Tibet

An Qingxu failed to attack Jingxiang and lost the opportunity to enter Guanzhong from Shangluo Road in the southeast.

The battle at Tongguan was very unfavorable. The general Gao Xianzhi had rich experience. He commanded the Tang army to take advantage of the natural dangers of Tongguan and defend the city. One hundred thousand Yan troops attacked the city for a month, and the Yan army lost more than 30,000 troops, but they could never break through the gate of Tongguan.

That morning, An Lushan came to the city in person and lay on the dragon chariot carried by sixteen people. His face was livid. He suddenly whipped his general Cui Qianyou in the face with his backhand, and a streak of blood suddenly appeared on his face. Cui Qianyou was frightened. He immediately knelt down, followed by dozens of generals behind him.

An Lushan cursed: "You are a bunch of losers. I raised you all in vain. You can't even capture Tongguan. How can you be expected to capture Chang'an?"

Cui Qianyou clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Chang'an is easy to attack, but Tongguan is difficult to attack. If I have a suggestion, I can also attack Chang'an!"

"What's your suggestion? Tell me!"

"Wei Chen suggested dividing the troops to attack Pujin Pass. Although Pujin Pass is also a military fortress, it is indeed easier than Tongguan."

An Lushan said bitterly: "You are the commander-in-chief. You can just make your decision. Do you still want to ask me?"

"Wei Chen obeys the order!"

An Lushan immediately returned to the camp, and Cui Qianyou immediately ordered deputy general Sun Xiaozhe to lead an army of 30,000 people to cross the Yellow River from Fengling, cross Zhongtiao Mountain, and attack Hedong City.

An Lushan returned to the camp gloomily. Prime Minister Yan Zhuang advised: "Your Majesty is actually a little too hasty to attack Guanzhong. Although the Tang Dynasty is corrupt, its centuries-old heritage is still there. It is not wise to attack with force. It is wise to use both soft and hard tactics."

An Lushan nodded, "Tell me, what's a soft attack?"

"Your Majesty, Bian Lingcheng is the supervisor of Tongguan. Isn't it a pity that such a greedy villain cannot be used? And the Rong Wang Li Wan holds military power. He will not aspire to the position of prince? There is also Feilong lurking in Chang'an, ready to make a move. , now the attack is too hasty, and their contradictions have been suppressed by foreign enemies. As long as His Majesty withdraws his troops slightly to reduce their war pressure, their various internal contradictions will definitely break out. When they break their legs, we can't attack Guanzhong again. Not too late!"

An Lushan thought for a moment and said, "You're right, I was a little too impatient."

He immediately ordered: "According to my decree, the army will suspend the attack on Chang'an and return to Shaanzhou to rest and recuperate."

Cui Ganyou and other Yan army generals breathed a sigh of relief. Sun Xiaozhe, who had just prepared to cross the river and go north, also withdrew. Although Pujin Pass was easier to attack than Tongguan, it was not easy to cross Zhongtiao Mountain, and it was even more difficult to attack Hedong City. In fact, the difficulty was also the same.

An Lushan also ordered Fei Ge to send a message to Chang'an intelligence chief Liu Luogu, ordering him to bring treasure worth 50,000 guan to bribe the supervisor Bian Lingcheng.

Yan Zhuang indeed saw accurately that under the strong military oppression of the Yan army, all internal conflicts in the Tang Dynasty ceased.

Although Li Longji hated Li Ye deeply, under Gao Lishi's repeated persuasion, he had to put the overall situation first, established the Jianghan Jiedu Mansion, named Li Ye the Jianghan Jiedu Envoy, and at the same time removed Li Dai from the Nandong Road Tuanlian the duties of an envoy.

There is also the prince. Li Longji has believed Feilong's words and the prince will launch a mutiny against him. He is already considering deposing the prince. However, the situation in Tongguan is tense and he has to suspend the decision to depose the prince.

With An Lushan's withdrawal, the pressure on Tongguan eased. Li Longji took a breath and his mind became active again.

In the imperial study room of the inner palace, Li Longji is listening to Yuan Siyi's report. Yuan Siyi has become more and more trusted by Li Longji in the past two years and has gradually surpassed Gao Lishi.

"Your Majesty, King Guangning had a secret meeting with Fang Guan, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, at noon yesterday, and in the evening he went to the Prince's East Palace under the pretext of greeting his father. The prince actually communicated with the outside world through King Guangning."

Of course Li Longji knew that the prince was in contact with the outside world through King Guangning. He had let go of this gap. He had loosened his grip on other princes and loosened the prince's connection with the outside world.

