Although Li Longji added an errand for Li Cong to stay in Xijing when he fled, he was very careful not to order the crown prince to supervise the country, and there was a subtle difference between the two. Therefore, after Li Cong pacified the hundred officials, he could not live in Xingqing Palace, and the war was approaching, and Xingqing Palace was close to Dongcheng, which was also very dangerous.

However, Bian Lingcheng, who was in charge of the lock and key of the palace, was favoritist and invited Li Cong to enter the Daming Palace at night and meet Yan Zhenqing in the Xuanzheng Palace.

"Yan Gong!"

Li Cong didn't dare to sit on the royal couch, so he put two stools on the side of the hall, and when Yan Zhenqing entered the palace, he warmly greeted him and pulled him to sit down and talk, avoiding the embarrassment of etiquette.

Yan Zhenqing refused to sit down, and said: "The minister is trusted by His Majesty and entrusted with state affairs, and now the 200,000 army will be wiped out in one day, and the crime deserves death, please behead me to calm the anger of the people." ”

Li Cong thought he was just talking, but after several consolations, he found out that Yan Zhenqing was really willing to die, so as to bear the blame for Ge Shuhan and other generals. But he didn't even want to kill Ge Shuhan, he didn't have time to win over these people, so he used state affairs as an excuse to make Yan Zhenqing guilty and make meritorious contributions.

Then, his tone quickly returned to politeness, and he asked what was most of his concern.

"Dare to ask Yan Gong, how long will it take for the rebels to attack? At present, Chang'an has no troops, and the forbidden army has been taken away by His Majesty. ”

"Wang Sili, Li Chengguang and other generals are now packing up the remnants of the army, trying to stop the rebels a little, how long can they stop...... Your Highness, please be ready to fight at any time. ”

Li Cong heard these two names and wondered: "What about General Geshu?" ”

Li Cong was nervous every day, worried that the rebels would suddenly come to the city. He was accustomed to hearing bad news, so when another messenger came to give him, he listened with trepidation.

"What do you mean?"

Li Cong just felt a little free, wishing that Li Longji would escape, but he didn't understand the meaning of Yan Zhenqing's words.

Li Cong asked: "Yan Gong is upright, is this what he means?" ”

Li Cong thought to himself, even the commander of the first army was captured by the thieves, how much impact should it have on the morale of both sides, which can also show the misery of the defeat that day. His mood then turned pessimistic, and the excitement of the prison subsided.

Yan Zhenqing hurriedly paid homage to the prime minister, and didn't even have time to cut the official robe, wearing the purple robe left by Zhang Yan when he fled Chang'an, and also took over this mess.

"He mistakenly thought that His Highness was about to ascend the throne, so he said that His Highness had no right to be an official."

The rebel sentinels also began to appear on the outskirts of Chang'an, and from the top of the city, they could often be seen stationed on horses and looking in the distance.

Only then did someone want to open his mouth to question, but his lips snorted but he couldn't speak. Because even so far, the imperial court has never recognized that the saint has escaped. If you dare to question it, you will inevitably be severely punished for the crime of "shaking the morale of the military."

"Yan Gong should be the prime minister."

Yan Zhenqing said: "If Your Highness really has the heart to protect Chang'an, you should eliminate all difficulties and ask Your Majesty to return." ”

"What's the difference?"

He said it euphemistically, but he still coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes.

~~

The next day, Li Cong blockaded Chang'an, convened hundreds of officials to discuss in the Xuanzheng Hall of Daming Palace, regardless of Yan Zhenqing's refusal, still relocated Yan Zhenqing to the military department, with the three products under the Chinese book, plus silver Qingguanglu doctor.

"Your Highness probably doesn't have the right to be an official."

Bian Lingcheng said: "He doesn't agree with His Highness's accession to the throne now, and thinks it's best to bring back the saint...... Administratively in the name of a saint. ”

Li Cong hurriedly added: "In the autumn of critical survival, Yan Gong must not shirk!" ”

In the next two or three days, order gradually became in the city, and it entered war readiness.

