Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 488 Clear
Jie County.

Yang Qixuan was a nobleman in Chang'an and was willing to spend money. It was easy for him to have a casual relationship during the war. Recently, he had been having an affair with the daughter of a salt householder and had been staying at her house every day.

That day, he was playing dominoes when his servant came to report that the Diao brothers were leaving. He quickly put down his cards and rushed to the posthouse, where he saw the brothers Diao Geng and Diao Bing arranging people to load things onto the carriage, as if they were getting ready to set off.

"Are you leaving now? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know shit." Diao Bing spat. After working with Yang Qixuan for some time, he finally understood that the princes and nobles were nothing special and most of them were good-for-nothings.

After being scolded like this, Yang Qixuan did not dare to say a word, and walked to the lobby with his head down. He was shocked by the scars on Li Tengkong and Li Jilan's faces. He felt that they had become uglier after not seeing them for a few days.

"Where is this going?"

"Go back to Chang'an."

"Will you go back after the war is over?" Yang Qixuan said, "Guanzhong is very dangerous."

He kept trying to persuade them, but seeing that they didn't listen, he became impatient and couldn't help but say a few harsh words.

"Don't worry. If you grow up like this, the King of Beiping will be disgusted. Why don't you get cured first and then go back? I heard that there is pearl powder in the East Market..."

No one paid any attention to him. Afterwards, Diao Geng strode into the house and said hurriedly, "Madam Li, Wang Chengye will soon be entering the city."

"What?!" Yang Qixuan exclaimed, "Why is he here?"

Diao Geng grabbed his collar, glared at him fiercely, and scolded: "Stop arguing! If I listen to an idiot like you, I'll still be playing dominoes even if my head falls off."

Yang Qixuan wanted to say, "The dominoes were also made by me," but when he saw Diao Geng's eyes, he was frightened and dared not speak.

He didn't even have time to bring the mistress he met in Jie County with him, and was taken straight to Puzhin Ferry.

After leaving the city gate, you can soon see the salt lake under the Zhongtiao Mountains in the south. The lake surface looks as clear as a mirror from a distance, but the white, snow-like salt on the lakeside makes it different from other places.

On the official road, there was an endless stream of salt farmers carrying sacks, most of them heading east. There were also cavalrymen marching westward, and it was hard to tell who they belonged to.

"stop!"

Suddenly, there were shouts behind them.

Diao Geng glanced back and said, "They're catching up."

"Let's go to Guandi Temple." Li Tengkong said.

She had learned that Yuan Jie had arranged a troop to be stationed at the Guandi Temple outside Jie County to guard the salt lake.

This Guandi Temple was built during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty. It covers a large area and has a tall pavilion called "Spring and Autumn Tower". From the top of the pavilion, one can see the view of the salt lake.

The soldiers on the upper floor saw a group of people being chased, and immediately sent someone to check. They found that they had the county token, so they let them in.

Soon, people and horses neighed outside the temple gate. A general came forward on a tall horse and shouted arrogantly: "Hedong Bingcao Assistant General is here on the orders of the commander-in-chief. Why don't you open the door?!"

The temple door opened, and several salt soldiers from Jie County came out and asked, "May I ask what business you have?"

"Whose people are you from?"

"It is the county lord who ordered us to..."

"Yuan Jie has rebelled. Do you want to join him? The governor has come to suppress the rebellion. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy... Search!"

~~
Jie County.

Wang Chengye's face was as gloomy as water. He looked at Cui Zhong who was brought to him, shook his head in dismay, and asked, "How was he captured?"

"I didn't expect them to be so bold as to conspire for treason."

Cui Zhong had been detained in the county government recently and suffered a lot. He looked haggard and dejected. He said, "The number of people I brought is indeed too small."

Wang Chengye frowned, showing deep worry, and said, "Do you know what happened recently? Li Guangbi came to Chang'an and defected to Prince Qing."

Cui Zhong thought, maybe he confessed and this led to this situation. He immediately felt guilty and asked, "What should I do?"

Wang Chengye waved away the others, walked to Cui Zhong's side, and lowered his voice and said, "I also received news that the saint has arrived in Shu County?"

"how come?"

Cui Zhong was greatly surprised and asked, "How could the saint get from Lingwu to Shujun in such a short time? Is the road accessible?"

He hadn't figured it out yet and thought that the saint Wang Chengye was talking about was Li Heng.

