Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 608: Whoever Enters Guanzhong First Becomes King

Marshal Baochen, who had sent away all his new concubines, felt a little uneasy tonight.

Lonely night, lonely person, longing to be embraced by someone with a soft and charming skirt.

A cold heart, a cold bed, and the beautiful dreams of the past have nowhere to go.

In the bedroom, Li Baochen poured himself a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp.

It tastes bitter at first, just like my current mood.

Li Baochen had moved out of the Luoyang Imperial Palace long ago and settled his temporary residence in Hanjia Granary on the east side of the Luoyang Palace.

Marshal Baochen believed that food and granaries were his biggest weaknesses at the moment.

So he had no choice but to move his residence into the granary and guard it day and night to ensure that nothing would go wrong.

It has to be said that Li Baochen's cautious attitude did play some role.

He actually caught the spies who attempted to set fire to Hanjia Granary, but those people committed suicide and he never found out who sent them.

"It's not a good idea to continue to besiege Luoyang. We still have to march into Guanzhong."

Li Baochen held up his chin and thought, talking to himself.

In the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an and Luoyang were naturally integrated. If they were separated, it would be difficult for the two to develop well.

Chang'an is the backup of Luoyang, and Luoyang is the outpost of Chang'an. One is in Guanzhong and the other is outside the pass, and they complement each other.

Li Baochen dreamed of taking Chang'an.

Boom boom boom!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Not a personal soldier!

If it was a personal soldier, he would definitely report it!
Li Baochen quietly grasped the sword hanging on the wall, then stood up and slowly walked over.

"Who?"

He walked behind the door and asked in a low voice.

"Marshal, it's me, Li Shiyu!"

Li Shiyu's voice came from behind the door.

Only then did Li Baochen breathe a sigh of relief.

It would have been fine if Mad had just come to visit in the middle of the night, but he actually instructed not to let his personal soldiers come to inform.

If Li Shiyu wasn't a weak scholar who couldn't beat him at all, Li Baochen wouldn't have planned to let him in.

When he opened the door, Li Baochen saw Li Shiyu acting suspiciously, as if he had something confidential to report to him.

"come in."

Li Baochen ushered Li Shiyu into the house, motioned for him to sit down, poured him a glass of wine, and then slowly asked, "What important business does Li Changshi have so late at night?"

"General, the spies reported that the Konghe Army mutinied in Chang'an."

Li Shiyu came over and spoke in a low voice.

"Mutiny? Control Crane Army? Are you sure?"

Li Baochen stood up suddenly, breaking out in a cold sweat!
"Marshal, don't be nervous, this is a good thing, a good thing!"

Li Shiyu quickly motioned Li Baochen to sit down.

The latter calmed down and continued to ask in disbelief: "The Konghe Army is brave and good at fighting, but they actually mutinied in Chang'an? No wonder the troops from Guanzhong have not arrived yet."

All the doubts in Li Baochen's mind were resolved at this moment.

Because the Konghe Army had mutinied, the Guanzhong Army had no time to split up, and only Jiyuan, north of the three cities of Heyang, was attacked by them. In other words, only a small army that had set out in advance was attacking, and this army was just temporarily unaware of the news.

It has been confirmed that other government troops will not appear outside Guanzhong.

This made Li Baochen breathe a sigh of relief.

"Tell me about it, in detail."

Li Baochen said in a deep voice, and instantly became energetic.

“I have placed the spy under house arrest in an absolutely safe place, and no one outside will know about it.

As for what happened in Chang'an, this is what happened. "

Li Shiyu told Li Baochen everything the spy reported to him about what he saw and heard.

Including why the Konghe Army mutinied, what happened after the mutiny in Chang'an, etc.

Except for the fact that it was unclear whether Li Heng was still alive, everything else was basically the same as what Yan Zhenqing and the others knew.

Li Shiyu told everything, no matter how big or small.

It may not be perfect, but this information is enough for Li Baochen to make a judgment.

"Okay, that's great! Hahahahaha!"

Li Baochen laughed heartily, and the gloom that had been building since the war began was swept away!

