Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 478 A vague strategic idea

Taiyuan, Bingzhou Dudufu.

Hedong Jiedushi Wang Chengye was leaning in front of the case and writing a reply. Suddenly he heard the report and said: "Jiedu Commander, Yan Jiming is here again."

"No." Wang Chengye said without raising his head.

At the same time, he had finished writing the last word, held up the letter paper, blew it, made final thoughts, then summoned his confidants, handed the letter over, and ordered: "Send the fastest stagecoach to Lingwu. Presented to His Majesty."

"Here."

The messenger received the letter and hurried out. After leaving the door, I passed by Yan Jiming, who was still noisy.

"I came here under the order of the imperial court to convey the decree. Why don't we see Wang Jieshuai so often?"

"Let me in!"

Yan Jiming was still shouting when he suddenly felt someone patting him behind him. He turned around and saw a middle-aged official.

The more Yan Jiming looked at Cui Zhong's self-righteous expression, the angrier he became. If Cui Zhong knew that Chang'an was still holding on and deliberately spread rumors, it would be a vicious heart; if Cui Zhong did not know the truth and was deceived, this kind of stupidity would be even more annoying.

"Servant Shi Cui Zhong." The other party introduced himself and said: "I was ordered by the late emperor to patrol Hedong. Unexpectedly, Chang'an fell and I could not recover, so I stayed in Taiyuan."

Yan Jiming then turned to them and said, "Don't you recognize me? I also recruited troops in Hedong. Before Deputy Commander Li came out of the well, we..."

After a while, Cui Zhong had an idea. He turned back to the veranda and pushed the door open.

Cui Zhongcai heard this and started waving his hands again.

"How can I take on this responsibility?"

~~
A map was spread out, and Yan Jiming finally had a chance to persuade Wang Chengye after ten days in Taiyuan.

"This is the Governor's Mansion, please don't make any noise."

The officials around him all looked over, pointed, and whispered.

Although he was excited, he was not stupid. He had begun to suspect that these officials wanted to frame him for colluding with Shi Siming, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.

In fact, the mission of sending Fan Yang as envoy was probably going to fall on him. He and Wang Chengye had the same stance in some respects, but after all, he was a capital official who visited Hedong, not Wang Chengye's confidant. Even if he wanted to evade, he couldn't let the confidants of Wang Chengye's faction go, so he had to blame the matter on Yan Jiming.

Yan Jiming was still thinking about asking for reinforcements to save Chang'an, so he shook his head when he heard this.

"Shuzi, if I hadn't protected you, you would have been killed long ago."

"what?"

After finally hearing the word "counterinsurgency", Yan Jiming calmed down and said: "I also ask Cui Yushi to help me persuade Wang Jieshuai to send troops to Chang'an immediately..."

Yan Jiming didn't notice that Wang Chengye and Cui Zhong had some disdain in their eyes.

Cui Zhong was also very unhappy. As soon as he slapped the case, he walked out directly. Yan Jiming was left to dry in the veranda, while he paced back and forth, thinking in the courtyard, muttering curses to himself.

Yan Jiming quickly took out a map from his sleeve and said, "Listen to me, I have a way to put down the rebellion as soon as possible."

Yan Jiming was stunned. He had no idea what these officials were thinking. They didn't care about the country's danger, but they made loud noises. He was in a daze, not knowing whether there was something wrong with his mind or the world.

Cui Zhong said: "You can't trust me. Wait, I will make arrangements."

"What conclusive news? I came from Chang'an. Do you know better than me?"

"Am I hysterical?"

Cui Zhong seemed to have heard the joke. He smiled faintly and was too lazy to answer his question. He said, "It's a done deal. I won't argue with you. I have something important to tell you. Please go ahead."

"The country is in danger!" Yan Jiming shouted angrily: "The sea is rushing and the consequences of the Yongjia Rebellion are right in front of us. You tell me not to get excited? I have been in Taiyuan for ten days. In the past ten days, I have only seen people making tea on the Fenhe River. Prostitution, how can you solve this problem?”

"Yan Langjun, don't get excited." Cui Zhong smiled bitterly and said in a coaxing tone: "You can't solve the problem by acting on your emotions."