Because he has been by Li Longji's side for a long time, Bian Lingcheng also knows a little about employing people, and responded: "The power is in His Highness, of course, His Highness can use it if he wants to." ”

The saint was not in Chang'an, and Yan Zhenqing only returned to the city last night, and when the officials heard it, they naturally knew that this holy decree was fake.

Feeling Li Cong's gaze, Yan Zhenqing said: "Although the minister wants to die in battle, Wang Sili asked the minister to return to Chang'an first to contact King Xue Baiqin." Dare to ask, does Your Highness know the situation in Luoyang? ”

"The slave guessed that Gong Yan should have misunderstood His Highness's meaning."

"No matter how upright you are, if you can't see the situation clearly, you are pedantic." Bian Lingcheng said: "What's more, when you get to Shu County, won't Yang Guozhong hold the saint hostage?" ”

"I send a horse to ask for His Majesty's will."

In this regard, Li Cong couldn't figure it out, frowned and thought about it, and when Bian Lingcheng came over again, he quickly noticed that he had something on his mind and asked. Li Cong didn't expect this eunuch to be so considerate, and sighed and told what he had encountered.

Yan Zhenqing came all the way, and he didn't even care about wiping the bird feces that fell on his body, and he never stopped for a moment.

Bian Lingcheng responded: "Your Highness should not think of asking Yan Gong for help, but should use him." ”

Due to the minister's festival, Yan Zhenqing was inconvenient to say more, and politely refused Li Cong's official title, and helped guard Chang'an with the position of Zhongcheng in the imperial history.

This is obviously not a long-term solution, but for now, Li Cong's statement has indeed alleviated the panic brought by the sage's escape to Chang'an City.

"I'm still looking forward to Yan Xuan knowing me."

"Enthronement?" Li Cong's reaction at this time was surprised.

was set up to such a point, Yan Zhenqing wanted to refuse again, and the confidence that everyone had raised would be wiped out, so he had to be silent. But when he held the so-called holy decree and unfolded it, there was no letter seal of the Son of Heaven.

Yan Zhenqing was stunned and was about to speak, but Li Cong didn't let him speak, and immediately appeased people's hearts.

"Yan Gong has made contact with Luoyang, and Xue Bai is now using An Lushan as a hostage to appease the rebels, and he will soon be able to reverse the decline and turn the crisis into peace. The pillar stone of the Principality of Yan can be leaned on as the Great Wall ......"

After smelling a foul smell, he took a closer look and found that it was Yan Zhenqing covered in blood and bird droppings.

In the war-torn season, seeing the extremely beautiful and neat Yan Kai, Li Cong felt a calm and determined temperament, as if things were re-ordered because of that stroke and stroke, so an idea came to mind.

Yan Zhenqing said: "Ge Shuhan had a stroke and his legs and feet were paralyzed. According to the situation of that day, it may be difficult to evacuate the battlefield. ”

Yan Zhenqing put away her pen and was surprised when she heard it.

"You say, how can I ask Yan Gong to help me?"

Li Cong didn't speak, although he didn't think about ascending the throne, in fact, he subconsciously thought that he should ascend the throne. Yan Zhenqing just realized this and exposed it.

Separated by the rebels, coupled with the hasty defeat, the Tongguan army naturally did not get the news of Luoyang, and the matter had to be sent by messengers from Nanyang to make a detour. Li Cong was worried that Xue Bai would not come, so he asked Yan Zhenqing to write a personal letter to tell about the critical situation in Chang'an, and asked Xue Bai to come to help as soon as possible, which was the third letter to Luoyang asking for help.

"After the rebels occupied Tongguan, they did not immediately move west, and it seems that they sent troops to Luoyang."

"Are you sure?"

"The villain went to the north bank of the Yellow River to look at the battle, and saw with his own eyes that there was a large rebel army heading eastward."

Li Cong guessed that he was going to attack Luoyang, and inevitably, his tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed a lot. In order to inspire the people of Chang'an, he quickly summoned hundreds of officials to announce the matter.

When everyone heard this, they were all happy.

