The rain is falling outside the window, the leaves are rustling, there is autumn rain and cold.
Li Zhi, who had reviewed the military report for most of the night, discussed with Xiao Yu, Yu Wenshiji, Yu Chigong, Chu Suiliang and others at the time of Yin, and agreed to suspend stationing here for two days until the most important person sent a letter expressing his surrender.
Then the army marched straight towards Chang'an.
Even though Li Zhi was extremely energetic, he had been restless for many days and nights, couldn't eat to his taste, and the tremendous pressure made him sleepy. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Unexpectedly, before the sweet dream ended, he was awakened by soldiers who rushed in and got no response when they knocked on the door...
Li Zhi reluctantly sat up on the wooden bed, only to feel a splitting headache. He stared at the soldiers with two blood-red eyes: "Is it possible to burn the house? How unbecoming is it to make such a noise!"
The soldiers ignored their fear and hurriedly said: "The justice of E is waiting outside the door. There is an urgent report of hundreds of thousands of urgent military information!"
Li Zhi was so excited that all his troubles disappeared. He quickly got up from the bed and put on his shoes: "Please come in, Duke E."
"Here!"
The soldiers withdrew, and a moment later, Yu Chigong, wearing a helmet and armor, strode in. His majestic body looked like a bear, and there was a faint echo when his feet stepped on the ground...
"Your Highness, the scouts have just come to report that the three armies of Xue, Liu, and Zheng have broken out of camp at about the right time. They have arrived at the east bank of Ba River and are searching for tools to cross the river. Tens of thousands of troops have been assembled and are ready to go. It looks like they will forcefully cross Ba River today.
water!"
"ah!"
Li Zhi exclaimed and hurriedly came to the wall map to check it.
The Ba River originates from the Zhongnan Mountains and flows from the southeast across Lantian County from the foot of the Li Mountain to the northwest. It is almost parallel to the Chan River, which also originates from the Zhongnan Mountains, thirty miles away, and together flows northward into the Wei River. A plateau is separated between the two waters.
It is Bailuyuan at your feet.
Once the Xue, Liu, and Zheng coalition forces cross the B River, they will arrive here in an instant.
Among these three armies, only Xue Wanche's Youwu Guards had a full strength of more than 30,000 soldiers, Liu Rengui's navy had only six to seven thousand soldiers, and Zheng Rentai's Zheng family's private army only had five or six thousand soldiers. Judging from the strength of the troops compared with Li Zhi's
An army of 140,000 is far from enough.
However, Xue Wanche's Youwu Guards could only serve as the vanguard of a million-strong army in the Eastern Expedition. They were invincible in destroying cities and strongholds. Their combat power was evident. They were the first-class existence among the Sixteen Guards. Liu Rengui's navy soldiers seemed to be invincible.
There are many, but these arrogant and powerful generals have killed countless people overseas and are very likely to be equipped with a large number of firearms; on the contrary, the famous Zheng Rentai and his family's private army, which he recruited temporarily, are not strong enough...
If you are entangled by this coalition, you will have to pay a heavy price if you want to get rid of it.
Yuchi Gong came behind Li Zhi and said in a deep voice: "Without further delay, we must leave for Chang'an immediately, otherwise we will be in danger of being attacked from both sides. Once we fall into that situation, it is not impossible for the entire army to be annihilated."
The most important thing now is the word "quick". The garrison in Guanzhong and the emperor seem to be inseparable. Each has its own agenda, and the deployment is slow and delayed. But this state cannot last, otherwise it is tantamount to blatant rebellion. It is better to simply rely on the king of Jin.
You can get an opportunity to "follow the dragon's power".
When the imperial army was deployed, the three armies of Xue, Liu, and Zheng were in hot pursuit. Sooner or later, they were surrounded by heavy siege, and there was no way to recover.
Unexpectedly, Li Zhi shook his head and said to the guard at the door: "Call Xiao, Chu, Yuwen, Cui and others to discuss the matter immediately."
"Here."
The guards came out quickly.
Yuchi Gong followed Li Zhi back to the side of the bookcase and sat down, and said anxiously: "The military situation is so fierce, how can your Highness take any chances? If the situation suddenly changes, then there will be no chance!"
Li Zhi rubbed his painful head and sighed: "Don't be impatient, Duke of E. Unless I am unwilling to send troops to attack Chang'an immediately, it is really a dilemma. Later, when Duke Ying and others come, you can
Know the whole story.”
Yuchi Gong was confused, but he couldn't ask any more questions.
After a while, Xiao Yu, Chu Suiliang, Cui Xin, Yu Wenshi and others hurried over. They all knew that the Xue, Liu, and Zheng coalition forces behind them had planned to cross the Bashui and kill them one after another, so they all looked solemn.
After greeting each other, they took their seats.
Li Zhi looked at Yuwen Shiji and asked eagerly: "Is there any answer from over there?"
Yu Wenshiji shook his head, his gray eyebrows frowning: "There is no news yet."
Li Zhi was anxious, so he simply stood up and walked a few steps inside the tent with his hands behind his back, and said: "Now the enemy troops are coming one after another. If we can't break camp quickly and attack Chang'an at this time, we will be held back by the enemy troops. We will wait until the court
If the army attacks, the whole army will be destroyed."
How could Yuwen Shiji not know how dangerous the situation was? But he still shook his head: "If we didn't have that person's support, what would happen even if we arrived at Chang'an City at this moment? This might bring about a huge change in the situation, and many Guanzhong garrison troops would respond in groups, and even
Enter Tai Chi Palace and depose the false emperor...but does His Highness think that he will be able to sit on the throne and seize the world in this way?"
