Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 671: Advance or Retreat, That Is the Question

In an instant, Li Tingwang felt an inexplicable pressure. Fang Zhongyong tore off all his warm disguises without warning and went straight to the core of the problem.

Are you here to discuss business or to enjoy the sights?

Fang Chongyong stopped playing guessing games with him.

Seeing that Li Tingwang was still in a daze, Fang Zhongyong took out the letter written by An Shouzhong from his sleeve, raised it in his hand and continued:
"General An's letter is full of polite words, and I am a little confused. So I want to ask General Li, what do you want me to do?
If you only need goodwill, then I am full of goodwill towards you, and I have already expressed my goodwill before, so you and General An can rest assured."

Hearing this, Li Tingwang remained silent.

Liu Zhongyi's appearance was an accident, but he also exposed many secrets in Luoyang.

All efforts are made in return. Fang Zhongyong's so-called "friendliness" is to trade normally with Luoyang and send some money to show that he has no ill intentions and has no intention of taking over Luoyang.

As for the rest, forget about it.

But, didn’t Li Tingwang come to Bianzhou just to seek “allies” who could support Luoyang?

"This is a serious matter. I have to go back to Luoyang to discuss it with Marshal An Jie."

Li Ting looked at the other party and saluted with his fists.

"Take this eunuch, General Li, away. Although I don't need to defend myself, I don't want to get involved in this mess. I will not cooperate with Guanzhong to seize Luoyang."

Fang Chongyong said this very generously and frankly.

Li Tingwang also knew that he had said something wrong, and quickly apologized:
"Li was so angry that he offended the emperor with his words. He deserves death. We don't know why this eunuch, who was supposed to come to Luoyang to deliver the emperor's order, came to Bianzhou.

It is better for him to stay in Bianzhou. If I bring him back to Luoyang, I will be in a dilemma whether to kill him or not. This will only tie my hands and feet."

Li Tingwang quickly refused, not wanting to take Liu Zhongyi back at all. If he took this eunuch back to Luoyang, there would be too many people there. Killing the eunuch sent from Guanzhong would only give them an excuse to turn hostile.

It is better to have less trouble than more. Why make things difficult for yourself? Li Tingwang thought clearly.

"That's fine, I will help you keep an eye on this person for the time being.

How about this, I write a letter now, and General Li takes it back to Luoyang and we'll discuss it later?"

Fang Chongyong was also very straightforward and did not dwell on the matter.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Guan."

Li Tingwang clasped his fists and saluted.

Fang Chongyong then wrote a letter and gave it to Li Tingwang, who immediately left Bianzhou. In order not to trouble two masters for one matter, Fang Chongyong still asked Li Qiyun to go with Li Tingwang and let him do An Shouzhong's work in Luoyang.

After that, Fang Chongyong paid attention to the autumn harvest, disaster relief in western Zhejiang, the serious illness of Bohai King Damen Yi, and the life-and-death battle between Shi Siming and his son, and for a while he put this matter aside.

The reason was simple. The war did not break out soon, and An Shouzhong did not bow down to Fang Zhongyong. This brave general was like a bad woman. She smiled when she didn't get the money, but she kept silent and pretended not to know him after getting the money.

Some people in Bianzhou believed that Fang Chongyong had been cheated, but they did not dare to bring this up publicly.

Li Qijun still stayed in Luoyang to be in charge of liaison and constantly sent back news from Luoyang.

Although An Shouzhong showed no enthusiasm for Fang Chongyong, he was very diligent in recruiting soldiers. He used half of the money sent from Bianzhou to reward the three armies and the other half to recruit soldiers and replenish military equipment.

Even though nothing was announced publicly, even the wild dogs in Luoyang City could smell An Shouzhong's ambition.

As for Guanzhong, it seemed that they had not noticed Liu Zhongyi's "disappearance" or An Shouzhong's evil intentions. They just quietly strengthened the defense of Puzhou and Tongguan. Ma Lin and Li Weicheng each led a 10,000-man army, while Li Shiyu stationed troops in Huayin and used the place as a granary.

Everything was peaceful, but during this period, a trivial "incident" occurred: An Shouzhong sent troops to take over the three cities of Heyang, drove out the original defenders in the city, and annexed that army.

However, the Yellow River had already begun to freeze at this time, so it naturally didn't matter whether to block the water transport or not.

Perhaps out of guilt, An Shouzhong even submitted a memorial to the Guanzhong court, saying that the defense commander of the three cities of Heyang had embezzled military rations and had been arrested. As for why An Shouzhong had such power, he did not say in the memorial.

