The clouds are like ink, rolling overhead, the sky is getting darker and darker, it is noon, there is a blue and white color, the four fields are pitch black, the whole earth seems to be swallowed by the evil monster in the air, Li Longji's car drove with great effort to finally arrive at Ma Weiyi, he helped Yang Yuhuan just entered the post house, the raindrops of beans crackled and fell, hitting the ground powerfully, and the air was full of the smell of earth.

The poor soldiers didn't have time to set up the tent, they ran to the pine forest to shelter from the rain, they were cold and hungry, densely huddled together, silently looking at the pavilion post in the rain, there was no one in the pavilion, and the food was also taken away, fortunately, the place was quite large, there were two entrances inside and outside, Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan lived in the small courtyard inside, leaving the outside to the prince and grandson and Yang Guozhong and a few other accompanying ministers.

Gao Lishi had not eaten since last night, and he secretly saved a mouthful of his coarse sorghum to his little grandson, who was now so hungry that he could barely walk, but despite this, he still did his duty, and helped Li Longji, who was also exhausted, to his seat, and comforted him: "Your Majesty, when the rain stops, let the soldiers hunt some game or catch some fish in the river, or kill a few horses to satisfy everyone's hunger." ”

In just one night, Li Longji seemed to be ten years old, his face was gray, his beard was mostly gray, and he sat down with a cane.

Colliers seemed to understand his thoughts, and added: "You can't do without horses for long distances, so if you can't kill them, don't kill them!" ”

Li Longji nodded silently, and said, "Inner servant, you go and see my concubine, she hasn't eaten since last night." I'm worried she won't be able to hold on. ”

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. The old slave went to see it just now, and the mother stayed in the Buddhist hall, and her spirit was quite good. ”

Li Longji couldn't help but sigh again. "What I regret the most now is that I didn't listen to what Zhang Jiuling said back then, if I had killed An Lushan at that time, I wouldn't have fallen to today."

The atmosphere in the room was very heavy, and Colliers wanted to say something, but he was too tired and fell silent, only to hear the wind and rain beating against the roof tiles. Suddenly, he seemed to hear something. But it was very unreal, just when he was stunned, the guard Wei Yingwu flew in, and he knelt on the ground and reported loudly: "Your Majesty, we all heard the sound of horses' hooves, which is very dense." It seems to be coming this way. ”

Li Longji was so frightened that his soul flew away. He's Teng! Stand up. Could it be that what he feared the most?

"Quick! Go and tell General Chen and order him to meet the enemy! ”

After saying that, he threw away his crutches and ran towards the Buddhist hall. But the man was old and healthy, he almost fell down after not running a few steps, Gao Lishi hurriedly supported him, "Your Majesty, don't worry, maybe it's a passing merchant!" ”

Colliers' voice just fell. I only heard a few guards shouting with joy outside the door: "Your Majesty, it's Tang Jun!" It's the cavalry of the Tang Army! ”

Li Longji was stunned, he immediately helped Gao Lishi, braved the heavy rain, trembling and walked out of the post house, only to see that outside the gate, more than a hundred Tang cavalry turned their horses' heads back and forth in the rain, the first one was tall, his skin was dark, and his face was grim. His eyes were sharp through the rain curtain and shot straight towards the gate of the post house, it was Li Qing, the envoy of Anxi Jiedu.

When he saw Li Longji coming out, he immediately turned over and dismounted, and gave him a military salute on his knees, "Minister Li Qing is late to save him, please forgive your majesty!" ”

"General, please get up!" Then it was dark. He fainted and fell to the ground.

"Father! Your Majesty! The princes and grandsons behind him suddenly panicked and pounced on them together. Yang Guozhong stood motionless at the door, his eyes stared at Li Qing coldly, and there was bitter hatred in his eyes.

At this time, several princes had already carried Li Longji into the post house, but Gao Lishi was squeezed aside and couldn't intervene, he glanced at Li Qing, walked up slowly, and asked with a complicated expression: "Li Qing, why did you come here?" ”

Unlike Li Long's ecstatic base, there was a hint of worry hidden in Gao Lishi's eyes, he remembered the letter sent by Li Qingming Duan Xiushi, at this time he came here in person, but what was the purpose?

At this time, Yongwang Li Lan quietly walked to the door, pricked up his ears to listen to the conversation between Gao Lishi and Li Qing, he didn't say a word, but his eyes flickered, Li Qing's eyes swept him, and he sneered slightly in his heart, and said: "Gao Weng, I led the army to pass by here, and I heard that the scout said that he found that the situation here was abnormal, so he came to see it in person, but he didn't expect it to be the emperor." ”

"How many soldiers did you bring with you?"

"Back to Gao Weng, I only brought a thousand cavalry, and I have ordered Li Siye to lead them to meet the other main forces of the Anxi army."

