After the harvest, the land of Guanzhong became hotter and hotter day by day, the sky was mostly blue, under the scorching sun, the ground seemed to be on fire, and even the air seemed to be flowing, but at the most casual time, the sky suddenly seemed to overturn a bottle of ink, and then lightning and thunder, heavy rain poured down.

On this day, at the beginning of the heavy rain, several fast horses galloped in from Fengxiang, which was a messenger of the Tang army from Shuofang, a bypass in Hexi, and they drove away to Chang'an with the latest good news.

"Li Guangbi defeated the thief army in Zhaozhou, beheaded more than 30,000 people, and killed An Lushan's general Yin Ziqi; Guo Ziyi conquered Boling, Shi Siming fled back to Youzhou, and then Li and Guo joined forces and advanced to Hebei. ”

At the same time, news also came from Tongguan that due to the critical situation in Hebei, An Lushan sent the general Tian Chengsi to lead an army of 50,000 troops into Xiangzhou to hold the retreat of the Central Plains from Hebei, Luoyang's troops were empty, the rebels were all back to defense, and only more than 6,000 troops of Cui Qianyou were left in Shaanzhou, and it seemed that the balance of victory was already tilting towards the Tang army.

In Shaanxi, the camp of Cui Qianyou's army, the night was already very deep, and the heavy rain for several days filled the air with mist, the clouds were low, and the ground was muddy.

The whole camp was very quiet, the soldiers had already fallen asleep, only the lights in Cui Qianyou's camp tent were still on, but the lights were faint, a gust of wind blew, and the lights were flickering, stretching and twisting the figures in the camp tent.

Cui Qianyou sat alone on a wooden box, staring blankly until he stared ahead, he was about fifty years old, his face was deeply wrinkled, his huge head was gray, and his heart was full of anxiety from the grim situation.

A few months ago, the situation seemed to be still floating in front of him, but in just over a month, the situation suddenly reversed, and Shi Siming was defeated in Hedong in successive battles. Most of the East Route Army has been lost, and now the Tang Army has entered Hebei, while An Lushan is trapped in Luoyang. Retreating will mean that the previous achievements will be wasted, it will mean that the people's hearts will be scattered, and those soldiers who come for profit will scatter in a hurry, which will ultimately mean the failure of the army.

Today's decline is the result of a series of strategic mistakes. Rashly raising troops when the foundation of Hedong was not yet stable was a mistake; After the army was raised, the troops were divided to the south, resulting in insufficient troops and unable to fully control Hedong, which was the second mistake; After going south, Jianghuai Yangzhou, which did not enter the rich army and the empty army, was in a hurry to attack Chang'an. This is mistake three; An Lushan called the emperor too early, exposed his ambitions, and was spurned by the people of the world, and revolts came one after another, which was a mistake four; After Shi Siming successfully attacked the Tang army in the south, he did not return to Hedong in time, leaving Hedong empty and being taken advantage of by the Shuofang army. This is mistake five.

Cui Qianyou put his head deep into the palm of his hand, and now the only way is to capture Tongguan and go straight to Chang'an, so that the whole battle situation can be brought back to life, but Tongguan is the experienced brother Shuhan, how can he be willing to come out to fight, even if he is willing to fight, he has 300,000 troops in his hands. The government soldiers can be dismissive, but there are still more than 100,000 Longyou Army and Hexi Army who are good at fighting, how can their own 6,000 people be matched?

"Is there really no way to do it?" Cui Qianyou pulled his hair fiercely, thinking about it with all his might, but he couldn't think of anything.

"Who?" There was a low scolding from the soldiers outside the door, and then his voice became frightened again, "Ah! It's Your Majesty. ”

"Your Majesty?" Cui Qianyou raised his head in surprise. He reacted immediately. This is An Lushan coming. This is not to blame him, his majesty for decades has been Li Longji. has long been accustomed to nature, An Lushan called the emperor for half a year, and he only went back to visit once after the defeat of Gao Xianzhi, and was named the prince and the prince, the right servant of Shangshu and the secretary of the military department, this is a very high-ranking official, but Cui Qianyou always felt strange in his heart, as if he was a child game.

Before he could stand up, the leather curtain was lifted, and a clear night breeze blew. As soon as the ground was extinguished, the oil lamp went out, and an unusually wide figure appeared at the door, like a square box, with this shape, I am afraid that there is only one person in the world, and that is An Lushan.

Cui Qianyou knelt down and said, "Minister Cui Qianyou see His Majesty the Emperor." ”

An Lushan's entourage immediately lit up the oil lamp, presenting the face of this Tang Dynasty hero under the bright light, as the emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom for half a year, An Lushan is still the same An Lushan as before, the apricot yellow dragon robe wrapped tightly and the sky-high crown on his head did not make people feel that he was the ninety-five honor above ten thousand people, but it was like a play that had not had time to remove makeup, so that people could not afford the urge to bow.

And the right minister who followed him was solemn, dry and thin, and he also did not have the belly of the prime minister, but like a bookkeeper who came out with his master to collect rent.

