Chapter 326: Serving the King
Changan.

On May 24, Li Longji was still immersed in the joy of Li Heng's successive victories, but at this time, urgent news came from Taiyuan.

An urgent report said that An Lushan was plotting a rebellion and had sent troops south.

Li Longji didn't believe it at all and thought it was a false accusation against An Lushan.

It was not until May 26th, when reports came from the frontline, that Li Longji was convinced that An Lushan had indeed rebelled.

Li Longji was so shocked that his joy turned into sadness. He looked several years older in an instant and stood there in a daze.

Yang Guozhong was very happy because this showed that what he said before about An Lushan's intention to rebel was correct.

Yang Guozhong said proudly: "The only rebel is An Lushan. The generals and soldiers do not want to rebel. It is easy to send troops to suppress the rebellion. In less than ten days, someone will bring An Lushan's head to the saint."

Li Longji was skeptical and remained silent, but the other civil and military officials widened their eyes in shock.

That night, Li Longji did not sleep all night.

At the court meeting the next day, Li Longji recovered and asked civil and military ministers for countermeasures.

After being squeezed out by Li Heng, Geshu Han and Wang Sili went to Shuofang to develop and are now in the court.

Wang Sili was eager to make a contribution. He said, "The reason why the rebels are so invincible is that the world has been peaceful for a long time, so they are afraid of the rebels. However, things may go well or badly. I would like to go to Luoyang, open the treasury, recruit brave men, and cross the Yellow River. It won't be long before we can take the head of the traitor An Lushan and present it to the saint."

Li Longji was delighted when he heard this and said, "Very good! I order you to be the governor of Fanyang and Pinglu, and Bi Sichen to be the deputy governor. You two should go to Luoyang immediately to recruit soldiers and kill the bandits!"

"I will definitely live up to your mission!" Wang Sili and Bi Sichen bowed to Li Longji together and left in a hurry.

On the first day of June, the news that An Lushan had conquered Boling and killed Yang Guanghui reached Chang'an. Li Longji was furious and immediately killed An Lushan's son, the Minister of the Imperial Household An Qingzong, and ordered Princess Rongyi, who had been married to An Qingzong before, to commit suicide.

At the same time, Li Longji also realized the rebels' strong combat effectiveness and began to plan defense.

Li Longji appointed Guo Ziyi, the commander of the Shuofang army, as the governor of Shuofang, Wang Chengye, the general of the Yulin Guard, as the new prefect of Taiyuan, and Guan Chongsi as the chief officer of Lu. He connected these three points to defend Hedong.

In addition, a new Henan Jiedushi was established, in charge of thirteen counties including Chenliu, with Zhang Jieran as the Jiedushi, which served as the first line of defense to shield the Jianghuai area.

Wang Sili recruited 60,000 soldiers in Luoyang and dismantled the Heyang Bridge to prevent the rebels from crossing the Yellow River from here, forcing the rebels to pass through Hulao Pass as a second line of defense.

For the third line of defense, Li Longji appointed Li Lin as the marshal and Geshu Han as the deputy marshal. He recruited 100,000 troops in Beijing, named them the Tianwu Army, and marched them to Shan County.

……

On the other hand, after An Lushan conquered Boling, he left his adopted son An Zhizhong to guard Boling, while he led his troops south to Changshan.

The newly appointed Changshan prefect Yan Gaoqing knew that he could not win the battle, so he and his chief secretary Yuan Luqian opened the city and surrendered.

An Lushan still appointed Yan Gaoqing as the prefect, and sent his general Li Qincou to lead troops to garrison Jingxing Pass to guard against the government troops in the west, while he continued to lead the main force southward.

Hebei Province was originally under the jurisdiction of An Lushan, and there had been no war for a long time. When An Lushan arrived, all the counties in Hebei surrendered. An Lushan encountered almost no resistance and marched from Changshan, passing through Zhaojun, Julu, Handan, Daming, Puyang, and Lingchang.

On June 11, An Lushan forced his way across the Yellow River from Lingchang and captured Lingchang County.

