The night fell very early, not long after Li Qing's debriefing, the sky ended today's debriefing, and the important ministers also returned to their homes one after another, and the Zichen Hall seemed more and more empty and dark.

Li Longji didn't leave, he was still sitting on the high dragon chair, his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep, and seemed to be waiting for something.

In addition to some guards and palace people in the palace, the rest of the ministers were only Yang Guozhong, anxiously waiting for Li Longji's fate, he was extremely scared in his heart, he wanted to shout and beg for mercy, but Li Longji's silence was like an impermeable wall, isolating him from life.

Of course, behind Li Longji, Gao Lishi is still standing upright, he seems to be a person carved from sandalwood, noble, silent, and never tireless, but his heart at this time is more anxious and annoyed than anyone else, maybe Li Qing doesn't know the reason, because from the angle he stands, he can't see the back side of Li Longji, where there is a thick curtain to cover it, just like the waiting place for the stage, so let's go over and take a look, what makes Gao Lishi so nervous and uneasy.

Behind Li Longji, there stood Yu Chaoen, he also held a stack of debriefing reports, standing there expressionlessly, this is like a polygamous family, the eldest lady tried her best to prevent the emergence of competitors, old and decrepit, she let her henchmen go to serve the master, until the end of the external trouble, she suddenly found that the girl she chose actually sat in her seat.

The first Ge Shuhan's debriefing was that Yu Chaoen stood behind Li Longji, of course, Li Longji's excuse was that Gao Lishi was too hard and needed to let others share one or two for him, but this kind of sharing was like something in bed, how could Gao Lishi allow it?

Gao Lishi knew that the problem was Li Cong. Li Cong did almost everything to please the Yang family, and after years of accumulation, he finally got a reward, coupled with his low-key and forbearance in the past three years, Li Longji's good impression of him gradually increased, and he had a conflict with Li Longji on this issue of principle.

"Say it! What the hell is going on, not a word is allowed to hide. Li Longji finally spoke, as an emperor, he must be good at controlling his courtiers. And this kind of control is not to peel this today and cut that in half tomorrow, it should be a very deep knowledge, just as Li Longji asked Yang Guozhong now, he didn't ask others in a hurry as soon as they left, what happened?

He was waiting, waiting for Yang Guozhong's psychology to be tormented. When he is about to collapse, dig a ditch for him a little, and there is no need for him to say more later, Yang Guozhong will naturally explain everything.

'Plop! Yang Guozhong knelt down heavily, "The emperor save me!" He finally cried out in tears.

"Wait!" Li Longji suddenly stopped his words and motioned for everyone to retreat. Including Yu Chaoen, only he, Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi were left in the main hall. This made Colliers see a ray of light again.

Yang Guozhong sobbed in a low voice, and at the same time handed him his guarantee in order to get An Lushan's letter, and how did An Lushan use this guarantee to blackmail him, 1510, without any concealment.

Li Longji didn't say a word, he just listened quietly, without any expression on his face, this kind of thing happened to others. He will be furious, but it is normal for it to happen to Yang Guozhong, a straw bale.

Yang Guozhong said that at the end, when An Lushan wanted to eliminate a few thorny generals who did not listen to the command, Li Longji's eyelids jumped up suddenly.

He immediately realized that An Lushan was not ready, at least he did not have full control of Hedong, and now, Li Longji had no doubt about An Lushan's rebellion, and this person's wolf ambition had been exposed step by step. Privately incorporated the Shuofang Army, and then hit the idea of the Anxi Mo Sword Army.

There is no doubt about getting rid of An Lushan. The key is how to get rid of him, you can kill him directly, but what about Hebei? Li Longji knew very well in his heart that the elite of the Tang Dynasty had arrived at the border pass, and the military government in the Central Plains had already become an empty shell, and the money used to establish the recruitment system had been spent by himself, once An Qingxu raised troops, the entire Central Plains region would fall, and if his troops pointed to Jianghuai and cut off Caoyun, Chang'an would wither and die in less than half a year.

