Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 486 Lucky Shu
Chang'an, the imperial city.

Since Li Cong temporarily appointed Yan Zhenqing as prime minister, if Yan Zhenqing was not guarding the city, he would always be handling state affairs in Shangshu Province. It reversed the trend of private residence and public affairs that had formed since Li Linfu became prime minister.

The courtyard in the southwest of Shangshu Province belongs to the Ministry of War. Li Guangbi came here often in the past two days to ask for military rations from Yan Zhenqing. Sometimes I also discuss the latest strategic changes with Xue Bai.

"Now Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi have joined forces west of Chang'an. The purpose must be to break out of the encirclement and join An Qingxu to return to Fanyang." Li Guangbi drew two lines on the map and said: "They have two ways. One is to capture Tongguan. , the second is to cross the Yellow River and go east of the river."

"Are you sure they have given up attacking Chang'an?" Xue Bai asked.

"If Cui Qianyou has the confidence to capture Chang'an from me, he will come." Li Guangbi responded casually, inadvertently showing a look of disdain, and continued: "My idea is to surround this rebel army and wait until they run out of food and grass. If they are exhausted and their morale is weak, we must not rush into a confrontation with them and go out to fight in the wild, as our side may not win."

Xue Bai agreed very much with this.

Countering the rebellion is not enough to defend Chang'an. If you can capture these 70,000 Fan Yang elites, you will be able to preserve the military strength of the Tang Dynasty. At worst, too many troops cannot be lost in order to suppress the rebellion.

But it is very difficult to besiege the rebels without fighting them decisively in a short period of time. Firstly, the prefectures and counties in Guanzhong need to fortify their walls and clear the fields to prevent the rebels from looting food and grass. Secondly, the officers and soldiers must ensure that there is sufficient supply of military food. Before the rebels could become hungry and weak, they were starved to death first.

Li Guangbi was here to put pressure on them today. He had a good idea of ​​how the officers and soldiers would deploy defenses, but the coordination of various prefectures and counties in Guanzhong and the transportation of grain and grass needed to be solved by the Chang'an court.

"Don't worry, the first batch of military rations from Nanyang will definitely arrive before the provisions brought by Li Jieshuai are exhausted."

"If I break my promise, it doesn't matter if I'm hungry, but it's hard to suppress the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses who came to King Qin."

Regarding the matter of military rations, Li Guangbi had a tough attitude and felt uncomfortable with him.

After a few people talked, at the end, he was about to leave, but asked again: "By the way, how will the saint explain to the world the fact that the saint arrived in Shu County?"

Xue Bai said: "After the enemy army in Guanzhong is dealt with, we can welcome the return of the Holy Master."

"The court must give an explanation as soon as possible to avoid confusion among the world." Li Guangbi reminded.

This is no small matter. For Xue Bai to suddenly announce that the saint he brought back is a fake and that the real saint has arrived in Shu County will definitely cause an uproar in the world, but if it drags on, it will be even worse.

~~
Just after Li Guangbi left, a middle-aged official in a green robe walked into the Shangshu Province and saluted the guards guarding the door: "Huang Fu Ran, the Prime Minister of Military Weapons, has been summoned by the King of Peking to come to see him."

"please."

When Huangfu Ran entered the provincial stage, he saw busy scenes everywhere. The petty officials hurried past with files in their arms. Not to mention the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Household Affairs were also busy with a large number of promotions and awards.

In the official house, Xue Bai was standing in front of the window, thinking with his hands behind his hands. When he saw him coming, he smiled like a friend and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Brother Maozheng, guess what brings you here today?"

Huangfu Ran closed the door first, and then responded: "It won't be easy to find me."

Over the years, Huangfu Ran started his career as a county lieutenant in Yuxiang and moved all the way to the military supervisor. His rank was not slow but not outstanding. The important thing is that he is in charge of a real power job such as the weapons supervisor. When the war in Chang'an begins, he will be rewarded for his merits, and his future will be bright.

The two had known each other since they were young, and they were both the fifth son of Chunwei. But today, Xue Bai did not find Yuan Jie, Du Fu, or Du Wulang. Because Huangfu Ran was from the Huangfu Deyi clan and was involved in the case of three common people. Zhang Jiuling also protected him back then. of.

