Late at night, a motorcade in the imperial city quietly opened the city gate, detoured out of Longshouyuan, and then turned to the west.
Prince Li Heng sat in the car, opened the curtains, looked at Chang'an City that was getting further away in the night, and sighed deeply.
When Li Jingzhong (Li Fuguo), a close servant, saw this, he looked around and said softly: "Your Highness, if it is not broken, it will not be established. This is a sign of new life."
Li Heng: "Both the East and West capitals have fallen into the hands of thieves, and the majesty of the Tang Dynasty has become what it is today. How can we talk about new life..."
Li Jingzhong came closer and lowered his voice: "Before leaving the city, His Highness discussed with General Chen Xuanli to kill the Yang family. After this is accomplished, he can take over the power with military advice and bring peace to the world."
Li Heng had a struggling look on his face and said, "This is against moral standards and is a last resort. I just don't know if I can do it."
Li Jingzhong: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I have found a few capable subordinates to lurk beside General Chen. On the day of the incident, they can be used as surveillance, and when necessary, they can also be used to advise."
Li Heng nodded.
The convoy left Chang'an and arrived at Xianyang.
Li Heng sat in the tent, looking at the dry and yellow biscuits in front of him, feeling that he had no appetite and could not swallow them.
Li Jingzhong on the side advised: "Your Highness, please eat some. I came out in a hurry and didn't bring any good dishes, just these."
Li Heng asked: "Do the soldiers in the Forbidden Army have food?"
Li Jingzhong hesitated for a moment and replied: "Everyone can get some, but it's really not much."
Before Li Heng could ask any more questions, a report came from outside, saying that General Chen Xuanli had arrived.
Li Heng quickly stood up and went to the tent door again.
In the fourth year of Chen Xuanli's reign in Jinglong, Princess Anle made an outstanding contribution to the elimination of Empress Wei, and later served as General Longwu of the Forbidden Army. He had been with the emperor for nearly forty years, and was an out-and-out close minister of the emperor, deeply trusted.
Seeing the prince greeting him, Chen Xuanli repeatedly said he did not dare.
The two entered the tent. Li Heng nodded to Li Jingzhong, who took out a porcelain bottle from behind the tent and opened the cork. Inside was a half-full bottle of tea.
Li Heng: "This is Shuofang's cloud tea. Only a small amount is offered to the palace every year."
Chen Xuanli watched Li Jingzhong use a tea spoon to carefully pick out some tea leaves, put them into the pot, and asked: "I heard that the method of making cloud tea is a secret of Shuofang Army. Your Majesty, either openly or secretly.
, and after asking for it again and again, Guo Ziyi had no choice but to offer this method."
Li Heng: "Yes, the palace obtained the method of making cloud tea and originally ordered it to be imitated in Chang'an. Unexpectedly, the rebels were so powerful that the teahouse was abandoned halfway."
Chen Xuanli: "The generals in Bianjun Town have always been favored and arrogant, and they are all people with bad intentions."
Li Heng smiled and responded softly.
Chen Xuanli looked at Li Heng: "How does His Highness the Crown Prince view the current situation?"
Li Heng knew in his heart that after the two of them finished chatting, it was time to get down to business.
Li Heng didn't say anything, just looked at the boiling water.
Chen Xuanli: "Your Majesty is going to the middle of Shu. That is the territory of the Yang family. Yang Guozhong is also the envoy of Jiannan. If we don't take action, it will be too late."
Li Heng remained silent.
Chen Xuanli was about to say something more when Li Jingzhong on the side said: "It is indeed a noble act for a general to bring order to chaos, but he just doesn't know how to deal with the aftermath after killing the national traitors?"
Aftermath?
Chen Xuanli was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously: "After we have eliminated the Yang family, we should ask Your Majesty to manage the government and reorganize the country."
Li Jingzhong: "Your Majesty is already old and has encountered adversity. I'm afraid he has lost his mind on politics."
Chen Xuanli first glanced at Li Jingzhong, then at Li Heng, and finally reacted.
Apart from the fact that the Yang family is just a facade, the prince's real purpose is to force the saint to abdicate.
