Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 625 Weakness
Changan.

After the emperor had his meal, Chang'an City became deserted for a few days, but soon became lively again after the beginning of spring.

As the Silk Road was reopened, merchants and travelers from the Western Regions flocked to the Tang Dynasty again.

This was truly a prosperous scene. If it had not been for the imperial court's reforms and the series of turmoil caused by them, it could have been considered a sign of revival.

In the sixth year of Zhengxing, in late spring in April, at the residence of the Ten Kings, Prince Yan Li Yin received a very important guest to him, Li Qiyun.

Li Qiyun was a Jinshi in the seventh year of Tianbao, on the same list as Xue Bai. He came from an extraordinary family, a direct descendant of the Zhaojun Li family, and had outstanding talents. He had previously made contributions on the battlefield of Fangqiu and in subduing Pugu Huai'en. He was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and was only one step away from being appointed as Prime Minister.

Such a person expressed his willingness to help Li Yin ascend the throne, which naturally made Li Yin very happy and he called him "Sir".

"Sir, are you here today with good news?"

Last time, Li Qiyun had told Li Yin that the ministers had a plan to surround Luoyang and force the emperor to abdicate. If this plan was accomplished, Xue Bai might abdicate.

Li Yin is the twentieth son of Li Longji. Although he ranks very low among his brothers, many of his elder brothers have died. Now he is considered the oldest and most prestigious among the kings, and he has many sons. He is a strong candidate to succeed the throne, so it is inevitable that he has expectations.

"good news."

Li Qiyun opened his mouth with three clear words, and Li Yin couldn't help but smile when he heard it.

"Xue Ni has admitted that he is not Li Qian, but pretended to be the heir to the throne and usurped the throne." Li Qiyun said, "I invite Your Majesty to come to Daming Palace to announce the government."

Li Yin was overjoyed and said, "He admitted it? That's great."

Afterwards, he thought of Guo Ziyi's attitude a few days ago, which was not very supportive of him, and couldn't help asking: "Sir, now that I have entered the palace, Guo Ziyi will not think that I am plotting a rebellion, right?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Mr. Guo has expressed his position."

Li Yin thought that the overall situation in Luoyang seemed to have been decided, so even Guo Ziyi had firmed his attitude.

He hurriedly entrusted the post of prime minister to Li Qiyun, claiming that he had no moral integrity and that the future governance of the Tang Dynasty would still require the help of Prime Minister Li.

Afterwards, he naturally happily ordered people to pack their luggage and prepare to move into the Daming Palace.

He had long since had enough of living in these ten kings' houses.

Li Yin has many children, and there are still more than 20 of them who are not yet adults. The team is so huge that it attracts many people to watch.

This made Li Yin very proud, and he even said to his wife with a smile: "The people of the Tang Dynasty are looking up to the emperor."

He entered the Daming Palace from the Danfeng Gate and went to settle his family. On the other side, Li Qiyun went to the Council Hall to discuss the follow-up matters with a group of ministers.

Li Yin also grew up in the Daming Palace when he was young. This time when he came back, he had a very different feeling. He first went to the Penglai Palace.

Penglai Palace was where Xue Bai lived after he ascended the throne. It was a "工"-shaped palace. The front hall was used to summon ministers and discuss state affairs. The back hall was also furnished with desks and bookshelves, which were used as a place to handle confidential matters and review memorials. There was also a bed behind the screen.

Because there were too many books and documents piled up, the hall was filled with the smell of paper and ink. Although it was not unpleasant, Li Yin did not like it.

He likes the luxurious and gorgeous style. There are no decorations here, giving off a cool feeling.

“It needs to be renovated.”

He sighed to himself, thinking about how to arrange it in his mind.

I have to move his square table over and play dominoes every day.

Suddenly, his son Li Yan came running over and shouted in a panic, "Father!"

Li Yin frowned and said impatiently: "What are you yelling about? You should live in Shaoyang Courtyard and stop competing with your brothers for the palace."

Although this sentence was said in a tone of rebuke, it was actually a great reward, that is, he was going to enthrone Li Yan as the crown prince.

