Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 363: Rebels Guarding the National Gate

In Chang'an City, people's hearts are unstable, floating and panic-stricken.

The once busy streets were now deserted, with not even a vagrant or beggar to be found.

The once prosperous center of the empire has almost completely become a ghost town. The majestic and tall buildings and walls are still there, but their owners are nowhere to be seen, making it look particularly deserted and eerie.

In the deep courtyard with high walls, guests were hurrying around, leaving behind ghostly red traces under the shadow of the locust tree.

Red was a noble color for the people of the Tang Dynasty, and ordinary peddlers were not allowed to wear red.

The guests in the courtyard were all wearing red round-collared robes that symbolized high rank. These nobles kept their heads down and remained silent throughout the whole process.

Even when they met familiar colleagues, they just nodded slightly without saying a word, as if they were deliberately matching the lifeless atmosphere of Chang'an City.

In the center of the compound, there is a pavilion hidden by the shadows of trees.

The green tiles and red eaves, the beautiful buildings in the paradise are like the residences of gods - although luxurious and exquisite, they are extremely cold and out of touch with reality.

The main hall of the pavilion was so spacious that the light coming through the windows could not cover the entire room, so the hall was pitch dark even in broad daylight.

All the distinguished guests took their seats. There was no light in the main hall and their faces were hidden in the darkness, just like the clay statues of Bodhisattvas in the Buddhist temple, majestic and inhuman.

"I'm sure you all know why I've invited you all to my humble abode this time."

A voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the dark main seat.

It turned out that there was someone sitting in that seat all along, but because the environment was too dark, at first glance it looked like a blurry shadow with uncertain edges.

"The Lord is Heaven, and the Lord's holy will is like Heaven's will, which is difficult for us mortals to predict." A strong voice answered from the seat.

The master chuckled:
"Envoy Zhang, I'm sure you know the current situation in the capital. Things are different now, so let's be frank and speak frankly.

"What do you think of the recent anomalies in the palace?"

There was silence.

No one can interfere with your complaints at home, but it is taboo to gather together to discuss the goings-on in the palace.

Under normal circumstances, a random impeachment letter of "extreme disrespect" would put everyone present in trouble.

It is not impossible to get another super grand slam from the entire clan with "intention of rebellion".

Otherwise, why are you so concerned about the saint's daily life? You are not trying to take advantage of the opportunity to have a chat with the concubines in the harem, right?

But, as mentioned in the opening, now is not the past.

With the behemoth of the "Ming Dynasty" standing there, it would be too out of touch with the times to engage in palace fighting and political struggles.

Given the current war situation, even if you are truly a loyal subject, you may become a "traitor" the moment you wake up.

After a long time, an old man sighed.

An old minister spoke up, breaking the long silence:

“A few days ago, we went to the palace as usual to wait for His Majesty’s orders, but the eunuchs asked us to leave the palace on the grounds that His Majesty was not feeling well and could not receive guests.

"In the following days, until today, no court meeting was held.

"If your majesty is really ill, then the illness is very serious."

Although he said so, from his calm tone, he was not worried at all about His Majesty's "serious illness".

As soon as he opened his mouth, he was immediately echoed by others:

“Just as the Anping County magistrate said.

"Your Majesty must be very, very ill.

"This is related to the survival of the country, but the eunuchs do not allow us to visit the patient. What can we do?"

They knew that the eunuchs were deceiving them, but they just didn't say anything.

Everyone is still very good at pretending to be ignorant even though they know the truth.

The owner of the mansion came straight to the point:

"I think that His Majesty may not be in the palace. He may have gone out to look for a famous doctor. What do you think?"

After these words were spoken, all the dignitaries present fell silent again.

There is no wall in the world that is completely airtight.

As for the latest situation in the palace, you all have already known most of it through the mouths of the palace servants.

The emperor went hunting in the north, and his clan members and concubines also followed him.

In the Taiji Palace now, there is only a group of eunuchs and palace maids hanging around there, creating the illusion that everything is normal.

This illusion lasted for several days, but it was finally exposed today.

"Your Majesty is the brain of the country. If Your Majesty leaves the palace, it will be like a group of dragons without a leader. How should we deal with it? How can we guard the country's borders for the emperor?
"That's why I invited you all."

The master said it very bluntly.

If it were the "good old days" of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, what? The emperor was not at home?
Is there such a good thing?

The powerful officials had already recommended themselves and competed for the positions, so there was no need for the host to specially call everyone together.

But the situation now is different from the Northern and Southern Dynasties when rituals and music were in chaos.

It’s not because the ministers of the Tang Dynasty were all loyal model employees - after all, they were all promising middle-aged and elderly people selected from the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Who doesn’t want to make progress?
It’s still because of that most unusual factor—Ming Dynasty.

Wherever the Ming army went, everything was reduced to dust.

