Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 511 Give way

Chapter 511 Give way
At the same time that Li Cong established the crown prince, he also appointed many officials in the court.

For example, Yan Gaoqing was appointed as the Imperial Censor and the Governor of the Eastern Capital, and Zhang Xun was appointed as the Governor of Bianzhou and served as the Transport Commissioner of Jianghuai and Henan. It was obvious that they were all targeting the food and fodder of Jianghuai.

At that time, the Hebei officials who followed Xue Bai in raising the flag of rebellion in Changshan, headed by Yuan Luqian, including Raoyang prefect Lu Quancheng, Qinghe prefect Li E and others, were promoted one after another. Many of them had retreated to Chang'an when Li Guangbi came to the throne. In addition, the Hebei rebels who were instigated by Xue Bai, such as Yan Zhuang, also got important positions.

Even Dugu Wensu and Li Shiyu, who had been instigated by Xue Bai to defect and then sided with Li Heng, were recruited by him as recorders and military officers in Prince Yong's palace, giving them the opportunity to continue serving.

Most of these people are from Hebei or have close ties with Hebei. They understand the situation in Hebei and sympathize with Hebei's plight. They were the ones Xue Bai specifically selected to solve Hebei's problems.

"We have to admit that Hebei is in chaos again."

The chief minister of the Secretariat had a large sand table set up, and Xue Bai pointed at it and said, "The latest intelligence shows that the rebel Cai Xide's troops are still attacking Shangdang County, including Luzhou City. His Majesty has issued an order to let Guo Ziyi rescue Luzhou. Now Guo Ziyi and Cai Xide are facing off at Zhangshui, but the consumption and chaos caused by the previous civil strife in the court have yet to be resolved."

How could there be no problem? Generally speaking, even the emperor has changed, and generals like Guo Ziyi who are in charge of the army outside must return to the court to express their loyalty to Li Cong. There are many voices in the court, but Xue Bai insisted on asking Guo Ziyi to lead the army to rescue Luzhou directly. However, Guo Ziyi had difficulty in appeasing the generals and winning the battle for a while because the generals were not determined and the food and grass were insufficient.

"Li Guangbi had no choice but to retreat here, Heyang."

Xue Bai pointed to a place on the sand table, which was located on the north bank of the Yellow River, not too far from Mengjin Ferry.

An official then asked, "Why did Li Guangbi retreat?"

"How can we not retreat?" Xue Bai said, "Shi Siming's 130,000 troops are coming with great momentum. They are definitely not just here to rescue An Qingxu, but also to attack Luoyang. If Li Guangbi is defeated, the counties and prefectures behind him cannot even raise food and grass. How can they stop him? If Luoyang is lost again, who can afford it?"

He could understand that Li Guangbi's situation was not easy. Not only Li Guangbi, but also generals such as Zhang Xun, Wang Sili and Li Sheng in Henan were also in a state of panic.

"Heyang City is the gateway to Luoyang. We can advance to recover Hebei and retreat to defend Luoyang. This is a safe strategy."

Yan Zhenqing approved of Li Guangbi's strategy, but his face was still worried. He said, "If Shi Siming takes advantage of Li Guangbi's instability and immediately goes south, Heyang City will not be repaired in time, food and grass will not be stored, and even the officials in Henan and Huainan have not yet obeyed the imperial order, I am afraid it will not be able to hold on."

"Yes."

"The most urgent task now is to welcome back the emperor and clarify the misunderstanding to the people of the world." Yan Zhenqing said, "Only when the imperial court issues an order can we resist the enemy."

"Soon, the emperor will return to Chang'an soon."

Xue Bai also knew this, but as this required imperial power, he was currently powerless to do anything.

He was waiting for news from Yan Wu, Gao Shi and others.

"We still have to stop Shi Siming from going south to buy more time." Xue Bai turned to one person and asked, "Brother Changyuan, what do you think?"

Every time he discussed the situation, he would bring Li Mi along.

Li Mi was unwilling to give advice to Xue Bai and often kept a distance from the affairs. He sat in a corner wearing a Taoist robe and was out of tune with the other officials.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Xue Bai continued: "At that time, Li Heng also sent people to negotiate with Shi Siming. You know a lot of details. How about telling us about it?"

Since even Li Heng had abdicated and committed suicide, and the matter at this time was a major one: defending against the enemy and suppressing the rebellion, Li Mi still spoke.

