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Chapter 1364 The troops are approaching the city
Because this time Suning had anticipated that Li Longji would resort to the tactic of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, he brought his family back with the army in advance. At this time, his whole family had settled down in the big house.

Looking at the mansion left by former Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi, Suning felt that the one he bought was too simple. You know, there are such things as privileges there.

Pei Xijun, the mistress of the Su family, greeted him with a smile on her face. She guessed that Su Ning must have received a generous reward today. "My Lord, are you back from court?"

"Well, today His Majesty appointed me as the Prince of Wuwei. From now on, this will be the Prince of Wuwei's Mansion." Sure enough, Su Ning explained to Pei Xijun without any joy or sadness.

"Ah? Why would Your Majesty confer such a great title?" At this time, Pei Xijun was also stunned by Li Longji's generous reward.

"Pacifying Tubo and Huihe originally earned me this much merit. Furthermore, the mercenaries from the Anxi Protectorate were also to be handed over to the imperial court. To put it bluntly, this was a kind of equal exchange."

"Hmph! Just be content. Who in the entire Tang Dynasty doesn't envy you? The title of a prince is something many people cannot even obtain in their entire lives."

"Hehe, that's true."

It's no wonder that his women all had the same idea as Pei Xijun. They were very satisfied with Suning's title and the mansion he obtained. After all, they couldn't understand the deeper things.

That night, Gao Lishi came to the Prince of Wuwei's Mansion alone. It was obvious that he came here to inform Su Ning about the situation in the palace. After all, the change in Li Longji's attitude towards Su Ning was very obvious.

Gao Lishi first congratulated Su Ning in front of him and said, "Brother, Lishi must congratulate you first! You are now the Prince of Wuwei County in the Tang Dynasty."

"Okay! Lishi, stop teasing me. Why does His Majesty suddenly stop trusting me?" However, Suning looked at Gao Lishi in front of him with curiosity and asked.

"Ah! This is mainly because you have developed too quickly. This time, you pacified the Uighurs and Tubo so quickly, which naturally shocked the entire Tang court and foreign countries. But it was also a deterrent to Your Majesty."

"What? Li Shi, are you saying that His Majesty is afraid of me?"

"That's right! It's for this reason." Gao Lishi nodded helplessly. Perhaps this is the so-called imperial mentality.

"..."

Suning naturally understood the principle that great achievements would frighten the ruler. As long as he wanted to achieve something in the Tang Dynasty, sooner or later he would be on the opposite side of Li Longji.

Moreover, emperors of all dynasties were very wary of important ministers and also hated loyal ministers. Any emperor with a normal mind could not tolerate the power of his ministers.

The most classic example is the relationship between Liu Bang and Xiao He. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Xiao He was the prime minister and in charge of Chang'an, just as Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang was fighting on the battlefield.

However, in his spare time from the war, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang sent people back to the capital to comfort Xiao He one after another. This made Xiao He very puzzled, thinking, "Are you still worried about me while I'm in the capital?"
At this time, someone quietly told Xiao He, "The emperor really is worried about you. Think about it! You hold great power, manage the capital, and treat the people well, but now the people only know Prime Minister Xiao, not the emperor. How can you reassure the emperor?"

Xiao He thought, oh no, this is going to be bad. The emperor is suspicious, which is not a good thing.

Ask for advice immediately.

So this person gave Xiao He a plan to destroy his own reputation.

When Liu Bang returned to the capital, someone stopped him and complained that Xiao He had forcibly seized the people's land.

This made Liu Bang furious, and he immediately arrested Xiao He.

But soon, a counselor came to intercede for Xiao He.

These counselors told Liu Bang that Prime Minister Xiao was tarnishing his own reputation in order to prevent his status from being too high in the hearts of the people and also to prevent the emperor from being suspicious of him.

When Liu Bang heard this, he thought it was indeed true. After all, Xiao He had never been such a short-sighted person before.

So, Xiao He was released.

Coincidentally, during the Song Dynasty, there was a border guard named Li Hanchao who served several emperors and even several dynasties.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, he was a border guard stationed in Guannan (present-day Baoding, Hebei, which was the northern frontier of the Song Dynasty and bordered the Liao Kingdom).

As a border guard with a large number of troops under his command, Li Hanchao knew very well how wary the emperor was of people like them.

In particular, Zhao Kuangyin also played the trick of releasing military power with a cup of wine.

He stripped the military power of several old partners who had joined him in the revolution.

As someone who is not a confidant but has a large number of troops under his command, wouldn't he be the target of suspicion?

Fortunately, Li Hanchao was also a smart man. He read history books and finally came up with an excellent solution.