Again, under the sharp knife of the "Ming Dynasty", if you are still playing games like palace fighting and political fighting at this time, then you are treating your own life as a joke.

After all, the most terrifying thing about the Ming Dynasty was not its well-trained and seemingly endless army, nor its luxurious armor, huge ships and other excellent equipment.

It's not even the national strength that is as strong as a bottomless pit.

But it was the ruler of the emerging empire itself, Li Ming.

That guy...that Majesty is moody and very unpredictable.

Although he was fighting a life-and-death battle with his royal brother Li Chengqian.

But if you dare to usurp Li Chengqian's throne, who knows whether that guy will accuse you of "daring to bully my elder brother" and let your entire clan experience the depth of the Wei River.

That little tyrant left a huge shadow in the hearts of the officials in the capital, making them dare not throw a single blow to the crumbling Li Tang dynasty.

The rebels are guarding the country's border.

A slow voice:

"I am the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and hands of the emperor. Wherever the emperor is, I should be there. Otherwise, I am incompetent.

"Now that your majesty has left the palace, how can your subjects stay in the capital?"

Look, look, that's why others have a profound academic background and can become imperial censors.

He is indeed a cultured person as he can say “Let’s run away” so fresh and refined.

"What Censor Wei said is not true. Your Majesty is visiting incognito, so we should take care of state affairs for your Majesty and wait for your return."

The proposal to run away did not receive unanimous approval from everyone.

Because after several rounds of screening, those who intend to run away have basically been eliminated.

From Li Ming's original shareholders who "started from the bottom of a weeds", to the large number of Ming people who were brought to Liaodong during the period of regent, the Ming Dynasty swept across the Central Plains twice.

And this time, His Majesty suddenly fell seriously ill and escaped.

Those who had lofty ideals, were born rebellious, or had weak wills, all ran away after these rounds of screening.

After all, even His Majesty has fled.

The ministers who are still able to hold on to Chang'an are like real stones in the toilet, smelly and hard.

Unexpectedly, there are quite a lot of such "stubborn stones".

Unexpected, but also reasonable.

On the one hand, the prestige of Emperor Li Shimin was still there. For the sake of their old boss, the loyalty of the officials of the Tang Dynasty was still somewhat guaranteed.

On the other hand, His Majesty Li Ming is too terrible.

Having gone through many turbulent times, the major families have seen many anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic rulers.

There were many rulers who disciplined the common people, but Emperor Li Ming seemed to be the first one who specialized in disciplining the "major families" themselves.

In order to protect the interests of their own clan and continue their family line, these diehards gathered together and voluntarily united under the banner of "Tang Dynasty". Although the attitudes of Emperors Li Shimin and Li Chengqian towards the aristocratic families were not very good.

But compared with Li Ming, it was as gentle as a spring breeze.

The representatives of these big families in the court have made up their minds to go all the way with the Tang Dynasty.

"You are all right." Censor Wei did not insist.

This seminar was not in vain as we can confirm that all of our colleagues are still willing to defend Chang'an and have the will to resist to the end.

They just stayed there, and no matter how strong everyone's will to resist was, they still couldn't come up with a decent idea on how to "guard the country's borders for the emperor."

It's not that you are incompetent, but that the Ming army is too arrogant.

Force can defeat skill. When the Ming Dynasty's national strength, which is several times greater than that of the country, is overwhelming, all strategies are just trifles.

Even a powerful person like Tian Khan could only struggle in a clumsy and embarrassing situation.

What's more, the current Datang is already full of debuffs.

From the people fleeing and rebelling to the southern forces surrendering to the enemy, there were constant internal and external troubles.

Although the country is so big, the resources that you in Chang'an can mobilize are indeed limited.

"We cannot share your worries, and we are unworthy of being your subjects!"

The old "Duke of Anping County" lamented.

No one else could answer and could only sigh.

Birth, death, and being run over by Li Ming, this is the fate that each of them has to face.

Everyone was talking about it, but no one could agree on a single answer, which finally made the gloomy lobby seem lively.

But apart from the "Tang Dynasty Pill", they didn't come to any conclusion from their discussion.

On the main seat, the host sighed softly and changed the subject:
"News from Lingnan Road says that Zhenla is harassing our southern border, killing men and taking women and children as slaves."

Lingnan was still loyal to the Tang Dynasty, so it would report news to Chang'an from time to time, although the delay in daily communication was relatively high and there was a large anti-bandit area between them.

That place is in a rather strange situation. When people in the Tang Dynasty talked about "the South", they generally referred to the area south of the Yangtze River or even the Huai River.

As for Lingnan, it was too hot in the early Tang Dynasty, and it was only one step away from being "barbaric", melting. So it was excluded from the scope of discussion by default.

This is also the reason why the people of Lingnan, especially the local Han people, insist on clinging to the Tang Dynasty.

