Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 616 Lifting Weights Like Light (3)

"How could this be? Didn't I already order the distribution of food? Why do the victims still flock here? This, this, this..."

No matter how sympathetic the people are for the emperor, there is always a string of defense against the people in the bottom of my heart. Even Gaozong, who is not considered a wise monarch, is no exception. After a short shock, there is endless panic. Poor Gaozong's body It wasn't very strong at all, but when it was frightened again, the whole body was already trembling like sifting chaff.

"Returning to Your Majesty, as far as I know, it is because of rumors that the East Palace will open a warehouse to release grain, so a large number of disaster victims have just rushed to eat, but the number is really amazing. According to visual estimation, it has exceeded 20. General Xue He and General Qibi have already led their troops to arrive, but there are too many victims, and the situation is unstoppable, so we sent slaves and maidservants to come to help, hope His Majesty will make a holy judgment soon."

Although most of the courtiers were aware of the wild rumors in the market, most of them didn't know how the rumors came from. Naturally, no one could answer Gaozong's question, and could only stand there blankly, looking at each other. The servant who came to report the letter was a little courageous, and hurriedly explained it.

"Holy Judgment? Ah, hurry up, order the army to be transferred, hurry up, pass on my order, and order the army to calm the chaos!"

Gao Zong was not a very brave person at all, he was completely panicked at this moment, he couldn't care less to think about the reason of the incident, so he roared loudly.

"Wait a minute, Your Majesty. It is absolutely impossible to deploy troops at this time. Firstly, there is too little time, and secondly, there may be a catastrophe if the people are provoked. I think that since the matter was caused by His Royal Highness' bold words, His Royal Highness must have a good solution. Your Majesty Please respectfully invite His Royal Highness to preside over the matter."

Deploying troops to quell the chaos can certainly solve the immediate problem, but there are many troubles in the future. Besides, if the troops were really dispatched, wouldn't it be possible for Li Xian to escape disaster? Naturally, this is not what Empress Wu and his party would like to see It was precisely because of these considerations that Jia Chaoyin rushed out of the situation without waiting for his servant to agree to his promise, and unceremoniously pushed the problem onto Li Xian.

"Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Jia said is true. To untie the bell, one must tie it. At this critical juncture, let Xian'er try it first."

Empress Wu set up such a big game in order to severly slash Li Xian's prestige, so she would not let go of such a good opportunity to stir up trouble, and before the ministers reacted, she was the first to speak out. Received Jia Chaoyin's advice.

"Is that so, um, Xian'er, are you willing to relieve father from this crisis?"

Gao Zong was originally a person with no big opinions. At this time, after listening to Wu Hou, he affirmed Jia Chaoyin's statement, and the idea of ​​mobilizing troops to quell the chaos was dispelled. He was just worried that Li Xian would not be able to deal with the crisis, so he hesitated a little, but in the end, yes The worry of the situation still prevailed, so he looked at Li Xian with a sad face, and asked a question tentatively.

"Responding to my father's words, my son is willing to try his best!"

Li Xian naturally knew what kind of situation he was facing, but he didn't mind at all. In his opinion, the final result of the situation set by Empress Wu could only be shooting himself in the foot, but Well, Li Xian didn't want to talk too much, so he bowed towards Gao Zong solemnly, and replied cautiously.

"Well, that's good, everything should be careful, if it doesn't work, don't force it."

As soon as Li Xian agreed to this request, which was obviously difficult for others, although Gao Zong felt a little relieved, he felt guilty again, so he said a few words in a worried manner.

"Father, don't worry, the child will come back as soon as he goes."

Although Li Xian was not afraid of the situation set up by Empress Wu, he didn't dare to be careless, because if the victims of blind obedience really caused trouble, the consequences would be quite unbearable, so he didn't want to delay any longer , Then he responded respectfully, walked out of the gazebo quickly, led dozens of personal guards out of the East Palace, and rushed straight to the blockade of the Habayashi Army.

On the edge of the small square outside the gate of the East Palace, Xue Rengui and Qibi He Li, two generals of the Habayashi Army in armor, stood in front of the formation, and behind them were four thousand officers and soldiers of the Habayashi Army, each with a strong sword. Unsheathed, bows and crossbows unfurled, although speechless, murderous aura was flying straight up into the air, the guard was not so tight, but even so, the two veterans still had nervous expressions on their faces, just because what they had to face was not The enemy who was armed to the teeth, but the unarmed victims, could not be killed, and could not be persuaded. This made the two battle-tested veterans feel that they had nowhere to go. They could only helplessly Looking forward to the imperial edict of Emperor Gaozong.

"Report, two generals, the first line of defense has been breached, and the disaster victims are rushing towards the second line of defense!"

The imperial decree has not been transmitted for a long time, but a cavalryman charging forward has brought some bad news to the two veterans.

"Explore again!"

The generals of the Left and Right Yulin Army are equal in rank, but Xue Rengui's military qualifications are much higher than Qibi Heli's, so naturally he was appointed as the commander. Optimistic, Xue Rengui's brows were immediately furrowed, but he didn't have any special orders, he just waved his hand with a gloomy face, and sent the sentry away.

