Recently, Xuanzong has said a lot of self-criticism, and he has said it many times in front of Wang Yuan, and Wang Yuan knows that this is just a means of Xuanzong. If you really repent, you should repent to the world, not in private. If he really repents, he won't still secretly play so many tricks, such words are just for himself, in fact, he has never felt that he is wrong, and it is someone else who is wrong.

"Your Majesty doesn't have to blame yourself, the past is gone, you can chase it, look forward, don't need to think about those things anymore. The current situation is that An Lushan is dead, and An Qingxu is enthroned as the emperor of the puppet Great Yan Kingdom, and the situation is different. Shi Siming will obey An Lushan because An Lushan is kind to him, but as soon as An Lushan dies, how can An Qingxu suppress such an unruly person as Shi Siming? The minister's statement that An Lushan's death was beneficial to counterinsurgency is based on this judgment. Chen thinks that Shi Siming will definitely not obey An Qingxu's orders, and there will be a rift between them. Shi Siming has more than 100,000 troops, and his troops can account for almost half of the rebels' soldiers and horses, and they are all elite and brave soldiers, how can he take An Qingxu in his eyes? ”

"You mean...... Will Shi Siming and An Qingxu turn their faces? Will they fight in the nest? Xuanzong frowned.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Very likely." The minister also has a secret report, and His Majesty will definitely feel the same way as me after hearing it. ”

"Oh? What is the secret? Xuanzong said busily.

"Gao Xianzhi's letter did not explain the cause of An Lushan's death, but he asked the soldier who delivered the letter to tell the minister a small gossip, gossip about the cause of An Lushan's death."

"The cause of An Lushan's death? Didn't he die because he had poisonous sores on his body and there was no cure for it? Could it be another reason? Xuanzong was surprised, he really didn't know that there would be a hidden secret, and Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi's secret letter only said that An Lushan died of poisonous sores on his body, and did not mention anything else at all.

Maybe he just died of illness, but the gossip in private said that An Qingxu usurped the throne and killed his father. Because An Lushan wanted to pass on his youngest son An Qingen, he annoyed An Qingxu. Therefore, An Qingxu colluded with the traitor military division Yan Zhuang and entered the palace late at night to kill An Lushan. ”

"What?" Xuanzong said in astonishment.

Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "This is a gossip circulating, so Gao Xianzhi did not write it in the letter, but just asked the soldier who sent the letter to tell the minister. Ranchen thought about it again and again when he came, but felt that this gossip seemed to be more credible. How could a mere poisonous sore make An Lushan, who was in the prime of life, die like this? And it was so sudden, without warning. Moreover, it is said that all the 50,000 soldiers and horses of Yan Zhuang marched into Luoyang City, which is extremely abnormal. According to the minister's analysis, it must be related to An Lushan's death. ”

Xuanzong was silent for a long time, nodded slightly, and said, "When you say that, I also feel very strange. ”

Wang Yuan said: "Even if the gossip is untrue, but Your Majesty, think about it, such news is circulating everywhere, what will Shi Siming, who is in Chang'an, think when he hears it?" was already dissatisfied with An Qingxu, what would happen when he heard such news? If there is chaos between Shi Siming and An Qingxu, wouldn't it be extremely beneficial to my great cause of counterinsurgency? ”

Xuanzong thought for a moment and said, "So what? Shi Siming is now trapped by our army in Chang'an, even if he wants to make trouble with An Qingxu, I'm afraid he can't reach it. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said: "What Your Majesty said is very true, so the minister thinks that at this time, not only can we not force Shi Siming to be in a hurry, but maybe we should also release the tiger out of the cage." ”

"How did you let the tiger out of the cage?" Xuanzong Dao.

Wang Yuan said: "The minister decided to withdraw the Shence army from Chang'an and retreat to the area of Jinzhou, Pizhou, west of Chang'an, which gave Shi Siming the illusion that our army was unable to attack the city. ”

"What? Do you want to withdraw your troops? Xuanzong was shocked again: "Why is this so?" ”

"Because then maybe you can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight." Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "Shi Siming is guarding Chang'an because of An Lushan. If he suspects that An Qingxu killed An Lushan to succeed him, he will be trapped in Chang'an by me. Once our army withdraws, he may immediately lead his army to escape from Chang'an, and will not follow An Qingxu's orders to defend it. If he really did this, Chang'an would not be at his fingertips. It's called surrendering without a fight. If he abandons Chang'an, An Qingxu will definitely punish him severely, Shi Siming has a heavy army, and if they don't do it, they will fight in the nest, which is even more of a snipe and a clam competing for the benefit of fishermen. ”

