The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 14 Dilemma
On the top of Chongxuan Tower, looking at the rebels retreating back to the camp, Li Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, this game of playing house would break Li Maozhen's big tooth.

It seems that this guy is not very good at controlling the soldiers.

I have never seen people like Li Keyong, Zhu Quanzhong, Yang Xingmi, Sun Ru, and Qin Zongquan, who often lost tens of thousands of people in a battle. When the Chengde army fought against Li Keyong, more than 30,000 of the 50,000 soldiers were killed, and the remaining remnants of the army retreated to Zhenzhou in an orderly manner, which shows their endurance.

The main thing is to keep your mind calm.

If the emperor doesn't run away, can't we still fight him?

"Good." Li Ye was in a good mood. He patted Wang Congxun on the shoulder and praised him generously: "What a brave warrior you are. It is a sin to let a pearl be covered in dust. If it were not for Mr. Liu's insight, I would have lost an arm! Read more military books, and one day you will be a general, a match for thousands of people, and a wealthy family."

Li Ye has made up his mind.

In the evening, he asked the eunuch to choose a simple palace maid to marry.

"In addition..." The emperor looked at the pile of corpses under the city and the frozen bodies of the Qi people, and said with compassion: "The country has a big thief, causing the people to die without a burial. I can't bear it. It is better to let the officials order the Qi people and the common people to be buried, seal them with coffins, and mourn their heads and bodies."

Soon, officials organized people to go out of the city and pick up the broken limbs and heads that were covered with snow on the ground and put them into bamboo baskets.

When the rebel brigade on the opposite side saw this, the noisy soldiers suddenly quieted down.

The comrades died in battle for the Marshal, but the Marshal did not collect the bodies, and the saint who was wronged actually showed mercy...

He thought that if he were to die under the city, the saint would arrange for officials to bury him properly.

Suddenly, some people began to feel ashamed.

Compared to the demoralized rebels, there was cheering in the city.

Yang Fugong, who had not seen the emperor for a long time since the coup failed, finally came to find Li Ye after a sigh. However, due to the presence of Ximen Chongsui and his gang of enemies, the master and servant did not talk closely. Yang Fugong was surrounded by soldiers and bowed to Li Ye from a distance. This guy has aged a lot, and is completely different from the strong man in his memory. His white hair has grown a lot.

"How is the Saint?" The old thief's voice sounded a little vicissitudes of life.

He knew that if the emperor had not been patient and forbearing, the government and the people would have already punished him.

Ximen and others did not mind joining forces to defeat him completely, chopping off his head and sending it to Li Maozhen as an apology.

"Not bad." Li Ye nodded and said deeply, "I still remember Junrong's contribution. Do you know what Junrong Li Maozhen wants from Shannan?"

"I understand." Yang Fugong's heart tightened.

Do we have to give Shannan to Li Maozhen in order to get the rebels to withdraw?

"Hahaha, what is Junrong thinking?" The emperor laughed and looked at him straight in the eye. "I mean, Shannan will never be given to Li Maozhen. Junrong has 600 fake sons, most of whom are military commanders. Now that Li Maozhen is entrenched in the capital, maybe he can use the outer residence to attack Fengxiang."

The Young Master Outer House is now under the control of Yang Fugong, which is also the main reason why the emperor is willing to shake hands and make peace.

If Yang Fugong had a sound mind, he should have ordered the towns of Shannan, Longjian, Wuding and others to raise troops and raid the bandits' den in Fengxiang.

"Don't worry, old slave."

He had already sent people to Hanzhong and Longzhou to contact his adopted sons. If nothing unexpected happened, several armies would have set out by now.

At this time, Li Ye looked at Ximen Chongsui again: "The rebels have their own ulterior motives, and are all waiting for their allies to come forward. If they work together, how can Chang'an be defended? During the siege today, the Qi bandits even staged a farce of killing their generals and mutinying before the battle. Their army is already in disarray. It would be better to issue an edict that whoever gets Li Maozhen's head will be rewarded as the governor of Fengxiang, so as to encourage his troops to rebel."

Ximen Chongsui glanced at the emperor, and he was surprised that the chaotic army not only did not scare the emperor, but instead brought out the emperor's courage.

It will definitely not be possible to issue this edict before it is issued.

But now?

Can go down.

The Qi army killed their generals and mutinied on the battlefield, and even forced Li Maozhen to retreat...

Needless to say, the prestige this guy gained through killing must have plummeted.

Be it the generals, the colonels in the yamen, or allies like Bining Wang Xingyu, how could they not have some ideas?

Looking around the world, how many Jiedushi came to power through reasonable and legal means?
In Hebei, there were some generals whose entire family was slaughtered for just one wrong word.

"Next." Ximen Chongsui made a decision quickly.

……

On the narrow path from Hanzhong to Fengxiang, the Leopard Army stopped.

The army had 3,000 cavalrymen, each with two mules, and more than 1,000 donkeys to transport supplies. Yang Shouliang, the governor of Shannan, made adjustments and transferred another 700 horses to increase the leg power, allowing them to quickly cross the Qinling Mountains and enter Fengxiang. He had just received a messenger from his adoptive father, saying: Li Maozhen's main force has gone to the capital, so we must attack quickly and not miss the opportunity!

This is a good opportunity to steal home.

