The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 30 Tongguan Road inside and outside the mountains and rivers

At dusk, the wind dies down, the snow has just cleared but the weather is still cold, the mountains and rivers are desolate, and people are walking on the road with dim lights.

Ten miles east of Tongguan, under a big willow tree outside Changshui Posthouse.

The Crown Prince's Assistant Jingxiang straightened his red robe and was about to tell his followers to go to the post station to rest for a night.

The post system was extremely developed in the Tang Dynasty. The Ministry of War had a Langzhong in charge of post stations across the country. There were more than 1,600 post stations, seven straight post roads, and seven commercial routes connecting various places. The fastest speed of envoys could reach 300 miles per day. When Cen Shen went to the Western Regions to take up his post, he left Xianyang at dawn and arrived at the top of Longshan Mountain in the evening. Passing by one post station after another, the cavalry officials were like shooting stars, which was a spectacular sight.

Since Qianfu, wars have been frequent. Due to military needs, the princes of various places have attached more importance to the post stations. This time, Jingxiang went to the court to offer money and goods to the emperor. He rode his horse every ten miles and whipped his horse every five miles. It took him half a day to reach Tongguan from Luoyang.

Of course, the large team was not so fast. The amount of supplies was huge, and Zhu Quanzhong sent his generals to lead 3,000 cavalry and infantry to escort them, which was relatively slow.

During this New Year celebration, Zhu Quanzhong presented the emperor with 270,000 pieces of silk, more than 30,000 stones of grain, more than 20,000 heads of livestock, and 100,000 buckets of salt. Of course, he had the strength to do so. Now Heshuo was afraid of Li Keyong's invasion and all paid him protection fees. Wei Bo, which had always been arrogant, was severely hit by the Bian army and also gritted his teeth to pay money to Zhu Quanzhong.

The towns of Yun, Qi and Xu in the east were also forced to flee by the Bian army. In addition, the Xuanwu army had good governance, so the people of Bian became rich.

With so much money and treasure, Zhu Quanzhong was worried about being robbed on the road, so he sent soldiers to escort the supplies along the fortress. As an envoy, Jing Xiang had other important tasks to attend to, so the journey was arranged quite urgently.

As for what happened.

Could it be that all that wealth was given to the emperor for free? You must know that the King of Bian only takes in, not gives out.

This time, he brought a huge sum of money to the court to ask for the post of Jiangnan Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner on behalf of Zhu Quanzhong, and asked the court to move the Jianghuai Transportation Office to Bianzhou. At the same time, he asked the court to agree that Bian people would concurrently lead the three towns of Zibo and Qinghai, and summoned the powerful enemy, Wuning Army Jiedushi Shi Pu, to the court.

Although it was a bit of a lion's mouth, Jing Xiang believed that for the sake of wealth, the heads of the Southern and Northern Courts would agree with tears in their eyes. As for whether the emperor and most of the ministers objected or not, it was not important.

They don't have the final say on military and national affairs.

"It's so cold." Jing Xiang took off his hat and raincoat and handed them to the accompanying officials. He shook the clothes and was about to go into the post station to warm himself by the fire and eat.

Suddenly, a noisy voice came into my ears from afar.

The followers looked up.

Under the setting sun, a group of cavalrymen with crossbows and arrows on their armor came galloping with lances, running for their lives. Behind them were warriors who had thrown away their armor and helmets, and they were all in a state of despair. The chaos was so endless that it was like a black tide.

Shouts came and went.

"Tongguan has been breached! Wang Congxun is coming to kill us!"

"Han Jian has harmed us, my men, please run away as soon as possible!"

"..."

The Bianzhou envoy was horrified, and the accompanying military officers quickly formed a formation for self-defense and urged Jing Xiang to get into the station and take shelter.

"What's going on?" Jing Xiang was not very panicked. While walking into the post station, he grabbed a postman and asked.

Unexpectedly, the postman was calmer. Looking at Jingxiang's attire and hearing his attendant's unique accent, he asked, "Is he the envoy from Guandong going to Chang'an?"

"Exactly."

"Hey, what could it be!" The postman shrugged and pointed at the soldiers running by on the road: "Han Jian, the national defense army, was attacked by the imperial court. The royal army has been besieging Tongguan for quite a while. Every day, there are soldiers from Huazhou fleeing and passing by."

He looked at the fleeing soldiers outside and said, "There are so many of them today. It must be because the royal army has broken into the city, right?"