"The saint has arrived in Shu County." Xue Bai said straight to the point, "Do you think this matter can be simple?"

Huangfuran was stunned, pointed in the direction of the palace, and asked: "Who is in the palace?"

Xue Bai said: "It's fake, Yang Guozhong is pretending to be dead."

For a long time, Huangfuran didn't speak. During the Ye Wu Yi Xian case, they made a big fuss in Chang'an, which was considered a big disaster. However, they never thought that one day, Xue Bai would be able to commit such a big disaster.

"The saint has gone to Shu County. He has some misunderstandings about me and His Highness. He thinks that we want a coup. In fact, I just want to welcome him back to Chang'an..."

When Xue Bai talked about this matter with Huangfu Ran, he was much more honest than when he talked to Li Guangbi. After roughly explaining a few sentences, he expressed his thoughts and said, "I want Brother Maozheng to go to Shu County. Welcoming the saint may be a bit dangerous."

"You want me to negotiate with the saint?"

"Yes."

Huangfu Ran sighed: "In this case, we are really traitors."

Xue Bai said: "Look who you disobey. When a saint is contrary to the interests of the people of the world, if you don't disobey him, you are disobeying the people of the world, right?"

This statement is very bold.

If Huangfu Ran really agreed, he would be a traitor in the eyes of the saint. But he hesitated for a while, then nodded and said, "Okay, what do you want the saint to promise, and what can you promise the saint?"

"There are two things we must have, one is name, the other is food and grass..."

Xue Bai spoke for a long time, and Huangfu Ran listened carefully. He gradually felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and his face became serious.

Afterwards, Xue Bai took out a map, pointed out the terrain of Shu County and explained a few things.

"Don't worry, I took note of it."

After Huangfu Ran fully understood Xue Bai's intention, he stood up and suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, if the saint wants to send Gao Lishi, Yang Guifei and others there, can he agree to it?"

Xue Bai was stunned.

Regarding this small request, Huangfuran didn't think there was anything he couldn't agree to. He just thought of it and asked, and walked out quickly without waiting for Xue Bai's answer.

Xue Bai had arranged deputy envoys, guides, guards, and fast horses for him. He left Chang'an that day and went straight to Shu County.

~~
At that time, the north was raging with war, but Shu County was still the paradise of heaven.

Huangfu Ran worked non-stop all the way, and it still took ten days to reach Shu County. He didn't know how the war in Guanzhong had changed in these ten days. He was anxious, but he told himself that he must not be anxious when he saw the saint.

He first went to the city gate of Yizhou to find out where the emperor was stationed. Standing at the city gate and looking into the city, he unexpectedly found that the city of Yizhou was a prosperous scene. It can be seen that where the flames of war have not yet reached, people still have strong confidence in the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

"I am an envoy from Chang'an who came to welcome the Holy Emperor. May I ask where the Holy Spirit is?"

"The rebellion has been put down? I said it won't be long before the rebellion is put down." The soldier guarding the gate was an optimist and responded with a smile: "The Holy Master is at Tianhui Palace."

"how to go?"

"Tianhui Palace is outside the city. It's not difficult to find. Just follow the civilians who built the palace."

Huangfu Ran then turned his horse and headed southwest. Along the way, he could see officials organizing a large number of civilians carrying wood and stones in long queues. Thinking of the hardships of guarding Chang'an, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the expense of building a palace.

When he arrived at the Jiannan Jiedu Envoy Camp, which was being renovated, he went up to inquire about it and learned that the Holy Master was at Xuanzhong Temple on the mountain not far away. Then I rushed to Xuanzhong Temple and found that it was also being expanded.

After notifying his name, an official finally came out to welcome him, but he said: "The holy driver has gone to Qingcheng Mountain."

This matter is easy to understand. Xuanzhong Temple and Tianhui Palace are both under construction. If there are too many people, it will naturally become crowded and may not be safe. Therefore, Li Longji was escorted by Jiannan soldiers and horses, and went to Qingcheng Mountain to play.

