Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 368 Real credit

"I will give you the heart, and you will be the prime minister. It is suitable to be secretly revealed, and the style is always like a lun. You can be the right prime minister, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, the bachelor of the Jixian Palace, the history of the country, the bachelor of the Chongxuan Palace, and the envoy of the Taiwei Palace of the Taiqing Dynasty. , my job remains the same."

This was the reward for Yang Guozhong announced in public today at the top of Zhuquemen City.

Although he has already fulfilled his duties as right minister, the ceremony brings people different feelings and glory.

Yang Guozhong was enjoying his glory, but he was extremely unhappy to be robbed of the limelight at this moment.

He has a very selfish personality, and now that he is in a high position, he is no longer willing to hold back, and he doesn't even bother to hide the disdain on his face.

In the past, he used to fawn over the right prime minister Li Linfu, but now he should be fawning over the right prime minister Yang Guozhong.

When the soldiers under Xianyu Zhongtong's command broke out, Chen Xuanli personally led the Beiya imperial guards to suppress them, and Li Longji summoned Yang Guozhong to inquire.

Yang Guozhong received the order, turned around, waved to Xue Bai, and led him to the top of the city.

"The saint has calmed down his anger. It is rare that Zhongtong's imperial subordinates failed to do anything. I apologize on his behalf. As for the reason why the soldiers made trouble, it was because there were rumors that Anlu Mountain falsely reported military exploits..."

Li Longji's expression did not change after hearing this. Miraculously, people around him could immediately feel his displeasure.

Yang Guozhong knew that the saint intended to promote the country's prestige, and he had expected that this move would offend the saint, but he thought he could control the situation well. At this time, he was suppressed by this momentum, but he still felt panic.

He swallowed back some of the prepared words, rolled his eyes, and said: "It's Wei Jiansu, the Minister of War. He found out some clues and reported them to me. I didn't believe it at first, but I didn't expect the matter to spread."

After that, he cautiously took a step back and turned sideways, letting Wei Jiansu, who was accompanying the officials, appear in front of Li Longji and bear the emperor's wrath.

"Wei Qing." Li Longji said, "Tell me, what's going on?"

Wei Jiansu immediately stepped forward.

Compared with Yang Guozhong, he was much more dignified, with a calm and serious expression on his face, and his tone was neither humble nor arrogant. He said: "Zhenyuan County Magistrate Zhang Xun in Hebei Province sent an official document saying that deserters returned to Zhenyuan County and detailed the story of Fan Yang's army. The disastrous defeat at the Siramulun River.”

Hearing the word "Zhang Xun", Li Longji thought for a moment and had no impression of this official.

During the Kaiyuan period, he also attached great importance to local officials and often met with state and county magistrates in person to give admonitions. But now, faced with the lengthy list of county officials, he is powerless.

"Zhang Xun? Where are you from?"

"Sage Hui was a Jinshi in the 29th year of Kaiyuan. He served as a county magistrate in his capacity as a prince." Seeing that he knew what the saint wanted to ask, Wei added, "He is not from an aristocratic family." My origin is no different from that of An Lushan."

As he spoke, Wei Jiansu took out several confessions from his sleeves and handed them over.

The Zhenyuan County Magistrate Zhang Xun was very careful and thorough in his work. His testimony was detailed and logical. These testimonies were actually very convincing.

But Li Longji didn't even look at it, he only stared at Wei Jiansu's face, trying to see through what he was thinking.

Nowadays, Li Longji's way of governing the country is only to employ people and not to deal with matters. So many documents seem complicated, but it is much easier to see through Wei Jiansu.

Wei Jiansu lowered his head slightly, his eyes falling on the position three inches in front of Li Longji's feet, accepting the scrutiny openly to show that he had no selfish motives.

As a result, Li Longji failed to use the emperor's power to make Wei Jiansu retreat, and the situation became embarrassing.

Yang Guozhong buried his head lower and lower, glanced at Xue Bai quietly, and motioned for him to come forward and help Wei Jiansu. This timid and sneaky look made Wei Jiansu look more like a prime minister.

Xue Bai did not move. It was true that he wanted to deal with An Lushan, but he did not think that doing so today would have any effect. It was just Yang Guozhong, Xianyu Zhongtong and others just trying to show off.

Coming forward rashly will arouse Li Longji's disgust and have the opposite effect.

Gao Lishi held the stack of confessions and waited for a while, but saw that the saint had no intention of reading the confessions. Then he turned around and handed the confession into the hands of the young eunuch, walked up to Wei Jiansu and began to persuade him.

"Shilang Wei, is it possible to falsely report on such a big matter whether the Khitan is a victory or a defeat? That's ridiculous."

