The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 372: Why did Your Majesty rebel? (Part )

June 5th, Luoyang.

At this time, the Qi and Shu sides under Fengxiang City may have launched the final decisive battle. Yang Shihou of Chang'an has personally led the Youguo Army to rush towards Tongguan without stopping. He has also mobilized the Kuangguo Army and the Ganhua Army to control the Luoyang passes in the north and south. Countless soldiers and horses are galloping, and everything is clearly directed at the young man who is already extremely powerful at a young age.

But in Luoyang, all these were ignored at the moment. The whole city was so quiet as if it had sunk to the bottom of the water. Everything outside had nothing to do with this place.

The imperial army was about to march to Chang'an, and Prince of Song Xiao Yan had already submitted a petition to the court. No matter whether the court was afraid of or disgusted with the Prince of Song, they all tried their best to prepare enough supplies for Xiao Yan. As long as Xiao Yan opened his mouth, both the Henan Prefecture and the court would do their best to satisfy him.

After the ministers at all levels tried their best to mobilize military rations, horse fodder, clothing, armor and equipment from all over to store them in Luoyang, Xiao Yan finally fulfilled the wishes of some people and decided to send the Shenwei, Gongchen, Zhuosheng, Shenwu and Longhu armies westward to Baqiao to welcome the emperor on the sixth day of June, while the imperial carriage and the remaining Longwu and Luoyan armies would send out the next day.

Well, as the situation has developed to this day, Niu Cunjie and other people who were interested finally felt relieved that they had sent the plague god away. They put a lot of thought into sending Xiao Yan out of Luoyang, and even asked Yang Shihou to dispatch a large number of equipment from Chang'an and Huazhou, just to meet Xiao Yan's needs as soon as possible, so that this guy would quickly fall into the trap that had been anticipated in advance.

But in fact, when they saw that everything was developing as expected, many people began to murmur. This was because after Xiao Yan obtained these equipment, food and military supplies, he did not use them to equip the imperial guards and win over the hearts of the people immediately. Instead, he piled them all in the Luoyang armory. No one knew what was going on.

However, no one would guess what Xiao Yan was thinking. This was just right. Xiao Yan was stingy and refused to distribute the wealth and rewards, so the imperial guards would definitely be upset. Niu Cunjie and others naturally seized this opportunity and privately rewarded many imperial guards as the commander-in-chief. They did not ask these people to do anything, but only said that if there were any changes in the future, they would have to make a good choice based on their past friendship.

In any case, because Chang'an had been shirking responsibility and refusing to cooperate, and it was heard that Dingba, the personal army of Prince Song in Fengxiang, had already fought with the Shu army, the military situation was very urgent. In the eyes of those who were concerned, Xiao Yan was in a hurry to send troops to suppress Yang Shihou, but at the same time he was hoarding wealth and goods and was unwilling to distribute them, which showed that he was obviously confused.

When this news reached Yang Shihou, even this Taiwei Yang believed that Xiao Yan had obviously sensed the undercurrent and knew that the imperial guards might not be of any use to him, so he wanted to keep the wealth so that he could use it to win over the army and protect himself at a critical moment.

Xiao Yan was in a panic, and those who regarded him as an enemy were naturally happy to see it happen. However, as the saying goes, movement leads to changes. The more critical the moment, the calmer Niu Cunjie and others who were thinking about cooperating with Yang Shihou to get rid of Xiao Yan became. Not to mention having secret meetings with Yuan Xiangxian, Li Ting, Zhao Yan, Kou Yanqing and others, they had even stopped seeing outside guests and just waited quietly in their respective homes for news from Tongguan.

After all, even if everything goes smoothly according to the established plan, it ultimately depends on whether Yang Shihou can occupy Tongguan and block Xiao Yan. If Yang Shihou does not have the strength to defeat Xiao Yan head-on, all of their internal supporters in Luoyang will be in vain.

In the afternoon, several tired and exhausted men dressed like ordinary merchants rode fast horses and hurried into Luoyang from the east before dusk. Once they entered the city, they galloped towards the north. They didn't care if they bumped into anyone on the way and rushed straight to the northern neighborhood of the city.

The north of Luoyang City has always been the residence of dignitaries. Important generals of Daliang such as Niu Cunjie not only have houses in Bian Jing, but also have mansions in Luoyang.