None of that matters, it's all just gestures and excuses.

The Guanzhong court was silently sharpening its knives, and An Shouzhong was also recruiting troops to deal with the chaos. Neither side was an easy target, and both sides were just waiting for an opportunity.

……

In Hedong Road, Jincheng, the capital of Zezhou Prefecture, it was already the coldest time of winter, with the city covered in snow and a vast expanse of white outside.

A group of cavalrymen were hunting outside Jincheng. They rode their horses and trampled on the farmland. Whether it was the woods or the fields, it was their hunting ground. The winter prey was fat and strong, with bright fur and plump.

Eating meat is secondary. The important thing is to get the good fur, which has many uses. The leader of this cavalry team is Li Huaiguang, and his eldest son Li Jing and his general Han Yougui are also among them.

Jinzhou is small, but it is still rich and more than enough to settle down. Li Huaiguang has been relatively quiet in the past two years. He controls the finances and taxes of Jinzhou, squeezes money from the people, and has no problem raising troops.

However, it is true that the harvest is getting worse year by year. The Guanzhong court appointed Li Huaiguang as the governor of Zhaoyi Army. This Li Jieshuai is basically equivalent to a local emperor, who only obeys orders but not announcements.

The hunting team caught a lot of prey today, and everyone came to a large rock that was sheltered from the wind and lit a bonfire to barbecue.

While no one was paying attention, General Han Yougui came over and asked Li Huaiguang in a low voice, "General, the court wants us to switch guards with An Shouzhong. Can we agree to this?"

Li Huaiguang was using a branch to fan the flames in the fire. When he heard this, his face instantly turned gloomy.

"If you were An Shouzhong, would you be willing to exchange Luoyang for Zezhou?"

Li Huaiguang asked back.

Those sinister people in Guanzhong are so cunning!

Li Huaiguang cursed in his heart.

Han Yougui shook his head and said, "Luoyang is so rich, An Shouzhong has been there for two years, why would he move? Besides, no one in Guanzhong believes what the court says, even if the commander-in-chief agrees, An Shouzhong will definitely not agree. This is a very poor plan to sow discord."

"That's right. Those people in Guanzhong just want us to fight with An Shouzhong so that they can sit back and reap the benefits. It's a nice thought!"

Li Huaiguang snorted coldly, set up the barbecue rack, skinned a rabbit and skewered it on a wooden stick.

"Marshal, that being said, are we really going to ignore the imperial edict?
After all, it's not pleasant to stay in Zezhou, wouldn't it be nice to change to a better place?"

Han Yougui continued, and Li Huaiguang nodded. In fact, he thought so too.

Anyone who has been burned by fire will remember the dangers of trying to fish in troubled waters.

However, there are so many smart people in the world. They clearly know that it is very dangerous to try to take advantage of the fire. Why do they keep doing this over and over again?
That’s because the benefits are too tempting!

That kind of risk-taking adventure of risking a small amount for a big gain is hard to resist once you’ve tasted the sweetness!
This was true for Li Huaiguang, Han Yougui, the Guanzhong court, and even more so for An Shouzhong.

"We must send troops, but we can't do it now."

Li Huaiguang squinted his eyes and looked at the dancing flames in the campfire. It seemed as if there was also a fire in his heart.

"An Shouzhong, they are on guard against us now. Those people in Guanzhong spread the news everywhere, and many people knew about the exchange of defense between the Konghe Army and the Luoyang garrison. Naturally, An Shouzhong also knew about it.

They are waiting for us now. Let's wait until spring."

A sneer appeared on Li Huaiguang's face.

You must not do what some people expect you to do, otherwise you will be jumping into a pit.

"General, isn't spring farming a necessity? How can we use the army?"

Han Yougui asked with a confused look on his face.

There is nothing new under the sun. Many things can be "unexpected" simply because the bottom line is lower, not because others cannot think of it.

"We don't want Zezhou anymore, so why should we care about spring ploughing?"

Li Huaiguang scolded with a smile.

Han Yougui understood and nodded slightly.

In fact, they not only forgo the spring ploughing in Zezhou, but also the spring ploughing in Luoyang. Once the war breaks out, Luoyang and the surrounding areas will become battlefields, and who will have the heart to farm?

This year will definitely be wasted, and we can only see if we can replant some things later.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

But the people will suffer, even if they don't kill any civilians. As long as the local spring farming is disrupted, many people will starve to death.

But in Li Huaiguang's view, those are not important. The most important thing is whether they can take control of Luoyang.

If Luoyang cannot be under their rule, then what does it have to do with them if so many people starve to death?

