Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 3897 On the brink of desperation
The pattering rain could not disperse the blood flowing from the city, nor could it cover the gradually brightening dawn. The densely packed rebels under the Chongming sect, led by more than [-] "Private Soldiers of Woye Town", launched wave after wave of offensives. Like the tide, they climbed and charged towards the city without fear of death.

Li Siwen was already drenched in blood, and the Bailian horizontal knife in his hand was already curled. He stood majesticly on the top of the city, and his arms were numb after killing countless rebels, but the rebels below the city were still desperately attacking upwards. Defenses began to loosen.

The troops led by the Sixth Army of the Eastern Palace did not retreat. Even though the defenders at the top of the city were reduced little by little, and the strict defense line gradually showed omissions, they immediately filled the gap without thinking about their own lives, and hacked and killed the rebels.

On the top of the city, blood flowed under the feet of the defenders. The corpses of both the enemy and the enemy filled almost every place, and the battle was extremely fierce.

……

In the command post of the Tai Chi Palace, Li Jing, who hadn't slept all night, was not much tired and tired, his waist was still straight, his footsteps were still steady and strong, but his eyes were already flushed red whether he was smoked by lamp oil or caring for the soldiers under his command.

When the news came that the Chongming Gate was attacked by "Private Soldiers of Woye Town", he didn't feel the slightest bit of comfort and pride in "predicting the enemy's opportunity first", but instead fell into a deep sense of powerlessness.

No matter how the "Military God" comes into the world, it is impossible to really conjure up a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals at the flick of a finger. Facing the rebels who have an absolute superiority in numbers, he commanded the East Palace Liu to run back and forth to make up for the difference in strength between the two sides. The disadvantages are reduced as much as possible, but the huge gap cannot be made up by excellent command art.

In the face of absolute power, any tricks are useless, even Li Jing, who has never been defeated in his life and has made great achievements in battle...

Once the Chongming Gate is breached, the entire East Palace will fall in an instant, and it is impossible for him to divide his troops to continue to reinforce. At that time, the rebels will swarm into the East Palace, launch an offensive from the high wall between the East Palace and Taiji Palace, and unite with the rebels who are facing the Chengtian Gate. This made Taiji Palace beset by enemies on both sides.

Changsun Wuji is really crazy. Calling the "Private Soldiers of Woye Town" into the city to participate in the siege is not only about breaking the boat, it can be called "living to death", because once Fang Jun notices the emptiness of the camp outside the Golden Light Gate If they do their best to make a surprise attack, it is very likely that the mob stationed outside Jinguangmen will be defeated, and they will enter Chang'an City in one fell swoop.When the time comes to go straight to Yanshoufang, the Guanlong rebels can only accept the bitter fruit of complete failure.

However, now that Chang'an City is besieged by rebels on three sides, and the Xuanwu Gate, the only exit of Taiji Palace, is also blocked by Zhang Shigui, where can the news get out?

Li Jing was helpless when he saw the biggest flaw of the rebel army but was helpless...

As a commander, you must have sufficient confidence in your soldiers, but you must also prepare for the worst of the situation.

……

The inner gate was erected, the prince's residence, where Xiao Yu, Cen Wenwen, Ma Zhou, Li Daozong, Liu Ji and other ministers gathered here, constantly persuading the prince to abandon the inner gate and withdraw from the Taiji Palace.

Xiao Yu stroked his beard and said worriedly: "At present, the rebel forces are too strong, especially the Yuwen family's "Woye Town Private Army" entered the city to participate in the siege, the two defense lines of Taiji Palace and East Palace are in danger, any one of them is breached, it will lead to The collapse of the entire line of defense is a doomed defeat, and it is difficult to recover. The old man and Cen Zhongshu had taken turns lobbying Zhang Shigui before. Although they have not given an accurate answer, his determination has already been shaken. If the prince leads the family members in the palace to retreat, he will definitely let go city ​​gate."

What he said, in fact, he himself had no idea.

Everyone in the court and the public knew that Zhang Shigui's loyalty to His Majesty was invaluable, even though he might have some pity for the Crown Prince in his heart, it would be extremely difficult for him to completely betray His Majesty's will.

But now it is not a question of whether Zhang Shigui will let go of the Xuanwu Gate, but Li Chengqian has made up his mind to swear to live and die with Taiji Palace, and would rather die than withdraw from Taiji Palace, this is troublesome.

Regardless of the inheritance of the empire, the orthodoxy of the country, the future prospects and personal interests of many officials in the East Palace, the prince is absolutely not allowed to die in the Taiji Palace.

Li Daozong also said: "The current situation is critical. If Chengtianmen is broken through and the rebels enter the Taiji Palace, it will be too late to retreat! Please also remember the inheritance of the country and the empire, and don't be impulsive and incur The regret of the ages."