The horse officer also came over and called out to the Bianzhou warriors: "Put them all away. The chaotic soldiers are in a hurry to escape and have no time to come to us."

But no.

Changshui Posthouse is less than ten miles away from Tongguan Tower. Only the defeated soldiers who don't want to live would come to the posthouse.

"The world is in chaos, alas." Jing Xiang reluctantly breathed a sigh of relief, sat down behind the table, threw a string of copper coins to the clerk, and sighed: "I don't know when we can enter the pass? I have to leave tomorrow. If I can't get in, can you send an experienced guide to take us through the small road?"

The clerk smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, my lord. I will take care of it."

Jing Xiang was speechless.

He was more worried about the large team behind him. If the supplies could not arrive in Beijing on time, he would not be able to speak with confidence.

An attendant at the side also complained: "The imperial court is really something! Not only did they attack Shu and Jin, but they also caused trouble inside the pass. It really makes us worry."

"Haha." The clerk cleaned up the table and said with a smile, "Han Jian followed the Qi people to invade the imperial court a few years ago, and then he plotted to murder the prime minister in the capital and spied on the secrets of the court. He brought this upon himself."

Jing Xiang waved his hand and told his followers in a somewhat irritable tone: "Go to bed early after dinner, get up at dawn, and take the small road to enter the customs."

……

Tongguan Tower.

The whole mountain was filled with soldiers, and catapults were constantly throwing stones at the upper floors. There were also piles of dry firewood and pine hair, which were doused with kerosene and rolled towards the city gate. The raging fire went straight up, and Ximen Chongsui kept urging his soldiers to continue pushing the balls to increase the fire. The state defense army was in chaos, crying, howling, cursing, and running around everywhere, and could no longer form an effective defense.

"I can't hold it anymore...I can't hold it anymore..."

From time to time, someone would fall down, screaming and dancing.

The sound of killing shook the sky.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow hit Wang Congxun's head, and he suddenly felt dizzy. He took off his helmet and threw it away.

Suddenly, he stepped forward.

"Who told you to come back?" Wang Congxun held the knife, his eyes bloodshot, staring at the group of soldiers who were retreating.

Several people stared at Wang Congxun without giving in, and shouted: "We don't want to attack the city and die!"

Another lieutenant raised his arm and said, "Tianwei Army men, tell me, do you want to attack the city?"

"No, I don't want to!"

Wang Congxun was furious and cursed: "When I went to war, I took so much wealth from the saint and gave it to you thieves..."

Before he could finish, a soldier drew his sword and chopped at him: "Men, kill this fellow!"

when!
Wang Congxun blocked with the knife in both hands and crossed his feet in a figure eight position.

boom.

With a dull thud, Wang Congxun threw the knife with both hands and pounced on the young officer to the ground like a hungry wolf snatching food.

Wang Congxun succeeded in his attack and reached out to pull out the dagger from the lieutenant's waist, which suddenly flashed with a cold light.

kill him.

kill him!

The soldiers under Wang Congxun started to make a loud noise.

Amid the dense gazes, Wang Congxun grabbed the young officer's head and held it in his arms, and then he sawed it like sawing wood...

Pfft!

Blood gushed out, soaking the lieutenant's clothes. He cried out, and struggled hard but to no avail.

In a few seconds, Wang Congxun pulled the bloody head out of the neck and smashed it straight at the soldier who was clamoring to kill him.

Wang Congxun took the spear again and threw it at the man.

"Ugh..." With a muffled groan, the soldier was nailed to the ground.

Several dental students who were watching from a distance immediately shook their heads and shouted in unison: "What? I knew we couldn't kill him, and it was all in vain. Oh, let's all go, go away!"

"Let's go back and attack the city..."

Wang Congxun wiped the blood off his face and screamed, "Go back and attack the city!"

The soldiers were silent and reorganized their ranks.

……

Upstairs, in a room.

"General Li will also rebel?" Han Jian, who was wounded several times, sat on the ground with disheveled hair, and asked in a crying voice.

"Tsk." An aide tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-ed and replied, "He ran away this morning."

"It's over. It's over. Tongguan is over." Han Jian kicked his legs and cried loudly in front of people.

"There's nothing more to say."

Deputy Jiedushi Zhang Ming wiped his sword and said quietly, "Although the Han Dynasty is declining, the Yan spirit is not over yet, and thieves will die. Now the Tang Dynasty is weak, but the gods are not tired of it, and the virtue of the land has not changed, just like the previous generations. Qi Huan and Jin Wen supported the emperor to achieve hegemony. Han Gong was born in the fields, received great favors, and became a general and prime minister, guarding a region. He was extremely favored! But why did he overestimate his own abilities and lose his wisdom, and end up being exterminated?"

