Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 495 The fisherman’s advantage
The first day of June.

Li Cong stayed up all night and put on the brand new crown and robes.

The crown was made of gold, with twelve tassels hanging from the front and back. There were also twelve patterns on the clothes, with the sun and the moon on the arms, stars embroidered on the back, and dragons woven on the sleeves and collar. It was very majestic, but the face covered with scars looked extremely ugly.

"Give me a bigger pearl on the tassel," Li Cong said, and then repeated, "Give me a bigger one."

"Your Majesty. I'm afraid it's too heavy..."

"I want bigger pearls!"

Li Cong didn't like it when someone always objected to his orders. He wanted to make decisions with his final word.

Suddenly he got angry, and the palace people were terrified and hurried to look for the pearls. But the decision to ascend the throne was sudden, and the preparations for the ceremony were hasty. It was very close to the start time, and it was not easy to replace the pearl tassels in a hurry.

Fortunately, Li Cong's wife Dou and son Li Qu heard about this and hurriedly took out their pearls, and only replaced the pearls on the twelve tassels in front of the crown. It was indeed heavier, but it also better covered Li Cong's face, making him look mysterious and majestic.

Before ascending the throne, Li Cong had to go to the Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs of Chang'an to offer sacrifices to the sky. He set out at the hour of Yin and found that the Zhuque Street was already full of people.

The width of Suzaku Street reaches one hundred steps, with the Imperial Road in the middle, which is reserved for the emperor to pass through when he goes to the south of the city to offer sacrifices to the sky. The people stand on both sides of the road to watch, and there is a distance of nearly fifty steps between them and the Imperial Road. Even if there is an assassin, he cannot shoot the emperor's ceremonial platform with an arrow.

"Long live your Majesty!"

With the first shout, as Li Cong's carriage arrived, the people on both sides knelt on the ground and shouted "Long live the emperor".

The intense pleasure brought by being supported by thousands of people made him feel dizzy for a moment. Even though he tried his best to restrain himself, he was still moved to the point of almost crying.

He was moved by his defense of Chang'an City. No one could understand how much pressure he had to bear as the nominal supreme commander during the days and nights of siege. Not only did he have to face the rebels, but he also had to face the oppression of powerful officials and the hostility from his father and brothers. On several occasions, he had actually broken down emotionally and cried bitterly in the deserted palace.

But the heavens did not let him down, allowing him to protect the country and the land of his ancestors. Therefore, he sincerely revered the heavens and the earth when he offered sacrifices to the heavens today.

The Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs of Chang'an was first built in the Sui Dynasty. The circular mound is 24 feet high and has steps on twelve sides.

Before daybreak, all preparations for the heavenly sacrifice had already been made. In the southeast of the Circular Mound, a calf was being roasted, with clouds of smoke rising. In the southwest, sky lanterns were hung, with flickering flames. Chime stones, chime bells, and bell bells, more than 60 musical instruments were neatly arranged.

Civil and military officials lined up under the altar, and outside were the guards. The firelight reflected their figures, and no one spoke. The atmosphere was mysterious and solemn.

Before sunrise, with the sound of a bell and ceremonial music, Li Cong, accompanied by his sons and important ministers, slowly climbed the stone steps to the Circular Mound and began to offer sacrifices.

"In the thirteenth year of Tianbao, in the year of Jiawu, I offered sacrifices to heaven and earth. Now the Jie and Hu people are in chaos, and the Holy Emperor has long been tired of the throne and wants to pass it on to his humble self. I am afraid that I am not virtuous enough and dare not accept it. The ministers have submitted a petition saying, 'There is no greater filial piety than inheriting virtue, and no greater merit than reviving the country.' That is why I have defended Chang'an and wiped out the rebels. Now I must appease the hearts of the people and respectfully comply with the requests of the ministers. I will ascend the throne, honor the Holy Emperor as the Supreme Emperor of Heaven, and report to Heaven..."

At the beginning of reciting the sacrificial words, Li Cong could still feel the uneasy feeling caused by Xue Bai standing behind him. But gradually, it seemed that God really gave him a powerful force, and he felt the majesty of the emperor.

His voice was the only one in the world, and everyone's eyes were only on him. He was the center of everything. When he finished his last sentence, countless people began to echo him in unison.

"I respectfully present the sacrifices and silk, and offer them with all my heart. Please enjoy the feast!"

"Enjoy your meal!"

Faced with such a scene of universal response, Li Cong couldn't help feeling intoxicated, as if he was about to get drunk. Afterwards, he issued the "Amnesty Edict upon Accession to the Throne", changed the reign title to "Yingshun", and rewarded his ministers.