The main force continued to walk slowly, swinging their hams.

Yang Shouliang, his adoptive father in the capital, was not very worried.

Chang'an City has high and thick walls. If it weren't too big, it would be a fortress comparable to Tongwan City. Although the Shen Ce Army is not strong enough to fight, they are numerous and powerful. Not to mention more than 70,000 strong men, even if more than 70,000 women stood on such a high and thick wall, they could knock out a few of Li Maozhen's teeth. Besides, would Li Maozhen dare to attack with all his strength? Wouldn't he be afraid of being stabbed if he lost his main force?

……

Outside Chang'an City.

Li Maozhen was anxious.

He thought that with the army at the gates of the city, the imperial court would be frightened and give in, meeting his demands. But who would have thought that the little emperor would not run away! This put him in a dilemma.

Keep fighting.

Not to mention that attacking Chang'an might arouse the high attention of Jin, Bian, Shaanxi and other towns in Guandong, and they might send envoys to question.

Even with the current morale of the army, they are unable to fight a tough battle. If they continue to launch a few more fierce attacks in the severe cold, won’t their subordinates chop off their heads in their dreams?

Li Maozhen felt very annoyed, and was worried that people like Wang Xingyu would take advantage of the opportunity to attack him.

Let’s not fight.

He went to the enemy station with all his might to call for an accusation, but ended up running away in disgrace without getting anything. Isn't that really contemptible?

It would be great if the emperor would accept the proposal and grant him an imperial decree.

It would be much better to withdraw the troops in an open and honest manner than to be in a dilemma as we are now.

"Hey!"

Li Maozhen couldn't help but stamp his feet.

The biggest mistake was that he did not expect the emperor to be so strong, so he just sat in the city and waited for him.

This Li kid is really capable of causing trouble!
Li Maozhen secretly swore not to fall into his hands, otherwise he would torture the emperor in every way to vent his hatred today!
"Marshal." Suddenly an aide came in.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly!" Li Maozhen became even more furious when he was seen getting angry and embarrassed, and kicked him.

The aide cursed in his heart, got up from the ground, and said, "The court has issued three edicts to shoot out of the city with arrows."

"Read!"

The staff looked at the contents on the silk and hesitated to speak: "Zhong, Zhongshu..."

"I told you to read it!!!" Li Maozhen grabbed the aide's neck, spitting saliva: "If you provoke me, I will cook you alive, you corrupt scholar!"

"The Secretariat: All the officers and soldiers from all over the country and abroad who have submitted reports, Li Maozhen's crime should be punished by the execution of his entire family, and his descendants should be exterminated. Whoever gets Maozhen's head will be rewarded as the governor of Fengxiang!" the aide read out in one breath.

"anything else."

"Appoint Wang Xingyu as General of the Cavalry, appoint him as Prime Minister, grant him the purple robe, and concurrently make him Prime Minister."

"Collect the fallen warriors from the four towns."

……

Upon hearing this, Li Maozhen slumped to the ground.

There is a shortage of equipment, morale is low, and the allies' wishes have been satisfied by the court. Can this war continue?

He suddenly remembered the staff who opposed him when he started the rebellion: "The virtue of the land is not yet satisfied, and the guests are not convinced. How can you ask about the weight of the tripod? I think the general will not take it!"

It's a pity that he was cooked to death.

Li Maozhen really feels a little regretful now. Maybe he should listen to what those two people say.

After taking a walk around the military camp, I felt very disappointed.

The soldiers huddled in their tents, shouting like thunder, or sat on the ground, making noise and yelling, and their superiors were unable to control them.

Some people even kept shouting to just go back to Fengxiang.

Li Maozhen had only been in Fengxiang for a few years, and he still relied on his status in the court.

If he can operate for another ten years, or if he succeeds in humiliating the royal family this time, killing the prime minister, killing the eunuchs, and taking Shannan, he can also become famous and make those villains put away their dirty thoughts and behave themselves.

Unfortunately, he failed to do so and was looked down upon instead.

"Father is handsome."

The eldest son, Li Congyan, came closer with fear in his heart: "The emperor refuses to submit, and Wang Xingyu and his ilk cannot be trusted. Things are already difficult to deal with. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid someone will cause chaos and want my father and I's heads..."

At this point, Li Congyan lowered his voice and said, "Why don't you gather your trusted brothers and move camp quickly in the second half of the night? My father and I will leave soon and go back to Fengxiang first. As long as we have the mountains, we will not be afraid of running out of firewood. We will prepare our troops for two or three years and then come to Chang'an to teach the little emperor to make my father the King of Qi. What do you think?"

"You!" Li Maozhen was a little surprised.

My son is no longer of the same mind!
"Urgent report!" Just as he was hesitating, another military school officer arrived and whispered, "Marshal, Wang Xingyu is about to escape."

Alas, he knew that Wang Xingyu would find it hard to believe, and he couldn't help but pout and curse: "You ruined my plan!"

……

In the Bin army camp, Wang Xingyu spread out a map on a sheepskin blanket, with a dozen of his confidants surrounding him. Someone asked tentatively, "Looking for an opportunity, have you killed Li Maozhen?"

Wang Xingyu remained silent and ran his finger across the map.

I wonder which way Li Maozhen will take when he returns.

I really want to do something big.

(End of this chapter)