Snow is like plum blossoms, and plum blossoms are like snow. Both the similarity and the dissimilarity are strange.
For whom do you get drunk and for whom do you wake up? To this day I still hate to say goodbye.
There are no tall red plum trees around Mo Sheng's residence. There are only those stubborn and ugly trees bent by the wind and snow, stretching from the outside to the inside of the wall.
At this moment, the second lady who was warming herself by the fire in the greenhouse had been back for half an hour. She was much warmer. She also hung up the warm robe she was wearing. The warm box under the quilt was also replaced with new charcoal. As for the food box she brought back , it has been washed and returned to the kitchen. According to custom, the second lady should have fallen asleep at this moment. She just walked to the shabby house. The second lady was sitting beside the bed. She had never picked up her sewing box. She was in a trance. She looked out the window for a while and frowned slightly. , and then lowered his head and smiled silly, just so distracted, burning the lamp oil, but couldn't sleep.
Suddenly, there was a faint sound of beating slowly and quickly from outside.
"Boom...boom! Boom! Boom",
Immediately afterwards, someone shouted a slogan again.
"The cold wave is coming, and the water will bring gold... The cold wave is coming, and the water will bring gold..."
Listening to the watchman's banging sound outside, the second lady couldn't help but talk to herself.
"Oh, it's already midnight..."
Suddenly being disturbed by the watchman, the second lady's sleepiness flew out of the sky. She put down the sewing box in her hand, stood up, put on her coat and cotton coat neatly, quickly opened the door, and headed towards the kitchen. Go away.
The sound of the watchman's banging slowly faded away, the cold wave came, and the north wind blew away the chants of "floating gold and silver". Suiyang City has been under curfew, and it is so quiet that there are no dogs barking. It is estimated that the whole city, except at night The guards were patrolling, and Zhang Xun and Mo Sheng were probably the only ones who were awake. After all, in this kind of weather, the handlers who run up and down the ridge will naturally not leave their nests. If they go out to steal people on a snowy night, they are the old people drinking arsenic.
Over at the dilapidated house, Zhang Xun and Mo Sheng continued to discuss the famous general Shu Han. Mo Sheng said that Ge Shuhan was reluctant to go to Tongguan City. Firstly, he was still half paralyzed, and secondly, he didn't want to wade into that muddy water. As a lifelong enemy of the temple, Ge Shuhan knew that An Lushan's methods were tricky. Although he made false reports, his ideas were indeed tough. In addition, his subordinates constantly reported the movements of the rebels. Ge Shuhan knew that An Lushan was so sophisticated. This time it was not just a joke. The lunatic Hu man seemed to have been bitten painfully by Yang Guozhong, and he was really cruel and wanted to bring down the emperor. This is risking his life. He doesn't want to play along, and he can't afford it. If you are a dead Taoist friend or a poor Taoist, whoever wants to grab the credit will do it. I don't have time.
The wily brother Shuhan made up his mind to watch the fire from across the bank. He has been fighting for a lifetime and has never seen any storms. Now he is just taking advantage of this storm to recuperate and wait for a while before returning to his old base in the west. As for the rebellion, let's let him Those juniors who are eager to make contributions and want to make big bucks should go for it. Sure enough, the emperor who was a little anxious and angry happened to meet Feng Changqing, who could not bear his temper. Feng Changqing, who had given high hopes, was beaten into disgrace as expected, and his good brother Gao Xianzhi also lost his life. With all the generals gone, Yang Guozhong, an idiot who was ill and sought medical treatment in a hurry, actually recommended his brother Shu Han to the emperor, who was ready to sit firmly in Jiangdong. The emperor was also decisive and waved his hand, "Ge Shuhan, it's time for you to serve the country. We will set out to conquer Tongguan from now on."
At that time, the soldiers from Shuofang, Hexi, and Longyou recruited by the Tang court had not yet arrived in Chang'an. Faced with the overwhelming power of Anlushan's army, the government and the public were shocked. Although the Tongguan garrison had an advantage in terms of military strength and seemed to be very powerful, with a total of more than 200,000 soldiers, most of them were untrained soldiers, and they could hold up well. But when they really went to the battlefield, their combat effectiveness was completely different from that of the rebels. It is no exaggeration to say that it would be easy for someone to beat three or four of them.
