The snow in early spring has not had time to melt, and it has been splashed with blood and trampled back and forth by military boots into snow, mixed with mud and messy.

The soldiers of the Tang Army, who had been in the border pass for many years, became cold corpses, thrown into the Yanmen Outer Pass like sacks, piled up into a hill, and occasionally the undead groaned, and Fan Yang Xiaoshu conveniently landed to make up for it.

The muffled "poof" sound dots the vast landscape, and sometimes the chirping of geese echoes it.

The geese were still hovering in the sky, and the cold arrows shot them down.

The archery was a small, sturdy man riding on a pony horse without a saddle. His eyes were small and sharp, his hooked nose was straight and straight, his hair was left behind his skull, braided, tied with gold thread hanging down his shoulders, adorned with a bird's tail, and a necklace made of animal teeth around his neck.

This is a black water man, and his name is Wu'er.

The Black Water Warrior people are very good at archery, therefore, An Lushan will select more than ten Black Water Arrows every year as gifts to send to Chang'an to present to the saints, called "Archers", but all these years of worship in Chang'an, no one is as good as Wu'er.

Fan Yang rode forward, picked up the shot geese, and shouted in surprise.

"Shot the goose in the eye!"

There was a chorus of praise in the army.

Wu'er didn't hear it, and the expression on his face didn't change in the slightest, maybe because he couldn't understand what they were saying. He just carefully collected his bow, asked for his arrow, and rode his horse to He Qianqian to ask for a reward.

Behind him, the mournful cry of another wild goose was heard in the sky, and the wild goose saw that its mate had been shot down, circled twice, and suddenly swooped down, crashing headfirst on the rock.

This scene made many Fan Yang soldiers feel sad, and the funny thing is that thousands of people died last night, and they were all indifferent.

The firewood was chopped and placed on the side of the corpse mountain, the fire ignited, and soon swept towards the corpses, and the smell of barbecue spread out, and black smoke rose to the sky.

The flock of geese flying north saw it and avoided it far away.

At the head of Yanmen Gate, Gao Shang closed his eyes, turned around, and no longer looked at the scene of burning corpses.

"How?" Yan Zhuang smiled and asked, "Can't bear it?" ”

"I don't like to see fire." Gao Shang said lightly.

He took off the mask from his face, revealing a hideous face, as if he was deliberately disgusted and solemn.

Yan Zhuang could still joke and said, "It's okay, they burned more thoroughly than you." ”

While talking, a messenger arrived, but it was Pingwei who had entered under the curtain of An Lushan with Yan Zhuang back then.

"It seems that you have taken the Yanmen Gate."

"As you can see."

Ping Wei asked, "The prince asked you, there won't be any remnants escaping, right?" ”

Yan Zhuang subconsciously glanced in the direction of Yanmen Mountain in the east, because there was actually a group of people who fled into the steep mountains last night. But there was a determined smile on his face, and he said, "No." ”

Ping Wei nodded, emphasizing An Lushan's meaning, and said: "The prince of the palace is not ready to raise troops, this time it was the Hedong Jiedu that made Han Xiulin unguarded, so that the Khitans occupied Yanmen Pass. Fortunately, the prince of Fujun arrived in time and drove back the Khitans. ”

"Don't worry."

Yan Zhuang responded, turned his head and glanced at Gao Shang, and both of them were a little dissatisfied with An Lushan's cautious attitude of guarding against the suspicion of the imperial court.

The corners of Gao Shang's mouth even flashed with a hint of ridicule, and said: "The entire Fan Yang supports the Fujun to raise troops, and every call is answered, what else do you need to prepare?" ”

"yes." Yan Zhuang grabbed Ping Wei's shoulder and said with emotion: "In my opinion, the prince of the palace overestimates the Tang court. You and I also went to Chang'an to take the exam back then, and I saw Yang Guozhong, such a person can also be the prime minister, what is the fear of Chang'an? ”

"Of course I understand these truths, but I have to convince the prince, and I just have to talk today." Ping Wei said: "Fan Yang handed over the news, and the prince asked you how to deal with it." ”

Naturally, there are many other strategists under An Lushan's command, and they need to come to ask Yan Zhuang and Gao Shang, which shows that this matter is quite important.

"Let's start with the good news." Pingwei said, "The sage has been summoned, and the prince of the palace will shoot for the left servant of Shangshu, and stay in Fanyang." ”

This is of course a great grace, and Li Longji expressed his trust in An Lushan.