Having finally become "nationals", they don't want to be beaten back to "savages" and fight to the death with other southern savages in the jungle over a banana.

Now that Lingnan Road is being harassed by the southern barbarians and they have come to Chang'an for help, when you all heard this, you were immediately shocked.

"What place is Zhenla?"

"A small southern barbarian country that was once ravaged by Linyi."

"Oh... then what is Linyi?"

"..."

After finding out the whole story, all the ministers felt uncontrollable anger and helplessness.

A tiny country that few people have heard of actually dares to openly bully our great Tang Dynasty!
What made them feel even more humiliated was that they could only listen to the bad news and could do nothing about it!
Because the Tang Dynasty itself is in a difficult situation and cannot save itself!
All the main forces were thrown into the meat grinder of the Shanxi battlefield, leaving all other places empty.

Even the defenses of the capital Chang'an had many gaps, with only second-rate garrison troops hiding behind the city walls to make up the numbers.

Not to mention the financial hole that is deeper than the South China Sea.

How could the Tang Dynasty raise a field army that could fight in the tropical jungle? How could the officials of the imperial court support Lingnan, thousands of miles away?
"Thinking back to the time when your majesty led us to break into the Turkic Khan's tent, his mighty power is still vivid in our minds.

"In just a blink of an eye, our Tang Dynasty has fallen to this point..."

Many old officials sighed with sorrow and tears in their voices.

The emotion was even more exciting than when I learned that His Majesty had abandoned the capital and "ran away".

After all, although everyone called him "Ming thieves", they all knew in their hearts that this "Ming-Tang hegemony battle" was ultimately the Li family's family affair.

We are all one family at heart.

However, what the hell is that Zhenla? A monkey popped out from some corner!

How could China be bullied by such a small character?!
This makes everyone feel very uncomfortable.

"The country is in trouble, demons are rampant..."

A deep sigh came from the main seat.

The guests also sighed: "Minister Liu is absolutely right."

In the atmosphere of confusion and frustration, the crowd gradually dispersed like thick fog at noon, and the main hall returned to its previous silence.

…………

"Royal brother, you said that you and I have been away from Chang'an for so long, and the officials in the capital can probably see the clues. Will they do something bad behind my back that will harm the country and the people?"

"It shouldn't happen. Li Ming is here to keep him under control."

"Oh, that's right, that evil wolf is actually a good guard dog."

While all the officials of the Tang Dynasty were collectively depressed, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, His Majesty Li Chengqian, was riding his horse happily.

His younger brother, Li Zhi, the crown prince, rode a horse and followed reluctantly behind, for fear that he would bite his tongue if he opened his mouth.

Behind the two nobles, Shekui Khan Chengxin led the Turkic soldiers and followed closely, keeping vigilant all the way and guarding the long royal convoy.

According to the original plan, after leaving Puzhou, they went north along the Yellow River, looking for a ferry crossing with slow water flow and a gap in the Ming navy's defense. They crossed the Yellow River and turned south to return to Guanzhong.

Along the way, they traveled light and with a small entourage, replacing the luxurious dragon and phoenix chariots with simple and plain carriages of ordinary wealthy families.

After all, to the north is a war zone, so if you don’t want to be a target, just keep a low profile.

This was exactly what Li Chengqian wanted.

He simply abandoned the car, got on the horse, and ran away.

Like a dragon returning to the sea.

Li Chengqian on horseback and Li Chengqian in normal times are completely two different people.

Usually, Li Chengqian was either coughing up blood or was weak. He looked like he was dying and might collapse at any time if he was not careful.

But as soon as he got on the horse, His Majesty immediately regained his vigor and vitality, and his heroic appearance was like the young General Tiance coming back again.

"Your Majesty, please slow down."

Li Zhi took a risk and squeezed the horse's belly hard, but his feet loosened unexpectedly, his vision went dark, and he was about to fall off the horse.

His mind went blank and he felt dizzy.

The next second, he was already sitting on his brother's saddle.

"Why are you so careless? Ride slower." Li Chengqian fished his already grown-up brother out with one hand and scolded him at the same time.

"..." Li Zhi opened his mouth, but was speechless.

No, Your Majesty, weren't you the one driving dangerously...

But now is not the time to be distracted.

Li Zhi calmed down and said:

"Your Majesty, please be careful. There is danger ahead."

Li Chengqian raised his lips and said confidently: "Oh? What danger?"

Li Zhi pointed forward.

There is a hillside in front, with cliffs on both sides, forming a natural pass.

On this necessary road, two warriors were blocking the middle of the road.

They were carrying guns and it was obvious at first glance that they were not of high rank, just the most basic soldiers.

But their armor is still very thick, and there are lion and tiger decorations on the breastplate, reflecting brightly in the sun.

This exaggerated individual equipment is so recognizable...

It’s the Ming army!
(End of this chapter)