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

Chapter 375 Chess Player (Part )

When the night incident happened, the entire right wing camp was in an uproar. The secret agents that Niu Cunjie and Yuan Xiangxian had colluded with beforehand were instigated and could not be suppressed.

The current chaos is very different from the one in Bianliang that night. The so-called rebel army in Bianliang at that time was just a group of ragged corvées who were led into the city, but the people who caused the rebellion tonight were armored and armed, and they could be said to be the elite of the world, the Daliang Imperial Guards.

The duties of the imperial guards have always been twofold: one is to guard the capital, and the other is to carry out military campaigns in accordance with imperial orders.

However, since the beginning of the mid-Tang Dynasty when the imperial guards frequently participated in coups, those in power began to feel uneasy about these imperial guards that were used to protect the capital. As a result, from the emperor to the governors-general, they would try their best to ensure their personal safety. The former would set up their own personal guards, while the latter would also form private armies. The more extreme ones would even set up so-called court armies.

Ultimately, this is because those in high positions are afraid and wary of the increasingly serious trend of subordinates rebelling against their superiors since the middle Tang Dynasty. After all, no one wants to wake up and find their head cut off and hung on the city wall, and their bed will have a new owner from then on.

Therefore, up to now, both the vassal army and the imperial army have become extremely deformed products of social customs. Although the generals and soldiers are brave, they have become a complete cancer in the nearly 100 years of decline. No matter how hard the authorities try to provide relief, rewards, and win them over, their appetites can never be satisfied. They will ask for more over and over again, and their appetites will become bigger and bigger, and their greed will continue to expand, so that when the person in charge can no longer be satisfied, they will rush to replace him with someone who can collect wealth and honor for them.

This is the Imperial Guard tonight.

To be honest, is Xiao Yan really harsh on them?

Not entirely true.

Xiao Yannang conquered the grasslands in Hebei and used all of the tens of thousands of horses he obtained to supplement the Imperial Guards, making up for the lack of cavalry in the Imperial Guards. He also gathered half of the world's wealth and spent nearly three million strings of cash on the army in one go. At that time, the profits were distributed among the armies. The Imperial Guards were almost the same as the Imperial Guards and even the Dingba and Guide armies. There was no change at all because of their previous loyalty to the Underworld Emperor.

But even so, when the fire broke out tonight, nearly 60% to 70% of the imperial guards, who had suffered a great injustice, were instantly instigated. Pan Qige, who was regarded as the leader, killed dozens of people who refused to be coerced into the rebellion, and led thousands of imperial guards to force their way into Luoyang city.

It has been like this for hundreds of years.

Even if Xiao Yan gave them generous salaries and favors, how many of these imperial guards who were infected with abnormal habits would benefit from it? Deep down, they would only think that this was a matter of course!
Outside the tent of the Left Wing Guards, Xiao Yan looked indifferently at the torches on the opposite bank that were like dragons, and countless soldiers and horses rushing towards Luoyang, with almost no emotion on his face.

"If the Dark Emperor's coup d'état succeeded, the Jin army would have already gone south. When the Liang and Jin fought, they would have crushed each other to death in Hedong. And this time the Shu army went north, and if Yang Shihou did nothing, the entire Guanzhong would be crushed to pieces! Who knows, the Jin or Shu people could even break into Bianliang and turn these guys' families into slaves!"

Ye Bushou, who was born as a bad man in Yanzhou, said angrily beside Xiao Yan: "Now the king is leading them to attack Shu and contain Jin, but it has become a wrong thing!"

The guards and generals who were lying on the ground with their heads bowed had sweat on their foreheads. Many of them were ready to make some moves, which could be seen from the fact that many of the guards' camps outside the main tent were in a state of unrest.

If Xiao Yan hadn't had some previous relationship with the imperial guards, if Xiao Yan hadn't placed people in the left wing in advance, if Xiao Yan hadn't come suddenly...

I'm afraid the imperial guards will also rebel.

There was no other reason, and it was not even hatred or disgust towards Xiao Yan himself.

If it really came to this, perhaps it was just that the imperial guards were unwilling to let the imperial guards get the big prize.

It doesn’t matter who is in charge above, what is important is who dominates the imperial city’s military system.

The Imperial Guards had not been colluded with Niu Cunjie and others before, because generals like Niu Cunjie belonged to the six army system of the Imperial Guards, and were naturally in two different camps from the Imperial Guards, which hindered each other.

But out of instinct, as soon as the Right Wing Imperial Guards left the camp after the riot, several generals on the Imperial Guards side also became eager to take action.

But after seeing with their own eyes that Xiao Yan, who should have been in a state of panic and trying to put down the chaos on all sides, suddenly sneaked into the left wing calmly to summon the generals, how many generals in the tent dared to move?

