Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 745 A Very Bad Person

In the study of the Bianzhou government office, there was a man kneeling with his forehead touching the ground, refusing to get up.

Seeing this scene, Fang Zhongyong was somewhat helpless. Not everything was under his control. For example, he had not expected Li Lu's inhumanity.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to go with the army and conquer Xiangyang! Lead your horse!"

The man kneeling on the ground shouted with a choked voice without raising his head, and Yuan Zai, who was standing by, could not help but shake his head repeatedly.

Fang Qing is a very clear-headed person and will not be swayed by any emotions at all. You can't do this.

Yuan Zai secretly complained in his heart.

"Li Lu was so cruel that he killed General Lu's entire family. I never thought such a thing would happen. Alas!"

Fang Chongyong stepped forward and helped Lu Jiong up from his kneeling position. He actually didn't intend to subdue this man, but Li Lu killed Lu Jiong's family without any explanation. Now, what choice did Lu Jiong have?
"Your Majesty, I am a criminal who failed to judge people and implicated my family. This is my own fault and I cannot blame anyone else. But if I cannot personally avenge Lu's family, wouldn't I be worse than pigs and dogs?

Please, Your Majesty... Please help me! I am familiar with the terrain of Jingxiang, and can be a guide for the army, and I can be a scout!"

Lu Jiong knelt on the ground and refused to get up, crying and sobbing. Even a lion on the grassland would feel soft-hearted when seeing his look.

He was determined to follow the land army to attack Jingxiang.

Of course, revenge for the family is secondary. The key is to secure a position for oneself in the new court.

The best opportunity is right in front of you.

Lu Jing will stab the sharp knife into Li Lu's heart with the mentality of a wild beast!

"Your Majesty, General Lu's sincerity is truly touching. Why don't you give him this opportunity and let him go with the army?"

Yuan Zai, who was watching the show on the side, suggested that he was determined to help Lu Jing and do him a favor.

"In that case, General Nalu will serve as the vanguard officer under Marshal Che, responsible for surveying the terrain and providing guidance for the vanguard.

You should settle down in Bianzhou first, and send food and fodder before the troops move.

Even if we decide to use military force today, it is impossible to march today.

This kind of thing cannot be rushed, the more you rush, the worse it will be."

Fang Zhongyong patted Lu Jing's shoulder and comforted him. His whole family was killed, and he was the only one left. It was really tragic.

Even a political animal like Fang Chongyong couldn't help but feel sympathy.

After Lu Jiong left with many thanks, he let Yuan Zai sit down and discuss important matters with him.

"You have stayed in Xunyang for quite some time. What have you seen and heard there?"

Fang Chongyong asked casually and poured a glass of wine for Yuan Zai.

Yuan Zai went to persuade Lu Jiong to surrender, and then stayed in Xunyang waiting for an opportunity. However, after Yu Qi replaced Lu Jiong, he defended tightly and carefully, and Lu Jiong could not find an opportunity to sneak into the water stronghold to mutiny.

So the two of them stayed in Xunyang until today when they returned.

Of course, people can stop, but things cannot. Fang Chongyong did not recall Yuan Zai, but asked him to investigate the local people's conditions in case of emergency.

"Your Majesty, there is nothing special over there. If anything, Hongzhou is poor. Even Xunyang, which is on the Yangtze River, is not much better."

Yuan Zai nodded slightly and said.

In terms of hydrological conditions, Xunyang (Jiujiang City) is extremely suitable for the development of water transportation and can be said to be blessed with unique advantages.

However, whether a place can become a commercial port cannot be determined solely by its water transportation conditions. The output of the surrounding areas and the surrounding transportation environment are the key factors in determining trade.

Since ancient times, the problem of Jiangzhou is that the transportation environment is good only in the periphery, but the transportation environment deep in the interior is extremely poor, and there are not many products. Therefore, even if it is close to the Yangtze River, it cannot enjoy much trade convenience.

