Chapter 20 Defeat

Unfortunately, the leaders of the uprising army were all scholars, and none of them had battle experience.If the strategy is used properly, the uprising army can be like the "Discussion of Wu Zhao" said, the momentum of the army can start a prairie fire, and burn Empress Wu to death in Yingxianyuan.But there was a lot of discussion among the people, and they couldn't agree on what to do.If we acted according to a few highly intelligent counselors at that time, as long as the army goes straight to Kyoto, we can win, and the overall situation can be determined in one fell swoop.At that time, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court were caught off guard, and many of the local troops were loyal to the Tang Dynasty, especially the warriors from Shandong who were brave and skilled in fighting.But Xu Jingye decided to proceed with caution.Taking Jinling as the basis, instead of going on the offensive, take the defensive, with the intention of initially losing ground.

After the victory, you can retreat, then occupy the southeast, and continue to fight.In this way, it is impossible to grasp the hearts of the people; because the place in a corner of Jinling is far away, with the disparity between the few and the few, it is about to fight for years, so the hearts of the people are completely lost.Empress Wu sent Zuo Yuqianwei General Li Xiaoyi to attack with 300,000 troops.The two armies met in Jiangbei.Jiangbei is a plain, criss-crossed with lakes, marshes and rivers, not far from Yangzhou. At first, the two sides won and lost, and the dedicated army was in the northwest of Jinling, half around the lake and mountains, with Jinling as the hub of the war.General Li Xiaoyi hesitated.Empress Wu must seek perfection in her affairs, and never take risks.If Li Xiaoyi turns against him and joins the Jingye rebel army, wouldn't it be troublesome.Empress Wu then ordered Hei Chi Changzhi, the famous general who had conquered the Turks in the north, to lead the soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River to monitor Li Xiaoyi's army.Li Xiaoyi's counselor offered advice to Xiaoyi, asking Xiaoyi to act quickly and attack the enemy's weak point before the arrival of Hei Chi Changzhi, because the enemy's soldiers and horses are also different in strength, Xiaoyi is not ignorant.So the two armies fought back and forth on both sides of the river.The reeds on both sides of the bank are overgrown and flammable when touched by fire.The imperial army set fire to the reeds. At that time, the autumn was high and the wind was strong, the fire spread rapidly, and the dedicated soldiers and horses were in chaos.Seeing that his troops were disintegrated, Jingye tried to regroup in the south of the Yangtze River, but failed in the end.And the imperial army has quickly followed up.

In the end, seeing that the situation was over, Jingye wanted to escape to the seashore and take a boat to Korea.While waiting for the boat on the beach, he was blocked by the wind and waves. Soon after, he was assassinated by his subordinates, and all other generals were captured.King Luo Bin, who drafted the eternal masterpiece "Discussing Wu Zhao", has since disappeared without a trace.All captured generals were beheaded, and their heads were sent to Kyoto for meritorious service.It took only two months for the imperial court to put down the rebellion, and it was completely eliminated in November.

The heads of the twenty-five generals of the rebel army hung high above the city gate of Luoyang.Empress Wu hated rebellion deeply.Not only Jingye's family was wiped out, Empress Wu was still angry, but also Jingye's grandfather Sikong Li.Even though the founding elder of this extremely human minister had personally served the crown when she became the empress, had elevated her to a high position and seized power, once served as a marshal, conquered Korea, and was the emperor of Emperor Taizong's Lingyan Pavilion. One of the twenty-four heroes, he can't be at peace even under the Nine Springs.Empress Wu ordered that Li's tomb be dug up, and the coffin was opened to kill the corpse (the two generals who led the army to quell the rebellion were also killed by Empress Wu a few years later).

While the battle was still going on, Empress Wu had already sent a thunderous anger to the ministers. Pei Yan constrained and hindered Empress Wu's nephew Wu Chengsi at every step.Wu Chengsi sued Pei Yan to the court, and Empress Wu ordered Pei Yan to be executed.Because Pei Yan's nephew was implicated in the rebellion for Jingye, Wu Chengsi impeached Pei Yan and accused him of being an accomplice.But the real reason is that Pei Yan once told Empress Wu that if Empress Wu returned to Zhongzong, the rebel army would have no excuse and would collapse.Because of such admonishment, Empress Wu held a grudge, even though Pei Yanlianjie was loyal and known to everyone, it was inevitable that he would be beheaded.As a prime minister, Pei Yan found out that the prime minister's mansion was nothing but a few pieces of furniture when he confiscated all his property behind him.

When Pei Yan was interrogated, it was ridiculous. What all the officials argued at the time was not whether Pei Yan was really involved in the rebellion, but whether he was suspected of rebellion.As for the evidence, there is nothing at all.At that time the argument was as follows: Li Jingchen from Fenggeshe: "I firmly believe that Pei Yan will probably participate in the rebellion." Fengge servant Hu Yuanfan: "Otherwise, Pei Yan has always been honest and loyal. I believe he will not." Nayan Liu Qixian: "The minister and Hu Yuanfan have the same opinion." Empress Wu: "I know that Pei Yan will participate in the rebellion. The ministers don't know about it."

Hu Yuanfan: "If Pei Yan rebels, the ministers will rebel too." Empress Wu: "I know that Pei Yan is rebellious, but the seniors are not." When Empress Wu said this, she had a secret intention in her heart.What she meant was that when the Wu family rose to replace the Tang clan, Pei Yan would definitely turn against him, but she didn't say it clearly.Both she and Wu Chengsi knew that Pei Yan must be executed.Empress Wu became ruthless, and executed the two generals again. She was only accused of having an old relationship with the rebel generals, but was not tried. She only ordered a small official in the palace to carry the imperial decree to the place where the two generals were appointed, and was about to behead the two generals.The first is Cheng Wuting, the general of Zuo Weiwei. When Cheng Wuting was alive, the Turks were terrified when he heard about it. After he was killed, the Turks cheered and cheered.The other will be Wang Fangyi, a member of Wang Huang's clan.

After the Jingye rebellion was put down, Empress Wu was so proud that one day, she summoned all the ministers to the Wucheng Hall, the imperial throne, and angrily rebuked them: "I owe nothing to the world, do you know?" All the ministers said in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty." Empress Wu went on to say: "I assisted the late emperor for more than 30 years. I have worked hard for the world and devoted my loyalty and wisdom. You and other nobles, riches and honors are all bestowed by me. The peace of the world is all due to my recuperation. Since the late emperor abandoned the group Minister, I take the country as the most important thing. I dare not cherish myself. I only know how to love others. When the rebel army rises, the leader is actually the general minister. It is difficult to control husband and wife, who can be better than Pei Yan? The son of the general, who can be better than Xu Jingye? Veteran General Good at war, who can beat Cheng Wuting? They are all outstanding people, and they are not good for me, so I can kill them. If you think you are better than them, you can start trouble as soon as possible; if not, be loyal to me, don't pretend to be smart, Shame on the world."

The ministers paused, not daring to look up, and said in unison: "Your Majesty, I dare not, but obey the holy order." In terms of facts, Empress Wu is the son of the dynasty.She can tell the world that what she did was not inappropriate; she has not done anything blatantly disloyal to the Tang family.Her mask is not yet torn.She is still the lord of mercy, she "did not dare to pity herself, but only knew to love others".Of course she is at King's Landing.As for the future?She is still the king of a generation.She has already made up her mind to be the leader of the thousand-year-old girl school.She knew that she had this ability and talent.