But now Li Longji wants to take advantage of the prince. He needs to find an excuse to depose the prince. The key is to see who the prince contacts?

Contacting the court civil servants is of little significance to deposing the prince. The prince also reads memorials and needs to express his opinions. So contacting the court civil servants is probably for this purpose. At least he has such an excuse.

The key is to contact the military, the vassal town or senior military officials who hold military power. This is what Li Longji is most taboo about, and it is also where he can find an excuse to depose the prince.

"Does he have any contact with Xiangyang?" Li Longji asked with a long face.

"Nothing has been found yet. There may be a connection, but through which channel they contacted, I can't find out yet."

"Is there any connection between King Guangping and Dugu Mansion?" Li Longji asked sharply.

"Nothing found yet!"

Li Longji pondered for a moment and said: "When you have time, ask Feilong, if one day the prince wants to launch a coup, where will his army come from?"

"Old slave, I understand!"

"Go!"

Yuan Siyi left in a hurry, and Li Longji felt a splitting headache. He slowly took out a pill from the drawer, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. After a while, a look of pleasure appeared on his face, and he squinted to enjoy the elation. moment.

He also knew that the Fu Shou Pills he was taking contained aphrodisiac, which would be harmful to the body if taken in excess, but he could no longer quit. The best he could do was to ask the imperial doctor to make a reconciliation and remove the aphrodisiac ingredients in it to reduce the toxicity, although it caused him to lose his man. However, after taking Fushou Pills, he found another paradise.

After a long time, Li Longji sighed softly. This ecstatic feeling made him happy.

At night, inside the Xuandu Temple in Chang'an, two young Taoist priests were leading the way with lanterns, and Rong Wang Li Wan followed behind. Behind him were two guards with high martial arts skills.

Since King Qing Li Cong was forced to commit suicide by taking poison, King Rong Li Wan has become the most likely prince to replace the crown prince and take over the East Palace. He has attracted more people's attention and has gradually become the focus of the court's attention.

But Li Wan also knew that his own foundation was not enough, and he must get the support of more powerful people.

It's just that Li Wan was a little naive. He didn't know the real reason why his brother Li Cong was given poison to commit suicide. He always thought that his brother killed An Qingzong, and his father was afraid that An Lushan would rebel, so he was given death to apologize to An Lushan.

If Li Wan knew that the real reason why Li Cong was killed was that he colluded with Feilong, then Li Wan would not appear in Xuandu Temple anyway.

Li Wan arrived in Chang'an this afternoon and was preparing to report to his father tomorrow. He seized the opportunity in the evening to meet Feilong.

Like Li Cong, Li Wan always thought that Feilong was a member of the clan and became a monk. He had no idea that Feilong was his imperial grandfather.

Not long after, Li Wan arrived at the small courtyard where Feilong lived quietly. Feilong was already waiting for him in the courtyard.

Li Wan stepped forward and bowed, "See you, senior!"

Feilong nodded and said with a smile: "Please come and sit in the room!"

The two came to the room and sat down. The little Taoist boy came in and served tea. Li Wan was silent for a moment and said: "Senior has always advised me to seize the opportunity, but sometimes it is difficult for me to make up my mind. After all, he is my father!"

Feilong squinted his eyes and said: "When he killed your brother, did he ever have the feeling of father and son? When he killed Li Ying, Li Yao and Li Ju, did he ever think that this was his biological son? Looking back forty years, he He launched a congenital coup, killed his aunt Princess Taiping, and forced his father to abdicate. Does he have any sense of father-son ethics in his heart? Your Highness, if you want to take the throne, you must be as hard as iron and ruthless, or you should not have this idea."

Li Wan sighed, "I'm afraid the army won't obey me? They won't listen to my command then!"

Feilong sneered and said: "Why did I hand over ten thousand troops to you? Don't you still understand that these ten thousand troops are the cornerstone of your ascension to the throne, not the army of the imperial court? Did you bring these ten thousand troops?" "

Li Wan nodded, "They are stationed in Bashang!"

Feilong took out a box from the cabinet and handed it to him, "This is a plan I have prepared for a long time. It's called the Second Xuanwumen Incident, and we will attack the Daming Palace through Chongxuanmen and Xuanwumen."

Li Wan took the box and said after a while: "When will we do it?"

"Three days later, at midnight on the first day of June!"

Feilong saw the hesitation in his eyes and said seriously: "This is your only chance. You will never have another chance to lead an army in the future. Almost half of the army in Guanzhong is in your hands. If you give up this opportunity, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

Li Wan finally made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and said, "No poison, no husband, okay! I will listen to my seniors, and I will risk my life this time."