Hu County is located fifty miles southwest of Chang'an. It is the entrance to Ziwu Valley. Emperor Li Shi fled here to facilitate his escape to Hanzhong. After all, the county town was too small and would be crushed under the pressure of the rebel army.
Li Shi happened to meet Guo Shu, the former general manager of Fengzhou, who was returning from hunting, with more than a hundred servants. Guo Shu resigned from office and returned to Beijing to observe filial piety because of the death of his father Guo Ziyi. He had been depressed these days, so he took a hundred servants with him.
Several servants went hunting in Zhongnan Mountain. When they came back, they happened to meet the emperor who was fleeing.
Guo Shu was shocked and quickly offered dry food and water, and ordered his men to roast a few prey. Li Shi and his family were hungry and thirsty, and they were able to fill their stomachs only after meeting Guo Shu.
Guo Shu led his servants to escort the emperor southward, and arrived at Huxian County at dusk. Linghu Jian, the envoy of Youlongwu Army, happened to be leading more than a thousand soldiers to practice archery in Huxian County. Li Shi was unexpectedly escorted by an army, and he felt a little relieved.
The magistrate of Huxian County was called Su Bian, and he was a descendant of the famous general Su Dingfang in the early Tang Dynasty. The arrival of the emperor made him panic. He quickly arranged for the food and lodging of the emperor and the imperial concubine's children, and sent people to the capital to inquire about the news.
At this moment, Du Guqiu and Hun Yao led five thousand Shence troops to arrive. Li Shi was so excited that he shed tears and came to the city gate to greet him personally. The three armies knelt down and shouted long live!
Li Shi pulled Du Lingqiu and cried: "I didn't expect that in the most critical moment, my beloved would never abandon me and come to my rescue!"
Du Guqiu quickly comforted Li Shi and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The main thing is that the incident happened suddenly and no one can react. I believe reinforcements will come soon."
"I have always treated my soldiers well, and even ordered the Jingzhao Mansion to arrange good wine and meat to reward them. How could they suddenly rebel?"
"Your Majesty, this is not a sudden rebellion, but Zhu Si has planned it for a long time. This is a mutiny that he planned and launched..."
"What nonsense!"
Next to him, Prime Minister Lu Qi said angrily: "Lieutenant Zhu is very loyal to the imperial court. He even voluntarily gave up military power before. How can he possibly rebel?"
Lu Qi bowed again and said to Li Shi: "Your Majesty, I am willing to guarantee with the lives of my whole family that Zhu Si will never betray your Majesty!"
Du Lingqiu smiled lightly and said: "Lu Xiangguo doesn't believe what I say, then just wait and see!"
Neither Du Guqiu nor Li Shi thought that Lu Qi said this just to distance himself. He knew nothing about Zhu Si's rebellion and just misjudged the person.
Li Shi sighed and said to Du Guqiu and Hunyang: "I want to go south to Hanzhong. What do you two dear ladies think?"
Hun Yao quickly advised: "Your Majesty, please don't rush south. The situation in Chang'an is unclear now. It's better to stay calm for a while and wait until the situation becomes clear."
Du Guqiu also advised: "The top priority now is to recruit troops and serve the king. The bandit army is huge and without enough troops, it will be difficult to support them even if they go to Hanzhong."
"But the war in the Central Plains battlefield is fierce. Where can we recruit soldiers?" Li Shi asked worriedly.
"Your Majesty, don't worry about where the army is summoned. As long as you send King Qin's edict to the world, the troops loyal to the Tang Dynasty will naturally come."
Li Shi looked at Lu Qi again, and Lu Qi knew it well. This time he no longer objected. He nodded and said, "We support the call for troops to serve the king!"
Li Shi immediately issued an edict from King Qin. Fortunately, when Queen Wang fled in panic, she tied the national treasure seal in her skirt, so Li Shi had the imperial seal to stamp the edict.
Dozens of Shence Army cavalry carried King Qin's edict and rushed to various places, calling on King Qin from all over the world to rescue them.
...........
Guo Song received the news from the Shi family on the third day of the Jingyuan mutiny. He rushed to the Shi family with several staff members. Shi Donglai sent more than a dozen pigeon letters to Hexi in one go. All the carrier pigeons were used up.
Du Siye was copying pigeon letters quickly. After copying one letter, he handed one to Guo Song.
"Master Shi, how is your father's condition?" Guo Song asked with concern.
Shi Huan clasped his fists and said: "My father is very grateful to the envoy for reminding him in time. On the day he received the pigeon message, my father transferred his wealth and family outside the city. The rebels later stormed into the mansion and robbed only more than a thousand dollars."
, no one in the family was harmed, and my father will come to Hexi in person to thank the envoy."
Guo Song waved his hand, "This is just a simple effort. The key is that your father trusts me. This is the main reason why he was able to escape."
"Your Majesty, please read this letter!"