A shoulder pole can only be used to carry things, not a basket to hold eggs. This problem is not only a problem in the Tang Dynasty, but even in modern times, the situation has not changed much.

"To Li Lu, Hongzhou is just a place to deploy troops. He doesn't mind throwing it away if it doesn't produce much.

The Jingxiang Army is in Hongzhou, and it is very inconvenient to transport food and fodder. It seems natural for Li Yu to give up this place. "

Yuan Zai added a sentence.

"That's it."

Fang Zhongyong said this without meaning it. He was trying to figure things out, and no emotion could be seen on his face.

Yuan Zai was most afraid of Fang Chongyong showing such an expression. He had no idea what the other party was thinking, so he couldn't help but feel uneasy and didn't dare to act rashly.

"You will also accompany the army on this expedition and be responsible for contacting Lu Qi. He will persuade the Tangzhou defenders to surrender. You have a heavy burden on your shoulders!"

Fang Zhongyong opened his mouth and gave orders.

"Please rest assured, officials."

Yuan Zai saluted with his arms crossed, feeling relieved. He was already familiar with this kind of thing.

"Li Lu is a really bad person. I didn't expect that such a bad person would appear in the Li clan."

Fang Zhongyong suddenly sighed without any warning.

"Isn't that right? Li Lu is a man of no moral integrity. The people of Jingxiang are all looking forward to the royal army from the government coming to Jingxiang to recover the lost territory!"

Yuan Zai made a blunt compliment, still unsure of what Fang Chongyong meant.

"It's just that it would be fine if this man died in the war. If he is captured, it will be difficult for me to deal with him after he comes to Bianzhou. Li Lu has a high seniority in the Li clan. One of my concubines is a sister of Li Lu's princess."

Fang Chongyong said with an embarrassed look.

Yuan Zai immediately understood what he meant. He remained calm and said in a low voice, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. People who do bad things will not have a good end. Heaven will punish them."

"Oh, I hope so."

Fang Zhongyong sighed, seeming to be a little bored.

"Your Majesty, Li Lu has many descendants. How should we deal with them?"

Yuan Zai asked in a low voice.

"Are there really that many? Why don't I know about this kind of thing?"

Fang Chongyong asked back with an unhappy look on his face.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, I made a mistake, made a mistake."

Yuan Zai's back was covered in cold sweat and his hands and feet were cold with fear.

"You've had a hard time on this trip, go home and have a good rest for a few days. The army will be setting out soon, so you should get ready."

Fang Zhongyong put away the indifference on his face and comforted him with gentle words.

Yuan Zai felt relieved, thanked him and left. Now Fang Zhongyong's authority is growing day by day, even if he doesn't lose his temper, his confidants will not dare to cross the line.

As a person's status and power increase, his position and weight in the hearts of people around him also change. This is human nature.

After Yuan Zai left, Fang Chongyong poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp!

Li Yu must die, including his sons and grandsons. Of course, his wife and daughter can survive. This is the minimum price a loser must pay.

Unifying the world is not a game. Many people will die, and the process is not a warm and affectionate one. It is full of blood and violence.

These are the prices that must be paid for reform and unification.

Fang Chongyong casually picked up a document pressed on the paperweight. It was intelligence about the Hedong area collected by the Privy Council.

Li Baoyu and others seemed to be preparing to raise an army to attack Li Baochen, recapture Chang'an, and return to the imperial capital. They frequently mobilized troops and there were signs that they were sending troops to Puzhou.

In recent years, Hedong has had well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, and its military strength is no less than that of Li Baochen.

Starting from Hedong and ending in Chang'an, then relying on Guanzhong, sweeping across the world. Isn't this the way the Tang Dynasty started?
There is something in the world called "successful experience". This kind of thing will be used by others as "path dependence" in the future. If you succeeded in the past, the possibility of success is not small if you do it again now.

