It is difficult to tell exactly when An Lushan began to rebel, but one of his actions is enough to prove that his already restless heart began to be restless, that is, he let his henchman Liu Luogu stay in Beijing for a long time to spy on all kinds of information about the imperial court.

If An Lushan only had restless thoughts at this time, still entangled in the difficult choice of betrayal and loyalty, but the next series of events made him go further and further on the road of rebellion, until he could not turn back.

The ten years of Tianbao are undoubtedly the most critical year in An Lushan's life. From this year onwards, rebellion ceased to be an idea for him, but began to be put into action in a low-key manner. The reason why he is low-key is because the person he fears the most, Li Linfu, is still alive!

In February of the tenth year of Tianbao (751 AD), An Lushan's request to serve as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu was finally approved by Li Longji, and from then on, nearly 200,000 elite soldiers in the three towns of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong were all under the control of An Lushan.

An Lushan, who is also the envoy of the Three Towns, could not stay in Hedong for a long time, so he needed someone to help him control the power of Hedong Town, and finally chose Jiwen.

Ji Wen is a master of political speculation who is good at seeing the wind and steering the rudder, so he has been wandering between the three forces of Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, and An Lushan.

Ji Wen once adhered to Li Linfu's will to brutally suppress the crown prince, and also hinted that it was time for Yang Guozhong to seize power from Li Linfu.

Although he was already a mid-level official in the Empire, he still felt that he was too slow to rise through the ranks, so he had to find someone who could help him quickly achieve his political ideals. This person has finally been found, then what he has to do is to get this person's favor.

The relationship between Jiwen, who is good at leading the way, and An Lushan quickly warmed up. In the end, they became brothers, so Gwen finally said the words hidden in his heart.

"Although Li Youcheng is relatively good to Brother An. But you will certainly not be recommended for the position of Prime Minister. I can help you fulfill this unfulfilled wish. If Brother An recommends me to the Holy One, once I have the opportunity to speak in front of the Holy One. I will definitely spare no effort to play Brother An in front of the Holy One, and I am worthy of a great responsibility. Let's join forces to exclude Li Linfu from the ranks of prime ministers. The position of prime minister belongs to Brother An! ”

Since this conversation, Jiwen has begun to put all his political weight on An Lushan.

Under the recommendation of An Lushan, Ji Wen served as the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu and the governor of the post, and Zhang Tongru served as the judge of the retainer.

Giwin couldn't help but be overjoyed when he received the letter of appointment, because a golden strip had been paved under his feet, but he was too soon to be happy!

There is a detail in the edict appointing An Lushan as the envoy of the Hedong Jiedu that has not been noticed. We can vaguely see Li Longji's political wisdom from this detail.

An Lushan, the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, did not concurrently serve as Taiyuan Yin as usual. Although at this time, it was not as inevitable as after the Anshi Rebellion to serve as the governor of the state, but this became an unwritten unspoken rule.

Previously, An Lushan served as the envoy of the Pinglu Jiedu and concurrently served as the Taishou of Liucheng, and concurrently served as the governor of Fanyang when he served as the envoy of the Fanyang Jiedu. The Governor of Fanyang was led by Prince Yao, and Changshi was the de facto governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, while An Lushan's appointment as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu this time only served as the Taishou of Yunzhong County (now Datong City, Shanxi). The far-reaching political and military implications will be felt in the future.

In the autumn of this year, the new Hedong Jiedu made An Lushan decide to use a military victory to establish his position in the hearts of the soldiers of Hedong Town, but in the end it backfired, An Lushan's expedition was a painful defeat, but An Lushan, who lost his troops, saw an opportunity to expand his strength that ordinary people could not imagine.

In the second year, in order to be ashamed, An Lushan decided to lead an army of 200,000 to conquer the Khitan. In fact, this crusade is not the intention of the drunkard!

An Lushan played Li Longji hoped that Shuofang Jiedu's deputy envoy Absi would lead the army to cooperate with this expedition. Absi was originally the leader of the nine surnamed Hu people, and later led his troops to join the Tang Dynasty. The burly and resourceful Arbus was deeply favored by Li Longji. Absi's favor naturally aroused An Lushan's jealousy and dissatisfaction.

An Lushan had previously moved Abs and his men to his territory. The matter was abandoned because of Arbus's objections. An Lushan wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to jointly conquer the Khitan and take the opportunity to kill Absi, not only to eliminate a strong opponent, but also to subdue his subordinates and strengthen his own strength.

The clever Absi naturally saw through An Lushan's conspiracy. But he was helpless about it, because no one dared to disobey the emperor's edict.

