Chapter 423: Fighting An Thief (Part 1)

Li Yu went back to the imperial study directly. It was dusk at this time, and Li Mi had already returned to his house. Li Yu sat back on his seat and immediately ordered the eunuchs around him, "Go and invite Li Shangshu."

The eunuch went, Li Yu lay down and gently pinched the temples on both sides. At this time, he suddenly remembered that Wang Gong was still waiting outside, so he hurriedly said, "Captain Wang is here!"

After a moment, Wang Gong hurried in and bowed, "See Your Majesty!"

"Prime Minister, what's the matter if you have an urgent matter to me?"

"Your Majesty, I have discovered some clues. Whether it is the King of Shu or King Jing, they are both proficient in protecting themselves and are unwilling to work hard. I am thinking, no matter how they fight, even if they win, there is only one position in the East Palace in the future. How can they divide it? If I am not guessing wrong, this position should have been set for the King of Shu, and then there will be a conflict between the King of Shu and King of Jing. So I have a plan to alienate them, at least let King Jing withdraw his troops back to Jingzhou. In that way, General Meng Yun's army can withdraw to defend Chang'an. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested."

Li Yu nodded with interest and smiled: "Tell me, what counter-split strategy should I use?"

"Your Majesty can change the title of King Shu to King Qin, which will give the outside world an illusion. It seems that Your Majesty and the Emperor Taizu have reached some kind of agreement. In the future, King Jing will inevitably feel a grudge when the King of Shu enters the Eastern Palace. Then, Your Majesty sent someone to pretend to be the prefect of Yuzhang to write a letter saying that King Wu Lin led an 80,000 troops down the river and was advancing towards Jingxiang, giving Yang Guozhong an illusion. At the same time, we widely publicize it in Hanzhong. With King Jing's suspicious character, he will naturally worry that his nest will be lost. This two-pronged approach is true. I am sure that King Jing will retreat."

Li Yu thought carefully that Li Mao was indeed a suspicious person. This method was good and could be used. He immediately said happily: "I accept this method, and I will entrust the Prime Minister to fully implement this matter. The King of Shu should be appointed as King of Qin. I will issue an order tomorrow."

When Wang Gong saw that the emperor adopted his suggestion, he was overjoyed and said goodbye. After a while, the eunuch came to report, "Shu Li has arrived!"

Li Yu quickly ordered, "Please invite him in!"

He was full of expectations. He wanted to discuss with Li Yan how to expand and deepen the settlement of the land annexed by the royal family and the powerful.

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After Li Qing'an's army occupied Liangzhou, it did not stop. The army continued to advance and aimed directly at Huizhou. In the evening that day, after two days of crossing the river, Li Qing'an's 80,000 army had already crossed the Yellow River for 50,000. As the sky was dark, the wind on the river increased, and the water was rapid and the waves were high, Li Qing'an ordered the stop to cross the river, and the two armies were stationed on the banks of the Yellow River.

Li Qing'an had also crossed the Yellow River. His army was stationed in the wilderness about five miles away from the Yellow River. Huizhou's prefecture was under Huining County. Six miles away, it could be seen faintly with its dark city wall. At this time, Huining County was also occupied by Anxi, and there were high beacon towers on the city wall. If an enemy attacked, the beacon tower would immediately notify the Tang army camp several miles away.

The camp was very quiet. After a day of training, the soldiers all rested early. Li Qing'an's tent was brightly lit. More than a dozen senior generals were gathering to discuss the battle against An Lushan. At this time, the imperial decree had not yet reached this place, but the news that An Lushan's army had crossed the Yellow River in Yanzhou had been placed on Li Qing'an's desk.

This great battle with An Lushan was inevitable. This was not only their need to compete for the inner road of the Guandi, but also the first battle for the Anxi Army to look east. The two strong forces fought each other and the brave won. Over the years, the debate about whether the strongest warlords in the Tang Dynasty were the Fan Yang army or the Anxi Army has never been calmed down. Since the Anxi Army is located in the Western Regions and is too far from the Central Plains and is not understood, except for some officials of the imperial court, the people of the Tang Dynasty almost all recognized that Anlushan's Fan Yang army was stronger than Anxi Army, which many people saw with their own eyes.

An Lushan had an army of 300,000, and he fought from Hebei to Hedong. His murderous and boundless army had a profound impact on the military and civilians of the Tang Dynasty, but the Anxi Army was just a distant imagination. They were far away from the Thunder Leaf and had been fighting with foreign races. They had never appeared in the Central Plains, which was difficult to resonate with the people of the Tang Dynasty.

