After an interval of more than four years, the imperial court suddenly announced that it would change the guards of the soldiers and horses stationed in the two towns of Xuanda and Taiyuan of the Beiping Army, and also ordered the full cooperation of all sections, prefectures and counties along the way to ensure the supply of grain, grass and military funds for the army. What's more, Li Yun, who originally had a ghost in his heart, lied about his health some time ago, and only sent his son to Beijing to participate in the two major celebrations. Therefore, since he received the relevant edict from the imperial court, he began to have a different idea in his heart.

It's just that with the experience of forming an alliance with Li Yu last year and betraying the alliance, and the subsequent development of the situation proved that his decision to violate the alliance at that time was extremely wise, Li Yun is now much calmer and more cautious than before the battle of the Southern Expedition began. Therefore, although he had a lot of thoughts in his heart at this time, Li Yun could immediately react violently to this matter, and even rebelled against this move, but he couldn't make up his mind for a while. First, in order to avoid arousing the suspicion of the imperial court, after deciding not to fulfill the agreement with Li Yu to oppose the Zhou, Li Yun sent the troops and horses under his jurisdiction back to their garrisons as quickly as possible, and it would take some time to regroup. Second, this time it was the pure "Flying Dragon Army" soldiers and horses that went north, even if he had all the troops he could muster, he had no chance of winning against nearly 15,000 elite soldiers of the "Flying Dragon Army" with 30,000 horses. In particular, when it was not clear that the imperial court was going to deal with itself in this mobilization of troops and horses, if it hastily gathered troops and horses to start an incident, it would expose its true thoughts and give the truth to the "traitors" of the Beiping army who controlled the government, and could justifiably put themselves to death.

At this time, Li Yun urgently needed someone who knew the recent movements of the imperial court and the situation in the capital to give him advice, and his son Li Shoujie, who was sent to the capital to participate in the celebration, was obviously the most suitable candidate. But the problem is that after the celebration ended, Li Shoujie was retained for various reasons, either by the official family and the empress dowager, or by some high-ranking ministers in the court, so that he did not leave Beijing and return to his hometown until the tenth day of the first month of this month. Unless he was galloping on his horse in addition to eating and sleeping along the way, otherwise, according to the itinerary, he was afraid that his party would fall behind the imperial army's change of defense and arrive in Luzhou. If he waits for him to rush back to Shangdang City to make a decision, it will be too late. After thinking about it, Li Yun finally decided to make preparations after some weighing and consideration. On the one hand, he secretly ordered the soldiers and horses stationed in the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the Zhaoyi Army to immediately and secretly move to Shangdang City, his administrative place, in case the imperial court might carry out a surprise attack on him. On the other hand, he also ordered all the states and counties in his jurisdiction to raise grain and grass with all their might, and deliver it to Shangdang as quickly as possible, so that when the imperial court was indeed just transferring troops to change defenses, he could have enough supplies to provide supplies, so as not to arouse the dissatisfaction and suspicion of the imperial court - at the same time, once he really wanted to raise troops, these grains and grasses were also military rations prepared for his own army, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Li Yun was making preparations with both hands on the side of Luzhou, but Li Shoujie, who came from the capital in a hurry, was really galloping all the way, hoping to catch up with the imperial court before the soldiers and horses entered the territory of the Zhaoyi Army and his father had not yet made any radical or outrageous reactions. He also strongly advised his father to accept Prime Minister Fan's suggestion, follow the will of the imperial court no matter what, and never resist by force.

According to Fan Qian's statement, the so-called "stay in the green mountains, not afraid of no firewood", follow the will of the imperial court, at most, there is no moderation to make the post, come to the capital to be an idle "entertainer", and once the official family regains the power of the government in the future, Li Yun will have the opportunity to make a comeback and serve the country. And once it competes with the "Flying Dragon Army" to change guards and horses, the result will inevitably be the death of the clan, and there is no possibility of serving the official family and the Great Zhou - although the prime minister Fan is no longer as powerful as before, he can be used as a minority of ministers loyal to the Chai Dynasty who have been left as a benchmark by the public to deal with the government together, and he still has some eyeliner in the court. In addition, he has been an official for many years, and his political sense is also quite sensitive. In the name of changing guards, when Li Yun did not comply with the edict that the imperial court would issue later, although the plan to launch a rapid assault against him was carefully planned, it was not easy to completely conceal such a politically wise and experienced minister as Fan Qian. Therefore, the crossing team ordered a change of defense in the name of the imperial court, and Fan Zhen was keenly aware of the murderous intent contained in it. In addition, the officials, the empress dowager and some ministers of the court and the central government frequently retained Li Shoujie, who was not high in status and had nothing to do with it, under the instruction of the important ministers of the Beiping Army, which further strengthened the above judgment of Fan Zhen, and locked the target of the Beiping Army on Li Yun, the envoy of the Zhaoyi Festival.

