Tiantang

Chapter 370 Li Guangbi is named the county king?

Chapter 378: Li Guangbi is the King of the County?
Changan.

Jianning Wang Li Tan stood on the gate tower of the Kaiyuan Gate, staring in the direction of Tongguan, his expression flickering.

At this moment, standing next to him is Chen Xilie, the three-dynasty veteran Chen Zuoxiang and official minister who stayed with him in Chang'an.

The two stayed in Chang'an with a mentality of going to the national disaster, but now with Zhang Xuan's army guarding Tongguan, the Anlushan rebels could not enter the pass, and Chang'an was no longer in danger of approaching the city.

Although it is only the end of October and the beginning of November, the autumn wind is bleak, it is already a bit cold, and the temperature is very low.

Chen Xilie was wrapped in a cloak, shrunk his body, and was slightly hunchbacked.

At his age, he lacked energy and blood, and was not as good as before. He barely supported Li Tan and accompanied Li Tan, which was a bit difficult.

Although Li Tan didn't say a word from the beginning to the end, Chen Xilie knew what Li Tan was worried about.

Originally, because he offered to guard Chang'an, fearless in the face of danger, and lived and died with Chang'an soldiers and civilians, his prestige, especially among the people, skyrocketed instantly.This will certainly benefit him in his future bid for crown prince.However, what Li Tan didn't expect was that Li Yu would lead an army to assist Tongguan at this time and stand on the front line of countering the rebellion.

Although, everyone knew that, as a prince, he couldn't really fight on the battlefield.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Chen Xilie beside him coughed violently.

Li Tan glanced back at Chen Xilie, and sighed softly, "Chen Xiang, you are old and weak and unwell, you should go back and rest first, and you don't have to accompany me. I am worried about the situation in Tongguan, so I wish I could spread my wings and fly." In the past, I personally helped myself, and my heart was not stable..."

Chen Xilie coughed a few times, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, don't worry, with the soldiers and horses of Yongning Wang Zongzhen resisting Anlu Mountain, Fan Yang's rebels will definitely not enter the pass again!"

"Chen Xiang, the king of Yongning is embracing Tongguan at the moment, and he hasn't gone out to fight. His father must be a little dissatisfied?" Li Tan asked suddenly.

Chen Xilie frowned and said, "The old minister got the news that His Majesty has ordered Zhang Xuan to fight, but Zhang Xuan reported to the imperial court that the time for a decisive battle with the rebels was not yet ripe, saying that at present he can only defend Tongguan, and wait for the next year." Only at the beginning of spring can we choose an opportunity to attack the rebels and regain a part of Henan."

"Prince Yongning's approach is puzzling. Originally, the Longshuo army was as imposing as a rainbow. With the power of the first battle, they should immediately launch a full-scale attack on Anlu Mountain in order to wipe out the rebels in the shortest time and regain Henan and East China. Luoyang, the capital, even if you can't wipe out all the Anlushan troops, you can definitely drive the Anlushan rebels back to Fanyang. However, the king of Yongning didn't move..."

Li Tan said thoughtfully.

"Your Highness, King Yongning uses his soldiers like a god. There must be a reason for doing so. In fact, the old minister also thinks that King Yongning is guarding Tongguan to confront the rebels, and not going to fight for the time being is nothing more than avoiding the spirit of the rebels. It is beyond reproach."

"Whether you admit it or not, An Lushan's rebel army is far more powerful than the imperial army. Otherwise, Anlushan would never go straight in and capture Luoyang in just two months... this military opportunity The matter is far more complicated than we imagined, and the veteran feels that the imperial court should let go and let the king of Yongning make a decision on the fly!"

"If under heavy pressure from the imperial court, King Yongning is forced to fight, and as a result, he is defeated and loses Tongguan, and Guanzhong is in danger."

Chen Xilie said slowly.

Li Tan nodded, "Chen Xiang, in the name of the two of us, report to the royal father, saying that the war opportunities are changing rapidly, the rebel army is strong and difficult to defeat, and the Yongning King's army needs to rest after a long-distance attack, and we must not go out without authorization."

"In addition, report to the emperor that I will personally escort the food, supplies and military supplies, and go to Tongguan to reward the army!"

Hearing what Li Tan said, Chen Xilie raised his eyebrows and sighed secretly.

He knew that Li Tan couldn't stay in Chang'an any longer.Li Yu made military achievements on the front line of Tongguan, but it seemed that he stayed behind in Chang'an and hid in the rear.

In order to fight for the crown prince in the future, he must go to Tongguan to win Zhang Xuan's support.

Perhaps, Li Tan was subconsciously worried that Zhang Xuan would turn to form an alliance with Li Yu.

Although Li Yu had a rift with Zhang Xuan before, in politics, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.If Li Yu gave the corresponding chips, there is no guarantee that Zhang Xuan would not be tempted.

Moreover, the "covenant" between him and Zhang Xuan was not secure in the first place.

Zhang Xuan never stated that he would support him to enter the East Palace, but because the two were relatively close, it was probably Li Tan's pretentious gesture, which caused a misunderstanding and illusion to the outside world.

********************************
Lingzhou.

Li Heng moved into Zhang Xuan's Yongning Palace in Lingzhou, but after moving in, he was surprised by the simplicity of Zhang Xuan's mansion.In any case, Zhang Xuan, as the highest military and political officer in the Longshuo feudal town and the northwest, and also a prince, no matter how luxurious the mansion is, it is reasonable.But although this mansion is large, it is very simple, and there is no conventional extravagance at all.

There are only a handful of servants in the mansion, and there are not many maids, and even the dancers and singers are nowhere to be seen.

