Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 461 Embers
The fire burned for two days and two nights, and finally gradually extinguished.

The exhausted Imperial Guards withdrew from the Qinling Mountains and rested outside Chencang City, feeling the heat wave coming from the mountains and forests.

The county jails in the city are full of people, most of whom were captured for treason.

"What an injustice! Li Heng excludes dissenters..."

Occasionally, there were shouts like this. Soon, the officials who complained were beaten to death with sticks and their bodies were dragged out to make room for others.

Later, there were officials who claimed that they were collaborating with Yang Dangxu, praising the loyal king as the pillar of the country, and were safely escorted away.

And deep in the cell, in the darkest place, there was a big man sitting cross-legged, silent.

At night, there was a faint sound of quarreling outside the cell door.

"You can't go in."

"This is Chen Cang's order from Xue Jingxian, get out of the way..."

"Then why did you point your crossbow at Chen Xuanli?"

"My surname is Li, Xing Liu, and others call me 'Liu Lang'."

"Bold, you are not polite in front of King Rong!"

"take away!"

Li Wan asked again: "Who ordered you to take action?"

He cleverly avoided the question of where he would go after rescuing the saint.

Zhang Xiaojing was stunned and said: "I don't know Shirokuro, I want to see Prince Zhong."

"Take it away!" the person shouted, asking the warden to unlock the door.

Only then did Zhang Xiaojing realize that counting Li Liulang up, except for King Zhong, the rest of his brothers were either rebellious or dead.

A group of people suddenly broke in, striding through the dark corridor and heading straight to the deepest part.

"No."

"Zhang Xiaojing?!"

"I didn't. I just showed it to the general to prove that the arrow on my crossbow is still there." Zhang Xiaojing said, "That arrow was set by someone else."

"You are unwilling to tell me the truth." Li Wan didn't believe it, sighed slightly, and said, "I am in the sixth line, do you know who my five brothers are?"

The two of them strode over, took a cloak and carried Zhang Xiaojing, held his head and led him away until they reached the top of the city tower.

"Go down."

He counted his brothers and asked the same question again. It seemed that things were very different, but Zhang Xiaojing's answer was still the same.

When Zhang Xiaojing was about to be taken down again, he finally said: "If I tell the truth, will Prince Rong judge him impartially? What if I wrongly accuse Prince Zhong?"

"Rokuro, this man is dangerous. A saint would dare to shoot arrows when he was kidnapped..."

Zhang Xiaojing asked in reply: "You dare me to ask if King Zhong has evil intentions, what will King Rong do?"

"No one ordered it."

"Do you know who I am?"

"No." Zhang Xiaojing suddenly reacted and asked in surprise: "Is Prince Rong trying to frame Prince Zhong?"

Li Wan thought about this question before answering, and said seriously: "I should rescue the saint, eliminate the traitors, and persuade the saint to rectify the border army, regain the two capitals, and create a prosperous world again."

"If the doubts can be dispelled, I will naturally support my second brother to go to Heshuo to organize the army, regain the two capitals, and revive the Tang Dynasty!" Li Wan had been in the Ten Kings' House for a long time, and his power was weak. Seeing that Zhang Xiaojing was a talent, he started to win over him. Staring at him, he asked: "But if Li Heng is really guilty, what will happen to you?"

"The villain is just a nobody, he doesn't know this."

Li Wan said eloquently: "My eldest brother Li Cong, who is the current prince, planned a palace coup and forced the saint out of Chang'an; my second brother Li Ying was the deposed prince and died because of the case of three commoners; my third brother Li Heng also He was once a prince, but he took the initiative to retire and became a loyal king; his fourth brother, Li Yan, was imprisoned in the palace because of a charm hidden in the sole of his shoe when he went to court, and died of fear; his fifth brother, Li Yao, was the king of E who was executed together in the case of three common people. "

There was a "ding" sound, and the knife struck the chain, sparks flashed out, and the warden was so frightened that he quickly opened the door.

He stopped asking, called his subordinates, and ordered: "He didn't say anything, just take it as Li Heng's instigation, take him down."

"Is it Li Heng?"

"Let me ask you again." Li Wan said: "Who ordered you to take action to save the saint?"

Zhang Xiaojing hesitated for a moment and said: "There is no one else, I am the one who is eager to save the saint."

"I don't know."

When there was no one else around, Li Wan asked: "Let me ask you, when Xue Bai kidnapped the saint, was it you who fired the arrow?"

"No, this is a death row prisoner. He almost let go of the arrow..."

