Tiantang

Chapter 345 Fighting against Heaven and Destiny
Chapter 353 Fighting against Heaven and Fate

Li Tan, king of Jianning, did not follow Zhang Xuan to Lingzhou after all.Although he was the chief officer of the firearms department of the imperial court in name, it was actually just a decoration. His going to Lingzhou to act as an agent for firearms affairs was at most symbolic.

After Li Heng's "warning" and Zhang Xuan's "enlightenment", Li Tan's eager ambition calmed down temporarily.He decided to stay in Chang'an for the time being, and it would not be too late to go to Lingzhou in a few months.

Although Li Heng was surprised, he also accepted his request.In Li Heng's view, as long as Li Tan can "keep his duty", it doesn't matter whether he is in Lingzhou or Chang'an.

But Li Tan did not expect that his decision would turn out to be his greatest opportunity in the near future. This is probably the arrangement of fate.

Zhang Xuan led Su Hudong, Li Tengkong, the three daughters of Hua Nuer and Nan Jiyun and more than a hundred guards to leave Chang'an at a gallop. While galloping for a cup of tea on the official road, Zhang Xuan suddenly reined in the horse and stopped .

Everyone was very surprised, and immediately stopped their horses in a hurry, raising a stream of smoke and dust, which immediately dissipated in the warm and cold spring breeze.

Su Hudong's three daughters stood on one side of the horse, looking at Zhang Xuan suspiciously.

"My lord...this is..." Nan Jiyun immediately bowed respectfully and asked.

Zhang Xuan didn't answer, but immediately turned his head to look back at the tall and majestic Chang'an City, where only a faint outline could be seen, his divine light flickered.

Zhang Xuan knew in his heart that his departure from Chang'an this time meant a huge turning point in his life and destiny.When returning to this imperial capital again, it must be after the Anshi Rebellion.Whether this prosperous Chang'an city can be preserved in the coming storm, he is not 100% sure in his heart, and he has a slight worry.

After all, the Fan Yang rebels in Anlu Mountain captured Chang'an City with lightning speed, the Tang court fell apart, and the emperor fled in a panic. This is the original face of history.Although Zhang Xuan has made every effort for it, it is still unknown whether he can stop and reverse the mighty wheel of history with his own power.

But no matter what, since he has come to this era, he must try his best to do something for this era.It may be a bit ethereal to talk about great ambitions to serve the country, but even if it is to protect his relatives, he has to put in [-]% of his efforts.

His relatives are still in Chang'an, including his mother, elders, wife and everyone who needs his protection.For this reason, he will not admit defeat to fate, he will do his best to fight against fate with his own strength, even if it means breaking his body to pieces!

Of course, in order to prevent unexpected events, he still arranged a retreat.

"I hope Yan Zhenqing and Zhang Tong won't let me down." Zhang Xuan said silently in his heart, then turned his head and glanced at Nan Jiyun, and said calmly, "Nan Ba, I have a question for you. If An Lushan rebelled, In terms of Fan Yang's troops, how long will it take to attack the Central Plains and Chang'an in the south? Can Henan and Chang'an be defended?"

Nan Jiyun was startled, as if he didn't expect Zhang Xuan to ask this question.

He hesitated for a moment, and replied in a loud voice, "Commander, from the point of view of the last general, Fan Yang's iron cavalry is unstoppable. If An Lushan leads an army south, it will be difficult for Marshal Yan from Henan to resist, and he can hold on for more than a month at most. The door is open, and the rebel army will drive straight in, and they will reach the city of Chang'an within two months."

"However, there is Tongguan Gate in front of Chang'an City, so it shouldn't be a problem to stand firm and wait for reinforcements. As long as the imperial soldiers and horses can hold on to Tongguan for a period of time, and the divisions of Qin Kings from all over the place arrive, the Anlushan rebels will undoubtedly be defeated," Nan Jiyun thought. After thinking about it, he said again.

Zhang Xuan looked at Nan Jiyun and nodded, then let out a long sigh.

"Nanba, you are right. Yan Zhenqing can't stop An Lu Mountain. It can't be blamed for Yan Zhenqing's incompetence, but Fan Yang's army is strong and strong, and he can't be defeated by the Henan army. But this king hopes that Yan Zhenqing can do his best to stop An Lu The footsteps of the mountain rebels bought time for me to wait for King Qin."

"And even if Henan falls, if Tongguan can be held, Chang'an can also be held. However..." Zhang Xuan sighed again, but he hesitated to speak, and stopped talking.

Li Tengkong listened for a long time, then she rode over and said softly, "Xuan Lang, since you are worried that Chang'an will not be able to keep it, why don't you let..."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand and did not let Li Tengkong continue.Li Tengkong was not only worried about Zhang Xuan's family, Cui Ying and Wan Chun, but also his natal family.

Zhang Xuan cast a look at Li Teng and waved decisively, "Okay, let's continue on our way. On this journey, we will travel day and night, trying to get back to Lingzhou in the shortest possible time."

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Fan Yang.The Governor's Mansion in Anlu Mountain.handsome hall.

An Lushan sits in the middle, while the civil servants and generals are divided into two classes.With such an imposing manner, it already seems to have the airs of a small imperial court.

It should be said that although An Lushan is rough, arrogant and ambitious, he still has some skills in recruiting talents.For more than ten years, many strange people and strangers have gathered under his tent, civil servants are like clouds, and fierce generals are like rain.

A group of talented civil servants such as Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang, and generals include Shi Siming, An Shouzhi, Li Guiren, Cai Xide, Cui Qianyou, Yin Ziqi, Wu Lingxun, Tian Chengsi and others.There are many soldiers and generals, and the food and supplies are very abundant. This is probably the greatest confidence in Anlu Mountain's rebellion.