He hopes that his leader Shuo Fang Jie Du will help him get out of the crisis after staying, but his leader is an old officialdom oilman who does more than less. Said something innocuous and politely refused Arbus's request.

Terrified, Arbus eventually embarked on the path of rebellion. Escaped back to the once familiar but now unfamiliar steppe, and invaded the Tang Dynasty border several times. It became a major problem for the Tang Empire.

At this time, Mobei has become the world of the increasingly powerful Hui. Under the blow of the Hui, the desperated Abs finally defected to the Qarluq.

Under the military deterrence of Cheng Qianli, the Qarluqs escorted Absi, his wife, and thousands of his subordinates to the Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate. Absi's life ended in tragedy, and Cheng Qianli was promoted to the rank of General of the Right Jin Wuwei for his merits, in charge of public security in the capital.

An Lushan has undoubtedly become the biggest beneficiary. During the defeat of Absi, An Lushan continued to collect the scattered troops of Absi under his command. "Lushan has won (A) Bu Si people, then the soldiers are strong in the world, and the more arrogant they are." (New Tang Dynasty Book)

In October, the only person who could suppress An Lushan was also the person most feared by An Lushan - Prime Minister Li Linfu died.

An Lushan's attitude towards Li Linfu went through three stages: flattery, arrogance and fear.

At first, An Lushan racked his brains to tie up Li Linfu, the prime minister of the dynasty. It was under the sponsorship of Li Linfu that An Lushan was able to rise all the way in his career.

As Li Longji's love for him deepened, the self-aggrandizing An Lushan gradually stopped taking Li Linfu in his eyes, and his gestures were full of arrogance.

Li Linfu, who is good at playing with power, decided to give him some color. Li Linfu deliberately asked Wang Ji and An Lushan to come to see him together. Wang Jieke was a big man with great political influence, and his political status in the imperial court was second only to the prime minister. But this noble Lord Wang saw Li Linfu groveling and bent to greet him. Because he knows that everything he does benefits to Li Linfu.

An Lushan, who was on the side, naturally realized Li Linfu's old spiciness, and had to bend his waist.

When Li Linfu talked to An Lushan, he could effortlessly guess his intentions. An Lushan had to admire Li Linfu as a veteran who was good at observing faces. A person who has insight into his own inner activities will naturally make himself afraid. An Lushan was still sweating even when he talked to Li Linfu in the cold winter season.

Looking at the panicked An Lushan. The scheming Li Linfu was greatly psychologically satisfied. Li Linfu, who had achieved his goal, changed to a gentle tone, and once put his robe on An Lushan's body with concern. Li Linfu, who was both gracious and powerful, made An Lushan grateful.

An Lushan, who was willing to bow to the wind, respectfully called Li Linfu "Shilang". Tang dynasty. Lang is the master's title for the servant, which shows An Lushan's respect and horror for Li Linfu.

Whenever Liu Luogu returned to Fanyang from the capital, An Lushan would always ask impatiently: "How is Shilang?" ”

If he heard that Li Linfu praised him, An Lushan would be so happy that he danced. If he heard that Li Linfu was dissatisfied with him, An Lushan, who was sitting on the bed, would be horrified and say, "My death is not far off." ”

After this incident was known to the popular actor Li Guinian, he often imitated An Lushan's frightened ugliness in front of Li Longji. Li Longji smiled every time, and he couldn't support it.

Many historians blame the Anshi Rebellion on Li Linfu's policy of "replacing Han with Fan" for his own selfish interests. This policy did provide a rare opportunity for the promotion of a large number of Hu generals, including An Lushan, but the reasons why An Lushan finally embarked on the road of rebellion were extremely complex, one of the reasons was Li Linfu's premature death.

An Lushan gradually transformed into a powerful time bomb buried within the Tang Empire. It is because of the touch of a person. The bomb just entered the countdown to the explosion.

This person is Yang Guozhong, whose name was Yang Zhao in his early years. Yang Zhao's grandfather Yang Youliang and Yang Yuhuan's nominal grandfather Yang Zhiqian are brothers, so he is just a distant relative of Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Zhao was born into a declining family. There is an indelible historical stain on his body, because his uncle is Wu Zetian's most favored lover Zhang Yizhi in his later years.

The middle of the family road did not inspire Yang Zhao to work hard and shine on the lintel. Yang Zhao, who has done his own thing, has not had much interest in reading since he was a child, and his behavior is debauched, he loves drinking and gambling, and he is like a bad teenager with bad habits, so the neighbors and villagers look down on him.

Yang Zhao, who had spent his years in vain, still had no place to stand until the year of his establishment. So he went to Jiannan to serve as a soldier.

