An Lushan was very self-aware. He knew that only by staying in Fanyang could he continue to please the Emperor. Once he left the position of general, he could not maintain his position for long by relying on his humorous flattery. Sooner or later, he would lose the Emperor's favor.
Moreover, the officials in the capital were Li Linfu's world. Ang Lee was also very favored. If he entered the capital as the Prime Minister, he would not have enough strength to compete with the two. Therefore, it was better for him to stay in Youzhou.
As the Prime Minister in the capital, he was at most a minister around the Emperor. However, as the Jiedushi in Youzhou, he was the local emperor. He had the final say in everything. The feeling in his heart was completely different.
The most important thing, of course, was that he had lost the opportunity to show his value and make contributions. When he was the Jiedushi in Fanyang, he could rely on his ability to lead troops to attack the two Tibetans and the tribes in the north to gain military merits and trophies. However, in the capital, he did not have such ability.
In terms of handling political affairs, he was far inferior to Ang Lee. In terms of developing high-tech and changing the fate of the Tang Empire, he could not compare with Ang Lee at all. He had no other ability except for flattery and leading troops to fight.
After losing the ability to lead troops to fight, he could not get all kinds of rare animals that he needed to flatter the Emperor. How long could he last if he only relied on his mouth to coax the Emperor?
However, An Lushan was quite confident in his eloquence. He believed that as long as he entered the palace and met the Emperor, he could persuade the Emperor to let him go back to Youzhou and continue to guard the territory of the Tang Empire in the northeast with his eloquence.
The Emperor's imperial edict was very clear. He only gave him the title of Assistant Minister of Rites and the title of Prime Minister. He did not take away the position of Jiedushi in the two towns. That was to say, the Emperor did not deprive him of his military power. He just let him go to the capital as the Prime Minister, and the troops in the two towns would be temporarily led by his deputy general.
Considering that the two Tibetans had been completely defeated by him, they definitely did not have the strength to counterattack the Tang dynasty in a short period of time. If he let Shi Siming take charge of the two Tibetans, he was fully capable of stabilizing the situation in the two towns. Thinking of this, it was completely reasonable for the Emperor to let him go to the capital to enjoy the good fortune. After all, he was so humorous and liked by the Emperor so much.
The thought that the Emperor might be missing him made An Lushan relax. In any case, he believed in his eloquence. As long as he put in a few good words in front of the Emperor, the Emperor would definitely allow him to return to Hebei. At that time, he would still be the local tyrant of Hebei and could continue to act like a tyrant. When he had nothing to do, he could go on a crusade against the nomads in the north and earn some military merit. Then, he could plunder the rare treasures of Hebei Province and offer them to the Emperor to maintain the Emperor's favor.
An Lushan, who was completely relaxed, lay comfortably in his armored carriage, hugged the sixteen-year-old girl inside, and thought of his beautiful future.
Compared with An Lushan's relaxed body and mind, Yan Zhuang, who was accompanying him, was very nervous. He was worried that An Lushan would receive the news from the capital halfway and kill him in anger. Or An Lushan would try to return to the north and be stopped by Guo Yu. Once the two sides started to fight, he was likely to be in trouble.
In order to prevent the people returning to the north from suddenly sending back news, Yan Zhuang sent his trusted men to set off in advance and block the way to the north. He wanted to be the first to discover the trusted men of the Marshal's Mansion returning to the north.
Of course, Yan Zhuang worried too much. Just near Tongguan, An Qingzong and his men, who were disguised and running away, were intercepted by Li Hanlu in a valley.
Li Hanlu only had four subordinates, two men and two women. But before she set off, she contacted more than 20 elite Men of Sacrifice that Li Yanchong had hidden in the capital and asked them to listen to her orders.
These elite Men of Sacrifice had been hiding in Chang 'an. Naturally, they had known that An Lushan had defeated the Two Kingdoms and hated An Lushan to the core. In addition, they all knew Li Hanlu. So when they heard that Li Hanlu wanted to kill An Qingzong, they all expressed their support and set off immediately with Li Hanlu. They chased after An Qingzong and his men at the fastest speed. Finally, they caught up with them near Tongguan and surrounded them.
Both sides were elites, but the number of people was two to one. Li Hanlu's side had an overwhelming advantage.
"Two against one. Don't let anyone go."
In order to prevent anyone from escaping, Li Hanlu gave a cruel order to not let anyone go. She was responsible for watching the battle.
