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Chapter 368: Secret discussion in the palace

In Chang'an, it was October in the golden autumn. The huge sycamore trees on both sides of Zhuque Street were gradually turning yellow. The heat waves had gone, and there were more pedestrians on the street. In the past few months, Chang'an citizens have long been accustomed to the political changes like wind and rain. The murders on Zhuque Street are no longer crowded with people watching. However, people's enthusiasm has shifted from the street to teahouses, wine shops, and amateur political observers. Everyone discussed the current situation and analyzed the storm that will blow next time. As they talked, they started to quarrel. The opinions were roughly divided into two factions, one was the Prime Minister and the other was the Royal Family Party. They slapped the table and stools, and no one was willing to give in.

This is the norm. The threat of war has gone far away, and the price of food has also dropped. People have saved the copper coins in their pockets. After being filled and warm, they began to think about lust. The brothels and taverns in Chang'an gradually returned to their former liveliness.

Under a thick sycamore tree on Zhuque Street, several grooms waiting for business were talking on the ground. The old man selling snacks was like a spider on a tree branch. As long as there was a possibility of silk drawing, he would appear. Before he knew it, several large bowls of sugar porridge went out and exchanged for a handful of yellow copper coins. Perhaps the topic of the grooms was interesting, and he also lay on the camel's shoulder and listened to their chat with a smile.

"My little daughter just married Master Zheng, Shaoqing of Taichang Temple."

A thin middle-aged groom thrust up his waist and glanced at several other colleagues with pride. He cleared his throat and smiled ambiguously: "Yesterday my son-in-law came to see me and talked about the current situation. He thought that Li's future was not good. He offended the emperor and would be raided sooner or later. I don't care whether he died or not, but his wife!... Hehehe!......"

"Destroy you a shit!" A strong young groom jumped up and slapped it away, "My family was almost starved to death. Who dares to say bad things about Li Xiangguo? I'm anxious with him!"

The middle-aged groom was originally intended to show his new son-in-law, but the wrong topic was chosen, which offended the public's anger. Another old groom scolded him even more viciously, "Your son-in-law? Your son-in-law is picking up manure in a brothel! It turns out that he is just a maid, and the master is attracted to the red and white flesh that is two fingers wide. Will he come to see you, the father-in-law who drives the carriage?"

The middle-aged groom was slapped in vain, but he couldn't beat him, so he had to lower his head with hatred. At this time, the old man selling snacks couldn't help but speak, "I said to you, no one in Chang'an has an official relative. It would be fine if you want to show off, but you shouldn't curse Li Xiangguo. I have a nephew who joined the army and got thirty acres of land. Although I signed a contract with the government, the contract was the name of Li Xiangguo. If he fell, can the emperor still accept this account? Those are the lands of royal relatives!"

Although the middle-aged groom did not dare to mess with his peers, he did not buy the old man who sold snacks. He picked up the sugar porridge, spitted it in it, walked up to him and said angrily: "You are poisonous here, I don't want it, I'll give it back quickly!"

The strong young groom glared, "Don't give it back to him, see if he dares to say a word!"

A group of grooms were clamoring. At this time, several military horses galloped along the Zhuque Street, like thunder. The soldiers on the horse shouted loudly: "Emergency military information, disperse quickly!" The pedestrians on the street were suddenly in chaos and avoided both sides. Seeing the crowd coming, several grooms hurriedly dodged to the side. The military horses blew across Zhuque Street like a gust of wind and rushed towards the direction of Daming Palace.















Li Yu has become busy these days. Since the officers and soldiers took over Shanzhou, Chang'an and Hedong, Shannan, Jianghuai and other places, the communications of the memorials that had been accumulated for more than half a year suddenly flew like snowflakes. Since Li Qing was in Tongguan, the left prime minister Pei Kuan became a good person and sent all the memorials that should have been criticized by the prime minister and the state into the palace.

Li Yu put down his pen gently. Although he was very tired, the feeling of mastering the world made him feel at ease from the bottom of his heart. Unfortunately, there was no military arrangement in the memorials he had commented. The poor memorials about the military were also sent by the Ministry of War. It was nothing more than the new recruits who needed to buy armor and build camps. Others such as military deployment, rewards and promotions from meritorious soldiers, were not available, all in Li Qing's hands.

The newly recruited 300,000 troops were firmly controlled by him, and he couldn't even see the roster. Li Yu's face was extremely gloomy and ugly. The more he thought about it, he became more angry. He couldn't help but smash his fist and slammed his "bang!" and all the documents on the desk jumped up in shock.

‘Bang!’ A small and exquisite white jade screen fell on the table. This was the copywriting decoration that Li Mi specially gave him. It was only the size of a palm, with two words "Avoid urgent". Li Yu stood it up and looked at it for a long time. Suddenly sighed softly. Li Mi went to various parts of Guanzhong to inspect the autumn harvest. He was not by his side, so he really couldn't bear it.

Suddenly, a red corner appeared under a book, like a memorial. It turned out to be pressed by the book. It must have been a heavy punch just now that the book was shaken and moved it out. Li Yu was a little surprised. It was the first time he heard of it using red skin as the cover of the memorial.

