Wang Sitong said to his subordinate generals: "I have received the great favor of the emperor, and now if I rebel with Feng Xiang, even if the matter is successful and glorified, it is also a traitor, not to mention the defeat and insult and shed infamy through the ages!" ”

So Hao Xu and others were arrested and reported to the imperial court. At that time, most of the envoys sent by Li Congke were detained by the neighboring provinces, and the rest were attached to the other party or the two ends of the first rat even if they were not detained, and only the Longzhou defense envoy Xiang Lijin was attached to him and sent the judge Xue Wenyu to contact him.

The imperial court studied the crusade against Fengxiang, and Kang Yicheng was afraid of losing his military power and did not want to be transferred outside, so he asked Wang Sitong to be the commander.

Therefore, on the 21st, the imperial court appointed Wang Sitong as the western camp of the horse infantry army to deploy, the former Jing Nanjie Du made Yao Yan Chou his deputy, the former Jiangzhou Thorn Shi Chang from Jian to the horse step Du Yu Hou, Yan Wei Bujun left wing commander Yin Hui, Yulin commander Yang Siquan and so on were appointed as partial generals.

On the 27th, Wang Sitong was crowned as the Tongping Chapter and presided over the Fengxiang Mansion; Appointed An Yanwei as the governor of the western camp.

At the same time, he sent an edict to send the palace to Chu Kuangzuo to arrest Li Chongji, the envoy of the Bozhou regiment, and imprisoned him in Songzhou. The foreign king Li Congzhang was ordered to go to the post and traveled to Hangu Guanxi, and when he heard that Feng Xiang resisted the order of the imperial court, he ran back.

An Yanwei and Shannan West Province Zhang Qianzhao, Wuding Sun Hanshao, Changyi Zhang Congbin, Jingnan Kangfu and other five towns of the festival envoy Shangjiao joint crusade against Fengxiang.

On the 15th, the soldiers of all the ways gathered under Fengxiang City to attack and captured the east and west city passes, and the defenders of the city died a lot.

On the 16th, the army outside the city continued to march against the city walls, and it was bound to take the city. Fengxiang was not an important town in the first place, the city walls were very low, and the moat outside was narrow and shallow, which could not be defended.

Wang Sitong's army had a great advantage over Li Congke's. If the fight continues, the city will inevitably be difficult to protect.

Li Congke stood at the head of the city, very anxious, and suddenly, he found that many of the generals under the city were his former subordinates.

So he divided three by five, and took off all the clothes on his upper body. Showing the scars on his body, and then standing on the city wall and crying loudly, like a mourner, the soldiers who were charging and attacking the city under the city heard it, and they didn't see this formation, they all stopped, looked around, and didn't know what to do.

At this time, Li Congke spoke: "I followed the first emperor on the expedition before I was twenty years old and ran around. Born and died, without complaints, trauma everywhere, all of you and I followed the emperor around the battle, and also made great contributions to the country.

And now the court is a traitorous minister in power, speculating and framing me, you all know me and know me. You know very well what I have done to you before. Why should they be used by traitors to kill their friends on their behalf?

The court listened to the rumors that I had rebelled and wanted to kill me, so how could you bear to see us killing each other and refuse to save us? What am I guilty of? Today it has come to this point. Li Congke said that it was sad. Leaning against the battlements of the city wall, he choked silently.

The soldiers under the city were moved, and some of them also wiped their tears sadly.

Zhang Qianzhao had an impatient temperament and was responsible for the main attack on the southwest of the city, and when he saw that the soldiers stopped the offensive, he used a knife to drive the soldiers to the city. The soldier was angry, scolded and fought back, and Zhang Qianzhao hurriedly beat Ma Shanren to avoid death.

Yang Siquan shouted loudly because of the situation: "King Gonglu, the prime minister, is my monarch." ”

He led the army to remove his armor, throw away his weapons, and ask Li Congke to surrender, he entered through the west gate, handed Li Congke a piece of paper and said: "I hope that when the king conquers the capital, he will send me as a festival envoy, and don't let me be the post of defense and regimental training." ”

Li Congke immediately wrote a note to him, "Yang Siquan can be appointed as a festival envoy", so Yang Siquan defected.

At this time, Wang Sitong did not know these circumstances, and was still urging the soldiers to enter the city, Yin Hui shouted: "The officers and soldiers in the west of the city have entered the city to accept the reward." So all the soldiers abandoned their armor and surrendered.

At noon, the rebels entered the city one after another, and the armies outside were scattered in all directions. Li Congke collected all the belongings of the generals and soldiers in the city and used them to reward the army, and even the pots and kettles and other utensils were valued and rewarded to the army.