In the city tower, many officials were busy going back and forth. A middle-aged man in a Chinese robe was standing in front of the arrow window, overlooking the Qinling Mountains.

This man was handsome, personable, and elegant in manners. There was a look of thoughtfulness between his brows. When he saw Zhang Xiaojing being escorted, he turned around.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaojing turned around, pursed his lips and remained silent.

"No need." Li Wan raised his hand to stop his subordinates from scolding, and said, "I have something to ask him, please go down."

"You refuse to recruit, do you think you can hide it from me?" Li Wan sighed: "Whether my second brother deliberately wants to harm your majesty is up to you and me. We have to find out the truth."

The light of the lantern passed over the people wearing various official uniforms, red, green, and blue, and finally shone on a generous figure wearing a black military robe.

Zhang Xiaojing asked: "May I ask Prince Rong, do you know where my colleagues have gone?"

Hearing this sentence, Li Wan seemed to have grasped the key to win over Zhang Xiaojing, and said: "A few people fled into the mountains and forests that night and disappeared. But there were also a few people who were detained like you. Li Heng used to set the saint They were dealt with by military law in the name of dangerous territory."

Zhang Xiaojing turned pale and asked, "Dead?"

"That's right, if I hadn't saved you, wouldn't Li Heng have killed you to silence you? How dare you keep speaking out and hide it for him? You were sold for money!" Li Wan shook his head, knowing that ignorant pawns like this would... Faced with such a complicated situation for the first time, his mind must not be clear and he cannot understand the situation. "I don't even think about the Wei Jian case and the Du Youlin case. When did he stand up for others? He was imprisoned unjustly and his colleagues died." , Aren’t you awake yet?”

Zhang Xiaojing lowered his head and said nothing.

After a long time, he said slowly in a hoarse voice: "It was Li Fuguo who asked me to take action."

"Sure enough." Li Wan said: "It's almost as good as my guess."

"But I really didn't set the arrow."

"The one who fired the arrow is Li Heng's real confidant. As for you, you were regarded as a scapegoat from the beginning. Do you understand?"

Seeing that this conversation had won Zhang Xiaojing's heart, Li Wan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to meet a few people."

~~
Outside the city, the Forbidden Army camp.

In a large tent, Chen Xuanli was pacing worriedly when he finally heard someone lift the curtain and come in. He turned around and saw that it was Wei Jiansu.

"how?"

"According to many Forbidden Army soldiers, the mountain fire was caused by Xue Bai detonating explosives several times."

"Is it true?" Chen Xuanli had doubts about this. "What's the benefit of burning himself to death?"

Wei Jiansu sighed: "Maybe Xue Bai didn't expect such a result."

"I suspect that the mountain fire was caused by someone else."

"Shh." Wei Jiansu made a gesture of silence and whispered: "Everything depends on evidence. Now that King Zhong has won the hearts of the people, most of the Forbidden Army generals have expressed their intention to go west with him. You and I should be more careful."

Chen Xuanli said: "It's just that I can't control the imperial army anymore. It shows that King Zhong..."

At this time, Li Wan brought Zhang Xiaojing over and said as soon as he entered the tent: "Someone has witnessed it. It was indeed Li Heng who ordered it."

After listening to Zhang Xiaojing's speech, Chen Xuanli and Wei Jiansu looked at each other, and the worry in their eyes deepened.

If it was true that Xue Bai was regicide, they would be dead set and follow the loyal king westwards. But knowing that Li Heng deliberately took advantage of the chaos to harm the saint, how could he still support the loyal king?

In addition, Li Cong also conspired to rebel. As a result, they, those loyal to His Majesty, had no choice but to support King Rong Li Wan.

Chen Xuanli's face was as solid as iron. He thought for a long time and suddenly said, "Zhang Xiaojing."

"exist!"

"Are you still my soldier?!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaojing couldn't help but feel ashamed.

He also felt in his heart that the saint was old and confused and had resentment against the saint, so when King Guangping and King Jianning called him, he responded and ran to shoot Yang Guozhong. However, after many years of service in the Imperial Army, he had a natural respect for Chen Xuanli.

"Yes!"

"You are appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Longwu Army. Hold this talisman to summon troops and horses to rescue His Majesty."

Zhang Xiaojing couldn't help but be stunned, thinking that he had only led twelve soldiers at most, how could he suddenly be promoted to the rank of Zhonglang General, and where would he go to rescue His Majesty?

The reason why Chen Xuanli did this was that he had no choice but to do so. Since the mutiny, the soldiers of the imperial army have been instigated to force the saint to kill the Yang family. Knowing that they have committed a serious crime, they have turned to Li Heng one after another. In addition, the saint has disappeared, and he is no longer sure that he can control the imperial army.

