Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 432 Choice
By July, the weather was getting hotter and hotter.

After Pingyuan City was besieged for a month, food and supplies became increasingly scarce.

Xue Bai accidentally took a look at himself in the mirror after many days. What he saw was a man with a slovenly beard, a bloody face, and a fierce look. He looked back and saw no one else before he realized that it was Own.

He did not have the grace of Lu Yi who meticulously tidied up before his death. The water source outside the city had been cut off, and he only relied on the wells in the city for drinking water. No one knew how to fetch water to wash his face. Xue Bai finally lost the body memory of being pampered and became accustomed to living in a situation of scarcity.

At dawn, he walked out of his residence and walked along the rammed earth road to the city. He raised his telescope and looked at Shi Siming's camp. I saw many ragged people scattered around the camp, looking for food on the ground with their heads lowered.

Or it was the rice and millet that leaked out when transporting the baggage, or the leftover fodder chewed by the horses. The rebels were very willing to spend money on raising horses. The forage contained a lot of beans, sorghum, and even some salt, and they were trapped in Pingyuan City. The soldiers could no longer get enough salt.

The refugees outside the city picked up grains of food from the soil one by one and stuffed them into their mouths eagerly. Suddenly, arrows were shot at them with a "whoosh". A small group of cavalry came out of the camp and fired arrows to drive them away.

The refugees were too tired to run fast and staggered towards the woods on both sides. After leaving a few bodies behind, the front of the camp became quiet.

Xue Bai was still looking out. After a while, he saw refugees coming out again. He dragged the bodies on the ground into the woods with difficulty. After that, a line of smoke rose from the woods.

The trumpet sounded, the antlers in front of the rebel camp were removed, and groups of rebels marched towards Pingyuan City, starting a new day of siege warfare.

He boasts that he lives up to his name and is a person who knows how to choose friends. He can see the sincerity in Xue Bai's eyes that treats others equally.

"Does Prefect Xue know my name?"

The soldiers on the top of the city shouted slogans and threw earth and rocks hard.

"Prefect Xue."

They did not rush to the city and set up ladders to climb up, but dug under the city with shield carts.

At this time, Fan Dongfu saw Li Ze approaching from a distance, and Fan Dongfu quickly shut up and walked away.

"I talked with Li Ze today." He Lan Jinming lowered his voice and talked about business. "He promised me that he would persuade Yan Gaoqing and Xue Bai to break out. When the time comes, he will follow me to Changshan."

Helan Zhijia had no doubts about Li Zejiao's reaction. His brother had always been a very charming person and was best at persuading others to follow him.

All Xue Bai could do was to boost morale, and then lead the soldiers to repair the city wall. This process was so similar to flood relief that it reminded him more than once of his father chasing pigs swept away by floods.

In short, they tried every means to consume the physical strength and will of the defenders, and were sure that the city wall or the defenders would collapse one day.

The defenders had no choice but to demolish the houses in the city and throw stones and earth at the rebels and the entrances of the caves.

"General Li actually knew that the rebels had captured Luoyang City, but he just didn't tell the soldiers. The problem is that Governor Helan said that if the rebels captured Luoyang, they would capture Hanjiacang, so there would be no shortage of food at all. We cut off the rebels' food routes. It’s meaningless.”

Xue Bai turned around and saw that it was a captain in the Jingsai Army named Fan Dongfu. He deliberately memorized the names of many soldiers, although some of them died soon after.

The "General Li" here refers to Li Zejiao, the envoy to the Jingsai Army temporarily appointed by Yan Gaoqing.

Xue Bai said: "I have been busy recently and have no time to get to know General Li better. You can trust me."

Xue Bai went to Taiyuan to meet Li Guangbi, and by the way, he settled Li Tengkong and Li Jilan. I don't know how it reached Helan Jinming's ears, and it became his reason for arranging him.

A servant girl carried several buckets of water from the well, poured it into the large cauldron in the kitchen, lit firewood to heat it, and brought it to Helan's bright house.

"He Lanjin made it clear that after breaking through, he would use Governor Yan and Governor Xue to attract Shi Siming's pursuit, while he and I would lead the troops and abandon you."

"That's because he was not in a hurry and did not use all his strength to attack the city."

A few nights ago, Wang Rao even secretly led his troops out of the city, filled the hole halfway, and was attacked by the rebels. After suffering a lot of casualties, he narrowly retreated back into the city.

"Chang Shan, he said that Governor Xue had known that Hebei could not be defended, so he secretly sent the whole family to Taiyuan."

