In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, at the beginning of October.
In Xiongwu City, Fanyang County, An Lushan secretly summoned the most powerful men in his tent and falsely claimed in public that he was following the saint's orders to lead troops to attack the rebellious minister Yang Guozhong.
A few days later, An Lushan gathered a large army and held a swearing-in meeting in Fan Yang. In the name of the Qing emperor, he raised troops to rebel against the Tang Dynasty. Fan Yang's civil and military officers and soldiers all shouted for victory and bravely asked for military leave.
The three major military towns of Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong also coerced foreign elites such as Luo, Xi, Khitan, and Shiwei, totaling 200,000 troops, and each set out southward from their bases, with the momentum of sweeping the world.
The Anshi Rebellion also officially kicked off.
Compared with history books, this time's Anshi Rebellion has several obvious differences.
First of all, the rebellion occurred more than a month earlier than in the history books.
Anlushan began to prepare his troops in August, and the original time for the rebellion was in the first month of the fifteenth year of Tianbao.
On the one hand, because Yang Guozhong arrested An's disciples in Chang'an City, he repeatedly made suggestions to Li Longji, intending to lure An Lushan to come to Beijing to attend the annual imperial meeting. An Lushan claimed to be ill and kept delaying, worrying that the emperor would be suspicious.
, so we had to advance the time of the incident a little earlier.
On the other hand, An Lushan's spy in Chang'an came to report. There were rumors in the palace that Li Longji intended to summon Zhou Jun, the governor of Anxi Province, to report his work in Beijing and to participate in the great court meeting in Tianbao's fifteenth year. An Lushan was afraid of Zhou
Jun planned to take the lead in attacking the imperial court before the latter entered Beijing, so he moved the time of the incident forward again.
Therefore, the start time of the Anshi Rebellion was fixed at the beginning of October in the 14th year of Tianbao.
Another difference is troop strength.
In the Anshi Rebellion in the history books, when An Lushan sent troops, the number of troops in the three towns plus the foreign elites was about 150,000, but it was falsely claimed to be 200,000.
And this time during the Anshi Rebellion, the available troops under An Lushan's command truly reached 200,000.
Most of the extra 50,000 troops came from Mobei, including tribes such as Bayegu, Guligan and so on.
These tribes are located at the junction between Hebei and Uighur tribes.
In the old history, the Uighur tribe, under the leadership of Tu Lishi, worked together as one, and unified the Mobei grassland in just a few years.
Therefore, tribes such as Bayegu, Guligan and other tribes all surrendered to the Huihe tribe early on.
However, in the new history, the Uighur tribe fell into a long period of civil strife due to the "Tea War".
Anlushan was in Hebei. Taking advantage of the civil strife in the Huihe tribe, he attacked and annexed many Mobei tribes, thus strengthening his military strength and greatly increasing his military strength.
Although the Uighur tribe finally completed the feat of unifying the grasslands during the twelfth year of Tianbao, Hebei was too powerful and it was almost impossible to recapture the annexed tribes.
Just when An Lushan was leading his army southward, news of the rebellion in Hebei reached Chang'an several times.
The first time was at the end of August in the fourteenth year of Tianbao. When Shuo Fangdong surrendered to the city, he quickly reported to Chang'an that troops from the three major military towns of Fanyang, Pinglu and Hedong were gathering, and there seemed to be something wrong with Anlu Mountain.
It is a pity that when this memorial was placed in front of Li Longji, the emperor not only did not believe it, but also rebuked the envoys of the government and warned not to slander the relationship between the emperor and his ministers out of jealousy of the virtuous.
For the second time, in mid-September of the 14th year of Tianbao's reign, Taiyuan Prefecture once again sent fast horses to march to Chang'an. He informed An Lushan that he had assembled troops in Fanyang, prepared arsenals, and shipped grain and grass, and that Li Longji had committed a rebellion.
After reading this memorial, he was still dubious. Out of fear of "hurting the loyalty of his beloved general," the emperor did not take immediate action, but wanted to send an envoy to find out the truth.
In mid-October, Chang'an received memorials from countless states and counties, like snowflakes, with only one content - An Lushan Rebellion.
However, at this time, An Lushan's army had already set out from Fan Yang for seven days, traveling sixty miles a day, and entered the territory of Yizhou.
Chang'an City, Hanyuan Hall.
A priceless and exquisite Duan Inkstone was smashed to the ground.
The inkstone shattered and inkstone splattered everywhere.
The officials of the Tang Dynasty who stood at the front of the hall lowered their heads and looked at the mottled ink stains on their official robes, not even daring to take a breath.
"The heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog! They are not as good as a pig or a dog!"
Li Longji's eyes were red and he looked like he was crazy, and he kept roaring in the hall.
All the civil and military officials in the palace were silent.
After scolding for a long time, the old Li Longji was exhausted and collapsed into the throne, panting heavily.
Seeing that His Majesty's mood had calmed down slightly, Yang Guozhong walked out of the queue and said: "Your Majesty, An Lushan is just a wild animal, with a fat belly and a short-sighted mind... Hebei is rebelling, and An Lushan is the only one who is rebelling. As far as I know, none of his men are
I wish to rebel."
After hearing this, Li Longji felt relieved and kept nodding.
Yang Guozhong added: "What's more, the imperial court also has frontier troops in Shuofang, Hexi, and Longyou. There are also the Sixth Army of Beiya and the Sixteenth Guard of Nanya in Chang'an City. There are millions of young people in the east and west capitals... A certain view of Hebei
The rebels are just a bunch of chickens and dogs!"
When Li Longji heard this, he raised his hands and smiled: "What Aiqing said is absolutely true!"