"The reason why Prince Zhong was able to recruit Shi Siming was because Shi Siming also had some people under his command who were loyal to the court. There were two key figures, one was Wu Cheng'en and the other was Geng Renzhi. Wu Cheng'en was the former governor of Xindu. When An Lushan started his rebellion, he had no choice but to surrender to Shi Siming. After Prince Zhong's envoy contacted him, he tried his best to promote the recruitment; Geng Renzhi was Shi Siming's staff member, who persuaded Shi Siming to accept the title of Prince of Guiyi. I believe they were also persuading Shi Siming to withdraw his troops."

Xue Bai did not think that Li Heng was trying to appease him, but rather that it was more like a compromise. In order to eradicate the disaster, Shi Siming must be defeated completely first. It would be useless to just ask him to withdraw his troops.

"Shi Siming is now in great force, and the royal army has missed the best opportunity to fight. Is there any way to defeat the enemy?"

"There is a way." Li Mi said, "You can promise Wu Chengen that he will be the governor of Fanyang and Pinglu as long as he can get rid of Shi Siming."

Xue Bai nodded when he heard this, but remained silent for a long time.

Dugu Wensu thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Li, this is a brilliant plan. The rebels are not united. Shi Siming was originally just a subordinate of An Lushan, but now he is so powerful that he intends to replace An Qingxu. It is inevitable that some people will become disloyal, and we can take advantage of this."

Xue Bai said: "Although this plan is good,... let's not talk about what will happen if it fails. Even if it succeeds, how can we show the majesty of the court? Replacing Shi Siming as the governor with Wu Chengen is ultimately a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution."

Li Mi understood Xue Bai's intention, sighed slightly, and said: "Even if we look at the long term, we have no soldiers and no food, and the imperial court cannot issue any orders. We can only take it step by step and solve the urgent problem first."

"Alright."

Xue Bai thought about it. Although Li Mi's strategy could not eradicate the accumulated problems, it could ease the situation without too much loss. At least it had no disadvantages and was worth a try. As for the longer term, the court's own problems had to be solved first.

"Then we will follow Brother Changyuan's plan and send someone to contact Wu Chengen."

"I can go and persuade Wu Chengen." Someone responded, it was Yan Zhuang.

Seeing this, Yuan Luqian frowned slightly, thinking that Yan Zhuang volunteered to go on the mission, maybe he wanted to take the opportunity to surrender to Shi Siming, so he said, "I am willing to go too."

"I have other important matters that require Yuan Gong's approval. Weizhou can be handled by Yan Zhuang."

Xue Bai still believed in Yan Zhuang. When Li Longji regarded Yan Zhuang as a traitor, Yan Zhuang was able to rebel. Now that he has become the Prince of Yong, an ambitious person like Yan Zhuang will definitely want to make progress with him.

After the discussion, he gave Yan Zhuang a few more words of advice in private.

"It is certainly gratifying that Wu Chengen has eliminated Shi Siming, but when you go there this time, you must at least delay Shi Siming's steps south. It would be better to let him become emperor, which would inevitably lead to a fight with An Qingxu..."

~~
Soon, Xue Bai obtained a secret decree, appointing Wu Chengen as the governor of Fanyang and Pinglu, and ordering him to get rid of Shi Siming.

Yan Zhuang still hopes that one day he can become prime minister again, this time a real prime minister, and he has high hopes for his trip.

He asked someone to make a hollow wooden stick, hid the secret decree inside, then said goodbye to Xue Bai and set out for Weizhou.

When he came to Luoyang again, he found that the people of Luoyang were in panic, and officials and civilians were discussing that the rebels were coming again. Li Guangbi retreated to Heyang City not far away, and the news spread quickly.

When Yan Gaoqing first took office, after discussing with Wang Sili and Li Sheng, although he also used newspapers to appease public opinion, he did not explicitly state that Luoyang would be safe and sound. He even had an attitude that he was ready to move people to other places for refuge at any time.

Because Yan Gaoqing had previously guarded Yongqiu with Zhang Xun, he knew the situation in Jianghuai best and knew that Helan Jinming not only did not provide food and grass, but also regarded them as rebels. In this case, once Shi Siming's army crossed the Yellow River, Luoyang would be difficult to defend.

"Don't worry, Lord Yan." Yan Zhuang said, "I may be able to buy time for Lord Yan so that he can prepare for the battle."

"I hope so."

The relationship between the two men had not been very good when they were officials together in Hebei. Now that they were on the same front facing Shi Siming's 130,000-strong army, they finally put aside their personal grudges.

Yan Zhuang continued to move north, crossed the Yellow River, and returned to Hebei, where he was familiar. In the midst of war, he went directly to Weizhou to meet Shi Siming.

