Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 540 The Debt Collector Arrives

Boom!

There was a loud thunder, coming from far away and exploding in my ears.

The weather in late summer is very capricious. The sun is shining brightly one moment, and the next moment it turns into a downpour with thunder and lightning.

A gust of wind blew, and the windows in every room in the Qinzhengwu Building made a creaking sound.

The imperial study room, which had its windows open, had items inside blown everywhere.

Gao Lishi closed all the windows himself, picked up the books (all in scroll form) that had been blown to the ground, and piled them on the bookshelf.

Brother Ji, who was dozing off, suddenly opened his eyes and asked lazily, "Li Shi, is there any news about Li Guangbi and the others? After so many days, they still haven't taken Longzhou?"

There was dissatisfaction in his words, because according to the speed of walking, Li Guangbi should have sent someone back to Chang'an to report by now.

no matter what the result is.

Even if you fail to conquer the city after a long time, you should find an excuse to explain it.

"Saint, there are many mountains in Longzhou, and the terrain is complicated. Perhaps the attack was not going well. Li Guangbi wants to report back to you after the results are obtained."

Gao Lishi defended Li Guangbi.

Gao Lishi is different from ordinary eunuchs, he still has some insights into political operations. At this critical juncture, we must put aside our prejudices and unite to overcome difficulties.

Trust the people you employ. Since Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi have been sent to lead the troops to quell the rebellion, it is not appropriate for them to cause trouble behind the scenes.

Otherwise, things will definitely get worse.

This is why Gao Lishi always protects those generals who are sent out.

“I still feel a little uneasy.

Li Shi, why don't you tell me, why did that evil creature Li Heng run to Longzhou when there were so many places to go? There is no one there and it is close to Chang'an. What is he trying to do?

Even if he is blind, Quanzhong is not blind, so how could he go there?
Even if they go to Liangzhou, I can't do anything to them.

Liangzhou has hundreds of thousands of households and over a million people, how can it be inferior to Longzhou?"

Brother Ji asked with some confusion.

He has been wondering about one thing recently.

Who is Fang Youde? He is a talented general who can do what others cannot. If Fang Youde takes Li Heng to Liangzhou, he may be crowned king and become the "Huangfu Weiming" of the Hexi Corridor.

He didn't make such a good move, but chose to leave it in this poor and remote place of Longzhou. There are only a few thousand households, and the people are poor and weak. There are no people to rely on, and no money to rely on.

What is he planning?

Brother Ji didn't understand.

The heavy rain outside was still falling, just like Ji Ge's mood at the moment. He was gloomy with a little helplessness and laziness, and just wanted to stay on the soft couch in the imperial study, doing nothing and thinking nothing.

The glory of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is long gone, so let it go.

All those heirs fighting for power and those corrupt and decadent Chang'an dignitaries, die!
Tired, destroy it.

Brother Ji slowly closed his eyes and lay down again.

He found that after dealing with Li Heng, he still had to deal with Huangfu Weiming.

However, the old emperor's body may not be able to last until the day when he can conquer the world.

The future is bleak, and it seems that no matter what I do, I can't fill this bottomless pit.

Since hard work is useless, why bother working hard?

At this moment, the study door was pushed open! Totally disrespectful and rude!

The cold wind mixed with rain blew into the room, giving Brother Ji, who was lying on the couch, a startled feeling.

"What's the matter, General Guo?"

Seeing that the person coming was Guo Ziyi, Brother Ji slowly sat up and asked calmly.

He was too lazy to pretend to be enthusiastic about state affairs.

“Saint, the main force of the Western Army led by Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi suffered a disastrous defeat in Longzhou and was almost completely wiped out!

Fang Youde led his troops to counterattack and has already reached Sizhu Garden!"

Guo Ziyi was covered in water, and his armor had already been soaked through. He looked like he had just been fished out of a soup pot, and he looked extremely miserable.

Where is Sizhu Garden?
This is the Bamboo Forest Palace of the Sui Dynasty, which was built under the order of Yang Jian.

After Li Yuan entered Guanzhong, he renamed it Sizhu Garden and expanded it. It was the largest imperial garden west of Chang'an, and also the most important node on Yueluo Road (from Guanzhong to Hanzhong), Luogu Pass.

It is the last barrier to the west of Chang'an. Going further ahead is Xiwei Bridge, which is equivalent to Baqiao in status.

To put it simply, Fang Youde has led his troops to the gate of Chang'an!

Although Brother Ji didn't know the specific terrain of Longzhou, he had been to Sizhu Garden many times. The lush bamboo forest there was a good place to escape the heat in the summer, which left a deep impression on him.

When he heard that Fang Youde had arrived at Sizhu Garden, Ji Ge instantly stood up from the couch and stared at Guo Ziyi with wide eyes.

The word "unbelievable" seemed to be written on that old face.

"General Guo, please tell me slowly, what is going on?"

Gao Lishi hurried over to help Guo Ziyi up, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

It was as if I saw the end of the world coming.

"Sir, I don't know the situation on the front line. But the county lieutenant of Wugong County fled back to Chang'an and said that the county town had been occupied by Fang Youde, and the main force of the Western Army was completely wiped out in Longzhou.

