First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 191 Li Gui Proclaims Emperor
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Xue Rengao watched quietly from the side, seeing that Chang Da was so loyal, for a moment, he couldn't help but think of Hao Yuan, although the two were very different, they were equally loyal.

"General Chang, I'm asking you once." Xue Rengao got up and approached, staring at Chang Da and asked, "Are you really not going to surrender? Are you not afraid of death?"

Chang Da smiled when he heard the words, "A man of seven feet, why should he be afraid of death, but he is afraid of becoming a second minister."

Hearing this, Xue Rengao nodded, and under the astonished eyes of all the Western Qin generals, he untied the rope for Chang Da with his own hands, "General Chang is a good man, I will not kill you, but now that Li Tang is still alive, I can't let him go."伱".

Then he ordered: "Take General Chang down to watch him, and don't abuse him. If he returns, report it quickly."

Chang Da laughed loudly, "Even if I am imprisoned to death, I will not surrender."

In Anding City, Li Shimin's face was heavy. Longzhou was destroyed. This sudden news really disturbed Li Shimin's thinking. In Li Shimin's view, guarding Anding City is a nail inserted into Jingzhou. Shou Binzhou Gyeonggi.

But he didn't expect Chang Da to do bad things with good intentions and lose Longzhou. This made Xue Rengao, who was about to withdraw, find his way again.

The ambitious Xue Rengao immediately ordered Zhai Changsun to guard Jincheng to deal with Li Gui, but Xue Rengao withdrew the order to withdraw troops, and the army stationed in Lingtai City to confront Li Shimin tit for tat.

Xue Rengao has a violent personality, but he is not stupid. He knows that it will be dangerous to continue fighting, but Xue Rengao is extremely confident. As long as he defeats Li Shimin again, he can enter Binzhou and approach Gyeonggi, and then all dangers will be solved.

Seeing this, General Zhao Hong'an hurriedly dissuaded him, "Your Majesty, don't forget Li Gui of Liangzhou. Now our Daqin soldiers are all here, and there are few soldiers in Jincheng. Even if we enter Chang'an by then, Jincheng will miss it. What can we do?"

Wu Shizheng on the side also frowned and said in agreement: "Yes, our soldiers are basically from Jincheng, and our family members are all in Jincheng. Once Jincheng is lost, the soldiers will collapse one after another."

Xue Rengao smiled disdainfully when he heard the words, "Li Gui? You are just a villain who sees the wind and turns the rudder. As long as I defeat Li Shimin and enter Chang'an, Li Gui will definitely turn his back on Li Yuan and pay tribute to me."

All the generals of the Western Qin Dynasty were also stunned when they heard the words. After thinking about it carefully, they found some truth. After all, Li Gui was the Sima of Wuwei Yingyang Army Mansion before. It does agree with Li Gui's temper.

The next day, Xue Rengao left his troops to garrison Qianyuan City, and then he led the army straight to Lingtai, advancing towards Anding and Gaochai.

Wuwei County, Guzang City, Li Gui was full of vigor and high spirits, and occupied Zhangye County, Dunhuang County, Wuwei County, Xiping County and other places. The land, the land of Hexi, has strong folk customs and many elite soldiers and strong generals, so Li Gui's comprehensive strength ranks among the top princes in the world.

The self-satisfied Li Gui was not satisfied with the mere king of Liang. After capturing Hezhou (Baohan County), his confidence soared, and then under the persuasion of all the civil and military forces, he actually assumed the title of emperor.

Dinggu Zangcheng was the capital city, officially ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, established the country of Great Liang, and changed Yuan Anle.

His son Li Boyu was crowned Prince, Cao Zhen was made Minister Zuo Pushe, Liang Shuo was Minister of Officials, An Xiuren was Minister of Households, Deng Xiao was Minister Zuo Cheng of Minister, and all officials were enshrined as nobles in response to civil and military affairs, and the monarchs and ministers congratulated .

