Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 452 Chaos in Chang'an

It was daylight, and Bian Lingcheng was still sleeping, but someone woke him up.

He had previously been supervising the army in Hedong. After accompanying Li Guangbi to support Changshan, he escorted Yuan Luqian and Yan Jiming back to Chang'an.

Unexpectedly, since he left, Li Guangbi has made many military exploits, which is a bit of a pity. But it doesn't matter, he returned to Chang'an to handle a major treason case.

Recently, he was tracing Xue Bai's life experience. With Yang Guanghui as his assistant, he carefully visited the natal family of Li Ying's crown prince Xue.

Last night, the two interrogated the prisoner until midnight, then slept in the house next to the private cell.

"General Bian, something big happened in Chang'an at night."

"What?" Bian Lingcheng woke up in a daze.

Yang Guanghui had heard all kinds of rumors within an hour. Some said there was a coup in Xingqing Palace, some said there was an assassination in the Daming Palace, some said the rebels had captured Tongguan, some said the saint had escaped Chang'an, and so on. Instead, he was confused and didn't know what happened.

Bian Lingcheng was surprised: "Such a big deal? Why didn't you tell me at night?!"

Bian Lingcheng couldn't wait any longer, so he hurriedly put on his clothes and hurried out.

He looked around and finally saw Yuan Siyi, so he quickly stepped forward and asked: "General Yuan! I heard about the saint Xi Xing, is it true?"

"How could I not know?" Li Cong asked.

~~
Upstairs in Qinzheng, Li Cong was standing in the corridor looking at Yuan Siyi and Bian Lingcheng.

"The saint did indeed escape. He left the city at dawn. I sent people to catch up with him and... negotiated some terms with him."

Standing behind Li Cong were Yuan Luqian, Yan Jiming and others.

Yuan Siyi turned around and yelled angrily, saying: "The saint is in Beinei and has just issued an order to appease the people. How dare you listen to rumors and shake people's hearts?!"

After leaving the house, there was something strange about Chang'an today. There were Jinwu guards on the long street who were arresting people and yelling and cursing at the same time.

"Since His Highness can't persuade you, why not keep the saint?"

"What happened?" Bian Lingcheng asked, but no one answered.

Yan Jiming and Yuan Luqian looked at each other with horror. In the end, they can only face this reality.

"Ge Shuhan destroyed an army of 200,000 in one battle, which was a disgrace to the country."

"The whole city has a curfew. We only heard about it at dawn."

Bian Lingcheng stamped his feet and said anxiously: "I'm going to chase the saint."

Yuan Luqian and Yan Jiming understood what these words meant.

"The saint has taken away the Sixth Army of Beiya, how can he keep them?"

"Your Highness," Yan Jiming said, "it is best to keep the saint. If the emperor abandons the city before the thieves arrive, it will affect not only the defense of Chang'an, but the entire country!"

Bian Lingcheng had no choice but to turn around and continue walking with Yuan Siyi. The strange thing is that Yuan Siyi actually started to tell him everything that happened.

"This... must be the prince's plan?"

Yan Jiming was still afraid that he didn't know, so he emphasized: "The journey to the south from Yongjia, Wuhu will mess with China..."

"Tongguan fell, but is it true?"

"Is he really a saint?"

In front of the Qinzheng Building, many officials could be seen standing and whispering to each other, creating an uneasy atmosphere.

"The news must not spread." Yuan Luqian said: "Otherwise the people in Chang'an will be panicked and they will inevitably be unable to hold on."

"The saint wanted to go west to Sichuan and Shu, but it was not possible to leave by walking. He has now crossed the Wei River, but he is short of horses. He ordered all the horses in the Forbidden Garden to be transferred away. He also summoned me to be the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, and to stay in Xijing. He was fully responsible for the defense of Chang'an; at the same time, Yuan Siyi was left in charge of the palace key, Zhang Bian was appointed as the governor of Jingzhao, Ying Wang Li Xuan was appointed as Jiannan Festival Envoy, and Zhong Wang Li Heng was appointed as Shuofang Festival Envoy..."

"The saint indeed went to Sichuan and Sichuan to recruit troops, and the prince asked himself to stay in Chang'an. The saint agreed, and the will was indeed there..."

"Yes, I have asked the Jinwu Guards to block it with all their strength."

When Bian Lingcheng heard this, he turned around and wanted to rush to the Tai Chi Palace. But on second thought, he felt something was wrong. He thought that the saint never lived in the Tai Chi Palace, and how could he report his whereabouts to ordinary people?

