What the people of Yangzhou didn't know was that all this was the Chu army's method. In order to raze the mountain to the ground, Li Yuan ordered people to basically hollow out the inside of the mountain beforehand, and then placed more than a hundred explosive packets on the top of the mountain. After detonating, the sky and the earth naturally collapsed, the mountain collapsed, and was completely flattened.
In fact, before the explosion, the pavilion on the mountain almost collapsed due to the digging of the soil, but it was still supported by huge trees underneath to prevent the inside from being exposed.
In order to dig out the soil bags, more than a thousand soldiers of the Chu army dug for three nights. All the excavated soil was packed with sand and transported to the back of the camp for accumulation, so that the flaws would not be seen at the top of the city. In order to comply with the rumors in the city, Li Yuan also It's a big investment.
The army had newly replenished hundreds of explosive bags. Li Yuan once thought of blowing down the city wall by placing explosive bags under the city wall, but he found that this idea was good, but it was impossible to implement it. Placing explosives under the city wall to blow up the city wall may be feasible in other cities, but it is definitely not possible here.
It is a wishful thinking to dig a tunnel to the bottom of the city. The moat which is more than ten feet wide and several feet deep is insurmountable. Not to mention that if you want to blow down the city wall, you must dig through the foundation of the root of the city wall to prevent explosives from being in the foundation of the city wall. Only below.
That's not an ordinary amount of work. If you have the means, why not just dig through the city wall? Why bother? Therefore, precious explosives became a means for Li Yuan to perform for the soldiers and civilians in Yangzhou City, adding fuel to the hot rumors in the city.
This news indeed quickly brought the rumors in the city to a boil. People who originally didn't believe it began to believe the whole thing because of the existence of the so-called "sky thunder".
Skilled liars usually tell lies mixed with the truth. Once the truth is proven, people will recognize even the lie. This is a common human psychology.
There was news all over the city, and it was naturally impossible for the higher-ups not to know about it. Zhang Wenbiao had heard about these rumors for a long time, but he had no time to deal with them because time was tight. What he was focused on now was to strengthen Yangzhou's city defense, train new soldiers, and prepare materials to defend the city. He couldn't even wait for a moment. delay.
He knew that the Chu army outside the city could not remain stationed without attacking. As spring and summer were about to enter, the changeable weather also forced the Chu army to make a choice. They could either withdraw before the rainy season, or they could not attack. A siege would be launched before then, more likely the latter.
Zhang Wenbiao didn't care, but that didn't mean that others didn't care.
Zhang Jie had heard about these rumors when they began to spread in the city. When such rumors became more and more heated in the city, Zhang Jie finally couldn't help but go to see Li Congjia and informed Yangzhou about what was going on in the city.
After Li Congjia heard about this, he reprimanded Zhang Ji severely and reprimanded him: "Now when we are united in defending Yangzhou, you use these market rumors to tell me, what is the purpose of this? You should try your best to assist Huai The king is responsible for doing things, not speaking ill of him behind his back. Once something goes wrong in Yangzhou City, how should I respond?!"
Zhang Ji withdrew with a face full of shame, and was so angry that he cursed in his heart, but he did not give up. He felt that this matter was of great significance. Of course, Zhang Jie didn't care whether the rumors were true or false. How could someone as smart as him not see that the rumors that suddenly started blowing like the wind must be the work of someone with good intentions outside the city? He just wanted to make good use of this matter to make Li Congjia determined to break with Zhang Wenbiao, instead of being stupidly used as a pawn by Zhang Wenbiao.
One day later, when the so-called thunder falling from the mountain outside the city was confirmed, Zhang Jie entered the palace again and described in detail how the thunder had flattened the mountain, and called in more than a dozen people who had witnessed the incident. The soldier confirmed it.
Only then did Li Congjia feel a little nervous. The thunder in the sky is so powerful, so what is the use of building the city wall fortifications? Isn’t Yangzhou City in danger? Why is Zhang Wenbiao indifferent? Is it true that, as the rumors say, he is going to bring the entire city of Yangzhou to fight with Li Yuan and be buried with him?
Once there is a hint of doubt in the mind, there will be a steady stream of suspicion.