"Why can't you make sense?"

"Yan Langjun is hysterical? As I said just now, Chang'an has been lost, how can we save it?"

Cui Zhong shook his head and said: "The conclusive news has already come. The late emperor passed away and Chang'an was lost. No one knows about it, and no one knows about it."

"I'm not doing meritorious service." Yan Jiming was shaking his head after hearing the first half of the sentence, but immediately became wary after hearing the second half.

"Don't be nervous." Cui Zhong said: "That's it. We have captured Shi Siming's daughter before, and we want you and her to persuade Shi Siming to surrender to the court."

"Listen to me first. I have an opportunity for you to make great achievements." Cui Zhong said: "I heard that you and Shi Siming's daughter are old acquaintances?"

Yan Jiming was silent for a while and said: "I don't understand. It is clear that as long as troops are sent to rescue Chang'an, the rebels can be suppressed. Why should we sacrifice the near and seek the far away? He said that for the sake of meritorious service, it is easy to save the enemy. Now is not a good opportunity to persuade Shi Siming to surrender? "

"Chang'an has not been lost yet." Yan Jiming looked Cui Zhong up and down and said: "You don't know the situation in Chang'an, yet you dare to spread rumors, and you still speak so plausibly. Aren't you afraid of being punished for shaking the morale of the army?!"

"Okay, I'll convince Wang Jieshuai to send troops to Chang'an, you go and persuade Shi Siming to surrender, and you and I will work together to put down the rebellion!"

Yan Jiming nodded and said: "I agree with this strategy. I was in Chang'an and listened to His Highness's discussions with the princes. I also made the same judgment. However, things have priorities. Of course, we must protect the emperor and the capital first!"

Cui Zhong clapped his knees and said slowly: "The rebels' home base is in Fan Yang, and the kidnapped gold and silver children are also in Fan Yang. If Fan Yang is not taken first, even if Chang'an and Luoyang are recovered, the rebels will start rebellion again next year. On the contrary, if we first seize its nest and cut off its roots, the more than 100,000 thieves will become rootless ducks and collapse without a fight."

Cui Zhong smiled and said: "As far as I know, when you and your father were officials in Hebei, you had quite a lot of contacts with the historians. Haha, I also heard that Yan Langjun, you are a jade tree in the wind, and you have won the heart of the historian, so I want to Please take Shi’s envoy to Fan Yang.”

"Don't look at the fact that tens of thousands of traitors have surrounded the city of Chang'an, but the emperor personally guards the capital and the army and the people are united. The city cannot be easily captured by traitors..."

"Come, let's talk inside." Cui Zhong hurriedly pulled him and took him into a veranda. He ordered the officials to bring tea and soup, and said: "Don't worry, I'm looking for you to discuss how to quell the rebellion. "

Yan Jiming said: "I want to see Wang Jieshuai."

"I asked you where did you hear the false news that Chang'an was lost? Today, I have to tell the truth. Do you dare to bet with me with your life? If Chang'an is not lost, I will give you this good man's head!"

"Commander Jie, please see, if the armies of Anxi, Hexi, Shuofang, Longyou, and Jiannan are diligent, the rebels will divide their forces to resist. And the armies of Nanyang and Henan will break through the Pass and attack Huayin."

"Take Tongguan so that the rebels can't see each other?" Wang Chengye said casually as he cleaned a little bit of dirt between his fingers.

"Yes, but it's more than that." Yan Jiming pointed his finger on the map and said, "Commander Commander, look here."

"Jie County."

Yan Jiming said in a sonorous tone: "Yuanjie, the magistrate of Jie County, has built a large number of ships on the banks of the Yellow River. Commander Jieh has given an order to reach the Yellow River within seven days, attack Shaanxi County, and cut off the rebels' communication with Luoyang. By then, , The rebels are like turtles in an urn, and they will surely surrender. Now that everything is ready, the commander-in-chief can save the world in one battle, and achieve the greatest success in quelling the rebellion and rebuilding the Tang Dynasty!"

Wang Chengye smiled, clucked his head, and said: "Okay, okay, then as you say, I will prepare to send troops."