Xuanzong frowned and said, "But what if Shi Siming doesn't flee Chang'an as you think?" Isn't the situation of trapping Chang'an that your army has managed to form for more than half a year have been in vain? If the rebels increase their troops in Chang'an, won't it be more difficult to attack? ”

Wang Yuan shook his head and said: "If he is obsessed, our army will come to the city again next spring to launch an attack on the city." As for His Majesty's concern about the rebel army increasing troops in Chang'an, the minister had a different opinion. It is a good thing that they have increased their troops in Chang'an, but the ministers are worried that they will wave their troops south to attack the southeast of our country, which is the most fatal. ”

Xuanzong stood up and paced slowly, and said for a while: "Wang Yuan, I am worried that if the situation of this withdrawal is not as you expected, I am afraid that you will be infamy. You have to think about it. ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Infamy? What kind of infamy are you afraid of? As long as the minister can successfully quell the rebellion, nothing else will matter. The minister is not afraid of the enemy's rout, but just a strategic evacuation, and people who don't know the reason will curse people. The ministers only need to explain to His Majesty, but the rest of the ministers don't have to talk to them. ”

Xuanzong nodded and said, "In this case, you can do it if you want to, and I agree to it." ”

Wang Yuan didn't expect Xuanzong to agree to his suggestion so easily, and he was quite surprised. Originally, Wang Yuan thought that he needed to explain to Xuanzong Fei, and even took out the words of military self-dictatorship to block Xuanzong's objections. But now it seems that it is too much to worry about.

Xuanzong agreed very simply, which surprised Wang Yuan, but what he didn't know was that his proposal was actually in Xuanzong's hands. Xuanzong didn't believe what Wang Yuan said about the rebels who would be in civil strife and surrender without a fight, and Xuanzong regarded Wang Yuan's move as a fool of himself.

In Xuanzong's view, Wang Yuan just didn't want to capture Chang'an and didn't want to actively quell the rebellion. Because once he captures Chang'an and recaptures Luoyang, he will leave Chengdu and get out of the control of his Wang Yuan. And once the counterinsurgency is over, is he Wang Yuan still embarrassed to be the generalissimo of the counterinsurgency? Can he still stop the rebuilding of the forbidden army, the rebuilding of the soldiers and horses in various places? Wang Yuan's move was nothing more than to trap himself, and in the name of loyalty to the king, he coerced the Son of Heaven to make the princes real.

And the reason why Xuanzong agreed to Wang Yuan's almost absurd suggestion without thinking was that Xuanzong had high hopes for borrowing troops to attack Chang'an. Originally, if Wang Yuan's army was stationed east of Chang'an, even if Li Mao and the Hui people reached an agreement to borrow troops, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi had enough strength to take Chang'an, it would be a tricky matter. Wang Yuan's Shence army is next to Chang'an, and once Guo Li attacks the city, the Shence army will definitely not stand idly. After the capture of Chang'an City, it is still unknown whose soldiers and horses will occupy Chang'an City first and control Chang'an City. The purpose of Xuanzong's borrowing of troops was to ask Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to control Chang'an City first, so that Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses would not be allowed to enter the city, so as to achieve the goal of getting rid of Wang Yuan's control after returning to Chang'an. Then the problem is that if Wang Yuan's Shence army has been close to Chang'an, this plan will be difficult to work.

Xuanzong was originally anxious about how to find a reason for Wang Yuan's Shence army to be transferred from the front line of Chang'an after the successful borrowing of troops, so as to give Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi the opportunity to occupy Chang'an City. What kind of reason should be used to persuade Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses to be transferred, so as not to make Wang Yuan suspicious. Now that Wang Yuan came to the door by himself and proposed the idea of withdrawing from the army, Xuanzong almost couldn't hold back his laughter. God opens his eyes, or he is the son of heaven, and God will help him solve problems at a critical time, which fully shows that he is favored by heaven, and the Tang Dynasty is still there, and everything will develop in a good direction.