"If we were not too deeply involved, we would cut off Lord Han's head and present it to Li Sizhou, turning danger into wealth."

Han Jian cursed: "You slaves are not loyal, you have failed me so much!"

Deputy Defense Envoy Hua Xingsi counterattacked: "You rose from Caizhou, established the capital, and enjoyed honor and status for many years, but you did not become a true vassal to pass on to your descendants, and followed the example of Li Qi and Liu Pi! Although Huazhou is close to the capital, the people are prosperous, but the people do not follow you. Now you are defending an isolated city, and your people are betrayed and killed. You are filled with regret and are laughed at by the world! Who is to blame for this? You are going against the trend and wanting to perish. How much have you betrayed us? I want to kill you!"

But before he could make a move, Hua Xingsi suddenly felt a pain in his back.

He lowered his head and saw a sharp sword coming out of his abdomen.

coax.

The room fell silent for a moment.

An official from the shogunate kicked Hua Xingsi's body, drew his sword, chopped off his head, pointed at Han Jian and said, "I am grateful for your appointment, so I can't bear to harm you. The king's army has rewarded the captain and deputy envoy with a thousand gold coins, and Hua Xingsi is one of them. I will take his head, save your life, and save myself, is that okay?" Han Jian nodded blankly, "Yes..."

"We'll go, Mr. Han, take care of yourself." Several officials from the shogunate bowed hastily and followed the man out of the room.

……

Under the protection of his son, Han Jian fled to a nearby forest.

The cypress trees were gloomy and covered with snow. From time to time, the screams of monkeys could be heard, and the empty valley was eerie, as if there were some hunters searching the mountain.

What a great place! Han Jian paused.

Behind him, his son Han Congyun looked at the dozen or so soldiers who followed him with a strange expression and said, "You can go by yourselves."

The soldiers said nothing.

Seeing this, Han Congyun leaned over to Han Jian's ear and whispered, "Sir, let's go."

At this time, several guards stepped forward and silently blocked the way of the Han family. The women cried softly, their eyes terrified. These soldiers were Han Jian's Caizhou Yuancong, who had been with him for many years. The family members in the Han Mansion could call out their names and knew how many people there were in the family. At this moment, things seemed a little difficult to handle.

A soldier sighed and said, "There are scouts from the royal division in the forest. None of us can escape."

My wives, daughters and concubines sobbed even louder, like a pear blossom in the rain, which made me feel pity for them.

Strangely, several soldiers also started to cry and said, "We will die if we die. We Cao want to take Han Gong with us to surrender."

"You have been very kind to us, so I cannot bear to use the sword or the axe on you."

"Please, father and son... go to die." The sighing soldier came forward and offered the shuriken with both hands.

"Very good!" Han Jian laughed loudly: "I bid you farewell now. I am willing to give you my head and give you endless wealth and honor for the rest of your life."

The soldiers could not stop crying and turned their backs one after another.

"My son is gone." Han Congyun drew his sword and committed suicide, and the trickle of water dyed the snow red.

boom.

There was another sound of someone falling to the ground, and Han Jian sat down softly, with his head tilted, as if he had fallen asleep.

"Father!" the little girl cried.

……

Before long, the group encountered a dozen scouts.

The leading soldier held Han Jian's head and said, "We have killed Han Jian. Please surrender."

"I don't recognize you!" The scouts looked at everyone fiercely.

Suddenly, a scout shouted, "These women are so gorgeously dressed, both inside and out, these soldiers must be the generals of the Han family!"

The clanging sounds of fighting immediately rang out.

Some people even rang gongs to call other hunters for help.

half an hour.

Except for a few young maids and concubines, and Han Jian's beautiful 28-year-old daughter, all were dead.

With so many heads, the soldiers scrambled for credit, and the distribution was uneven, so they fought each other and left behind more than a dozen bodies of their own men.

The footsteps gradually faded away.

The sun sets.

……

In the camp.

Wang Congxun wrapped his wound, but his mood did not improve at all.

Han Jian's counterattack from the city not only caused him to suffer numerous wounds, but he was also nearly killed by the soldiers who feared fighting.

"Report, several of Han Jian's wives, daughters and concubines have been abducted."

"Where is Han Jian's dog head?"

"The heads of Han and his son were snatched away by Li Sizhou's men and presented to Ximen Dujian for merit."

