Chapter 35 open a knife to Fanzhen

In order for his son Li Weiyue to successfully inherit the position of Jiedu envoy, Li Baochen of Chengde did a very important thing before he died. More than a dozen confidant generals were summoned to Hengzhou, and they were all killed on the same day. This matter was heartless and cruel, but Li Baochen had no choice but to do so. Because Li Weiyue was too young, weak by nature and lacking in assertiveness, it would be difficult to hold back this group of titans in the future, so Li Baochen had to help his son clear the field in advance. When the dozens of blood-stained heads were spread out in front of Li Baochen, he couldn't help but frowned before he could feel relieved.

Because one is missing. His most valiant general, Zhang Xiaozhong, who was the governor of Yizhou (now Yixian, Hebei) at the time, was not in this string of heads. This is not good.Li Baochen thought, if Zhang Xiaozhong didn't die, his son would be in great trouble in the future. Li Baochen immediately sent envoys to Yizhou to urge Zhang Xiaozhong to come to Hengzhou for an audience. The messenger is Zhang Xiaozhong's younger brother Zhang Xiaojie. Looking at his younger brother's twisted bitter face, Zhang Xiaozhong couldn't get angry in one place: "Go back and ask Li Baochen, what crimes did those generals commit to be punished on the same day? Tell him, Zhang Xiaozhong, I am afraid of death, So I dare not go, but please don't worry, I don't dare to betray him. After all, it's the same as him not daring to enter the court!"

Zhang Xiaojie burst into tears, choked up and said: "If you don't go, I will die." "If I go, we brothers will all die!" Zhang Xiaozhong said, "With me here, he dare not kill you." Zhang Xiaojie returned empty-handed, Li Baochen sighed in his heart. It seems that Zhang Xiaozhong can't be killed, and this idiot Zhang Xiaojie can't be killed either, killing him now is tantamount to forcing Zhang Xiaozhong back in advance. No way, let everything go with the flow.Whether his son Li Weiyue can keep this family fortune depends on his own fortune... On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Li Baochen died.Staff member Hu Zhen and others persuaded Li Weiyue not to hold a funeral, and then represented the court in the name of Li Baochen, requesting Li Weiyue to succeed him as Jiedu envoy.

Looking at Chengde's memorial, Dezong Li Shi couldn't help but tremble for a while. It was a thrill of excitement. Li Shi knew very well that Li Baochen must have lost his temper, otherwise Li Weiyue wouldn't be in such a hurry to show up. Here's your chance!This is the best opportunity to bring the power of the feudal town to the central government. Therefore, while Dezong categorically rejected Chengde's request, he sent an envoy named Ban Hong to Hengzhou to "visit" Li Baochen's condition. As soon as the court envoys arrived, Li Weiyue was dumbfounded.He knew that he couldn't hide it, so he had to bribe Ban Hong with a lot of money, hoping that he could help hide it.Unexpectedly, Ban Hong flatly refused, and immediately returned to Beijing to report the truth about Li Baochen's death to Dezong.Li Weiyue had no choice but to go to the funeral in a hurry. At the same time, he established himself as the empress, and instructed the generals of Chengde to jointly play, asking the court to grant Jingjie.

Dezong again dismissed his request. The emperor's tough attitude astonished the feudal lords, and at the same time made them feel the danger of losing their lips and teeth. Although all the feudal vassals have ghosts in their hearts and fight openly and secretly everywhere, they are unprecedentedly united and highly consistent on the point of "ensuring the hereditary power".As early as many years ago, Chengde Li Baochen, Wei Botian Chengsi, Ziqing Li Zhengji, Shannan Dongdao Liang Chongyi and others formed a secret agreement-the towns must work together to ensure the inheritance of their respective territories.

When Tian Chengsi died, Li Baochen tried his best to speak for his nephew Tian Yue, forcing the Daizong court to recognize Tian Yue's hereditary power. Therefore, when Dezong clearly revealed his intention to "reduce the vassal" this time, the vassals certainly would not sit idly by.Later, Tian Yue, the envoy of the Wei Bo Festival, played frequently on behalf of the feudal clans, pleading for Li Weiyue repeatedly. Dezong still said the same word: No! Seeing that things were at a stalemate, the courtiers advised Dezong: "It is a fait accompli that Li Weiyue inherited his father's throne. If the boat is not pushed along, a rebellion is bound to happen."

