(Two in one, tomorrow New Year's Day.) Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoHappy New Year to book lovers! I want to go out for a walk, so I'll take a day off tomorrow. ）

Just when Wang Yuan and his entourage arrived in Yongqiu City, Yan Zhuang led the army to also arrive outside the east gate of Luoyang.

Along the way, Yan Zheng's mood is complicated. This time, he was ordered by An Lushan to lead an army of 50,000 to clean up the hinterland, but he watched Wang Yuan run away under his nose, which was really troublesome. That is the source of the current Tang Dynasty, which is the pillar of the current Tang Dynasty, if he can be caught and killed, it can be said that the Tang Dynasty will be dealt a heavy blow, and even the Tang Dynasty will collapse. It can be said that I wasted a great opportunity in vain.

But Yan Zhuang is an open-minded person, although this defeat made Yan Zhuang unhappy, but Yan Zhuang did not feel that things had become out of control because of this, nor did he feel depressed and decadent because he watched Wang Yuan flee to the south of the Yellow River with Yan Zhenqing and other tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In fact, in Yan Zhuang's view, since Wang Yuan saved the soldiers and civilians of Pingyuan City from crossing the river, it means that there are no more remnants of the Tang Dynasty in the hinterland of Hebei Province, and it actually plays a role in calming the rebellion in the hinterland. The purpose of his own army trip is actually to quell the rebellion in the hinterland, and since the goal has been achieved, what is unacceptable?

Therefore, the reason why Yan Zhuang's mood was complicated and worried was not to return empty-handed, but what he was actually worried about was An Lushan's attitude after knowing about it. He knew An Lushan, and if An Lushan knew that he had let Wang Yuan slip through the fingers of his army of 50,000, he would probably be furious. The current An Lushan is irritable and irritable, full of anger, and kills the servants under the city at every turn, if this matter is reported to An Lushan, what kind of consequences will it bring, Yan Zhuang dares to think about it.

Outside the east gate of Luoyang, there was a bleak autumn color, there was no figure outside the empty city gate, and there was not a single person who came to greet him. Yan Zhuang knew that his popularity in Luoyang was not good, and he didn't have any close friends. The only one who may come to greet him is An Qingxu, the king of Jin. However, he could not go out of the city to meet him, because he had to avoid suspicion, and he could not get too close to him. Thinking of this, a trace of sadness arose in Yan Zhuang's heart.

After the Dongda Battalion outside Luoyang City allowed the soldiers and horses to be stationed on the spot, Yan Zhuang entered the city with more than 100 cavalry. Even though he was worried that An Lushan would be furious, Yan Zhuang still decided to report the truth of his trip to An Lushan, and Yan Zhuang did not want to hide it from An Lushan. Because Yan Zhuang knew that these things could not be hidden, An Lushan would definitely order someone to secretly inquire about these news, and once his report was different from what he learned, it would be an even worse situation. Moreover, Yan Zhuang was actually mentally prepared for the upcoming thunder rage, and he had already made a major decision on the march back to Luoyang for more than ten days. It was a decision that was about to change everything.

On the way to the Luoyang Palace, Yan Zhuang sent his cronies to the Jin Palace, delivering a letter to inform An Qingxu that he had returned to Luoyang. asked An Qingxu to wait for him in the mansion, and after he saw His Majesty, he would go to discuss important matters with him.

The Luoyang Imperial Palace is still full of flowers, and compared with the rich autumn colors outside, there is obviously no half-minute seasonal alternation here, and the feeling that the cold winter is coming. On both sides of the blue brick avenue leading to the An Lushan dormitory, the flowers and trees are lush and fragrant. There are also rare bees and butterflies enjoying their last days of life in late autumn, buzzing in the sun.

Walking along the corridor to the entrance of An Lushan's dormitory, Yan Zhuang frowned and unconsciously covered his nose. Because he smelled the long-lost rancid smell and the spicy smell of Chinese medicine, Yan Zhuang forcibly held back his vomiting and walked towards the entrance of the temple.

