Yuan Ying pursed her lips and looked at the sixteen people who followed behind her.

Since Tianbao saw the weakness of the Tang Dynasty in the eleventh year, he and his brother Yuan Chao spent half a year every year, running around the world and making friends with heroes from all walks of life.

Yuan Qing in Huainan Province and Chen Zhuang in Jiangnan West Province are just "heroic" characters who they have befriended, but these are only marginal areas, and more importantly, here.

Henan Province.

This is the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, and it is also the richest place in the Tang Dynasty, during which the taxed grain population accounts for a huge proportion of the territory of the Tang Dynasty. If there is chaos here, Datang will be chaotic, and if it is lost here, Datang will lose

Yuan Chao likes to learn, and he is literate and can read, and Ye Chang has read several books attentively. Although they are not ashamed that Ye Chang does not know heroes and does not value heroes, they never deny Ye Chang's own skills and talents, so after Yuan Chao saw Ye Chang's analysis of the situation in the Tang Dynasty in "The Wealth of Nations", he felt that he had a strategy to get into trouble.

Xing in the four sides, set in the Central Plains.

"You all know the news, my brother, Fang Qing, Chen Zhuang and they have already raised an incident, and they will soon cross the Yangtze River and point directly to Henan Dao, what you have to do now is to raise troops with me to respond. We can take Luoyang first, just as the Wagang army captured Xingluocang, and opened the money valley gathered in Luoyang to recruit hungry people, and waited for the arrival of my brother's army. ”

More than a dozen people around him showed excitement one by one: "It should be so"

"The troops in Guanzhong were originally insufficient, and now they are all transferred to attack my brother and others, what we are waiting for is this opportunity, there are only more than 1,000 weak soldiers in Luoyang City, that is, plus the errand and the people, the number is only less than 20,000, and they have not been battled, you go back now, and the momentum will be bigger, within a month, I will have 300,000 people gathered outside Luoyang City."

After Yuan Ying gave the order, everyone agreed.

But there was one person who was a little hesitant, and his hesitation was in the eyes of everyone, and Yuan Ying was a little unhappy: "Xiang Zhongchen, you are hesitating, what are you worried about?" ”

"This ...... Fifth Brother Yuan, there is something that I don't know whether to talk about or not. ”

"Everyone is a brother who cuts off the head of a chicken and drinks blood wine together, you can't say anything, you just have to say it"

"Now is the time... It seems that there is something wrong, that Ye Chang is in Luoyang, let's besiege Luoyang......"

Yuan Ying's face changed suddenly, and she was irritable in her heart, and she couldn't wait to go up and slap this Xiang Zhongchen twice, so that he would not open any pot.

How could he not know that there was something wrong with the timing of the Dao now? But what could he do?

They originally picked up the opportunity for Ye Chang to go to Liaodong to worship Li Linfu, they thought that Ye Chang had taken a long vacation, and he would stay in Liaodong for half a year, and he might never return to the Central Plains for a long time.

The momentum is to ride a tiger, how can you retreat, and now only by being brave and diligent can you defeat the enemy

After settling down, Yuan Ying looked around and found that the expressions of those heroes were also a little strange. Obviously, Ye Chang's invincible reputation for more than ten years has made everyone jealous.

"Ye Chang is a disciple of the Medicine King Immortal, it is said that he knows immortal arts," someone couldn't help but mutter

"You've heard about it, too? My hometown is very close to Xiuwu, but I have heard a martial artist say that he is often supported by immortals and vajra......"

"Nonsense" Yuan Ying didn't dare to let them talk nonsense anymore, ruining his own plan, he interrupted everyone, and then sneered: "Ye Chang is in Luoyang, that's the best"

"Why did Fifth Brother Yuan say that?"

"Think about it, why are the people of the Central Plains poor, and there is no place for them to stand? It's nothing more than those powerful people who took away all the people's fields in order to grow cotton and weave cloth? Ye Chang can also say that Ye Chang is the enemy of the hungry people in the Central Plains, as long as he explains this matter clearly to the people, which of the people does not hate him? Whoever wins the hearts of the people will win the world, and the people will be of the same heart as us, how can we not take this world, and then you brothers, all the kings, will not it be beautiful"

Over the years, under the persecution of Yuan Chao, Yuan Ying has also learned a lot of things, so it makes sense to say it, and everyone nodded again and again. But that Xiang Zhongchen was still stumbling, Yuan Ying didn't want him to say it anymore, but the person next to him urged: "Xiang Huozi, if you have anything else, say it, let Fifth Brother Yuan solve your confusion for you"

"Ye Chang, when he is a good general, Liaodong, Zhinan, Anxi, everywhere he goes, he is invincible, let's ...... Fifth brother, junior brother, let me tell you the truth, don't blame you, although we are conceited and brave, but have we never been on the frontier, have we never really commanded thousands of troops and horses to fight, will we be his opponents? ”