In fact, although Zhang Xiaojing did not have a general position in the Longwu Army, he was selected from the Anxi Army. He was good at riding and shooting, and was a righteous man. General Chen Xuanli also knew this, but in the past, he had to support many children from aristocratic families. Not from this commoner background.

Things are different now. In a real mess, Chen Xuanli doesn't have a single general who is useful.

On the other hand, Li Heng originally wanted to kill Zhang Xiaojing to silence him. With such a person, if something happened, he would just kill him directly and regard it as silencing Li Heng. Since they are not one of their own, they will not break up with each other.

"Xue Bai has hundreds of horses stationed on the other side of the Wei River in Zhouyuan." Chen Xuanli called Zhang Xiaojing to the map, pointed at it, and said, "I want you to lead a group of people to evade their sentry horses and lie down nearby. If If you encounter Xue Bai, rescue your majesty!"

"General, the terrain of Zhouyuan is high and across the Wei River. Xue Ni's subordinates all have telescopes. How can a villain avoid..."

"Military orders are like mountains." Chen Xuanli shouted: "Can it be done?!"

"Here!"

Zhang Xiaojing took the talisman with both hands, made a fist, and hurried away.

Li Wan finally managed to win over a useful talent, but ended up running away to die like this. He couldn't help but ask: "General Chen, is this... possible?"

Chen Xuanli had no confidence in his method at all and shook his head.

"Take a dead horse as a living horse doctor."

"But he is a witness."

"If we can't find the saint, who can we prove it to?"

~~
Two soldiers picked up a bucket of ice water and poured it on the naked Zhang Xiaojing from head to toe.

"hiss."

Zhang Xiaojing shivered, wiped the blood on his body, put on a clean military robe, and put on a suit of armor belonging to the Longwu Army Lieutenant General.

This was his first time as a general. He touched the breastplate on his chest with some novelty and muttered: "It's really different."

The iron plates under my armpits were a bit stiff, so I had to raise my arms slightly and open them up a bit, which made my momentum a little higher when I walked.

He chose the most handsome war horse. When he walked to the side of the horse, the horse didn't want to be ridden by a stranger. It originally wanted to raise its hooves, but when it saw that he was wearing armor and majestic, it honestly lowered its neck.

"Hey, this beast also knows how to watch people's food."

Zhang Xiaojing chuckled lightly, kicked his horse and headed towards the baggage camp. Before anyone arrived, he shouted from a distance to the cooks who were burying grain for cooking: "Mao Shiliu, steam me a hundred catties of cakes, and you also want meat." !”

"Ah, I thought it was the god of plague, but it was you. What happened? Picked up the general's armor? Be careful of being punished by military law."

"come over."

Zhang Xiaojing didn't wait for the horse to stop, but he had already dismounted gently and deftly. He stepped forward and put his arm around Mao Shiliu's shoulders, saying: "I have traced the saint's traces and am going to do a great work. This is a job that will lead to a near-death life. I am not a hero." I don’t want it. After a while, everyone will come to your place to fill their bellies. I’ll pick a hundred people and don’t let any idiot come in.”

"Eating dog intestines is a way of gaining wealth and wealth in danger. What do you think of me?"

"go away."

Mao Shiliu was curious, touched Zhang Xiaojing's armor, and asked: "Which nobleman do you think highly of? The current situation..."

"It's not your business. Go get a plate of meat to entertain me."

Zhang Xiaojing didn't look like a general, so he just sat down and chewed it.

When it was difficult for Chen Xuanli to control nearly 10,000 forbidden troops, it seemed easy for him to summon a hundred people. Now that King Zhong called for the imperial army, it was all based on military spirit rather than military discipline, but no one came to stop him.

When the sky was dim, a whistle blew, and a hundred cavalry left the camp and headed straight for the Weishui River. ~~
The rising sun reflects on the water of the Weishui River, sparkling.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Xiaojing suddenly reined in the horse, circling in circles, thinking.

"what happened?"

“There are too many people taking credit!”

Zhang Xiaojing pointed to the horse hoof prints and horse droppings in front of him and judged that Li Heng must have sent many troops to besiege Zhou Yuan.

He had paid special attention in the camp just now. He didn't see King Guangping's flag. King Guangping should have brought someone here.

He thought again, if he were Xue Bai, if he was lucky enough to escape the mountain fire with the saint, and saw so many soldiers and horses surrounding his subordinates, he would not go to the north bank of the Weishui River. Of course, he would go east along the Qinling Mountains.

