Chapter 4206 is in danger
The light in the barracks was a little dim, and Li Zhi sat on the chair by the window and twisted his body. Tongguan gathered tens of thousands of troops, and took tens of thousands of civilians and prisoners with them, resulting in a serious shortage of material supplies. Although grain and vegetables were continuously transported through Shandong families, a lack of variety was inevitable.
Although His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, who has been well-dressed and well-fed since childhood, is still high among the people here, the difficult environment and lack of supplies have made him no longer have the luxurious life he once had. He is enduring hardship every moment, and his days are like years... …
Compared with Li Zhi, Qiu Xinggong, who traveled hundreds of miles back and forth in a few days, except that his face was dusty and wrinkled, his eyes were still bright and scorching.
"Your Highness, the general has already met Xue Wanche and conveyed to him His Highness's trust and trust. He also mentioned that after achieving great achievements, he would be rewarded with the founding of the country and his descendants. Xue Wanche is willing to obey His Highness's orders."
Seeing Li Zhi's excited expression, Qiu Xinggong hurriedly continued: "It's just that although Xue Wanche is vulgar and stupid, he is cautious in this matter and refuses to end rashly. He only wants to wait until His Highness launches a large-scale counterattack before crossing the Weishui River and approaching Chang'an." , in response to His Highness.”
Li Zhi's excited heart suddenly cooled down...
With his current army alone, he doesn't even know if Tongguan can hold on. How can he counterattack Chang'an?
I thought that if Xue Wanche could be persuaded to cross the Wei River to Xuanwu Gate, and attract the Sixth Army of the East Palace to return for rescue, the pressure on Tongguan could be reduced, and the generals of the Sixteenth Guards who were not firm in their stance could be called on to help and launch a massive counterattack.
But no one is a fool...
However, being able to convince Xue Wanche to respond is already a bright spot in the current predicament.
Then he happily praised: "The Duke worked tirelessly to convince such a general to lead the army for me, so that the power between the enemy and us is not as disparity as before. It is really a great achievement. Now I am trapped in Tongguan, and my strength is limited. It can be said that No matter how nice it sounds, it has no effect. When he ascends to the great treasure and rules the world one day, he will definitely live up to the merits of the Duke today."
He also knew that he couldn't talk empty words, but in today's situation, what else could he do except promise no benefits?
Even making empty promises is a waste of brains, because he even made promises from the feudal side. I really don’t know what is more tempting than this...
Qiu Xinggong, however, had already stood up excitedly and knelt down on one knee to perform the military salute: "Why did your Highness say this? Your Majesty passed away at a young age, and the whole world is saddened by it. However, who in the world doesn't know your Majesty's wishes during his lifetime? Now His Majesty has your Majesty." The edict is in hand, and it is just and righteous. In order to maintain His Majesty's integrity and to repay His Majesty's kindness, we warriors are willing to serve as dogs and horses to drive us, and we will not stop until we die!"
"Okay, okay! Today, too many people either sit on the sidelines and ignore them, or simply flatter the traitors and beg for mercy. They have no idea how they swore allegiance in front of the father yesterday! I wish I could kill these rebellious ministers and traitors one by one. It's so rare and precious to be able to know the adversity like this and still not forget your loyalty. How can I not rely on my confidant and trust him?"
Li Zhi was also emotional. He spoke with red eyes and said something from the bottom of his heart. He was so sincere. It is unclear whether he could move Qiu Xinggong, but he moved himself...
The two sat down again, and Li Zhi asked: "It's not that I don't believe in the Duke, but this matter is too big to be ignored. Although Xue Wanche expressed his loyalty verbally, I wonder if he can change his mind temporarily?"
Qiu Xinggong said: "It is normal for Your Highness to have such worries, but it is unnecessary. The last general also had such worries, so he not only sent someone to stay with Xue Wanche as a liaison between the two parties, but also bribed a person under his account who was born in Guanlong. The deputy general was able to know Xue Wanche's every move. The general finally left his station and headed forward. I almost bumped into Fang Jun, but the other party knew I was going to persuade Xue Wanche, so I avoided seeing him and ran away. Fortunately, the other party gave up after chasing me for a while, but waited to be placed next to Xue Wanche. Only after someone sent the message did I dare to return to see His Highness.”
Li Zhi hurriedly asked: "Why did Fang Jun go to find Xue Wanche? These two people have an irreversible friendship. If Xue Wanche is persuaded by him, all the achievements of the county prince's trip will be in vain."
Qiu Xinggong smiled and said: "Your Highness, don't worry. Xue Wanche's every word, deed, and move has been reported by his informants. Every word he said when he met Fang Jun was correct. Obviously, in order to stabilize Fang Jun, Xue Wanche took refuge with Your Highness." Meaning, no doubt about it.”
The two talked for a long time, until the rickety Wang Shoushi appeared silently at the door like a ghost, and Qiu Xinggong stood up to say goodbye.
When he went out, he met Wang Shoushi's eyes. Qiu Xinggong's eyes were blazing. Wang Shoushi looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head and bowed aside.
Qiu Xinggong walked away.
Regarding this scene, Li Zhi said comfortingly: "My dear, don't worry too much. It seems that these martial artists look down on eunuchs the most. As long as you do your job sincerely, I will ensure that you start well and end well."
Wang Shoushi said softly: "To be able to serve His Highness, I have already put my life and death aside..."