However, this kind of tenderness did not bring them solemn and noble gratitude, nor did it dispel their thoughts of rebellion, but only more ridicule.

"Sure enough." Gao Shang said, "The emperor is still afraid of the prince. ”

"If you want to summon but don't dare to summon, it will only increase the laughing stock."

It is said that today's saint is wise and powerful, but this saint is clearly suspicious but still has to pretend to be extremely trusting, and they have seen it clearly, so naturally they only have contempt.

After laughing at it, Gao Shang said: "Although I have added a worthless official position, the prince still has to go to Taiyuan." ”

"Yes, when the will arrives, the prince of the mansion has already left." Yan solemnly said, "Otherwise, wouldn't the court have to impeach the prince of the palace to support the army and respect himself?" ”

The two of them are obviously determined to win Hedong, and even if they lose the trust of the imperial court this time, they will forcibly take Hedong.

Ping Wei understood as soon as he heard it, and said, "I will convey your meaning to the prince." ”

"This is not only what we mean, but also the meaning of the whole Hedong."

"By the way, there's one more thing." Ping Wei said, "The imperial court has made an appointment and moved Xue Bai to Changshan County. ”

"Who?"

Gao Shang was very sensitive, and subconsciously became alert, like a rabbit that heard the footsteps of a fierce beast, and pricked up its long ears.

"It's that Xue Bai." Ping Wei said, "I think when I took the exam in Chang'an, he was just a white body, and now he has become too guarded." ”

As he spoke, he noticed a terrible look on Gao Shang's burn-ridden face, and stopped talking.

Yan Zhuang said: "Changshan Taishou Pei Yushu was deposed a while ago for harboring Li Bai, and the new candidate has not yet been decided, and the prince is busy leaving for Taiyuan. was taken advantage of by the imperial court to install such a character in. ”

"Oh, on the bright side, he added the title of Shangshu to the left servant, and sent people behind his back to restrain him, this is the trust of the saint."

If it is just a mockery, at this time, it is a grudge against the saint to add an official.

Among the three, Gao Shang cared about Xue Bai the most, his face was calm, and he muttered, "Where is Xue Bai now?" ”

~~

Two days later, Fan Yangjun completely controlled Yanmen Pass, and things went very smoothly, but the fly in the ointment was that a small group of Yanmen defenders fled to the northwest.

It's nothing more than sending cavalry to chase and suppress.

After that, Cai Xide was left to guard Yanmen Pass, and An Shouzhong took the generals to Daizhou, preparing to join forces to go to Taiyuan.

In the Governor's Mansion of Daizhou, the blood stains on the floor tiles have not been wiped clean.

When the generals who came back from Yanmen arrived, they heard that An Lushan was sitting there and lost his temper, and he didn't say what the reason was, but because of this sudden anger, An Lushan had already executed many people.

"Let me see you first." Gao Shang Dao.

He has been following An Lushan's confidant for many years, and when he was the secretary, he often went in and out of An Lushan's bedroom. Sometimes while talking, An Lushan fell asleep listening to it, and Gao Shang didn't dare to wake An Lushan, so he sat there motionless and waited, even if it was an all-nighter, so there was another friendship between the two.

At this time, when I walked into the hall, I saw a corpse on the ground, a doctor.

An Lushan was standing there with a knife in his hand and with an angry face. He was so fat that he looked tired just by standing.

"I don't know why the prince is angry?"

"I'm!"

Gao Shang stepped forward and wanted to help An Lushan sit down first and said, but An Lushan refused to sit, poured his heavy torso on Gao Shang's body, and said, "I can't sit down." ”

"What's wrong with Fu Jun?"

"Lift up your robe."

An Lushan didn't wear a belt, maybe because the belt wasn't that long. Gao Shang easily lifted his robe and saw layers of white flesh.

What was shocking was that the fat was covered with red sores, from which pus flowed out and covered the entire cheek.

"I've got a sore in my asshole!" An Lushan screamed in a strange voice: "It must be that my grandfather was cursed by someone to 'give birth to a son's asshole sores'!" ”

Gao Shang knew that this was because he was too fat and sat on the mink blanket all year round, so he let him lean on himself, trying to support his heavy body, and said slowly: "Fu Jun, the skin is ulcerated, and the pain of not being able to sit or lie down can be ...... I get it. ”

An Lushan turned his head to look and saw Gao Shang's burned skin, and he cried out and shouted, "It's too bitter, Ashan." They don't know what I'm suffering, they just tell me 'it's okay, it's okay', and I'll kill them all!" ”

The two hugged each other like this for a while, and Gao Shang gradually couldn't hold it anymore, so he had to call Li Zhu'er and beckon someone to help An Lushan, so that he could stand and talk without being too tired.

