Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 768: The carved railings and jade should still be there, but the red face has changed

To the east of Chang'an City and west of Baqiao, there is a "post road terminal": Changle Posthouse!
Passengers coming from the east of Chang'an would get off here and walk to Chang'an City.

The "Duting Posthouse" in Chang'an city was called a post station, but it was actually a government office. Not just anyone could go there. One needed a "notice" from the government and an imperial decree from the court.

After all, without the documents, one couldn't even enter Chang'an City. Wanting to take a carriage directly into Chang'an from other places would somewhat underestimate the majesty of the imperial power.

Therefore, Changle Posthouse is a barometer of the rise and fall of Chang'an. If Changle Posthouse is prosperous, Chang'an will be prosperous, and vice versa.

At this moment, Fang Chongyong stood in front of the abandoned Changle Posthouse. Seeing that the weeds here had grown higher than his knees, he didn't know what to say for a moment!

Back then, it was here that Brother Ji hanged the three princes in the lobby of the post station, so that no one dared to collect the bodies.

Fang Chongyong was also named "Wanlang" by Brother Ji because he collected the bodies of the three unfortunate people, and was more or less considered an official. In other words, his official career actually started from here.

Now things have changed, Ji Ge has died long ago, Chang'an has been ravaged by wars countless times, and even this Changle Posthouse has been abandoned for a long time.

Only a few years have passed, yet it feels like a lifetime ago.

"Your Majesty, General Che has already led his troops to the front of Chang'an City. Everything is fine."

Seeing Fang Chongyong standing in front of the deserted post station, Zhang Guangsheng came over and whispered. He thought that Fang was worried that Chang'an would be unsafe.

"Is it worth it for a country to support a city?"

Fang Zhongyong turned around and looked at Zhang Guangsheng and asked.

"Your Majesty, Chang'an is the capital after all. The emperor once lived here. Who wouldn't want to make his home more prosperous? As for the hardships in other places, the emperors can't see them. Out of sight, out of mind."

Zhang Guangsheng's complaint really hit the nail on the head.

After all, he had been an official in Chang'an for many years and was considered a veteran Jinwu Guard. Naturally, he knew a lot about official matters and the emperor's pomp.

The military disasters in the border towns, the flooding of the Yellow River, and the rebellion of refugees in the south of the Yangtze River were indeed very serious for the Tang Dynasty.

But so what?

The emperor could not see it with his own eyes, and the ministers and secretaries in the court could not see it with their own eyes either, so how much pain could they feel?

So since you can't see it, just treat it as if it doesn't exist. Send a decree to the local government to handle it, and then hold them accountable.

Anyway, no monster can come to your home, right?
It seemed like something was wrong, but when I thought about it carefully, it seemed quite normal.

It's such a common human nature that it's hardly worth singleing it out.

"Let's go to Chunming Gate."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand gently, having calmed down.

He had originally considered restoring the vitality of Chang'an City, but now it seems that what Chang'an needs to do is not to maintain prosperity, but... to demolish houses!

The current Chang'an City is too large, with many places vacant, breeding ground for crime and impossible to effectively govern.

The broken window effect is widespread, takes up a lot of space, and is an eyesore.

Only by dismantling the big and keeping the small can we get on the road easily.

Since the strategic focus has shifted from Guanzhong to Guandong, it is reasonable to demolish Chang'an City and build a smaller new city.

Thinking about something in his mind, Fang Zhongyong walked quickly through Chunming Gate. The more than 100-meter-wide Chunming Gate Street in front of him was empty, looking even more empty, with a bit of the feel of a cyber ghost town.

The trees on both sides of the road were lush and unaffected by the war. The originally compacted dirt road had green grass sprouting out in small patches, bringing a little green vitality. However, it made the huge city of Chang'an look even more dilapidated.

"Your Majesty, do you want to visit Daming Palace or Xingqing Palace?"

Suddenly remembering Li Qi, Fang Zhongyong turned around and asked the Emperor Li Qi behind him.

