Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 458 Mutiny
The horse galloped on the mountain road, the knight in front held up a torch to illuminate the road, and Yang Guozhong followed behind.

He tried his best to clamp the horse's belly with his legs. From time to time, low-hanging branches that passed by would catch his butt and slap him in the face, which actually calmed him down. His escape was not to give up on the saint, but to save his life first and seek help from Guo Qianli.

Suddenly, there was a muffled sound, and the knight holding fire in front was shot down by an arrow. The empty horse was frightened, raised its hoof and kicked back, which also frightened Yang Guozhong's horse. Yang Guozhong suddenly fell to the ground, landing on his back, and suffered severe pain in his lumbar spine. .

The torch was still burning, illuminating a two-step area. Yang Guozhong rolled around quickly and hid in the darkness.

Soon, more than ten riders rushed over from the mountains and forests. Under the moonlight, they could faintly see the uniforms of the imperial army. They were obviously soldiers who had taken refuge with Li Heng.

Seeing that someone had been shot down, one of them shouted: "Zhang Xiaojing, your archery skills are good."

"Eating dog intestines is not Yang Guozhong."

"He fell off his horse. He can't run far. He's around here. Look for him!"

The Forbidden Soldiers dismounted from their horses and walked towards the darkness with their swords, slashing at the bushes from time to time.

Yang Guozhong was afraid that if he moved, he would make a noise to attract the other party. He was so frightened that he did not dare to move even though he was sweating. He finally became an extremely respected minister and never wanted to die here easily. However, a soldier named Zhang Xiaojing came closer and closer to the bush where he was hiding.

The knife has been raised, shining coldly in the moonlight.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from the direction of Sanguan. It was Guo Qianli who led his soldiers and horses to meet the saint.

"Come on."

The Imperial Guards soldiers did not dare to stay and dispersed one after another.

However, a few people had no time to escape, so they simply hid in the darkness and watched. Among them, Zhang Xiaojing was hiding in the same bush as Yang Guozhong. He casually put the knife aside and placed it right on Yang Guozhong's thigh.

"Shut up!"

Guo Qianli's team had arrived. When they saw the corpse on the ground, they all reined in the reins and checked the situation.

Seeing this situation, Yang Guozhong began to estimate whether it would be faster for Guo Qianli to save him or Zhang Xiaojing to kill him if he shouted.
"Xue Lang, what do you think is going on?!" Guo Qianli said over there.

On the official road illuminated by fire, a horse came out of the crowd. Yang Guozhong recognized Xue Bai as soon as he saw the upright figure. He couldn't help being surprised. He almost sat up, but was reminded by the blade pressing on his leg. Don't let him move around.

His mind was filled with doubts, why was Xue Bai here? Shouldn't it be in the east of Chencang City?

He quickly figured out the problem and cursed in his mind: "Shuzi pretended to contact me, but in fact he was hiding in Sanguan and trying to find an escape route. What a heartless and ungrateful person!"

As if hearing the curse in his heart, Xue Bai suddenly turned his head and looked over to him, and at the same time said to Guo Qianli: "The ones who escaped were Yang Guozhong's men. Li Heng sent people to catch up. There are no headless corpses on the ground. Or the second pool of blood, Yang Guozhong was either captured alive or escaped into the mountains. "

"Look for it!" Guo Qianli shouted.

Yang Guozhong saw that they were going to search here. He felt lucky, but also worried that it would fall into Xue Bai's hands. When he was in a tangled mood, he faintly heard the sound of a bow string twisting.

He then carefully rolled his eyes and looked in the direction where Zhang Xiaojing was hiding. Zhang Xiaojing picked up a crossbow hanging from his waist and pointed it at Xue Bai.

This scene immediately made Yang Guozhong cheer in his heart, thinking: "Great! This soldier shot and killed Xue Bai, and I will persuade Guo Qianli to protect the saint to enter Shu, and we can achieve the best of both worlds."

However, Zhang Xiaojing held the crossbow and stared at Xue Bai for a long time, as if looking for an opportunity, and as if listening to the conversation between Xue Bai and Guo Qianli.

When the soldiers who were searching for him got closer, they suddenly turned the direction of their crossbow and shot an arrow on the tree trunk on the other side.

"who?!"

"go!"

Zhang Xiaojing shouted, put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, and his horse rushed out of the dense forest and took him all the way north.

"Chase!"

Guo Qianli was furious and chased after him personally. Soon, these cavalry teams poured down the Qinling Mountains like flowing water.