Next to Yan Zhuang, he also followed the prince An Qingxu, An Qingxu was not as fat as his father, with a big beard and a mighty physique, not as heroic as the prince should be, but a little reckless and heroic.

An Lushan had no expression on his face, nor did he raise his hand lightly like Li Longji, and said, 'Aiqing is exempt from courtesy!' Instead, he sat on Cui Qianyou's position with a big stab, waved his hand and said: "Everyone is their own people, don't be so polite, find me a place to sit down." ”

Cui Qianyou sighed secretly, "Since you can't put the emperor's shelf, why bother to be the emperor?" ’

Several people found their own places to sit, and the last general Sun Xiaozhe who came in even sat on the ground, An Lushan glanced at a few people, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone should know the situation now, and now I am now specially rushing to Shaanzhou to discuss countermeasures with everyone." ”

Cui Qianyou saw that he actually went to Shaanzhou to discuss countermeasures, needless to say, the countermeasures he wanted to discuss must be how to capture Tongguan, sure enough, An Lushan glanced at him, and said: "Cui Shangshu, if I lure out Ge Shuhan's 300,000 army, how many troops do you need to defeat him?" ”

Cui Qianyou was full of emotion, he lowered his head and thought about it, and then replied: "Your Majesty, if you rely on the geographical advantage, the minister will need at least 80,000 elite soldiers. ”

An Lushan was silent for a moment, and Fang sighed and said: "If Shi Siming Hedong is undefeated, then I can give you 80,000 people, but Tian Chengsi has already taken 50,000 people, and there are only 50,000 troops left in Luoyang, and there are no 80,000 left." ”

"If Brother Shuhan can fall for my plan, in fact, 30,000 people are enough."

"What Cui Shangshu said is deeply in line with my opinion."

An Lushan nodded with a smile, and said to Yan Zhuang again: "Yan Xiangguo, you might as well tell Cui Shangshu about your plan to lure the enemy." ”

Yan Zhuang stood up with a smile and gave a salute to An Lushan first. He arched his hand to Cui Qianyou and said: "Now that our situation is critical, Tang Tingyan can not know, His Majesty has sent Tian Chengsi to lead the army to Xiangzhou, and has successfully made a gesture of wanting to withdraw the army, which has created conditions for my counter-plan, I just got the latest news, Yang Guozhong and Ge Shuhan suddenly became evil, this is really God to help Your Majesty." I have sent the secret letter to Tongguan, and I have ordered Guiren to act according to the plan, and I believe that it will not be long before Ge Shuhan will take the initiative. ”

He glanced at Cui Qianyou again, and said with a slight smile: "The future will depend on Cui Shangshudi."

Cui Qianyou suddenly understood, and he immediately stepped forward to bow to An Lushan and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the ministers will be victorious." Capture Chang'an in one fell swoop. ”

An Lushan stared at him without saying a word. In the end, he said word by word: "There is no doubt about employing people, and I will hand over all the 50,000 troops in Luoyang to you." Together with the second half of my An Lushan's life, I will also hand it over to you. ”.

Two days later, a fast horse galloped from the direction of Tongguan to Chang'an, while the city gate was not closed, the fast horse galloped into the city gate, and soon arrived at Yang Guozhong's mansion, he turned over and dismounted. rushed up the steps and said to the porter: "Quickly inform Yang Xiangguo." I came from Tongguan and had a big event to report to him! ”

Military intelligence is involved. The door did not dare to delay, and hurriedly reported to Yang Guozhong. At this time, Yang Guozhong was washing his feet and preparing to go to bed, and suddenly heard the news of Tongguan, he was stunned and surprised, the cronies he installed in Tongguan had been purged by Ge Shuhan. I have returned to Chang'an half a month ago, how can there be any news from Tongguan.

But surprised to surprised, he hurriedly said to the porter: "Quickly bring this person to the outer study, I will come immediately." ”

At this time, Yang Guozhong had completely turned against Ge Shuhan, and Ge Shuhan's earnest advice in the letter was a severe rebuke to him in Yang Guozhong's view, although Ge Shuhan expressed his willingness to give him the position of right minister. But in Yang Guozhong's eyes. The right phase was originally his seat. When Ge Shuhan said this, it proved that he had ambitions for the position of right minister.

Politics may be like that. Two people who share the same bed and dream come together for a common political enemy, and when the political enemy falls, the conflict between them will inevitably appear.

In popular words, it is a mountain that does not tolerate two tigers, if Ge Shuhan has been a general in the military, maybe Yang Guozhong can still tolerate him, but Ge Shuhan entered the government as the king of Xiping County, and the official worships the left minister, Shangshu and the right servant, which is already very strong, if he makes great contributions again, it is no longer a possibility to replace him Yang Guozhong, but inevitable.

Yang Guozhong straightened his clothes a little, and walked quickly to the outer study, where the messenger had already been brought by the guards and was anxiously pacing back and forth in the study.