"Such a ridiculous thing, such a big accusation, if there is no solid evidence, I will never dare to make random accusations." Wei Jiansu said.

Gao Lishi urged: "People all over the city are watching, do you have to damage the power of the Tang Dynasty because of some baseless rumors?!"

Wei Jiansu discussed with Yang Guozhong that if he did not ask for anything today, An Lushan would lose his Sacred Heart. Just want to trigger this case and prevent Fan Yangjun from offering prisoners.

Once a prisoner is sacrificed, even if it is later proven that An Lushan falsely reported military exploits, he may not be punished. If he stops it, the saint will be angry for a moment, but when the truth is discovered, his anger will naturally turn towards An Lushan.

Wei Jiansu had made this very clear to Yang Guozhong. Now, he needs Yang Guozhong to shoulder the pressure...

At this time, the small commotion outside the Zhuque Gate was suppressed, and what the monarch and his ministers said on the top of the city could not be spread. In other words, you can continue to sacrifice prisoners.

Li Longji's mind was not on the case at all, he was focused on highlighting the great achievements of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He became more and more impatient, so he glared at Yang Guozhong and waved his palm slightly.

With just this look, Yang Guozhong was so frightened that he felt guilty. He was deeply afraid that his position would be lost because of this. He threw Wei Jiansu's warning behind him and said proactively: "Wei Shilang, since there is only a confession at present, the matter cannot be confirmed yet. If it affects the prisoner dedication ceremony, please retreat first."

When the matter came to an end, the prime minister still shrank his head, which made Wei Jiansu a little frustrated and finally wavered.

Xue Bai watched this scene coldly, not unexpectedly, but somewhat impressed by Wei Jiansu's performance, thinking that this was someone he could win over.

However, what surprised him was that Wei Jiansu not only did not retreat, but instead took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, the talented soldiers from Bianzhen sacrificed their lives to kill the enemy and achieve meritorious service. However, if the court cannot clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, it will chill the hearts of the meritorious soldiers, and those who falsely report military achievements will be lucky!"

Wei Jiansu thought clearly, no matter whether he retreated or not today, he would have offended An Lushan to death, and the saint was already displeased. It's better to stay firm to the end, the result will not be worse, but you can win more fame, so your tone is a bit firmer.

"I would like to request your Majesty to conduct a detailed investigation of the battle against Khitan in Anlu Mountain, so that military discipline can be corrected so that the officers and soldiers can use their lives to enhance the prestige of the Tang Dynasty."

After hearing this, Yang Guozhong felt that the saint's anger was about to be completely ignited. He was anxious and afraid, and wanted to reach out to pull Wei Jiansu.

The next moment, someone stepped out from beside him and stood slightly ahead of him.

"Sage, I have something to report."

Li Longji snorted coldly when he saw that it was Xue Bai who was meddling in other people's business again.

Xue Bai was not deterred by this cold snort, and actually said: "I want to report this matter to the saint in secret."

"Play it here."

"According to the decree." Xue Bai still took two steps forward, separated the two forbidden troops, lowered his voice as much as possible, and said: "The saint has made An Lushan the king of Dongping County. There is no title and no reward. , I thought there was no rush to sacrifice the prisoners. Today, the soldiers of the Jiannan Army are dissatisfied and have caused trouble, so why not use this opportunity to beat Anlu Mountain and show kindness and power at the same time."

Li Longji was smart enough to refuse advice. He didn't need anyone to play the role of making suggestions. He just treated it as a joke.

He looked at Xue Bai, his eyes seeming to ask: "Teach me how to do things?"

Xue Bai also noticed this emotion and added another sentence.

"I am ashamed. I am too scheming, and I fear it will harm the emperor's virtue."

As he spoke, he lowered his head in shame.

He had tried his best. In the current situation, he could not think of any more words that could change Li Longji's mind.

Li Longji chuckled softly, walked to the battlements, and looked down at An Lushan's team of prisoners.

Further out, Suzaku Street was blocked by people waiting to see rare and exotic animals.

"Call Sun Xiaozhe over." Li Longji said lightly.

"Pass an edict to recruit Fan Yang's soldiers and horses to send Sun Xiaozhe to the city to pay an audience."

The sound came from afar, and others looked up eagerly, not knowing whether it was the process of offering a prisoner, or whether the saint was asking about false reports of military exploits.

Sun Xiaozhe has tall eyebrows and deep eyes. He is a Hu man, but he has been attached to the Tang Dynasty for a long time, so he has a Han name. He climbed to the top of the city and after seeing the ceremony, he was a little confused when he heard the words "falsely reporting military exploits".