They didn't even dare to think about why Xiao Yan appeared here, or how tonight's events would turn out.

As for the question of whether Xiao Yan would be defeated... at this time, the guards and the generals looked at each other quietly, and finally they just lowered their heads, with only one thought in their minds.

That was the General Tian Ce who killed the Ghost King and the Underworld Emperor overnight and replaced him as the Emperor!
At the door of the big tent, Xiao Yan did not respond to the indignation of not collecting the food that night.

There seemed to be someone in the court manipulating things behind the scenes, and Yang Shihou himself wanted to compete with him.

A decision between him and court officials, the central government and the vassal states is inevitable and has become an arrow that is about to be shot. This is an internal worry that is more threatening than Jin, Shu, and even Yuan Tiangang!

They were unwilling to care about external threats, nor to cooperate with his orders. They just wanted to fight with him for wealth and fame. The attitude that Xiao Yan had tried his best to avoid before had become their ambition to go further. So why would Xiao Yan hesitate to fight?
The imperial guards are useless. Although they are brave and invincible, they are domineering and self-centered. They still think they can overthrow the court. They think they can mutiny without any reward. They think they are not allowed to plunder or massacre. They even think they are mutinous just because they can't stand their superiors. What's the point of keeping them?

Rather than letting this army exhaust countless of his resources, equipment, and food, and then stab him in the back in the end, it would be better to take advantage of this round to wipe them out once and for all!
Moreover, even until just now, Xiao Yan was giving them a chance. Ye Bushou shouted once, and the Hebei general in the camp shouted again, all of which were reminding these villains that as long as the imperial guards kept quiet tonight, or even just stood by and watched until dawn, then everything would be fine, and they might even get a generous reward from Xiao Yan.

Now that the opportunity has been given and the step has been offered, if he wants to compare the two, Xiao Yan wants to see how capable the Bianliang Imperial Guards are.

He turned around and did not go to the commander's seat. He just pressed his sword and said calmly: "Anyone who is loyal to this king can go here to command his subordinates to sit in the camp and wait for the daybreak. In addition, if there are those who want to see this king's defeat, this king will personally meet them in Luoyang City."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan turned around and left without any hesitation. Outside, Bago, who looked horrified, had already led his mount. But when Xiao Yan walked past her, she couldn't help but tense her face and bowed her head respectfully.

"go!"

The generals who were bowing their heads in the tent and had not yet stood up only heard Xiao Yan's light shout from outside, and then heard a series of horse hooves rumbling away, and they actually went away in an instant.

The surrendered minister who had been sitting lazily on the commander's seat looked at the people below and just snorted and laughed. After the generals waited stiffly for a long time and looked up, they found that she had disappeared quietly without knowing when.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Some looked behind them and saw that the inside and outside of the tent were incredibly clean, as if Xiao Yan had never been there from beginning to end. And those Ye Bushou, who were as ferocious as wolves and tigers and as ghostly as ghosts, disappeared without a trace.

Hearing the commotion in the camp outside, the generals remained in a stalemate for a long time without moving, and no one spoke first.

The tent is full of brave men, but no one dares to enter the city to watch the battle tonight.

------

The imperial guards swarmed into the city, first entering from the Jianchun Gate in the east city. After forcing the defenders on the city walls to open the gates, they immediately headed straight for the Prince of Song's mansion. Their momentum was so great that it was not inferior to the incident in Bianjing that night, and even surpassed it by a large margin.

Their shouts were heard from far away, echoing in the desolate city of Luoyang, so that the whole city could gradually hear the sound coming from near and far away.

Many court officials were startled in the night, and seemed to have finally reacted to the fire in Prince Song’s mansion. The confusion in their hearts gradually became clear.

Did someone really burn down the Song Palace and attack the White Horse Temple? Was the Song Prince Xiao Yan really going to fall?

Countless people stood up and leaned in front of their doors and windows, staring at what was happening outside. Most of them were not qualified to participate in the planning of Yang Shihou and Niu Cunjie.

But the Bianjing Incident was still before their eyes. Even though countless people knew that Xiao Yan was being held back by Yang Shihou, they were still deeply shocked. Just as countless court officials in Bianjing rushed to bow to Xiao Yan that night, countless people tonight did not dare to take this step lightly. In the Niu Mansion in the north of the city.

Although the Prince Song's Mansion was located deep in the south of the city, Niu Cunjie was still the first to receive the news as soon as the fire broke out.

After learning that the Guide Army in the east was rushing towards Luoyang without stopping, Niu Cunjie secretly sent people to contact Yuan Xiangxian and others for half a day. He returned home only after the evening. Unexpectedly, he heard about such a sudden change before he could even have a sip of hot soup.

Niu Cunjie was in a high position and was not an ordinary reckless man. He reacted suddenly to the fact that the Guide Army was marching eastward without anyone reminding him.

