The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 103 Crisis

Junyi County.

The atmosphere in Juxian Town was grim at the moment. Soldiers were ordered to stay in the camp, not to gather or talk. But the brave ones gathered together and lowered their voices: "Have you heard? Someone just rebelled and sneaked into the official residence while the military envoy was sleeping, and wanted to borrow his head!"

"There are quite a few of those mutinous guards."

"I heard that the king has committed a crime against heaven, and that General Ge has been appointed as the governor...why not find an opportunity to bring him into the city as a military governor?"

"Hush!" The Bian soldiers nearby gasped and cursed, "Do the commander Li Tang and the instructor of the cavalry and infantry Zhu Zhen know about this? They were secretly plotting rebellion and were beheaded by the king. Do you want to die? How dare you say such a thing?"

The soldiers still remember several massacres vividly. A large number of generals, including Li Chongyin, Li Tang, and Huang Huazi, were accused of unfounded crimes and all executed. The most serious one was when the king suspected that Zhu Zhen, the veteran coach who had established the military system and selected generals and trained soldiers for him for ten years, had rebellious intentions. He killed him despite everyone's pleading, causing a sensation in the city and everyone who heard about it was indignant.

"Don't say anything, Du Yuhou is here with an axe to patrol the camp and enforce the law!" A Bian soldier who was on the lookout said as he came in, crouching down.

The soldiers dispersed and pretended to take a nap under their covers.

……

Inside the general's hall, Ge Congzhou took off his bloodstained fish scale armor, kicked the stumps and broken arms on the ground, and panted like a cow: "As soon as the imperial edict arrived, someone tried to murder me. You heartless people, I treated you as my brothers and sisters, and this is how you repay me?"

The officers and officials who came were dumbfounded and dared not say a word. The generals’ beds and other things moved for no reason. The generals’ clothes were covered with blood and sweat for no reason. The flags were broken for no reason. The generals were startled for no reason, sighing and crying. The generals turned back for no reason; all these were signs that the subordinates wanted to overthrow the superiors, and the conspiracy had already been accomplished!

The adopted son Xie Yanzhang counted and found that there were seventeen bodies in the house. Seventeen of the personal soldiers were so greedy that they wanted to take the master's head and offer it as a sacrifice...

"What a bunch of idiots!" You Ya drew out his knife and chopped hard, cursing angrily.

Xie Yanzhang looked at Ge Congzhou and sighed inwardly.

In the Dashun year, Li Keyong was dismissed from his post by imperial decree, and the imperial decree arrived in Taiyuan in May. Ten days later, the news reached Zhaoyi Town, and the Luzhou garrison was in turmoil, so they killed their leader Li Kegong and presented his head to Chang'an. Li Keyong immediately sent troops to suppress the rebellion, and at the same time appointed his trusted confidant An Jian as governor. As a result, An Jian rebelled again within two days of taking office, and submitted a petition to surrender the three states...

At this moment, the decree deposing the king arrived in Bianzhou yesterday, and today the personal soldiers have plotted to capture the generals. Is the king's order so intimidating?

To be honest, he personally didn't feel anything. We were all veteran warriors who had emerged from a sea of blood and corpses. We only believed in bravery and strength. The so-called saints in the imperial court were not something we should be afraid of.

But now it seems that a piece of paper could cause a disaster. The king, himself, and the civil and military officials of the shogunate know the strengths and weaknesses of the court and are not afraid. But the stupid lower-class warriors and the people may not understand. After being ruled by the Li family for nearly three hundred years, who dares to assert many things? Should we say that the people of King Bian are not attached to him, or should we say that the Tang Dynasty has not ended and the prestige of the saints is still there?

Xie Yanzhang sighed.

"Last night I dreamt of two big bugs catching me..." Ge Congzhou tore up his hair and twisted the bone and blood clots stuck on it, muttering to himself, "Sure enough, someone started a riot early in the morning. Humph, seeing the imperial edict promising a reward of ten thousand households, they became greedy and wanted to steal my head and run away. Such a simple plot to sow discord, and someone fell for it? Spread the word, anyone who discusses the contents of the imperial edict again will be killed."

"Yes." The generals quickly expressed their opinions.

Ge Congzhou pointed to the corpses scattered all over the ground and said, "Report this to the military headquarters and execute the wives, children and families of these 17 thieves."

"Yes." The civil servant stammered.

"Let's all go back and restore the morale of the army. Before the New Year, Prince Bian should lead his troops into the court to eliminate the evil around the emperor." Ge Congzhou lay down tiredly.

After so many years in the army, I fought from Henan to Jingxiang, from Jingxiang to Guangzhou, from Lingnan to Guanzhong, and from Guanzhong to Henan...

