Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

The road is ups and downs, and although the road is wide, it is in disrepair.The team was a little loose, and the horses panted, snorted, and neighed in all directions, and the ground trembled slightly as the chariots and horses passed by, sweeping up billows of smoke and dust. The morning light is slightly dew, and it has reached the bridge.Bianqiao is a common name, also known as Xianyang Bridge, which is the main road from Chang'an to the Western Regions and Bashu.Li Chu reined in his horse and stopped, Gao Lishi issued an edict to rest for half an hour, the two wives of South Korea and Guo Guo scattered their clouds and temples, and they continued to chatter after getting off the carriage, complaining that the emperor stayed here, fearing that the rebels would come after them.

Li Chu frowned and looked at the way when he came, but he didn't see any more cars and horses coming.At this time, the dark clouds are overwhelming, and it seems that one can pull a piece off with one hand, and it seems that the bell of Changle Palace can be heard vaguely, vigorous and sad, urging people to leave Remnant.Everything is over, and everything is about to start again.Li Tan patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, General Cheng has always been cautious, they are on the way." Li Chu nodded and said in a low voice: "Tan, do you remember the ninth year of Taizong Wude?"

Li Tan thought for a moment, and replied: "In the ninth year of Wude, the Turkic Jieli Khan went south to invade the invaders, and the soldiers forced him here. Emperor Taizong rode alone with Jieli on the Xianyang Bridge. This is a great shame for our Tang Dynasty. However, Emperor Taizong Wise and martial, he adopted various strategies of persuading surrender, counterintuitive tactics, destroying his crops and crops, and attacking with a large army. After four years, he finally avenged his revenge, captured Jieli, and wiped out the Eastern Turks." Li Chu said: "Taizong's Wenzhiwugong has been surpassed by no one throughout the ages. Don't want to build a century-old foundation, and the situation changes with time. Are you and I going to be unfilial sons and grandchildren?"

The two turned their heads and looked back at the three thousand imperial guards, a group of palace people, embarrassed and ashamed.Just run all the way west, be a dog of bereavement, and be slaughtered by others in the future? "Brother Wang..." Someone called from behind in a low voice.But it was Li Ruo, with a timid look in her eyes, Li Chu thought she was worried about fleeing, and said with a smile, "Where is Ruo Er, who is not afraid of anything in the past?" "Brother Wang", Li Ruo called out again, with a hesitant expression on his face, he hesitated to speak, but Li Chu was surprised: "Is there something, tell me quickly."

"There is something that I haven't told Brother Wang..." Li Ruo opened his mouth, Li Chu suddenly made a silent gesture, leaned on the ground to listen, jumped up in a short while, and said happily: "They are here!" Turning over Get on the horse, whip and run towards the way you came. Li Yu got on Li Tan's horse nearby, stroked Li Tan's robe sleeves, and said, "Follow me!" Li Tan said in astonishment, "They meet as husband and wife, why should we join in the fun?" Princess Dening kicked him anxiously One kick: "I don't have time to explain to you, get on the horse quickly, it's late, I'm afraid something will happen." Then Li Tan shared a ride with Li Ruo and rushed forward.

Seeing that the carriages and horses were getting closer and closer, it was Cheng Yuanzhen who rode the horse at the front, before he could rein in the horse and leap down, Cheng Yuanzhen called out "Your Highness", Li Chu couldn't wait to lift the curtain of the first carriage, and couldn't help but Startled—it was empty inside, but there were some bedding, clothes, and baby utensils piled up; quickly stepped forward, and opened the second carriage, and a person dressed as a wet nurse sat in it with a baby in his arms; after that, there was no carriage.Li Chu took a deep breath, suddenly felt that the surroundings were unreal, and asked around sharply: "Where is the princess? Why don't you see the princess?"

