Yuchi Gong jumped off his horse and walked up to Qu Tuquan. He looked down at the young man who looked rebellious and dissatisfied. He suddenly smiled and said, "Don't think about killing yourself to show your loyalty. That would It seems that you are stupid. The empire is built with iron, the emperor is running water, and even the late emperor’s brilliance and prowess cannot escape his fate and longevity. As human ministers, we pride ourselves on loyalty, but do you see who follows the late emperor? In the end, we are loyal to more than just The emperor should still be this empire and this country."
After a pause, he looked up at the wind and rain, clasped his hands behind his back, and said with a sigh: "Whether it's the prince or the king of Jin, it's just a fight between the former emperor's sons. No matter which side we stand on, it doesn't matter. Be loyal to the late emperor and the empire. If King Jin comes to power one day and divides the world, your Qutu family can also gain a kingdom, and maybe you can return to your ancestral land and honor your ancestors. Wouldn't it be a pity if such a good person died here?"
Qu Tuquan snorted, turned his face away from Yuchi Gong, and said decisively: "I am the sixth general of the East Palace, so I am naturally loyal to Your Majesty. Why should I be afraid of death? On the contrary, you claim to be loyal, but in fact you are full of desires and have no regard for the country, the country, and the country. To ensure the stability of the country, regardless of the life and death of the common people in Li, and to raise an army brazenly just for the glory of one family, one day he will be notorious and will be infamy for thousands of years! Mothers need to talk a lot. If you want to kill or behead, please do as you please."
His father, Qu Tutong, died of illness in the second year of Zhenguan. Although he made great contributions in the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty, his legacy was limited. Except for his elder brother Qu Tushou who inherited the title of Duke of Jiang, and Qu Tuquan who was bestowed with the title of Captain Guoyi, the other saints In fact, there are not many volumes, and even Zuo Xiaowei, who was controlled by his father during his lifetime, was split up...
So we can't talk about how many loyalties there are to the late emperor.
On the contrary, after joining Donggong Liuli, he was highly regarded and trusted by Li Chengqian. He was trained as a deputy general, with military power in hand and a bright future.
Now that the King of Jin is rebelling, how can he surrender to the enemy in fear of death?
Originally, he had no choice but to surrender in order to save his soldiers. He thought that when the enemy's defenses were relaxed, he would wait for an opportunity to commit suicide and use his full name. However, now that Yu Chigong revealed it, he would definitely be more vigilant in the future, and he could only seek a quick death.
Yuchi Gong shook his head, still unable to hide his admiration, and sighed: "Your father and I accompanied the late emperor to participate in the battle of Xuanwu Gate. We have a deep friendship and trust in life and death. How can we harm you? Don't think nonsense, since you don't want to If you rely on King Jin, I will be your prisoner, and I will protect your future in the future."
After saying this without further ado, he waved his hand and asked the soldiers to escort Qu Tuquan under his guard. Not only could they not harm him, but they also had to prevent him from committing suicide.
Then, without caring about cleaning the battlefield, he got on his horse and led his soldiers to continue heading west towards Bashui, approaching Chang'an.
*****
Xinfeng was only a hundred miles away from Chang'an. Even though it rained heavily and the passage was inconvenient, it took only two hours to deliver the news at full speed. Over there, Yu Chigong led his army to defeat Chai Zhewei and Qu Tuquan. Soon after, the battle report was sent back to Chang'an.
The whole city was in an uproar and the palace was shaken.
More and more dignitaries began to pack up their belongings and took their wives, concubines and children with them to go to the villa outside the city from various city gates in the rain. Although there were orders to seal the four gates, how difficult was it to strictly enforce them under such a situation? At almost every city gate, there were countless carriages queuing out of the city in the rain, causing huge congestion.
There are also some people who have no other gardens or farms outside the city, so they simply hide in temples and Taoist temples in various places in the city in order to avoid the possible war.
The atmosphere in Wude Hall was serious.
Li Chengqian always had a mild temper, but he couldn't help but get angry today. He slapped the gum in front of him with his palms and made a "bang bang" sound. He ignored his friend's robes and ran away at the first touch. How can he look like a soldier of the Tang Dynasty? If Aunt Quanxia knew about it, she would be heartbroken and wish she could cut him into pieces and cut him into pieces!"
Not only did he rarely get angry, but he rarely said such vicious and mean words. It can be seen that Chai Zhewei's sudden collapse today really brought out all his anger, and he even mentioned Princess Pingyang, whom he always respected.
The ministers were silent for a while.
Everyone understands Li Chengqian's angry mood at this moment. If anyone else had suffered such a defeat and the situation was unfavorable, he would have been pushed to the outside of Chengtian Gate to show his head to others as a warning, but Chai Zhewei obviously couldn't do it.