Helan Zhijia said: "I'm afraid that before the city is broken, some soldiers will sacrifice our heads to surrender to Shi Siming."

"I never expected that we could hold out for so long under Shi Siming's offensive."

"Where to break out?"

"Captain Fan, what's the matter?"

Shi Siming did not want to enter the city through tunnels, but to hollow out the foundation under the city wall. He even thoughtfully asked the soldiers to use wood to support the dug hole until they dug under the city wall. Once the wooden supports were set on fire, the city wall was about to collapse.

"Choose friends?"

Xue Bai's face didn't change, he patted him on the shoulder, pulled him down the stone steps, to a deserted place, and asked: "What's the specifics?"

After washing, Helan Jinming tidied his beard, and went to the courtyard with Helan Zhijia to enjoy the cool air. He raised his head and listened to the movement in the distance, and murmured: "The rebels haven't paid tribute today. I really don't know when this city will be destroyed." Breached."

"Why would General Lee tell me this?"

"It's not meaningless. Even with Hanjiacang, their foundation is still in Fan Yang." Xue Bai first comforted Fan Dongfu and told him not to worry, and then asked what else they said.

Fan Dongfu admired his calm and friendly attitude and whispered: "Helan Jinming said that he believed that if Governor Xue held on, there would be only death. He asked General Li to break out with him."

"One! Two!"

"Great."

~~
evening.

Amidst such background sounds, Xue Bai and Li Zejiao climbed to the top of the tower.

The rebels would also use trebuchets to throw stones at the plain city, or find sections of the wall where the defenders were insufficient to fire rockets into the city.

Fan Dongfu emphasized his tone and said with some annoyance: "Prefect, please be careful. Helan Jinming took advantage of the current unstable morale of the army and took away your power..."

"That's right." Li Zejiao said: "My grandpa always said that choosing friends is the most important thing in life. As the saying goes, 'Living with unkind people is like entering an abalone house and not smelling the smell for a long time.' He Lan Jinming seems to be elegant. In fact, he is arrogant, jealous, selfish, and unfriendable.”

"Prefect Helan just had a private conversation with the general, and I followed General Li and heard some of it." Fan Dongfu lowered his voice.

Li Zejiao said: "Why bother to elaborate? The eyes can already tell a lot of things."

This time, the reason why they chose to support Pingyuan County with Xue Bai was because the situation was good at that time. They thought it was an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, but unexpectedly they ended up being trapped in a tight siege.

But if he can break out, especially if he can get rid of Xue Bai and Yan Gaoqing and return to Changshan County, then looking at the whole of Hebei, Helan Jinming will be the person with the highest merit and the most significant prestige.

One thing is very strange. For Xue Bai's great contribution this time, he originally thought that the imperial court would reward him with an official position such as the Hebei Recruitment Envoy, but now he has not yet received the reward from the imperial court. I don't know why it was delayed. When Helan arrives in Changshan in the Ming Dynasty, this gap may be filled.

"The question is, can we persuade Xue Bai to break out of the encirclement?" Helan Zhijia pondered: "If he doesn't agree, it will be rare for the king to be here, and I'm afraid I won't be able to make the decision."

"Do you really think Xue Bai can hold on to the current situation? Li Zejiao only needs to tell Xue Bai that the morale of the Jingsai Army is low, complaints are everywhere, and it is almost impossible to suppress it."

At this moment, in the distance, the sound of the rebels' golden whistle finally sounded. Helan Jinming breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have passed the day safely. He did not want to rebel again, and was afraid that Pingyuan City would be breached before his measures had any effect.

It was night, and it was Wang Nan's turn to lead the Yunzhong Army on duty. Helan Jinming ordered the Bei Navy to rest early. The soldiers under his command need to wait until they break out of the encirclement before working hard to kill the enemy. Now it is time to replenish their strength and avoid casualties.

Of course, the camp defense still had to be done well. The soldiers on guard at night heard a commotion on the city wall at night, which seemed to be a sneak attack by the rebels.

……

Early the next morning, another refugee ran to the rebel camp in search of food. They knew that this might cost them their lives, but if they couldn't find food, they would definitely lose their lives.

Helan Jinming soaked hard cakes in hot water under the bamboo garden and drank the last drop of wine in his wine bag.

He had not heard the sound of silk and bamboo for forty-nine days, and felt that he had become vulgar, so he sighed deeply.