However, as soon as he reported his name outside Weizhou City, he was immediately arrested, and the Yan army rudely took him before Shi Siming.

"How dare you come here?" Shi Siming shouted in a deep voice, "Skin this traitor who betrayed his master for fame, take out his heart and liver, and offer it to the Great Yan Saint!"

"Great Sage Zhou Wang, you misunderstood." Yan Zhuang hurriedly called out Shi Siming's strange self-proclaimed name and said, "It was Li Zhuer who betrayed the saint. I only found out about it afterwards. The reason I surrendered was to find a way to rescue the saint. I didn't expect An Qingxu to kill the emperor and his father!"

Shi Siming raised his hand to stop the soldiers.

An Qingxu promised to give him the throne of Great Yan, so he led his army south. But now that the siege of Xiangzhou has been lifted, An Qingxu no longer mentions giving up the throne, as if he wants to muddle through. So, Yan Zhuang's visit has become a witness, allowing him to replace An Qingxu legitimately.

"Did An Qingxu really kill his father?"

"It's true."

Shi Siming asked, "Why did the Tang court send you here?"

Yan Zhuang hesitated for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Something has happened in the Tang court. Li Heng has abdicated and committed suicide. Li Cong has become the Tang emperor and issued an edict that the title of King of Guiyi and Jiedushi of Fanyang and Pinglu promised by Li Heng at that time is no longer valid. Your Majesty must submit a petition to Chang'an to submit his title and request the title again."

As he spoke further, Shi Siming looked at him with an increasingly terrifying look.

"How dare you read out such an order?"

"No one in the Tang court dares to come as an envoy." Yan Zhuang said, "I have no choice but to come."

Shi Siming asked, "Are you not afraid of death?"

"I'm afraid, very afraid." Yan Zhuang said, "But I can't do anything, and I'm very frustrated."

Shi Siming's face turned colder, and he wanted to kill again. But he still needed to use Yan Zhuang to prove An Qingxu's crime of patricide, so he forced himself to hold back.

"I have great ambitions!" Yan Zhuang said, "Although I was born in a humble family, I aspire to hold great power and rule the world. That's why I always advised the late emperor to raise an army. Without me, there would be no Great Yan."

Having said this passionately, he changed the subject and said, "It's a pity that the previous emperor died before he could complete his career. An Qingxu was definitely not a good ruler, and the Tang court did not trust me at all. Unfortunately, I have great ambitions, but I cannot realize them. Therefore, no one in the Tang court is willing to come here, but I am willing to come."

Upon hearing this, Shi Siming stood up, the murderous look on his face gradually faded, and he exuded the powerful aura of a heroic leader.

Yan Zhuang sensed his domineering aura, bowed his head, and said, "I came here not to announce the will of the mediocre ruler of the Tang court, but to seek refuge with the true dragon of the world."

After a moment of silence, Shi Siming spoke up and asked, "Do you know my ambition?"

Yan Zhuang said: "My lord's talents and ambitions are far superior to An's!"

"I am different from An Lushan." This time, Shi Siming no longer concealed his true feelings and called An Lushan by his name, saying, "I started a rebellion not for my own enjoyment, but to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and create a new dynasty. I will work hard to establish a new dynasty and make achievements that will last for hundreds of generations."

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhuang's eyes filled with tears, and he said, "If An has this ambition, my life's hard work will not be in vain."

Shi Siming stepped forward, personally helped Yan Zhuang up, and said, "It's not too late. If you are willing to assist me, I will make you a prime minister."

"My lord, I am willing to serve you at my whim." In the hall, Geng Renzhi and Zhou Zhi, who were Shi Siming's advisors, looked at each other, and suspicion appeared in their eyes.

After Yan Zhuang left, Zhou Zhi immediately said to Shi Siming: "My lord, Yan Zhuang has betrayed his master and sought glory, and now he comes again, which is very suspicious."

Geng Renzhi also said: "Yes, a slave of three surnames cannot be trusted."

"Hahaha." Shi Siming laughed, "I have never thought of what you said. Let's keep him and see what he is planning."

into the night.

Shi Siming hosted a banquet for Yan Zhuang. Almost all the generals in the army were present. The atmosphere was high and they all talked about the heroic feat of the army marching south and scaring off Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi. When they were drunk, they even said that when Shi Siming became emperor, they would all be founding heroes.

Mixed in with them, Yan Zhuang met Wu Chengen.

Wu Cheng'en also paid attention to him and toasted him with two glasses of wine. When Yan Zhuang leaned on the wooden stick containing the secret decree and went to the toilet, Wu Cheng'en followed him and the two exchanged a few words.

