Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 630 The ministers and others are about to fight to the death...

The war in the north and the repeated disasters in Chang'an had no impact on the many prefectures and counties in the south.

This is especially true for Yangzhou, an important city in Jiangdong.

Although there was some bad news coming from the Huainan front, there was peace and prosperity in Yangzhou city.

Rather than saying that the people here became anxious because the Tang Dynasty was falling apart, it would be better to say that they almost burst into laughter and celebrate!

Because in the past, the imperial court often assigned many "political tasks" to Yangzhou Prefecture, requiring them to hand in a certain amount of silk, handicrafts, paper, and tea, all of which were offered to the Chang'an Palace. Then Ji Ge would reward various dignitaries in the form of "rewards".

As a result, everyone in Yangzhou city was miserable, from officials to merchants to workers in workshops, everyone complained.

Living more is a good thing, but if the court doesn’t pay you for it, it’s not a good thing!

Now that no one came to Yangzhou to ask for rewards, everyone in the city, whether it was Prince Sheng Li Qi or the ordinary people, breathed a sigh of relief.

Yangzhou, with its developed handicraft economy, has finally gotten rid of the huge burden on it.

"Yangzhou is the first, Yizhou is the second" refers to the commodity economy of Yangzhou during the Tang Dynasty, which ranked first among all cities.

The prosperous shops, crowded roads and dazzling array of goods are all important symbols of Yangzhou's prosperous commerce. At least after Chang'an fell many times, it was well-deserved to be the best in the world.

The structure of Yangzhou City is a typical "dual city system", divided into two city centers, Tangzi City and Tangluo City, which completely separate the political center and economic center of Yangzhou, making it easier for government management.

Tangzi City is in the north, where government offices and dignitaries are located. Tangluo City is in the south, closer to the ferry crossing on the Yangtze River. Both cities were built along the canal. The surrounding areas of the two cities are either rivers and ponds or fertile fields, making them very prosperous.

Early that morning, in the private room of Yechunlou, the largest restaurant in Tangluo City, Yangzhou, Gao Shi, the military secretary of Prince Sheng Li Qi, was receiving Li Bai who came from Bianzhou.

When in Chang'an, Gao Shi was poor, but Li Bai was hospitable and spent money lavishly, treating Gao Shi to big meals and fine wines.

So this time when Li Bai came to Yangzhou, he did not go directly to find Prince Sheng Li Qi, but found Gao Shi and visited him privately in the name of an old friend.

"Brother Taibai, I'm afraid you didn't come to Yangzhou to enjoy the scenery, did you?"

After three rounds of drinking, Gao Shi put the wine glass on the table, looked directly at Li Bai and asked.

Compared to Li Bai, who had to drink a few glasses wherever he went and was extremely unreliable in doing things, Gao Shi started from the grassroots and was very pragmatic.

As the military commander and military officer of the shogunate, Gao Shi clearly knew what was happening on the Huainan front. It was also obvious who Li Bai was working for and why he was doing this.

"Li is naturally here for state affairs!"

Li Bai put down his wine glass and said righteously.

He looked like he was sure that what he was doing was a major event that would shake the world and change the situation, and that his words were worth a hundred thousand soldiers.

Gao Shi was stunned by what he saw!

Gao Shi obviously has a deeper understanding of the current situation in the Tang Dynasty than Li Bai, not to mention that he had once served under Fang Youde.

The real Tang Dynasty has perished, and what is left is just a shell!

The members of the Li Tang royal family either became puppets and fig leaves in the hands of the strong, like Li Wan and Li Lin, or like Li Qi, unable to clean up the situation and not in the mood to do so, living in a small area and struggling to survive.

The reason why Yan Zhenqing defected to Ying Wang Li Lu was because Li Lu was still a powerful royal family member and had not been sidelined by the military leaders under him.

However, there is actually a very contradictory thing here. Gao Shi saw it, but many people did not see it.

If the emperor cannot fight, then he must rely on strong men under him, who must be in charge of both politics and military affairs. Otherwise, he will not be able to pacify the world and suppress those who are not obedient.

However, if such a person really appeared under his command, he would be the next Fang Qing, who would also sideline Li Lu.

In other words, the reason why Li Lu is still able to control the situation in Jingxiang is not because he is very strong. On the contrary, it just means that he has no capable fighters!
At least there is no one who can stand on his own.

When Gao Shi looked at Li Bai's appearance, he felt that it was a bit strange, as he had long followed the former Prince Yong Li Lin.

Can't Li Bai see that Li Lin is just a puppet now?

Or has he changed his stance and joined Fang Qing?
"Brother Taibai, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't be shy."

Gao Shi made a gesture of invitation.

"The false emperor Li Yu wanted to march east to Yangzhou and seize the lands of Jiangdong and Huainan.

His Royal Highness Prince Sheng was the first to bear the brunt.

When Your Majesty learned of this, he wanted to send troops to strengthen the defense of Huainan and station them in Shouchun to resist the rebels of the false emperor.

