Since being teased by Fang Jun's concubine, Linghu Defen's prestige has plummeted, and ridicule has been heard endlessly. Therefore, in recent years, he has stopped caring about secular affairs, leaving all family affairs to his sons, and hiding in the In the small courtyard of the study, he writes books and talks.
This time, the life and death of the Longmen clan was at stake, so Linghu Defen had to personally persuade Liu Keman. However, since the task was completed, he had no intention of staying here, so he said goodbye and left...
Everyone in the hall was left looking at each other.
However, Linghu Defen was senior and experienced. Even if others were dissatisfied, they did not dare to complain and could only watch him walk away.
Liu Keman was also a little embarrassed, stroking his beard and said: "Although the late emperor never deposed the prince, the emperor's intentions are known to the world. As the late emperor's ministers, we should uphold the late emperor's last wish and support His Royal Highness Jin to ascend to the throne. Therefore, I have already done so." We are well prepared. We have all the equipment and food in the army, and tens of thousands of soldiers are waiting at the ready. Now we order the whole army to set off and rush to Chang'an!"
Since Li Huaiqin, King Hui of Nanyang, is taking the lead, he has no scruples. As long as Li Huaiqin attacks Chang'an, he will follow him. If Li Huaiqin withdraws halfway, he will run faster than Li Huaiqin...
Yu Wenshi nodded and said: "That's very good, so it won't be too late..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw a servant of the Liu family coming in quickly from outside the door. He came to Liu Keman in a few steps, handed over a letter, bowed and said: "To the master of the family, I just came to the scout outside the city." Lai Tong reported that an army of tens of thousands of people came from west to east and arrived at the north of Yong County. The lieutenant colonel of his army submitted a letter saying that You Xiaowei was heading for Chang'an and passed through Yong County. A letter from General An Yuanshou to you."
Everyone present changed their expressions, An Yuanshou? !
In recent years, An Yuanshou's name has not been prominent in the court, but before the third year of Zhenguan, he was famous. His ancestors were Li Te nobles from the Anxi Kingdom and had lived in Wuwei for generations. His father An Xinggui judged Li Gui's meritorious service during the reign of his great ancestor Li Yuan, and later defeated the Turks in Liangzhou. The general granted him the title of Duke of Liang, granted him 10,000 pieces of silk, and granted him the title of 600 households."
The An family has deep roots and dominates the country. He is a veritable king of Xiliang.
Among the sons of the great ancestor Li Yuan, An Xinggui was the only one who was optimistic about the King of Qin. When An Yuanshou was sixteen years old, he was sent by his father to the Palace of the King of Qin as Youkuzhi, responsible for guarding, accompanying, and saddle horses. On June 4, the ninth year of Takeori, the King of Qin launched the Xuanwu Gate coup and sent Anyuan Shou to stay at Wei Jia Jiao Gate.
After the mutiny was successful, An Yuanshou served as You Qianniu's bodyguard.
In August of the same year, the Turkic invading troops reached the Weihe River. When Emperor Taizong and the Turkic leader Jieli Khan established an alliance at Bianqiao to punish Baima, only An Yuanshou was guarding them in the tent.
In the third year of Zhenguan, An Xinggui died of illness. An Yuanshou returned to his hometown, inherited his father's title of "Gong of Liang", and took over the post of General You Xiaowei, taking charge of Liangzhou.
There are many Li Te warriors under his command. They have been galloping in Xiliang for many years. They are brave and good at fighting. They are no less generous than the left and right military guards. However, due to the large number of Hu people in the Xiliang area, it is the "Nine Zhaowu Surnames" who live together. In this land, the situation was unstable and the society was turbulent. Therefore, His Majesty Li Er did not recruit them during the Eastern Expedition.
Now this army is rushing to Chang'an under the command of An Yuanshou. What is its intention?
If he supports the emperor, An Yuanshou will turn around and make a surprise attack if there is any slight movement on Liu Keman's side...