"What are you doing in a daze?" Seeing his reaction, Li Longji's tone became more relaxed, and he seemed to smile and said, "I'm asking you, is this the case?"

"Sage, I am a Khitan."

Sun Xiaozhe first yelled like this, and then said: "If the commander-in-chief is really defeated by the Khitan, then I should surrender to the Khitan king. How can I come to Chang'an to offer prisoners?"

"Be bold!"

If it were anyone else, they would only say how loyal they are and would not change their stance due to victory or defeat. Sun Xiaozhe's words sounded disloyal, and he even asked the saint in return.

However, Li Longji felt that this Hu man was straightforward and sincere, so he waved his hand to stop the eunuch who was scolding Sun Xiaozhe, and asked: "So, An Lushan did not falsely report his military exploits, but was falsely accused by Zhang Xun."

"The commander-in-chief defeated the Khitan army, but the lack of troops allowed Li Huaixiu to escape."

Wei Jiansu immediately said: "How can we call it a great victory since we have not captured the leader? How can we prove that An Lushan did not falsely claim his military exploits? Your Majesty, no matter what, it is not appropriate for Fan Yang's army and Jiannan's army to sacrifice prisoners together today."

Sun Xiaozhe looked confused and asked: "Didn't the court receive the battle report from the commander-in-chief reporting his merits?"

"I have received it." Yang Guozhong said: "What we are talking about at this time is that the credit in the battle report is false."

Sun Xiaozhe ignored them at all, only looked at Li Longji and said: "Sage, the commander-in-chief has defeated Xi Ren and captured Xi King Li Yanchong. How can you say 'the leader has not been captured'?"

Yang Guozhong and Wei Jiansu were both stunned. They looked at each other and asked each other if they knew about this.

what happened?

An Lushan was clearly defeated by the Khitan, how could he become Mie Xi?

Xue Bai was also a little surprised. After sizing up the two people, his eyes moved away and fell on Yuan Siyi.

"Li Yanchong?"

When Li Longji heard the name, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. Khitan King Li Huaixiu and Xi King Li Yanchong married his granddaughters, Princess Jingle and Princess Yifang, at the same time. Within half a year, they contacted to rebel and killed their wives to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

This incident greatly damaged Li Longji's power at the frontier, and he vowed to take the two rebels to Chang'an and execute them.

Therefore, he sent his most trusted An Lushan to handle this matter, but there was no result for many years.

"Hu'er captured Li Yanchong?" He asked again, feeling a little relieved in his heart.

However, the battle report from An Lushan obtained by the imperial court only said that it was a "severe defeat for the Khitan" and did not mention the destruction of Xi and the capture of King Xi, which was wrong.

Sun Xiaozhe was in a daze for a while, and then he came to his senses and reported: "In November last year, the commander-in-chief defeated the Khitan army at the Xilamulun River, pursued continuously, and reported his merits to the imperial court. After the imperial court approved, The procession to offer prisoners set out in March. But in February of this year, the commander-in-chief had gone straight to the Xi tribe and captured Li Yanchong, the king of Xi. He then sent a post horse to report his military exploits, and at the same time sent someone to catch up with the procession of offering prisoners... …”

"Nonsense!" Yang Guozhong said: "If there is such a great victory, how could the imperial court not know about it?"

Sun Xiaozhe was a reckless man and refused to give him face as the right minister. He said, "I just want to ask my uncle, where is the messenger to report the merits? Why doesn't the imperial court know about this great victory?!"

When Yang Guozhong heard this, he knew that this was to falsely accuse him of concealing An Lushan's achievements.

It was clear that An Lushan was falsely reporting his military exploits, but he actually beat him up inexplicably, completely confusing right and wrong. It was simply unreasonable!

Thinking that his own methods would be defeated by a bastard, he jumped in anger and said: "It's ridiculous. How can a military and national matter be such a child's play?"

Sun Xiaozhe said loudly: "Whether Fan Yangjun was defeated or won, wouldn't you know it after meeting Li Yanchong?!" Yang Guozhong opened his mouth to refute, but in the end he had nothing to say.

Even Wei Jiansu's expression changed, knowing that since Sun Xiaozhe dared to say this in front of the emperor, he must have captured Li Yanchong.

An Lushan was clearly defeated by the Khitan, but he didn't know how he could regroup his troops and destroy Xi in a short period of time?

Now is not the time to think about this. The top priority is that he, the Minister of War, and Yang Guozhong, the right minister, have been tricked by the seemingly stupid An Lushan. An Lushan obviously deliberately refused to report Li Yanchong in advance in order to give the court a surprise".