All the ministers were chattering and panicking, and Li Chengqian was also a little upset.

Originally, Fang Jun set fire to the rebel army's food and fodder, and the whole battle situation was already tilted towards the East Palace. Who knew that the situation would change in a negligence, and Changsun Wuji turned the situation around in a desperate fight, causing the Taiji Palace to be overthrown in an instant?

He didn't want to retreat, he would rather die in Taiji Palace than retreat to Hexi, causing two courts in the empire, one inside and one outside, completely establishing a pattern of civil strife, no matter who wins in the end, the losses in each battle are the elites of the empire , consumes the vitality of the empire.

But if he doesn't withdraw, how can he face the ministers in front of him who have been loyal to him and help him with all his strength, how can he face his wife and children?
When the ministers saw Li Chengqian's expression changed and he remained silent, they knew that His Highness had committed the previous problem of indecision and soft-heartedness...

Ma Zhou remonstrated: "His Royal Highness, although the Tai Chi Palace is in danger at this moment, even if the rebels occupy it, they may not be able to completely control the government. Don't forget that there are hundreds of thousands of British troops stationed in the customs clearance, waiting for death. Can the rebel army be allowed to completely occupy the center? We might as well withdraw from the Tai Chi Palace for the time being, stay in the Youtunwei camp, and watch the actions of the British Lord. If the British Lord has a heart for the country and cannot bear the empire to fall into civil war, he will definitely send his troops to Beijing to arrive. If the Duke of England only cares about His Majesty's edict and insists on going his own way, then we will accompany His Majesty to fight back, even if we die in the city of Chang'an, we will have no complaints or regrets!"

This remark was immediately agreed by everyone.

Even if the Taiji Palace fell, the situation had not yet reached the final stage. We have to see how Li Ji plans to deal with the rebellion, right?
If Li Ji only cares about dethroning the Eastern Palace and finally colluding with the rebels, then it will not be too late for the Eastern Palace to come back and fight to the death. Is it not easy to die for the country?

But if the crown prince withdraws from the Tai Chi Palace, separates himself from the rebels inside and outside, and fights against each other, and assumes the posture of withdrawing to Hexi at any time, this will put Li Ji on the stage of controlling the world situation, tacitly allowing the rebels to contribute to the Tai Chi Palace, and causing the prince to withdraw to Did Hexi cause the empire to split into civil war, or did it take action to cut off the rebels, eliminate the mutiny, and bring the empire back to peace?

In the end, no matter whether Li Ji has the edict in his hand or not, sitting and watching the rebels ravage Chang'an and eventually destroy the East Palace and depose the crown prince is absolutely beyond the tolerance of the orthodox. —Is it possible to let the world know that His Majesty Li Er connived at the rebel army to contribute to the Taiji Palace, destroyed Chang'an City in battle, and single-handedly drove the prince to a dead end?

It is a characteristic of Chinese culture to be taboo for the venerable. Li Ji can only swallow the bitter fruit by himself, and even suffers from being reviled forever in the history books... But is Li Ji such a person who bears the burden of humiliation?

Everyone's recognition of Li Ji is that he probably won't do that.

Therefore, the prince's withdrawal from the Taiji Palace was a backhand that forced Li Ji to the point where he had to make a choice, which can be described as both offensive and defensive.

Li Chengqian was undecided, but the faint cries of the concubines from the back hall made him feel like a knife, and after weighing it for a long time, he sighed, covered his face with his hands and said: "Since I became a reserve, I have been sleeping at night and studying hard. Ask, every word and deed respects the norms of etiquette, and I dare not slack off in the slightest. However, for more than ten years, I have never been recognized by my father. Chaogang is corrupted, the society is in turmoil, and the father is probably already... As a son of man, if the father is still thinking about easy storage when he is dying, how dare he be greedy for the storage position? I thought I would die to thank the world, to thank the father, However, when things came to an end, I found that even if I died, it would be difficult to fulfill my wish, and I would feel ashamed and shameless..."

Cover your face and cry.

All the officials of the East Palace and the court ministers looked at each other in dismay, feeling sorry for each other.

Born as the eldest son, from the day His Majesty Li Er rebelliously usurped him, he was registered as the crown prince by the Jindian, and he was appointed as the crown prince at the age of [-], and he received the most systematic imperial education. Respectful, I have high hopes.

However, His Majesty Li Er was picky about him in every possible way, making it difficult for him to catch his eyes. From time to time, he would develop a heart of easy storage, which made him fearful and fearful, and worried about gains and losses... This crime is not something everyone can bear. It is rare to have any psychological problems.

(End of this chapter)