Yan Jiming didn't expect him to agree so simply, but instead felt a little unreal.

"Okay, the rebellion should be put down." Cui Zhong stroked his beard and said, "But we must also prevent An Qingxu from escaping back to Fanyang and making a comeback. In my opinion, when the Commander-in-Chief sends troops to Shaanxi County, he should also send troops to Shangdang , Changshan, intercept An Qingxu."

"I'm afraid we don't have enough troops."

Cui Zhong then pondered and said slowly: "From this point of view, it is urgent to persuade Shi Siming to surrender. Commander-in-chief, Yan Yushi is a very suitable candidate."

Cui Zhong had already discussed this matter with Wang Chengye, and Wang Chengye nodded and said, "Let's do it this way."

Yan Jiming also wanted to discuss the tactical details with him and inquire about Li Guangbi's current whereabouts. However, after Wang Chengye finished speaking, he waved his hand and asked someone to take him out.

"Jie Shuai..."

Cui Zhong said: "You don't have to worry about military and state affairs. Let's go and take you to see Mr. Shi."

Yan Jiming was still looking back, but he was already being pushed out of the Governor's Mansion.

They walked along the Fen River for a while and entered a heavily guarded courtyard. When they arrived at a small pavilion, Cui Zhong smiled and said, "Madam of the Shi family, have you thought about it?"

"Don't bother me, dog-skinned face!"

"Ms. Shi, please see who I have brought."

Cui Zhong then ordered the guards to open the door and invite Yan Jiming in.

Yan Jiming crossed the threshold and entered the house. Before he saw Shi Chaoying through the screen, he smelled the aroma of vegetables first. He turned his head and saw a table in front of the small window, with two lunch boxes on it, fruits, vegetables and meat. The food was all ready, and she must have not finished the two meals delivered to Shi Chaoying today.

Looking at the golden chicken legs, he couldn't help but think of the city of Chang'an.

"Isn't she a prisoner?" Although he was an old friend, Yan Jiming turned around and asked, surprised by the treatment Shi Chaoying received.

"After all, she is Shi Siming's daughter, the key figure in regaining Fan Yang." Cui Zhong whispered.

Inside the screen, Shi Chaoying heard Yan Jiming's voice and ran out quickly. She was very happy when she saw him.

"Yan Lang? Are you here to save me?"

When Cui Zhong saw this situation, he knew that most of his plan was completed and said: "Ms. Shi, Yu Shi Yan wants to persuade your Majesty to submit to the imperial court."

Yan Jiming nodded and said: "Yes, your grandfather and I were both officials in Hebei Province and were deeply favored by the emperor. I remember that your grandfather's Chinese name was given by the saint himself. You must not let the country's grace be in vain."

But Shi Chaoying stepped forward, took his arm, and asked, "Then I'm being bullied, will you stand up for me?"

Yan Jiming originally wanted to get rid of her, but for the sake of the overall situation, he had to endure it.

"Ah."

"Xue Bai was frivolous towards me, and I was caught by him. What should you do?"

"Then I... beat him up."

"Really? If you are willing to marry me, I will go with you to persuade my grandfather to surrender."

Yan Jiming couldn't help but frowned. Before An Lushan rebelled, Shi Chaoying had not been so domineering.

He didn't understand why now, a captured traitor's daughter was even more arrogant than before.

~~
Cui Zhong returned to the Governor's Mansion, his steps brisk.

Wang Chengye was writing a letter again. As for the map that Yan Jiming gave him, he had crumpled it into a ball and threw it on the ground.

"how?"

"Come back to Commander-in-Chief, Shi has agreed. In this way, Yan Jiming will be more sure to go as an envoy."

Wang Chengye disagreed with this and said calmly: "The important thing is not this, but your Majesty's promise to Shi Siming."

"Yes Yes."

Cui Zhong nodded repeatedly, admiring the methods of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty who had just ascended the throne in Lingwu, and said: "King Guiyi, Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi, with such conditions, it is difficult for Shi Siming not to be tempted."

