The news that the Yan army's vanguard had reached Fengyang City reached the Jiankang court. After learning about it, the civil and military officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty were horrified.
Previously it was Liu Zhan's rebellion, but now An Shouzhong's army is approaching.
Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was in crisis twice. Li Heng was so worried that he fell ill due to an occasional cold, and his physical condition deteriorated day by day.
The enemy is at hand, and the emperor is seriously ill.
The officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty did not work hard to govern and work together to defeat the enemy. Instead, they focused on the succession of the throne.
In order to monopolize the power of the court, Empress Zhang wanted to make her son Li Zhao the crown prince.
She summoned Li Fuguo and other chamberlains, and asked the eunuchs to remove the prince Li Yu (originally named Li Chu, but changed his name because of auspiciousness), and then support Li Zhao to ascend to the throne.
After the emperor fell ill, Empress Zhang's power gradually grew in the court. Li Fuguo and other chamberlains saw this and were afraid of her.
Therefore, the eunuchs naturally rejected Empress Zhang's request.
Because of this incident, Empress Zhang began to break up with the eunuch forces.
After turning against the eunuchs, Empress Zhang found Li Heng's second son Li Xi, pretending that she wanted Li Xi to replace Li Yu and become the crown prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Li Xi believed it to be true and was overjoyed, so he formed an alliance with Empress Zhang and began to plan how to win the crown prince's position.
Empress Zhang first falsely conveyed the imperial edict and asked Prince Li Yu to enter the palace to take care of the funeral affairs.
As a chess piece in the hands of Queen Zhang, Li Xi gathered 200 dead soldiers and ambush near the palace gate, waiting for Li Yu to come and kill him.
However, both Empress Zhang and Li Xi miscalculated a move. As the most powerful eunuch in the court, Li Fuguo had already had spies in the palace.
As soon as Queen Zhang's conspiracy ended, Li Fuguo, Cheng Yuanzhen and other internal servants knew about their conspiracy.
In this way, after Li Yu received the imperial edict, he rushed to the palace. When he passed the Xuanyang Gate of Jiankang City, a group of people suddenly appeared and surrounded him.
Li Yu was shocked, thinking that these people were going to kill him, and was about to shout for help.
I saw Cheng Yuanzhen, the chamberlain, rushing to Li Yu in three steps and two steps at a time. He reported to him that Queen Zhang was preparing to launch a mutiny, and sent a large number of soldiers to escort the prince to a safe place.
Afterwards, Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen led the imperial army to the gate of the inner palace, arrested Queen Zhang, Yue King Li Xi and others in front of Li Heng, and killed them two days later.
Li Heng, who was originally seriously ill, was filled with fear and regret after witnessing the death of Queen Zhang.
Within a few days, the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty died.
When Li Heng died, it was the third year of God's blessing and he was only fifty years old, two years earlier than the year of his death in the history books.
After his death, Prince Li Yu ascended the throne as Emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty with the help of eunuchs.
Li Yu originally thought that becoming emperor would mean he had succeeded.
Unexpectedly, on his first day as emperor, the eunuch Li Fuguo actually said to him in front of all the civil and military officials: "Your Majesty only needs to sit in the palace and leave matters outside to the old slaves."
When Li Yu heard this, he was angry, but he didn't want to get angry on the spot.
Back in the palace, after long thought, Li Yu decided to inherit the excellent tradition of the old Li family and practice the balancing technique again.
In the following period, Li Yu began to constantly provoke the relationship between Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen.
He promoted Li Fuguo to the title of Shangfu, Sikong (first rank), Zhongshu Ling, marshal in military affairs, and granted eight hundred households with food.
And what about Cheng Yuanzhen, who also had the merit of supporting him?
He was only promoted by Li Yu to the rank of General of the Right Prison Gate (from the third rank). He knew that the internal servants could save trouble and be responsible for the affairs in the palace.
The serious grade gap made Cheng Yuanzhen very angry. As time went by, Cheng Yuanzhen's dissatisfaction with Li Fuguo gradually reached its peak.
Therefore, Cheng Yuanzhen found an opportunity to tell Li Yu that Li Fuguo had too much power and had to be removed for the sake of his master.
When Li Yu heard this, he was ecstatic, but he pretended to be hesitant on his face.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Yuanzhen quickly expressed his willingness to go through fire and water and personally share the emperor's worries.
After that, Cheng Yuanzhen sent an assassin to sneak into Li Fuguo's residence at night, cut off his head and arms, and then walked away.
After Li Yu learned about this, he did not order a strict investigation of the murderer. He just had Li Fuguo carve a head out of wood and buried him according to the standards of a Taifu.
At this point, Li Yu's imperial power finally stabilized and he began to deal with the problem of foreign enemies.
