In May, An Congjin and Yao Yanchou brought enough soldiers and food, and advanced north again. Without major obstacles, they went straight to the city of Xiazhou. Then they surrounded the city and launched an attack. However, Xiazhou City was not so easy to be captured. For more than ten days, there was no big progress in the siege.

On the night of May 17, a bright beacon suddenly lit on the towering Xiazhou city, which could be seen dozens of miles away. An Congjin judged that this was a code of echoing the reinforcements outside the city, and ordered the army not to rest and prepare for battle overnight. When it was dawn, the coalition forces summoned by King Ala launched an attack from the Tang army besieged from all directions, attempting to cooperate inside and outside to break the siege. However, the Tang army was prepared, and the temporary nomadic cavalry was not an opponent, and they were all defeated and retreated by the Tang general Song Wen.

However, the victory of the Tang army in this battle did not help the siege. The tall and strong city walls in Xiazhou were still a natural barrier that the Tang army could not overcome. The attacks for two consecutive months did not show any results. As the food and grass were exhausted, they could only rely on the rear transport.

However, after the defeated coalition forces withdrew, they no longer fought with the main forces of the Tang army, but only launched harassment operations with all their might. Those countless natural gullies were excellent ambush positions, and the Tang army's convoys were repeatedly attacked, resulting in a sharp decline in the transportation success rate. It took several chunks of money to transport a bucket of rice or a bales of fodder from Guanzhong to the front line of Xiazhou, so that the not-so-rich Later Tang could not support this expense for a long time.

Just as the war in Xiazhou was delayed, the Later Tang Emperor Li Siyuan suddenly fell ill and did not attend court for more than ten days, which made people in Luoyang City panic. At this time, Li Siyuan was not a person who could be replaced casually. He was the pillar of the Later Tang Dynasty's ability to maintain stability. Think about it, if the emperor died, the most likely heir was naturally Li Congke. Many officials were afraid of the future and asked them to leave their homes and leave the city to take refuge. Some hid in the mountains, while others lived in the military camp. It was not until Li Siyuan forced himself to hold on to the sick body and climbed to Guangshou Hall to meet the ministers and proved to the world that people's hearts were a little calmer.

However, after this toss and struggles, a large number of military and political affairs in the court were delayed, which indirectly affected the battle situation in Xiazhou. Seeing the soldiers' food getting less and less and less food every day and their morale was getting lower and lower, An Congjin and Yao Yanchou's confidence in victory was greatly lost, and no longer expected to destroy the Li family, but only thought about how to deal with the aftermath.

Li Yichao also saw the predicament of the Tang army. Of course, he had a hard time these days. So he carried forward his style and took the initiative to hand over the Tang army. One day in July, Li Yichao brothers climbed the city and asked to talk to An Congjin. Li Yichao said: "Xiazhou is just a barren and remote town. He has no money, no food, and no precious specialties to pay tribute to the court to subsidize the treasury. The reason why I don't want to leave this poor place is because my father and grandfather have been defending this land for generations, and the hometown is hard to give up. For the court, building such a small town is not enough to boast about martial arts. Why do you have to mobilize troops and waste the country's money and food? This way, if you can help me report to the Ming court and allow me to reform, then I will be a pioneer in the future whenever the country is conquered in the future!"

An Congjin hurriedly reported Li Yichao's performance and requested to be forgiven for his crime. Li Siyuan, who was in poor health and exhausted, did not want to fight anymore, so he had to go with the rampant and issue an edict to ask An Congjin and others to join the army, and the battle of confrontation ended here. The scale of this expedition was not large, and the losses were not large.

The Tang army could not take over the two rivers before, but it could be said that the two rivers were strong and natural dangers could be relied on. Now even the smallest defense cannot be overcome, and the prestige of the Later Tang court was severely defeated! After repelling the imperial army, the Dingnan Li family did not serve as the forefront of the imperial court's conquest as Li Yichao promised. On the contrary, in their opinion, the court had fully exposed its weak nature, so what was there to be afraid of? Since then, every time the Central Plains dynasty had changed, the Dingnan Li family often secretly contacted the rebels to gain benefits for themselves.

Li Siyuan naturally knew that this was a failure that embarrassed the court. In addition, during the days when he fell ill, all kinds of uneasy signs appeared. The emperor decided to please the army, soothe the people and eliminate disasters on a large scale. On July 11, Li Siyuan issued an order to reward all the troops stationed in Beijing for no reason. According to the size of his military rank, everyone could receive a considerable income. On August 4, Li Siyuan pardoned the world and once again gave all the troops no reason. Two heavy rewards caused the deficit of the Later Tang treasury, which made the soldiers who had no merits and received great honors. What are you afraid of when you lose a battle? The emperor still had to spend money to make us happy! After all, we helped him up!

As people's feelings about Li Siyuan's lifespan became more and more obvious, the future of the Later Tang Dynasty gradually entered a dangerous period. No one could see the future clearly, but they all felt that the future was dangerous and difficult to predict, so they had to do something to make arrangements for the future. Just a few days after Li Siyuan's second reward for the army, suddenly a 70-year-old minister was unwilling to be lonely and submitted a memorial to the emperor: I requested that Li Congrong be the crown prince.