"Why don't you go then?!" Wang Chengye suddenly cursed in frustration, and said regretfully, "Knowing that persuading Shi Siming to surrender is a great achievement, I deliberately left the credit to you, but you have wasted my efforts."

"Xiaoguan just thinks that Yan Jiming is more capable of accomplishing things." Cui Zhong quickly replied: "Because of this, Xiaguan can't even think about his personal future for a moment, and he has let down the commander-in-chief."

Then, there were words of gratitude and loyalty.

In fact, he scolded Wang Chengye to death in his heart. He secretly thought that Fan Yang was like a den of tigers and wolves. If he got there and died, what's the use of taking credit?

What's more, he has no lack of merit at all. When the new emperor ascends the throne, the southern officials have no time to express their loyalty. He is the first batch of loyal officials. With such support and the leading role in countering the rebellion, he is already a high-ranking official with a generous salary and a worry-free future. . One of them was kind and the other was grateful. After encouraging each other for a while, they continued to talk about business.

"Let Yan Jiming leave early. Li Guangbi will be back in two days."

"Yes."

Cui Zhong felt that Yan Jiming was also young and easy to deceive. He had already given Shi Chaoying the promise made by the new emperor to Shi Siming. When Shi Siming became King of Guiyi, he would definitely keep Yan Jiming in the north of the Great Wall.

If you go here, you will never come back.

~~
The next day, the envoy's team left the city from the north gate of Taiyuan.

Yan Jiming couldn't help but look back. The morning sun shone on his silhouette, still as when he was a boy.

Shi Chaoying looked at this scene, feeling secretly happy and scared at the same time.

She was really scared when she was captured by Xue Bai, including when she was later handed over to Li E, the governor of Qinghe County. Li E regarded her as a criminal and put a knife to her neck at every turn to threaten Shi Siming.

At that time, Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, and many generals of the Tang Dynasty also chased her grandfather and beat her severely, beating Shi Siming until he was defeated and fled in a miserable state.

Just when Shi Chaoying thought she was doomed, Li Longji rescued her. The Tang army was defeated in Tongguan, and the emperor fled. The Hebei Tang army approaching Fan Yang quickly withdrew. Shi Siming, whose life was hanging by a thread, got a chance to breathe, and Shi Chaoying was also taken into custody. Return to Changshan.

Later, Wang Chengye sent someone to take her to Taiyuan, and she found out that Li Heng was the one who treated her better. In order to win over Shi Siming, he promised generous rewards.

But from this, Shi Chaoying also saw through the weakness of the Tang royal family. In the past, they, the border bastards, had nothing to gain by groveling. Instead, they became more rebellious and domineering, and the more rewards they received from the court.

She carries the promise of the new king of the Tang Dynasty in her arms, and is sure to persuade her grandfather to agree.

As for Yan Jiming, it was the reward she was asking for, and he was her prisoner. Who would have thought that while she was still a prisoner, Tang Ting sold him to her.

"What are you laughing at?"

After walking for a long time, Yan Jiming finally couldn't help but ask.

"Guess." Shi Chaoying was still laughing, "I won't tell you."

When she was feeling proud, suddenly, there was the sound of rapid horse hooves behind her, and a knight shouted from a distance: "Is this Mr. Yan Ji Mingyan in front of you?"

"Exactly."

Yan Jiming quickly reined in the reins, rushed towards the other party, and exchanged a few words in a low voice.

Not long after, he came to Shi Chaoying's side again and said, "We have to go back to Taiyuan."

"why?"

Shi Chaoying immediately realized something was wrong and said, "I'm not going back! It's my grandpa who needs to be persuaded. Listen to me."

At this time, more knights had arrived and quickly went around to the back of the envoy team to surround them.

"Let's go." Yan Jiming said, "Listen to me."

When we returned to Taiyuan City, we could already see a continuous stream of soldiers coming from the east and setting up camp outside Taiyuan City.

Looking up, the swaggering flag belonged to the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu, Li Guangbi.

A knight led Yan Jiming to Li Guangbi's tent.

A middle-aged man was pacing in front of the tent. When he saw Yan Jiming approaching, he immediately turned his head, with a look of thoughtfulness in his eyes.

