Why choose Wang Xingyu when choosing between the two?
First of all, starting from the nature of the crime, Wang Xingyu is the principal offender of the crime, and Li Maozhen is an accessory.
The person who asked for the Shangshu Ling was Wang Xingyu; the person who asked for the annexation of the Forbidden Army base was Wang Xingyu; the person who started the rebellion in Chang'an City, burned and looted the East Market was his younger brother Wang Xingyue; the person who first asked the emperor to move the palace was His younger brother Wang Xingyue; it was his younger brother Wang Xingshi who fought for Zhaozong in Chang'an...
It's him, it's him, it's him.
Secondly, from the analysis of comprehensive strength, Wang Xingyu is relatively weak.
Li Maozhen's overall strength is higher than Wang Xingyu. In the Kansai Group, Wang Xingyu also plays Li Maozhen's little follower. It would be easier to annihilate Wang Xingyu.
Finally, there are geopolitical considerations.
The one left behind will be used to check and balance Li Keyong. Referring to Article 2, only Li Maozhen has this strength.
Therefore, Zhaozong wanted to protect Li Maozhen and take the blame on Wang Xingyu.
Zhaozong sent two princes to Li Keyong to explain, asking Li Keyong to accept Comrade Li Maozhen's sincere apology, and to discuss other issues after the traitor Wang Xingyu was eradicated. In order to win over Li Keyong, Zhaozong secretly ordered the two princes to condescend to call Li Keyong "eldest brother".
The two princes are both brothers of Emperor Zhaozong. The emperor's brother calls you a brother. How shameless are you, Li Keyong!
Li Keyong sent his son Li Cunxu to the emperor's palace to greet Zhaozong.
Li Cunxu was still an 11-year-old child at the time. Although he was young, he was tall and well-groomed.
Zhaozong was very surprised by Li Cunxu's appearance. He caressed the child's head and said, "My child, I think you are extraordinary. You will become a pillar of the country in the future. You must be loyal to the royal family."
Li Keyong cleaned the ground in Chang'an, and Shangshu asked the emperor to return to the court.
On August 27, Zhaozong arrived in Chang'an.
With Li Keyong's military support, as soon as Zhaozong arrived in Chang'an, he issued an edict to remove Cui Zhaowei, the lackey of the Kansai Group and the corrupt prime minister. Soon after, Cui Zhaowei was demoted to Sima of Wuzhou and sentenced to death soon after.
Cui Zhaowei's comrade, Liu Chonglu, was demoted to Yazhou Sihu; Cui Zhaowei's brother, Cui Yuan, deputy envoy of Jingnan Festival, also committed an unpardonable crime. Previously, Zhaozong specifically issued an order to the entire army, "When breaking thieves, Don't let him slip through the net." You must kill that kid.
This is a good opportunity to rectify the civil service group, but history is very funny. Just after eradicating the cancer in the civil service group, Prime Minister Kong Wei died in Chang'an due to ineffective treatment. Zhaozong was overwhelmed with grief, "Does God not want to see the revival of the Tang Dynasty? Why did he cut off my limbs?"
Li Keyong continued to pursue Wang Xingyu and beat him fiercely. Wang Xingyu couldn't resist, so he asked Li Maozhen for help, and Li Maozhen sent 10,000 troops to help defend.
Li Ke used Shangshu to ask Zhaozong to order Li Maozhen to withdraw his troops, and at the same time, he also approved his attack on Li Maozhen.
Zhaozong issued the highest instruction: Since Li Maozhen took the initiative to kill the culprit Li Jipeng, it means that he has changed his mind and let the past go. You are not allowed to hit him.
Another edict to Li Maozhen: Are you crazy? Don't be so ignorant! Retreat your troops quickly and be good.
Wang Xingyu lost the city and territory, and was defeated continuously. His son Wang Zhijin was also captured alive. The Fengxiang reinforcements sent by Li Maozhen were also defeated by Li Keyong. In desperation, Wang Xingyu fled back to the Pizhou base camp and sent an envoy to present a memorial expressing his willingness to surrender.
Li Keyong led his army to surround Pizhou City.
Wang Xingyu climbed up to the tower, wailed bitterly, and cried to Li Keyong: "What crime do I, Wang Xingyu, have committed? To coerce the emperor is a good thing done by Li Maozhen and Li Jipeng and his son, and has nothing to do with me! If you don't believe me, go to Fengxiang and ask, I am willing to kiss you Go to the capital and bear a thorn to plead guilty."
Li Keyong smiled "haha" and said sarcastically: "Wang Shangfu (Wang Xingyu failed to request the title of minister, Zhaozong gave him the title 'Shangfu' to comfort him), why are you so groveling? I can't bear it. No. I want to embarrass you, but the imperial court has issued an order to punish three thieves, and you happen to be on the list. I am just following the order. As for going to the imperial court to plead guilty, I can't make the decision."
Wang Xingyu knew that he was outmatched, so he gave up his stubborn resistance and took his whole family to abandon the city and flee north. On the way to escape, he was killed by his subordinates. His head, together with his wife, children, and more than 200 people, were escorted to the court.
Li Keyong entered Pizhou, sealed up warehouses and other important government places, issued an Anmin list to appease the people, and went to the imperial court to report success.
Before conquering Pizhou, Emperor Zhaozong also gave Li Keyong a great gift. This gift was basically unprecedented. Zhaozong gave his wife to Li Keyong.