"Nope! We must not let the war get up, otherwise, how will I explain to my ancestors and ancestors. ”

Li Longji closed his eyes again, he wanted to find the most favorable solution, and after thinking about it, he could only proceed according to the predetermined plan, first slow down his heart, and then slowly seize his power, and not let him know what he had already perceived.

His eyes opened slightly, beckoned to Yang Guozhong, and ordered him to step forward, Yang Guozhong's tears had dried up at this time, and he suddenly found that Li Longji didn't seem to blame himself, and the string in his heart was so tense that it was about to break and loosened, and he stepped forward and bent down to listen to the emperor's lecture.

"You remember! You didn't say anything to me, and I didn't know anything about the guarantee. ”

Yang Guozhong was stunned, he didn't understand the meaning of Li Longji's base, and couldn't help but look at Li Longji suspiciously, but when he saw his gloomy eyes and stabbing himself sharply, he shuddered in his heart, and swallowed back the words he was about to ask.

"Idiot! You should immediately send someone to prevent the investigators from returning to Beijing, and if necessary, silence me. ”

Li Longji scolded him in a low voice, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he turned back to Gao Lishi and said: "You go to Li Qing's mansion again, tell him that the debriefing is over, and all the things in the Western Regions are busy, let him leave Beijing and return to Qiuzi in three days, you go now!" ”

Gao Lishi was about to leave, but Li Longji suddenly stopped him, "Wait, there's one more thing!" ”

"Your Majesty, please!"

Li Longji pondered for a moment, and said resolutely: "Go and spread my will, and order Yu Chaoen to be the envoy of Hebei Xuanfu, and go to Fanyang to treat the three armies for me." ”

Gao Lishi's heart jumped suddenly, and his heart was extremely shocked, so that when Yu Chaoen returned, he would have the opportunity to contact the military aircraft, although Gao Lishi was surprised in his heart, but his face did not show it, he only bowed down and responded, and then walked quickly.

At this time, Yang Guozhong also said goodbye, and Li Longji was the only one left in the empty hall, he paced back and forth on the steps with his hands behind his back, showing a smug smile on his face from time to time, and finally he stopped and said to himself: "Yu Chaoen, since you like to take the gold of An Lushan, I hope you will take more this time." ”

Outside, it was getting dark. Dozens of eunuch guards walked into the main hall, ready to escort back to the palace, and listened to the day's debriefing, Li Longji also felt a little tired, he stretched a long waist, just about to give the order to return to the palace, suddenly, saw a little eunuch hurriedly running, he was sweating profusely, and shouted in panic: "Your Majesty." Mrs. Li's family came to report, Li

Alright, it is time to die. ”

"Li Linfu. Is he going to die? Lingdao: "Let's drive!" I'm going to take a look. ”.

Li Linfu is indeed going to die. He was in a coma. The face is like gold paper. His body was as thin as a handful of dry wood, and his most beloved worn-out and yellowed rattan chair had been dismantled and piled up at his feet. A large group of children, wives and concubines gathered around him and wept, each of them constantly telling something. The whole room was filled with the smell of dying.

"Quick! Fast! Get out of here, everybody. The emperor is here! ”

The eldest son, Li Xiu, ran like a gust of wind and shouted at everyone, and everyone immediately panicked. A rush out of the back door, a few reluctant. But he was afraid of Li Xiu's new family law, so he had to cry a few times and leave.

In a moment, countless guards surrounded Li Linfu's bedroom, and Li Longji, dressed in regular clothes, strode in, and Li Xiu immediately knelt on the ground, whimpering and tears welling up. Li Longji sighed and patted him on the shoulder. Walking quickly to Li Linfudi's side, his footsteps stopped suddenly, and in front of him was the ruthless Li Xiangguo in the past, which was clearly a skeleton, wrapped in a thin piece of skin.

"How much did he faint?"

"It's been two days." Li Xiu said in a low voice.

"Well, if the Master can wake up, you can tell him that I have come." After saying that, Li Longji turned around and left, the smell in the room really made him nauseous, and he couldn't stay for a moment.

