Chapter 3896 A critical moment of life and death
Cheng Yaojin returned to the station, ordered his people to prepare pen and paper, quickly wrote a letter, put it in an envelope and sealed it with paint, called his most trusted soldiers over, and ordered: "Take this letter and immediately Rush to the Xuanwu Gate as quickly as possible and hand it over to Duke Yue. You must hand it over to him personally, and you must not give it to someone else!”
"Here!"
The soldier put the letter in his arms, turned around and went out, called his two companions, and galloped southward.
Standing at the door and watching the soldiers gallop away, Cheng Yaojin returned to the chair and sat down, stroking his beard under his chin, closing his eyes and thinking.
Judging from the battle report, Changsun Wuji made a desperate move and transferred the "Woye Town Private Soldiers" into the city regardless of the lack of defense at Jinguang Gate, focusing on attacking Chongming Gate. This move was not necessarily beyond Li Jing's expectations, but due to the lack of strength of Donggong Liu, Limited, even Li Jing could not mobilize enough troops to provide reinforcements.
In his view, it is almost inevitable that the East Palace will be captured by the rebels...
Once the East Palace falls, the rebels can launch a fierce attack along the high wall connecting the East Palace and Taiji Palace. At that time, they will launch attacks on both the east and south sides, maximizing the rebels' advantage in strength. Cheng Yaojin thought about it and deduced it carefully, but he could not think of a strategy that could fend off the enemy in the East Palace. The fall of the entire Taiji Palace was inevitable.
The only variable is whether the Youtun Guards outside Xuanwu Gate can use their main force to attack Jinguang Gate in time. Once they break through the rebel defense line outside Jinguang Gate, they can enter Chang'an City and attack Yanshoufang and the Imperial City. The rebels' retreat.
Of course, Fang Jun was outside Xuanwu Gate, and when Xuanwu Gate was blocked by Zhang Shigui and there was no news, he had no way of knowing that the "Woye Town Private Soldiers" had quietly entered Chang'an City to participate in the siege. Under such circumstances, Fang Jun had no reason or courage to mobilize the main force to attack the Jinguang Gate, which caused the Xuanwu Gate's defense to become lax.
If Fang Jun could receive his message in time, the situation might be very different...
Cheng Yaojin thought for a while and sighed.
He was loyal to His Majesty, but Li Ji tried to hide it all the way, but who in the army didn't doubt whether His Majesty was still involved?
He looked through the window in the direction of Chengguan. Under the dim light of the morning, the towering figure of Chengguan could not be seen clearly, but he knew that in the courtyard next to the government office, perhaps it was not His Majesty who was standing there, but His Majesty's coffin... …
His Majesty may have left a legacy, and everything Li Ji did was in compliance with the legacy. This was the speculation of almost everyone in the army, and Li Ji's various unreasonable orders and actions were enough to confirm this.
But what puzzles Cheng Yaojin is that if His Majesty is still here, it is natural for Li Jizun to act according to His Majesty's will, even if His Majesty wants to depose the prince, even if His Majesty would rather allow the rebels to wreak havoc in Chang'an, even if His Majesty does not care about the lives of the people in Guanzhong... But If His Majesty has already passed away, it is not loyalty to just sit back and watch the lives of Guanzhong go to waste with just a posthumous edict, and even cause the world to be unrest and the people to resent.
You will be outside, and your orders will not be accepted.
What's more, His Majesty has passed away and cannot see the development of the situation at all. How can he follow the imperial edict regardless of the changes in the situation and the bad political situation?
So in his opinion, Li Ji's seemingly stubborn behavior was either stupid or bad.
And Li Ji is naturally not stupid...
Cheng Yaojin would not openly disobey Li Ji and His Majesty's imperial edict, but with his knowledge of life, he could not watch the East Palace collapse and fall, so it was understandable that he would use some small tricks behind the scenes.
The outcome is uncertain, and no one dares to say what will happen. What if the East Palace fights back and changes its destiny?
Moreover, he did not think that Li Ji was really willing to bear the infamy of condoning the rebels, and shouldered this extremely black blame for His Majesty.
That bull’s nose is very bad...
*****
Facing the man in black who suddenly appeared in front of him again, Zhang Shigui frowned and was very unhappy.
It's just that this man in black is not the same one as before, which makes him feel unhappy, so he can only suppress it and look at him coldly without saying a word.
The man in black is not tall, with his head slightly raised and an arrogant expression: "My ancestors ordered me to come here and ask if Duke Guo wants to resist the decree?"
Zhang Shigui frowned more and more. This was really different from the style of the dead soldiers in his impression. Every dead soldier was selected from thousands and went through the most rigorous training, so his character was more cold and cruel. He is ruthless. This kind of ruthlessness is deep in his bones. Usually, others almost ignore his existence. Only when murderous intent suddenly appears will people notice him.