Although this matter is official business, after Li came to Yangzhou, he learned that Brother Gao was in the court of Prince Sheng. So he informed you first to find out what His Highness was thinking. "

Li Bai said this shamelessly. He and his wife, Zong, had discussed these words for a long time before setting off.

Prince Sheng Li Qi was appointed by Brother Ji. It was also Brother Ji who appointed him to be the governor of Huainan.

Since Ji Ge is gone, the successor Crown Prince Li Ying is also gone, and the so-called "legitimate lineage" is also broken.

Therefore, now at least three of Ji Ge's princes have proclaimed themselves emperors, the puppet emperor Li Wan, the puppet emperor Li Lin, and the Prince of Ying Li Lu who recently proclaimed himself emperor.

In the absence of "orthodoxy", to some extent, they all have their own reasons.

But for Li Qi, none of the three of them could be the object of his loyalty.

It stands to reason that Li Qi should also be crowned emperor in order to legitimately protect his territory. However, Huainan did not have so many troops, and the locals did not feel the threat of war, let alone support Li Qi to proclaim himself emperor.

In other words, although Li Qi nominally managed more than ten states in Huainan Road, in fact, he only had a shogunate in Yangzhou, and part of his troops were stationed in Shouchun City and part in Yangzhou.

That's it.

The provincial governors of various states in Huainan were all guarding their own territories, doing nothing but muddling through.

Those people thought that it was good to have Li Qi, the Huainan Jiedushi, in charge, since he would die first if anyone had to.

However, once Li Qi "goes against the grain" and wants to "fight", these governors may not necessarily buy his account!

When Fang Chongyong first took control of Xuanwu Town, he had a strong army at his disposal, but the six states under his command had undergone a major reshuffle and he was constantly competing with the forces under Li Lin.

It took a lot of effort to integrate the resources of more than a dozen states.

But once the land inspection order was issued, there was still a large-scale rebellion.

How could Li Qi be able to integrate the resources of Huainan?
To integrate, he lacks the so-called status and righteousness!
Li Bai's words were actually a hint to Gao Shi: Li Lin is now the emperor, and theoretically, he can grant others the power to be military governors and govern Huainan.

And Li Qi is just a "custodian".

It was Li Qi's fault for not pledging allegiance to Li Lin, but Your Majesty is magnanimous and just assumes that he has already pledging allegiance.

Li Bai's words made Gao Shi at a loss for words for a moment.

Gao Shi actually wanted to ask in return: Can Li Lin’s promise really be kept?

Fortunately, he was very shrewd and did not ask the question on the spot.

"Brother Taibai, why don't you give the letter to me, Gao? I will present the letter to you after I meet His Royal Highness Prince Sheng.

This will also prevent Brother Taibai from causing any unpleasantness after meeting His Highness."

Gao Shi saluted Li Bai with his hands crossed.

He was really worried that Li Bai's big mouth would mess up something that could have been a good thing.

However, Li Bai did not seem to understand Gao Shi's hidden meaning. He returned the greeting to Gao Shi and laughed, "That's great. I will go around this prosperous city of Yangzhou and take a look."

After the two said goodbye, Gao Shi did not hesitate and went straight to King Sheng's mansion, which was the largest house in Tangluo City.

Li Qi didn't pay much attention to military strength, but in terms of personal enjoyment, he was not behind others at all.

The size and scale of the mansion was comparable to that of the emperor's palace. In just a few years, there were nearly dozens of concubines and no less than a hundred dancers in the palace. Li Qi was also a generous person, often giving girls to his staff and also to Gao Shi, but Gao Shi felt that it was immoral and refused to accept it.

When he arrived at Prince Sheng's Mansion today, Li Qi was not playing on a woman's belly, but was admiring the flowers in a courtyard.

There were magnolias, peach blossoms, cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, crabapple blossoms, camellias, bauhinias, and campanulas, and many more that even Gao Shi couldn't name. The entire courtyard was filled with hundreds of flowers in full bloom, each competing for beauty. It was truly a riot of colour.

It is impossible for these flowers to bloom naturally in the courtyard. It definitely takes manpower and resources to plant, prune, water, fertilize and manage them, which is definitely not cheap.

However, after spending so much effort just to make the courtyard look better, Li Qi might not even come here to take a look.

Thinking of this, Gao Shi had to admit: Regardless of Li Qi's personal temperament, he at least inherited Ji Ge's appreciation level and ability to spend money.

"Your Highness, I have something important to report."

Gao Shi walked forward, bowed and saluted to Prince Sheng Li Qi.

The prince's steps were quite unsteady, perhaps he had just come out of a woman's bed.

Gao Shi sighed inwardly: Yangzhou is a good place in every way, except that it is too prosperous, and there are too many beauties in this water town.

The land of pleasure is the grave of heroes, and sex is a knife that scrapes bones. King Sheng’s health is worrying!
"Are you talking about Li Lu's claim to the throne in Jingxiang? I've already heard about it, so don't worry about it."

Li Qi gently waved his hand, signaling Gao Shi not to speak. He was enjoying the flowers and didn't want to spoil his mood.

Many of his subordinates advised him to declare himself emperor, but Li Qi knew that he was not cut out for it. If he did not declare himself emperor, he could still survive by admitting his guilt to Li Lu.

