Tiantang

Chapter 358 The Supreme Emperor's Death!

Chapter 366 The Supreme Emperor's Death!
From the very beginning, when Li Heng heard that the An Lushan rebels were heading south as if they were in no man's land, Li Heng was even more terrified when he was angry, and he had better be mentally prepared to escape from Chang'an City at any time.

But as an emperor, especially a newly enthroned emperor who had let go of his bold words to surpass his ancestors in martial arts, even though Li Heng wanted to escape urgently, he couldn't say it out loud.

Seeing Yang Guozhong take the initiative to persuade him now, although his face is calm, he is overjoyed in his heart.

Li Heng was about to put on a gesture, but he hesitated when he heard Chen Xilie angrily say, "Mr. Yang! Chang'an is at the foot of the emperor, the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, and the seat of the imperial court. How can you give up? With the current rebel army, you don't think about how to fight against the bandits and serve the country, but instead What is your intention to trick His Majesty into abandoning Chang'an and harming the state?!"

Chen Xilie was furious, his eyebrows and beard trembled together, very excited and angry.

Chen Xilie is a veteran of the three dynasties, he has always pursued the doctrine of the mean, and is notoriously a fool.When Li Linfu was in power, he was at the mercy of Li Linfu, and when Yang Guozhong was in power, he was firmly suppressed by Yang Guozhong.Although Li Heng relied heavily on Chen Xilie, Chen Xilie seldom sang against Yang Guozhong or the former princelings openly, and was used to smearing mud.

But now, at the juncture of life and death of the Tang court, this veteran scholar-born official finally couldn't help exposing his high-spirited character.Seeing that Yang Guozhong actually said something to persuade the emperor to run away, Chen Xilie immediately turned his back on Yang Guozhong and broke his face with Yang Guozhong.

Yang Guozhong was also furious. He glared at Chen Xilie with a sneer and said indifferently, "The Anlu Mountain rebels are in a formidable situation, and Yan Zhenqing's Henan army can't resist it at all. Now Henan has fallen, and the fall of the eastern capital Luoyang is just around the corner. Once Luoyang falls, the rebels will be defeated." The army can drive straight into Guanzhong, Chang'an is an isolated city, and the army of the kings of the towns has not yet arrived, how can we keep it?"

"If His Majesty is allowed to stay in Chang'an, wouldn't it be in An Lushan's arms?"

"I suggest that your majesty lead the court to leave Chang'an temporarily and move to Lingzhou to be escorted by the Longshuo army. Why not? Chang'an is just a city. Compared with your majesty's safety, what is a city? As for the court's face, the court's army and horses After retreating steadily, being killed by the rebels in Anlu Mountain, he has already lost his face, so what are you still worried about? Are you trying to hide your ears and steal your bell?!"

"The truth is, I want to ask Chen Xiang, what is your intention for putting His Majesty in a dangerous situation?"

Yang Guozhong was born as a local ruffian, and he was good at talking about fallacies. With such a series of counterattacks, Chen Xilie was at a loss for reason.

Chen Xilie blushed. He didn't care to challenge Yang Guozhong. He knelt down on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, Chang'an is a matter of the state and should not be dismissed lightly. The frontline court officers and soldiers are fighting bloody battles against the bandits. If Your Majesty abandons Chang'an, the news will spread." If you go out, you will increase the arrogance of the thief and make the soldiers feel cold!"

"Your Majesty, you must never give up on Chang'an!"

Chen Xilie kowtowed again and again, and there was a sound when he landed. After a while, there were spots of blood on his forehead, which was really shocking and eye-catching.

Li Heng looked at Chen Xilie with a very complicated expression, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

All the ministers looked at Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie silently, and did not speak anymore.

At this time, Jianning King Li Tan suddenly came out of the class and knelt down on the ground, and said with emotion, "Father, Chang'an is the capital of the Tang Dynasty, where the ancestral temple is located. If the father leads the court to abandon Chang'an and go to Longshuo, the hearts of the people all over the world will be chilled." Heart!"

"If the An'an bandits capture Chang'an, our Great Tang Ancestral Temple will not be safe... Absolutely not, father!"

Li Tan also kowtowed to the ground, unable to afford it.

Yang Guozhong glanced at Li Heng, and suddenly said loudly, "Chen Xiang, King Jianning, you don't need to say too much. When did your majesty ever say that you want to give up Chang'an? Your majesty just wants to lead a personal conquest, and personally go to Longshuo King Qin's army to take command. Fight to the death with the rebels!"

"Your Majesty, I think you can send people to stay in Chang'an, and at the same time order Yan Zhenqing to guard Tongguan to the death, waiting for King Qin's army to come to help! If Yan Zhenqing can't hold Tongguan and cause Chang'an to fall, he should be punished!"

"At the same time, Your Majesty led the civil and military ministers and the army of the Manchu Dynasty to march north to join the army of King Qin of Zhang Xuan in Longshuo. The two armies joined forces, and it would not be too late to come back to rescue Chang'an and fight against the bandits!"

Li Heng's face flickered for a long time, and he said slowly, "Mr. Yang's words are reasonable. Yan Zhenqing couldn't resist Anlu Mountain. Although it wasn't due to a war, his crime is inevitable. If he can't defend Tongguan again, I will punish him severely. !"

"As for me, the rebels are at the moment. As the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, I cannot sit still and enjoy the success of Chang'an. I have decided to personally lead the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs of the Manchu Dynasty and the Jinwuwei army to the north, and join the army of King Zhang Xuanqin to resist the rebels!"

"That's it. It's settled. You don't need to say more!" Li Heng sneered at this point, looking around everyone, "I'm not going to give up Chang'an, Chang'an must be heavily guarded—all ministers, who would like to stay with you?" I will guard Chang'an?"