Where is Jiannan? Jiannan refers to the vast area south of Jiange, roughly including most of present-day Sichuan and northeastern Yunnan.

Later, when Suzong Li Heng was in power, he thought that the jurisdiction of Jiannan Jiedu was too vast, so it was split into Jiannan Xichuan Jiedu and Dongchuan Jiedu Envoy. Daizong Li Yu merged the Jiannan Xichuan Jiedu Envoy, the Dongchuan Jiedu Envoy and the Shannan Dongdao Jiedu Envoy to establish the "Sanchuan Jiedu Envoy". In the Tang Dynasty, there was no concept of "Sichuan", only the concept of "Sanchuan".

Many people think that Sichuan got its name because of the four large rivers within its borders. Actually, this is a misunderstanding. This "river" does not mean a big river, but a plain or a field. The Northern Song Dynasty government divided the "Three Rivers" of the Tang Dynasty into Chengdu Fu Road, Zizhou Road, Kuizhou Road and Lizhou Road, and combined them into Sichuan and Shaanxi Four Roads. Abbreviated as "Sichuan", this Sichuan is larger than the current Sichuan Province.

Yang Zhao's military career was not smooth, and he was whipped for offending the leader.

He later distinguished himself as a petty officer of the Xindu County Lieutenant by virtue of his work. However, the majority of middle- and lower-level officials in the Tang Dynasty were not iron rice bowls, and they needed to wait for the organization to redistribute after the expiration of their terms. If they can't get a new job, officials have to be laid off and re-employed. As a result, many people have lost their source of livelihood.

Yang Zhao was so poor that he didn't even have a way to go home, but fortunately he received the generosity of the local tycoon Xian Yu Zhongtong. This is the benefit of "official sugar daddy".

Uncle Yang Yuanyan died of illness in Shuzhou. After hearing the news, Yang Zhao ran over to help with the funeral.

On this day of family mourning. Yang Zhao, who was full of lust, actually had an affair with his cousin, Yang Yuhuan's second sister Pei Shi (later Mrs. Qiu Guo). Yang Zhao would never have thought that this ** would steal a new world for his future development.

Because the people in his uncle's family were busy taking care of the funeral, Yang Zhao took advantage of the chaos to collect a large amount of property from his uncle's house, and then went to the casino to gamble beautifully, but he lost everything.

Yang Zhao, who felt that he had lost face, fled and continued to live a muddy life.

Later, Yang Zhao was transferred to Fufeng County Lieutenant, but he left his post again because of his disambition, and embarked on the road to Sichuan, and this trip to Bashu was destined to change his life.

Because of the discord with Li Linfu, the prime minister of the current dynasty, Jiannan Jiedu made Zhang Qiu and Qiong eager to get in touch with the increasingly favored Yang Guifei, so as to find a political backer for himself who could shelter from the wind and rain.

Zhang Qiu and Qiong sent Xian Yu Zhongtong to take charge of the public relations activities. Xian Yu Zhongtong, who was at a loss, suddenly thought of Yang Guozhong, a distant relative of Yang Guifei, so he introduced Yang Guozhong to Zhang Qiu and Qiong.

When they met for the first time, Yang Guozhong, who was beautiful and good at words, was appreciated by Zhang Qiu and Qiong, of course, Zhang Qiu and Qiong valued his background more.

In the early winter of the fourth year of Tianbao (745 AD), Yang Guozhong brought millions of gold, silver and jewelry worth of gold and silver jewelry to Beijing in the name of Chungong, and this trip to the capital was destined to become a turning point in his fate.

When Yang Yuanyan died, Yang Yuhuan was still very young, so she didn't have any impression of this cousin who swept away the family's belongings.

Yang Zhao did not recklessly directly meet the little cousin of the concubine, but first found his old friend Yang Yuhuan's second sister.

Just as her husband had just died, the two men and women who were like dry wood and fire naturally lived day and night.

Under her recommendation, Yang Zhao met Yang Guifei as he wished. Yang Zhao gave the Yang sisters the treasures he carried this time, and naturally gave the most belongings to the old man.

Zhang Qiu and Qiong's investment finally paid off, and he soon entered Beijing to serve as the head of the household department and the imperial historian.

Although Yang Zhao climbed the high branch of Yang Yuhuan, he only got a petty official like Jinwu Bing Cao to join the army, because Li Longji was still in the investigation stage of this distant relative.

Despite this, Yang Zhao, a petty official, can still enter the palace to serve by Li Longji by virtue of his status as a member of the concubine's family. This precious opportunity allowed Li Longji to discover the shining point of Yang Zhao. (To be continued......)