Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 457 Thinking of Changan

In the evening, candles were lit in a private house not far from the government office where the saint was stationed.

The Yang sisters and Yang Guozhong's wives and concubines were huddled in the hall with their children, crying.

"Stop howling." Yang Yuyao shouted impatiently.

She was wearing a robe, dressed as a man, and was pacing back and forth because she was in a bad mood.

She heard the news of Xue Bai's death not long ago, and she never believed it, so she sent Mingzhu to find Yang Yuhuan to find out, but the news has not come back yet.

After a while, she suddenly heard a burst of singing.

"There is a moon in Chang'an, and the sound of thousands of households pounding their clothes."

"The autumn wind never blows away, but there is always love between the two."

It sounded like Yang Yuhuan was singing, but Yang Yuyao was stunned for a moment when she heard the voice that seemed to be that of Nian Nu.

She couldn't help but leave the mansion and looked around. The streets were filled with Imperial Guards soldiers lying scattered about. Many of them even put their armor aside because they were so hungry that they had no strength.

Fortunately, the song was still faintly wafting, and many people were moved by it, stood up, and looked towards the other end of the long street.

"When will the Hu barbarians be defeated? A good man will go on an expedition."

Most of the Imperial Guards were from Chang'an. When they heard this last sentence, some actually cried.

Yang Yuyao quickened her pace and asked a school general guarding the cross street: "Where is the singing coming from?"

"Some officials came to surrender to Your Majesty, and their families were singing."

"Li Qiwu?"

Li Qiwu is Yang Yuyao's neighbor. Mingzhu just found out that he is visiting.

"No, it's Chen Xilie."

"Chen Xilie?"

Yang Yuyao secretly wondered why Chen Xilie would leave Chang'an with him at such an old age? The guess in my mind became more and more confirmed.

She quickened her pace and rushed to the east of the city. She saw Chen Xilie leading a team of carriages and being questioned by the Forbidden Army. His family members were unloading the grain from the carriage. This move made him receive a lot of attention from the Forbidden Army as soon as he entered the city. welcome.

"Who is singing?" Yang Yuyao stepped forward and asked.

She was known as the "male fox" and was so hot-tempered that if others didn't know she was a woman, they would look like a slutty knight trying to tease a young lady.

Chen Xilie was very tired from the journey. He was stunned for a moment and then answered: "She is my granddaughter."

"Let me see you."

"Nian Niang, come out."

Chen Xilie turned around and said that the singing in the carriage stopped. A thin girl came down, but she was very ugly, with dark skin and red rashes on her face.

The people around him originally heard the singing and thought that the singer would be extremely beautiful. But now they were unexpected and started talking among themselves in whispers.

The girl just put her head in, and when she saw this situation, she immediately pulled her head back.

Yang Yuyao seemed a little disappointed, but she also felt pity and went over to comfort him. Afterwards, she saw that there was a box of fruits and vegetables among the things Chen Xilie brought. She pointed at it and said, "Move these to my place."

"Yes."

A dull boy responded, immediately picked up the box and followed Yang Yuyao.

In the private house, Pei Rou was still crying, and Yang Xuan was sitting aside heartlessly, holding a small cage in his hand and playing with the crickets inside.

"I don't want to go back to Shu County. Chang'an is so nice." Pei Rou pushed her son.

"Auntie, you are originally from Shu County." Yang Xuan said, "Aren't you going back to your parents' home? There's nothing wrong with that."

Mrs. Qin Guo, who was sitting aside, said, "How can she have a natal family? She was born in a prostitute family."

Pei Rou suddenly cried louder.

Yang Xuan found it too noisy and took his beloved crickets to the side. When he turned around again, he saw a dull man beside Yang Yuyao. Who else could it be if it wasn't Du Wulang?

He immediately stepped forward, pulled Du Wulang over, and said, "Come here."

The two whispered a few words to each other, and Yang Xuan hurried to find Yang Guozhong.

~~
"What did you say to him?"

