Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 532 Why Don’t You Die?

How can an old man in his seventies, who lives a life of luxury, run faster than a burly and strong soldier?
Even if these soldiers are wearing armor, they will be able to catch up!
As the chase went on, Zhang Guangsheng gradually realized that something was wrong. However, now their team of less than a thousand people was chasing after the man in the dragon robe, killing all the enemy troops along the way.

Even if Zhang Guangsheng called for a stop, the large group of people could not stop.

"Li Longji" ran madly eastward along the Wei River. A large group of soldiers with torches were chasing him from behind. The scene was so funny that it was hard to watch.

Just when the pursuit was getting intense, "Li Longji" seemed to be unlucky and was tripped by a stone on the river bank!

Zhang Guangsheng was overjoyed, and rushed forward in a hurry, pressing "Li Longji" under him and preventing him from moving.

"Your Majesty, you are really good at running. We had a hard time chasing you!"

He sneered, lifted up the "Li Longji" under him, turned around and took a look, and was immediately frightened to the point of turning pale!

"why you?"

Zhang Guangsheng asked back with a look of horror.

Gao Lishi, who was bruised and battered, smiled proudly, looked around at everyone and said, "No need to say more, just kill me. If you want to catch the saint, dream on!"

Seeing his confident look, Zhang Guangsheng knew that something was wrong.

Soon, Yan Zhenqing, who was running behind, also came forward panting. When he saw Gao Lishi wearing a dragon robe, he secretly thought in his heart that something was wrong!

He and Zhang Guangsheng both fell into Brother Ji's trap! They are finished this time!
"Quick, go look for it over there in the imperial tent. You will definitely find it. The emperor can't run far!"

Zhang Guangsheng shouted anxiously. He knew very well that they were now racing against time.

If we catch Brother Ji before Li Guangbi and others come back, we will win this round.

Otherwise, let's all go to bed. Walking together on the road to the underworld, we won't be alone at all.

However, their luck seemed to be not very good, as shouts and screams were soon heard from the west, and the sound was getting closer and closer!

This is because Zhang Boyi realized that something was wrong and led the team back to protect the emperor!
Zhang Guangsheng secretly cursed the other party for being foolishly loyal, but there was nothing he could do.

If the two sides fight now, Zhang Guangsheng has no chance of winning.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He grabbed Gao Lishi's clothes and pulled him in front of him, then ordered his troops to form a circle to defend themselves.

In fact, the soldiers under his command were all frightened, and the passion in their brains had cooled down. They were already disheartened that the emperor was a fake.

Many of them who came from the Jinwu Guard and Qianniu Guard had seen Gao Lishi and had long recognized that the man in the dragon robe was not Brother Ji.

Zhang Guangsheng ordered them to form a battle array, and these people immediately formed a circle as if by reflex. Then, Zhang Boyi's men immediately rushed forward and surrounded Zhang Guangsheng, Yan Zhenqing, and the team they led, which numbered several hundred but less than a thousand.

"Whoever dares to move, I will kill the emperor!"

Zhang Guangsheng put his sword on Gao Lishi's neck and shouted.

It was a bit far away and the light was not good, so Zhang Boyi could only see the eye-catching dragon robe but could not see Gao Lishi's face clearly.

At this moment, he didn't know whether Brother Ji had been captured by Zhang Guangsheng. He wanted to give an order but was a little hesitant! In this situation, if a wrong order was given, at best he would lose his life, at worst the whole clan would lose their lives.

"Don't listen to his nonsense, I'm here."

At some point, an old man emerged from the team around Zhang Boyi. Zhang Boyi took a closer look and realized that this was the real Li Longji.

Who was the person being caught?

Zhang Boyi was a little confused for a moment, but when he saw Ji Ge's dignified and extraordinary demeanor, he immediately understood that this one was definitely real, and the other one was probably fake. It was probably Gao Lishi.

"My tyrant, Gao Lishi is your most important minion, no less important than your hands and legs.

We can't kill you, but killing him would be just as good as venting our anger."

Zhang Guangsheng shouted at Brother Ji.

His behavior seemed reckless, but it was actually carefully calculated and he had a perfect grasp of Brother Ji's thoughts.

As expected, Ji Ge's expression changed several times, and finally he sighed and said: "I know that you have all been deceived by the prince and have no choice but to be loyal to him. I will pardon you now, and all the previous things will not be investigated. Release Gao Lishi!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Guangsheng shouted, "Please ask the emperor to swear an oath!"

Brother Ji nodded slightly and said, "I swear to heaven to pardon the crimes of everyone here and will not pursue them. If anyone violates this, I will not die well and the Tang Dynasty will be overthrown and destroyed!"

Brother Ji is really a ruthless person to dare to make such a vicious oath.

All the soldiers under Zhang Guangsheng sheathed their swords and automatically made way.

