Ouyang Shuo was not in a hurry to go to the Crown Prince's residence. Instead, he summoned a squad of guards and handed the token Li Longji had given him to the squad leader. "Give this token to the military counselor and have him dispatch troops into the city."
"Yes!" The squad leader turned and left.
Ouyang Shuo was greatly disappointed by the meeting with Li Longji and Yang Guozhong. The two were determined to retreat, but Ouyang Shuo would not let them have their way.
With 150,000 elite soldiers under his command, Ouyang Shuo could do what others wanted to do but could not. Ouyang Shuo gradually understood why Pang Tong wanted him to visit Crown Prince Li Xiang.
As the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang lived a very useless life.
From the moment he was appointed as the Crown Prince, Li Xiang was under the threat of Prime Minister Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, and his days were extremely difficult.
During Li Linfu's reign, he used Li Xiang's wife's in-laws to cause two major cases in order to eradicate the Crown Prince's party. Li Xiang was forced to divorce both times, which was extremely heartbreaking and traumatizing.
Yang Guozhong succeeded as Prime Minister and fought with Li Xiang both openly and secretly. Chang 'an looked calm on the surface, but danger was everywhere on the inside. It was only when the An-Shi Rebellion broke out that Li Xiang found a chance to counterattack.
Without a doubt, the mastermind behind the Mawei Rebellion was Crown Prince Li Xiang.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang escaped from Shu with three thousand Imperial Guards. Li Heng brought up the rear with him, and there were two thousand people behind him, including the Flying Dragon Imperial Guards, the elite unit of the Imperial Guards.
On the fourteenth day of the sixth month, the fleeing army arrived at Mawei Yi Station. The Imperial Army soldiers, hungry and exhausted, were already beginning to complain. This disturbance provided Li Heng, who had been secretly plotting a mutiny, with the perfect opportunity.
Yang Guozhong was chased to the west gate of Mawei by the well-arranged imperial soldiers and was beheaded. His son Yang Xuan and Madam Han were also killed.
Li Heng planned the Mawei Rebellion and killed Madam Yang, pointing the finger at Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Emperor Xuanzong's entry into Shu was irreversible, and the father and son had to go their separate ways.
On the ninth day of the seventh month of the fifteenth year of the Tianbao Rebellion, Li Heng arrived at Lingwu, the headquarters of the Shuofang Army. After some preparations and planning, a simple coronation ceremony was held on the twelfth day of the seventh month at the southern gate of Lingwu City.
Thus, the An-Shi Rebellion ushered in another turning point.
Hearing that Ouyang Shuo had come to visit, Li Xiang did not dare to neglect him and personally led him into the residence.
At this time, Li Xiang was already forty-five years old. He was no longer an elegant young man, but a slightly plump middle-aged man with a frown on his face.
Ouyang Shuo did not expect that such a Crown Prince would have the guts to start a mutiny. The mutiny at Mawei Inn was definitely not an impromptu idea. Judging by the time, Li Xiang was already planning it.
"Your Highness, are you planning to use extreme means to kill Prime Minister Yang Guozhong?" Ouyang Shuo went straight to the point.
"Bang!"
The exquisite ceramic teacup shattered on the ground, and the tea splashed everywhere. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Tea Ceremony had already become popular. Lu Yu, the Tea Sage, lived during the An-Shi Rebellion.
Li Xiang didn't seem to notice it at all. His face instantly turned pale and he said in a trembling voice, "I, I, I, I don't understand what you're saying."
Ouyang Shuo smiled. "Your Highness, you don't need to worry. With the 150,000 troops I'll lead, I'll be able to help you accomplish whatever you want to do in Chang 'an. By the way, I'll tell you a piece of news. His Majesty has already allowed me to deploy troops into the city to assist in the defense. Maybe they've already entered the city. "
Li Xiang's heart trembled. He waved away the servant who was about to clean up the teacup and forced himself to calm down. "If that's the case, what do I need to do?"
Ouyang Shuo nodded approvingly and said, "Your Highness, have you heard of this saying?"
"I'd like to hear it!" Li Xiang lowered his posture.
"The Emperor guards the gates of the country, and the King dies for the country."
Li Xiang was stunned. This saying came from the future and was used to describe the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he had never heard of it before. But connecting it with his current situation, Li Xiang immediately understood the meaning behind it. "You mean, you want me to stay in Chang 'an?"
"Why? You don't dare?"
Li Xiang felt defeated. He was the Crown Prince after all, but in front of this Dissimilated Man, he didn't have any imposing manner at all. He was completely suppressed. He gritted his teeth and said, "Tong Pass has been captured by the rebel army. If you stay in Chang 'an, can you defend it?"
Worrying about the safety of Chang 'an was only one of his reasons. Actually, Li Xiang had another intention. He wanted to contact Guo Ziyi and the other provincial governors. They were the Tang army, loyal to the Tang Dynasty, unlike the Dissimilated Man army outside the city.
Ouyang Shuo's dark eyes seemed to see through Li Xiang's thoughts. He said lightly, "It's up to me whether I can defend it or not. Your Highness, you don't need to worry about it."
Li Xiang's face tightened and his hands in his sleeves clenched into fists.
"Humiliation, this is a naked humiliation to the imperial power!"
Ouyang Shuo didn't want to stay any longer. He stood up and said, "The big change will happen tonight. Your Highness, please make early preparations."
At this moment, Ouyang Shuo was very much like those powerful ministers in history who abolished their own power, such as Huo Guang and Dong Zhuo. In the eyes of Li Xiang and the others, he was a first-class devil.
Li Xiang stood still and didn't know how to react.