On the 17th, Wang Sitong, Yao Yanchou and others retreated to Chang'an, and Liu Suiyong, the deputy guard of Xijing, closed the city gate and refused to accept it, and the group had to run to Tongguan.

Li Congke organized his troops and began to advance eastward, taking Liu Yanlang, a native of Yucheng, an official of Confucius, as his confidant.

At the beginning, Li Congke was also worried that Wang Sitong and others would join forces to occupy Chang'an to resist, but when he arrived in Qishan, he was very happy to hear that Liu Suiyong did not accept Wang Sitong, and sent people to comfort and appease.

Liu Suiyong took out all the money in the treasury and put it outside, and the sergeants who arrived first gave them a bounty to let them pass; By the time Li Congke arrived, the troops in front had generally been rewarded, so they did not enter the city to harass. On the 20th, Li Congke came to Chang'an, and Liu Suiyong greeted him and gathered materials for the army.

Wang Jingcong, the capital of the western infantry army, and others fled back to Luoyang from the front line, and both inside and outside the court were shocked. Li Conghou was at a loss, and said to Kang Yicheng and others: "When the first emperor died, I was guarding the feudal town outside, at that time, who would inherit the throne?

It's just a matter of choosing from your Ming dukes, and I really don't have the heart to compete with others to become emperors. Later, he inherited the great cause, and he was still very young, and all the major affairs of the state were entrusted to you Ming Gong.

There will be no barrier between me and my brothers, and you Ming Gong will tell you about the great plan of the country's society, how dare I not obey it? At the beginning of this campaign against Fengxiang, everyone exaggerated, thinking that Fengxiang's rebellion was easy to pacify; Now that things have come to this point, is there anything that can be done to turn things around?

I plan to greet King Lu in person, and give him the throne of the emperor, and if I can't get rid of the punishment, I'm willing. Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Dawei were frightened and did not dare to answer.

Kang Yicheng wanted to use all the guards and horses to surrender as a bargaining chip, so he said: "The rout and dispersion of the imperial army's army is caused by the commander's command mistakes.

Now, there are still many guard troops, I ask to personally go to the important place, recruit scattered troops, and seek future results, please Your Majesty do not worry too much! ”

Li Conghou wanted to send an envoy to summon Shi Jingjiao and ask him to lead the army to resist Li Congke's men, but Kang Yicheng insisted on asking him to go, so Li Conghou gathered the soldiers and mobilized all the treasury property to reward the army. And made a wish to say: After pacifying the Fengxiang Rebellion, each person will be rewarded with 200 yuan, and if the treasury is insufficient, it will be supplemented with the brocade silk treasures in the palace.

Therefore, the sergeant is even more arrogant and carries what he is rewarded. On the way, Zhang Yang said: "When I get to Fengxiang, I have to get another one." ”

At this time, in order to vent his anger, the imperial court sent Chu Kuangzuo to Songzhou to kill Li Congke's son Li Chongji, and then killed his son Li Congke's daughter Li Huiming, who had become a nun.

Before, Ma Jundu commanded Zhu Hongshi to be very loved by Li Congrong, the king of Qin, and when Zhu Hongzhao became a privy envoy, Zhu Hongshi regarded him as a brother of the same sect.

When Li Congrong led his troops to encircle the palace wall at Tianjin Bridge, Zhu Hongshi responded to Meng Hanqiong's call. attacked Li Congrong first, Kang Yicheng hated Zhu Hongshi because he had secretly promised to welcome Li Congrong. On the 21st, Li Conghou personally visited the treasury and distributed gold and silk rewards to the soldiers.

Kang Yicheng and Zhu Hongshi discussed the benefits and disadvantages of this use of troops, and Zhu Hongshi advocated using the forbidden army to hold Luoyang, and said: "In this way, the other party will not dare to attack Luoyang directly." And then find a way to solve it further, which is a foolproof solution. ”

Kang Yicheng heard this and said angrily: "Hong Shi said such a thing. Do you want to rebel? Zhu Hongshi said: "You yourself want to rebel, and you also say that others want to rebel!" ”

The two quarreled endlessly, and when Li Conghou heard it, he summoned the two to come over and ask, and the two of them each told Li Conghou their opinions, and Li Conghou could not distinguish between right and wrong. Zhu Hongshi was killed, which made the sergeant even more angry.