Several guards guarded the entrance of the palace, and when Yan Zhuang arrived, one of the guards hurriedly entered the hall to report. Soon after, Li Zhu'er hurried out with a surprise on his face, and when he saw Yan Zhuang, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Mr. Yan is here, Your Majesty invites you to come to the audience, please come with the slave maid." ”

Yan Zhuang saw Li Zhu'er's face at a glance and was immediately startled. Because Li Zhu'er's face had a few more rolled blood-colored scars. And there are also a few bloody holes. Although it has been scarred, it still looks like a ghost, and it is obvious that he has been punished by An Lushan again.

Yan Zhuang took a breath and calmed down, smiled and said to Li Zhu'er: "There is Lao Li's inner servant." ”

Li Zhu'er waited sideways, Yan Zhuang walked inside, the two walked along the inner corridor, passed the inner courtyard of the hall, Yan Zhuang saw that there was no one around, stopped and turned around and asked in a low voice: "Li Neishi, Your Majesty has punished you again during this time?" ”

Li Zhu'er's eyes turned red, as if she had seen a relative, and pointed to the scars on her face and said, "Mr. Yan, look at the face of the slave?" The slave and maid will not live. ”

Yan Zhuang frowned and said, "Your Majesty, what's the matter?" Why do this to you? ”

Li Zhu'er said with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty's temper is becoming more and more irritable, and the people around you are not scarred." In the more than 20 days since you left Luoyang, more than a dozen palace maids and chamberlains in the palace have died. His Majesty cut my face with a knife, saying that he was going to gouge out my eyes, so there were several holes in my face. If it weren't for the slave and maid hiding quickly, I'm afraid that the eyeballs would be smashed and the skin would be lifted. ”

Yan Zhuang said in a deep voice: "Why the hell? ”

Li Zhu'er sighed: "Why is there there? Once His Majesty's body is in unbearable pain, the slaves and maids will be angry. Hey, it's just my hard life, and I won't live long anyway. ”

Yan Zhuang nodded slightly, frowning and silent. Li Zhu'er came up and said: "Mr. Yan, Your Majesty seems to be in a bad mood again today, I heard your audience just now, what did Your Majesty say, 'He still has the face to see me'." Mr. Yan needs to be more careful for a while. ”

Yan Zhuang's heart froze, nodded and smiled: "Thank you, I will be careful." ”

The two walked forward again, and walked to the outside of An Lushan's bedroom on the north side of the dormitory, Li Zhu'er stepped forward and held the door curtain to invite Yan Zhuang in. The room was dark, and the windows were curtained, apparently deliberately to keep out the light from outside. An Lushan sat on a soft chair with a wide robe, his eyes wrapped in black cloth. The smell in the room was disgusting, so strong that it was hard to breathe.

"The minister Yanzhuang has seen Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty." Yan Zhuang stepped forward, walked a few steps and knelt down in front of An Lushan and kowtowed, and said in a deep voice.

An Lushan listened to the solemn voice, and a smile appeared on his face. waved his hand and said, "Is it solemn?" You're back, it's good, it's good, I've been thinking about you coming back these days. Oh, good, no rudeness. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yan Zhuang got up slowly.

An Lushan turned his head sideways and looked at Yan Zhuang with his eyes covered by a black cloth, as if he could still see Yan Zhuang through the thick black cloth. Yan Zhuang peeked in, and he saw the yellow liquid flowing under the black cloth. The middle of the black cloth was wet, which was caused by the blood soaking it. It can be seen from this that An Lushan's eyes under the black cloth are probably in a terrible situation.

"Solemn. How about going to Plains City to quell the chaos? Is it still going well? An Lushan asked lightly.

