Yang Fan climbed up the city wall like a nimble ape and saw two smiling faces at first glance.
One of the smiling faces was Wan-er's, smiling very sweetly. The other was Maqiao's, smiling very foolishly.
Yang Fan's gaze quickly swept across their faces. This was not the time to reminisce. Then he saw Li Xian, Empress Wei, and Princess An Le.
Li Xian was also grinning. Although only one person had come up, his presence gave him a greater sense of security. Empress Wei and An Le's clothes were as disheveled as Li Xian's. At this moment, their hair was simply tied behind their heads. However, they were also smiling very happily. Even An Le, who had too many entanglements with Yang Fan, at a moment of life and death, many things would become very simple.
Li Xian grabbed Yang Fan and excitedly said, "Great General Yang, you've finally come. Where are the ten thousand cavalry? Are the ten thousand cavalry outside? "
Yang Fan said, "Your Imperial Majesty, do not panic. The Black Tortoise Gate is impregnable. They won't be able to come up for a while. Even now, your subject still does not know who is rebelling. I only know that one of my ten thousand cavalry also had a general steal your commander's seal and took away two brigades. Your subject is afraid that if I rashly move my troops into the city, it will become even more chaotic without distinguishing between friend and foe. Thus, your subject had the army put on armor and wait in the barracks. First, I will lead a group of people to the Black Tortoise Gate to investigate the situation. Now that I know Your Imperial Majesty is here, your subject will immediately pass down the order for the ten thousand cavalry to immediately reinforce the Black Tortoise Gate. "
Hearing this, Li Xian repeatedly nodded his head. "Good, good, good. That's good. General Yang, my safety will be in your hands. "
Yang Fan turned to Maqiao and asked, "What's the situation below the city walls?"
Maqiao replied, "Many soldiers have arrived. They are all part of the rebel army. However, their leaders have yet to show themselves. I don't know who they are. In addition, General Liu Jingren of the Right Yulin Forest has arrived with a detachment. Right now, they are facing off against the enemy at two transportation routes. "
Yang Fan hurriedly rushed to the edge of the city wall and looked down. He saw torches everywhere, like stars in the sky. The rebel army was gathering into a formation. Yang Fan frowned as he thought about it. There were only a hundred or so people on top of the Black Tortoise Gate. He did not know how long Liu Jingren's troops and horses would be able to resist for. Admittedly, the Black Tortoise Gate was strong, but there was no fortress in this world that could not be breached. If the rebel army attacked the city before the ten thousand cavalry arrived, that would be disastrous.
Yang Fan thought for a moment, then turned to Li Xian and said, "Your Imperial Majesty, once this subject's troops arrive, they will definitely be able to protect Your Imperial Majesty."
Li Xian nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, repeatedly saying, "Good, good, good."
Yang Fan's tone changed as he said: "However, there are not many soldiers defending the city. If the rebel army forcibly attacks the city, the soldiers will certainly defend to the death, but Your Majesty, the Empress, and the Princess are priceless. How can we allow anything to happen to them? For the sake of safety, this subject believes that we should think of a way to delay them from attacking the city and try to delay them until the cavalry arrives."
Li Xian hurriedly asked, "General Yang, what is your plan?"
… …
When Li Zhongjun arrived at the foot of the city, he heard that his Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, and An Le had all escaped to the Xuanwu Gate. He couldn't help but hesitate.
According to his original plan, he would mobilize the rebel army to break into the inner palace, kill Empress Wei and An Le, and then 'beg for forgiveness' from his father. He would say that he had executed a treacherous official. At that time, it wouldn't matter how he begged for forgiveness. It was just like how his grandfather, Li Shimin, had begged for forgiveness from Li Yuan after initiating the rebellion at the Xuanwu Gate. Even if Li Yuan wanted to punish him, did he have the ability to do so?
In the end, things were somewhat unexpected. Breaking into the palace from the main gate was indeed delayed. Unexpectedly, his Imperial Father had escaped to the Xuanwu Gate with troops protecting him. At this time, Li Xian was still not under his control. Asking him to brazenly give the order to attack the city, he truly lacked the courage.
