Xuanzong said in a deep voice: "Wang Yuan, I have thought about him. Now that most of the forces of my Datang are in his hands, if he had any different intentions, he would have done it a long time ago, and I have no power to resist. However, the reason why this man didn't do it is that I think he has some scruples. He is different from An Lushan, a thief who is a Hu person, has a rude and reckless personality, he rebels if he wants to, but he doesn't think about the consequences. And Wang Yuan is not that kind of person, even if he has the heart of rebellion, he also has to consider reputation and consequences. Fang Xuan's words broke his heart, he wanted to blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and he may not have the heart to take the position of me and replace him. He actively quelled the rebellion, and he looked loyal to me, didn't he want everyone in the world to think that he was the savior of my Datang and saved my country? In the future, he will hold the military power in his hands, and he will be able to make his ministers bow down without rebelling and usurping the throne, so that I can obey his words. To put it bluntly, this person is treacherous in his heart, but on the surface, he still has to pretend to be loyal to the country. ”

"He wants both power and fame, and he will leave a name in history in the future, so that he will not end up plotting rebellion and usurping the throne for thousands of years, right?" Li Mao said.

"Exactly." Xuanzong said in a deep voice: "As long as he is not pressed, he will never do anything really to rebel and usurp the throne." He's a hypocrite who wants everything and the best of both worlds, and that's where his weakness lies. ”

Li Mao said: "But, haven't we already forced him in this matter?" ”

Xuanzong pondered for a moment and said, "Not necessarily. Now everyone is pretending to be confused. He knows what he's doing and we know what he's doing. When he came to see me today, he just made a tentative remark, and he didn't tear his face, which shows that he actually didn't want to talk about this matter. We don't pick it out because we don't have evidence, and he doesn't pick it because he doesn't want it to be known to the whole world. He is my courtier of the Tang Dynasty, he is guilty of deception, once this matter is revealed, all his disguises will be torn, his reputation will be discredited, and he will be scolded by the people of the world. So he would never take the initiative to find out about it. I thought that his temptation today may have been deliberate, but only a subtle warning to me, telling me not to force him to take risks. Otherwise, with his shrewdness, how could he show his mouth? ”

Cold sweat broke out on Li Mao's forehead, and the more he listened to Xuanzong's analysis, the more chilled Li Mao felt. What kind of person did he provoke, he thought that Wang Yuan had nothing to be afraid of, but now it seems that this person is scheming like the sea and unfathomable.

"What we have to do now is not to force him, and we will not mention this matter, we and him will know it. What we have to do is find another way to contain him and reverse the situation of this man's dominance. Isn't he going to be the savior of Datang? I used him to quell the rebellion. At the same time, let Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi vigorously recruit soldiers and horses to contain him. I don't mind putting down the An Lushan rebellion and then fighting another crusade against the rebels. Xuanzong said in a deep voice.

"Father Emperor Shengming, now we have to disobey the yang and the yin, don't annoy him, and vigorously support Li Guangbi, the power of Guo Ziyi. This is the power that really restrains Wang Yuan from acting rashly. Li Mao shouted.

Xuanzong nodded and said, "It's good that you understand, from today onwards, this matter needs to be handled carefully." I don't think you should check the whereabouts of the concubine again, otherwise if you miss it again, I'm afraid it will be a catastrophe. ”

Li Mao hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Doesn't my father want to reunite with the concubine?" ”

Xuanzong looked at Li Mao viciously for a long time, and finally his face softened, and he sighed: "Mao'er, do you really think that your father will embarrass herself for a woman?" I really want to see the concubine, but if the concubine is really still alive in the world, she hides from me, which means that she has no mercy for me. Am I still going to care about a woman who is ruthless and unrighteous? I might as well tell you that if one day the matter comes to light and the concubine appears in front of me, I will order her to be killed again. Because she and Wang Yuan partnered to deceive me, she is no longer my beloved concubine. ”

Li Mao opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. However, since my father made such a statement, then his worries were superfluous. The concubine she was worried about would cause an obstacle to her ascension to the crown prince after returning to her father's side, but now it seems that there is no need to worry about it.