Soon, the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle. Because Li Hanlu's side had two people chasing after the other side's one person, the advantage became extremely obvious. An Qingzong's side soon suffered heavy casualties.
"An Qingzong, die!"
An Qingzong was battered and exhausted under the siege of two Men of Sacrifice. Li Hanlu took the opportunity to shoot an arrow at An Qingzong. She accurately shot An Qingzong in the chest and ended An Qingzong's life.
"Not good. Someone escaped."
Although there were two people fighting against one person, one of them still managed to escape. This person's martial arts was the highest. He actually managed to injure the two Men of Sacrifice who were besieging him, and he was only slightly injured. After seeing An Qingzong being shot to death by a crossbow, he immediately began to flee, preparing to return to Youzhou to report.
"Chase him. You must kill him. Don't let him escape."
Li Hanlu ordered the twenty Men of Sacrifice to chase after the one who escaped. She herself returned to the capital with four subordinates. After all, she had secretly escaped. She had to return as soon as possible to get rid of the suspicion of assassinating An Qingzong.
Before leaving, she ordered An Qingzong's body to be dragged to the side of a big tree on the main road and hung on the trunk for the public to vent the hatred in her heart.
An Lushan's team moved very fast. After a few days, they arrived at the ferry to the north of Luokou. They temporarily stopped to rest and prepared to cross the river to the Luoyang Railway Station the next morning.
Yan Zhuang seemed to be a little uneasy. The closer he got to the capital, the more nervous he felt. It was a kind of nervous feeling of a guilty thief. He was not a thief, but his mistake caused An Lushan to suffer heavy losses. This was more serious than being a thief.
"Mr. Yan, our man has returned. He was seriously injured and is in the woods next to us."
A confidant came to report.
"How did he get seriously injured? What did he say?"
Yan Zhuang asked nervously.
"He didn't say anything. He just said that he wanted to see Marshal Jie."
Yan Zhuang thought for a moment and said, "It's late. Marshal Jie has already rested. We can't disturb him rashly. Lead the way! Let me go and see. "
The confidant immediately led the way and went to the woods with Yan Zhuang.
"Okay, you guys stay alert."
Yan Zhuang sent all his subordinates away and asked them to stay alert. He bowed and asked, "What happened? Why was he injured like this? Who did it? Is Young Master okay?"
"Mr. Yan, where is Marshal Jie? I want to see Marshal Jie. "
The injured confidant of An Qingzong asked.
"Marshal Jie has already rested. If there's anything, just tell me directly!"
Yan Zhuang asked.
"Mr. Yan, Young Master is dead. He was killed by the remnants of the Xi Clan."
An Qingzong's confidant said painfully.
"What? Young Master was killed by the remnants of the Xi Clan? How is this possible? The remnants of the Xi Clan dared to commit murder in the capital of the Tang dynasty. They are too bold. "
Yan Zhuang pretended to be angry and scolded harshly.
"It's not the capital. It's near Tongguan. Something happened in the capital. Young Master didn't dare to stay for long and led us to escape. We didn't expect to fall into the trap of the Xi Clan. I was the only one who escaped. The others are all dead."
"Something happened in the capital. What happened? Tell me in detail."
Yan Zhuang lowered his voice and asked anxiously.
"There was a sudden rumor in the capital that Princess Jingle and Princess Yifang had returned to the capital unharmed. All the officials accused Marshal Jie of deceiving the Emperor and asked His Majesty to severely punish Marshal Jie. However, His Majesty suddenly made Marshal Jie the Prime Minister and allowed Marshal Jie to enter the capital. Young Master felt that something was wrong and was about to send someone to report it. However, he found that the Changan City Railway Station had stopped running.
An Qingzong's confidant closed his eyes in pain.
"I didn't expect this to happen. You are seriously injured. Go on your way in peace!"
Yan Zhuang suddenly took out a needle-like knife hidden in his sleeve and stabbed An Qingzong's confidant in the heart.
"Mr. Yan, you …"
"Go on your way in peace! I will report to Marshal Jie and bury you. "
Yan Zhuang quietly pulled out the needle-like knife and looked at his confidants around him. He said loudly, "You bury him immediately. I will report to Marshal Jie."
"Yes, Mr. Yan."
Yan Zhuang walked back to the camp while thinking about how to deal with the crisis in front of him. It was all his fault that the two princesses had escaped. Now that the two princesses had returned to the capital, the Emperor must have begun to suspect An Lushan's intentions. He should have made preparations early.
