The road from Daizhou to Taiyuan is not easy to walk, and An Lushan, who has been fighting horses all his life, is now suffering from boils, and can no longer ride a horse for a long time, and temporarily rests in Xinzhou.

He didn't know how many people under him were looking forward to him raising troops against the Tang Dynasty, but he hummed and chirped every day, asking if the matter had ended well and not letting the court suspect him.

On this day, the doctor was cleaning up the abscess for him, An Qingxu came to report the matter, and stood beside him, An Lushan suddenly asked.

"I heard that one of Han Xiulin's subordinates joined the army and escaped, and you have been hiding it from me?"

An Qingxu was surprised that An Lushan was so well-informed, and quickly glanced at Li Zhu'er next to him, before responding: "Don't dare to hide it from Grandpa, this is not a big deal, it won't affect the overall situation, Pingwei has already sent someone to deal with it." ”

"That's a celebrity, if you shout outside, everyone in the world will wronged me."

"It's Cui Hao." An Qingxu is a young man who can do things, he has a sense of proportion in his heart, and he answers fluently, and said: "I have carefully investigated this matter, the reason why Cui Hao was able to escape from Daizhou was because someone in Fan Yang's army sheltered him, and he came today to report it, so he was hiding it from Grandpa?" ”

"Who?"

"Wang Weigu." An Qingxu said: "Cui Hao has a poem called "Gift to Wang Weigu", which has sentences such as "Miscellaneous Kou Youyan" and "Long Drive to Save the Northeast", which refers to the Khitan entry into Kou during the Kaiyuan period, which shows that Cui Hao and Wang Weigu have known each other for a long time. ”

"That's my veteran, how dare he betray me?" An Lushan was annoyed when he heard this, and said: "Pei Yushu is like this, Wang Weigu is also like this, for a few broken poems, to cover up the people who should be killed." ”

An Qingxu was splashed with saliva all over his face, and he could still smell the fishy smell, so he endured his disgust and said, "Just because he is a veteran, please ask Grandpa to deal with it personally." ”

"Bring him up." An Lushan roared angrily, grinning because the boils on his body were rubbed painfully.

After a while, an old man was bound and escorted up, it was Wang Weigu.

"I heard that you let Cui Hao go, but is it true?"

Wang Weigu looked at An Qingxu with a depressed face, in fact, he did this very secretively, but he didn't expect that An Qingxu was suspicious of a poem back then, and he couldn't hide it, so he had to respond sullenly: "Yes." ”

"Why?"

"My friend is just angry." Wang Wei said, "I am loyal to the prince, but Cui Hao has been my friend for many years. ”

"Pei Yushu said the same thing." An Lushan said, "He likes Li Bai's poems. What about you? Do you want to prevaricate me with this reason? ”

"Don't dare to prevaricate Fujun, I really like Cui Hao's poems."

An Lushan was furious when he heard this, and he grandiosed in front of Li Longji and put on an ugly appearance. However, the generals under his command were there one by one, and they pretended to like poetry, as if they were superior.

This touched An Lushan's inferiority complex about his life experience, he hated poetry, and he also hated Li Bai, Cui Hao, and Xue Bai.

Sooner or later, he wants the world to know that the so-called "Zahu" is nobler than everyone else!

If he didn't rebel, he would naturally be able to enjoy a lifetime of glory, wealth and stability, why should he endure the pain and work hard. It is precisely because of such inferiority complex and unwillingness.

"Is poetry that good? More important than your head?! ”

Wang Weigu suddenly heard such a loud drink, and didn't understand why An Lushan was so angry, and said frankly: "Of course poetry is good, in the heart is the will, the speech is the poem, and the poem is what we think and think......"

"Kill him!" An Lushan shouted.

Immediately, a team of soldiers stepped forward, grabbed Wang Weigu, who was still a little confused, and dragged the person down.

After a while, they stepped forward with a tray holding Wang Weigu's head, and their expressions were frightened and sloppy, and finally they were no longer vassal.

Seeing this scene, An Qingxu could feel the surging willingness to rebel in An Lushan's heart, and it was this determination to break through the hypocrisy of the Tang Dynasty that made the men in Hebei willingly follow him.

However, when the violent breathing in the hall gradually became lighter, An Lushan snorted twice, and said, "Clean up, don't let the court know." ”

"Whoa."

An Qingxu felt that Grandpa was like a pig desperately arching the ground in the fence and trying to hide his fat body, but how could he hide it, the best way was to break through the fence.

He walked out of the lobby and quickly went to find Pingwei.