On the 22nd, Li Congke arrived at Zhaoying, and when he heard that the former army had captured Wang Sitong, he said: "Although Wang Sitong's plan was wrong. Yet his dedication to the Lord he serves is commendable. ”

On the 23rd, when he arrived at Lingkou, the former army escorted Wang Sitong to Li Congke, Li Congke reproached him, and Wang Sitong replied: "Sitong started between the ranks, and the first emperor promoted me to the rank of general of Jiedu, and I was often ashamed that I had no merit to repay the great favor of reuse.

It's not that you don't know that you can get rich and noble right away by attaching yourself to the king, and helping the court is self-inflicted, but I'm afraid that I won't have the face to see the first emperor under the nine springs on the day of death. If I fail, I will use my blood to sacrifice the drums of war, and I will be considered self-satisfied. Please let me die sooner! Li Congke was greatly moved after hearing this, and said respectfully: "Don't say it." ”

So he wanted to pardon him, but Yang Siquan and others were ashamed to see him. Previously, when Li Congke's soldiers passed through Chang'an, Yin Hui plundered all of Wang Sitong's family wealth and concubines, and said to Li Congke's henchman Liu Yanlang many times: "If you leave Wang Sitong, I am afraid you will lose the heart of a soldier." ”

So, while Li Congke was drunk, he killed Wang Sitong and his wife without authorization. After Li Congke woke up from drinking, he was very angry that they were arrogating for their opinions, and he couldn't help but sigh for many days.

On the 24th, Li Congke attacked Huazhou, captured Yao Yanchou, and imprisoned him. On the 25th, the army arrived at Ruxiang.

The various military horses sent by the imperial court before and after encountering Feng Xianglai's army all surrendered one after another, and none of them were willing to fight. On the 26th, Kang Yicheng led the guards from Luoyang as the envoy of Fengxiang's camp.

Li Conghou issued an edict to appoint the guards to command the horse army to make An Congjin inspect the capital, and at this time An Congjin had received a secret letter from Li Congke, and secretly arranged confidants in the army.

Soon, Li Congke arrived at Lingbao, and An Yanwei, the envoy of the Protectorate Jiedu, and An Chongba, the envoy of Kuang Guojiedu, came to surrender one after another, and only Kang Sili, the envoy of the Baoyi Jiedu, planned to hold on to Shaancheng to wait for Kang Yicheng's reinforcements.

Before, there were 500 cavalry guarding Shaanxi, and this time they acted as Li Congke's vanguard, and when they arrived at the foot of Shaanxi, they shouted to the people in the city: "The 100,000 people of the forbidden army have been transferred to the new emperor, what is the use of you people dying and struggling!"

It can only be a massacre of people in a city in vain. So, the soldiers of the holy army defending the city scrambled to go out of the city to meet the surrender, but Kang Sili couldn't stop it, so he had to come out and surrender himself.

On the 27th, Li Congke arrived in Shaanzhou, and his assistant advised him: "Now that the king is about to arrive in Gyeonggi, it is rumored that the emperor has moved out of the palace, so it is better for the king to stay here for a while, and first issue a message to comfort the Shishu in the capital." ”

Li Congke listened to this opinion and issued a pacifying proclamation to Luoyang Wen Wushishu, saying: Except for the two families of Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Bin, who cannot be pardoned, the rest should not be worried.

At this time, Kang Yicheng's army arrived in Xin'an, and the soldiers of his department were in groups of three or five, throwing away their armor and rushing to Shaanzhou to surrender.

After Kang Yicheng arrived at the trench, there were only a few dozen followers left around him, and when he met Li Congke's waiting knights on the way, he untied the bow and sword he was wearing. With the request of the waiting horse, he surrendered to Li Congke.

When he arrived in Shaanzhou, Li Congke rebuked him and said: "The first emperor Yan Jia, who is the heir depends on the princes, and now the emperor is in mourning, and political affairs also depend on the princes, why can't you important ministers be consistent." So that my brother has been framed to such an extent? ”

Kang Yicheng was very frightened and kowtowed and begged for death. Although Li Congke has always hated Kang Yicheng as a person, he did not kill him immediately for the sake of the overall situation.

Ma Budu Yu Hou Chang Congjian and Zuo Longwu Commander Wang Jinghuan were captured by their subordinates, and they also surrendered to Li Congke, so that all the troops of the imperial court surrendered.

On the 28th, Li Conghou reported that Li Congke had arrived in Shaanzhou, and Kang Yicheng's army had been defeated. Worried and afraid, he didn't know what to do, so he hurriedly sent someone to summon Zhu Hongzhao to discuss the solution, and Zhu Hongzhao said to his subordinates: "Urgently summon me, this is to add to me." He committed suicide by throwing himself into a well.

