Chapter 323 Action
In the spring of 752, Li Longji felt that everything was ready, so he rewarded An Lushan with a fief of households, ten slaves, a manor and a house. He removed An Lushan from his post as the Herdsman of Helong and let Li Heng take over. He also let Li Heng serve concurrently as the Surveillance Envoy of Longyou and the Deputy Jiedushi, in charge of all matters concerning Tubo.

……

News from Chang'an was sent to Liangzhou one after another. Some were imperial decrees, and some were secret messages sent secretly by Hongyue.

Li Heng had been "recuperating" in his mansion during this period. He did not react to the successive actions of the court and An Lushan until Li Longji's imperial edict asking him to preside over all matters concerning Tubo arrived. Only then did Li Heng perk up.

Yang Yuhuan put down the music she was writing, picked up the imperial edict and looked at it, and said happily, "Just as you expected, the sage really appointed you, but he didn't give you the position of Jiedushi, only the deputy one."

Li Heng said: "You don't need the power of a Jiedushi to fight in the front. A Bingmashi is enough. Your Majesty gives it according to need."

Yang Yuhuan laughed and said, "Could it be that the Saint was afraid that there would be no more rewards for you after you defeated Tubo, so he reserved the post of Jiedushi for reward?"

Li Heng shook his head and said, "My political life is closely related to Tubo. If this battle can defeat Tubo, then my life will be over."

Yang Yuhuan knew in her heart that she just didn't want to face it, but Li Heng had already said it, and she couldn't just ignore it.

Yang Yuhuan sighed and said, "When my husband wins, the Tang Dynasty will celebrate, but we will be the only ones preparing for death."

Li Ying said: "It's time to decide the winner."

Yang Yuhuan didn't understand what Li Heng meant by deciding the outcome, and her face was full of confusion.

Li Heng pondered for a while and said, "Hongyue has confirmed that An Lushan did offer horses to Luoyang. Send a letter and ask Hongyue to find a chance to reveal this news to Henan Yin Da Xi Xun."

Yang Yuhuan was confused by Li Heng's unconventional thinking and asked curiously, "Are these related?"

Li Heng said: "The plan has been broken, An Lushan must be terrified. I am a patient, and I have sent all the Northwest Army to Tibet, so I am unable to return to help. Now is the best opportunity."

Yang Yuhuan was horrified and whispered, "My dear, are you creating opportunities for An Lushan and forcing him to rebel?"

Li Heng said: "Hebei is a powder keg that cannot be controlled. An Lushan will rebel sooner or later. He will rebel anyway, so why not let him rebel in a predictable way?"

Yang Yuhuan nodded and said worriedly, "What if An Lushan wants to wait a little longer?"

"He can't wait." Li Heng thought, "This is the best opportunity. The biggest opponent of the Northeast Army is the Northwest Army. If he waits until I defeat Tubo and have time to come back to help, his chances of winning will be reduced to 30%. Moreover, the purpose of my father appointing Yang Guozhong as the right prime minister is to balance the interests of Guanzhong and other places. My father is preparing to take back power. If An Lushan waits any longer, there will be no good results."

"That's right." Yang Yuhuan agreed with Li Heng's statement, and then sighed and said, "It's just that when the war breaks out, the people will suffer."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng hugged Yang Yuhuan and said, "I know you are kind-hearted and cannot bear to see the people suffer, but the current situation of the Tang Dynasty cannot be remedied. We can only destroy it before we can rebuild it."

"I finally understand why you are so depressed despite your enormous power. I also understand why you always doubt whether you have done something wrong." Yang Yuhuan looked up at Li Heng. "You must have been very tormented these years. I believe you have made the right choice. I will always support you."

Li Ying said: "Without your constant companionship, I would not be able to hold on until now."

Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "Does my lord really want to take all the Northwest Army to Tubo?"

Li Heng nodded and said, "You can't fool your own people with military deployment. Besides, if we don't cripple Tubo and the Northwest Army comes to help, the four towns in Longyou Road will be in danger."

Yang Yuhuan said: "That's true."

Li Ying said, "Call Mu Jin and the others first."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan went out, and soon she called Zhang Mujin and the others in, and then closed the door. Li Heng sat with the others and said, "You and I share the same fate, and now I have something important to tell you. If you can do your best, we will have a chance to live, but if you can't, we will have to die together."

Several people looked at each other and said in unison: "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

Li Ying nodded and said to He Jin, "The situation in Chang'an is tense. We will temporarily take back all the shops in Chang'an and let you run them."

He Jin said: "I am the one who manages these shops. This is a simple matter."

Li Heng said: "In order to protect myself, I need to replace some of the shop employees with my guards."

He Jin was startled and asked, "How many people do you want to replace, Your Highness?"

Li Ying said: "Too many and too hasty, it will be easy to be exposed, so replace 200 people within a year."

"That's not difficult." He Jin nodded. "For the safety of the caravan, we will hire some retired soldiers. It will be easy to get their identities."

"Okay." Li Heng turned to Wei Xianyi and said, "I know your grandfather bet on both sides and married your sister to the prince's son. I also know that some of the maids and servants around you are your grandfather's spies on me."

"Your Highness," Wei Xianyi was startled, and quickly stood up, lowering her head and said, "I... am sorry, Your Highness."

Li Heng said: "This is not your fault. Anyway, I have no handle in these years. He sent people to monitor me, but he protected me."

Wei Xianyi didn't dare to speak.

Li Ying changed the subject and continued, "But we can't let anyone know what happened today, or we will all be killed."

Wei Xianyi said: "I will keep my mouth shut!"

Li Heng said: "We can't let them not get any information. I will attack Tubo with all my strength next. They can know these things."

Wei Xianyi said: "I understand."

"Please sit down." Li Ying asked Wei Xianyi to take a seat, and then turned to Aqisi and said, "The Tang Dynasty has supported Bukhara for more than ten years. Anxi has always cooperated with Bukhara and fought against Tubo. I hope Bukhara can take the initiative to take the lead and send troops to support Anxi."

Aqisi said: "Of course, whenever the Tang Dynasty issues an order, Bukhara will obey it."

Li Heng said, "There are also weapons. The weapons department of Bactria needs to make more Tang-style weapons. I will let General Feng contact them. You just need to convince the King of Bactria to obey General Feng's orders and not disobey them."

Aqisi said: "Yes."

Li Ying turned to Zhang Mujin and said, "You are in charge of the life of the people in the mansion. Recently, there may be people who want to attack you. All food and medicine must be strictly inspected."

Zhang Mujin said: "I will be more careful, Your Highness, please rest assured."

Li Heng nodded and said, "Also, create some momentum and say that my body is about to run out of energy, and reveal the dosage of the medicine I use."

Zhang Mujin said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)