Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 450: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers
Lingbao County was originally named Taolin County. Like Pinglu County, it was renamed because of the auspiciousness, and the era name "Tianbao" came from this.

This place is located between the Xiaoqin Mountains and the Weishan Mountains, with ravines and ravines crisscrossing it. There is even a defile on the west plateau with cliffs on both sides.

There were loud shouts of death coming from west to east, causing the snow on the cliff to fall rustlingly.

Cui Qianyou's flag was swaying, as if it was about to fall down at any time, but it was still carried into the pass. Following behind were thousands of rebel soldiers, who were defeated by the officers and soldiers and fled sparsely.

"Kill!"

Behind the rebels, the Tang army was in hot pursuit.

According to the original plan, during the confrontation between the two armies, a surprise force was to be sent up the mountain to blow up the cliff, so that the rebels could not reach each other. Unexpectedly, once the battle began, the rebels were quickly defeated. Here The prepared strategies were not even used in time.

It was Wang Sili who was the vanguard commander. He felt something was wrong, so he reined in his horse, looked up at the towering cliff, and frowned slightly.

"General?" Deputy General Pang Zhong asked, "Why don't we pursue him?"

"The thieves are defeated too quickly, and there may be fraud."

Fan Lao shouted angrily, knowing that the rebels' ambush was not just for their small group, but the bigger goal was for the 200,000 troops.

A fire lit up in the dark prison, followed by the sound of chains clanking.

"Look at the back."

~~
This day is the winter solstice.

He then relaxed and thought that as long as the immediate trouble was solved, he would still be as successful as Yao and Shun.

"Shut up!"

"Well, the thieves have passed?"

Not only people worship their ancestors, but saints also worship their ancestors.

"Hit."

He turned back again, pointed forward, and whispered: "There have always been no birds in the woods here."

"Are we really going to be beheaded?" Du Wulang couldn't help but ask when he was taken out of the cell.

A group of figures was walking hard on the mountain peaks. Suddenly, the group stopped.

"You mean handsome man?"

"Really?"

The war was urgent. Now that Wang Sili knew the reason for Cui Qianyou's rapid defeat, he no longer hesitated and immediately ordered a full-speed pursuit.

Suddenly, several arrows were shot in their direction.

At this time, Du Wulang discovered that it was not just the three of them who were going to be executed, but also many people he knew or did not know. There was the intimidatingly tall Guan Chongsi, many of Wang Zhongsi's personal soldiers, and several stewards under Du Jin. Everyone was dejected and walked around in silence.

He was a little unaccustomed to this dreary atmosphere, and he was not ready to face death. He always felt that there might be a chance of improvement just like the previous imprisonments.

At this time, a general from the rear rushed up and said: "General, we have received news of success. The King's Division has recaptured Luoyang and captured Anlu Mountain alive!"

But the warden here didn't give him a smile. He just waved a whip at him with a cold face, as if he was driving away cattle and sheep.

Qiao Erwa listened for a while and could hear horse hooves and shouts in the distance.

Qiao Erwa raised her hand and pointed, shouting: "We're almost there, in the cave ahead."

The winter solstice is the penultimate solar term of the twenty-four solar terms, and it is also a day for people to worship their ancestors.

"Send a signal quickly to alert General Wang!"

Behind the huge rock, a bandit jumped out and shouted: "Where are the people, shoot arrows!"

When the Tongguan war was at its most intense, Li Longji also went to Yingxiang Temple in person to worship Emperor Xuanyuan in Chang'an and repair his golden body.

At the same time, the imperial court's decree was quickly conveyed to the army, and the cry of "no mercy, must be severely punished" was heard everywhere, echoing in the towering cliffs on both sides.

Silently praying in his heart, Li Longji looked up and saw a slight smile on the face of Lao Tzu's statue, which seemed to tell him that he had promised.

Yan Jiming pursed his lips, and when he reached the execution ground, he looked around and saw pedestrians standing in twos and threes under the lone willow tree, and then he shouted: "Unjust!"

……

"There's an ambush."

~~
Lone Willow Prison.