But Yan Zhuang did not read out the secret decree, but just sighed, "It's good to be back."

That night, Yan Zhuang stayed in the post house in Weizhou. He asked someone to boil some water. When the fire was lit, he walked over, broke the wooden stick into two pieces with a "click", and threw it directly into the fire.

~~
Ever since Shi Siming proclaimed himself king in Weizhou and lifted the siege of Xiangzhou, the morale of his soldiers has been high.

Zhou Zhi then advised Shi Siming to pursue the victory, first capture Luoyang, and then proclaim himself emperor.

What he said made sense. At present, the internal fighting between the two emperors of the Tang court had ended. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi would sooner or later cooperate closely, and then it would be difficult to deal with them. It would be better to take advantage of the current chaos in the Tang court and capture Henan first in the name of helping Li Longji to suppress the rebellion.

Shi Siming was a man who was very knowledgeable about warfare. He knew that opportunities for war were fleeting, so he agreed with Zhou Zhi's proposal and nodded continuously when he heard it.

"Now, we only need to send a general to hold Huguan Pass and cut off Guo Ziyi from supporting Li Guangbi. Then the Tang army in Henan will never be a match for our lord." Zhou Zhi added, "As for An Qingxu, he is just a waste. Once our lord has established his foundation, why should we worry that he will not give up his throne?"

Shi Siming agreed with this, but he glanced at Yan Zhuang and asked tentatively, "What do you think?"

"Zhou Zhi's plan is brilliant." Yan Zhuang said, "I only have one worry."

"what?"

Yan Zhuang said, "An Qingxu promised to give the throne of Great Yan to you, but now he has broken his promise. Although you may not mind, he may be suspicious of you and want to persecute you. What if he contacts Guo Ziyi and cuts off the army's retreat?"

The An family's rebellion was defeated because the battle line was too long and they were constantly attacked by the Tang army, which cut off all communications.

Shi Mingsi would not make the same mistake as An Lushan.

So, the only thing he had to do was to solve An Qingxu's problem.

~~
Xiangzhou.

Zhang Tongru strode up to An Qingxu, only to see him drinking and having fun. His face fell, and he stepped forward and began to persuade him earnestly.

"Saint, it has been many days since Shi Siming defeated the Tang army. Saint, it is time to go and welcome him."

"Welcome him?" An Qingxu's cheeks flushed, and he sneered, "If I go to meet him, will he let me go?"

Zhang Tongru was helpless and sighed, "Since the Saint has promised to give him the throne, if he doesn't give it up now, he will definitely take it by force, and then I'm afraid he will kill the Saint. The only way is to give it up, maybe he will still show some leniency for the sake of their past friendship."

An Qingxu threw the wine glass in his hand at Zhang Tongru's feet and cursed, "I'm so annoyed! Get out of here."

In fact, he knew very well that he would be dead whether he gave up the throne or not, so he might as well enjoy himself while he could.

Seeing him so decadent, Zhang Tongru sighed, stepped back, and discussed with Ping Lie and others about going to meet Shi Siming to avoid being liquidated by Shi Siming later.

An Qingxu was too lazy to even try to stop him.

Zhang Tongru and Ping Lie then rushed to Weizhou, and unexpectedly, they met Yan Zhuang.

Many years ago, the three of them went to Beijing together to take the imperial examinations, drank with others in Wubenfang, and discussed state affairs. Now when they meet again, things have changed. The prosperous Tang Dynasty is no longer there, and traitors and rebels are emerging frequently, which is also their contribution.

They recalled the past and cried bitterly, and then talked about the current situation. Zhang Tongru spoke on behalf of An Qingxu, saying that An Qingxu was willing to surrender.

Yan Zhuang said: "That being said, if the king goes to Xiangzhou City, there is no guarantee that he will not be killed because of his achievements that surpass his master..."

"Of course not." Zhang Tongru said hurriedly.

"The king dare not believe it unless the saint can come out of the city to meet him."

Zhang Tongru knew An Qingxu's character and knew that he would not dare to leave the city no matter what, for fear of being killed by Shi Siming. He felt very embarrassed.

Seeing that he was in a dilemma, Yan Zhuang said, "How about this? I had no choice but to surrender to the Tang court in Luoyang. The Saint must hate me very much. Why don't I go to see the Saint on behalf of the King? If the Saint does not suspect the King, he will naturally not kill me. I can persuade him to go out of the city to welcome the King personally."