"Mrs. Guo Guo, this is Xue Bai's letter to you."

Du Wulang did not answer the question immediately, but handed out a letter, which was immediately snatched by Yang Yuyao.

"What about others?"

"Here he comes." Du Wulang said: "He wants to invite His Majesty back. He has brought soldiers with him and has not entered Chencang City yet."

"Why doesn't he go to Shu County with us?"

If Yang Yuyao wants to come, Xue Bai can go to Shu County with her. Based on his experience in pacifying Nanzhao, he could also gain considerable prestige and support in Shu County, and he would soon become a very popular minister. On the contrary, when a sage falls, his authority will inevitably plummet.

As a result, they were very happy in Shu County.

Even Du Wulang knew that her selfish idea of ​​long-term love between children was wrong. The emperor's retreat into the Shu Road would harm the people of the country and ruin the overall situation of the world.

It was difficult to explain this to her at the moment, so Du Wulang said: "Most of the Forbidden Army are from Chang'an. Once they turn south, the morale of the army will definitely change. Moreover, Xue Bai also found out that Li Heng planned to take advantage of the Forbidden Army's reluctance to go south. He incited a mutiny, killed the Yang family, and took the saint to Shuofang."

In fact, even Li Heng himself has not thought about going to Shuofang at the moment.

Du Wulang naturally didn't know where Xue Bai got the news from, and he felt very guilty when he said these words. Fortunately, Yang Yuyao did not ask any more questions about the source of this news and trusted Xue Bai's judgment.

A sudden sense of danger arose, and Yang Yuyao asked, "What does he want me to do?"

"Strike first and get rid of Li Heng. After that, summon the imperial army and lead the saint back to Chang'an." Du Wulang said: "Xue Bai has brought two thousand elite cavalry waiting outside the city. Mrs. Guo Guo only needs to persuade Yang Guozhong to agree. , raise the fire as a signal, open the city gate, and he can enter the city to protect the Yang family. "

While he was talking, Yang Guozhong arrived in a hurry. Without any explanation, he ordered the soldiers to capture Du Wulang and search for Xue Bai.

But most of the people here were from the Yang family, so he was not allowed to mess around. Yang Yuyao strode forward, raised her hand and slapped him.

"Listen to me honestly!" Yang Yuyao raised her eyebrows and said word by word: "It is about the survival of the Yang family. We must first figure out who our enemy is."

Yang Guozhong is already a very popular minister, but he is no longer what he used to be. He used to eat for Li Linfu without feeling humiliated, but now he feels humiliated after being slapped by a woman.

At the same time, he calmed down and thought carefully, since even Xue Bai knew that Li Heng was going to mutiny, this matter must be certain and it was really urgent.

"Okay, I'll deal with Li Heng's matter first." Yang Guozhong said.

As he spoke, he put on the posture of a prime minister, changed his tone, and said: "But Xue Bai wants to bring the saint back to Chang'an, and this matter is absolutely impossible. Let's do this. After Li Heng is removed, you invite him to come and have a good talk. Let’s talk, how about we take him to Shu County?”

Going to Shu County was naturally more in line with Yang Yuyao's wishes, so she nodded and said, "Let's talk about it besides Li Heng."

"Woo! Woo!"

Du Wulang was gagged and tied to the side. Hearing this, he couldn't help shouting anxiously.

Yang Guozhong originally wanted to kill him, but Yang Yuyao and Yang Xuan wanted to protect him, so Yang Guozhong was too lazy to pay attention to this idiot anymore and hurriedly went to try to deal with Li Heng.

Seeing this situation, Du Wulang looked increasingly anxious, but secretly said in his heart: "Okay! Let them have a conflict, so that Xue Bai can take advantage of the chaos."

When he came, he never thought that he could convince Yang Guozhong to take the saint back to Chang'an with just a few words. It was nothing more than inciting two tigers to fight.

In other words, the two tigers were going to fight, but what he was doing was to alert the enemy so that Xue Bai could better control the situation.

~~
Since escaping from Chang'an, Li Heng has become much freer.