Everyone looked at Yuan Ying again, waiting for his response, Yuan Ying secretly sighed, this question, after he learned that Ye Chang had returned to Luoyang, he had been pondering, so he could answer: "What Brother Xiang said is true, but this is our good opportunity." If Ye Chang is in the frontier and comes back with tens of thousands of frontier tiger and wolf divisions, even if we have several times the troops, I am afraid that we will not be able to defeat him in a hurry. But now it's not the case, now Ye Chang is just appeasing the people in Luoyang, and he is not an elite soldier in his hands, just with those soft-footed shrimp-like officers and soldiers, how can he be ten with one? What's more, in Luoyang City, there is also our Neiying Ye Chang, who was originally our great enemy, and this time we took the opportunity to capture him without strong troops in his hands, wouldn't it be a trouble? ”

He paused for a moment, and then continued: "Besides, Ye Chang has a prominent reputation, and if he captures him, the officers and soldiers of the Quartet will inevitably be afraid of us, and he is the wealth of the three major chambers of commerce, so he can capture him, and I am afraid that the three major chambers of commerce will not obediently support our military salary?" With the money from the three major chambers of commerce, we can take Kaiyuan Tongbao and smash it, and we can also smash Li Longji Lao'er in Chang'an City off the throne In the future, these three major chambers of commerce, that is, our brothers' own private property

Hearing this, everyone was happy, and the little worry in their hearts was swept away by the desire for power and wealth.

It must be said that this is also Ye Chang's role in promoting the people's desire for wealth in the people, intentionally or unintentionally, over the years. Ye Chang's original plan was to promote the people's thirst for wealth, and they dared to expand outward, looking for gold and silver beyond the mountains, the Gobi and the vast sea, so as to promote the further expansion of China. As a result, he planted the dragon seed, but a monster grew, and before the monster could reach out its claws, it first frantically pounced on its mother.

Under Yuan Ying's repeated encouragement and promises, these heroes made up their minds to gather people without mentioning them. At this time, it was already the middle of October of the 14th year of the Tang Dynasty, the weather was getting colder, although it was a great chaos in the southeast, the imperial court sent 20,000 forbidden troops to conquer from Luoyang, and there were only a few troops left in Luoyang City, but the hearts of the people in the city were very stable, and the whole city was in good order.

There is no other reason, but Ye Chang is in charge.

"The court is really a little messy, the court has its own generals, but they don't dare to use it, and they use the border generals to command the forbidden army. The generals and commanders do not know each other, and the soldiers have little training, so this expedition may not be profitable. ”

Ye Chang's temporary mansion in Luoyang was set up in the Grand View Garden, Liu Changqing and Ye Chang knelt opposite each other, Li Jilan was next to the two of them to make tea, the light green tea was fragrant, Liu Changqing sniffed deeply, and looked up at Ye Chang.

If you say that Ye Chang is elegant, he is keen on mundane affairs, if you say that Ye Chang is vulgar, but this poetry, wine, tea and other elegant things, he is also exquisite.

Since the farewell of that year, Liu Changqing and Ye Chang have not met in the past ten years, and in the past ten years, he has sunk into the subordinates, struggling in an unsatisfactory position, and has never had a chance to show his eyebrows. On the opposite side of him is Ye Chang, who has made a name for himself from the situation that he was not favored by everyone at the beginning, not only the Andong Chamber of Commerce is rich in the world, but also has made great contributions in the three frontiers.

Even Cen Shen and Wang Changling, who were also deeply unwilling at the beginning, are now in Ye Chang's curtain, although Du Fu is not behind his curtain, he can run the "People's Daily" and move the government and the opposition, and it is also Ye Chang's help.

These changes made Liu Changqing very emotional, and for a while, he didn't know what to say.

Seeing that Liu Changqing was a little distracted, Ye Chang no longer mentioned military affairs, but talked about the old people who both knew each other: "Brother Changling is now in Liaodong, although he is nearly sixty years old, he is very energetic, Liu Gong has time, he might as well go to Liaodong to see him." ”

"I have heard for a long time that Liaodong is new every day, and Lushun has entered the famous city, Changqing has long had the heart to visit, but I am afraid that Brother Changling will be busy, and he is not used to the wind and waves, so he has not been able to move forward." Liu Changqing calmed down and said slowly: "It's a pity for Gong Li." ”

Li Gong refers to Li Ji, who is the older among the crowd and has already died in Jiuzai. This made Ye Chang very sorry, among the old friends in Luoyang, Li Ji was actually one of the people who talked to him the most, and even Du Fu and others could not compare, when he proposed the strategy of managing the frontier, Li Ji fully supported it, and even said that Li Bai and Cen Shen went to Hequ with him.

"And Zhang Gong, I haven't seen it today."

Also passed away was Zhang Xu, when Tianbao was nine years old, he went to immortality.

"It's good if you don't see it, with Zhang Gong being upright, you will be idle." Liu Changqing recalled the beginning and sighed.

"Yes, it was originally full of flowers, but in the blink ......of an eye, the rain and wind blew away," Ye Chang muttered.

