Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 91 Yang Guang's Panic

Outside the city of Luoyang, a soldier of the Sui Dynasty was riding his horse at full speed.

When they arrived outside Luoyang City, the soldiers guarding the city gate were about to stop them, but then they saw the Sui Dynasty soldier holding up the letter and shouting "Eight Hundred Miles Away, Urgent".

Seeing this, the soldiers defending the city gave way.

Not only the soldiers defending the city, but also the common people entering and leaving Luoyang, as well as the high-ranking officials and dignitaries on the carriages, all looked at the gentry curiously, not understanding what was going on.

In Luoyang Ziwei City, which was the royal palace of the Sui Dynasty, civil and military officials were attending court in the main hall.

Ten years ago, Yang Guang ordered the capital to be moved to Luoyang, and he ordered the conscription of 700,000 people to build walls and 1 million people to build cities, which was one million more than the 700,000 people conscripted by the Qin State in ancient times.

At that time, Yuwen Kai knew that Yang Guang liked luxury and pleasure, so he ordered that Ziwei City be made extremely magnificent. It should not only surpass the capitals of all previous dynasties, but also become the most splendid and magnificent palace in the world.

The reason behind this was that in order to build the massive Ziwei City, nearly half of the 1.7 million civilians died.

In the palace.

Yang Guang was sitting on the throne, wearing a crown, listening to the officials' reports from the Grand Prince.

Lai Huer, Li Yuan, Cui Junsu, Yu Shiji, Feng Deyi, Pei Yun, Yuwen Shu, Pei Ju, Duan Da, Yuan Wendu, Wei Jin, Wei Kuangbo, Lu Chu, Zhao Changwen...

Among all the officials, everyone looked at Yang Guang in the hall, some were happy and some were sad.

Yang Guang now wants to move to Jiangdu all the time. This is naturally not a good thing for the Guanzhong counties, but it is a happy thing for the officials in the south.

Behind a country's capital lies the power of the world.

"Report!!!"

Suddenly, a soldier rushed into the hall in a hurry. Seeing this scene, the civil and military officials all had different expressions, but they were all very confused.

They were all officials of the Sui Dynasty, and they all knew that there must be something behind this small soldier being able to come to the hall today. If it were an ordinary day, almost any memorial would fall into the hands of officials like Yu Shiji, and Yu Shiji would report it to Yang Guang personally.

But this time, the soldier was able to come directly to the hall.

on the main hall.

Yang Guang sat on the throne, stroking his beautiful beard, and thinking about whether his own palace in Jiangdu in the future would contain more rare treasures than those in Luoyang.

Seeing a soldier coming in a hurry, Yang Guang frowned immediately, a little dissatisfied.

Who is the general guarding the palace now?

Yang Guang had already decided that after the court session, he would have the general brought to him.

"Report! Your Majesty, urgent news from Taiyuan, eight hundred miles away! General Pan Changwen died in battle, and the bandit Zhen Zhai'er is leading an army of more than 100,000 to attack Taiyuan County! The bandits are powerful, equipped with armor and weapons, and even many large siege equipment..."

The soldiers knelt on the ground panting, and looked at Yang Guang in the hall in front of all the civil and military officials.

"what?"

When Yang Guang heard the soldiers' words, his eyes were shocked and he stood up in panic in an instant, not even bothering to touch his beautiful beard.

Is Pan Changwen dead?
An army of more than 100,000 is attacking Taiyuan County!
There are also many siege weapons!

"More than 100,000 bandits and horses are attacking Taiyuan?"

"What should we do? Taiyuan County is an important town in the north. Pan Changwen was killed. If Taiyuan is lost, the bandits can move south!"

Upon hearing the soldiers' report, all the civil and military officials in the hall began to talk to each other in panic.

"Attack Taiyuan!"

Cui Junsu, Yu Shiji, Feng Deyi, Pei Yun, Yuwen Shu and other ministers of the Sui Dynasty were not in a much better situation at this moment. They all understood that Taiyuan's geographical location was very important. Moreover, the Fen River led directly to Guanzhong. If it fell into the hands of bandits, Chang'an and Luoyang would be in danger.