It was not until Wang Chengye looked at him as if he was a fool that he suddenly realized what was going on and felt terrified.

"The late emperor? But if the late emperor had not passed away, wouldn't we be considered rebels?"

Wang Chengye nodded helplessly.

Since he took office in Hedong, he clearly felt that every choice he made was very cautious. But in the end, every choice he made was wrong. At first, he was afraid to send troops to support Changshan, which made him an enemy of Xue Bai. When Li Heng proclaimed himself emperor, he naturally joined him. He did not expect that this absurd situation would occur.

"There is only one way for now."

"what?"

"Appease the Hu rebels and put down Prince Qing's rebellion as soon as possible." Wang Chengye said, "Without Prince Qing, the emperor will have no choice but to acknowledge the sage's ascension to the throne, and we will not be punished."

Cui Zhong had not yet recovered from his surprise and murmured, "How can we appease the rebels?"

"As far as I know, Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi's 70,000 troops have been trapped in Guanzhong after their food supply was cut off by Li Guangbi. I want to send someone to talk to them."

"Who to send?"

After asking questions, Cui Zhong soon understood that the person Wang Chengye wanted to send to Cui Qianyou's camp was him.

Otherwise, why would Wang Chengye rescue him?
"I...I'm afraid I can't handle this big responsibility."

Wang Chengye ignored him and turned to look at the messenger who just happened to come in.

"General, Yuan Jie has brought his men back. They are still twenty miles outside the city."

"It's coming fast."

Although Wang Chengye was surprised, he was not worried. After all, he was the governor of Hedong and had the order of the new emperor. He immediately arranged his troops and prepared to capture the enemy.

However, Yuan Jie might have been frightened by his arrangement. After a while, another messenger reported: "Yuan Jie's troops went to the Guandi Temple outside the city."

"He wants to occupy the salt pond first and gather people to cause trouble." Wang Chengye sneered and said, "Pass my order to surround the Guandi Temple."

Guandi Temple is not far away.

When Wang Chengye arrived, his troops had already intimidated most of the Jie County salt soldiers. Only Xue Bai's subordinates were still resisting stubbornly in Chunqiu Tower.

After waiting for a while, Chunqiu Tower had not yet been captured, but Yuan Jie had already arrived with dozens of riders.

It is ridiculous for a county magistrate, with such a small number of people, to cause trouble in front of the mighty Hedong Jiedushi.

What was even more ridiculous was that when Yuan Jie arrived at the point where an arrow could be shot, he even abandoned his dozens of guards and only rode forward with three horses. Among them, a young armored general stepped forward and shouted, "Who dares to shoot an arrow?!"

Seeing that the Hedong soldiers actually stopped shooting arrows, Wang Chengye immediately urged them on.

"Fire arrows!"

However, the archers still hesitated.

Wang Chengye was about to ask what was going on when his staff reported quietly, "General, that is Li Guangbi's son Li Yizhong, the commander of the Heavenly Soldiers Army."

"How did he get here?"

Cui Zhong immediately stepped forward and reminded, "General, the other person beside Yuan Jie is Yan Jiming."

Wang Chengye took a closer look and saw that it was indeed the case. He couldn't help but mutter, "The ghost is still there."

There are still many generals in the Hedong Army today who were recruited by Yan Jiming when he was in the Hedong Shogunate.

Immediately afterwards, Yuan Jie unfolded an imperial edict and read it out in public.

When Wang Chengye heard the words "Replace the governor of Hedong with Li Guangbi", he flew into a rage. He pointed at Yuan Jie and shouted, "You are a fake emperor. The saint in Chang'an is fake!"

~~
Li Tengkong stood on the Chunqiu Building, watching the conflict below, and suddenly noticed something.

She saw more than ten riders driving away the soldiers surrounding the Chunqiu Tower and rushing towards this side. Among these ten riders, there was a figure she was very familiar with.

"Xue Bai?"

As soon as she murmured this, the people around her couldn't help but get excited and looked in the direction where Yuan Jie was.

"Where is Langjun? I don't see him."

Li Tengkong went to the railing and leaned over to look. Gradually, the figure that haunted her became clearer and clearer.

Finally, he arrived at the Chunqiu Building.

"Is it really Xue Lang?"

"My dear husband has really come."

Yang Qixuan was still thinking about what to do if things go wrong not long ago. He didn't expect Xue Bai to appear at this time. This situation even made him feel that Li Tengkong's side was the safest place in the troubled times, because Xue Bai would come to save her in time.

