Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 440: Majestic Landing
The winter months are cold, so Zhu Xicai wears official robes most of the time, and wears a mink fur outside, which looks good-looking and majestic. Hearing about the enemy attack today, he hurriedly changed back into the heavy and cold armor.

When he arrived at the head of Nancheng City, he just saw Zhao Chongyi stabbing Gao Shang in the chest with a dagger.

"Get the traitor!"

"Who dares to act rashly?!"

Zhao Chongyi stabbed out the dagger again and turned around and shouted at the rebel soldiers on the top of the city.

At the same time, dense footsteps sounded, and more than a hundred disciples of the regiment had climbed up the stone steps, holding swords to protect Zhao Chongyi. These were all new soldiers recruited in Yanshi, but they had been instigated by Zhao Chongyi beforehand.

Zhu Xicai's soldiers raised their swords one after another, and the two sides suddenly became tense.

"stop!"

"County Magistrate Zhu said that if the situation changes, you will be counted as one, but are these words still effective?" Zhao Chongyi stood upright and asked without fear.

Only then did Gao Shang's body slowly fall down, hitting Zhao Chongyi's feet, splashing snow.

Xue Bai glanced at the soldiers behind Zhu Xicai. They were quite strong. He then pondered and said, "It took me a while to come here from Songshan Mountain. I guess the news that I was charged has been spread?"

Now was not the time to talk, so Zhao Chongyi told probably everything he knew. As for the rest, he would have to wait until Xue Bai met Yin Liang, Guo Huan and others to know.

"I have met Governor Xue, and I am willing to follow him..."

Where Zhao Chongyi looked, the first thing he saw was a slightly unfamiliar face, covered with blood, frost and snow, and a beard that hadn't been shaved for a long time, covering up the handsomeness in his impression. Soon he saw Xue Bai's smile. , with sincere joy caused by meeting old friends.

"How do you plan to help the country? Are you going to follow Anlu Mountain to burn, kill and loot?!"

"I am a rough member of the army and have little knowledge. The governor should not blame me."

"Zhao Liu." Xue Bai stood on his horse and looked towards the stone steps, "Long time no see."

"But you opened the city gate for me." Xue Bai got off his horse, patted Zhao Chongyi on the shoulder, and said, "Tell me about the situation in Shouyang Mountain."

Except for Lieutenant Xue Xian, few noble people would be sincerely happy to see a handyman like him.

"The sin will be the vulgar people of the frontier, who cannot speak."

In addition, Zhu Xicai also felt that his family was deeply influenced by Xue Bai. The wives and concubines played dominoes and watched operas every day, the sons cooked every day, and the daughters all had several copies of Xue Bai hidden in their boudoirs. I heard them singing a line like "Who comes in the morning and is drunk in the frost forest?"

"I have great respect for both gentlemen."

In the middle of the salute, Zhu Xicai suddenly remembered a question - the fact that the Tang Dynasty court was looking for Xue Bai had already reached Luoyang. At this time, what did it mean for him to declare his allegiance to the Tang Dynasty to Xue Bai?

"Yes." Zhu Xicai tentatively said: "Since the prefect knew it, he was willing to take the risk. He is really loyal. But doesn't he consider his personal safety?"

There were sporadic battles in the city. The rebel soldiers who escaped without obeying Zhu Xicai's orders were killed by the Tang army. Zhu Xicai stood ten steps behind Zhao Chongyi and was surprised that Xue Bai was young and gentle, which did not match the fierce appearance he expected. He only stepped forward to meet the two after they had spoken.

Gao Shang has been walking around with a burnt face these years, and he is particularly concerned about everything related to Xue Bai, as if he wants to teach others that Xue Bai is terrible, and now he has got his wish.

"County Lieutenant, I didn't look at the door of the county office."

With just one order, Zhu Xicai could easily kill Zhao Chongyi to avenge Gao Shang. However, during the two months he served as the county magistrate of Yanshi, he had many feelings that Gao Shang did not know until his death.

"You are a great speaker."

Xue Bai said again: "Then what do you think of me being accused?"

Zhu Xicai was originally just a subordinate general in the Lulong Army, and was not as close to An Lushan as these two people. After hearing this, I realized that there must be a reason why even Dugu Wensu and Li Shiyu joined under Xue Bai's persuasion.

Although Xue Bai served as Yanshi Lieutenant for a short time, the changes he brought about were huge. Zhu Xicai often felt that he was under Xue Bai's figure. At this time, it was easy for him to order Zhao Chongyi to be killed, but he had no confidence in repelling Xue Bai.