Not long after he ascended the throne, the emissary from Chang'an City, Honglu Shaoqing Zhang Tuide came to Liangzhou on a festival.

In the previous letter, Li Gui stated that he accepted the canonization of the King of Liang by the Tang Dynasty. Now that the envoys came to formally canonize him, Li Gui suddenly panicked.

Gu Zang City, the former county office, is now the Great Liang Palace.

Li Gui was full of worry, and kept lamenting, "The Tang envoy has arrived, what can I do, what can I do?"

Upon seeing this, Liang Shuo, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, said bluntly: "Don't conflict with the Tang State for the time being. It's better to hide for the time being, put away the things used by the emperor, and show Zhang Tide as the king. It will only take a few days to wait for Zhang Tide After leaving, the monarchy will be restored."

Hearing this, Shangshu Zuopu shot Cao Zhen immediately retorted, "Your Majesty owns the five counties in Hexi, and the founding of the country and proclaiming the emperor are expected by everyone. Since you have proclaimed the emperor, you are proclaiming it to the world. How can you hide it temporarily? If you do this, it will harm the hearts of the people. It will be a severe blow."

Li Gui also nodded when he heard the words, but he seemed to have some concerns on his face, and said carefully: "The Li family should be the son of heaven, and it belongs to the calendar. For the first power, one surname cannot be contested, if the title of emperor is removed now, and you face the east and become a minister, I wonder if Li Yuan can accept it?"

Cao Zhen was shocked and furious when she heard the words, and said directly: "How could your majesty have such a thought? The Sui Dynasty was destroyed, the heroes competed, became kings and emperors, divided up the kingdom, he, Li Yuan, protected Guanzhong by himself, and I, Daliang, sit in Hexi, and they have nothing to do with each other. , and His Majesty is already the Son of Heaven, how can he accept other people's canonization?"

Hearing this, Li Gui smiled, "What you said is very true, so I will follow what Mr. Cao said."

Immediately proclaimed himself the Emperor of Great Liang in the state documents, and sent Shangshu Zuocheng Deng Xiao to send Zhang Tide back to Chang'an, intending to establish diplomatic relations with the Tang Dynasty.

When Li Yuan received the letter of credence, he was furious and immediately imprisoned Deng Xiao. However, due to the barrier of the Western Qin Dynasty in the middle of Longyou, the Turks in the north, and Tuyuhun in the south, it was difficult for the troops of the Tang Dynasty to arrive. Li Yuan could only be angry, but he could not take any action.

At this time, a Hu Renjing who lived in Chang'an City recommended him to meet Li Yuan.

"What?" Li Yuan couldn't help being startled after hearing what the barbarian said, "Li Gui owns five prefectures in the west of Hexi, with Turks in the north and Tuyuhun in the south. Persuade him to surrender?"

If the identity and background of this person were not true, Li Yuan really wanted to expel him.

The name of the person who came was An Xinggui, a member of the Lite family. He was a descendant of Ananda, the king of Anxi in the western regions. The governor and the title of the county magistrate of Guixiang.

When Li Yuan entered Guanzhong, it happened that An Xinggui was in Chang'an, and he intended to join the Tang Dynasty, but suffered from lack of advancement. Now that he heard that Li Gui had assumed the title of emperor, An Xinggui began to think about it.

The An family is a prominent family in Wuwei, very prestigious among the Hu people, and An Xinggui is also familiar with Li Gui's people. In An Xinggui's view, Li Gui is a man of great talent and lack of talent. As long as he returns to Wuwei, he will definitely be able to solve it.

Facing Li Yuan's doubts, An Xinggui had already said something, "Returning to Your Majesty, Li Gui is now strong and strong, indeed strong, but his ambition is great, he is suspicious and suspicious, and his spirit is small, so he will not last long.

Moreover, the minister has been a famous family of Wuwei for generations, has a small reputation, understands the people's sentiments, and pretends to defect to Li Gui. Colleagues, look for grievances at that time, play by ear, and things will surely come true."

(End of this chapter)