Chapter 2435: Li Tang was frightened, Ban Chao made Tang
Sanguan is really important to Li Tang.
Li Tang also knew the importance of Sanguan. In order to prevent the Qin army from raiding Sanguan, Li Shimin not only sent 20,000 elite guards to guard the Sanguan, but also appointed the clan general Li Siyuan as the guard, and three war god-level warriors, including King Kong Peng and King Xiang. Strong general.
Li Shimin believed that even if the Qin army would target Sanguan, with his arrangement at Sanguan, he could at least hold on until the reinforcements from Hanzhong arrived.
But no matter how strong a fortress is, it is difficult to withstand threats from within.
What Li Shimin was most afraid of was the emergence of traitors within Li Tang, so he had already been very cautious about the candidate to guard Chencang Sanguan, but he did not expect that he would come to whatever he was afraid of, and in the end the traitor Li Cunjin turned out.
Li Cunjin (Sun Chongjin) rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, causing Chencang to surrender without a fight.
After the Qin army captured Chencang without bloodshed, they launched a non-stop raid on Sanguan. Sanguan failed to respond in time and finally fell in just one night.
After learning about the fall of Chencang and Sanguan, not only Li Shimin, but also most of Li Tang's senior officials felt that the sky was about to collapse.
The retreat route is cut off and there are enemies on all sides. If the passage cannot be opened, the Qin army can trap the Tang army to death. How can we fight in this way?
After Li Tang became a vassal state of Qin, the pro-Qin faction within Li Tang began to rise, and even Li Shimin could not suppress it.
Now that all four passes have been lost and the pass has been turned into a prison, and seeing Li Tang gradually heading towards the end of the country, many anti-Qin officials have also changed their attitudes and joined the pro-Qin camp.
The meeting hall of Tang Gongfu.
Senior executives such as Changsun Wuji, Li Kui, Li Si, Yang Jian, Yang Biao, Yang Xiu, Yu Wentai, and Li Yu all gathered together.
It's just that among these people, which ones are pro-Qin and which are anti-Qin, not even Li Shimin himself knows.
Changsun Wuji was captured in the first Guanzhong War. Later, because Li Tang became a tributary of Great Qin, and he refused to surrender no matter what, he was released by Great Qin.
The senior officials in the pro-Qin faction obviously would not express their attitude easily, and those who came forward were all middle and low-level officials, with only a few representatives of senior officials.
Although their level was not high enough, they were large in number, and they all expressed that they could not go to war with Da Qin, and would seek peace with Da Qin at all costs, even if they gave up Guanzhong, ceded territory, and paid compensation.
The anti-Qin faction declared that they would fight to the last soldier.
The two sides were quarreling over this.
Even before Li Jing came to Chang'an, Li Tang was already in chaos.
"Report...report to my lord, the Qin envoy is here."
"So brave."
Li Shimin's eyes flashed coldly, and he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.
Da Qin went to war without declaring it, and after unilaterally provoking the war, he still dared to send an envoy over. Do you really think that he, Li Shimin, has no temper?
"Let him in."
After saying that, Li Shimin took a deep breath and said coldly: "Come here, set up a frying pan outside the hall."
"promise."
When the pro-Qin faction heard this, they were shocked, thinking that Li Shimin had turned to the anti-Qin faction, and were ready to fight to the end.
The anti-Qin faction and the pro-Qin faction thought the same, so they all looked happy.
Ban Chao arrived at the main hall under the guidance of the guard Yin, and saw the boiling oil pot in front of the hall. Even though he had already guessed that Li Shimin would make things difficult for him, he was frightened by the scene in front of him.
If people were thrown in, they would be fried in a short time.
Not afraid, I'm not afraid.
Ban Chao took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, walked into the center of the palace with his head held high, bowed to Li Shimin and said, "Ban Chao, the envoy of the Qin Dynasty, has met Duke Tang Guo."
"Ban Chao?"
Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly. Da Qin's first Wen Zhuangyuan had a bright future. How could he dare to come to Chang'an at this time?
Is it because the desire for meritorious service has been lost?
Or was he treated as an outcast?
For a moment, Li Shimin thought a lot, but he didn't go into details. He obviously didn't care about Ban Chao's intentions.
"Envoy Qin, are you here to die?"
Li Shimin said with an indifferent expression, the killing intent in his eyes not concealed at all.
No matter how talented Ban Chao was, he was only a young man in his twenties. He had never seen such a scene before. He was so frightened by Li Shimin's murderous intent that he trembled. He pinched his thigh hard and used the pain to dispel the fear.
After Ban Chao took a deep breath, he said neither humble nor arrogantly: "I have been ordered to come here to declare war on the Tang Dynasty."
When Li Kui heard this, he stood up and said coldly: "The Qin Dynasty launched a war without declaring it and attacked Sanguan. Now that Sanguan has been conquered, I asked you to declare a war. Don't you think it's a little late?"
"Sanguan was breached? Why so fast?"
At this moment, Ban Chao showed the best eyes in his life, and his face showed various emotions such as surprise and joy.
Seeing this, Li Kui couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, and said angrily: "Envoy Qin, am I asking you, or are you asking me?"
"Ah, no, it's because I lost my temper a little. I had a bad stomach. I was delayed for two days on the road, but I didn't expect that Gongsun Xuanyuan could capture Sanguan in just two days. I'm a little surprised."
"you……"
When Li Kui heard this, he was so angry that he wanted to hit someone. He had never seen such a shameless person in his life.
A sneak attack without declaring war is just a sneak attack. You still say it so grandly, but you want to change the nature of the sneak attack just because you were delayed on the way? This is too shameless.