He then continued to Xingqing Palace. When he arrived in front of the palace gate, he found that there were many fewer guards, and the generals on guard had also been changed. It didn't prevent him from entering the palace, but led him to Qinzheng Building.

Bian Lingcheng lowered his head and said nothing, and followed Yuan Siyi to the Qinzheng Building. When he reached a deserted place, Fang whispered: "General Yuan, you can't hide it from others, but you can't hide it from me. After all, I am also an old man who has served the saint for more than ten years. ”

Bian Lingcheng was shocked. He thought about what he had seen in Hebei when the counties surrendered and Li Guangbi repeatedly defeated the rebels. He didn't understand why there was such a big gap in the fighting strength of the rebels in the two places.

"Don't worry." Yuan Siyi grabbed him and cursed: "I'm still here!"

"I know." Li Cong sighed, "But the saint has made up his mind and doesn't want to come back no matter what."

"nonsense!"

"But how did those officials arrive at Xingqing Palace in time?"

Of course, we haven't gone far yet. How far can we go if we only get the news at night and leave the city gate at dawn?

A bitter look finally appeared on Yuan Siyi's face, and instead of saying that the saint had escaped, she said, "The saint has not gone far yet."

What Li Cong said next was all about cold conditions.

"Ugh."

"The saint is still in Bei Nei. Anyone who dares to spread rumors will be captured!"

When the situation was at its worst, I never thought that Emperor Kaiyuan would one day be compared with Emperor Huai of Jin. How ridiculous is this? How stupid must one be to let the tragic situation of the Jin Dynasty happen again in the prosperous Tang Dynasty?
But if we are not careful now, the situation may be irreversible.

In the face of thieves and bandits, the saint and the prince still made a compromise with each other, but there was too much fear in this compromise.

And there are still deep hidden dangers. Assuming that the prince resists the rebels in Chang'an and the saint's current prestige is ruined, will the prince be able to welcome the saint back by then? In other words, does the sage think that the prince can guard Chang'an?
The cold wind blew, and Yan Jiming felt cold sweat break out on his body. Coupled with the many days of imprisonment, he was exhausted, his feet were weak, and he almost fell down.

However, Li Cong supported him with both hands and said: "In this critical time of life and death, I only hope that Yuan Qing and Yan Qing will spare no effort in their wisdom and help me defend Chang'an!"

Yan Jiming stabilized his mind, stood up straight, and said, "I have confidence."

"Are you confident?" Li Cong asked, "I want to teach you that Chang'an has almost no soldiers left to fight."

"Since Xue Bai has recaptured Luoyang and captured the bandit leader alive, he must quickly come to Chang'an, King Qin. We will guard the city and wait for him!"

~~
"The saint issued several edicts one after another, and the soldiers and horses from all over the world will soon come to King Qin."

Yuan Siyi said, stopped, glanced up at Qinzheng Tower, lowered his voice and said: "King Qin, which king is Qin? Do you know?"

Bian Lingcheng was worthy of being a long-serving saint. He rolled his eyes and quickly understood, and asked in a low voice: "Prince Qing?"

"Yes."

Yuan Siyi withdrew his gaze and said, "If it hadn't been for the sudden change in King Qing's palace, the saint would not have left Chang'an."

Bian Lingcheng then understood what kind of fight the Tian family father and son were currently fighting across the Weishui River.

The two entered the side hall of the Qinzheng Building. Yuan Siyi walked to the desk, found one of the many imperial edicts, picked up a pen, and wrote a few words.

Bian Lingcheng thought to himself that he had to catch up with the saint as soon as possible and accompany him to Sichuan and Sichuan. It was like the Jin Dynasty crossing south. It would definitely be more dangerous to stay in the north.

While he was in a daze, he suddenly heard Yuan Siyi say something in a loud voice.

"Bian Lingcheng accepts the order."

"My slave is here, and I will take orders."

"The Right Guard General Bian Ling Chengzhi was modest, respectful, and diligent. He was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and promoted to General of the Cavalry, in charge of the keys to the palace..."

Bian Lingcheng was only pleasantly surprised for a moment before he realized something was wrong. When he heard the words "Palace Controller Key" again, his face suddenly turned pale.

Yuan Siyi handed the imperial edict to him and said, "Go and do it."

"This slave takes the order."

This was the job that Bian Lingcheng envied most in the past, but now he finds it very hot.

He first went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, appeased the eunuchs who were speculating, and announced his appointment.

During the process, he could feel that the prince's party was working hard to conceal the saint's escape and stabilize the situation in Chang'an.