Listening to the noise of the officials, the most shocked person was Li Yuan.

At this moment, when Li Yuan heard that more than 100,000 bandits were attacking Taiyuan County, in addition to thinking about the impact of Taiyuan on the entire Sui Dynasty and the consequences of falling into the hands of the bandits, he also thought of another thing.

A captain who has a relationship with Erlang and his second daughter-in-law!

He is in Taiyuan County!

Moreover, the young captain was advised against it because he had just arrived in Jinyang and ordered the fortification of the city and the transfer of grain!

In the past, Li Yuan secretly felt sorry for the young captain, thinking that he would be dismissed from office and punished.

Now that he learned that more than 100,000 bandits were attacking Taiyuan, Li Yuan couldn't help but think of what his second daughter-in-law said that day.

"Dad, I feel that things are not that simple. When I was in Li's house in Qian County, I heard Cui Luxing, a counselor under Dou Jiande, talking about the incident in Wanqiu. At that time in Wanqiu, Fu Zihou observed at the city gate. Combined with the Xie family's banquet, he deduced that there were thieves who wanted to take advantage of the Xie family's banquet to attack the city, and guessed that the leader of the thieves was Lu Mingyue who had disappeared for a year!"

Li Yuan recalled the scene when his second daughter-in-law spoke that day, and the way his second daughter-in-law believed that the young captain named Fu Zihou was talking to him.

"Fu Zihou!"

Li Yuan finally took this name seriously and finally realized that this young captain was different.

Li Yuan knew very well that if he really wanted to plan something big, then this young man named Fu Zihou would definitely be a great help to him.

"Your Majesty, the bandits are numerous and it may be difficult to deal with them with the current troops in Taiyuan County! I ask Your Majesty to order the troops to be mobilized in Huoyi to guard the throat to the south and prevent the bandits from moving south!"

At this time Lai Kai stood out from among the officials. As the eldest son of General Lai Huer, he was also granted the title of Tongyi Doctor. Naturally, he was there to relieve Yang Guang's worries.

After hearing Lai Kai's words, Duan Da, other generals, and even officials did not object.

Lai Kai had studied military books since childhood and was a man of both civil and military talents. The suggestion he made now was indeed correct. Huoyi was the throat of the troops of Taiyuan County heading south. As long as Huoyi was defended, the enemy would not be able to go south to Luoyang or to Guanzhong.

"allow!"

In the main hall, Yang Guang was already a little panicked because of the army of more than 100,000 attacking Taiyuan. When he heard Lai Kai's words, he quickly came to his senses.

"Order Tiger Guard General Song Laosheng to lead 50,000 soldiers and garrison in Huoyi!"

Yang Guang looked at the line of military commanders of the Grand Prince, and while glancing around, he finally thought of something and gave an order to a middle-aged man.

When the civil and military officials heard Yang Guang's words, they all looked at each other in confusion.

Tiger Guard General Song Laosheng?

This person's ability is far inferior to that of General Lai Huer, let alone Li Yuan. Why did Your Majesty send Song Laosheng to Huoyi when he knew that Taiyuan County was in danger?

"Here!"

Song Laosheng walked out from the ranks of military generals, bowed to Yang Guang and received the order, looking at Yang Guang in the hall with eyes full of determination.

It's not that Song Laosheng couldn't see the looks in the eyes of the civil and military officials, but Yang Guang still chose him. This trust and respect was enough to make Song Laosheng swear in his heart that he would defend Huoyi even at the cost of his life.

"Pass on my order. Order Wang Shichong to speed up the preparations for the dragon boat race. The Jiangdu Palace must also be built as soon as possible. I will go to Jiangdu as soon as possible!"

Yang Guang watched Song Laosheng accept the order, and then his expression looked better. However, when he thought of the more than 100,000 well-equipped bandits in Taiyuan, he was still uneasy not only in his expression but also in his heart, and he urgently wanted to move the capital as soon as possible.

"His Majesty!"

At this time, Cui Junsu stood out from the officials and raised his hand to salute Yang Guang in the hall.