Wei Du Youlin was very worried in his heart, and he couldn't help but say: "Xue Bai's troops are only more than 10,000 at most, and the rebels are more than 100,000 people, attacking Luoyang with a big victory, how can he stop it?" ”

The safety of Chang'an is too important, no one has ever mentioned Xue Bai's troops before, and every time he emphasizes "capturing An Lushan alive" to give people the illusion that Luoyang has abundant troops. Maybe in Du Youlin's heart, he didn't regard Xue Bai as lighter than Chang'an City, so he would point it out so inappropriately on this occasion.

"What does Yan Gong think?" Li Cong asked.

Yan Zhenqing couldn't say, "The thieves didn't take advantage of the situation to take Chang'an, it must be because they didn't expect the saint to escape, and they will kill them once they get the news."

He groaned slightly, and said: "The minister guesses that maybe the Wang division won the battle in Luoyang, and the rebels were threatened and hurriedly returned to the division. ”

"Xue Bai is Yan Gong's student and son-in-law, and he will be as Yan Gong said......"

Out of Daming Palace, Du Youlin walked with Yan Zhenqing. The two of them did not ride horses, but walked to the imperial city on foot.

"How can Yan Gong think that Xue Bai can still win the battle in such a situation?"

Du Youlin's tone was full of complaints, as if he was protecting his children in front of his in-laws.

He thinks that he and Yan Zhenqing are also in-laws, and when he adopted Xue Bai, he had the intention of recognizing Xue Bai as his righteous son, but unfortunately he was disturbed by Du Yan. In addition, there is no school-age daughter who can marry Xue Bai, and in this regard, he is also a little jealous of Yan Zhenqing.

After counting the current collapse situation, Du Youlin waved his hand excitedly and said: "There are more than 100,000 major shareholders of the thieves, I don't ask for meritorious service, I just hope that the child can return safely as soon as possible." And Yan Gong and him are relatives, but they only care about whether he can contain the rebels? Don't you care about his safety? ”

"How could I not care?" Yan Zhenqing sighed: "Now is not the time to show worry. ”

Du Youlin also understands this truth, just caring about it, and it is just chaotic, and it is just catharsis.

With a sigh, the two went their separate ways.

When Du Youlin saw Du Yan, he reluctantly said about the rebels' eastward march to Luoyang; Yan Zhenqing was busy until the evening before returning home, pushing the door in, Wei Yun was writing a letter to his family.

"Don't panic."

Seeing that Wei Yun was about to get up, Yan Zhenqing raised her hand to stop her and said, "I'll come back to get some things, and I'm still resting in the Chunming Gate Tower at night." ”

Wei Yun is a sensible wife, and she is not dissatisfied with this, but just reminded: "The New Year is coming soon, don't forget to reward the soldiers." ”

"You didn't mention it, I forgot, it's the New Year. Unexpectedly, this turmoil dragged on to Tianbao's thirteenth year. ”

"Hey, Ah Lang, wait." Wei Yun saw that Yan Zhenqing was leaving, and hurriedly said: "When I finish writing this family letter, can you let the stagecoach take it to Yangzhou for Sanniang?" ”

"At present, the power is precious, and the news from the front line has not yet been delivered, so how can it be used for public and private purposes?"

Yan Zhenqing didn't wait for Wei Yun and went straight out of the house. Wei Yun chased him out again and asked him if he had any news of Xue Bai.

"Rest assured, the whole city is counting on him." He was not very good at comforting people, so he borrowed Li Cong's words and said, "Lean on the Great Wall." ”

~~

The next day, Li Cong summoned Yan Zhenqing to discuss the matter, saying that he should write to the officials of the province and appease them in advance, so as not to be caught off guard when they received the news of the sage's escape.

After Yan Zhenqing's defense in Chang'an was worried, Li Cong's vision became long-term. This move also took into account the issue of waiting for the sage to arrive in Shu County, and the imperial court ordered the second door, including how to transport the grain to Jianghuai in the future.

Although there is a hidden thought, this move is still focused on the overall situation after all. Yan Zhenqing then went to the Zhongshu Sect to send a faction.

Soon, one by one, the official letters were written, sealed, and sent out by stagecoaches.

"Wait."

The little official who delivered the official letter from Yangzhou Mansion came out of the lobby, and Yan Zhenqing suddenly shouted.

