[Mingzong entered Luo and promoted the Jiaomen mutiny]
Yao Yanwen led three thousand Longxiang troops to Bianzhou. After arriving in Bianzhou, he immediately switched sides and swore allegiance to Li Siyuan. He also said that Li Cunxu had been deceived by Yuan Xingqin. Li Cunxu was now a traitor and no one was willing to sacrifice his life for him. Luoyang was already at his fingertips. Please Ming Gong to move west quickly.
Li Siyuan was furious and scolded: "Eating people's salary is a matter of loyalty. You yourself are not loyal to His Majesty, and you dare to say such ridiculous and treasonous words?" He immediately seized Yao Yanwen's military power and annexed the army.
The nearby Wang Village has tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass stored in it. Li Cunxu sent cavalry to inspect, but Pan Huan, the guard of Wangcun Village, immediately defected to Li Siyuan.
Li Cunxu advanced to Wansheng Town and received the news that Li Siyuan had taken over Bianzhou. However, he fell into the situation of betrayal and separation from relatives and felt very depressed. When he came out of Luoyang, he was accompanied by an army of 25,000 people. Now after passing through After a lot of fighting, there were still about 10,000 people left, and more than half of them sneaked away and took refuge with Li Siyuan.
Li Cunxu was depressed and depressed. He climbed a high hill and looked eastward dejectedly. Afterwards, we drank to soothe our sorrows, and a nearby farmer happened to offer a pheasant, saying, "Good luck, let's eat chicken tonight."
Li Cunxu raised his hand and called the farmer to come closer and asked, "What is the name of this place?"
The farmer replied: "Chou Tai."
Afraid to say panic on the beach, sigh alone in the ocean. Li Cunxu is on the stage of sorrow, and he raises a glass to relieve his sorrow and make it worse. I was filled with emotions and burst into tears.
"The place name is bad and unlucky. Let's go."
Li Cunxu and his entourage continued to the west, walked some distance, and resettled wine on the roadside. Li Cunxu looked around the generals, and his eyes rested on Yuan Xingqin, "Although I have been fighting in the north and south for many years, and have escaped death many times, we have all been blessed and shared the hardships. At the beginning, I planned to make peace with Li Siyuan. , you refused; a few days ago I planned to cross the river in person and clear up the misunderstanding with Li Siyuan face to face, but you still refused. Now, tell me, what should I do?"
Yuan Xingqin and more than a hundred generals all drew out their sabers, cut off a section of their own hair, and threw it to the ground. "We only have this life! We will follow your majesty to the death!"
Yes, there is really no other choice but to die. Let's drink and eat. Once you're full, you'll be on your way.
Li Cunxu sighed, "The situation is over!"
On the way back to Luoyang, when passing through the Poppy Valley in the southeast of Sishui Pass, the road was narrow and the team was crowded. Whenever Li Cunxu encountered soldiers with weapons in their hands, he would tell them in a soft voice, considerately and tenderly: "I just received the crown prince. The report said that another five hundred thousand taels of gold and silver have been transported from Shu! As soon as we return to Luoyang, we will send it to you immediately."
The soldiers smiled coldly and said, "Your Majesty's reward comes too late!"
Faced with the soldiers' contradictions and cynicism, Li Cunxu could only smile to compensate, and responded with an awkward but polite smile. When he turned around, tears couldn't stop streaming down his face. Li Cunxu could only wipe away his tears secretly, pretending to be confident and calm, secretly glad that the soldiers only complained and complained and did not mutiny.
Li Cunxu asked Zhang Rongge, the eunuch who managed the warehouse, for robes, jade belts and other items to reward his entourage. Zhang Rongge said helplessly that they had already distributed them and there was nothing left. The accompanying guards immediately drew out their sabers and cursed: "You castrated bitches are the ones who made the emperor lose his kingdom and fall to this state today!" After saying this, they chased him with their swords. Fortunately, someone stopped him and Brother Zhang Rong escaped with his life.
Brother Zhang Rong was worried and said to the other eunuchs in despair: "The queen wants money rather than her life. It is her stinginess that has caused today's situation, but the angry soldiers have transferred their anger to us. We will be used as scapegoats at any time and be cut into pieces." Ten thousand pieces. I don’t want to wait until that day comes.” Then he threw himself into the river.
