The road to the south was extremely painful for Zhang Tongru, because the Hui people did not have a prisoner car, his upper body was tied with five flowers, and his legs were used to walk on the road, and what was even more humiliating was that a long rope strung a dozen people into a string and pulled by a horse, stumbling forward, if any of them suddenly fell, they would be cruelly dragged forward, and if they did not get up in time, their skin and flesh would be tattered in an instant. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Zhang Tongru never dreamed that he would one day become such a humiliating captive, but no matter how strong the desire for death is, he is vulnerable in the face of the survival instinct.

The cruelty of the Hui people was no worse than theirs, and after screening, the captured Yan soldiers were left behind, and the rest were all beheaded, and only the heads were carried to Chang'an. Obviously, they didn't want to waste their rations to feed the captives.

After learning that the siege of Chang'an had been lifted, the Uighur cavalry's march slowed down significantly, and they seemed to be waiting for something after a day and a half-day rest.

Zhang Tongru always thought that he had planted a seed of restlessness in the heart of the general, and this guy would come to him sooner or later to ask questions, but he had never seen this person since that day, and he and a group of generals were locked up in the stable every day, eating worse than the animals in the same place, a dozen steamed beans that were almost rancid, and only a shallow stack of water. For several days, these strong men were tossed and weakened, and they were dying.

The further south you go, the more you will encounter a rout, and the Hui cavalry usually ignores them, but if there are those who are not long-sighted, they will also meet them and attack them fiercely.

Seeing that the rebellious soldiers who were still in their own robes were killed more than ten days ago, Zhang Tongru had mixed feelings and bitterness in his mouth. If someone told him that he would end up like this six months ago, he would only think that person was crazy.

However, even though the torture and pain are always with him, there is one thing that makes him happy, that is, Sun Xiaozhe can finally escape safely, and he never thought that he would use his life so hard for the sake of the handsome, but he is kind to his brother, so he has no regrets.

Of course, he was also very nervous along the way, every time he heard the news of the capture of the rebel general, his heart was tightly raised to his throat, but fortunately, every time it was a false alarm.

As he got closer and closer to Chang'an, Zhang Tongru's mood became more and more complicated, hovering between life and death all day long, and he was never able to make a final decision and make a decision for himself.

……

Chang'an, the ruins left after the war can still be seen everywhere outside the city, although the military camps left by the rebels have been largely demolished, but it is still inevitable that the miserable scene of dilapidated and barren ravines everywhere, the most unbearable thing is that there is always a rancid smell wafting in the air, almost nowhere to avoid

Since the rebels broke up, the people who had fled to the mountains in the past got the news and began to return to their hometowns one after another! But their hometowns are still there, but their homes are long gone, and more than eighty percent of the villages scattered outside Chang'an City have been burned to the ground by Sun Xiaozhe's rebels. These people were homeless, so they could only gather to Chang'an from all directions, praying that the Son of Heaven in the Taiji Palace could save them from fire and water.

At this time, although Chang'an has not yet lifted the ban, but from noon to sunset before the time has been allowed to enter and exit freely, the literati who have been dormant for half a year have also emerged from nowhere, originally planned to go out of the city in March, only to see the tragic scene in front of them only to find that they have changed the world. So, I can't help but touch the scene and feel sad, miss the spring rain of the prosperous era of Kaiyuan Tianbao, the birds sing and the flowers are fragrant, and the green mountains and rivers everywhere are full of tourists. However, when I dreamed back to three thousand, I woke up and saw all the bleak wind and rain, and the land was desolate, and I could only let out a long sigh.

However, when the fleeing people gathered outside the city walls saw that there were richly dressed people leaving the city together, they flocked to the city as if they were seeing life-saving food, and immediately shattered the sad sighs of these literati and rioters.

For safety reasons, Chang'an City does not allow people who have no permanent property in the city to enter for a short time, so the people who fled can only gather outside the city one after another, waiting for the daily soup kitchen.

Although there was only one meal of gruel that could not fill their own lives, it was enough for these fleeing people, who had experienced nightmarish escapes for months, and finally had a place to stay, and they did not have to be exhausted to run for their lives, and they did not have to eat for the sake of hunger.

And the pressure faced by Qin Jin has also reached an unprecedented level. The sudden influx of people made Chang'an's food supply suddenly tight, according to the city's reserves can feed 500,000 people for half a year, if you are only responsible for the supply in the city, as long as you tighten your belt, you can survive this green and yellow days.

However, in the face of the increasing number of people fleeing every day, the food supply was immediately stretched, and if we did not find a way, I am afraid that the food stock in the city would soon bottom out.

For these people, we must not ignore them, this is the basis for the existence of the Tang Dynasty, if you ignore it, just like the famous saying of Tang Taizong, water can carry a boat and can overturn a boat, and the people are likely to rebel if they can't eat, which will only make the current situation more chaotic.

If you don't know that firewood and rice are expensive, the current Qin Jin has a lot of power in his hands, and the army and the people grasp it, if this is at this time last year, I am afraid that everyone will break the scramble for their heads, but now no one is willing to come forward.