Li Qing said, but his eyes swept around, he suddenly found Wei Yingwu, only to see him secretly pointing to his stomach, Li Qing suddenly woke up, and urgently ordered the soldiers to take out the dry food they brought on their bodies and hand it to the guards, and then sighed slightly: "Your Majesty is emotional now, and it is inconvenient for me to see him, I will arrange for military horses first, and then order someone to send some food, Gao Weng, I will garrison the troops under the hills, if Your Majesty wants to see me, you can send someone to summon me at any time." ”

With that, he arched his hand to Gao Lishi, turned his horse's head, and instantly led three hundred cavalry to disappear into the vast rain and fog

At this time, everyone knew that Li Qing had arrived, and with food, his heart was also relieved, only the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and there was a white fog between the heavens and the earth.

Only Gao Lishi has been fidgeting, Li Qing appeared too suddenly, and only brought a thousand soldiers, how do you think there are problems inside, but where is the problem? He couldn't tell.

The room was very quiet, Li Longji was already asleep, there was an imperial doctor beside him to take care of him, Gao Lishi walked around the room with his hands behind his back, and couldn't stop for a moment, at this time, the rain outside seemed to have been a little lighter, Gao Lishi finally made up his mind, grabbed the oil paper umbrella in the corner of the house, and hurriedly walked into the rain and mist.

Li Qingdi's 1,000 men were stationed a mile away, and the terrain here was so open that there was no hiding place around except for a pine forest that stretched down the hills.

"Please inform General Lee. I am a person from the emperor's side, and I am here to ask to see you! ”

Gao Lishi only waited for a moment, and suddenly the camp door opened, Li Qing walked out of it quickly, and he smiled from afar: "When I saw Gao Weng wanting to speak and stopped, I knew that Gao Weng would come, please!" Please come to the tent and talk. ”

Although the tent was also damp, it was much more comfortable than outside, and Colliers drank a cup of hot tea. He breathed a sigh of comfort, his whole body warmed up, he ate a few more cakes, and then clapped his hands and said, "The general might as well say to me bluntly, where are you from, Longyou or somewhere else?" ”

Li Qing smiled lightly and said, "King Shicai Yong is beside me, I didn't tell the truth." To tell you the truth, I chased after you from Chang'an, you walked for half a day and a night, only traveled more than 100 miles, and I caught up in less than two hours. ”

"Chang'an?" Gao Lishi was shocked, and he looked at Li Qing incredulously, "What about the rebels!" Have you ever encountered one? ”

Li Qingcheng walked to the tent door with his hands. Staring at the green mountains shrouded in rain and mist outside the tent, he suddenly turned around and smiled slightly: "Cui Qianyou's 30,000 Youzhou Iron Cavalry has been annihilated by our Anxi Army, and even Tongguan has been recaptured. ”

Gao Lishi was stunned, he seemed to have become a stone sculpture, he didn't move for a long time, Duan Xiushi's letter, the advice to support the king of Chu, the emperor's escape, Li Qingdi fell from the sky, a series of things seemed to be pierced by an invisible thread, and he finally understood. Li Qing actually came a long time ago, he has been waiting, waiting for the emperor to leave Chang'an, and then he will suddenly make a move and take everything into his hands.

And now, in the wilderness, the emperor is only guarded by more than a thousand weak soldiers with low morale. Where is it worthy of the wolf-like Anxi army. Colliers swallowed hard. Secretly looked at Li Qing, just as he also turned his head. As soon as the two looked at each other, Gao Lishi suddenly keenly caught a touch of murder in his disappearing eyes, and his legs immediately shook violently, did Li Qing want to kill the emperor? In the end, he shirked to An Lushan, so he only brought a thousand people, just to hide people's eyes.

'Plop! With a voice, Gao Lishi, the first eunuch of the Tang Dynasty, knelt down for the emperor and the concubine for the first time, and he said in a trembling voice: "Please show mercy to the general's subordinates and let Your Majesty live." ”

Li Qing didn't hurriedly help him up, let alone comfort him that he was loyal to the emperor, and he would never do such a thing that was indignant to heaven and man, no, he didn't say anything, just glanced at Gao Lishi coldly, and he was silent.

Gradually, Gao Lishi also realized Li Qing's coldness, he got up from the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said in a deep voice: "So, you must not let go of the emperor?" ”

"Humph!" Li Qing snorted softly in a nasal voice, turned his back to him and said slowly, "When did I say that I wanted to kill the emperor?" ”

"You don't kill the emperor?" It is the normal rotation of the emperor, and he has always been loyal to Li Longji, and he has never had two hearts, and now Li Qing suddenly stated that he would not kill Li Longji, so that he was finally freed from a cage that made him fear, and this cage was made up by his own hands.

Li Qing slowly turned around, stared at Gao Lishi, and said in a resolute but non-negotiable tone: "However, he wants to abdicate immediately and let the king of Chu ascend the throne, which is the only condition for me not to kill him." ”.

Li Qingdi's sudden arrival not only made Gao Lishi feel uneasy, but another person felt deeper uneasiness, even fear, and this person was Yang Guozhong.

He has a long history of hatred with Li Qingdi, in his more than ten years of official career, Li Qing is like a shadow, closely following him, every ups and downs and setbacks of his land, you can see Li Qing's existence, when he was promoted to the right minister, he thought that he could surpass Li Qing from now on, but unexpectedly, today, on a small post house called Ma Wei Yidi, he was depressed to find that he was trampled by Li Qing again.