Li Xiu was secretly dissatisfied in his heart. But he didn't dare to show it, so he had to say respectfully: "Your Majesty's favor, the whole family is engraved in your heart." ”

But just as Li Longji was about to step out of the door, he suddenly heard an intermittent voice, "Your Majesty, yes.

"Ahh The father woke up. Li Xiu was pleasantly surprised, and hurriedly stepped forward to help Li Linfu sit up, Li Longji's eyes were cold, and he returned to the bed, but he suddenly found it. Li Linfu's complexion changed completely, and his original waxy and golden-like face turned flushed. There was a strange look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty!" Li Linfu's voice was hoarse, and he said with difficulty: "The minister is no longer good, please Your Majesty for the sake of the minister's loyalty, and let go of the minister's family." ”

Li Longji's face changed slightly, he laughed dryly, and said to Li Xiu: "The Taishi is already confused, and he said that I am like a cruel king. ”

He lowered his head and smiled at Li Linfu and said, "Master Tai, rest well!" I'll see you another day. ”

As soon as he stood up, Li Linfu grabbed him and said, "Your Majesty, the minister still has suggestions for An Lushan's affairs." ”

Li Longji looked at Li Xiu with his eyes, and Li Xiu understood and slowly retreated.

"You say!"

Li Linfu sighed softly, his face flushed more and more vividly, "An Lushan's wolf ambition can't be soft on him, can't give him a chance, Your Majesty must make a decision immediately, and kill him immediately!" ”

"But in this way, his son An Qingxu will rebel, and I am afraid it will be too late to dispatch troops at this time."

"Your Majesty, if you don't get medical treatment for a long time, it will cause a big disaster, although An Qingxu is opposed, but after all, it is not as good as An Lushan to serve the public, as long as the battle is frustrated, Your Majesty will divide and lure its generals, and the rebels will fall apart, although there is a small pain, it is always much stronger than the chaos in the world."

Li Longji saw that the more he talked, the more excited he became, his mouth emitted a foul smell, his face was terrifying, he suddenly felt bored in his heart, he was dying, and he was still teaching himself, what minor illness could not be cured, if it weren't for him, would An Lushan be sitting big today? At this moment, Li Longji put all the responsibility on Li Linfu's head, he snorted coldly, shook off Li Linfu's hand, and strode out of the house.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Out of the silk cloth coldly wiped the back of Li Linfu's hand, and walked away without looking back.

Li Linfu shouted for a long time and there was no response from Li Long's base, he couldn't help but mourn, looking up to the sky and crying: "My family is closed!" Datang is closed! ”

shouted several times in a row, and a generation of power swallowed his breath.

If only from the point of view of the debriefing, Li Qingdi's debriefing was successful, all his plans were approved, and the immigration to the Western Regions was under the sole responsibility of Cui Huan, the current household servant. The Westward Expansion Strategy has been officially launched.

However, his strategy of going to the land on An Lushan was not approved by Li Long's base. He agrees with Li Linfu that if things can't be avoided. Then simply let it erupt earlier to minimize the damage. However, Li Long's attitude is the opposite. He still wanted to solve the problem by political means, even if he wanted to use force, at least until he had deployed himself, and the arrival of Colliers clearly conveyed this message to him.

At this moment, in Li Qingdi's study, Gao Lishi worriedly conveyed Li Longji's order to Li Qing, asking him to leave Chang'an and return to Qiuzi within three days. Li Qing didn't say a word, he understood what Li Longji meant, and Li Longji already thought he was out of tune. I don't want him to meddle in the affairs of An Lu Mountain again, so I want to drive him away.

"General, you shouldn't shake out Li Xianzhong's matter today. Disrupted His Majesty's deployment. It is very likely that An Lushan will be forced to rebel. This is something that His Majesty does not want to see now. ”

Gao Lishidi is obviously not in a very good mood, one is Qingwang Li Cong, and the other is Yu Chaoen. are directly related to his vital interests, but he is helpless. And the matter of An Lushan is a crisis for the entire Tang Dynasty. It also annoyed him even more.