Wei Jiansu felt deeply frustrated and looked at Xue Bai subconsciously.

In his mind, Xue Bai has become a reliable partner to deal with An Lushan.

At this point, no one can stop Fan Yang's army from offering prisoners. Li Longji was too lazy to pay attention to the people with ulterior motives who prevented him from showing his achievements. He impatiently ordered them to retreat and scolded: "I will punish you later."

Because of their achievements in the Battle of Nanzhao, they will definitely not be punished today, and the honor that should be given to them will not be less. But in Li Longji's heart, they framed Anlu Mountain in an attempt to alienate the emperor and his ministers, and his sense of trust has been greatly reduced.

Yang Guozhong was in a low mood, and he and Xue Bai went down to the top of the city. He suddenly made up his mind and gritted his teeth.

"We must kill An Lushan."

~~

"Present prisoners!"

Although the report of Fan Yang's army annihilating Xi was concealed by the court officials, the momentum for offering prisoners was very large.

The first thing sent to the Zhuque Gate were the many treasures of Khitan King Li Huaixiu.

The twelve sacred scrolls of the Khitan king stand on the carriage, with twelve flags and twelve drums. It is said that the eight Khitan tribes can be ordered by this. The report stated that it was picked up when Li Huaixiu abandoned the flag and fled when An Lushan defeated him.

After that, there are royal tents, felt rugs, lacquerware, and several extremely beautiful and majestic sea hollies.

The Twelve Gods were too high to enter the Suzaku Gate. The poles were chopped down amidst the shouts of the warriors.

Suddenly, the whole city cheered.

"The great Tang Dynasty! The great Tang Dynasty!"

Among the people watching, Na Lanzhen was also watching this scene.

After she was brought back to Chang'an by Xue Bai, she was always watched by Du Jin. He only had to wait for Yan Zhenqing to return to the court and discuss the situation in Tubo in detail before deciding how to deal with her.

Today, Nalanzhen was brought by Ren Mulan to pay homage to the grand occasion. It must be said that she was frightened by Fan Yangjun, and her face turned pale. Only then did she realize that those powerful soldiers and horses in Longxi were only a small part of the Tang army. In Jiannan and Fanyang, there are soldiers and generals who can destroy the country.

The gifting process before the prisoners were presented lasted for a long time. Countless treasures were sent to the Suzaku Gate, which showed that the Tang army during the Tianbao period was full of martial virtue and those who dared to rebel would not end well.

When Yang Guozhong saw it, his heart was filled with fire, and he cursed in his heart: "The battle was not fought well, and the meritorious service was rewarded in all kinds of ways. It's a bastard."

After the treasures were presented to the saint, many prisoners, including men, women, old and young, were brought to Suzaku's door.

……

Li Longji narrowed his eyes slightly, and his eyes fell on a prison car among the prisoners.

Standing on the prison car was a tall, bloody man with chestnut curly hair and a thick beard. It could be seen from a distance that his eyebrows were high.

Li Yanchong once served as a hostage in Chang'an City for six years. At that time, King Xi'an Li Yi conquered the Xi people and won a great victory. Li Yanchong's father, who was King Xi at that time, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Later, when King Xi passed away, An Lushan petitioned Li Yanchong to succeed him. Only then did he marry Princess Yifang and kill her to rebel. thing.

Li Longji recognized Li Yanchong, and when he suddenly saw that the traitor had been captured, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably due to excitement.

"Let that bitch come closer." He even rarely cursed.

Gao Lishi did not worry about whether it would be dangerous to let Li Yanchong come to the imperial court. His saint had never experienced any danger in his youth. After receiving the order, he went to make arrangements himself.

When he got off the city and passed by Xue Bai, Xue Bai stepped forward and asked.

"General Gao actually captured Li Yanchong. Do you want to invite Princess Weiguo, Princess Xincheng and their consorts?"

Princess Wei is the mother of Princess Yifang, and she must have wanted to see her daughter's murderer punished with her own eyes.

Even Gao Lishi only cared about the saint's wishes and ignored this point. Seeing that Xue Bai still remembered, he glanced at him and nodded approvingly.

If Xue Bai is really the son of the deposed prince Li Ying, he has reason to be concerned about this matter.

"Xue Lang values ​​friendship."

With such emotion, Gao Lishi arranged for someone to invite the two princesses and continued to walk towards Li Yanchong.

Xue Bai felt that An Lushan's capture of King Xi was too sudden, and he was curious, so he followed him.

As the saying goes, it is not often the case that the troops and horses are not moved, but the food and fodder go first. After a great victory, there is no time to convey the victory. Xue Bai didn't think it was Yang Guozhong who concealed An Lushan's achievements, so there must be something fishy.