When the riders rode to Chengfufang where the Niu Mansion was located, they were stopped by several men dressed as servants before they entered the Mansion. Upon closer inspection, they found that they were people from the Niu Mansion. Behind the servants was Niu Cunjie's only son Niu Zhiye, who was drunk at the moment and glared at the riders with dissatisfaction.

"How dare you! At this critical moment, you still dare to rush around in the city and make a big mistake. How many heads do you have to chop off?"

Speaking of Niu Zhiye, as he is the only son of Niu Cunjie, although he cannot be said to have lived a life of luxury, he has never had a good reputation in Luoyang due to Niu Cunjie's status. When the first Oiran Convention was held in Anle Pavilion in Luoyang, Niu Zhiye was the top sponsor and contributed tens of thousands of strings of money to Anle Pavilion. Just now, Niu Zhiye had just returned from visiting Anle Pavilion in South City.

Everyone in the Niu Mansion was naturally terrified of the young master, but the riders didn't care about that. The leader was sweating profusely, and he didn't even get off his horse. He just lowered his voice and said hurriedly: "Something bad has happened!"

Although Niu Zhiye reeked of alcohol, his expression changed instantly after hearing this voice, and he even sobered up a little.

Luoyang had been eerily quiet in the past few days. As Niu Cunjie's only son, he naturally knew what his father was plotting. He also understood what these knights dressed as merchants were communicating about. Even if he was a fool, the words "something bad is going to happen" frightened him so much that the alcohol in his drink turned into cold sweat, soaking his entire back.

In a hurry, he didn't care about anything else. He jumped onto the knight's horse, hugged the latter's waist, and urged him, "Go back, go back, I'll take you to see my grandfather."

In the Niu Mansion, Niu Cunjie was pacing back and forth in the courtyard. He and Yuan Xiangxian were the planners of this big event, and the pressure was enormous. If there was any sign of being exposed, both of them would be in danger of losing their lives.

Therefore, in the past few days, Niu Cunjie has been unable to sleep or eat, and the only thing he can do is to walk around the courtyard alone to relax.

Yang Shihou has sent a message, saying that three groups of troops had set out together the day before yesterday and were heading to Luoyang non-stop. They would probably reach Tongguan tomorrow. When Xiao Yan left Luoyang with the two emperors the day after tomorrow, Yang Shihou would be able to stop Xiao Yan outside Tongguan as long as he kept going. At that time, he, Yuan Xiangxian and other people he had contacted would coordinate in the middle. How could Xiao Yan not be defeated! ?
But even though everything was ready, Niu Cunjie still felt uneasy. Today his eyelids were twitching. People say that left eyelid twitching means good fortune, while right eyelid twitching means disaster, but why did both his eyelids twitch?

Just as he finished his fifth circle around the courtyard and was about to take a break and drink a cup of tea, there was a commotion outside. A steward from the mansion came in quickly, followed by his not-so-good son Niu Zhiye. However, the latter's face was full of anxiety, and he called out from afar, "Grandpa!"

Niu Cunjie, who had just sat down, looked downcast. He raised his hand and pushed away the pretty maid who was about to pour him tea, and asked, "Why are you so scared?"

Niu Zhiye said hurriedly: "Someone is coming from the east. My son knows the seriousness of the matter and has led people to wait outside. Grandpa..."

Before he finished speaking, Niu Cunjie had already stood up and walked out quickly. He saw several knights, whose bodies were still wet with sweat, taking a breath in the inner courtyard corridor. Before they could enjoy the fragrant tea served by the beautiful maids in the inner courtyard, they saw Niu Cunjie running out quickly, throwing down his teacup and clasping his fists, "General Jie."

Niu Cunjie didn't bother to be polite, and said in a deep voice: "I asked you to stay in Hulao and the east to investigate the situation in Bianjing. Why did you come here without permission? Tell me quickly, what happened in Bianjing?"

The leader of the messengers clasped his fists and bowed, saying anxiously, "General, it's not that something happened in Bianjing, but Hulao! We left Luoyang and just crossed the Sishui River. From afar, we saw that the gate of Hulao was closed tightly, and even merchants were not allowed to pass. We didn't dare to reveal our identities, so we tried to find a small way to go around, but we saw that the gate was wide open again. All the people under the gate, regardless of whether they were merchants, were detained. If we hadn't hidden ourselves in advance, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to return to Luoyang... General, something bad has happened!"

Niu Cunjie felt his heart skip a beat. He was furious that this guy had been talking for so long without getting to the point. He asked anxiously, "Why is it not a big deal?"