Brother Shuhan, who was lying down and eating melons in his house, made a mistake in his calculations. His good partner Yang Guozhong overturned the table with just one word. Before he even took a few bites of the Western Regions melons he bought at a huge price, he was put on the shelf like a duck. Obviously He is seriously ill, and there is no point in letting him cry for his father and mother. But the wise emperor listened to the wise prime minister's advice and insisted on forcing him, a general who had difficulty getting out of bed, to ride into battle. He was given the extremely high title of Grand Marshal, second only to the prince of the Li family.
Ge Shuhan naturally cried and said that he did not want to be the generalissimo, but the emperor refused. Who told you that you have a reputation? When will you not use it now? If you say you are sick, then I will sympathize with you. The doctor has approved eight of them, and you can use the miraculous elixirs. Even the Immortal Master of Qintian Prison has sent three to you. Tian Liangqiu will be sent to you as the censor Zhongcheng and the marching commander. Judge, Fan General Huoba Gui Nen and others will lead their tribesmen to accompany you on the expedition. In this way, the mighty army, carrying a sick commander, rushed to Tongguan at starry night, vowing to wipe out the rebels and capture An Lushan alive. The noise of tens of thousands of people could not cover up the sad cry of coach Shu Han.
The miserable brother Shu Han staggered to Tongguan like this. The journey was tiring and he was afraid of Anlu Mountain's troops. Under attack from both inside and outside, he became even more seriously ill. Of course, he could not handle the military affairs. He was afraid of people prying on both sides. After hearing the news, he strictly ordered his troops to stand firm and not move rashly. Ge Shuhan knew that he was not responsible, so he had to entrust Tian Liangqiu with full military and political power. Who was Tian Liangqiu? How could he intimidate the mixed garrison like Ge Shuhan? He did not dare to monopolize power. , and ordered Wang Sili to command the cavalry and Li Chengguang to command the infantry. The two men competed with each other for power and could not unified command. Ge Shuhan himself was sick and angry, had a bad temper, and the military law was harsh and inconsiderate to the soldiers, which made the newly recruited soldiers even more frightened. Therefore, the Tongguan army had no fighting spirit and was beaten to disgrace by the rebels in several attacks. If it were not for the terrain of Tongguan The most dangerous place was lost long ago like Luoyang.
On the rebel side, Cui Qianyou, who was in the limelight, received the military order from An Lushan, and he and his shogunate generals meditated day and night. In order to lure out the shrinking Tang army, they created various illusions and hid all the elite soldiers. , leaving only a few old, weak and remnant soldiers to show off outside, and spread rumors that the Shaanxi County rebels only had four thousand, lacked training and were vulnerable. Of course, these lies had no effect on the battle-hardened Ge Shuhan, but they had an impact on Yang Guozhong, who did not understand military affairs but was deliberately showing off. The old and fatuous Xuanzong also believed these rumors to be true and kept urging Ge Shuhan to come out to meet him. enemy. Ge Shuhan has been leading the army for many years and has extremely strong skills on the battlefield. Although he was not feeling well, he still felt resentful and afraid after arriving at Tongguan. He still managed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the situation of all parties as soon as possible. After all, he was going into battle in person, and there was no room for sloppiness. His life was at stake, and he was still waiting to become prime minister. He discussed it with his subordinates for a long time, so he formulated a series of practical and thorough plans, which were written down and submitted to heaven.
"An Lushan has been practicing military affairs for a long time, and now he is openly rebelling against the Tang Dynasty. If he wants to attack Chang'an, he cannot go without defenses. He must first use weak soldiers to lure our army. If he sends troops to attack now, he will be right in his plan. Besides, the rebels are coming from far away. , the advantage lies in fighting quickly, our army can take advantage of the danger, and the advantage lies in holding on. What's more, the rebels are brutal and have lost all the hearts of the people. The army is shrinking day by day, and there must be internal changes. If we take the opportunity to attack at that time, we can win without fighting. . Now that all the Taoist troops have not gathered, the situation is not favorable to our side, so we should wait for it slowly."