Since Fang Youde is here, Generals Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi must have been defeated, there is no doubt about that."

Guo Ziyi sighed and explained.

In fact, he also guessed that it was unlikely that Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi would surrender to Li Heng, and they could not convince tens of thousands of people to surrender. So if they lost, they lost, which was obvious.

"General Guo, what should we do now?"

Brother Ji asked in a deep voice, seeming to have regained his composure.

"I am willing to lead the way for Your Majesty and station troops at Xiwei Bridge to resist the enemy."

Guo Ziyi clasped his fists and saluted.

"In that case, let's proceed according to the plan."

Brother Ji nodded slightly and waved his hand calmly, ignoring Gao Lishi's anxious expression.

"I have the order! General Mo will set up his defenses right now!"

Guo Ziyi took the order and left, very decisively.

After he left, Gao Lishi quickly closed the study door, not caring about the hierarchy, and directly advised: "Saint, the situation is very bad now, can you trust Guo Ziyi? Li Heng can make him and his 10,000 soldiers lay down their weapons with just one document. Saint, we must be on guard..."

"Of course I know!"

Brother Ji rudely interrupted Gao Lishi's words.

"Let's go now and leave Chang'an."

Brother Ji said in a decisive tone.

"leave?"

Gao Lishi was stunned and remembered that it was still raining heavily outside.

How can I leave this place?
"Put on linen clothes, find a small carriage, and leave Chang'an just the two of us. I will go with you now! The sooner the better!"

After saying that, Brother Ji walked to the cupboard, took out a set of coarse cloth clothes that he had prepared in advance, and put them on himself.

"Go and tell the guards in the palace that the saint has gone to inspect the Daming Palace."

At this moment, Ji Ge's mind seemed unusually calm, and he took every detail into consideration.

"Saint, where do we go then?"

Gao Lishi looked puzzled. The world is so big, is there any place left to go?
"Go to Shu."

Ji Ge threw out three words and put the imperial seal engraved with "Mandate from Heaven, May you live long and prosper" into his arms.

Gao Lishi nodded, already understanding everything.

Going to Shu means that you plan to stay in Shu and completely ignore worldly affairs!

Shu is relatively independent geographically, and it would take a long time for anyone to break through Shu. If Brother Ji went to Shu, it would mean that he would live out his life there, asking nothing and caring nothing.

"Please wait a moment, Saint. I will do it right away."

Gao Lishi said softly.

It would be easy to find a carriage in the palace, but it would also expose your whereabouts. Fortunately, there are many carriage rental shops in Chang'an City, so it is very convenient to get a carriage there.

Gao Lishi left in a flash, leaving Ji Ge alone in the study room, pondering in silence. ...

On the side of Xuanwu Gate, after reporting the military situation to Brother Ji, Guo Ziyi fell into deep thought in the signing room.

Li Guangbi and his team were defeated. How did they lose? I don’t know, but it is certain that Fang Youde is very powerful and his rank is much higher than that of Li Guangbi and his team.

Guo Ziyi felt that with the 10,000 men under his command, he would definitely not be able to defend Chang'an.

Not to mention that his prestige in the army is limited, his subordinates are not his own people, and their morale is not unified.

However, if we cannot defend Chang'an, should we surrender in advance? Not necessarily.

Surrendering may seem simple, but it is not. It is not an easy step to take, and it must not be seen as a sellout.

In desperation, Guo Ziyi called his general Chen Huiguang to discuss countermeasures.

Many generals in the army already knew that Fang Youde had led his troops to Sizhulin, and was only one step away from Chang'an.

There is no need to conceal the news at this moment, it is better to be honest.

"General Guo, how should we respond now?"

Chen Huiguang asked cautiously.

At this moment, there were only two of them in the signing room of Xuanwu Gate. And the Xuanwu Gate they were in was not the Xuanwu Gate of Taiji Palace, but the Xuanwu Gate of Daming Palace!
Through here, you can go directly to the Purple Palace.

"Guo is also hesitant. What do you think?"

Guo Ziyi did not say what he thought, but asked a question in return.

Chen Huiguang bluntly said: "The current sage... is already old. General Guo should still put the country first. The sage is not everything to the country."

The beads on his abacus were almost hitting Guo Ziyi's face.

Brother Ji is old, and the Western Army has suffered another disastrous defeat. They looted Chang'an before. If they don't find a new backer at this time, are they going to die in Xuanwu Gate?
After hearing this, Guo Ziyi remained silent. After a moment, he asked with an unhappy look:

"Do you want to tie up the saint and send him to the new emperor?"

This kind of thing cannot be done. It will cause great hidden dangers.

“General Guo, how can we send the saint to the new emperor?

We don’t have to do anything, we just have to not do anything.”

Chen Huiguang hinted to Guo Ziyi very bluntly.

Guo Ziyi understood this little trick immediately.

We will not betray the saint, but when Fang Youde leads his troops to charge, we are not sure whether we can stop them.