"Yes!" Yang Guozhong coughed dryly, walked in slowly with his hands behind his back, and asked slowly: "Who are you sent, and you have something important to see me in a hurry!" ”

When the person who delivered the letter saw Yang Guozhong entering the house, he hurriedly came over and said: "The villain's surname is Ma, and he is the confidant of the deputy general of Tongguan, and he has something important to report to Xiangguo." ”

"Fire to the Ground?" Belly general? 'How can he have something important to report to himself?' ”

Yang Guozhong was a little puzzled, he looked at the messenger coldly, without saying a word, the messenger hurriedly took out a letter from his arms, and handed it to him with both hands, "I will tell the general, Xiangguo will know at a glance." ”

Yang Guozhong opened the envelope in two or three clicks, shook off the letterhead and read it roughly, and gradually, his eyes revealed horror, to be precise, this letter was a whistle-blowing letter, saying that the general Pang Zhong secretly persuaded Ge Shuhan to lead the army into Beijing to kill Yang Guozhong in order to take power of the court, but Ge Shuhan said: 'In this way, wouldn't I become the second in An Lushan?' ’

'An Lushan second! The more Yang Guozhong thought about it, the more frightened he became, he hurriedly folded the letter into his arms, and ordered his family to take the messenger to rest, but he himself ignored the fact that it was late, got into the carriage and galloped towards Xingqing Palace.

Xingqing Palace, Li Longji has been preparing to go to bed, these days Hedong good news has been spread frequently, seeing that the capture of An Lushan's nest is just around the corner, the day to quell the An Lushan rebellion is approaching, coupled with this year's bumper wheat harvest in Guanzhong, Li Qing sent hundreds of thousands of stone grain from Longyou, the price of grain in Beijing has plummeted, a food crisis has also been resolved, and one after another happy events have made Li Longji feel very good.

Just as he was about to go to bed on the dragon bed, a eunuch on duty suddenly came to report, "Yang Xiangguo has a confidential matter to report to the emperor." ”

Li Longji was stunned for a moment, what big deal would he have if he came so late? If it was usual, he would have waved his hand, 'I'll talk about it tomorrow!' ’

However, in the past two months, Yang Guozhong has performed remarkably well in raising military salaries and stabilizing grain prices, which has satisfied Li Longji, and he has invisibly attached importance to him.

Li Longji thought for a while and said, "Take him to wait outside the palace first!" He then put on a civilian robe and walked out slowly.

"Your Majesty, something is wrong! Geshuhan has the opposite intention! Fell to the ground, hurriedly took out the whistleblower letter from his arms, handed it to Li Longji with trembling hands, and said, "Your Majesty, please look at this letter!" ”

Yang Guozhong's words were like a basin of water splashed on his head, and Li Longji, who was sleepy-eyed, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and his drowsiness disappeared, he snatched the letter, read it up and down, but slowly put it down in his heart, the main point in the letter is the five words 'An Lushan second', although it is inappropriate to say this, but it must be linked to the opposite of what Yang Guozhong said, but it is a bit far-fetched.

He glanced at Yang Guozhong, and saw that his face was completely gray, and he couldn't help sneering in his heart, he was afraid that Ge Shuhan would bring troops to kill him, so he was shocked like this, he shook his head lightly and said, "Yang Xiangguo, didn't Ge Shuhan refuse?" Why should you be nervous? ”

Yang Guozhong saw that Li Longji was unmoved, and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, my officers and soldiers have won great victories in Hedong and Hebei, and An Lushan has sent a heavy army to guard Xiangzhou, and the intention of retreating north has been very obvious, now Luoyang is empty, Cui Qianyou only has a few thousand people in his hands, and Ge Shuhan has 300,000 troops in his hands, but he refuses to take the initiative to attack, what is his intention?" ”

Speaking of this, Yang Guozhong sneered repeatedly, "I suspect that he wants to delay time and take the 300,000 troops into his own hands. Now there are less than 20,000 imperial forest troops in Chang'an, and once his brother Shuhan has a different heart, what can we resist? Your Majesty! The heart of defense is indispensable! ”

Li Longji was silent, Yang Guozhong did have some truth in what he said, now is a good opportunity to attack, but Ge Shuhan is not moving, which is indeed a little strange.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "Then according to Xiangguo's wishes, how should this matter be handled?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that if the two-pronged approach is adopted, it should be possible to control Ge Shuhan, first, the minister recommends Du Qianyun, the general of Youwei, as the deputy marshal of the soldiers and horses, and he can supplement the disadvantages of Bian Lingcheng without military power; Second, he ordered Ge Shuhan to immediately send troops to attack Cui Qianyou, and once the Tang army wins, he will be relieved of his military power, and he will not be given too much time to slowly control the army. ”

Li Longji saw that Yang Guozhong was speaking in a straightforward and coherent manner, and couldn't help but smile with relief: "Xiangguo is not what it used to be, that's right, I should pay attention to Ge Shuhan." ”.