Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 418 Chaos arises
Xiongwu City.

This is the Xuanhua District of Zhangjiakou in later generations, a battleground for military strategists of all ages.

It was precisely because of the important strategic position here that Wang Zhongsi could see his evil intentions from the various details of Anlu Mountain when he built Xiongwu City.

On April 28th, Prince Dongping arrived at this military fortress.

"Hey!"

With a neigh, the horse finally carried the heavy body on its back to the city gate.

Li Zhuer and more than ten servants rushed forward and helped An Lushan get off the horse. This movement was not small, and it completely showed the magnificence of the King of Dongping County.

Finally, An Lushan stood still, raised his head and looked towards the top of the city. There was a human head hanging on it, and the blood on his neck had completely dried up and was black.

"Huh? Who is that?"

An Lushan asked in surprise, and the generals of Xiongwucheng who came to greet him couldn't help but look at each other and did not dare to speak. Only then did they realize that they had killed the deputy envoy Jiedushi, but the envoy did not know it.

"Your Majesty, I am Xianyu Zhongtong." Guard general Yin Ziqi stepped forward to report.

"Xianyu Zhongtong? What crime has he committed?" An Lushan squinted and tried hard to identify, but in fact this was the first time he saw Xianyu Zhongtong today. Unexpectedly, there was only one head left on the other side. This matter was naturally because of him The subordinates and generals acted arrogantly without permission.

Yin Ziqi thought to himself, "Isn't the Lord asking this question knowingly?" Of course, it was because Xian Yu Zhongtong intervened in Fan Yang's military affairs and happened to kill Li Wei.

He didn't want to answer like this in public, so he hesitated and asked in a low voice: "Master Fu, can we talk after we enter the city?"

"Who ordered you to kill the important officials of the imperial court? Was it me?"

This sentence matched An Lushan's fat face, which was quite joyful. But Yin Ziqi couldn't laugh, and replied in a panic: "It was an emergency at that time, and the prince was not in Fan Yang. It was... General Ashina's order."

Hearing that Ashina Chengqing was involved in this matter, An Lushan knew what was going on. Ashina Chengqing had always been close to An Qingxu, so this matter must have been inspired by An Qingxu and was the result of his son's cooperation. His subordinates will deliberately force him into the palace.

Everyone waited for a while, but didn't see any reaction from him, and they all felt scared.

An Qingxu, who was standing behind him, saw An Qingxu and had to ask: "Master, why don't you go to the city and rest first?"

An Lushan glanced back and asked, "Can't wait?"

With this sentence, sweat immediately broke out on An Qingxu's forehead. He didn't know whether his grandpa was asking him whether he couldn't wait to enter the city, couldn't wait to rebel, or even couldn't wait to inherit the position.

Under this pressure, he almost knelt down to plead guilty and elaborate on the cause and effect of the incident.

"baby……"

"Master Fu, Erlang is out of filial piety." Gao Shang stepped forward and whispered: "Master Fu, please allow me to explain in detail."

Before giving a detailed report, he bowed and admitted many evidences, such as writing a letter to encourage Ashina Chengqing to kill Xianyu Zhongtong. He said this out of determination to die. Frankly speaking, he had no selfish motives and everything was for the great cause of Fu Jun.

In his view, after the battle at Shilingguan, even if the imperial court would not hold them accountable, the coercion of Fan Yang would be strengthened in the future. In fact, this coercion had started earlier, with the appointment of Xianyu Zhongtong as Jiedu. The deputy envoy and the appointment of Xue Bai as the governor of Changshan are all signs that the court no longer trusts him. In this case, he must strike first to gain advantage.

A sincere statement could not dispel An Lushan's anger. No matter how many reasons they gave, they would take action against An Lushan's will.

But An Lushan was at least willing to enter the city first, and did not punish them substantially. He only sent a fast horse to summon Ashina Chengqing to Xiongwu City for questioning.

"Welcome Prince Dongping to the city!"

With this loud shout, the drums and trumpets of Xiongwu City played loudly, and rows of elite soldiers and generals lined up on the roads on both sides, casting loyal and warm eyes on Anlu Mountain.