There is no other reason, it is all in the fact that it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and Chang'an after the war is in ruins, and all kinds of ruins are waiting to be raised, unless someone can conjure up food, otherwise the current situation is a dead knot. According to this rate of consumption, it will be absolutely difficult for grain reserves to survive the days of scarcity, and once the grain is exhausted, they will starve all over the land because of famine, and even rise up, and then someone will have to bear this responsibility.

Knowing that this is a dead knot, who would want to come out and do such a thankless errand?

Only Li Yu, the king of Guangping, was ordered by Li Heng to assist Qin and Jin in handling military and civilian affairs. But Li Yu is a newcomer without any experience, and the task can be completed in a timely manner, but if he is alone, it is still far away.

According to the previous plan, after the Shenwu army relieved the siege of Chang'an, it should immediately gather the soldiers and horses of the Qinwang from all walks of life, organize the customs out, and take advantage of the victory to attack Shandong (in ancient times, the east of the Kunshan Mountain was Shandong) and recover Luoyang.

Now all these plans for the use of troops have been forced to be shelved because of this, not because Qin Jin and Li Heng don't want to, but because it is really difficult to do.

Food shortage is not only the most serious problem facing Chang'an, but also other places.

Before the arrival of the Qinwang army in Chang'an, they expressed to the imperial court more than once that they were short of food and urgently needed supplies.

Among them, especially the king of Ying, Li Jian, was the most, 20,000 soldiers and horses from Jiannan Province left the Meridian Valley a few days ago, and at this time, they were stationed at the Meridian Pass in the south of Jingzhao Mansion by the edict of the Son of Heaven, and they sent urgent deliveries every day to urge them to ask for food.

Li Heng complained every time he saw Li Xuan's urgent delivery of grain.

"These brothers of mine are used to being carefree by the side of the Emperor Taishang, and they always think that the grain, gold and silver in the treasury are inexhaustible, even if they make jokes about using minced meat to help disasters, it is not surprising! Tell Li Jian to let him raise his own grain, and my grain will be given to the people!"

This is the internal disagreement between the Li Heng brothers, Qin Jin, as an outsider, can only stare dryly, and will not be mixed in. However, this is also the first time he has seen Li Heng say such substandard angry words.

However, complaining is complaining, and the issue of military rations must be taken seriously.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court regulates the soldiers and horses in various places, and its first priority is to raise military rations, if you ignore the army on the south side of the sword, isn't it because of a small loss?"

Saying this is tantamount to telling Li Heng euphemistically that if he is not responsible for the food of Li Heng's 20,000 soldiers and horses now, then Li Heng will justifiably control the southern border army of Jian, and it may not be impossible to cause trouble between his elbows and armpits at that time.

Li Heng was suddenly shocked into a cold sweat, since the Tang Dynasty, there have been many examples of brothers fighting against each other, who knows that Li Heng will not commit trouble with bad intentions?

"Does the doctor have a solution?"

As for where Li Jin went, Qin Jin had already thought about it.

"Your Majesty can summon him into Beijing in the name of reward, and then promise to be a high-ranking official, and then order, King Guangping will take charge of the southern border army on his behalf. ”

When talking about Li Yu, Qin Jin paused, he originally wanted to suggest that Li Heng use his son to personally grow the army, so as to ensure the stability of the southern border army of Jiannan, but in the end he directly said that Li Yu was the best candidate.

Hearing this, Li Heng waved his hand.

"The king of Guangping has no time to lead the forbidden army, but let the king of Jianning, Li Xiang, enter the camp to lead the army, and this son of mine is not inferior to Brother Nai!"

Qin Jin opened his mouth, but he still didn't insist on his opinion.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were often brothers fighting against each other, but in fact, the root of the Son of Heaven was that the Son of Heaven let every capable son have the power to control the army, so that the situation of brother rivalry was already doomed. Such as the crown prince Li Jiancheng and the king of Qin Li Shimin. Now that King Jianning is in charge of the army, it is destined that he will have a day when he will have a face-to-face fight with the King of Guangping in the future!

In Qin Jin's memory, Li Heng's health was not very good, far worse than his father Li Longji, who was seriously ill and bedridden for about ten years after ascending the throne, and the eunuch Li Fuguo took the opportunity to launch a palace mutiny to kill his political opponent Empress Zhang, and actually scared this son of heaven to death on the hospital bed.

Therefore, it can be seen that Li Heng's means of dealing with the relationship between the people around him are far less clever than his father Li Longji, and the balance between all parties is too weak, and once there is a disturbance, it will evolve out of control.

However, the reason why Qin Jin did not insist on his opinion was because he had another idea.

Although Li Heng, as the Son of Heaven, has long decided to be the king of Guangping and the crown prince, the example of using the son to overcome the father is also common in the Tang Dynasty. For example, Taizong is to Gaozu, Li Longji is to Li Dan, and Li Heng is to Li Longji, aren't they all typical sons to overcome their fathers?

Therefore, it is very likely that Li Heng will also need another son to balance the potential threat of the crown prince for him!