Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

After the Maweipo Incident, Li Heng fled southward with two thousand forbidden troops like a lost dog.

Why to the south?

To the east is Chang'an, which has been occupied by rebels; to the north is Hexi, where Zhou Jun's command is stationed; to the west is Shuzhong, where Li Longji wanted to retire, and Li Heng did not dare to go.

It seemed that the only option was to flee to the south first, taking one step at a time.

On this day, Li Heng ordered the army to march quickly and finally arrived at the boundary of Shiquan on Shannan East Road.

After confirming that there were no pursuers, Li Heng ordered the army to camp near Shiquan to rest, while he himself frowned in his tent.

Li Chu, the king of Guangping (later known as Daizong Li Yu), and Li Tan, the king of Jianning, under the leadership of his chamberlain Li Jingzhong, jointly requested an interview with Li Heng.

After Li Heng agreed, Li Chu and Li Tan entered the camp together and paid their respects to the former.

Li Heng waved his hand and motioned for the two of them to sit down. Before he could speak, there was a burst of sighs and boos.

Li Chu glanced at Li Jingzhong, who shook his head slightly, with helplessness on his face.

Li Heng asked at this time: "At that time in Maweipo, if I had shouldered a thorn to plead guilty, would it be better than now?"

When Li Chu heard this, he quickly advised: "Father, you must not do this!"

Li Heng: "Why not?"

Li Chu: "Your Majesty's temper is well known to everyone here. Back then, Concubine Wu Hui just said some false accusations, and your Majesty demoted the prince and the two princes to common people. Later, in order to prevent future troubles, your majesty even killed him.

The three of them will be executed together... Even if the tiger's poison does not eat its seeds, His Majesty's treatment of his children is really frightening."

Li Heng was silent at first, and then sighed: "It was indeed my fault regarding Maweipo..."

Li Chu then advised: "Don't you think about how father got through these years? In Chang'an, every day was like walking on thin ice. Time and time again, I was almost framed by others. The incident in Maweipo was not my father's fault, but

It’s just adapting to the situation.”

When Li Heng heard this, he finally felt better and said: "Everything was going well, but no one expected that Zhou Jun, the military governor of Anxi, would lead three hundred soldiers and come all the way here.

Maweipo."

Li Tan on the side said: "Father, it is useless to think about how Zhou Jun appeared now. How about summarizing where we should go next?"

Li Heng nodded and said: "This is reasonable, so in your opinion, what should be done next?"

Li Chu: "My father led the troops and left without saying goodbye. His Majesty was angry and must have issued an imperial edict to arrest us. Zhou Jun is loyal to your Majesty, so there is Shuofang in Hexi and Longyou, so naturally he cannot go."

Li Heng: "The world is so big, is there no place for me?"

Li Chu thought for a moment and suggested: "Father, why not go to Jiangnan?"

Li Heng was stunned: "Jiangnan?"

Li Chu: "The rebels are now entrenched in Guanzhong, Hebei, Henan, and Hedong. Judging from the map, the Tang Dynasty has been divided into two parts, the north and the south. Chang'an and Luoyang have been lost, and the imperial court has ceased to exist in name only. Most of the official posts in various places are abandoned, and the government decrees

There is no way to communicate with each other. And the two gateways to the south of the Yangtze River, Yongqiu and Nanyang, are heavily besieged by the rebels. In fact, the south of the Yangtze River is no different from an isolated island, and it is no longer possible to maintain contact with the north."

Li Heng understood somewhat when he heard this: "You mean, go to Jiangnan to take advantage of the situation?"

Li Chu: "Not just taking advantage of the situation, in my opinion, my father should go a step further and directly proclaim himself emperor in Jiangnan!"

Li Heng opened his eyes wide and trembled: "What did you say?!"

Li Chu: "Father, don't panic, please listen to me slowly."

"First, Your Majesty pretended to be the imperial commander and went on a personal expedition. In fact, he abandoned the civil and military personnel of the court and the people in the city and fled to Shu alone. This is an unethical act and has lost the hearts of the world. Once Jiangnan Prefecture and County learn about this, the lightest people will be heartbroken.

Alienation may lead to divorce. As a prince and a descendant of the Tang Dynasty, my father went to the south of the Yangtze River to proclaim himself emperor, so he could win people's hearts and establish a new world."

"Second, Your Majesty fled to the middle of Shu. The roads there are difficult and dangerous, and information is blocked. It is extremely difficult to send out government orders or obtain information. This just gives my father a chance to breathe and consolidate his forces as soon as possible."

"Thirdly, the south of the Yangtze River is a prosperous land, a land of fish and rice. There are many rivers there and there are countless fortified cities. If my father goes there, although he will not have enough troops, he will be able to fight against the rebels due to the favorable geographical location."

After hearing this, Li Heng felt a little relieved and couldn't help but ask: "Is there any more?"

Li Tan on the side said: "Father, if I remember correctly, your teacher is He Jian (He Zhizhang), a mad guest from the Siming Dynasty?"

Li Heng: "Not bad."

Li Tan: "He Jian is from Yuezhou (today's Shaoxing, Zhejiang). There are private schools in Kuaiji, Suzhou, and Qu'a. Many officials in the Jiangnan official circles are from his sect. Even the Five Lingnan Prefectures

Envoy Fu Zhan is both an outer disciple of Prison He. As the prince, my father is the first disciple of Prison He. He can use this relationship to win over officials and use them for his own purposes."