He sighed and continued: "Your Majesty doesn't want to deal with An Lushan, but he also needs time, and you don't know anything about it in the Western Regions for a long time. In recent years, the imperial court's finances have become increasingly embarrassed, and it has not yet begun to say that it would implement the local conscription system. Last year, Pei Kuan made a mistake, he randomly inspected the three military offices in Xuzhou, the strength of which was less than 30%, and the armament had been slack for a long time, and even the training site was overgrown with highland grass for one person, the bow was dusty, and the knife was rusty. A leaf can know autumn, the Central Plains is empty! “

"And what about later? How did the emperor deal with this matter? Li Qing didn't look back. said coldly: "Is it to behead the three military captains to show the public, and in the end, it will be over." ”

Gao Lishi couldn't say a word, in fact, Li Longji handled the matter coldly in this way, treating headaches and pains, and even Pei Kuandi's proposal to thoroughly investigate the national military government He didn't even read it, but what about it, at that time, the money in Zuozangdi was less than 300,000 yuan, and it was not enough to celebrate Yang Niangniang's birthday. How is it possible to afford tens of millions of military spending.

But Gao Lishi still had to defend Li Longji, he smiled bitterly and said: "But this, this is the drawbacks of the military system left over from the founding of the Tang Dynasty, no wonder the emperor." ”

Li Qing shook his head lightly, and said to Gao Lishi sincerely: "I didn't say that the corruption of the military government is the responsibility of the emperor, of course I know the army."

End. The people have no land, who is willing to pay out of their own pockets to become soldiers. It is normal to have to support the family, since the government soldiers are broken, a new system will be built, so I levied the salt tax in order to accumulate money to implement the conscription system, but from Tianbao five years to the present, six years have passed, and there are at least tens of millions of dollars in accumulation, but the finances are still embarrassed, where is the money going, I see how much tax can not fill the big hole. ”

Speaking of this, Li Qing was slightly angry, "I'm now scolded by the people as Li Tax Demon, don't mention this!" Even if the emperor stabilizes the situation and An Lushan does not rebel for a while, will he cut the palace expenses? Gao Weng has been by his side for many years, don't you still know him? In a few years, I am afraid that the armament will become more and more scarce, but An Lushan is the opposite, at that time, the soldiers are full of food, the soldiers use their lives, shouting 'all the fields' and the people respond, then I Datang is really dangerous. ”

Gao Lishi's face was grim, he had to admit that what Li Qing said was the truth, and it was by no means sensational, but the matter was irreparable, Li Longji was extremely stubborn in this matter, and no one could persuade him, not even Yang Guifei.

After being silent for a moment, Gao Lishi suddenly whispered: "General, do you know that the emperor sent Yu Chaoen to Hebei to reward the three armies, he should be sent to find out the truth, maybe when he comes back, the emperor will change his mind." ”

"What do we need to explore now?" Li Qing shook his head lightly, and said with a faint smile: "The emperor did this, just to make An Lushan think that he was still uncertain, and when Yu Chaoen ate An Lushan's heavy bribe, he came back to say that the Hebei soldiers were loyal to the emperor, and then the emperor pretended to be confused and continued his song and dance life, and An Lushan's rebellion would be over." ”

Li Qing sneered again and again: "Gao Weng, he is burying his head in the soil, and he can't see the outside, so he thinks that the world is peaceful, but I don't know that this is what An Lushan is looking forward to." ”

"So what now?" Gao Lishi finally realized the seriousness of the problem, as an instinctive concern for Li Longji, he did not want Li Longji to bear this historical responsibility, and now, perhaps only Li Qing can prevent the worst from happening.

"You say, what can I do for you?"

Li Qingcheng walked to the window with his hand and stared into the distance. The prosperity of a country is born in the midst of adversity. In the hundred years of peace and tranquility of the Tang Dynasty, both the rulers and the ordinary people have already developed a kind of inertia, which is difficult to change, and only in the face of disasters can this kind of social inertia shackles be broken. Let the country be revitalized. To some extent, the An Lushan rebellion is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it can control its socio-economic destruction.