Yan Zhuang knelt on the ground again, and said in a deep voice: "The minister is guilty, the minister has the trust of His Majesty, this time the rebellion is at fault, pray for Your Majesty to punish." ”

An Lushan frowned and said, "You play it truthfully." ”

solemnly and solemnly told everything about the trip without any reservations. An Lushan listened quietly all the time, the muscles on his face twitched slightly, obviously trying his best to suppress his anger. After Yan Zhuang finished speaking, An Lushan said coldly: "Yan Zhuang, you have disappointed me, very, very disappointed. You led an army of 50,000 to quell the rebellion, how could you let the thieves run away like this? And it's still that Wang Yuan who is running. Do you know you've made a big mistake? I trust you so much, do you repay it? ”

Yan solemnly said in a deep voice: "The minister has the grace of His Majesty, and the minister asks His Majesty to surrender the crime, and the minister will bear it with all his might, and will never deny it." ”

An Lushan said sharply: "You have ruined my big thing, just ask for sin?" ”

Yan Zhuang was silent, and An Lushan said in a loud voice: "You say, you are so incompetent, how dare I entrust you with the heavy responsibility?" I also count on you to assist King Yan to stabilize Sheji. But in my opinion, your current performance is in line with the saying, that is, 'ambition is great and talent is sparse'. How dare you let me rely on you, and how dare you assist King Yan. ”

Yan Zhuang frowned and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the minister is at fault, but the minister is by no means as unbearable as you say. Your Majesty may condemn your ministers, but you must not insult them. ”

"What?" An Lushan laughed angrily: "You still have to argue with me? Am I wrong about you? You've done a mess on this errand, and you still have the face to argue. ”

Yan Zhuang said quietly: "The minister doesn't think this errand is bad. The minister admitted that he failed to catch Wang Yuan, but that was not the purpose of the minister's trip to quell the chaos, and the minister did not know in advance that it was Wang Yuan himself who broke into my Dayan's inner abdomen to cause chaos. Moreover, the minister's action only looks at the overall situation, and the goal of this minister is to quell the civil strife. The city of the plains has been recovered, and there are no more thieves and soldiers in the interior, which has achieved its goal. As for catching Wang Yuan, it is naturally the icing on the cake, and it is not a disaster if he can't catch him. Therefore, the minister did not feel that the errand was bad. The only mistake of the minister was that he did not know that Wang Yuan led the army, and he escaped by trickery. It is for this purpose that the minister should ask for sin, not for the sake of calming the chaos. ”

An Lushan's face was stiff, and his chest rose and fell violently. Yan Zhuang knew that a storm was coming, so he waited with bated breath for An Lushan's wrath. But An Lushan's anger did not break out, and what Yan Zhuang waited for was An Lushan's laughter.

"Hehehehehe, good, good. Yan Zhuang, you are really still that Yan Zhuang, and you really like to collide with me Yan Zhuang. What I want to tell you is that I did not intend to blame you, for I already knew what had happened to you a few days ago. If you have the slightest concealment in what you have just reported, I will take you down immediately. You didn't hide it from me, and I was relieved that I wanted to blame you. But what I didn't expect was that you also learned to pass the buck, and instead of feeling ashamed of living up to my expectations, you were uplifted. Do you think you can do whatever you want? Don't I know about your private affair with An Qingxu? Are you really loyal to me? I have entrusted you with a heavy responsibility, and I have graced and humbled you, hoping to influence you and make you wholeheartedly devoted to me, but you have greatly disappointed me. ”

Yan Zhuang was silent, he had expected this result a long time ago. In fact, even if there was no confrontation just now, An Lushan would still have removed himself from his official position. Because An Lushan absolutely can't tolerate his failure this time, An Lushan is such a person, he doesn't allow any failure of others, unless it is someone he can use to entrap. And he is obviously not the person he trusts the most.

Moreover, from what he said just now, Yan Zhuang also heard that An Lushan has always been uneasy about himself, so the interaction with King Jin is also an extremely taboo place for An Lushan. Even if he has been careful enough, the eyes and ears of An Lushan's subordinates must have seen the process of the secret interaction between himself and the King of Jin, and reported it to An Lushan.

"Yan Zhuang, you must be very unconvinced. I know you're stubborn, and you must think I'm being too you. I could have killed you because of this incident, but I'm not a ruthless person, and I still have a glimmer of hope for you. So I'll give you another chance. I want you to do something, and if you do it well, I will reinstate you and reinstate you as the generalissimo of the southern expedition for me. The promise that you will become the prime minister of my Great Yan Kingdom in the future is still valid. This is your last chance to prove your loyalty to me, and if it is not done again, tomorrow I will issue a decree to ask you for your sins and behead you all over the house. An Lushan said coldly.