What triple-team, what elite soldiers and famous generals!
Still can’t defeat the word destiny!

Li Baochen firmly believed that he was the one favored by God and could be invincible!
"Okay, let's gather our troops tomorrow and chop Fang Qing to pieces!"

Li Baochen slammed the table, but found that Li Shiyu was looking at him with a puzzled look, so he asked with a guilty conscience: "Does Li Changshi think there is something wrong?"

It's not just inappropriate, it's simply mentally ill!
Li Shiyu almost burst into curse.

If he had known in advance that this was Li Baochen’s first thought, he would have run away long ago!
"General, whoever enters Guanzhong first will be the king.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang entered Guanzhong first and seized the initiative. You competed with Fang Qing. If you lose, all your efforts will be wasted, and if you win, you will waste the opportunity. What's the point?

If we enter Guanzhong, we can use the emperor to command the princes and wipe out all the disobedient forces.

Looking back five or ten years later, today we will be laying the foundation for hegemony.

Guanzhong is now ownerless, waiting for you to take it. If you fight Fang Qing and his Silver Spear Army to the death, is the Marshal so sure that others will not enter Guanzhong?

With so many princes from the royal family, as long as someone takes control of the situation, it will be too late for the Marshal to send troops!
Although it was impossible for them to capture Tongguan, it was not difficult for them to defend Guanzhong.

The situation at that time will be similar to today. Why should the Marshal act on impulse? "

Li Shiyu walked up, pulled Li Baochen's sleeve and tried to persuade him.

"Oh no! I almost missed something important!"

Li Baochen slapped his forehead and suddenly realized. Li Shiyu's words just now could be said to have awakened the dreamer.

Fang Zhongyong is nothing but a local warlord. There is no point in competing with him. Go to Guanzhong quickly, raise Li Wan's flag, and pick up the artifact that fell to the ground!
Li Baochen is very proficient in "how to fight a war", but when it comes to strategic issues such as "who to attack", "who to attack first and who to attack later", and "how to act", his brain is not enough.

It is obvious that Li Shiyu's strategic awareness is much stronger than that of Marshal Baochen.

"Then, shall we march into Guanzhong tomorrow?"

Li Baochen asked uncertainly.

After listening to what Li Shiyu said just now, he also understood that there was really no need to fight a boring offensive and defensive battle with Fang Chongyong, a scoundrel, west of Xingyang.

The top priority is to take Guanzhong directly.

But there seems to be a problem.

"What if, I mean, what if Fang Qing leads his troops to follow and launch a surprise attack when we march into Chang'an?"

Li Baochen expressed his inner concerns.

People have no intention to hurt tigers, but tigers hurt people's hearts. At that time, he didn't want to get entangled with Fang Zhongyong, but if the other party held on tightly, what should he do?
This is also a very realistic problem.

"The Marshal is right. Not only should we not provoke Fang Qing now, but we should send someone over to negotiate peace.

As long as we can enter Guanzhong and keep Luoyang at the same time, this chess game will be successful."

Li Shiyu said slowly, not seeming to be worried about it.

As a result, Li Baochen had a worried look on his face. He touched his head unwillingly, sighed helplessly and asked, "Do we still have to go and negotiate with Fang Qing? I can't afford to lose this person."

Li Baochen was very unwilling. It was already polite of him not to attack Fang Zhongyong, but he actually wanted to agree to a ceasefire with the other party!

The other party had deceived him severely at the beginning!
This is simply unreasonable.

Li Baochen felt ashamed and angry when he thought of that incident. "General, compared with Guanzhong and Chang'an, even if Fang Qing stabbed you in the back before, you have to endure it now.

Once Guanzhong is stabilized, it will only take one or two years to recuperate, and then the 100,000-strong army will be able to break out of Tongguan.

You can take revenge however you want when the time comes, so why rush it now?"

Li Shiyu tried hard to persuade Li Baochen and almost knelt down to him.

In everyone's life, there are often many so-called "opportunities". Some people can seize them, while others cannot.

