Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 541 Appointment of the Commander
Xue Bai was indeed walking very slowly on his way south, but other than that, others could not find any other faults.

Now that Li Lin had rebelled, he seemed even more loyal and open-minded. Although this was just an empty title, it was very important to him. As for letting Hun Yu serve as the pacification envoy of Shandong Province, it was considered that he had gained real power.

In terms of personal relationship, Xue Zhan was closer to Xue Bai and had also made great contributions in capturing Shi Siming. If Xue Bai recommended him, no one would object. However, Hun Yu had more experience and a higher official position, so he was more suitable for this position.

In addition, although Hun Yu is not yet Xue Bai's confidant, once he is promoted, others will think that he has completely surrendered to Xue Bai, and then he will have no choice but to really surrender to Xue Bai.

After completing this task and sending Li Zhi back to the capital, Xue Bai decided to return to Fan Yang in accordance with the emperor's order.

Hun Yu, the newly appointed official, was very surprised and asked, "Does Prince Yong really want to return to Fanyang?"

"if not?"

"When Prince Yong rebelled, shouldn't Prince Yong lead the troops to put it down?"

Previously, Hun Yu had always said that Xue Bai was plotting rebellion and wanted to distance himself from him, but now he actually said such a thing. Xue Bai was somewhat amused and asked, "Why should I be the one to quell the rebellion?"

"The world has finally come to peace, how can we allow turmoil to arise again and make the people live in unrest? Prince Yong has made great military achievements and is the person who can put down the rebellion the fastest."

"If that's the case, then my contribution is too great. How can I have a good ending if my contribution is greater than my master's?"

Xue Bai waved his hand with emotion and continued to prepare to return to Fan Yang.

Hun Yu inevitably felt a little disappointed, and began to wonder why the vital overall situation of the world had to give way to suspicion and power struggles?
The next day, he saw Xue Bai off to the north. When they were about to part, he realized that during the time he was in the north fighting Shi Siming, he had developed a deep admiration for Prince Yong and had come to regard him as a brother.

He hoped that Prince Yong would lead the troops to quell Li Lin's rebellion. No matter how many reasons he gave, he actually just wanted to go on the expedition with Prince Yong again.

……

Xue Bai was very slow in going south, and even slower in returning north. After leaving Huazhou, he headed northeast, preparing to go to Weizhou.

While inspecting the local areas, he followed the progress of the court's campaign against Li Lin.

The court's decision on the commander-in-chief was slower than Xue Bai's progress. Xue Bai waited for several days but still received no decision from the court.

If he were to guess, Li Cong would definitely not use Li Guangbi, let alone Gao Shi. If Guo Ziyi could be used, the rebellion could probably be put down quickly, but he estimated that Li Cong still had concerns, fearing that Guo Ziyi's achievements would overshadow his own, and that Guo Ziyi would turn to support Li Lin. Moreover, with Tubo eyeing him covetously, it would not be appropriate to easily mobilize the border defense generals.

Xue Bai guessed again and again, but the result surprised him greatly.

Li Cong's appointment was completely out of the blue, leaving no clues for him to guess. He appointed Cui Yuan as the deputy marshal to fight against the bandits, and concurrently the governor of Shannan East Road and Jiangnan West Road, to lead the troops to fight against Li Lin.

Cui Yuan was originally Yang Guozhong's man. At the beginning of An Lushan's rebellion, he was in Shu County preparing to welcome Li Longji, which pleased Li Longji very much. He was immediately appointed as prime minister.

Later, Xue Bai ordered Yan Wu to go to Shu County to bring back Li Longji, and Cui Yuan was dismissed from his position as prime minister. Since he did not commit too many crimes, he still retained a third-rank honorary position. He should have faded out of officialdom from then on, but he did not expect to be entrusted with an important task suddenly.

News soon arrived from Chang'an, revealing the cause and effect of the incident.

"Cui Yuan was born into a noble family. He was quite talented in literature and good at managing money. He once gave Dou Wenyang a valuable gift and had a good relationship with him. Dou Wenyang admired him very much and planned to promote him to be the prime minister. The inner and outer courts supported each other and suppressed Chen Xilie and Wei Jiansu."