Before leaving, Ouyang Shuo said lightly, "Your Highness, please remember this. Chang 'an lacks loyalty, brave generals, and people with lofty ideals, but it doesn't lack princes."
Li Xiang clenched his fists and his nails slowly sank into his flesh.
… …
After leaving the Crown Prince's residence, Ouyang Shuo led his troops to the residence that Li Longji had arranged for him. Feng Qiuhuang, Pang Tong, Shi Hu, and the others were already waiting there.
Pang Tong received the token sent by Ouyang Shuo and immediately understood. He immediately deployed 30,000 mountain barbarian heavy infantry and 3,000 Divine Martial Guards into the city to take over the various city gates and passes.
"Your Highness, Chang 'an City is already under our control," Pang Tong reported.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, "Military Advisor knows me well. Next, how to make Li Longji obediently abdicate and how to arrange for Crown Prince Li Xiang to ascend to the throne, I still need you to make some arrangements. "
Since Li Xiang was destined to ascend to the throne through a mutiny, Ouyang Shuo might as well fulfill his wish. However, the place of ascension was not Lingwu City, but Chang 'an City.
This way, it would be even more justifiable.
Through this, Ouyang Shuo could also control the Tang Dynasty's camp and mobilize the power of the entire Tang Dynasty to deal with the rebel army instead of fighting alone.
"Rest assured, Your Highness." Pang Tong was full of confidence.
On the other hand, Feng Qiuhuang still had a look of puzzlement. She asked, "Wuyi, what are you up to? Don't tell me you really want to defend Chang 'an City?"
"Is there something wrong?" Ouyang Shuo asked.
"It's very wrong." Feng Qiuhuang was furious. "Other than the mountain barbarian heavy infantry, the remaining 120,000 troops are all cavalry. How are we going to defend the city? How are we going to defend it?"
"If we only defend the city, we won't be able to obtain a decisive victory. I have an idea." With that, Ouyang Shuo revealed his plan.
After he finished speaking, the entire meeting hall fell silent, not a single sound could be heard.
"You're mad!" Feng Qiuhuang exclaimed.
Ouyang Shuo smiled without saying a word. Gaia had already tied a dead knot for the Tang Dynasty's camp by deducing the military campaign's plot to such a special point in time.
To break out of an extraordinary situation, they had to do extraordinary things. They could not follow Gaia's train of thought.
"This is the only way to obtain victory. Feng Wu, you have to believe me." Ouyang Shuo tried to convince Feng Qiuhuang.
Feng Qiuhuang said with a bitter smile, "I've already boarded your pirate ship. What else can I do?"
With the plan in place, everyone split up. The rebel army could storm Chang 'an City at any time. They did not have much time left, so they had to race against time.
…
Luoyang.
While Ouyang Shuo was conversing with Li Longji, Di Chen had also met An Lushan.
People like An Lushan did not trust others easily. An Lushan, who came from a warlord background, believed in one principle. "Whoever has more troops has bigger fists. Whoever has bigger fists is the boss."
Di Chen's sudden arrival at Luoyang with an army of 300,000 gave An Lushan immense pressure. An Lushan had wanted to order Cui Qianyou, who had taken down Tong Pass, to not wait for the follow-up troops and directly attack Chang 'an. However, he was stopped by Di Chen.
"There are 150,000 mutant troops stationed in Chang 'an. If Cui Qianyou attacks Chang' an now, he'll be sending himself to his death. If he's not careful, the enemy might take the opportunity to recapture Tong Pass, "Di Chen said.
However, An Lushan did not believe it. "Are the enemy's mutant troops that powerful?"
"Although I don't want to admit it, they are more powerful than you think." Even though he had the upper hand, Di Chen did not dare to underestimate his opponent.
He was a man who could create miracles.
An Lushan asked, "Then, what do you think we should do?"
"Let Cui Qianyou and his troops guard Tong Pass and not take a step out. When I lead the army to Tong Pass, we'll move together. We'll flatten Chang 'an with the force of a thunderbolt. "
"What if they run away?"
Di Chen smiled. "If they really run away, that would be the best."
…
That night, Chang 'an.
The arrival of 30,000 mountain barbarians' heavy infantry in Chang 'an made the already rumoured capital even livelier.
Some said that this army was here to protect the emperor's retreat. Others said that the army was here to defend Chang 'an. There were even bizarre rumors that the army was here to occupy Chang' an.
In any case, when night fell, Chang 'an was under a routine curfew. What was different from before was that the soldiers in charge of patrolling the main streets of Chang 'an were replaced by the mountain barbarian soldiers who were stationed during the day.
Xingqing Palace and the Crown Prince's Residence were the main targets of the army's protection.
That night, Chang 'an was destined to not be peaceful.
In the night, the 3,000 Shenwu Guards suddenly rushed into Xingqing Palace. With lightning speed, they took down the 1,000 imperial guards stationed in the palace and completely took control of Xingqing Palace.
Then, Crown Prince Li Xiang came and had a face-to-face conversation with his father, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
When Li Xiang left Xingqing Palace, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang collapsed on the ground. Yang Guifei, who was still as beautiful as ever, accompanied him. She looked delicate and pitiful, with mottled eyes.
"Unfilial son, unfilial son!"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was full of resentment. He kept cursing, but no one cared.
Xingqing Palace, which used to be solemn and solemn, suddenly became chilly, like a cold palace.
At the same time, a group of fierce-looking soldiers came to the Prime Minister's Mansion. Without saying a word, they killed Prime Minister Yang Guozhong, who was still scheming against others, on the spot.
That night, the city of Chang 'an changed.
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