Chu Qiao's guess was finally confirmed. The Meishan Imperial Mausoleum, which had been silent for ten years, finally set off a storm in Bian and Tang overnight. The turmoil came without warning, like a pot of cold water that was suddenly heated to the point of scalding. Before the people in the water could react, they had already been cooked in it.
By the time we arrived at Hanshui, the war had expanded. After a few iron cavalry passed by, the city was destroyed, the homes were burned, the former fertile fields turned into rotten black ashes, and the silk and flowers floated in the mud and yellow soup. On both sides of the road, you can see the Li people who died in the war and displacement everywhere. The prosperity was destroyed in one day, and the flesh and blood gave off a pungent rancid smell in the summer night.
King Luo raised an army in Meishan, and the people who didn't want to be traitors dragged their families to the east. However, when they rushed to Hanshui, they found that Xu Su, the brother of King Luo's concubine, was in command of Hanshui Pass. The waterway crossing to the east was firmly blocked, and the soldiers of Bian Tang to the west of Hanshuiguan could not look at each other head to tail. They were defeated by King Luo in the battle of Hongcheng, and Bian Tang's rivers and mountains were half in shambles.
The trip of Chu Qiao and others was delayed in this way. People gathered in Hanshui area. It was midsummer and the disease was prevalent. Within half a month, the plague began to spread in the city. All the rich and powerful families closed their doors tightly, and sent a large number of guards to guard and patrol. The inns and restaurants were even closed, and it was impossible to buy a grain of rice. Chu Qiao and the others had no choice but to go to the suburbs. Fortunately, they had made preparations for the long journey, and the food and tents were all ready.
As the days passed, various rumors and rumors spread one after another. Even if Ping An and others ventured into the city to inquire, they could not find any useful information.
There are different rumors, some say that Li Ce has rectified 800,000 armored cavalry in the east, and is heading towards Hanshui to kill the generals. Some people also said that King Luo defeated the Nanhuai army in Junshan a few days ago, and Jiangzhe, Feicheng, Nanwang, Anxi County, and Xizhao Mountain fell one after another. Most of the imperial troops were killed and injured, and the rest surrendered. The king's army is about to enter Hanshui. It is also said that the large households in the southwest donated money and food in response to the Luo Wang uprising, playing the banner of a foolish king and sending out family soldiers to join the Meishan Army, and the number of Luo Wang's army approached one million. It is even more absurd to say that Li Ce is no longer in Tang Jing, but hid in Daxia territory with his harem concubines, and Donghai Huai Song was helping him build a sea ship, so he was about to flee to the sea.
People around Hanshui were panicked. Although the rumors were not entirely true, King Luo's army was still approaching Hanshui day by day.
Because there are fewer and fewer refugees in recent days, it means that Luo Wang's encirclement is getting closer and closer, and he is about to join forces with Hanshui's army.
Another seven days later, King Luo's army finally arrived at Qibaipo, which is only more than 80 miles away from Hanshui, but unexpectedly stopped, and did not make a move to meet General Xu Su, the guard of Hanshui. , and Hanshui did not clearly express its allegiance to King Luo.
The battle suddenly stalemate.
At this moment, the Imperial Xishuo Army noticed that the incident was unusual. General Xu Su is a general of the empire. He followed old general Murong in his early years. If he is willing to stick to the righteousness and stand on Li Ce's side, then the chances of Bian Tang Zhengtong's victory will greatly increase.
In this way, after another four days of waiting and watching, Lu Bingbang, the leader of Xishuo's army, rushed to Qibaipo with 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and had a fierce battle with King Luo's army. Although the battle was fierce and Xishuo's army suffered heavy casualties, they bravely broke through King Luo's line of defense and rushed towards General Xu Su's camp in Hanshui. All.
However, at this moment, the Hanshui massacre that shocked the entire Simon continent began without any warning.
Xu Su killed 13,000 soldiers under Lu Bingkuan overnight, and the blood even stained the Hanshui River red. Even 30 miles downstream, the red river water can be seen, and the corpses are almost piled up to form a large high embankment.
