There is no winter in the south of the Yangtze River, and flowers bloom in all seasons. Even the imperial capital Chang'an City has warmed up in February, and the willows are green in March and the flowers are red in April. However, in this place in the northwest, the wind becomes less severe in March, the grass grows out of the ground in April, and the thick cotton-padded clothes can barely be taken off in May.
There are two seasons of food in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and one season in the northwest. In June, the wheat is already ripe in the Central Plains, but it is just the time for sowing in the Northwest.
It is early June, when it is rainy in the south of the Yangtze River.
The first rain of the year also fell in the northwest. The rain was not very heavy, but barely wet the ground, so it did not affect the fight between the two sides. Although the imperial court has slightly fewer troops, they have always maintained a high fighting spirit. Since they passed Luoshui, they have only attacked and continued to attack.
Although Li Yuanshan ordered the news that Meng Yuanren and Gao Kaitai teamed up to defeat Zuo Qianwei to be strictly sealed, but as the saying goes, good things don’t go out and bad things spread thousands of miles. . The members of the law enforcement team killed people for two days in a row, and chopped off a hundred soldiers who spread the news in private, but it was useless. The more they cut like this, the more convinced the soldiers were that it was true.
In order to prevent the spread of this decline, Li Yuanshan ordered the mobilization of nearly 40,000 people from three armies to attack the imperial army's camp, but the imperial army did not even defend it, but took the initiative to fight. The general Jin Shixiong personally commanded, and the high-spirited warriors pushed back the worried and demoralized rebels with just one charge. Jin Shixiong took the opportunity to march straight, stuck behind the rout of the rebels and chased and killed them for more than ten miles. They didn't retreat until they reached the city of Xiping.
In this battle, the rebels lost 80% of their troops, 40% of them were killed and captured, and 40% escaped by themselves.
This is a beginning. From this day on, soldiers in the rebel camp will escape every day. At first, there are a few people, then dozens, hundreds, and in the most recent day, there are even two Zhechong camps who are patrolling. The opportunity escaped. Immediately afterwards, another unfavorable news began to spread. It was said that the imperial navy had docked and brought in at least 500,000 reinforcements.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately covered the already fragile hearts of the rebel soldiers like crazy weeds, and they began to count the days of their own death. If the 500,000 reinforcements are real, it will take more than a month at most from crossing the river to coming to Xiping City. Many rebel soldiers are thinking that if they don't escape, their lives will only be thirty or forty. God.
Li Yuanshan knew that the so-called dispatch of 500,000 reinforcements by the imperial court must be false, because the imperial court simply cannot dispatch so many soldiers and horses now. The navy of the imperial court has been patrolling the waters from Luoshui to the Yangtze River. Now it seems that the purpose is to prevent Luo Yao from taking the opportunity to cross the river to the east. It can be seen that the emperor has predicted all possible things. What can hide from his eyes.
Li Yuanshan also knew that this fake news must have been spread by Emperor Yang Yi. This kind of news is sometimes more lethal than directly cutting it with a knife. A single knife can kill at most one person, but a piece of false news can make hundreds of thousands of people panic.
At this moment, Li Yuanshan had to admit that he really underestimated Yang Yi.
An emperor who is so omniscient that he can join forces with the Mongolian Yuan people, and an emperor who has given up all scruples and entanglements, is undoubtedly terrifying. He doesn't care about the name behind him anymore, so what is he afraid of
It was also at this time that Li Yuanshan knew that his situation had really reached the abyss. The saddest thing is that not only is the abyss ahead, but also the back.
In just a few days, Li Yuanshan seemed to have aged ten years.
Since he joined the army, he never doubted that he could not turn his dream of turning his family into a country into reality. In the past three years, he felt that he was moving towards success every day. When he established himself as king, how many subordinates persuaded him to take advantage of the victory and go east or south. The exhaustion of the northwest is not a place to raise troops, and it is difficult to last long. But he firmly followed his plan and never wavered. Now, he finally regretted it.
He knows that the Northwest is exhausted, and that the Central Plains and Jiangnan are prosperous.
The reason why he didn't enter the army was because he wanted to settle the overall situation in the northwest. As long as the emperor is forced to conquer this desolate land by himself, the splendid rivers and mountains in the south of the Central Plains will suffer as little damage as possible from the war. What he wants is the entire empire, not just one corner. In his eyes, the tens of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains belong to him, and he is reluctant to destroy them. But this dream is finally about to crumble.
Li Yuanshan always believed that the Yang family owed their Li family too much. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Li Xiao led troops to take down more than half of the current territory of the Great Sui Dynasty. This kind of feat has never been seen before or since. Li Xiao held up the magnificent Yang family. Without Li Xiao, this empire would not be what it is powerful.
But later, in order to prevent Li Xiaogong's high-spirited master from supporting himself, the emperor sent him to the bitter, cold and barren land in the northwest. It was said that he would use it as a guard, but in fact he was isolated in this place far away from prosperity. Not only that, after depriving Li Xiao of most of his military power, two other guards were stationed to monitor the Li family, always guarding against Li Xiao's dissent.
Few people know that in his later years, Li Xiao raised his head and sighed, regretting that he had made so many contributions to the Sui Dynasty, so that his descendants would be implicated.
Li Yuanshan hated, hated from beginning to end.
Why did the Yang family treat his Li family like this
Since half of the world in the Sui Dynasty was brought down by the Li family, why can't the Li family take it back
Standing on the wall of Xiping City, Li Yuanshan looked at the battlefield outside the city in silence.
Or when the wind and sand entered the eyes, tears flowed down the face.