At the same time, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi who were in Changshan also requested at this time to lead their troops to attack Fan Yang in the north, overthrow the rebels' lair, and capture the rebels' wives and children as hostages. Guan Yu, the god of war, was defeated by this plan, let alone the traitor. An Lushan, and then use spies to recruit him, the rebels will collapse internally. The Tongguan army should stand firm and not attack easily. After hearing these coincident memorials and the lessons learned from Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, the emperor approved the memorials and asked Ge Shuhan to do his best.
Although Ge Shuhan's army lacks training, it has been guarding Tongguan for so long. After all, there are more than 200,000 people, and its strength cannot be underestimated. Originally, they should guard Tongguan and wait for other military governors in the empire to take a breath. With all the troops united, An Lushan couldn't stand still for long. However, the good emperor who was sitting firmly in the Daming Palace was impatient. He could bear it at first, but half a year later, he still didn’t see Ge Shuhan take down the rebels. This made him lose his face. Forty-five years of peace The emperor, how could he let An Lushan taint his glorious cause? He had forcefully reversed the criticism of his destiny that had stuck in his throat, let alone a rebel barbarian. Coupled with the fact that Yang Guozhong and his like were stirring up trouble in the court, the emperor suddenly issued a death order. Either your brother Shu Han quickly comes out to annihilate the enemy, or you come to Chang'an to see him.
Mo Sheng told Zhang Xun how his brother Shu Han guarded Tongguan. Zhang Xun understood the inside story, but he still didn't understand what the series of stupid things Mo Sheng said were.
"Mr. Mo, according to what you just said, although it is inappropriate for Ge Shuhan to lead troops on the expedition, it is not stupid. At most, it is inaction and a disgrace."
"Don't worry, this is just the process of the Tongguan battle, and the lead to the final defeat was caused by the stupidity of these people."
Without waiting for Zhang Xun to ask questions, Mo Sheng continued to talk.
Ge Shuhan was forced to go on an expedition, so he was naturally reluctant. He had nowhere to vent his evil anger. After becoming the thief-defying marshal, he always wanted to find someone to vent his anger on. After much deliberation, this unlucky guy who vented his anger chose An Sishun. At first, An Sishun, the Minister of Household Affairs, knew that his younger brother An Lushan was rebellious, so he went to court to report it. After An Lushan really rebelled, Xuanzong used An Sishun as the first to perform meritorious service, so he did not question his guilt for annihilating his relatives for the sake of justice, and only demoted him symbolically. However, Ge Shuhan had always had a rift with An Sishun, and since he was now under the emperor's Destined to guard Tongguan and with great power in his hands, he had a plan in mind. He first sent his confidants to pretend to intercept the secret message sent by An Lushan to An Sishun, and then captured the spies in Guanmen to present them to the court. He also forged seven charges against An Sishun and asked the emperor to issue an order to punish him. On March 3, in order to appease his brother Shuhan, Xuanzong killed An Sishun and his younger brother Taiwen Qing Yuanzhen, regardless of the truth or falsehood, and their families fled outside the mountains. When Ge Shuhan learned that An Sishun had been killed, he felt satisfied and expressed his gratitude. Poor and loyal An Sishun, who was of the same clan as An Lushan and framed by Ge Shuhan, had his whole family ruined and died in silence. It’s really interesting to think about being “successful” all your life but being harmed by wanting to be “well-off”!
"This... General Geshu really shouldn't have decided military and state affairs based on his personal preferences. It's really wrong!"
Zhang Xun felt really disdainful of Ge Shuhan's actions, but he still tried his best to restrain himself, and his tone of criticism was still merciful.
"Do you think this is the end? The fun is yet to come. Killing An Sishun's brother Shu Han is not enough, he also wants to kill Yang Guozhong!"
"Yang Guozhong? Why is this? Aren't the two of them allies in the court? Why would Ge Shuhan not even let his allies go?"
The water is getting deeper and deeper. For Zhang Xun, who has a bright mind, he really does not understand the dirty and insidious nature of these court battles. Of course, if he really understands it, he will not be a young scholar who has been a Jinshi for decades. The little green-robed county magistrate.