If the soldiers were still concerned about whether they would step on farmland or disrupt spring ploughing when doing things, they would no longer be called soldiers.

At this moment, a horse came galloping over. It was Li Huaiguang's personal soldier.

"General, there is a guest from Bianzhou who wants to see you for something important."

The guards dismounted and saluted Li Huaiguang. The hot air exhaled by the horses formed a mist in the air, like a unicorn breathing fire.

"Bianzhou..."

Li Huaiguang was a little dazed for a moment. He recalled some things in the past. Although it was only two years ago, it seemed like it happened in his previous life.

Those memories are very vague, as if they were deliberately hidden by myself.

Why has the world become like this?

Li Huaiguang couldn't help but sigh, but said nothing.

He mounted his horse and gave a few instructions to Han Yougui, asking him to lead the hunting team back to the city, while he himself would follow his personal soldiers back to Jincheng first.

When I arrived at Zezhou Prefecture Yamen, as soon as I entered the lobby, I saw a middle-aged scholar who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

As soon as the man saw Li Huaiguang, he crossed his arms and saluted, saying, "I am Zhang Tongru, and I am here to deliver a letter for Marshal Fang. Here is the letter."

"Does Marshal Fang have nothing to say?"

Li Huaiguang sat in the main seat nonchalantly, took the letter and put it on the table, seemingly having no intention of opening it in front of him.

"Replying to the Marshal, there is no explanation."

Zhang Tongru bowed and saluted politely, as if he was just going through the motions.

Li Huaiguang also knew that the other party was just delivering a letter and there was no "important news" at all, so he waved his hand impatiently.

Zhang Tongru didn't waste any words. He took out a "receipt" from his sleeve and handed it to Li Huaiguang, saying, "Please put your seal on it, Marshal Li. Otherwise, I won't be able to report back."

This is as it should be, because this was the process during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. Runners and officials acted as messengers to deliver letters, and in order to indicate that "mission accomplished", the recipient of the letter had to stamp, sign, and put his fingerprints on a special "receipt".

The process is not fundamentally different from the modern one in Fang Chongyong's previous life.

Today, the world is falling apart, and these problems no longer exist. Since it has been so long since he heard of such a thing, Li Huaiguang took a long time to come back to his senses, and he stamped the seal of the Control Crane Army on the "receipt".

Zhang Tongru put the receipt away, tucked it into his sleeve, bowed and said goodbye.

After he left, Li Huaiguang went to the study and opened the letter. The more he read, the more solemn his expression became.

This is a handwritten letter from Fang Zhongyong. Of course, it may not be the original, but may have been copied.

In this letter, Fang Chongyong first analyzed the situation of Li Huaiguang and the Konghe Army, and simply summarized it in four words: a dog that has lost its home.

Even if it hasn't reached the point where I'm in a state of panic all day long, it's pretty close.

Only because the current situation is so chaotic, Li Huaiguang can still survive for two years by relying on the old soldiers of the Control Crane Army.

Once there is a change in the world, Li Huaiguang will be one of the first to die, or even the first.

Now the whole world knows that you are planning to seize Luoyang. It is obvious what those people in Guanzhong are planning.

Once you listened to him, you fell into the trap and had to fight to the death with An Shouzhong.

If you don't obey, nothing good will happen to you. The reputation of the Konghe Army is already bad, and it will only get worse in the future.

However, considering that the Konghe Army is an old subordinate of my father Fang Youde, I can give you a hand.

As long as you send troops from Zezhou to attack Yecheng, if you take it, you can live there. If you can't defeat him, I will send troops from Bianzhou to help you. There is absolutely no reason why I can't defeat Li Guiren.

As for Luoyang, don't think about it. Just wait for those people in Guanzhong to fight to the death with An Shouzhong. Even if you take Luoyang, you will never have a peaceful day in the future.

Because he was worried that Li Huaiguang was not well educated and would not understand the allusions, Fang Chongyong wrote the letter very directly, even somewhat unconcealedly.

"Going to Yecheng?"

Li Huaiguang was somewhat touched.

To be honest, Luoyang is rich, but it is not easy to deal with it, and it is very conspicuous. But Yecheng, or Xiangzhou, is different.

Not only is it rich, but it is also relatively safe.

Shi Siming and his son Shi Chaoyi fought to the death in Lulong.

Li Guiren and others were not strong and only nominally submitted to the Bianzhou court. In reality, they would not listen to orders or announcements.

The relationship between them is no different from the relationship between Li Huaiguang and the Guanzhong court.

Do you want to go to Yecheng?

Li Huaiguang was hesitant.

(End of this chapter)