"There are traitors in the court, so there is peace in the domain, Ye Gong should be the pillar of the court, when the evil spirits are expelled, and the righteousness is supported, this is when the people of the world need Ye Gong to turn the tide" Liu Changqing knelt down and straightened his body, and said to Ye Chang: "Ye Gong, I didn't dare to ask to see, but I just listened to the little song made by Ye Gong the day before yesterday, so I came here to pay respects, and I hope that Ye Gong will think of the common people, and not give birth to the heart of retreating bravely."

"Xiaoqu?" Ye Chang was a little stunned, glanced at Li Ye, who was kneeling next to him and bowed down, and then remembered that a few days ago, because of his heavy heart, he drank a few more glasses, and sang a song "Linjiang Immortal" in the north building of Daguanyuan to Luoshui outside.

At that time, Li Ye was with him, thinking that she listened.

"Rolling Yangtze River East Passing Water ......"

Although it is a little wrong to sing the Yangtze River on the bank of Luoshui, the "Yangtze River" is not the special name of the Yangtze River in later generations, and it is not impossible to describe the Yellow River in it. Ye Chang was a little embarrassed in his heart, and explained: "This is not what I did, in the past, when I was conquering Pavilion Luofeng, I heard someone sing in Lushui and learned it. I am a mundane thing now, where can I talk about poetry and music? ”

Ye Chang has stopped copying poems over the years, and he has passed the time when he needs to copy poems to invite his name. Liu Changqing heard him explain like this, and smiled: "Ye Gong doesn't write poetry, but he is a giant in the poetry world." However, Ye Gong is a vulgar thing, he is just a matter of tens of millions of lives, and he has no spare time. ”

Liu Changqing persuaded Ye Chang not to give birth to the idea of hiding from the fishing woods was just a stepping stone, his real thoughts, Ye Chang knew very well.

Now he is also a big man, and he can no longer make contributions, and there is nothing left in this life except for the name of the poem.

"As I said just now, I am not optimistic about the rebellion sent by the imperial court this time. Although Cheng Qianli is a famous general, but the forbidden army in Beijing is not a border army, if he is a thief and gets familiar with it first after a few small battles, then he can still win. It's just that Yang Guozhong is in the court, how can he be allowed to slowly try it? Ye Chang said: "What does Liu Gong think I expected? ”

Liu Changqing paused for a moment and did not answer immediately.

This is Ye Chang's insight and ability to analyze things in the examination school, if he doesn't answer well, this opportunity will be wasted.

In the early years, Ye Chang was short of people around him, so people like Cen Shen, Gao Shi, Wang Changling, etc., could be recommended and reused by him, and Li Bai, who was very eloquent, has now become a county guard, and has a great reputation among the southern county barbarians. However, since the completion of the first batch of Lushun Academy students in Tianbao's eleventh year, Ye Chang has more and more available manpower. He would rather let the young men from the academy make mistakes in their positions than use those so-called old-fashioned literati. Therefore, it is becoming more and more difficult to be by Ye Chang's side

If Liu Changqing hadn't had an old relationship with Ye Chang, and Li Ye was knocking on the side and saying good things, Ye Chang would not have arranged this private meeting at all.

Liu Changqing himself also knew the Tao, so after reorganizing his thoughts, he raised his head and said: "Since Ye Gong feels that Cheng Qianli's expedition is not optimistic, he should be prepared." ”

"How to prepare?"

"If Cheng Qianli is defeated, there will be no enough troops from Huainan Road to Henan Road, and the thief army will sweep in, first take Chen Liu, and then commit Luoyang - Ye Gong should play the Ming court and recruit troops in Luoyang, if Cheng Qianli is defeated, then wave Chen Liu, and stop the thief army here."

This is a decent response, relying on Chen Liujian to defend the city, although the number of troops is small, but it is not afraid of failure. Ye Chang nodded, and then shook his head again: "If the thief army encircles Chenliu and takes Luoyang, and then instigates civil unrest in Henan and Hebei, what can I do?" ”

Liu Changqing suddenly felt a little fever on his face, and it was obvious that Ye Chang was not satisfied with his countermeasures.

Military affairs were not his forte, he was silent for a moment, and then said: "In any case, Ye Gong needs to occupy a position first, otherwise Ye Gong will defeat the thief army, and the court may not think Ye Gong is good." ”

"Reputation?"

"The eastern capital stays, and if Ye Gong gets this title, he can recruit strong men to join the army."

Hearing this, Ye Chang smiled: "The title is already there, and the imperial court has issued an order to take me as the eastern capital and leave me as the eastern capital, and remove Guangluqing Li Cheng from the post of staying in the eastern capital, and use it as Henan Shaoyin and Luoyang Order, plus the original Henan Yin Da Xi Ke and Liutai Yushi Lu Yi together, to assist me in guarding Luoyang." Want...... Tomorrow's imperial edict will end here."

Hearing this, Liu Changqing was suddenly shocked.