"Yan Xiang?"

"I'll write a letter to my family, please take it with you."

Although she has a straight temperament, Yan Zhenqing is not a pedantic person, and after thinking about it again, she still unfolded her pen and ink and prepared to write a letter to Yan Yan.

He had only written a few words, but he stopped again.

Writing a letter to your daughter, how can you not mention Xue Bai? But now that the news is blocked, how can I explain it to my daughter.

Just thinking about it, someone hurried from outside the government office and said, "The news is back!" ”

The sentry rider who came back this time still had an arrow on his back, and he was wounded, and reported to Yan Zhenqing in a weak tone.

"Yan Xiang mourns, Xue Lang has ...... Beheaded by the rebels. ”

This sentence was not only about Xue Bai, but also the hope of many people who stayed in Chang'an City to defend the city, and everyone didn't believe it when they heard it.

"How so? He captured An Lushan. ”

"The villain captured a lone thief, and he said it had spread among the rebels. Xue Lang wanted to use An Lushan to blow up An Qingxu and his generals, but he couldn't, but was besieged by Tian Chenghei and Ashina Chengqing's army and died in battle. ”

"The news is fake." Yan Zhenqing said: "He will not exchange An Lushan's life for An Qingxu." ”

"The villain went to Tongguan to see it, and Xue Lang's head was hung at the city gate to show the public."

"It's just a means of deception." Yan Zhenqing still didn't believe it.

However, Bian Lingcheng had already arrived in a hurry, and shouted from afar: "Yan Xiang, His Royal Highness has summoned you to the palace......

~~

When he arrived at Daming Palace and spoke to Li Cong in person, Yan Zhenqing still didn't believe that Xue Bai had died at the hands of the rebels.

However, although the sentry horses who rushed back later, although they did not see the head in front of Tongguan, they also said that An Qingxu beheaded Xue Bai in public and avenged his father had spread all over the rebels.

Li Cong is more concerned about what to do without the biggest help? He already understood why Li Longji had rather escaped.

"If there is no An Lushan in hand, Chang'an City must be undefensible, right?"

Yan Zhenqing's mood was even heavier, and there were many questions to think about, but he had to cheer up and answer Li Cong's questions, which had no actual basis for the time being.

"Your Highness, rest easy, wait for the ministers to confirm this matter."

Whether the news is true or not, many things have to be arranged. Yan Zhenqing found an excuse to withdraw from the Daming Palace and went to the city tower to arrange new defense.

This sudden change made him busy for two nights in a row and barely closed his eyes, and when he was so tired that he couldn't hold on, he pretended to sleep for a while, and Nanyang handed over the news.

"How?"

Nanyang Taishou Lu Jiong said...... Luoyang was once again captured by the rebels, and An Qingxu was ready to be proclaimed emperor. ”

From the moment he learned that the saint had fled, Yan Zhenqing had expected such a situation, and he was not surprised. However, this news seemed to tell him that Xue Bai was indeed dead.

The messenger didn't give him any luck, and continued: "Lu Taishou also said that Xue Lang had died in battle. ”

Yan Zhenqing snatched the letter and looked at it, Lu Jiong's source was a soldier who escaped from Luoyang.

That's true.

"Yan Xiang?"

Yan Zhenqing turned around and found that the soldiers had already gathered around, all looking at him.

Du Youlin was also there, he had just come from elsewhere, and when he heard the news, his old eyes were red.

"At least, the rebels will not attack Chang'an before the New Year." Yan Zhenqing put away his heavy expression and said in a calm tone: "We still have time." ”

After appeasing everyone, he returned to Zhongshu Gate and went to the government office, and the letter to be written to Yan Yan was still on the desk.

Yan Zhenqing looked at it and couldn't help but be in a trance, thinking of Xue Bai's cheekiness to recognize him as a teacher.

"Teacher."

"Don't call again, I'm not your teacher."

I don't know when, a clerk came in and asked, "Yan Xiang, do you still have a letter from home?" ”

Yan Zhenqing shook his head.

With difficulty, he stepped forward, picked up the brush with which the ink had dried, looked at it, and sharpened it again.