After Wang Yuan left, Xuanzong laughed out loud in the house, and suddenly the poetry was flourishing, and he hurriedly ordered the waiter to lay paper and polish ink, and wrote a poem with a pen: The festival is cold and the beginning is over, and the time is already spring. The clouds first close the inches, and the anointing rain is self-dependent. Flying in the plains, the clouds are quiet and dark. Suspense the meaning of flowers and leaves, and look forward to the new day and night.

Looking at the poems of Moji Sensen, Xuanzong was proud. The two sentences of "suspense and flowers, looking forward to the new in the morning and evening" are the most proud, everything is developing in the direction of their own hopes, isn't it the hope of the new ones. Xuanzong ordered this poem to be framed and hung on the wall of the study, lamenting that he had not made such a good poem for a long time.

After Wang Yuan returned home, he wrote a letter to the two guards who sent the letter to reply to Gao Xianzhi, agreeing to his suggestion and retreating the army to the area of Jinzhou and Pizhou to rest for the winter. After this decision was made, Wang Yuan actually breathed a sigh of relief. Because the army was encamped on both sides of the Ba River, although it was sheltered. But the cruelty of the winter in Chang'an is unimaginable, even if there is a sufficient supply of materials, but when the heavy snow flies, the cold and the ground freezes, and those sheltered camps in the Bahe military camp for the winter will inevitably suffer from the wind, frost and sword. After all, it is a field barracks, and the cold-proof facilities cannot be complete, and after a winter, any kind of situation will happen, and it is likely that the morale will be worn down in the severe cold, and unpredictable things will occur. Being able to retreat to the city for the winter is definitely a good thing for the army.

In the past, he was worried that Shi Siming would leave Chang'an, so he trapped him and his soldiers and horses, but now he hopes that Shi Siming will leave Chang'an, because he hopes that there will be infighting between Shi Siming and An Qingxu. In just half a month, the situation has changed and the situation is very different, and Wang Yuan has to sigh that the world of the Tang Dynasty is actually changing very fast. As far as Wang Yuan is concerned, he never wants to fight to the death with his opponent, he hopes to reap the benefits and avoid too many casualties of the Shence Army, and the current decision is based on this consideration. This is also the reason why he would rather do this at the risk of Shi Siming evacuating Chang'an or uniting with An Qingxu to become stronger.

……

In the afternoon of the next day, after Wang Yuan returned home from the political hall, Huang San had already prepared a carriage and horses waiting for him. Because Wang Yuan and Huang San agreed that they would go to the east of the city today to pay homage to Huang's father's tomb. After returning to Chengdu for a few days, entangled in various things, Wang Yuan always wanted to go to pay respects. But it takes a suitable day to worship and sweep the tomb, Wang Yuan actually didn't believe this, but he didn't want to break the rules and cause unease, so he endured it for a few days. Until last night, Huang San told Wang Yuan that the yellow calendar was a suitable day for tomb sweeping and worship, and Wang Yuan immediately agreed to go to worship tomorrow afternoon.

Two carriages and dozens of horsemen galloped out of the East City Gate, traveled five or six miles along the official road, and turned onto a dirt road leading to Longer Mountain. Along the way, the cold wind was biting, and the four fields were sluggish. In just a few days, a cold wave hit, and the weather became very cold. Even if the winter sun is shining, it can't resist the biting cold that is becoming more and more obvious.

At the foot of a hill, everyone got off their horses and got off the car and walked up the hill on foot. In addition to Wang Yuan and Li Xin'er, there were also Huang San, Huang Ying, Huang Xing, brothers and sisters, and Tan Nier. Walking to the mountainside, a flat hillside to the east, a tomb stood alone among the wild grass, and the yellow grass on the head of the grave was already quite a lot, swaying slightly in the cold wind.

As soon as they arrived at the tomb, Huang Ying and Huang Xing fell down with tears in their eyes, kneeling in front of the grave and crying silently.

"Erlang, this is my father's tomb. I haven't been here for more than a month, and so much grass has grown on the grave. Huang San said in a deep voice with circles in his eyes.

Wang Yuan nodded slightly, stepped forward and placed the wine, rice and fruits in front of the grave one by one, lit three sticks of incense and inserted them in front of the grave, knelt in front of the grave and kowtowed. Although Daddy Huang and Wang Yuan are not related by blood, Wang Yuan actually has a very good relationship with him. When he was down-and-out as a fangding, Wang Yuan often went in and out of the Huang family, and Huang's father and he could talk very well. Unlike his son Huang San's Mu Ne, Father Huang is very talkative, and chatted with Wang Yuan about some anecdotes, and the two of them fell in love.

