The old emperor, who had forgotten the butcher's knife of the rebels, was enjoying the song of colorful feathers and recalling the journey in the Moon Palace, feeling extremely comfortable.
The officials in the court had no mid-month adventures, let alone the protection of the immortal family. Hundreds of thousands of rebels were about to invade Chang'an City in Kyoto, but the emperor was not anxious at all. He was still drinking wine, singing, dancing and listening to stories in the main hall. Recalling the wonderful scene of traveling to the Moon Palace at night with Ye Fashan, I had such a calm expression on the face that Mount Tai was about to collapse. I am truly worthy of His Majesty the Holy Ming. But please wake up, Your Majesty the Holy Ming. What are you going to do about the mess outside? ah!
On the other hand, in Luoyang, the eastern capital, the new emperor of Yan, An Lushan, was exactly the opposite.
It stands to reason that at this moment, Anlu Mountain has hundreds of thousands of tiger and wolf troops. After a few months of killing, nearly half of the counties in the Tang Dynasty are in his hands, and there are even more capable people under his command. , the city of God during the empress's time has also changed its surname to An. The next step will be to send down a large army, break through Tongguan, break through Chang'an, and change the entire Tang Empire to his An'an home in one fell swoop.
But at this juncture when the rebels were planning to break through the natural barrier of Tongguan, where the location, people and people were all good, someone reminded him that they had forgotten a very crucial point, that is, the weather!
The right time, the right place, the right people. Indispensable.
Especially after stationing in Luoyang, the sacred capital, and controlling a number of prophecies left over from the reign of the then empress, An Lushan gradually came into contact with a little bit of Tianji. The truth is, the more you know, the less you know!
In fact, An Lushan is also very legendary. His mother Asted was a Turkic witch. It is said that Asted was infertile for many years after being married. Later, he often went to Zhaluo Mountain to pray, hoping that the true God would appear and give him a son and a half daughter. Unexpectedly, her move actually had an effect. She actually got pregnant smoothly and gave birth to a boy, who would later become An Lushan. In order to commemorate the experience of Zhaluo Mountain, his mother gave Anlu Mountain the nickname Zhaluo Mountain. Zhaluo Mountain is called the God of War among the Turkic tribes. What is even more magical is that it is said that on the night when An Lushan was born, red lights suddenly appeared in the sky, birds and animals all over the mountains and plains chirped together, and a meteor even fell near the tent where An Lushan was born.
The blood illuminated the dome, the birds and beasts screamed mournfully, and the demonic stars descended from the sky. These were all omens of great misfortune. Therefore, people at that time believed that An Lushan was an ominous person and would be a disaster star for the country and the people in the future. At that time, Fan Yang Jiedushi saw such ominous signs appearing in his fiefdom, so he sent troops to search the entire tribe. Soon, troops broke into Anlu Mountain's birthplace, interrogated everyone, and tried to kill them all. As a result, An Lushan's mother's nature was such that she didn't care what was good or bad. In his heart, this baby was her life, and she had to ensure that her baby lived. Seeing that something was wrong, she took her child and hid in the mountains before the officers and soldiers arrived. Zhang Renyuan sent his soldiers to search the tent for a long time without any results, so he had to put up a guard to keep watch. Unexpectedly, Asteh was a strong mother, and he just endured the lives of both mother and son in the bitter cold mountains. In this way, An Lushan mother and son lived in secret for several months. Zhang Renyuan gradually forgot about it, and the mother and son were able to secretly return to the tribe. After that, An Lushan grew up slowly. The people in his tribe believed in Zoroastrianism. When he became an adult, his cunning nature began to be revealed. After learning about the vision he had when he was born, he even used the theme to portray an adulterer. The bastard born was transformed into the "son of light" sent by the gods to the Sogdians. He even used this to get involved in Zoroastrian sacrifices, and slowly cultivated a group of believers.
As for his cheap dad, he was a Sogdian with the surname Kang. He married a witch and couldn't have a child for many years. Later, he received the blessing of the Zhaluo Mountain God to give birth to a descendant, but he didn't know it until his death. , the person who helped him was actually a wild man from Zhaluo Mountain. Only the witch knew who he was, whether he was a human or a monster! The miserable man died soon after, and the witch took her child and married An Yanyan, the brother of General Hu, An Bozhu. From then on, the little boy named Zhaluoshan named Kang changed his surname. In the early years of Kaiyuan, the Yan tribe in Anyan was defeated by the enemy. General Hu An Dao bought the male chastity festival, and An Bozhu's sons An Sishun and An Wenzhen all escaped from the Turks. Of. The baby, who had been renamed An Lushan from Kang Lushan, was almost ten years old at that time. Zheng Jie came with his brother Xiao Jie, and became brothers with An Lushan and An Sishun.