I wanted to continue writing family letters, but I really didn't know how to talk to Yan Yan about it.

At the end, the tip of the pen fell, and four words were written first,

"Sacrifice son-in-law Xue Bai."

After that, he simply took the pen away and stopped putting it away.

This time, what was written was not regular script, but a line of calligraphy, and it didn't even matter whether the pen and ink were neat or not, and the emotions were together, and the pen had poured out like flowing water.

At the same time, it also poured out his full of melancholy.

"Wei Tianbao has been 12 years, and the year has been 28 days, and the teacher is ......"

After writing a wrong word, Yan Zhenqing crossed it out casually and continued to write.

He was a little depressed when he wrote this era name, and since the sage changed the era name, he has been indulging in pleasure and no longer governing the country carefully.

He was deeply touched by this matter, because just when he dug out the auspicious Lingbao realm, he saw with his own eyes that the Tang army was ambushed, and after a thunderstorm, it rolled down with a boulder, killing countless soldiers and smashing the name "Tianbao".

Tianbao Tianbao starts from Lingbao and ends with Lingbao. However, what is the innocent of the common people?

Is this what the sage called "changing the year to carry it, and the gong covers Yao Shun"?

As a result, Yan Zhenqing wrote down a series of official positions given to him by Li Cong in a negative manner.

"Father-in-law Yin Qingguanglu Doctor, the military department is still the book, the same Zhongshu is the third grade Yan Zhenqing, and the soul of Xue Bai is sacrificed to the deceased son-in-law Changshan, who is very beautiful, and the heroic and talented ......"

The old things kept flooding in his mind, and he was always a student who was always disliked by him in the past, but now he knows his benefits.

The words of praise that had never been spoken in the past were now poured out, all the way to the marriage of Xue Bai and Yan Yan, and after that, the conversation changed.

"The newlywed Yan'er, Qin Se is in the palace, and Fang is blessed. He tried to rebel against the thief and provoke him, and called the soldier a prisoner. ”

The text is written to the turning point, Yan Zhenqing's mood is a big turning point, the word "Fu" is full like five grains into the warehouse, the word "reverse" has already appeared angry, and then it is written to "commit Shun", the ink is exhausted, but the pen is more intense, as if the paper has been torn.

Subsequently, Xue Bai's many exploits in the counterinsurgency were described in detail.

"The north of the river is blazing, the people's hearts are shaken repeatedly, and when it is difficult, chastity is strong, and the oscillating crowd is the ...... of the Central Plains."

He writes in a stirring mood and does whatever he wants, and his handwriting is sometimes sparse and sometimes dense, and the fierce battle situation is written in an airtight manner, giving people a feeling of being out of breath. If you make a mistake, you will erase it with one stroke, and the writing is sparse, as if Xue Bai crossed the Yellow River and turned into Henan.

"Kaifeng resisted the enemy, stretched out his might, broke through the mountain, planned Myron, captured the thief in Luoyang, made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty, and the matter was on the verge of collapse."

Writing about Xue Bai's death, Yan Zhenqing paused.

The "Son of Heaven Ran Out" that was supposed to be written was only written twice, and he erased it. The depression in my heart became more and more intense because of this pressure.

He is a minister, and if he scolds the king, he will not vent happily after all. simply take the defeat of Tongguan on himself and express it.

So the last few sentences are like a waterfall flowing spring, turning sharply, from a book to a wild grass.

"Soothing the heart, mourning the heart, Fang Qi Yuan, Buer's secluded house, the soul and the knowledge of the long-term guest, woo hoo lament! Feast! ”

As soon as the last word was written, Yan Zhenqing also seemed to have lost his strength, and the pen in his hand fell to the ground suddenly.

He wanted to transcribe it again, but by this time he was already grieving. After stumbling a few steps, he walked out dejectedly.

There were many officials standing outside the door, but Yan Zhenqing didn't see it, so he forgot to cheer up in front of them.

~~

The next day, Li Cong clearly felt that people's hearts were in turmoil.

He summoned Yan Zhenqing and learned that Yan Zhenqing was sick. So Du Youlin was recruited, but after several questions, Du Youlin did not have a word of advice.