However, Li Yan was not as ecstatic as expected, but instead came closer and started mumbling something.

"I just heard someone say that Xue Ni killed all the officials who opposed him..."

"Hearsay, nonsense!"

Li Yin shouted.

He shook his head, thinking that his son was too disappointing, had no judgment of his own, and couldn't even tell rumors apart.

"Xue Ni has confessed that he is not the heir to the throne. Since he has confessed, he must have reached the end of his rope."

"Father, he didn't confess, he admitted it in public."

"What does this mean?"

"He...he rebelled against the Tang Dynasty!" Li Yan didn't know how to explain it. He waved his arms and said, "He killed all the officials who were loyal to the Tang Dynasty and is going to lead his troops back to Chang'an!"

This kind of thing was too absurd, Li Yin didn't believe it at all.

"Mr. Li never said that. Could your information be more accurate than his?!"

"Father, look at this." Li Yan stuffed a newspaper into Li Yin's hand without saying anything.

Li Yin was stunned when he saw it, and wondered why Li Qijun didn't say anything at all.

Could it be that this matter is very dangerous?
~~
"At this point, the only option left is to mobilize an army to attack."

Li Qiyun looked at Guo Ziyi solemnly and said, "Since he has confessed that he is not a descendant of the Li family, it is like the Wu family usurping the Tang Dynasty. How can we tolerate it?"

Guo Ziyi stroked his beard and said nothing, his eyes always filled with thought.

"What is Mr. Guo still hesitating about?" Li Qiyun asked.

"I'm not hesitating." Guo Ziyi finally spoke, but gave him an unexpected answer, "I'm just thinking about how to win."

"As long as Lord Guo leads his troops eastward, how can we not win?"

"Before the troops move, the food and fodder must go first. Not to mention the food and wages of my soldiers, Chang'an's food and fodder still rely on the supply from the Eastern Capital. How can we raise an army without money and food?"

"Since the traitor Xue has lost the support of the people and will be defeated in an instant, why should Lord Guo worry about money and food?"

"According to military practice, when troops leave their base to support other places, they must be given three times the amount of food. How can the warehouses in Chang'an provide that?"

Li Qiyun said, "I will definitely raise funds for Mr. Guo."

"No hurry." Guo Ziyi raised his hand and waved, saying, "I have sent someone to inquire, and I believe the news will come back soon."

Li Qijun continued to persuade.

In this matter, he was standing on the side of justice, and Xue Bai had indeed gone too far, so Guo Ziyi had no reason to refuse.

Finally, Li Qiyun said, "Prince Yan has entered the Daming Palace today. If Lord Guo still wants to honor Xue Ni as the emperor, in his eyes, you are already a rebel."

Guo Ziyi smiled bitterly and sighed, "Why would I care about the future of such a person?"

"Well, Lord Guo has been greatly favored by the Tang Dynasty, so he would not bear to see a traitor overthrow the country?"

No matter what, things had come to this point, Guo Ziyi had no choice but to agree.

"it is good."

He is a very smart and smooth person, who can see danger early and come up with various ways to protect himself. But at the same time, he is also a very pure person. When he can only choose to be loyal or disloyal, he will definitely choose to be loyal to Li Tang.

Having made his choice, Guo Ziyi immediately became resolute, summoned his personal soldiers, and ordered: "Go and invite Pu Gu Yan."

"Here."

"Bring me paper and pen. I will write a personal letter to Feng Changqing, Li Guangbi and others."

Seeing Guo Ziyi like this, Li Qiyun felt relieved and said that with such a good general in the Tang Dynasty, there was no need to worry about not being able to restore orthodoxy.

He compared Xue Bai to Wu Zhou, but did not compare Guo Ziyi to Li Jingye who fought against Wu, because Li Jingye was ultimately defeated and killed; he also did not compare Guo Ziyi to Zhang Jianzhi, the mastermind of the Shenlong coup that forced Wu Zetian to abdicate, because Zhang Jianzhi also had a bad ending in the end.

They just remained silent, and with a firm and resolute attitude, they contacted righteous people from all over the world to start an uprising.

At this moment, Li Yin rushed over.