There are a total of 3,000 imperial troops leaving the city this time, of which 1,000 are under the command of Chen Xuanli. The remaining 2,000 are all the rear troops of the prince Li Heng, the prince's son Guangping King Li Chu (Daizong Li Yu) and Jianning
Wang Litan was in charge of the imperial guards and firmly controlled the army.
Therefore, Chen Xuanli's original intention was to win the prince's support and get rid of the Yang family.
But what he didn't expect was that the prince not only wanted to get rid of the Yang family, but also wanted to force Li Longji to abdicate. However, Chen Xuanli was unwilling to intervene in the latter matter.
In fact, thinking about it, it is true that Chen Xuanli has been with Li Longji for almost forty years, and the relationship between monarch and minister is strong.
Killing the Yang family was already a disobedience to the Holy Will. If Li Longji was forced to abdicate again, Chen Xuanli's reputation in the history books would be completely ruined.
Therefore, Chen Xuanli thought for a long time and said: "After the Yang family is eliminated, Your Majesty will wake up."
Hearing this, Li Heng looked disappointed and winked at Li Jingzhong.
The latter said to Chen Xuanli: "The general cherishes his reputation and is considerate of the holy will. The old slave admires him endlessly... But Chang'an has been lost and the country is about to perish. At this juncture, the general should ignore his personal thoughts and take it as his own duty to save the world."
Chen Xuanli stood up, paced back and forth in the tent, and finally stopped and said to Li Heng: "This is a serious matter, please allow me to think twice before acting."
After saying that, Chen Xuanli left the camp.
After Li Heng and Li Jingzhong looked at each other, both of them had a look of embarrassment on their faces.
Li Jingzhong: "Your Highness, General Chen cherishes feathers and is hesitant, which may make it difficult to accomplish anything."
Li Heng gritted his teeth and said to Li Jingzhong: "I have to think of a way to push him."
Li Jingzhong: "Beside the general, there is an informant set up by the East Palace. On the day of the incident, after killing the Yang family, it is better to make them incite the Imperial Army and then ask His Majesty to abdicate."
After Li Heng thought for a moment, he said: "You must be careful and don't act recklessly."
Li Jingzhong: "Old slave saved me."
The convoy continued to march forward and finally reached the Maweipo area.
Due to the lack of food and supplies they brought with them when they fled, the soldiers of the Forbidden Army were hungry for nearly two days. They were all pampered soldiers. Now that they had a home and could not return, they were starving at every turn. They were all filled with resentment and were on the verge of mutiny.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Chen Xuanli sent someone to notify Li Heng, and led hundreds of forbidden troops to the Yang family's camp.
Heading west to the middle of Shu, the journey is long. Yang Guozhong was checking his belongings, calculating his expenses, and planning how to spend his money on the road.
There was a sudden quarrel outside the tent, and Yang Guozhong was a little unhappy at first.
Suddenly, the military guard guarding the tent rushed into the tent covered in blood and shouted to Yang Guozhong: "Right Minister, it's not good! It's not good!"
Before he finished speaking, an arrow penetrated the back of Wu Wei's head, killing him on the spot.
Chen Xuanli, who was holding a bow and arrow, led a large number of forbidden troops into the big tent. Ignoring Yang Guozhong, who looked horrified, he pointed at the treasures in the room and said: "The soldiers are suffering from hunger, but this beast is lining his own pockets. He is really a traitor to the country.
To be killed!"
The Imperial Guard soldiers, who had long harbored resentment in their hearts, heard this and shouted loudly: "Kill! Kill!"
Yang Guozhong raised his hand, and just as he was about to argue, he was pulled out of the tent by a group of forbidden soldiers.
The swords and axes were all chopped down together, Yang Guozhong screamed, and his body was immediately cut into several sections.
The soldiers were still displeased and continued to chop with sharp blades until Yang Guozhong was cut to the point where his human form could no longer be distinguished, and then they stopped.
Chen Xuanli pointed to the Yang family's tent and shouted: "We must eradicate all evil. Sons and sons, follow me and fight in!"
A group of imperial soldiers, led by Chen Xuanli, rushed into the Yang family's camp and killed everyone on sight, leaving no one alive.
Yang Xuan, Yang Guozhong's son, the Korean wife of the Yang family, etc., a total of hundreds of people, were all killed by the sword.