First, Dou was made queen, and the sons were renamed princes. When Li Cong heard that the third son, Li Qian, the Prince of Beiping, would be renamed Prince of Yong, his face froze, as if he had been suddenly poured with cold water.

At this moment, more than a dozen officials strode up to the Circular Mound and said in a loud voice: "Your Highness, we have a report to make!"

The eunuch who was reading the imperial edict paused, and Xue Bai, who was about to express his gratitude, also stopped and turned to look.

The official in the lead was Liu Zhi, a member of the Ministry of Justice. He was the fourth son of the famous official Liu Zhiji. Liu Zhiji had served as a scholar in the Chongwen Academy and also edited the national history. He was given the title of Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor and was posthumously named "Wen". He was a very famous Confucian scholar and historian in the previous dynasty.

Liu Zhi was a man of great learning, good at writing, and author of the Political Code, which won him great respect from contemporary scholars. At this moment, he took out a document from his sleeve and read it out word by word in a slow and powerful voice.

"The imperial edict says: The emperor must be granted the throne upon receiving the mandate... Li Heng is a brave and resolute general who has led the army and fought on my behalf. He has worked hard on my behalf and is worthy of my trust. He should be made emperor."

It was the imperial edict from Li Longji that allowed Li Heng to ascend the throne. Although Li Heng had already proclaimed himself emperor before, this made him more legitimate than Li Cong. Liu Zhi gave Li Cong face by not reading out the words in the imperial edict that attacked Li Cong, the "traitor", but only saying that this was the case.

"I confirm that this imperial edict is genuine. I believe there must be some misunderstanding between the Saint and Your Highness." Liu Zhi said with a righteous look on his face, "I dare to ask Your Highness to welcome the imperial carriage back first, clear up the misunderstanding with the Saint, and then ascend the throne."

Li Cong was shocked and angry. He stood up unconsciously, but he couldn't argue with Liu Zhi in person. He could only tremble in anger.

"I am guilty of death." Liu Zhi bowed and said, "But I was so brave because I was thinking about Your Highness. Your Highness ascended the throne to destroy the rebels and appease the people. This is public-spirited. But now that Guanzhong has been settled, Your Highness rushed to become emperor before the saint returned. I am afraid that the world will misunderstand that Your Highness's actions are out of selfishness!"

Li Cong did not believe these words at all. If Liu Zhi really wanted to benefit him, he should have made suggestions in private instead of obstructing him on the day of his enthronement and undermining his dignity in front of all the officials. He could see what Liu Zhi was thinking. Basically, Liu Zhi did not think highly of him and was afraid that he would become a traitor once Li Heng's army arrived, so he deliberately sold his reputation to seek honesty.

But Li Cong really didn't dare to kill Liu Zhi. First, he was afraid of his reputation. Second, if he did it, he would appear guilty and let others know that the imperial edict Liu Zhi had was real. The best way was to appease him privately, promise Liu Zhi a high position, and then talk about it after the ceremony was successfully completed.

Li Cong hesitated for a moment and was about to ask the eunuch to take Liu Zhi away to comfort him, when Xue Bai spoke. As soon as he spoke, Li Cong quickly kept silent and swallowed back what he was about to say.

"Liu Zhi, you are so bold, you dare to falsely report the emperor's order!"

"King of Beiping." Liu Zhi bowed first, looking very open and frank, and then said slowly: "I respect your achievements and call you King of Beiping. However, the authenticity of your identity has yet to be verified. At least in this decree, you are still a rebel."

Xue Bai was still walking down the stage when he casually called over a general of the Longwu Army and gave him an order. Then he shouted at Liu Zhi, "How dare you forge an imperial edict?!"

"What do you mean by forged imperial edict? This is an official document with the imperial seal printed on it!"

Liu Zhi was ready to die, and he continued fearlessly, "Even if you kill me, you can't stop the people in the world from talking about me."

At this time, the commander of the imperial guards, Zhang Xiaojing, had already arrived and immediately went forward to arrest Liu Zhi. Liu Zhi was determined to be a loyal and brave minister like Lu Yi and Li Jian, and refused to leave with the imperial guards, but instead shouted loudly.

"Your Highness, please do not be deceived by the evil people. The sage has issued an edict to the world, and the army is gathering in the west. The war is about to break out. Your Highness should postpone your ascension to the throne for the sake of the lives of the people..."

The imperial guards wanted to arrest Liu Zhi, but let him squeeze in among the officials, causing chaos.

Xue Bai had already walked down the Circular Mound and directly pulled out a knife from the waist of an imperial guard. With one strike, he chopped Liu Zhi to the ground.