"Listening to the words of his father, the son is better than reading the book of a century-old sage. Thank you for your careful teachings. If nothing happens, the retainer will retire. Li Mao knelt down and kowtowed.

Xuanzong waved his hand and said, "You go." ”

Li Mao got up and retreated, and suddenly heard Xuanzong shouting: "Wait, there is something you can do." ”

Li Mao hurriedly said: "Please ask my father to command." ”

Xuanzong thought for a while and said, "This matter is not trivial, you must not make any mistakes again." ”

Li Mao hurriedly said: "Erchen will do his best, if there is a mistake, Erchen will apologize with death." ”

Xuanzong nodded and said: "Li Guangbi sent someone to send a secret performance, saying that the rebels are suspected of being in turmoil, and there is news that An Lushan seems to be dead, and now his second son An Qingxu is in charge of the overall situation." It's just that An Qingxu didn't release the news that An Lushan was dead, probably because he was worried that it would cause turmoil. Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi both believed that An Qingxu usurped the throne and seized power, or was suspected of killing An Lushan. They saw this as a good opportunity to attack the rebels. ”

Li Mao was stunned and said, "Is there such a thing? Congratulations to my father. An Lushan, the thief, is finally dead. ”

Xuanzong frowned and said, "Why are you happy?" An Lushan is dead, An Qingxu, and Shi Siming, do you think the rebels will disappear out of thin air? ”

"No, the son is saying that this traitor is the leader of the rebellion, and it is always a good thing to die. And he died at the hands of his son, which is even more joyful. An Lushan's death will be a huge blow to the morale of the rebels, and this is a great opportunity to attack the rebels in one fell swoop. Li Mao said.

Xuanzong nodded slightly and said, "It is indeed a big blow to the rebels. Li Guangbi and the others thought that they should take the opportunity to attack Chang'an and recover the capital, but their troops were too small to be effective. ”

"Isn't there more than 100,000 soldiers and horses of Wang Yuan near Chang'an? Why didn't my father order Wang Yuan to attack Chang'an immediately? ”

"Stupid, Wang Yuan didn't mention a word about the rebels' civil strife, it stands to reason that he should know the news, but he didn't mention it. He has already made it clear that he wants to attack Chang'an next spring, and I have agreed to him. Whatever his reason, if he deliberately concealed the matter, it showed that he did not want to take Chang'an while the rebels were in civil strife. If I force him, he will say that my words are not my words, and I will not give him the right to dictate military affairs. After Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi's recruitment, and even yesterday's tricky matter, I felt that I couldn't stimulate him anymore, so I didn't want to force him to attack Chang'an. Xuanzong said.

"But...... We only have the strength to capture Chang'an. His soldiers and horses don't move, how can the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the hands of Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi be used? Li Mao said.

"Yes, I also find it difficult, but if Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi can really capture Chang'an, it will be a great advantage. First of all, Wang Yuan pushed back and delayed the date of attacking Chang'an, but if Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi succeeded, it would be a huge blow to him. Secondly, once Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi occupy Chang'an, they will be able to control Chang'an City, and when the time comes, I will be able to sit back and relax. If Wang Yuan captures Chang'an, his soldiers and horses will occupy Chang'an City, and after I return to Beijing, won't I still be under his control? There are still hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an City, once Guo Li captures Chang'an, the problem of soldiers can be quickly solved, and a large number of soldiers and horses can be raised in a short time. Xuanzong said in a deep voice.

"Yes, what my father said is very true, this is a good thing to kill three birds with one stone." Li Mao's eyes lit up and exclaimed.

However, the question still comes back to the question of whether Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi can capture Chang'an. Even if the rebels are in civil strife, Shi Siming is stationed in Chang'an with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, how should this be good? Li Mao's excitement came and went quickly.

Xuanzong said: "That's why I want you to do this for me." Li Guangbi said in a secret letter that the Turks in the north of the Tang Dynasty were also in civil strife, and the head of the Hui Khanate, Guli Peiluo, defeated several other Turkic khanates, and now has dominated the northern frontier. This backbone Pei Luo once came to Chang'an to see the country, and he admired my Tang Dynasty very much, so when he learned that my Tang Dynasty was in turmoil, he took the initiative to send someone to contact Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi, wanting to help me put down the rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. So...... I thought about it all night last night, and decided to accept his kindness and borrow troops from Hui to quell the rebellion. If the Hui people were willing to lend us troops, wouldn't it solve the worry of Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi's shortage of troops? ”

"It turns out that my father wants to borrow troops from the Hui people? This...... When I was in the Tang Dynasty, it was probably not a good thing to bring in foreign troops. Li Mao said a rare and reasonable word.

