Video Editor

Chapter 1365: Changing generals on the spot
Although it had long been predicted that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, would escape at the first opportunity, after all, the Anshi Rebellion in history was exactly like that, it was just that Suning made the Anshi Rebellion break out more than 40 years earlier.

But Suning still looked down on Li Longji in his heart. How could he be a real emperor if he was so afraid of death? He felt that even Chongzhen of the late Ming Dynasty was much stronger than him.

Of course, China has been thriving for thousands of years, but dynasties as courageous as the Ming Dynasty are rare. After all, the saying "the emperor guards the country's borders and the king dies for the country" is not just a slogan.

Speaking of the many dynasties in China, the Ming Dynasty is the most special one among them.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were also the most special group of emperors among all dynasties. Some of them liked to fight crickets, some liked to tinker with wooden products, some did not attend morning court for decades, and some fell deeply in love with old women. There were emperors of all kinds and with strange personalities.

But one thing is that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were almost all tough. They never admitted defeat easily. Even if they wanted to admit defeat, they did not dare to express their true feelings, because admitting defeat and surrendering became the bottom line of their emperors.

Although some Ming Dynasty emperors seemed very absurd on the surface, they were all brave men with blood. No matter what difficulties they encountered, they never bowed their heads.

If you learn about the history of Ming Dynasty wars, you will find that no matter what difficulties the Ming Dynasty encountered in the army, they would not use women to exchange for peace in the country.

Nor would he use the means of ceding territory or paying compensation to buy peace. Even if the army attacked the city or the emperor was captured, the new emperor would never give in easily.

Emperor Chongzhen died for his country, Zhengtong was captured and begged at the door, but the Ming Dynasty was not forced to surrender, Longwu died heroically on the battlefield, and Shaowu committed suicide by starvation after being captured. It has to be said that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were all men of iron will.

Although the Ming Dynasty's war history was not the best among all dynasties, it was the only dynasty with a history of more than 100 years that did not sign some very unequal treaties or agreements to cede territory and pay indemnities with other countries.

A dynasty that would rather die than surrender to any force. Although the dynasty's life may be short, it also shows that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were truly men of great courage.

When the Ming Dynasty was about to perish, it persisted for 38 years in the fight against the Qing army. From this aspect, we can see that the people of the Ming Dynasty were an extremely tenacious nation.

The characters of both the emperor and the common people in the Ming Dynasty were very resolute and brave, so we say that the Ming Dynasty is the most special one among all dynasties.

However, due to some reasons of the Qing Dynasty, many people slandered the Ming Dynasty and described it as a very bad dynasty.

But as long as you make some comparisons, you will find that the Ming Dynasty, from the emperor to the common people, was a dynasty of backbone, perseverance and courage. It was even a great dynasty that can be compared with the Han and Tang dynasties.

When Emperor Yingzong of Ming was captured by the Mongols, they hoped to give them some gold, silver and treasures in exchange for Yingzong's life, but the Ming court refused. The Ming court quickly established a new emperor and finally defeated the Mongols.

No matter how great the difficulties the Ming Dynasty encountered, no matter how powerful the attack was, they never chose to bow their heads easily. They would never choose to cede land or pay compensation, nor would they choose to kneel down and surrender.

When the Ming Dynasty was about to perish, facing the powerful attacks of the Qing Dynasty and Li Zicheng, the Ming Dynasty still divided its troops into two groups to resist tenaciously, and never thought of giving up the territory outside the Great Wall.

From Emperor Yingzong of Ming to Emperor Chongzhen, they all fought bravely in many wars and never surrendered easily. They truly believed that the emperor was guarding the country's borders and that the country would only perish if the king died. Otherwise, we would fight to the end.

The anti-Qing war in the late Ming Dynasty was even more tragic than what Li Longji encountered today. When the Ming Dynasty resisted the Qing army, entire families committed suicide by jumping into wells, and countless officials were killed or injured.

According to statistics, there are more than 8000 people.

These people who died bravely and generously were all men of heroic character who sacrificed their lives for their country.

In the culture of the Ming Dynasty, many poets even wrote suicide poems. The themes of the poems were mostly to express the heroic spirit and great mission of loving the motherland and dedicating themselves to the country.

This further highlights the great spirit and national customs of the Chinese nation during the Ming Dynasty.

That's why Suning looked down on Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, as a weakling who hadn't figured out the situation of the rebels outside the city yet accepted his suggestion to let him escape so easily.

