Late Tang

(Thanks to Xiaoqin 007, Zui Xiaodao, Ziyun Xinmeng, and Yuan Zhouzhou for their support, and special thanks to Master Zui Xiaodao for the [-] tip!)

At noon when the sun was scorching, there was no wind outside, and the trees on the side of the street were all drooping. Xia Chan was singing cicadas non-stop, but she seemed extraordinarily peaceful.

A few boys in short shirts held sticky sticks, regardless of the high temperature of the fire, and kept shooting under the tree, chasing and catching annoying cicadas.Behind them, in an octagonal three-story pavilion, there are two people facing each other leaning on bamboo chairs, with a set of military chess in front of them.On both sides of the army chessboard, there is also a transparent glass, which contains half a cup of red bayberry soup, accompanied by pieces of ice cubes.

Among them, the younger man didn't move the chess piece for a long time, he stared at a chess piece, but his eyes lost focus long ago, he was lost in thought.The white-faced and beardless man on the opposite side waited quietly, without any hint of urging.After a long time, the young man raised his eyelids, and finally his eyes fell on a strong man standing beside the stone table.

"so..."

The middle-aged man standing by the military chess table answered, his voice was loud and thick, the kind that belonged to generals.

"Li Jing won and won a complete victory. Not only did he defeat 20 barbarians, but he also captured Datong and the second town of Yanmen in Daibei in one fell swoop."

The young man frowned, "It stands to reason that they can't win, right, Duke Yang?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! The Battle of Daibei this time was indeed unexpected. Originally, it was very likely that the Hu people, Yanmen, Chengde, and Wei Bo joined forces to attack Li Jing, and it was very likely that the people behind the mountain would be killed." The state was captured in one fell swoop. But I didn't expect that things would develop like that. Jian Chong, the king of Chengde, and Han Jian of Wei Bo were assassinated one after another, and the two towns were directly busy with internal affairs. And Li Ke used this black crow, unexpectedly He was also trapped in the Hedong Allied Army and was not allowed to go north. These few moves are too unexpected. It can be said that they are the key to Li Jing's victory in this war."

The young emperor Li Xuan didn't want to hear these reasons. What he saw was that Li Jing won again, and his power became stronger. He annexed two feudal towns at once, really crossed the Taihang Mountains, and extended his hand into the territory of Hedong .One-third of Hedong has already fallen into Li Jing's hands, the Shatuo people were defeated, Yanmen was lost, Wei Bo and Chengde coach Qiqi were assassinated, and now there is no one who can stop Li Jing.

"Will Li Jing take advantage of the victory and go south? Now that the towns in Hedong are all in Luoyang, I'm afraid no one can stop Qin Fan's footsteps."

Li Xuan's worry is not unreasonable, now Li Jing is getting stronger and stronger, and he is less and less concerned about the court and him.Not only did he establish his own official system, he even conferred rewards on his own. Li Jing built the palace and changed Youzhou City to Yanjing, which was even more illegal than Weibo Town's changing Weizhou to Daming Mansion.Beijing is the capital, and the mansion is also the place where the emperor resides in the palace. Li Jing changed Youzhou to Yanjing, built his own palace, and appointed himself a hundred officials. This is completely rebellious.Now that Li Jing has won another big victory, if he goes south in a big way at this time, and then occupies Luoyang and turns instead, then half of the Tang Dynasty will really change its master.

Especially in this battle, when Li Jing fought against the Hu people, a total of eight towns in eastern Henan and southeastern towns sent troops north to support Li Jing.Although in the end, Li Jing won before they reached the battlefield, but this made Li Xuan really feel frightened.It turned out that Li Jing and Zhuzhen were allied with each other, and Li Jing was just worried about it. But now, all the towns sent troops one after another, which made his most worried thing come true.Li Jing's alliance is really very close.If Li Jing rebelled, Zhu Zhen would most likely respond as well.

Yang Fugong replied: "Li Jing did win a big victory this time, but things are not necessarily all bad for us."

"Oh, how do you say that?"

"First of all, Li Jing had just kicked off the war with the tribal coalition forces in the Northeast, but five or six major forces have invested millions of dollars in the war. This battle is the most important for Li Jing at present. It is a battle that will determine the entire Northeast. The battle of the future situation. And this battle, obviously, will be a long-term battle, and it may even last for a year or two. This time, Li Jing took the risk of entering Daibei. Yes. Although he won, it was a battle with all his strength. Li Jing may still have enough military strength to fight another battle, but his logistics will never support him to continue fighting. According to the humble opinion of the veteran, After this battle, Li Jing will definitely not go south again, but will choose to defend in order to absorb and stabilize the fruits of this victory."

The white-faced beardless man sitting opposite Li Xuan is Yang Fugong who is the most favored by Li Xuan in the palace.

"Are you satisfied, Duke Yang? As you said, Li Jing may not go south immediately, but if he absorbs the results of this victory with peace of mind, his strength will rise to a new level. At that time, He will inevitably start another war and continue to go south, at that time, how will we stop it?"

Li Yan looked at the only eunuch he felt he could rely on, and his tone was full of negativity, "This time Li Jing and Zheng Congxuan worked together to prevent Li Keyong from returning to the north, and finally captured Yanmen and Datong. What I am worried about is that, If Zheng Congxuan conspires with Li Jing, then things will really get out of hand."

Zheng Congyu was not only staying behind in the northern capital, the governor of Taiyuan, but also the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, and now he is the marshal of the Hedong coalition army, commanding the towns. He has just recovered the western part of Henan and Luoyang together with other towns.If Zheng Congxuan conspired with Li Jing and fell to Li Jing, then Taiyuan, the center of Hedong, which is now an important town in front of Li Jing, may fall into Li Jing's hands without bloodshed.Even Li Jing could go all the way south and directly enter Luoyang.