As he said that, he put two letters on the desk: "One was sent from Chang'an, and all the details of the prince's enthronement the day before yesterday were written on it. The other was sent by the Duke of E, and more than ten thousand Shandong people who crossed the river first were The reinforcements have arrived, and the leader is Cui Chengfu, a descendant of the Cui family in Qinghe, who is asking to see His Highness outside. "
Li Zhi nodded and said, "Let him wait."
He reached out and picked up the letter from Chang'an. He first checked the paint to confirm that it was correct. Then he took out a knife to cut open the envelope, took out the letter paper, and read it carefully.
After a long time, he put the letter on the desk with a gloomy expression and a dull voice.
The prince paid tribute to the ancestral temple and announced to the world that he was the emperor and his reign was "Renhe"...
Haha, "Renhe"?
Is it more important to treat each other with kindness than to be harmonious?
If you really have a benevolent heart, why don't you just give up the throne when you know that your father is determined to make the throne easy, but instead seize the throne to seize the throne and persecute and suppress all the brothers?
If peace is really the most important thing, why do you have to force yourself to escape from Taiji Palace and gather troops at Tongguan to save your life?
This hypocritical look is really annoying...
There were appointments and removals of other official positions on the letter. Jin Dian conferred the title of eldest son Li Xiang as the crown prince, and he was in charge of the East Palace. Li Ji was appointed as Shangshu Zuopushe and the prince's young master. Cen Wenwen was appointed as Shangshu Youpushe and the prince's young master. Fang Jun was appointed as the prince. Shaobao He concurrently serves as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Ma Zhou serves as the Shizhong, Liu Jie serves as the Secretary of the Central Committee, and the remaining ministers of the Ministry of Rites Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Personnel Li Xiaogong, the Minister of War Cui Dunli, the Minister of Hubu Zhang Jian, the Minister of Punishments Zhang Liang...
Of course, there is something quite strange about it, as there is no praise, criticism, rewards or punishments for all the brothers in the clan, not even a mention.
Since "Renhe" is used as the year name, how can we not apply "Renhe" to our brothers and sisters?
But in any case, the completion of a court system based on the direct lineage of the original East Palace can ensure smooth politics and stable imperial power for a long time to come. With every passing day, the stability will deepen until it is unshakable.
On his own side, although the Shandong private armies have arrived one after another and their strength has greatly increased, how can they fight against the prince with only a small area?
The current situation can be described as precarious for the Jin Wang family, and they are in danger of destruction at every turn.
Putting the letter down, he picked up another one and opened it, looking at ten lines... becoming more and more worried.
Yu Chigong mentioned in the letter that the navy did not push forward along the Yellow River towards Tongguan regardless of the circumstances, and suspected that there might be a deeper conspiracy behind it. The front lines of Luoyang and Hanguguan must be strictly guarded, otherwise if the navy uses surprise troops to break through, the consequences will be serious. Unthinkable.
Li Zhi certainly understood the importance of Hangu Pass. Once this place was lost, Tongguan would become a real dead place. Not only would there be no possibility of strategic change, even grain and baggage from Shandong, Hedong and other places would not be able to reach Tongguan.
Putting down the letter, Li Zhi sat on the chair with a gloomy expression.
No matter how you look at it, it is a game of death...
Wang Shoushi saw Li Zhi looking depressed at the side, and he was a little discouraged. He hurriedly advised: "Your Highness, those who have achieved great things in ancient and modern times are not only extraordinary talents, but also perseverance. Who is so talented and powerful?" Isn’t it true that the king blazes a bloody path through thorns and fights his way out of desperate situations? Moreover, with Xue Wanche’s assistance, the chance of success is greatly increased.”
Li Zhi also knew that it was not time to despair, so he tried to cheer up and asked: "In your opinion, is Qiu Xinggong trustworthy? Is Xue Wanche's surrender true or false?"
Wang Shoushi was bent at the waist, his snow-white hair tied under his crown, his face was densely wrinkled, and he showed a smile, saying: "Among the soldiers accompanying Qiu Xinggong, some people were bribed by the old slave. They were almost the same as what Qiu Xinggong said. Obviously, Qiu Xinggong said Xing Gong is trustworthy, and since Qiu Xinggong is trustworthy, Xue Wanche's surrender is a matter of course. It is absolutely true. When His Highness launches a massive counterattack, as long as the situation is favorable, Xue Wanche will definitely raise his troops to respond. With his thirty thousand warriors crossing the Wei River and approaching the Xuanwu Sect, if he is not lucky, he can also attract the main force of the Sixth Army of the East Palace to rush to help. If he is lucky, , and can even directly capture Xuanwu Gate to determine the overall situation.”
This is of course the most ideal situation, but in fact everyone knows that things in the world have never developed in accordance with human wishes...
However, Li Zhi still nodded: "Right now, the garrisons in Guanzhong are standing aside. We have gathered more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and it is entirely possible to fight to the death... Of course, the chance of life and death still lies with Yuwen Shiji."
Compared with Xue Wanche, Yu Wenshi and the target of lobbying can truly determine the outcome of the battle for the throne and the success or failure of Li Zhi.
As long as that person admits that Li Chengqian usurped the throne, believes that the edict in the hands of the Jin King is true, is more willing to recognize the edict as the father's will, and is willing to put his life and death at risk for it... then under the combination of inside and outside, It is certain that Chang'an can be captured, the new emperor can be deposed, the six leaders of the East Palace can be annihilated, and chaos can be restored.
However, it is too early to think about these things now. The most urgent task is to follow Yu Chigong's advice and ensure the safety of Hangu Pass. (End of chapter)