Loyalty and enthusiasm were not due to the charisma of this fat man with such a big belly that he needed to be held by others, but because he had promised to give them a better future and wealth, and they had full expectations for him.

This time walking in front of the soldiers, An Lushan was not as complacent as before, but felt greater pressure.

On the second day of May, Ashina Chengqing arrived. He did not report the cause and effect of killing Xianyu Zhongtong alone, but brought several generals to testify for him.

"I have to kill Xianyu Zhongtong." Ashina Chengqing relied on the fact that he was a rough man without good etiquette, and gave a short but powerful reason: "He wants to harm the prince!"

An Lushan could not be dismissed with a single word, so he asked with a straight face: "How does he want to harm me?"

Ashina Chengqing then turned to look at the other person behind him and said, "Tian Chengsi, please tell me."

Tian Chengsi was nearly fifty years old. Although he and Tian Qianzhen, known as "Ahao" in the army, both had the same surname as Tian, ​​his background was much better. He was born in the Tian family of Yanmen and had been a general in the army for several generations.

Due to the family tradition, Tian Chengsi has very distinct characteristics of a military general, who is deep, unruly, tough, and very independent. Although he looked down on Ashina Chengqing, their common ambition made them work well together.

"The general heard that Ji Wen helped Yun Zhong's army arrive at Shiling Pass by transporting money and food. So he investigated Fanyang City and found that Xue Bai had been sending agents to Fan Yang. In fact, Xianyu Zhongtong had been secretly contacting Xue Bai to discuss how to deal with it. Mr. Fu.”

Hearing Xue Bai's name, An Lushan's eyes immediately changed. When he heard that Xue Bai had been causing trouble behind his back, a sense of crisis arose spontaneously.

Tian Chengsi keenly caught the changes in his emotions, struck while the iron was hot, and said: "The Lord Fu came back from Xinzhou. It was known that Xue Bai had arrived in Changshan to take up his post, and he was pressing on the Lord Fu step by step. "

Hearing this, Tian Qianzhen, the youngest, couldn't bear it anymore and stood up and shouted: "With such a villain in the court, sooner or later, Fu Jun will be framed as a rebel! In this case, Fu Jun might as well really rebel." "

He is a person who licks blood with the tip of a knife, and because he has a grudge against Xue Bai, he is even more easily agitated.

"Ah Hao, shut up!" An Lushan shouted, "It's not your turn to speak."

Gao Shang's face was stern, and he went out to salute and said: "If you don't kill Xianyu Zhongtong, he will steal the military power of the prince. If he kills him, the court must punish the prince for his crime. Now that things have happened, please raise your troops and wipe out those people. The whole court is full of treacherous villains!”

After that, An Qingxu, Yan Zhuang, An Shouzhong, Li Guiren, Wu Lingxun, Cui Qianyou and others all stood up.

Thousands of words finally converged into one urgent persuasion.

"Master Fu, raise your troops!"

An Lushan originally wanted to question these generals why they did not follow his orders and restore his dignity. Unexpectedly, he failed to question and was forced to do so.

He lost his original aura and returned to the naive demeanor of a fat man. He waved his hands and said, "I was defeated by Wang Zhongsi only after eight thousand Yiluohe. Now I absolutely dare not make a mistake."

Cui Qianyou said: "How can the emperor's soldiers be in the eight thousand adopted son? But the emperor has prepared for many years and gathered the best soldiers in the world, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Now that the king's loyal heir is dead, who can resist?"

An Lushan muttered in his heart that if Wang Zhongsi came to life again, he said: "I have been planning for many years to use it against the prince when the saint dies. Now that the saint is still alive, he is so kind to me, and he is so kind." He is so wise and powerful, who can betray him?"

This was his biggest reason all along. Today's saint ended the turmoil of Wu Zhou Dynasty and established the prosperous age of Kaiyuan Tianbao. He has extremely high prestige in the hearts of the people in the world.

But this time, Tian Qianzhen spat: "Bullshit saint, if he is really wise, how could he use someone like Yang Guozhong as prime minister?"

"That's right." Yan Zhuang said: "Yang Guozhong has no talent and virtue, but he can be ranked as the prime minister. The arrogance, extravagance and stupidity of a saint are obvious. The prince should replace him."