"There was a general under Ge Shuhan named Wang Sili. After the Anlushan rebellion, everyone in the world thought that it was Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong who had caused the rebellion, and everyone hated him. And Anlushan raised the army in the name of killing Yang Guozhong, so This Wang Sili had a lot of thoughts. He persuaded Ge Shuhan to write a petition asking the emperor to kill Yang Guozhong to express his gratitude to the world. By then, the Anlu Mountain Rebellion would be solved, and the people's hearts were on Ge Shuhan's side. Yang Guozhong's position as prime minister would naturally be over. It had to be Ge Shuhan. At first, Ge Shuhan, who was still not dizzy, felt that although this plan was very tempting, it was still inappropriate to actually carry out and did not agree. Later, Wang Sili asked for orders to use thirty cavalry masters to arrive. Chang'an, planned to secretly rob Yang Guozhong and kill him at Tongguan. Ge Shuhan believed that doing so would be tantamount to rebelling first, not An Lushan, so he once again rejected Wang Sili's suggestion.
But I didn't expect that such secrets had somehow reached Yang Guozhong's ears. The people below saw the tricks and discussed and advised Yang Guozhong. Now all the imperial troops are in the hands of Ge Shuhan. If Ge Shuhan really returns to the west, your safety will be in danger. But it's hard to say. Yang Guozhong was originally unlearned and unskilled in drilling holes in camps. After hearing Ge Shuhan's vicious plan, he was so frightened that he urinated in tears, so he reported to the emperor that night. The report said that although Tongguan was heavily guarded, there were no guards behind him. If Tongguan failed or Ge Shuhan had the desire to An Lushan and wanted to unite with the prince's party, the capital would be in danger. He asked your majesty to select three thousand supervisors and children to train in the garden, just in case. Xuanzong was the most suspicious person. He felt that Yang Guozhong's words were reasonable and must be guarded against, so he secretly approved it. Yang Guozhong then asked his old subordinate Jiannan General Li Fufu to lead the order. He also recruited ten thousand people to garrison in Bashang and ordered his confidant Du Qianyun to lead them. The name is to resist the rebels, but it is actually to defend against Ge Shuhan.
Ge Shuhan was a cunning person. When he learned of such a big move in the rear of Chang'an, he knew that Yang Guozhong must have heard some rumors and had some plans, so he petitioned Ba Shangjun to transfer it to Tongguan. Because Ge Shuhan was so powerful, the emperor only Can reluctantly agree. On June 1st, Ge Shuhan issued a military order to summon Du Qianyun to Tongguan. He beheaded him for any reason, and then sent someone to Chang'an with perjury and his head. After Yang Guozhong learned the news, he knew that both of them had murderous intentions towards each other. From then on, he became even more afraid of Ge Shuhan. I was afraid that the best solution for one person was to deal with the other party first. Sure enough, three days later, the emperor's order to attack and kill was handed over to Ge Shuhan.
The battle of war is far from the superficial storms. After listening to these words, Zhang Xun realized that the battle is always more than the external enemy, and the inner edge is the sharpest edge.
In more than half a year, Ge Shuhan's illness also improved. Although Tongguan was stationed in Tongguan, it was solid and stable. Ge Shuhan himself was not in a hurry, but the emperor was very anxious. For more than half a year, the rebels have been conquering various places, winning and losing each other. Guo Ziyi, who was promoted to Shuofang Jiedushi, was very handsome. He defeated the rebels everywhere. An Lushan was sitting in Luoyang, the eastern capital, with extraordinary air. This was the most prosperous city in the world, which made An Lushan reluctant to miss Chang'an. He tasted it. The feeling of being an emperor is indeed wonderful. No wonder so many people in the past dynasties have climbed to this position even if they killed their fathers and sons. In the past, they were only earthly emperors, but now they are true emperors. I really feel that it is too late to rebel, so I should enjoy it sooner.
In this way, Ge Shuhan, who had been holding on for almost half a year, finally could not withstand the emperor's order. On the fourth day of June, he led his army out of the customs. The Tongguan War, which affected the fate of the Tang Empire, started so stupidly.