He turned around and saw the faces of Li Tengkong and Li Jilan after they were infected with leprosy again. He was curious about how Xue Bai would react if he saw them.

At this time, Xue Bai had already gone upstairs.

"Tengkongzi!"

Li Jilan was just about to follow Li Tengkong to meet them, when she suddenly remembered something and called out quickly.

Li Tengkong then remembered, turned around quickly, and asked, "Did you bring the medicine?"

"Ah."

Li Jilan hurriedly took out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve, shook it, and poured the medicine inside into Li Tengkong's palm, and Li Tengkong wiped it on his face.

What is quite surprising is that with this application, the dark yellow, spots and scars on the face are all wiped away, revealing the white and translucent skin underneath.

Yang Qixuan was stunned.

It's not like he hadn't thought about the fact that they were pretending to be ugly on purpose, but they had never taken off their disguises in these days, so he had to believe it.

According to his opinion, they should not restore their appearance immediately. They should use that ugly appearance to test Xue Bai's sincerity.

However, Li Tengkong and Li Jilan had no similar thoughts at all. They wiped their faces hastily and looked at each other.

"Any more?"

“A little bit, but it’s beautiful.”

"How to do?"

"Hair, hair..."

"Come over here and sort it out."

The two held hands and walked around to the other side of the corridor.

Over there, Mian'er secretly pulled Jiaonu's hand, raised her head, and gave a helpless and aggrieved expression. Because the two of them were also dressed up as leprosy patients, but Shiqi Niang didn't care about them at all.

Seeing that Li Tengkong's hair was difficult to style, Jiao Nu simply turned around and went downstairs. As soon as she turned the stairs, she saw Xue Bai coming towards her.

"Long time no see."

"You recognize me?"

"Isn't she a servant? What happened to her face?"

Jiao Nu said proudly: "It's malaria, it's contagious." She stood there with her legs apart, blocking the stairs.

"Oh."

Xue Bai was not afraid of her. He squeezed past her, looked back, and said, "You need to put some makeup on your neck."

"frivolous."

Xue Bai ignored her and climbed to the top of the Chunqiu Tower. He turned around and saw Mian'er with his head shrunk, his back to the wall, as if he was facing the wall and thinking about his mistakes. He pretended not to see her and patted the Diao brothers on the shoulders.

"Are you all healed?"

"I'm sorry to have worried you, but I'm fine now. It's just that there were wars everywhere, so I couldn't go to see you earlier."

"It's good that everyone is okay. Seeing you makes me feel relieved."

Yang Qixuan stood aside waiting to please Xue Bai, but he had no chance to get a word in and was rubbing his hands in anxiety.

After a while, Li Tengkong and Li Jilan turned around.

"Xue Lang?"

Li Jilan's tone was pleasantly surprised, and the blush on her cheeks was like a blooming peach blossom. She bowed and smiled sweetly, saying, "Oh, now you should be called the King of Beiping."

"Among friends, you can call me by my given name."

Li Tengkong, on the other hand, seemed indifferent and just nodded slightly.

Xue Bai looked at her deeply and nodded slightly.

Yang Qixuan was surprised to see this scene. Recalling Li Tengkong's "woman dresses up to please herself" look just now, he couldn't help but mutter in his heart: "She is really good at pretending."

Of course, Xue Bai climbed up the tall building not just to see his beloved.

He first watched the confrontation between Yuan Jie and Wang Chengye for a while, and finally saw Li Yizhong riding his horse forward and killing Wang Chengye with one sword.

There was not much suspense about this matter. Xue Bai was even too lazy to deal with Wang Chengye personally this time. Recalling that at the beginning of An Lushan's rebellion, he was only the governor of Changshan, and his status was far inferior to that of the other party. However, after this turmoil, the power of both sides was far from comparable.

"Are you here to pick me up?"

Li Tengkong stood behind Xue Bai, looked up at the clouds in the sky, and asked casually.

"I have some official business." Xue Bai said, "I just happened to be passing by."

"What business?"

"For example, dealing with Wang Chengye."

"But he died before you could say a word to him."

Xue Bai said: "We should also arrange some salt officials to implement the salt law. It will cost a lot to suppress the rebellion in the future. The court is unable to make ends meet, so we need a new source of funds."

As he spoke, he walked around to the east side of the platform and looked towards the salt lake.

In the sunshine, the salt fields glow with different colors, which is a beautiful sight.