Huangfu Ran had no choice but to continue on his way. There was an official road from Yizhou to Qingcheng Mountain, and it was a straight road that had been repaired in recent years for paying tribute. He led the envoys on flying horses and ran more than a hundred kilometers before dark. inside.

However, during the break, a guide who ran to explore the road came back and said: "Lang Guan, you are going the wrong way!"

"How could it be? This is definitely the way to Qingcheng Mountain."

"The saint... the saint did not go to Qingcheng Mountain." The guide gasped: "He transferred to Xinjin."

"You're right?"

"The battle is so majestic that the people have seen it, and there is no mistaking it."

Huangfuran had no choice but to turn around overnight and rush to Xinjin.

After a short rest at night, at dawn, he arrived at the bank of the Xihe River in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. He saw a huge crowd at the Xinjin Ferry. Officials, soldiers, squires, and common people were all standing there looking at the beautiful green mountains on the other side.

You can still hear people talking loudly, as if war had never come to Datang.

"As early as the Kaiyuan period, a statue of Laojun naturally appeared on the pillars of the Buddhist hall of Xingxing Temple. The saint sent people to bring the statue of Laojun back to Chang'an and set it up in the Datong Hall of the Imperial Palace for worship. This time, I came to Xingxing Temple. Still wishing.”

The speaker was a Buddhist believer, but his words angered a Taoist priest.

"You are wrong. The saint is going to Baozhen to see Master Zhao and ask Master Zhao to protect the Tang Dynasty. If you don't believe it, I have a poem written by the saint here to Master Zhao, called "Send Master Zhao Back to Shu" "Laying a Slip on a Famous Mountain", just wait and listen!"

Huangfu ran queued up to cross the wooden bridge and heard the saint's poem.

"The mountains and rivers look for the motherland, but the city and the city still believe in it."

"The two rooms look at each other from a distance, and the clouds return to the sky in the cave."

He couldn't help but think to himself that the country remained the same, but it was a pity that the saint's homeland was no longer there.

So, when he saw the guards and ceremonial guards at the foot of the mountain, which represented the royal majesty, he could no longer respect the saint and felt deeply sad.

~~
The ancient temple is built on the top of the mountain, peeking out from the woods, and it is very quiet. A young monk is ringing the bell to welcome the saint.

"Dong, dong..." The bell sounded far away, falling to the Xihe River at the foot of the mountain, raising rippling waves.

Li Longji was sitting cross-legged on the high platform in the temple, talking with the abbot of the temple.

He planned to go to Baozhen Temple to look for Zhenren Zhao. When passing by, he suddenly thought of the auspiciousness of the year and came to the temple to have a look.

In front of an old monk with a peaceful temperament and aloof from the world, Li Longji no longer concealed his emotions and let them float like waves on the river.

"I worked hard to govern and create a prosperous age, but I never expected that I would end up raising tigers. The one who forced me to be lucky in Shu was not Anlu Mountain."

To this day, Li Longji still discusses An Lushan with disdain. He firmly believed in his judgment that the threat An Lushan could pose was limited.

"The real man-eating tigers are my children and grandchildren. In order to seize my throne, they will do whatever it takes..."

These troubles cannot be solved by an old monk in the mountains. He cannot persuade a saint to become a monk like he would an ordinary person.

When he was in trouble, Cui Yuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, an envoy from Chang'an has arrived."

"So fast?"

Li Longji regained his composure, thought about it, and tended not to see the other party.

Just two days ago, he had met Yu Chaoen, the chamberlain sent by Li Heng. Yu Chaoen lay on the ground and cried bitterly. He was extremely moved that the saint was still alive, and he also cleared up some "misunderstandings" for Li Heng.

In short, Li Heng mistakenly believed that the saint was killed by Xue Bai sent by Li Cong. He rushed to Lingwu with anger towards Li Cong and worries about the Tang Dynasty. Even though the officials tried to persuade him to go in, he still had no intention of going in. He refused several times in the hope that the saint would still be alive. In the end, he had to proclaim himself emperor in order to prevent Li Cong's conspiracy from succeeding.