He took it out and it turned out to be a memorial. He only looked at the edge and saw that it said, "Former Military Supervisor Bian Lingcheng kowtowed to my emperor."

"Bian Lingcheng?" Li Yu's mind immediately had a yellow and thin eunuch image. He heard from his father that this person knew soldiers and generals, and was quite capable. He remembered that he was appointed as the supervisor of the Shuofang Army. Could it be?







Li Yu had an idea in his mind. He immediately opened the memorial and read it carefully from top to bottom. Gradually, a brilliant color appeared in his eyes. He could no longer control his excitement, and strode to the window and cast an expectant look towards the distant north.

"Okay! The Shuofang Army actually has 200,000, and is loyal to him!" At this time, Li Yu felt that the depression in his heart had been wiped out. He immediately turned around and ordered: "Summon Zhang Yi, the minister of the disciple, came to see me!"

"yes!"

Ma Yingjun, who was standing against the wall, responded and walked out quickly. A sinister meaning flashed in his lower eyes, but for the memorial of Bian Lingcheng, "Why can others sleep soundly on the side of the bed?" Especially the eunuch who was older than him, he dared not throw away Bian Lingcheng's memorial, but he didn't want to show it to Li Yu, so he pressed it with a book, but Li Yu discovered it. At this moment, when he saw Li Yu was excited, he felt even more hatred. As he walked, he quickly thought about the countermeasures in his mind.

Suddenly, a rapid footsteps came from the door, and a guard loudly reported outside the door: "Your Majesty, Tongguan's emergency military situation!"

"Tongguan!" Li Yu's heart suddenly became hung. After a second defeat, the 'Tongguan' became the ruler of the Tang Dynasty who dared not face the nightmare. At this time, Ma Yingjun walked in quickly and handed the letter to Li Yu.

Li Yu took it and shook the letter, and a small fly-headed calligraphy that was like water, immediately appeared in front of him. This was Li Qing's handwritten letter. There was only one thing in the letter: An Lushan was sent by his son, and the rebels were in chaos. It was a good opportunity to attack Luoyang. He would return to Chang'an after conquering Luoyang.

‘An Lushan is dead!’ Li Yu’s hand trembled slightly. His first reaction was to meet the Supreme Emperor and tell him the great news. However, he hesitated for a moment and decided not to tell Li Longji.

Since Li Yu ascended the throne, he has never seen Li Longji. In his mind, Li Longji left him in Chang'an before leaving, and he had already expressed his gratitude and righteousness. His subconscious actually hoped that Li Qing would kill Li Longji at Mawei Slope. Unexpectedly, Li Qing brought him back. An emperor with more than 40 years of power and an old emperor who was forced to abdicate were like putting a needle on his throne, and he would be poked at any time.

"Your Majesty! Mr. Zhang is here."

Ma Yingjun's low report interrupted Li Yu's thoughts. He walked back to his seat and nodded, "Come in!"

After a moment, Zhang Yi hurried in. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed twice and said, "My minister Zhang Yi met His Majesty the Emperor."

"Your dear is so polite, please get up quickly and give him a seat!" Li Yu's smile was extremely gentle. Although he issued an order at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, the members of the cabinet could see that he did not kneel down to show his eloquence and kindness, Zhang Yi would kneel down every time he saw it, which really made him happy. Of course, one more important reason why he valued Zhang Yi was because he dared to contradict Li Qing, who was a loyal minister, and what he said made him feel comfortable: "The king is the way of heaven. Li Qing goes against the heavens and will be despised by the world. The emperor should plan early.









’Such as such is much better than the master's patience at all times. At least Zhang Yi can make many useful suggestions, such as meeting more court officials, caring more about the affairs of the court officials at home, personally going to the fields to harvest rice, etc., gradually getting the court officials to love and gradually establishing prestige. These were adopted by Li Yu one by one, and the effect was not bad.

Gradually, Zhang Yi became his confidant, and another confidant who was different from his master was the one he trusted more.

"Come and take a look! This is a memorial written by Bian Lingcheng." As he said that, Li Yu then stared at Zhang Yi tightly, waiting for his insights.

"Thank you for your grace!"

Zhang Yi took the note carefully. He looked at the cover first. He had not been numbered, which means that this was a private note handed to the emperor. Without passing through the Secretariat, he had a clear idea in his mind and began to read it carefully.

As he read, joy appeared on his face and tears of excitement flashed in his eyes. "Master!" His voice choked, Zhang Yi raised his head and tried hard to prevent tears from falling. Finally, he sighed and said, "The heaven has eyes! Bless my emperor and protect my country in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Yu looked at him silently, felt his excitement, and felt his loyalty to him. After a long time, he asked, "Your dear, what should I do now?"

Zhang Yi took away his tears, and he thought for a while and said, "I think the most urgent task is to recall Bian Lingcheng. He is a eunuch and can enter and exit the ban at will. Your Majesty can use him and order him to contact Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi. Your Majesty must firmly grasp these two troops in his hands. As long as there are troops in his hands, he can compete with Li Qing. I believe that with Your Majesty's kindness, the world will not be long before it returns."