At this moment, a voice came from the civil and military circles: "Your Majesty, I cannot agree with what your right minister said."
When Li Longji heard the words, he looked around and found that the person who spoke was Ge Shuhan.
After the Battle of Stone Castle, Ge Shuhan was addicted to alcohol, suffered a stroke, and was unable to walk.
This time when he went to court, Ge Shuhan sat on a chair and was carried to the palace by the chamberlains.
At this time, Ge Shuhan ignored Yang Guozhong's angry gaze and said solemnly: "Most of the imperial troops in the North and South Yamen are soldiers of the new army; as for the young men in the East and West capitals, they have never been in war, and it is difficult to achieve them in a hurry.
military."
Li Longji felt that this statement was a bit harsh and asked in a deep voice: "What should we do?"
Ge Shuhan: "First, among the border armies, Shuofang's army is closest to Hebei. Your Majesty should order it to march eastward as soon as possible; second, in both the east and west capitals, young and strong men should be selected and trained intensively so that they can be used as auxiliary troops.
; Thirdly, when I was in Longyou, in order to deal with Tubo, I established a border guard army called Shence Army. If the war was serious, Your Majesty could dispatch sergeants among them to help Chang'an; Fourthly, the Uighur tribe now dominates Mobei.
, and Hebei have always had grievances. Your Majesty can send an envoy to Huihe to ask for help."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Ge Shuhan paused for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, in order to suppress the rebellion in Hebei, in addition to the above four points, if you want to be foolproof, you should also recall one person."
Li Longji: "Who to recall?"
Ge Shuhan: "The envoy of Anxi, Zhou Jun."
When Yang Guozhong heard this, he quickly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, An Lushan is just a fat man, and the soldiers under his command are also a bunch of rabble. What General Geshu said is too alarmist..."
Ge Shuhan interrupted Yang Guozhong angrily: "The rebels come from three towns in Hebei. They have been fighting in the bitter cold land all year round. They are all elite soldiers who have fought in hundreds of battles. Why are they just talking about it?! Anxi Jiedu envoy Zhou Jun knows military affairs and has some knowledge."
He is courageous and resourceful. He once led the Anxi Army and defeated Tubo and Dashi with a small number. He is the best choice for the commander of the counter-rebellion!"
Yang Guozhong gritted his teeth and said: "The Anxi Army is located in the Western Region, seven thousand miles away from Chang'an City. Even if we order it to leave and enter Guanzhong now, I'm afraid it won't be until spring next year when the flowers bloom. By that time, the rebels will have been wiped out.
If the imperial court mobilizes troops and mobilizes like this, isn’t it a joke to the surrounding small countries?”
"Besides, how can Zhou Jun be one of the famous generals of the Tang Dynasty? In Chang'an City alone, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Bi Sichen, etc. are all talented generals. But General Geshu, who always wanted Zhou Jun to return to the court,
Could it be that you have some other thoughts?"
Ge Shuhan was furious when he heard this and pointed his finger at Yang Guozhong. He was trembling all over and wanted to stand up and fight with him on the spot.
Li Longji had a headache and waved his hand, signaling the two of them to calm down.
Li Longji paced back and forth in front of the throne and said unconsciously: "In August, I wanted Zhou Jun to come back to visit his relatives and attend the imperial meeting in the first month of next year. But the right minister said at that time that the situation in Anxi was tense, and Zhou Jun
If Jun leaves, I'm afraid no one will be able to take over for him..."
Seeing Li Longji's hesitation, Yang Guozhong secretly put his hands behind his back and made a gesture.
Soon, courtiers named Wei, Pei, Yang, and Xue came out one after another to offer advice to Li Longji.
Some people say that the soldiers in Hebei are all devoted to the Tang Dynasty, and the rebellion was just out of necessity. As long as time is given, they will surely wake up and abandon the darkness and turn to the light.
Some people say that the rebels seem to be coming in force, but in fact they are strong on the outside and well-organized on the inside. There are fortified cities in each state and there are rebels. After repeated interceptions, the rebels must have consumed a lot of strength.
Some people say that Shuofang, Hexi, and Longyou, together with the northern and southern yamen of Gyeonggi, control more than 400,000 troops, and they already have an absolute advantage against the rebels.
Some people also say that the Anxi army is far away from Chang'an. If it is mobilized, it will consume a lot of food and supplies along the way, which will hinder the pace of counterinsurgency. The Anxi Protectorate also contains Dashi and Tubo, so a general must be in charge.
Li Longji sat back on the throne again, looked at the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, and after thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind and said: "I will appoint Bi Sichen as the military envoy of the capital, and go to Luoyang, Tokyo to recruit troops; and then I will appoint General Cheng Qianli of Jinwu as the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu.
, go to the east of the river to recruit troops; order Shuofang's army to march eastward to attack the rebels together."
Ge Shuhan was very anxious after hearing this, and quickly said to Li Longji: "Your Majesty, these troops may not be enough to stop the rebels!"
Yang Guozhong said proudly: "Anlushan's rebellion was an act of negligence, and there must be some opposition among the soldiers under his command. Let's see, there will be internal strife among the rebels without the court taking action. Your Majesty is now in Hedong,
Recruiting troops in Luoyang and sending Shuofang's army to the east is a sure-fire strategy... In this case, please rest assured, Your Majesty, An Lushan's head will definitely be sent to Chang'an in less than ten days!"
Hearing this, Li Longji nodded with a smile: "How can I take An Lushan in my eyes when he is a young man? Such an arrangement is a prudent thing to do."
The civil and military officials in the court shouted long live, but Ge Shuhan was the only one who knelt on the spot, his face full of despair.