(2-in-1, it's the beginning of the month, let's vote.) Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo）

Three days later, Yan Zhuang arrived in Luoyang with 50,000 soldiers and horses. Of course, these 50,000 soldiers and horses could not enter the capital, and could only be stationed in a temporary military camp outside Luoyang City.

In the evening, Yan Zhuang hurriedly entered the city, and entered the palace non-stop to see An Lushan to recover his life. When he came to the outside of An Lushan's dormitory, he was startled by the sound of ghosts crying wolves, and hurriedly took a closer look, but saw that on the corridor in front of the palace, more than a dozen guards were holding sticks to execute four attendants. The stick 'crackled', and the waiters screamed again and again, which was unbearable.

Yan Zhuang knew that it must have been An Lushan who began to get angry again and was angry with these attendants. An indescribable disgust rose in Yan Zhuang's heart, An Lushan was too irritable and tyrannical, looking at the scene of these servants being beaten, Yan Zhuang remembered the time when he was beaten by An Lushan's order.

"Mr. Yan, is it Mr. Yan? Help, save my life. ”

Yan Zhuangzheng frowned and groaned, and suddenly heard a gray-faced waiter on the ground shouting loudly, and the voice turned out to be Li Zhu'er's voice. Yan Zhuang was stunned for a moment, and helped wave his hand to call several guards to stop the execution. One of the guards shouted: "Your Majesty ordered these people to be beaten to death, and we dare not disobey the order." ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly said: "Wait a minute, I will go to your majesty to plead for mercy, if your majesty does not allow it, you will be tortured and killed." ”

Several of the guards deliberated in low tones for a moment, then nodded in agreement. They are all on errands beside An Lushan, and they actually know that these people don't deserve to die, but His Majesty's temper is really short-tempered, and they can't disobey orders. They have done too much to kill people recently, and they have nightmares when they sleep at night, so why not accumulate virtue once, and it is of course the best not to kill people.

Yan Zhuang thanked him, squatted down and asked Li Zhu'er, "What are you being punished for?" Tell me why, and I feel good when I go in. ”

Li Zhu'er's face was full of tears, and she wailed: "My Mr. Yan, how do I know why? A few of us were originally waiting for His Majesty to have dinner, but later the military department sent someone to deliver an urgent mail. His Majesty asked us to read it to him. I can't read, so it's an excerpt of the third reading of the old man. Say that some enemy troops have touched the area of Yecheng in Xingzhou, as if attacking several of our state capitals. I didn't understand it either, so I made a joke that these thieves were nothing at all, and when His Majesty's eye disease was cured and his illness was cured, he went to the royal car to kill them. Who knew that His Majesty suddenly became furious, saying that we were all a group of people who deceived him, deceived him into blindness, and said that we had all kept him in the dark, and that he was about to be attacked in Luoyang, and did not tell him. ”

Yan Zhuang listened to his miscellaneous narration, and didn't understand what was going on, vaguely because there was something in trouble in Yecheng, which made An Lushan feel bad. Li Zhu'er was a broken mouth, and he came to make fun of him at that time, which made An Lushan angry, and he poured all his anger on these four servants, and he didn't stop until he killed them.

"Save me, Mr. Yan, please save my life. I, Li Zhu'er, will tie the grass ring in the next life to repay your great kindness. Li Zhu'er pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"Don't be impatient, I'll go and beg Your Majesty, whether it works out or not depends on your creation." Yan Zhuang frowned.

The four attendants lay on the ground and thanked them repeatedly, kowtowing like pounding garlic. Yan Zhuang sighed, stood up, tidied up his clothes, and walked towards the dormitory.

An Lushan's dormitory was dark and stuffy, like a tomb, and the smell of corpse decay was permeated, which was the stench of An Lushan's decaying wounds. The stench permeated the nooks and crannies of the glorious columns, clinging to the glittering vessels, the richly coloured furniture, and the precious and rare treasures, which would never linger.