Yan Zhuang said in a dumb voice: "But I don't know what Your Majesty wants your ministers to do?" ”

An Lushan said coldly: "I plan to appoint King Yan as the crown prince in a few days, and there is one thing that needs to be done before that. I was going to do it myself, but now I want you to do it for me. Tonight, Qingxu must hold a banquet for you, and I want you to kill Qingxu tonight, this is your last chance to show your loyalty to me. Kill Qingxu, and I believe that you will be single-minded towards King Yan in the future. ”

Yan Zhuang was frightened, dumbfounded, opened his mouth and was speechless, and his whole body was cold.

……

On the streets of Yongqiu City, the news of the arrival of Wang Yuan, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Heng, the king of Feng, spread far and wide. People flocked to the street to watch, and the small Yongqiu City was suddenly very lively.

Wang Yuan was very surprised that there were still so many people in Yongqiu City. Yongqiu City is only a county seat, and in terms of the size of the city, it is only one of the countless small cities in the Tang Dynasty, and the population is probably only more than 10,000 people. But at present, there are as many as 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers and civilians surging on the streets. And that's not even counting the people who are in the house.

After taking a seat in the county hall, Zhang Xun gave Wang Yuan an explanation.

"When the thieves rebelled, they heard that the people of the state capital north of the Yellow River were fleeing, and the lower officials and Suiyang Xu Taishou discussed to take the people across the river to settle down. Xu Taishou and I organized dozens of boats to cross the river to pick up people. Fortunately, the upper reaches of the Yellow River were frozen during that time, and the river flow was slow. In the more than ten days that the rebels fought all the way from Fanyang, we transported more than 60,000 people across the river. Originally, I settled in my Qingyuan County and Suiyang City, but later when I arrived in Yongqiu, the people also followed. There are 30,000 here, 30,000 in Suiyang, and the people are barely allowed to settle down. Zhang Xun explained.

Wang Yuan was in awe, got up and arched his hand: "I admire Zhang County's actions, when the chaos broke out, everyone was in danger. Zhang Xianling actually thought of crossing the river to pick up refugees for resettlement, and his courage and insight were good. On behalf of the imperial court, I would like to thank Zhang Xianling and Xu Taishou for their righteous deeds. ”

Zhang Xun hurriedly said: "Marshal Wang has tormented me, these things should have been done." What the lower officials admired was actually Marshal Wang and Yan Taishou who really fought against the rebels, but it was a pity that we were in the south of the Yellow River and could not really fight the rebels, which was really a pity. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Zhang Xianling, don't worry, there will be a chance for you to fight with them." Yongqiu is in a key place, and if the rebels want to cross south to attack, this is the place where they must attack. The war is coming soon. ”

Zhang Xun nodded and said: "Xiaguan also thinks so, so Xiaguan came to Yongqiu from Qingyuan County." and recruited and trained more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, just to fight to the death with the rebels. ”

"More than 10,000 soldiers?" Wang Yuan was surprised.

Yan Zhenqing and the others were also very surprised, Zhang Xun actually recruited and trained more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in this small county, which was really surprising.

Zhang Xun said: "To be exact, there are 11,630. Of these, 2,500 were cavalrymen. Of course, this is also all the soldiers and horses in Yongqiu City and Suiyang, including the newly recruited 5,000 troops. There are almost no soldiers and horses in Suiyang City, Qingyuan County, in the rear, and all of them are gathered here. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said: "Are you planning to defend the Yongqiu portal, if Yongqiu is defended, the city in the rear will be safe, right?" ”

Zhang Xun shook his head and said, "Xiaguan doesn't think so. For Xiaguan, the most important thing is Suiyang City, which is the gateway to Jianghuai in the south. Moreover, Suiyang City's city defense is strong and easy to defend. Of course, Xiaguan doesn't want to give up Yongqiu, Yongqiu is my Tang City, and it is impossible for Xiaguan to give it up. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Zhang Xianling's thinking is clear, and it seems that he already has a set of ideas to resist the enemy. Zhang County's order was originally Qingyuan County's order, but I don't know why he came to Yongqiu? What about the local officials in Yongqiu County? ”