So, Zhao Chongyi forgot to bow his head and bowed, standing there scratching his head.

Zhu Xicai saw that there was no chance to bargain, so he shouted, threw away the knife in his hand, and quickly ran down the stone steps to the top of the city.

He originally thought about asking Xue Bai to ask for some rewards for him, but now he regretted it.

"Yes, when he learned about the rebellion in Anlu Mountain, Yan Xian Cheng immediately went to Luoyang to report the news. The county magistrate also followed Yan Xian Cheng to escape for his life. At that time, the rebels fell into Hebei too quickly, so Guo Lushi arranged for the people to flee and moved the grain and grass supplies. When we arrived at Shouyang Mountain, Yinxian Lieutenant originally wanted to defend the city, but after getting the letter from Yanxian Cheng, he went to Luoyang to support me and asked me to stay in Yanshi until the next day."

"Help the country." Zhu Xicai used a very broad word.

"Don't dare. The guilty general couldn't bear the suffering of the people, so he spent money to buy... and then got the position of Yanshi Ling. No, he had no choice but to be given the position of Yanshi Ling in the puppet dynasty."

As he spoke, Xue Bai understood his concerns. The two looked at each other, and he couldn't help but smile and asked, "What do you want with me?"

The shouts of killing at the city gate had stopped, the city gate was opened, the suspension bridge made a "bang" sound and was placed on the moat, and the Tang army's vanguard drove in.

He didn't look at Gao Shang, who was lying on the ground, because his heart was full of fear for Xue Bai.

First of all, Yanshi is very rich. This wealth is not reflected in how much grain is left in the granary, but in the details of the lives of all the officials, servants, and young men who have joined him. They are picky about food, pay attention to cleanliness, and do not drink raw water. Their conversations often reveal a sense of superiority that is rarely seen elsewhere. All the big families who stay in the county have a lot of food, ironware, and tribes, and they dare to marry. The village protects itself.

The Yan county magistrate he mentioned was Yan Chunqing, the clan brother of Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing. When Xue Bai left Yanshi, he recommended Yan Chunqing as the county magistrate.

When the Tang army first entered the city, such a question seemed inappropriate, but it was related to his subsequent choices. Although Xue Bai successfully entered the city, if he could not be surrendered, the rebels in the city could still cause a lot of trouble.

It is said that merchants in Yanshi County were prosperous before, and the residents were very wealthy. They liked to deposit their money in banks. The interest was often enough to add a piece of meat to every meal. Therefore, many people fled, and there was no need to bring gold and silver with them. They arrived with flying money. It can be exchanged anywhere under the imperial government. That's all. Zhu Xicai accidentally overheard the officials talking privately, saying that as long as they were not surrounded by rebels in places still under the imperial court, even places like Dongping and Nanyang County could still survive in Fenghui. The bank exchanged the money and the interest remained unchanged.

~~
After many years, Xue Bai returned to Yanshi County again.

"Zhu Xicai, the assistant general of the Lulong Army of the Tang Dynasty, respectfully welcomes Prefect Xue to recover Yanshi!"

Zhu Xicai could feel the certainty in his tone and the understatement of not taking the Emperor of Chang'an seriously. He suddenly reacted and thought to himself, could this be a rebel too? It was really jumping from one den of thieves to another.

Luo Shui was frozen, just as he had left it. The bustling and lively scene was missing at the city gate, and there were only rows of cold armor shining coldly in the snow.

The two walked a few steps, and while talking, they walked to the top of the city. Xue Bai asked, "How is your relationship with Dugu Wensu and Li Shiyu?"

"County Lieutenant."

After saying this first, Zhu Xilie expressed some of his attitudes with the intention of continuing to test.

"It used to be said that the emperor's sage wanted us soldiers to follow An Lushan in the rebellion, and we were heartbroken. But later, we all heard that the sage robbed his daughter-in-law and handed over all state affairs to Yang Guozhong. This traitorous deception is also deceiving us. So we gritted our teeth and rebelled, and we didn't expect to capture Dongdu within a month. I can see clearly that the person sitting on the dragon throne in Chang'an is a fool."

Having said this, he turned around and glanced, seeing that these remarks did not arouse Xue Bai's indignation, so he became bold.

He picked up a ball of snow, compacted it into a snowball, stretched out his hand from the city wall, and said: "The prestige of the saint is like this in my heart."

The big hand opened, and the snowball fell from the high city top, smashing it into pieces.