Hearing that Li Heng followed Yang Guozhong's advice, Chen Xilie was greatly disappointed.He looked at Li Heng somewhat disheartened, silent for a moment, then suddenly cupped his fists and said, "The old minister is willing to stay behind, please allow your majesty!"

Li Heng hesitated for a moment. In his heart, staying in Chang'an was actually a dead end. Chen Xilie was so old that he couldn't bear to let Chen Xilie stay.

"Chen Xiang, you are an important minister by my side, and I need you to stay by my side..."

Chen Xilie sighed and said, "Your Majesty is guarded by Prime Minister Yang and other lords, so the veteran is at ease. Your Majesty, the veteran is nearly [-] years old, and half of his body has already been buried in the earth. The veteran is a minister of the three dynasties. Suffering from the emperor's grace, facing the national crisis, the veteran should share the worries for His Majesty and guard Chang'an for His Majesty!"

As Chen Xilie said, the circles of his eyes turned red, and he couldn't help crying.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the veteran will live and die with Chang'an City! The veteran is here, bid farewell to Your Majesty, take care of your majesty all the way!"

At the critical moment, Chen Xilie suddenly showed his strong character as a famous minister, and all the ministers were moved.

Li Heng sighed softly, waved his hands, and said nothing more.

Since Chen Xilie is willing to be loyal to the country, he, as the emperor, cannot stop him.

Li Tan, the King of Jianning, looked serious, and unexpectedly knelt down on the ground, and said in a concentrated voice, "Father, my son is willing to guard Chang'an in place of Father, so that the hearts of the army and the people will be reassured!"

Li Heng's expression changed.

He gave up Chang'an and fled to Lingzhou this time, so it was impossible for him to leave with everyone.But his princes, princesses, and concubines were all taken away. Unexpectedly, Li Tan dared to take the initiative to stay in Chang'an without fear of death.

"Li Tan, you..."

"My son has made up his mind, please grant your father's permission. My son is here, bid farewell to my father with Chen Xiang, take care of me all the way!"

Li Tan's voice was sonorous and powerful, and he fell to the ground.

Zhang Tong, the general of the Habayashi Guards, also suddenly came out of the squad and knelt down, "Your Majesty, I also wish to lead the Habayashi Guards to stay in Chang'an, and protect our Great Tang Ancestral Temple! The Shan rebels entered Chang'an half a step!"

……

……

The news that the emperor was going to lead the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty and some royal nobles to leave Chang'an to Lingzhou to join Zhang Xuan soon spread to the palace, and Chang'an city was in chaos.More people fled there, and many powerful families who felt that they were not qualified to flee north with the emperor also thought of their own way, packed up the gold and silver, and fled Chang'an overnight.

The palace was also in chaos.What Li Heng can take away is only his harem concubines and princes and concubines. The old emperor's concubines and even the old emperor's princes and daughters and the Tang clan must all be kept.Most of the thousands of maids and eunuchs in the palace will also stay.

Those who were chosen to escape were of course elated, but those who were determined to stay were in despair.

The cold palace where the old emperor lived finally got the news.

Hearing that Li Heng was going to abandon Chang'an and flee to Lingzhou, the old emperor turned pale with anger on the spot, vomited blood, and passed away.In fact, his performance back then was not much better than Li Heng.It's just that Li Heng wanted to flee to Lingzhou, while Li Longji in history fled to central Shu.

After a lot of rescue, they couldn't be rescued in the end, and the old emperor Li Longji, who was dying, finally went.

Gone forever.

Since then, it has been withdrawn from the vision of the Tang Dynasty forever.

"Father! Father!" Sheng Wang Li Qi, Princess Xianyi and other princes and princesses wept bitterly and knelt down under Li Longji's dragon couch.

"The Supreme Emperor is dead!"

"The Supreme Emperor has passed away—"

The mourning and music in the palace, the sound of bells and drums, is melodious and miserable in the dusk of this summer.

This shocking news spread from inside the palace to outside the palace. Unfortunately, at this moment, no one cared about the news of the old emperor's death, and everyone was busy running for their lives.

Li Heng ordered the palace to hold a funeral for the old emperor while preparing to flee.

At this juncture, the funeral procedures and etiquette are lacking too much, it can only be said that it is somewhat coping.

On the morning of the third day, Li Heng handed over the funeral ceremony of the old emperor to Li Tan, Chen Xilie, and Zhang Tong, and issued an edict ordering Li Tan, the king of Jianning, to supervise the country and guard Chang'an. , and then left Chang'an with a mighty team, and fled slowly in the direction of Lingzhou.

The red sun is at the head.Li Tan, Chen Xilie, and Zhang Tong were wearing plain clothes for the old emperor's funeral, standing on the gate tower of Chang'an City, watching Li Heng's guard of honor and tens of thousands of guards gradually going away, their faces were very dignified.

The reason why Chen Xilie stayed was because of integrity; the reason why Zhang Tong stayed was because of Zhang Xuan's trust.Zhang Tong believed that Zhang Xuan would never give up on Chang'an. As for the An Lushan rebels, since Zhang Xuan had been planning to deal with them for a long time, it was impossible not to think that Yan Zhenqing would not be able to stop the An Lushan rebels.

As for Li Tan's ability to stay, although there was a moment of impulsive blood, it was still due to the feelings in his bones.Li Tan is actually a very proud person. As a prince, he can't just watch Li Tang's royal family abandon the people of Chang'an and the ancestral temple and leave like a bereaved dog.

He would rather die in battle than shame his name.

"Your Highness, let's go back to the palace." Chen Xilie cupped his hands and said.

Li Tan nodded solemnly, turned around and left.

(End of this chapter)