So those separatist forces all fled to Chang'an one by one. They had to flee, because no one had ever verified that they could go to other places, or that they had walked that road but died.

Only the route from Hedong to Guanzhong has been verified and feasible by Li Yuan and his son Li Er.

This is certified by Emperor Taizong. In this era of the Tang Dynasty, everyone must accept it!

So many people thought that Fang Qing was stupid for choosing Bianzhou at the time, when he clearly had the opportunity to get involved in Hedong, although it was a little difficult.

"Li Baoyu and the others finally couldn't bear it anymore."

Fang Zhongyong sneered and talked to himself.

However, he cannot extend his influence to Hedong for the time being because the resources in Hebei have not yet been integrated.

If we have to take action, it will be at least three years later. We have to eat bite by bite. At present, the pace of plundering land is very steady, and the government's rule is gradually spreading and implementing new policies step by step.

More territories cannot be digested, and they only look good on paper.

Fang Zhongyong suppressed the impulse in his heart and calmed his mind.

The power of the Bianzhou court was strong because of its good resource integration. Bianzhou in the north and Yangzhou in the south were connected to Hebei and Jiangnan through a canal, which achieved low-cost logistics.

This effectively integrated the territories under his rule. Whether it was mobilizing troops or transporting grain, the dates were calculated by day, rather than "ten days" as in Chang'an in the past.

If Li Baoyu wants to take Chang'an, then let him take it.

Fang Zhongyong thought to himself. He stood up and looked at the huge map hanging on the wall of the study. There were circles on several places:
Xiangyang, Taiyuan, Chang'an, Guangzhou, and Liangzhou.

Many places.

……

In the spring of that year, Emperor Li Qi issued a proclamation to suppress the rebellion and to attack Li Yu of Jingxiang. At that time, a large number of grain ships set sail from Bianzhou to Yangzhou, carrying a lot of food and military equipment.

It seems that the Bianzhou army will take the smoothest route, which is to start from Yangzhou, along the Yangtze River, and the navy will attack the cities along the Yangtze River, and finally attack Jiangling, an important town in Jingxiang.

Using this as a bridgehead, try to attack Xiangyang.

Judging from the current strength comparison between the two armies, it would not be a problem for the Bianzhou army to capture Jiangling. However, it seems that the attack on Xiangyang is still a little short and it is difficult to accomplish it in one fell swoop.

These developments had already reached Yan Zhenqing's ears, but he had no time to care about what was happening in Yangzhou. The navy of the Jingxiang Army in Hongzhou had low morale and was trapped in Yuzhang, almost on the verge of collapse.

The situation is much worse than what Li Lu originally introduced!

On this day, Yan Zhenqing had just finished inspecting the city defenses with Liang Chongyi when Li Lu's trusted eunuch Bai Zhizhen came to convey Li Lu's imperial edict.

However, the content of the imperial edict surprised Yan Zhenqing and others.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to give up Yuzhang?"

Yan Zhenqing stared at Bai Zhizhen with his eyes wide open and asked. He couldn't believe that Yuzhang was so important, and Li Yu actually said he would give it up.

Is fighting a fun thing? Can orders be changed every day?

Liang Chongyi on the side didn't say anything, but his expression was a little strange, without any sign of shock, as if he had expected this move.

After Yan Zhenqing arrived in Hongzhou, he did not settle the matter of Liang Chongyi's murder of Yao Lingyan. You know, the latter was ordered to be killed by Liang Chongyi because of the crime of "collaborating with the enemy".

In other words, Yao Lingyan did not actually die in the battle, but was silenced by Liang Chongyi afterwards.

Yan Zhenqing did not punish Liang Chongyi, not because he did not want to, but because he could not do so. If he punished Liang Chongyi, the army trapped in Yuzhang would immediately fall apart!