"See? Wang Weigu's head. ”

"Yes." "There's bad news...... The people I sent to Taiyuan did not return, and they cut off contact with those who answered outside the city. ”

"What does that mean?"

"It is possible that Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui saw Cui Hao and detained our people."

"Huh?" An Qingxu didn't believe in this possibility, and said: "Yang Guozhong's subordinates are determined to oppose us?" ”

Ping Wei had never seen Yang Guanghui, only heard of his various comments, and felt that Yang Guanghui's reaction did not match the comments, so he was a little worried in his heart, and said: "I'm afraid he is not as wasteful as we think." ”

When An Qingxu heard this, his eyes became more solemn, and he began to look at Yang Guanghui squarely.

At this time, someone under Ping Wei came back to report and said, "Taiyuan Yin Yang Guanghui is here. ”

"Warn us?"

Ping Wei and An Qingxu glanced at each other, both of them looked like they were facing a great enemy, and after that, Ping Wei opened the letter first, and after scanning it twice, he showed a complicated expression and handed the letter to An Qingxu.

"Erlang take a look."

"What? He's more presumptuous than I expected? ”

An Qingxu said, his eyes fell between the lines, and a sense of humility and flattery came to his face, as if he saw Yang Guanghui kneeling in front of him and talking.

said that Fan Yang's envoy was killed by mistake by Xue Bai, and as Taiyuan Yin, he was unable to restrain him, and he was deeply disturbed. But Xue Baiguan was appointed as Changshan Taishou, and it was not under the jurisdiction of Hedong Province, which was a matter of Hebei Province and had nothing to do with him.

"Go and shout noble." An Qingxu saw the word Xue Bai and immediately ordered.

He hadn't dealt with Xue Bai yet, he only knew that the destruction of his noble appearance was related to the other party, and he found it quite interesting, and the corners of his mouth were still slightly raised at this time, with a subtle smile that looked lively.

Sure enough, as soon as Gao Shang heard that Xue Bai had arrived in Taiyuan, his temperament changed, as if he had encountered a powerful beast, so he raised his fur and prepared to attack the hyena.

"How about peeling off Xue Bai's skin and giving it to you as a gift?" An Qingxu asked with a smile.

Gao Shang was looking forward to this gift, but he still showed a very vigilant attitude towards Xue Bai's arrival, and asked, "What does Erlang think to deal with Xue Bai?" ”

"Simple, threaten Yang Guanghui to hand over Xue Bai."

"No, Jiro underestimated him too much." Gao Shang said, "If you do this, I believe that in the end, Yang Guanghui must die in the hands of Xue Bai." ”

"As far as you see?"

"Send a team of horsemen to Taiyuan."

"It's no different from raising troops directly." An Qingxu said, "Grandpa doesn't want to raise troops yet." ”

"Nope." The noble eyes became sharper and sharper, and said: "For the sake of 'little uncle', the prince will make up his mind." ”

He immediately went to see An Lushan.

Just half a day later, He Qianqian got the military order and led his troops to Taiyuan, with the purpose of killing Xue Bai, deterring Yang Guanghui, and controlling Taiyuan Mansion.

~~

Taiyuan, as the northern capital of the Tang Dynasty, has always been an important military town in the north.

The so-called "the king's industry, the north gate of the country", so it is necessary to choose a military commander with military talent to serve in order to gain insight into military affairs. When Wang Zhonghei was appointed as the envoy of the Hedong Festival, his official position was to stay in Taiyuan Yin and the northern capital, and concurrently serve as an envoy to the camp.

Who knew that after he left office, Han Xiulin, the governor of Hedong Jiedu and the acting governor of Zhou, did not concurrently serve as Taiyuan Yin, but waited for Yang Guanghui, a chief official who had never been involved in military affairs.

Just looking at the number of soldiers on the surface, Hedong Jiedu made 55,000 soldiers, 14,000 horses, 1.26 million horses, and 500,000 stone of military rations. It is located in Taiyuan Prefecture, with 30,000 soldiers and 5,500 horses.

In other words, Taiyuan Province has an extremely strong military force, more than half of the total military strength of Hedong Province, far more than other important military towns in the world.

Such a force has just been handed over to Yang Guanghui, and An Lushan is in Xinzhou, more than 100 miles to the north.

"Fu Yin, this is the military register."

"Oh? Give it to me. ”

Yang Guanghui took the military register, and the beautiful maid next to him immediately lit the candle flame for him. He narrowed his old eyes, and roughly saw that there were names on the military register, as if there were really 30,000 people.

If you look at it like this, of course you can't see anything, so you have to ask.