"I remember that the Fenwu Wei, Fu Zihou, who was specially appointed by Your Majesty, ordered the defense of Jinyang when he arrived! I think that Fenwu Wei had anticipated the enemy in Wanqiu, Huaiyang, and then in Qinghe County, he recruited prisoners to defeat the thief Zhang Jincheng. Now he is defending Jinyang..."

When Cui Junsu reached this point, he bowed and looked towards Yang Guang.

"Your Majesty still has such a brave and resourceful minister in Jinyang. Perhaps you can send a general to lead the troops to Taiyuan to cooperate with the outside world and defeat the bandits!"

Cui Junsu suggested.

Cui Gai, Cui Hongjun, Cui Hongshou, Cui Hongzhou and other Cui family officials also stood up at this time and supported Yang Guang.

Officials like Cui Gai and Cui Hongzhou were both from the Qinghe Cui family. Although the Qinghe Cui family is not as powerful as the Boling Cui family today, it also has officials in the court.

"Captain Fenwu!"

When Yang Guang heard Cui Junsu's words, he was in a panic. At this time, he remembered that the Fenwu Wei, whom he had personally appointed earlier, had defended the city and behaved in a cowardly manner after arriving in Jinyang. Many officials advised him that this was damaging the reputation of the Sui Dynasty.

Now think of it.

Yang Guang was filled with anger and wished he could pull out all the officials who submitted the letter and whip them.

Why don't you mobilize food and weapons for the Fenwu Wei appointed by me personally?

Why?

Those ministers are truly treacherous! They have brought disaster to the Sui Dynasty!!!
Want to harm me!

"His Majesty!"

Just as Yang Guang was looking towards the main hall, preparing to find all the officials who had given him advice in the past, he saw Yu Shiji suddenly stand up.

"I think! Now that General Pan Changwen has been killed, it is of no use to rely on the Taiyuan troops alone to face the army of more than 100,000 bandits. Moreover, Jinyang has lost its commander and the city is surrounded. How can we talk about internal and external cooperation? I think if we send troops to Taiyuan, once something goes wrong, Luoyang will be in danger! We should defend Huoyi!"

Yu Shiji raised his hand and suggested to Yang Guang that he did not agree to send troops to Taiyuan County.

After hearing what Yu Shiji said, many ministers stood up and supported Yu Shiji's views.

Taiyuan is now leaderless, facing the siege of hundreds of thousands of troops. With the troops in the two cities of Jinyang, they may only be able to defend to the death, especially the East City of Jinyang. It will be good enough if they can lose the city later.

"His Majesty……"

Cui and his officials were preparing to continue persuading Yang Guang.

However, Yang Guang, whose heart was touched by Yu Shiji, would never be willing to listen to those officials from the Cui family.

The world is in chaos now. Yang Guang is not unaware that Song Laosheng's ability is not as good as other generals. But for Yang Guang, what he needs is to prevent the bandits from going south and to keep Luoyang out of danger.

Song Laosheng might not be very capable, but Yang Guang could be sure that he would not surrender to the bandits, which was more important than anything else.

Inside Luoyang City.

Li Yuan got off the carriage and returned to his mansion.

After asking the servants, Li Yuan learned that the eldest son Li Jiancheng and the second son Li Shimin were not in the mansion. He immediately asked the servants to call Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin back.

In the mansion.

Guanyin's maid was also kneeling in the house, warming herself by the fire and embroidering for her husband Li Shimin.

Changsun Wuji was also complaining to Guanyinbi that he couldn't find any trace of Li Shimin in recent times and it was difficult to see him.

Spring is the best season for hunting when all things begin to bloom. In the past, Li Shimin, who loved hunting, would often take him hunting. But now, no one knows where Li Shimin goes all day, and he even put aside his favorite hunting.

It's really boring to stay in Luoyang alone!
　Note: It would be crazy to search for information on the Cui family of Qinghe, as most of them are from the Cui family of Boling. There were very few people of the Cui family of Qinghe in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. I don't know how many epitaphs of the Cui family I had to look through with a knife. What's even more frustrating is that when we finally find people from the Cui family of Qinghe, many of them are still holding important positions in various places and are not in the court!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)