Li Xuan got up slowly, picked up the iced red bayberry on the table, and drank it all in one go.Then stand with your hands behind your back and look straight into the distance.He was wearing a black double-breasted gown, and he simply wore a veil on his head. It was impossible to tell that this was the emperor of the Great Tang Empire.

Yang Fugong also stood up, with his hands on his belly, "Your Majesty's worries are justified, Zheng Congxuan has become closer to Li Jing in the past few years, and this time he is fully cooperating with Li Jing to trap Li Keyong and helping him with all his strength. Both Cui and Zheng in the court, Cui Yunqing and Cui Anqian all voted for Li Jing. Zheng Congxuan and Zheng Tian have always been in close contact with Li Jing. Your Majesty should remember that the last time Zheng Tian sent troops was in response to Li Jing. The two Cui have already betrayed His Majesty, and the two Zheng is also not credible. Taiyuan is the center of Hedong, and Hedong Town is an important town in the north. Such an important place, the veteran also thought that it should not be handed over to someone like Zheng Congxuan. Moreover, even if Zheng Congxuan would not give Taiyuan to Li Jing, Zheng Congxuan would not He is just a civil servant and scholar, so it would be inappropriate for him to stay in the post of Hedong Jiedu envoy to resist Li Jing."

"Then what kind of proposal do you have?"

"Your Majesty, Tokyo has just been recovered, so it is better to transfer Zheng Congyu as the defense envoy of the eastern capital Jidu, and Tokyo will stay behind."

"Then who is the right person to hand over Taiyuan to?"

An imperceptible smug smile appeared on the corner of Yang Fugong's mouth, "Your Majesty, the veteran believes that Hedong has always been an important town in the north, especially now, it is even more important to prevent Li Jing from going south. Therefore, Hedong needs to choose a loyal and reliable person, and there must be A capable general will go to guard. You must be loyal and capable, and the veteran has a candidate, and I would like to recommend it to Your Majesty."

"Who?"

"Li Keyong!" Yang Fugong slowly said the candidate he had thought about for a long time.Before Li Jing's victory, Brother Yang Fugong had already started to consider this proposal.When Li Jing was victorious, Shatuo was defeated, and Li Keyong lost his hometown, Yang Fugong finally became firm in his plan.He was just waiting for a suitable opportunity, and now, this opportunity finally came.The emperor was very worried about Zheng Congxuan, and worried that Li Jing would go south at any time, seize Taiyuan, and then go straight to Luoyang.This is the right time to launch Li Keyong.

"Li Keyong?" Li Yan was astonished as expected. Li Keyong was not a loyal courtier. He was less than 30 years old, but he had turned against Tang Dynasty twice.If it weren't for the court's inability to punish this, he would have wished to cut this guy into pieces.Moreover, he disagreed with Li Keyong's ability.Look at Li Keyong's confrontation with Li Jing, who was beaten by Li Jing in the Battle of Daibei and fled out of the Great Wall in embarrassment. After several years, he finally came back again, and soon fought with Li Jing again, and was almost beaten again In the just-concluded battle, Li Keyong even lost his last lair.Now Li Keyong only has 5 horses left. Such a barbarian who even lost his wife to Li Jing, has no ability to take on this important task.

"Your Majesty, Li Keyong may indeed have been defeated by Li Jing several times, but looking at Li Jing's opponents, they were basically completely defeated and never had a chance to make a comeback. But Li Keyong is different. Although he has been defeated repeatedly, However, he has been defeated repeatedly and is extremely tenacious. He and Li Jing have the hatred of killing their father and seizing their wives. If His Majesty uses him, he will never have to worry that Li Jing will join the enemy. However, the Shatuo army is still one of the most powerful troops in the world. Compared with other feudal towns, the Shatuo people are very powerful. As long as His Majesty is willing to use him again, then Li Yaer will definitely die to serve His Majesty. Thirdly, Li Keyong just lost the goose Gate Town, even lost the last shelter. It can be said that it is a bereaved dog right now, but it is just like this, Li Keyong has no choice now, and he has no ability to dare to betray His Majesty. Letting Li Keyong go to Hedong to defend Li Jing, this is exactly It's people making the best use of it, Your Majesty."

Li Xuan still hesitated.

"Between Zheng Congxuan and Li Keyong, which one does His Majesty think is more trustworthy? Who can take on the important task of resisting and defending Li Jing?"

"Is there no better candidate?" Li Xuan asked, rubbing his forehead.

"I can also recommend Zhu Quanzhong, King of Liang, Li Quanzhong, King of Ji, and Wang Chongrong, King of Han."

After thinking for a long time, Li Xuan shook his head, "Zhu Quanzhong was originally just a small soldier under Li Jing's command, and Li Quanzhong was driven out of Hebei by Li Jing, and Wang Chongrong was originally just a military leader with little actual combat experience. These three people are not suitable candidates. , is there no one else?"

Yang Fugong shook his head, "We must be loyal to His Majesty, but also have prestige, and can stand up to Li Jing, there is no suitable candidate for the time being. People like Zheng Tian, ​​Li Sigong, Yu Jian, and Kang Chenghui, although He has seniority and ability, but his relationship with Li Jing is too close, so it's hard to rest assured. The rest of the generals are loyal and trustworthy, but they lack seniority and prestige."

"Let me think about it again!" Li Xuan hesitated for a long time, but in the end he did not immediately agree to let Li Keyong go to Hedong to replace Zheng Congxun. Li Keyong is really a capricious person. Li Jing's subordinates had never won before, so it was hard to let him deal with Li Jing. (To be continued.)