~~
That night, Cui Zhong, who had just been rescued from the prison, was brought before Xue Bai again.

The successive ordeals had completely worn down Cui Zhong's will. When Xue Bai asked him, he confessed Wang Chengye's next intention.

"Fufeng County is blocked by Yan Wu and Gao Shi, which is not very convenient. Therefore, Prince Zhong asked Wang Chengye to make arrangements and promised to appoint Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi as Jiedushi and let them still lead their troops. And as long as they are willing to surrender, Wang Chengye will transport military supplies to Pujin Ferry."

Xue Bai asked: "Is Li Heng colluding with the rebels?"

"Wang Chengye said that if the rebels surrendered, they would no longer be rebels but the Tang army. As for Prince Qing..."

Cui Zhong stopped talking halfway and didn't dare to say any more.

He also realized the current situation and kowtowed and begged for mercy, asking Xue Bai to spare his life.

"can."

"Thank you, King Beiping."

Xue Bai said: "Go to the rebel camp and do what I say, and I will spare your life."

Cui Zhong was stunned.

He had not expected that after all the hardships he had gone through, he would eventually have to go to the rebel camp. He thought it was destined and could not be avoided, so he had to agree anxiously.

~~
Posthouse.

Li Tengkong took a bath and changed his clothes, and finally washed off the medicine on his face. He tied his hair into a Taoist bun in front of the mirror, thought for a while, and then let it down again in a moment.

"Shall I comb your hair for you?"

Just then, Li Jilan pushed the door open and walked in. She walked behind her, picked up the hairbrush, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll comb your hair into a reverse bun. It will definitely look good."

Li Tengkong shook his head and said, "I will fall asleep soon and won't comb my hair."

"Did you really fall asleep?"

"Yeah, I'm a little sleepy."

"I have to comb your hair so that it won't disturb your sleep." Li Jilan said, "I haven't seen your true face for a long time. You are so beautiful."

The black and smooth hair flowed over Li Jilan's fingertips. She smelled the fragrance of Li Tengkong's hair, and her heart felt a long-lost throbbing. Until she heard some movement in the yard, she yawned and said, "I'm going to sleep."

Li Tengkong whispered: "I want to read the Taoist scriptures again."

"Okay." Li Jilan continued to yawn and walked into the inner room.

Li Tengkong looked back, then took out the lip balm hidden in his sleeve, took a sip of it gently, and looked at the bronze mirror. He felt very unfamiliar with the beautiful face in it.

But when hugging Xue Bai, that long-lost feeling of familiarity came back.

It is said that a short separation is better than a new marriage. After experiencing such a long separation, especially after being separated by life and death in troubled times, both of them felt a little selfless.

When they first met today, Li Tengkong was still suppressing his emotions, but when the night fell, those long-accumulated emotions still poured out like a dam bursting. The calmer she was, the more turbulent it became.

When Xue Bai was about to pull away as he did in the past, Li Tengkong tried hard to hug him.

"I want... to have a child."

She originally thought he wouldn't agree.

However, although she was exhausted this time, she still held down Xue Bai.

A turmoil changed many of their previous ideas.

~~
Under the gentle moonlight, the tide at the salt lake rises and falls, moistening the somewhat dry mudflats and leaving behind white salt grains.

Li Jilan, who was in another room of the inn, buried her head in the quilt and covered her ears tightly. After enduring for too long, she turned sideways tiredly and ruffled her hair in distress.

~~
"The world is in chaos right now, it's actually not suitable to have a child."

"Will the rebellion be put down soon?"

"If everything goes well, it will be done soon." Xue Bai said, "We are only one or two steps away from suppressing the rebellion."

Li Tengkong whispered: "If the rebellion is suppressed, I don't want to stay in Chang'an, I want to return to my Taoist temple."

"One day, I will take you back to Chang'an in a dignified manner."

"No, your identity."

"Identity is just a stepping stone." Xue Bai has realized this recently. He is still used to being addressed as "Xue Lang", and he is still not quite used to the coveted identity of the emperor's grandson.

"Don't worry." Li Tengkong whispered, "I don't want a child just because you have the title of king or even the hope of taking the throne. It's just that we have been separated for too long, and I'm afraid we will be separated again one day."

"I know."

"Are you worried about something?" Li Tengkong asked.

Xue Bai shook his head and said casually: "It just occurred to me that someone said I can't have children."

"How can others understand..."