He quickly asked, "Is it enough?" ”

Standing in front of him was Zhang Xian, the governor of the province and the envoy of the Heavenly Soldiers, who replied: "Looking at the various provinces in the world, which army is sufficient?" But the heavenly army is more than the others. ”

As he spoke, he handed a list to Yang Guanghui.

Yang Guanghui immediately put down the military register, approached, looked carefully, and after a long while, he said: "Insufficient, insufficient." ”

"This ......"

Yang Guanghui said: "The right minister takes care of the affairs of Taifu for the saint, and he worries day and night. I have the trust of the right minister, and I am an official, how can I not share his worries? ”

"Yes, yes." Zhang Xian was immediately embarrassed, thought about it for a long time, and reluctantly asked, "The last general will try to add two percent to the Heavenly Army?" ”

"I've heard that the greed for ink in the Heavenly Soldiers is very serious?"

"Where is Fu Yin?" Zhang Xiandao, "The sage attaches the most importance to the picket of ink corruption in the army, and in the eleventh year of Kaiyuan, Zhang Jiazhen, the envoy of the heavenly soldiers, was demoted because of his brother's corruption of ink." ”

He said it seriously, as if he was being supervised very strictly, and if he thought about it carefully, it had been thirty years since the eleventh year of Kaiyuan.

Yang Guanghui is an old and refined character, and it is impossible to be fooled so easily, and his face shows disdain.

When Zhang Xian saw it, he was quite frightened, so he had to say: "Fu Yin doesn't know, the previous king of the mansion is Wang Zhonghe, and that person has always been serious. It wasn't until he left Hedong two years ago that the last general took office, which is really ...... Savings are limited. ”

Yang Guanghui didn't bother to say much to him, picked up the pen, wrote down a number, and handed the list back with a smile.

Zhang Xian looked at it, his face turned pale, and he secretly thought that this new Fu Yin was really amazing, and he could give such an accurate number, so he had no choice but to be filial piety, and he should be worried about the right minister and the saint.

He was about to turn around and leave, Yang Guanghui suddenly thought of something, frowned slightly, and asked, "By the way, how are you fighting?" ”

"Fu Yin rest assured." Zhang Xian said, "The last general is very good at fighting!" ”

Leaving the Taiyuan Prefecture, Zhang Xian has been thinking about the fact that the world is peaceful now, who does Fu Yin want to fight with?

He was puzzled, and when he returned to the house, he saw a henchman, Gan Liu, walking anxiously back and forth in the front yard of his house.

"Why are you here?" Zhang Xian was puzzled, looked at the housekeeper, and didn't see him come over and say that Gan Liu had brought any gifts.

"General." Gan Liu stepped forward quickly and said in a low voice: "There is a branch of Fan Yang soldiers and horses in front of Shiling Pass, and they want us to open and let them into Taiyuan Mansion. ”

Shiling Pass is located in the north of Taiyuan, east of Xiaowutai, west of Guanmao Mountain, the ridge crosses the east and west, the road runs north and south, the mountain is steep, the pass is majestic, it is the main road of Taiyuan to the north.

Since the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, in the eighth year of Wude, the Turkic cavalry had crossed the Shiling Pass and entered outside the Kouhe Prefecture, and this pass has been invincible.

After a long period of peace, of course, Shiling Pass also allowed traders and ordinary people to pass, and Zhang Xian sent his henchmen to guard it, in order to collect some commercial taxes.

In this case, if Fan Yang's soldiers and horses are stopped, I am afraid that it is because there are a lot of people coming.

"How many are there?"

"Three hundred, seven or eight hundred horses."

"So much!" Zhang Xian was shocked and said, "Why are so many people coming? ”

"We thought it was An Lushan who also served as the envoy of the Hedong Festival." Gan Liudao: "They said that they were escorting An Lushan to Chang'an as the prime minister." ”

Zhang Xian said: "Then let them go." ”

"The captain said that a while ago, I heard that there were Khitans in the north who were attacking, and Han Jieshuai ordered to strengthen the vigilance, let me ask the general."

"What do you want to ask?" Zhang Xian couldn't afford to offend An Lushan at all, so he said decisively: "Just let them cross the border." ”

~~

Shiling Pass.

Because the mountain roads in this area are steep and curved, the gates of the city are also narrow and dark, and they are guarded by officers and soldiers. After He Qianqian led his troops to arrive, he did not knock on the customs immediately, waiting for the defenders to let him enter.

This time, he received a lot of instructions.