He felt that this puppet emperor should have more feelings in his heart, because Li Qi had been in Chang'an since he was born, and spent his youth here.

That is wealth and glory, as well as the depression of being suppressed by imperial power.

"I'd better go back to Xinfeng Posthouse. Chang'an has the government in charge."

Li Qi laughed dryly. In fact, he was not interested in Chang'an at all, because ever since he became sensible, Brother Ji was like a mountain, and the Ten Kings' Mansion was like a prison, pressing and trapping Li Qi.

It would be a wonder if he could be happy here!

"That's fine. I will send someone to escort Your Majesty to Xinfeng Posthouse."

Fang Zhongyong nodded slightly and gave Zhang Guangsheng a few instructions. To be honest, Li Qi's departure from Chang'an saved him a lot of trouble. If some ignorant people appeared among the Tianlong people in Guanzhong, they would shout "Long live" to Li Qi three times.

At that time, Li Qi and Fang Chongyong would be embarrassed too.

Since there are no good memories worth reminiscing about, it is better to miss each other than to meet each other, which is also a kind of relief.

Both Fang Zhongyong and Li Qi felt uncomfortable in Chang'an. It seemed normal that the capital of the old era would disappear along with the old era.

Seeing the embarrassment of Fang Zhongyong and Li Qi, Yuan Zai stepped forward and saluted Fang Zhongyong with his hands crossed:
"Your Majesty, Chang'an Duting Posthouse is very large, well-equipped and well-connected. It would be better to set up the temporary governor's office at Duting Posthouse so that we can receive military intelligence and deal with it quickly.

As for the imperial city, Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace in Chang'an, they are now vacant. There are many houses and they are very damp, making it really inconvenient to live in.

It would be better to move all the old items in the palace and transport them to Bianzhou to sell them to raise funds for the army."

Hearing this, Li Qi, who had already turned around, suddenly stopped.

He wanted to say something, but Fang Zhongyong smiled and said, "That's great, but there's no need to ship it back to Bianzhou. It might not even cover the shipping costs. Except for gold, silver and other valuables, it's better to put them outside the palace gate. Any Chang'an citizen passing by can just pick one up. This is just like the swallows flying in front of the halls of the wealthy and the wealthy, flying into the homes of ordinary people."

Hearing this, Li Qi swallowed the speech he had prepared and continued to follow Zhang Guangsheng away from Chunming Gate and walked towards Xinfeng Posthouse east of Baqiao.

Seeing this scene, after Li Qi walked away, Fang Zhongyong looked at Yuan Zai with a half-smile and said, "Just now you said that you were going to dispose of the old items in the palace at a low price, and the emperor was unhappy."

"Oh, then the emperor must say a few good words for me in front of the emperor."

Yuan Zai pretended to be very terrified, but upon closer inspection, he had an uncontrollable smile on his face, with the corners of his mouth raised.

The human heart! That’s it!

Fang Zhongyong sighed in his heart, waved his hand casually and said: "Then I'll leave this matter to you. All the valuables looted from the treasury should be sent to Bianzhou to buy military rations. You can handle the rest yourself."

The two continued to walk forward, chatting casually. Not long after walking, they arrived at Xingqing Palace near Chunming Gate. At this moment, Che Guangqian was commanding his personal troops to move out the sundries in Xingqing Palace. He seemed to think that Fang Zhongyong would live in Xingqing Palace.

After all, before Brother Ji ascended the throne, he lived in Xingqing Palace and "absorbed" the dragon energy here, and finally ascended the throne.

Except for Fang Chongyong, who has been through it all, other people still have some influence of path dependence in their minds and are very concerned about these things.

"Your Majesty, we can tidy up Xingqing Palace today. Please wait for a moment."

Seeing Fang Chongyong coming, Che Guangqian hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.