An Lushan has been proud of his witch mother since he was a child. The surname Ashid is second only to the Ashina surname of the Khan family in the Turkic Khanate. Compared with his cheap father, the nine-surnamed Hu, his status is inferior He was much taller. When he was traveling in the military, he only talked about his mother and not his biological father. Later, he even used this to get close to his brother Shuhan, who was also a Turk. As a result, he was mercilessly humiliated.
But what made An Lushan successful was not the aristocratic mother he was proud of, but the Sogdian blood in his body. Although the Sogdians are humble, most of them are quick-minded, good at observing people, and are good at doing small business. Their ethnic skill passed down from generation to generation is to deal with various ethnic groups, so most Sogdians are proficient in multiple languages. It is the so-called "Nine Fan Language". As an adult, An Lushan was able to sneak into Yingzhou, a border town of the Tang Dynasty, and work as a "Hushi Yalang" precisely because of his Sogdian racial talent! In addition, An Lushan also danced the Hu Xuan Dance and Hu Teng Dance, which were loved by emperors and concubines, "as fast as the wind", which is also a skill derived from the Sogdian people.
Long, traitorous and cruel, wise and scheming, good at understanding people's feelings, interpreting the language of the nine Tibetan people, and trading teeth for each other among the Tibetan people. This is the An Lushan who grew up. As for Shi Siming, who rebelled with him, he was a friend he met when they were both trading teeth! Shi Siming was also a bastard from Yingzhou. Shi Siming's real name was "Xu Gan", and he was later given the name "Si Ming" by His Majesty Xuanzong. Shi Siming had something in common with An Lushan from his birth to his upbringing. "They both understand Liubo language and are Yalang." He was also an authentic Sogdian.
On the border of the Tang Dynasty at that time, Yingzhou had to face the two powerful Northeastern tribes, the Khitan and the Xi. The two sides were constantly fighting. In order to facilitate the attack, the Tang Empire adopted Li Linfu's strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians. They used these forces from the Eastern Turkic Khanate. The Sogdian barbarians who migrated here and were good at riding, shooting and fighting came to deal with the two Tibetans. They used these Tibetan soldiers to defend against the invasion of Xi and Khitan in the future. An Lushan, Shi Siming and others were fighting against the two Tibetans in the Northeast. He grew up and eventually became a cancer of the empire in all kinds of filth.
As an ambitious man, An Lushan made full use of the power of religion. He knew that the Sogdians had only lived in their own tribe for a long time. Zoroastrianism was an important link for their reunion, and the Zoroastrian Temple was their way to worship Zoroastrianism. The god's religious activity center plays a spiritual role in uniting the Hu people. Although he has never read any books, he understands very well that to deal with these uncivilized barbarians, one has to bewitch them. The best way to bewitch them is to pretend to be gods and ghosts, just like those monks who shout Amitabha in their mouths and hold young girls in their arms. .
An Lushan dressed himself up as the "god of light" and used the Zoroastrian beliefs of the Sogdians to reunite them and make them devote their wealth to him, the "god of light". He not only united the members of the Hu settlements from Liucheng to Youzhou, but also used the commercial trade that the Sogdians were good at to unite the Sogdians scattered in various places, and accumulated millions of treasures and wealth in more than ten years.
To deal with stupid people, use religious brainwashing; to deal with smart people, you have to rely on money. An Lushan was very willing to spend money. Ever since he entered the army, he had used the money he had cheated by pretending to be a ghost to spend money, layer by layer, until he reached the top of the highest mountain. A large amount of wealth can buy it. Since ancient times, money can communicate with the gods. An Lushan understands this deeply. On one side was the pretended "God of Coat", and on the other was the real "God of Wealth". When his wings were full, he used the mysterious preaching of Zoroastrianism to call on the people to raise armies in the name of the "God of Light". A large number of Tibetan soldiers and generals followed Anlu. Shan raised his troops to rebel. It has to be said that with these two gods opening the way, great things can be accomplished!
After the rebellion, General Hu, a Tibetan soldier, gradually became enlightened. It seemed that Anlushan no longer had to claim to be the incarnation of the "God of Light", let alone preside over the Zoroastrian sacrificial activities of the tribesmen in the Sogdian settlement to confuse people's hearts. , the excitement of real money and silver is more confusing than the power of religion such as the "God of Light". People die for money and birds die for food, right?
Help me fight the war, give you money and women!