"Dear generals, this is our first battle to move to the Central Plains, and it is also a battle to show the power of our Anxi army. An Lushan's wolf ambitions were fishing and slaughtering people in Hedong, and the people in Hedong suffered a lot. At least half of our Anxi army were immigrants from Hedong. Therefore, the pain of attacking Anxi thieves was not only the will of the people of the Tang Dynasty, but also the morale of our Anxi army. I have obtained the latest information. The Anlushan army crossing the river is about 90,000, which is similar to our military strength. This is the time to test us. We must let the people in the world know who is the most powerful army in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Qing'an's war mobilization order was simple and effective. The officers in the tent were ready to fight and were eager for a battle. Especially Wu Yong, the general of Hedong who surrendered to Li Qing'an, was even more anxious. The more than 20,000 subordinates were from Hedong, and their father, wife and children were in Hedong. Now their parents, wives and children were trapped in An Lushan's hands. There was news that many people were murdered. They hated An Lushan's army to the core, hoping to fight back to Hedong and save their families.

At this time, Li Qing'an asked: "Who of you now wants to be the vanguard and lead the way forward for the army!"

Wu Yong immediately stood up and said, "I am willing to be the pioneer!"

Seeing that he was excited, Li Qingan smiled and said, "I'm afraid you will lead the troops too far and will directly attack Taiyuan."

Li Qing'an's joke caused a burst of laughter in the tent. At this time, General Tian Zhen also stood up and said, "General, the position of vanguard is a humble position!"

Wu Yong's face turned red and he immediately knelt down on one knee and said, "It is the duty of a soldier to obey military orders. Since he is willing to be a pioneer, he will never act without authorization. He is willing to guarantee the head of the people."

Tian Zhen also said without giving in: "I am willing to use my head to guarantee it. If there is any mistake, I can be killed and apologized!"

Li Qing'an nodded, "Okay! I will order you two to be the vanguards of the left and right, each leading 5,000 elite troops to lead first, and open the road and paving the bridge for our army."

At this time, a soldier came in and whispered a few words in Li Qing'an's ear. Li Qing'an smiled and said, "The imperial decree has arrived. Everyone will go back and prepare first. After 30,000 troops cross the river, the army will take action immediately."

The officers dispersed one after another, and the personal soldiers quickly packed up the big tent. After a moment, the officers on duty brought Pei Min, who had just arrived at the military camp.

Pei Min is Mingyue's uncle and has always had a good relationship with Li Qing'an. Li Yu sent him here in the hope of using his relationship with Li Qing'an to achieve his goals.

As soon as Pei Min entered the tent, he bowed and smiled, "General, we haven't seen each other for a long time."

Li Qingan hurriedly replied, "Uncle, don't be polite, please sit down quickly!"

The two men took a seat with the guests and the personal soldiers presented two cups of hot tea. Pei Min said, "I heard that Yue gave birth to a son, congratulations to her nephew."

Li Qingan smiled bitterly and said, "It's shameful to say that I'm already thirty-two, and I've only had children so far. Many people have become grandfathers at my age. If their descendants are not prosperous, they will be ashamed of their ancestors!"

"Don't say that, you will naturally find it difficult to take care of your family after many years of fighting. But you have built such a large territory for my Tang Dynasty. Not only have you recovered the Shayeye, but also drove the Dashi Army across the Wuhu River and restored the Tang Dynasty's rule over the river. You don't know that the Chang'an government and the country are very excited! The people of Chang'an are the same. They not only admire you, but also love your silver dollars. Haha! As the head of the Ministry of Revenue, I also like it very much!"

Pei Min's humor attracted the laughter of the two of them, and the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became lighter. At this time, Pei Min took a sip of tea and began to get to the point.

"Do you know why I am loyal to the Lord?"

Pei Min sighed and said, "When the case of Princess Huo was just out, we all thought that we ordered her to return the land at most, and then the matter was left unresolved. From ancient times to the present, all powerful people have dealt with the crimes like this. However, they never expected that the emperor actually confiscated Princess Huo's property, land and land, and took this opportunity to start investigating the land occupied by the royal family in Guanzhong. Seven families have been confiscated. Such courage is completely different from his former weakness. It makes people understand that he is really dealing with the accumulated traits of the Tang Dynasty, which suddenly made countless court officials feel sincerely support him."

"But he will cause death, and he will not last long."

"What's wrong with killing oneself for justice?"

Li Qingan did not agree with Li Yu's approach. He knew that Li Yu had to take this step more because of financial difficulties. However, when he saw that Pei Min was quite optimistic about Li Yu, he did not mention this matter and laughed it off.

