In early February, An Lushan's deputy general He Qianqian went to court to petition the emperor, requesting twenty-three Fanhu generals to replace the Han generals. Emperor Li Longji agreed one by one, and ordered Shu Sheng to issue an edict to sue him.
The saint's oral instructions and An Lushan's memorials were passed to the Political Affairs Hall by the eunuch Yuan Siyi. The person sitting in the hall was still Wei Jiansu, the left prime minister. After receiving the memorials as ordered, he sat in front of the case and fell into deep thought.
These twenty-three Han generals who are about to be replaced are all senior military envoys, deputy military envoys and other senior officials stationed in Hedong. They are also confidants who were carefully promoted by Han Xiulin, the former military commander.
An Lushan has been concurrently serving as the governor of Hedong for a short period of time, and his control over the officers and soldiers of Hedong is far inferior to that of Pinglu Fanyang. If he is replaced in this round, it will be equivalent to a major change in the top management of Hedong Town. His intentions are obvious.
If he succeeded, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty be in danger?
Wei Jiansu immediately took this memorial to the Prime Minister's Mansion in Kaihuafang to see Yang Guozhong and expressed his attitude to him: "Prime Minister Yang, An Lushan has been rebelling for a long time, and now the 23rd general has replaced the Han general.
I want to completely control the Hedong Army in my own hands, but my counter-intention has become obvious. I will go to the palace tomorrow to admonish Your Majesty. If His Majesty refuses, then it is up to you to continue to admonish."
Yang Guozhong was a little frustrated at this moment and said hesitantly: "I have met with your Majesty many times to report that An Lushan has different intentions, but your Majesty is unwilling to believe it. The saint would rather believe that Li Siye and An Lushan can threaten each other than to believe you.
I have good intentions, but these two people have their own evil intentions, and they will not be able to make the saint realize his wish."
Wei Jiansu looked at Yang Guozhong with worried eyes: "Right Prime Minister, I also know that both the west and the north are hidden dangers for the imperial court, but we have to make choices. The more this time, the less likely it is to involve Li Siye, otherwise it will cause more headaches for your majesty.
decision."
"Both of his sons are now going to the court as hostages, why not wait for some time. The sons are in Chang'an City, how can these two people dare to rebel?"
"How can a person who is greedy for profit care about the lives of his relatives!" Wei Jiansu found Yang Guozhong's political naivety ridiculous and patiently advised him: "An Lushan has been planning a rebellion for a long time, and he must know that the court cannot tolerate him for long. He wants to
The first thing you should take into consideration is your own honor, disgrace, and wealth, and then you can think of your eldest son."
Yang Guozhong could only nod in agreement: "In that case, tomorrow we will go to court and you and I will jointly remonstrate with the saint."
…
The sunlight in front of the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace has cast slanted shadows on the palace wall. Officials stood anxiously on both sides of the Longwei Road outside the palace gate. They got up at dawn and passed through the Danfeng Gate to visit the Daming Palace.
, it is already the right time, and the palace door is still tightly closed. The Yulin guards standing around the white marble fence and the eunuchs guarding the palace entrance are as motionless as wooden sculptures.
The officials were whispering in the rear. Only Yang Guozhong and Wei Jiansu stood silent in the front, communicating only with their eyes.
The palace door opened with a creak, and the eunuch Yuan Siyi walked sideways from the palace door, crossing his hands and saying to everyone: "Dear ministers, yesterday the Imperial Supervisor said that there will be a rising sun this morning, and the sky will be filled with rays of rays? It is so beautiful. How can a saint do it?
Don’t you miss this golden opportunity and accompany your empress to Penglai Mountain in Taiye Lake to watch the morning glow? From there, you can understand the true meaning of dance and music.”
Yang Guozhong raised his hand and pointed at the bright sun and said: "But it's already five o'clock in the sky? The morning glow has long since disappeared. Why hasn't Your Majesty come yet?"