Xue Bai watched this scene silently, and suddenly thought that when he first arrived in the Tang Dynasty, it was also in a snowy winter month. At that time, Li Longji's most taboo thing was "criticizing Chengyu", for which he was repeatedly imprisoned. Now, the whole world is criticizing Chengyu, but Li Longji is powerless.

Zhu Xicai once heard Gao Shang talk about the world situation, and knew that when the saint's prestige reaches its lowest point, there are only three ways to restore it. One is to put down the rebellion quickly, but unfortunately, it has not been done yet; the other is to issue an edict to punish oneself, but this is actually to reduce prestige and appease people's hearts, but people's hearts obviously cannot be appeased in a short time, and I am afraid it will be counterproductive. ; Third, blame other people for the cause of the accident.

He talked eloquently along these lines, and finally said: "The sage punished Prefect Xue just to make you take the responsibility for the chaos. The world is in such chaos, not because of his stupidity, but because you forced An to rebel. Lushan.”

Although Gao Shang died, Zhu Xicai felt that he was about to use Gao Shang's words to persuade Xue Bai to surrender. He almost couldn't hold back his pain and shouted: "Why should Governor Xue continue to work for the faint king? It's better to surrender to Prince Dongping!"

"The saint is so stupid that he can even understand a traitorous general." Xue Bai asked, "Can't you understand it when you are the prince in the court?"

"What does the governor mean?"

"I will not be questioned, and I will never let anyone mess up the Tang Dynasty..."

Xue Bai was already quite familiar with how to draw cakes for others. While he was talking to confuse Zhu Xicai, he was thinking about other things.

Hearing the voices of these rebel generals today made him realize more and more that the impact of the Anshi Rebellion on the Tang Dynasty was not only the destruction caused by the rebellion itself, but more profoundly, it triggered the separatism of vassal towns.

The soil for the separatist regimes of the Tang Dynasty was laid long ago, and the root cause was the huge damage caused by land annexation to the rent-labor system, equal distribution of land, and the system of government soldiers. The court could not afford land to support the government soldiers, so it naturally changed to recruiting soldiers. There was no need to equalize land, but it could obtain soldiers with higher combat effectiveness and fighting spirit. Therefore, during the Kaiyuan period, the Tang army was very powerful, sweeping across the four barbarians and expanding the territory.

As the recruitment of soldiers and the deployment and transportation of materials became more and more cumbersome, the Jiedushi had to be granted some appointment and dismissal and financial powers, and major military towns were established. At the same time, with the monopoly of imperial examinations by aristocratic families, a large number of talents from humble families poured into the Jiedushi shogunate to serve in the shogunate, and the strength of military towns continued to expand.

In the past, there was a custom in the court where generals came and ministers were appointed. The children of aristocratic families were also keen to go to the frontiers to perform meritorious service. There were a large number of generals from famous families in the army. The fundamental interests of these families were still in the court, so Pei Kuan appointed Fan Yang as the military governor of Shi Li. Longji could recruit him back if he wanted, and Wang Zhongsi never thought of raising an army to rebel. Later, as the trend of despising frontier generals gradually emerged in the court, and Li Linfu made a series of jealousy and jealousy actions in order to seize power, most of the military governors were from border areas, and the military towns formed their own system, which became more and more closely related to the court. Feel alienated.

Hebei is already riddled with problems, and a rebellion shattered the authority of the Emperor of Chang'an in the hearts of the generals in the border towns. If the court does not handle it well in the future, it will not be able to deter these brave generals with strong force and courage and solve the system. The fundamental contradiction in the political system and the conflict of interests between the aristocratic families and the humble common people... will naturally cause the generals in the feudal towns to shout the words "The emperor shall be the one with strong soldiers and horses"...

~~
"Whose soldiers and horses are surrounding the foot of Shouyang Mountain?" "Some of them are my soldiers." Zhu Xicai replied, "And some of them are people left behind by Gao Shang."

"Go and recall your troops. Those who are unwilling to surrender will be killed without mercy."

"Here."

Zhu Xicai agreed and carefully observed the troops brought by Xue Bai. They were not many, about three thousand people. Although everyone had horses, they were only wearing light armor and did not bring food or grass.

Even if he is willing to surrender, counting his troops and Yanshi's regiment training, recruiting soldiers, and expanding the army to 6,000 people, several granaries in Yanshi County are empty, and all the grain has been transported to Luoyang. I'm afraid I can't supply so many people and stick around for too long.