Li Congjia was originally a very suspicious person, but Zhang Wenbiao cut his palm with a dagger and swore to heaven in front of him that he would be loyal to the Tang Dynasty to the death and expressed his willingness to resolve the estrangement with the emperor and return the great government after saving Yangzhou. Therefore, Li Congjia chose to fight with the emperor. Zhang Wenbiao was of the same mind. He did not believe Zhang Wenbiao's words easily, but he knew very well that his fate was also linked to Yangzhou City, and he had no choice.
But at this time, Zhang Ji kept adding fuel and jealousy, which really added to the fire of suspicion. Li Congjia did not express his position easily. He did not completely believe in such mysterious and mysterious things.
But the problem was that if it was true that Li Yuan caused the thunder, the safety of Yangzhou City would indeed be at stake. He planned to ask Zhang Wenbiao about this matter to see how he would respond.
Li Congjia immediately summoned Zhang Wenbiao, and first asked about the progress of the city defense and his outlook for the war. Zhang Wenbiao answered Li Congjia in a clear and logical manner. These were things that he had thought about thousands of times in his heart, so he was naturally confident.
Then, Li Congjia changed the topic and asked about Tianlei.
"King Huai, there have been rumors in the city recently that Li Yuan can draw thunder from the sky, which can break rocks and blast through city walls. Is this true?"
With just this sentence, Zhang Wenbiao knew that Li Congjia had heard the rumors in the city.
Zhang Wenbiao replied seriously: "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. You should have clear eyes and ears. How can you be influenced by the rumors in the city at this moment? The so-called thunder from the sky is purely a myth. Your Majesty, don't believe it. Yangzhou City As long as the city's defenses are strong and the top and bottom are united and united, there will be no risk of being breached."
Li Congjia frowned and said, "But I heard that Li Yuan caused thunder to flatten a mountain outside the city! Isn't there such a thing?"
Zhang Wenbiao said: "Yes, the mountain was indeed flattened, but I don't think it was a thunder. Li Yuan is an ordinary man from the mountain village. Where did the theory of strange power and chaos of gods come from? The so-called thunder spread in the city What happened in the battle between Li Yuan and Dongxi is also false. I personally conducted an investigation and found that Li Yuan used a large trebuchet to destroy the city and kill the enemy, and it was definitely not a thunderbolt."
Li Congjia said "Oh" and asked again: "How do you know that Li Yuan can't trigger thunder? What if he really can?"
Zhang Wenbiao frowned and said: "Your Majesty, you must not listen to other people's nonsense. If Li Yuan could really attract some thunder, why didn't he just destroy the city? Instead, use it on the mountains outside the city? To deter us? What's the purpose? It's so obvious Why can’t Your Majesty understand the flaw? Aren’t these people who believe such ridiculous rumors completely stupid?”
Li Congjia's expression changed, and Zhang Wenbiao's words were very disrespectful, which of course reflected that he was also a stupid person.
Zhang Wenbiao also realized this immediately, but he seemed to have long been accustomed to this kind of condescending lecture tone, and continued: "Your Majesty, at this moment, you cannot believe those rumors. You must work together now and avoid being impetuous. Don't worry about the rumors.
After this battle, I will definitely find out who is behind this and spreading the rumors. At this moment, I really can't take my time to investigate. I'm focused on defending the city, so Your Majesty won't cause any trouble. "
Li Congjia pondered for a long time and said calmly: "Well, you go and do things. I understand."
Zhang Wenbiao felt the indifference in Li Congjia's mood, but he didn't care about the mascot at the moment. He just wanted to focus all his energy and time on defending the city. He believed that as long as Yangzhou could be defended, everything else would be trivial. The problem couldn't be more minor.
On May 14th, on the afternoon of the second day after Zhang Wenbiao was summoned by Li Congjia, a fast horse from the Chu army's camp came to the bottom of the Yangzhou city under the gaze of tens of thousands of soldiers. The archers at the city head immediately bent their bows and fired arrows. Someone was coming, but the cavalryman raised his hands and shouted loudly at the top of the city.
"Listen, people in the city, my Majesty has a letter to present to King Zheng. Please pass it on."
The general guarding the city heard the busy order for the archers to stop, but saw the Chu cavalry who was delivering the message bending his bow and setting an arrow, and shot a letter hanging on an arrow into the city. The letter was sealed tightly, stamped with Li Yuan's seal, and a lacquer seal with the words personally signed by Prince Zheng.