At night, he wrapped his face in a jacket and left the post house. Li Chu quickly greeted him. He led him around the long street and into a temporarily requisitioned liquor store.

Pushing the door open, a middle-aged man turned around and bowed down excitedly when he saw Li Heng.

"Du Hongjian, the judge of Shuofang Jiedu, paid homage to His Highness. After a long absence, His Highness has become even more haggard."

In the first half of the sentence, Du Hongjian said he had applied for an official position. He sounded a little proud. He had no choice but to be demoted and left Shuofang. It was all because of Li Henry using the hidden strength of the East Palace to protect him. He did not live up to Li Heng's high expectations. In short, He was promoted rapidly in just a few years, and with his current status, he was able to help Li Heng.

The second half of the sentence was filled with concern. He and Li Heng were not only monarchs and ministers, but also had a deep friendship.

"The national situation is like this. How can we not make people feel haggard? Get up quickly."

Li Heng lifted Du Hongjian up with both hands, looked him up and down, and said happily: "Dark and rough, but also strong, he has become the pillar of the country."

After hearing this, Du Hongjian was immediately moved and felt that everything he had done was worth it. He could finally be relied upon as a pillar by Li Heng.

The two soon got down to business.

"The saint has issued an edict to depose Li Cong."

"If we can find a way to ask the saint to reinstate His Highness, then it will be justifiable to change the name."

"The saint is jealous and may not agree."

Du Hongjian understood, lowered his voice, and said: "When I entered the city today, King Guangping had already informed me that I would send soldiers to tell the Imperial Guard privately not to go south."

"Okay." Li Heng was very satisfied and said, "Be sure to keep the saint."

Because he is not the prince yet, he must not let the saint go. After bribing the imperial army, the saint must be held hostage and an edict be issued to canonize him.

The plan has been decided, and there are only two days left to do it.

Suddenly, someone hurried over, but it was Li Tan.

"Grandpa, something happened!"

~~
After Yang Guozhong met Du Wulang, the more he thought about it, the more urgent the situation became.

He originally planned to win over Chen Xuanli and ask him to join him in persuading the saint to go south. However, after receiving news from Xue Bai, he had other ideas.

"Quick, I want to see the saint!"

When he arrived at the government office, Yang Guozhong ignored Chen Xuanli who was guarding the front and ran straight to Li Longji.

"Saint, something bad is going to happen!"

Li Longji had just met Chen Xilie, who was sitting on the uncomfortable stool and rubbing his forehead.

He originally thought that Yang Guozhong was talking about Du Hongjian, which was indeed a difficult matter. Of course, he was confident in his prestige, and with just one Shuofang Jiedu judge, he would not be able to cause much trouble among the Forbidden Army.

But Yang Guozhong said: "Xue Bai is chasing after him with two thousand fine cavalry, and he wants to take the saint back to Chang'an!"

"What did you say? How dare he?!"

"I have found out that among the family members brought by Chen Xilie, there are people from Xue Bai. They have secretly contacted King Zhong and made him an internal agent to kidnap the Holy Emperor in a mutiny..."

Before coming, Yang Guozhong had already thought about it clearly. His position is different from that of Li Heng and Xue Bai, and the saint must be brought to Shu County.

He may not be able to defeat Li Heng or Xue Bai in intrigues, so the best way is to scare the saint away directly.

Sure enough, Li Longji stood up suddenly. Long Yan was furious and shouted: "They dare?!"

"I ask the saint to put safety first and enter Shu as soon as possible."

"Get ready immediately and enter Sanguan as soon as possible."

"According to the order!"

Yang Guozhong responded loudly, feeling a little proud. He did not let Xue Bai lead him by the nose and handled the crisis at hand in his own way.

He also wanted to use him to fight with Li Heng, and let Xue Bai fight with Li Heng as soon as the saint entered Sanguan.

~~
The decree was informed by the school generals to each of the Imperial Guard soldiers, asking them to go to bed early and set off at dawn.

