“… Prince, I sent someone to check, and no one is in the East Palace, An Mansion, or Lu Mansion.” Shaojian Feng lowered his voice and bowed to Li Qishen behind the table, “I got the battle report as you requested, that’s all.”
He gave a wink, and the three young eunuchs following him came forward one after another, sorted the memorials in their hands and placed them on the table. Including the ones sorted out by Li Qishen himself, there were exactly four stacks.
"Got it." Li Qishen didn't even raise his head. He placed his left hand on the open battle report and compared the position on the map with his right hand. "Go down. Come back in 25 minutes and I'll tell you what to do."
Shao Jian Feng was reluctant to leave Li Qishen alone in Changsheng Palace, but things had come to this point. It was confirmed that the emperor, the crown prince and their favored ministers had all escaped, and the palace and the city were in chaos. There was no point in him guarding Changsheng Palace, so he might as well let go and let Li Qishen give it a try.
After all, the prince is a direct descendant of the emperor. Feng Shaojian responded, bowed, and left with the eunuchs behind him.
Li Qishen had just finished comparing, so he threw away the paper in his hand, picked up another one, and quickly scanned it. If the information on it was useful, he would mark it on the map; if it was useless, he would just make a rough note of it, throw it away, and take the next one.
He read through the four stacks of battle reports quite quickly, folding them one by one. He also made a lot of marks on the map. The information was drawn from the piled up reports onto the map, showing the route of the rebels' advance, which happened to be something that Li Qishen was not clear about when he was bored in the Prince's Mansion.
According to the speed of the rebels' advance, taking into account the time the garrison in the city could hold out, the rebels would definitely reach the city within three days, and Chang'an would be captured within ten days. The emperor fled, and the prince followed him. The officials in Chang'an were in chaos, and the people below did not know the news yet. If they knew, there might be unrest.
No matter how good a military advisor is, he can only use strategies to defeat a mighty army, not a single man and a mortal body. Li Qishen had no troops and could only rely on the military governors in various places. He was betting that Li Chengjin did not dare to tell them about abandoning the city and fleeing south. There was a time difference in sending letters back and forth, and the military governors might think it was the emperor's intention when they received the letter.
But it was not certain whether the Jiedushi was willing to come. There might be people in Chang'an City who wanted to kill him like the deputy captain. Li Qishen found that he was really trapped in a dead end. There were thorns all around him, and if he was not careful, they would be pierced through the bones.
He stared at the map for a while, sighed softly, slowly raised his hands to cover his face, and closed his eyes in the barrier formed by his fingers.
After a while, there was a sound of footsteps in the hall. It was not loud, but it was not as cautious as the palace servants. It was steady and even, and it was obvious that they walked in calmly and without any panic.
Li Qishen wondered who this was, put down his hand, and was stunned when he saw who it was: "Changning?"
"It's me." Chang Ning was indeed not in a hurry. She wore a Hufu with a lapel when she entered the palace, and she didn't even untie the whip on her waist. She lifted the hem of her skirt, sat down opposite Li Qishen, and glanced at the map spread out on the table. "What are you going to do next?"
"Issue an imperial decree to the governors of various places. I'll think about how to write this decree." Li Qishen did not shy away from asking, "What about you? What are you doing in the palace?"
Chang Ning did not answer, but threw the question back: "The imperial decree must be stamped, do you have it?"
Li Qishen was slightly startled and held his forehead. He still hadn't thought it through. In a hurry, he could only think of how to plan and how to use words and sentences. Instead, he forgot the simplest and most fatal thing: "I forgot about this... With my father's personality, he must take the jade seal with him even if he dies. He will never stay here."
Just as I was worrying, Changning on the other side suddenly said, "That's why I came here."
Li Qishen put down his hand: "Oh?"
Changning smiled slightly, raised her hand to the back of her neck, untied the thin rope around her neck with her fingertips, placed the pendant on the table, and gently pushed it right in front of Li Qishen.
This pendant is not a common ornament like a longevity lock or a jade Buddha. It is small and square, and looks like a small seal to play with in leisure time. Li Qishen picked it up and turned it over. There were actually words engraved on the bottom. After a while of identification, he saw that it was the two words "Danhua".
"It's the private seal of Princess Danhua, which my mother left to me. My grandmother once assisted in the government, and all the governors know that her seal can be used." Chang Ning smiled and exhaled, "In addition, this seal can also mobilize private soldiers. Counting them in the Huo family's army, there are about 3,000 people. Although it's of no use, it's yours."
"Thank you." Li Qishen held the precious private seal in his palm and looked up at Changning, "You wouldn't give me something for no reason. Now you can tell me, what are the conditions?"
"I really like talking to you. We all feel comfortable chatting with smart people, but your brother is not like that. He is timid and uncomfortable no matter how we chat." Chang Ning scolded Li Taoqi with true feelings and looked into Li Qishen's eyes. "I want you to issue an imperial decree to the governor of Shuofang and the governor of Fengzhou, or a few others who will pass through that road anyway. Let them retreat and allow the Huihe army to enter Chang'an."
"Sydar?" Li Qishen thought of the former proton.