Before the rebels attacked, Yan Gaoqing sent someone to invite him to discuss the war. Helan Jinming guessed that Li Zejiao's persuasion might have worked, but he remained vigilant and ordered a group of close soldiers to follow him.

Fortunately, there was no tense situation or fighting between each other. Yan Gaoqing and Xue Bai agreed to break out of the encirclement, but Xue Bai's reasons surprised He Lan Jinming at his thick skin.

"good news."

Xue Bai and other generals gathered together, walked to the map, and said: "Last night, a messenger from Changshan County risked his life to break through and deliver news to the city."

Helan Jinming glanced around the hall, but did not see the messenger.

Xue Bai seemed to know what he was thinking, and said: "This strong man was hit by three arrows from the rebels. He has fainted and is undergoing treatment, but he successfully delivered the message."

As he spoke, he picked up his sword and clicked on Fan Yang's position on the map.

"We have instigated the rebel Fan Yang and left behind Jia Xun. This man is from Jingzhao Prefecture. He defeated the Tubo army in Jiannan and also camped in Pingyuan County. He was both civil and military, and later became a general under Zhang Shougui. Ten days ago , he has taken possession of Youzhou, raised the flag of righteousness, surrendered to the imperial court, and spread the word to all places in Fanyang!"

A message was passed to the generals. It contained Jia Xun's impassioned speech and Fan Yang's seal.

All the generals were surprised.

Xue Bai was able to hold his anger. Except for Yan Gaoqing, he did not mention this matter to anyone else in advance to avoid leaking the news. Wait until now when things are done. The improvement in morale will be huge.

"Not only that, we also instigated the rebellion of Pinglu general Liu Kenu. He has now killed Lu Zhijie, the post-reigning queen of Pinglu Festival appointed by An Lushan, and moved to Yuyang to respond to Jia Xun. In addition, there is Anton General Wang Xuanzhi also raised his flag to help Liu Kenu from a distance!"

"it is good!"

There were already impatient generals in the army who clapped their hands and shouted: "Take away An Lushan's lair and see what else he can use to cause trouble!"

"The imperial court regained Fan Yang so quickly?"

"The siege of the plains will be lifted soon, right?"

In this discussion, there are naturally some people who don't believe it, and some people who are dubious.

He Lan Jinming didn't believe it at all. He thought that An Lushan had been running Fan Yang for so long, with a deep foundation and popular support. Therefore, once he raised his troops, he would conquer Luoyang in more than thirty days and be invincible. Under such circumstances, how could there be a fire in the backyard? Case? It's totally unreasonable!
Moreover, Xue Bai always loved lying. In order to deceive the soldiers that Luoyang was not lost, he denied the deaths of Li Jin, Lu Yi, and Jiang Qing, and buried the heads of loyal and loyal soldiers in mass graves at will, so that future generations could not pay tribute. For a person who is so dishonest to announce such important news in such a sudden way must be false.

"Out of caution, there is no warning about this matter. Is it possible..."

"What kind of omen do you want? If Jia Xun, Liu Kenu and others' loyalty to the imperial court was noticed by An Lushan, how could they still perform today's righteous deeds?!"

Xue Bai stopped the others' questions with a tone that could not be criticized, and immediately moved on to the next agenda. "Presumably at this time, or even earlier, Shi Siming has already received the news. In this case, he must rush back to Fan Yang as soon as possible. This is also an opportunity for us to break out and concentrate our forces in Changshan."

This stimulated the morale of the army, and Xue Bai was willing to mention the breakout. He supplied the soldiers with rations and salt that were originally divided into many days to eat slowly, so that the soldiers could eat well.

Helan Jinming didn't believe Xue Bai's story at all, thinking that the situation must not be so gratifying. He immediately went to Li Zejiao to discuss, and believed that after breaking through, they must march separately, leaving Xue Bai and Yan Gaoqing behind, in order to contain Shi Siming's main force.

Li Zejiao then asked: "If Prefect Helan doesn't believe it, why not go and confirm with Prefect Xue?"

"What's the use? If I listen to his sweet words one more time, will I recognize him?"

However, cheers suddenly sounded from the top of the city.

Helan Jinming was stunned and hurried to the city. After a closer look, he actually saw some rebels heading north in the distance.

"it turns out."

He murmured, feeling reluctant in every way, but he had to admit that what Xue Bai said was true.

Although Jia Xun's actions to bring things right were obviously unreasonable, after careful consideration, Helan Jinming still figured out the reason.

In the Tang Dynasty, it is true that the imperial court was corrupt and the capital was empty, but it is also true that there were many officials from all over the world who still loved the Tang Dynasty.