No matter how elite the troops are, they cannot withstand such repeated changes of their leading generals!
However, Yan Zhenqing still wanted to defend Yuzhang, but Li Yu was already worried about Jiangling being captured. The importance of Jiangling to Xiangyang needs no further explanation, and it has been demonstrated countless times in history.

Therefore, Yan Zhenqing could say that Li Lu was as cowardly as a mouse, but he could not really say that he did anything wrong.

"If we want to bring this navy from Yuzhang back to Jiangling, we must break through the blockade at the mouth of the Ganjiang River. Otherwise, only the people can go back, but the boats cannot.

Without warships, how can we defend Jiangling?"

Yan Zhenqing questioned Bai Zhizhen in a very impolite manner.

Li Lu was very wary of eunuchs, so the military supervisors were all civil servants. Eunuchs had no status and were naturally reprimanded by Yan Zhenqing.

Although Bai Zhizhen was a trusted eunuch responsible for conveying imperial edicts, his status was not that high.

"Well... I am just an eunuch, I don't know anything about military affairs, but solutions are always invented by people."

Bai Zhizhen hurriedly handed the imperial edict to Yan Zhenqing, then turned around and left as if escaping, not wanting to say anything more.

Yan Zhenqing asked him what to do. What else could he do? What could an eunuch do?

It's better to escape quickly. It's not easy to come to this place. To break through the blockade of the Ganjiang River estuary by the Bianzhou army, we can only leave by boat at night.

Bai Zhizhen left, leaving Yan Zhenqing and Liang Chongyi in the government office's study, staring at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Your Majesty wants us to lead the troops back to Jiangling. Does Minister Yan know how to get there?"

Liang Chongyi asked knowingly.

"Generals are not subject to military orders when they are away from home. We cannot carry out your Majesty's decree. General Liang, rest assured. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility."

Yan Zhenqing waved his hand, signaling Liang Chongyi to stay calm.

"That's... just a temporary solution."

Liang Chongyi sighed. He believed Yan Zhenqing was a responsible person, but Liang Chongyi had seen through Li Yu's character. He had no expectations for this emperor.

"What does General Liang have to say?"

Yan Zhenqing asked back, he was a tough and strong person and not easy to get along with.

"The only plan now is to attack the Bianzhou military water stronghold at the mouth of the Ganjiang River at night.

After breaking through the blockade, while they haven't reacted yet, continue northwards into the Yangtze River, and then head to Jiangling."

Liang Chongyi sighed.

Is there any risk in doing this? Of course, the risk is huge.

But because of this, the chance of success was quite high, because this was an unexpected move by the Bianzhou army. They were not going to capture the enemy's water fort, but to set it on fire and run away, just to break through.

It's not about going to die.

"Uh...why don't we wait a few more days?"

Yan Zhenqing raised his hand and rejected Liang Chongyi.

"Then let's do as Mr. Yan said. I have nothing to say."

Liang Chongyi was so angry that he left after saying something.

This is not allowed, and that is not allowed. What the hell are you doing? Go play by yourself!
Liang Chongyi cursed in his heart, but suddenly remembered the letter of surrender that Li Guangbi had sent him.

This matter is extremely confidential and only his personal guards know about it!
Li Guangbi promised in the letter that as long as he himself surrendered, it would be fine, as for the navy, it didn’t matter!

Do you want to try to get in touch with her?

Liang Chongyi was thinking in his mind that the conditions offered by Li Guangbi were very relaxed. As long as Liang Chongyi himself surrendered, it would be fine. He didn't need to bring troops with him.

This shouldn't be a counter-espionage plot.

The situation of the Jingxiang court is not good now. Should we... think about a way out?
A strange thought came to his mind, and a trace of unnaturalness appeared on Liang Chongyi's face. He returned to the courtyard where he lived as if no one was around.

Liang Chongyi entered the study, then took out a crumpled letter from the secret compartment of the bookcase. He held it in his hand and looked through it repeatedly, as if he could see flowers in it.

(End of this chapter)