As a result, the lights in the city were extinguished one by one, and the soldiers huddled in the darkness, planning to spend their last night in Guanzhong.

Gradually, another touching song came.

“Sauvignon Blanc, in Chang’an.”

"The autumn cries of Luo Wei and Jin Jinglan, the light frost and desolate matte color are cold..."

This was written by Li Bai who missed Chang'an after he was given gold and released, but it was very consistent with the mood of the soldiers at this time. Many people tossed and turned after hearing this, missing their relatives and friends in Chang'an.

Several generals realized that it was not appropriate to listen to such singing at night, so they took a few steps with their swords in their hands uneasily.

"Who's singing?"

"It should be the imperial concubine." "She shouldn't be singing."

They sighed, but did not dare to stop it, so they could only listen silently.

There were fewer voices talking, and the night was quieter. Only the song floated over and over in the small county town.

"The lonely lamp cannot understand and is heartbroken. I roll up the curtains and look at the moonlit sky and sigh..."

suddenly.

The sound of horse hooves broke the silence of Chencang City, and two horses came riding side by side. They were both tall and straight figures, holding torches in their hands.

As they rode their horses, they shouted: "Don't go to Shu County! Don't go to Shu County!"

"I am going to Sanguan now. When will I return to Chang'an? Your Majesty, please go to Heshuo temporarily to gather heroes and plan for revival!"

This sound woke up the Imperial Guard soldiers who had just fallen asleep, and the generals stood up and shouted loudly.

"who?!"

"Shoot them."

"Who dares to shoot arrows? King Guangping and King Jianning are here!"

Everyone looked around and saw that they were really brothers Li Chu and Li Tan.

According to their original plan, they should first secretly contact the Forbidden Army and then take action. But tonight when they suddenly learned the news that the Holy Driver was about to go south, they were not fully prepared at all.

There are three roads before Li Heng. One is to follow the saint honestly and go south, and bow his head to listen to the saint's mercy; the other is to give up threatening the saint and seeking the prince, and only go westward alone as a loyal king; his two sons are both decisive people, and they chose the third way without hesitation - — Impromptu mutiny.

At this time, facing the arrows of the Forbidden Army, the two young men were not afraid and still shouted: "Don't go to Shu County!"

"I know that none of you want to leave Guanzhong, so come with me to persuade the saint!"

This kind of movement quickly alarmed Li Longji.

He was sleeping with his clothes on, so he got up and asked, "What happened?"

That night, Yang Guozhong was standing guard outside the house. He was also frightened and was caught off guard. He hurriedly said: "Sage, they are the ones who started it."

"Leave now to relax."

~~
Disperse.

When the imperial chariot arrived at Chencang, Chen Xuanli had already sent his trusted generals to guard Sanguan to ensure that the saint could enter Sanguan at any time.

This general is Guo Qianli, an old man in the Forbidden Army with a simple mind.

It was night, and Guo Qianli went to bed early, snoring loudly. Until he was pushed awake by the soldiers.

"General, wake up! The saint is coming soon!"

"Uh-huh?"

Guo Qianli rubbed his eyes and sat up. He opened his eyelids with difficulty and looked out the window for a while. Seeing that it was still dark, he asked curiously: "Come here at night?"

"It seems that there is a mutiny in Chencang. I have sent a team of people to come first. The general wants to see him."

Guo Qianli stood up, put on his armor, and walked out of the city tower. He saw dozens of knights filing into the city in the moonlight.

"What's wrong with Chen Cang? Where is Shengjia at this time?"

While talking and walking, only halfway through, Guo Qianli suddenly became alert and shouted: "Get them!"

He could tell that although the soldiers and horses who came forward were the Imperial Guards, they were wearing the armor of the Nanya Qianniu Guards, not the Northern Imperial Guards beside the saint.

The first thought that popped up was that Chang'an was captured by the rebels, and the rebels disguised themselves as imperial troops to rob the saint.

With a burst of noise from the top of the city, arrows were already pointing at Lai Qi.