~~
When we arrived in Hedong, we looked back at the actions of the rebels and felt like we were watching a fire from the other side of the river. I guess Li Heng was also thinking the same way about Guanzhong when he was in Shuofang.

Although Xue Bai was still a little worried about Chang'an, he believed in Li Guangbi's ability.

He was reluctant to go too far away from the Yellow River defense line, so he sent someone to invite Wang Jin to meet him in Jie County. At the same time, he arranged some salt officials there.

On the other hand, after Cui Zhong crossed the Yellow River and visited the rebel camp, he quickly sent back a message.

"Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi agreed to Li Heng's surrender and asked Wang Chengye to immediately arrange a batch of food and fodder to Pujindu."

Xue Bai immediately sent someone to inform Li Guangbi of the matter and ambushed the rebels' troops who were trying to take food at Pujindu.

Although it was previously believed that ambushing the rebels would be dangerous and they would be entangled, it was different in the Yellow River. The Tang army had set up an ambush and had ships that could quickly evacuate the battlefield. After the rebels were ambushed, they could not cross the Yellow River even if they wanted to fight a decisive battle.

In this battle, Xue Bai and Li Guangbi did not seek a big victory. Instead, they wanted to undermine the confidence of the rebels and make them lose confidence in obtaining food or breaking out. Over time, this powerful army would be on the verge of death.

On April 17, when the news of the Tang army's small victory over the rebels at Puzhou Ferry came back, Xue Bai was talking with Wang Jin by the Salt Lake.

"Mr. Mo Jie has made great contributions to the defense of Chang'an City. Now he has been captured and taken to Luoyang. He will be rewarded according to his merits after the rebellion is quelled. As for the matter of collecting the remaining grain from the Wang family..."

"King Beiping, there is no need to say more. This is what the Wang family should do when Du Ji is in danger."

Wang Jin was not bothered by Xue Bai's grain collection. After all, if Chang'an was lost, all his family properties would be lost.

But when it came to his appointment as deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedushi, he still had concerns.

"Your Highness is very close to the King of Beiping. I am ashamed, but I have one thing that I don't understand. When Guo Ziyi recaptured Yanmen Pass, he sent troops to garrison. Earlier, Guo Ziyi responded to the summons of the King of Zhong and went to Lingwu to meet him. If I guard Taiyuan instead, what will happen to Yanmen Pass?"

Xue Bai said: "Don't worry, the Shuofang Army will definitely make the right choice."

Wang Jin asked, "Why do you think so?"

Xue Bai picked up a branch and drew a map on the ground.

"Before this, the saint sent General Cheng Ang of the Right Jinwu Army to stay in Shangdang, first to help defend Taiyuan, and second to wait for the opportunity to march out of Fukou Pass and capture Weijun, so as to cut off the rebels' route back. Now, the opportunity has come. I have sent people to ask Cheng Ang to send troops, and in this way, An Qingxu will definitely abandon Luoyang and flee."

"How did the Prince of Beiping persuade Cheng Ang? As far as I know, he is quite close to the Prince of Zhong."

Xue Bai said: "I am sure about this matter, you will know it when the time comes."

Wang Jin asked again: "Even if Cheng Ang is willing to send troops, he may not be able to force An Qingxu to give up Luoyang."

At this point, the messenger arrived and did not mention how Xue Bai had set up the plan to lure the enemy, but only mentioned that the royal army had won a great victory at Pujin Ferry and beheaded more than 500 rebels.

To others, it sounded like the rebels broke out from Pujindu, but were blocked by the royal army and many were beheaded.

"Congratulations to the Prince of Beiping for his great achievement again."

After hearing the battle report, Wang Jin had no choice but to bow and congratulate.

Xue Bai said: "Look at Cui Qianyou's successive defeats. Given An Qingxu's character, how could he not flee when he was attacked by Cheng Ang?"

Wang Jin nodded and said, "If An Qingxu escapes, it will also cause great chaos in Cui Qianyou's army. In this way, the rebellion will be put down soon."

"Guo Ziyi is a smart man. Once he knew that Your Highness had put down the rebellion, would he not order the Shuofang Army to put down Li Heng's rebellion?"

Wang Jin then understood, bowed deeply, and said: "If so, please rest assured, Prince of Beiping, I will ensure that Taiyuan is safe and sound."

At this point, the situation has become clear according to Xue Bai's plan to suppress the rebellion and take over Hedong, and he has once again seen the dawn of stability in the world.

(End of this chapter)