Eagles and vultures hover around Hanshui all day long. At night, there are tragic hisses and screams. The ferocious birds and beasts are biting the rotting corpses, like a terrible nightmare.
Three days later, Luo Wang, who finally believed in Xu Su's sincerity, entered the Hanshui camp with an army of 150,000. And on the second day, with the support of the soldiers, he added a yellow robe, kowtowed to his ancestors, and ascended the throne with the emblem of Jingheng.
Two days later, Meishan's 200,000 troops rushed to Hanshui, and together with Xu Su's 180,000 defenders in Hanshui, King Luo's army was close to 600,000.
At this point, Bian Tang appeared in a funny situation where the two emperors stood side by side and divided the river to rule.
Ten days later, Emperor Li Ce of the Tang Dynasty, who seemed to be unable to endure such shame and humiliation, finally issued a conquest document with fierce words and personally led the conquest. With the momentum of the flood, rush to Hanshui.
War is imminent.
On the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, King Luo climbed up on the Chaoyang balcony to worship his ancestors and burned incense to sacrifice the flag. Afterwards, he crossed the river with his army and 150,000 Meishan troops, leaving 50,000 Meishan troops and Xu Su to guard Hanshui. However, Li Ce's army stayed in the camp for a long time and did not dare to fight. For five days in a row, there were only a few battles involving hundreds of people. For a while, Li Ce's name became a laughing stock in Bian Tang. The fact that the Emperor Tang was afraid of the King Luo, and that he hid in the camp and dared not go out to fight has spread throughout the world.
However, just when everyone thought that Li Ce was about to lose his country, Chu Qiao suddenly ordered Mei Xiang to pack up and prepare to go to Beijing.
Mei Xiang didn't understand what he meant, so she asked bluntly.
Chu Qiao looked at Xu Su's camp in the east, and her eyes became a little blurred. She remembered the night when Xi Shuo's army was massacred that day, and the screams rang through her ears and continued all night long.
"This battle is about to end."
On August 17th, the Tang army finally swept away the previous depression, and the army was dispatched in unison, and Yuhu Linyuan and Luo Wang's army started a fierce battle.
The soldiers fought bravely, and the war lasted for a day and a night, and neither side gave in the slightest. They all know that this is a battle for imperial power, and the winning side will surely have a golden body and a bright future, while the losing side will have all their families slaughtered, leaving no one behind.
At the critical moment of the battle, General Xu Su suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
King Luo's army roared with joy, but before their laughter disappeared, Xu Su's army suddenly raised their sabers and came to kill the generals behind King Luo's army!
On August 20, King Luo was defeated, killing more than 40,000 people, and the rest surrendered.
Under the protection of 2,000 iron-blooded personal guards, King Luo fled all the way to Hanshui, only to find that all 50,000 soldiers under his command had died. There is no boat to cross Hanshui. In desperation, King Luo drew his sword and slayed himself by the Hanshui River.
So far, Emperor Jing Heng, who had only been enthroned for eleven days, sadly left Bian Tang's political territory, and everything disappeared, as if he had never appeared before.
On August 21st, the Great Emperor's army pursued and killed the remaining party of the King of Luo, beheading more than 300 families of the southwestern clan along the way. Almost overnight, the entire Southwest clan was uprooted, and the wind passed by, creating a desolate mess.
On August 27th, the Tang Emperor's squadron returned to the court. General Xu Su, who made great contributions to the suppression of the rebellion, continued to lead troops to suppress the rebels. The blood was centered on Meishan in the southwest, winding all the way across the entire Bian Tang territory .
On the fourth day of September, the Great Emperor issued a decree to divide half of the materials confiscated from the Southwest clan this time, and distribute them equally among the provinces and counties that were persecuted during the war, and to reduce and exempt taxes in the Southwest for five years, so that The land of the Southwest rests and recuperates. All of a sudden, Li Ce's reputation climbed to the top, and these people who lost their homes and relatives in the war suddenly knew that they could still live, and they all burst into tears of gratitude, thanking the emperor for his kindness.
On the ninth day of September, Chu Qiao took Ping An and others on the road again, crossing the Hanshui River by boat and heading for Tangjing.