"Mr. Yan, where did you go just now?"
An Lushan did not rest. He looked for Yan Zhuang for a long time but did not find him. Of course, he was very unhappy.
"Marshal Jie, please calm down. Just now, someone reported that someone from the capital came and was seriously injured. I did not dare to disturb Marshal Jie, so I ran to have a look."
Yan Zhuang said with a guilty conscience.
"How is it? What is the situation?"
An Lushan heard that one of his people was seriously injured. Of course, he took it very seriously.
"Don't worry, Marshal Jie. This person was seriously injured because he met with robbers on the way. Now he is seriously injured and has died. I asked people to bury him."
Yan Zhuang said calmly. At this moment, he felt that he could not tell An Lushan about the death of An Qingzong. An Lushan would find his mistake after a careful investigation. The consequences would be more serious.
"Oh, he just met with robbers. No wonder he could not return to Youzhou on time. Well, let's not talk about it anymore. Mr. Yan, I have something to discuss with you. Come with me."
An Lushan said and walked into the tent. Yan Zhuang followed him.
In the direction of Chang 'an, the news that An Qingzong escaped and was killed by a mysterious person near Tongguan soon spread to the capital. An Qingzong's body was also transported to the capital and kept properly.
When Li Longji learned that An Qingzong escaped from the capital, he was very angry and ordered people to stop An Qingzong. When he learned that An Qingzong was killed, he felt upset. After all, An Qingzong was a hostage in the capital. Of course, it was not justifiable for him to be killed. However, An Qingzong was not killed in the capital. He was killed by bandits in Tongguan when he escaped from the capital. Therefore, the imperial court was not responsible at all.
"An Qingzong really deserved to die. As a hostage, he dared to escape from the capital. And who are those bandits? They dared to kill him in broad daylight and hang An Qingzong's body on a tree on the official road. They are really bold and presumptuous."
Li Longji said angrily.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I've sent people to investigate, but they haven't found any clues yet."
Li Longji looked at the ministers and asked, "Where is An Lushan now?"
"Your Majesty, Marshal An Jie should be in Luoyang soon. He should arrive in the capital tomorrow."
"Yes, he will arrive in the capital tomorrow. If An Lushan finds that his beloved son has been killed, I wonder what will happen!"
There was nothing Li Longji could do about this. He was very displeased with An Lushan's audacity, but at the same time, he didn't want to punish An Lushan and cause An Lushan's subordinates to be in danger. And An Qingzong's death was naturally not a good thing for Li Longji. It would disrupt his plans and put him in a passive position.
In Ang Lee's villa, fifteen li south of the capital, a low-key celebration was already underway. After killing An Qingzong, Li Hanlu quickly returned to the capital and returned to Ang Lee's villa to tell Li Ya 'er the good news.
Both of them felt that An Qingzong's death was a very satisfying thing, especially Li Ya 'er. Many years ago, she had been publicly molested by An Qingzong on the streets. Now that she heard that An Qingzong had been killed, she was naturally very happy. However, she felt a little regretful that she couldn't personally kill An Qingzong.
The moment Ang Lee found out that An Qingzong had been killed, he returned to his residence. He knew that Li Hanlu had succeeded, but with such a big thing happening near Tong Pass, the Imperial Court would definitely investigate. He was worried that Li Hanlu would be found out, which would be troublesome.
"Han Lu, congratulations."
Ang Lee congratulated her and said with concern, "An Qingzong has been killed at Tong Pass. The Imperial Court will definitely do its best to find the murderer. You should stay in the villa for the time being. Don't run around to avoid arousing suspicion."
"Don't worry!" "Since I dared to do it, I won't be found out."
Li Hanlu seemed to be very confident in herself, but Ang Lee was still a little worried. He advised her not to run around outside so as not to be seen by the officials of the Imperial Court and be associated with her.
However, to be honest, Ang Lee was very happy that Li Hanlu had killed An Qingzong. After all, Ang Lee also hated Fatty An's eldest son very much. It would be best if this guy died. His life would be a waste of the food of the Tang dynasty.
Since there was nothing to do, Ang Lee simply sat down and celebrated with Li Hanlu and Li Ya 'er. They celebrated the successful killing of An Qingzong.
"Assistant Minister Li, do you have any hard liquor?" "I want to drink some."
A rare smile appeared on Li Hanlu's face, and she proposed to drink some hard liquor.
"Big Brother, of course we have to drink when there's a happy occasion. I want to drink too."
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