After half a lifetime of fighting and killing, I am sick and terrified. I don't know what I am trying to achieve. Others think they are invincible and the bravest of all generals. But every time they hear a little noise in the middle of the night, they wake up in panic and look around. Isn't it also a panic?

My subordinates are afraid of me, and I am afraid of my subordinates too.

In this world, when will the killing stop and when will we be able to sleep peacefully.

King Bian is really out of his mind! What does it have to do with you if the saint marries a Shatuo woman?

They are in league with the Shatuo bandits, but I remain unmoved. No matter how many schemes they come up with, I will stick to my duty as a minister and cultivate my hegemony. When my martial arts are perfected, I will go out to pacify Taiyuan and destroy the Shatuo. Without the support of the Li bandits, no matter how many waves the saint can stir up, what can he do? Now he has rashly challenged them, stopped tribute and taxes, cut off the grain transport, and made rude remarks, which has caused the imperial edict to punish him. The whole city is in turmoil. Is it interesting?

Don't forget how you started your family!
His ambition is getting bigger and bigger. He dared to fight Qin Zongquan with only 800 men, and he wanted to control the court with 150,000 troops. If King Bian was given 300,000 troops, he would have killed the emperor and called himself Zhu Sheng! How could King Bian be so confident when King Huang couldn't do it with a million men? Maybe the prostitutes made him stupid.

Yes, Ge Congzhou had already seen through Prince Bian's hobby.

Although Prince Bian hid himself very well, the look in his eyes when he looked at the wives and daughters of his subordinates, the wives and concubines of his sons... Moreover, every time he defeated the enemy and captured the wife and daughter of the enemy, Prince Bian would invite a few trusted subordinates to play with them secretly, and then kill them with a knife after they were done, so as to prevent his wife from finding out. If his wife unfortunately died early one day, who would be able to control him?
At that time, it is possible that someone with ulterior motives would use this weakness to set a trap and kill him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say these words. Zhu Zhen had followed King Bian for many years and had made great contributions. Without his constant support, would King Bian have been able to build such a great foundation today? However, because of his high prestige in the army, he aroused the king's suspicion and was strangled to death like a dog. How mean, how ruthless; Ge Congzhou didn't want to persuade him, there was no need to bring bad luck upon himself.

……

In the palace-like garden, Zhu Wen was discussing matters.

He was very angry when more than 300 people including Wei Zhen and Pei Zhu from the Jinzouyuan were killed by bandits in Lantian County, because he knew without asking that it was the lowly Shatuo bandits who did it. This was also the third time that a Jinzou official was assassinated by the Jin people. The two towns never stopped fighting in Chang'an. They infiltrated each other and killed each other, turning the capital into a second battlefield.

But he was not sad.

Why should he feel sorry for the literati? Last year, when an aide said something wrong, he beat all the 30 clerks present to death. Of course, he still cherished the literati like Jing Xiang, Li Zhen, and Zhao Jing who were talented, could understand his mind, and knew how to give him a good hand. Therefore, he shed a few sad tears for Wei Zhen and others, so as not to let everyone think he was cold-blooded.

"Give them good relief and give each of them 500 pieces of Shu brocade, and let them express my condolences to their families on my behalf." Zhu Wen wiped his bloodshot eyes and gave the order.

The clerk at the side quickly wrote it down.

"Your Majesty." Although Zhu Wen had been stripped of all his official titles and positions, he was still known as a general in the Xuanwu Army. Jing Xiang comforted Zhu Wen for a few words and carefully brought the topic to the point: "The emperor ordered Zhu Xuan of Yuncheng to be the Eastern Recruiting Envoy, and Zhu Jin of Yanzhou to be his deputy. The emperor ordered Li Keyong to be the Northern Recruiting Envoy. Wang Chongying to be the Western Recruiting Envoy. Zhao Kuangning of Xiangyang to be the Southern Recruiting Envoy. The troops from all the routes are ordered to advance and retreat, and to join forces to attack..."

Zhu Wen sat still, his expression calm.

Afraid? A senior official who had served as the chief military officer of the southeastern camps of the Qi Dynasty and was personally welcomed by Huang Chao at Bashang, what was he afraid of? When Qin Zongquan led 500,000 Cai bandits to the city, he remained calm and responded calmly. The only thing that surprised him was that the saint was not as kind as his short-lived brother. He was not on the right track at all, and he got angry and mad at the slightest threat, which was in line with his age.

As for the official positions and titles that have been revoked, do not panic.