The messenger did not dare to look up, but just said: "The original guards of Hulao Pass were the Zuolongwu Army under the command of General Yuan Xiangxian and Yuan Jie, but the troops coming out of the pass were holding the 'Guide' flag, and there was not a single general or soldier in the Zuolongwu Army! I counted them carefully later, and there were nearly thirty or forty commanders holding the 'Guide' flag. They are now rushing west without stopping. I'm afraid their destination is Luoyang!"

This news not only shocked Niu Zhiye who was following behind Niu Cunjie, but even Niu Cunjie himself was shocked.

At that moment, Yang Shihou's troops were rushing eastward, but suddenly they saw Guide's troops at the foot of Hulao Pass. Was it that Xiao Yan had been prepared and wanted to kill Yang Shihou by surprise! ?

"Gui, Guide Army wants to protect Bianjing..." Niu Zhiye's Adam's apple moved and he said, "Grandpa, does that mean Xiao Yan doesn't want Bianjing anymore?"

Niu Cunjie had no time to care about him. He immediately frowned and said calmly, "Go find Yuan Xiangxian, Kou Yanqing, Li Ting, Zhao Yan and all the people who have contacted in advance! Tell them that things are urgent and they may not be able to wait for General Yang!"

Seeing Niu Cunjie striding out at the same time, Niu Zhiye immediately followed him quickly, but his face was pale and he said anxiously: "Grandpa, Grandpa, where are you going? Do we dare to confront Xiao Yan head-on just by ourselves?"

"Go find Wei Wang Zhang Quanyi!" Niu Cunjie said with a cold face, "Xiao Yan has already sent the Guide Army to Luoyang. It's obvious that this was premeditated. The knife is almost on your grandfather's neck. Do I have to obediently offer my head?

"That being the case, we should contact Yang Shihou while preparing to fight to the death with Xiao Yan! We have already prepared for the Imperial Guards. We have already contacted and arranged with Zhang Quanyi. There are also thousands of soldiers in Luoyang. We have soldiers to help us this time. It is not that we were completely unprepared that night in Bianjing. We may not be unable to fight to the death with Xiao Yan! Moreover, Xiao Yan has the Guide Army as a backup, and we also have Yang Shihou's three armies to support us. It is still unknown who will win in Luoyang City!" As he spoke, Niu Cunjie seemed to have remembered something again. He immediately turned around and grabbed Niu Zhiye, who was pale, and said in a deep voice: "Da Lang, you are of a light status and are not suspected by others. You should go to Beishi immediately. There are people left by Ma Shaojian in the palace. You should find them and let the emperor wait for an opportunity in the palace. You must not be held hostage by Xiao Yan tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. If you really have to fight in the city, wait for us to enter the imperial city to rescue you!"

After saying this, Niu Cunjie didn't care about anything else and immediately arranged for people to escort Niu Zhiye out of the house before it was too late.

At this time, his back was covered in cold sweat. He had no idea what Xiao Yan was thinking. However, the retired emperor Zhu Wen was imprisoned in the White Horse Temple in the eastern suburbs. No matter how he arranged, he could not rescue Zhu Wen. If it really came to a point where both sides would be desperate, he would probably have to keep Zhu Youzhen in his hands first!

------

At the same time, at Prince Song’s Palace.

This mansion was not located in the extremely expensive North Block, but in the South Block, near the East Gate Jianchun Gate. It did not cover a large area, and a few streets away were the South Market and Luoyang's Anle Pavilion. Although it was already past evening, the noise from the houses outside could still be heard from inside the mansion.

At this moment, Xiao Yan was standing in front of the flower hall, looking around the mansion with his hands behind his back.

During the time in Luoyang, Xiao Yan always wore a purple robe when meeting guests, instead of the official uniform of a minister. These days, people have felt that he was too aggressive, but now that he was wearing armor, he looked even more murderous besides his aggressiveness.

Compared with the Ming Guang armor that Xiao Yan wore when he sent troops to Bian Jing in the past, this set of armor seemed too ordinary. It blended darkly into the sky that had not yet completely darkened, but it glowed with a faint cold light due to the candlelight. There were still marks left by swords on the armor leaves. This was exactly the armor that Xiao Yan had been wearing since he raised troops in Hebei. The night guards inside and outside the palace were all those who had followed him all the way from the Yanzhou branch of the Bad Guys in the early years. Everyone recognized this set of armor.