After being busy for a long time, I can clearly feel that people inside and outside the palace have become much more peaceful. The prince assumed the posture of supervising the country, which at least maintained the stability of order.

However, when Bian Lingcheng went to look for Yuan Siyi, he never found him. Until I heard some news.

"General Yuan has already left the city with the treasure inside!"

"what?!"

~~
There was no one in the hall, so Li Cong deliberately drove everyone else out. He stood alone in front of the royal couch, stretched out his hand and touched the gilded armrest.

Suddenly, someone came in. He turned around quickly and found that it was Bian Lingcheng who came in.

Their positions are actually opposite. Li Cong was able to enter the East Palace with the help of Xue Bai, but Bian Lingcheng had been persecuting Xue Bai, so Li Cong immediately became vigilant.

"Your Highness."

Bian Lingcheng, however, seemed very respectful and reported carefully: "I came here to say that Yuan Siyi escaped and took many treasures from his possessions with him."

"Why don't you run away?" Li Cong asked.

"I was left behind." Bian Lingcheng hesitated for a moment and replied, "They wanted to keep me here to monitor Your Highness, but I believe that Your Highness is the pillar of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Cong instantly understood Bian Lingcheng's thoughts, but did not express his position. Because he was worried that accepting such a eunuch with bad character would cause dissatisfaction among his supporters.

"My servant wants to help His Highness defend Chang'an and the Tang Dynasty. My heart is sincere, and heaven and earth can learn from it!"

"You are persecuting Xue Bai and you still dare to talk nonsense?!"

"No, I'm just following orders." Bian Lingcheng kowtowed and said, "I know very well that if Your Highness wants to defend Chang'an, you must have the support of Xue Bai... I have recently found out his life experience."

Li Cong was about to kick him away when he was stunned when he heard this.

He has actually heard of many things. He just didn't believe it in his heart, and given his situation, he couldn't care about that.

"You mean, he really is?"

"He is indeed the son of the deposed Prince Ying." Bian Lingcheng responded immediately.

He was indeed checking whether Xue Bai was Li Ying's son recently, but he couldn't find any evidence at all. The reason why he said this to Li Cong was naturally for his own benefit.

Bian Lingcheng had no literary talent or military skills. He was just a servant who waited on others. What he was best at was reading people's hearts.

Li Cong had four sons, all of whom were adopted blood of Li Ying. So, if Xue Bai is also Li Ying's son, will Li Cong be willing to pass the throne to Xue Bai in the future? Absolutely not.

The so-called love of procreation, whether it is birth or nurturing, is nothing more than the establishment and psychological identification of the relationship between father and son. Simply put, it is the word "emotion". Even among Li Cong's four sons, Li Yan and Li Shen were a little older when they were adopted, so they received less love than Li Qiu and Li Ren.

When Li Cong was King Qing, he wanted to pass the throne of King Si Qing to Li Qiu. Because to him, Li Qiu is his favorite biological son.

Who is Xue Bai? An outsider appears from nowhere...

Bian Lingcheng keenly felt the fear gradually growing in Li Cong's heart. He was all too familiar with this feeling. Back then, this was how the saint began to be afraid of the prince Li Heng, which allowed some people to rise to the top by suppressing the prince.

"His Royal Highness Haojiao knows that the reason why the saint ordered his slaves to 'persecute Zhongliang' is because he is sure that Xue Bai is the son of the deposed prince Ying, and everything he does has ulterior motives..." "Sage, are you sure?" Li Cong He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Bian Lingcheng said, "If Your Highness doesn't believe it, you can call Yang Guanghui and ask him. Gao Lishi and Yuan Siyi who are beside the saint also know about this matter in detail."

It was no longer possible for Li Cong to ask Gao Lishi and Yuan Siyi, but he was already convinced, and his fear deepened.

"Xue Bai is close to His Highness. He must have always regarded His Highness as his uncle in his heart..."

"Shut up!"

Li Cong shouted, pointed at Bian Lingcheng, and cursed angrily: "Don't think I don't know how much you, a cheap slave, dare to separate me from Xue Bai, die!"

He knew very well that no matter what, he would never be able to turn against Xue Bai. At the moment, he was still deeply dependent on him.

"I don't dare!" Bian Lingcheng said: "I said from the beginning that His Highness needs to rely on Xue Bai to guard Chang'an and the Tang Dynasty, so how can I dare to alienate you? I just think about His Highness and his long-term considerations."

Li Cong leaned down, gritted his teeth, and asked softly: "What? Are you trying to persuade me to pass the throne to him?"