Yuan Siyi squinted his eyes and snorted: "The saint is really tired after going up and down the mountain? Although he took a chariot when he came back, he couldn't help but want to rest for a while when he encountered a cool place? So he took a rest temporarily at Wangxiantai. But the saint
Don’t you want to let your servants waste their time in vain? So I ordered my servants to come and tell you to leave. I will not attend the meeting today.”
The ministers turned around and walked back with relief. But Wei Jiansu and Yang Guozhong were stunned on the spot. Their purpose of coming today has not yet been completed. The emperor has been tired of political affairs recently, and he had to wait for more than ten days to attend the small court once a day.
See the saint again.
Yuan Siyi turned around and saw that the two prime ministers were still standing there. She had to step forward and cross her hands to ask for advice: "Two gentlemen, today the court minister has been regarded as a saint. This servant is just passing the message on my behalf. Please forgive me."
"
Wei Jiansu hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, crossed his hands and said, "I would like to ask your father-in-law to convey that we have something extremely important to report to your majesty? It's not just for the purpose of attending the meeting."
Eunuch Yuan looked at the two men and nodded for a moment, then put the fly whisk on his shoulders and sighed: "Okay, Prime Minister, please wait a moment, I will run errands for you right now."
The sun gradually climbed up in the sky, and the reflections of the two of them were also vertical at their feet. Not far away, Yuan Siyi panted and ran around the palace wall. He held a fly whisk in his hands and said to the two of them: "Your Majesty has come to Penglai Hall now.
Tell me to bring the two husbands to meet you."
…
The terrain of Penglai Hall is higher than that of Zichen Hall. There are hundreds of steps on the base of the hall. Standing on the top of the hall, you can have a panoramic view of the entire inner court and Taiye Lake.
The emperor himself took a chariot from the adjacent Lingqi Hall to the Penglai Hall through the corridor at the top of the tower, but the two prime ministers could only climb the few hundred steps. When they arrived outside the palace, they were already very old.
Drenched in sweat and panting.
Li Longji ordered people to open all the doors of the palace, and the maids in the palace carried him to the entrance of the palace. The maids crossed the two feather fans on the king's back, as if to block the cold wind from him.
.
His face was a little tired and not very good-looking. He probably blamed the two people for ruining his interest in playing. He waved to the two people standing on the steps and asked: "Do you suspect that An Lushan has a counter-intention? Last year, someone forged a forgery.
The inscription on the stone tablet clearly shows that he has treason, and you both said that he will definitely support his troops and not rule the court after his return, but he sent his eldest son here before winter came, so do you still dare to say that he has treason?"
The two of them had worries in their hearts and looked at each other. Wei Jiansu then stepped forward and crossed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I heard that when An Lushan left Chang'an last year, he took a ferry down the Yellow River day and night, and his horses never stopped.
He passed through prefectures and counties without stopping, and could cover hundreds of miles in a day and night. If he didn't have a disobedient heart, why was he in such a hurry? Today he also replaced all 23 Han generals in the Hedong military town with Fan generals
, the repercussions of such abnormal behavior are already quite obvious.”
After hearing this, Li Longji was very unhappy. He pointed at the two men and said: "Even if An Lushan has a rebellious heart, the total troops of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong towns are only 200,000. I have twelve guards in the capital of Chang'an."
There is An Sishun in Wan Shuo Fang, Ge Shu Han in Longyou, and Li Siye is in charge of the troops of Hexi, Anxi, and Beiting towns, which is equally matched with them. Not to mention that An Lushan has always been loyal, even if he is a little bit.
Thoughts, if we are evenly matched, how dare he rebel?"
Wei Jiansu once again crossed his arms and admonished: "What your Majesty said is absolutely true, but the unpredictable nature of the human heart cannot be measured with reason. Throughout the ages, there are many people who have misjudged themselves and acted crazy."
Li Longji waved his hand in annoyance: "I already know your advice, please retreat quickly."
Wei Jiansu signaled Yang Guozhong with the corner of his eye, hoping that he would continue to remonstrate. However, Yang Guozhong looked at the emperor's face and thought it was not appropriate to remonstrate again today, so he had to quietly tug on Wei Jiansu's sleeve, and the two knelt down and folded their hands to leave.