The fire in the imperial capital burned for three days and nights. The fire spread to more than 70 miles, and more than 26,000 buildings suffered varying degrees of damage.
It is no exaggeration to say that most of the city was in flames.
The main reason why such shocking destruction was caused was that the Turks had planned and prepared for a long time.
For two days before the fire broke out, the Blood Guards implemented martial law throughout the city. After driving all the people in the imperial capital home, they began to quietly lay arson lines and burning nets according to the plan.
There are a total of 810 fire points in the city. They are all carefully calculated and located in key road sections or densely built areas. With the help of kerosene, gunpowder and large amounts of firewood and hay, once ignited, the fire immediately becomes uncontrollable and quickly spreads to the surrounding areas. .
Among them, the area with the most serious situation is the Imperial City.
Ashina Zhijin, who fell into complete madness, ordered his men to completely seal all the gates in the imperial city. It starts from Zhuque Gate in the south, passes through Chengtian Gate, and ends at Xuanwu Gate in the north. It starts from the East Palace in the east and ends at Yeting Palace in the west. This vast area includes the Taiji Palace where emperors of the Holy Tang Dynasty lived, The forbidden gardens of the harem, palaces of the crown prince and princes, and the government offices of three provinces and six ministries were all burned to the ground.
The majesty and historical memory of the royal family for more than 800 years were wiped out in the flames that soared into the sky.
The first to rush to the imperial city was Xu Youchang and the Gale First Army led by him.
Xu Youchang, who grew up under the Imperial City, was stunned and trembled by the scene in front of him: the originally majestic Shengtang Imperial City was now like the end of the world, with black smoke and ruins everywhere. All the prosperity was reduced to coke.
While he was standing there in a daze, Li Jiangyao had already rode up from behind and said, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and find Ashina to help!"
Xu Youchang came to his senses and responded quickly: "I have sent people into the palace to search, but it is estimated... that the effect will not be great."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cavalry captain ran over and knelt down on one knee: "Report to the Grand Protector and Commander Xu, a large number of burnt corpses were found in the Taiji Hall. They look like the Turkic Blood Guards!"
"Go and have a look!" Li Jiangyao shook the reins and rushed out first.
Everyone quickly passed through the imperial city and entered the palace city. As soon as they entered the transverse square in front of the Taiji Hall, they saw thousands of corpses scattered all over the ground.
An experienced veteran can tell at a glance that those people committed suicide first and then were swallowed up by the flames. Therefore, the corpses in the entire square were basically arranged neatly, which was quite spectacular.
In other words, horror.
Li Jiangyao looked around, and finally set his sights on the Tai Chi Hall directly in front of him.
It is said that it is the Tai Chi Palace, but at the moment it is just a half-black empty space. More than half of the hall's area collapsed, and it no longer has the majesty and splendor of the past.
Dozens of soldiers from the First Army were searching carefully among the ruins, and from time to time they had to call in helpers to lift the collapsed beams and pillars.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted loudly: "Found it! Come and see, is it him?!"
When Li Jiang heard the shouting from afar, he quickly got off his horse and rushed into the dilapidated hall.
"Everyone, get back!" Xu Youchang, who was following him, shouted loudly: "Everyone stands on the outside and is on guard. No one is allowed to come near without orders!"
When the soldiers saw that it was the Protector General and General Xu who were coming, they quickly retreated to a distance and made way for the throne.
Li Jiangyao climbed up the steps and was stunned on the spot.
A curled up charred corpse lay across the high royal platform. All the surrounding objects had been burned by the fire. Only a full-moon scimitar inlaid with gems remained basically the same, tightly clenched in the corpse's hand. .
Xu Youchang said solemnly: "That's right. This scimitar should be the thunder blade that symbolizes the identity of the Turkic Empire's Khan. Holding this sword can directly order all the Turkic armies, and no one can disobey it."
Li Jiangyao nodded silently, indicating that he understood.
Xu Youchang stared at Ashi's weighing corpse for a while, and suddenly he sighed deeply: "The late emperor must have committed suicide here as well."
Li Jiangyao cursed: "But the late emperor didn't burn this place down! Ashina Zhijin is a complete lunatic. If he can't get it, he won't give it to others!"
"I didn't expect that the arrogant Turkic Khan would not dare to fight us in the final decisive battle." Xu Youchang said scornfully: "He still controls the most elite Blood Guards, but he doesn't even have the courage to fight to the death. No."
Li Jiangyao sneered and said: "He knew he was losing, but he still fought so hard. Many so-called great people are really not as courageous as ordinary soldiers when facing critical moments of victory or death. How can these high-ranking guys be so arrogant? , all the talk of being arrogant and looking down on the world is all fake."
Xu Youchang nodded: "Yes, the day Ronya was defeated and died, the fate of Ashina's support was completely announced. He decided to destroy everything because he could not face his own failure. It is childish. And selfish!”
"Okay, let's not talk about him." Li Jiangyao pointed to the ground: "After all, we promised Hesijia that we should give him a decent burial. Keep that scimitar properly. It is a trophy of our Xinjiang Army."