This man who was older than Li Siyuan was He Ze. His father was He Ding, the Rong Guanjing-ling Shi, one of the princes in the late Tang Dynasty. When Zhu Wen bullied the Tang Dynasty, He Ding told his sons not to serve the Later Liang Dynasty. He Ze went to Guangxi first, and then returned to the Central Plains, becoming the magistrate of Luoyang County in the Later Tang Dynasty.

In order to protect the people's fields, he sacrificed his life to stop Li Cunxu's hunting team. Fortunately, he was rescued by actors and escaped the disaster. He Ze was He Ze. Because of that incident, He Ze gained a high reputation and made friends with Zhao Feng, the prime minister of Emperor Mingzong.

After Li Siyuan entered the capital, he was promoted to He Ze as a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel and a compiler of the History Museum to praise him for his integrity and courage. After taking office, He Ze went to the inner hall to be on duty. He did not leave after work, but stayed alone in the hall, looked north and knelt down, took a tablet and knocked his forehead, and praised him loudly in a volume that he was afraid that others would not hear, "The Lord is really a wise master, wise master!"

Although Li Siyuan did better than Li Cunxu, He Ze's performance made people feel too numb. Everyone who heard it outside the palace was secretly ridiculing: This is the county magistrate He who spoke out loudly in the past? It's really better to be famous than to meet!

After hearing about this, Zhao Feng deeply regretted that he was careless in making friends and began to despise him. However, He Ze seemed to be unaware of this. He also asked Zhao Feng to be a censor in private many times, so as to better play his frank strengths. Zhao Feng was unhappy and recommended him to a free agent Taichang Shaoqing, who was responsible for the sacrifice. He Ze heard that he was promoted to Taichang Shaoqing, but he hurriedly added a new position to his title and submitted a memorial, fearing that others would not know.

Angry Zhao Feng took the lead in impeachment and said: "Her Ze has not accepted the appointment yet, so he claimed to be a new official and insulted the court's etiquette system. He must follow the law.

Severe punishment!" Li Siyuan was still very lenient and ordered that the positions he had been appointed would not need to be deprived. However, He Ze did not have to go to work anymore and directly retired from the position of Taichang Shaoqing.

He Ze, who was forced to retire, had a very young mentality and could not stand the days when he could not become an official, so he thought about returning to the court. He waited for a while and heard that Li Siyuan was seriously ill and might not have much time. King Li Congrong of Qin might soon soar into the sky. So he decided to give Li Congrong a memorial and get the job he deserved after the new emperor ascended the throne.

He Ze's move offended many people and did not please anyone. Coincidentally, everyone regarded He Ze as a minion and believed that there must be a commander behind him, but he was not hit hard. After seeing the memorial of He Ze's request to establish the crown prince, Li Siyuan touched a weak elderly person's taboo on death: Do you think I'm almost out of here? The old emperor said to his left and right with tears in his tears: "See, the ministers are going to establish the crown prince, I don't need me anymore, I can only go back to the old house in Taiyuan!" Although Li Siyuan said this, he still ordered the prime minister and the Privy Councilor to discuss the establishment of the crown prince.

When this incident came, the first person to clearly express his opposition was Li Congrong. Moreover, Li Congrong's opposition was not a pretentious act, but he was really unwilling to do so. At this time, if nothing unexpected happens, as long as Li Siyuan passed away, he would be able to legally succeed the throne, and there was no need for the name of the crown prince. On the contrary, once Li Congrong became the crown prince, he would need to avoid suspicion as usual, remove some part-time jobs, lose some existing power, and add some uncontrollable variables.

So, when Li Congrong Jin met his father, he sincerely refused: "I heard that a villain recently proposed to make me the crown prince. I am still young and am learning how to govern the military and the people. I really don't want to take on this name." Li Siyuan said: "This is what the ministers mean." Li Congrong thought he knew who was the culprit! The most important position in the court now is the Privy Councilor.

After resigning, Li Congrong intercepted Fan Yanguang, Zhao Yanshou's two Privy Councilors, and angrily rebuked: "Do you think I don't understand? The reason why you want to make me the crown prince is just to deprive me of military power and imprison me in the Eastern Palace!"

Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou felt wronged and fearful. He Ze was not our person. What did he say have to do with us? But this matter could not be explained clearly to the bad-tempered Li Congrong, otherwise he would have to go into a darker way. It seemed that he could only use practical actions to avoid suspicion. The two Privy Councilors hurriedly reported to Li Siyuan and said, "The prince's words should not be said in advance, but he should give the King of Qin more military power first."

On August 27, Li Siyuan issued an edict to appoint Li Congrong as the Grand Marshal of the World. After becoming the Grand Marshal and having the highest military position in name, Li Congrong became even more proud and arrogant. He asked the left and right guards of the six armies of the Emperor, and the left and right guards to him as guards. Every time Li Congrong entered and left and left, there were hundreds of cavalry followers. They all carried their bows and unsheathed their swords, and rushed on the roads of the capital with murderous auras. Not to mention the common people, even the officials were afraid of being avoided.

Just scaring the people in the capital, Li Congrong's prestige could not be shown. He also asked the staff of the Qin Palace to draft a manifesto to attack Huainan, announcing that he would take charge of the military power of the world, and would clear the world and unify the world!
Chapter completed!