Heavenly Treasure Year 15, June 10th, Chang 'an.
Early in the morning, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, issued the last imperial edict of his reign.
"Today, there are traitors An Lushan and Shi Siming who have betrayed the Emperor's grace and offended their superiors, causing the world to fall into chaos and the people to be plunged into misery and suffering. I am old and have the heart to kill the enemy, but I am powerless to unite the people of the world. "
"For the continuation of the country and for the welfare of all the people in the world, the empire needs a firmer and more powerful emperor. The Crown Prince, Li Xiang, was young and strong. He had both ability and integrity, and could inherit the throne. Today, I am willing to abdicate the throne to Crown Prince Li Xiang! "
Along with the imperial edict, there was also a declaration to suppress the rebels. From today onwards, the imperial edict of abdication would be disseminated to all the provinces and counties of the world along with the declaration of extermination, commanding the entire army to gather in Chang 'an and work together to suppress the rebellion.
Thus, the public opinion of the world changed.
Not only the people of Chang 'an, but the billions of people in the world also saw the determination of the imperial court to fight against the traitors. With such an impassioned and united spirit, there was no need to worry about not getting rid of the traitors.
On that day, under the support of the civil and military officials, Li Xiang officially ascended the throne. He changed his era name to Zhizde and elected Emperor Xuanzong of Tang as the Retired Emperor. He lived in Xingqing Palace, which was equivalent to being imprisoned.
After he ascended to the throne, Li Xiang immediately decreed that Ouyang Shuo was conferred the title of King Xia and was appointed as the Marshal of the Army. He was given the authority to command all the troops in the country and fight against the rebels. He appointed Guo Ziyi as the Deputy Marshal, the Minister of War, the Minister of Peace under the Hall of Governmental Affairs, and at the same time the Shuofang Jiedushi.
In order to clarify the relationship between the upper and lower levels, so that the Jiedushi would not impede each other, the decree also clearly stipulated that the northern troops, including the Anxi Jiedushi, Beiting Jiedushi, Hexi Jiedushi and Longyou Jiedushi, as well as the Northern Jiedushi's troops, as long as they could be transferred, a total of one hundred and fifty thousand troops would be placed under Guo Ziyi's temporary control.
Just this alone was enough to excite the world.
…
Luoyang.
Di Chen and the others were just about to lead their troops to the Tong Pass when they received an urgent report that there was a change in Chang 'an. The throne had been changed.
"As expected of an old fox, he actually thought of such a trick." Di Chen sighed with emotion.
Xiong Ba said, "From the looks of it, the old fox is determined to fight to the death with us in Chang 'an. That's good as well. We can decide the victor in one battle and save a lot of trouble. "
"That being said, we can't be in such a hurry to send out our troops. Chang 'an is a majestic city with a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers guarding it. It won't be easy to take it down. At the very least, we need to prepare our siege weapons. "
"Then let's wait a few more days!" Xiong Ba said helplessly.
Lord Chunshen interrupted: "Since the situation has changed, we should not foolishly fight alone. We have to bring all of An Lushan's troops and attack Chang'an together."
"Well said."
"We don't know anything about Chang 'an. We need someone like An Lushan to be our guide. I heard that An Lushan has planted a large number of spies in Chang 'an. We can't let them go to waste. "
Everyone discussed and found that An Lushan's camp still had the upper hand, so they immediately felt confident.
…
While Di Chen and the others were busy preparing for the battle, Ouyang Shuo was not idle either.
Yang Guozhong's death seemed to be silent, but it had already set off a storm among the high officials and nobles in Chang 'an. The ministers who were close to Yang Guozhong felt a chill on their necks.
Naturally, everyone thought that although Yang Guozhong was killed by the Mutant Men, the mastermind behind the scenes must be the newly crowned emperor.
It was an open secret that the two did not get along.
