(It's the beginning of the month, and free monthly passes can be given.) Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo）

The people in Chang'an City were thunderous when they heard the news, and they poured into the streets from their homes to celebrate with their foreheads. Knowing that the emperor was about to enter the city, the people crowded on both sides of the road from the north city gate to the imperial city, looking forward to Li Mao's arrival. Li Guangbi sent a large number of soldiers and horses to maintain order on the streets, and ordered people to clean up the debris and corpses on the streets, preparing for Li Mao's arrival.

At noon, under the winter sun, the drums are singing in unison. Li Mao, who had been waiting anxiously for a long time, dressed in full costume and boarded the dragon chariot, and slowly advanced from the camp in Beicheng to Fanglin Gate under the escort of thousands of Tang Army's pro-guard troops. Up and down the tower of Hong Lim Gate, the dragon flag is displayed, and the soldiers are standing solemnly, waiting for the arrival of the dragon chariot.

Entering the city gate and stepping into Chang'an Avenue, the people, soldiers and civilians knelt down and shouted long live everywhere Long Ran, and the sound shook the sky.

Li Mao sat on the brand-new dragon chariot, looking at everything around her through the golden tassels under the bright yellow canopy umbrella that shone brightly and gorgeously in the sun, smiling and waving her hands, her mood was indescribably beautiful and her ambition was complete.

I finally recaptured Chang'an, and I was finally able to sit on the world like my father, which was a distant thing not long ago, and I actually did this. For many years, he curled up under the majesty of his father, endured the fingers behind people's backs, and swallowed humiliation and pain into his stomach alone. And now, I can finally raise my eyebrows.

He is already the new master of the Tang Dynasty, and the pain he suffered before must be returned a hundred times, and the humiliation that his father once brought to him must be washed away. In the future, if anyone is talking about the past, they will not hesitate to cut off their heads. Whoever continues to be contemptuous of himself will also make him understand the cost of despising himself. No one should be rude to themselves and point fingers at themselves. Neither can his father, although he acquiesced to the matter of passing on the throne to himself, but it was just that he had to do it, but it is possible that he would never let himself ascend the throne. My father was more attached to the throne than anyone else. It can only be said that the situation has created opportunities, and I have seized the opportunity. I will never let anyone threaten my throne, I must firmly control Datang, and I can't let anyone covet it.

Although the excitement and excitement in her heart are indescribable, Li Mao has a trace of regret in her heart. Such a big scene can only be enjoyed by yourself, and there is no one to share it with. If the person who I have never been able to forget, who has brought me pain and self-reproach for countless nights, is with me at this moment, then everything will be perfect. And where is that person now?

She must not have died, she was 100% sure that she was rescued by Wang Yuan on Ma Weipo, and all the subsequent investigations also confirmed that she must be in Wang Yuan's hands. Wang Yuan, a dog thief, is not only ambitious, but even his beloved is around him. Thinking that Yang Yuhuan might become Wang Yuan's pillow person, the hatred in Li Mao's heart was extremely strong, and he couldn't wait to tear Wang Yuan into slices.

On the long street, the soldiers and civilians of Chang'an knelt on the ground and kowtowed and cheered loudly for the arrival of their emperor, but they didn't know that their emperor was entangled and painful for a woman, and gritted his teeth with hatred.

Long Yuan went straight to the imperial city, Li Mao couldn't wait to go to the court in the Taiji Palace, when his ass finally sat on the throne in the Taiji Palace, facing the large and small civil and military officials who knelt on the ground in the hall and kowtowed to congratulate, Li Mao really settled down. pinched his thigh, everything in front of him was not an illusion, he was really His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Next, the most anticipated moment for many officials who came from Chengdu to defect came, Li Mao began to reward the ministers, and almost everyone was promoted and rejoiced. After the reward was completed, Li Mao led his ministers to the temple to worship the heavens and the earth and worship the ancestors, and the noise was endless. The accompanying literati recorded the situation at this moment, and the poem said: The bell and drum and the flag lead the six flights, and the Jade Emperor painted the dragon clothes at the beginning. The smoke of Taitan is exhausted, and the hearts of all nations return with the color.

……

Just when Li Mao was busy rewarding his ministers, sacrificing to the ancestors of heaven and earth, and celebrating his true becoming the lord of the Tang Dynasty. Forty miles southwest of Chang'an, Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi led the Shence army to meet in a small town called Zaolin Town.

Regarding the situation in Chang'an City, Wang Yuan has already received a report, Li Mao has entered Chang'an this morning, and the arrival of the Shence Army is already a step late.