"Handsome?"

"The imperial court has issued a decree to quickly put down the rebellion. Anyone who goes along with the rebellion must not be leniently tolerated and must be severely punished!"

His horse hesitated at the entrance of the narrow passage, unwilling to enter. He pulled the reins hard, straightened the stubborn horse's head, gave it a hard whip, and then galloped into the narrow passage.

"Then let's..."

"Kill the thief!"

Behind the towering cliffs are hills with a gentler slope.

"Lean down." Fan Lao quickly bowed down and said, "Did you hear that?"

"I only hope that my ancestors will bless me and I will have a long life without borders. I am very happy."

As Fan Lao spoke, he turned around and pointed at the forest behind him. He could see frightened birds flying in the forest.

"Gag their mouths!"

"I am Yan Jiming, the secretary in charge of the Hedong Commandery Mansion. I recruited soldiers and horses for Li JieShuai to put down the rebellion. I was wronged and wronged!"

Yan Jiming was whipped several times quickly. A warden tried to gag him, but he turned his head to avoid it.

"This is Yuan Luqian, the chief historian of Changshan. Yuan Gong was righteous and the first to advocate righteousness, which is why Hebei has turned around today..."

Before he finished speaking, he was quickly hit hard and knocked to the ground, and a rag was stuffed into his mouth.

When Du Wulang saw this, he quickly shouted: "Unjust! They are all loyal... Ugh!"

"And I!"

When these people were all gagged, one of them started shouting.

"I, Yan San, am not a big shot, but I was wronged! Unjustly accused!"

Their shouting did not provoke anyone to complain.

The Lone Willow Tree is located in a remote place south of Chang'an City, and today is the winter solstice, so many families are busy worshiping their ancestors.

On this dreary, cold winter day, they were put on the execution ground like sacrificial animals.

Generally speaking, executions took place at noon on a specific day each year, but they were apparently an exception.

Du Wulang was gagged and knelt in the snow for a long time in the cold. He looked up several times and didn't see any officials sitting behind the case. He couldn't help but be lucky again, thinking that maybe his sister was trying to save him.

In his opinion, they were quite powerful in Chang'an. Since they could get the news in advance and escape, they should be able to think of a way.

But towards evening, the supervisor came anyway.

The man was walking at the front of the team, wearing a bright red official robe, which was made more vivid by the white snow. When he got closer, it was Yuan Zai.

Yuan Zai's face looked a little tired. After sitting down, he picked up the gavel and patted it on the case without saying a word.

"boom."

A thunder suddenly sounded in the air, followed by several more loud "rumblings".

Because winter thunder was rare, everyone couldn't help but look up at the sky, feeling in awe.

Du Wulang stared wide-eyed, watching the snowflakes falling, listening to the thunder of winter, thinking that the saint killed Zhongliang in vain, which would make God angry.

Yuan Zai's face became more and more ugly, his lips opened and closed, and he muttered: "Winter thunder shakes, everything cannot be done, insects do not hide, and soldiers often rise... Today is the winter solstice."

He believed this, and as he counted in his mind, surprise gradually appeared in his eyes.

"The winter solstice thunders, the world is full of soldiers, and thieves are rampant."

~~
"boom."

When the winter thunder sounded, Jiang Hai looked back to the west.

In his sight, An Qingxu was standing there, not frightened by the thunder, looking very calm, staring at An Lushan.

"do not come!"

Suddenly, An Lushan yelled crazily.

Jiang Hai suddenly turned around, only to see that thin figure rushing towards An Lushan, hugging one arm tightly, and the two guarding soldiers could not pull it away.

He was about to step forward when he suddenly saw a flash of fire again.

"Don't go there!"

"Back off!"

"Shoot An Qingxu!"

Many sounds sounded almost at once.

Although An Lushan couldn't see, he could feel the chaos around him. His arm was grabbed hard and he couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard he shook it.

It felt like a hunting dog was lying on him, but it was not a hunting dog, because the man still said something with hatred and madness through gritted teeth.

"Fat pig, beat me to death!"