But even he could think of it, and Li Heng must have thought that troops and horses had been sent to block the east side. Then Xue Bai would definitely not leave like this.

"Dismissal?"

Zhang Xiaojing thought of the scene of Guo Qianli and Xue Bai walking together on the night of the pursuit of Yang Guozhong, and asked the soldiers: "Who knows who is in the hands of Sanguan now?"

"General Guo is still guarding it. The fire was too strong in the past two days and we couldn't get through."

"Let's go! Go and relax!"

Zhang Xiaojing immediately decided not to listen to Chen Xuanli, turned his horse around and headed straight for Sanguan.

However, before the fire was extinguished, the official road in Qinling was covered with ashes and smoke was still rising from it. The wind blew gently, and you could still see the red glow of the charcoal fire under the ashes.

"Hey."

The war horse refused to step into it, and the soldiers kicked the horse's belly and whipped it to no avail.

"Dismount and go over!"

Zhang Xiaojing dismounted first, picked up two discarded pieces of leather on the ground and tied them to the soles of his shoes. He also picked up a branch as a crutch and walked into the ashes.

The scene left by the wildfire is extremely terrifying. The sky and the earth are covered in darkness, filled with floating ash. There is a choking smell everywhere, making it difficult to breathe.

Fortunately among the misfortunes, the Qinling Mountains are so high that there are many huge rocks standing like walls, which blocked the fire and prevented it from spreading further. A few touches of green can still be seen on the mountain peaks.

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhang Xiaojing's eyes hurt from the smoke, he covered his mouth, lowered his head to look at the footprints in the embers, and said, "Has anyone been here?"

He stretched out his hand and pressed it on the footprints, and could still feel the heat underneath.

"The fire has only been extinguished not long ago. People can just leave, but they won't go too far."

"I don't think we can leave yet... Zhang Xiaojing, you didn't mean to say that the saint just passed by, right?"

"Chase!"

Once everyone started running, more ashes were immediately thrown up, making it impossible to see anything in front of them.

Someone bumped into the burnt tree trunk and was burned by the charcoal fire inside, causing the sound of "sizzling" barbecue.

The movement alerted the person walking in front, who shouted and began to quicken his pace.

"Saint?!" Zhang Xiaojing asked loudly.

"saint?!"

"Save me, save me..."

Everyone's morale was greatly boosted, and they chased after each other. As a result, there was a sudden movement, and soon, more soldiers were chasing behind them.

Zhang Xiaojing knew that it was Li Heng who realized that Xue Bai would come to Sanguan, so he sent someone to do it.

He no longer trusted these princes very much. He just wanted to meet the saint and ask him if he still knew how to end the chaos.

Gradually, he could finally see the figures of several people in front of him, including slow-moving old people, tall young people, and graceful women...

"Xue Bai! Let go of the saint!"

Xue Bai didn't answer, but ran faster.

Zhang Xiaojing chased after him hard, and suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind him.

"Avoid."

After a while, the sound of horse hooves behind him became more and more rapid. Zhang Xiaojing quickly asked his soldiers to avoid it. He saw Guangping King Li Chu leading the cavalry. They actually wrapped the eyes of the horses with cloth and drove them into the burning area. A place of ashes.

"Xue Bai, let go of Your Majesty!"

Li Chu shouted loudly, holding a bow and arrow, but did not dare to open it.

At this time, Xue Bai had arrived more than a hundred steps before leaving the pass. The soldiers on the pass were also looking this way. The guard above shouted: "Xue Bai, let go of your majesty!"

It was not Guo Qianli. Li Heng had taken control of Sanguan at some point.

At this point, Xue Bai was finally surrounded by officers and soldiers. He stopped and looked around. He realized that he was at the end of his rope and coughed heavily.

"Cough cough cough."

The sky was filled with ash and smoke, and everyone was so smoked that they couldn't open their eyes. They could only squint and look at the dark and gray faces of the people around them.

"Save me, grandson...ahem, save me."

"Xue Bai!" Li Chu slowly drove his horse forward and urged, "Let His Majesty go, and I will protect your life."

"it is good!"

Xue Bai didn't say anything and helped the saint push forward.

Everyone wanted to step forward and take the first step to rescue the driver.

however.

"puff."

In his gray eyes, he saw Xue Bai pull out a knife and stabbed the saint in the back of the heart.

Zhang Xiaojing was stunned and stared at this scene. His eyes were sore and painful from the smoke, and he did not dare to close them, as if he wanted to imprint those two figures in his mind.

"puff."

Xue Bai stabbed him again and knocked the saint to the ground.