"General Xue, waiting like this is not an option. I'm afraid the second line of defense will soon be lost. You and I are shouldering the responsibility of escorting the driver. I'm afraid we have to prepare for the worst."

Compared with Xue Rengui's composure, Qibi He Like was relatively impatient. Seeing that Xue Rengui hadn't made a decision for a long time, he became anxious, so he lowered his voice and said something.

"Oh, just wait a little longer."

Xue Rengui didn't know that the second line of defense would be difficult to stop the victims' footsteps, and he also knew that if the victims rioted, the whole situation would be ruined beyond repair. However, he dared not and was unwilling to issue the order of massacre before the holy order was issued. Well, up to now, besides waiting, he has no choice but to think about it.

"Give us food, we want food, give us food!"

"Hurry up, the East Palace is coming, and there will be food when we arrive!"

"There is food to survive, big guys, rush, hurry!"

Qibi Heli's predictions were not bad at all, but before the imperial decree arrived, the disaster victims rushed forward first, and countless yellow and emaciated victims rushed along the South Street like a tide, and there were bursts of roars, which had always been The officers and soldiers of the Habayashi Army who had never fought before were in a panic for a while. If the two generals Xue Rengui and Qibi Heli had not stood in front of the battle like a mountain, I am afraid that these veteran soldiers who have never seen blood Already swarmed and fled away.

"The whole army is on alert. Anyone who dares to rush across the street will be killed without mercy!"

Facing the flood of disaster victims, even though Xue Rengui couldn't bear it, he didn't dare to show any compassion, because behind him was the imperial city, and once the disaster victims rushed into the palace, it would be monstrous At this moment, Xue Rengui could only grit his teeth, roar and give the order to kill.

"promise!"

Now that the chief general had issued the order, all the officers and soldiers of the Habayashi Army were trembling with fear, but they could only respond in unison, but the voices of the answers were not loud, but uneven, extremely This clearly exposed the nature of the Habayashi Army's ruthlessness.

"Don't move rashly, I'm here!"

Although the combat power of the Habayashi Army is not very good, it is an army armed to the teeth after all. Once it starts to fight, the casualties of the victims may not be too small. When the massacre is about to start, But when he heard a loud sound like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, all the officers and soldiers of the Habayashi Army who were preparing for the battle were all dizzy from the shock. They couldn't help but looked back, only to see Li Xianji in a bright yellow robe He led dozens of Donggong guards to the back of the formation.

"The last general, Xue Rengui (Qibi Heli), sees His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Seeing Li Xian rushing over at such a critical moment, the two veteran generals couldn't help feeling a little worried, they were afraid that Li Xian would make mistakes in the chaos, but Li Xian had arrived, the two generals couldn't help but mutter in their hearts , but each of them could only rush to the front and salute in unison.

"The two generals don't need to be too polite, and please lead your own troops to retreat into the palace gate, and let me handle it here."

The tide of disaster victims was approaching, and time was running out. Li Xian couldn't care less about being polite, so he raised his hand and gave the order in a firm tone.

"Ah...Your Highness, this..."

"Your Highness, this place is in danger, you..."

Hearing Li Xian's words, the two veterans became anxious. If Li Xian made a mistake in the disaster, the consequences would not be acceptable to the second general.

"It's okay, I have my own way to deal with it, and you will execute the order immediately!"

Although he admired the loyalty of the second general, there was no room for delay at this time. Li Xian couldn't explain much, he could only keep his face tense, and ordered in a decisive tone.

"promise!"

Li Xian is the heir apparent, and since he had made his will, the two veteran generals dared not disobey even though their hearts were filled with trepidation. At the gate of the palace, the whole army did not strictly follow Li Xian's order to withdraw to the palace, let alone close the gate of the East Palace. Instead, they lined up in front of the palace gate, posing as if they were ready to rush out at any time.

"I'm here, Li Xian, everyone is waiting!"

The tide of victims was surging very fast. The officers and soldiers of the Habayashi Army had just withdrawn for a while, and the tide of victims at the far end of the long street was already surging to a distance of less than [-] steps from where Li Xian was standing. Li Xian and the others were afraid that they would not be able to escape the fate of being submerged by the flood of refugees. Seeing this, Li Xian did not dare to be negligent. With enough energy, he let out a roar like a thunderbolt. Lei, with the ability to split clouds and pierce rocks, instantly frightened the crowds in the street into panic.

"Look, that's His Royal Highness, really His Royal Highness!"

"Quick, get down on your knees!"

"His Royal Highness is here, I'll be saved, that's great, that's great!"

Although the crowd of victims were thrown into chaos by the sound of Li Xian's cessation of drinking, and their forward footsteps stopped because of this, many people recognized Li Xian who was dressed in bright yellow clothes, and his ecstatic words instantly spread across the crowd. There was a chaotic sound in all directions in the bush, and countless victims of the disaster all knelt down on the ground. The tense riot scene seemed to be under control, but the two veterans, Xue Rengui and Qibi He Li, still kept their faces tense, not daring to have the slightest expression. They were relaxed because they all knew how fragile this so-called controlled situation was. If Li Xian couldn't come up with an answer that satisfied the victims later, the consequences would be unimaginable.

(End of this chapter)