On the third day after the "Luoyi Bloody Night" occurred, the Liaodong Protectorate's scout cavalry team discovered a man passed out on the roadside during a patrol. The man seemed to have been attacked by some terrible beast. There were shocking wounds all over his body, and his clothes had already been soaked with blood.
Seeing that he was still breathing, the scouts hurriedly stepped forward to rescue him, and finally managed to snatch the man back from the dead. Unexpectedly, as soon as the man opened his eyes, the first thing he said was: "Quick! Report to Xiangzhou, Luoyi...it's over!"
The person who was rescued was none other than Detective Jie Zhichuan of the Nilin Division who escaped from death in Luoyi.
The scouts found out his identity and did not dare to neglect him, and immediately sent him to the camp of the Liaodong Protectorate. After hearing the whole story, Deputy Governor Chang Tao was also shocked and quickly sent out escort troops to carry Jie Zhichuan, who was only half alive, back to Xiangzhou.
Thanks to the information brought back by Youjie Zhichuan, Prince Li Bing and a group of ministers finally learned about what happened in Luoyi at the first time. Shen Lie also reported the news to Li Jiangyao through the secret channel of Nilin Division. and the Yizhou court.
Luoyi is not a small county like Zhongmou and Qingchi, but the eastern capital of the Holy Tang Dynasty. It is the political, economic and cultural center of the Central Plains, and a great capital with hundreds of thousands of residents.
The shocking tragedy that broke out in Luoyi spread quickly, and the world was shocked!
For a time, people's hearts were in turmoil and rumors spread.
Contrary to the expectations of Li Bing, Murong Xue and Shen Lie, the first person to jump out was Huaiyang King Li Kuang.
Previously, Li Kuang originally planned to hold a coronation ceremony in the fiefdom, and announced himself as the new king of the Holy Tang Dynasty before Li Bing. However, unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Lao Jianhua and Di Xian suddenly launched a mutiny in the Xuanjia Legion, killed Xie Guang, and then led their troops to abandon Luoyi and advance toward the southeast. Zhao Jing instigated the old members of the Huaiyang Palace to cooperate internally and externally, and caught Li Kuang off guard. Not only was the coronation ceremony completely disrupted, but he also lost troops and a lot of territory.
Later, the Turks came to him and expressed their willingness to help him deal with Prince Li Bing. Li Kuang weighed the pros and cons and felt that with Li Bing to the north and Lao Jianhua in the Jiangnan area behind him, the situation was extremely bad and he was likely to be eliminated first, so he agreed without hesitation and agreed that in the future Divide the world equally with Ashina Zhijin.
During this period, Li Kuang took advantage of his status as the eldest son of the late emperor Li Chengwu to send a large number of lobbyists around, which actually confused many local state governments. With their support, his own strength also increased day by day.
As soon as the news of the Luoyi massacre came out, Li Kuang immediately seized the opportunity and asked his subordinates to spread rumors everywhere, saying that the reason why evil spirits and monsters appeared in Luoyi was entirely due to the sin of Prince Li Bing: in the beginning, he colluded with Xie Guang , sent troops to coerce the late emperor, and obtained the power to supervise the country and govern the country. Then he committed all kinds of evil in the Eastern Capital, killing countless innocent people. This led to the gathering of innocent souls and the transformation of evil ghosts to cause harm to the world.
This rumor of strange power and chaos was naturally easier to accept than the theory that the Turks refined poisonous weapons. Soon, complaints arose among the people. People condemned and cursed Li Bing, saying that he was the biggest scourge of the Holy Tang Dynasty.
The original title of "Prince" was gradually replaced by the three words "Pseudo Prince".
Even the imperial court and the Liaodong Protectorate, Yinshan Feiqi, and Hebei Daofu soldiers as far away as Yizhou had different voices.
Seeing that the situation was getting worse, Li Bing couldn't help but feel anxious.
On this day, Murong Xue returned to Xiangzhou from the Duhufu camp in Xingyang to report to the prince and ministers on the situation on the Central Plains front line.
"Your Highness, gentlemen, the current problem may be very troublesome," Murong Xue said with a serious expression, "I was ordered by Your Highness to go investigate the Luoyi tragedy and inspect the Liaodong Army. Along the way, I heard a lot of rumors, which are very troublesome. "
Li Bing frowned: "You can tell me what I said."
Murong Xue slightly cupped her hands: "Please forgive me, Your Highness. The situation is basically the same as what Lord Shen reported before. Many people in the Central Plains region believe that the Luoyi tragedy was caused by demons and evil spirits. Some ignorant people also blame Your Highness for this incident." . I have ordered officials from various states to strictly investigate those who spread rumors and cause trouble, and arrest and punish a group of people to serve as a warning to others."
He paused for a moment, then continued: "In addition, Mr. Shen said last time that there were unstable factors in the Liaodong Army due to rumors in Luoyi. I went to investigate this time and found that it was true. Deputy Chang Tao The Protector also wrote a memorandum of apology for this, and stated that military discipline would be strictly enforced and similar incidents would never happen again."
With that said, Murong Xue presented Chang Tao's memorial to Li Bing. Li Bing took it and looked at it briefly, then threw it on the table and sighed softly: "Alas, it is better to defend the mouth of the people than to defend the river. Suppressing the people and the army can only treat the symptoms, but not the root cause. My dear friends, are you ready? What can I do?"
Seeing that all the ministers in the room were silent, Murong Xue said: "Your Highness, I suggest that we send troops to occupy the Eastern Capital immediately!"