An Lushan felt that this voice was very familiar. It was a soldier who used to be by his side. He didn't know his name. He was later asked to leave by An Qingxu.

The pungent smell of fireworks suddenly became stronger.

"An Qingxu!"

An Lushan shouted in horror, feeling that death was approaching, and at the same time he felt that the murderous intention came from his son.

He had long noticed that every time his seemingly respectful son supported him, he was always a little distracted.

"An Qingxu! You..."

"boom."

Like a pot of hot soup being poured down, a large area of ​​snow on the ground was immediately melted.

An Qingxu never blinked. In his pupils, An Lushan's body of more than 300 kilograms was exploded into countless pieces of flesh and blood in an instant.

It was as if a dandelion was completely blown away by the strong wind beside the Yellow River.

He grinned unconsciously, as if he wanted to smile. The smile was a little relaxed, but he quickly stopped it.

"Xue Bai! Do you dare to kill my grandpa?!"

~~
"Did you hear that?! Tang Ting has no intention of surrendering and wants to kill every one of us!"

Ashina Chengqing drove his horse past the soldiers, holding high the information sent by Cui Qianyou.

"The 70-year-old emperor is deaf and blind, and the affairs of the country are in the hands of his sycophants. Can we let them kill at will?!"

"Can't! Can't!"

"Then we will kill Tongguan and drive directly to Chang'an..."

"boom."

Just when I shouted here, there was a loud thunder in the sky. The rebel soldiers looked up and said in surprise: "It's Dong Lei."

"The sky is not satisfied with the Hunjun being in power, he will definitely win!"

Ashina Chengqing took advantage of the weather and raised the flag himself, shouting and running westward.

~~
At night, Chang'an was still immersed in joy.

The rebellion will be put down soon, people pay homage to their ancestors and spend the twelfth lunar month in peace, which is the new year.

In the lobby of Yang's house, Yang Guozhong paced anxiously, still waiting for the battle report from Tongguan.

The two places are three hundred miles apart, and the message can be delivered in half a day at the fastest.

Judging from the current analysis, the Tang army is bound to win. What needs to be done is to consume as much of Ge Shuhan's strength as possible. At the same time, Chen Xuanli has recently been reorganizing the imperial guards and training the new army.

"Right Prime Minister."

"The news has arrived?"

Yang Guozhong turned back suddenly, fearing that An Qingxu would surrender to Xue Bai and Ge Shuhan. But the person who came was not reporting on the war at Tongguan. He leaned over and said, "The prince went to Duliu Shu and refused to allow execution. Yuan Zai didn't dare to be expert, so he sent someone to ask the right prime minister."

"Huh?" Yang Guozhong couldn't help being furious.

He only moved his eyes to understand what these people were thinking.

Why did Li Cong abandon his past cowardice and risk angering the saint? It was just seeing Xue Bai, Ge Shuhan and others making great contributions in suppressing the rebellion that they thought they had enough wings to dare to challenge the saint.

Yuan Zai had the support of saints and right prime ministers behind him. Why did he "dare not be expert" when faced with a powerless prince? It's nothing more than a wandering mind, thinking that if the prince really ascends the throne, he will do a favor today to leave a way out.

"It's not a bad thing." After a moment, Yang Guozhong laughed and said: "I am worried that there is no evidence to accuse Dong Gong, and he will hand over the evidence himself... Let's go to the execution ground!"

The curfew in Chang'an City can stop ordinary people, but naturally it cannot stop powerful people like Yang Guozhong, not to mention that he also has Jinwu Guards with him.

There was no moon tonight and it was very dark. When we arrived at the execution ground, we saw many people gathered under the willow tree, holding torches and confronting each other. At the same time, we heard Li Cong shout loudly.

"If the saint blames you, I will bear it with all my strength!"

It can be seen that there are many officials present. After listening to Li Cong's words, they all whispered among themselves, and they knew what he was talking about without having to guess.

During the years when Li Heng was the crown prince, he had never had such a sense of responsibility. In the cases of Wei Jian and Du Youlin, he just wrote a letter of divorce to protect himself. Now the same situation is before Li Cong, but he is so courageous and responsible.