Yan Ming's guard at the back of the palace, who had been uneasy all the way, hurriedly urged his horse forward, a hundred steps away from Li Chu, abandoned his horse and galloped up, took his head and said: "Return to Your Highness, the princess is not with you! " "Didn't go with you?!" Li Chu was so angry that he suddenly drew his sword out of its sheath without thinking. !" Seeing that Li Chu was furious, Yan Ming didn't dare to defend himself, his expression was solemn, he raised his head to the point of the sword, without moving a single inch, he just said: "Your subordinate is incompetent, a hundred deaths without complaint."

"Your Highness!" Cheng Yuanzhen was about to speak for Yan Ming, but Li Chu glanced at him, his eyes were red, as if he wanted to burn everything in front of him, making Cheng Yuanzhen, the general who has worn gold armor in all battles, the first in his life. For the first time, I felt almost suffocating fear, and swallowed the words I wanted to say next. Li Chu snorted coldly, raised his hand and threw the sword, turned around and jumped on the horse again, shook the reins violently, Yan Ming and Cheng Yuanzhen turned pale in shock, they both jumped on each other and grabbed the bridle tightly, Cheng Yuanzhen only said: "Your Highness must not, The bandits will enter the city soon." Li Chu gritted his teeth, raised his whip suddenly and whipped it down against Yan Ming's hand, immediately there was a thick layer of blood, and his hand relaxed slightly, that Dawan Liangju seemed to know the owner's intentions best , struggled and roared and raised his front hooves, Tutor Yuan Zhen staggered and couldn't stand firmly.Seeing that the horse was about to raise its hooves and gallop up the road, Li Tan and Li Ruo galloped towards him at the critical moment. Li Tan jumped up straight, like a white crane spreading its wings, and threw itself on Li Chu's horse's back, hugging him tightly. Both of them rolled off their horses.

"Sister-in-law collapsed after giving birth, she can't go with us at all!" Li Yu shouted loudly in the gap. Li Chu regained his composure, and when he heard this, his heart burned, he grabbed Li Ruo's hand, and asked, "What's the matter? Why has no one ever told me about it?!" Looking up at Yan Ming and Cheng Yuanzhen, he saw They all bowed their heads and said, "It turns out that everyone of you knows, but you only hid it from me! It's ridiculous, extremely ridiculous!" Even Li Tan didn't know, because after he fell from Tongguan, he was entrusted by Xuanzong as a patrol officer. The city is full of heavy responsibilities, and it is difficult to rest day and night, so only Shen Zhenzhu has given birth to a son, but she does not know that she collapsed after giving birth.

Lord Dening bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty strictly forbids you to know about your sister-in-law." After a pause, he added: "This is because His Majesty saw you hurt and was afraid that you would be worried." Li Chu recalled that Feng Shengyi passed the message to Shen Zhenzhu At the time of the token, his expression was rather unhappy, at that time he thought that Feng Shengyi was just worried about his being detained, and since time was running out, he didn't have time to ask more questions, who knew that even he had lied to himself.From top to bottom, everyone knew that Li Chu worked hard for him and defended him in every possible way, but he alone suffered for her.And I asked myself, it wasn't a perfect method to keep her safe and sound, but in the end it didn't work.Now that he is terribly remorseful, it turns out that he has wronged her so much.

