Chapter 3984: Premeditated retreat
The clouds are like lead, the river is rushing, and the "Xuanjia cavalry" in black helmets and black armor on the other side of Ba River stand solemn and motionless like a forest. This troop is the Imperial Guard of His Majesty Li Er. They have been guarding His Majesty Li Er since the beginning of the Eastern Expedition. Since the withdrawal of troops from Liaodong, they have been guarding the "unconscious" Majesty Li Er. No one except Li Ji is allowed to visit... …
However, traveling thousands of miles along the way, how could the coffin, which was hidden under the baggage of the tent and pulled by the horse-drawn carriage, and the large amount of saltpeter used to make ice cubes along the way, be hidden from the eyes and ears of the army?
Zhang Liang stared at the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" for a while before looking away. He rode closer to Li Ji and lowered his voice: "What does the commander-in-chief want?"
Anyone who has fought against Li Ji knows that he has an extremely distinctive personality and strong principles. He clearly distinguishes between what should be done and what should not be done, and he will never trample on his bottom line for temporary gains. Therefore, no one believed that Li Jihui would send troops to attack Chang'an and depose the crown prince.
It is precisely because of this that Cheng Mingzhen, Zhang Liang and others have been obedient to military orders until now...
However, at the last moment, Li Ji still refused to reveal his trump card, which was unbearable - even if everyone is willing to follow you unconditionally, you can't lead everyone to rebel in a daze, right?
If there is a "last edict", you should take it out and tell everyone about His Majesty's last wishes. As a minister, you should do your best to fulfill it; if there is no "last edict", you have to express your feelings and let everyone decide whether to follow you to the end. What's going on with such a mysterious secret, keeping everyone in the dark?
Li Ji sat steadily on the horse. The drizzle fell on his saddle and condensed into a stream, flowing down his neck guard and armor. His handsome face remained unchanged, and his eyes did not waver. He said calmly: "I am serving the emperor." If you do what you are told, why do you need to explain it to anyone? You just know how to do it.”
Zhang Liang was stunned when he heard this, then looked back at the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" on the other side of the river, and said with a wry smile: "At this time and here, why is the commander still so secretive? Forget it, since the commander keeps saying that he is acting under the emperor's orders, then I have the courage to do so. I ask, where is the emperor’s order? Can you let us see it?”
The way he acted was very obvious: There is no airtight wall. We already know about His Majesty's death. Otherwise, what would you do with the coffin during the march? At this time, don’t hide it anymore, quickly open the skylight and speak out, don’t deceive others...
Li Ji's face hardened, he looked directly at Zhang Liang, and said slowly: "Are you questioning the military order, thinking that the commander is falsely conveying the order?"
Zhang Liang cupped his fists and said, "I don't dare."
Li Jing stared at Zhang Liang for a while and said coldly: "We are human ministers, how can we be disrespectful to the king? I will not care about you today, but there is no need to ask more about this matter. Just obey your orders and act."< br>
Zhang Liang was struck by his sharp gaze and felt that something was not quite right. He hurriedly said: "I don't dare. It's just that the Crown Prince is the emperor's first official. Now he is out of the city to 'respectfully welcome the Holy Master'. We should go to Baqiao accordingly." Waiting for you, how can you send troops to fight against each other like this? This is disrespectful."
Although etiquette has collapsed since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties unified the world, and both the government and the public made great efforts to restore the etiquette system, and etiquette was gradually restored and rigorous. When the emperor dies in the wild, the prince will go out to greet the prince and return. Although the prince will not be asked to greet him wherever the emperor dies, he must at least go out of the city for hundreds of miles to "kneel down" to show his loyalty and filial piety. Otherwise, it will be extremely serious. Big faux pas.
The reason why the prince insists on going out of the city to "welcome the Holy Emperor" is precisely due to this. Everyone knows that His Majesty Li Er has passed away. If Li Ji had no intention of rebellion, he should wait for the prince in Baqiao and hand over his coffin; now His Majesty Li Er passed away, Li Ji not only Not announcing the details and inviting the Crown Prince to Baqiao to welcome the Holy Emperor back, but instead transporting His Majesty's coffin to Chang'an to pay respect to the Crown Prince, is putting the Crown Prince in a disrespectful place. It is unfaithful and unfilial. It is not the behavior of a human minister or a son of man. To force the Crown Prince to just Can start a war...
Li Ji's expression was cold and unmoved, and he said in a deep voice: "I will say it again, you just need to obey orders and act without saying anything. Don't question my military orders, otherwise you will be dealt with according to the military law."
Although he and Zhang Liang were both honorable ministers of Zhenguan and had fought side by side in the past, they had always lacked a favorable impression of him and disliked his slippery character. Therefore, he only warned him without explaining a word more. He hoped that Zhang Liang would not You must be smart, otherwise you will be punished by military law.
Zhang Liang was shocked and said hurriedly: "Don't worry, Commander, I will act according to the order and don't dare to make mistakes."
Li Ji said "hmm" and said calmly: "Just take care of yourself, don't make any mistakes."
……
Cheng Mingzhen was commanding the troops from the front to gather forward and put pressure on the right Houwei. When he turned around, he saw Zhang Liang riding from a distance. When they arrived, the two of them were riding side by side. Surrounded by gold and iron horses and forests of swords and guns, groups of soldiers slowly Pressing towards the Youhouwei camp, the momentum was low and the swords were on the verge of breaking out.