"Dugu Gong." Yan Jiming recognized the other party. It was Dugu Wensu who was instigated by Xue Bai to rebel.

Dugu Wensu raised his hand and said without greeting Yan Jiming, "I know all about your experience in Taiyuan City. Wang Chengye has surrendered to Li Heng and will not send troops."

"What? But he promised me..."

"He lied to you." Dugu Wensu said: "This matter is complicated. I will explain it to you later. The most urgent matter is that the troops from Hedong did not dispatch on time."

Yan Jiming was so disappointed. He didn't expect that he thought it would be hard to convince Wang Chengye, but in the end he achieved nothing.

He pouted, his mouth dry due to nervousness and anxiety, and asked: "What about Li Jieshuai?"

"We have been trying to persuade Li Jieshuai, but he needs to know what happened in Chang'an. You can go in and tell him the truth later."

"The truth?"

Yan Jiming still had many questions to ask, but Li Guangbi's soldiers had already come out and led him into the tent.

There were many generals in the tent, standing in front of a large sand table and pointing something.

"Jie Shuai, Yushi Yan is here."

"You all go down." Li Guangbi waved away the others and said, "You are from Chang'an. Let me ask you, are the saints in Chang'an City real?"

Yan Jiming originally had a lot of strategies to say, but he didn't expect that Li Guangbi asked this question first.

"It's true."

"How to prove it?"

"It's true. Li Jieshuai will know when he arrives in Chang'an." Yan Jiming stopped talking about the matter and stepped forward to repeat the strategic concept he had discussed with Wang Chengye before.

Unexpectedly, Li Guangbi actually waved his hand and said: "No need to say it, I know all this."

"Is Li Jieshuai also perfunctory with me? Don't you want to make the greatest contribution to rebuilding the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Guangbi said: "I participated in the formulation of these strategies you mentioned. I really know."

Yan Jiming was a little surprised and asked: "So, why hasn't Li Jieshuai sent troops yet?"

Li Guangbi did not answer and remained silent.

Gradually, this silent atmosphere finally became unbearable for Yan Jiming.

"I really don't understand. It's obviously very easy to save Chang'an, why don't you do it? It's been so long since Shengjia returned to Chang'an, what are you waiting for? That's all Wang Chengye, why are you Li Jieshuai doing the same?!"

Li Guangbi glanced at the excited Yan Jiming calmly and said, "Because the saint is fake."

"How could Commander-in-Chief listen to rumors..."

"Since the saint has run away, he will never return to Chang'an in times of crisis. If Xue Bai forces him, the first thing the saint will do when he returns to Chang'an will be to kill Xue Bai, and there is no chance that Xue Bai will survive."

Li Guangbi spoke slowly, not loudly, but very firmly.

"The saint ascended the throne at the age of twenty-seven and reigned for more than forty years. He created a prosperous age with his own hands. Will he be easily hijacked by Xue Bai and become a puppet? Impossible. A saint who will voluntarily give up his power must be a fake. All Everyone knows that it is false, but in their hearts they prefer to believe that the saint is still guarding Chang'an."

Yan Jiming swallowed, and finally did not dare to speak louder. He lowered his voice and said, "It's true. No matter what, let's defend Chang'an first."

"Can it be defended? King Zhong has ascended the throne. Without the support of the northwest frontier army, Xue Bai's plan would not be possible. With that little force, against 70,000 Fan Yang Xiaoqi, don't you think it's ridiculous? According to common sense, Chang'an shouldn't be able to defend it for so long."

"But we held on." Yan Jiming said: "Don't you think it's ridiculous that you let the country go without saving it? Why on earth?"

"Okay, let me tell you why Wang Chengye did this." Li Guangbi said: "King Zhong... should be called a saint. As soon as he ascended the throne, he has awarded rewards to generals from all over the world. Not only Wang Chengye and I, but also Guo Ziyi, Saint He was ordered to come to Lingwu for an audience."

"Have you forgotten Chang'an, which is so close at hand? Are you not afraid that the real saint is in Chang'an?"