Yang Guozhong sneered, knowing that this was just a matter of different situations faced by Li Cong and Li Heng. If Li Heng were still the crown prince today, with the support of Xue Bai and Ge Shuhan, his determination to force the saint to abdicate would only be worse.

How can there be any loyalty or filial piety among these people? There are only two words in my heart, power.

"His Royal Highness!"

Li Cong turned around. He was dressed very grandly tonight. His face covered with scars could not be seen clearly in the night. Instead, he looked very majestic. He said in a deep voice: "Now that the right minister is here, just in time, I will take them Take it away, right, Prime Minister, get the paperwork done.”

"What do you mean by this, Your Highness?" Yang Guozhong asked in an irreverent tone: "These people have committed a serious crime of treason. Could it be that Your Highness has some dealings with them?"

Li Linfu was not afraid of Li Heng back then, and now he is even less afraid of Li Cong. Since he wanted to help the saint depose the prince, he would not even give Li Cong the face of the prince.

"Whether it is treason or not, can you rely on your own words?" Li Cong scolded: "I will never condone unjust, false, and wrong cases!"

Yang Guozhong was a little surprised. He didn't know what Li Cong had to rely on to be so tough. He simply snorted coldly, put his hands behind his hands and said, "Whether there is any injustice will be decided by the Holy Spirit."

He had already sent someone to ask Li Longji for instructions, and was only waiting for the imperial edict to arrest Li Cong. At this time, he just waited patiently and stood there without saying anything. Instead, he glared at Yuan Zai.

Yuan Zai was not afraid of Yang Guozhong's blame, but what he was thinking about was how he saw Wang Yunxiu before going out today... He had just put on his official robe and was about to go out. He was stopped by Wang Yunxiu in the front yard. She placed a letter and a letter of departure in the front yard. He stood in front of him and said: "My grandfather is involved in a major treason case. I'm afraid I will implicate you sooner or later. It's better to get divorced today."

At that time, Yuan Zai was a little shocked when he looked at He Lishu, then raised his head and saw Du Jin standing behind Wang Yunxiu.

He then thought that Li Heng had written a letter of divorce and was no longer the prince. If he signed the letter of divorce, he would also be handing over a certificate of surrender to the seventy-year-old saint.

~~
In the imperial city, Shangshu Province, people walked around in the corridors from time to time holding lanterns, as if officials were doing official business overnight.

The candles in the palace were lit, revealing Du Jin's cold face. Now the Jinwu Guards were searching for her all over Chang'an City, looking for every restaurant, teahouse, bank, and shop, but they didn't expect her to be there in a grand manner. Hiding in the imperial city.

Sitting behind Du Jin was Wang Yunxiu, looking at her in amazement as she flipped through pieces of information.

After a long time, Du Jin stopped what he was doing and stretched. Wang Yunxiu finally had a chance to speak and said softly: "As long as Yuan Zai releases Du Wulang, will you let me go?"

"You think I brought you here to be a hostage?" Du Jin asked.

"Isn't it?"

Du Jin shook his head and said, "Yuan Zai is a smart man and will make the right choice. And if I catch you, I can't threaten him."

Wang Yunxiu frowned slightly, a little unhappy.

Du Jin quickly added: "I brought you here as an accomplice...or a friend."

"what for?"

"The saint's ignorance led to great chaos. You have seen it. I don't need to say more. Your grandfather and Xue Bai helped the country and assisted the prince in enthroning the throne."

"I don't believe it." Wang Yunxiu said, "It is true that my grandfather is closer to the loyal king, but what he does is never selfish. Even if he goes north to Taiyuan, he does it for the saint and the Tang Dynasty, and not for conspiring with Xue Bai Transgression."

Du Jin didn't expect that Wang Zhongsi had a daughter who understood him so well. He smiled slightly and said, "But the saint doesn't believe in him, and he doesn't believe in you either. Do you believe that if I hadn't saved you, you would have died sooner or later?"

"I am a woman, what can I do for you?"