"Your Highness relies heavily on him, but...does he only rely on him? I look around and see that Du Youlin, Yuan Zai, Yuan Luqian, and Yan Jiming are all Xue Dang next to Your Highness."

In one sentence, Li Cong finally fell silent.

Bian Lingcheng knelt on the ground and walked a few steps with his knees, dusted the uppers of Li Cong's shoes, and said: "His Highness, there must be slaves like this, people who are purely loyal to His Highness."

Looking at the diligent figure on the ground, Li Cong thought of Li Jingzhong beside Li Heng. He heard that he almost buried Xue Bai alive... On the way to power, kings seemed to inevitably have such slaves.

Just like in a cesspit, there are always maggots.

~~
As evening approached, more news came back from the east, and the news of the fall of Tongguan gradually became known to more people.

Fortunately, the imperial court was also doing its best to stabilize people's hearts. They posted announcements announcing the great victories in Hebei and Luoyang and that An Lushan had been captured, indicating that this was the rebels' desperate struggle.

Gradually, the situation in the city became calmer, and at least preparations for the battle were in an orderly manner.

"Can we take a break after closing the city gate?"

Du Youlin, who had been busy all night and day, sat down in Shangshu Province, beating his sore legs and talking to himself.

Du Jin had many official affairs and it was difficult for him to come forward, so he needed to use Du Youlin to show off his skills. Hearing this, he frowned.

"My grandpa is too unmotivated."

"what?"

"With some planning by my daughter, it is possible to help my grandfather to be in good terms. At this critical moment of life and death, my grandfather said that he wants to rest?"

"Phase?" Du Youlin shook his head and said, "I'm not good at flexibility. I can't be a phase, no."

Du Jin immediately pushed a stack of official documents into his hand and said, "Is there really anything I need you to do?"

"Are you insulting your father?!"

"Please do something as soon as possible." Du Jin said, "You have to have a good talk with Zhang Bian, Wei Jiansu and others to find out the attitude of these important ministers for His Highness."

"Humph!"

As soon as Du Youlin went out, Du Wulang, who was silently hiding aside and taking a break, quickly followed him, still amazed.

"Just two days ago, we were still wanted by the imperial court. Who would have thought that suddenly the imperial court escaped and we became the imperial court instead?"

Before the two of them reached the front yard, a messenger was already coming towards them.

"Oh no!"

"What's the matter?"

"Zhang Bian, Wei Jiansu and all the court ministers left the city to join the saint before the city gate was closed!"

Du Wulang was the only one on the field who felt that things would be cleaner after these people left.

Others know that if the imperial court is divided into two, it will definitely make the world more turbulent.

They hurried to the West City and looked from the city tower, only to see an endless stream of people following Li Longji.

"Bang the twilight drum! Close the city gate!"

"Boom!"

At present, the only way to prevent the news of the saint's escape from spreading is to impose a curfew as soon as possible and drive the people home with dusk drums.

However, before the six hundred dusk drums had finished ringing, someone suddenly pointed outside the city and shouted: "There's a fire!"

~~
The Xianyang Bridge stretches over the Wei River and is the main route from Chang'an to the Western Regions and Sichuan. The bridge was built in the Han Dynasty and is also called Xiwei Bridge. Because it is opposite the Bianmen of Chang'an City, it is also called Bianmen Bridge.

People in Chang'an City often see off guests at Badao in the east, and farewell at Xianyang Bridge in the west. For example, in the tenth year of Tianbao, when Du Fu returned to Chang'an, he saw that the imperial court was sending troops to Tibet and the people were suffering from military service, so he wrote the poem "The Military Chariot", which contains the sentence "Yeniang and his wife walked to see each other off, and the Xianyang Bridge was not seen in the dust."

Who would have thought that this would happen in just a few years. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who had sent his troops to attack Tubo, had escaped across Xianyang Bridge in embarrassment.

As Li Longji escaped across Xianyang Bridge and was caught up by the princes and ministers, a huge fire suddenly broke out on the bridge.

Many people who originally followed the saint's team and wanted to flee were suddenly blocked...

"The saint is gone."

Du Youlin understood why the saint set a fire before leaving. One was to prevent the rebels from catching up, and the other was to prevent the prince from doing anything unfavorable again.

"I left in such a hurry, but I didn't bring any food or grass with me."

In fact, he no longer had the energy to care about Li Longji's food and grass. With this fire, the public opinion in Chang'an City that had finally calmed down suddenly surged again.

Originally, the city gate was slowly closing with the sound of dusk drums, but as soon as the fire started, many people were frightened and rushed to the city gate.