"Sir, I heard that Xue Ni killed many loyal officials and righteous men. Is that true?"

Li Qiyun was afraid of scaring Li Yin, so he didn't say it before, and planned to wait until Li Yin officially ascended the throne before saying it.

Now that Li Yin knew about it, Li Qiyun was immediately filled with righteous indignation and said, "Yes, Xue is a perverse person who has persecuted loyal officials. This is hated by both humans and gods."

"But he hasn't been defeated yet."

"He will be defeated sooner or later." Li Qiyun said, "Just ask Prince Yan to ascend the throne first, then announce to the world the great crime of the traitor Xue, mobilize the troops and appoint him as the commander to attack this beast."

This is completely different from Li Yin’s idea.

He originally thought that Xue Bai had already been defeated, and that he had just picked up a ready-made opportunity without having to take any risks.

But if he is asked to fight with Xue Bai, then what is the difference between this and conquering the world on his own?
If he was willing to put in the effort, he might as well have participated in the fight for the throne before.

Li Yin was naturally reluctant to give up the throne that was about to be his, so he couldn't help but ask a question.

"Can you really destroy Xue Ni?"

Before he could wait for an answer, Guo Ziyi's son Guo Xi walked in quickly. Without greeting him, he walked straight to Guo Ziyi and whispered something.

Seeing the flesh was visible, Guo Ziyi's eyes became serious.

Li Yin couldn't help but get nervous and asked, "What happened?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty."

"No, what can't I listen to? You persuaded me to become the emperor, but you hid everything from me?"

Guo Ziyi did not hide the truth from Li Yin and said, "In Luoyang, the troops from Fanyang were transferred southward."

"So, Xue Ni has sent troops to attack us?" Li Yin asked, "What about us? Where are our troops?"

Li Qiyun said: "Your Majesty, don't be anxious. The nobles in Guanzhong will all support you, but things must be done step by step. You must ascend the throne first before it will be legitimate."

"Xue Ni is right in front of us, and you are still taking one step at a time?" Li Yin asked, "When can we gather all the troops and defeat him?"

Li Qijun was a little impatient with his stupid questions and didn't answer them, just saying that they would make arrangements.

Li Yin couldn't get any information out of the question and became more and more frightened.

Gradually, his ambition and greed were suppressed by fear and finally broke out.

"I don't want to be the emperor anymore. You can find someone else."

After saying that, Li Yin turned and left.

He thought that being an emperor might not be as happy as his current life of playing dominoes and watching opera every day, so why take such a big risk?

What about "Xue the traitor plotted to usurp the Li family's country"? He shouted loudly, but in fact he didn't believe it. If Xue Bairuo wasn't Li Qian? How could she be the top scholar with a humble background? How could she rise to the top? Bullshit.

How could a slave of an official come up with the idea of ​​playing dominoes, cooking, and opera? It must have been secretly arranged by Emperor Xuanzong, with the purpose of helping his son Li Ying become the crown prince.

Li Yin felt the same as Ming Jing. He had said those nonsense before because he thought it would benefit himself, but now he understood.

"Wait a minute!"

Li Qiyun shouted, and immediately two soldiers rushed forward and stopped Li Yin.

"What? I don't want to play with you anymore, let me go."

"Do you think, Your Majesty, that the throne of the Son of Heaven is up to you at will?"

Li Yin was surprised and asked, "What do you mean? I don't want to be the emperor anymore. Can you force me to be the emperor?"

"Please prepare to ascend the throne, my king."

Li Qiyun responded directly and asked someone to take Li Yin away.

He actually forced Li Yin to become emperor.

Li Yin couldn't believe that there was such a ridiculous thing in the world. He was stunned for a long time before he realized that the person had been taken away for a distance.

"Li Qiyun! I finally understand. You are simply using me for the benefit of the Zhaojun Li family. Listen carefully, I will not rebel against you!"

These words were exactly Li Yin's assessment of the situation. The more Li Qiyun forced him, the more certain he became.

So he became more and more panicked, feeling that he was tied to a pirate ship.

"Listen carefully, I, Li Yin, have no intention of rebelling! Li Qiyun forced me to do everything. He is the traitor!"