No, no…

They had no intention of launching an attack tonight. Even if Yang Shihou could not arrive as promised, even if they knew that the Guide Army was about to reach Luoyang, they would never act so hastily tonight!

They didn't set the fire!

This guy Xiao Yan is clearly trying to lure you into a trap!
Niu Cunjie immediately broke out in a sweat and sent all his trusted confidants out to pass on the message to Yuan Xiangxian and others. He had only one request, which was that no matter what the imperial guards did tonight, no one should take the bait!
Damn Xiao Yan, how dare he? How dare he launch all this when there were almost no troops around? Wasn't he really afraid that Yang Shihou would suddenly descend upon the city with his troops?

Niu Cunjie paced back and forth in the study room anxiously. He knew of course that it was impossible for Yang Shihou to arrive at the city of Luoyang so quickly, but he couldn't believe how Xiao Yan had the confidence to initiate all this!
He gnashed his teeth in anger, until he heard faint shouting from the south. His face changed drastically again and he hurried out of the study.

At the same time, someone was also walking quickly in from outside the door. It was the steward of the household guards who had been guarding outside the palace. When he saw Niu Cunjie from afar, he hurriedly said, "General, there has been a great change in the South City. The spies said that the Prince Song's Palace has been burned to ruins, and the imperial guards have swarmed into the city and are constantly approaching the imperial city, calling for the extermination of traitors. Please ask you, General Yuan and other princes in the court to take charge of the situation..."

Niu Cunjie's eyes went dark and he almost fell backwards. Fortunately, the general reacted quickly and walked over to hold him up.

Niu Cunjie's face immediately became ferocious, and veins on his hands bulged.

Is Xiao Yan really not afraid that the imperial guards will succeed in their mutiny and chop him to pieces?

While the two were talking, the noise from the south was getting closer and the sound became clearer and clearer. Even though he was in this tall house and deep courtyard, Niu Cunjie could clearly hear the roaring shouts coming from it.

"General Yang from Chang'an has come to help. The thief Xiao Yan has retreated to the imperial city and is trapped. All the soldiers have come to welcome the generals to lead us to fight against the thieves and join us in the great cause!"

Niu Cunjie's face darkened, and the family guards beside him were even more confused. They saw another guard from the mansion outside escorting a person hurriedly coming in. It was Niu Zhiye, the eldest son of the Niu family who had been sent out by Niu Cunjie not long ago. There was nothing they could do. At this critical juncture, Niu Cunjie was really short of people, and ordinary servants were not trusted by Yuan Xiangxian and other important people, so he had to send even his son out.

But when he saw Niu Zhiye leaving and coming back so quickly with a look of panic on his face, Niu Cunjie knew something was wrong and hurriedly asked him.

It turned out that Niu Zhiye had just been escorted by the guards to look for Li Ting, but when he arrived he saw that the door of Li Ting's mansion was closed and no one answered when he knocked. Niu Zhiye did not dare to delay and turned back in a hurry, but saw soldiers banging on the doors outside the generals' mansions in various places in the North Quarter, saying that they wanted to ask Niu Cunjie, Yuan Xiangxian and other generals of the imperial guards to preside over tonight's affairs, attack the imperial city and rescue the emperor and so on.

"When my son came back, there were soldiers running everywhere. Even outside of Marshal Yuan Jie's residence, there were people banging on the door. My son didn't dare to get harassed by them, so he had to turn back in a hurry." Niu Zhiye was obviously still in shock, and he was gasping for breath when he spoke.

"It's bad! These soldiers are definitely not from the Imperial Guards!" Niu Cunjie's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't care whether his son had escaped death or not, and hurriedly said fiercely: "Xiao Yan has such a vicious plan! He sent people to knock on doors everywhere to spread the news, which is obviously to blame us for the chaos. Who knows, the Imperial Guards will really be led to look for us. He is forcing us to jump into the fire pit!"

Niu Zhiye was at a loss for a moment, and subconsciously thought, even if Xiao Yan didn't send anyone to throw dirty water on him, would the imperial guards not come to look for you, Grandpa?
However, he soon thought of the consequences of this action. Niu Cunjie had just sent people everywhere to pass on the message to remind everyone not to take the bait. This time, Xiao Yan was so bold as to lead the imperial guards into the city. Even if everyone knew it was a trap, how could they not jump if they were forced to do so by the imperial guards?
What are the consequences of jumping?
Niu Zhiye's face turned pale. He no longer had the confidence that his father and several generals in the court could defeat Xiao Yan. He immediately broke out in a sweat and whispered hurriedly, "Grandpa, don't dare to fight Xiao Yan. He killed the Dark Emperor! I think it's best to leave before the imperial guards get here!"