Gao Lishi was also released and was not subjected to any treatment such as having his hands and feet chopped off.

However, just when everyone was relaxed, Brother Ji ordered Zhang Boyi: "Zhang Guangsheng and Yan Zhenqing are resentful of me and are trying to assassinate me. Take them down, and don't bother with the rest."

Is it possible to swear like this?
Zhang Boyi was stunned, shocked by Ji Ge's shamelessness and vulgarity.

Brother Ji swore that previous crimes can be forgiven, but he didn’t say that I can’t deal with you now because I don’t like you!

It's easy to find excuses to accuse someone of a crime. Just arrest a few people on any pretext and no one will stop you!

As expected, the personal soldiers around Zhang Boyi stepped forward and tied up Zhang Guangsheng and Yan Zhenqing. The soldiers behind them, who were from the Jinwu Guards, Qianniu Guards and other Southern Ya Forbidden Army, just watched coldly from the sidelines as if nothing had happened.

It seems that he has no intention of intervening at all.

The world is fickle, and only the person who drinks the water knows whether it is hot or cold.

Zhang Guangsheng was bored and allowed Zhang Boyi's personal soldiers to tie him up, while Yan Zhenqing looked at Ji Ge in disbelief. He really couldn't believe that an emperor could be so shameless.

Going back on one's words in front of everyone and playing word games!

"Zhang Guangsheng, you were once my confidant, and I entrusted you with important tasks.

I really want to know, why did you rebel? Why did you attack me? How did I let you down? "

Brother Ji asked coldly as he looked at Zhang Guangsheng, who was tied up and forced to kneel on the ground unable to get up.

Logically speaking, even if Zhang Guangsheng worked under Li Ying, he shouldn't be the one who took the initiative!

Brother Ji didn't understand why Zhang Guangsheng was so active in helping Li Heng.

After hearing these words, Zhang Guangsheng, who had been relatively calm, became completely enraged.

"You old bastard, why don't you just die!"

Zhang Guangsheng suddenly showed a ferocious look and yelled at Brother Ji!

Everyone around was stunned by such vulgar words. Brother Ji was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body began to tremble.

Seeing that the dog emperor remained silent, Zhang Guangsheng seemed even angrier.

He continued to curse:
"Confidant? Respected? You are talking without any pain, old thief!

I can barely afford to eat in Chang'an, and you tell me you value me?
I have been holding this crappy position of Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guard for five years, and I only earn ten strings of cash a month, which is not even enough for drinking!

The little bit of rice distributed after the autumn harvest can’t be sold for much money, and we can’t even buy New Year’s goods or burn charcoal for the New Year!
Land in Chang'an is very expensive. Food, clothing, housing, transportation, entertainment and social activities all cost money. Your salary is nothing!
If there hadn't been people helping me, I would have starved to death on the streets!"

Hearing this, all the Western Army soldiers around him were silent. Many of them felt the same way. Although the location was Liangzhou instead of Chang'an, the effect was similar.

In fact, the salaries of officials in the Tang Dynasty were not high, and for most officials, salaries were not their main source of income.

Most officials were nobles and gentry, with a family background, land, and a large network of connections. There were even big businessmen attached to their families who could regularly transfer money and goods.

The official positions of these people can bring huge economic benefits to their families.

So there is no need to fight for that little salary. This little money is not even enough to drink in Chang'an!
But whether they can become an official, what kind of official they can be, and what benefits the official position can bring are the issues that they care about most.

However, nothing is absolute in this world.

There were also officials like Zhang Guangsheng in the Tang Dynasty who only served as officials and received salaries. They had no family to rely on and no spare energy to build relationships.

Naturally, life was tight.

In fact, Zhang Guangsheng was short of money every month, and it was Fang Zhongyong who entrusted Wang Yunxiu to help him. If you don't protect your brothers, why should others call you big brother?

At this moment, Zhang Guangsheng became more and more angry. In front of everyone, he complained bitterly and looked at Brother Ji and cursed:

“Others have been promoted to military commanders in five years, but I have been holding the rank of Left General of the Jinwu Guard for five years. I can neither advance nor retreat.

He has 500 men under him, but they patrol the streets all day and do nothing. They are not even as good as a camp leader!
There are no battles to fight for military merit, no rewards to be given, and only a little salary. On a daily basis, he cannot afford to offend any powerful people in Chang'an City, and lives like a turtle!
Old bastard, is this what you call respect? I was loyal to you before, and this is how you repay me?"

It can be seen that Zhang Guangsheng is extremely resentful towards Brother Ji!

He is not a rebellious person, but he has been treated like this and sees no hope at all, so he would become rebellious even if he didn't have any.