There was a sense of frustration among the generals of the Shence Army, but they didn't expect Li Mao to really take Chang'an, and the rebels guarding Chang'an actually surrendered, which was unbelievable. This matter is somewhat embarrassing, the Shence Army originally had the strength to take Chang'an, but the marshal did not choose to attack Chang'an, and now it is good to let Li Mao capture Chang'an, doesn't this mean that the Shence Army is incompetent? The marshal must also be extremely remorseful about this matter, and I am afraid that he will also regret that he did not make up his mind to attack Chang'an before, so that the situation is embarrassing now.

However, the generals didn't see any frustration and loss on Wang Yuan's face, and of course the people around Wang Yuan knew Wang Yuan's true thoughts. It's not that the Shence Army doesn't have the strength to recapture Chang'an, but it's just that Wang Yuan is unwilling to recapture Chang'an in this hand-to-hand combat way. To throw all the more than 100,000 elite soldiers and horses into the meat grinder of the Battle of Chang'an, the price is unbearable for Wang Yuan. Of course, Wang Yuan's calm appearance actually concealed his surprised thoughts. I didn't count that the rebels would surrender. Although I had considered this possibility in advance, and I remembered that in the later period of the Anshi Rebellion in history, Shi Siming had indeed surrendered to the imperial court, but now the trajectory of history has disappeared, and I try not to predict the outcome of things according to the trend of history. However, this scene still happened.

Wang Yuan believes that this does not mean that history is on the right track, because the news says that Shi Siming was killed by his son Shi Chaoyi and his generals, and Shi Chaoyi and Tian Chenghei surrendered the city under the leadership of Shi Siming himself. This shows that the trend of history is still chaotic and disorderly.

The current situation is that Li Mao has finally achieved his goal, he has taken the first step to recapture Chang'an, and his Shence army has no chance to enter Chang'an. In two days, Li Mao gave himself two holy decrees. The first decree was to lead his army to Chang'an, ready to support his siege at any time. The second holy decree was to prevent his soldiers and horses from entering Chang'an, and to attack Tongguan by the official road in the southern suburbs of Chang'an. The two holy decrees are self-contradictory, and Wang Yuan understands the transformation behind the two holy decrees. There may have been a matter between the first and second decrees that the rebels were ready to surrender, so Li Mao, who was already in the predicament of besieging the city, immediately issued the second edict and did not allow himself to get involved.

That night, during the discussion with Gao Xianzhi, Gao Xianzhi also confirmed Wang Yuan's idea. At this point, Wang Yuan was not much frustrated. Anyway, he didn't plan to attack Chang'an City at a huge price, so Li Mao paid the price of eighty or ninety thousand people to capture Chang'an, which was also the result he deserved. can only say that he is not as ruthless as him, and he does not have the courage to treat human life as a mustard. After all, he is not a person who can do anything for the purpose, and compared with the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty, this aspect is a big weakness. However, in Wang Yuan's view, Li Mao's recapture of Chang'an is not too bad. Wang Yuan is very much like watching a good show.

The question now is whether to follow Li Mao's will to lead his troops to attack Tongguan. Obviously, after the Battle of Chang'an, Li Mao was temporarily unable to attack Tongguan. And if Tongguan and Luoyang are not recaptured, Chang'an is actually still in a position to be attacked by rebels at any time, and Li Mao will not be stable. Li Mao's move was to use his Divine Strategy Army to stabilize the situation for him.

Everyone understands this truth, but even so, Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi still decided to send troops to Tongguan, not because of the requirements of Li Mao's holy decree, but because this was originally the plan set by Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi. In any case, it is already the consensus of the two of them to quell the rebellion first and then solve other problems, even if it is used by Li Mao, it can only let Li Mao secretly have fun first.

After the decision was made, the next morning, the army marched from Zaolin Town. Thirty miles south of Chang'an City, it drove mightily and went straight to Tongguan to the east of Chang'an. When the Shence army passed through the territory of Chang'an, tens of thousands of Hui cavalry were on strict guard ten miles away, and Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi knew that it was used to defend themselves. The two of them scoffed, and the Shence Army didn't do anything to deal with them at all, and Shi Shiran passed by.

……

On December 21, the Shence army arrived at Tongguan, and after a short rest, they began to storm Tongguan.

The terrain of Tongguan is attacked from west to east, and the terrain is dangerous and easy to defend and difficult to attack. But attacking from east to west, it's much easier. The terrain east of Tongguan is gentle, and this pass was originally built to protect Chang'an, the capital of Guanzhong, so such a terrain is not surprising. Although the rebels guarding the pass built many fortifications and defenses to the east of Tongguan, and the number of soldiers and horses guarding the pass was 60,000, these collapsed in the face of the powerful attack of the Shence army.