An Lushan was lying on his back on a soft couch, his stomach covered with a veil of blood, and his eyes were covered with a black cloth. Because his eyes could no longer see the light, and when he saw the light, it would burn and sting, so the whole dormitory was not allowed to be lit, and the doors and windows were tightly closed, making it look dark and gloomy.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, An Lushan's body moved, and asked in a loud voice, "Did you kill those dogs?" ”

Yan Zhuang was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that An Lushan regarded himself as a guard to return the news. So Yan Zhuang coughed and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it's the minister who is here." ”

An Lushan tilted his head sideways to distinguish, heard the solemn voice, and struggled to get up. Several palace maids hurriedly stepped forward to help him sit up, supporting his huge body with pillows.

"So it's you? You're back from Chang'an? How's it going? Shi Siming didn't embarrass you, right? An Lushan asked in a row.

Yan Zhuang stepped forward and bowed while bowing, and said in a deep voice: "Thank Your Majesty Hongfu, everything is going well." ”

An Lushan said happily: "Really? 100,000 soldiers and horses, you brought back to Luoyang? ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly told him about the situation, and also informed An Lushan that he had left 50,000 soldiers and horses to garrison Tongguan. The remaining 50,000 were brought back to Luoyang by themselves and temporarily stationed on the outskirts of Luoyang.

An Lushan was silent for a long time after hearing this, and asked, "Do you think Chang'an can't hold it?" That's why he left 50,000 soldiers and horses in Tongguan? ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly said: "The minister just feels prepared. Dispatching 100,000 soldiers and horses to leave Chang'an at once is afraid that it will have an impact on Chang'an's defense. The 50,000 soldiers and horses left behind in Tongguan also echoed Chang'an temporarily. Just to make sure nothing goes wrong. Your Majesty, don't worry. ”

An Lushan frowned and said: "You don't need to comfort me, although I am not on the battlefield, I am very clear in my heart." You must be worried that Shi Siming will sit back and watch the loss of Tongguan, so you left 50,000 soldiers and horses to strengthen the defense of Tongguan. You're doing the right thing, always be on guard. Tongguan is the main road to Luoyang, and of course you can't hope for others. Very good, you did a good job on this errand, I was worried that you would not have good fruit to eat when you went here, but Shi Siming did not dare to disobey my order. ”

Yan Zhuang scolded secretly in his heart, it was obvious that An Lushan knew in his heart that it was very dangerous to go to Chang'an this time, and he was likely to lose his head. But An Lushan didn't mention a word to himself before leaving, which shows that this person doesn't care about the life and death of anyone other than his own.

"Your Majesty, another 50,000 soldiers and horses are stationed on the outskirts of Luoyang, so what does Your Majesty think it is better for the minister to send troops to the south? The minister's idea is that the sooner the better. Because if we take the southeastern state capitals one day earlier, we can force Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses to retreat one day earlier. Yan asked in a deep voice.

An Lushan pondered for a moment, shook his head slightly, and said: "The matter of the southern expedition is temporarily suspended, and I hope that you will lead these 50,000 soldiers and horses to do other things." ”

Yan Zhuang was stunned and said, "What does Your Majesty mean?" ”

An Lushan groped on the small table on the side, and a palace maid on the side didn't know what he wanted, so she was busy asking in a trembling voice: "What does Your Majesty want to take?" Tell the slave and maid, and the slave and the maid will go and get it. ”

An Lushan scolded: "Get out, do you think I can't take anything?" ”

The palace maid hurriedly retreated to the side, An Lushan touched the small table, and finally found a letter that was placed closest to him. He picked it up and touched it, handed it to Yan Zhuang and said, "Take a look for me, is it the letter sent by the Ministry of War?" ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly took it and opened it, and it was stamped with the seal and date signature of the Ministry of War, which was the fold sent by the Ministry of War today. So he hurriedly said: "Exactly." ”

An Lushan nodded and said, "Look at the content." ”