All the way out of the Council of State, Li Yin kept shouting.

In his mind, how could Li Qian admit that he was not the heir to the throne? That must be a false accusation from the nobles whose interests were affected by the new law. It must be a lie.

He had to draw a line between himself and these people as soon as possible.

"Did you hear everything? I didn't want to be the emperor. I was forced to do it..."

Li Yin's voice was getting farther and farther away. Guo Ziyi couldn't help but worry and said, "If Prince Yan is like this, this battle will be even more difficult to fight."

Li Qiyun said: "Don't worry, Mr. Guo, we have the support of the Long family."

~~
A few days later, an imperial edict was placed in front of Li Qiyun.

It was a letter from Xue Bai in Luoyang, saying that the emperor would return to Chang'an soon and asking the ministers who stayed in Xijing to prepare to welcome him.

Then, he changed the subject and said that some people in Luoyang were rebelling and asked whether there were any remnants in Chang'an.

For Li Qiyun, this imperial edict was more like a manifesto, a declaration of war from Xue Bai to his opponents who remained in Chang'an.

The so-called "welcoming the emperor" was more like the emperor's first battle in person.

"How about letting Pugu Yan be the vanguard to 'welcome the emperor'?" Li Qiyun asked Guo Ziyi.

"No."

"Why?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head and sighed, saying: "Pugu Yan is unwilling to join us in the uprising."

"how come?"

Li Qiyun was very surprised.

In his opinion, Pugu Yan had been quite resentful towards Xue Bai because he failed to inherit the position of Jiedushi, and was the military general in Chang'an who most opposed Xue Bai.

Guo Ziyi said: "He said that when he followed Prince Zhong in the past, everyone believed that Prince Yong was the heir to the throne. Now that Prince Zhong is dead, people no longer believe in Prince Yong. He doesn't care whether it's true or false, he is living a much happier life than before."

"It seems that he is just like the rumors say. After arriving in Chang'an, he only cares about drinking and partying." Li Qiyun said, "He will regret not being able to serve the emperor this time."

"Yes."

Guo Ziyi thought about it, and then appointed his son Guo Xi as the vanguard to "welcome the emperor" in Chang'an City.

Guo Xi did not accept the order as readily as usual, but asked: "Grandpa, what should we do after welcoming the emperor? Should we attack?"

At this point, he seems to be not mentally prepared to go to war with the current emperor.

Guo Ziyi was very decisive and nodded.

~~
Li Yin's enthronement arrangements had been made and an auspicious day had been chosen. He had originally planned to hold the ceremony in these few days, but it was interrupted by Xue Bai's sudden return.

In other words, he was not yet an emperor, but a prisoner imprisoned in the Daming Palace.

In this situation, the dignitaries in Chang'an were caught off guard when facing Xue Bai.

The name was not right, the food and fodder had not been collected, and the troops had not been recruited... To put it bluntly, there was no determination.

On the day before the imperial reception, the Guanlong dignitaries discussed the matter, and someone actually made a suggestion that Li Qiyun found ridiculous:

"Why not have another talk with the emperor and persuade him to restore the surname Li and stop the reforms."

"At this point, you still have such a chance?" Li Qiyun was very angry because it was his clansman who said such weak words.

"What else can we do? Are we really going to start a fight in Chang'an? How many people will suffer as a result?!"

Li Qijun was a minister who was trusted by the emperor and had a promising future. He was about to be appointed as prime minister. It was these clansmen who persuaded him to oppose the new law. At that time, Li Qijun did not want to oppose Xue Bai, but only hoped that the matter could be dealt with slowly.

It was Xue Bai's massacre at Qianyuan Gate and his abandonment of the Li surname that completely angered him and led him to support Li Yin.

As a result, at this time, those who had instigated him at the beginning became timid and backed off.

"Can you persuade him?" Li Qiyun asked, "So many ministers and officials led their troops to the Mingtang, but they still couldn't persuade him at all. How can you persuade him? Will you persuade him with your own lives?"

"It must be different this time, after all, Li Mi and Li Changyuan are by his side. I see that the imperial edicts from the Eastern Capital in the past few days have a much milder tone."