How come no one wants to protect it in such a prosperous time?
~~
At the same time, Xue Bai and Yan Gaoqing were sitting opposite each other in the tower, listening to the cheers on the top of the city.

"It's a pity that Jia Xun, Liu Kenu and others had their hearts set on the Tang Dynasty, but the situation still disappointed them."

The joy on Yan Gaoqing's face condensed and she asked, "What do you mean?"

"My father-in-law, please take a look."

Xue Bai took out a letter stained with blood and handed it over.

Yan Gaoqing opened it quickly, glanced at it quickly, and sighed: "The great situation has plummeted. Jia Xun's passion has been wasted."

This letter was sent from Changshan County together with Jia Xun's message.

Yuan Luqian received the letter first and was so happy that he wrote a good news letter to Xue Bai. Before he had time to send it, the new news had arrived. It turned out that Jia Xun had already agreed with Fan Yang's deputy left-behind Xiang Runke to submit to the imperial court. Xiang Runke only agreed to this because he saw that the counties in Hebei had turned to the imperial court. However, on the day of their rebellion, news that An Lushan had captured Luoyang, the eastern capital, also spread back to Youzhou. Xiang Runke then killed Jia Xun and returned to the rebel army.

"If Luoyang had been defended for another half month, the rebellion would have been over!" Yan Gaoqing said regretfully.

"I still say the same thing." Xue Bai said: "No matter how many right things a loyal minister does, they can't offset the wrong thing done by a foolish emperor."

He looked a little tired, leaning back against the wall and rubbing his eyes.

"In order to stop this rebellion, I have done a lot, but it is all in vain. The root of the chaos is the land system and tax system. It is difficult to change the system. A single move can affect the whole body. The saint is old and does not want to worry about it. No matter what Neither Yu Wenrong nor Li Linfu could do it. Speaking of the most basic thing, the sage would not even listen to "diligence and frugality". Diligence and frugality are an example and the beginning of restructuring and rectification. If we don't start, we loyal ministers will be noisy at the branches all day long. , What’s the use if you can’t get to the root?”

Since the siege of the city, Yan Gaoqing has become accustomed to hearing these words of criticism against Chengyu. He was very calm when he heard the words and just sighed: "What's the use of complaining at this time? It's better to talk about something practical."

"Okay, I have two more letters here. They were brought by last night's messenger from Changshan County."

The two letters were made of different paper. One of them was made of snow-white paper stuck on cloth. Xue Bai handed it over first.

"This is the imperial court's secret order to Helan Jinming. My father-in-law, please read this first."

Yan Gaoqing took it and saw that there was a seal on it, symbolizing top secret, which said "Helan enters the Ming Dynasty in person". Once torn, it cannot be restored. He was stunned and looked at Xue Bai.

"this?"

"I opened it." Xue Bai said, "There is also a mailbox, which I threw away."

Yan Gaoqing opened it and took a look, and his expression changed again.

The secret decree actually appointed Helan Jinming as the envoy to Hebei Province, and ordered him to capture Xue Bai and take him to Chang'an.

"Is the will true?!"

"That's right." Xue Bai said: "Fortunately, Yuan Luqian did not dismantle it, but sent someone to Pingyuan County. Fortunately, Wang Jinlan handed it over to me last night instead of Helan Jinming."

"But why?"

"The saint is ignorant." Xue Bai said: "Do you believe it, my father-in-law? The saint will not wake up and stop until he kills all his capable ministers and waits for the rebellion to overthrow the throne."

Yan Gaoqing still didn't believe it. He shook the secret decree in his hand and murmured: "But why is this? You guarded Tumen Pass, rescued Changshan County, and called on all the counties in Hebei. Why are you not rewarded for your merits, but are you suspected?"

"I belong to the prince. The saint suspects that the reason why the rebels are so loud is that the prince is bluffing for the rebels..."

"Nonsense!"

Yan Gaoqing slammed the table, her face flushed with anger, and she didn't know whether she was scolding Xue Bai or the saint.

The room was quiet for a while.

Sunlight filtered in through the small arrow window and shone on Xue Bai's face. He did not avoid it and looked directly at Yan Gaoqing in the sun.

"I am in Changshan County. If I attack, I can call on the counties in Hebei to intercept the rebels; if I retreat, I can return to Taiyuan and return to King Qin of Beijing. But I led my troops to the plains because I really did not expect that the situation would deteriorate so quickly, but I know the reason. , and therefore have a plan.”