"Hateful!" Yang Guozhong slammed his fist on the table, 'Bang! With a bang, the teacup fell to the ground and shattered, startling his son Yang Xuan and the imperial historian Wei Jincheng.

"My lord! Why are you doing that? Wei Fangjin asked puzzledly, he is Yang Guozhong's confidant, because Yizhou Assassin Shi Cui Yuan is his old subordinate, so Li Longji also brought him with him, he really can't understand, after running away like a lost dog all night yesterday, it is easy to have a place to rest now

I also sent food, and seeing that my safety was also guaranteed, I should be happy, why would I be so angry?

Yang Xuan knew that his father's heart was sick, so he quietly pulled Wei Fangjin's sleeve and motioned for him to go outside with him. Wei Fangjin saw Yang Guozhong's face blue for a while, and then swollen purple and red, which was really frightening.

He quietly walked out of the room with Yang Xuan, but as soon as the two of them arrived outside, they saw Yongwang Li Xuan hurriedly approaching, and asked them, "Is Yang Xiangguo here?" ”

Yang Xuan pointed to the room and said in a low voice, "Father is angry?" ”

"Angry?" Li Lan asked in surprise: "Well, why are you angry?" ”

"Isn't it the guy who suddenly appeared at noon?" knows whether Li Qing's sudden appearance is a blessing or a curse.

Li Xuan smiled, laughing a little weirdly, he patted Yang Xuan's shoulder and said, "I have something important to discuss with your father, you are here to watch, and no one is allowed to let it in." ”

With that, he walked quickly into the room, and the cooperation between him and Yang Guozhong was brokered by Ge Shuhan. But it is also because of the sharp contradiction between Ge Shuhan and Yang Guozhong, and the relationship between him and Yang Guozhong has also weakened a lot, and now that Ge Shuhan is finished, Li Luan's biggest supporter has fallen, but unwillingly he wants to slowly make up for the relationship with Yang Guozhong, but Li Qingdi's appearance made him suddenly discover the crisis, if Li Yu comes to power in the future, how can he spare him. So whether he is dead or alive, he has to die.

In the room, Yang Guozhong was bowing his head in frustration and not saying a word, not noticing that Li Lan had walked in front of him, Li Lan looked at him for a long time, and suddenly smiled: "Can you solve the problem by sitting here and thinking about it?" ”

Yang Guozhong slowly raised his head and looked at Li Lan blankly, not knowing what he meant by this?

Li Lan looked left and right, and whispered in Yang Guozhong's ear: "He came with troops." It must be for Li Yu, if we don't strike first, you and I will die without a place to be buried! ”

His words were like a basin of cold water, which suddenly woke Yang Guozhong up, he looked around nervously, stepped forward to close the door, and complained in a low voice: "You can't be crazy." He came with his troops. What shall we fight with him? Aren't you looking for death? ”

"I thought about it. Chances are not impossible. Li Xuan stared at Yang Guozhong's eyes and said gloomily: "It depends on whether you Yang Xiangguo is willing to help me with this." ”

"How can I help you?" Yang Guozhong suddenly came back to his senses, and he looked at him vigilantly and asked.

Li Lan was not in a hurry to say. He seemed to feel that the blade was not hot enough, and he had to sharpen it again, so he smiled and said: "Xiangguo, don't look at me with that kind of eyes, now we have the same hatred, and helping me is also helping you." ”

"Your Highness just said, what do you want me to help with?" Yang Guozhong became a little impatient.

Li Lan smiled and said lightly: "I want you to go and talk to the concubine, and let her persuade the emperor to make me the crown prince." ”

"What!" Yang Guozhong jumped up in shock, "You said it lightly, when is it now, you still dare to say this?" ”

"I'm not delusional, do you know what nonsense the emperor said when he was sick this afternoon? I asked the imperial doctor, and I wrote it down word for word. ”

Yang Guozhong knew that Li Longji had been talking nonsense all afternoon, but he didn't know what he was talking about? Seeing Li Lan mention this matter, he asked, "What did the emperor say?" ”

Li Lan sneered and said, "He said that he was guilty and should not reuse An Lushan, he wanted to abdicate and apologize to the people of the world." ”

Yang Guozhong pouted and said disdainfully: "What's the matter, he will naturally say this when he is sick, and when he recovers, it will be another matter." ”

"So I want you to help, only now, take advantage of his current illness and weakness to settle the prince's affairs, this opportunity must not be missed, otherwise in the future, Li Yu will ascend the throne, Li Qing will inevitably gain power, will there be good fruits of your Yang family at that time?"

Perhaps it was the last sentence that moved Yang Guozhong, he was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "If I help you this time, what benefit will you give me?" ”

Li Lan said happily: "Then you say, what do you want?" I can say yes, and it's in writing. ”

"I want to be the right minister for life, and you have to kill Li Qing for me." Yang Guozhong looked into Li Lan's eyes and said word by word: "Two conditions, one is indispensable." ”