down Dingding Gate, he also ordered his generals to launch a fire attack on the ten gates of Luoyang at the same time.

Only after the flames burned out were the paper written by Li Xuan sent to Luoyang City.

All the Jinwu Guards in the city had been deployed to the city gates, leaving only the constables from Luozhou Prefecture and the two counties of Luoyang and Henan, who were completely unable to control the situation.

Many people were discussing whether they could escape from Luoyang City. Then, as soon as it got dark, the constables from Luozhou Prefecture and Luoyang Henan County completely blocked the gates of the city and ordered the head of the city to count the households in the city every hour to ensure that no one could leave.

It was not until the next day that people began to get up uneasily.

Although the streets were quieter than before, no one cared too much about what was going on.

Because the Queen Mother wants to recruit 100,000 soldiers in Luoyang city.

Although there are millions of people in Chang'an City, there are only 300,000 available laborers, which means that at least one able-bodied man will be drafted out of every two households.

Although I haven't been transferred directly to the city, it's still frightening.

But at noon, when the note outside the city flew into the city again, everyone was shocked when they saw that the note said that 1,648 people had left Luoyang along the rope ladder from the city wall last night and went to Bingzhou, Yongzhou, Zhengzhou, Jingzhou and other places.

The blockade was so strict last night, how come so many people still escaped?

There are more than one hundred districts in Luoyang City, which means that nearly twenty people walked into each district.

The angry people immediately went to Fang Zheng to ask for an explanation, and Fang Zheng also had his grievances to speak out at this time.

He knew that less than ten people had escaped under his command, but he couldn't tell the truth, and he didn't know whether more people had escaped from other districts.

This was a very troublesome matter, and he simply could not explain it clearly.

There was no need for him to explain. Although a block in Luoyang city was not small, it was not very big either. One could tell whose neighbor was missing at a glance.

Soon, the people of Luoyang became angry.

Li Xuan wrote very clearly on the note.

Luoyang is enemy territory.

Li Xuan's troops surrounded Luoyang and treated it as an enemy country.

We will use all means, including but not limited to fire attacks and water attacks, to destroy Luoyang in the shortest possible time.

Even if it means countless lives and millions of casualties, it is worth the effort.

The fire from last night was still burning before their eyes.

Many of the people in Luoyang City could see the flames on the city walls with their own eyes, not to mention the houses that had been burned down a few days ago.

If Luoyang were burned to ashes, none of them would survive.

Not to mention that these days, people have been talking about the tragic scene of people eating their own children in Luoyang when Emperor Taizong's troops surrounded Luoyang.

They were also directly exposed to the skyrocketing prices of grain and salt, and were also drafted into the army.

When have people in Luoyang ever experienced such a thing?

Chaos and vandalism quickly spread throughout the city, and soon spread to the army...

……

With a "bang", Empress Wu slapped the imperial desk and looked at Liu Zhirou coldly: "Mr. Liu, if you can't control the things in Luoyang City, I will let someone else take control, how about that?"

Liu Zhirou bowed solemnly and said, "I am guilty. King Peng's psychological attack was too brutal. I can't keep up. Please ask the Queen to dismiss me."

Empress Wu looked at Liu Zhirou deeply, waved her hand, and said, "Forget it, it's none of your business. King Peng has always acted with open strategies and attacked people's hearts. You can't stop him even if you want to. But do you have any solution for the current situation?"

After a brief pause, Liu Zhirou said carefully, "I know that many people paid a large amount of grain last night and left Luoyang. I think it would be a good idea to make this matter clear. Whoever paid the grain will be allowed to leave. After they leave, the grain they paid will be immediately distributed to the residents in the same neighborhood. At the same time, their houses will also be given to the residents in the neighborhood. Now people's hearts can be settled."

Empress Wu looked at Liu Zhirou in surprise, nodded, and said, "I didn't expect Liu Qing to have such a method. I underestimated you before."

"I am guilty." Liu Zhirou quickly bowed.

Empress Wu waved her hand and said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you and Yan Qing to do together. Do it properly."

"Yes!" Liu Zhirou bowed and said, "I accept your order. I will take my leave."

"Hmm!" Empress Wu looked up at Liu Zhirou leaving and asked sideways, "He has no contact with King Peng, right?"

"No, it's just that he went to pick up Di Huaiying yesterday, but he didn't pick her up." Qiu Huan bowed slightly.

Empress Wu sighed and said, "Tell Liu Zhirou that after the matter of King Peng is settled, I will release Di Huaiying from prison."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed.

"Did you fail in meeting Tang Zhenxing last night?" A smile appeared on Empress Wu's face.

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed.

"Tonight, send a second wave of more people." After a brief pause, Empress Wu said, "Let the death squad sneak into the army at the same time. No matter what the cost, let them appear in front of Tang Zhenxing... I don't believe that King Peng can still trust Tang Zhenxing in this situation."

"Yes!" Qiu Huan bowed solemnly.

"And that man, tell him to assassinate Tang Zhenxing tomorrow night."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)