Bian Tang is still Bian Tang, the sky is blue and the clouds are white, and the smoke is still the same, but those soldiers who died on the battlefield are never seen again.
On September 15th, the moon outside the window was round, like a jade plate of fine color. Between the phoenix trees outside the hall, there are countless fireflies flying, flickering with blue light, circling gently back and forth.
The whole palace was cold and quiet, pure white curtains were hung up and down, and pale candles replaced the previous palace lanterns, emitting a gleaming halo.
She followed the guards and walked slowly. The Jinwu Palace is still so big, but without the all-night singing and soft music, pink waist and jade arms, this majestic palace suddenly looks so empty .
The arrow patterns on the cuffs grazed the skirts on both sides, making a rustling sound. The night was too quiet, and the crows flew over the head. When I looked up, I could only see the beast squatting on the high eaves. The boundless twilight spread like a mist, and the incense was curled up under the gloomy pines and cypresses. Chu Qiao looked up and faintly heard the scriptures chanted by the monks, as if they came from the other side of the sky, making people feel empty.
There is no change in Miheju, the phoenix trees are continuous, the lotus pond is dark at night, and the cicadas sing longer than one. The faint moonlight shines through the white cotton window paper, but the windows on the west side are wide open, and the moist wind blows in from the outside, bringing with it damp water vapor, the blue-white curtains all over the hall flutter, and a bird that has already The dilapidated wind chimes hung in front of the window, making tinkling sounds from time to time, still crisp, like the singing of breaking ice.
Li Ce was sitting between the green and white tents, with an ebony table on one side, futon seats on two sides, a green jade pot, and two white wine cups.
The green gauze curtain fluttered with the wind, sweeping across the empty and silent hall from time to time. Li Ce's black hair was disheveled, and he was wearing a dark purple brocade robe, embroidered with bluish-blue cloud patterns, spiraling and interlacing, layered upon layer, sewn with the unique stitches of the royal family. His face was like white jade, and he sat quietly in the moonlight. There, it was like a still painting.
Chu Qiao stood at the door, holding on to Qingzhu, not knowing how to go forward for a moment.
The night wind blew the gauze curtain, Li Ce turned his head under the moonlight, his face was bright, his eyes narrowed slightly, he still looked like a smiling fox, and smiled softly at her: "You are here."
This sound was very calm, but it made Chu Qiao feel sour. Looking at him, she felt that he was still the same as when she left, with a playful smile, naughty mischief, but he could see everything clearly.
Years passed by in a hurry, so many things happened one after another, so fast that she couldn't recover. Looking at him now, she felt a little strange, but also a little distressed.
Chu Qiao stepped forward, squatted beside Li Ce, pursed the corners of her mouth, her eyes were sore and astringent.
But Li Ce rubbed her hair with a smile. As usual, he intentionally messed up her neat bun, and said with a smile, "Why are you so sad? I'm not dead."
The more he smiled like this, the more sad Chu Qiao felt. She forced a smile, nodded and said, "It's fine."
The window is half-opened and half-closed, revealing the last pool of lotus blooming outside the window.
Li Ce lowered his head and quietly groped for the complicated pattern on the side of the wine cup: "He is a traitor and traitor, so he cannot be buried in the imperial tomb. I buried him on Luofu Mountain."
A gust of breeze blows in, and the wind chime on the window makes a series of sounds. Looking up, I see that the bell is carved with intricate and exquisite patterns, and the corners are decorated with hollowed out acacia flower patterns, painted with fine gold powder. Years of wind and sun, the color is still bright.
Li Ce took a shallow drink, his eyes were very calm, and he said in a flat tone: "Fu'er is also buried there." He raised his head, the corners of his mouth were light, and his expression was misty, but his eyes were slightly bright like the morning sun, "Sheng Not being able to live together, but dying in the same hole, it is not in vain for him to fight with his back in the end."
The hall finally became quiet, and Chu Qiao sat beside Li Ce, quietly drinking a glass of wine with him. She didn't sit in the seat opposite because she knew that was not reserved for her.
Gudeng Haoyue, he was waiting for someone who would never come again.