Not only Li Kui, but also many ministers present became excited after hearing Ban Chao's words. They all looked at him angrily and cursed.
"enough."
As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, the crowd fell silent again, which made Ban Chao sigh at Li Shimin's high prestige.
"Qin Envoy, please tell me the reason why Qin went to war with us, Tang State.
We, the Tang State, have surrendered to the Qin Dynasty, claimed vassalage and paid tribute without any slights, but the Great Qin Dynasty went to war without declaring war and attacked its own vassal states. Is this bullying me, Li Shimin, who is weak and can be bullied?
You must have seen the oil pan outside the palace. If your answer does not satisfy me, don't blame me for using your sacrificial flag. "
"Reporting to Mr. Tang, the Tang State violated the regulations of the "Luoyang Treaty" many times... Moreover, Mr. Tang was clearly not ill, but he refused to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager on the pretext of illness..."
Ban Chaoyue said that Li Shimin's face became even worse.
In order to occupy Dayi, Da Qin really went to great lengths to find the Luoyang Treaty.
It is true that the Tang State failed to complete several aspects of the Luoyang Treaty, but those were all a year and a half ago. Da Qin did not bring it up at that time, but instead used this as an excuse a year and a half later. Isn't this unreasonable?
Another thing is to move the Emperor and Queen’s birthday Douban.
Although Li Shimin felt that Da Qin would do anything to weave interfaces in order to start a war, these reasons were indeed tenable.
"Envoy Qin, I am very dissatisfied with your answer."
Li Shimin looked gloomy and ordered coldly: "Someone, throw him into the oil pan."
"promise."
Two burly men walked in, pressed Ban Chao down and headed for the frying pan.
Ban Chao looked calm and composed on the surface. Seeing that he was still a little panicked when faced with such a situation, there was someone more panicked than him, and that was the pro-Qin faction within Li Tang.
Officials from the pro-Qin faction came forward one after another, saying that killing Qin envoys at this time would have no effect other than venting their anger. Instead, it would leave Qin and Tang Dynasties without any room for recovery.
Many pro-Qin factions who had hidden themselves in silence could not sit still after seeing this scene, and they all came forward to persuade Li Shimin to give up the idea of killing the envoy, including Li Si and Li Kui.
Seeing this, the anti-Qin faction could no longer sit still, and they all stood up to refute, saying that the Qin Dynasty started the war without declaring it and took the initiative to provoke the war. There was no room for it. At this time, they should give up their illusions and resist to the end.
The two sides had a heated argument over this.
"Shut up, sir."
Li Shimin's angry roar came, and the noise at the scene immediately disappeared.
Although Li Shimin had the situation under control, his heart felt cold.
Everyone's reaction just now has shown everything. Company commander Sun Wuji, Li Kui, Li Si and other close officials are all speaking for the Qin envoy. Are they all pro-Qin faction?
If this is the case, even if he decides to persist until the end, this battle will still be unwinnable.
Ban Chao seemed to be an outsider, looking at this with a calm face, but he was secretly happy in his heart.
His guess was indeed correct. If Sanguan failed, even Li Shimin would not be able to suppress it. Li Tang was already unstable internally, and the pro-Qin faction had become the mainstream. This time the attack on the Tang Dynasty would be a complete victory.
After the Tang State completely lost Guanzhong and its hundreds of thousands of troops, it was not enough to protect itself and could no longer threaten the Qin Dynasty.
"Throw him into the oil pan." Li Shimin said calmly.
The two soldiers were stunned when they heard this. Li Shimin continued: "Why, didn't you understand what I said? Do you want me to say it again?"
The two of them shuddered, picked up Ban Chao and walked towards the oil pot, which also shocked Ban Chao.
This was different from what he thought. Under such great resistance, even if Li Shimin didn't think about his own family, why should he leave a way out for the Li family?
Seeing the oil pan getting closer and closer, Ban Chao felt bitter and unwilling. After all, he underestimated the character of these heroes.
But at this moment, Li Kui and Changsun Wuji ran out together and stood in front of the oil pot to prevent Ban Chao from being thrown in.
Li Si was about to rush out, but when he saw that Li Kui and Changsun Wuji were one step ahead of him, he retreated.
"Li Kui, Changsun Wuji, what are you doing?" Li Shimin said angrily.
"Lord, Ban Chao cannot be killed." Li Kui said with a pleading look on his face.
"That's right, lord, please calm down." Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice.
"What if I insist on killing him?"
Li Shimin said coldly, but his heart was aching.
After Li Ru and Du Ruhui died in battle, Li Kui became his mastermind. Although Changsun Wuji was captured alive by the Qin army, he was still the military advisor and general he relied on most.
But now these two confidants are actually opposing him. How can this not make Li Shimin sad?
After hearing Li Shimin's words, Li Kui and Changsun Wuji looked at each other and said in unison: "If you must kill me, my lord, then throw us into the frying pan."
After saying that, both of them raised their heads and closed their eyes.
"You, you..."
Li Shimin was so angry that he couldn't express himself. The murderous intention in his heart kept brewing, but in the end he was still reluctant to kill the two people. He sat down with a dejected face and said feebly: "Let's take Ban Chao into custody first."
"promise."
When Ban Chao heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that he had made the right bet, and this time he attacked Tang Dynasty, he would definitely make a big deal of his own.
Before Ban Chao was escorted out of the hall, he turned to look at Li Shimin above, and sneered in his heart: "Li Shimin, you will definitely regret not killing me."
(End of chapter)
