Yang Sigong is a supporter of Prince Shou Li Jie, but that doesn't mean he is on Zhu Li's side.
The Yang family in the late Tang Dynasty was a family of eunuchs.
Yang Sigong was born into the Yang family, which meant that no matter what he did, he would always put the interests of the Yang family first.
Since ancient times, eunuchs have held prominent positions and formed aristocratic families, but this phenomenon only occurred in the late Tang Dynasty. But where did the status and glory of eunuchs come from
It naturally comes from the monarch; and what kind of monarch would leave all the important matters in the court to the eunuchs
Judging from historical records, most of the monarchs who were capable of doing such things were incompetent; but even if they were incompetent, they could not compare to the puppets supported by eunuchs.
Only the puppets that are supported by oneself will obey one's orders and be better able to ensure that one's interests are not harmed.
In a sense, Yang Sigong supported Li Jie because he believed that he could control and restrain Li Jie, thereby better safeguarding his own interests.
From this perspective, in a sense, the interests of eunuchs actually become consistent with the interests of the monarch.
Any person or organization that hinders the ruling status of the monarch will greatly harm the interests of the eunuchs, and Heshuo where Zhu Li was located undoubtedly threatened the rule of Li Tang.
Of course, there were many local vassal states that threatened Li Tang's ruling status, such as Zhu Quanzhong in Henan, Han Zhi in Xuzhou, Li Keyong in Hedong, etc. All of these people could threaten Li Tang's rule, but Zhu Li was an outstanding one among them.
Therefore, in the hunting dispute, Zhu Li did not lose a single general. Not only Yang Sixu, who supported Prince Ji Li Bao, was unhappy, but even Yang Sigong, who supported Prince Shou Li Jie, was also unhappy.
Because they were all eunuchs, Zhu Li threatened the rule of the Tang Dynasty, which naturally threatened their interests.
Just when Prince Shou was the first to gain the upper hand, the two old eunuchs who were originally in opposition to each other looked at each other at the same time, with gloom in their eyes.
Yang Sixu, who was pretending to be Liu Xingshen, stood up nonchalantly when the result was obvious, and announced calmly: "In the hunting contest, the supporters of His Royal Highness Prince Shou are more skilled."
"I'm here to congratulate Your Highness on your first victory." Before he finished speaking, Yang Sixu saluted Li Jie in a very formal manner.
Li Jie naturally did not dare to be arrogant in front of this old eunuch. He quickly stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "Mr. Liu, you are too polite. This is all the credit of the generals of the vassal states. I am just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor. I do not deserve your congratulations."
"Your Highness is too modest. If it weren't for your virtue, how could there be so many loyal officials and brave generals willing to support you?"
"After all, Your Highness is the king, and they are just his subjects. Since ancient times, the king has been the leader of his subjects. Their victory in the first battle is naturally due to Your Highness's virtue."
With just one sentence, Yang Sixu wiped out the contributions of all those who participated in hunting; not only that, he also went to a greater extent and deliberately pointed out that "the king is the leader of his subjects", and his intention to warn the various vassal states was self-evident.
The meaning was very clear. He was taking the opportunity to tell all the generals that you are all subjects, and as subjects, it is best for you to do your duty well.
However, his painstaking efforts were destined to be in vain; the Li Tang dynasty was destined to decline. At this time, who would still care about being a minister or a king
Even if Zhu Li had not come to this era, Zhu Quanzhong would have overthrown Li Tang and established Daliang eight years later. This shows that the collapse of the empire was not a problem that happened in a day or at a moment, nor was it caused by one person or one general. The overthrow of Li Tang had already been an inevitable trend.
Now, the warlords all over the world are willing to sit here and risk their lives to participate in the Spring Search Festival. They are not responding to Li Tang's call, but for themselves.
Before the collapse of the country and the fall of chaos, any ambitious vassal would want to gain some final political capital for himself.
This is the real reason why several high-ranking officials from the vassal states were willing to gather in Chang'an and allow themselves to be manipulated by the old eunuch.
Before Yang Sixu could finish his words, he immediately continued, "Our great Tang Emperor Gaozu and Taizong both spent their lives in the military. For hundreds of years, our great Tang was able to drive out the Tartars and protect the country and the people because of its strong military strength, which it never neglected."
"Guardians are good at skills, soldiers are good at formations, and generals are good at fighting. Although His Royal Highness Prince Shou won the hunting game, he deserves congratulations, but it doesn't mean anything."