Only then did Yang Guozhong feel the coolness on his crotch. When he touched it, he realized that he had been so frightened that he had become incontinent.

Of course he was afraid of death and wished he could find a safe place to hide away from this mess of using knives and guns. But then he stood up and felt the severe pain in his waist. He thought that if he no longer had sex, good clothes, good food, and could no longer enjoy the pleasure brought by superior power, would living be meaningful?

"Do not."

Yang Guozhong knew very well what he wanted, and he had to climb up.

Whether he is greedy for gain or selfish, those who accuse him out of ignorance or jealousy have no idea what kind of enjoyment he has, but he will never let himself fall back into their humble and poor life. .

He had to bring the saint back to Shu County to save everything.

~~
Under the moonlight, several knights ran across the ravine and escaped the pursuers behind them.

"Zhang Xiaojing, why didn't you shoot that traitor just now?"

The "rebellion" they talked about was Xue Bai, which was something the saint had clearly announced not long ago. The edict denied that Xue Bai was Li Qian, and instead charged him with "pretending to be the emperor's grandson, instigating rebellion, and conspiring to commit transgression."

As the Forbidden Army closest to a saint, they are more likely to regard Xue Bai as a sinner than others in the world.

Zhang Xiaojing said, "I just heard him talking to General Guo. I heard that he wanted to welcome the saint back to Chang'an."

"Because he is rebellious and helps King Qing seize the throne with ulterior motives!"

"understood."

Zhang Xiaojing drove his horse up the cliff, looked at it for a while, pointed in one direction, and said: "Let's go over there to build King Ning."

"I didn't shoot Xue Bai just now. Don't be soft-hearted next time. He was a traitor like Yang Guozhong. Taking his head was also a great achievement."

The companions chattered endlessly, and Zhang Xiaojing finally became impatient and said, "I don't care."

"We care. If it's not for great achievements, who would be willing to follow you and risk death?"

"I don't care whether King Qing usurps the throne or not." Zhang Xiaojing shouted: "I only know that they are guarding Chang'an!"

"Don't be upset, just calm down. Chang'an can't be defended anymore. The loyal king is right. Go to the northwest to recruit troops and recapture the two capitals. We little soldiers can save our lives and make contributions. It's better to go back and die." Strong?"

"Lao San, don't you miss your lost family?"

"I just want to live and make contributions. Only after they regain Chang'an and write my name on the merit list can they find me. I ran back to die in a daze. Who can tell which one is me among so many nameless corpses? ?”

Zhang Xiaojing didn't say anything anymore, drove the horse away for a while, and sang a song.

“Sauvignon Blanc, in Chang’an.”

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

Like Li Bai, they were all exiled from Chang'an.

~~
"Kill Yang Guozhong to thank the world!"

Still some distance away from Shennong Town, Xue Bai reined in the reins. Listening to the shouts blown by the wind, he could feel the anger of the Forbidden Army.

Not to mention him, who was condemned by Li Longji, I am afraid that even Chen Xuanli would not be able to restrain him.

Xue Bai knew very well that if he stepped forward easily at this time, he would die from a random knife without waiting for a moment's explanation. But if he doesn't go, Li Heng will definitely take Li Longji to the northwest. In this case, it will be difficult to draw the border troops to Li Cong's side.

If Xue Bai hadn't been there, Guo Qianli would have waited until the end tonight to see whoever kidnapped the emperor would listen to him.

As for this moment, he definitely wouldn't dare to step forward rashly. In case the saint ordered him to kill Xue Bai, Xue Bai asked him to kill Li Heng, and Li Heng asked him to kill Yang Guozhong... or the soldiers mutinied and killed him.

"Xue Lang, what should I do?" Guo Qianli asked.

"We have to find Yang Guozhong." Xue Bai said, "Take Yang Guozhong in hand and kill him to appease the imperial army."

He knew that both Li Longji and Li Heng wanted to kill him, so the only solution was to use Yang Guozhong's head to vent the resentment of the soldiers, and then he could obtain the support of the Forbidden Army on the pretext of guarding Chang'an, otherwise he would not even have a chance to speak. .

"understood!"

Guo Qianli turned to his soldiers and shouted, "Have you caught me?"

"Returning to the general, I lost the chase. But the last general saw that Yang Guozhong was not among the people who escaped. They were all armored knights of the Forbidden Army."

After hearing this, Xue Bai pondered for a moment and said, "Send someone to look for him in the mountains and forests. He will definitely be there."

"How can you find this? It's pitch black." Guo Qianli muttered, but still did as he was told.