Yan Ming ordered the nanny to bring Li Shi, and told Li Chu exactly what Shen Zhenzhu said and looked like when he left the house.When Li Chu heard Shen Zhenzhu's words, "I will never be humiliated and shame the royal family", he couldn't help feeling great grief again. This is not the first time that Li Chu has seen his son, when he was detained in the palace, Xuanzong had asked the noble concubine to hold Shi'er for him to see.Li Shi had already woken up, the person in front of him was so strange, and his arms were unfamiliar, he couldn't help but opened his small mouth and burst into tears.Li Chu saw that his eyes were exactly like Shen Zhenzhu's, bright and penetrating, quiet and serene, at a glance, it was as if the sky and the earth were suddenly brightened, and everything was reborn. Looking at Chang'an in the distance, it's smoky and confused.Li Chu murmured to himself: "Pearl, it's all my fault." The only thing that is fortunate is that Feng Shengyi and several dead soldiers are still beside Shen Zhenzhu. Let's meet again. The rainstorm rests temporarily, and the waning moon emerges from the forest. After crossing the temporary bridge the first day, Xuanzong and his entourage were hit by heavy rain, and the flags fell to pieces, and everyone was turned on their backs.When people came to Xianyang City, the officials and people in the city had already dispersed. Fortunately, the people in the suburbs heard that His Majesty was coming, or offered boiled rice mixed with wheat beans.However, the Sixth Army had a large number of horses, and most of the soldiers were hungry, exhausted, and full of complaints. The name of this place is Mawei Post. Due to the heavy rain that damaged the road and bridge in front, the guard of Longwu General Chen Xuanli sent soldiers to repair it, so the army was stationed temporarily.Xuanzong, the noble concubine and his concubine took the post station as their residence, and the princes, grandchildren, officials and soldiers all set up simple camps around them. After Li Chu settled down his son, he went to the prince's camp.I saw the surrounding sergeants look sluggish and their morale depressed. If they encounter the rebels, they will definitely suffer a crushing defeat. Seeing that it was him who came, the prince's guards respectfully let him approach the tent without stopping him.Li Chufang wanted to brush the curtain and enter, when he suddenly heard that the crown prince was talking to Li Fuguo in the tent, his voice was so low that he couldn't hear anything else clearly, only the five words "kill Yang Guozhong" lingered in his ears.He didn't want to hear any more, turned around and left. Walking through the camps of various soldiers all the way, I saw soldiers gathered in front of many camps and complained loudly. Some soldiers even yelled at Yang Guozhong for harming the country and the people. When they saw Li Chu, they did not shy away from it.Yang Guozhong's confidant guards heard this, but they could only avoid it from a distance, and did not dare to fight with these soldiers, and Yang Guozhong was nowhere to be seen. After a few more steps, a figure suddenly appeared from among the tents and said, "Your Highness, please take a step to speak." Li Chu looked up, and found that this person was Chen Xuanli.The royal driver was walking, and it was taboo for the sons, emperors and grandsons to secretly communicate with the general who escorted him. Li Chu glanced at him, ignored him, and walked slowly back to the camp. Just after sitting down, when the curtain moved, Chen Xuanli had already slipped in.Li Chu coughed, Yan Ming understood it on his own, and went out of the tent to guard it himself. Chen Xuanli respectfully said: "Don't worry, Your Highness, no one else will see it." Li Chu got up and asked, "Old General Chen, please sit down. I don't know why the General missed his visit at night." Chen Xuanli sat down with his clothes on. He was a hero who followed Xuanzong to put down the rebellion between Webster and Princess Taiping thirty years ago. Furious, he said immediately: "Your Highness has always known that the old minister is a straightforward and rude person, and he will not beat around the bush with His Highness in the matter now——Yang Guozhong called for chaos and provoked a heinous crime. Everyone hates it. Unless this thief is killed immediately, the world will be dissatisfied!" Li Chu was dejected and speechless. After a while, Fang Shi said: "This is a big matter, and I have to report it to the Holy Majesty before making plans. Xiao Wang dare not persuade you to participate in the discussion." Chen Xuanli raised the case, and said in a deep voice: "The Holy Majesty, with the honor of ten thousand chariots, left the dangerous city, fortunately to the west of Shu, protected the country, and sought long-term security. It is only natural. However, His Highness clearly understands that the soldiers are full of resentment towards Yang Guozhong at this time. Yang Guozhong is the chief culprit. If he can't bow down, he will be unwilling to protect the Holy Majesty