An Lushan's initial thought was to raise troops to oppose Li Heng in the future and support a weak emperor. It would be great to be a figure like Huo Guang. Today, when I heard the word "replace", I hurriedly said: "How can I still be the emperor if I am a Hu'er?"

Yan Zhuang immediately responded: "The most virtuous people in the world live here."

An Lushan couldn't help but be surprised, with doubts in his small eyes, and asked: "Am I also virtuous?"

Yan Zhuang was stunned. Although he was not a Zoroastrian, in order to persuade An Lushan to make up his mind, he quickly added, "The Lord is the incarnation of the God of Light and should be the Lord of the world."

This belief inspired An Lushan, but he was still hesitant and did not have much confidence in his vow to "burn the evil in the world with the fire of light."

The vast majority of people in the world do not believe in the God of Light.

Yan Zhuang saw An Lushan's concerns and glanced at Zhang Tongru.

Although Zhang Tongru was more calm, he could not withstand such a situation. He stroked his beard and said: "In the sixth year of Tianbao, I came to the palace from Chang'an. I watched the stars at night and saw comets streaking across the sky with tails like swallows. This was a sign that the emperor would change his surname. The prince of the mansion has a strange appearance and has been in Yan for a long time, so he should respond to this sign."

"Really?"

"Don't dare to lie."

"But if Hedong was not captured, Taiyuan Prefecture would be blocked."

"From Fan Yang south to Luoyang, to Tongguan to attack Chang'an, the emperor passed by several times along the way. You should know that the imperial army is empty." Cui Qianyou said: "No one can resist our troops."

At this point, An Lushan couldn't get off the stage, and he couldn't muster the courage. He sat there with his belly in his hands, the small eyes on his big round face flickering, thinking about what to do, like a beast among wild beasts. A deer sensing danger.

He is the coach of Fan Yang, but since everyone can hold him up to this position, they can throw him down when he goes against their will. So what is everyone's will? Rebellion and seeking a greater future.

It is like a torrent, and An Lushan is the wave maker on the top of the wave. It seems that he dominates the torrent, but in fact he is just following the torrent.

Then, he remembered that every time he went to Chang'an for an audience, although the saint was very kind to him, he would never let him walk through the royal road in front of the Danfeng Gate of the Daming Palace. That was the place where only the emperor walked, and the ministers next to him never let him pass. With high position and authority, he can only go through the doorway next to him. At that time, the king is the king and the minister is the minister. He is inferior to the saint.

The saint usually talks, laughs, and expresses his closeness, but this privilege can never be exceeded.

Although An Lushan is a miscellaneous guy, he doesn't want to be inferior to anyone else, not even to one level.

"Then...just follow what you guys say."

~~
After arriving in Xiongwucheng, Yang Qixuan could clearly feel that the food in the army suddenly became better, and there was meat every day.

At first, he thought it was to appease the morale of the troops after the Battle of Shiling Pass. On the night of the third day of May, Anlu Mountain held a banquet for the soldiers. The entire Xiongwu City was a place for banquets. Bonfires were lit, roasting cattle, sheep, camel humps, and goose meat. Jars of fine wine were patted open, and the aroma of wine spread everywhere. overflow.

Amid the sound of drums and music, groups of orchid dancers entered and danced gracefully.

Yang Qixuan had not been around women for a long time, and he was deeply aware of the hardships of marching. It was rare to have such relaxation, and his eyes were straight. After drinking for three rounds in such a cheerful atmosphere, he was a little tipsy.

"Hahaha."

With a burst of laughter, An Lushan's fat figure appeared on the tower. For a moment, Yang Qixuan had the illusion that the saint was riding on the calyx of Xianghui Tower in the Yuan Dynasty.

In fact, during this period of time, Yang Qixuan often felt that An Lushan had been imitating the saint in certain things.

"My sons, in the battle of Yanmen, we will defeat the intruders. We will help ourselves to the wine and meat tonight. You must have a great time...bring up all the coins!"

Following An Lushan's words, groups of soldiers moved out boxes of coins, as well as gold, silver, jewelry, colorful silks and furs, and began to award rewards.

