Chapter 190: I advise you to take away the knife

At night, more than a dozen war horses drove into the Mingde Gate of Chang'an like lightning. The sound of horse hooves shocked the quiet night in Chang'an. There were still many pedestrians on Zhuque Street, but the war horses did not slow down at all, but accelerated and ran as if they were about to soar.

"Eight hundred miles to speed up military information, passers-by quickly." The knight immediately shouted, frightening the pedestrians on the street so much that they rolled and crawled to the side of the road.

"It's Shu County causing trouble again." Some passers-by sighed. The knights' running made them deeply worried. Although the court strictly blocked the news, rumors of someone rebelling in Shu County had already spread throughout the teahouses and restaurants in Chang'an.

The word rebellion has been away from the people of the Tang Dynasty for more than ten years, but it has taken root in the hearts of many people. As soon as the news came, everyone felt like they had been knocked over the five flavor bottles, worry, anxiety, and sadness. Everyone's eyes turned to Bashan and Shu River.

"Is the Tang Dynasty going to be in chaos again?"

The news of Zhu Li's rebellion made Cui Yuan suffer from insomnia several times. After the Yang family's death case first, he only regarded it as a vicious case and did not take it very seriously. His whole mind was to consider how to seize Pei Jun's financial power and to curb Zhang Huan's development.

After the Battle of Huixibao, Cui Yuan and Wei Yan both realized the seriousness of the problem. In less than a year, Zhang Huan was able to defeat the attack of 40,000 or 50,000 Tubo troops independently, but was led by the famous Tubo general Ma Chongying. If this continues, what will Zhang Huan become in a few years?

The common enemy and common threat made Cui Yuan and Wei Yan abandon their past grudges and finally got together. The sign of this alliance was that Wei Qing would marry Cui Yu's eldest daughter as his wife. This was the alliance between the largest and third largest families in the world. The huge power effect of the strong alliance quickly broke the balance of power in the court, forcing Pei Jun to go to Jincheng County to find a plan for his son-in-law.

Just as Cui Yuan was throwing her arms out and preparing to do a big fight, the news that Cui Wushang was killed disrupted his deployment.

Cui Yuan was not until Cui Wushang was killed that he realized that Zhu Wu was not an ordinary person. He also began to suspect that this person might be Zhu Li, who had been missing for a long time. At this time, investigation results came from Shandong. The Qingzhou army had suffered serious escape since last year, and most of the fleeing soldiers were old subordinates of the Zhu family.

Cui Yuan finally realized that this Zhu Wu was Zhu Li.

At this time, his son Choi Hyun brought a cup of hot tea and gently placed it on his father's table. He whispered: "Father, you haven't had a good sleep for two days, so just take a rest!"

Cui Xian was an official in Shu County for many years and knew that the Yang family was rich and unkind in Shu. The Yang family made his fortune entirely due to the favored concubine back then. It was considered to be a night of wealth. Without a deep humanistic background, it was more of the arrogant and domineering of the Yang family's children. However, the Yang family's end of being destroyed also made him sigh. After all, his wife was the daughter of Yang Qi.

Cui Yuan nodded, and he sat down on his seat and picked up the teacup and took a sip, asking his son: "You have been in Sichuan for many years and should be well aware of public opinion. Let me tell you, if Zhu Li rebelled, how much will the people support?"

Cui Xian thought for a while and said, "Shu has been rich since ancient times, with a strong cultural atmosphere. People tend to live and work in peace. If the bandits who robbed the house and plundered the people rebelled, no one would support him. At most, one or two counties would be quelled by the officers and soldiers. But if Zhu Li did not rebel, but intended to replace the Yang family and become the lord of Shu, then the court would have to think about it if he wanted to calm him down."

Cui Yuan sighed, "This is what I am worried about. Zhu Li is violent, but he is also cunning and cunning. If he wanders around, kills and sets fire. I am afraid that he will occupy the prefectures and counties, and Xian Yu Shuming will not be able to control him and become the second An Lushan in the future."