In Wang Yuan's mind, when he was confused, it was the Huang family who saved himself and gave him great comfort and warmth. Whether it is Huang San's righteous help, or the considerate care of the eldest sister of the Huang family, or even the love of the elders from Huang's father, it is a great motivation for Wang Yuan to get out of the confusion and work hard. In his heart, Wang Yuan regarded this poor and sloppy but simple and kind Father Huang as his father. In the turbulent years that followed, whenever he returned home, Wang Yuan always did not forget to buy some good wine and clothes for Daddy Huang, and often took the time to accompany Daddy Huang to drink two glasses. In Wang Yuan's opinion, no matter how many ups and downs he has experienced and how bad his mood is, as long as he has a few drinks cross-legged with Daddy Huang and listens to his unreasonable chatter, his mood will be much calmer.

"Dad, Erlang came to see you, you were in a hurry when you left, and you didn't have time to inform Erlang. When you were leaving, you asked Erlang if he was back, and I wanted to see you when Erlang came to see you. Huang San burned the paper money beside him and said in a low voice.

mentioned the death of Father Huang that day, and the cry of the big sister on the side became even louder.

"Daddy, I've come to see you. Erlang accompanies you to drink a few more glasses of wine. Wang Yuan spoke in a low voice and sprinkled all the jars of wine he had brought on the grave. Li Xin'er also knelt aside and kowtowed a few times, praying in a low voice.

Huang San said: "Erlang, Twelve Niang, get up, it's very cold on the ground." My dad knows you'll be glad to see him. ”

Wang Yuan got up slowly, and Huang Ying also helped Li Xin'er up. Wang Yuan stood on the tomb and looked around, the surroundings were desolate, the grass and trees were full of thorns, and it looked very messy, and he frowned unconsciously.

"San Lang, why are you burying your father here? Only Daddy's grave is here, so why not in the cemetery to the south? It is the burial ground of the people of Chengdu, isn't it good to be buried on the southern slope? Wang Yuan asked.

"Erlang doesn't know, this is what my father asked for when he left. He kept saying that he missed his hometown in Chang'an, that he couldn't go back if he was alive, and that he would be buried on the north slope when he died, so that he could see the road back to Chang'an to the east. I had no choice, so I found this flat place on the north slope to be buried. Huang San said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan was silent for a long time and said, "Dad wants to return to his roots." Buried here first, after Chang'an is recovered, let's bury my father again and bury him in the cemetery outside Chang'an. I also got the wish of the old man, what do you think? ”

Huang San said: "Very good, I also plan to do so." Buried with my mother. Otherwise, one is in Chang'an, the other is in Chengdu, far away from thousands of mountains and rivers, and it is difficult for the soul to return to one place. ”

When Wang Yuan saw the desolation he said, his heart was very heavy. The theory of the soul is just a vain, but it is a pity that you cannot return home after death, and this thing needs to be done.

Wang Yuan took matters into his own hands, and led everyone to clean up the dead trees and weeds around the grave, and carried the gravel and soil clods aside to clean up. It's a little more reassuring to look a little neater.

"Erlang, there's something I don't know if to talk about or not." Before leaving, Huang San, who had been hesitant for a long time, suddenly spoke.

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "When did San Lang become so polite?" What can't be said between you and my brother? ”

Huang San smiled and said, "I'm afraid that Erlang will be embarrassed to say it, but today in front of my father's grave, I want to ask about it." It's also a wish of my father. ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "Say, why do I think it seems to be a big deal." ”

Huang San glanced at Li Xin'er and said, "Twelve Niang, don't be surprised, this matter is indeed my father's wish, so I will mention it to Erlang." It's one thing if something doesn't work out, but if I don't say it, I'm unfilial, and I'm afraid my father will blame me. ”

Li Xin'er said with a smile: "Third Brother Huang, if you have anything to say, what is not strange." You and Erlang are like brothers, we are all a family, but we can't see each other. When you say that, I feel like my heart is poofing, as if it's really a big deal. ”

Wang Yuan pulled Huang San to sit on the stone in front of Huang's father's grave and said, "San Lang, say it, Daddy is also here, just say anything." ”

Huang San gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, then I'll say it." That's the case, my father has lived a very comfortable life in Chengdu in the past few years, my family is under the care of Erlang, and my Huang family can have Erlang mention today