"I will not live in Xingqing Palace anymore. Let's set up the temporary governor's office in Dutingyi, and I will live there. If you are not the emperor, you don't have to live in the palace. This can save you a lot of trouble."

Fang Zhongyong shook his head and signaled Che Guangqian to just move out the sundries in Xingqing Palace and there was no need to move in.

"Order!"

Che Guangqian bowed, then came over and whispered, "Some members of the Li clan who were stranded in Chang'an asked to see the emperor, but I turned them away. They then said they wanted to see the emperor, but I evaded them with a few words. They went back for now, but they will definitely come again."

A member of the royal family with the surname Li?

I'm afraid it's more than that!
Fang Zhongyong's mind was as clear as a mirror. Besides the descendants of the Li family, there must be many Tianlong people from Guanzhong who were anxious to see him! The reason why Che Guangqian didn't mention it was to test the waters and wanted to know what Fang Zhongyong's attitude was.

If the Li family clan members were to meet, then the Guanzhong Tianlong people would naturally not refuse. On the contrary, if Fang Zhongyong did not want to contact the clan members, then there was no need for the Guanzhong Tianlong people to meet.

"No, there's nothing to see."

Fang Chongyong refused impatiently. He felt that it would be difficult to conduct politics by cooperating with these insects, so it would be better to leave them aside.

Seeing Che Guangqian hesitate to speak, he sighed and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. There's nothing to worry about!"

"Your Majesty, from what I have seen, Chang'an is in ruins and is no longer as good as it once was. It is extremely difficult to restore it. Even as a logistical foundation for sending troops to Hexi, it is somewhat insufficient.

It would be better to place the camp in Xianyang in the northwest to concentrate the troops. Chang'an City is too big and the population is leaving in large numbers, making it difficult to manage.

It is possible that the Tibetan spies are here as if they were in an uninhabited place, so please think twice."

Che Guangqian suggested bravely.

Chang'an, which had suffered many wars, could be summed up in one sentence: "A phoenix with its feathers plucked is no better than a chicken." This is a realistic statement, not an exaggeration.

The construction of Chang'an City was aimed at becoming the capital, the economic, political and cultural center of the country, which was similar to Fang Chongyong's construction of Bianliang City. No matter how different the designs were, at least the purpose was exactly the same.

Therefore, Chang'an City is like a wooden bridge specially built for Li Tieguai. When going there, it is as easy as walking on flat ground, but when going back, the height difference is doubled!
When the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, the grand city of Chang'an was the pearl of the Tang Dynasty. All the designs in the city were commendable. It was built specifically for prosperity.

Once the Tang Dynasty declined, the grand scale of Chang'an City became a constraint, and the once luxurious clothes became a burden for escape.

CityU is difficult to inspect, manage and clean, and is prone to harboring filth and dirt.

It’s not easy to defend!
In Che Guangqian's opinion, Chang'an now has shortcomings from the inside out. For him, who has to perform military duties here, all the designs are a hindrance! Even if a hundred thousand troops are stationed here, they can't defeat the Tibetans!
If the Bianzhou army was stationed here for a long time, they would have to send out a lot of soldiers and horses to patrol, clean up the filth in the streets and alleys, and clean up the imperial city of Chang'an, the Daming Palace, the Xingqing Palace, the Ten Kings' Residences, the Hundred Grandsons' Courtyard, etc.

The Bianzhou army doesn't have enough energy to deal with these trivial matters!
Cleaning up the Xingqing Palace, which covers an area of ​​one and a half blocks, was already the limit for Che Guangqian and his team. As for the Daming Palace, they did not even consider it.

"That makes sense. I will order Xin Yunjing to lead his troops to station in Xianyang to form a support for Chang'an.

The Bianzhou army must be stationed in Chang'an. I will explain this to you later."

Fang Chongyong accepted Che Guangqian's proposal, but the Bianzhou army did not move, so he asked Xin Yunjing to lead the Chishui army to station in Xianyang.

Che Guangqian made this suggestion from a military perspective.