Once he entered Chang'an, he would have to pay back everything the sage had done to him, and even more. He would also have to report his sins to his face. As long as he won, he would still be a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty. If he was the strongest, he would be the most loyal minister in the world.

"What is One-Eyed Dragon doing recently?" Concentrating his mind, Zhu Wen led the meeting.

"When he heard that Zhao was about to be attacked, he withdrew his troops with the help of the Saint. Now he has fallen out with his adopted son Li Cunxiao and is probably planning to march south to Zhaoyi. But when he heard that the Saint had sent a letter personally, Li Keyong will not be able to make up his mind in a short time." Jing Xiang replied.

"Li Cunxiao is a mixed Hu from the north of Dai. His martial arts are the best among the officials. In the past, when the troops from various routes besieged Chang'an, he chased and killed tens of thousands of bandits with only a few hundred cavalry. Even if Xiang Yu, Murong Chui, and Erzhu Rong were resurrected, they would not be able to do more than this." Zhu Wen sighed with a look of nostalgia, "And is Luzhou so easy to attack? If the one-eyed dragon is not crazy, it would be best to send his wife and children into the city to persuade Li Cunxiao to turn back."

At this point, the situation between Chang'an and Bianzhou was shrouded in dark clouds, and war was imminent. The one-eyed dragon had always boasted that his father and son had been three generations, had received favors from four dynasties, had defeated Pang Xun, cut off Huang Chao, suppressed Daibei, and deposed King Xiang, and that he could save his master in times of trouble. As long as Li Cunxiao didn't go too far, the one-eyed dragon would not have the time to kill his son.

This made Zhu Wen feel very unhappy.

It seems that we have to fight for the saint again this time. That's fine, whoever wins will get the saint.

"Li Keyong is not available." Jing Xiang flipped through the documents and said, "The Datong Army and Youzhou in the north are eyeing Daibei and treating Li Keyong as a straw hat. If Li Keyong leads the main force to enter the pass to defend the king, isn't he afraid that the Youzhou bandits will rob him of the old and weak in Daibei?"

Never count on the integrity of the Youzhou soldiers!
Bohai people, Koreans, Khitans, Turks, Uighurs, Tuyuhun, Li Keyong, Henghai, there is no one that the Youzhou soldiers dare not rob. Or it can be said that the more than 100,000 killers in Youzhou are a group of Han people mixed in with the mixed Hu. The situation of Youzhou can be seen from the towns under it in Hebei. Du Mu once said: "Both places have many good fields and horses. When I was 20 years old, I didn't know that there were ancient people called Zhou Gong and Confucius. Playing shuttlecock and drinking, shooting rabbits on horseback. Language and customs; nothing but attack and defense.

Common people didn’t know who Zhou Gong and Confucius were. People talked about how to kill people every day. Groups of children played the role of Jiedushi and Yabing in the streets, fighting each other with wooden sticks, practicing “making noise” and “making trouble”. It was such a place that Yelu Deguang invaded in later generations. He was beaten and fled on a camel. It was very reasonable!
Having said that, facing the Youzhou soldiers, a group of desperate bandits with the worst military discipline and Helian Duo, his mortal enemy, would Li Keyong dare to send out all his troops?

"It's best if the one-eyed man doesn't come. If he comes, just beat him up." Zhu Wen didn't care much about this man. But he was a little worried about Hezhong Town, which was adjacent to the pass.

"Guardian dog." Jing Xiang laughed. Hezhong has formed a habit of neutrality since Wang Chongrong. In the Dashun year, the imperial court attacked Li Keyong, and the two sides fought each other in the territory, but Hezhong did not say a word. They also specially took out Jin and Jiang states as battlefields: fight here, don't go anywhere else; it was quite like the style of the Qing Dynasty in the Russo-Japanese War.

Zhu Wen said nothing. Hezhong had already married the Saint under the matchmaking of Li Keyong, and it was possible that they would send troops this time. But it was definitely not for the Saint, but to prevent him from taking advantage of the situation to attack the states in Hezhong.

However, he had some friendship with He Zhong. In order to save his life, he found Wang Zhongrong, who was a few years younger than him, as a backer and called him his uncle.

"Send an envoy to Puzhou and tell Wang Chongying that my intention is Chang'an, but I only want to go to the court to kill the treacherous ministers who have misled the sage. If you don't pay attention to other things, nothing will happen to the sage." After a little thought, Zhu Wen ordered.

The clerk on the side took notes.

"No, bring some more gifts and specialties. I heard that Wang Chongying is ill? Get some precious medicinal herbs as well." Zhu Wen added.

The clerk added.