It can be seen from this that Zhang Xuan's diligence, thrift and dedication to the public are by no means empty words.

Li Heng was slightly touched.

However, his feeling was soon replaced by a deeper suspicion.

When the situation was unclear and the rebels were driving straight in, Li Heng didn't have this kind of thought. What he thought about was how to suppress the rebellion, how to stop the rebels from Anlu Mountain, and how to keep his throne. The army immediately showed a tendency to retreat, and the situation began to reverse, and his mind quietly changed.

He began to worry about whether Zhang Xuan would support himself, and if there was any trouble, he would sensitively think that Zhang Xuan had a different heart.

Besides, there are courtiers like Gongsun Liang nagging in his ears beside him.

Li Yu and Huo Changqing's repeated secret reports aggravated his suspicion of Zhang Xuan.

Of course, suspicion is suspicion, but a state of mind.At this time, Li Heng knew that he still couldn't do without Zhang Xuan. At least, until the An Lushan rebellion subsided, he could only rely on Zhang Xuan wholeheartedly and let go of power.

As for how he will treat Zhang Xuan in the future, to be honest, he hasn't fully figured it out yet.However, he has initially had the idea of ​​"killing the donkey by unloading the grind", but in Li Heng's view, he is defending the imperial power as a matter of course and righteously.

The facts are before us, Zhang Xuan's meritorious service is as high as the sky, but Li Heng can no longer reward him.

Zhang Xuan is currently an extremely talented minister, whether it is a title, an official position, or military power, he has reached a peak, so how can he be rewarded?Probably, only give up the throne to Zhang Xuan.

Therefore, in the future, Li Heng will face a huge problem: how to deal with the relationship with the great hero Zhang Xuan.

This question gave Li Heng a headache when he thought about it.

"Your Majesty, Li Guangbi and Yang Lian are retreating to Liangning Prefecture, do you want to call them back to Lingzhou to meet His Majesty?" Gongsun Liang said with a smile.

Li Heng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "Forget it, these two people led the army to guard Liangning Prefecture, to deter Tubo, the matter is of great importance, and they cannot leave their posts without permission. Gongsun Liang, Yang Xiang, I intend to reward Li Guangbi and Yang Lian, In order to show his achievements, what do you think?"

Yang Guozhong frowned when he heard the words, and immediately guessed what the emperor was thinking.

The emperor wanted to ignore Zhang Xuan intentionally and face Li Guangbi and Yang Lian directly. He wanted to win over these two people with awards and promotions, and divide Zhang Xuan's strength.

Before Yang Guozhong could speak, Gongsun Liang immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise! These two have made great contributions to the court, and they should be rewarded generously!"

Li Heng was about to speak, but he heard Yang Guozhong say indifferently, "Your Majesty, this battle between Tang and Tibet was planned and directed by King Yongning, and these two were just following orders. People, will you..."

Yang Guozhong said half of what he said, but didn't say the following words.

Some things don't need to be said.

Gongsun Liang smiled faintly, "Mr. Yang's words are wrong. All the generals in the world are ministers of His Majesty. If His Majesty awards meritorious ministers, you still need to go through King Yongning?"

Yang Guozhong glanced at Gongsunliang, brushed it lightly, and did not continue to argue with Gongsunliang.

In fact, at this time, Yang Guozhong hated Li Heng for conflicting with Zhang Xuan and weakening Zhang Xuan's military power.It's just that he knew in his heart that the more he opposed it, the more Li Heng would do it; on the contrary, if he expressed his support, Li Heng would consider three points.

Sure enough, Li Heng smiled coldly when he heard the words, waved his hands and said, "Decree, canonize Li Guangbi as Prince of Pingfan County, General, and Temporary Governor of Longshuo Metropolitan Government; canonize Yang Lian as Marquis of Ningbo, General, Qinghai Commander-in-Chief of the Marching Army."

As soon as Li Heng said this, not only Yang Guozhong and others, but even Gongsun Liang were taken aback.

Li Heng actually named Li Guangbi the county king, and temporarily acted as the governor of Longshuo, which clearly deprived Zhang Xuan of his military post in Longshuo and replaced him with Li Guangbi.

Is this... suitable?Many courtiers are thinking.

Standing at the end of the courtiers, Zhang Xun's heart trembled, and he looked at Li Heng with an incredulous gaze, and his heart sank.

Originally, the victory of the battle between Tang and Tibet was the result of Zhang Xuan's strategizing and the full support of all parties.Li Guangbi and Yang Lian were just following orders.But this time, the emperor made an exception to canonize Li Guangbi and Yang Lian, deliberately ignored Zhang Xuan's achievements, and tried to let Li Guangbi replace Zhang Xuan's position.

Zhang Xun felt chilled for a while, and at the same time felt worthless for Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan is still on the front line of countering the rebellion, working hard for the emperor's country, but the emperor hiding in the rear is ready to start killing the donkey.

Yang Guozhong frowned, and reported, "Your Majesty, although Li Guangbi and Yang Lian have military merits, they will not be canonized as county kings..."

"At the beginning when Zhang Xuan took the homeland of Tuyuhun for me, I canonized him as the King of Yongning, but now Li Guangbi and Yang Lian took over half of Tubo for me, so why not make him a king or a marquis?"

Li Heng said lightly.

Yang Guozhong sneered secretly in his heart: "Li Guangbi and Yang Lian are just generals under Zhang Xuan. Without Zhang Xuan, would these two have taken down the Tubo royal court? It's nonsense."

Although Yang Guozhong also wanted to weaken Zhang Xuan's military power, he was more aware of the consequences of Li Heng's doing so.

(End of this chapter)