In order to prevent Li Cong from plotting rebellion, he became emperor before Li Cong? Of course, Li Longji didn't believe this reason. What he was tempted by was Li Heng's condition that he be the supreme emperor and still be in charge of the government. Coupled with the threat posed by Xue Bai's defense of Chang'an. He believes that the cooperation with Li Heng can be very solid.

In addition, there is another small thing. Li Heng has sent his concubines, servants, and palace people to Shu County. They will arrive in a few days, which will greatly improve his life in Shu County.

In this case, whether he saw Chang'an's envoy or not, he planned to show off to him first.

"The Zen Master also saw it. Those tigers and wolves smelled it and chased me again."

"Your Majesty, maybe you can see me soon." The old monk said slowly, "Maybe there will be an answer."

The reason why I say this is that the old monk in the mountain is not good at answering questions about power and he wants to let the saint meet others so that he can breathe a sigh of relief.

This is because he has too little experience in meeting saints, and he still doesn't understand that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, so he should be cautious in making suggestions.

Unexpectedly, Li Longji actually listened to him and ordered: "I want to go to the top of the mountain to take a look and lead people there."

~~
When you climb to the top of the mountain and look around, you can see the vast and magnificent mountains and rivers of Shu, which makes you feel broad-minded.

Only here could Li Longji put away his murderous intention and summon the envoy.

"My lord, Huangfu Ran, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites and Shrine Department, wishes the saint good health."

"Huangfu Ran." Li Longji said: "I remember, before I left the capital, you were just the director of the weapons supervisor. How did you become a fifth-rank official? Who appointed you?"

"minister……"

Huangfu Ran did not expect that the saint could remember the name and official position of a small official of his, and was greatly surprised. It should be noted that there were nearly 3,000 officials, large and small, in Chang'an City.

Li Longji saw Huangfulan's surprise in his eyes, sighed slightly, and felt a little proud in his heart.

He always likes to use various means to shock people's hearts, making his subjects think that he knows everything, and then feel fear in their hearts.

"You, Aweng, are Concubine Shu's brother. You blame me for the case of the three common people, right?"

The concubine Shu mentioned by Li Longji here actually refers to Huangfu Deyi, because Huangfu Deyi's son, King E Li Yao, is one of the three common people, and others no longer dare to call her that.

Normally, when the sage asked this question, most people would definitely answer "I dare not". However, Huangfu Ran thought about it for a while and replied: "King E is unjust."

"Unjustly accused?" Li Longji was surprised and shouted in a tone that could not be criticized: "Do you know that he was unjustly accused? How old were you when he rebelled!"

Huangfu Ran said: "But the saint knew in his heart that he killed them unjustly."

"You are so brave!"

"Sage, the King of Peking is now in Chang'an, and I have come to pay homage to the saint. He and I are both the orphans of the Three Common People case. We are willing to work together to make up for the mistakes of the past."

Li Longji was furious when he heard this, and said with a cold face: "My only mistake was that I didn't see that little bastard's ambition earlier."

Huangfu Ran said: "The King of Beiping said that when he pacified Nanzhao, he left a force to guard it because of the unruly land. If the saints were not enough to protect him in Shu County, they could go north to protect him..."

"Threat me."

"I don't agree with his words." Huangfu Ran said: "I am here because I am a saint."

From the beginning of his meeting with the Holy Spirit, he was straightforward and even rebellious. But at this time, the conversation changed and he seemed very sincere, creating an image of being straightforward but still loyal.

"The reason why I agreed to be sent as an envoy is not because I want to achieve the so-called service of serving the dragon for His Highness, but to plan for the Tang Dynasty. Although Your Highness is looking forward to welcoming the saint back to the court, he will definitely not force the saint. The saint is stationed in Shu County. , only need to issue two imperial edicts, one to rectify His Highness's name, and the other to order Jiangnan to transport grain and grass to Chang'an, then the rebellion can be ended..."

Li Longji had no expression on his face, but he actually listened very seriously.

The conditions proposed by Xue Bai were not harsh and did not require him to return to Beijing immediately. Then, he can control Chang'an's food in Shu County, which is equivalent to strangling Li Cong's throat.

"That's enough! Why did I leave Chang'an? Because the traitor wanted to change the palace, but now he wants me to issue an edict to publicize his achievements?"

