Chapter 318 Deduction
Fan Yang.

An Lushan was so happy that he couldn't stop grinning. He laughed loudly and said, "Even when Li Linfu was in power, I was still a little afraid of him. Yang Guozhong is a fool, so I am not afraid of him at all!"

The counselor Yan Zhuang was an active person who encouraged An Lushan to rebel. He said: "General, now that Li Linfu is dead, it is a good time to march to Chang'an and conquer the world."

An Lushan looked embarrassed and said, "The Saint has treated me well, how can I betray him?"

Yan Zhuang said: "The saint treats you well because he needs you. Now your power has reached its peak and there is no room for improvement. If you do not take action, you will suffer because of your unrewarded merits and your achievements will surpass your master!"

Gao Shang, another staff member beside him, was also an active person who encouraged An Lushan to rebel. He said, "Mr. Yan is right. The general has troops in three towns and his power has reached its peak. If he doesn't advance, he can only retreat. I know that the general is now worried about Prince Shou. Although Prince Shou is in charge of three towns, Anxi Beiting is too far away from Chang'an and cannot rush to help in a short time. Most of the Hexi troops are military households and soldiers from other tribes. They are unwilling to set foot in Guanzhong. The general only needs to take Chang'an with thunder and lightning, and the world can be settled by passing the seal without waiting for Prince Shou to send troops."

An Lushan looked embarrassed and said nothing.

Another reactionary aide Zhang Tongru said: "If the general takes Chang'an, even if Prince Shou sends troops to attack, there is nothing to be afraid of."

"That's right." Yan Zhuang agreed, "Since the Qin Dynasty, Hedong has been the key to victory or defeat. With Hedong, the country prospers, and without Hedong, the country perishes. Jieshuai is now the Jiedushi of Hedong. As long as he controls Hedong and advances to Chang'an, the world will be in his hands."

What Yan Zhuang said was not completely without basis.

Hedong is located in the east of the Yellow River, guarded by Luliang Mountain and Taihang Mountain on the left and right, blocked by Zhongtiao Mountain, the Yellow River and Wangwu Mountain in the south, Yin Mountain in the north and the Great Wall, with only a north-south passage in the middle.

From north to south, there are five major passes: Juyongguan, Zijingguan, Yanmenguan, Niangziguan and Tongguan.

Such terrain makes it a natural military fortress, making Hedong easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In addition to its dangerous terrain, Hedong has numerous rivers crisscrossing its interior, forming six small impact plains, which produce huge amounts of grain. There are also large salt ponds that supply Guanzhong and sell throughout the country, with annual profits from salt production reaching 1.5 million strings of cash.

An Lushan pondered for a while and said, "Although I am the governor of Hedong, I only control Yunzhong in the north. I have no real power in the central and southern parts."

When it comes to specific military operations, General He Qiannian stood up and said, "Yunzhong is the key to Hedong. The commander only needs to appoint a brave general to lead the troops to Hedong, and then advance in three other directions. Then we can at least divide the world into two halves with the Tang Dynasty."

"What are the other three?" An Lushan asked.

"There are four routes in total." He Qiannian came to the side of the map and gestured, "One route goes out of Zhenwu, goes down to Shuofang, and captures Wuyuan, Luojiao and other counties; one route goes out of Yunzhong to capture Taiyuan, and enters Puguan to shock the world; one route leads the main force south from Hebei Road, crosses the Yellow River, and directly captures Luoyang, and joins the first two routes in Chang'an; another route advances eastward, captures Zibo, Beihai, etc., and then goes south to Jianghuai. With these four routes, we will definitely sweep the world."

After listening to He Qiannian's plan, An Lushan felt that it was too idealistic and remained silent.

Yan Zhuang continued, "In addition, we can also follow the path of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan and go all out to Hedong, cross the Yellow River from Puban, bypass Luoyang, and go straight to Chang'an. This way, we can move forward and backward freely."

An Lushan felt the risk was too great and remained silent.

Another general, Gao Miao, said, "It may be too early to turn against each other now, but we should indeed prepare for a rainy day. I suggest that we offer horses to Luoyang and secretly control the city. When we officially start the war, we can send troops from Luoyang directly to Chang'an."

An Lushan thought for a moment and said, "This plan is feasible. Besides, we don't have enough good war horses. I specifically asked for the position of Helong Herdsman and asked Li Guiren and An Shouzhong to go to Helong to select good horses and check on the health of Prince Shou."

"Yes!" Everyone obeyed. ...

Liangzhou.

After reading the news from Chang'an, Li Heng thought, "The time has been moved up by two years. I thought Li Linfu would be sentenced to death or exiled, but I didn't expect him to die of illness. Yes, he has been in power for more than ten years, and his political life is his biological life, but why are his children exiled to Hexi? Does he want me to protect his children?"

Li Ying was still thinking to himself when Yang Yuhuan and Yang Yuyao walked in hand in hand and sat on his right.

Li Heng glanced at the two of them and said, "Yang Guozhong has become the right prime minister, replacing Li Linfu. He is your cousin, but he is hostile to you because you are here with me. Do you regret it?"

Yang Yuhuan knew clearly that although Li Heng was talking about you, he was only referring to Yang Yuyao, so she didn't say anything and just smiled slightly.

Yang Yuyao laughed heartily and said, "Over the years, the high officials of the court have been replaced one after another, but only Your Highness, the prince, has always remained standing. Yuyao can rely on Your Highness, so how can she regret it?"

"You are quite honest." Li Ying looked up at Yang Yuyao and recalled the ending of Yang Yuyao recorded in history.

Historically, Yang Yuyao fled to Sichuan and was blocked in a bamboo forest by government troops as a thief. She first slashed her two children to death with a sword, then stabbed Yang Guozhong's wife Pei Rou to death (or it is said that she was captured and killed by officials led by the county magistrate Xue Jingxian in Chencang County), and finally committed suicide, but did not die. She was imprisoned in a prison, and died from bleeding from the wound that blocked her trachea.

Yang Yuyao saw Li Heng looking at her thoughtfully and asked in confusion, "Does Your Highness regret protecting Yuyao?"

Li Heng shook his head and said with a smile: "There are many good young men from noble families in Liangzhou. If you like anyone, the princess will make the decision for you. Of course, if you don't like anyone, the princess can also guarantee you a life of wealth and glory."

"Are you serious, Your Highness?" Yang Yuyao asked.

"Of course." Li Ying nodded.

Yang Yuyao said, "I heard that there are many good horses in Helong. Yuyao has loved good horses since she was a child. Your Highness, can you let Yuyao personally select two horses so that Yuyao can play polo with the princess?"

"Okay," Li Heng agreed, "but it has to be done as soon as possible. Father has appointed An Lushan as the Herdsman of Helong. I'm sure he will send someone to take over soon."

Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but say, "I don't know what the saint is thinking. An Lushan is in the north and Helong is in the west. How could the saint let An Lushan manage the herdsmen in Helong?"

Li Heng also found it strange, but whether in history or now, Li Longji had given An Lushan the position of Helong Herdsman. Li Heng could only speculate that Li Longji had no more rewards to give An Lushan, and could not give An Lushan real power in the central and southern parts of Hedong, and could only use some of the good Helong horses to win over An Lushan.

Fortunately, he took one step ahead and had people pick out the good horses in Hexi in advance, leaving only Longyou for An Lushan.

In fact, he could also ask Gao Xianzhi to select the good horses in Longyou in advance. However, if this were the case, An Lushan would send people here and get nothing, which would inevitably make him less confident in his rebellion.

So he left half for An Lushan.

(End of this chapter)