Half an hour later, the waiter Xiao Maozi returned to the big tent with one foot and one foot in a shallow foot, and reported to An Qingxu, who was already waiting for an anxious mood, what he had discovered. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Your Majesty, the slave maid climbed the slope of Beishan Mountain to take a look, the Tang army is indeed withdrawing. It seems to be retreating towards this western mountain pass. The slave and maid crawled there and watched for a long time, thinking that they would come back early to report it, so they did not stay long. ”

"Are you sure you can see clearly?" An Qingxu asked.

"The torches are like long dragons, and the blind can see clearly. The soldiers on the hill must have been able to see it. Didn't they come to report it? Xiao Maozi said.

"It must be Yan Zhuang, this old boy, intercepted the news, hehe, my soldiers and horses have become his surname Yan. Dezhang, Dehao, what do you say to do now? It turns out that what you've heard is true, how should I deal with it? An Qingxu said in a deep voice.

Ye Dezhang said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, we can't sit still. The slave maid means that while Yan Zhuang does not know that the conspiracy has been revealed, we should strike first. ”

"What's the first strike? Now the soldiers and horses are all in his hands, and if one is not careful, we are all finished. An Qingxu hesitated.

"Your Majesty, according to the slave maid, Yan Zhuang's move must have been hidden from the generals in the army, otherwise why didn't he directly lead the army to surrender? Instead, you want to run away? This shows that he can't control all the soldiers and horses, which means that most of the Great Yan army is still under His Majesty's orders. The culprit is Yan Zhuang, as long as we slaughter Yan Zhuang, gather the generals to announce his plot, and kill his henchmen, the army will return to the hands of Your Majesty. Ye Dezhang said.

An Qingxu nodded slowly and said: "What I said is that most of the soldiers and horses are my old subordinates, and he is solemn and has a few people loyal to him." If I hadn't given him the power, how would he be where he is today? But how can you get rid of him? It's not good to force him to take risks. ”

"Your Majesty, this matter is easy to do, Your Majesty summoned him to see him, and Your Majesty killed him while he was unprepared. After killing him, we mastered the soldiers and horses, and we just broke through from the north. Yan Zhuang did a lot of calculations, but he didn't expect that the escape path he left for himself happened to become a passage for His Majesty to escape from here. After the Tang army in the north withdrew, His Majesty rushed out with the army and went all the way to the north, didn't he just escape alive? ”

"Okay, that's it. Yan Zhuang was smart but was mistaken by cleverness, but it just opened a way for me to live. Yan Zhuang, Yan Zhuang, although you have contributed a lot to me, you should not betray me. You are unkind and unjust, no wonder I am unjust. ”

……

Yan Zhuang was woken up from his sleep and said that His Majesty wanted to see him to discuss things. Yan Zhuang was very unhappy, and he was busy for a few days directing the soldiers and horses to build fortifications to prevent the enemy from attacking the valley, and he was so tired that his bones hurt. Your Majesty doesn't do business every day, sleeps a lot during the day, and doesn't sleep at night, tossing and turning, which is really tiresome.

But Yan Zhuang couldn't help but see him, so he had to sigh and get up and dress, and ordered his guards to carry lanterns to lead the way to His Majesty's dragon tent.

After entering the door, Yan Zhuang caught a glimpse of An Qingxu sitting under the lamp with a gloomy face, and the atmosphere in the tent made people feel a little strange. However, during this time, An Qingxu has always looked like he is going to die, and Yan Zhuang didn't pay attention to it.

"Your Majesty. Why, can't Your Majesty sleep again? Your Majesty is relieved that the fortifications for the entrance to the valley on three sides have been completed. The cavalry of the Shence Army will be difficult to break through, and the terrain is favorable to us, so they will not be able to please them. Yan Zhuang smiled and sat down in front of An Qingxu.

An Qingxu slowly raised his head to look at Yan Zhuang, and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Yan, did I let you sit down?" Seeing that I can't bow down, is it just a gesture? Am I not majestic in your eyes? Is it okay to be casual and dismissive? ”

Yan Zhuang was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly got up and said, "Your Majesty, how dare the minister." The minister is just ......"

An Qingxu frowned and waved his hand, "That's it...... I don't care about that anymore. I called you because I got a message. The Tang army in the northern mountain pass seems to be retreating, you know this? ”

Yan Zhuang was stunned, and suddenly said: "It turns out that Your Majesty summoned ministers for this matter. The minister already knew about it. ”

An Qingxu squinted at Yan Zhuang and said, "What do you think about this?" What did the Don army do when it withdrew from the valley to the north? Do you leave us a way out? ”

Yan Zhuang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't think too much about this, this is just a trick of the Tang people." They knew that it would be difficult to break into the valley, so they deliberately created the illusion of retreating troops to deceive us into breaking through from the north. The Tang army is probably lying in ambush outside the valley. How can such carving insect skills deceive the ministers. Your Majesty doesn't have to think much about this, there is a minister to take responsibility, Your Majesty just relax. ”

An Qingxu said coldly: "So, the withdrawal of troops from the Tang people in the north is an illusion?" ”