As soon as the Shenwei cannon of the Shence Army fired, hundreds of thunderbolts fell into the fortifications and city defenses inside and outside Tongguan, and as soon as they bloomed, the rebels immediately knew that this pass could not be defended. Such a small pass, with a lot of soldiers and horses, was bombarded by Shenwei artillery so much, wouldn't it be beaten alive. So on the second day of the siege, the Shence army did not even carry out a decent attack, and the defenders of Tongguan fell apart, and the defenders fled with 60,000 soldiers and horses.

On the twenty-third Chinese New Year's Eve, Wang Yuan's army officially occupied Tongguan. The recovery of this pass indicates that the safety of Chang'an City has been greatly guaranteed, and the last obstacle to Luoyang City has been kicked away. Luoyang City, the capital of the Great Chu State in the east, was like a woman who had been stripped of her clothes, naked and exposed to attack.

On the 25th day of the lunar month, Li Mao sent someone to announce the decree. After commending Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi, the Holy Decree issued an order for Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi to postpone the attack on Luoyang. Say that the year is close to the end, and wait for the new year to attack, so that the soldiers can have a safe New Year. In the eyes of Wang Yuan and Gao Xianzhi, this holy decree is very strange, how can they not attack Luoyang in one go after breaking through Tongguan, and stopping troops here at this moment is not to give the rebels a chance to prepare. And it's quite possible that there will be extraneous branches.

The two discussed it and came up with the only possibility, that is, Li Mao did not want the Shence army to capture Luoyang at all, nor did he want the Shence army to recover any big city. Because every inch of land recovered, Wang Yuan's prestige will be one point higher, the merit will be one point greater, and the people's will be one point, which is probably the last thing Li Mao wants to see.

Wang Yuan didn't care about any military exploits and city capture, Wang Yuan was just worried that things had changed. Now that the rebels have been cornered, it's hard to say what crazy moves they're going to make. Taking advantage of the situation to pursue, even if it is to force all the rebels in Luoyang City, it is better than staying in Tongguan and letting them be free.

However, since Li Mao has made an order, since he doesn't want to tear his face with him at this time, then this holy decree cannot be violated. Wang Yuan had no choice but to order the soldiers and horses to be stationed at Tongguan to rest and recuperate, and on the one hand, he sent people to pay close attention to the movements of the rebels.

The New Year is fast approaching. On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, Wang Yuan invited the generals of the army to gather together and set up a banquet with simple wine and food, which was supposed to be the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. When everyone was drinking, and when they were already a little out of shape, a guard hurriedly came and reported a message to Wang Yuanyu, who was drunk. This news immediately made Wang Yuan's drunkenness disappear.

……

The news of the loss of Chang'an reached Luoyang more than 20 days ago, and after learning the news that Shi Chaoyi killed his father and surrendered the city, An Qingxu was furious, and after smashing and scolding in the dormitory, he hurriedly summoned Yan Zhuang to discuss countermeasures.

In recent months, Yan Zhuang has lived a very nourishing life. Since assisting An Qingxu to ascend the throne, Yan Zhuang has become the de facto ruler of the Great Chu State. Not only is he the prime minister, but he also holds more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the Great Chu State except for Shi Siming. An Qingxu called Yan Zhuang as a brother, and obeyed Yan Zhuang's words. Yan Zhuang knew that as long as An Qingxu could be allowed to eat and have fun, An Qingxu would not think about anything, so Yan Zhuang did what he liked, let An Qingxu enjoy himself, and did not even report to An Qingxu about military affairs. Because An Qingxu wouldn't blame him, he went to play, and it was just a sentence: "Brother can do things when he sees things, and brother does things, how can I be dissatisfied." ”。 In this case, the emperor of the Great Chu State is not so much An Qingxu as Yan Zhuang is accurate.

But Yan Zhuang really wanted to make a difference, he was many times more sober than An Qingxu. An Qingxu can spend all his time drinking and enjoying himself, but he can't do this solemnly, otherwise the Great Chu Kingdom will be finished.

When the news of Li Mao's accession to the throne came, Yan Zhuang was really happy. Because he felt that the throne would not be inherited by Li Mao anyway, Li Mao went to Lingzhou to ascend the throne, but not in Chengdu, which shows that there is something greasy in it. Yan Zhuang felt that there would definitely be disputes within Datang because of the struggle for the throne, which was exactly what he wanted to see. However, the next development surprised Yan Zhuang very much. Not only was there no civil strife within the Tang Dynasty, but there was also news that Xuanzong had abdicated as Emperor Taishang, which means that Li Mao's succession was a legitimate succession, not as complicated as he thought.