After massacring the Yang family, Chen Xuanli led troops to surround the emperor's residence, surrounded the camp gate, and demanded that the imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan be executed.
When Chen Xuanli led the imperial army to mutiny, killed Yang Guozhong, and destroyed the Yang family, someone came to report to the emperor.
When Li Longji heard the news, he was surprised and quickly wrote an imperial edict.
It said that in an emergency, Prince Li Heng was ordered to take over the military power of the imperial army, and then ordered him to quickly lead troops to quell the rebellion.
After the imperial edict was stamped with a jade seal, it was quickly sent to the prince's camp by a special person from the camp.
When Chen Xuanli led the imperial army to surround the camp, Li Longji sent Gao Lishi to the camp gate to stabilize the imperial army in order to delay the attack.
The sergeants under Chen Xuanli refused to leave and must execute the imperial concubine.
Li Longji waited for a long time for reinforcements to arrive. He had no choice but to go to the camp gate in person with a cane and hemp shoes to persuade Chen Xuanli to withdraw his troops.
Chen Xuanli knew that he had killed the Yang family, and if Yang Yuhuan was allowed to live in Shu, he would definitely face revenge, so he knelt in front of Li Longji and repeatedly begged the saint to kill the imperial concubine to calm down the public anger.
Gao Lishi, who was on the side, saw that Li Longji was hesitant and worried that if things continued like this, the soldiers would commit regicide, so he quickly persuaded his majesty to comply with public sentiment.
After a long stalemate, Li Longji finally understood that there was no room for change. He burst into tears, closed his eyes, and waved his hand again.
Gao Lishi called several servants and accompanied Li Longji back to the middle tent.
At this time, the pale-faced Yang Yuhuan was sitting next to him, and he had already heard the shouts outside the door.
Li Longji looked at her.
Yang Yuhuan is thirty-seven years old this year. The years have not left any traces of aging on her body, but have made her possess countless delicacy and charm.
Just looking at her, Li Longji could no longer take his eyes away.
Looking back on the first time we met, and now today, Yang Yuhuan's appearance has not diminished at all.
In Li Longji's eyes, there was not a single flaw on her body. After so many years, there were tens of thousands of concubines in the palace, but still no one could compare with Yuhuan.
Seeing the hesitation on Li Longji's face, Gao Lishi knew it was not good, so he quickly advised: "Your Majesty, the long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain, and I will allow this old slave to give the imperial concubine a ride."
Li Longji opened his mouth, showing struggle, and finally turned into a sigh: "Go ahead."
Yang Yuhuan's eyes filled with tears. She grabbed her skirt with both hands and cried out to Li Longji: "Yuhuan ignored the world's criticism and committed herself to His Majesty. She didn't ask for a house full of gold and jade, or power in the harem. She just wanted a close friend.
We will never leave each other..."
When Li Longji heard this, his body trembled and he no longer dared to look directly at Yang Yuhuan, so he could only turn his back.
Gao Lishi made a gesture, indicating that Yang Yuhuan was set up on the left and right sides and dragged to the rear compartment.
Yang Yuhuan begged bitterly, and Li Longji felt pain in his heart, but turned his back and remained silent.
After finding a folding chair, Yang Yuhuan was restrained by the chamberlain and sat on it.
Gao Lishi took out a piece of white silk, walked up to Yang Yuhuan, and said sadly: "My dear concubine, don't blame me, this old slave has no choice."
After saying that, Gao Lishi walked up behind Yang Yuhuan and wrapped Bai Ling around the latter's neck.
Tears slowly dripped down his cheeks. Yang Yuhuan looked at Li Longji's back and finally called "Sanlang".
When Li Longji heard the call, his body trembled slightly. After struggling for a while, he still did not turn around.
It was this move that completely extinguished the last hope Yang Yuhuan had for this relationship.
Gao Lishi slowly exerted force on his hand, and Bai Ling gradually tightened.
The severe pain in her neck made Yang Yuhuan close her eyes and slowly lost consciousness.
When she was dying, she whispered to herself in a voice that could not be heard by others: "I feel so regretful and hateful..."
At this moment, a shout suddenly came from outside the door: "Weak minister Zhou Jun, help is late!"