Xie Wangzhi probably knew half of what he said. When he was young in Daming Palace, he had secretly cursed Li Chengjing, but he never thought that this emperor could be so absurd. Xie Wangzhi was unable to recover for a moment. He took a few breaths in silence before looking up at Li Qishen: "So what is the situation now?"
"Not much. Kang Lie had just led the rebels here, and there was no reaction in Chang'an. The governors of various places naturally passed the buck to each other, hoping to sit on the sidelines and take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, Kang was only so powerful, and by the time the other governors reacted, it was too late." Now that the conversation was open, Li Qishen didn't need to hide it anymore, and said directly, "The rebels are probably about to reach Luoyang. It all depends on whether the governor of Zhaoyi can stop them. If he can stop them, he can outflank the rebels with the governors behind them, and maybe they can win."
It sounds like there is still a chance of winning. Xie Wangzhi was not yet fully relieved when he looked at Li Qishen's expression and felt something was wrong: "Why are you frowning? Is the chance of winning not high?"
"I'm afraid the Zhaoyi Jiedushi will surrender."
Xie Wangzhi was shocked: "How is this possible?"
"Nothing is impossible. Family and country are not as important as you think." Li Qishen was very patient. He paused and waited for Xie Wangzhi to digest his words before continuing, "Between life and death, people are always willing to sacrifice for themselves and the world. They are naturally brave men. But if they are unwilling, there is nothing to blame."
Xie Wangzhi pursed her lips, thinking that this made some sense, but she couldn't accept it, and felt awkward: "Having said that, isn't justice in the world important? If we surrender and let the rebels come, won't it cause great suffering to the people?"
"When Kang Lie first started his army, he attacked Pinglu and Hedong first. The governor of Pinglu fought desperately and died for his country. The governor of Hedong surrendered immediately when he saw that the situation was not right." Li Qishen shook his head. "The governor of Pinglu swore to defend the city to the death. He was a real warrior. However, he did not win. Many cities were massacred. However, the cities of Hedong were saved. At least the rebels did not kill people in the streets."
Xie Wangzhi's pupils shrank: "But..."
"But I didn't say that the governor of Hedong was right. If we fight to the death, maybe we can win? The Liu family of Hedong is good at smelting and forging. Half of the weapons in the world come from the Liu family. In this way, the arsenal is directly handed over to Kang Lie." Li Qishen smiled and motioned Xie Wangzhi to listen. "I am not him. I don't know why he made this choice. I am not the governor of Pinglu. The enemy is at hand and the situation is urgent. Everyone has his own choice. There is nothing to say."
"… That's the truth." Xie Wangzhi's mind began to feel dizzy after hearing so much news. In just a few words, Li Qishen seemed to have opened up a few cracks in what she had been holding on to for so many years. She swallowed, "Where is Tiance Army? I heard from my brother earlier that they are heading to Chang'an City."
"Just fighting and retreating, wasting combat power for nothing, I'm afraid it won't be good." Li Qishen guessed that Li Chengjin had called in the Tiance Army to act as a guard. Having been the emperor for 16 years, Li Chengjin's favorite thing was always himself and the throne under him, so he didn't care about the lives of the soldiers along the way. He closed his eyes and told the Tiance Army the best outcome, "Maybe some casualties will be incurred, and when we reach Chang'an City, they can still serve as the final defense force."
At this point, all that can be said has been said. Other conspiracies and intrigues are too complicated for Li Qishen to make any assertions. The things behind them are too bloody, so it is not easy to go into more depth with Xie Wangzhi. He said as casually as possible, "That's all. I've told you everything I know."
Xie Wangzhi wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. After trying to say a thousand words, all he said came out as a sigh.
She didn't say anything, and Li Qishen didn't say much either, waiting patiently for her to figure it out.
There were not many people in the Prince's Mansion, and the servants would not come out to disturb them. There were only the two of them in the yard. Once they fell silent, the sound of the wind became clearer, rustling through the dead branches, shaking off the white frost that had accumulated on them, and it felt cold just by looking at it.
Xie Wangzhi stared at a cluster of frost flowers falling, was silent for a moment, turned his head and asked Li Qishen: "Then let me ask you again... If, if the rebellion is not quelled, what will you do?"
"What else can I do? No matter how unwilling I am to admit it, I also have the blood of Longxi Li family, and I would rather die in Chang'an." Li Qishen had thought this through a long time ago. When he was young, he was entangled with this half of his blood, hating it for not being bright and clear. Now he is calm. Counting a few generations ago, there were people like Li Chengjin who could not accomplish anything, and there were also those who were diligent and conscientious. There was nothing for him to dislike, and he had no choice when it came to reincarnation.
He could still smile, and once he smiled he was a high-spirited general again, "If I'm lucky enough to put down the rebellion, I'll really go to your house and ask for your help..."
“… Don’t say that!” Xie Wangzhi suddenly spoke and interrupted hastily.
Li Qishen was stunned: "Why, you don't want to?"
“… No. That’s not it.” Xie Wangzhi lowered his eyes and lowered his voice, “You can’t make such a promise casually. I used to read legends, and when the situation was critical, few people who said such things had a good ending.”
"So you believe this." Li Qishen didn't care and smiled again, "It's getting late, I'll take you home."
Although they were both in Anxingfang, Xie Wangzhi did not walk to the Prince's Mansion, so he took a carriage. The carriage was parked outside, and when Li Qishen said he would send him to the door, he just watched Xie Wangzhi get on the carriage.
This is the usual process. Xie Wangzhi is not the kind of delicate person, and will not be shy. Anyway, we will see each other tomorrow after parting today, and it would be hypocritical to act reluctant to part. But after listening to what Li Qishen said, she felt desolate and reluctant to leave, as if the man beside her would become a dream bubble once she stepped out of this door.