Then the problem comes, after Li Mao succeeded to the throne, he immediately united with 100,000 soldiers and horses to attack Chang'an, and this problem is serious. Although in Yan Zhuang's view, Shi Siming will turn his face sooner or later, after all, he is stationed in Chang'an and has attracted all the attention. He is now the target of everyone, so Luoyang can be so stable. If Chang'an is lost, the next step will be Luoyang's turn.

When the Tang Dynasty stormed Chang'an, Yan Zhuang originally had the intention to order the soldiers and horses of Tongguan to rescue. But after thinking about it again, Yan Zhuang still gave up. Because in Yan Zhuang's view, just one Wang Yuan's Shence army is a headache, and with Li Mao's 160,000 soldiers and horses, Chang'an City is bound to lose. Instead of ordering the soldiers and horses of Tongguan to come to the rescue, it is better to preserve your strength and make plans in advance.

When the news of the fall of Chang'an came, Yan Zhuang was drinking and chatting with several guests in the mansion. When the news came, several curtain guests were shocked, but Yan Zhuang did not change his face as if nothing happened, and his hand holding the wine glass did not even shake, because he had expected this matter a long time ago.

"Come, come, drink, drink." Yan Zhuang drank the wine in his glass.

"Gong Yan, how is this good? Chang'an was lost, the barrier was lost, and the Tang army was afraid of counterattacking Tongguan Luoyang. At such a time, can Yan Gongyan be indifferent? How could Marshal Shi not even notice the rebellion of his subordinates, this is over, my Great Yan Kingdom is in danger. The staff panicked.

Yan solemnly flicked his sleeves and said, "What do you know? What should come will come after all. Shi Si was clearly wronged, but even if Shi Chaoyi and Tian Chenghei did not make trouble, Chang'an would not be able to be saved. I expected this. ”

The guests looked at Yan Zhuang blankly, and one of the staff members was very clever, and said with a smile: "It turns out that Yan Gong has already expected it, so it's fine." Since Yan Gong had expected it, then there must be a countermeasure. ”

All the staff members also reacted, and they all laughed and said: "That's that, Yan Gong has the style of the former Jin Xie Gong, and he doesn't talk and laugh when the big thing is coming, it turns out that he has a heart for him." ”

Yan Zhuang said lightly: "I'm not as capable as Xie An, but this matter is really what I expected." Ladies and gentlemen, if you drink another glass of wine, Your Majesty is afraid that you will announce my audience, and if such a big thing happens, Your Majesty will probably be restless. ”

When Yan Zhuang walked into An Qingxu's bedroom, An Qingxu was walking back and forth with a red face like a defeated rooster, and when he saw Yan Zhuang coming in, An Qingxu seemed to have seen a life-saving straw, and stepped forward in three steps and two steps to grab Yan Zhuang's sleeve and shouted: "Brother, something is wrong." ”

Yan Zhuang arched his hand and said: "The minister Yan Zhuang sees Your Majesty." ”

"Oh, what's the etiquette at this time? The city of Chang'an was lost. Damn Shi Chaoyi, this dog thief actually killed Shi Siming and surrendered the city. This is an unkind and unrighteous dog thief who is not as good as a pig and a dog. An Qingxu scolded angrily.

Shi Siming looked at An Qingxu with a strange expression, An Qingxu was stunned, and suddenly understood something, and his face turned red. Shi Chaoyi is certainly unkind and unjust, pigs and dogs are not as good, didn't he also kill his father An Lushan and take the throne? I don't have the right to scold Shi Chaoyi, because I and he are all the way.

Yan Zhuang didn't embarrass An Qingxu, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I already know about Chang'an, Your Majesty doesn't have to worry." The minister has already had a countermeasure. ”

An Qingxu said happily: "It turns out that my brother has already had a countermeasure, that's great." I said that my brother is omnipotent, how could I not consider the aftermath after the fall of Chang'an? Let me guess, is it my brother who decided to defend Tongguan? Blocking the Tang army to the west of Tongguan? ”

"Your Majesty, Tongguan can't be defended, don't look at the 60,000 troops stationed now, but these 60,000 soldiers and horses are just for show. If the Tang people come to attack, Tongguan will be broken overnight. ”

The smile on An Qingxu's face disappeared instantly, and he said in amazement: "If Tongguan is also lost, won't Luoyang be finished?" What should I do? Isn't it time for us to consider leaving Luoyang, there will soon be a large army here. ”