Zhang Xun said in a deep voice: "The lower official is about to report this matter to the marshal. Xiaguan was originally the commander of Qingyuan County, but when the rebels were in turmoil, the county commander of Yongqiu County ordered Huchao to defect to the enemy, wanting to dedicate Yongqiu to the rebels as a pedal south of the Yellow River. Xiaguan and Suiyang Taishou Xu Yuan were very angry when they heard this. So the two of us discussed recapturing Yongqiu and arresting the traitor Linghu Chao. Meng Xu Taishou respected, he handed over all the soldiers and horses of Suiyang to me, and I led 3,000 soldiers and horses to attack Yongqiu at night to recapture the city. It's a pity that the dog thief made the fox tide escape, and it is said that he was appointed as a general. Sooner or later, the dog thief would bring in troops, so the lower officials stationed in Yongqiu to prepare for battle. It's a bit unreasonable to say, after all, I'm not an official of Yongqiu, and it's a bit unjustifiable to be stationed here. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and exclaimed: "I didn't expect that there was such a thing, what Zhang Xianling did was admirable." There is also that Xu Yuan Xu Taishou, I also want to express my admiration to him in person. The two of you work together to resist the enemy, and you are both loyal and good generals of my Tang Dynasty. ”

Zhang Xun hurriedly said: "Loyal ministers and good generals don't dare to be, it's just a matter of eating the king's Lu and being loyal to the king." Mrs. Xu is in Suiyang, he is responsible for providing logistics for me, and there are a lot of things in Suiyang City, so he can't stand side by side with me in Yongqiu. However, the lower officials had already sent someone to inform him of the arrival of the marshal and the prince. He'll be there soon. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and nodded: "That's great, I want to meet him too." I look forward to meeting him. ”

Zhang Xun smiled and nodded. Wang Yuan turned to Feng Wang Li Heng and said, "Lord Wang, look at how many of our officials in Datang are loyal to Datang, they are all the backbone of my Datang." With them, why worry about the rebels not being destroyed? ”

Li Heng nodded and said, "Although the marshal and his party have benefited a lot this time. I have a suggestion, and I wonder if the marshal thinks it is appropriate. ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "What advice does the prince have?" ”

Li Heng said: "I listened to what Zhang Xianling said just now, and I felt full of admiration in my heart. Zhang Xianling also said just now that he had a feeling of injustice in Yongqiu, after all, he was not a Yongqiu official appointed by the imperial court. So I want to ask the marshal to give Zhang Xianling a commendation, so that he can legitimately lead the army here to resist the enemy, I don't know if it is possible? ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Good suggestion." The prince has a heart, and this is exactly what I think. Officials like Xu Taishou Zhang County Order should be rewarded and promoted. ”

"It's just that we need to return to Chengdu to ask for a commendation and promotion, and I'm afraid it will take a long time to delay." Li Heng said.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Do extraordinary things at extraordinary times. Besides, I am the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, and the appointment of officials is a matter agreed upon by my political affairs hall. Today, I will make an exception and draw up a promotion order in the name of the first seat of the government hall and the right minister. When I return, I will report this matter to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty will definitely not object. ”

Yan Zhenqing applauded: "Okay, good, what Xiangguo said is right, he should be rewarded immediately." ”

Wang Yuan turned his head and said: "Zhang Xun, from today onwards, you will be Yongsui Taishou, in charge of military and political affairs in Yongqiu and Suiyang. That way, you'll be free to do things. As for Xu Yuan and Xu Taishou, I plan to transfer him to the imperial court. The imperial court now lacks such an official, and this time it happened to take him to Chengdu to face the saint. Like Yan Taishou, I have to recommend them to important positions. ”

Zhang Xun was a little confused, and he was suddenly promoted from the county order to the two county guards, and he was really a little enlightened.

Yan Zhenqing smiled and said: "Zhang Taishou, why are you still stunned, and you still don't thank Xiangguo for his promotion?" ”

Zhang Xun suddenly woke up and thanked him repeatedly, his face couldn't help but be happy.