Xu Youchang agreed, explained a few words to the surrounding soldiers, and then said to Li Jiangyao: "At present, the fires in the city have been basically extinguished, and some sporadic fires are being gradually investigated and cleared. In addition to Taiji Palace, some other Turkic soldiers and horses guard the city. They fought with us, but they were all suppressed."
"Has anyone broken out?" Li Jiangyao asked as he walked out.
"Yes, but not many." Xu Youchang said: "Only a very small number of people took advantage of the chaos and escaped. A team of more than a hundred people would not be able to break out of our encirclement."
Li Jiangyao nodded with satisfaction and suddenly stopped: "Friend Commander, leave the next matter to Holia and the others. You... go back to the house and take a look."
Xu Youchang was slightly startled: "Mansion? Which mansion?"
Immediately he came to his senses and said in a deep voice: "Jiang Yao, all the relatives in my family died in the war, and not even a half-year-old child is left. What is there to see?"
Li Jiangyao couldn't bear to pat the other party's shoulder: "Go, even if it's just a simple worship. Tell grandpa that we won."
Xu Youchang's eyes turned red and he nodded silently.
-
After the great victory in Weinan, in less than half a month, the good news that the imperial capital was restored and that Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin committed suicide spread throughout the world again.
The entire Shengtang was immediately immersed in the joy of victory.
The foreign invasion that lasted for more than eight years finally ended at the hands of the Zhenjiang Army.
Fireworks were set off for three consecutive days in Luoyi, the eastern capital, and every household was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, beaming with joy. The wealthy merchants in the city held banquets outside their homes, and long flowing banquets were spread throughout the streets. No matter who came, they could sit down and eat and drink to their heart's content.
In those days, even the beggars and beggars ate until their bellies were round, their mouths were full of oil, and they were so happy that they couldn’t close their mouths from ear to ear.
There was also a warm and peaceful scene in the palace.
Emperor Li Bing, together with his concubine Ma Yunfang and concubine Hui Murong Ling, received congratulations from the officials in Ziwei Palace to celebrate the great victory.
Hundreds of civil servants, as well as many Imperial Academy scholars, showed their unique ideas and wrote thousands of poems and songs in one day, praising the emperor's talents and strategies, and his great deeds of leading the army and people of the country to drive away foreign enemies.
What's more, some people compare Li Bing with the founding emperor of the Shengtang Dynasty, believing that his glorious achievements far exceeded those of his ancestors.
However, amid the waves of praise, everyone seemed to have forgotten, intentionally or unintentionally, the one person they should be most grateful for:
Li Jiangyao.
Of course, not all ministers pretended to be ignorant. Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing went to court immediately and asked the emperor to reward Li Jiangyao and other meritorious officers.
Therefore, the day after the celebration banquet, Li Bing held a special court meeting and asked civil and military officials to discuss how to reward the Xinjiang troops.
Murong Xue was the first to stand up and speak. He believes that whether it was the Weinan War or the recovery of the imperial capital, Li Jiangyao played the most important role in expelling the Hulu, and his contribution was no less than that of any famous Shengtang general in the past. Therefore, the imperial court should reward him with the title of "Shangzhuguo", the highest honor in the army.
Dong Tianxing was more powerful than him and directly proposed the title of knight, at least starting as a first-class duke.
In this regard, Wei Zixuan gave a different opinion: "Although Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army have meritorious service, they also have obvious faults. Compared with the merits and demerits, the reward needs to be considered in the long term."
Hearing Wei Zixuan fart in public, Murong Xue couldn't help but said angrily: "Are you so full that you have nothing to do, and you are just talking nonsense here?! Li Jiangyao defeated hundreds of thousands of enemy troops and retaken the capital of the dynasty. What's wrong with him? "
Facing Murong Xue's stern questioning, Wei Zixuan seemed calm: "General, you don't have to rush to defend your friend. As I said just now, I did not deny Li Jiangyao's contribution to resisting the enemy. As for saying that he was wrong, of course he was wrong. I’m not just making this up out of thin air, I’d rather ask the Royal Censor to explain this issue to you.”
The "Master Yushi" he refers to refers to Tian Mu, the Yushi doctor. Although this person is in charge of the Nilin Division of Beiya, his official position is still the head of the Yushitai.
When Tian Mu heard Wei Zixuan mentioning himself, he quickly said loudly: "Master Wei is right, our merits are merits and our faults are faults. One code is the same, and we must discuss it clearly."
He first bowed his hand to Li Bing, and then said to the ministers: "According to the information obtained by the Yushitai, Li Jiangyao made three major mistakes, which need to be determined by the court. First, he released the Turkic prince Tanli, princess Hesijia and Xue without authorization. General Wei Yun Qianxue; secondly, he secretly met with the Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin before the formation; thirdly, the capital of the Holy Tang Emperor was still caught in the fire, all the palaces and temples were destroyed, and the people suffered heavy casualties."
"Fart!" Murong Xue didn't wait for Tian Mu to finish his words and scolded angrily: "You are clearly trying to incriminate me!"