Li Zhongjun gathered Li Duozuo, Li Qianli, Shazha Zhongyi, Li Sichong, Li Sikuang, Dugu Yanzhi, and the others together to discuss countermeasures. In order to help the Crown Prince rebel, Li Duozuo had even killed his son-in-law. Naturally, he strongly advocated attacking the city. Li Qianli, on the other hand, felt that they could intimidate the Emperor into handing over Empress Wei and An Le. There was no need to tear off the last piece of fig leaf between father and son. This would be beneficial to Li Zhongjun's control after he ascended to the throne.
As for Shazha Zhongyi and Dugu Yanzhi, they were somewhat ambiguous. They felt that whatever they did was fine. As long as they could help Li Zhongjun ascend to the throne, they would be able to hold their heads up high and jump above millions.
Li Chengkuang and Li Sichong also suggested attacking the city immediately. Li Chengkuang saw that victory was just one step away and truly yearned for it. He only hoped to immediately accomplish a world-shaking feat. Naturally, he was burning with impatience.
Speed was the most important thing in war, but the debate between the two sides had wasted a lot of time. What was more important was not time, but morale. If they immediately attacked the city, the murderous intent of the soldiers would be strong and their morale would be high. This Xuanwu Gate might not be able to be defended. But with such a standstill, the soldiers were standing there doing nothing. They couldn't help but think randomly and their morale fell.
The two factions had conflicting opinions. Finally, with great difficulty, they managed to come up with a compromise. Everyone would pressure the previous Emperor to hand over Empress Wei and An Le. They would swear to the heavens to ensure the Emperor's safety. If the Emperor was not willing to listen, they would mobilize the army to attack the city.
So the generals escorted Li Zhongjun to the city walls and shouted to the top of the walls. Only then did Li Xian know that it was his son who had rebelled. Li Xian was the Emperor. No matter how wretched he was, he had to do his best to maintain the dignity of the Emperor. He naturally couldn't lie on the city walls and shout at the top of his lungs. He had Maqiao pass the message on his behalf.
Maqiao poked his head out from the wall and said loudly: "His Majesty says, Li Zhongjun, you are the Crown Prince. Why are you rebelling? Do you think you can hide the scandal of killing your father and usurping the throne from the eyes and ears of the world? His Majesty says, Li Duozuo, Li Qianli, zhen has treated you well. Why are you helping the Crown Prince rebel? "
Li Zhongjun cupped his fists towards the top of the walls and said: "Fuhuang, er chen has no intention of rebelling. But the Empress's faction is arrogant and usurped our country's treasures. As the heir apparent, er cannot sit and watch. Today, I will enter the palace with the loyal subjects to remonstrate with Fuhuang. I only ask that Fuhuang hand over Empress Wei and An Le. er is willing to beg for forgiveness in front of Fuhuang. "
Li Duozuo also said loudly: "Wu Sansi committed adultery in the palace. Under the Crown Prince's orders, we have executed Wu Sansi and his son. The Crown Prince and we have no intention of rebelling. We only ask that Your Majesty purge the palace. As long as Your Majesty can do it, we will immediately withdraw our troops and beg for forgiveness. "
When Li Xian heard that Wu Sansi and his son had been executed, he couldn't help but turn pale with fright. Empress Wei and Wan 'er also turned pale with fright. They were not afraid that Wu Sansi and his son had lost their lives, but that the military power controlled by the Wu clan had fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince had already taken control of the Northern Imperial Army, it would be difficult to resist with just ten thousand cavalry.
The only thing that made them feel fortunate was that the Southern Yamen did not participate in this rebellion. The Prince of Xiang and Taiping did not rebel with them. Otherwise, the consequences would be even more unmanageable.
Yang Fan had already sent Gao Chu to break out of the encirclement and deliver the news. It was just that the main force would not be able to arrive for a while. Right now, the more time he could delay, the more hope he had. So he immediately whispered in Li Xian's ear: "Your Majesty, please follow this subject's plan and stall for time."