After a while, an old man ran to Kyoto to file a complaint with the emperor.

It is said that Li Hanchao, the commander of Guannan, raped a woman.

When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he was shocked.

Invite this old man to the palace immediately to find out the details.

It turned out that Li Hanchao not only forcibly took the old man's daughter as a concubine, but also borrowed money from local people and did not pay it back, which made the local people very angry.

After listening to this, Zhao Kuangyin thought about it carefully and realized that there was something strange about it.

The money and food rewards given to these military generals were sufficient, and the salary of a military general like Li Hanchao was not low. How could this happen?

Besides, with Li Hanchao's status as a top military general and a nobleman, it would be easy for him to find a concubine, so why would he do this?

But on second thought, Zhao Kuangyin understood Li Hanchao's painstaking efforts.

So he entertained the old man who filed a complaint with the emperor in the palace and analyzed the current situation to him, showing that he did not have the disregard and disgust that an emperor would have for ordinary people.

Then Zhao Kuangyin looked at the old man and asked, "Old man, how many daughters do you have?"

The old man said, “Several!”

Zhao Kuangyin then asked, "Except for the daughter that Li Hanchao robbed, who did the others marry?"

The old man said: "They are all farmers"

Zhao Kuangyin continued to ask: "How were your lives before Li Hanchao, the commander of Guannan, arrived in Guannan? How are you doing now?"

The old man said, "Before we came here, we were often robbed by the Khitans. It was really miserable. Although I want to sue the garrison commander Li Hanchao today, to be honest, Guannan is doing quite well under his rule. We haven't been invaded by the Khitans for many years."

As expected, Zhao Kuangyin smiled slightly after hearing the old man's words, and then said to the old man: "Then you say, Li Hanchao is my important minister, your daughter being his concubine is no better than being a peasant woman? Letting Li Hanchao continue to guard the city is not better than letting the Khitans seize it? Now, I want to accomplish a good thing. I think it is better to help General Li and your daughter. In addition, I will also let Li Hanchao return all the money he borrowed from the people."

As he said this, he asked someone to take the reward and give it to the old man.

When the old man heard this, he thought that what Zhao Kuangyin said was right.

Marrying a general was definitely better than marrying a peasant, so she happily took the reward and went home. On the other hand, Zhao Kuangyin immediately sent someone to give Li Hanchao money and wrote a letter to severely criticize Li Hanchao.

Tell him, aren’t you short of money? Why didn’t you tell me that you were short of money?

I will give you money now, but you have to pay back the money you borrowed from the people immediately.

When Li Hanchao saw this, he finally felt relieved.

He was so moved that he shed tears and immediately wrote back to the emperor, vowing to serve him even with his death.

In this way, the emperor and his ministers once again staged a harmonious picture of a benevolent ruler and loyal ministers.

Later, under Li Hanchao's governance, Guannan was peaceful and politically stable, and he was deeply loved by the people. They wrote to the court one after another, requesting to erect a monument for Li Hanchao, and Zhao Kuangyin approved it.

The emperor summoned Xu Xuan to write an inscription as a reward. The full text of the inscription is now preserved in Xu Xuan's "Collected Works of Xu Wengong", and is named "The Inscription on Li Gong's Virtuous Governance".

Seeing that Su Ning had been silent and thoughtful, Gao Lishi thought that Su Ning was complaining. "Brother, don't let your imagination run wild. His Majesty still thinks highly of you, otherwise he wouldn't have granted you the title of Prince of Wuwei."

"Don't worry, Lishi! I naturally understand that thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Besides, my Tang Dynasty is in a turbulent time now. I will definitely help Your Majesty to quell the rebellion next." Su Ning woke up from his thoughts and nodded with a smile on his face. He suddenly realized that Gao Lishi was still more loyal to Li Longji.

If one day Li Longji abandoned him, Gao Lishi would naturally leave him without looking back, and even step on him hard in the end, because this is the most complicated human nature.

"Well, that's good! I know you like stunning beauties the most, so I'll keep an eye out for you from now on."

"Huh? Forget it! There are quite a few women in the Prince's Mansion now. Xijun already has some opinions about my behavior. For the time being, I'd better not do anything to provoke her."

"Haha, it's all thanks to my sister-in-law's kindness and goodness, otherwise it would have been a mess."

"Hehe, that's true."

Gao Lishi then looked at Su Ning in front of him and suggested, "Brother, my sister-in-law's father, Pei Jian, is still serving as a Sima in Nanzhou. Do you want me to find a way to transfer him back to Chang'an?"