"This time my uncle came, he should be burdened, right?"

Pei Min nodded, took out Li Yu's imperial edict from his side, and handed it to Li Qing'an: "The cumbersome etiquette will be spared. This is the official decree given to you by the Lord. You can see it yourself!"

Li Qing'an opened the imperial edict and hurriedly read it. As he thought, Li Yu appointed him as the placing envoy of the inner road of the pass, hoping that he would send troops to fight An Lushan.

On the side, Pei Min advised him again: "As the saying goes, only righteousness can lead to righteousness. The nephew is the governor of Anxi, but crossed the Yellow River to Guanlong. There was no sage or petition from the officials. It was actually arbitrarily employed troops. To put it seriously, it was suspected of rebellion. Although An Lushan also did not enter the capital under the imperial edict, his son was killed. He also had excuses. Out of momentary anger, it was understandable. As for Gao Xianzhi, he had the will of the late emperor. Guo Ziyi entered the capital under the imperial edict. Both of them were reasonable and evidence, and there was nothing to say. Only the nephew and Geshuhan entered the capital without authorization, which was difficult to explain to the world, but now it is different. The nephew received the imperial edict and conquered An Lushan. Once An Lushan defeated, the nephew would have made contributions to the country and convinced the people of the world. This is your opportunity to establish power in the world. If you defeat An Lushan, you are the representative of the righteous army."

Although Pei Min was good at luring and persuading each other, Li Qing'an did not buy it. He frowned and said, "Although my uncle's words make sense, my uncle knows that An Lushan crossed the river with 90,000 troops, and I was led by An Lushan himself. I only had 80,000 troops. I was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. Although Anxi army was good at fighting, Fan Yang's army had long fought against Khitan and was not weak. This time I used Anxi elites to fight Fan Yang. A battle against the backwater will definitely be a bloody battle. The soldiers fought with their lives. If I was defeated, I could only retreat to Anxi, and it would be difficult to turn over for several years. The price was not too high, but the emperor only gave me some encouragement, and I was afraid I would not be able to convince the public!"

Pei Min understood what Li Qing'an meant, and was negotiating the conditions. He immediately said: "Before I left, the emperor agreed that as long as the Anxi Army defeated this battle, the nephew can propose the title of the soldiers and the general will approve them. Moreover, the nephew is actually granted ten thousand households as the title of King Zhao. The nephew may not know that although the prince has granted ten thousand households, it is just a name. In fact, it is only a top three thousand households, and you will be the first person in ten thousand households."

Li Qing'an took a sip of tea and said slowly: "I don't care if there are thousands of households, but I don't care. My lifelong ideal is to cultivate oneself and govern the country and pacify the world. In terms of generals, I have become the governor of Anxi. I defeated the Dashi and opened up more than tens of millions of territory in the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that I have won the world by fighting against hundreds of battles. However, I have never been a prime minister in the court and have no achievements in governing the country. I have only the title of politicians and have never been to the Political Affairs Hall for a day. Yang Guozhong's mediocre talent has been secretly the right prime minister for many years. Li Qing'an is not talented and is willing to recommend himself and replace Yang Guozhong."

Pei Min was stunned. He didn't expect that Li Qing'an's condition was to be the right prime minister. After a while, he hesitated and asked, "Where is Anxi?"

Li Qing'an smiled, "Didn't Li Linfu also serve as the governor of Anxi?"

"this...."

Pei Min pondered for a moment and said, "Nephew, this matter is of great importance. I have no right to promise you. I will go back immediately and report to the emperor."

He stood up and bowed, "Then I'll leave first."

Li Qing'an also stood up and said, "Soldiers are very important, and the opportunity for war should not be missed. I can send troops to fight An Lushan first to show my sincerity. Please tell the emperor that if I am the right prime minister, within three years, I will destroy the world and rule the princes for him, and give the Tang Dynasty a bright blue sky. Then I will return to Anxi, and he and I will use the Yellow River as the boundary of the west to govern the country."

Pei Minshu was so angry that he was so excited that he shouted: "Okay! I will convince the emperor to say goodbye!"

Li Qing'an smiled slightly, "Uncle, please take care of yourself all the way!"

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Two days later, Li Qing'an's 80,000 Anxi army completed the reorganization. The 10,000 vanguard army, led by generals Tian Zhen and Wu Yong, divided the troops into two groups, one north and one south, heading towards Hepinggao County, Xiaoguan County, Yuanzhou.

This time, An Lushan crossed the Yellow River and expedition to the west, with general Shi Siming as the vanguard. He personally commanded the army. On the Tongguan side, his son An Qingxu and general Cai Xide continued to attack, but his troops were only 30,000, and the main forces were concentrated on the army crossing the River and expedition to the west.