An Lushan often coaxed the little chiefs to drink in the tent, and then killed or captured them. But Li Yanchong didn't look like someone who would be easily deceived, so how was he captured?

Xue Bai planned to ask him face to face.

Gao Lishi did not forbid him from following, but instead gave him a few words of encouragement as he walked.

"I know you are stubborn, but don't go against the saint's will again, otherwise I won't be able to help you."

"General Gao's point is that for the sake of the good of the country, sometimes you should speak out."

"It's not your turn to worry about Sheji."

When they got closer to the prison car, they saw that Li Yanchong was covered with bruises and was dying.

"Does General Gao recognize him?" Xue Bai asked, "Is it really Li Yanchong?"

Gao Lishi did not answer immediately, but walked closer, and even stepped onto the prison van. He did not mind the smell of blood and sweat. He looked closely for a while and then nodded.

"It is indeed Li Yanchong."

This eliminates the possibility that An Lushan found someone to pretend to be a prisoner and claim the credit.

Xue Baisui also stepped forward and asked Li Yanchong: "How were you captured?"

Li Yanchong was weak, his eyelids were drooped, and he did not answer when he heard the words.

"Bring him down." Gao Lishi ordered.

"Here."

Immediately, some soldiers came forward, opened the prison car, and lifted Li Yanchong out.

Such a big man couldn't even move his feet at this time, and there were heavy chains on his hands and feet, so he could only move while being dragged.

"Let's go."

Gao Lishi did not greet Li Yanchong after not seeing him for a long time, nor did he bother to ridicule him. Turn around and go back to the city.

Approaching the Suzaku Gate, Xue Bai had no chance to continue observing and walked back to the formation of Jiannan Army.

suddenly.

Li Yanchong waved his hands hard, and the iron chain slammed into the face of a soldier escorting him.

He ignored Gao Lishi and threw him down. He put the chain around Gao Lishi's neck and tried to strangle Gao Lishi to death.

He was extremely fierce, knowing that he had no chance of survival. He was on the verge of death in the previous performance, but he tried his best at the last moment in order to kill an important figure and let Datang know that Xi Ren was not someone to be bullied.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, but Li Yanchong had already shown his amazing temperament.

In another prison car, Ge Luofeng saw Li Yanchong and was stunned. He admired Li Yanchong for daring to fight, but he knew that he would not do so and he could not harm his people.

"Don't hurt him!"

It was Gao Lishi who yelled.

The heavy iron chain was pressing firmly on his neck. Seeing the guards around him pulling out their knives to kill Li Yanchong, he quickly stopped him.

The saint wanted to be humiliated personally and could not let Li Yanchong die.

Gao Lishi originally wanted to break free by himself, but he was old and couldn't do it right away. His face was red from being strangled and he couldn't breathe.

The guards dropped their knives and tried hard to pull Li Yanchong away, but failed for a moment.

"puff."

Suddenly, an arrow hit Li Yanchong's back, splattering blood.

Li Yanchong's strength was immediately exhausted, like a leather bag that had been punctured.

It's like the energy in the body has leaked.

Gao Lishi finally broke free, panting hard, raised his head and glanced at the top of the city, and saw Li Longji himself holding a bow.

The saint killed Li Yanchong with one arrow. This scene made Gao Lishi seem to have returned to the past.

The scene is still very chaotic. Some people are pulling Li Yanchong away, some are protecting Gao Lishi and others have begun to praise the saint for his unparalleled archery skills...

In the chaos, Xue Bai hurried towards Li Yanchong, only to see that his face was as pale as gold paper and his vitality was rapidly draining away.

"How were you captured?!"

Li Yanchong's eyes widened and he didn't want to answer.

But Xue Bai did not give up and continued to ask: "An Lushan shouldn't capture you so easily. How did he do it?"

Li Yanchong stared, not knowing what was going on in his mind.

After hearing Xue Bai's question, his eyes suddenly moved and he figured out something.

Originally, I thought that the Tang court had won over the Khitan, so that Li Huaixiu could deceive him personally. But from this point of view, this is not the national policy of the Tang court?

Li Yanchong's throat rolled a few times and he said: "I was not captured by An Lushan... No..."

The sound became smaller and smaller, and Xue Bai leaned over to listen.

"It's them... cheating..."

After a while, there was no sound in his ears. Xue Bai looked and saw that Xi Wang Li Yanchong had died like this.

But Xue Bai could probably guess what he wanted to say - An Lushan might have colluded with the Khitan.

Has history changed? Or is the rebellion still brewing?

(End of this chapter)