"I understand! I'll send someone to recall Bian Lingcheng." Li Yu nodded with relief. He slowly walked to Zhang Yi, wiped a jade ring in his hand and handed it to him: "This is my first time to reward the minister, I didn't expect it would be my dear minister!"

Zhang Yi knelt down with a 'plop', held the jade ring high above his head, and cried: "I am loyal to Your Majesty, and I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

After Zhang Yi left, Li Yu's heart became lighter. It was almost noon. He looked at the thick stack of memorials at hand and said to Ma Yingjun without raising his head: "You go and tell the queen. I originally said I would go back for lunch, but I have too many things to do, so I have to cancel it."

"Yes! I'll say this."

Ma Yingjun slowly withdrew from the imperial study room. When he turned around, Li Yu did not notice that a murderous intent flashed in Ma Yingjun's eyes. Zichen Hall was the hall closest to the harem. It passed through a walkway behind the hall, which was the high wall of the harem. However, Ma Yingjun did not go to find the queen, but quickly wrote a secret letter, sealed it with a wax ball, and found one of his confidant eunuchs and said, "You go to Tongguan immediately and hand it over to the prime minister. You must hand it over to the prime minister with your own hands."

The eunuch agreed, he put away the wax balls, turned around and left the palace. Seeing his back gradually disappear, Ma Yingjun's face was as deep as water, and his chubby face trembled. He said to himself: "Your Majesty, don't blame me. If you want to blame me, blame me for what Bian Lingcheng should be used. There is no way for me to have a slave. This Daming Palace is too small and I can't tolerate two people!"

In Tongguan, Li Qing has been in charge of command here for almost a month. In addition to leaving 20,000 troops to guard the capital, he brought 200,000 troops, which is all his capital. Except for more than 20,000 Anxi Army, all the others are newly recruited soldiers. In order to form combat power as soon as possible, he simply dispersed all the Anxi Army and carried out intensive training in a way of leading ten. However, training alone is far from enough. If you want to be able to fight, the key is to fight. In September, he personally led a large army to raid Shanzhou, defeated An Shouren's 50,000 new rebels in one fell swoop, recaptured Shanzhou, and opened up channels in Chang'an, Hedong and Shannan. He then left Li Siye to lead 50,000 troops to guard Shanzhou, waiting for Guo Ziyi's army to go south.

At this moment, the news that An Qing Xushi's father seized the throne came, and the best fighter jet arrived.

In the commander's tent, Li Qingzheng lay on a map to examine the situation in front of him. All Hedong and most of Hebei have fallen into the hands of the Tang army. Now Li Guangbizheng led a 100,000 army to be stationed in Boling. In Youzhou in the north, Shi Siming and Li Huaixian led 50,000 troops to defend, while in Xiangzhou in the south, there were 50,000 troops from Tian Chengsi and Zhang Zhongzhi. The forces of both sides were equal and in a stalemate. The key was Luoyang. Once Luoyang was captured, the Tang army could attack Xiangzhou from the south, thus breaking the deadlock on the battlefield in Hebei.

"Master, if nothing unexpected happens, I will think that the rebellion can be quelled before winter!" General Xi Yuanqing pointed to Luoyang on the map and said with great confidence: "The key is to take it down. Once it is taken down, the entire Central Plains and Guanzhong region will be connected. The general situation is determined. The rebels in Hebei are just insects after autumn. They will not be able to travel for a few days. I think the commander should go back to Chang'an early!"

Li Qing shook his head and smiled, "I know what you mean, but now it is the most critical time, so you can't be careless at all."

He stood up, walked to the tent with his hands behind his back, staring at the direction of Hebei under the sunset. After a long time of the day, he said with some concern: "I am not actually worried about when the rebels will be pacified. I am worried that the generals under An Lushan will not lead their troops to surrender to the court. Li Huaixian, Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi and others. If that is true, I am worried that there will be great troubles!"

He turned around, shook his head and sighed, "If I don't solve this, how can I sleep in Chang'an!"

Several generals and officials in the tent were silent. At this moment, a personal soldier ran over and reported: "Report to the commander, a eunuch at the door asked for a meeting. He said he came from the palace and reported something important."

"In the palace?" Li Qing was a little surprised. Who would come to him at this time?

"The villain came to see the prime minister!" The eunuch came in and kowtowed to Li Qing, and presented a wax ball to Li Qing and said, "The villain came to see the prime minister on the order of Eunuch Ma. He can't stay for a long time, so he has to go back immediately."

Li Qing then pinched the wax balls, and there was a roll of note inside. He took out the note and spread it open. He saw a dense piece of paper, and it was on both sides. Li Qing looked carefully. There was not much content in the note, mainly about Zhang Yi's loyalty to Li Yu, and Bian Lingcheng was about to return to Beijing to report his duties, and would discuss with the emperor how to deal with Li Qing's power.
Chapter completed!
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