However, only a moment later, the movement in the distance became even louder. The shouts of killing Yang Guozhong were overwhelming, as if they were about to engulf the entire town.

There were also imperial cavalry who rushed to their team and shouted from a distance, asking them to hand over Yang Guozhong.

Guo Qianli scolded: "I also want to pay, I will pay when I find it!"

Perhaps after the Imperial Guards realized that Yang Guozhong had escaped and roared unwillingly, the demands they shouted also changed.

"Kill the Yang family!"

After hearing this, Guo Qianli turned to look at Xue Bai and said, "What should I do? Now I want to kill your concubines... sworn sisters."

Xue Bai seemed calm, but the horse under his crotch could already feel his anxiety and began to dig at the ground with its hoofs.

He looked back into the black woods, knowing that Yang Guozhong was probably hiding among them, but he couldn't find him. Only the angry shouts were still filling the air.

"Kill the Yang family!"

"Kill the Yang family!"

~~
Li Longji was sitting in a ruined temple outside the town, sitting among the waves of shouts, more like sitting on a small boat in the stormy waves.

His eyes were not as bright as before, and his posture was even less elegant. He was stretching his neck and staring at Chen Xuanli in the distance with dull and painful eyes.

Chen Xuanli was riding on his horse, trying to calm the situation, but he, the general of the Longwu Army, could no longer suppress the noisy soldiers.

In fact, he felt scared because of their momentum, and his palms were full of sweat, for fear that someone would shoot him with an arrow and kill him. Therefore, he had no time to report to the saint and made the decision alone.

He had realized that Li Heng was using the slogan of killing Yang Guozhong to win over the Imperial Army. The only way to win over the army's morale was to let the saint take the initiative to kill Yang Guozhong.

"Okay!" Chen Xuanli shouted loudly: "Listen to what I have to say! The world is in turmoil today and the country is not defended. It is all caused by Yang Guozhong. If your majesty kills him to thank the world, can you calm down?!"

"Kill this treacherous scoundrel, and everyone will do it. When his head falls to the ground, I will leave it to the general's disposal!"

When a general shouted like this, all the generals shouted, raising the atmosphere to kill Yang Guozhong.

In fact, even if Li Longji complied with their wishes, the emperor's authority would still fall. They would get an advantage and make more demands.

Chen Xuanli could no longer care about this and quickly returned to his horse and rushed to Li Longji.

"His Majesty!"

He clasped his hands together, half-knelt in front of Li Longji, and said, "The people are outraged. Your Majesty, please follow the will of the soldiers and execute Yang Guozhong!"

At this point, Li Longji raised his hand several times and said: "Yes, yes."

So, there was a question instead. Chen Xuanli looked around and said, "Where is Yang Guozhong?!"

Only then did they notice that Yang Guozhong had escaped, so they quickly explained to the soldiers and proposed sending someone to chase him. Some generals noticed that Guo Qianli's troops had arrived, so they ran to beg for help, but to no avail.

The soldiers were even more resentful.

There are also those who think that the saint is protecting Yang Guozhong, and they are increasingly turning to the loyal king Li Heng.

The retribution for Li Longji forcing Li Heng to divorce his wife twice also came. They thought that Yang Guozhong was reused because he was Yang Yuhuan's brother, so they shouted: "There is also the trouble of Concubine Yang!"

"Yes, Concubine Yang is the source of the trouble!" "The root of the trouble is still there..."

Li Longji was stunned, turned his head and looked at the accompanying concubines.

Jiang Caiping, Fan Nu and others were so frightened that they took a step back and gave way to Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan was also frightened, his face turned pale, and when he looked into Li Longji's eyes, he was a little frightened at first, and whispered: "Sanlang?"

Li Longji heard the pleading in this call and said, "Don't worry, Tai Zhen, I will definitely be able to protect you."

After saying that, he turned back to Chen Xuanli and said, "Taizhen is innocent and should be pardoned. Go and order Guo Qianli to hand over Yang Guozhong to calm the morale of the army."

Chen Xuanli left in a hurry, and it took a long time. When he came back, he glanced at Yang Yuhuan and immediately lowered his head. He rushed to Li Longji and whispered: "Please give me a secret report."

Yang Yuhuan had a bad premonition when he saw this scene. He was so frightened that he took two steps back, at a loss.

Over there, Li Longji stood up helplessly, walked a few steps, and listened to Chen Xuanli's report.

"The imperial soldiers who were chasing Yang Guozhong came back and said that he had fled into the dark forest. He was afraid that he would not be found for a while. In addition, Guo Qianli also reported this."