"Your martial arts skills are better than many men." After Du Jin said this, he just remembered and said, "I am also a woman."

She tapped her fingers on the table and said: "The saint's prestige is shattered. Xue Bai has regained Luoyang and will soon surrender the rebels. When the time comes, he and Ge Shuhan will return to Chang'an. Do you think the prince can not ascend the throne?"

Wang Yunxiu said: "There is something, Xue Bai's life experience..."

"Let's not talk about this in advance." Du Jin said: "I just ask you, will Yuan Zai not understand the situation? Which side will he stand on?"

"So, you are sure that the prince can save Du Wulang and others."

"No, don't underestimate the saint's cruelty." Du Jin looked slightly condensed, "Before Xue Bai returns to Chang'an, anything can happen, and what I have to do is to protect as many people as possible before he comes back. "

"You mean, the saint will use troops?"

"What? Do you still believe that 'tiger poison cannot eat its seeds'?" Du Jin's lips curled up with a hint of ridicule.

When Wang Yunxiu heard this, he couldn't help but ask: "What exactly do you want to do?"

Suddenly, there were footsteps in the corridor, followed by a knock on the door. Du Jin took a special look at Wang Yunxiu and saw that she was still calm. She was worthy of being a tiger girl.

"Enter."

An official opened the door with a candle and whispered: "Er Niang, Yang Guozhong has sent people into the palace. The palace ban has been opened. Chen Xuanli has personally led people to arrest His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Where's Gao Lishi?"

"Already entered the palace."

"understood."

The official quickly left, and Du Jin spread out a roll of maps and marked them with a pen.

Wang Yunxiu had a vague guess and asked: "Don't you want to...?"

"It's okay to tell you." Du Jin asked, "Do you remember Pei Mian?"

"An official who died in a posthouse outside the city a few years ago?" Wang Yunxiu said: "He was hacked to death by a military knife. Some people suspected that my grandfather was responsible for this."

"Xue Bai did it." Du Jin said: "The important thing is that before his death, Pei Mian confessed the evidence of Li Heng's crime and hid weapons secretly."

"Since you know this, why didn't you use this to bring down Li Heng?"

"Do you know where those weapons are hidden?"

Where Wang Yunxiu looked, she saw a map of the Ming Dynasty Palace spread on the table. It was not detailed and only showed a part of the place entering the palace from Xuanwu Gate.

She looked at Du Jin's mark again and said, "Guangyuntan?"

"Ah."

"You really want to mutiny." The first thing Wang Yunxiu showed was not panic, but a kind of excitement. She didn't even realize it herself, and said: "But the saint is in Xingqing Palace tonight."

"good."

Du Jin put several maps together and said, "Chen Xuanli went out to arrest the prince, and the curfew in the palace was lifted. At this time, if Xingqing Palace suddenly caught fire, what would the saint do?"

"Evacuate?" Wang Yunxiu said, "Not necessarily. It is not safe to leave Xingqing Palace, unless you can burn the entire palace with fire."

"No, I can only use fireworks to scare off the enemy."

"The saint will not leave."

"Forgot?" Du Jin said, "Chang'an City has two roads."

When she pointed it out, Wang Yunxiu remembered that since the sage rebuilt the palace where he lived as a residence into Xingqing Palace, he built another wall along the east wall, with an imperial road between the two walls to facilitate the access to the Daming Palace. , Qujiang.

"You see, when the prince arrived at Xingqing Palace, hundreds of officials came to plead for mercy. Suddenly, the explosion of fireworks shocked the saint, and the saint took refuge in the Daming Palace. The prince then appeased the officials and stabilized the situation. Early the next morning, the saint recalled what happened in the night and committed suicide. I felt ashamed, and then thought about allowing An Lushan to cause chaos in the world, and issued an edict to abdicate. "

Wang Yunxiu said: "Have you arranged a mutiny in the Daming Palace?"

"Hush." ​​Du Jin said, "I want you to take people to the Xingqing Palace in a moment and use force to rescue the prince. Remember, save Chongsi first."