Xue Bai was speechless for a long while, then said: "Cui Yuan is as his name suggests, he is quite smooth."

The reason why he allowed Li Lin to rebel was that he knew that such internal strife within the royal family would not cause too much loss to the people, and Li Lin was ambitious but lacked talent, and would not be able to last long.

But now, after listening to Li Cong and Dou Wenyang's principles of employing people, he had a premonition that Li Lin's rebellion this time might be different and might not be easily quelled.

Thinking of this, Xue Bai stopped his horse and turned to look towards the southwest.

Xue Zhan asked curiously, "What are you looking at, brother?"

"Let's make a bet." Xue Bai said, "I think someone will come to find me soon."

He didn't think Cui Yuan could defeat Li Lin, and someone would surely come to persuade him to take action.

Xue Zhan was not stupid, he shook his head and said, "Whatever my brother says is what it is, I won't gamble."

Just as he finished speaking, someone was heard shouting "King Yong" in the distance. Everyone looked back and saw a lone rider riding in the wind and snow, chasing after them from the south.

Xue Bai originally thought that it might be a messenger sent by the imperial court or some local official. After looking for a while, he unexpectedly discovered that it was Li Bai, so he went to greet him.

Since the last time he accompanied Li He to transport grain to Bianzhou, Li Bai was awarded a post as a transport official in Henan Province. He did not want it at the time and said he wanted to go back to live in seclusion. However, Xue Bai saw that he was still ambitious and wanted him to experience more local affairs, so he repeatedly asked him to take the post.

"Brother Taibai, why are you here?"

"Hahaha, I finally caught up with Sanlang." Li Bai laughed, showing his heroic spirit, and said, "I heard that you arrived in Huazhou, which is only a hundred miles away from me. I came here to drink with you, but when I arrived in Huazhou, I heard that you had gone north. Anyway, I'm here, so the hundred miles are not a big deal."

Xue Bai asked: "Just drinking?"

Li Bai might have other things to do, but seeing that Xue Bai was really happy, he put those mundane things behind him and said with a smile: "Not only drinking, but also writing poetry."

"it is good."

If someone else had invited him, Xue Bai would rather deal with more official business than spend time drinking and bragging. But in life, one must have a few friends with whom to spend time together, and Li Bai is undoubtedly one of them.

That night, they arrived at Guancheng County, abandoned their guards, went out in disguise and found a small tavern.

The owner of the tavern was an old man with sparse gray hair and a slightly hunched back. Perhaps because he lived alone, he was still very welcoming even when I was woken up in the middle of the night. He lit the fire, warmed two pots of wine, cut some dried meat, and served some side dishes.

"I can see that you two are guests of elegance and refinement. It is a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar."

Li Bai was amazed to see that this ordinary old man could compose some literary works, and he pulled him to drink a few cups.

It can be seen that he is indeed very frank, and he does not have anything to say to Xue Bai. Or maybe it is just a meeting between friends, so those unimportant things can be left alone.

After drinking a few glasses, the old man felt sleepy, so he collected the money and went to sleep, telling them to close the shop door when they left.

Xue Bai then asked, "Brother Taibai, you traveled hundreds of miles to see me. Is there really nothing else?"

"It used to be there," Li Bai said, "but it's gone now."

"It's a casual conversation, it's nice to hear it."

"it is good."

Li Bai was also carefree. He put down his wine bowl and said, "I heard that you were going to give up your military power and return to Chang'an, so I was planning to come and persuade you. Now that you are safe, there is nothing to talk about with such intrigues."

Xue Bai originally thought that Li Bai was unwilling to be an official in a complicated government office like the Transport Bureau. Only now did he realize that he had misunderstood Li Bai's sense of loyalty.

They talked about everything, and he expressed his idea.

Li Bai laughed and said, "I have indeed resigned from my post again. The mundane affairs of the Transportation Bureau are very tiresome. It is better to go home, it is better to go home."

It was difficult for him to be so unrestrained. If it were someone else, no matter how tiring the mundane affairs were, he would not really resign. And he would not talk about this matter openly after letting Xue Bai down.