"Since Guo Qianli is here, can you let me enter Sanguan?"

"The Forbidden Army is surrounded and refuses to let us go. It's difficult." Chen Xuanli hesitated for a moment and then said: "Also, they saw Xue Bai in Guo Qianli's army."

"How could it be?" Li Longji was greatly surprised and raised his voice unconsciously, "He was still in Luoyang when I left Chang'an, and now he has chased me all the way here?!"

"I don't know either."

Chen Xuanli agreed, glanced at Yang Yuhuan again, and found that her autumn eyes were also looking this way.

There was a trace of murderous intention in his heart.

"Your Majesty, all the generals say that beauty is a disaster for the country, and the rebellion in Anlu Mountain was all caused by the imperial concubine. If your Majesty does not punish her, it will be difficult to comfort the morale of the army, and I may not be able to let go of what happened tonight."

Chen Xuanli was a little ashamed, knowing that he had not done his job well, and asked the saint to kill his most beloved woman.

He was mentally prepared to be severely scolded. At the same time, he also thought that if the saint refused, he would have to force him. Only in this way could he protect the saint.

However, somewhat unexpectedly, Li Longji asked simply and neatly: "If I kill Taizhen, will I be safe?"

"If the public anger is calmed down, I am confident that I can persuade some of the soldiers to obey the order and lead your majesty to continue to Shu. The loyal king has no excuse and cannot continue to persecute."

"What if he threatens me with force?"

"Your Majesty, please trust me."

"Xue Bai colluded with Guo Qianli and didn't want me to go south."

"Guo Qianli is loyal and upright, but he was only taken advantage of for a moment. If you can calm down the public anger, you can order him to return to justice in person." Chen Xuanli said, "Your Majesty, the top priority is the public anger."

"I understand."

Li Longji's voice was a little cold, just like when he killed his first wife, beloved concubine, and son in the past, without any mercy or hesitation.

No matter how affectionate he is on weekdays, the order of personal power, personal feelings, and the righteousness of the world is very clear in his heart, with clear barriers and no insurmountable possibility.

"General Gao."

He turned around, spoke, and moved Gao Lishi. During this action, the cold look on Li Longji's face quickly melted, as if the snow had melted.

His expression began to warm up, and became helpless and sad. Only then did nostalgia creep into the corners of his eyes.

"Your Majesty." Gao Lishi stepped forward.

"Xue Bai was in Guo Qianli's army. He had treacherous intentions and refused to hand over Yang Guozhong. The soldiers of the Sixth Army refused to give up." Li Longji closed his eyes slumped, "They want to kill Taizhen."

Gao Lishi opened his mouth, turned his head and looked at Yang Yuhuan.

At this point, in view of the various oaths made by the saints in the past, it is best for the noble concubine to take the initiative to offer martyrdom in order to protect the saints.

Every year at this time, they prepare to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Chang'an. Countless lanterns decorate the glory of the prosperous age. The saints at that time are like gods on earth, and this god cannot even protect a woman.

God's.

Two lines of tears fell from Yang Yuhuan's eyes.

No one in the temple knew what she was thinking. She just knelt on the ground and whispered: "As long as Sanlang can be safe, I am willing to die."

"Taizhen, why are you here?" Li Longji shook his head and sighed.

"I have made up my mind, and I only ask the saint to make it come true."

When Gao Lishi saw it, he went to invite a white silk in person.

~~
"Shut up!"

After the mutiny broke out, Yang Yuyao and Du Wulang rode horses to escape from the siege of the Forbidden Army before Yu Jia was surrounded, and rushed to the eastern suburbs of Chencang County to seek rescue from Xue Bai.

However, they had only run a mile when they suddenly heard a cry from the night wind.

"Please kill Yang! Please kill Yang!"

Yang Yuyao then reined in the horse and listened for a while.

Du Wulang urged: "Let's go quickly!"

"Go and let that heartless man quickly lead his troops to rescue me." Yang Yuyao turned the horse's head and said, "I have to save my sisters."

"Ah? Aren't you afraid that you will never see Xue Bai again?"

"If I die, I will make him regret it for the rest of his life...Give me the knife and drive it!"

Yang Yuyao had long legs and was skilled in horse control. She kicked the horse in the belly with both feet and ran straight back. Du Wulang wanted to chase after him and persuade him, but he couldn't catch up at all, so he continued to move reinforcements.