…
…
In June, Li Yuanshan issued sixteen orders to transfer Meng Wansui and Yin Poshan's rebels to Xiping City to meet up, but these sixteen military orders were sent out, and nothing was heard, let alone Meng Wansui and Yin Poshan did not come. , Not even the person sent out to deliver the military order came back.
When you are proud, thousands of people admire you, and when you are frustrated, people push the wall down.
After hesitating for a few days, Li Yuanshan finally made up his mind.
It can no longer be exhausted like this. The soldiers in the city are all his confidantes. Although their hearts are uncertain, at least they still maintain military discipline. The people outside the city have seen a large number of soldiers fleeing every day these days, and the generals are all planning their way out, so they don't have the thought to restrain their subordinates. If this continues, those rumors can defeat Li Yuanshan without the imperial army continuing to attack.
On June 28th, the fifteenth year of Tianyou in the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuanshan ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor in Xiping City on this day.
He announced the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the capital of Xiping, and the founding of the Yuan Dynasty.
In the cramped county yamen in Xiping City, Li Yuanshan, who was wearing a dragon robe, sealed off the officials. Li Xiaoche is the crown prince, Song Qianhui is the prime minister, and Zhou Dingguo Wan Yansong is the general of the Zhu Kingdom. The rebel generals and civilian officials inside and outside the city were all rewarded. There were more than a dozen officials of the first rank alone, and hundreds of officials of the second and third ranks. All of a sudden, an emperor, dozens of dukes, hundreds of marquises and countless generals were born in the city.
After Li Yuanshan ascended the throne, he began to designate food places for his subordinates. Some people were sealed in Jiangnan Water Town, some were sealed in Northeast Linhai, in short, they were all rich and prosperous places. But everyone also knows that they probably won't have the chance to visit their fief in this lifetime.
Because there was no plan before, the emperor's enthronement ceremony in Xiping City was ridiculously simple. Li Yuanshan's dragon robe was still his black embroidered dragon king robe, and some yellow satin was temporarily sewed on the collar and cuffs. Li Yuanshan had already thought about the name of Dingguo, Dazhou, because Li Xiao's title was Zhou Guogong a hundred years ago. Because the number of civil servants could not be gathered, the guards had to be dressed in literati costumes to pretend to be. And because there is no jade seal, the seal affixed to the hundreds of decrees promulgated by Emperor Li Yuanshan of the Great Zhou Dynasty was carved with a single city brick.
It's also quite interesting to imagine that His Majesty, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou, held a city brick and carefully and solemnly covered the so-called imperial decree.
As for the entrusted officials, it doesn't matter if they don't have a suitable crown and uniform, anyway, no one cares, even the emperor's dragon robe is just enough for them, what can't they do
That night, the Emperor of the Great Zhou was in the county guard’s yamen... no, it was a feast for the officials in the Great Zhou Palace. Because food and grass in the city are limited, there are only two meat dishes on each table. A bowl of pork and cabbage and a piece of stewed chicken with mushrooms are the most luxurious. The main course is over. A group of old men from Guogong County sat at the table, shaking their heads and smiling wryly as they watched the food.
Of course, this is not the most frustrating thing for them. During the meal, His Majesty the Great Zhou ordered dozens of orders to be read out, giving the title of Emperor to Li Xiao from his father, especially It was Li Xiao, with a full sixty-four characters in his posthumous title, and the person who thought of these characters had to pluck out how many hairs he had to get them together. Then the decree was for the descendants of the Li family, Li Yuanshan sealed more than a dozen princes and more than 30 county kings in one breath, and the dukes and county princes in the county guard's yamen were immediately eclipsed.
Everyone lowered their heads, and there was no joy on their faces.
but
Li Yuanshan didn't seem to be affected.
He sat on a temporary high platform, raised his wine glass and made a speech, recalling the past and looking forward to the future. After talking for half an hour, the pork and cabbage were completely cold before he finished speaking, and the hands of the officials below holding the wine glasses were already numb.
Li Yuanshan kept laughing, looking really happy.
The banquet didn't end until after midnight, and the Emperor Dazhou, who had enjoyed himself, was supported by his servants back to the "bedroom" to rest. Prince Li Xiaoche followed behind, walking with his head down all the time, as if he didn't want others to see the embarrassment on his face.
Back at the residence, Li Xiaoche helped Li Yuanshan take off his clothes and covered him with a quilt. Looking at this drunk and unconscious man, this father who he once regarded as the whole sky, Li Xiaoche's mouth was full of bitterness. He knew how absurd his father's decision was, and how ridiculous this so-called enthronement ceremony was. But from the beginning to the end, he tried to make himself look more solemn, just to comfort his father's broken heart.
emperor…
It was enough that my father became emperor in the end, wasn't it
Li Xiaozong stood by the bed and stared at Li Yuanshan for a long time, his heart hurt like a knife.
Not knowing how long he stood like this, Li Xiaoche sighed a long time and prepared to leave. Just as he was walking to the door, he suddenly heard low sobbing from behind. He turned his head abruptly, only to find that his father was lying on the bed, although his eyes were still closed, tears were streaming down uncontrollably.
Li Xiaoche hurried back, opened his mouth but couldn't find words to comfort him.
"Cher..."
"Father."
"My father owes you a prince canonization ceremony, and my father will return it to you."
Li Yuanshan was muttering, Li Xiaoche couldn't tell whether he was awake or drunk.
"People from the Li family... people from the Li family will never admit defeat!"
Li Yuanshan suddenly stretched out his arm and waved it, his fists clenched tightly: "This is just the beginning... just the beginning! Sooner or later, I will sit on the Kowloon Golden Chair in the Tai Chi Hall in Chang'an City, and see who... see who dares to ridicule Who dares to laugh at me, who dares to block me, I will kill! I will kill! I will kill!"