"puff."

The Nanxiao Temple of Heaven was stained with blood.

When Liu Zhi fell to the ground, his eyes were still wide open, as if he couldn't believe that Xue Bai would kill him on the spot of the sacrifice to heaven.

On the Circular Mound, Li Cong was also stunned. He first thought that Xue Bai had ruined his coronation ceremony and thought that it was difficult to deal with the situation. After that, a strong sense of discomfort came over him. He finally realized that the support from the masses today was not for him. He had not yet gotten rid of his status as a puppet. If it were not for Xue Bai, he might still be just a cowardly prince in the Ten Kings' Mansion.

In an instant, Xue Bai's decisiveness and courage shattered Li Cong's dream, leaving Li Cong with sadness and helplessness.

Liu Zhi's body fell there, with the paper document still in his hand. Li Cong looked at the seal on it and couldn't help thinking, if one day Xue Bai usurped the kingdom left by his ancestors in his hands, how would he face the saint?

No, he knew that sooner or later he would be able to take back power and surpass the increasingly incompetent Li Longji. It was just that the time had not yet come.

Xue Bai had already ordered the imperial guards to arrest all the officials who dared to follow Liu Zhi in the rebellion, and announced to the court officials that there must be someone behind the incident, and he would investigate it thoroughly. Finally, he ordered the coronation ceremony to continue.

Drums and music started again, and Li Cong continued to reward his ministers as if they were just a decoration.

~~
"These are the letters and documents found in Liu Zhi's mansion. In addition, there are these, which are the confessions and evidence of the assisting officials."

A series of documents were placed in front of Xue Bai. He looked up and saw that it was Du Jin who delivered the documents personally.

"Have you seen it at the Secretariat?"

"No." Du Jin said, "I'll just show it to you. I don't know how Yan Zhenqing will react."

Xue Bai picked up the letters and read them for a while and immediately understood that the mastermind behind Liu Zhi's actions was Fang Guan.

Fang Guan was a famous official of the time, with a great reputation. He had always had close contacts with Liu Zhi and also had a good relationship with Yan Zhenqing. During this chaos, Fang Guan, regardless of his own safety, crossed mountains and rivers to join Li Heng, and his loyalty obviously moved Li Heng greatly. As far as Xue Bai knew, Fang Guan was now Li Heng's prime minister.

"If I were Fang Guan, I would not instigate Liu Zhi to cause trouble openly," Xue Bai pondered, "but would let them form a secret alliance and wait for Li Heng's army to arrive, then join forces inside and outside to capture Chang'an."

"What they want is people's hearts." Du Jin said, "Reputation is their greatest advantage, so they will naturally use it to the fullest. First, they can demote us to traitors, and maybe they can recapture Chang'an without any effort."

"Warfare is not idle talk. What's the point of such verbal skills? Besides, we are least afraid of public opinion."

Xue Bai was holding the newspaper in his hand. That was why he dared to kill Liu Zhi directly.

Du Jin said, "But look here, look at Fang Guan's intention. Li Heng appointed Fang Guan as the military governor of Xijing and Putong Pass. It seems that he is the commander-in-chief of this eastward advance."

Xue Bai also saw that Fang Guan had indeed said this to Liu Zhi in the letter, saying that he would lead the army to attack Chang'an soon, and asked Liu Zhi to boldly publicize the imperial decree. He could not help but frown, tapping his fingers on the table, muttering, "How could it be?"

"You do not believe?"

"Why did Li Heng not use famous generals like Guo Ziyi, Feng Changqing, and Pugu Huai'en, and instead appointed Fang Guan as the commander-in-chief? He has served as a civil servant, so when did he have any experience in fighting a war?"

"Are you worried about this being a trick?"

"Well, if Li Heng publicly appoints Fang Guan as the commander-in-chief but secretly sends a general to take a detour, Chang'an will be in danger."

The truth of the matter could not be determined based on Fang Guan's letter alone, so Xue Bai could only send scouts to investigate.

In just a few days, Li Heng and his army had arrived at Yong County and changed Fufeng County to Fengxiang County, calling it Xijing. Therefore, in the eyes of the world, Li Cong's appointment of Xue Bai as "King of Yong" meant that Xue Bai would pacify Li Heng.

The battle with Cui Qianyou had just ended, and the officers and soldiers were already very tired and had no time to rest, while the surrendered rebels had no time to reorganize. The food reserves in Chang'an City had not been restored at all.

Even Xue Bai hoped to defeat An Qingxu first, quell the war, and restore the supply from Jianghuai to Chang'an.