For a person like Zhang Guangsheng who has no power, no influence and no background, what other choice does he have except to prove himself with a knife?
Either kill the enemy or kill the boss, otherwise who would listen to him?
Brother Ji, including those Guanzhong wealthy families with well-developed connections, have always been ambitious and incompetent, so how could they care about a small fry like Zhang Guangsheng! They just throw away hundreds of strings of cash, and even think it stinks to hold the money on their bodies. They just say "come to my house and pick it up".

Even though what Zhang Guangsheng said were "not worth mentioning" trifles in the eyes of the rich and powerful, if they happened to someone, they would be enough to crush that person to death. Zhang Guangsheng endured it for so many years before exploding, which really deserved Brother Ji's respect.

"A worthy death!"

Ji Ge angrily uttered four words. Knowing that he was in the wrong, he did not dare to look Zhang Guangsheng in the eye. So he turned to look at Yan Zhenqing and asked, "Prime Minister Yan, you are the prime minister I promoted. Your Yan family has taken root in Chang'an because of the support and appreciation of my Li family. You are already the prime minister, why do you want to go against the will of heaven and be disloyal to me?"

If it is understandable that Zhang Guangsheng was resentful because he was never promoted or given a position and could not even afford to eat, then it was totally wrong for Yan Zhenqing to do so.

He was promoted to prime minister by Brother Ji.

Without Brother Ji's promotion, he is nothing!

Brother Ji thought he had not done anything to let Yan Zhenqing down.

"Grand Emperor, the Tang Dynasty is now in ruins, all because of you.

It is you who is going against the will of heaven, not Yan!

Yan has always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

Regarding the questioning of the Emperor, Yan has nothing to say. "

Yan Zhenqing looked at Ji Ge calmly, his eyes were calm and composed, without any trace of guilt.

"Take them away. After you capture Chang'an, behead them in front of the Suzaku Gate of the Imperial City. Hang their heads on the city gate for three days as a warning to others!"

Brother Ji said something coldly to Zhang Boyi, then turned and left.

He seemed to have forgiven the Jinwu Guards, Qianniu Guards and other soldiers of the Southern Court Forbidden Army. But only God knew whether he would be held accountable in the future.

All the soldiers present felt that the old emperor was narrow-minded and regretted following him.

……

At the end of summer that year, Prime Minister Yan Zhenqing and Jinwu Guard General Zhang Guangsheng led more than 20,000 troops to block the 60,000-strong Western Army led by Ji Ge in the Weinan County area.

However, under the superb command of Li Guangbi, commander of the Western Army, Yan Zhenqing's hastily assembled troops were first intimidated into attempting to flee, then were ambushed on the way, divided and surrounded, and then chased all the way to the city of Chang'an by the cavalry under Gao Xianzhi.

Among the hundred men, not even one escaped. Only a few lucky ones were able to return to Chang'an, telling everyone they met how brave and invincible the Western Army was.

People in Chang'an were in a panic. Some wanted to flee, while others felt they had nowhere to go and were reluctant to give up their land and houses in Chang'an.

The news from the front naturally reached Li Heng's ears.

On this day, after learning that Gao Xianzhi's troops had stationed in Baqiao, apparently waiting for Li Guangbi's troops to join them, Li Heng, who was working in the Purple Palace of the Daming Palace, became a little restless.

The situation is urgent now. If you don’t run away now, you will not be able to escape!

Li Heng was still a little hesitant, but Cheng Yuanzhen and some officials in Chang'an who supported Li Heng were already ready to run away. As long as Li Heng gave the order, they would immediately run away without stopping.

It’s a pity that Li Heng didn’t want to leave in such a cowardly way.

While he was arguing with his ministers, Li Jiaqing, a general under Fang Youde, walked into the hall with a dozen uniformed soldiers. He came straight to Li Ying, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, General Fang asks you to seek refuge in Longzhou. He has his own way to defeat the Western Army and return power to your Majesty in Chang'an, so please don't worry."

"This one……"

Li Ying was about to say something when Li Jiaqing winked at his personal soldiers. Two soldiers walked out of the team and took Li Ying and Cheng Yuanzhen to the back hall of the main hall, apparently planning to leave through the north gate of Daming Palace.

The officials around Li Ying also wanted to follow, but were stopped by Li Jiaqing and his men.

They immediately drew their swords and shouted angrily to the ministers in the Purple Palace: "Why are you following His Majesty? You can go wherever you want, we don't care, but if you dare to go to Longzhou, the Western Army will not kill you, but Marshal Fang will chop you all off first!"

After saying this, without caring about the frightened ministers in the hall, Li Jiaqing left with a dozen of his personal soldiers!

Fang Youde's plan has been set up, and what needs to be done has been done. There is no need to listen to the groans and wails of these fat-headed and powerful people.

Li Jiaqing sneered as he walked.

Let the old emperor deal with these despicable people.

He secretly complained in his heart.

(End of this chapter)