Now a godsend opportunity has fallen in front of Li Baochen. If he fails to seize it, he will surely be defeated within less than a year!

This is what people often say, "If you don't take what heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences." It can also be said that "If you don't make a decision when you should, you will suffer the consequences."

At a time like this, what else can't be tolerated?
Seeing that Li Baochen didn't say anything, Li Shiyu knelt in front of him and continued to persuade him:

"General, I will go to the Xuanwu Army's camp west of Xingyang for you.

As long as Fang Qing can be persuaded to stay put, then the Marshal's entry into Guanzhong is almost certain. The Konghe Army is just a dead body in the tomb, it can't stop the Marshal!
Marshal, now the people in Guanzhong and even Chang'an are all hoping that someone can stabilize the chaotic situation.

As long as you lead the troops, you will be the one who controls the artifact, and no one will resist along the way!

Marshal, you will be the one that people want when the time comes! If you use Li Wan's name, you will definitely succeed!"

Li Shiyu knelt on the ground and kowtowed, fearing that Li Baochen would change his mind again.

If it were people like Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, upon hearing the news that the Konghe Army had mutinied and Guanzhong was leaderless, they would have acted arbitrarily on their own without any reminders from others.

But Marshal Baochen is just an ordinary man. All his skills are focused on deploying troops and formations, and he cannot escape the vulgar and hesitant side of ordinary people.

He doesn't like indiscriminate killing, but he also lacks courage.

When faced with a life-or-death decision, Marshal Baochen would either act on impulse, such as when he first wanted to beat Fang Zhongyong up, or he would be indecisive, unable to make up his mind whether to temporarily reconcile with someone he was sure to have a falling out with in the future.

"Oh, there's no need to do this. There's no need to do this. Hurry up and I'll obey you."

Li Baochen quickly helped Li Shiyu up and brushed the dust off his body.

"Then I'll trouble you to make the trip."

Li Baochen was finally persuaded by Li Shiyu.

How can I put it? Marshal Baochen is a man with a weak will and a soft ear. With a loyal person like Li Shiyu by his side, Li Baochen listens to his words, and government and military affairs can run normally without any major problems.

But if someone only says nice things and Marshal Baochen believes them in the end, then who knows what will happen.

……

"All troops stop and rest for an hour!"

The messenger rode on horseback, running and shouting along the marching troops, and the horses left deep and small footprints on the snow.

Outside Liyang County, Gao Xianzhi's troops were stopping to rest. In order to avoid unnecessary conflict with the Konghe Army, they did not go directly to Chang'an, but took a detour to the north.

"We will send some people to the county seat of Liyang County to empty the grain in the government storehouse. If we can't find grain in the government storehouse, we will move grain from the local wealthy households."

Gao Xianzhi gave orders to Cheng Qianli with a serious expression and a tone of unquestionableness.

As for whether these would violate the rules, Gao Xianzhi had no consideration at all. Without the imperial court, the national laws and family rules became nothing more than a dead letter.

We just moved from the government treasury. If the treasury was not big enough, the rich families had to make up for it. We did not go to ordinary people's homes to steal food. This was already the most we could do.

Chang'an is more than two thousand miles away from Anxi. If the army does not plunder in Chang'an, they will not be able to walk back home and will starve to death along the way.

At this moment, a personal soldier hurriedly walked up to Gao Xianzhi and reported in a low voice: "General, Yan Zhenqing, the Minister Yan, is here. He is behind the team and is coming this way now."

Yan Zhenqing?
Gao Xianzhi was stunned and didn't understand what was going on.

Why did he come?

Gao Xianzhi had a bad feeling in his heart.

Soon, Yan Zhenqing was brought to him by his personal guards. At this moment, the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty looked very listless, even with dark circles under his eyes.

Obviously, the pursuit had exhausted this old man in his fifties both physically and mentally.

"I don't know why Mr. Yan is here. What's the matter?"

Gao Xianzhi asked, pretending to be confused even though he knew the truth.

"General Gao, there's no need to beat around the bush. I've already been to Tongguan."