An old minister next to him hesitated: "Isn't this... I'm afraid it's inappropriate? We originally wanted to capture Luoyi before, but the Xuanjia rebels destroyed the city defense system. The Liaodong Army suggested not to act hastily, otherwise we could capture an undefended city. The Eastern Capital is more likely to be suppressed and attacked by the Turks. Now that a large number of terrible poisonous soldiers have appeared in that place, and there is only one out of ten people in the city, will it be more disadvantageous to occupy it at this time? "
Murong Xue said: "It should be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The current shrinkage of the Turks as a whole obviously wants us to fight within the Holy Tang Dynasty. Li Kuang is in Lianghuai and Lao Jianhua is in Jiangnan. There are signs of growing strength. If they don't take action, what will happen later? I’m afraid there will be more variables.”
Another minister nodded: "Yes, if you delay for a long time, you will suffer. The troops in the Jingxiang area have been assembled and can be ordered to go north at any time. With our existing troops, the total strength can reach 800,000. Everyone! Just launch a general attack on the Turks and completely wipe them out!"
"It's too hasty," a minister standing behind shook his head: "Li Chenglin, Prince of Anping County, who is responsible for commanding the army in the Jingxiang area, sent a joint letter with Lingnan General Ma Hongjie a while ago, saying that although the army has been assembled, training will take time. Half a million troops come from more than a dozen different places, and if they are rushed onto the battlefield without getting used to it, problems can easily arise."
"They are deliberately making excuses!" the previous minister said angrily: "It's not because the Turks pretended to be compassionate and said some words to sow discord when they were mourning the late emperor, and Li Kuang jumped out to make trouble again, so Li Chenglin is starting to waver!"
The ministers behind him immediately retorted: "Since we know that Prince Anping is wavering, why should we let him go north? Aren't we asking for trouble?"
Li Bing raised his hand to stop their quarrel and said to Murong Xue: "You haven't finished what you just said. Go on, why do you want to occupy Luoyi at this time?"
Murong Xue replied: "In order to calm the people's hearts. Your Highness, although the poisonous soldiers are terrible, they are far less harmful than the rumors. Since some people have made rumors that all evildoers and ghosts are caused by us, it is very simple. Let's destroy it ourselves!" Recapture the eastern capital of Luoyi, drive out the poisonous soldiers, save the people, establish a firm foothold in the Central Plains, and stop the Turks from advancing eastward, and the world will return home!"
Li Bing nodded slightly: "I agree with your idea, but there are two issues that must be carefully considered. First, what should we do with Luoyi's city defense? Second, are we sure of dealing with the poisonous soldiers?"
He was once assassinated by the Blood Demon Soul Eater, and the horrific and bloody scene at that time still made him frightened to this day.
At this time, Shen Lie, who had been silent, said: "Your Highness, I believe that these two problems can be solved. First of all, we have received reliable information that the main force of Turkic Helianxiong has been withdrawn to the Tongguan line. In a short time I will not leave Luoyi in the future. As long as I have enough manpower, I can rush to repair the city defense of Luoyi. As for the poison soldiers, the ones that appeared in Luoyi are obviously far less powerful than the blood demons and soul-eaters. The Jie Zhichuan under my command is not very good at martial arts. It’s very high, even he can kill four poison soldiers, which shows that those monsters are just in number, but their combat power is not a concern.”
Murong Xue agreed: "Master Shen is right. As long as the soldiers can overcome their fear, organized armed forces can defeat monsters."
Shen Lie nodded and continued: "Yesterday, news came from Western Xinjiang that Li Jiangyao was discussing countermeasures with the Xiahou Sect Leader. They are going to look for lead weights and study methods to restrain the soul-absorbing sand. I believe they will be able to gain results soon. At the same time, the Yizhou Ministry of War also stated that they are also organizing manpower to discuss ways to crack the poisonous soldiers."
When he heard him mention Xiahou Ninghan, Li Bing's mood became more complicated. He was stunned for a moment, and then said seriously: "You have a message for me, please take care of yourself, Xiahou Sect Leader. There is also chaos in Western Xinjiang, so don't take risks easily."
"I obey the order." Shen Lie bowed and responded: "Your Highness, please rest assured that Li Jiangyao and the others have now completely recovered the Ghost Desert in the Western Border. The countries have once again surrendered to our Holy Tang. The danger there is not great."
Having said this, Shen Lie glanced at Murong Xue beside him and said: "Your Highness, the soldiers of Western Xinjiang fought hard to suppress the rebellion, and now they have cut off the Turks' retreat. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Li Jiangyao takes the most credit, should he? How about praise?"
Murong Xue, Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang were good brothers. Of course they would not keep silent about this kind of thing. She quickly handed over her hands and said: "I also suggest that Li Jiangyao and the soldiers of Xijiang be commended to show their loyalty."
Li Bing nodded without comment and asked: "What official position does Li Jiangyao hold now, and what is the strength of his troops?"
Shen Lie replied: "Reporting to your highness, the Ministry of War's Merit Examination Department records that Li Jiangyao is a guerrilla captain of the Zhenjiang Protectorate. I can't remember clearly whether his official rank is from the sixth or seventh rank. However, that's not the case. They were all positions before the rebellion in Western Xinjiang. In the past five or six years, even if there were normal promotions during the peace period, they should be at least sixth grade now. As for the soldiers and horses under Li Jiangyao's command, according to him, there are about 300,000. .”
"Three hundred thousand," Li Bing couldn't help but smile: "It's really weird for a captain to command an army of three hundred thousand."
A minister next to him said: "Master Shen, I heard that Li Jiangyao is not as simple as a school captain. It seems that he has never asked the court for instructions, and he has appointed himself as the chief protector of the Xinjiang Army. Is this true?"