Although the rebels were surrounded, more than 100,000 elite troops were in Luoyang and Shaanxi counties. There are also large armies in Xingyang, Kaifeng, Chenliu and other places. When the time comes, they will attack from two sides. I don't know how Xue Bai wants to deal with it.

Of course, since Xue Bai dared to come, there must be reinforcements. The officers and soldiers in Henan and Huainan may soon launch a large-scale attack on Chenliu. If Yanshi sends troops to sneak attack the rebels from the rear, the situation will still be favorable to the officers and soldiers.

With this analysis in mind, Zhu Xicai still followed the order and went north, quickly killed dozens of noble men, ordered the remaining soldiers to surrender, and solved the siege of Shouyang Mountain. This can be regarded as his surrender to Xue Baili.

Xue Bai led a group of knights to follow, and there were people behind him holding a big flag.

He looked up to the top of the mountain with his telescope for a while. When he saw a flag waving, he waved to Zhu Xicai and said, "Follow me to the mountain."

Zhu Xicai was originally unwilling, fearing that Xue Bai would kill him and recruit his troops, but Xue Bai's tone did not allow for rejection, and it didn't look like he was going to use such despicable means, so he only brought a small number of soldiers with him. Followed up the mountain road.

Climbing up the winding mountain road and passing through a huge rock canyon, the front suddenly opens up.

This was Zhu Xicai's first time climbing Shouyang Mountain. He originally thought that Luhun Villa was just a small village, like a stronghold of bandits. But gradually, he discovered that it occupied a vast area, much larger than he had imagined. It was clearly a mountain city.

The city wall is connected to the mountain wall, and a high platform is built above it, hidden among the towering trees. Someone is looking out among them, and they have seen Xue Bai early.

"Mr. Lang is here!"

Following this shout, the mountain door suddenly opened wide, and someone quickly came out.

"Young Master."

"Mr. Yin." Xue Bai's face once again showed the smile of meeting an old friend, and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time."

Yin Liang's steps were a little lame, but he still hurried forward. He was much older and haggard, with deep crow's feet at the corners of his eyes.

"The Young Master has long said that An Lushan wanted to rebel, but unexpectedly the situation has reached this point."

"The situation in Hebei has been reversed. Don't worry too much." Xue Bai held Yin Liang's forearm, walked into the towering mountain gate, and said: "Kaifeng, Xingyang, and Luoyang have all fallen. It's rare that Mr. Yin can still hold on to a small mountain. to date."

"The young master has heard about the matter, but I can't help Master Wang to defend Luoyang. I'm ashamed."

Yin Liang had a lot to say, but he didn't know where to start.

"At that time, the rebels were in full force. Kaifeng and Xingyang fell too quickly, disrupting all plans, and the news with Taiyuan was also cut off. We originally planned to contact Gao Xianzhi to resist together, but before the rebels arrived, the Luoyang defenders appeared There was a mutiny, and some soldiers claimed that Gao Xianzhi had deducted the gifts from the court. Seeing that Yanshi could not hold on, I retreated to Shouyang Mountain and ambushed Anlu Mountain. When the rebels came to Luoyang City and fought with the defenders, I attacked the rebels with surprise troops. I thought that with the help of firearms, I might have a chance of victory, but I didn't expect that Luoyang would be lost so quickly."

"It is said that there is no grain storage in Hanjiacang, but is it true?"

Yin Liang nodded and said worriedly: "This matter was mentioned in a letter from Yan County Cheng. The letter did not go into details. He never came back after arriving in Luoyang. Perhaps he and Gao Xianzhi evacuated to Tongguan, but I heard that the saint Gao Xianzhi was executed by decree, and there was no news about him since."

Xue Bai asked: "Why did Li Yazhou become the national preceptor of Anlu Mountain?"

"Daozhang Li went to Luoyang with Yan County Prime Minister at that time, and he also brought two carts of gunpowder with the intention of helping Gao Xianzhi arrange his defenses. But at that time, the Luoyang defenders almost collapsed at the first touch. We don't know what happened after Gao Xianzhi fled. And know it.”

"What happens after that? Has Li Xiazhou contacted you?"

"No." Yin Liang said, "What I'm worried about is that if those two carts of gunpowder are dedicated to Anlu Mountain and used to attack Tongguan, the situation will be bad."

"Where's Fan Lao?"

"I also went with Yan County Cheng, bringing more than 300 people with me. He must have been caught in the military chaos in Luoyang or arrived at Tongguan."