with peace of mind. He is even more afraid that he will abandon the Holy Majesty and leave. Your highness is the status of the emperor's grandson, and I hope your highness will make a quick decision. I, Chen Xuanli, swear to obey!" Li Chu frowned and said: "If Yang Guozhong is punished, the imperial concubine will be in danger." Chen Xuanli snorted, and said: "Such a beauty is a disaster, so there is no need to stay in this world." Li Chu stood up, turned his back to Chen Xuanli with his hands behind his back, and said for a long time, "It's just that Your Majesty will be extremely sad." "However, no matter how sad a woman is, His Majesty will gradually forget it. I have seen it a lot. When Concubine Wu Hui passed away, His Majesty only felt sad for half a month, and there was an endless stream of beauties entering the palace. Your Majesty He Chou can't find another Yang Yuhuan. When will His Highness be so benevolent as a woman, looking forward and looking backward?" Li Chu looked at Chen Xuanli and said: "The old general is brave and loyal, so we know that even if the uprising is successful, the general's fame will be in vain from now on." Chen Xuanli looked calm: "Since the veteran dared to conspire with His Highness, he had already forgotten about his wealth, life, infamy, and history." When Li Chu heard the words, he turned to pour the wine himself, handed one of the cups to Chen Xuanli, and said, "The camp is simple, so Xiao Wang can only serve the general with this thin wine. The general will live up to the Tang family, and Xiao Wang hereby promises—the pen of Qianqiu history, will be determined." It is also worthy of the general." Chen Xuanli sighed and said: "Your Highness has said this, Chen Xuanli, this life is enough!" Faced with Li Chu, he drank it down. At that moment, the two made a careful plan, and Chen Xuanli left. After Chen Xuanli left, Li Chu went out of the tent and walked slowly towards Li Tan's tent. That night, more than 20 Hu envoys suddenly surrounded Yang Guozhong and complained to him that there was no food. When the soldiers saw him, they all said, "Yang Guozhong and the Hu people colluded in rebellion." Seeing that the situation was not good, he hurriedly fled for his life in the Mawei post to seek the protection of His Majesty's noble concubine. When he reached the gate of the post, he was chased and killed by the soldiers, and his head was hung on a spear for public display. The imperial concubine Xuanzong was terrified when she heard the change, and Chen Xuanli went in and said, "Yang Guozhong has been punished for his rebellion. May your majesty cut off his love and give the imperial concubine to death." Xuanzong refused, but the Sixth Army did not send out. In front of Xuanzong, he kowtowed and blood flowed all over his face: "It is hard to be angry today, and the safety lies in the sundial. May your Majesty make a quick decision!" Xuanzong had no choice but to order Gao Lishi to lead the noble concubine to hang herself under the pear tree. After Yang Guozhong died, the soldiers went on to kill his son Yang Xuan and Mrs. Han.Although Yang Guozhong's wife Pei Rou, youngest son Yang Xi, Mrs. Guo Guo and her son Pei Hui escaped by chance, they were captured and killed by county magistrate Xue Jingxian in Chencang County. This is the "Mawei Change".Bai Letian's poem says: If the six armies don't show their helplessness, they will die before turning their crescent eyebrows.For thousands of years, all historians hold different opinions on the change, and cannot agree on what to do.It may be said that there was no mastermind in this change, and it was all caused by the mutiny of the soldiers; or it was Gao Lishi, Chen Xuanli or Prince Heng who were the masterminds. On the second day of the turmoil, Xuanzong still wanted to lead his army to Shu. Li Tan, the king of Jianning, and Li Fuguo, the servant of the East Palace, held the prince's horse's head and persuaded him: "If you rebel against the Hu and violate the palace, the world will fall apart. It is not because of human favors. When the Supreme One enters Shu, if the rebels burn down the plank roads, the Central Plains will be handed over to the rebels. Since human relations are separated, they cannot be reunited! It is better to take the soldiers guarding the frontier in the northwest, call Guo and Li to Hebei, and join them in fighting against the rebels in the east. Recovering the two capitals, flattening the world, bringing the country back to safety, destroying the ancestral temples and reviving them, and sweeping away the palace ban to welcome the emperor, isn't it the greatest filial piety! Why do you need mere warmth and love for your sons and daughters!" Ask the prince to stay and fight against the enemy.The prince finally agreed. Li Chuchang knelt in front of the imperial court and bid farewell to Xuanzong.Xuanzong slumped on the chair, waved his hand outwards and said, "It's God's will, so why bother talking." Li Chu kowtowed heavily to Emperor Xuanzong: "My grandson is deeply indebted to the Holy Grace and deserves death."