Xuanzong frowned and said, "It's not that I haven't thought about this matter, it's easy to ask God to send God." But I think that the Hui people don't have that much appetite and want to take the opportunity to carve up my Datang. They may just want to make some gains, so I will give him some benefits. The Hui people hope to negotiate this matter in person, but of course I can't go, so I hope you can secretly go for me and negotiate with them to borrow troops. If this can be done, you have made a great achievement, and after the rebellion is put down in the future, I want to make you the prince, and no one else has anything to say. ”

When Li Mao heard this, he immediately threw his worries out of the clouds. said in a loud voice: "The son is willing to share the worries of his father, and this matter is done properly." ”

Xuanzong said: "Okay, this matter must not be made public, everything must be done in secret." I have allowed you to go with my secret decree and negotiate this matter with the Uighurs on my behalf. Remember, it doesn't hurt to give them some sweetness, but as long as you can achieve the goal of borrowing troops to capture Chang'an, it is worth paying some bait. ”

"The retainers obey!" Li Mao said excitedly.

"You will leave in the afternoon, and I will ride you in the night, and you can only bring a small number of retinues. I will announce that you are sick so that no one knows that you have actually left Chengdu. Don't worry about going out of the city, I will go to the place where the refugees in the north city gather in the afternoon to give relief and condolences, you can take advantage of the chaos to get out of the city. Xuanzong said in a low voice.

"The sons will not fail in their mission." Li Mao said continuously.

……

When Wang Yuan arrived at the political affairs hall, Yan Zhenqing and Wei Jiansu were actually in the political affairs hall, or they were waiting for him. Both of them actually have a lot of things to do, but they also need to report their progress to Wang Yuan every day.

The three of them had a few simple conversations, Wang Yuan asked a few words about the progress of the matter, and Wang Yuan didn't want to interfere too much in the handling of the two of them, just let them do it. Yan Zhenqing told Wang Yuan that His Majesty summoned him yesterday and hoped to personally go to the North City Gate Square today to express his condolences to the people.

Wang Yuan didn't think much about it, and regarded this matter as a show by Xuanzong. Xuanzong may have needed these means to restore his prestige among the people, but in Wang Yuan's opinion, it was useless to do so. No matter what he does, he can't make up for his huge mistake of favoring An Lushan and causing the Tang Dynasty to erode to this point. The chaos has led to the displacement of millions of people and the deaths of tens of thousands, which he did not solve by putting on a show.

Before Yan Zhenqing and Wei Jiansu left, Wang Yuan asked them to go to his mansion tonight to discuss important matters. Although Yan Zhenqing and Wei Jiansu wondered why Wang Yuan wanted to discuss important matters in his mansion instead of in the political hall, they didn't ask much. only agreed in succession, and both of them said goodbye and left.

Wang Yuan did not delay, seeing that the sun was on the third pole and the time was almost up, so he briefly explained a few words to the officials in the political hall, and then left the political hall and went to the west gate of Chengdu. Arriving at the West City Gate, he found that Li Mi was already waiting at the city gate, and he obviously knew that Wang Yuan was going to go outside the city to observe the firing of the cannon barrel in person, so he was entrusted by Liu Xunzhi to wait here to guide the way.

Dozens of horsemen galloped out of the city, galloping more than ten miles along the official road outside the West City Gate, and then turned north into the wilderness of Xishan. Wang Yuan is no stranger here, the test of the Shenwei Cannon Thunderbolt was carried out here, and it has become a standard venue for Wang Yuan to test new weapons, and even fences and sentry posts have been built at the entrance of the valley and on the slopes on both sides, and a small number of soldiers and horses are stationed here in peacetime, prohibiting outsiders from entering and leaving.