An Lushan looked around at the crowd, waved his hands majestically, and said, "Everyone, this king has just received the order of the new emperor, and the new emperor said in the order that the king should quickly mobilize Fan Yang's army to wipe out the Xiren of Shizhou, and I will return to you!" A time limit was given, saying that if Xi Ren rebelled against him, he would bring the king to justice!"

An Qingxu, An Lushan's son, frowned and said, "Father, don't pay attention, my son doesn't believe it, what else can he do to us! A coward and incompetent, and now he has changed his face and become the emperor. ridiculous!"

An Lushan glanced at the agitated An Qingxu, then turned to look at his counselor Yan Zhuang.

For An Qingxu's son, An Lushan was actually a little displeased, thinking that this son was too violent and violent, not stable enough to be a great weapon.But An Lushan had no choice but to reuse this son.His eldest son, An Qingzong, is a hostage in Chang'an, and An Qingzong has always opposed An Lushan's rebellion, and his character is even weaker.

Yan Zhuang is An Lushan's most trusted military adviser, and all the plans of An Lushan's rebellion came from this person.Including this time forcing the rebellion against the Xi people, luring the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty into Fan Yang to fight the rebellion, and then encircling and annihilating them, and taking the opportunity to set up the banner of anti-Tang, is also Yanzhuang's plan.

Yan Zhuang is also the most familiar figure to Zhang Xuan around An Lushan, although he has never met.

What does it mean to be a gentleman who knows current affairs?The solemnity of history is.When it was time to kill the king, he killed the king—Yan Zhuang colluded with An Lushan's son An Qingxu and the eunuch Li Zhuer to kill An Lushan.After An Qingxu ascended the throne, he served as the prime minister and monopolized the power.Betray when it's time to betray——On October 21, the second year of Zhide, after the Tang army recovered Chang'an and Luoyang, Yan Zhuang surrendered to the Tang army and was appointed Secretary of Agriculture.

This person is flexible in mind, thoughtful and thoughtful, able to bend and stretch, so he can always turn bad luck into good luck, and disaster will bring good luck.This is the law of survival in troubled times.In the next 150 years of Tang Dynasty history, of course there were no ones who were single-minded, but heroes like Yan Zhuang can be said to be everywhere.

Yan Zhuang pondered for a while, then smiled softly, "My lord, I think that the Emperor Tang is just pretending to intimidate the lord. It is false, and he dare not send troops to Fan Yang. It is true. My lord, it seems that the Tang emperor has realized that The day will not be far away when the lord raises righteous soldiers to help the world!"

An Lushan sneered, "My king's thoughts, from the old emperor to the young emperor, they are very clear from the beginning to the end. It's just that they know that I will rebel, so they dare not do anything to this king—this king's dozens Wan Fanyang cavalry is not a vegetarian."

"My lord is mighty and invincible in the world! We are willing to follow the king to conquer the world!" Before Yan Zhuang could speak, An Shouren and other generals had already bowed down and sang loudly, patting their asses with incomparable skill.

Yan Zhuang frowned secretly.

An Lushan laughed, "Okay, everyone. What I am worried about now is whether we have to change our strategy and plan if the Emperor Tang does not take the bait. Military advisor, what do you think?"

Yan Zhuang smiled, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I think that the time to raise troops is not yet ripe. At this moment, my lord should let the Xi people continue to attack the city, and on the other hand, continue to report to the Emperor Tang and strongly demand that the Emperor Tang send troops to go out! If the Emperor Tang does not move, neither will my Fan Yang army. Don’t worry, my lord, the Emperor Tang has just ascended the throne. If he sits back and watches Xiren rebel and rises to power, the prestige of the Great Tang court will be completely lost, and he will not be able to bear it! "

As soon as Yan Zhuang's words fell, An Qingxu raised his hands a little irritably, "I don't know what opportunity you are waiting for, Junjun Yan? I have been preparing for more than ten years, and now Fan Yang has enough food and grass, and the army is strong. At the beginning, we will gallop the horses in the Central Plains and plunder the Great Tang Dynasty. If this continues, sooner or later the morale of the army will be demoralized!"

After hearing An Qingxu's words, several generals also deeply agreed, and they all echoed.

Yan Zhuang secretly glanced at An Qingxu with some disgust, and raised his eyebrows.

"Your Highness, with Fan Yang's current strength, it is not a big problem to conquer the Central Plains and win Chang'an. I can guarantee that my Fan Yang army will be invincible, and we will win Chang'an City within three months! But, my lord Taking down Chang'an City is not the goal, but to secure the country, we must take the entire Tang Dynasty into our pocket."

"The Tang Dynasty has a vast territory and many feudal towns. It is easy for our army to conquer Chang'an, but it is difficult to defend the country. If the world's feudal towns are surrounded by kings, what should we do? Abandon Chang'an and retreat to Fanyang, or fall into Chang'an and besieged by the Tang soldiers and horses ? Your Highness, please teach me!"

Yan Zhuang's light and fluffy words left An Qingxu speechless.

An Qingxu let out a long breath, and said in a deep voice, "Then when will we have to wait?"

Yan Zhuang smiled faintly, turned his head to look at An Lushan and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, the Tubo prince Chisong Dezan must have sneaked back to Tubo, and the envoy sent by Fan Yang to Nanzhao should also return next month. At most, there will be two more months." Only when there is movement in Tubo and Nanzhao, can our army raise the anti-Tang Yi banner!"

(End of this chapter)