If I proclaim myself emperor and fail in the future, I will be dead and my entire family will die!

"Your Highness, this is a letter from Bianzhou. I haven't opened it yet. Please take a look."

Gao Shi handed the letter to Li Qi and then stepped aside.

Li Qi took the letter and opened it carelessly. After reading it, his expression suddenly became serious!
Why did Brother Ji arrange Li Qi to be the governor of Huainan?

Because Li Qi is a prince with no ability.

He has no ability to govern, no ability to lead troops, and even... he doesn't even have much ambition.

Now feeling the pressure of the big fish eating the small fish, Li Qi was in a terrible state.

"Go to the study!"

Li Qi gave Gao Shi an instruction and then led him to the study.

After sitting down, Li Qi handed the letter in his hand to Gao Shi without saying anything, and just waited quietly by the side.

This letter was written by Fang Zhongyong. He did not exchange any polite words with Li Qi. He just asked Li Qi to transfer the troops from Shouchun.

He also said that when the false emperor Li Lu's troops march east to Yangzhou in the future, someone will help you stop them.

Because the letter was written too bluntly, Li Qi was caught in a dilemma.

On the one hand, even a fool could understand what Fang Zhongyong meant in the letter and there was no way he could pretend to be confused.

On the other hand, I really don’t know how to deal with the matters in the letter.

If we fight, we will definitely lose and might even be taken advantage of by Li Lu of Jingxiang.

Let's not fight. Shouchun is the gateway to Huainan and an important town on the Huaihe River. If there is a hole here, the entire Huainan defense line will be in a state of disintegration.

"actually……"

Just as Gao Shi was about to speak, an aide from Prince Sheng's mansion pushed open the study door anxiously.

He did not care about the hierarchy and shouted directly to Li Qi: "Your Highness, something terrible is happening. The Xuanwu Army has sent troops to Zhongli and captured our army by surprise! The city of Haozhou on the other side of the river is also in danger! Your Highness, please send reinforcements from Yangzhou as soon as possible!"

Gao Shi swallowed back what he was about to say.

"I know, get out!"

Li Qi scolded the aide impatiently.

After the other party left, he asked Gao Shi anxiously: "What should we do in this situation now?"

Lai Zhen, the military commander of Shouzhou, was stationed in Shouchun, but he was actually in charge of the entire Huaihe River defense line. He did not arrange for troops to be stationed along the Huaihe River because defending everywhere was like not defending anywhere. Only by concentrating the troops could we fight the enemy.

Therefore, Lai Zhen's plan was to defend Shouchun to the death, because once this place was lost, there would be no way to take it back.

However, it was because he concentrated all the troops that other nodes near the Huai River were left with a lack of troops.

To put it bluntly, it was not that Lai Zhen did not know how to use troops, but that he had too little capital. Li Qi simply did not have so many troops to build the Huaihe River defense line.

Just like Henan and the north bank of the Huai River.

Fang Chongyong doesn't have so many soldiers and horses that he can defend everywhere.

"Your Highness, why don't we let Fang Qing withdraw from Zhongli, and we withdraw from Shouchun. This matter will be over.

If Zhongli and Haozhou are lost, the Huaihe River defense line will also be breached, and the Shouchun defenders' retreat route will be easily cut off, and they may not be able to hold on in the end. It is really not worth the loss."

Gao Shi analyzed calmly.

This principle is the same as the classic chess move "General draws the rook".

If you don't throw out a "chariot", the Bianzhou army will march straight into Huainan through the Zhongli pass, and it is possible that they will eventually reach Yangzhou.

Although this is not the best solution for Fang Chongyong, it is a disaster for Li Qi.

It would be better to let Shouzhou go out, at least Li Lu's army could be stopped, just like throwing meat buns at dogs to buy peace.

"I am somewhat unwilling, alas..."

Li Qi sighed. He knew that Gao Shi's words were insightful. But knowing is one thing, and being willing to do it is another.

"Your Highness, the chaotic world is upon us, so we should prepare for war."

Gao Shi couldn't help but make a suggestion.

He knew very well that Li Qi was not fit to be emperor, and he had no intention of supporting Li Qi to ascend the throne.

Now I am staying in Yangzhou to do my job, which is nothing more than fulfilling my duty. When the war breaks out, all the people will suffer. In the current world, no one can even tell who is the emperor. Instead of struggling, it is better to wait and see.

"I know."

Li Qi nodded halfheartedly and responded with one sentence.

"Write two letters for me, one for Fang Qing and one for Lai Chen.

You go to Shouchun first and tell Lai Zhen to give up Shouzhou and take over Zhongli City.

Then he went to Kaifeng and told Fang Qing that he had agreed to his request, but they also had to give up the occupied Zhongli City.

Otherwise, it will be a fight to the bitter end!"

Li Qi said, clenching his fists tightly.

Gao Shi nodded, and the stone in his heart fell to the ground, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will leave as soon as I finish writing the letter."

He bowed to Li Qi and then walked out of the study in the palace. Only then did he feel an indescribable sense of oppression in his heart.

(End of this chapter)