Yan Zhuang opened the fold and began to read the content, only a moment later, Yan Zhuang's face changed greatly, and after reading the fold, Yan Zhuang exclaimed: "This ...... How can it be? How can there be an enemy army in the hinterland? Three cities in a row? Killed more than 10,000 garrison soldiers? ”

An Lushan pounded the handrail and said: "I also said that it is impossible, but the fold of the military department is written in black and white." We can't afford a fire in our backyard. I asked Shi Siming to send troops to stabilize the place we occupied before attacking Shu, but he just didn't listen. What else to say, the disease of scabies has nothing to do with the overall situation. Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing of Pingyuan County and Changshan County did not surrender to the death, and resisted with soldiers and horses, they should have been bulldozed a long time ago, but they had to be allowed to be arrogant. After repeated requests, I captured Changshan County and killed Yan Gaoqing. The rest of Yan Zhenqing is still stubborn. It's good now, the rear is completely messed up. Yecheng, Xingzhou, and Weizhou were actually counterattacked, which is unimaginable. If this continues, I'm afraid they will attack my Youzhou City and Xiongwu City in the north next? It's our base camp there, so it's hard to be copied. This matter is no longer a disease of scabies, but a big man. ”

Yan Zhuang nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty's worries are justified. Since they were able to break through Yecheng Xingzhou and Weizhou, it was also possible to threaten Youzhou in the north, and they needed to eradicate it as soon as possible. ”

An Lushan said: "So, I hope you can lead 50,000 soldiers and horses to solve this matter." The Plains City that Yan Zhenqing held on to was leveled by me, and calmed the troubles in the backyard of the Great Yan Kingdom for me. In this way, you can have no worries about the southern expedition, do you think what I said is right? ”

Yan Zhuang nodded and said: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true, if you don't get rid of the trouble of your henchmen, it will indeed be difficult to sleep peacefully." The minister wondered, where did this sudden soldier come from? Being able to break through the pot pass and attack the east of Taihang Mountain, and connect three cities in one day, this force of soldiers and horses may not be underestimated. ”

An Lushan said: "I am also thinking about this, it is said that there are only two or three thousand cavalry, how can I do this? Conquering Huguan is already incredible, three cities in a day, killing more than 10,000 defenders of our Dayan Kingdom, this is simply like entering a no-man's land. I get angry when I think about it, when did my An Lushan's soldiers and horses become so pustuated and so vulnerable to being slaughtered? ”

Yan solemnly said: "Your Majesty is angry, this soldier and horse are strange, and the minister thinks that they will definitely not take risks for no reason." The minister believed that they must have been sent by Wang Yuan to pick up Yan Zhenqing. Attacking our city by surprise on the way is taking advantage of the surprise attack. Your Majesty is assured that the minister already knows where to find them, and they will definitely escape by crossing the river to the south, and the minister will immediately lead the army eastward to block them in the south of Pingyuan County, and teach them that there is nowhere to escape. ”

An Lushan patted his thigh and said: "It's the same as I thought, Yan Zhuang, I have confidence in you, and this time, it's all up to you." ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly said: "It is the duty of a minister to be loyal to His Majesty." ”

An Lushan sighed: "My body can't get better, every day is as bad as a day, and I don't know how many days I have to live." I thought it would be better to pass the throne to Kyung Eun early. What do you think? ”

Yan Zhuang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't be in a hurry. After the ministers subsided and returned to Luoyang, the army was close to the left of Luoyang, so as to operate such a major event, so as not to cause extraneous branches. ”

An Lushan thought for a while, nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, but I don't know if I can hold on." ”

Yan Zhuang said: "Your Majesty, don't be so pessimistic. Your Majesty should have a stable and peaceful mind, which is of great benefit to the sick body. Don't you hear that 'the breath is calm and the body is steady, the mind is at peace, and all diseases are dissipated'? When you are sick, you are most afraid of manic and pessimistic, Your Majesty does not dislike the ministers with many mouths, and the ministers hope that Your Majesty can calm their minds and not make people around them panic. ”

An Lushan frowned tightly and was silent.