After that, An Qingxu arrived, and seeing that his grandfather was so tortured, he hurriedly stepped forward, knelt on the ground and dragged An Lushan's stomach with his hands.

"Erlang, what are you doing?"

"Grandpa often says, 'Can you not get tired with such a big belly?' The son hopes to share his worries for his grandfather. ”

"Okay, good, Erlang is really filial."

In this way, the deliberations can finally begin.

Yan Zhuang saw that everyone was supporting An Lushan, so he also stepped forward to help him, and said: "Among the four armies and horses that occupy Yanmen Pass, Daizhou, and Hedong, the three armies of Tiancheng, Hengye, and Datong have almost obeyed the control of the king, and only the Yunzhong army has not yet replied. At present, Cai Xide has sent someone to appease ......"

"Don't let the court know." An Lushan shouted, "We have to accumulate strength quietly, and we don't dare to openly create a saint's rebellion." ”

He was so cautious, and the generals had no choice but to follow his wishes.

Zhang Tongru said: "There is still a trouble at the moment, the new deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu, Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui has gone to Taiyuan, he is Yang Guozhong's person, this time the coincidental replacement of the state happened under his nose, it is difficult to hide from him." ”

"Then kill!" He Qianqian is very fruitful.

"Don't be in a hurry." An Lushan touched his stomach and said, "When we arrive in Taiyuan, we will talk to Yang Guanghui for a while, and if we can win over one, we will win over one." Remember, we're not doing it yet. ”

An Qingxu knelt there, his legs gradually became sore, he felt something sticky in his hands, looked up, and saw that the sores on his grandfather's waist were bleeding pus, very disgusting.

He couldn't help but think, how many years can Grandpa live like this? Presumably because he knew that he would not live long, he hesitated and refused to rebel, and said such weak words.

~~

Taiyuan.

This is the land of the Tang Dynasty, and its status is beyond doubt.

If you want to say how it is different from the city next to it as the northern capital, first of all, there is a palace city in the northwest corner of Taiyuan City, named "Jinyang Palace", in the eleventh year of Kaiyuan, the saint has been fortunate to live in Jinyang Palace today. Taiyuan Yin is also known as Taiyuan Liushou, the so-called "left-behind", refers to the Son of Heaven on patrol, in order to maintain order in the capital.

In addition, Taiyuan is also the barrier of the entire Tang Dynasty, it lives in the hinterland of Shanxi, relying on the surrounding Longshan, Mengshan, Wohu Mountain and other large and small mountain ranges, Shiling Pass, Tianmen Pass, Chitang Pass, Niangzi Pass and other passes, it has become a strategic place of "the key point of the four stops, the capital of the five plains". It itself also has a solid city wall, the circumference is more than 40 li, four zhang high, it is composed of the west city, the middle city and the east city, it is majestic and magnificent, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If such a northern capital is lost, it means that Chang'an and Luoyang have lost their most important barriers, and the fall north of the Yellow River is almost just around the corner.

And now the Taiyuan Yin who has taken office is Yang Guanghui.

On the 25th of January, Yang Guanghui stood outside the Qianyang Gate of Taiyuan, looked up at the tall city tower, but muttered: "This is the northern capital, it is still not as good as Chang'an." ”

He has begun to miss the prosperity and wealth of Chang'an.

Of course, Taiyuan is not bad. Many officials of Taiyuan Prefecture had already been waiting outside the city, welcoming the newly appointed Mansion Yin into the city, doing what he liked, and arranging a grand reception banquet.

The wine banquet is selected in the middle city of Lingacross Fenshui, and the restaurant is called Jasper Building, because you can see the Fenshui of "flowing water like jasper" when you go upstairs, and the willows are sandwiched between the banks, and the smoke and waves are connected.

In fact, the whole Taiyuan city is full of ponds and marshes, and the willows are shady, so the scenery of the water town makes people seem to think that it is located in the south of the Yangtze River.