He also wanted to wait until the rebellion in Fan Yang was quelled and then send someone to Yangzhou to bring back Yan Yan.

As a result, they had to face Li Heng immediately, and the feeling of fatigue suddenly increased. It can be imagined that the military and civilians in Chang'an were not very enthusiastic about this war.

Xue Bai had to admit that he had become one of the "two tigers fighting each other", while Li Heng sat on the mountain and watched the fight, occupying a greater position of time.

~~
On the ninth day of June, the scout reported the news.

At the Marshal's Mansion, Xue Bai discussed military intelligence with the generals and learned that the enemy commander might be Fang Guan. Everyone had different reactions.

"The Prime Minister is leading the troops personally. It seems that Li Heng is determined to win this battle."

"I'm more afraid of Guo Ziyi and Feng Changqing."

"Fang Guan is no ordinary person either. He has a great reputation and I'm afraid he has great strategies..."

Xue Bai listened to this, walked to the sand table, and silently placed the chess pieces on it. After a while, Li Guangbi also came over.

Including the surrendered rebels, they had 130,000 men, many of whom were elite soldiers, and were not inferior to Li Heng in terms of military strength. The problem was that they did not have enough logistical supplies.

"I am not afraid that the enemy will deploy their troops and fight us in the wild." Xue Bai said slowly, "If Fang Guan is in command, I believe General Li Jie will be able to defeat him easily."

"It may not be easy." Li Guangbi said, "We should be able to defeat him before Chang'an runs out of food, and without losing too many troops."

Xue Bai picked up the long pole and moved the chess pieces, saying, "But if Li Heng sends a troop to bypass Huayin and besiege Chang'an, then within a month, Chang'an will surely be undefendable."

"good."

Li Heng is different from An Qingxu. Once Li Heng besieges Chang'an, it will be very easy to make all parts of the country no longer support Li Cong. In this battle, Xue Bai is almost certain to lose.

"I have another worry." Xue Bai continued, "An Qingxu has now escaped across the Yellow River and should be near Xiangzhou. It will be a matter of time before we annihilate him. But if we concentrate our forces to deal with Li Heng at this time, it will definitely give him a chance to catch his breath."

Li Guangbi said: "Although the main force of the Yan thieves has been damaged, they can always recruit more soldiers. If we let An Qingxu go this time, he will surely revive."

"Yes, we must eradicate all evil." Xue Bai said, "I am determined to destroy An Qingxu in one fell swoop, intimidate the generals of various states, and restore the prestige of the court."

This means fighting on two fronts. Now the small court in Chang'an has lost its nominal support and has to face Li Heng's 200,000 border troops before it has a firm foothold. Fighting on two fronts is obviously difficult.

Li Guangbi understood Xue Bai's thinking very well.

He pointed at the sand table and said, "We need to send a general to the east to coordinate the battles in Henan, Hebei, and Jianghuai. Not only must we completely annihilate An Qingxu, but we must also reopen the grain route from Jianghuai to Chang'an."

"good."

Li Guangbi thought for a long time, and then said slowly: "If I defend Chang'an, leaving 70,000 soldiers will be enough, and the King of Yong can send a general to take Hebei."

Xue Bai said: "Can Li Jie lead the troops to attack An Qingxu?"

Li Guangbi was slightly stunned.

Of course, he would rather lead the army to fight An Qingxu than participate in an internal struggle among the royal family. In this way, even if Li Heng won, he would not be held accountable afterwards, but would be rewarded for his contribution in pacifying the Hu rebels. However, he did not expect that Xue Bai would entrust such an important task to him.

"Isn't Prince Yong afraid that I will turn against you after I advance eastward?"

"If that's the case, I can do nothing about it." Xue Bai said, "From the fact that Li Heng appointed Fang Guan as the commander-in-chief, it can be seen that he is definitely not an wise leader. Can't General Li Jie think of the reason why he did this?"

Li Guangbi could see that if Li Heng's appointment was not to confuse the enemy, then it was to favor favoritism and fear the generals. In comparison, the fact that Prince Yong dared to let him lead the troops to suppress the rebellion at this critical moment showed that he was much more courageous.

~~
Feng Xiang.

Li Heng left the palace and went to the Marshal's Mansion in person, only to see Li Chu, Li Mi and others handling various cumbersome state affairs.

Although Li Mi refused to be appointed as an official and still wore the feathered robe, the operation of the new court had been inseparable from him. Whether it was formulating strategies, raising money and food, or even answering Li Heng's personal questions, he was responsible for all matters, big or small.

But on some matters, Li Heng did not follow Li Mi's advice.