An Lushan crossed the river from Yanzhou. After crossing the river, he rested for three days and then headed west. At this time, An Lushan's army was already in Huaian County, Qingzhou, and then passed through Qingzhou, Ningzhou and Jingzhou to enter the Guanzhong area. It took about five days. However, An Lushan was very cautious. He was not in a hurry to enter Beijing, but sent people to contact his confidant Liu Luogu and others in Chang'an to understand the current situation in Chang'an, and then look for opportunities to enter Beijing.

But not long after An Lushan entered Qingzhou, he heard about the news that Li Qing'an's army crossed the river in Huizhou. This news made him particularly nervous. He did not expect that Li Qing'an had already come from Anxi. Since the Anxi army crossed the Yellow River, both armies would enter Guanzhong from the inner road of Guanzhong. When they met on a narrow road, a fierce battle was inevitable.

If there is an opponent he valued by the Tang Dynasty, it was Li Qing'an's Anxi Army. He had been dealing with the Anxi Army for many years. When Li Qing'an entered Beijing as a captain, he had just been appointed as the General of the Central Army for a few days, he forced himself to break his son An Qingxu's leg and defeat Shi Siming with a pot of arrows at the birthday party of Lady Guo State. These two things made him deeply remembered. He realized at that time that Li Qing'an would not be a thing in the future, but he absolutely did not expect that Li Qing'an would eventually become the governor of Anxi, and after Jiancheng's crown prince, he was granted the title of King Zhao and commanded nearly 300,000 Anxi Army.

If An Lushan knew that one day Li Qing'an would become his strong opponent, then he would definitely kill Li Qing'an by any means and would never give him a chance.

Time cannot go back. An Lushan regretted it too much, so he could only force himself to fight against Li Qing'an's Anxi Army. This is actually what he hoped in his heart. If he could defeat the Anxi Army in one battle, who would he be afraid of in the world? He would sweep the world and kick the Li clan away. He will be An Lushan ascend the throne and establish the Great Yan Dynasty. This is his dream for nearly ten years. Whether this dream can be realized will be determined by the battle with Anxi Army this time.

An Lushan's army was stationed in Huaian County. Due to the arrival of the Anxi Army, he did not continue to move south, but instead prepared to fight to the death with Anxi in Qingzhou.

An Lushan stood on the city wall of Huaian, squinting his eyes and looking at the surrounding terrain. This area is a hilly area, with low hills everywhere. A few miles ahead is the Baimachuan River. The river water is about five meters wide, and a bridge can be seen connecting the east and west banks. It is early summer, and the weather is hot, and the river surface is covered with a layer of fog.

An Lushan frowned and pointed his hand, "Send someone to tear down the bridge, it looks dazzling."

At this time, Tian Qianzhen, the general beside him, carefully suggested to him: "Master, my subordinates think this place is not a good place to fight Li Qing'an."

"Why?" An Lushan glanced at him and asked.

"Because my subordinates think that the terrain here is unfavorable, there is no strong city to resist the enemy, nor the steep mountains as a basis, there is only a small county town, and it is not a necessary way to go to Chang'an. The general refused to guard it here, although he was waiting for his leisure, if Li Qing'an did not come here, but was waiting for us in the south to enter Guanzhong, would the general go or would he not go?"

Tian Qian was one of the few talented people under An Lushan who was both civil and military. He saw that An Lushan was a little afraid of Li Qing'an. When Li Qing'an had not seen him, he sent someone to tear the bridge, which exposed his inner timidity, so he did not dare to go south and only dared to defend this small county, just to get closer to the Yellow River and facilitate his life.

But will Li Qing'an come here honestly? Surely no, he will definitely seize the advantageous terrain, such as Longshan Pass in the south of Yuanzhou and the Danzheng Gorge, and then wait for Fan Yang's army to pass by with ease. It is a pity that An Lushan crossed the river earlier than Li Qing'an, but he was suspicious and the marching was slow, which made Anxi seize the opportunity.

An Lushan didn't say anything for a long time, and his adviser Gao Shang also persuaded him to go south as soon as possible, but he did not accept it. Now Tian Qianzhen also advised him, and An Lushan was a little shaken.

At this time, a team of cavalry scouts arrived from afar and rushed to the city after a moment. The leader shouted: "Master General, the Anxi army is about 80,000 people stationed in Pinggao County, Yuanzhou, and will no longer advance eastward."

Tian Qianzhen sighed secretly, as he expected.

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Chapter completed!