But the dead man in front of him was too arrogant...
But then I thought about it, it is not difficult to understand that this group of people followed the chamberlain and hid in the depths of the palace for many years without seeing the light of day. Whether they neglected training or became arrogant once they succeeded, it was not difficult to understand.
Dead men are also human beings, and as long as they are human beings, they will inevitably have human emotions and desires.
Seeing that Zhang Shigui was silent, the man in black continued: "If you don't follow the will, something will happen to Duke Guo's family in Chang'an City, and it is not impossible that their heads will fall to the ground. When Duke Guo sees his wife and children again, I’m afraid I can only live under Jiuquan.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a strong murderous aura rushed towards his face. Zhang Shigui became furious and shouted: "How outrageous! You are acting under the emperor's order, so you should be fearful and dignified. Who in the world dares to violate it? Now you are acting like this Do you really think that I won’t dare to kill you if you use evil and evil means to coerce me?”
He didn't expect these people to do such dirty and sinister things, which made him extremely disappointed.
In his heart, how can personal life and death, and the life and death of his family, compare to His Majesty's edict and Huanghuang's righteousness? He is loyal to His Majesty and is willing to sacrifice everything for His Majesty's legacy. But now those sinister people are already using His Majesty's edict to carry out their own secret schemes, and what they do is for personal gain.
If he really follows the imperial edict and overthrows the Eastern Palace and allows those Yin people to take over the power of the government, the story of the Eastern Han Dynasty may be repeated, where the eunuchs monopolized power and controlled the government, making the world a mess, and even ruining the entire Tang Dynasty. Well, aren't you helping the evildoer?
What on earth was that guy Li Ji thinking?
The leader of the high-ranking prime ministers and ministers was actually led by this group of shady people. I just don’t know what to say...
The man in black sneered, looked at Zhang Shigui deeply, turned around and left without saying another word.
When the man in black walked away, Zhang Shigui sat down slumped and rubbed his face with his hands, feeling conflicted, embarrassed and full of anger in his heart.
What should be done?
Although the Tang Dynasty was founded more than 20 years ago, there are still many remnants of the former Sui Dynasty. What's more, various families in Shandong and Jiangnan have been suppressed by Guanlong since entering the Tang Dynasty. The Shenji side secretly accumulated strength. Once the central government was in chaos and the government collapsed, there would even be a war. With people living in dire straits, how can these elites settle for mediocrity?
Maybe they will rise up and gather together to copy the story of the late Sui Dynasty, causing chaos in the country and the world.
If Your Majesty saw such a scene, would you still insist on Yi Chu?
Foolish loyalty is also loyalty, but sometimes, it may become the greatest disloyalty...
……
The sky was already bright and the rain had not stopped, but was getting worse.
Li Siwen's armor was damaged in many places, his body was badly wounded, and he was covered in blood. He led his soldiers in a bloody battle at Chongmingmen. He joined the battle when he was ordered to come for reinforcements when the "Woye Town Private Soldiers" launched a large-scale attack on the city. Until now, for more than two hours, he and his soldiers did not even have time to take a breath and kept fighting non-stop.
Under the city, although the "Woye Town Private Soldiers" suffered heavy losses, they still surged up like a tide. With their powerful combat power, they caused huge casualties to the defenders. From time to time, they rushed to the top of the city for bloody battles, and the rest of the Guanlong army followed them. After that, they continued to launch a storm-like offensive towards Zhongming Gate.
There are fewer and fewer defenders on the city, and they are under siege by the rebels for longer and longer periods of time. It becomes increasingly difficult to repel the rebels who attack the city...
Li Siwen knocked a rebel to the ground with a knife, wiped the blood and rain on his face, and shouted hoarsely to the soldiers around him: "Has the message for help been sent?"
The soldier next to him was holding a horizontal knife in his mouth and using one hand to bandage the other arm. A deep wound almost penetrated the forearm, and blood spurted out. The soldier's face turned pale, and sweat mixed with rain dripped down. He finally bandaged the wound, took off the horizontal knife and held it in his hand, saying: "I have gone to two groups, but there has been no reply."
The Sixth Army of the East Palace was short of troops, and now that the rebels were launching fierce attacks at Chengtianmen and Chongmingmen, it was naturally difficult to cope with them and they were stretched thin.
Li Siwen's heart skipped a beat, brandishing his horizontal sword, and roared at a rebel captain who had just climbed to the top of the city: "Follow me and kill the enemy!" If the jar breaks without leaving the edge of the well, the general will inevitably die in front of the battle. Even if we can't defend Chongming Gate today, we will fight to the death here and leave a mark on history!
(End of chapter)