When she was almost at the door, she couldn't help but look back and called him softly: "... Changsheng."
"Why, you can't bear to leave me?" Li Qishen said calmly, "I'm here, I can't run away, I'll come back tomorrow."
Xie Wangzhi couldn't refute. What she was afraid of was that this "tomorrow" would suddenly disappear, but she couldn't say it. She could only smile at Li Qishen, responded, and turned away reluctantly.
Before he could take a step, his sleeves suddenly tightened and Xie Wangzhi stopped in his tracks.
The next moment, the force on the sleeve became stronger, and she was pulled and turned half a circle. The person who pulled her leaned over to her and kissed her forehead very lightly. Her thick eyelashes fell, covering the mountains and rivers in her eyes. This kiss was extremely lingering and extremely cold, without any hint, like a believer touching a god devoutly, and the moment seemed eternal.
Xie Wangzhi was stunned.
Li Qishen took two steps back and opened his eyes again. His expression was calm, but there was a hint of sadness hidden deep in his pupils. However, he would not show it and only smiled: "Okay, go back. I'll always be here."
“…Okay.” Xie Wangzhi’s heart trembled, but in the end he only uttered this one word.
When Li Qishen let go, she quickly went out and got on the carriage, otherwise she was afraid that she would not be able to help but hug him tightly. As the carriage rumbled away, Xie Wangzhi listened to the sound of the wheels rolling over the stone slabs, slowly closed his eyes, and made his first wish this year.
—I hope you are safe.
**
The wish was good, but it was useless. The rebels were still unstoppable. After winning several battles, they pursued the victory and approached Luoyang in the middle of February. At the same time, the governor of Zhaoyi surrendered, and the rebels absorbed another army. Luoyang was the eastern capital, and the Tiance Mansion was stationed there. It might not have been impossible to stop them. However, the emperor issued an imperial decree a few years ago to transfer the Tiance elite troops. Now Luoyang was also in danger, and there was no help. It was a life-and-death situation. Whether it could be held depended on God's will.
As soon as the news came back, it caused a sensation in Chang'an City. Half of the court officials were worried about whether Chang'an City could be saved, while the other half tried to force Li Chengjin to make a decision. They couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
After a while, the court officials got annoyed, and Li Chengjin was annoyed too. Today alone, three sets of tea sets were smashed, and the broken porcelain was scattered all over the floor of the Purple Palace. But no one dared to step forward to clean up, for fear that they would accidentally offend the emperor and be dragged out and beaten to death.
Another set of tea sets fell to the ground. The fine Dayi porcelain hit the stone bricks, and it was as crisp as broken jade from Kunshan. Li Chengjing looked at the flying porcelain shavings and felt the breath in his chest escape. He leaned back in his chair, breathing in and out, his eye sockets throbbing as if his eyeballs were about to be squeezed out.
He thought he had the skills to rule the country, but he failed to judge people and raised a tiger like Kang Lie. In just a few months, the rebels were approaching Luoyang, and the next step would definitely be Chang'an. The incident happened suddenly, and he had no choice. At least he had his own considerations, but the group of court officials refused to believe him. On the one hand, they forced him to make a decision, but on the other hand, they did not help him.
The most annoying thing was the old minister who was at the court this morning. Hearing the news from Luoyang City, he looked up to the sky and howled three times, saying that he was ashamed of Emperor Pingxing, and then he hit the pillar and committed suicide, splashing blood all over the pillars of Xuanzheng Hall. It would be peaceful for him to die by hitting his head, but others would have to find a way. Li Chengjing looked up at the ceiling, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He wished he could drag out the old minister's body and step on it a few times.
However, Li Taoqi, who was sitting next to him, was still not sensible and was still stubborn: "... Father, I still think that it is not appropriate to order General Lu to leave Luoyang City to fight..."
"Inappropriate? Do you want to say inappropriate like those confused court officials?" Li Chengjing was furious. He wanted to throw the tea set at Li Taoqi, but his hands were empty. He slapped the armrest in anger and said, "If we don't leave the city and stay in the city, will the rebels retreat on their own?! If we are trapped in the city and run out of food and water, it will be easy for the rebels to attack the city!"
He became angrier and angrier as he spoke. His mind was not clear to begin with, so he could not continue. He just pointed at Li Taoqi and cursed him a bunch of words like "waste" and "idiot". Then he leaned back in his chair again, his chest heaving violently.
Li Taoqi didn't dare to say anything anymore. No matter how dissatisfied he was, he had to hold it in. He lowered his head to look at the stone bricks with intricate patterns, and clenched his hands at his sides into fists.
While the father and son were in a stalemate, another man suddenly came into the Zichen Hall. He was wearing a neat round-necked robe. As soon as he entered the room, he took off his cloak and threw it to the waiting eunuch.
"If they are trapped in the city, the rebels may not retreat. If they go out of the city to meet the enemy, the rebels may not retreat either." Li Qishen risked his life and looked up at the emperor. "Why not take a gamble and wait for the Shuofang army to take Fanyang and outflank us from behind? Then Luoyang City may be able to be rescued. Otherwise, it will be a dead end."
The author has something to say: I give in. I will update at night in the future. Every day when I write, I keep jumping back and forth between "Why the hell am I writing this?" and "I am obsessed with writing this, help me up, I can still write." Today, I am just a crying cat head (crying and blowing smoke). Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution during 2019-11-20 00:04:37~2019-11-21 18:11:43~
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: sky sauce 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: I don’t understand 16 bottles; I want to change my name 15 bottles; Jue Jue, acetylcholine is a little salty, Jiu Mu 10 bottles; There is a healing called Natsume 3 bottles; 34033837 2 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!