"Send envoys to Yun and Yan..." Zhu Wen suddenly paused, looking ashamed. In the past, he was beaten by Qin Zongquan and could not raise his head. It was the brothers Xuan and Jin who generously came to his rescue and saved his position as commander. Zhu Wen was very moved and burned incense with Xuan and Jin to become sworn brothers. But he turned around and set his sights on his sworn brother's property and wife and daughter.

"Marshal..." Jing Xiang reminded Zhu Wen when he saw him silent.

"Well, send an envoy as well. I'll write another private letter." Zhu Wen sighed. He had to kill his brother's family as soon as possible, otherwise he would always be in trouble no matter what he did.

"The key to entering Chang'an this time is Hezhong and Hedong. If we injure the one-eyed dragon and subdue Hezhong, the imperial guards will not be a threat." Zhu Wen recalled and confirmed: "The imperial court only has more than 40,000 guards in the cavalry and infantry divisions?"

"Let me see." Li Zhen searched for a while in a pile of official documents, opened two secret reports and said, "The Cavalry Department has 15 divisions of light and heavy cavalry with more than 15000 soldiers. The Infantry Department has more than 20 divisions, about 22000 people, and their combat effectiveness is not bad."

"There are also more than 6000 Yaowu troops under Li Sizhou, a member of the imperial clan, more than 2000 Shangchen troops under Li Yanzhen, and more than 3000 troops under the two armies of Xie Jun and Fei Zhongkang, the surrendered generals from Tongzhou, who are still besieging the city of Dali."

"We have been besieging them for so long but still haven't taken them down?" Zhu Wen sneered, "These people are not working hard at all. Can the Saint count on them?"

"The total number of infantry is 33000, and the number of cavalry is 15000. In addition, there are new foreign troops, all of whom are newly trained farmers." Li Zhen concluded his speech.

I heard that the Saint has also mobilized more than 10,000 elite soldiers from the various towns in the northwest of Beijing, but it is definitely difficult for them to fight for him in a short period of time. If they are not careful, they may cause chaos. These people may still become a strong support. As long as the main force of the Saint is defeated, the possibility of defection is very high; there is no need to count them as imaginary enemies.

"Good." Zhu Wen stood up and gave the final order in high spirits.

"Order Ding Hui and Zhu Youyu to lead 20,000 troops to station in Puzhou to defend against invasions from Yan and Yun."

"Send an envoy to the front line of Xuzhou and order Pang Shigu to divide the 5,000 soldiers besieging the city as a mobile force to prepare for a secret attack."

"Send an envoy to Luoyang and order Zhang Quanyi to guard the three cities carefully to prevent the Shatuo bandits from invading."

"Send an envoy to Wuchang Army and order Du Hong, the governor of Eyue, to organize the troops, horses, and food supplies, and send no less than 6,000 soldiers."

"Send an envoy to Yecheng and order Wei commander Luo Hongxin to prepare money and goods, no less than 500,000 shi of grain. Tell him to wait until he reaches Chang'an and present him as King of Wei."

"Send an envoy to Chenzhou and order Zhao Chang of the Zhongwu Army to send out no less than 10,000 troops."

"Send an envoy to Huazhou and order Hu Zhen of the Yicheng Army to lead his troops into Bian and choose a day to follow me to the battle."

"Call the troops of Yanei Tingzi, Luoyan, Changjian, Konghe, Changzhi, Tieqi, Tabai, Bashan, Wude, and Tianxing. Those who are on leave must return to the camp tomorrow. Those who fail to do so will be executed. Except for the troops I lead personally, the rest must gather at Xin'an."

The clerk continued to record.

"In Shanzhou, tell Wang Gong not to panic and just get out of the way. I won't cause any trouble for him."

"Ziqing Wang Shifan, have you replied?" Although this boy is naughty and obsessed with poetry, calligraphy and painting all day long, he is powerful and has nearly 100,000 soldiers. Fortunately, he has no ambition, otherwise it would be a problem.

"Marshal Wang said that he has no objection to killing the traitor, but nothing can happen to the saint, the palace cannot be burned, and revenge on ministers is not allowed," Li Zhen replied.

"Where is Zhao Kuangning from Xiangyang?"

"The envoy was..." Li Zhen was still frightened and said with difficulty: "When the king heard that he wanted to enter Chang'an, the envoy was cooked and eaten by the children of the Zhao family. Zhao Kuangning sent back an arm for the king to taste... In addition, he has sent his brother Zhao Kuangming and more than ten people, leading more than 3,000 guards to enter the pass to protect the king."

"God damn Cai the thief!" Zhu Wen could not help cursing, "After we have taken control of Guanzhong, we will have to conquer this bastard."

"Where's the gold merchant?"