Li Qiyun knew that these people were simply afraid of death and were also afraid that the war would affect their land.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The emperor had already publicly admitted that he was not the heir to the Li Tang throne. What had been done was done. How could there be any possibility of turning back?
"Don't let your guard down just because of a few imperial edicts. Perhaps this is exactly what Xue Ni is trying to do. If you don't want the tragedy in Luoyang to happen again, you have no choice but to resist."

Li Qiyun strengthened everyone's determination, he knew they had no way out.

……

The next day, at Bashang, on the outskirts of Chang'an.

Flags fluttered in the wind, with the word "Tang" written all over them.

In order to intimidate Xue Bai and even keep him out of the city, Guo Ziyi brought out his elite soldiers and lined them up in neat armor beside the Ba River, as if to meet the enemy.

These are the soldiers guarding the west against autumn. Today there are over ten thousand of them, and their momentum is huge.

Behind them, the gates of Chang'an City were closed and heavily guarded.

Guo Xi had no idea what his goal was, whether to persuade the stubborn emperor to change his mind or to simply pacify Xue Ni.

So he asked Guo Ziyi again, hoping to confirm the matter.

"war."

Guo Ziyi may have hesitated before, but he was a man who became more decisive at critical moments.

Especially on the battlefield, he has abandoned all distractions.

Gradually, fast horses came galloping back from the front, waving signal flags, indicating that a large number of troops were coming from the east.

Not long after, the deafening sound of horse hooves came, and the earth was shaking.

Guo Ziyi raised his telescope and saw a large group of cavalry riding towards them in the dust. Judging from their flags, they were the Fanyang Army.

In those days, Xue Bai once resisted the Fanyang rebels here. Who would have thought that one day, it would be Xue Bai who led the Fanyang rebels to make a comeback.

Guo Ziyi did not think that it was the fate of the world, but that Xue Bai had lost his original intention of protecting the Tang Dynasty in the power.

"Defend the enemy!"

What greeted Xue Bai was not any drum music, but the sound of military trumpets.

"Woo——"

The soldiers drew their bows and arrows and raised their spears.

Gradually, Xue Bai's imperial carriage appeared on the other side of the Ba River, facing Guo Ziyi across the river.

Guo Ziyi immediately sent people across the river to express his attitude.

The messenger was his sixth son-in-law, named Zhang Yong, who was handsome, had a noble character and was eloquent.

Zhang Yong crossed the river without fear of the murderous soldiers and went straight to the emperor to ask for an audience. He was soon taken by the soldiers to see Xue Bai.

Xue Bai, however, was dressed in military uniform and riding on a horse, looking like he was about to lead the army in person.

"I am Zhang Yong, your humble servant, and I am here to welcome you."

"Since you are here to welcome me, why are you drawing your bows and arrows and using your weapons to attack me?"

Zhang Yong said, "The officials and people of Chang'an were all very happy to learn that Your Majesty had returned to the court. However, a few days ago, there were rumors that Your Majesty was not Your Majesty, and people were in a panic. Therefore, Lord Guo ordered me to come and confirm it."

"Yes, I have announced to the world that I am not the heir to the Li Tang Dynasty. What do you think?"

Zhang Yong was stunned. He actually gave Xue Bai a way out.

It was thought that in the face of Guo Ziyi's weapons and the united efforts of the Guanlong nobles, Xue Bai would be able to feel the pressure, give up his stubbornness and make some compromises.

Unexpectedly, it was like kicking a hard rock.

But Zhang Yong was a very smart man, and he was able to respond immediately when caught off guard.

"Your Majesty was just speaking in anger."

Zhang Yong showed a proper smile and said, "It must be that some ignorant officials have angered Your Majesty and made Your Majesty say the opposite of what you meant. I beg Your Majesty to calm down."

But he came to speak for Guo Ziyan and couldn't just keep compromising like this.

"However, Lord Guo is a very rigid person and he insisted on confirming this matter. He shoulders the responsibility of defending the territory and cannot allow the rebels who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty to enter Chang'an..."

(End of this chapter)