Yan Zhuang whispered: "These slaves and maids around Your Majesty are all loyal to Your Majesty, they have followed Your Majesty for a long time, and they know Your Majesty's temperament and preferences. At this time, His Majesty needs their care the most, and His Majesty cannot kill them because of a momentary temper. Although the life of a slave is not precious, if you change to a novice, you may not be able to take care of it thoughtfully, and it will not be beneficial to your condition. I hope that Your Majesty will still tolerate some of their mistakes. Like Li Zhu'er, they are all servants who have served with His Majesty for many years, and His Majesty can't kill him because of his illness and irritability, and His Majesty must have remorse when he looks back. ”

An Lushan was silent for a long time, nodded and said, "What you said is that I am indeed irritable and overly harsh on them. However, I'm afraid it's too late, I've already ordered the guards to kill them, and I'm afraid they're already dead at this moment. ”

Yan Zhuang knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty forgives me, the ministers dared to ask the guards to stop before the audience, Li Zhu'er and the others should still be alive at this moment." The minister's bold behavior is very inappropriate, please punish your majesty. ”

An Lushan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly said with a smile: "You did the right thing, it's too late to thank you." Then it is good that they live, and that I have forgiven their sins. ”

Yan solemnly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting long live.

After Yan Zhuang withdrew from the palace, An Lushan summoned Wu Damu, the general of the Praetorian Guard, and ordered him to tie up all the dozen or so guards who were responsible for Li Zhu'er's execution outside, and all of them were beheaded in the corridor of the dormitory.

An Lushan's reason is of course very simple, these people actually dare to listen to the solemn order to stop the execution, this is disloyal to themselves. Although he spared Li Zhu'er and others, the behavior of these dozen guards was unforgivable, and they must be executed so that all the guards could understand that only the orders given by themselves could be followed, otherwise it would be a betrayal.

That night, after Yan Zhuang learned the news, he was shocked and sneered.

……

The sun was scorching and the weather was extremely hot. Although it is the beginning of August, the weather is still hot.

Under the scorching sun, a long procession stretched for miles and slowly squirmed in the dusty mountains and fields southeast of Weizhou. It was really wriggling, because most of the people in the team were old and weak, women and children, and they were all hungry and weak, and the speed of the march could be seen in such a hot weather.

Since he promised to escape with these people, Wang Yuan could only accept this reality. But it is obviously not possible to go on like this, starting from Weizhou, in a morning and more than two hours, the whole team traveled less than six or seven miles, which is simply not a march, but a crawl. If it weren't for these people, the cavalry would have been dozens of miles away.

Although the generals of the guards complained, this was the order of the commander, and everyone had no choice but to escort these slow-moving people to walk slowly. The long road under the scorching sun, marching at this speed, I don't know when it will be a head.

Wang Yuan also realized that this is not the way to go. He ordered the troops to rest in a wooded area to escape the midday sun, and at the same time summoned the people to think of ways to speed up the march.

In the shade of the woods, the people gradually arrived, and everyone couldn't wait to go into the forest to breathe. Under the shelter of the trees, everyone finally recovered from the heat. Wang Yuan has not been idle, he and Gongsun Lan and others have been standing at the edge of the woodland waiting for every staggering people, until there is no one in the rear, Wang Yuan turned around and entered the forest.

As he walked towards the clearing in the middle of the woods, there was a sudden sound of beating and scolding from the side of the woods, and the sound of crackling leather whips faintly.

"Untouchables, dare to steal our water to drink. Is this water for you to drink? It's you untouchables clamoring to follow, slowing down our march. If the rebels catch up with us, we will all be killed by you untouchables. Do you still want to drink water? Phew, it's pretty much the same to give you a leather whip to eat. ”

Wang Yuan frowned tightly and strode towards the place where the voice came from. After walking dozens of steps, I saw a group of guards and civilians watching among the trees in front of me, and the sound of beating and scolding came from there.