Therefore, in the process of the seemingly popular banquet for Li Shoujie, Fan Zhen secretly revealed his thoughts to the other party without a trace, and hoped that the other party could persuade his father not to disobey any edict of the imperial court, even if it was an edict issued by the Beiping Army in the name of the imperial court to ask him to give up the Zhaoyi Army and enter the court as an official, he must act in accordance with the order, and must not do the stupid thing of resisting the strong with the weak and hitting the stone with an egg.

On the evening of the 17th day of the third lunar month of Jianlong, Li Shoujie rushed to Gaoping County, which was less than 100 miles away from Shangdang City, to rest temporarily. At the same time, the southern line cluster of the "Flying Dragon Army" had already advanced to Bayi Town, which was less than 40 miles away from Shangdang City, and set up camp.

Early the next morning, Li Shoujie led his entourage from Gaoping County and continued to gallop in the direction of Shangdang City. The southern line cluster of the "Flying Dragon Army" was accompanied by the long history of the Zhaoyi Army, and marched all the way to the party city unhurriedly. At noon, Li Shoujie, who was running wildly, was only less than sixty miles away from Shangdang City, and Wang Feng, the commander of the southern line cluster of the "Flying Dragon Army" who arrived five miles south of Shangdang City, had just declined the invitation of Li Yun, the Jiedu envoy conveyed by the Zhaoyi Army's Jiedu Changshi, to invite him and Xu Xinsheng, the deputy commander, to go to the Jiedu Mansion in the city to attend a banquet.

Facing the scroll of Huang Aya's holy decree that Wang Feng took out of his arms in the hands of the imperial court envoys and envoys who suddenly appeared in front of him, Zhaoyi Jundu, who was Li Yun's confidant, was stunned for a moment, and then reacted to what was going on, and vaguely guessed what might be written on the scroll of yellow silk. It's just that although he secretly screamed in his heart that it was not good, but in the face of Wang Feng and Xu Xinsheng, who were sinking like water, this Jiedu Changshi did not dare to have any abnormal reaction, so he had to turn around and leave with the imperial court envoy and go to Shangdang City.

At noon on the eighteenth day of the third lunar month of the third year of Jianlong, the imperial court envoy announced the decree in the Zhaoyi Army Festival Mansion in Shangdang City, added Li Yunzhong's written order, and ordered him to immediately go to Beijing to report on his work, and there must be no mistakes.

As the saying goes, "what should come will come after all", when the imperial court envoy read out in front of him this Ming Sheng and secretly descended, called to ask him to enter Beijing to report on his work, in fact, it should be intended to take the opportunity to stay in the capital, in order to deprive him of the real power of the Holy Decree, originally hesitated in his heart, and was still weighing whether to send other henchmen to the "Flying Dragon Army" camp to contact with the self-family history who accompanied him all the way, so as to get some news, Li Yun, who knew that he had no way out. On the one hand, he secretly scolded himself for being too cautious some time ago, missing the opportunity to occupy the Taihang Mountain Pass and block the passage into Luzhou, so that he put the enemy at his doorstep. On the one hand, he immediately threw away the previous ideas of leaving room for himself and saving face for the imperial court, and immediately decided to raise troops and fight with the "Flying Dragon Army" outside the city - even if it is not an opponent, it is better to fight a vigorous battle and die on the battlefield than to be captured and wait to be killed.

On the afternoon of the eighteenth day of the third lunar month of Jianlong, Li Yun raised troops in the party city of Luzhou in the name of "Qing Jun's side and eliminating traitors", and killed the imperial court envoy on the spot. At the same time, Li Shoujie, who had had a very simple lunch in the town in a hurry, and learned that the imperial army had just left Bayi Town early in the morning, and was galloping towards Shangdang City.