After listening to Mo Sheng's complete description, Zhang Xun was silent for a long time. He could not decide the situation of Tongguan, and he could not understand the thoughts of those people. The enemy was still digging holes for himself. Is the internal struggle for power more important than the life and death of his family and country? What? Even if you really want your own family to be at odds with each other, why can't you solve the external troubles first? At this moment, he really couldn't help but want to imitate Mo Sheng and scold these idiots for three days and three nights. It’s just that Zhang Xun forgot that he had read so many books. From ancient times to the present, there are too many examples of the destruction of royal power due to internal strife. I believe that even in the future, as long as there are still people, this will happen. Such stupid feats still happen in endlessly.
"Actually, Ge Shuhan is very foresighted. To a certain extent, his plan has actually won. It's just a pity that time waits for no one. God doesn't seem to want this game to end early, so he uses his means and sends someone to enlighten him. An Lushan. As for the Tang Dynasty, our own people are already in full swing, so there is no need for him to take action."
"how do I say this?"
Mo Sheng made another roundabout comment, which pulled the indignant Zhang Xun back to the shabby thatched house.
"Do you still remember what I said about the two brothers Yan Gaoqing uniting with the counties in Hebei, Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi to break the siege of Changshan, defeat Shi Siming's army, recover most of the counties in Hebei, and cut off Anlu Mountain's retreat?"
"Of course I remember, but what does this have to do with Ge Shuhan's plan?"
"Don't worry, just listen to me. After Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi's victory in Jiashan, Hebei counties and counties responded one after another and shouted to submit to the Tang Dynasty. An Lushan was greatly frightened after hearing these reports, and immediately summoned Yanzhuang and Gao Shang to discuss the matter. They cursed and said that they persuaded them to rebel, thinking that they would win. Now the army marching westward was blocked at Tongguan by Ge Shuhan, and the road back to Fan Yang's hometown in the north was also cut off by Li Guangbi. All the territories that had been conquered before were turned into grassroots. The whole country There are armies of the Tang Dynasty everywhere, and they only occupy a few states and counties such as Luoyang, Bianzhou, and Zhengzhou. Seeing that the general trend is about to leave, where is the success today? Afterwards, An Lushan even wanted to give up Luoyang. , fled back to Fan Yang. Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang had always been afraid of An Lushan, and after hearing these words, they had no good way to deal with them. They did not dare to see An Lushan for several days, for fear that the other party would get angry and beat them to pieces. At this time, Tian Qianzhen, the rebel general who was instructed by God, came back from Tongguan by chance. Hearing these uproarious remarks that were summoned, he volunteered to go and admonish Anlushan. He said:
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, emperors have been victorious and defeated when running their empires. How can we achieve this in one fell swoop! Although there are many armies in the four directions now, they are all newly recruited rabble. They have not fought in battle formations, and they are no match for our powerful soldiers. , there is nothing to be afraid of if you are stable. Noble and solemn are the heroes who serve your orders. If your Majesty punishes them severely, there will be a gap between the monarch and his ministers. When the generals know about it, they will become disloyal, and the situation will become more dangerous. For the current plan, we must first unite With the military spirit, go all out to attack those small and weak counties, encroach and advance, and expand the results slowly. When Tongguan is defeated one day, our power as King Yan is complete, and the Li family in Chang'an is not a turtle in the urn at the mercy of your majesty!"
After An Lushan heard this analysis, he was greatly encouraged and rewarded him heavily. Then he summoned Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang according to the plan and had a banquet with wine. The emperor and his ministers were as happy as ever. The rewards for his soldiers were even more generous. The originally frightened rebels were so excited by the money that they turned into wild beasts that made Li Tang's army complain incessantly. Do you think that if it weren’t for Tian Qianzhen who seemed to have divine help, would Yan Gaoqing, Li Guangbi, brother Shu Han and the others have made the right plan? "
Zhang Xun was silent again. If it was true as they planned, how great would it be? Tongguan would not be broken, the emperor would not escape, and he would not have to come to Suiyang. How many fewer people would die in the world! It's a pity that there are so many ifs in the world.
"How wonderful it would be if Tian Ganzhen didn't exist!"
In the end, Zhang Xun himself sighed "what if"!
Mo Sheng looked at the somewhat decadent Zhang Xun and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Yeah, how great it would be if Tian Ganzhen didn't exist!"