Yang Qixuan also received a lot of rewards, with a smile on his face, but he was muttering in his heart that he clearly lost the battle at Shiguanling, so how could he still have so many rewards?

Before he could wonder for too long, An Shouzhong drunkenly patted his shoulder and said, "Do you know where these coins come from?"

"My son-in-law doesn't know."

"Hey, your enemy." An Shouzhong pointed at Yang Qixuan's nose and said with a smile: "Your enemy Xue Bai is so brave and dares to spy on the prince. The prince confiscated all the money... burp! "

A wine burp hit Yang Qixuan hard on the face, and he couldn't help but tremble.

In fact, I was scared.

Fortunately, Yang Qixuan knew that the person in charge of Fenghui Bank in Fanyang was hiding in Anshou Zhongfu, and he never heard of anything happening. Presumably, although An Lushan raided the banks within the territory and confiscated a lot of money, the personnel were not greatly affected.

"By the way, you know Xianyu Zhongtong, right? The one hanging on the city gate." An Shouzhong added, "He used money exchange to deliver news to Xue Bai. Tian Chengsi found out about this and reported back to Xue Bai received a letter."

Yang Qixuan relaxed a little and his heart became tense again.

He felt that An Shouzhong was testing him, and he was afraid that if the other party shouted, the axe-hand would chop off his head.

"Speak." An Shouzhong said, "Do you know why?"

Yang Qixuan's mind was in chaos and he didn't know what to say. At this moment, the sound of opening the city gate came from behind. He turned around and saw a group of knights coming on horseback. The leader held a roll of imperial edict high in his hand.

"The imperial edict has arrived!"

All the generals got up and asked the angel to climb the tower to see An Lushan.

After all, Yang Qixuan came from Chang'an, and he could tell at a glance that this so-called edict was false. The messenger's brand new official robe was stained with dust. It was neither changed after arriving nor could it have been worn all the way from Chang'an.

Soon, An Lushan on the city tower received the order, faced the soldiers, and said loudly: "The saint has an order, calling me to lead troops to the capital immediately to attack the traitor Yang Guozhong!"

The generals immediately shouted, their blood boiling.

"I am willing to fight against thieves from the Lord! Qingjun side!"

"Hahaha." An Shouzhong was very happy, as if An Lushan had become the emperor. He continued the topic just now and preached to Yang Qi: "Do you understand? When Xue Bai received the letter, he had no time to prepare and was already dead. Under the hooves of the army."

Only then did Yang Qixuan realize what he should say and said, "Thank you, father-in-law, for taking revenge on me!"

~~
Horse hooves rolled down, and half a month later, the vanguard troops arrived at Zhending City.

It was Tian Chengsi who served as the vanguard.

Since he received the military order, he made food at the third watch and set up camp at the fifth watch, traveling more than sixty miles a day. His goal was Luoyang, hoping to seize the Mengjin Ferry and cross the Yellow River before the court could react.

Along the way, every city that came across large and small prefectures and counties saw that the king of Dongping County was entrusted with the imperial edict to punish thieves, so they opened their city gates one after another, with the exception of Zhending City in Changshan Prefecture.

Tian Chengsi knew that Xue Bai, the newly appointed governor of Changshan, was in the city, and expected that Xue Bai would not easily open the city and surrender, but he did not expect that Xue Bai would dare to shoot his messenger with his bow.

Faced with this provocation, several generals in Tian Chengsi's army were angered and immediately asked for a battle to lead troops to attack Zhending City.

Not to mention that An Lushan's army is at the rear. Their vanguard troops alone are enough to wipe out Zhending City. But what Tian Chengsi cares about is time. He cannot delay here for too long, lest the Yellow River crossing becomes defensive.

"We will capture the city within two days."

The reason for this order was that the follow-up troops would arrive two days later. Even if Zhending City is not captured by then, it will be enough to completely surround it, and he will definitely be able to continue on his way.

After assigning generals to lead their own troops to attack the city, Tian Chengsi frowned and thought about a more troublesome matter.