Yin Liang is a very qualified staff member and official, but he is not a commander-in-chief. In fact, he does not have any battle experience. Faced with the onslaught of a major rebellion, Luoyang fell quickly. Yan Chunqing, Fan Lao, Li Xiazhou and others were no longer there. He was the only one who worked hard to support it and led the army and people to defend until now. It can be said that he has tried his best.

As he spoke, people who came to greet Xue Bai were already pouring over.

Guo Huan was much older, with gray hair and a cane, but the smile on his face remained unchanged. He stood a few steps in front of Xue Bai, hunched his back and raised his head, waiting for Xue Bai. Bai noticed him while chatting with Yin Liang.

"Guo Lushi, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Guo Huan laughed, as he had almost lost all his teeth in just a few years, and said: "The little old man never expected to see the young master again in his lifetime. Thanks to the young master's intelligence, the young old man was able to be saved." This big family.”

He is much older and more verbose.

Xue Bai stepped forward and said: "With so many soldiers and civilians gathered at Luhun Villa, the reason why people's hearts are not in chaos must be due to Mr. Guo's contribution."

"The little old man handed the book of grain and grass into the hands of the young master, and he will die with peace of mind."

In fact, when Xue Bai was the captain of Yanshi, Guo Huan was not necessarily so loyal to him. On the contrary, in the past few years, he became an official in Chang'an and became Guo Huan's biggest supporter in the court. Guo Huan increasingly regarded Xue Bai as his I am a disciple of my own family.

"We'll look at the food and grass later. I believe in Mr. Guo's ability."

As he said that, Xue Bai's eyes fell on the rows of private soldiers in the open space in front.

These people were trained by Lao Liang and Jiang Hai when they were there. Most of them were selected from the refugees. Although they have not fought many battles, they are better at being loyal and obeying orders. They have been raised over the years and are quite strong, and even more so. What's eye-catching is their armor and weapons. They are well-equipped. Even though they are far apart, they can still give people a sense of power and majesty.

But it still lacks some murderous intent and needs to be sharpened by Wang Rao.

Zhu Xicai, who was standing behind Xue Bai, was already very surprised. He finally took his eyes away from the private soldiers and found that there were rivers and grasslands in the valley, and dozens of war horses.

Although he had just entered Lu Hun Villa, he could already see Xue Bai's secret strength from the tip of the iceberg. Even if he could not be called a strong soldier, it could be seen that he had been planning for a long time.

This is equivalent to Xue Bai's Xiongwu City.

~~
A group of rebel cavalry rushed outside Yanshi City and looked at the closed city gate with some doubts.

"We are here under the orders of the saint to convey the edict and summon the nobles back to the pilgrimage to see you!"

The horses snorted impatiently, and the knight rode in circles in the snow. After waiting for a while, the city gate did not open, and then he shouted again: "The saint has prepared wine and invited the nobles to the banquet."

"what is that?"

The rebel cavalry squinted and looked up, only to find a head hanging on the city gate.

"Swish swish swish."

Arrows from the top of the city continued to shoot down at them, leaving several corpses behind in a short while.

So, the injured who were lucky enough to escape rushed back to Luoyang and brought back a rather ridiculous news.

"Report! Gao Shang can't go to the saint's banquet. He... he seems to be hanging on top of Yanshi City."

At this time, An Lushan had already seen the soldiers sent back by Gao Shang, and knew that a Tang army was making a surprise attack on Yanshi City, so he summoned Tian Ganzhen and prepared to ask him what he thought. Unexpectedly, the situation would become like this in the blink of an eye.

"How could it be?" An Lushan raised his fat finger and pointed at the two groups of people who rushed to report the news, and said, "It took less than a day. How could such a noble and intelligent person die?"

"Xue Bai."

Tian Qianzhen suddenly spoke with a gloomy tone.

He was a young orphan and lost his father. He was raised by Gao Shang in Fan Yang's army, and his friendship was different from others. When he learned that Gao Shang was dead, his eyes were red and his clenched fists were shaking.

Privately, he also complained that An Lushan lost his temper and failed to see Gao Shang, so Gao Shang happened to stay in Yanshi and was killed. At this moment, even An Lushan's prestige was shaken in his heart.

Of course, this trace of resentment can only be hidden in the heart.

The angrier Tian Qianzhen became, the calmer he became, and he quickly figured out what was going on.

"For Yanshi to fall so quickly, there must be internal forces. The only person who can contact the internal forces and control Yanshi in a short period of time is Xue Bai. Ask General Yunmo, the sage, to order all the soldiers and horses to kill Yanshi and take Xue Bai's head. Level, sacrifice Mr.’s spirit in heaven!”

(End of this chapter)