"No!" Li Chu roared.

"His Majesty!"

The generals at the head of Sanguan City also exclaimed.

Xue Bai became more and more arrogant, swinging his knife and slashing, trying to chop off Li Longji's head. He slashed his face three times with one knife after another.

"stop!"

"Shoot this traitor!"

"Fire arrows!"

Li Chu finally ordered the arrows to be released, and the arrows shot out with a "whoosh", and Xue Bai's men fell to the ground one after another.

However, Xue Bai still held Yang Yuhuan's hand and wanted to escape. However, after escaping for a few steps, Yang Yuhuan fell to the ground. Xue Bai let go of her and escaped into the burned forest surrounded by his men.

"Chase!" Li Chu ordered.

So some of the soldiers rushed forward to take back the saint's body, while others chased Xue Bai.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Xiaojing looked deeply at Li Chu, turned around and ran towards the east.

At the moment, Li Heng wants to silence him, Li Wan wants to use him as a witness, Chen Xuanli's mission to him has failed, and he has become a pawn on the chessboard to be discarded. It is better to hide away for the time being and find an opportunity to attack him again. Seeking justice for the dead comrades.

~~
"what?!"

Chen Xuanli and Wei Jiansu were both shocked when they suddenly heard the news.

Li Heng's eyes were red, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he burst into tears and said: "Xue Bai...regicide...his majesty has passed away!"

"no no."

Chen Xuanli shook his head, still in disbelief.

But in fact, after the previous mountain fire, he didn't have much hope in the saint's survival. Now, in front of everyone, Xue Bai killed the saint, forcing him to face the facts.

Throughout his life, he was loyal to the saint, and the battle for the throne was in full swing. He never thought about who he would serve after the saint a hundred years later.

But now it's time to make a decision.

"Loyal King."

It was Wei Jiansu who spoke first, with a helpless but sober tone.

"Xue Bai committed regicide, and Prince Qing cannot escape suspicion. Chang'an will not be defended today. Please ask His Highness Prince Zhong to take charge of the country..."

"Your Majesty!" Li Heng cried loudly, shaking his head.

"Prince Zhong, please express your condolences, put the overall situation first, and assemble the army and set off as soon as possible."

Seeing this, Li Wan tried to speak several times, but in the end she had nothing to say. She could only shed tears and mourn for her dead father.

At this point in the situation, although Li Heng did not have the title of prince, he could justifiably take the courtiers to Heshuo to reorganize the situation.

No one dared to mention those rumors that were like the ashes after a fire.

After all, Xue Bai's regicide was witnessed by everyone.

~~
Zhang Xiaojing headed east, climbing with difficulty on the rugged mountain road. The higher he went, the lighter the traces of the fire were.

Sometimes he looked back towards the mountain road, and he could still see soldiers of the Forbidden Army searching in the mountains. He didn't know whether they were searching for Xue Bai or him.

Because there were three peaks standing on the east side and there were green trees on the peaks, he walked in the direction where they were.

This section of the road is from the place where he chased Yang Guozhong to Jifeng Mountain. It is the best road nearby.

In the evening, when we reached the peak, there was no road ahead. Zhang Xiaojing planned to rest under the rock wall all night, but he always heard the whining sound of the wind passing through the small cracks. He searched around the rock wall and finally found a gap.

After climbing up the steep mountain road with the help of iron rope, the front gradually became brighter and a small pond appeared.

Zhang Xiaojing was overjoyed and was about to rush to the edge of the pool to drink water when he suddenly stopped because he heard a slight sound.

"Gulu gulu."

That was the sound made when the water bladder was used to draw water.

He rubbed his eyes and took a look. Sure enough, there was someone squatting by the pool in the night.

"I don't mean any harm." Zhang Xiaojing raised his hand and said, "I was passing by and wanted to drink some water."

He said, slowly walking forward, and the other party also stood up.

It was nearly Yuan Ye, and the bright moonlight shone on this man's face. The heroic look in his brows made Zhang Xiaojing stunned.

"Xue Bai?!"

Zhang Xiaojing was startled, took a step back, reached out and pulled out the knife, saying: "Regicide and rebellion..."

"Don't move, I'll shoot you." Someone said from his side.

Zhang Xiaojing just knew that he was ambushed and lowered his knife hand.

"Regicide?" Xue Bai asked back, with a faint sneer on his face.

Zhang Xiaojing felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy. He was surprised that Xue Bai had obviously fled to the west, but how could he show up here first and said, "You..."

"Do you want to meet the saint?" Xue Bai asked.

(End of this chapter)