At this time, his mind was full of rumors about Xiao Yan in the market. It was said that this fellow had a heart of a tiger and a wolf, and was a reckless person. In the past, in Bian Jing, he killed so many people for several days in a row that even the Bian River was dyed blood red. He was no longer suitable for human use.

Niu Zhiye usually lives in Luoyang. On the night of the Bian Jing mutiny, he was lucky enough to be in Luoyang to manage the Guanzhong family business for Niu Cunjie, so he had never experienced it personally. He used to be very disdainful of these rumors in the market, because he had specifically asked Niu Cunjie about the inside story, but the latter was also caught up in the chaos and was in a miserable state, so he was not willing to say more, so Niu Zhiye never thought that Xiao Yan was that scary.

Until this time, when all kinds of murderous intent were overwhelming and attacking them father and son, Niu Zhiye finally remembered these rumors, and now his back was covered with cold sweat.

He was afraid that he would become one of those whose heads would fall into the Luo River tomorrow, so he said anxiously, "Grandpa, there are still several good horses in the stables in the mansion, as well as carriages and veteran guards. Let's go to Chang'an and seek refuge with General Yang!"

The general next to him was obviously tempted, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at Niu Cunjie, waiting for the decision from his commander who had followed him for many years.

Niu Cunjie calmed down immediately, but under Niu Zhiye's expectant gaze, he shook his head with a sullen face: "No."

Niu Zhiye was so anxious that he almost jumped up and down: "Grandpa, you said Xiao Yan was well prepared. Luoyang is a pit of fire. If we don't flee to Chang'an at night, are we going to stay here and wait for death?"

Niu Cunjie glared at him fiercely, then said coldly with a dark face: "Xiao Yan dared to start this game and cause chaos among the imperial guards. It is obvious that he is targeting me and Yuan Xiangxian and other imperial guards. How can he let us get away?"

He calmly walked back and forth, thinking: "I have figured it out now. Xiao Yan will never give us a chance not to take the bait. The imperial guards outside the city are unaware of the inside story and have been instigated. We have previously sent people to contact the army. If the imperial guards fail, they can easily take us out. This is not something that can be resolved by whether we admit it or not!"

Niu Zhiye's face was as pale as paper, and his hands and feet were a little weak: "In this case, do we really have to wait for King Song to deal with us?"

“Waste…” Niu Cunjie opened his mouth to curse, but when the words came to his lips, he sighed again and continued: “After entering this situation, no matter what, Xiao Yan and I are already fighting to the death. Even if he doesn’t start, we will start a rebellion sooner or later. It’s just a matter of who wants whose life!”

As he spoke, he added fiercely, "And this is definitely not a situation where we must die! Even if Xiao Yan has a backup plan, if he dares to let the imperial guards into the city this time, we will have the strength to fight in Luoyang! The imperial guards can be used, and as long as they are promised huge benefits, we may be able to capture the imperial city! As long as we break into the city and enter the palace, we can hold Zhu Youzhen hostage. At that time, we can advance in the name of justice and call on the world to defend the king in the name of Zhu Youzhen. If we retreat, we can take Zhu Youzhen to Chang'an in the west!"

At this point, Niu Cunjie's eyes were already fierce. "At that time, we had Yang Shihou's support, Guanxi was our back, and Zhu Youzhen was in our hands. How could we not divide Daliang? Even if Xiao Yan restored the emperor to the throne, causing a war between Chang'an and Bianjing, at most Daliang would be turned into a wasteland!"

Niu Zhiye was stunned, but Niu Cunjie had obviously made up his mind and would not say anything more to him. He just asked his family to arrange people to protect his only son. If anything went wrong, he would immediately go west to seek refuge with Yang Shihou.

Niu Cunjie himself put on armor immediately, and personally led his trusted soldiers and generals out of the mansion to look for the imperial guards!

------

When a huge civil war was about to break out in Luoyang, there was the White Horse Temple, more than ten miles away from the eastern suburbs of Luoyang.

Xiao Yan had set a fire here before, which made the imperial guards think that someone was besieging the White Horse Temple to rescue Zhu Wen, so they rushed to help. However, when they arrived here, they found that there was no one in sight, and it was an empty temple.

However, the Right Dragon Wu Army, which had hurriedly marched all the way here, was not discouraged, because they discovered that there were many treasures representing the retired emperor in the temple, so they immediately put out the fire and saved the money. After all, even if they rushed back to Luoyang immediately, it would be too late, and there was no reason for them to go home empty-handed.

But just as the fire was extinguished, someone was alarmed and quickly called out to everyone to climb to a high place and look towards the east.

In the far east of the night sky, countless lights were seen lighting up like stars, illuminating the earth like a dancing fire dragon.

Every light represents a soldier, silently rolling eastward from the darkness.

These soldiers seemed endless, spreading out from south to north like waves, pressing towards Luoyang in constant ups and downs.

(End of this chapter)