Li Mi, a famous official of a generation, set out on the road with the emperor's mission. Li Heng's ability to agree to his various requests was enough to show that he had completely compromised.
When their military strength is not enough to suppress their opponents, they will naturally choose political games, but how could a general like Li Siye give in in the face of total victory?
Holding a fly whisk in hand, he boarded a small boat, with only a Taoist boy beside him, and swung along the wide Yellow River towards the other bank.
Although the pontoon bridge of the Yellow River has been burned down, the iron oxen on both sides are still pulling iron chains across the river, and Li Siye's army is on the other side.
Before Li Mi was about to cross the river, Guo Ziyi discussed military issues with him, because Guo Sikong simply did not believe that Li Siye would agree to the emperor's detour from Shuofang to Hexi. What ambitious rebel would not want to enter Guanzhong? Could it be that these people in the imperial court
Do you still have illusions about Li Siye? Do you think he still hopes to be the leader of a feudal official and a feudal town who can coexist with the imperial court?
Guo Ziyi said that there was a way to defeat Li Siye. The reason why the imperial court was restrained in every way was because the place where they stayed was called Chang'an, a city with greater political significance than practical significance. It was because behind them was Chang'an. Guo Ziyi and the tens of thousands of troops from Tongguan released
Without using any hands or feet, you are in a passive position. You can only catch thieves one day, but there is no point in preventing thieves the day before.
The so-called good strategy in Guo Ziyi's mouth was that the emperor withdrew from Chang'an and returned to Shuofang to escape. He led his army to retreat to Dashanguan in Fufeng County, and then sent people to guard Xiaoguan. Once Li Siye entered Chang'an, he would definitely seek a bigger plan.
power and even the title of emperor.
He believed that neither the An Lushan rebels nor Li Siye knew that they could stay in Chang'an for long. They were unpopular. For Li Tang, Chang'an was a land of abundance, and for the rebels, it was a place of trapped beasts. When the time came, they would rely on Xiaoguan to disperse the pass.
After that, Shuofang and Longyou were stabilized. The rebels all missed Hexi, and people's hearts gradually became depressed. Li Siye would also become the target of public criticism in the world. At that time, Shi Siming would also turn against him and go south to attack the Central Plains of Henan and other places. Hedong Jiedu envoy Deng
Jingshan was also able to free up his hands and go south to attack Shangdang, eventually trapping Li Siye to death within 800 miles of Qinchuan.
But the emperor would definitely not adopt such a strategy. They spent so much effort to regain Chang'an. Now Luoyang has been lost. If Chang'an is lost again, Li Heng's past achievements will no longer exist. He has been the leader for five or six years.
In the end, the emperor was just standing still or even going backwards.
This is actually the same as Li Mi's original strategy. Instead of rushing to regain Chang'an and Luoyang, he instead occupied Fan Yang, the home base of Anlu Mountain, turning the rebels into a rootless tree and a sourceless water.
Of course, Li Mi's strategy has a broader perspective, just like he is crossing the river to contact Li Siye now. Once successful, the emperor will continue to occupy Guanzhong, and Li Siye will still occupy Hexi as a vassal town. Even if he really has the ambition to dominate the world, he will be held back by Hexi.
As long as the emperor's strategy was appropriate and the Tubo and Uighurs restrained Li Siye, even if he truly became a separatist regime, it would not shake the rule of the Tang Dynasty.
After the boat docked at Pujin Ferry, the Hexi Army stationed on the river bank searched the items on the boat. Li Mi responded calmly with a fly whisk in hand and just said: "I am Li Mi, coming from Chang'an. I have something important to ask to see Li Taiwei.
"
The general guarding the ferry saw that the Taoist priest indeed had a noble demeanor, so he immediately sent someone to escort him into Puzhou City, and met Li Siye at the prefect's mansion in the city.
Two friends who once had a good relationship met under such circumstances. After many years, things have changed. The thoughts and attitudes of both parties have changed. How much of the original intention in life is still left.
At that time, we were trying to save the Tang Dynasty, and we were focused on dealing with the treacherous Prime Minister and evil-minded An Lushan. Who could have imagined that in the end, it would be such a change and fate.
Li Mi saw the gray hair on his forehead and asked with emotion: "Li Taiwei will be fifty this year, right?"
Li Siye smiled and said: "I'm still one year shy of turning fifty. Age is really not forgiving."
"Lieutenant has worked hard for half his life, and now he is still fighting. I wonder how much longer you can fight?"
Li Siye heard what he meant and said sadly: "Confucius said that there is no rest in life. From birth to death, life is spent in running around and toiling. It is a bad thing to rest. If one day I die on a horse,
I won’t find it strange.”