Yan Zhenqing said expressionlessly.

Gao Xianzhi also put away the smile on his face, and asked in a cynical and ruffian manner:

"So, what does Mr. Yan want to do here?"

"Alas, I hope you don't go back to the Western Regions. If you leave, Li Baochen will enter Guanzhong."

Yan Zhenqing sighed helplessly.

Hearing this, Gao Xianzhi did not feel angry, but just found it very funny.

These high-ranking officials in the imperial court have always only talked about their obligations, not their rights.

It is natural to obey the orders of the court;

The delay in paying military salaries is due to the current situation;
It is our duty to face strong enemies.

Anyway, these people always have something to say, but can you blame them?
It seems not possible. Yan Zhenqing would say, everyone in our Yan family has gotten everything they can, so what do you have to complain about?

"Mr. Yan, it has been several years since the soldiers went to Anxi Beiting to fight. Now they don't know how their families are doing. Everyone in the army is eager to go home.

As for the military affairs of the imperial court, those who are capable should do more work. You can find someone else, since we can’t do anything anyway.”

Gao Xianzhi politely declined, not giving Yan Zhenqing any face at all.

"Chang'an is in chaos, the emperor has passed away, and I really have no choice.

Now, only if you march south to Jingxiang and support Prince Ying to enter Guanzhong can you save the crisis!

General Gao, please accept my greeting! "

Yan Zhenqing wanted to kneel down to Gao Xianzhi, but was held tightly by the other party, and his knees could not touch the ground.

"Mr. Yan, it is you who should accept Gao's greeting! Please let us, the border soldiers, go!"

Gao Xianzhi grabbed Yan Zhenqing's arms and burst into tears.

He cried loudly, pointing at a soldier beside him and said, "He is from Qiuci Town. When his wife was still pregnant, he followed me to the battlefield. Now the child is probably old enough to walk and run away, but we don't even know whether it is a boy or a girl."

Gao Xianzhi then pointed to another person beside him and said, "He, three brothers went to war together, two of them died in Weiyuan, and he still has an old mother to support at home!"

Gao Xianzhi pointed to a fireman who was eating a Hu pancake behind him and said:
"He had more than ten wounds on his chest and was on the verge of death several times. Every time we thought he was dead, but after his wounds healed, he was still alive and well and continued to serve in the army.

With so many people here, who doesn’t have some problems at home, who hasn’t been injured, who has an easy life?
Now, Gao can finally take them back to their hometown to recuperate and support their parents and children. Why did Mr. Yan push them to die?
We have never seen or known who Prince Ying is or what kind of person he is, and we don’t care about him at all.

Mr. Yan, if you want to work hard for the country, please do as you please. We, the illiterate soldiers, will not accompany you in making trouble.

Li Huaiguang owes the Tang Dynasty an explanation, but we don’t!"

After saying this, Gao Xianzhi turned around and left, no longer interested in talking to Yan Zhenqing.

The latter stood there for a long time, neither speaking nor taking a step, as if he was under a spell of immobilization.

"Ugh!"

It was unknown how long it had been, but Yan Zhenqing slowly turned around, then he jumped on his horse, turned the horse's head, and galloped towards the south.

He didn't know whether people's hearts were scattered or not, and he had no chance to ask.

But the army's morale has been broken, and it is irreversible!
The soldiers in the Western Regions did not want to surrender to anyone, nor were they involved in any loyalty or betrayal.

They simply don't want to fight and don't want to shed their last drop of blood for the Tang Dynasty!
Are they wrong?
Yan Zhenqing believed that this was not the case, and that it was only the world that was wrong.

But what should we do in the future?
Riding on a horse, Yan Zhenqing fell into deep thought.

Can Prince Ying Li Lu carry the banner of reviving the Tang Dynasty?

Is it really impossible for Prince Yong Li Lin to escape Fang Chongyong's control?

Among the other princes, who has the strength to step up and turn the tide?
Yan Zhenqing repeatedly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and for a moment, he didn't even know who was the "master of destiny."

He was completely confused.

(End of this chapter)