At this time, An Shouzhong had led a large army to besiege Fengyang for more than half a year.
Morale in Fengyang City was low, supplies were scarce, and there were even deserters.
Li Yu reactivated Zhang Xun, who had been demoted for a long time, and ordered him to go to Fengyang to confront An Shouzhong.
Li Yu himself took a car and rushed to a Taoist temple in the mountains to meet someone.
This person is none other than the counselor Li Mi.
When Li Yu entered the Taoist temple, when he saw Li Mi, he did not act like an emperor, but immediately greeted him as a junior.
After not seeing him for several years, Li Mi, who had grown a long beard, bowed to Li Yu on the spot and said, "Mi has heard about everything that happened in the palace. Your Majesty has done a good job."
When Li Yu heard this, his heart was filled with sorrow, and he couldn't help but choked up and said: "When Mr. was here, Henan still existed, but now it has fallen into the hands of thieves. There are intrigues in the court, treacherous sycophants are rampant, and the Tang Dynasty has reached a critical stage of life and death."
Li Mi led Li Yu into a side hall of the inner palace, poured tea for the two of them, and then asked, "How do you think your Majesty sees the general situation in the world?"
Li Yu knew clearly that Li Mi was testing himself, so he replied: "Although the Tang Dynasty is ruling the world, the kingdom is divided into four parts, but it is a situation where the heroes are separatist. The Uighur people in the north control Mobei, and they have already conquered the grasslands.
The Tubo family in the west occupied Huangyuan, with strong soldiers and horses, and the number of combatable soldiers under his command has reached as many as 500,000. An Qingxu, as the son of An Lushan, occupied the capital, capital, Henan and other places, and under his command
General An Shouzhong is attacking Fengyang and is the greatest enemy of the Tang Dynasty..."
Hearing this, Li Mi interrupted Li Yu: "Your Majesty, Uighur, Tubo and Yan are not of concern. The current enemy of the Tang Dynasty is only one person - Zhou Jun."
Li Yu was stunned: "Zhou Jun is the commander-in-chief of the Supreme Emperor..."
Li Mi: "Zhou Jun slaughtered eight thousand nobles in Liangcheng, and also killed all the dissidents in Shuofang's army. In addition, Liangcheng implemented the Anxi Good and Lowly Order, the God Blessing of the Worthy Order, and the Quanyan Law.
, are all laws to suppress the powerful nobles and win over the people. Zhou Jun’s intention is already clear, he can only proclaim himself emperor."
Li Yu was shocked and said: "Liang City is full of loyal men of the Tang Dynasty. Zhou Jun dares to risk the disobedience of the world and openly usurp power and proclaim himself emperor?"
Li Mi shook his head and said: "In the Liangcheng court, there are very few important ministers who are loyal to the Tang Dynasty. They are replaced by officials transferred from Anxi. These officials are from the barbarian land.
Zhou Jun single-handedly promoted him, but he does not agree with the Tang Dynasty."
Li Yu asked anxiously: "Sir, what should we do?"
Li Bi sighed: "I practice Taoism and watch the stars, and there will be adverse disasters. I originally thought it was An Lushan and his ilk who brought disaster to the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the cause in the end was Zhou Jun. At the moment, Hebei, Shuofang, and Hexi,
Anxi and Beiting are connected together. Zhou Jun has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, as well as countless good generals and ministers. His wings are already established. If he wants to suppress it with the power of a country, it is no longer possible."
Li Yu: "What do you mean, sir?"
Li Mi: "One of the characteristics of the territory under Zhou Jun's rule is that it spans a huge distance from east to west and borders multiple forces. The geographical situation is complex and vulnerable to attacks from multiple directions. If you want to suppress it, you must say
We need Tubo, Uighur, and Yan to jointly send troops to surround it, and then work together to strangle it."
When Li Yu heard this, he couldn't help but said: "Sir, is it possible for Tubo, Uighur, and Yan to jointly attack Zhou Jun...? Besides, An Shouzhong is attacking Fengyang. Is it the urgent need now?
Shouldn’t it be about resolving the siege of Fengyang?”
Li Mi smiled softly and said: "The Yan State under An Qingxu's rule was troubled at home and abroad, and it was too busy to take care of itself. If you want to break the siege of Fengyang, war is still secondary. How to provoke internal strife in Luoyang is the key. I have a plan to protect it.
Within three months, An Shouzhong will definitely withdraw his troops."
When Li Yu heard this, he was startled at first, and then said happily: "So, sir, you are willing to come out and help me!"
Li Bi picked up the Buddha dust and looked out the window with a sonorous and powerful voice: "Master Luo was right back then. Bi was worried about the country and had concerns in his heart. Naturally, he couldn't make any progress in his cultivation. Instead of sitting on the mountain, it would be better to join the world and contribute to the Tang Dynasty.