Yan Zhuang nodded and said, "Of course." The old minister will not fall for them. Tomorrow is the fifth day, and the Tang people can't bear it anymore and will definitely attack. The minister's idea was that when the Tang army's attack was frustrated tomorrow, the minister would lead the army to launch a counterattack. The Tang people would never have thought that we would dare to take the initiative to fight back, so we would definitely mobilize reinforcements. At that time, His Majesty can lead 5,000 guards to break through to the West Valley Pass. They would not have expected that His Majesty would actually break through to the west of Chuzhou City, and we just wanted to catch them off guard. After His Majesty broke through the siege, he could rush out directly to the north, and then plunge headlong into the Langya Mountain in the west of the city, and they would be helpless. Although Langya Mountain is not high, the mountain is deep and wide, the ravines are criss-crossed, and the dense forests are everywhere, and there are millions of troops, and they don't want to search the whole mountain. There are fruits and vegetables in the mountains, and there is no worry about going hungry. At least until winter arrives, His Majesty can stay safely in the mountains and forests. In the future, if there is a chance, I will go out of the mountain to attack the city, in short, I can attack and retreat, and the initiative is mine. ”

"Hehe, wouldn't I have become the king of the mountain. Yan Zhuang, you are quite thoughtful. An Qingxu said coldly.

"How dare the minister not think about it, Your Majesty's safety is related to the survival of my Dayan, and the minister must protect Your Majesty no matter what. For the sake of the overall situation, His Majesty can only go to the mountains and forests to suffer some hardships and grievances. "Said solemnly and sincerely.

An Qingxu laughed. "Prime Minister Yan is really my loyal courtier. I don't know how to thank you. I will give you something as a token of my gratitude to Prime Minister Yan. ”

"Don't dare, Your Majesty doesn't need to be like this, this is the duty of a courtier." Yan Zhuang said busily.

"Hey. That can't be done, I must reward it. There is nothing to reward around me, this green dragon sword has been with me for many years, so I will reward it to Prime Minister Yan. No, go on. ”

An Qingxu picked up a sword in the corner of the case, held the hilt of the sword in one hand, and handed it over with the scabbard in the other. Yan Zhuang had to reach out to catch the sword. He said in a loud voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty." ”

"No thanks." An Qingxu gritted his teeth and said these three words, and with a bang, the Qinglong sword came out of its sheath and flashed with a cold light. The next moment, Yan Zhuang's chest, who was holding the scabbard, was stabbed into by this green dragon sword, and it came out through his back, and black blood dripped from the tip of the sword.

Yan Zhuang froze in shock, his face full of consternation, the sharp pain made his face distort, and his handsome face became as terrifying as a ghost.

"Your Majesty...... What are you...... Do? ”

"You're still asking me? You colluded with the Tang people to sacrifice me to Wang Yuan in exchange for your escape from Beigukou. I hold you so highly that you dare to betray me. How can I tolerate you? An Qingxu shouted.

"Minister...... No, no, no. Yan Zhuang's body twisted, and blood flowed from his mouth. He didn't know why this happened, but after seeing the smiling smiles of Ye Dezhang and Yang Dehao, the two chamberlains who escaped last night but appeared next to An Qingxu, Yan Zhuang seemed to understand something. However, this awakening came too late.

"Your Majesty...... You have wronged your ministers. Minister...... How is it possible to do such a thing. Hey, that's it...... The most wrong thing a minister has done in his life...... It's your help. Your Majesty, you are so disappointing, Dayan Kingdom, it's over! Yan Zhuang spoke intermittently, and he already felt the shadow of death enveloping him.

An Qingxu pulled out his long sword, and blood gushed from the wounds on Yan Zhuang's chest and back. A moment later, there was a pop, and the corpse lay on the ground. This person can be regarded as a talented and resourceful person, but unfortunately he took the wrong path and followed the wrong person, and in the end he did not die in the hands of the Tang people, but died in the hands of An Qingxu, who assisted him.

After killing Yan Zhuang, An Qingxu immediately summoned all the ministers and generals into the account, and the civil and military ministers were extremely surprised when they saw Yan Zhuang's corpse, An Qingxu immediately told the conspiracy of Yan Zhuang to betray himself that the two internal agents heard, and for a while the ministers were dumbfounded and speechless.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know that the situation is critical now, but the more this happens, the more it is time to show your loyalty to the Great Yan Kingdom. Yan Zhuang, the dog thief, collaborated with the enemy and rebelled, and there should be this retribution. Some of you have befriended him, but I have no intention of pursuing the matter. I hope that my kindness will bring these people to repentance. An Qingxu said loudly.

Although there are civil and military officials who have a good relationship with Yan Zhuang, in fact, there are not many of them. Yan Zhuang is a person who usually has a large group, but he is a little stubborn and self-serving, in fact, he has offended a lot. He died, and many people were actually very happy in their hearts. The only thing to worry about is that Yan Zhuang is dead, who will preside over the overall situation. The current situation is so sinister that no one can turn it around. However, An Qingxu's next words made them quite happy.

"Yan Zhuang colluded with the Tang people. Intended to sell the owner to save his life. He made an agreement with the Tang people to let the Tang people withdraw the soldiers and horses outside the North Valley for him to escape, but this move gave us a chance to break through. Taking advantage of the fact that the news of their conspiracy had not yet been known to the Tang people, I decided to immediately reorganize my troops and prepare to break through to the north. Just now, I ordered people to investigate the situation outside the valley to the north, and the cavalry of the Tang Army was evacuating. So that's our chance to get out of trouble. ”

The civil and military forces were overjoyed when they heard this, but they didn't expect that although Yan Zhuang was dead, he pointed out a way out for the breakthrough, and this opportunity could not be missed. So they agreed. An Qingxu immediately ordered all the troops to return to the camp to prepare, and after the Tang army evacuated the soldiers and horses, they immediately rushed out of the valley from the mouth of the North Valley to break through.