In the final analysis, no matter whether it is the royal family of Li and Tang Dynasties or the civil and military forces of the court, everyone must remember the merits of Princess Pingyang Zhao. Even when the late emperor was still alive, Chai Zhewei and Li Yuanjing got together to plot to usurp the throne, and they could only let it go... …
However, everyone also knows that although Chai Zhewei escaped death penalty, from now on, his political career is completely over, and he no longer has a place in the court of the Tang Empire.
As for the legacy of Princess Pingyang Zhao... isn't there another Chai Lingwu? The Duke of Qiao's title will be inherited by Chai Zhewei. From now on, Chai Lingwu will be the head of the Chai family.
Cen Wenwen said: "Chai Zhewei's defeat is a foregone conclusion. Now is not the time to investigate the responsibility and impose severe punishment. The first priority is how to arrange the troops to resist Wei Chigong's overwhelming power."
Although Li Chengqian ascended the throne, the throne was not stable. Many people with ulterior motives were temporarily dormant and waiting for the day to come. Once Yu Chigong led an army to approach the city of Chang'an, people's hearts would inevitably fluctuate and the situation would change drastically.
This was also the reason why the King of Jin sent Yuchi Gong to lead his army to raid Chang'an.
Whoever can win the support of as many people as possible, especially the support of the generals of the Sixteenth Guards who hold military power and watch the fire from across the bank, will win the final victory in this battle for imperial power...
Li Chengqian looked around and asked, "What should be the plan for now?"
This should be answered by Li Ji. After all, he is not only the chief minister of the dynasty, but also the number one person in the military. However, Li Ji lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, as if he had not heard anything, and did not answer the question at all.
Li Chengqian had no choice but to look at Li Jing.
Li Jing said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Yuchi Gong's troops can only reach 40,000 people at most. They also have baggage, auxiliary and other troops. Therefore, they are only carrying more than 20,000 people on this trip. Even if they reach Ba Bridge, they will not be able to break through." Ba River defense line. However, if Your Majesty is not at ease, you can order the Youwu Guards to build a new bridge to cross the Wei River, and then move south along the Ba River. If Yuchi Gong dares to reach Ba Bridge, he will cut off his retreat at any time, so that he will be safe."
The new building is located in the northeast of Chang'an, surrounded by three rivers: Wei, Ba and Chan. It can reach Xinfeng and Lintong to the east, and Baqiao can be reached along the Ba River to the south.
If Yuchi Gong made a mad dash and tried to conquer the Chang'an city from the bridge, Xue Wanche's right-armed guards would move south after crossing the river newly, which could cut off Yuchigong's retreat in time, allowing him to go deep alone and be surrounded.
Li Chengqian said happily: "Dear ladies, can you add anything to add?"
Seeing that there were no more words of advice from others, he nodded and said, "Then we will follow Duke Wei's words and order Xue Wanche to break camp and raise his troops to cross the Wei River."
"Here!"
…
The court meeting dispersed, but the matter was not over. Li Chengqian and a group of important ministers moved to the study behind Wude Hall to continue the discussion.
The waiter served the cakes and tea before exiting. Li Chengqian picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. He said worriedly: "The purpose of the Pheasant Slave is obvious, but this is a conspiracy. He wants to go straight to Chang'an City to try to lure those with ulterior motives to rebel. Attachment. But people's hearts are separated from each other, and no one knows what the people in the world think, so there is no way to prevent it."
Although the generals who hold military power are now at ease and respect him as emperor, as long as the situation changes and they see the possibility of King Jin rekindling the fight for the throne, no one can guarantee what these people will do. What a treasonous act.
In the final analysis, the battle for the throne is limited to His Majesty Li Er and his disciples. For the ministers, no matter who they support, it has nothing to do with loyalty. Under such circumstances, the primary consideration is the amount of benefit.
Compared with reusing Donggong Liuliu and Li Chengqian, who was originally part of the Donggong team, it is really difficult for others to gain more benefits. Once Li Zhi comes to power, they will have to reuse them, and they will be able to grab more benefits...
Therefore, as long as the situation changes and the East Palace army is no longer as invincible as it seems, more people will inevitably side with Li Zhi.
This is absolutely not allowed to happen.
But it is impossible to completely eliminate it, so we can only hope to block Yuchigong outside Chang'an, and then wait for the navy to capture Hangu Pass, then advance east and west, attack from both sides, completely capture Tongguan, and wipe out the rebels... …
Fang Jun reminded: "Even if you know people well and don't know their hearts, you should try your best to win them over. Although those people are selfish, they have no treason in the end. Your Majesty sent people to move them with emotion and reason. , at the very least it can make them fearful."
It is definitely not possible to induce him with benefits. Jin Wang Li Zhi has fallen into a dead end. If he does not succeed, he will be benevolent, so he has no scruples in making a promise to "the feudal side". After all, as long as he seizes the throne, it is the greatest success. Doesn't he care about governing the country after he ascends the throne? difficulty?
So Li Zhi can make any kind of promise, because he has nothing.
But Li Chengqian can't make that kind of promise, because Li Chengqian really has...