Wang Yanqiu and Fang Zhiwen, who had received invitations from Li Siyuan before, also led their troops and horses to join forces in Bianzhou and swore allegiance to Li Siyuan.
Li Siyuan ordered Shi Jingtang to lead the vanguard to the Si River to recruit stragglers who wanted to submit. Subsequently, Li Siyuan led the main force to march westward, aiming for Luoyang.
On March 30, all civil and military officials and eunuchs jointly submitted a memorial, saying that Li Jiji's main force was about to move out, and asked Your Majesty to control Sishui no matter what, and delay the return of reinforcements until the main force.
Li Cunxu then personally inspected the cavalry troops and ordered them to set off at midnight tonight.
That night, the army was assembled and marched to the front line of Sishui just waiting for the emperor's order. Suddenly, Guo Congqian, the commander of Congma Zhi, launched a mutiny and led his troops to attack Xingjiaomen (there are three gates to the south of the palace, Xingjiaomen is on the westernmost side).
Li Cunxu was eating. After receiving the news, he immediately led the princes and commanded the imperial cavalry to counterattack and drove Guo Congqian's rebels out of Xingjiaomen, temporarily ensuring the safety of the palace. Li Cunxu hurriedly sent someone to summon Zhu Shouyin, his confidant outside the city, and ordered him to enter the city to escort him.
However, instead of entering the city to protect him, Zhu Shouyin led his troops to move north.
Guo Congqian had a chance to breathe. After gathering and resting, he immediately launched a new and sharper offensive against Xingjiaomen, setting fire to Xingjiaomen and sending death squads to climb over the wall and enter the inner city.
The generals who had just lost their will and cried and swore bitterly took off their armor and fled in all directions.
Only Li Yanqing, Li Cunshen's son, He Fujin, Wang Quanbin and more than a dozen people persisted in resisting.
Guo Congqian's rebels quickly captured Xingjiaomen and advanced into the imperial city.
During the melee, Li Cunxu was shot by a stray arrow. He was helped down from the gate tower by the eunuch Shanyou and pulled out the arrow.
Li Cunxu was so anxious that he felt his chest was tight and his mouth was dry. At this time, he had only one last wish: I want to drink water.
Empress Liu, who was in love with him, only sent a eunuch to bring him a bowl of yogurt and did not come to see him for the last time. She can even smoke her own father, so can she really care about your life and death?
The shouts of killing gradually moved from outside the palace to inside the palace. Civil and military officials, soldiers of the Forbidden Army, eunuchs and maidens... all ran away with their heads in arms, and the palace became a mess.
In the corridor outside Jiangxiao Palace, Li Cunxu, the emperor of the empire and the founding monarch of the Later Tang Dynasty who made Zhu Wen even more fearful than his father, sat helplessly on the ground, half leaning on the painted red palace pillars. The blood under his body gradually turned into a pool of blood, but there was no trace of pain on his face. His eyes were blank and dull, staring at the bowl of yogurt dejectedly.
Beside him, there was only an old eunuch with slightly handicapped legs and feet, holding the bowl of yogurt tremblingly, "Your Majesty, take a sip."
After a moment, Li Cunxu slowly raised his head and looked at the dark night sky, which was illuminated by blazing flames.
"Why--"
A sigh filled with infinite regret and despair.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty! Your Majesty——"
Li Cunxu died alone and miserably. He was 42 years old.
The vast majority of us have never had a near-death experience, and it is difficult to understand that feeling. Li Cunxu, who lived a life of wealth and wealth, wore all kinds of silks and satins, and ate all kinds of delicacies from the mountains and seas. When he died, he just wanted to drink a sip of water, a sip of cold water, which turned out to be an emperor's extravagant wish. This is similar to the situation of Yuan Shu in the Three Kingdoms. Yuan Shu, who had lived a life of extravagance and lewdness, only wanted to drink a bowl of honey water when he died, but he was also not satisfied.
When I first read "The Chronicles of Zhuang Zong" and read the passage about the Xingjiaomen mutiny and Zhuang Zong's death, I was deeply moved and quickly drank a sip of Feizhai Happy Water to calm my shock.