Xue Bai shook his head and sighed, saying: "Brother Taibai is ambitious for great achievements, how can you act so recklessly?"

He had heard Li Bai say more than once that his lifelong ambition was to apply Guan Yu's ideas and Yan Shi's tactics, to exert his intelligence, and to be a counselor to make the world peaceful and the country clean. He also wanted to help Li Bai, but every time he met him, he always felt that Li Bai was too aloof, a little overconfident, and cynical, which was not what an official should be like.

"You and I are two different types of people. All my life I have wanted to be able to 'talk and laugh in peace'. I want to show my righteousness but I also want to stay true to myself."

Li Bai picked up the wine pot, poured himself a bowl, and also poured a little for Xue Bai. Only then did he realize that Xue Bai's bowl of wine was only a mouthful less.

Xue Bai raised his hand to block the wine, indicating that he didn't need more wine, and said: "Yes, Brother Taibai wants to 'rise with the wind', but I know that I am an ant, climbing up step by step. When an ant climbs to a high place, it is always afraid that a gust of wind will blow it down again. I dare not slack off, and I have to compromise and serve the powerful."

This has indeed been Xue Bai's mentality all along.

Unlike Li Bai, who is cheerful and optimistic by nature, he always thinks about everything. But he often envies Li Bai, who is so unrestrained and free, regards high positions and generous salaries as dirt, and lives freely.

"How can you be an ant?" Li Bai shook his head repeatedly, "You are a descendant of the emperor."

"My starting point was just a lowly slave." Xue Bai casually took out the seal on his body and threw it on the table, saying: "I have worked hard all these years to get this."

If you throw away the seal, you also throw away your identity.

Li Bai reached out his hand, patted Xue Bai on the shoulder, and said, "If that's the case, I don't envy you anymore. When I go out, I can make friends with the kings and princes. When I hide, I can look down on Chao Xu. I was born with talent. How can I lose my original intention for fame and wealth?"

"Brother Taibai is a genius."

The two men clinked their bowls.

Li Bai was drunk. He picked up a dry branch by the stove and started dancing with a sword. He also asked Xue Bai to compose poems and songs for him to add to the atmosphere.

He was the only one who, after Xue Bai became King of Yong, still treated Xue Bai as before, and truly achieved the goal of being on equal terms with kings and princes.

They made quite a noise, but the old man in the tavern was still sleeping soundly, and was not awakened. He had no idea what kind of poems were written in his small tavern tonight. Finally, Li Bai finished his sword dance, threw away the dead branch in his hand, and said, "I have resigned from my official position and plan to go to Yangzhou to pick up my family and continue to live in seclusion. This wine is just a farewell to Sanlang."

He came from far away just to drink and write poetry, and then said goodbye and left.

Xue Bai looked at his back and asked himself in his heart, if he was not burdened by power, what would he want to do at this moment?
Maybe it was because he was a little drunk, but several beautiful figures appeared in his mind, and he also remembered the bet he made with Yan Yan.

Gradually, as he thought about it, a new decision beyond the plan became clearer in his mind.

"Brother Taibai."

Li Bai turned around and saw Xue Bai drinking up the remaining wine in the bowl, then quickly followed him out, not forgetting to close the door of the tavern.

"I will go to Yangzhou with Brother Taibai."

"Is Sanlang planning to lead his troops south?" Li Bai asked, "Are you worried that Prince Yong will not attack Chang'an City, but will instead go down the river? But Prince Yong's edict said that he wants to clear the emperor's side."

"I won't bring any troops with me. The court has not ordered me to suppress the rebellion, so I can't move rashly." Xue Bai waved his hand and said, "I am just going south to Yangzhou to deal with some personal matters."

Anyway, Li Cong had not ordered him to lead the troops, so he had been free recently. And since he had already reached the Yellow River, it would not hurt to go south again.

Li Bai suggested that if Xue Bai was worried about his family, he and Zong could escort Yan Yan to Fanyang. However, Xue Bai had made up his mind and planned to go south himself.