"The hunting contest is a competition of guards' skills. The fact that His Highness Prince Shou's supporters can win the hunting contest can only mean that they are
We are just better at it, that’s all.”
"However, a strong army is the foundation of a country's prestige. The superior skills of the guards do not necessarily mean that the overall combat power of the army is strong."
"Today, since all the generals are here, we will just draw lots to decide who will go first and who will go second in the second round of the battle."
Yang Sixu's proposal naturally did not surprise everyone.
Although this year's spring hunt was a huge pit dug by eunuchs and court officials in collusion with each other for the vassal states throughout the country, the traditional rules of hunting remained unchanged.
Hunting is a grand event for the king to test the combat effectiveness of each army. If there is only hunting, the purpose of the test cannot be achieved, or in other words, the test is not perfect.
After hunting, there must be battle; after the battle, it is time to use military force.
There are three rounds of hunting. The first round is archery, just as Yang Sixu said, it is just to test the skills and cooperation of the elite guards.
The second round of battles is a test of the overall strength of the army. When facing the enemy, the combat effectiveness of the army is an important factor in determining victory or defeat. If the army is strong, as long as the commander is not a fool, a great victory is guaranteed.
As for the third round of military exercises, as the name suggests, it is the military performances of the generals. During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the military performances of the generals were very regular and divided into both civil and military performances. The civil performances were to test the military strategies, while the military performances were to challenge the generals to battle.
Hunting had just ended, and Yang Sixu immediately mentioned the battle; it seemed that the old eunuch was very unhappy with the result of the first round!
Do you want to regain your ground in the battle
Zhu Li narrowed his eyes. Although he himself was not good at deploying troops, the Heshuo side had always had generals who were good at commanding the army and deploying troops.
Take Gao Yuan who was stationed outside the city of Chang'an for example. Gao Yuan was the reincarnation of Gao Shun, a great general of the Three Kingdoms. He had 700 soldiers under his command and dominated the Three Kingdoms for an era with few rivals. Was he a master at deploying troops
In addition to Gao Yuan, there is also Yue Pengju who is brought by Zhu Li. Yue Pengju is the reincarnation of the national hero Yue Fei.
Yue Wumu, a household name in later generations, founded the "Beiwei Army", which is ranked as one of the five elite troops in ancient China. Who dares to say that Yue Pengju is not a master of deploying troops
The Beiwei Army was divided into two major phalanxes: infantry and cavalry. Not to mention how powerful the cavalry was, the infantry alone defeated the Jin army's elite "Crooked Horse" troops several times.
When it comes to "拐子马", you may not be familiar with it, but if we say "铁浮搏", you may be much clearer.
Both the Crooked Horse and the Iron Pagoda are iron-chain linked war cavalry, the most powerful cavalry chain battle formation created by the grassland people. As long as they rush into the enemy's formation, they can cut the enemy soldiers in half like an old plow plowing the land. It is very bloody and powerful.
Now, although Yue Pengju was seriously injured, it did not hinder him from deploying troops; what's more, there is a master in Heshuo who should not be underestimated, and this person is naturally Zhu Qia.
This old Taoist priest is well versed in ancient magical arts. If he suddenly gets inspired and shows off his skills, it will definitely be enough to give the other party a hard time.
Let’s fight in battle, Zhu Li is definitely not afraid.
The drawing of lots was carried out very quickly. Only two people, Prince Ji Li Bao and Prince Shou Li Jie, had to draw the lots. After all, on the surface, all the fights were for the position of Crown Prince.
Maybe God is fair.
Thanks to the help of Zhu Li and others, Li Jie won the hunting competition, but when he went to draw lots, he surprisingly drew the attacking side, the so-called first mover.
Don't think that the attacking party has the advantage. On the contrary, in military battles, most of the time, the party responsible for defending is the most advantageous.
After deciding on the first and second moves, the dying Yang Sixu finally showed a hint of satisfaction on his face, and said calmly: "Generals who support His Royal Highness Prince Ji, please discuss in advance. We must set up a large formation at the hour of Mao tomorrow."
"And all the generals who support His Royal Highness Prince Shou, just wait until the morning of tomorrow to break the formation."
"The great battle formation is ready. If you still cannot break through the battle formation in three days, then this battle will be considered as the lead for His Royal Highness Prince Ji. Otherwise, His Royal Highness Prince Shou will take the next battle."
"According to convention, the battle will be a best-of-three match, and the winner will be selected. If there is a tie during the process, an extra match will be held. Is everyone clear?"