"It's Xianyu Khan now." Changning said, "I sent him a letter 20 days ago, asking him to dispatch troops to help. Calculating the time, he should have received the letter and set off. Counting the time you sent the letter to the Jiedushi, it's just the right time for him to come."
Li Qishen frowned: "You mean to let the Huihe army enter Chang'an directly?"
"yes."
"There is a way. The Shuofang Army and the Tiande Army cannot all come here. At least half of them must be transferred to Fanyang. Half of them will conduct guerrilla warfare. The rest may not be able to stop the rebels. With the Huihe Army, the chances of winning are much greater." Li Qishen looked at the smile on Changning's face, "But they are the Huihe, the Huihe who seized the territory when the country was founded."
Changning's smile froze.
Li Qishen's meaning was obvious, he did not trust Xudar or the Huihe. It made sense, no matter how chaotic the rebellion was, it was led by Kang Lie, and it was considered a civil war in the empire. If the Huihe people were allowed in, and they were deep in the Hetao area, if the Huihe army turned against them or took any action, it would be an invasion by foreign enemies.
Neither Changning nor Li Qishen can take this responsibility.
He said nothing, just stared at the princess across the table in silence, waiting for her to speak.
After a moment, Changning said, "Then hang me on the tower and use my body to smash him to death!"
"Okay." Li Qishen suddenly smiled, and a sharp sword light flashed in his pupils. "Thank you again, thank you for the help you asked for."
With the private seal of the Grand Princess Danhua in his hands and two armies under his command, the situation suddenly changed, pulling him out of a dead end, with a clear path ahead. Li Qishen was different from Li Chengjin or Li Taoqi, he had the brains and confidence to kill Kang Lie, or at worst, he could lead his own troops and rip out Kang Lie's heart with the tip of his spear.
"Okay." Chang Ning understood, "Then I'll leave. I still like my own place. Even if it's a doghouse, it's more comfortable than the palace. If you need anything else, just ask someone to call me."
Li Qishen nodded.
Changning smiled, didn't even greet him, and stood up and left.
As soon as she left, Li Qishen lowered his head again, took out a piece of paper and pen, and thought about how to write this imperial decree. However, the ink in the inkstone was dry, and the ink stick was placed on the side. Just at this time, someone else came in. He thought it was a palace servant in the Changsheng Palace. He didn't even raise his head, nor did he ask anyone to do anything. He picked up the kettle on the side.
A hand gently stopped him, took the small pot from his hand, poured some clean water into the inkstone, moistened the bottom, took out the ink stick, rolled up his sleeves and began to grind the ink. The person holding the ink stick smiled and said softly: "Has the prince now fallen to the point of doing it himself?"
"… I don't know the palace maids in Changsheng Palace well, so I can't send them. It's better for me to do it myself." Li Qishen was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Did Changning bring you in?"
Xie Wangzhi responded: "The news should have reached the princess's mansion quickly. The princess said that there might be chaos in Chang'an City, so I'd better go to the palace."
"Look, I wanted you to leave before, but you refused. Now the rebels are getting closer and closer, and you can't leave even if you want to." Mo Moyun wanted a while, and Li Qishen was not in a hurry. He whispered the worst outcome, "When the city is captured, you will really die with me."
Xie Wangzhi paused while grinding the ink, and saw that the ink underneath was evenly mixed and thick like sesame paste. She slowly added some water to the inkstone and continued to grind the ink, her heart not panicking and her hands not shaking, as if she had no idea how terrible Li Qishen's words were. She lowered her head, her hair falling from her ears, the ends of her hair slightly curved, as gentle as the bend of the river.
She collected the ink stick, looked at the perfectly ground ink, and said softly, "I have no regrets in dying."
Li Qishen was startled for a moment, then laughed out loud, spread out the silk cloth used for writing the imperial edict, dipped the wolf-hair brush in thick ink, and wrote the first word.
**
Fengzhou.
"… Ah Ye?" Li Shutan leaned over to Li Rongjin and leaned out to try to see what was written on the silk book. However, Li Rongjin would not let her read it. She could only ask a series of questions, "What did your majesty write? Where are the rebels? Is Chang'an City okay?"
"Stop making trouble." Li Rongjin held the silk book in one hand and put the other hand on his daughter's head, holding down the jumping girl.
Of course Li Shutan was not convinced and wanted to escape, but she was only fifteen years old and a girl, so how could she compete with Aye in strength? She could only be pinned in his palm and stare at him unwillingly.
Li Rongjin pretended not to see it, and his thoughts were indeed on the silk book in his hand. He knew very well that Li Chengjing did not trust him, otherwise he would not have transferred him from Shuofang to Fengzhou to take the position of Jiedushi with the smallest number of troops. When the rebels were in such a mess, Li Chengjing did not give him an imperial order to go to help.
But the decree in his hand was concise, without the clichés at the beginning and the end. It briefly mentioned the situation and told him what to do next. There was a seal at the bottom, but the writing style was completely different from Li Chengjing's. Instead, it was like the young man who had traveled with him.
Li Rongjin stared at the silk book for a while, then suddenly let go and patted Li Shutan on the back: "Let's go, follow Aye to Fanyang!"
The author has something to say: Damn, I really forgot to update... Games are hurting people (Cat crying like a washing machine.jpg