"His Royal Highness is the crown prince, but he did not ascend the throne after the saint left. On the other hand..."

"That's because he has a shallow foundation! Otherwise, he wouldn't find someone to pretend to be me, but would directly ascend to the throne."

"That's why His Highness urgently needs His Majesty's support so that he can put down the rebellion as soon as possible and return the power to His Majesty after the rebellion is put down." Huangfu Ran said: "On the other hand, King Zhong has been the crown prince for more than ten years and has full wings. Now he is more powerful. He is claiming to be emperor without authorization, and if your Majesty indulges him, he will be feeding a tiger into trouble!"

This is a completely different way of persuasion from Yu Chaoen.

Li Longji followed what Huangfu Ran said and thought about a way to regain power - temporarily supporting Li Cong against the rebels and confronting Li Heng, while he took the opportunity to rebuild his prestige.

The easiest way to restore prestige is to send trusted ministers to all parts of the world. But after escaping from Chang'an and experiencing the Chencang mutiny, he didn't have many available people around him.

If you want to get back those close ministers, only Li Cong and Xue Bai in Chang'an can meet this condition.

Although he had such thoughts in his mind, Li Longji's attitude was still stern and he shouted: "Traitors, how can I trust them again?"

Huangfu Ran knelt down and said: "I will never agree with the disobedient behavior of the Crown Prince and the King of Peking. But I am sure of one thing, that is, they are determined to put down the rebellion first, and then discuss the ownership of the throne, and the loyal King only I'm afraid I don't have such determination. I sincerely ask your Majesty to put Hu Ni down first and then settle the family affairs."

Following these words, Li Longji called over Cui Yuan and gave a few instructions, asking Cui Yuan to take Huangfu Ran to talk privately.

As the emperor, he would not negotiate specific conditions.

"I wonder if your Majesty still has any concerns?" Cui Yuan asked.

Li Longji said: "Xue Bai, a lowly slave dares to pretend to be a bloodline of the Tian family, and how dare I issue an order to recognize him."

Cui Yuan understood that the sage actually believed that it would be better to reconcile with Chang'an in this situation, but he was worried that once Xue Bai's identity was recognized, it would be difficult to control him in the future.

"Your Majesty." Cui Yuan whispered: "I thought that if the edict can be issued, it can also be changed. Why not agree to them for the time being? Let them send the kings to Shu County. In this way, when Your Majesty divides the kings, how can you be afraid? Someone pretending to be the emperor’s grandson?”

What he meant, simply put, was to make the saint break his promise and become fat.

Li Longji narrowed his eyes and replied in a high-sounding voice: "Put down Hu Ni first, and then settle the family affairs."

~~
Cui Yuan took Huangfuran to talk alone.

Li Longji stood there alone, thinking that Xue Bai had brought a fake saint back to Chang'an. This was not only a serious crime of treason, but also a breach of trust in the world. But he actually wanted to issue an order to exonerate Xue Bai, clear his name, and order all counties in the world to transport grain and grass to Chang'an?

This kind of thought always made him feel a sense of injustice in his heart, which was difficult to suppress.

However, many years of experience in ruling the world told him that conspiracy is never an eye for an eye, but to do whatever is beneficial.

Not getting angry because of anger, but only caring about the interests of the country, this is the consciousness that those in power should have.

He stood on the top of the mountain with his hands folded and looked to the north. He saw the white clouds hanging on the distant mountains dissipating with the wind, and the Xihe River at the foot of the mountain rolling away. He murmured: "In the end, the river cannot stop it. Let the white clouds go and stay... When someone comes, I will serve you with pen and ink.”

There were few pens and inks on this mountain, so the attendants hurried back to the mountain temple, and it took a long time before they found a large pen.

Li Longji then took up his pen and wrote the three characters "Xiujueshan" on the rocks. Each word is a piece of rock. The words are two or three feet in size. They fly calmly and are very powerful.

He has gained greater enlightenment through cultivation here today, and vows to never be deceived by others again, to create a prosperous world and regain his reputation.

The next day, he personally wrote two imperial edicts and sent them to Chang'an. As a result, the Beiping County Prince temporarily became the Beiping County Prince he recognized...

(End of this chapter)