Li Zhi remained silent.
Yuchi Gong already understood that the reason why Li Zhi could not order an immediate departure despite knowing the dangers of delay was because he had already contacted an extremely important person in Chang'an. Once he got this person's full support, the situation would be completely reversed.
Xiao Yu sighed next to him and said: "Your Highness, Duke Ying's words are true. Even if you enter the Tai Chi Palace with the support of those ambitious people, you may not be able to gain their support smoothly.
If there is a sure way to ascend the throne, it is worth the risk."
The so-called adventure is waiting.
Even if the enemy troops come from behind to cover him up, they still have to wait for the man's reply before they can attack Chang'an.
How could Li Zhi not know what Yu Wenshiji and Xiao Yu meant?
If those people can betray the emperor, they can naturally betray him. There is nothing that a group of profit-seeking and ambitious people can't do. The benefits they can get from supporting him, the king of Jin, are greater than those given by the emperor, so they betray the emperor; support him.
If the ability that he, the King of Jin, could not achieve to support another prince to ascend the throne, they would support another prince without hesitation.
When the time comes to defect in battle, he can strike back and kill Li Zhi in the name of "killing the traitors and supporting the country" to support the new emperor, and he can also win the reputation of a "loyal minister"...
This is extremely likely to happen.
Only with that person's full support can we successfully enter the Tai Chi Palace and secure the throne...
Although Yu Chigong didn't know who "that person" was, he understood the reason, but he still couldn't help asking: "But if that person never replies, how long will we have to wait? We were really dragged from behind by the enemy.
I'm afraid that even if that person gives His Highness a definite answer, it will be too late."
There was silence in the tent.
The current situation is not only extremely dangerous, but also difficult. No matter what choice you make, you may make a fatal mistake.
Wait, or wait, no one can tell whether it is right or wrong.
After a long time, Yuchi Gong still had the decisive and bloody spirit of a soldier, and remonstrated: "It is still uncertain whether the man's reply will come, but the enemy army behind him will definitely cross the Ba River to attack. In my opinion, when
Attack Chang'an immediately. If the man's reply comes on the way, it would be best. If he still doesn't come before reaching Chang'an, then make a desperate move."
Li Zhidan glanced at Yu Chigong, wondering about Yu Chigong's true thoughts, but couldn't confirm it.
Xiao Yu, Chu Suiliang, and Cui Xin remained silent.
The atmosphere is a little weird...
As mentioned before, once the King of Jin leads his army to the city of Chang'an, it will almost certainly trigger a response from the entire Guanzhong garrison, because that means that not all the troops on the Bashui Defense Line are loyal to the emperor. Otherwise, why would the King of Jin break through the defense line?
As long as the troops at the Hegemonic Defense Line are not monolithic, there will be an opportunity to take advantage of it, and the chance of overthrowing the emperor will be greatly increased. Those who are ambitious and unwilling to accept the status quo will naturally not let go of such an opportunity.
The emperor's overthrow was almost a foregone conclusion.
But at the same time, the overthrow of the emperor does not mean that King Jin can successfully ascend the throne. Everyone has their own plans. They will make trade-offs based on the interests they may gain. Once they think that supporting King Jin to ascend the throne can gain
If their interests are not as good as supporting a prince to ascend the throne again, they will not hesitate to accuse King Jin of "rebellion", and then attack him in groups to completely annihilate King Jin.
In this way, you can not only win the reputation of "killing rebellion and supporting the country", but also get more real benefits, why not?
Even the people around King Jin at this moment may not be able to stand with King Jin from beginning to end, because for the same reason, King Jin can use high-ranking officials to show off his nobility or even feudalism to win over the minister of cultural relics, and so can others.
When King Jin was in a desperate situation, he might not know whose knife was used to chop him...
Li Zhi's face dropped like water.
Everyone in the tent had a hint of enlightenment in their hearts, understanding that this might be the result of Emperor Taizong's usurpation of the throne by launching the Xuanwu Gate Incident - there was no need to discuss whether it was a last resort or a long-planned move, and Zong Zui inherited it.
The rules were broken, and all the moral principles built on them, such as monarch and minister, father and son, etc., were subverted, and the so-called loyalty, faith, and filial piety were all shattered.
Everyone pursues profit and ignores the great righteousness.
Emperor Taizong successfully rebelled and ascended the throne, but once he died, his brothers and sons, regardless of their honor and righteousness, launched a brazen mutiny just for the sake of the supreme imperial power and their powerful position.
If Li Chengqian had safely extended his power, this kind of "politics of usurping the throne" might have stopped here; but if the King of Jin successfully rebelled like Emperor Taizong, this inheritance would continue endlessly.
During the Tang Dynasty, the change of throne would be accompanied by betrayal, rebellion, and bloodshed, and the foundation of the empire would gradually be worn away in one mutiny after another until it was exhausted...
Fang Jun had already pointed this out, so he still supported the prince unreservedly even though Emperor Taizong clearly wanted to depose the prince.
It is not for personal status and power, but to support Zhengshuo and maintain the legal inheritance of the empire.
Li Zhi's eyes were a little dazed, and he felt confused and trapped in his heart. Could it be that what he was pursuing was all unreasonable, and that he was not destined by destiny at all?
A rush of footsteps outside the tent broke the silence inside the tent, and a guard quickly stepped inside: "Your Majesty, there are servants of Duke Ying outside asking to see Duke Ying. They said they were ordered to go to other places to do business, and they are coming back now to return their orders."
."
Everyone cheered up, and Shi Yuwen stood up suddenly: "Let him come in quickly!"