Wang Yuan strode over, and Zhao Qing beside him shouted: "What are you looking at the excitement?" It's not all out of the way. ”

When the onlookers found out that Wang Yuan was coming, they hurriedly flashed to the side and opened a passage for Wang Yuan and the others. Wang Yuantie walked around quickly with a blushing face and saw the scene in front of him.

But when he saw a man on the ground rolling and moaning in the dust, a man chased after him with a leather whip in his hand and whipped his rolling body, cursing incessantly with his mouth in his mouth. A wooden basin was dumped next to it, and a puddle of water soaked the ground. Another seven or eight people stood next to him and watched and laughed, and one of them had gorgeous armor, it was Li Heng, the king of Feng.

"Stop!" Wang Yuan shouted in a deep voice.

Li Heng was watching his entourage whip the common man, and the smoke and dust were billowing from the beating, and he felt that the common man seemed to be a boar rolling in the mud, which was very interesting. Wang Yuan's voice, which was listening violently, sounded, and he couldn't help but be startled. He waved his hand and ordered his attendants to stop beating the people.

"I've seen Marshal Wang, why did you come in person, didn't you just inform you to discuss things? I just got a message and was about to meet you. Li Heng smiled with a smile.

Wang Yuan didn't say a word, walked up to the man who was lying on the ground and moaned, and leaned over to help him. The man was an old man with gray hair, his face was full of horror, and there were several blood marks on his head and face, which were evidently the marks of being beaten with a leather whip just now.

"Uncle, how is the injury? Is it a big deal? Wang Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"The military master spares his life, the villain will never dare anymore, no longer dare. Spare your life. The old man covered his face with his hands, trembled with fright, broke away from Wang Yuan's palm and stepped back, and fell to the ground with a thud, splashing a cloud of dust.

Wang Yuan frowned and got up, raised his eyes to look at the entourage of Li Heng who was holding a leather whip standing in front of him at a loss, and asked lightly, "How many whips did you beat him?" ”

The attendant glanced at Li Heng and snorted, "This...... The villain didn't count. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Didn't count?" I heard you scold a dozen untouchables, and if a pariah counts as ten lashes, that's more than a hundred lashes. Very well, give me the whip. ”

The entourage didn't dare to resist, and reached out to hand the whip to Wang Yuan, who took the whip, swung it violently, and whipped it according to the entourage's splitting head. He scolded in his mouth: "How many whips you beat him, I will return you as many whips as you want, and it is fair to have a dealing." ”

The entourage was caught off guard, and was whipped a few times by Wang Yuan on his head and face, and was suddenly beaten with gold stars in his eyes, tinnitus and dizziness, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to protect his head and face, and dodged backwards.

Wang Yuan scolded: "You still dare to hide? Zhao Qing Tan Ping, tied him up for me, hung him up, and beat him with a hundred lashes. Regardless of whether he lives or dies, he deserves to be killed. ”

Zhao Qing Tan Ping promised loudly, and several guards came forward to grab the body of the entourage and began to tie it up with a rope. The attendant shouted, "Spare your life, Marshal Wang." Lord help me. ”

Li Heng hurriedly stepped forward and smiled at Wang Yuan: "Marshal Wang, what's wrong?" What has I done to this servant? Tell me, you don't need Marshal Wang to do it himself, I'll deal with him for you. ”

Wang Yuan glared at Li Heng fiercely and shouted, "You still came to ask what happened?" Did you allow your men to beat the people? ”

Li Heng was stunned and said, "It turns out ...... It turned out to be because of this? You have wronged us, this man stole the water of our drinking horses, and we stopped him, but he overturned the basin. My retinue Wang Wu saw that he was hateful, so he taught him a lesson. It's not a big deal to say, so why should Marshal Wang care. ”

Wang Yuan sneered: "I secretly drank the water you drank from the horse, and you connived at your subordinates to whip him, right?" If I hadn't come, would the old man have to be beaten to death by you? Look at the scars on his body, such a weak and skinny old man, can you do it? In your eyes, is this common man not as valuable as your horse? ”