Of course Dezong knew—there was a price to be paid for daring to say "no". He was mentally prepared for this. If Li Weiyue and his Hebei vassals dare to disobey, he will fight against them at all costs! In order to express his determination to attack the feudal town, Dezong Li Shi said something to the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty: "Over the years, what are the various rebel forces relying on? It is not based on the land granted to them by the imperial court and the land given to them. Power and position! In the past, in order to calm things down, the imperial court continued to give them appointments and satisfy their desires, but the result? The rebellion continued unabated! It can be seen that the command of the nobleman is not enough to eliminate the rebellion, but it is enough to encourage the rebellion! Therefore, if Li Weiyue is bound to rebel, it doesn't make any difference whether he is appointed or not."

After the news that the imperial court finally rejected Li Weiyue came out, Tian Yue and Li Zhengji's envoys rushed to Hengzhou to meet Li Weiyue. There is only one topic for urgent consultation among the feudal vassals—union of armed forces against the central government! In May of the second year of Jianzhong, the feudal clans took the lead. Wei Bo Jiedu envoy Tian Yue ordered the military envoy Meng You to lead 5,000 cavalry to the north to reinforce Li Weiyue. He camped in the northwest of Handan to block the imperial army coming from the direction of Zhaoyi, while he personally led an army of tens of thousands to besiege Linming (now Yongnian County, Hebei).

At the same time, Li Zhengji, the governor of Ziqing, sent troops to guard Xuzhou, Yongqiao (now Suzhou City, Anhui) and Wokou (the entrance of the Huaihe River in Huaiyuan County, Anhui today), echoing Liang Chongyi, the governor of Shannan, and blocked the Jianghuai of the imperial court. transport line. Dezong didn't expect that the feudal vassals would rush ahead of him, and he was furious, and immediately made a counter-rebellion plan with the courtiers. In early June, Emperor Dezong issued a combat order, preparing for a full-scale war with the rebel towns on the southern, central, and northern fronts.

On the southern battlefield, because Li Xilie, the envoy of the Huaining Festival, repeatedly asked to conquer Liang Chongyi, Dezong felt his loyalty, so he was granted the title of King of Nanping County in Jin Dynasty, and he was additionally granted the military recruiting envoy of Hannan and Hanbei, and ordered him to lead the armies of all provinces. Attack Shannan Dongdao. On the middle battlefield, Emperor Dezong ordered Ma Sui, the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, Li Baozhen of Zhaoyi (the governor of Xiangzhou, today's Anyang City, Henan) Jiedu envoy Li Baozhen, and Li Sheng, the vanguard of the Shence Army, to form a joint regiment to attack Wei Bo's Tian Yue. Attack.