Zhang Tongru and Ping Lie had no objection to this, so the three of them went together to seek an audience with Shi Siming.

Shi Siming was very happy that Zhang Tongru and Ping Lie came, and gave them generous rewards. He also sent Yan Zhuang with them to meet An Qingxu and told An Qingxu that he would definitely treat him well.

Yan Zhuang then went to Xiangzhou again. On the way, he asked about some captives who were in Luoyang at that time, such as Geshu Han.

"Although Geshu Han suffered a stroke and became paralyzed, the sage took him with him on his escape to the north."

"Why? You must have given up a lot of gold and silver, why bother taking a disabled person with you?" Yan Zhuang said, "In my opinion, just kill him directly."

Zhang Tongru said: "At that time, the main generals of the Tang army attacking Luoyang were Wang Sili and Li Sheng. They were very concerned about Geshu Han's life. I had someone escort him to stop the pursuit, at least to stop the Tang army from shooting arrows."

"I see."

Yan Zhuang sneered and asked, "Can I go and see him?"

Zhang Tongru thought that Yan Zhuang wanted to kill Geshu Han and was a little hesitant, but he couldn't refuse Yan Zhuang, so he had to agree.

After being captured, Geshu Han was appointed as Sikong and served as the Minister of the Secretariat, which was no different from a prisoner. When he arrived in Xiangzhou, he also lived in a small courtyard and was taken care of by the brother and sister Cao Buzha and Cao Buzheng.

When Yan Zhuang met Geshu Han, he didn't say anything, but just made a few sarcastic remarks.

Afterwards, he went to see An Qingxu, and his tone became even colder. He ordered An Qingxu to go out of the city to welcome Shi Siming, otherwise he would be faced with war.

An Qingxu knew that once he left the city, he would be at the mercy of others, so he asked, "I would like to be a brother country with Mr. Shi, and we can stand side by side, what do you think?"

Yan Zhuang's face immediately turned cold and he cursed An Qingxu for breaking his promise. Then he threw his sleeves and left, leaving only the words "Wait for death".

An Qingxu was filled with hatred, thinking that if Yan Zhuang had not betrayed An Lushan, he would not have been in this situation. He raised his hand and pointed, asking Zhang Tongru and Ping Lie to recruit people to kill Yan Zhuang. However, these people had already surrendered to Shi Siming in their hearts, and were unwilling to take action after hearing this.

Under such circumstances, An Qingxu knew that he was deserted by his friends and relatives and was not far from death, so he had to drink to drown his sorrows and no longer cared about the petty intrigues of his subordinates.

After two glasses of wine, he heard that Geshu Han wanted to see him, which was strange. Since Geshu Han surrendered, this was the first time he took the initiative to ask for a meeting, so he hurriedly invited him to see him.

Geshu Han was carried in sitting on a chair. After greeting everyone, he quickly stated the purpose of his visit.

"Shi Siming came here to seek the position of the sage, why didn't the sage resist him?"

"Alas." An Qingxu sighed, "I have thought about closing the city and resisting, but Shi Siming has an army of 130,000. You see, the people are in a panic and dare not fight him."

"May I ask, Saint, how many troops are left?"

An Qingxu thought for a moment and said, "If you want to say that those who can still obey my orders and are trustworthy are the 3,300 personal soldiers, who were reassembled after they were scattered in the battle of the Yellow River. They are loyal and reliable."

Geshu Han pondered for a while and asked, "Sage, can you give me a chance to fight Shi Siming?"

"You?" An Qingxu was very surprised.

"I am willing to fight for the saint." Geshu Han said, "If I win, Shi Siming will not be able to take away the Great Yan Kingdom from the saint."

An Qingxu actually knew that Geshu Han did this not out of loyalty to him, but to consume Dayan and buy time for the Tang Dynasty... He was not stupid and could see it all.

But why not try? He had nothing to lose. Shi Siming was determined to seize the throne and kill him. So why not gamble with the lives of others to give him a chance of survival?

As for whether it would damage Dayan's strength too much, we would have to wait until we took back Dayan.

"Okay."

An Qingxu quickly agreed and said, "I will appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World."

"I will never let the saint down."

Geshu Han, who had suffered a stroke, was unable to complete the ceremony. Looking at the drunken An Qingxu, he also felt that the situation was a bit absurd.

But at this moment, he still remembered the time in Chang'an when the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty appointed him as the Deputy Marshal of the Army and asked him to guard Tongguan. That time, he failed to defend the Tang Dynasty.

Now he finally had another chance. Even though he only led a small number of rebels, he didn't want to lose again...

(End of this chapter)

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