The flame of hope that had just arisen was extinguished in an instant, which was simply a huge disaster.
Liu Keman seemed to have a peaceful mind. After all, he hadn't raised an army yet. If An Yuanshou's letter was a warning to him to join the emperor, he would just have to obey orders. Anyway, the troops under his command would definitely not be the You Xiaowei under An Yuanshou's command. It is not shameful for an opponent to temporarily change his camp.
Moreover, if he captured all the big guys from Guanlong and sent them to Chang'an to hand them over to the emperor, he would be able to accomplish a great feat...
Liu Keman, who had a bad look, glanced around at the Guanlong bosses around him, licked his lips, lowered his head, opened the envelope, took out the letter, and looked at it carefully.
Everyone was startled by the evil malice in his eyes, and they all stared at Liu Keman's expression with fear.
Fortunately, Liu Keman read very quickly and read ten lines at a time. He raised his head with a smile and said loudly: "Dong Liang was deeply favored by Emperor Taizong, so he thought about Emperor Taizong's last wish so much that it was like a lump in his throat. Now he is leading his army to Chang'an to help the Jin Dynasty. The king has accomplished a great cause, and I invite you to participate in the grand event!"
"I see, Duke Liang is really loyal and courageous!"
"With elite troops like You Xiaowei, the possibility of accomplishing something will be greatly increased!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Master Yuwen quickly said, "I wonder if I can take a look at this letter?"
Liu Keman glanced at him with a half-smile, but still handed the letter over.
Yu Wenshiji took it and looked at it carefully, and then he was completely relieved. For a moment just now, he even thought that Liu Keman would tie them up and send them to Chang'an to hand them over to His Majesty...
Now, Li Huaiqin has set off for Chang'an, Liu Keman's army has gathered and is waiting for the day, and with the addition of a powerful army like An Yuanshou, tens of thousands of troops are rushing to Chang'an, which will definitely stir up the storm and determine the great cause!
After many days of exhaustion and mixed joys and sorrows, he was slightly dizzy under the excitement of the mood. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind. Yu Wenshi clenched his fists tightly, raised his arms and shouted in a low voice: "God help me Guanlong!" "
Li Keman stood up suddenly, looked at everyone, and said: "I will gather all the troops and horses right now, and rush to Chang'an following An Yuanshou. Do you want to accompany us, or do you have other arrangements?"
Everyone shook their heads: "The ground in Guanzhong is not peaceful. We still need to sit down and calm the situation to prevent a fire in the backyard. As for the war in Chang'an, I leave it to the general."
They are all old people who have been enjoying themselves for many years. How can they withstand the hardship of following the army in the rain? Even Yu Wenshiji felt exhausted at this moment, knowing that if he continued running around, he would probably die: "The general has a good family background and is good at both civil and military affairs. This time he sends troops to kill generals, seize flags, and achieve great achievements. We, the old men, will follow him in the army." To add to the chaos, it would be better to stay behind to raise food and enlist the help of the people. However, don’t worry, general, I will rush to Chang’an to meet His Highness the King of Jin in a day or two at the latest, and then work with the Prince of Jiangxia, Duke E and others to come up with a perfect solution. The plan can coordinate all parties, cooperate and make progress together, and determine the overall situation in one fell swoop.”
"So good!"
…
To the north of Yong County, a well-equipped army was rushing along the official road in the direction of Chang'an in the wind and rain. The tens of thousands of troops were under orders and well-trained, rushing forward like a torrent with murderous intent.
Not long after this army passed through Yong County, Li Keman, who was guarding Yong County, gathered his troops. More than 20,000 people followed the footsteps of the army in front and galloped towards Chang'an.
*****
Although the land in Guanzhong is tightly closed, it is also accessible in all directions. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in addition to waterways, one could take the Languan Ancient Road out of Chang'an, the capital, to the Jingchu land in the southeast. Two hundred years later, a man who was demoted as Chaozhou Governor sang on the ancient road "Where is my family in Yunheng Qinling?" The snow embraces the blue and the horse stops moving forward."