Li Xian nodded his head and nervously said: "We understand. We will follow the Great General's plan."
Seeing this, Maqiao shouted down the walls: "All of you, listen carefully. All of you, be quiet. His Majesty wants to speak to you personally."
As soon as these words were shouted, the noise from below the walls immediately stopped.
It was admittedly difficult to succeed in a rebellion with only scholars, but it was also difficult to succeed in a rebellion of pure generals without a single scholar. It was already a great taboo for these people to not immediately attack the walls after they had reached the walls. Now, they were actually listening to the Emperor's words in silence. They inevitably made another fatal mistake.
Li Xian leaned against the wall, doing his best to regulate his breathing. In a loud voice, he shouted to the people below, "Officers and soldiers, you are all our trusted imperial bodyguards. Your future prospects and salaries were all given by us. Why do you want to follow the Crown Prince and rebel?"
Hearing this, Li Chengkuang immediately shouted: "Crown Prince, don't wait anymore. Give the order to attack the city!"
Li Zhongjun raised his sword and hesitantly turned his head to look at the three old generals Li Qianli, Li Duozuo, and Shazha Zhongyi. At this time, Li Xian shouted at the top of his lungs: "Officers and soldiers, as long as you immediately change your mind and kill the traitors, we promise to let bygones be bygones. We will also reward you according to your contributions and guarantee you glory, splendor, wealth and rank."
Li Xian had almost never spoken so loudly before. After speaking, he couldn't help but cough. Yang Fan raised a torch and leapt onto the walls. He straightened his back and shouted: "The Emperor's words are like gold and jade. He said that he will let bygones be bygones, so he will definitely keep his promise! What the Crown Prince can give you, the Emperor can even more. If you don't make a decision soon, when my ten thousand cavalry arrives, it will be too late for regrets! "
Yang Fan slowly brought the torch closer to his face, illuminating his appearance for the rebel soldiers below the walls. He coldly stared at the black mass of battle below the walls. His voice was like spring thunder as he shouted, "Dugu Huizhi, you stole my commander's seal and coerced my soldiers to work for you. Do you know your crime? Soldiers of the ten thousand cavalry, Yang Fan is here. If you don't quickly change your mind, when will you? "
Yang Fan believed that this plan could not only delay the rebel army's attack but also create chaos for them. The reason was that Dugu Huizhi had stolen his commander's seal. If the two army commanders that Dugu Huizhi took with him were all Dugu Huizhi's trusted aides and obediently obeyed Dugu Huizhi's orders, Dugu Huizhi wouldn't have needed to painstakingly steal his commander's seal.
Because of this, Yang Fan concluded that many people in the rebel army had been coerced into coming. Now that the Emperor had promised not to pursue their crimes and promised them high positions and generous salaries, if he appeared again and used the ten thousand cavalry to intimidate and expose Dugu Huizhi's act of passing fake military orders, he would be able to cause chaos in the rebel army.
As expected, after Yang Fan's words, although the rebel army camp below the walls was completely silent, the originally organized camp immediately loosened. Countless people looked left and right. Some wanted to see who else had been tricked into coming, while others were wary and wanted to know who was going to change their minds.
Standing on the walls, Yang Fan saw that the morale of the army could be used. He immediately shouted, "The Son of Heaven is gracious, and the army is about to arrive. If we don't change our minds, when will we?
Maqiao led more than a hundred imperial soldiers from the Xuanwu Gate and shouted in unison, "The Son of Heaven is gracious, and the army is about to arrive. If we don't change our minds, when will we? When will we, when will we, when will we, when will we … "
The last sentence was shouted over and over again by them in an orderly and mighty manner. It was like the never-ending tide of the Buddha crashing into the hearts of the rebel army below the walls. It broke down their morale, broke down their confidence, and broke down their courage. A person's heart was where their soul resided. When their spirit was intimidated, who would have the heart to fight?
The ten thousand cavalry officer Cai Gu Fu and Cui Lang looked at each other. Suddenly, he pulled out his saber and shouted, "Brothers, change our minds!"
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