After Wang Yunxiu left, Du Wei came back and said, "My father has already negotiated with several ministers."

"Ah."

Du Wei came inside and sat down, and said softly: "Can we accomplish this in a hurry?"

"How can anyone be completely prepared for everything?" Du Jin said, "If you continue to make mistakes, you will be disturbed."

"But Xue Bai hasn't come back yet."

"It is precisely because he has not come back yet that we have to do this well. Otherwise, when he comes back, those people will be dead. How will we explain it?"

Du Jin spoke decisively, but she knew in her heart that at this point, all human power had been done, and how the situation would change next was determined by God.

~~
Xingqing Palace.

Lights gradually lit up in the main building of Qin Zheng Wu, until the whole building was brightly lit. Inside and outside the palace walls, groups of forbidden troops held torches and lined up neatly.

Li Longji was already sitting on the dragon chair in a bright robe and waiting. His hair was neatly combed and dyed pitch black, with not a single white hair exposed.

Tonight is very crucial for him.

After beheading several criminals, Li Cong was indeed found to have different intentions. If the situation is handled well, the prince can be deposed and the people can be convinced, and then the soldiers under Xue Bai and Ge Shuhan on the other side of Tongguan can be intimidated, and they may be forced not to dare to act rashly.

"Sage, Gao Lishi wants to see you."

Li Longji knew that Gao Lishi was coming to speak again, and what he said was nothing more than the word "stable", so he immediately said: "No."

After only waiting for a while, Yuan Siyi came in and reported: "Sage, the right prime minister, General Chen and the prince have arrived outside Xingqing Palace."

"I know, let them wait."

Li Longji closed his eyes to rest, and did not summon them immediately, deliberately draining their energy.

It would be best to wait until the news from Tongguan comes back. He can use this news to decide how to deal with Li Cong.

This is a tough battle between him and his son. For him, An Lushan's rebellion was only part of this tough battle. There are many people who clamor for counterinsurgency all day long, but they don't know what kind of victory they want.

……

At the same time, at the city gate of Chunming Gate, the defenders heard the rapid sound of horse hooves.

"Is the news from Tongguan back?"

"It's true, go and report to the Prime Minister!"

Chunmingmen is very close to Xingqing Palace, and soon the battle report came back to Yang Guozhong.

Yang Guozhong glanced at Li Cong, who was surrounded by imperial guards, and ordered: "Ask the messenger to deliver the information to the top of the city...Quickly, I want to prepare for the interview."

He rubbed his hands and breathed a sigh of relief, his expression showing the excitement of a gambler when he reveals the cards. He wanted to see how many troops Xue Bai had left and what he could do next.

Soon, in the Qinzheng Building, Li Longji stood up, with a rare look of eagerness in his eyes, dissing Yang Guozhong's slow pace.

Finally, Yang Guozhong ran in front of him, but he was panting and did not speak.

"Tell me, how many troops do those traitors have left?"

"His Majesty!"

Li Longji secretly thought it was bad, took two steps down to Yang Guozhong, and asked: "How many are left? Have the thieves surrendered to them?"

"Failed...defeated!"

Yang Guozhong finally regained his breath. He was so frightened that his movements were exaggerated and deformed. He opened his eyes and said, "Brother Shuhan was defeated. The 200,000-strong army was wiped out. The rebels killed Bentong Pass!"

Li Longji's first reaction was that the news was false.

After that, he quickly calmed down and thought that it didn't matter. There must be a winner and a loser when driving away wolves and devouring tigers, but he didn't expect that it would be Ge Shuhan who lost.

This situation may be better handled.

"What percentage of the rebels' casualties are there? How many troops are left?"

In fact, after asking this question, Li Longji had already realized that his prestige had hit rock bottom, and the rebels were afraid that it would only increase rather than decrease.

Sure enough, Yang Guozhong's eyes widened even more.

"Oh!"

Suddenly, a loud noise exploded above their heads.

Over Chang'an City, there were gorgeous fireworks, as if to celebrate this plan to drive away wolves and swallow tigers...

(End of this chapter)