The only thing that may have changed is the long sword equipped on Xiao Yan's waist. There is a bronze Taotie swallowing mouth pattern on the end of the scabbard, which makes it even sharper. Xiao Yan just stands there with his sword and his hands behind his back, and the pressure is rolling in.

Xiao Yan had lived in the Song Palace for less than five days, and he was leaving again in the blink of an eye. Since he woke up in the snowy night in Caozhou, he had already set foot in countless cities, including the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Hebei, the outer frontier, Raojiang, Southern Chu, and Qidi... But until now, he seemed like a rootless duckweed, with no place to settle down.

He traveled back and forth from north to south and from east to west. Although he did not work day and night, he was busy and displaced wherever he went. When he closed his eyes and thought carefully, it seemed that there was really no place in this world that he could stay.

And the mansion in front of me cannot be kept either.

"Hey, are you going to leave or not?"

When the voice came, Xiao Yan turned around and saw Jiang Chen standing in the corridor with a tall and slender figure, but he was standing there with his hands behind his back, but his face was charming, and his pair of peach blossom eyes seemed to be full of affection, and he didn't look like he was in danger at all.

Xiao Yan laughed and said, "The scene brings back some emotions, isn't it okay to feel a little sentimental?"

"What can a person like you have that is worth your gratitude?" Jiang Chen walked over, pretending to lean softly in Xiao Yan's arms, with a pretentious look, breathing sweetly: "Could it be that you have practiced dual cultivation with this lady twice here, and you are reluctant to leave..."

Xiao Yan still smiled faintly, but he patted Jiang Chen on the butt and said, "Go away."

Speaking of which, Xiao Yan still didn't know why Jiang Chen had been following him for the past month. Deep down, the hidden dangers in his body had been eliminated, so there was no need for this royal sister to stay by his side any longer. Moreover, he had already handed over the Black and White Impermanence to Jiang Chen to test his skills, so why was Jiang Chen still staying by his side?

Xiao Yan did not think any further about this unexplainable problem. He just raised his eyes and saw Bago walking in from the front yard.

Different from the idle and lazy surrendered minister, Bago finally had the chance to change back into her favorite neutral clothing today. The leather robe stuck to her body, her long legs under the armor skirt were strong and vigorous, and she also had a grassland-style long slanted scimitar on her waist. She looked quite sharp as she stood there.

After Bago walked into the room, he didn't say much. He just glanced at the surrendered minister carefully, then stood in the corridor, clasped his fists, and whispered, "I'm ready."

Xiao Yan nodded after hearing this, but did not say anything for a long time. The surrendered minister stopped joking at this time, but just sat in the flower hall with his face in his hands, looking at Xiao Yan's back.

Slowly, the sky finally darkened. Xiao Yan was still standing in front of the flower hall with his hands behind his back, but he didn't know when, and night crowds had gradually gathered around him.

Xiao Yan's handsome figure was guarded in the middle, and in the corridors on all sides were armored men holding Tang swords as silent as sculptures.

A scholar walked in slowly and saluted with his arms crossed.

"Your servant Li Ting pays homage to the King of Song."

Xiao Yan looked down and said calmly, "How is it?"

Li Ting still maintained the crossed-arm salute, and after hearing this, he spoke slowly: "Prince Song sent his personal army westward to show the enemy his weakness. Luoyang and Chang'an were indeed in chaos. In just over a month, all of Prince Song's enemies had already jumped out on their own. At this moment, Yang Shihou has personally led his troops to Luoyang. After tonight, Prince Song will be able to see with his own eyes the people in Luoyang and the internal response."

Xiao Yan nodded, walked down the stairs, and then asked, "Is this what I did right? Is it wrong?"

Li Ting raised his head, his face calm, "Even if the King of Song has made a thousand mistakes, it is better than Yang Shihou giving up the Guanxi area to Shu."

Xiao Yan smiled, then suddenly strode out. All the soldiers in the courtyard stood still at once. In the night, only the sound of armor and metal colliding could be heard.

He put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, but gave the order in a cold voice without turning his head.

"Do it!"

With a shout, countless kerosene, grease and other substances were immediately scattered all over the courtyard. A torch was thrown over, and with a loud bang, a huge fire rose up in the Song Palace, illuminating half of the night.

Under the firelight, hundreds of riders broke through the silent night, suddenly like a rainstorm, and headed straight for the White Horse Temple in the eastern suburbs.

Beyond the firelight, the lights in Luoyang city remained quiet.

(End of this chapter)