Cheng Mingzhen watched the reaction of the Youhouwei camp and asked in a low voice: "What does the commander say?"
Zhang Liang looked around, smiled bitterly and whispered: "The words were extremely harsh, and the intention was not revealed at all. I originally threatened to lead the army to evacuate, but unexpectedly, I was warned by the commander in law... I feel something is wrong. .”
Cheng Minzhen frowned and said, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Liang hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "I can't tell, but this matter is definitely not the British way of doing business. Having said that, what should we do if they really order us to attack the prince's guard of honor?"
Now it seems that everyone in the Eastern Expedition Army is dormant under Li Ji's lustful power, and everyone dares to be angry but dare not speak out. But in fact, almost every army has different thoughts, and the situation is chaotic and chaotic. Zhang Liang must find a firm ally in this chaotic situation, preferably from the East Palace...
Cheng Mingzhen didn't think much about it. Hearing the words, he didn't hesitate and said categorically: "There is no way I can obey the order! The prince is the crown prince of the country and the emperor of the empire. It is a capital crime for us and Liaodong to fail to protect His Majesty Zhou Quan, so how can we do another act of rebellion?" ? Even if you die, you will not fight against the prince, otherwise you will act like a minister!"
Zhang Liang took out his ears and said helplessly: "You are the most loyal in the world, right? Why are you so loud..."
He looked around and saw no one around, so he felt relieved and said, "Don't worry, I will advance and retreat together with you, and I will never break my promise! However, if the prince holds the Eastern Expedition Army accountable for various crimes in the future, you can say a few good words on my behalf. I made it clear that I was in the Cao camp and in the Han Dynasty, and I did not join forces with Li Ji. What I did was done out of necessity."
He knew Li Ji's temperament and style very well, and coupled with his observation and estimation of the military's war preparations, he did not think that Li Ji would brazenly start a war. But even if you don’t understand what Li Ji is up to, you can still conclude that Li Ji must surrender to the East Palace in the end...
But it does not mean that the world will be peaceful after Li Ji surrenders.
Hundreds of thousands of troops devoted all their strength to the eastern expedition, but ended up losing their troops and generals under Pingrang City, and returned defeated. In the end, a mere navy seized the fruits of victory. Who should bear the responsibility?
His Majesty Li Er went on a personal expedition, but died in the army. This was a great change. Who will be responsible?
There is no doubt that the person most responsible is Li Ji. The fact that His Majesty Li Er died in the army is enough to make him commit suicide.
But now that Li Ji has hundreds of thousands of troops at his disposal, he can easily contribute to Chang'an and shake up the country. Who dares to put Li Ji in charge? However, even if Li Ji cannot be held responsible, this responsibility will not disappear out of thin air. Someone must take up the responsibility and give an explanation to the world.
All the accompanying generals at the Duke level in the Eastern Expedition army may become the scapegoats for Li Ji to take responsibility...
The Cheng family had a close relationship with Fang Jun, and Cheng Wuting was Fang Jun's right-hand man. This meant that even if Li Ji chose Cheng Mingzhen as his scapegoat, the East Palace would reject it. There are only a few people who are qualified to serve as scapegoats. Without Cheng Mingzhen, Zhang Liang's own probability will naturally increase greatly...
Therefore, he must plan an escape route and express his loyalty to the prince through Cheng Mingzhen in order to ensure that he will have peace of mind in the future.
Cheng Mingzhen was a straight-tempered person, but not an idiot. He understood Zhang Liang's intention after just a little thinking, and said helplessly: "Now when we are thinking about how to eliminate the possible disaster of war, why should we care about our personal honor and disgrace? The prince is kind, the British Lord He is not a despicable person, your worries are completely unnecessary.”
Zhang Liang was noncommittal. Anyway, once his intention was expressed, Cheng Mingzhen would always pass it on to the prince, which would be an extra insurance policy.
Now he is taking orders from Li Ji and colluding with Guan Long in private. If he expresses his loyalty to the prince again and is accepted by the prince, then no matter what the final situation is, he himself will be as stable as Mount Tai and will not be involved in the power struggle, and his own interests will be protected. Get Guaranteed…
He raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the Right Houwei in the west and said: "Look, the Right Houwei has moved!"
Cheng Mingzhen looked quickly and saw that the Eastern Expeditionary Army was slowly advancing. Countless soldiers lined up in the field and marched in like a wall, putting great pressure on the Youhou Guards. The array on the Right Houwei's side that had remained stationary finally relaxed, and began to be forced to move westward under pressure.
Heading towards the direction of the prince...
……
You Houwei didn't want to move, but he had to.
Yuchi Gong was riding on his horse, waving his whip bitterly and scolding: "Li Ji is too much of a bully! If you want to be a rebellious official and traitor, you can do it yourself. Why force me to be your pawn? You are insidious and vicious, and you are not a son of a man!" ”
But after scolding, facing the aggressive and pressing Eastern Expedition Army, we had to quickly order the movement to the west. Otherwise, when the Eastern Expedition Army came into contact with the troops under their command, who knows whether an unexpected melee would break out!
Yu Wenshiji put on an ordinary military uniform and rode beside him, his eyebrows deeply furrowed and difficult to relax...
"Commander Qi, we have seen the Crown Prince's guard of honor in front of us, and they are coming towards us!" The marching right marquis guards suddenly became nervous, and everyone looked towards the direction of the Chinese army, waiting for Yuchi Gong's military order - on the spot. Stop, or keep moving forward?
(End of chapter)