The Emperor of Dayan, who was sitting high in the palace of Shendu, originally gave an order to his son An Qingxu and general Cui Qianyou: "As soon as Tongguan is broken, go west and capture Chang'an immediately." But just when An Qingxu and Cui Qianyou were resting their troops and preparing to send out troops, the eight hundred miles of Luoyang City were rushed, and the secret order only had eight words:
"The whole army is on standby and will temporarily guard Tongguan!"
The calligraphy was written by his father, and the token was also his father's token. An Qingxu couldn't distinguish the authenticity for a moment, so he immediately decided to go back in person to find out more about his father! After Cui Qianyou got this order, he was afraid that the situation would change, so he immediately ordered the army to retreat to Tongguan and prepare for it!
An Qingxu returned to Luoyang City in less than two days, entered the palace, and met his father as he wished. But at this time, An Lushan had a strange feeling all over his body. He was excited to conquer Tongguan, but also felt a faint sense of fear. The usually bold and ruthless hero became a little timid and suspicious, and his temper was even worse. He couldn't figure it out, and his eyes even revealed the murderous intention towards An Qingxu. An Qingxu had not been loved by his father for many years, and now he was even more in awe of his father who was already on the throne. After finishing his work, he hurriedly escaped from the palace!
In fact, An Lushan is in pain at this moment! No matter body or soul!
He was tortured by sores all over his body. Dressing and undressing every day was like being scraped. His eyesight became increasingly blurry. Li Zhuer, who was waiting around him, had to use all his strength to feed himself. , but he was still treated like a pig or a dog, beaten and scolded from his heart, and not a day went by without his skin being torn to pieces. With his body enduring such torture, An Lushan's temper became more and more violent, and he would kill to vent his anger at every turn. Only Mrs. Duan could comfort him. In his heart, Mrs. Duan, who was willing to take drugs from his mouth, was his true love, and their son An Qingen was the best candidate to inherit his throne. Coupled with the prophecy that those people calculated for him, he felt that the annoying An Qingxu was as disgusting as his mother. Once Chang'an City was broken, he would find a way to kill this bitch to save him. Affect An Qingen's position as crown prince!
The torture of the body can still be tolerated with medicine, but the torture of the soul cannot be cured. He was suffering from a serious disease, so he was very afraid of death. Now that he had captured Luoyang City and his great cause was about to be completed, he naturally didn't want to die. So he tried every means to survive, no matter how high the price he paid!
In order to survive in the past, he pretended to be a god and fooled believers, tricking them into believing that he would have eternal life. But now, he is extremely eager to have a true God to save him! For this reason, he ordered people to search for wizards from the Hu tribe and ask them to perform magic for him. He also ordered people to visit famous mountains and rivers to find magical elixirs from immortal alchemists. He even obeyed the words of the four magicians who helped him cast spells to cross the Yellow River. What did he want? No matter what, I just want those few people to have the means to let him live a few more years.
Innumerable amounts of money and resources were spent, the sores were not lessened, the torture was not lightened, and the eyes became increasingly blind. Damn, they are all bastards. They spent so much money on me and didn’t even use the ball. Come on, kill them all. Therefore, there are immortals being invited back every day in Luoyang City, and there are magic sticks being slaughtered every day!
In fact, as Mo Sheng said, the four warlocks were relatively unskilled, but the techniques they practiced were square techniques, borrowing the power of the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth, and the method of moving and relocating was among the Qimen Dunjia. An Lushan is not very smart about the method of treating diseases and immortality that he urgently needs. The methods of prolonging life and even achieving enlightenment and ascension in the medical scriptures are so brilliant, but their qualifications and understanding are so poor that they have never learned it. I don’t know how, that’s not who I am. Okay! Anlu Mountain favored them because of the incident on the frozen Yellow River, and the four of them became prosperous because of it. They enjoyed gold, silver, jewelry, wine, and beautiful women, and enjoyed the ultimate wealth in the world. This taste is thousands of times better than the hard work in the mountains. Such enjoyment , I am afraid that even if he really becomes an immortal, he will not be able to compare!
Although the four warlocks were greedy and cruel, they were still very concerned about An Lushan, the father and mother of food and clothing. They were also afraid that if one of them accidentally angered the other, let alone enjoy it, their lives would be lost. That was a They cannot afford to offend the living devil. So they donated some of their treasured master's elixirs, and at the same time returned to the master's sect to lure other disciples into the world. They even dug their heads and went to other mountains and rivers to collect medicines and refine elixirs according to the prescriptions in the scriptures. They even did not hesitate to tell An Lushan some secrets of the world. in exchange for trust.
It was through them that An Lushan came to know that there really are gods, immortals, demons and ghosts in this world. He also learned that there are many practitioners in the current city of Luoyang. It turns out that in the Taishi Bureau, which is usually a secretive place, there are many practitioners who possess the magic of gods and prophecies!