The horse drove back outside Shennong Town like a shooting star. Yang Yuyao thought to herself that as a noble concubine, Yang Yuhuan was protected by a saint, so she should be fine. Then she headed towards the direction where her two sisters were, but before she arrived, she heard shouting in the distance.

There were more than twenty riders running away under the moonlight.

She drove her horse over, and sure enough she saw that they were members of the Yang family.

"Go into the woods!"

Yang Yuyao rushed to a bamboo forest first, got off her horse, cut off the horse rope, tied it to a bamboo, waved to the Yang family, and led them to ride through the bamboo forest.

When the last Yang Xuan ran over, she tied the other end of the horse rope to make a horse trip rope.

At this time, the pursuers were very close, and the arrows came and fell behind Yang Yuyao's horse. Fortunately, she had excellent equestrian skills and controlled the reins to walk through the bamboo forest in the dark night.

But Pei Rou in front failed to control the horse, hit the bamboo, and fell off the horse.

"Auntie!"

Yang Xuan quickly dismounted and helped Pei Rou, saying: "Mom, get up quickly."

"pain!"

Pei Rou screamed, tears streaming down her face from the pain, she pushed Yang Xuan and said, "Quickly leave."

Yang Xuan cried loudly, looking like a idiot.

"Stop crying." Yang Yuyao couldn't help but cursed.

It took a lot of effort for them to escape under the cover of night, but this cry will definitely attract pursuers again.

Sure enough, fire suddenly lit up all around, and the mutinous imperial troops began to surround them.

Pei Rou's face turned pale with fear. She was Yang Guozhong's first wife. She knew there was no way out and was afraid that she would be tortured if she fell into the hands of the imperial army. She picked up a dagger and wanted to commit suicide. However, her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't do it. Get rid of it.

"My son, give me a break and run away."

When Yang Xuan heard this, he was so scared that he sat on the ground.

Pei Rou had no choice but to look at Yang Yuyao.

"it is good."

Without saying a word, Yang Yuyao stepped forward and stabbed Pei Rou in the heart, killing her. His movements are neat and he is indeed a "male fox".

After stabbing her with the knife, she looked at Yang Xuan and asked, "What about you? Do you want to be happy or run away?"

"Wow!"

Yang Xuan climbed up and down without using a horse, and ran deep into the bamboo forest. Suddenly, an arrow shot through, piercing his thigh, and nailed him to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Yang Yuyao looked at her two sisters and saw that a group of people had already arrived and surrounded them.

"Sanniang, leave quickly!"

At this point, Yang Yuyao couldn't leave anymore, so she put the knife in her hand on her neck and prepared to kill herself. However, she thought that Xue Bai was nearby, and if he could come to rescue him, she hesitated for a moment and did not cut it immediately.

"Come here, listen." She said loudly: "Yang Guozhong is responsible for 70% of Yang's evil, and I am responsible for 30%. I know I deserve to die, so I will admit it tonight. But my two sisters are honest people, and their house is more... They are not half as big as me, how about letting them go?"

In the light of the fire, a middle-aged official drove his horse out and said: "How can a woman be allowed to bargain on national affairs? Yang's crime is to harm the country. Now he is going against Hu Zhique and taking advantage of the public turmoil. You still don't know how to repent?!"

Yang Yuyao didn't know how to repent in order to stop An Lushan's rebellion, and didn't care. She was about to kill herself when she heard the sound of horse hooves and came over.

However, the sound of horse hooves came from the south.

"Who is coming?"

"I came to greet Your Majesty on the orders of Sanguan garrison Guo Qianli. May I ask who is in the forest?"

"Xue Jingxian, the magistrate of Chencang County, captured Yang's criminal."

"Whose order did Magistrate Xue take?"

The voice of the person who came was very young, but full of majesty, and he had already led the people to the nearby place as he spoke.

Xue Jingxian paused briefly and said loudly: "I am following the order of King Guangping."

"What authority does King Quang Binh have to issue orders?"

"Don't come here again!" Xue Jingxian felt something was wrong and shouted: "Who are you?"

"My surname is also Xue, Xue Bai."

As he spoke, the leading knight rode out of the darkness into the land illuminated by fire.

"Rebel?"

Xue Jingxian was shocked and ordered his soldiers to be on guard. At the same time, he ordered his men to capture the Yang sisters.

Seeing this situation, Xue Bai didn't have time to explain who the traitor was, so he directly ordered a charge to rescue Yang Yuyao.

"Sure enough, it's the opposite." Xue Jingxian said angrily, "Xue Bai conspired with Yang...stop him!"

(End of this chapter)