Not only was he a pioneer, but it only took him half a month from the time he decided to go on an expedition to the time he rushed all the way to Zhending City. He didn't have time to carry much food and grass. He relied entirely on the supply of large and small cities along the way. Today Zhending City will not open its gates, but tomorrow The army may run out of food.

In addition, the soldiers sent to shout at the city today were shot and killed on the spot, which greatly affected the morale of the army. After all, this move south is a rebellion, and it is difficult to guarantee that all the soldiers will be willing to loyal to Anlu Mountain.

Due to these two considerations, Tian Chengsi recruited his brother Tian Tinglin.

"I have been marching for many days. I plan to rest here temporarily while you take people to find some food and grass."

Tian Tinglin wondered: "When you encounter such a Changshan prefect, the city gate is not open, let alone the warehouse door. Where can you find food and grass?"

"It's not like there are no people living outside the city."

"Stealing their food? Isn't that the ruler of the government who governs the people?"

"If you don't have food, who will work for you?" Tian Chengsi said: "The soldiers may not all know that following us is rebellion, and they should be allowed to see blood."

Tian Tinglin was stunned for a while, feeling a little unbearable, but looking at Tian Chengsi's fierce eyes, he knew that his brother was right, and those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial matters.

"Then I will send the soldiers to look for food and grass in batches."

"Go."

~~
"They're going to attack the city."

On top of Zhending City, Yuan Luqian raised his hand and pointed into the distance, his voice trembling.

Needless to say, Xue Bai also knew that the situation was not good.

He had only been in office for a short time, and there were only a few left-behind soldiers in Zhending City who had not fought much, and the command was still weak. It was simply impossible to defend the city with force when An Lushan's army attacked.

Even before the enemy began to attack the city, he could already feel the low morale.

After more than a hundred years of peace in the world, when suddenly faced with a rebellion, most people were panicked and at a loss.

Some residents in the city are not aware of the seriousness of the situation at all, and are still struggling with the disruption of their inherent lives. For example, Xue Bai heard a child on the long street asking his grandfather, "Can I go to school again tomorrow?"

In short, the rebels arrived so quickly that it completely exceeded Xue Bai's expectations. His original plan to make a difference in Changshan and contain Anlushan had failed before it even started. He had not yet figured out what to do next. .

In the sight of the telescope, the rebel soldiers cut down the trees and were building ladders at a very fast speed.

The outer city of Zhending City is made of earthen walls, which are not too high, making the ladders needed to attack the city relatively simple.

In the distance, a cloud of dust and smoke rose, and a group of cavalry came running from the west. Xue Bai turned his telescope and saw that each of the cavalrymen had women tied to their horses, and behind the horses were leading some men with their hands and feet tied, running in embarrassment or being dragged on the ground.

This group of cavalry rushed back to the rebel position and quickly attracted onlookers. The atmosphere in the rebel formation became cheerful, and many people rushed out and pointed at Zhending City.

Xue Bai couldn't hear it, but he could probably guess what they were talking about. They were just waiting to capture Zhending City, and they would burn, kill, and loot.

Once the rebel generals let go of their previous restraints and allowed these soldiers to loot, plunder, and rob women for fun, within a short period of time, their morale would naturally be high and they would fight bravely.

It was at this moment that Xue Bai suddenly understood why it was the "Anshi Rebellion" and not the "Anshi Rebellion". Just from the word "rebellion", one can already see the kind of morality of An Lushan and his interest groups.

Thinking that because of his own existence, this chaos had befallen the world in advance, his heart became heavier and his face became gloomy.

The youthful energy he carried in the past has also dissipated a bit, and he has become more profound.

He thought, replacing Yan Gaoqing as the governor of Changshan, could he do better?

He had no idea about this. He knew that he cherished his life more than Yan Gaoqing. In terms of courage, perhaps we have lost a lot.

……

After thinking for a while, Xue Bai handed the telescope in his hand to Yuan Luqian and asked him to take a look at the scene among the rebels.

Yuan Luqian's face turned pale and he was heartbroken, and said, "What should we do? Fight with the rebels?"

"Open the city gate and surrender." Xue Bai said, "They won't believe me. You can only keep your official position and Zhending City."

(End of this chapter)