Yang Guanghui felt that Taiyuan City was not as prosperous as Chang'an outside the city, but after entering the city, he was ...... by the beautiful scenery of this water town In particular, those tender kabuki were attracted by the slapping of their hands and laughing.

Before entering the city, he had already experienced the pleasure of a feudal official, which was much more comfortable than serving a spit pot in Chang'an.

"Fu Yin, please see, from this boating to get water, you can go to the Jin Temple, Li Bai was here in the 'always out to the west of the city', every time to the early moon to shine before returning."

"Hahaha." Yang Guanghui said: "Chang'an Pingkangfang has Beiqu, but I don't know what Taiyuan Xiqu has?" ”

"Naturally, she is a beautiful girl."

This laughter spread to the bottom of the restaurant, and a man wrapped in a scarf looked upstairs because he heard the word "Li Bai", coughed twice tiredly, and walked to the guard guarding the door.

"I want to ask to see Taiyuan Yin."

"Who are you?"

The man unconsciously glanced back, and then responded: "Boling Cui Clan, Cui Hao." ”

The guards were frightened by Bo Lingcui's name and hurriedly went inside to report.

Cui Hao coughed twice, looking a little weak. He actually knew the predecessor Taiyuan Yin Yuangan, Yuanfu Yin had a son named Yuan Yan, and Li Bai was a close friend, he invited Li Bai to Taiyuan, and gave him a five-flowered horse and a thousand gold qiu, Li Bai then left a sentence of "The years of coming to Beijing are deep, and the gentleman is righteous and light gold", Cui Hao and Yuan Yan are also close friends.

Now Taiyuan Yin has been replaced, but Cui Hao has no more time at this time, so he can only find it.

He was quickly led into the restaurant and taken to a hut, where an official asked him in a thick Guanzhong accent, "Which room is the Cui family of Boling Cui?" Why do you want to come to see Fu Yin? ”

"An Lushan is the opposite." Cui Hao lowered his voice and said a sentence, but the content was shocking, "An Lushan went to Daizhou in the name of returning to Beijing and killed Han Jieshuai. ”

"You...... Don't you dare to talk nonsense. ”

"This is the farewell of the Acting Prefecture Governor's Mansion to join the army." Cui Hao lifted his clothes, revealing an arrow on his lower abdomen.

The wound was bandaged with a cloth, and it was already a little pus.

"This is the trace left by the thief who shot me after Han Jieshuai's death."

"Cui Gong, wait a minute."

The official obviously couldn't handle such a big matter, so he hurriedly walked out of the hut, and after a while, in exchange for a more dignified official, Cui Hao hurriedly asked, "But Fu Yin?" ”

As a result, this is still not Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui, so one after another, and when Cui Hao repeatedly emphasized that An Lushan had rebelled and was going to be killed in Taiyuan soon, this finally attracted Yang Guanghui's attention.

"What?!"

Yang Guanghui was hugging the two courtesans at the banquet and laughing, and someone whispered in his ear, which frightened him into disappointment. I wondered if I was so unlucky, right? When I arrived in Taiyuan, I encountered such a catastrophe.

"Where are the people?"

"It's in the small room downstairs."

"I'll see you." In such an urgent situation, Yang Guanghui got up and did not forget to explain to his subordinates: "This official has some official business, and he will go back when he goes." ”

Before he could see Cui Hao, someone had already run to him in a panic and said in a low voice: "Fu Yin, someone wants to see you, this is his greeting." ”

Yang Guanghui looked down and saw the words "Secretary Fan Yangzhang" on it, and he was already frightened.

~~

Cui Hao closed his eyes for a while, and then opened his eyes anxiously, wondering why Taiyuan Yin had not come to see him for such an urgent matter.

It took a long time for someone to come over and say, "Gong Cui, please come with me." ”

Cui Hao then followed the visitor to the backyard, all the way to the secluded garden in the backyard of the restaurant, and suddenly someone pounced out from the side and slammed him to the ground.

He was surprised, struggled a few times, looked up, and found several strong men standing in front of him with their arms crossed. Just by the rebellious look in their eyes, he realized that it was someone from Fan Yang's army.

"Let go of me! An Lushan reversed ......"

"Smack!"

There was a loud bang, and a stick was heavily pumped on Cui Hao's face.

"I heard clearly, the prince of the palace did not oppose, it was Han Xiulin's negligence in his duties, which made the Khitans break through the Yanmen Pass and endanger Daizhou.