On the gravel ground in the Xishan Valley, Liu Xunzhi, Luo Wei and the others had been waiting for a long time. Early this morning, the newly polished cast iron cannon barrel was packed and transported here, and it had been set up in place and ready before Wang Yuan arrived, waiting for Wang Yuan to come.

Wang Yuan turned over and dismounted, exchanged a few words with everyone, and the group walked straight to the place where the iron cannon was erected. Luo Wei stepped forward and took off the sheepskin felt cloth covering the barrel, and a black and shiny barrel appeared in front of Wang Yuan.

The barrel in front of me presents a graceful arc that is thick at the back and thin at the front, and the gun body is polished smoothly and flat, without a trace of burrs and flaws. Under the sunlight, the smooth cannon body reflects a faint halo, which looks like an inexplicable sense of intimidation and awe.

"Ready?" Wang Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"Report to the marshal, everything is ready, please give the order." Lowe arched.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Then let's start." ”

Luo Wei surrendered, turned around and said loudly: "Come on, prepare for a test launch." ”

Luo Wei personally stepped forward, pulled out the muzzle plug with silk wrapped in cork on the muzzle, and poked into the bore with a long rod wrapped in silk with a special long handle to inspect the bore again, and at the same time, more than a dozen gunsmiths had already stepped forward quickly. They carried a basket of black and round iron balls, as well as a large wooden barrel full of **.

Lowe stepped behind the barrel and removed a thick piece of iron with a tiny hole above the barrel, revealing an egg-sized charge and inserting the iron funnel into it. Luo Wei's big apprentice Li Dazhui stepped forward with a clay pot full of weighed **, Luo Wei took the clay pot, carefully poured the medicine powder into the medicine room, and then sealed the hole with the iron lid, and the iron lid was tightly fastened with eight iron buckles around it.

Luo Wei took a fuse and inserted it into the medicine room from the thin hole in the iron cover, turned to Wang Yuan and said: "Wang Dashuai, you can't load the first test, first try to see if the cannon chamber can withstand the power of ** explosion." ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "That's how it should be." ”

Luo Wei said: "Please the marshal and the generals back off, if it is dangerously tight after the explosion, the marshal can tampon the ear, this thing can move big." ”

Wang Yuan smiled and nodded, but he didn't take the earplugs handed by the guard. Wang Yuan just wants to feel the power of this iron cannon, how can he bring any Rausch earbuds.

Everyone retreated twenty or thirty steps away, but saw Luo Wei kneeling beside the cannon barrel, raised his hands to the sky and prayed loudly, "Old Jun bless, bless the disciples and grandchildren for their craftsmanship and not disgrace the ancestor, bless the disciples and grandchildren to rely on their crafts to eat and drink to support their families, and not to smash the ancestor's signboard." ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "What is Manager Luo doing?" ”

Liu Xunzhi explained on the side: "Steward Luo is praying to their ancestors in the industry, praying for the blessing of the Taishang Laojun for the success of the casting." ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "Taishang Laojun is the ancestor of the molten iron forging industry? ”

Liu Xun smiled and said: "Of course, the carpenter's ancestor is Lu Ban, and the blacksmith's grandfather is Lao Tzu in the Spring and Autumn Period." Lao Tzu's alchemy ascended to heaven for the sake of Taishang Laojun. Taishang Laojun is good at smelting, and his gossip furnace can refine all things, isn't it the ancestor of blacksmiths? ”

Wang Yuan suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "Isn't that the ancestor of the Fang Shi is also too old?" ”

Liu Xun nodded straight and smiled: "Exactly, the blacksmith and the Fang Shi have the same ancestor, and they are the same ancestor." ”

Wang Yuan smiled dumbly, and secretly shouted funny in his heart. As he spoke, he saw that Luo Wei had finished praying and stood up, lit a torch, turned his head and shouted, "Ready, I'll light the fire." ”

A group of people hurriedly covered their ears, and a group of craftsmen who knew its power involuntarily took a few steps back. Liu Xunzhi had also seen the power, and took Wang Yuan's arm and walked a few steps. Lowe approached the torch and lit the fuse, and the smoke rose from the sneer, and a pinch of sparks burst out in all directions, quickly