"what?"

"As I said before, I have a private army in Shouyang Mountain." Xue Bai said: "They should have ambushed the rebels and helped Gao Xianzhi defend Luoyang. Maybe if Luoyang held on for another half month, everything might be different, maybe... ...In short, the plan was to defend Luoyang, occupy Hebei, and instigate Fan Yang to rebel. But Luoyang fell and my private soldiers did not move. Does my father-in-law know why? "

"Why?"

Xue Bai handed over the third letter he received last night.

This was delivered from Shouyang Mountain to Changshan, and then from Changshan to his hand. It took many journeys.

Yan Gaoqing opened it and looked at it. At the same time, Xue Bai also gave the answer.

"The reason why Gao Xianzhi abandoned Luoyang was because he found that... the food in Hanjiacang was missing."

"how is this possible?"

Yan Gaoqing stared at the letter in his hand, in disbelief.

However, the content of the letter on this matter was very brief, with only one sentence: "Enter the city to see Xianzhi, saying that the warehouse is empty, Luoyang cannot be defended, and Lushan has not passed Yanshi, so no ambush was set up."

He looked left and right, but couldn't see anything more. Finally, Fu Xu murmured: "As far as I know, Tianbao has eight years, and the world's grain reserves are 12 million stones, including Jiacang accounted for 583 Wan Shi, how can such a big warehouse be without food? "

Xue Bai said: "Then I don't know. Maybe Gao Xianzhi didn't have the confidence to defend Luoyang and made an excuse."

Yan Gaoqing asked: "You just said that you have a plan from this?"

"good."

There seemed to be a mailbox in Xue Bai's arms, and he took out a small map and spread it on the table.

Although this map is small, it covers a wide area, including all the Taoist regions of the Tang Dynasty.

"Now Luoyang is lost and Tongguan is in danger. Here in Hebei, Shi Mingsi has returned to the army, and the rebel army has become more popular. The imperial court will not send troops to Hedong to support, but also wants to capture me and return to Chang'an. In this case, we break out and return to Changshan County, leading the army How about the Hebei rebels passing through Jingxing and passing through Hedong to King Qin in Guanzhong?”

"What is King Qin?"

"Support the crown prince and ask the saint to abdicate."

Yan Gaoqing suddenly changed his expression, stared at Xue Bai, shook his head and said, "You must not do this!"

Still the time has not come.

Xue Bai then said: "Then the second plan."

He raised his finger and pointed at the map, and then said: "Suppose there really is not enough food in Hanjiacang. We want to put down the rebellion as soon as possible, and what we need to do is to cut off the rebels' food routes. But with Henan's situation like this, Dongdu Gao Xianzhi has retreated to Tongguan, and the rebels have other ways to get food. "

"Jianghuai."

"Yes." Xue Bai said: "The saint is fatuous and the court is panicked. He must not be able to take care of the Jianghuai River at the moment. He can't even figure out whether there is food in Hanjiacang. Once the rebels are allowed to go south to take food from the Jianghuai River, the rebellion will continue. No time limit.”

Yan Gaoqing immediately understood and said, "We will break out and head south to defend the important town along the canal."

His eyes fell on the map and he quickly pointed to a place.

"Not bad, but more than that."

Xue Bai clicked on the map where Yan Gaoqing pointed just now, and continued: "When we lead the troops here, we must first ensure that there is sufficient food and grass, and if there is a chance, we may not be unable to attack the Eastern Capital by surprise. Although the rebels are numerous, but the main attack Tongguan, coupled with Shi Siming's return to the north, Luoyang is empty, plus I still have arrangements in Shouyang Mountain. "

Yan Gaoqing nodded and said: "Yes, but how to break out of the encirclement? I guess Shi Siming may seem to be retreating, but he will never let you go easily."

"Yes."

Xue Bai took the secret edict from the court to Helan Jinming and rolled it up.

He had been criticizing Chengyu in front of Yan Gaoqing, and now it was time to see the effect.

"Helan Jinming is the Hebei Recruiting Envoy, and he wants to detain me. If we need his troops and ask him to help us make a feint to the east and attack in the west, do you think he will agree?"

Yan Gaoqing understood the implication of Xue Bai's words. He was an upright person. In ordinary times, he would never agree to kill Helan Jinming. After all, Helan Jinming was also a person who advocated justice in times of national crisis.

"How about I talk to him again?"

"Li Zejiao has already talked with him. Let's see what he chooses. How about it?"

(End of this chapter)