In the end, Fang Youde brought the saint to the new emperor. That was his business and had nothing to do with us.

We have fulfilled our responsibilities as defenders, and we were unable to defeat them because we were not as skilled as our opponents.

If the new saint comes to persuade us to surrender, we can't do anything to him.

Anyway, it's all your Li family's family affairs. Brother Ji is the emperor, and Li Heng is also the emperor. What do those bullshit things have to do with us soldiers who serve in the army and eat food?

"In that case, let's go to Xiwei Bridge to deploy defenses now."

Guo Ziyi sighed, as if he agreed with Chen Huiguang's statement.

They still have to be on guard. They can't just pretend to do nothing, and they can't just hand Brother Ji over to Fang Youde.

But if you can't defend it, that's just a problem of ability, not an attitude problem.

Soldiers are supposed to be loyal, filial, chaste and righteous. Whether one is loyal or not is another matter, but at least one must appear to be loyal to others, otherwise one will not be able to gain a foothold in the military camp.

"Order!"

Chen Huiguang clasped his fists and bowed, but did not leave, as if he had something to say.

"Just say whatever you want to say. It's already this critical moment."

Guo Ziyi waved his hand tiredly.

"General Guo, the court is too treacherous. We should stay away from Guanzhong.

Pledge allegiance to the saint today, and the new emperor will ascend the throne tomorrow.

Whether we are a loyalist army or a rebel army depends entirely on other people's attitudes.

What should I do? "

Chen Huiguang complained somewhat dissatisfiedly.

Guo Ziyi had nothing to say. In fact, it was not just Chen Huiguang who was dissatisfied, he was also very dissatisfied.

Who should they listen to? Is their position stable? Will these border troops become rebels without knowing it?
Who can give me a definite answer?
"We'll talk about these things later. Let's go to Xiwei Bridge to deploy defenses first."

Guo Ziyi shook his head, unwilling to continue to struggle with it.

……

The rainstorm had just passed and the sky was turning pale. The rain had been there all night and it felt cold on my body.

On the east side of Xiwei Bridge, neatly lined up soldiers of the Western Army lined up to clear a path. Guo Ziyi and some Western Army generals rode on horses to block the middle of the road.

On the other side of the Wei River was the Konghe Army led by Fang Youde, and beside Fang Youde was the Emperor Li Heng.

The two armies confronted each other on both sides of Xiwei Bridge.

There was silence on both sides except for the sound of the flowing Wei River.

The atmosphere at the scene was very solemn, but the soldiers on both sides were not too nervous.

Because this war cannot be fought, and there is no need to fight it.

The Konghe Army wanted to preserve its strength and did not want to take the initiative.

The Western Army, which had suffered a crushing defeat and suffered heavy losses in its main force, just wanted to complete the process quickly, pledge allegiance to the new emperor, and find a way out.

They have so many debts under their butts, and it is unclear whether they can keep the looted money or not, so how can they have the energy to fight!

Since neither side has the intention to fight to the death, the current displays of swords and guns are just for show to outsiders.

"Your Majesty, you can just walk across Xiwei Bridge and persuade Guo Ziyi and others to lay down their weapons and change their flags. I will wait for Your Majesty here."

Fang Youde said to Li Heng beside him.

Originally, Li Heng was planning to wait in Longzhou.

However, Li Heng's personal eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen said that the matter of taking control of Chang'an could not be delegated to others, and Li Heng had to do it himself.

Otherwise, Brother Ji is still in Chang'an, who knows whether Fang Youde will be loyal to him?
Li Heng felt that Cheng Yuanzhen's statement made sense. At the very least, he should maintain his influence in the army.

So Li Heng, under the protection of Li Guangbi, Gao Xianzhi and the remnants of the Western Army, caught up with the Konghe Army.

In this way, at least in terms of appearance, it looks a bit like the new king leading his troops to force his father to abdicate.

This is also the old tradition of the Xuanwu Gate inheritance law of the Tang Dynasty, which can be regarded as the law of ancestors.

After hearing what Fang Youde said, Li Heng realized that he had wronged him, so he nodded slightly and said, "Then I will go now."

Li Ying strode across Xiwei Bridge with his head held high, and no accidents happened during the process.

He walked step by step to the front of Guo Ziyi and other generals. They all dismounted and knelt on the ground, clasping their fists and saluting, saying, "Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you!"

"Everyone, stand up. I have pardoned your sins. The past will be forgiven."

Li Ying said with a smile and made a gesture of virtual support.

Hearing this, Chen Huiguang beside Guo Ziyi shouted, "Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

The soldiers behind him shouted in unison and breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Heng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

High risk, high reward, these soldiers are actually waiting for them to come up and offer them a step. Once the step is offered, they will go down the step without any hesitation.

At this moment, Li Ying realized the wonder of politics.

In fact, the situation had already been decided since Fang Youde annihilated 50,000 Western troops. No matter how hard the remaining Western troops struggled, it was in vain, and those people obviously understood their situation.

You old bastard, are you ready? I’m coming to collect my debt from you!

A sinister smile flashed across Li Heng's face, then quickly disappeared.

(End of this chapter)