On the northern front battlefield, Dezong handed over the task of attacking Li Weiyue to Zhu Tao, the empress of Youzhou.Without further ado, Zhu Tao readily accepted the order.Originally, Youzhou, Chengde, and Weibo (also known as the three towns in Hebei) had always worn the same pair of trousers, but since the tenth year of Daizong Dali, when Wei Botian Chengsi lured Chengde and Li Baochen to attack Zhu Tao in Youzhou, Youzhou Zhouzhen formed a relationship with Chengde Town.Now that the imperial court is going to crusade against Li Weiyue, Zhu Tao will of course take this opportunity to take revenge. Thick dark clouds of war once again quickly gathered over the empire and surged violently... It is worth mentioning that on the eve of the outbreak of the Great War, that is, on June 14th in the second year of Jianzhong, Guo Ziyi, the number one hero of the Tang Empire and the veteran of the Four Dynasties, finally finished his vicissitudes and glorious life, and died of illness in Chang'an At home, at the age of eighty-five. Among the group of heroes who quelled the Anshi Rebellion and saved Li and Tang Sheji, Guo Ziyi was the one who lived the longest, and also the one with the most prestigious, most prestigious, and most accomplished achievements.In fact, there are many villains around Guo Ziyi who hate him, such as Yu Chaoen, Cheng Yuanzhen, etc., who used to plot against him by all means, and even wanted to put him to death, but Guo Ziyi can turn bad luck into good luck every time. First of all, this is of course due to the good luck bestowed on him by God, but it is also closely related to his way of life. Speaking of Guo Ziyi's way of dealing with the world, it is nothing more than these four key words: cautious, low-key, tolerant, and persevering.The reason why he was able to overcome dangers and remain invincible in a life of turbulent waves and ups and downs is largely due to these seemingly simple but not simple principles of life. Laozi said: "If you don't see yourself, you will be clear; if you don't be self-righteous, you will show; if you don't cut yourself, you will be meritorious; if you don't be arrogant, you will grow; if you don't fight, then nothing in the world can compete with it." Guo Ziyi's life can be seen in this way. Many military generals, civil servants and eunuchs of his contemporaries fought for fame and fortune, but most of them died in the end.But Guo Ziyi seldom takes the initiative to fight for anything, but in the end he has everything that the world dreams of: power, status, fame, wealth, safety, longevity, wives and concubines, and a house full of children and grandchildren... According to history, Guo Ziyi only served as "Zhongshu Ling" for 24 years. The salary issued by the imperial court alone was as much as 20,000 yuan (20 million yuan) per month, plus private income from various channels. It can be described as a wealthy party, so the storeroom at home is always "a mountain of treasures". Guo Ziyi not only has a prominent family, but also has a very prosperous population.In his Chang'an mansion, there are a total of 3,000 family members, clan members, slaves and servants, which is equivalent to two regiments of today's regular army! Guo Ziyi has eight sons and seven sons-in-law, "all of whom are prominent officials in the imperial court"; there are dozens of grandsons, and Guo Ziyi can't even recognize them every time he pays his respects, so he has to keep the same expression and smile at each grandson nod.Pugu Huai'en, Li Huaiguang, Hun Yu and others who had served as Guo Ziyi's deputy generals, although they were princes, were often called around by Guo Ziyi and were willing to be driven by him, so that even Guo Ziyi's family members regarded these generals as the same. The servants of the family. When the coffin was finalized, Sima Guang made such an evaluation of Guo Ziyi: "The world regards him as a safe person for thirty years. He has made great contributions to the world and the Lord is unquestionable. But people are not wrong, and they die at the age of eighty-five. There are many generals to high officials and famous ministers." In the Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi is probably the only one who can do this. After Guo Ziyi's death, Emperor Dezong stopped the court for five days and ordered relevant departments to build a mausoleum for him. He also ordered that the height of one foot and eight feet be increased by one foot. All funeral expenses were paid by the court, and all civil and military officials went to Guo Zhai condolences.On the day of the funeral, Dezong Li Shi led hundreds of officials to visit Anfumen in person, weeping for the funeral, and then gave him the posthumous title of "Zhongwu", and let him be worthy of the Daizong Temple.Such a variety of things can be described as the utmost sorrow and glory. At the same time as Guo Ziyi's death, a large-scale Pingfan war quickly kicked off.The war was fought on three fronts. First look at the middle battlefield.At the end of July in the second year of Jianzhong, Ma Sui and Li Baozhen joined forces with 80,000 troops, crossed Taihang Mountain from Huguan (now Huguan County, Shanxi Province) to Handan, and attacked Yang Chaoguang's troops stationed here.Tian Yue, who was besieging Linming, was worried about being attacked by the enemy, so he personally led more than 10,000 people back to the army to rescue Yang Chaoguang.Ma Sui ordered Li Ziliang to be intercepted at Shuanggang (northwest of Handan City, Hebei Province), and issued a death order: "If Tian Yue is allowed to pass Shuanggang, you will come to see him!" Li Ziliang then fought to the death and repelled Tian Yue. Yue reinforcements. Afterwards, Ma Sui defeated Yang Chaoguang in one fell swoop with his superior force, wiped out all his troops, and then entered Linming, which had been besieged for a long time.Tian Yue threw all his troops to meet Ma Sui.The two sides fought fiercely for more than 100 rounds. Tian Yue's army was finally defeated due to exhaustion of soldiers. He was beheaded by more than 10,000 ranks and fled overnight.The siege of Xingzhou and Linming was resolved. At about this time, Ziqing Jiedu made Li Zhengji die of illness, and his son Li Na kept blocking the news and led the military administration himself.After Tian Yue was defeated, he hurriedly asked Li Na and Li Weiyue for help.Li Na then sent 10,000 troops, and Li Weiyue sent 3,000 troops. Together with Tian Yue's remnant troops, a total of more than 20,000 people were stationed in Huanshui (flowing through Anyang City, Henan Province).Ma Sui and others led their troops to station in Yecheng and confronted it across the river. In August, Li Na held a funeral for his father, and at the same time submitted a petition to inherit the post of Jiedu envoy. Li Shi couldn't help sneering. What time is it, and you are still dreaming of your Spring and Autumn Dream! Li Shi didn't want to give Li Na any answer. He just wants to speak with the sword now. On the southern front battlefield, Liang Chongyi, who was weak in strength, had been concentrating his troops in Xiangyang since he failed in his only active attack.Li Xilie's army went up along the Han River and approached his lair.Liang Chongyi urgently ordered Zhai Hui and Du Shaocheng to stop them at Manshui (a tributary of the Han River, flowing through the south of Zhangxian County in Hubei), but they were defeated by Li Xilie, and both generals surrendered.Li Xilie immediately ordered the two to return to Xiangyang secretly to instigate rebellion against the soldiers and civilians defending the city.Liang Chongyi ordered the city to be closed and guarded, but the guards opened the city gate and fled one after another.Liang Chongyi was powerless to stop him, and in desperation he threw himself into a well with his wife and children and died. Afterwards, Li Xilie easily entered Xiangyang, cut off Liang Chongyi's head and sent it to the capital. At the same time that the first battle was won on the central battlefield and the complete victory on the southern battlefield, on the northern battlefield, the imperial court took a big advantage before the battle started——Zhu Tao successfully instigated Zhang Xiaozhong, a Chengde warrior. At that time, Zhang Xiaozhong was leading eight thousand elite troops to garrison Yizhou (now Yi County, Hebei).Zhu Tao wants to go south to attack Li Weiyue, Yizhou is the place he must pass through, and it is a nail that he must pull out.Zhu Tao knew that Zhang Xiaozhong was brave and good at fighting, so this nail could only be taken out of his wits, not pulled out by force. Before the army was dispatched, Zhu Tao sent someone to persuade Zhang Xiaozhong, saying: "Li Weiyue is a young boy, and he dared to fight against the imperial court. He is really beyond his control! Now Zhaoyi and Hedong Army have defeated Tian Yue, Li Xilie's Huaining The army has conquered Xiangyang again, and all armies in Henan are marching northward day and night. Chengde and Wei Bo are dead, and if you can take the lead in surrendering Yizhou, then you will be the first to destroy Li Weiyue. This is the best way to turn disaster into blessing!" In fact, without waiting for Zhu Tao to lobby, Zhang Xiaozhong already had the intention to surrender to the imperial court. Ever since Li Baochen swung the butcher's knife at the heroic general, Zhang Xiaozhong's loyalty to Chengde has long since disappeared. Now that Li Weiyue is at war with the court, Zhang Xiaozhong certainly has no reason to work for Chengde anymore, so Zhu Tao's words hit his heart.Afterwards, Zhang Xiaozhong asked the imperial court to surrender.Dezong was overjoyed and appointed Zhang Xiaozhong as Chengde Jiedu envoy in early September. On September 7, in order to commend Li Xilie's contribution to pacifying Liang Chongyi, and to boost the morale of the frontline officers and soldiers, Emperor Dezong also granted Li Xilie the title of Tongping Zhangshi. At this time, the counter-insurgency forces of various paths had formed a north-south attack on Li Weiyue in Chengde, and the overall strategic situation was obviously very beneficial to the Li Tang Central Committee. Dezong Li Shi was very proud. He felt that he basically had the chance to win.Li Shi believes that it won't be long before those domineering feudal towns that support military separatism will be eradicated one by one, and the Tang Empire will surely return to the track of great unification! However, Li Shi was too happy. Because a very serious problem was immediately placed in front of him. The problem was Li Xiyeol, whom he had just established as a counter-insurgency hero. There are various indications that Li Xiyeol did not regain Xiangyang, but annexed Xiangyang!In other words, the purpose of Li Xilie's initiative to invite Ying and send troops is not to quell the rebellion for the imperial court, but to take the opportunity to strengthen his strength and expand his territory! How could this be? The pride that had just surged up in his heart dissipated in an instant, and was replaced by a strong uneasiness.