For example, Li Mi had previously proposed to send troops to support Chang'an, but Li Heng did not agree. Li Mi then suggested that Li Guangbi enter the city first to eliminate the rebels for him, and Li Heng was moved. Unexpectedly, Li Guangbi turned to Li Cong. In response, Li Heng did not say anything on the surface, but he had some other ideas in his mind.

Now that Li Cong had persuaded Tian Chengsi to surrender, the situation became increasingly unfavorable. Li Heng was worried, but Li Mi suggested that there was no need to rush to take Chang'an, but to send a general to pacify Hebei and take Fanyang first. After completely resolving the rebellion of An's father and son, occupying Henan, Chang'an would be cut off from food and grass and would fall without attacking.

This time, Li Mi was very resolute in his attitude, believing that Li Heng had the support of the emperor emeritus and was the legitimate emperor of the Tang Dynasty. As long as the bandits were pacified first and the world was at peace, there would be no reason for Henan and Jianghuai not to return. There was no need to raise a large army to attack Chang'an.

But Li Heng refused to listen.

Firstly, taking a detour through Hebei to quell the rebellion first and then taking Henan and Jianghuai would take too long, and no one knew what would happen during this period, such as Li Longji's attitude changing again; secondly, although Li Cong surrendered the rebels, Chang'an City had just emerged from the war and he could not give them a chance to breathe, otherwise Li Cong would win people's hearts by relying on his great achievements.

He was eager to recapture Chang'an and get rid of Li Cong and Xue Bai, and even invited the Uighur soldiers. How could he go in the opposite direction at this time?
Therefore, he came today to appease Li Mi.

"Changyuan, are you still blaming me for not listening to you?" Li Heng said with a smile, "I have my own considerations."

The emperor came in person to explain, and Li Mi didn't know what to say. He sighed slightly and gave another suggestion.

"Mr. Fang has the talent of a king's assistant. He is upright and kind-hearted. If Your Majesty uses him to calm down the court after the recovery, he will surely become a famous prime minister. Military operations are not his forte. Your Majesty may not be wise to use him to accomplish great things. Why not let Prince Guangping be the commander-in-chief and Guo Ziyi be his deputy?"

Now Xue Bai has been named Prince of Yong, but Li Chu is still only Prince of Guangping.

In fact, Li Heng wanted to make his sons princes and Zhang Ting the queen. He discussed this with Li Mi more than once, but Li Mi reminded him several times that your majesty came to the throne for public affairs, and if you were impatient to reward your wife and children, it would only cause misunderstandings among the people.

Zhang Ting was quite dissatisfied with this matter and complained to Li Heng several times that Li Mi had selfish motives. Li Heng often listened to such pillow talk and no longer believed in Li Mi's suggestions as much as before.

"Don't worry, Fang Cong takes the world as his responsibility, and will do everything he can to help make decisions." Li Heng said, "We will definitely be able to recapture Chang'an in one battle."

Li Heng did have his own considerations for employing Fang Guan.

Because of Li Guangbi's defection to Li Cong, Li Heng did not trust generals such as Feng Changqing and Guo Ziyi. In addition, these generals had already been promoted to local governors, and if they made great contributions to the recovery of Chang'an, they would inevitably not be rewarded in the future.

Of course, he did trust Fang Guan.

~~
On June 20th, Fang Guan sent out his troops.

In fact, including the reinforcements from the Uighurs, Li Heng only managed to gather 150,000 troops, claiming to have an army of 200,000.

Fang Guan divided his troops into three armies. He appointed Yang Xiwen to lead the Southern Army, marching from Zhouzhi County; Liu Qi to lead the Central Army, marching from Wugong County; and Li Guangjin to lead the Northern Army, marching from Qian County.

Now, the Jiannan reinforcements guarding west of Chang'an have retreated to Shu under the leadership of Yan Wu. As a result, the 200,000-strong army made smooth progress and arrived at the Xianyang Bridge on the banks of the Weishui River on the first day of July.

Soon, the scouts reported that a few days ago, Li Guangbi had led tens of thousands of troops eastward and had actually left Tongguan.

Fang Guan was skeptical about this, and frowned and pondered for a long time while looking at the map, fearing that the rebels of Prince Qing would attack him by detour. With such worries, he waited for two days, and only when he was sure that there was no ambush did he order the crossing of Xianyang Bridge.

Soon, the array of Prince Qing's rebels appeared in front, with Wang Nande in the vanguard.

When the horn sounded, both sides deployed their troops, cautiously testing each other, and eagerly preparing for a fierce battle.

(End of this chapter)