The next day, the rebels arrived at Chenliu City and surrounded it.

Henan Jiedushi Zhang Jieran had just arrived in Chenliu a few days ago. When he opened the armory, he found that all the weapons inside were rusted.

After much difficulty, they found some usable armor, but discovered that the soldiers of Chenliu did not know how to wear armor.

Facing An Lushan's mighty army, the soldiers of Chenliu were panicked and trembling all over. Chenliu Governor Guo Na was stunned when he saw this and thought to himself, "What's the point of fighting? We might as well surrender."

So two days later, Chenliu prefect Guo Guona opened the city and surrendered.

An Lushan entered from the north city. When he arrived in the city, he learned that Li Longji had killed his son. He was indignant and said, "I have been loyal to my country and fought against the rebellion. What have I done wrong? Why did the saint kill my son?"

After An Lushan finished speaking, he saw 10,000 Chenliu soldiers surrendering on the roadside, so he ordered his men to kill all of them to vent his hatred.

Li Guiren arrested Henan Jiedushi Zhang Jieran and handed him over to An Lushan, who personally executed Zhang Jieran at the military gate.

The first line of defense set up by Li Longji was easily broken by An Lushan.

Li Longji was extremely frightened and immediately ordered the soldiers of the three towns of Hexi, Longyou and Shuofang, except for those who stayed behind in the castles, to go to the camp. The soldiers would be led by the military governors of each town and had to arrive within 20 days.

Li Heng and Gao Xianzhi were ordered to send all their wives and children to Chang'an, without leaving anyone behind.

The imperial edict was quickly sent to Shanzhou.

Li Heng received the imperial edict and sat around the table with his wives and concubines again.

Li Heng said, "Father summoned all of you to Chang'an because he was afraid that I would rebel, and he wanted to use you as hostages."

Wei Xianyi joined the sect the latest, knew the least, and was the most innocent. He immediately said with a smile, "Your Highness is a prince, how could he rebel?"

Li Heng smiled meaningfully and said, "If you are afraid, you can choose not to go. I will rebel now."

Li Ying's words were spoken lightly, but they sounded louder than thunder in the ears of several people.

Except for Yang Yuhuan, everyone else stood there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.

Li Heng looked at Yang Yuhuan and said, "You knew from the beginning why I went to Anxi. It's risky for you to go to Chang'an this time. I have the same original intention as before. If you are worried, you don't have to go."

"It's been a long time since I went back to Chang'an." Yang Yuhuan looked at Li Heng and smiled, "Your Highness has the whole world in mind. If you only occupy the northwest, it will be difficult to unify the world. And Your Highness is the son of the saint after all. Your Highness is both a minister and a son. If you rebel, you will be disloyal and unfilial. How can Your Highness live with this reputation of being disloyal and unfilial? How can you rule the world and rebuild the prosperous Tang Dynasty? This Chang'an, I should go to."

Li Heng was stunned.

It turns out that Yang Yuhuan has always been more determined than him.

Taking advantage of Li Heng's moment of distraction, Yang Yuhuan asked the other four people, "What do you think, sisters?"

Zhang Mujin spoke first: "When we were in Qiuci, Mujin and my sister guarded the city together and waited for Alang to come back. It's the same this time."

Aqisi smiled and said, "I said I would be useful to His Highness. Isn't now the best opportunity?"

He Jin said: "In fact, my favorite place is Chang'an. If it weren't for following my husband, I would like to live in Chang'an for the rest of my life. Chang'an is so wonderful!"

Wei Xianyi said: "I am the most useless. My sisters are all going, so naturally I should go too."

Li Heng stared at each of them one by one and said, "What else do I want in this life!"

Yang Yuhuan and the others looked at each other and smiled.

Li Heng said, "I am leading the troops in the front. If nothing unexpected happens, no one will dare to touch you, including my father. But if something unexpected happens, I have deployed 200 people in the He family's shop in Chang'an. They are all loyal and brave, led by Shi Shouyi. If you feel dangerous at that time, let them take you away. With their abilities, it will not be a problem for them to take you out of Chang'an."

(End of this chapter)