"Let us escape! We must escape with the saint!"

This was not the worst situation. When the bullies, thieves, and knights in Chang'an City learned that the saint had escaped, they began to gather together, planning to take advantage of the disorder in the city to rob homes and homes, and then escape.

Chaos arose.

For the prince Li Cong, there is no need to talk about guarding Chang'an at the moment. It was difficult to maintain order before the rebels arrived.

……

"No! Someone attacked Yongfengcang!"

Yan Jiming had just led his men to suppress a group of thieves robbing the West Market when he suddenly heard another shout. He turned around and saw thick smoke rising from the northwest.

What is stored in the Yongfeng warehouse is military pay. Once it is robbed or even burned down, Chang'an City will definitely not be able to defend it.

He had no choice but to run desperately to protect Yongfengcang.

"Quick, tell the prince to send more people! Go quickly!"

"Be careful, there are mobs blocking the road ahead."

Yan Jiming had just rushed out of the West Market, but the companions of the thieves had already swarmed in, armed with swords and axes, and they actually dared to go against the imperial officials and the imperial army.

"Stop them! I'll go to Yongfengcang... to drive!"

"Boom."

Yan Jiming drove his horse into the thieves without hesitation, frightening the thieves to avoid them, but he also received several blows. One of the long-handled axes hit his thigh, causing blood to flow.

He didn't care much and ran all the way to Yongfeng warehouse. From a distance, he saw countless people surrounding the warehouse asking for food.

It would be fine if they were all thieves. Pian Yan Ji Ming saw that many old, weak, sick and disabled people were also guarding there.

"Hey!"

He reined in the horse suddenly, and the horse's hoof almost trampled to death a four or five-year-old little girl on the road. She was also unattended and was sitting on the ground crying miserably.

Yan Jiming was a good horse, and he was humane. He was not frightened when he was suddenly pulled, but inevitably, he fell off the horse and hit the ground hard.

Huge pain came, and he wanted to get up, but found that his leg had been broken. He could only lie there and watch the little girl cry, and watch many figures crying for food in front of him.

The emperor's flight caused great panic to the people of Chang'an, and it was only at this time that it began to manifest concretely.

Yan Jiming finally couldn't hold it back anymore, his eyes were sour and tears kept falling.

Since he arrived in Taiyuan, he has seen too many people trying their best to quell the war. Xue Bai, who had anticipated the rebellion early, Wang Ranran, who repeatedly rushed to the front, Yuan Luqian, who endured humiliation and heavy burdens, and Li Guangbi, who commanded with determination...

These people worked hard to prepare money and food, recruit soldiers, instigate enemy generals, and fight desperately. How could they suppress a rebellion that was not difficult to control before getting bigger and bigger, and finally reached this point.

Are they not working hard enough?
Or the saint on the throne worked too hard, trying to overturn every one of their achievements.

Thinking of this, Yan Jiming collapsed emotionally. At this time, the sound of horse hooves came towards him again.

He looked back and didn't see anyone wearing armor, so he knew that the thieves had arrived.

"Stop! Stop!"

Yan Jiming roared angrily, hoping that this misfortune for all people in the world would end here and that things would not continue to get worse.

"Shut up!"

The sound of horse hooves stopped beside him. Some people dismounted and picked up the little girl not far away; others walked up to him and stretched out their hands.

"A real man, you are crying here with a little girl, please sit up."

Yan Jiming looked up, was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "Uncle?"

The person who appeared in front of him was covered in frost and snow, with blood stains all over his face. Only his eyes were steady and resolute. He was Yan Zhenqing.

"Get up, let's clear the siege of Yongfengcang first and then talk... His bones are broken, reattach them for him."

"hiss."

Yan Jiming sat there setting his bones, grinning in pain.

Turning around, he saw that Yan Zhenqing had brought some troops back and was suppressing the riot, killing the leading thugs and calming the people's emotions.

Gradually, Yongfengcang finally settled down.

The bonfire reflected Yan Zhenqing's back, still majestic and majestic, making people immediately feel that he had a backbone.

"uncle."

Yan Jiming couldn't help calling out and asked, "What happened in Tongguan?"

Yan Zhenqing turned his head, his expression was gloomy and his eyes were sad. He did not speak for a long time.

Yan Jiming seemed to see the flames of war, fighting, blood, and fallen corpses from his pupils.

At this moment, silence is better than a thousand words.

"But we could have won." Yan Jiming was unwilling to accept it and said, "Have you seen Xue Bai? He captured An Lushan alive and may be able to save the situation. Does uncle know where he is?"

(End of this chapter)