"Talk about it! You wait ......" Cui Hao was about to say more, his mouth was pinched hard.

"What is the purpose of you running to Yang Fuyin to complain? Is it to force the anti-government monarch and plunge Taiyuan Mansion into war? ”

In a word, Cui Hao was immediately shocked in his heart, and understood why he was in such a situation. The new Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui is a person who does not dare to take responsibility, for fear that An Lushan will rebel, and would rather hand him over and compromise.

Covering his ears and stealing the bell, deceiving himself, is ridiculous to the extreme, and cowardly to the extreme.

"Take it away!"

Several rebels escorted Cui Hao to the back door, and one of the leaders turned around and said: "Yang Fuyin, I will take the people away, and in the near future, Fujun will go to Chang'an via Taiyuan, and then come to visit again." ”

Cui Hao glanced back and saw Yang Guanghui's panicked face, the aroma of wine and fat powder had not yet dissipated, how could such a Tang Dynasty official meet An Lushan's rebellion?

"Cui Hao, you can write poetry, right? I have a collection of poems you wrote in Daizhou here, and I will send someone to Chang'an to release one every once in a while, so that the world will think that you died a year later, but no one knows how you died. ”

"Hmm!"

Cui Hao was angry and wanted to roar, but the rebel leader walking beside him laughed instead.

"The yellow crane is gone, and the white clouds are empty for thousands of years......"

"Poof."

Before the last word of the poem could be pronounced, they walked out of the back door of the restaurant, and without warning, a strange knife slashed down, killing the rebel leader on the spot.

And the poem that I couldn't read all of it was hard to get used to.

More than 20 people in the alley pounced, slashing several rebels to the ground.

Cui Hao fell to the ground, looked in the chaos, and saw a dusty young man walking towards this side, helping him up with a firm and powerful movement.

"Gong Cui, I've admired the name for a long time, let's talk about it here."

"You are?"

"Xue Bai."

"I've heard of you, the poems are well written."

"Don't dare to get an axe."

Xue Bai cut the restraints on Cui Hao's body with a knife and led him back into the restaurant. I saw Yang Guanghui looking at the small pavilion in the back garden, presumably hearing the sound of fighting, wanting to explore and trying to escape, and was in a dilemma.

"Yang Fuyin doesn't have to go, I have encountered a few thieves, and I have taken it."

"You!"

Yang Guanghui only looked at the bloody knife in the hand of the guard behind Xue Bai, and knew what this vertical had done. He couldn't help but be shocked, raised his hand and pointed, and exclaimed: "You are so reckless, aren't you afraid of forcing An Lushan to rebel and causing a big disaster?!" ”

Xue Bai didn't have the heart to argue with Yang Guanghui at all, but it was not the first time he had heard the statement of "forcing rebellion" against An Lushan, but he was willing to respond with two sentences.

"Yes, I forced An Lushan to rebel, what can you do?"

"You! Now that you have confessed it, you will not be involved in me! ”

Yang Guanghui snorted angrily, turned around and fled.

This ugly appearance made Cui Hao stunned for a while, he was young and enthroned, and what he saw was the most prosperous Kaiyuan Dynasty, with many talents in the court, famous ministers and famous generals, who would have thought, in just 30 years, the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty officialdom has changed so dramatically.

Xue Bai unhurriedly led Cui Hao to a guest room in the restaurant and asked people to treat Cui Hao's wounds. He pushed open the window and looked at the flower boat on the Fen River, and waited for a while before he spoke.

"Thanks to the fact that I have always had a personal grudge with An Lushan, I think Cui Gong can trust me."

"Yes, I've heard of you."

Cui Hao's literati habits are quite heavy, and he doesn't have too many city governments, so he immediately opened his mouth to tell Xue Bai about his experience in Daizhou.

At the end, he frowned deeply.

"Now most of the four armies in Hedong have fallen to Fanyang, and An Lushan will soon reach Taiyuan. I have seen the virtue of Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui, seeing this situation, I am afraid that the northern capital will be lost, and the world still does not believe that An Lushan has been reversed, which can be described as ridiculous. ”

"I can't lose it." Xue Bai was still looking out the window and said in a determined tone.

Cui Hao shook his head and sighed: "You went to Hedong alone, what can you do in the face of such a situation?" Just send someone to Chang'an to report the news. ”

"Don't worry." Xue Bai said: "I am not alone. ”

(End of chapter)