Although these were all designed and expected by himself, when things actually happened, he couldn't help but feel disappointed with this dynasty, realizing that having abundant military power and having courage and blood are completely different things.

At this time, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, fled the Tang capital, Chang'an, in panic with all the nobles in the court, as if the rebels besieging Chang'an were all wild beasts with green faces and fangs.

At this moment, Deputy General Lu Lingfeng looked at Su Ning with a face full of shame and said, feeling that this result was the greatest humiliation to their generals, "Prince Wuwei, I didn't expect it would be like this today. Lingfeng really wants to stay and defend Chang'an with you."

"Deputy General Lu, it is more important for you and the Chief of the Army to protect His Majesty. I hope you can protect His Majesty's tour of Yizhou as soon as possible. This will also buy time for our reinforcements." Su Ning did not think that Lu Lingfeng in front of him could change anything. Even the male protagonist of this drama was just going with the flow.

Sure enough, Suning's consolation successfully cheered up Lu Lingfeng again. "Prince Wuwei, you are right! Let's say goodbye today. I hope we can meet again in Chang'an."

"Okay! Then we'll invite Su Wuming and Master Fei Ji to have a drink together."

"And your wife Pei Xijun, we haven't been together for a long time.

"No problem! We will definitely meet again someday."

Then Lu Lingfeng, dressed in armor, left Chang'an on horseback, and escorted the cowardly Li Longji to escape from here. However, no one knew that Li Longji's departure this time was destined to make him never be able to return to Chang'an in this life. According to Suning's plan, he, the emperor, would die on the way.

……

There are not too many rebels outside the city. They have been attacking the mighty city of Chang'an in the past few days, but they are defeated by the defenders of Chang'an every time.

Therefore, they were powerless to stop Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, from escaping. You must know that Li Longji was leading the main force of the Tang army, and their troops did not dare to run over and touch the tiger's beard.

The rebel deputy general looked at the marching general in front of him with excitement and said, "General, since the false emperor of Chang'an has already fled with his main force, I think there are not many defenders left in Chang'an City. We can launch a general attack and definitely take Chang'an City in one fell swoop."

However, the marching commander Liao Kai firmly rejected this proposal. After all, breaking through Chang'an would only ruin Suning's plan. "No! We only have 20,000 troops besieging Chang'an this time. The main reason is that the false emperor in Chang'an doesn't know our strength, otherwise he would never have escaped so easily. As for wanting to break through Chang'an with such a small number of people, it is nothing but wishful thinking."

"This... I still feel it's such a pity." The refusal of the chief marcher Liao Kai made the deputy general beside him feel a little disappointed. After all, everyone wants to show merit in front of his master and ask for reward.

At this moment, the marching commander, Liao Kai, smiled and patted the deputy general on the shoulder. This ultimate undercover agent was about to complete his mission. "Don't worry! I have already requested assistance from Luoyang. I believe Her Majesty will send a large army soon. Then we can capture Chang'an City in one fell swoop."

"Yes! Chief Steward."

At this time, Liao Kai was still the Grand Marshal of the Great Zhou army in Luoyang. After he returned to Luoyang from the Beiting Protectorate, Empress Kaiyuan decided to re-employ Liao Kai. This was mainly because she found that the Jinyiwei could not function without Liao Kai. The commander-in-chief of the Great Zhou army that was besieging Chang'an was naturally Liao Kai. His main purpose was to force Li Longji to leave, so he would not foolishly come to attack his master.

The departure of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and all the nobles in the court made Chang'an panic-stricken. However, Suning recruited defenders in the name of Chang'an's defender, and even took out real money.

This time, Suning did not use the money in his own bank, because money is far less deeply rooted than real gold and silver, and it is also easier to make those young and strong people go crazy.

"Oh! Erniu, the Prince of Wuwei is recruiting soldiers, and this time he's giving them real money."

"Is this true? The imperial court will pay real money to recruit soldiers?"

"Really! Really! Dahu next door has already signed up, and he even brought back ten strings of cash as resettlement allowance."

"I...I'm still not going."

"Why? This is our chance to change our fate, are you willing to give it up like this?"

"Ninth Brother, Chang'an City is now under siege by the rebels from Luoyang. Even the emperor has fled with his nobles. So the Prince of Wuwei will definitely not be able to defend Chang'an. Wouldn't we, the soldiers, be in dire straits then?"

"Hmph! Erniu, I didn't expect you to be such a wimp. The Prince of Wuwei pacified the Tubo and Huihe tribes. Those barbarians are no less brutal than the rebels in Luoyang. I believe the Prince of Wuwei can lead us to victory."