"General Guo, long time no see."

At this moment, a horse came out of the crowd.

Guo Qianli looked at it intently, first surprised, then happy, and said: "Xue Lang? It's you who's here?"

Under the moonlight, the handsome-looking man wearing the armor of the Forbidden Army was not Xue Bai, but who was he?

"That's right." Xue Bai showed a delighted smile and said, "Chang'an has been secured. His Highness asked me to welcome the saint back to the palace."

"Hahahaha, great!"

Guo Qianli stepped forward overjoyed, Xue Bai also dismounted, and the two patted each other on the shoulders.

"I was still thinking the day before yesterday that escaping from Guanzhong like this is not a problem..."

Along with this hearty voice, Guo Qianli's face showed a bright color, and suddenly, his eyes condensed.

"No, I just said that there was a mutiny in Chencang, and the saint wanted to rush into Shu."

"Yes." Xue Bai said: "Yang Guozhong did not want the saint to return to Chang'an, so he launched a mutiny."

Guo Qianli looked rude, but not stupid. He no longer believed what he said. When he was about to retreat, he found that he was already surrounded by Xue Bai's people.

"General, how about we talk in private?"

"What are you talking about?" Guo Qianli said, "You are lucky to have met an old friend like me, otherwise you would have been shot to death by thousands of arrows."

Xue Bai shook his head and said: "I'm just unlucky. The general guarding Sanguan happens to be General Guo. Although you are close to me, you are actually foolishly loyal to the saint. Anyone else would have known that they should support the prince to guard Chang'an." "

"Xue Lang, are you planning to rebel?"

"Bringing back the saint, guarding the capital, and rebuilding the Tang Dynasty, is this rebellion?"

"Do you think I don't know? King Qing rebelled and forced the saint out of Chang'an. What is it if it's not a rebellion?"

"Yang Guozhong and Li Heng really rebelled and hijacked the saint for their own gain. Does the general think that it is better for the saint to flee than to stay in Chang'an?"

Guo Qianli was finally persuaded by him. He hesitated and asked the most critical question: "If the saint goes back, can Chang'an really be defended?"

"That's natural."

Xue Bai thought for a while and accidentally said something that touched Guo Qianli the most.

"Go back, it's the Lantern Festival in a few days."

Guo Qianli was stunned, looking at Xue Bai in front of him, as if he had returned to the sixth year of Tianbao. He was holding his little granddaughter watching the lanterns on the upper floor.

He actually understood very well that once the saint escaped from Guanzhong, the people of the world would change, and more time and troops would be needed to quell the rebellion.

So, he asked himself in his heart, could he bear to let his granddaughter live in a troubled world when she grew up?

"It's agreed, we can keep it."

"a man of his words."

Xue Bai knew that what convinced Guo Qianli was not the friendship between the two, but their righteousness.

This time he was lucky and stood on the side of justice.

~~
The night wind was very cold. Xue Bai climbed to the top of Sanguan City and looked north with a telescope, waiting for Li Longji and Yang Guozhong.

His plan was simple. First of all, he knew that Li Heng was unwilling to go south. Even if there was no mutiny in Maweipo, he would still take action when he arrived in Chencang. At least he had this motive.

Then, he used this to beat Yang Guozhong and scare the snake. He believed that Yang Guozhong, who had been frightened to death, would immediately lead Li Longji south in a panic and fall into the trap he had laid.

In addition, in order to prevent irreparable losses in the process, he ordered Jiang Hai to lead a group of cavalry to ambush in the southwest of Chencang County to keep an eye on changes in the situation.

Now that everything is ready, all he needs is the east wind, but Xue Bai's mood is not relaxed, but very uneasy.

The rebels may have already arrived at the gates of Chang'an. He urgently needs to bring back Li Longji to stabilize the people's hearts. Time is running out and he cannot afford to suffer too many changes.

Deep in his heart, he would occasionally think of a few beautiful figures...but now was not the time to care about these.