In fact, Yang Sixu didn't need to explain these rules in detail. The senior officials who came to the hunting competition had already heard his subordinates introduce these rules early in the morning, so naturally everyone was aware of them.
Until the crowd dispersed, it seemed
Almost everyone has forgotten one important thing, which is the equipment allocation issue. I don't know whether everyone has collectively forgotten it or deliberately pretended not to know it.
Seeing such a result, Yang Sixu and Yang Sigong were happy to play dumb. According to their thoughts, they wished that these local vassal states could be killed with real swords and guns, and it would be best if they all died.
In the Jiangyou camp, Wang Yueyao sat high up.
The general Zhang Xutuo and his follower Meng Taiji served on both sides.
The three of them looked indifferently at Li Fazhu and Li Kuangba, whose faces were slightly pale; the other civil and military officials of Jiangyou neither applauded nor blamed them for their return.
Even so, Master Li and Li Kuangba still looked very unhappy; you know, it was Master Li who volunteered to go hunting.
But now, we have suffered a great defeat.
Even if Wang Yueyao didn't take the opportunity to attack him, he would still feel embarrassed.
“Your Highness, I miscalculated. Not only did I fail to seize the opportunity to strangle Yu Juluo of Youzhou, but I was also interrupted by the troops of Heshuo and suffered a great defeat. Please punish me, General Manager.” Facing Wang Yueyao, even though he had brought her up, Master Li had to kneel on one knee and bow his hands to apologize.
Li Kuangba, who had always followed him, was naturally too ashamed to see people, so he also knelt on one knee, lowered his head and said nothing.
In fact, Wang Yueyao knew from the beginning that Master Li had suffered a crushing defeat, and she was so happy that she almost wanted to have a few drinks to celebrate; however, when she thought of the child in her belly, she held back.
There is nothing wrong with drinking yourself, but once the child is born and turns out to be an alcoholic, you will regret it.
According to her idea, it was a good opportunity to take advantage of the defeat suffered by Master Li to severely weaken his power; Wang Yueyao had been coveting some important positions in Jiangyou for a long time.
But as soon as she told Zhang Xutuo about this idea, Zhang Xutuo immediately stopped her and said, "Your Highness, Master Li's strength is definitely not what you see."
"As a senior figure in the Shanhai League, he may not have all the support in the league, but he definitely has quite a few followers."
"If the steward's power is weakened because of a minor failure in hunting, it will definitely make him wary."
"Since its establishment, the Mountain and Sea Alliance has been responsible for monitoring the world and changing the situation. Over the years, countless dynasties have been submerged in the torrent of history under their manipulation."
"Your Highness is only a small governor of Jiangyou now. His foundation is not yet solid. He only has a few of us old officials of the Sui Dynasty who can be trusted. If we fight, how can we defeat the thief Li who has the support of the Shanhai League?"
"Your Highness, you may as well ignore this matter and give Li the light punishment. As for how to deal with Li, I think that unless you don't move, you must kill him with one blow."
"As long as Li the thief is dead, even if the Shanhai League is powerful, they will not go to war against Your Highness just because of a dead person. Please think twice."
It was precisely because of Zhang Xutuo's words that Wang Yueyao treated Li Fazhu and his partner, who had returned from a great defeat, so calmly; however, Wang Yueyao felt a little unhappy that she had not punished them, let alone welcoming them back.
This is why the two returned without applause or blame.
At this moment, Master Li took the initiative to plead guilty. Wang Yueyao glanced at him calmly and said calmly: "General Li, please stand up. The defeat in this battle was not caused by human planning, but by God's will."
"At the moment, Liu Xingshen has already drawn a path for us to His Royal Highness Prince Shou. Instead of blaming yourself, General, you should seize the opportunity, set up a formation that no one can break, and defeat His Royal Highness Prince Shou first."
Wang Yueyao's words immediately made Master Li look up in surprise and glance at the other party with suspicion.
He was very puzzled that Wang Yueyao did not take the opportunity to punish him.
You have to know that Wang Yueyao's steward was someone he pushed into the position; the other person himself was actually not willing to take this position.
What's more, the other party and Heshuo Zhu Li even had a child, but Wang Yueyao forced him to take the position. No matter how you look at it, Wang Yueyao should be resentful of him.
However, this time, the other party treated the defeat lightly and had no intention of taking the opportunity to retaliate, which made him somewhat unable to figure out the depth of this woman.
Since he couldn't see through the opponent, Master Li naturally didn't dare to neglect it, and quickly responded: "Your Highness, don't worry. I have already prepared for the battle. Your Highness, just wait and see."