The high officials and nobles who were close to Yang Guozhong were naturally worried that they would be punished. How could they know that the real master of Chang 'an was not the one sitting on the Dragon Throne, but Ouyang Shuo?
Ouyang Shuo was not a homicidal maniac. Killing was just a means, not an end. After killing Yang Guozhong, Ouyang Shuo used the name of the Grand Marshal of the Army to start a conscription in Chang 'an.
At the beginning of the An-Shi Rebellion, Feng Changqing had already started a conscription in Chang 'an and Luoyang. Most of the conscripted commoners had died in the battle of Tong Pass. Thus, the second conscription was even more difficult.
Ouyang Shuo targeted the guards of the high officials and nobles and the private soldiers of the generals. These people's fighting strength was much stronger than the commoners'.
Feng Changqing did not dare to touch these people because he did not dare to offend these high officials and nobles.
Ouyang Shuo did not have such concerns. Even if he poked a big hole in Chang 'an, it would not affect the Main Plane. After the battle, he could just leave.
This time, Chang 'an was immediately in chaos.
Ouyang Shuo was not a boorish person. He naturally understood the principle of using peaceful means before using force. He first sent an official document to the families in the name of the Grand Marshal of the Army, asking them to voluntarily offer their guards and private soldiers to fight against the strong enemy.
The time limit was one day.
One day later, the barbarian soldiers would go from house to house. If anyone was found to be hiding something, sorry, sorry, they would be punished with a "war tax". If it was serious, they would be exterminated.
When it was time to be cruel and merciless, Ouyang Shuo would not be soft-hearted.
The vast Chang 'an City was full of hidden talents. If these guards and private soldiers were really gathered together, there would be no less than fifty to sixty thousand people. With proper equipment and a little training, they would be a qualified army.
Chang 'an City lacked everything except weapons and armor. In the major arsenals, there were mountains of longbows, Tang knives, long spears, pikes, and all kinds of armor. For a time, Ouyang Shuo was blinded by the dazzling light.
This was indeed the prosperous Kaiyuan period. It was really rich.
How could such resources be wasted?
Ouyang Shuo had another idea. He announced to all the young men in the city that as long as they joined the army, they would immediately be rewarded with five strings of coins, equivalent to fifty meters of rice. It was the monthly salary of a fourth-rank official.
Those who killed the enemy and performed meritorious deeds would also be rewarded.
In any case, he was spending money from the Great Tang's treasury, so Ouyang Shuo did not feel the slightest heartache.
As the saying went, "If there is a heavy reward, there will be brave men."
With such generous rewards and in such troubled times, in just one day, twenty thousand young men signed up.
Ouyang Shuo naturally did not expect these new soldiers to go into battle. He gathered them, trained them a little, and used them to transport supplies, treat the wounded, and clean up the battlefield.
Other than conscription, there was another matter that Ouyang Shuo was very concerned about: strengthening the city's defenses.
The Great Tang had been at peace for too long. Although the city walls were mostly intact, the stored supplies were far from what they had expected. They had to be replenished in a short time.
Even if they followed Ouyang Shuo's plan, there would still be a fierce battle on the city walls.
To do this, they naturally had to mobilize the people of the city. Whether they were men or women, old or young, as long as they had strength, they would all have to serve and assist the army in strengthening the city's defenses.
In order to not incite public discontent, Ouyang Shuo waved his brush and had the Imperial Court provide meals, with meat for every meal.
Besides increasing the number of supplies, Ouyang Shuo was also preparing to dig trenches outside the city. This was the largest project. Time was tight and the task heavy. Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to use a sea of people.
Besides conscripting the people of Chang 'an, Ouyang Shuo also dispatched cavalry to the surrounding villages to recruit laborers.
One could say that Ouyang Shuo had basically mobilized all the resources he could. On the surface, it seemed like he really was preparing to fight to the death with the rebel army in Chang 'an.
While they were busy, a few strange things were happening in Chang 'an that no one noticed.
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