But Fang Zhongyong was considering letting the Bianzhou army intimidate the Guanzhong Tianlong people in Chang'an City. Fighting Tubo was only one of the tasks of this westward journey, and cleaning up the situation in Guanzhong was another task.

The kind that you know in your heart but can't say out loud.

Just as the two were discussing troop deployment at the gate of Xingqing Palace, Han Yougui, who was in charge of the vanguard scouts, came over with several scouts.

He clasped his fists and saluted to Fang Zhongyong, saying, "Your Majesty, urgent military information. The Tibetans have indeed entered Guanzhong from Jingchuan and have captured Lianyun Fort. They are heading straight for Bingzhou, north of Chang'an! They are currently organizing their troops in Lianyun Fort and have not moved south. A large number of Bingzhou people are heading towards Chang'an!"

As soon as these words were spoken, three words popped up in everyone's mind: shallow water source!
In those days, Emperor Taizong and Xue Ju fought many battles in Qianshuiyuan. Xue Ju's marching route was exactly the same as that of the Tibetans today.

Lianyunbao is the bridgehead leading to the shallow water source! The previous battlefield was at the shallow water source, and this time, it is very likely to be at the shallow water source again.

If Fang Zhongyong did not lead his troops to Qianshuiyuan to stop the Tubo people, then there would be nothing to say next, and they would just fight the defense of Chang'an. These are all old tricks played by predecessors, all played openly, without any suspense.

"Dazalugong is waiting for my challenge!"

Fang Chongyong said in a deep voice.

The Tibetans' logistics were poor, but that only meant that supplies on the plateau were scarce and transportation was inconvenient.

Now that Tubo has conquered Liangzhou, Lanzhou and other places, material supplies have been received, so there is absolutely no shortage of food before the border is opened.

After conquering Lianyun Fort, the Tubo army stopped advancing and instead camped there, waiting for the Bianzhou army to engage in a decisive battle with them at Qianshuiyuan!
In fact, the Tibetans did not want a destroyed Chang'an.

"Your Majesty, the Tibetan envoy wants to see you!"

Yuan Zai, who had gone out on errands, trotted over with a letter in his hand.

"Where is the messenger?"

Fang Zhongyong took the letter and asked in confusion.

"This man is very arrogant. He wants the emperor and the government to see him. He is unwilling to enter Chang'an City. Now he is in front of Chunming Gate."

Yuan Zai said bitterly.

"It's just a Tibetan way of provoking others, a trivial trick."

Fang Zhongyong sneered, not angry at all. To him, raising an army out of anger was totally impossible.

Anger can't kill the enemy, but a sword can! There's no need to curse or get angry, just chop the Tibetans to death when the time comes.

Fang Chongyong opened the letter and saw that, as expected, Dazhalu invited him to lead his troops to Qianshuiyuan for a decisive battle.

It decides both victory and defeat, and life and death!
He didn't say any other nonsense. This messenger was probably just cannon fodder, maybe he was sent to be killed by Fang Zhongyong!

It was obvious that there were Tibetan spies in Guanzhong, and the Tibetan general was also aware of what major events had occurred there.

"Shave the messenger's hair, put him in a woman's skirt, and let him go back to report to Dazalugong."

Fang Chongyong instructed Yuan Zai.

Does this work too?
Everyone present looked at each other, not knowing what Fang Chongyong's intention was.

"Sir, aren't you going to bring a letter to the Tibetans?"

Yuan Zai asked in a low voice. There was nothing wrong with humiliating the envoy, but not saying a word seemed a bit strange.

"The Tibetans' rules are the opposite of ours. The harder you beat them, the more they will obey you.

Just follow my orders. If Dazalu Gong has any tricks up his sleeve, just come at him!

Go ahead, and remember to shave off all the hair on the messenger's body. If even a single hair is left, I will hold you accountable!"

Fang Chongyong looked at Yuan Zai and said with a fierce face.

(End of this chapter)