"Feng Xingxi killed the envoy and sent his head to Chang'an." Li Zhen was a little angry. This guy was ordered to go to the court, but he didn't dare to resist and went obediently, and even left his children in the capital as hostages. Is he that scared?
"Forget it!" Zhu Wen had never counted on these fence-sitters.

Outside the official residence, the heavy snow had already covered Bianliang in silver.

The current turmoil is very similar to the one when the court fell out with Wang Chongrong. Last time, the imperial guards turned against the emperor, killed the sage, re-established the false emperor, burned the imperial city, and the towns in the northwest of Beijing fought each other. What about this time?

I don't know how Jin Sheng will respond.

A saint who crawls into women's crotches and relies on licking Shatuo women to make them feel good is truly incompetent.

……

Hanoi, Huaizhou.

"Crack!" The old woman's head rolled on the snow and was kicked away by the beast soldiers.

The little girl was punched so hard that her nose was bleeding. She was pressed to the ground, her hollow and clear eyes staring at the burning thatched hut in front of her, letting the beast soldier on her body gallop.

"Sister!" the brother cried out in pain.

"Puff!" With a chop of the knife, the brother's head rolled to the side of the little girl's palm.

"Hahahaha!" Along with the beast soldiers' wild laughter, my naked pregnant sister-in-law's belly was cut open, and the bloody outline of her body was pulled out by the beast soldiers.

"Woo--" The husband was kicked and beaten and taken away. The beast soldiers threw him a shoulder pole and asked him to carry the valuables.

"Da da da!" A large group of black-clad cavalrymen splashed snow all over the sky as they galloped past, causing the infantry to wave their swords and curse.

The hamlet was surrounded.

The hamlet was burned.

The hamlet is gone.

A huge number of people from Jin are heading south.

Li Hanzhi had already left Tianjing Pass. He was a vanguard appointed by Li Keyong, whose mission was to go to Heyang to find food and rob Zhang Quanyi, an ally of the Bian bandits.

After entering Huaizhou, Li Han ordered to collect grain on the spot. The obedient and strong ones were assigned as auxiliary soldiers to carry the load. The rest were used as food. The young ones were given to the guards and scouts, and the old ones were distributed to the ordinary soldiers.

Anyway, leave nothing behind. Kill them all, burn them all, rob them all! Make sure that Zhang Quanyi can't provide anything to Zhu Wen.

Another way.

Zhou Dewei led several thousand Tielin troops into Jiangzhou, and his deputy was Li Siyuan, the general of Hengchong. There were also generals such as Yang Shouzong, Shi Yan, and Li Chengsi, each with more than a thousand soldiers. Their mission was to collect salt from Anyi. Really, Wang Chongying proposed in advance, give you 100,000 buckets of salt, don't rob. Li Keyong agreed, and then let Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan, two civilized people, lead the army.

After receiving the salt, they will go south to Shanzhou and fight flexibly. They will kill any Bian bandit scouts and rob any horse teams transporting grain. They will also monitor Wang Gong, the governor of Shanguo, to prevent this cruel warlord from joining forces with Zhu Wen. When the main force of the Bian army arrives, they will retreat to Tongguan.

In Luoyang, Zhang Quanyi also took action and personally led an army of 8,000 to station in Mianchi to prepare for Prince Bian's death.

On the third day of the eleventh month of the first year of Jingfu, with the wind howling and the snow roaring, Zhu Wen, with Yanei's long sword and the main forces of the cavalry and infantry troops, had passed Luoyang.

On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Yang Shihou, one of the ten Bian cavalry generals, rushed to Shihao Village and engaged in a battle with the Jin scouts.

The towns controlled by the Bian people still had a large number of troops, horses and food supplies to be reorganized, and a bloody battle centered on Tongguan and Shanzhou was inevitable.

……

Most common people and officials in Chang'an were immersed in the atmosphere of the upcoming winter solstice, hoping for good weather and no war in the coming year. However, undercurrents were surging among the top leaders, and people were in panic. Letters were passed to the Privy Council, and ministers stood in front of the Xuanzheng Gate. Many middle and lower-level officials resigned and fled with their families, citing old age and illness as excuses.

"He who destroys the country must be the last one to come to power."

"The country, after the chaos, wants to make a heroic move, challenge the strong enemy, and alienate the hearts of the princes. I see that it is in turmoil!"

"A tyrant, a tyrant!"

"This is a critical moment for a dictator who has absolute power!"

　Six thousand words, updated twice a week! Vote! Give me some more rewards, otherwise I really can't defeat Quan Zhong. If you are smart, you can contribute a strategy on how to resist Quan Zhong. For specific strategies, don't just talk about the dangers of Tongguan.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)