The guard general did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly came down to the city with the letter, subconsciously wanting to send it to Prince Huai's Mansion first, but Zhang Wenbiao was not in the palace, but was busy patrolling the city defenses. Not long after, this letter came out in an unprecedented and strange way. First he went to the desk in Li Congjia's study room in the palace.
Li Congjia took the letter and glanced at it, with a slightly sullen look on his face. The envelope said "Prince Zheng personally signed it", which meant that Li Yuan did not regard himself as an emperor. This guy was really hateful.
Because of concerns about safety issues, the envelope was opened by a chamberlain on his behalf. After the envelope was identified and found to be indistinguishable, it was handed over to Li Congjia.
Li Congjia unfolded the letter and glanced at it, a surprised expression appeared on his face.
"Li Yuan, an old minister of the Tang Dynasty, pays homage to His Majesty." This first sentence was completely beyond Li Congjia's expectation. Li Yuan, who had already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, actually called himself a minister and your Majesty, as was the title on the envelope. Completely different, I don’t know what his intention is.
"I, Li Yuan, kowtow to pay your respects to Your Majesty. I have something to say to Your Majesty. I was born in the mountains and fields. I was originally a mediocre person. However, I received the great kindness and royal grace from the late Emperor, and I have the honor of making progress.
Night and day, morning and evening, I asked myself, and secretly warned myself that everything I got today came from the royal gift, and whatever merit I had, it was not my fault, but the royal gift. I should do my best to serve the Tang Dynasty, so that I can repay the emperor's great kindness and the saint's grace. "
"Bah! You hypocritical villain who defies heaven and usurps the throne! This is how you repay me, the Li Tang royal family." Li Congjia spat viciously, but continued to look down.
"Since the tenth year since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Tang Dynasty has entered a troubled period, with internal and external troubles, instability in the country, and unrest in the court. At the beginning of the eleventh year, rebellion broke out in three towns in the north of the Yangtze River. The rivers and mountains were in turmoil, the world was at war, and the people were displaced. The world is in trouble. At this time, I raised troops from the Chu region. In order to repay the favor of the court, I vowed to kill all the rebels and restore the peace of the Tang Dynasty.
After that, the ministers tried their best to wipe out the rebels with their meager strength and live up to the emperor's favor. However, what I never expected was that Jiangxi's war broke out again, the capital city of Jinling was destroyed, the late emperor was in trouble and hunted eastward, and his successors were shocked to hear about the disaster of Feng Lingdu. At that time, I was thousands of miles away in the Chu land, and it was difficult to save those close by from the distant water. Fire, the pain of hearing it will break your liver and intestines!
However, the Tang Dynasty could not be defeated, and the imperial court could not collapse. I had no choice but to recruit virtuous ministers who were determined to serve the country in the Chu region, and rebuilt the imperial court to rectify the country's reputation. However, unexpectedly, His Majesty was enthroned in the Eastern Capital by imperial edict. As a result, misunderstandings abounded and suspicions abounded. , In fact, it is because the minister's materials were not enough. My heart is as clear as the bright moon, but dark clouds cover the moon, and there are many misunderstandings. I am speechless and worried. "
When Li Congjia saw this, he gritted his teeth and sneered: "Haha, you really can't argue."
"I know that your Majesty will sneer at these words, but I will only speak out my heart today. Whether your Majesty believes it or not is beyond my control. I know that when I was in Langzhou, your Majesty was deceived by the traitor Zhou Xingfeng. There are many suspicions about the ministers, so much so that now His Majesty is alone in Yangzhou and has ascended the throne as emperor regardless of the court etiquette. This is really a wrong move.
If His Majesty had been able to come to Chu in the past and have more contact and communication with his ministers, things today would never have come to this point, the two countries would never have been at odds with each other, and the chaos in the three parts of the world would never have been peaceful. There are still disputes. When I see the situation like this, I am really worried and can't sleep at night. "
"Shameless! How can there be such a shameless person in the world!" Li Congjia yelled.
The chamberlain hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, if that thief Li Yuan is rude in his words, your Majesty just don't read his letter. I will bring you the brazier and we will burn it."
Li Congjia waved his hand and continued to read the letter.