Yan Zhuang glanced at An Qingxu with a hint of disdain, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, Luoyang is the capital of my Great Chu, how can you just leave." If Your Majesty leaves Luoyang, won't the morale of the army be scattered? ”

"What then? Is it impossible to wait for the Tang Army to press the border? Leaving here and going back to Fan Yang can at least drag on for a while. ”

Yan Zhuang frowned and said, "Your Majesty, what about going back to Fanyang?" If Luoyang is lost, wouldn't returning to Fanyang let them catch turtles in the urn? They will go all the way north, compressing us in Youzhou and Fuzhou, and further north is the Khitan place, do you think the Khitans will allow us to go to their territory and become emperors? ”

An Qingxu's face turned pale, and he said dumbly: "Brother, didn't this mean that we have no way out." Can I fight with them? We still have more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. ”

Yan Zhuang shook his head and said: "It's not a good idea to fight to the death, don't worry, Your Majesty, the minister said, the minister already has a way to deal with it." This situation had been predicted by the minister a few months ago. The minister had already begun to prepare. ”

An Qingxu said happily: "Then tell me quickly, otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight, and my heart is full of discomfort like scratching like a wild cat." ”

Yan Zhuang smiled and said: "Your Majesty is at ease, Rong Chen is good." ”

The monarch and the minister sat down, and in An Qingxu's expectant eyes, Yan Zhuang slowly spoke: "Your Majesty, the current unfavorable situation of my Great Chu State actually started with the defeat of Wang Yuan by Shi Siming's attack on Shu last year. From the beginning of that battle, my Da Chu was on the defensive. If Shi Siming had been able to capture Shu at the beginning, my Great Chu State would have already destroyed the Tang Dynasty, and I would have no worries. At this time, the bane is on the same day. ”

An Qingxu frowned and said, "What's the use of talking about this now?" The matter is irreparable, and I am asking what to do with the current situation. ”

"Your Majesty, don't be so anxious, Rong Chen said slowly. After the defeat of the attack on Shu that day, the minister persuaded the emperor to agree to lead the army to the south. Because the minister can see it clearly, if I want to be invincible, I must seize the southeast. First, the southeast has a vast area and abundant products, which cannot be compared with the north. If you seize the southeastern half of the country, you will have to guarantee both financial and military resources. In the past, the soldiers and horses of our Great Chu State captured Chang'an like a bamboo, and oppressed Li Longji in a corner of Shudi, which could have been broken in one fell swoop, but why did they slow down? Does Your Majesty know? ”

"Isn't that because Wang Yuan is too powerful and Shi Siming is too stupid? The 160,000 army attacked Shu and was defeated by Wang Yuan with 60,000 soldiers and horses in Tongzhou, isn't this a turning point? An Qingxu gritted his teeth and said.

"No, what Your Majesty said is only one of the reasons. Wang Yuan and his Shence army are indeed brave, but Shi Siming's ineffective use of troops cannot be blamed. Wang Yuan sent Gao Xianzhi to raid Chang'an from the north road, and Shi Siming had to return to the army to save him even if he still had the strength to fight again. It can only be said that Wang Yuan is cunning and shrewd, and he has a strategy in using soldiers. But in fact, without the support of the southeast state capital's finance, taxation, money and food, Your Majesty thinks about it, how can it support the millions of refugees gathered in the right land of Jiannan Hexi and Longyou? After our army seized Chang'an, it should not have attacked Shu, but sent troops to hold Chang'an, and at the same time concentrated troops to cross the river to attack the south, seize the southeast, and cut off the supply of money, food and materials, which is the most correct strategy. With the might of our army that day, if we go all out to the south, I am afraid that we will have already pocketed all the southeastern prefectures. Once Li Longji's money and food were cut off, millions of refugees and people in Shudi, Wang Yuan and his hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses would be defeated. The mistake of the offensive strategy is the root cause of today's situation. ”

An Qingxu heard it clearly, nodded slightly, and said: "What my brother said is reasonable, it seems that he really shouldn't attack Shu." Why didn't you suggest it to your father in the first place? ”

Yan Zhuang shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Your Majesty, you don't know that after the army was raised, the minister advised the emperor several times and asked him not to ascend the throne and become the emperor." The emperor was very dissatisfied with me, and he would not listen to my words at all. Shi Siming and others said that the army went straight to Shu, captured Li Longji and dedicated it to His Majesty, and destroyed the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop. This remark was in line with the emperor's wishes, and the ministers spoke lightly, and the words they said became the wind in the ears of the emperor. ”