Hedong Jiedu has coveted the position of An Lushan for a long time, but unfortunately several plans have not succeeded, among them, Xue Bai has also obstructed many times. That's right, while killing Xue Bai, he cleverly took Taiyuan Mansion, once he succeeded, he would have no worries about raising troops against the Tang Dynasty.

He Qianqian didn't want something to go wrong, so he gave the Shiling Pass garrison a lot of patience, and the captain would report it if he wanted to.

Finally, there was a flag waving in the castle.

"General." Youxiao rode back to He Qianqian and said, "Let us enter Taiyuan." ”

"Okay, let's get in."

Because of the narrow hole in the gate, Fan Yang's soldiers rode in parallel, lined up in a long line, and began to enter the city.

When the soldiers of the two sides met, the Taiyuan Mansion Heavenly Soldiers who were guarding Shiling Pass looked thin and tender, thin and thin, and because they had not experienced a battle formation for many years, they had no murderous spirit on their bodies at all; In contrast, Fan Yangjun rode into the city on horseback, which was much more sturdy.

People in the world always like to compare An Lushan with many famous generals in the Tang Dynasty, thinking that An Lushan's military exploits are not outstanding, so it is easy to forget that Fan Yangjun has actually fought against the Khitan and Xi people for many years. As for Wang Zhongsi, since he served as the envoy of the Four Towns Festival, most of the time he fought against Tubo in Longyou, and he did not dare to easily mobilize the heavenly soldiers stationed in the northern capital.

Fan Yangshi, who passed the customs first, stood guard by the side of the road.

He Qianqian rode his horse through the doorway, and when he arrived at the territory of Taiyuan Mansion, a smile immediately rose on the corner of his mouth, as if he saw that Hedong had become a piece of meat in An Lushan's plate.

"Close the gates!"

Suddenly, a shout came from the south, accompanied by dust and smoke rising from the winding mountain road.

There were more than ten horsemen coming, and before they arrived, they had already begun to shout: "Fan Yangjun must not enter the northern capital without reason, and order Er and others to leave immediately, otherwise it will be regarded as rebellion and punished!" ”

"Close the gates!"

Of course, He Qianqian would not retreat, on the contrary, he ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle as soon as possible. If the defenders do not know what to do and have to drive them away, he will enter Taiyuan by force.

Of course, 300 people would not be enough to do so. But it doesn't matter, An Lushan's army is not far to the north.

"I'm not here for no reason, but to escort the king of Dongping to Chang'an!" He Qianqian shouted.

Suddenly, the other party's more than ten horsemen also arrived, and they didn't look like the Taiyuan Mansion Heavenly Army, although they were also wearing armor, but they couldn't tell which army it was.

The leader was a military man, who looked like an ordinary old peasant, and did not deliberately put on a vicious expression, but was murderous and awe-inspiring, shouting: "The sage edict, An Lushan stays in Fanyang, there is no need to enter Beijing, how dare you find an excuse to enter the northern capital!" ”

A thick Liangzhou accent came to his face.

He Qianqian frowned, glanced at the more than ten horsemen from a distance, felt the momentum of the battle-hardened, and intuitively thought that these people were all Longyoujun.

Only the Long Right Army can have such a murderous aura.

The imperial court did not transfer the Longyou army to Hedong at all, in other words, these strong soldiers were private soldiers brought by someone.

So, who can use Longyou's pawn as a private soldier?

He Qianqian immediately thought of an answer.

He raised his head and looked around, and sure enough, he saw a few people riding up on the hillside not far away, occupying a high place to observe the situation here.

"It must be Xue Bai, he's here."

He Qianqian thought of the noble entrustment, and knew that Xue Bai would definitely not let himself take Taiyuan smoothly, so it was better to act decisively.

Without hesitation, he raised his broadsword and shouted, "Kill it!" ”

At the same time as shouting, the knife in his hand had already slashed at the defenders who were holding aside, the defenders thought that everyone was Tang Jun, and they didn't expect him to suddenly turn against him, and he was immediately cut to the ground, his eyes were staring, and he was full of resentment.

All of a sudden, Fan Yang's soldiers followed suit.

"An Lushan is reversed! Meet the enemy! ”

The more than ten cavalry sent by Xue Bai shouted to meet the battle, but in fact, they knew that they were outnumbered, so they immediately reined in their horses and retreated, just shouting, letting the heavenly soldiers meet the enemy.

"An Lushan is reversed, and he wants to seize Hedong, hold it!"

Soon, the wolf smoke on the stone ridge was lit.

He Qianqian looked up, and immediately ordered the soldiers to tell An Lushan that the plan to outwit Taiyuan was broken by Xue Bai, and now it must be captured by force with lightning speed, and An Lushan needs to lead the army to come.