If it were anyone else, they would not dare to take on such a big responsibility. Only Li Bai stopped trying to persuade Xue Bai and happily agreed to go with Xue Bai.

~~
Jiangling.

Li Lin recruited tens of thousands of brave warriors and prepared to take Chang'an directly.

Regarding strategy, his shogunate actually discussed two plans. In addition to attacking Chang'an, some people proposed that the army go down the river, occupy important cities such as Jinling and Yangzhou, and keep the south of the Yangtze River, first form a situation of separatist rule in the south, and then attack Chang'an.

Li Lin was originally tempted by this plan, thinking it was the safest option and at the very least he would be able to control half of the country.

But this plan was strongly opposed by Ji Guangchen, a general in his army.

Ji Guangchen was a successful Jinshi, and first served in Longyou. Later, he made many military achievements and was transferred to Zizhou Sima. When An Lushan rebelled, he was in Shu and was appointed as the Chief of Jiangling, Li Lin's deputy.

As soon as Li Lin raised his army, he immediately sent people to force Ji Guangchen to join him in creating great things.

Ji Guangchen agreed, but he pointed out very firmly that Chang'an must be captured immediately in order to achieve the great cause.

There are many reasons. He believes that the current sage Li Cong relied on Xue Bai to quell the rebellion, but he was actually mediocre and incompetent, and could be called a "weak ruler". Now Li Cong relied heavily on eunuchs, which caused resentment among the people of the world. As the wisest of the sons of the retired emperor, Li Lin followed the order of the retired emperor to clear the court and occupy the righteous cause, so it should not be difficult to defeat Li Cong.

But if he went down the river to capture Nanjing and Yangzhou, although these places were rich, people all over the world would think that Prince Yong had the intention of separatism, and he would lose his righteous reputation.

There were many famous generals and good ministers in the court. If Li Cong realized his mistake in time and appointed a general to lead the attack, Li Lin would definitely not be their opponent.

We must act quickly and enter Chang'an as soon as possible to kill Dou Wenyang and ask Li Cong to give up his throne. Otherwise, the famous generals and ministers of the Tang Dynasty will have no choice but to accept it.

There is a huge gap between these two strategies.

Among Li Lin's subordinates, only Ji Guangchen had fought in Longyou, so Li Lin relied heavily on him, adopted his advice, and led his troops north to purge the emperor's side.

Jiangling is neither too close nor too far from Chang'an. After passing Shannan East Road and Wuguan Road, you will reach Lantian, which is somewhat similar to the route Liu Bang took when he first entered Guanzhong.

Li Lin had the power to control the Shannan East Road, and no one could stop his troops wherever they went.

It was not until they passed Dengzhou that Cui Yuan led a large army to resist.

Both sides deployed their battle formations and prepared to fight.

……

This battle was extremely important to Li Cong. It was the first time since he ascended the throne that he personally selected the commander-in-chief, and it was also the first battle he fought after coming to power.

Only by winning the battle could he get rid of the impression that he was a "weak ruler" who relied on Xue Bai to ascend the throne.

Therefore, when Cui Yuan asked him for a large amount of troops and military funds, Li Cong hesitated for a moment and agreed.

He appointed Wang Shoucheng, a eunuch close to him, as Cui Yuan's military supervisor and required Wang Shoucheng to report the battle situation to him in a timely manner, once a day, or even twice a day.

Wang Shoucheng was also very lucky. He had given Li Cong a lot of good news since the army set out.

Although Cui Yuan brought many imperial guards from Chang'an and part of the garrison in Guanzhong, his military strength was still insufficient compared to Li Lin. Therefore, after he was stationed in Shangzhou, he spent a large amount of military funds to recruit warriors.

Then he rewarded his soldiers, which inspired them and boosted their morale.

When Wang Shoucheng handed over this information, Dou Wenyang discussed with Li Cong and believed that an order should be issued to order Cui Yuan to go south as soon as possible.