"This……"

It is said that a person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. At this time, Erniu also thought of Suning's reputation, and became a little hesitant in his heart.

"Erniu, don't forget, reinforcements are already coming to Chang'an. As long as we can hold off the first few waves of attacks, once the reinforcements arrive, the situation will naturally be resolved."

"Reinforcements? Will there really be reinforcements?"

"Hmph! Before His Majesty toured Yizhou, he ordered the Anxi mercenaries to return for reinforcements. By then, the Luoyang rebels outside the city would surely flee."

"Well, Brother Jiu, what you said makes sense. This is truly a rare opportunity for us. However, we'd better contact some good brothers and it would be safest if we all enlisted together."

"Okay! Then let's split up now."

"It's a deal! Let's meet at my house tonight, and I'll treat everyone to a drink."

"OK."

Such things naturally happened in every corner of Chang'an City. You must know that the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty with abundant military power. Soon, Suning recruited an army of 100,000 in the name of Prince of Wuwei.

The reason why Li Longji did the foolish thing of fleeing was entirely because the rebels outside the city caught him off guard.

In addition, what Suning said in the Taiji Hall touched Li Longji's heart. Ever since Princess Taiping rebelled against the Tang court in Luoyang and proclaimed herself emperor, Li Longji felt that everyone around him was a traitor, and that everyone was secretly connected with the false emperor in Luoyang, so he resolutely fled to Yizhou with all the nobles in the court.

With his support, Suning immediately trained the 100,000-strong army, and still used the same methods as the Anxi mercenaries. Soon, he made these 100,000-strong army his own confidants.

Of course, Suning did not immediately lead his troops to drive out the rebels outside the city. After all, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji's gang had not run far away. Eliminating the rebels outside the city at this time would be of no benefit to his plan.

When Empress Kaiyuan of the Zhou Dynasty in Luoyang learned about the situation in Chang'an, she was naturally excited and every pore was open. She realized that her nephew was a lucky man, but now this lucky man had shown his weakness in front of the people of the Tang Dynasty.

The Kaiyuan Empress looked radiantly at the courtiers in the hall and said, "My dear ministers, the Grand Commander of the Great Zhou Army, Liao Kai, has led his troops to besiege Chang'an, and the false emperor Li Longji in Chang'an has also fled in panic."

"Your Majesty, this is a great victory! We in Luoyang should announce it to the world as soon as possible." Sure enough, Empress Kaiyuan's words excited all the ministers in the hall.

"There's no rush! General Liao Kai only has 20,000 troops. It won't be easy to capture Chang'an. We should send reinforcements as soon as possible."

At this time, the head of the aristocratic Xue family had become the prime minister of Luoyang. Luoyang Prime Minister Xue stepped forward and reported to the empress, "Your Majesty is wise! I suggest that General Han Xiu lead an army of 200,000 to support the Grand Administrator."

"Well, what Mr. Xue said makes sense! Han Xiu will lead an army of 200,000 to Chang'an immediately."

"General Han Xiu accepts your order."

"Your Majesty, since it is General Han who is leading the troops to Chang'an this time to provide support, how about having General Han replace General Liao as the commander-in-chief?"

"No! Changing generals during a battle is a major military taboo! Besides, the court has no legitimate reason to remove the Grand Steward."

"Your Majesty, General Liao, as the Grand Commander of the Great Zhou, should have been commanding the entire army from the center. However, he led 20,000 vanguards to suddenly besiege Chang'an. Otherwise, there would not have been such an embarrassing situation today. If General Liao was truly competent as the Grand Commander, our Great Zhou army would have already captured the false emperor Li Longji."

"This……"

As expected, Xue Xianggong's words attracted the support of other officials from aristocratic families. After all, Han Xiu was originally from one of their aristocratic families. "Your Majesty, I second your motion! Liao Kai, the chief military commander, is truly incompetent. He didn't even inform the Ministry of War and the court before the operation. It's clear that he has no regard for the court or Your Majesty at all."

"Alas! Although what you say makes perfect sense, the Grand Steward is, after all, the Empress's trusted confidant."

"Your Majesty, we simply believe that Liao Kai is unsuitable for the position of Grand Marshal of the Army. It would be more appropriate for him to be the Commander of the Imperial Guard."

"Alright! Then it will be up to you, my ministers! Han Xiu will take over as the Grand Marshal of the Army, and the former Grand Marshal Liao Kai will return to Luoyang immediately."

"Her Majesty is famous."

……

(End of this chapter)