Sanguan is located on the Qinling Mountains, and the terrain is much higher than the Guanzhong Plain. The mountains and rivers are steep and erected like high walls. Standing in the city and looking at the Guanzhong Plain, it feels like "the stars hang down on the plains and the fields are vast".

Xue Bai waited for a long time, and when he became impatient, he finally saw the light of fire coming towards this side along the mountain road.

"Mr. Lang, here you go."

Xue Bai called Hu Laishui forward and whispered: "Let Guo Qianli kill Yang Guozhong then to strengthen his heart."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lang, the general will understand."

"Ah."

Xue Bai has not yet told Guo Qianli that An Lushan is dead, Li Cong admitted his life experience, etc., so it would be better to wait until Li Longji is kidnapped before talking about it.

If it goes through tonight, several years of planning will finally bear fruit. If Li Longji is allowed to flee to Shu County and Li Heng is allowed to escape to Heshuo, he will inevitably be counterattacked.

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and the fire finally reached the foot of the city.

"Open the city gate!"

What came was a group of Longwu Army cavalry. They did not dismount after entering the city and shouted: "Guo Qianli takes the order!"

"Chen is here!"

"The holy driver has arrived in Shennong Town, and I order you to greet him as soon as possible!"

Xue Bai walked down the city, looked towards the brightly lit city gate, and observed. I didn't see Li Longji, Yang Guozhong, or any important court officials.

He lowered his head and continued past, reaching out and touching the backs of the horses. The horses' sweat was all there, which showed that they were in a hurry. Looking again, the wet mud on the boots of these Longwu soldiers was filled with blood.

Over there, Guo Qianli asked: "What happened? Why do you want to greet him?"

"I asked you to escort me quickly! Just go!"

Xue Bai happened to turn to Guo Qianli and winked at the Longwu Army soldiers across the road.

After that, he waved his hand, and the people he brought swarmed up and took them all down.

"Guo Qianli, are you rebelling?!"

"Don't yell at me. If I ask, just tell me, what happened?"

"The saint was going south overnight, but someone in the army mutinied and actually ran into the saint's team."

Guo Qianli was anxious and asked: "Where is the Holy Master now?!"

"They should be rushing towards Sanguan. Please ask General Guo to rescue him quickly, otherwise the saint may be kidnapped!"

~~
Li Longji and Yang Guozhong thought they had seen through all the tricks and were prepared to deal with them, but they did not expect that their control was so low.

After being reminded in advance and being prepared, the two brothers Li Chu and Li Tan quickly gathered the imperial troops and started a mutiny that even Chen Xuanli could not suppress.

They had just rushed to Shennong Town when they suddenly heard the imperial guards shouting slogans from behind, so they quickened their pace and rushed over.

"Please ask the saint to go to Heshuo temporarily, gather your troops and horses, and revive the Tang Dynasty!"

Yang Guozhong was immediately shocked and shouted: "Quick! Take the saint away!"

He originally wanted to lead Li Longji's royal horse in person, but as soon as he made a sound, he attracted the attention of the imperial guards in the distance.

"Kill Yang Guozhong!"

"Yang Guozhong has wronged the country and the people, kill him first to thank the world!"

As soon as such remarks about the Qing emperor came out, even Li Longji panicked. He killed the prime minister without an imperial edict. It can be said that Li Heng had a desperate plan.

Although Li Longji had doubts countless times, when this scene actually appeared, he was at a loss.

Yang Guozhong was so frightened that he didn't even bother to grab Li Longji's reins, so the Pegasus left.

A sharp arrow was shot at him and landed behind him. He ran wildly south and rushed straight to Sanguan.

"Quick! Li Heng has rebelled. Quickly recruit the guards to come to King Qin."

After arranging the matter, Yang Guozhong thought of Xue Bai's reminder and regretted that he had not listened to Xue Bai's words and let his two thousand elite riders enter the city to deal with Li Heng.

He then sent someone to tell Yang Yuyao, asking her to go to Xue Bai for help as soon as possible...

(End of this chapter)