There were many reasons. The first was to quell the Yongwang Rebellion as soon as possible to reduce the loss of the saint's prestige. The second was that the money and grain in Guanzhong was far less abundant than that in Jiangling. If they delayed for too long, they would definitely not be able to outlast Li Lin. The third was that Cui Yuan was a prime minister, while Li Lin was just an ignorant person who grew up in the deep palace. The court was confident of winning this battle.

It was under such circumstances that Cui Yuan gave up the advantage of geographical location and led his army out of Wuguan Road, blocking Li Lin's rebels south of Dengzhou.

Li Cong paced anxiously in the hall, biting his fingernails unconsciously. Finally, Dou Wenyang arrived holding Wang Shoucheng's letter.

"How was it, did you win?"

"Your Majesty, the confrontation is still going on." Dou Wenyang replied.

Li Cong was very disappointed, but at least he didn't hear any bad news. He murmured, "I hope Cui Yuan won't let me down."

Dou Wenyang then said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Wang Shoucheng and Cui Yuan have come up with a brilliant plan to defeat the bandits."

"Say it."

"Cui Yuan sent out scouts to find out that Ji Guangchen, a general in Li Lin's rebel army, was a Jinshi and was deeply favored by the court." Dou Wenyang said, "Wang Shoucheng believes that this man may be instigated to rebel, so he asked the saint to grant him a high position and generous salary to persuade him to surrender."

Li Cong naturally would not refuse, and he immediately wrote an imperial edict, not only pardoning Ji Guangchen's crime of treason and rewarding him greatly, but also promising that as long as the other soldiers in the rebel army surrendered to the court, they would be forgiven.

The imperial edict was sent to Cui Yuan's army. Cui Yuan was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to meet Ji Guangchen.

In order to ensure that he could convince Ji Guangchen, he also picked out one of the beautiful girls he kept and gave it to Ji Guangchen.

Cui Yuan was born into a noble family. When he was an official in Shu County in his early years, he found many beautiful girls and raised them at home. He had many concubines around him, and this time he brought them to the army.

He has good vision, and what he can give to Ji Guangchen must be stunningly beautiful. He believes that it will definitely impress Ji Guangchen.

Li Lin was not at home that day. When the envoy entered the rebel camp, Ji Guangchen was talking to his generals. When he heard that the Tang army had sent another envoy, he did not disperse the generals but let the envoy directly into the tent to meet him.

The Tang army envoy had no choice but to lead the beauty into the tent.

A wisp of fragrant wind blew by, and the generals turned their heads one after another. When they saw this beauty, they were all staring in amazement, and some even stood up in ecstasy.

When the envoy saw this situation, he became more confident in persuading Ji Guangchen to surrender.

He expressed the saint's forgiveness and promised that as long as Ji Guangchen turned from evil to good, he would be given a high position and generous salary. These were things for the future, and they could not be seen or touched for the time being, so he then sent the beauty forward.

"General Ji is a hero, and a perfect match for the beauty. Please accept it."

Seeing this, many generals in the tent swallowed their saliva and thought that General Ji could give up the dark and join the light.

Ji Guangchen didn't even look at the beauty, but looked around at the generals under his command and said in a deep voice: "I might as well tell you that it's not that I haven't thought about surrendering to the court."

Then, he raised his hand and pointed, saying, "But you have all seen that this is the current trend in the court. The treacherous and corrupt are in power and exploitation is unbridled. The important ministers and generals have no courage. When the two armies are facing each other, they only dare to seduce each other with beauty. In such a turbid situation, the saint still wants to change the beginning of the year to show his achievements. How can we not be loyal to Prince Yong and purge the court?!"

After these words, all the generals fell silent and shifted their gazes from the beauty to Ji Guangchen's face.

Ji Guangchen's eyes turned red, and he said emotionally: "You all followed Prince Yong to purge the court, and you put your lives and the lives of your wives and children in my hands. How dare I accept this beauty and betray your trust? Kill her!"

"kill!"

"puff."

"puff."

With two slashes of sword, the general in the tent directly chopped down the envoy and the beauty sent by Cui Yuan, and blood splattered on the spot.

Ji Guangchen did not say a word and immediately ordered the troops to march out to attack Cui Yuan's camp.

(End of this chapter)