Li Mi shook his head again and asked: "The Taiwei is familiar with the history books and knows the ups and downs. With your intuition and sensitivity, you will not fail to notice that the Tang Dynasty is not exhausted. Why are you still going against the flow? Do you know that you
In the end, will he remain infamous in future generations and become the same as An Lushan and Shi Siming?"
Li Siye chuckled and said: "You know the Taoist yin and yang magic, so I would like to ask you, this worldly master, that the qi number is immutable? Could it not be because of the emperor's stupidity and the court's corruption?
Changes? Since Emperor Li Longji changed Yuan Tianbao, the Tang Dynasty has begun to decline from the peak of prosperity. It has been nineteen years since Tianbao. During these nineteen years, people have been honest, eliminated dissidents, and cut off the way for generals to become prime ministers.
, which solidified the general class of the feudal town and formed a small group that could confront the imperial court. However, the powerful officials in the imperial court were getting corrupted day by day, and they were singing and dancing every day, and these were signs of defeat."
"Li Heng was suspicious because of his bad luck in the past. After he came to the throne, he was suspicious of his ministers internally and generals externally. He re-appointed eunuchs, set up a procuratorate, and monitored the ministers and generals' families. He also aroused suspicion externally. Many times
The use of eunuchs to restrict the power of the generals made it impossible to recover the two capitals, and forced the generals to rebel, causing the top and bottom to become separated. Which of these and that was not an unethical act? Didn't the mistakes committed by the two generations of emperors not destroy the Tang Dynasty?
Has the Qi dissipated?"
Li Mi shook his head and said: "Whether you admit it or not, the prosperous age of Kaiyuan has only passed for a few decades. The prosperity of the world in the past is the peak that has not been seen in thousands of years. The people of the Tang Dynasty have not yet lost their hearts. If you want to rebel, the people of the world will not
support."
"Why did the prosperous age of Kaiyuan end so early? Isn't it because of the neglect of government and the elimination of the rule of law? Who said that I will now stand on my own behalf for the Tang Dynasty? You will not imagine what I want to do, and now I just want to lead the soldiers in Hexi
We are returning to Hexi and want to take a trip through Guanzhong."
Li Mi finally brought the topic to his direction, put the fly whisk on his shoulder and said: "Since you have no intention of taking over the Tang Dynasty, and you have no intention of seizing Guanzhong, why don't you take another road and go out of the east of the river to Shuofang and Hetao, and then go to Long
Go to Lanzhou on the right and avoid the sensitive area of Guanzhong. This will not only convince the court that you have no evil intentions, but also avoid a big war and sacrifice too many lives in vain. For this reason, His Majesty is willing to confer you the title of Shuofang Longyou Jiedu
How about withdrawing all the troops stationed in Shuofang and opening up a safe corridor for your westward march?"
Li Siye said with a smile: "From Guanzhong to Xiaoguan, then to Lanzhou, and west to Liangzhou, it is a smooth road. I have such a smooth road to go, why do I have to cross Luliang to the west to exit the Hetao, and walk along the Loess Plateau for such a long way?
If this happens, no matter how strong the morale of the troops is, they will disperse."
"There is really no other way. This is the only path His Majesty can accept. As long as he can protect the royal land of Guanzhong, Your Majesty is willing to make the greatest compromise."
"Really? Compromise. I can also say that I compromised and resisted the desire to seize Chang'an City. I have won a real victory, and I can still listen to you here. This is my biggest concession.
."
"No, no, you have not given in. All your demands are within your expectations. You still want to enter Guanzhong and Chang'an to run your illusory royal hegemony. As an old friend from the past, I want to advise you,
Before the people of the Tang Dynasty have lost their hearts, and before your prestige, Li Siye, has reached its peak, you will not be able to stay in Guanzhong, and you will not be able to afford this domineering land."
Li Siye laughed suddenly: "It seems that not only the emperor doesn't believe that I won't enter Chang'an, but also you don't believe it, so I have no choice. There are only two conditions I put forward. One, I must come from Guanzhong
Out of Longyou, secondly, this time I raised troops to attack the side of the Qing monarch, and under the banner of killing the eunuchs, Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoen, Cheng Yuanzhen and other eunuchs must be killed, otherwise my name will not be justified, and this righteous act will not be justified.
explain."
Li Mi felt extremely ironic. How could his rebellion be a righteous act? There was no need to discuss this matter at all. Emperor Li Heng could not pass the first clause, let alone force him to kill a group of people he truly trusted.
Man, these eunuchs are his tools to control the internal and external affairs.
He put the fly whisk on his arm and stood up, walked to the main door of the mansion, turned around and said: "I hope you will think carefully about this matter. It concerns the world and your personal reputation. If you make the wrong choice, the world will suffer.
There will never be peace, and you will forever be reduced to the likes of Wang Mang, Hou Jing, and An Lushan, and you will forever be reviled by the world."
Swinging his fly whisk, he led the boy out of the Puzhou governor's mansion and never looked back.