Chen, the wife of Emperor Zhaozong of Wei, was good-looking and talented. She was both talented and beautiful, and she dominated the harem. Emperor Zhaozong gave her to Li Keyong, and the accompanying servant girls also gave her to Li Keyong.
After Li Keyong captured Pizhou, Emperor Zhaozong granted Li Keyong the title of King of Jin. Li Keyong's title was raised from the two-character Prince of the County (Longxi County Prince) to the one-character King of Bingjian (the Prince of Jin). From then on, " The title "King of Jin" will accompany Li Keyong throughout his life. From Li Keyong onwards, all meritorious ministers and their descendants were promoted to official positions.
Li Keyong sent his counselor Li Xiji to the court to thank the emperor. Li Xiji secretly reported to Zhaozong, "The Guanzhong area has not been peaceful for a long time, mainly because it was threatened by the Kansai Group. This military operation should be used to kill Fengxiang." Only then can we settle down once and for all and enjoy peace. The King of Jin is on the north bank of the Wei River. He is just waiting for His Majesty’s order to achieve great things!"
Zhaozong issued an edict praising Li Keyong for his loyalty and bravery to the country, and emphasized in particular: Wang Xingyu was the instigator of the heinous crime. After I left the capital, both Li Maozhen and Han Jian repented, turned back, and continued to pay tribute to the court to atone for their sins. When the country encounters this kind of difficulty, it should rest and recuperate and avoid another war!
After the emissary read out the edict, Li Keyong went to him privately and said: "I think the emperor means... he seems to be suspicious of my motives. You must know that Li Maozhen is the traitor who threatens the central government. If Li Maozhen is not killed, the court will not be killed." Ning. Could you please be accommodating? I have no other intention. I just want to eliminate thieves for the country and eliminate harm for the people."
There is no three hundred taels of silver here. You don’t mean anything else. What do you mean by something else?
Zhaozong issued another edict, clearly telling Li Keyong: The war is over, and you should go home as soon as possible to wash up and sleep. In addition, since you have worked so hard in the war, I specially promise that you don’t have to come to the capital in person to see me and thank you. You can go back as soon as possible.
Li Keyong was stationed on the north bank of the Weishui River, facing Chang'an across the Weishui River. It can be said that it is within easy reach, starting from the price. Zhaozong was stunned and refused to let Li Keyong enter the capital.
Obviously, Zhaozong was more afraid of Li Keyong than Li Maozhen.
Li Keyong held a meeting to solicit everyone's opinions. The generals were filled with righteous indignation, "How can we not show up to court when we are so close? It's obvious that he is guarding us! Your Majesty is too confused and too biased!"
The generals were furious and demanded that Li Keyong enter Beijing immediately, first defeat Fengxiang and Li Maozhen, and then... you know.
Li Keyong hesitated and asked Gai Yu, the number one think tank around him.
Gai Yu is deeply trusted by Li Keyong. He is smart and witty, and can best guess Li Keyong's inner world. He can use Li Keyong's favorite words to persuade and make suggestions every time, so every suggestion can be made by Li Keyong. adoption.
Li Keyong had a fiery nature and a bad temper. Sometimes he would get angry at generals who had made no mistakes. Most people would just advise Li Keyong to calm down, but Gai Yu would pretend to be even more furious, stand up and curse the innocent general. , wishing he could kill him on the spot, Li Keyong would immediately regain his senses and persuade Gai Yu to calm down, and the innocent general would be forgiven.
Li Keyong himself did not have much education, so when Gaiyu gave advice, he could always use down-to-earth slang and popular metaphors to help Li Keyong quickly understand a certain truth. Therefore, Li Keyong trusted and valued him very much.
In the Hedong Army, Gai Yu's reputation and status were second only to Li Keyong. Regardless of whether they are envoys from the imperial court or other vassal towns, as long as they come to Hedong for business, after sending gifts to Li Keyong, they must send another gift to Gaiyu.
It can be said that Gaiyu firmly ranks second among Hedong Group. One person is inferior to ten thousand people.
Zhu Wen's leadership repeatedly sent people to sow discord and spread rumors in Hedong, saying that Gai Yu had two intentions and wanted to replace Li Keyong. After Li Keyong heard these words, he always laughed "haha". Not only did he not doubt Gai Yu, but he was even more kind to him.
Whenever someone wants to obtain an official position or fiefdom through bribery, the fastest and most stable way is to clear the joints through Gaiyu and let Gaiyu say a few nice words in front of Li Keyong. Li Hanzhi, Liu Rengong and others are all like this.
The generals were arguing endlessly, and Li Keyong himself was undecided. At this time, Li Keyong had to listen carefully to Gai Yu's opinions, and Gai Yu's opinions would become Li Keyong's final decision.
Gai Yu said: "In the past, Wang Xingyu and his gang marched towards the palace and caused chaos, which caused the emperor to flee and the people to flee. Today, the emperor has not yet settled down on the throne, and the people are frightened. If the king crosses the Wei River, I am afraid that the capital will meet I'm in panic again. In my opinion... don't go to the capital. Please think again, Your Majesty."
Li Keyong laughed and said, "I don't even want my apartment to go to the Hajj, let alone the people of the world." So he went to the imperial court and said that he did not want to frighten the capital, and he did not dare to stay on the Weishui River for a long time, so as not to disturb the nearby people. So...bye.
Li Keyong immediately ordered all his troops and horses, set up camp and retreated to the east of the river.
When the news came, the capital was filled with joy.