An Lushan, who was gradually exposed to the secret, was shocked and frightened. He ordered people to arrest all the personnel of Luoyang Taishi Bureau, even the janitors and cooks. He then controlled the families of these people and Their lives were threatened and they were asked to demonstrate their abilities one by one. Poor these dozens of people, there are only a few who really have some skills, and they are all the disciples and juniors of those masters. The masters are either in Chang'an City or in the Fairy Mountain Cave, and they occasionally show up on weekdays to teach them. Some methods have disappeared again, and most of them practice on their own. Even if there are hidden masters in Luoyang City, I am afraid they will have escaped before An Lushan arrived.
As for those with real skills, because their families were being threatened and they could not hide, they could only obey An Lushan's orders and show off their skills in front of An Lushan. After a demonstration, An Lushan's eyes were opened. How can you make fire by pinching your fingers, turn water into ice, fan your sleeves to make wind, pick up objects from the air, fly with a sword? These incredible and fantastic methods may be just tricks in the eyes of a true Taoist master, but in the eyes of An Lushan at this moment, they are nothing more than a bolt from the blue. Thinking back to how he used to pretend to be gods and ghosts, the more he thinks about it, the more frightened he becomes!
The fate of these people in the Luoyang Taishi Bureau has been bumpy. Those who have the ability are better off, and their lives can be saved temporarily by resorting to tricks, while those who have no ability will suffer. The Taishi Bureau was originally a cultural and historical institution, and it needed a large number of ordinary people to cover it up. Now An Lushan regards everyone as a practitioner of magic and requires everyone to perform magic. If they can't perform it, they will be a family. Buried with him, I feel sorry for these people who suffered such an unreasonable disaster. As a result, thousands of people in Luoyang lost their heads and died without a place to complain! Later, in order to survive, they were forced to do all kinds of acrobatics. Those ordinary people just wanted to muddle through, and they didn't even dare to die. If they committed suicide, An Lushan would destroy their nine tribes!
An Lushan was shocked and frightened as he ate the elixirs offered by these practitioners. Every elixir was given to someone to try before he could take it. Ever since An Lushan knew that some of them knew how to sense heaven and humans, and were good at inferring future events through the auspicious and disaster astrological methods, he couldn't wait to order these people to calculate the future for him. He was able to follow the instructions, and the result was indeed calculated, but the calculation result was confusing, which made him even more troubled!
The art of prophecy has been passed down for thousands of years since the Yanhuang period in ancient times. "Hu is the one who destroyed the Qin Dynasty", "Behead the white snake, kill the white snake", "When the rain is strong, the wheat will die", "The taller man will be killed". "Black clothes, black clothes come to the throne of heaven", "After the third generation of Tang Dynasty, King Wu ruled the world" and so on, all of them have been fulfilled. He had to believe them, so he looked at the prophecies that those people had annotated for him:
"Whoever kills the king is a traitor to the family! Whoever kills the swallow is also a traitor to the family!"
After reading this prophecy, An Lushan fell into deep thought for a long time. Who are these two thieves? After thinking about it, he always felt that his son An Qingxu was the biggest suspect. He would rather kill him by mistake than let him go, so why not his own son? So he always thought about when and how to get rid of this henchman!
This is why An Qingxu, who returned to Luoyang City, had thorns on his back and murderous intent every day. After staying for two days, he found an excuse and hurried to Tongguan!
In fact, there are two core reasons why An Lushan did not dare to attack Chang'an City immediately. First, Chang'an is Chang'an after all, and the Tang Dynasty is the Tang Dynasty after all. Although Tongguan was defeated, he didn't know whether Chang'an City had been deployed for more than six months, nor how much it had been deployed. Although without Tongguan's natural barrier, it seemed that Chang'an was undefended, but after all, there were still hundreds of miles of land. , the three walls of Chang'an City are as difficult to climb as mountains. If anything goes wrong, he cannot afford to pay for it. So he would rather wait and wait and see what happens. The worst he can do is retreat to Tongguan. He stabilizes the situation in Luoyang first and leaves a good way out. Then he can continue to pull. Ten days and a half month, a month and a half year, three years and five years. Can wait! He knew very well that Li Longji would lose because he was too impatient, so he must not be impatient. An impatient person cannot eat the meat of a noble concubine!
On the one hand, it was for safety's sake, and on the other hand, An Lushan suddenly received a gift at this time. This gift also came from the Taishi Bureau, and it also cost him his life! The gift came mysteriously. He ordered people from the Taishi Bureau to break the taboo for him in person. Once the taboo was broken, the true identity of the gift was revealed.
This gift is a jade sword, which is exactly the most unpredictable timing!
The time of day, the time set by God!