Hearing this, Li Heng couldn't help but nod his head.

When Li Chu heard this, he added: "Father, once you proclaim yourself emperor in the south of the Yangtze River and conquer people's hearts with your kindness, classmates, and righteousness, even if your majesty knows about it in Shu and sends an imperial edict. At that time, students will

The rice has been cooked, officials have real power in the new dynasty, and each other's interests are tied together, so who would care about the old dynasty and be willing to give up everything they have?"

After hearing this, Li Heng breathed a sigh of relief and finally no longer panicked in his heart.

Li Jingzhong had been watching from the side and finally said: "I dare you to say a word. It is better to ascend to the throne sooner rather than later. At present, the rebels are attacking Yongqiu and Nanyang. If His Highness can show up in Jiangnan, he will be able to raise his arms again."

Phew, Jiangnan prefectures and counties will definitely respond. If we can win a few more victories, then the hearts of the people will return to Your Highness."

Li Heng nodded vigorously and said after thinking: "I have made a decision. I will rest in Shiquan for a day today and set off tomorrow to go to Wuguan as soon as possible and then go south to Nanyang."

Li Chu suggested: "Nanyang is currently besieged by rebels and the situation is complicated. Why don't my father change the destination to Xiangyang? It is not far from Nanyang, and the city is strong and there are enough soldiers."

Li Heng: "Okay."

Just when Li Heng led two thousand forbidden troops and marched south to Xiangyang, the war situation in Nanyang became increasingly unoptimistic.

The guard general of Nanyang City was Lu Jiong, the governor of Nanyang. This man was tall and well versed in classics and history. He entered the official position with his family background and was loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

After the fall of Tongguan, there were only a few thousand defenders in Nanyang City. An Lushan ordered his general Wu Lingxun to lead tens of thousands of elite troops to attack the city.

The rebels have been attacking for several months, but Nanyang remains as strong as a rock.

An Lushan was angry and dismissed Wu Lingxun as the commander-in-chief and replaced him with general Tian Chengsi.

Tian Chengsi, a native of Lulong, Hebei, was a tough man, brave and good at fighting, and managed the army neatly. He was one of the most capable generals under An Lushan.

In the history books, it was he who defeated Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi successively and opened the road for the rebels to Luoyang.

At this time, Nanyang City had been besieged for many months, and the food was exhausted. The price of rice increased ten thousand times, and it was sold for fifty thousand yuan a dou, and it was still expensive but not marketable.

After the soldiers and civilians in the city ran out of food, they began to hunt rats. The price of a rat later increased to 400 coins.

After the rats were eaten, reinforcements still didn't arrive. Lu Jiong had no choice but to order cannibalism.

It stands to reason that Nanyang, as the gateway to the south of the Yangtze River, has a vital strategic position. Why has it been so difficult to welcome reinforcements?

In the final analysis, it is still because of the respective leaders of Datang Prefecture and County officials.

Chang'an fell, the emperor fled, and the imperial decree was interrupted.

Taken together, these few things gradually changed the mentality of state and county officials stationed in various places.

Some people, facing the menacing rebels, are afraid and dare not resist, and even have thoughts of surrender, so they will not send reinforcements. Others are worried that after sending reinforcements or providing food and grass, their symptoms will worsen.

Under the pressure of local defense, if the city under his jurisdiction was lost, not only the people in the city would suffer, but the court would also be held responsible afterwards, and there would be no excuses.

As a result, in various prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, the strange scene of "everyone sweeping the snow in front of their own door" appeared, which also brought opportunities for the rebels to take advantage of.

After learning that there was no food in Nanyang City and that the defenders had begun cannibalism, Tian Chengsi used food as a psychological attack tactic while sending large armies to attack the city in turn.

Several times the rebels almost captured the city wall, but it was Lu Jiong who prepared his troops and managed to hold on.

At the critical moment of Nanyang City, Li Heng led the imperial army into the territory of Dengzhou. He first killed two prefects who wanted to surrender to the Yan army, and then recruited many troops. Finally, he ordered to raise food and grass, recruit volunteers, and take advantage of the night.

Rush to the aid of Nanyang.

When Lu Jiong, the governor of Nanyang, heard that the prince had led troops into Dengzhou, he initially thought his subordinates were lying.

When he saw supplies and reinforcements entering the city, he finally believed that the prince was here.

Upon learning that Prince Li Heng had arrived in Dengzhou, and that food and reinforcements had arrived, Nanyang City was filled with joy, and the morale of the soldiers and civilians was greatly boosted.

The daring Lu Jiong also took advantage of this opportunity and organized a sneak attack.

Tian Chengsi never expected that the defenders in the city suffered heavy casualties, their troops were tight, and they were seriously short of food. Under such circumstances, Lu Jiong actually dared to sneak attack the Yan army at night.

Caught off guard, the Yan army fell into chaos and retreated thirty miles, losing countless supplies of food and fodder.

The victory of Nanyang greatly reduced the pressure on the battlefield on the western front of Jiangnan.

More importantly, Li Heng also gained the general Lu Jiong through this victory, and also won the hearts and minds of Jiangnan West Road, and the momentum gradually grew.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Heng, who was in Xiangyang, under the persuasion of many civil and military officials, first pretended to be humble several times, and finally, "unable to do so", held a simple enthronement ceremony and changed the reign name to

Zhi De, and changed the year to Zhi De Yuan Zai, consecrated Li Longji as the Supreme Emperor, and officially proclaimed himself emperor.