Bang! Wang Congxun slammed the table and said, "Aren't you good at making trouble? How can you not keep the wealth that is right in your mouth?"

So he ordered someone to bring Han Jian's wife and daughter in.

After looking for a while, he distributed the ten or so women he didn't like to the dental students.

He left two of them behind, one was over thirty years old, still young and charming. The other was Han Jian's daughter, who had not yet grown up. After stripping her clothes and torturing her for an hour, the concubine lay on the ground with empty eyes, and the little girl hugged her legs and trembled. Wang Congxun kicked the young woman away and gave the mother and daughter to his subordinates. The killers rushed forward, shouting that they wanted to vent their anger on the siege.

At dusk on the third day of the second month of the first year of Jingfu, Ximen Chongsui led his troops to attack Tongguan.

More than 2,000 heads were beheaded and more than 3,000 officers, soldiers and staff were captured.

Han Jian and his son were forced to commit suicide by the Ya army. Their heads were captured by the troops of Li Sizhou, the Prince of Tan, and presented to Ximen Chong to report the victory.

Ximen Chongsui was very pleased and ranked Li Sizhou first in merit.

The Tianwei Army soldiers and horses were left behind, and Congxun led the troops to climb the mountain first, and also captured the Han clan, which was the second merit.

After receiving the battle report, they entered Chang'an City in the middle of the night.

"Where is the saint?" Zhao was overjoyed when she received the report from the Secretary of the Central Secretariat. She wanted to share this joy with the saint immediately.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zipi, a close attendant who had just returned from Xianju Palace, lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhao reacted immediately.

For several days in a row, the saint stayed overnight in the Xianju Palace.

……

Soon, she arrived at the Xianju Palace.

As she walked deeper, she heard the laughter of men and women. Zhao was startled, and soon she realized that the voices belonged to the Saint and Lady Chen. Lady Chen seemed very happy, and her ugly voice was heard outside. Zhao immediately stopped walking, with a look of surprise on her face.

Concubine He was the saint's first wife when he was still Prince Shou, and they have been through ups and downs for ten years.

But the saint has not stayed overnight in these months.

During this period, he and Concubine Chen were inseparable and inseparable.

If Concubine Shu knew, she would be extremely sad. As a woman, she could empathize with him the most.

……

After a long while, Chen Chen lay down softly, and Li Ye slowly put on his clothes: "The bedding is too wet, let's change the bed."

"Hmm..." Chen Chen's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz and he didn't have the strength to speak.

After putting on his clothes, Li Ye returned to Penglai Palace as usual.

The process of making this decision was a bit difficult. Concubine Chen smelled so good. It was a pleasure to sleep with her in my arms on a cold night. I was alone in Penglai Palace, and my bed was cold. The difference was huge. But the country was in turmoil, and Li Ye could still handle this.

If you don't take good care of your health and study hard, how can you save yourself and others? Your beautiful wife and concubines will be kidnapped sooner or later. He felt heartbroken and at a disadvantage when Chen Meiren was even seen by others. If she was dragged away and beaten by a warrior in the future, he would be so angry that he would die.

Coming out of the deep room, a cold wind blew, and Li Ye, who was in a sage moment, felt a little regretful.

Starting tomorrow, quit masturbating!

"The saint has a refined taste." Zhao came out of the darkness and said, "It's not that there is a lack of wealth, but that there is a lack of wealth. The saint only loves Lady Chen. What does Concubine Shu think?"

There was nothing wrong with the love between the emperor and his concubine, but she could not accept the fact that the emperor favored Chen Chen and ignored his first wife.

"Si Yan misunderstood."

Li Ye shook his head and said seriously, "Lady Chen's grandfather and four generations were all from the Hezhong Ya School, and they are good at swordsmanship. I just asked her to teach me so that I can strengthen my body and protect myself in times of crisis."

The only thing I could do was to make up a lie full of loopholes to cover it up.

It's impossible to treat the rain and dew equally.

Zhao was startled.

I heard the whole thing, okay?

Sword practice...

The training is so intense.

They trained Lady Chen to death.

"In that case, Concubine Chen is the best swordsman in the palace. Your Majesty studies hard in the cold nights, and I admire you." Zhao criticized implicitly.

"Do you have something important to tell me?" Li Ye changed the subject.

Zhao was in a low mood, no longer excited to share the joy with the saint: "Victory report from the camp, the royal army has conquered Huazhou, and Han Jian and his son have been executed."

(End of this chapter)