But it takes great courage and wisdom to control an unknown social upheaval, does he, Li Qing, have this courage and wisdom? The answer is yes, he can! Come to think of it. Li Qing turned his head. His eyes were clear and firm, he stared at Gao Lishi and said slowly: "I need to replace An Sishun as the envoy of Hexi Jiedu." ”.

From the outside, An Lushan's mansion is unusually quiet, and most of the lights are out, as if everyone has rested early, but if you go to the mansion. You will find that it is not quiet, and the soldiers are silently sorting out one package after another. Burning letters, packing up horses, all signs indicate that An Lushan is ready to escape.

At this time. An Lushan, the strategist Gao Shang and An Qingzong were hiding in the secret room to discuss the final plan. He got the news from the palace in the afternoon, and when Li Qing reported on his work, he actually mentioned the defeat of Li Xianzhong's army, an hour ago. Yang Guozhong sent someone to report that Li Longji was suspicious. Sent the eunuch Yu Chaoen to Hebei, nominally as a sacrifice army. In fact, it was to visit the whereabouts of those defeated armies and let him prepare early, An Lushan immediately ordered his soldiers to start packing up their things and preparing to evacuate at any time.

And Gao Shang was also puzzled by Li Longji's sending Yu Chaoen to Hebei, he couldn't see Li Longji's intention to take this move, but one thing was certain, things were getting worse and worse, and he had to leave Chang'an as soon as possible.

He paced back and forth in the room, thinking about what to do. After thinking about it, he said decisively: "Dashuai, now that the situation has changed, the assassination of Li Qing can only be put aside temporarily, and we must leave Chang'an and return to Hebei as soon as possible." ”

"I also mean the same, killing Li Qing will cause unnecessary trouble, so I should go back to Hebei as soon as possible, but I'm afraid that Li Longji really hasn't made up his mind, and I'll show my stuff when I run."

An Lushan was faced with a dilemma, and the time was not ripe. He didn't want to rebel yet, and it would be better to give him a few more years to prepare. He said to Gao Shang with a worried face: "Is there any way for Mr. to leave Chang'an as soon as possible, and not to make Li Longji suspicious." ”

Gao Shang smiled slightly and said, "I have already thought of a plan just now, so that the big man can return to Hebei tomorrow." ”

An Lushan was overjoyed and said urgently: "Sir, please speak!" ”

"Tomorrow, you can send a person to pretend to be a messenger, saying that the Khitans are in turmoil, and the marshal can immediately ask Li Longji for his resignation, if he doesn't agree, it means that he really has the intention of killing the marshal, and the marshal will flee immediately, don't go to Tongguan, and return to Hebei from Fengxiang around Shuofang through Taiyuan."

Speaking of this, Gao Shang said to An Qingzong again: "If Li Longji is allowed to return to Hebei tomorrow, then Gongzi will still stay in Chang'an, if not, Gongzi will flee with us, and we will raise troops immediately after returning to Hebei." ”

An Lushan nodded slowly, this is indeed the best way, not only to test Li Longji, but also to return to Hebei, it can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

"In that case, let's all go back and pack our things, and tomorrow morning, I will ask Li Longji for my resignation."

Gao Shang left the secret room and hurriedly walked to his room, he lived in the backyard, for a separate courtyard, An Lushan specially sent a few young and beautiful women to serve him, he just entered the courtyard gate, an An Lushan personal soldier ran from behind to stop him, "Mr. Gao, there is a person outside the door of the house, saying that it is your brother, there is something important to look for you"

"Brother?" Gao Shang was stunned for a moment, his brother was in Shangzhou, how could he come here, "What's his name?" ”

"He said his name was Gao Yun and he was from Shangzhou."

"Take me to see it!" Gao Shang turned around and hurriedly walked towards the gate with his own soldiers, from Shangzhou, it should be him.