As soon as Cui Yuan finished speaking, the butler came to report in a panic, "Master, there is an emergency military situation outside the mansion, which is the latest situation of Shu County."

Cui Yuan stood up in a "teng!" and walked out of the mansion. It was not the good news of Xian Yu Shuming's bandits, but the urgent military situation. He had already secretly felt something was wrong in his heart.

Outside the mansion, several informants were circling back and forth anxiously. When they saw Cui Yuan coming out, the officer in charge immediately stepped forward and knelt down, holding up the bullet in his hand and said in panic: "Prime Minister, something big is not good in Shu!"

Cui Yuan's heart was already hanging. Could it be that Xianyu Shuming was unable to do anything and could he run away? He grabbed the message tube and took out the express news inside in a few seconds. However, the anxious voice of the message soldiers came clearly in his ears, "The officers and soldiers were defeated by Zhu bandits and their entire army was wiped out. Xianyu Jiedushi died in the chaos. The governor of Shu County Yang Xian surrendered Chengdu, and the bandits have occupied Chengdu!"

‘Bang!’ The message tube fell to the ground, and Cui Yuan suddenly felt a severe pain in his heart, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. His body shook and he fainted softly on the ground.

"Prime Minister!"

"Father!"

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Chengdu has been in chaos for two days. As soon as Zhu Li entered the city, he looted hundreds of wealthy families in Chengdu on the grounds of searching for spies. Their family, young and old, were massacred at the schoolyard in the north of the city, and all his wives and daughters were plundered into the army's wheel camp. For a time, countless wealthy families in Chengdu abandoned their families and fled.

Fortunately, under the persuasion of his younger brother Zhu Tao, Zhu Li did not slaughter the city, but instead plundered property in a targeted manner and distributed it to the soldiers. The ordinary families in Chang'an have not yet been affected.

At noon on the third day, every household was still closed, everyone hid at home and ate cold food quietly, no one dared to light the fire and cook. The shops were empty, the items were looted, and there were no pedestrians on the streets, and smashed carriages were everywhere. Many wealthy families opened their doors and the blood was still dry on the steps. From time to time, groups of gangsters walked out of the streets and alleys. They were carrying large bags of property and laughed proudly.

At this time, more than a dozen knights rushed in from the north gate. They were exhausted and could see that they were coming from afar. They were the personal guards sent by Zhang Huan to deliver letters to Zhu Li. The head officer was Chen Ping, deputy of the personal guards.

They went to Yang's mansion to pay homage to Zhu Li. Along the way, they saw that the city was already devastated, and the walls of the big and young families had been pushed up. Almost all the deep mansions with carved beams and painted pillars were demolished to white land. Everyone shook their heads secretly. The governor actually wrote letters to such people, which was really a self-deprecating person.

When he arrived at the gate of Yang Mansion, he was very vigilant here. Hundreds of soldiers were placed on both sides of the steps. Chen Ping stepped forward to explain his purpose. The soldiers immediately went in to report, and someone came out to lead them into the mansion.

"General Zhu, this is a handwritten letter from my governor to the general." Chen Ping respectfully handed the letter to Zhu Li.

Zhu Li's excitement at the beginning of Chengdu in the past two days had gradually cooled down. He began to consider where he was going. He knew that Cui Yuan would never let him go. He would meet him sooner or later and he had no objection to expand his troops to prepare for war. But what is his current positioning? This troubled Zhu Li. As soon as he entered Chengdu, his subordinates advised him to call himself King of Shu, but more generals wanted to support him as emperor, and even thought about the country's name and called him Han.

Being an emperor has always been Zhu Li's dream, but he also knew that it was not a wise move to become emperor too early. Now the priority is to expand its power and accumulate enough strength to fight against the army that the court is about to send.