The two sides fought, and the defenders of Shiling Pass, who could only collect business taxes, were quickly slaughtered in pieces, and blood flowed all over the field.

However, one of the garrisons of the Heavenly Soldiers was not far away, and when they saw the wolf smoke, a general led more soldiers and horses to arrive.

Originally, it was just a trivial matter to escort An Lushan back to Beijing to serve as prime minister, but it gradually brewed into a big war.

~~

When Zhang Xian arrived on horseback, he saw a scene of bloody conflict that had not occurred in Taiyuan Mansion for a hundred years.

The terrain of Shiling Pass is narrow, so that the Heavenly Soldiers cannot set up a position, and the numerical advantage cannot be used. Coupled with the absence of the main general, and the hasty attack, the situation has fallen into passivity.

The most direct consequence is that the castle may be lost.

"What's going on?!"

Zhang Xian, who was the commander of the First Army, didn't understand what was going on, and yelled: "Stop fighting!" They are all soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, who allows them to kill each other! ”

He drove his horse into the middle of the battle, whipped at the soldiers who were still waving flags and blowing trumpets, and cursed.

"Calm down Ben, who allowed you to incite civil strife?! Extinguish the wolf smoke for me, it's Fan Yang's robe that comes! ”

In this way, diametrically opposite situations were formed on both sides of the battlefield, under the Shiling Pass, Fan Yang Xiaocai was ruthlessly rushing to kill the Heavenly Soldiers, and the Heavenly Soldiers who were in a hurry to respond to the battle were struggling to support and ask for more reinforcements; Behind them, across the winding and narrow mountain road, the soldiers and soldiers of the Heavenly Soldiers who had already arrived were being ordered by the main general to immediately truce.

A rout or surrender was already to be expected.

"Who allowed you to incite civil strife?!" Zhang Xian was still shouting.

He received an answer, and looked up at the hill ahead of him, following the direction the soldiers were pointing. Then he narrowed his eyes in surprise and raised his hand to rub it.

The whip fell to the ground, making it impossible for him to whip the soldier for the time being.

He saw that a flag had been erected, and the words on it were very familiar, but it gave people a sense of long-awaited absence.

The fluttering flag loomed, and it was written "Datang River East Festival Envoy".

"Who dares?!"

Zhang Xian scolded angrily, and led his henchmen and soldiers to drive their horses to the small hill. The road is not easy to walk, and it is a great test of riding skills, but he did not brag with Yang Guanghui, he did have a rich military career, and he was able to control the horse to climb the steep road.

"Xue Taishou!"

Zhang Xian saw Xue Bai first, and the annoying young man was really involved in this matter.

He immediately opened his mouth and shouted.

"Xue Taishou instigated the soldiers of the two sides to fight because of his personal grudge with An Fujun, but he knew that he had committed a big crime?!"

Hearing this, Xue Bai put down a cylinder in his hand, turned around and looked at it, and shouted, "Take it!" ”

Several people beside him immediately rushed towards Zhang Xian.

"Bold!"

The personal soldier beside Zhang Xian immediately slashed in front of him, and shouted angrily: "Where did the domestic servant come from, get out of ......"

"Whoosh."

Before the words fell, several crossbow arrows had been shot out mercilessly, penetrating the bodies of those pro-soldiers, but they did not accurately hurt Zhang Xian. At the same time, the murderers under Xue Bai had already rushed to Zhang Xian's vicinity, raising their knives and cutting melons and vegetables, killing the remaining pro-soldiers in pieces.

All this was in front of the hundreds of soldiers who rushed over near Shiling Mountain.

"Xue Bai! Are you the opposite?! ”

Zhang Xian was furious, but there were already two Mo knives on his neck, he was held hostage, and he had to shout with all his might: "Do you know what the consequences of rebellion will be......"

"Ahem, ahem."

His shouting was interrupted by a cough, not loud, but familiar to him. He looked intently, and his eyes fell on the banner of the "Tang River East Jiedu Envoy", and saw a tall figure, standing there looking at Shiling Pass.

For a moment, Zhang Xian shuddered involuntarily, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Festival, festival, festival? ”

The man standing under the flagpole turned his head.

This man's originally majestic figure is now only supported by a skeleton, his cheeks are thin, and he has a deep sickly look, but his momentum is still there.

Once the town of Wei, the momentum of destroying the Turks.

He spoke slowly, word by word: "The Heavenly Soldiers obey the order...... Counterinsurgency. ”

The horn sounded, and the banner of the Hedong Jiedu envoy was unfurled again.

(End of chapter)