Zhang Qianyi handed a pigeon letter to Guo Song. Guo Song took the pigeon letter and saw that it read, 'The emperor has issued an edict, ordering the soldiers and horses of the world to be diligent!'
"Does the envoy want to be diligent to the king?" Pan Liao asked next to him.
Guo Song pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "King Qin is a righteous man. If I don't send troops, I will definitely be reviled by everyone in the world. No matter what, I will still send troops."
Zhang Qianyi said worriedly: "What if we send troops and Tubo and Shatuo invade?"
"Shatuo is afraid of Ge Luolu in the north, so he should not dare to send troops. If Tubo wants to send troops, it is also Anxi and Longyou. However, just in case, I will bring less troops. Five thousand cavalry is enough."
Guo Song decided to send troops to serve the king. He returned to the camp, found Liang Wu, and said to him: "After I leave, Ganzhou will be entrusted to you. Beware of Tubo sneak attacks at any time."
Liang Wu bowed and said: "In this humble position, I will never let you down!"
.......
At night, his wife Xue Tao silently packed her husband's luggage. Guo Song's luggage was very small, only a few changes of underwear.
"Don't worry!"
Guo Song took his wife into his arms and said with a smile, "I'll be back in a month at most."
"I just don't think it's worth it!"
Xue Tao said dissatisfied: "He is so suspicious of you, and finally asked you to rescue him. I feel aggrieved just thinking about it."
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Actually, I don't want to save him. I wish he would be killed by the rebel army and establish a new emperor. But there are some things that even if you don't want to do it, you have to pretend. I just pretend.
Besides, my father-in-law is appointed governor of Chengdu, so it will be good for him if I just show off."
Xue Tao nodded and said with a smile: "I'm just afraid Xiaowei won't let you go."
"It's okay! I just said that daddy went to Chang'an to buy her delicious food. That little greedy cat must be eager for me to go quickly."
"You! If you pamper her like this, what will happen in the future?"
Guo Song chuckled, "Madam, let's go to bed early tonight. We'll set off before dawn tomorrow!"
Xue Tao knew what her husband was thinking, so she pinched his arm and said coquettishly: "The genius has just turned dark, and he is as anxious as a monkey."
The couple coaxed the child to sleep and closed the door early to rest. Naturally, Aqiu came to serve them.
After a lingering night, Guo Song was about to set off before dawn.
He walked out of the door and repeatedly told Xiaoyu Niang: "The current situation is too chaotic, and my enemies are likely to fish in troubled waters. You, Chunyue, and the four of you must protect my wife closely, do you understand?"
"Don't worry! I will never slack off."
Guo Song summoned Wang Yue again and said to him: "We need to strengthen the surveillance of Cangjian Pavilion. If Cangjian Pavilion sends assassins, they will definitely contact that store. You must be careful and guard against it."
"The humble job will be well-arranged and will never be careless!"
After explaining everyone, Guo Song said goodbye to his wife and children, and led a hundred soldiers to rush out of the city.
Five thousand cavalry had already assembled outside the city. Guo Song ordered to raise the Qinwang banner and led the five thousand cavalry to kill Guanzhong in a mighty manner.
.........
On the fourth day of the war, Zhu Si finally learned that the emperor Li Shi had fled to Hu County. He immediately sent Han Min, the deputy envoy of Jingyuan soldiers and horses, with 300 cavalry to Hu County to welcome the return of the emperor. He also ordered Wang Lien and 20,000 people to ambush him.
halfway,
At this time, Zhu Si was still disguised in Chang'an City, playing the role of the defender of order in the Tang Dynasty, and cried bitterly and told the officials: "Once I know the whereabouts of the emperor, I will definitely crawl over on my knees to greet him."
It has to be said that Zhu Si did confuse most of the court officials and the people of Chang'an without showing any ambition.
But there were still officials who saw through him, and Sinong Qing Duan Xiushi was one of them. After all, Duan Xiushi had been in charge of Shuofang for many years and had rich experience in commanding the army. He saw that Zhu Si calmed down the rebellion of the Jingyuan Army with ease.
Everyone from top to bottom respected him very much. Immediately after the arrival of 30,000 Fengxiang troops, they also completely obeyed Zhu Si's orders.
More importantly, while Zhu Si desperately advocated his loyalty to the emperor, on the other hand, he closed the city gate tightly and did not allow anyone to enter or exit, obviously to block the news.
What's even more shocking is that Zhu Si actually used Xingqing Palace as his administrative office and official residence, and the maids and eunuchs there served him as if he were the emperor. It was the palace of Emperor Xuanzong, which was an act of overstepping the imperial power.
When Duan Xiushi heard that Zhu Si sent people to greet the emperor, he knew that there was a huge conspiracy hidden in it. He immediately sent his old subordinate Qi Lingyue to cover him and climbed over the city wall to Hu County to report the news.