Zhu Li carefully read Zhang Huan’s letter twice. He did not immediately express his opinion, but quickly ordered his left and right, "Take these brothers down and treat them well, and do not neglect them."

Chen Ping gave a gift and followed his personal soldiers. Zhu Li stood up, walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and carefully considered Zhang Huan's suggestion. At this time, his younger brother Zhu Tao rushed over after hearing the news.

Zhu Tao is three years younger than Zhu Li and looks very similar to his brother. He is not only able to lead troops to fight, but also very wise. Zhu Li also loves his younger brother very much. In order to make him concentrate on studying, he never let him participate in official affairs. After the Tai Chi Palace Incident last year, he could not forget to rush back to his mansion and take his younger brother with him to escape with him. This time, it was Zhu Tao's painstaking dissuasion that Zhu Li took back the order of the entire army to loot for three days.

As soon as Zhu Tao entered the room, he asked in a deep voice: "Brother, I heard that Zhang Huan from Hexi sent someone to see you?"

Zhu Li nodded and handed the letter on the table to his brother. Zhu Tao read it carefully, and his eyes gradually lit up. He pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you think of a brother?"

"I think he made some sense, but I also know that he has selfish intentions, so it is difficult to decide for a while." Zhu Li sighed, suddenly thinking about something, and couldn't help looking up at his brother. Seeing that he seemed to be confident, he smiled and said, "I knew you were asking questions knowingly, tell me! What do you think?"

"I think Zhang Huan has a very lofty experience!" Zhu Tao stretched out his thumb and exclaimed, and said with a smile: "Take his first suggestion as an example. He asked you to put forward the slogan of "clearing the king's side" and demanded that Cui Yuan step down and return the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. This hits the current problems. In this way, we will immediately get rid of the suspicion of rebellion, and will get the sympathy of many opposing government officials of aristocratic families, and even get the response of the Li Tang royal family. Then we are not a bandit rebellion, but a political force. This creates great convenience for us to seize Jiannan Road. By pushing it away, it also lays a solid foundation for our elder brother to enter the court in the future."

Zhu Li took a deep breath, and he had to admit that Zhang Huan's advice was like the dew of drought to him, which made him feel like he was clearing the clouds and seeing the sun. He nodded silently and expressed his agreement with his brother's opinions.

"Then you said he was far away in Hexi, but why did you send this letter with a gaze?" Zhu Li asked again with a smile. This was what he was a little confused. He knew that Zhang Huan must have a purpose, but he couldn't see through it for a while.

Zhu Tao smiled and shook his head, handed the letter to his brother and said, "Brother, take a good look at the letter. In fact, his second suggestion has exposed his purpose."

Zhu Li took the letter and read it carefully again. Zhang Huan's second suggestion was to make him support Wei Yan as the right prime minister. He seemed to have seen something vaguely, but it was still very unclear. Zhu Li frowned and looked at his brother, hoping that he could explain it to him.

"This is Zhang Huan's cleverness."

With his eyebrows raised, Zhu Tao smiled faintly and said, "This is his plan to kill three soldiers with two peaches. The purpose is to seize Longyou."

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In September of the second year of Xuanren, Zhu Li suddenly put forward the slogan of "clearing the king's side". He ordered the opening of warehouses and grain, and publicly killed more than a thousand scoundrels who took advantage of the chaos to seize wealth. He promised not to be offended in the future and won wide support from the middle and lower classes. In just ten days, Zhu Li recruited 50,000 troops in Shu County alone. He and his brother Zhu Tao divided the troops north and south, conquered more than 30 counties in Jiannan Road. By the end of September, his military strength had reached more than 100,000 people, and his momentum was huge.

At the beginning of October, Zhu Li officially wrote a letter to the Queen Mother Cui Xiaofu, counting the ten major crimes of Cui Yuan's deception of the emperor, demanding that Cui Yuan be dismissed immediately and return to power to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and strongly supported the Secretary of Military Affairs Wei Yan as the new right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

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Chapter completed!