"No! The situation in the court is unclear now, and the rebels in Luoyang are still rampant. Besides, my father-in-law used to be from Luoyang, so it's better for him to stay away recently." However, Suning resolutely rejected Gao Lishi's suggestion. It is actually safest for Pei Jian to hide in Nanzhou at the moment.

"Brother, what you said makes sense! But His Majesty is indeed quite satisfied with Pei Jian. With the rebellion of the false emperor in Luoyang, all of his former confidants have come to seek official positions, but Pei Jian has been able to stay away from them."

"Well, my father-in-law is also a smart man. When the situation is unclear, he doesn't want to run out and cause trouble."

"Oh right! His Majesty summoned the new Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate, Lu Tong, today and accepted Lu Tong's suggestion to reorganize and split the Anxi mercenaries."

"Ah! I have already prepared myself mentally. I will go back and tell His Majesty that I will do my best to cooperate."

"That's good."

After the matter was settled, Gao Lishi left the Prince of Wuwei's Mansion. This time he came naturally on the orders of Li Longji, just to calm down Suning's inner restlessness and anger in advance.

However, after Gao Lishi left his Wuwei County Prince's Mansion, Suning's expression suddenly turned from sunny to gloomy and cold, realizing that it was time for him to catalyze a new plot.

For the next period of time, Suning reported for duty and familiarized himself with military affairs step by step. The current chief marcher was still Lu Sian, and the deputy general Lu Lingfeng was also growing up slowly, so there was no need for Suning to rush over and seize power.

Moreover, Suning was unwilling to accept the mess of fighting against the rebels, because someone would have to take the blame for what happened next, and Tianbao Li Longji was destined not to be the king of a prosperous era.

Late one night, the entire city of Chang'an fell into a deep sleep. However, a thrilling cry of killing was heard, waking up the sleeping Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji, sitting on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall, looked at Su Ning with anger on his face. For the first time, he felt the dragon throne under his buttocks a little uncomfortable. "Prince Wuwei, what is going on?"

"I don't know! I have been familiarizing myself with military affairs these days, and military affairs are still under the charge of the marching commander Lu Sian." However, Su Ning unexpectedly knew nothing about anything.

Then Li Longji turned to look at the marching general Lu Sian and asked. He also understood that Suning's general manager of suppressing the rebellion had no real power. "Humph! Lu Sian, you say."

"Your Majesty, I have no idea why the Luoyang rebels suddenly appeared outside the city. The defenders outside the city have also lost contact with Chang'an. I suspect they have been wiped out by the rebels."

"what?"

"..."

At this time, Prime Minister Song Jing hurriedly stepped forward and offered his suggestion, "Your Majesty, this matter is extremely urgent! This old minister suggests that the emperors of the world be mobilized to come to the capital to protect you as soon as possible."

"Yeah, that makes sense! Send an order to the Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate, Lu Tong, and order Lu Tong to lead 200,000 Anxi mercenaries to Beijing to protect the emperor." Li Longji finally reacted from his panic, but after thinking about it, he realized that the most powerful force at the moment was the Anxi mercenaries.

"Yes! Your Majesty." As expected, Song Jing and Yao Chong looked at each other helplessly and accepted it.

However, Su Ning, who was behind all this, wanted Li Longji to leave Chang'an. "Your Majesty, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. I suggest that Your Majesty leave Chang'an immediately and tour Yizhou."

"What? Prince of Wuwei, you want me to abandon the city and flee?" As expected, as soon as Su Ning finished speaking, Li Longji and all the ministers in Taiji Hall were stunned.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is that no one can say for sure whether there are any rebel inside the city. I even suspect that some of the officials in the court are secretly connected to the rebels."

"This……"

"Your Majesty, a gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. Furthermore, the safety of the Tang Dynasty depends on you. It is most appropriate to conduct an immediate tour of inspection in Yizhou."

"..."

"Your Highness Song Jing seconded the motion."

"Your Highness Yao Chong seconded the motion."

……

"Yes! Immediately prepare for the inspection tour of Yizhou and leave Chang'an on time in three days."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

Then, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who was very afraid of death, accepted Suning's suggestion, and hurriedly left Chang'an City with all the nobles in the court, and also took away the main force in Chang'an City, and handed over the defense of Chang'an City to Suning, the newly appointed Prince of Wuwei.

Perhaps Li Longji also realized that he had been too sorry for Su Ning, so he comforted Su Ning before leaving, "Prince Wuwei, you don't need to worry too much. I have already ordered Lu Tong to lead the Anxi mercenaries to return for support. You just need to hold on until the reinforcements arrive."

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will defend Chang'an for you and the Tang Dynasty."

"Good! You are indeed worthy of being my Prince of Wuwei."

……

(End of this chapter)