After An Congjin heard the news of Zhu Hongzhao's death, he killed him in Feng Bin's mansion and killed his family, and then transmitted the heads of Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Bin to Li Congke.

Li Conghou wanted to flee to Weizhou. summoned Meng Hanqiong and asked him to settle in Weizhou first, Meng Hanqiong should not be summoned. Instead, he ran to Shaanzhou alone.

Previously, when Li Conghou was in the domain, he favored Murong Qian, and after ascending the throne, he was appointed as the commander of the crane, and Li Conghou was going to cross the Yellow River north to Weizhou. secretly plotted with him and asked him to lead his soldiers to guard the Xuanwu Gate.

That night, Li Conghou led fifty cavalry out of Xuanwu Gate and said to Murong Qian: "I am about to go to Weizhou, and I will slowly try to revive again." You lead the armies of the horses with the crane with me. Murong Qian said: "Life and death follow the emperor." ”

After Li Conghou left the palace, he closed the city gate and stopped following. On the first day of the fourth month, before dawn, Li Conghou arrived a few miles east of Weizhou, met Shi Jingjiao, Li Conghou was overjoyed, and asked him how to preserve Sheji, Shi Jingjiao said: "I heard that Kang Yicheng went west to crusade, how is it?" Why did Your Majesty come here? Li Conghou said: "Kang Yicheng also rebelled. ”

Shi Jingjiao lowered his head and sighed for a long time, and said, "Wang Hongzhen, the assassin of Weizhou, is a general who knows a lot of things, please wait for me to discuss with him." ”

So Shi Jingzhen went to ask Wang Hongzhen, and Wang Hongzhen said: "There were many exiles in the previous generation of the Son of Heaven, but they all had generals, guards, treasury, and legal objects, so that the people who followed had some support and hope. And now that the Lord has nothing, only fifty cavalry to follow, and although we have a loyal heart, what else can we do? ”

Shi Jingjiao came back and went to the post house in Weizhou to see Li Conghou and told Li Conghou what Wang Hongzhen said. Sha Shourong and Ben Hongjin stepped forward to reproach Shi Jingjiao and said: "You are Li Siyuan's beloved son-in-law, wealth and wealth are shared by each other, and sorrows should also be borne by each other.

Now, the Son of Heaven is running around, pinning his hopes on you in order to revive, and he is so shirked, this is simply to rely on the traitor and betray the Son of Heaven! ”

Sha Shourong drew his saber to assassinate him, Shi Jingjiao's personal general Chen Hui also rushed out of the Savior, Sha Shourong and Chen Hui fought to death, and Ben Hongjin also killed himself.

Shi Jingjiao's command made Liu Zhiyuan come in with his soldiers and kill Li Conghou's cavalry, leaving Li Conghou to ignore it, and then Shi Jingjiao also led his troops to Luoyang.

In the past, Li Congke dismissed the official from the river and returned to Luoyang, Li Siyuan let him return to his private place, and Wang Shufei sent Meng Hanqiong to comfort him many times.

Meng Hanqiong thought that he had an old favor for Li Congke, and when he arrived in Mianchixi, he cried when he saw Li Congke, and wanted to complain, Li Congke said: "There is no need to say all kinds of things, I know everything." ”

Meng Hanqiong was overjoyed, thinking that he could be safe, so he happily stood among the entourage of his ministers, but Li Congke ordered him to be beheaded on the side of the road.

On the third day of the first month of April, Li Congke arrived at Jiangqiao, and hundreds of officials lined up on the road to greet him. Feng Dao and others all wrote to persuade them to enter the big position.

Li Congke entered the palace to meet the Empress Dowager Cao and the princess, and then went to the West Palace, lying on Li Siyuan's coffin and crying bitterly. Feng Dao led hundreds of officials to pay respects, and Li Congke replied.

Feng Dao and others wrote to persuade them again, and Li Congke told Feng Dao: "I came this time because I had no choice but to do so.

Waiting for the emperor to return to the court, the first emperor has finished saluting, and he should still guard the uniform system of the feudal town, and the Ming Duke suddenly talked about such a thing, which is very boring! On the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Empress Dowager ordered the abolition of Li Conghou as the king of Hubei, appointed Li Congke to preside over military affairs, and temporarily issued an administrative order with a written edict.

Hundreds of officials went to the gate of the Degong to be punished, and Li Congke ordered them to return to their positions.

On the fifth day of the first month, the Empress Dowager ordered Li Congke to take the throne as emperor; On the sixth day of the first month, Li Congke, who was very boring to persuade the ministers, to ascend the throne in front of Li Siyuanling. (To be continued......)