"Of course I am afraid. Therefore, I have discussed with Guo Ziyi that we will not participate in this matter and capture Fan Yang first. But do you know what the consequences have been for generals who have supported their troops and respected themselves in recent years? Look at Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming, and Wang Zhongsi , Gao Xianzhi, Ge Shuhan... Now, it is inevitable to recruit Shi Siming. If you deduce it, what will happen next? "

Yan Jiming closed his eyes and could imagine that once Shi Siming surrendered to Li Heng, and with the strength of Anxi and Shuofang, Li Heng would quickly have a large army; Chang'an would be defeated if it could not wait for reinforcements; An Qingxu would lose Fan Yang, even if Even if Chang'an is captured, it will not last long. In this way, Li Heng is the legitimate new emperor.

"But if the rebels capture Chang'an, Shi Siming may not surrender. They..."

"What An Qingxu can give to Shi Siming, why can't Prince Zhong promise it?"

"This is raising a tiger to cause trouble!"

"You and I are worried about the dangers of raising tigers, but Wang Chengye is not worried." Li Guangbi looked helpless and said: "The situation is like this. Support the loyal king and you can get high office and good salary without having to fight with the rebels. So more and more people are popular Xiang Lingwu, I just want to save Chang'an, can I convince the soldiers? "

Yan Jiming thought it was too ridiculous.

From the beginning of the rebellion to the present, there were too many things that he couldn't understand. Obviously it can be very simple to save the people from war disasters, but how can those in power consider so many and complicated things?

"Hehe, hehe."

He sneered, as if there was something wrong with his brain and he was hysterical.

"I understand why the imperial court turned a blind eye despite knowing that An Lushan was going to rebel; why Luoyang, the eastern capital, fell within a month of the rebellion; why the solid Tongguan garrisoned by 200,000 troops was defeated by the rebels with a small number; why The emperor of the Tang Dynasty has not seen a single soldier of the rebels, and has fled; because you, those of you who hold great power, those hairy clans, all only care about your own selfish interests! You are all going crazy! You deserve it! They were beaten to pieces by the rebels... But what did the people do wrong? What will happen to the billions of people who have been displaced since the war? Li Jieshuai, have you seen the victims who have been displaced since the war? Isn’t there a gray-haired grandma and a grandchild waiting to be fed?”

Li Guangbi raised his hand and slapped Yan Jiming on the face.

"That's enough! Don't cry in front of me!"

With a loud "pop", Yan Jiming fell to the ground and sneered to himself.

Li Guangbi looked solemn and scolded: "I told you, I was also involved in formulating Xue Bai's strategy. As long as there is a trace of feasibility, I will not hesitate to save Guanzhong. But you think about the premise of this strategy. ? To avoid a decisive battle with the main force of the rebels, do you want my soldiers to die?"

In the past, he didn't think highly of Guo Ziyi because he felt that Guo Ziyi was too good at protecting herself. At this point, he asks himself whether he is a person who is willing to disregard himself for the sake of "righteousness".

But what is the situation in Chang'an City now? There was nothing but a saint who was most likely a fake, and there were no reinforcements at all.

The tent was quiet for a long time, but Li Guangbi helped Yan Jiming up with his own hands and patted the dust on his body.

"I have been sending sentries to Guanzhong to investigate. If there is a suitable fighter plane, I will fight."

"What is a suitable fighter plane?"

"I think it's appropriate if it's appropriate." Li Guangbi said.

Yan Jiming asked: "But what if there isn't?"

Li Guangbi paused and said, "Then, I will still put down the rebellion and revive the Tang Dynasty."

~~
Just two days after this meeting, a sentry horse hurried back and reported a piece of news to Li Guangbi that surprised him.

"Commander, the rebels have begun to mobilize in large numbers. It seems that large amounts of reinforcements will enter Guanzhong."

"Explore again."

Another day later, Li Guangbi learned a piece of news that surprised him.

"Master Wang seems to have captured Huayin and is approaching Tongguan."

"How could it be? How many soldiers and horses are there?"

"It has not been detected yet."

"Which famous general is he? He is so capable."

Li Guangbi murmured to himself, looking at the map, and found that the strategy that he thought was impossible seemed to be a little more feasible...

(End of this chapter)