"Du Gong, what do you mean by this?"

"The minister is reluctant to say." Du Youlin said sadly: "The minister really doesn't know how to be good." ”

In such a situation, Li Cong almost wanted to escape from Chang'an. But he didn't have any way to retreat at all, no matter what, he had to wait until the reinforcements of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi arrived in Hedong.

Bian Lingcheng betrayed the saint, and Li Cong was a grasshopper on a rope, and when he saw this, his scalp was numb.

But he knew a lot of inside things, after all, he was originally tracking Xue Bai.

"Your Highness, it's not that Du Youlin doesn't want to give ideas for His Highness, but it's really mediocre. Presumably as soon as Xue Bai died, the second mother of the Du family had no intention of state affairs. ”

Li Cong also knew that Du Yan had a lot of power, and asked, "Summoning Du Erniang to see her?" ”

"I'm afraid I won't be able to recruit it." Bian Lingcheng said: "I'm afraid Your Highness needs to inquire in person." ”

"Okay."

Li Cong didn't want to rely on eunuchs, but the more he employed, the more only these eunuchs could be used.

He doesn't have a good look, he used to like micro-clothes and cover his face. When I went out of Daming Palace today, I was also a simple driver, and I heard many officials talking about Yan Zhenqing's words on the road.

"What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, it can be seen that Gong Yan has written a manuscript for his son-in-law."

"What do you mean?"

Bian Lingcheng said: "Many people have seen it and said that it is different from "Orchid Pavilion Preface", but it can be compared with "Orchid Pavilion Preface". ”

Li Cong was surprised: "When is it, you tell me calligraphy?" ”

Bian Lingcheng said again: "What the slave wants to say is not calligraphy, but everyone takes a fancy to Xue Bai and thinks he is ......."

"They think Xue Bai helped me get to the storage position." Li Cong also said Bian Lingcheng's subtle words, and said, "They feel that I am nothing without Xue Bai." ”

As he spoke, he touched his scarred face. This ugliness, in contrast to the beauty of calligraphy, made him feel uncomfortable.

When I arrived at Du's house, I handed over the name post, and after waiting for a long time, someone came out, but it was Du Wulang.

Du Wulang still had tears on his face, and he looked depressed.

Li Cong couldn't say that he came to visit Du Erniang, so he had to go in with him and sit down in the lobby.

"It was also such a heavy snow that year, I just saw Xue Bai under the porch over there, his head was broken, he couldn't remember anything, and asked me what year, month, and day I was......"

Du Wulang didn't have the eyesight to see, and all he said was Xue Bai, babbling.

From the fifth year of Tianbao to the ninth year of Tianbao, he only talked about the things that happened in the court, and did not mention the strength that Xue Bai had secretly accumulated.

After Li Cong heard it patiently, he finally couldn't help it and asked, "I heard that many chores in the Du Mansion are taken care of by the little lady of the Du family, right?" ”

"Hmm."

Du Wulang nodded, still looking ignorant and stupid. But then, he said it again inadvertently.

"Sisters do this, their wish is to help Xue Bai find his life experience."

"Background?" Li Cong was stunned.

"yes." Du Wulang said: "Since Xue Bai arrived at the Du family, he has no father, no mother, no name and no surname, and even his name came from Bai Xue that day. has been implicated and persecuted all these years, and Sister Ah vowed to find a life experience for him. ”

"Ugh." Li Cong sighed, "But God is jealous of talents." ”

"Sister said that she didn't want him to have his original name under Jiuquan."

Li Cong's mind flashed, and he suddenly understood what Du Yan's request was. But the request was too much, and he suspected that he had gone wrong.

He shook his head to dispel the thought and patted Du Goro on the shoulder.

"Your Highness."

Du Wulang turned his head, his eyes were sad, his tone was sincere, and he said slowly: "Actually, we already know his life experience. ”

Before Li Cong could hear it, he opened his mouth and wanted to deny it. Before the words could be spoken, they were stopped.

Xue Bai is dead, and he needs to subdue the Xue Party, how can he push this force that assists him to become the prince out at this time?

(End of chapter)