To get to Bashu, most people take the south-oriented Qinling-Shu Road. It is said that "the road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the sky." If you want to go all the way to the west, you need to cross the Wei River and go to Xianyang, go west, pass through the Hexi Corridor, and reach the Western Regions.
After Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty dug his way through the Western Regions, Xianyang became the only place to pass from Yangguan to the west of Chang'an. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, Chang'an was the imperial capital, where literati and poets gathered, while Xianyang was an important place in the capital, only more than fifty miles away from Chang'an City. It was the first stop west of Chang'an, and Weicheng and Xianyang frequently appeared in farewell poems.
Different from the "little farewell" and "farewell" in other places, in ancient times the Western Region was a place with bitter cold and "no spring breeze" on the frontier. Most of those who left Yangguan in the west were to protect their homes and country, or to open up territory or guard the border. Sometimes it means life and death are unpredictable, or it is difficult to reunite. Therefore, the Xianyang Bridge on the west side of the frontier fortress inevitably gives people a sense of solemnity and loneliness...
Within Xianyang, the Wei River runs from east to west. The Wei River is plentiful and the water transportation is convenient. Important ferries such as Anliu Ferry, Zhongqiao Ferry, and Liangsi Ferry are dotted along the coast. Among them, the ferry at Xianyang Qiaotou is known as "the largest ferry in central Qin" and is a silk It is a must-pass place on the road. People who go north to Xiaoguan, west to Yangguan, and east to Chang'an often cross the Wei River here. Business travelers, camel caravans, caravans... there is an endless stream of guests coming and going.
Xianyang Bridge can be said to be the gateway to the north of Chang'an and cannot be missed.
However, there is now chaos in Guanzhong, and the war in Chang'an still spreads to Xianyang. The continuous flow of tourists in the past has now disappeared.
Cheng Yaojin, wearing armor and a golden sword, was sitting in the official residence at Qiaotou Ferry. He was using a spoon to stir the mutton in the iron pot on the stove while listening to Niu Jinda's military report.
"The scouts just sent to the west are coming to report that Li Huaiqin, the commander of Nanyang County who is guarding Xi County, has raised troops and rushed to Chang'an. The number of soldiers and horses is about 20,000, and the motive is unknown."
The rich aroma of the mutton made Niu Jinda swallow his saliva, "The general has sent someone to question him and ordered him to state his purpose, but there has been no reply yet."
Cheng Yaojin used a chopstick to pierce the hot mutton. The chopstick was easily submerged, so he picked out the mutton and placed it on the desk. He cut a large piece of mutton into two sections with a knife and rubbed the salt from the plate on the side. He took a hard bite on the mutton, chewed it in his mouth and called Niu Jinda: "Come and eat."
"Eh!"
Niu Jinda quickly agreed, put aside the battle report in his hand, moved a stool and sat in front of the desk, took a little salt and sprinkled it on the meat, pinched the mutton bones and put the mutton in his mouth.
"Hiss, ha, smells good!"
It was raining heavily outside the window, the temperature was extremely low, and the air contained damp and cold water vapor, which made people feel sticky and clammy to the bone. Chewing and swallowing a mouthful of mutton would warm your stomach and abdomen. It was simply a supreme enjoyment.
"If I have a sip of wine, I wouldn't exchange it for a god!"
Niu Jinda sighed as he chewed the mutton.
Cheng Yaojin swallowed the mutton and snorted: "Where are there so many beautiful things?"
Although the troops are not short of food, they have not replenished it for a long time. All kinds of materials are extremely scarce. The two jars of wine previously hidden have been drunk long ago. Now they can only stare...
The door of the room was suddenly knocked open, and a school captain quickly walked in with a solemn expression: "Commander, Yong County is reporting urgently!"
(End of chapter)
