Chapter 370 Drama Rebellion
Li Heng pondered for a moment and asked Yuan Chao, "Did you bring any seeds?"

Yuan Chao said: "I didn't think about agriculture when I went to Lingnan, and I forgot to bring the seeds back. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Li Heng said, "No problem. It seems that you do have some insights into agriculture. Today is the palace examination. I appoint you as the secretary of Sinong Temple. Go to the Sinong Temple first to take up your post."

The Secretary of Sinong Temple was of the sixth rank.

Yuan Chao was flattered and very happy. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Stand up and talk." Li Heng asked Yuan Chao to stand up and said, "The first thing you should do when you arrive at Sinong Temple is to select some people who know about rice and form a team. After a month or two, go to Lingnan and Champa for inspection and bring back the drought-resistant and early-maturing rice seeds you mentioned."

Yuan Chao said: "I will definitely fulfill your mission!"

Li Heng smiled slightly and said, "You have been in Taizhou for a long time. Tell me what the current situation in Taizhou is. There is no need to whitewash it. Tell the truth."

"Yes." Yuan Chao took the order and told Li Heng the whole truth.

To sum up, Yuan Chao's words were the negative impact brought about by the collapse of the equal-field system. The people who lost their land had to bear heavy taxes, which led to many households fleeing. Official corruption and family monopoly exacerbated the problem, resulting in the people's miserable lives and bandits everywhere.

Li Heng could have anticipated this situation.

The conflicts in the Tang Dynasty were now extremely intense everywhere. The An-Shi Rebellion broke out in the north due to its strong military force, while the peasant uprising broke out in the south due to its weak military force.

By the late Tang Dynasty, peasant uprisings, regardless of north or south, were all absorbed into the military governorates, exacerbating the separatist rule of the military governorates.

After listening to this, Li Heng sighed silently in his heart and turned to Li You beside him and said, "Did Dalang hear it clearly?"

Li You said respectfully, "I heard it clearly."

"That's good." Li Ying was quite satisfied. He stood up and went to meet with other candidates. When he saw the craftsman who won the medal in front of him, he talked to him for a few more words.

Seeing Li Ying being so close to the people, Du Fu murmured with tears in his eyes: "Make the king as great as Yao and Shun, and make the customs more pure again."

On that day, Li Ying and his entourage had dinner at Du Fu's home, and all expenses were paid by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It was not until the evening that Li Ying and his party set out to return to the city.

Under the setting sun, Li Ying bid farewell to all the examinees, rode on his horse, and walked along the Wei River with Yang Yuhuan and others.

Li Ying said to Yang Yuhuan who was standing beside him, "This Qie River is one of the eight rivers in Chang'an. Its scenery is very different from that of Qujiang River."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan smiled and admired the scenery along the way. She said, "I really hope this stream will never end."

Li Heng smiled and said, "If you go southeast, you won't reach the end."

Yang Yuhuan asked, "Isn't entering the sea the end?"

Li Ying said: "The sea of ​​stars is just another beginning, not the end."

Yang Yuhuan seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "My dear, your heart is far beyond mine."

Li Ying smiled back and turned to Wei Xianyi and asked, "Have you been to this place before?"

Wei Xianyi said: "I traveled there when I was very young, and after that I was just passing through at most."

Li Ying asked, "With your sister?"

Wei Xianyi thought of her sister being imprisoned with Li Heng's son, and felt a little sad. She nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Heng said, "The spies your grandfather planted around you entered the palace with you. Tomorrow you will return those people to him and ask him to cooperate with me in implementing the new policy. If he listens, I can let your sister leave the palace. He chose to stand on both sides before, and I can let it go. This time, if he still does not agree with me, I can't tolerate it even if I want to. I hope you understand."

Wei Xianyi saw that things were turning around, and said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will definitely convince you, Master."

Li Ying said, "This is best."

He Jin said, "Your Majesty, the He family wants to operate river transportation and share the salt business. Can Your Majesty approve it?" Li Ying said, "Of course, but the method remains the same as before."

"Of course." He Jin smiled, "The entire He's business is..."

He Jin didn't finish his words, but the listeners understood the implication.

Li Heng stopped talking about official business and chatted with a few people about love and romance. Under the setting sun, they returned to Chang'an city together.

For the following period of time, Li Heng focused his attention on the Two Tax Law and the imperial examination.

Li Heng did not agree to Shi Siming's request to offer An Lushan's surrender in exchange for his not entering Chang'an. Li Heng also rejected Li Yu's request as he claimed to be ill.

As for Prince Rong Li Wan, he obeyed the order and went to the capital, and requested to resign from all his positions so that he could rest and recuperate.

Li Heng allowed him to recuperate in Beijing, but did not ask him to resign from his post. He also conferred him the title of Sikong.

……

Jiangling.

Li Lu's memorial was rejected by Li Heng, and he was very angry. He decided not to wait any longer and listened to Cai Yong's advice to go down the river and seize Jianghuai and Jiangnan.

On the sixth day of October in the first year of Ji De, Li Yu led his army eastward along the river.

When Li Xiyan, the governor of Wujun, learned of Li Lu's military deployment, he wrote a letter to Li Lu, asking him why he had sent troops eastward without authorization.

When Li Lu knew that the conspiracy had been exposed, he sent Su Zhen to attack Wujun, Feng Jikang and Yuan Jingyao to attack Guangling, and he himself commanded the central army.

However, Li Lu did not expect that Wei Zhi, the governor of Jiangnan East Road, had already dispatched troops to assist in the defense of Wujun, Gao Shi, the governor of Huainan East Road, had dispatched troops to assist in the defense of Guangling, and Lai Zhen, the governor of Huainan West Road, led his troops south, preparing to cut off his retreat.

On October 20th, the battle between Wujun and Guangling broke out. Thanks to Gao Shi and Wei Zhi's advance deployment of defenses, Su Zhen, Feng Jikang and Yuan Jingyao were defeated and fled.

Li Yu was afraid, and Cai Yong advised him: "Your Highness, those who accomplish great things cannot have smooth sailing. Now we should take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold and win a great victory."

Li Yu accepted Cai Yong's suggestion and prepared to fight again.

Gao Shi, Wei Zhi and Li Xiyan joined forces, stationed their troops in Yangzi and Guabu, and unfurled their flags along the river with great momentum.

On the first day of November, the two sides met.

Seeing the momentum of the government army, Li Lu became a little scared and did not dare to take the initiative to attack. He chose to set up camp and hold his ground.

Seeing Li Lu's frightened look, Yan Wu lost his last patience. On the day of setting up camp, he seized the opportunity and said to his soldiers, "We followed the King of Ying here without a reason, without the mandate of heaven, and without human will. We might as well find a way out before the battle begins. Otherwise, even if we die in battle, we will be labeled as traitors and traitors, despised by all eternity, and harm our country and our families!"

When the soldiers heard this, they thought it made perfect sense, and many of them fled immediately.

Su Zhen stepped forward and said, "General Yan, our families are all in Chang'an. If we escape, it may bring disaster to our families. It is better to capture Prince Ying and send him back to Chang'an."

Yan Wu thought it made sense and agreed immediately, saying, "Let's do it."

With an idea in mind, the two men gathered their subordinates and prepared to launch a mutiny.

However, before they could take action, news came from the rear that Li Lu had escaped.

It turned out that when Li Lu saw his soldiers fleeing, he knew that something was wrong, so he ran away with his trusted men Feng Jikang and Yuan Jingyao.

Yan Wu and Su Zhen were both stunned and could only lead their troops to surrender to the government troops.

Gao Shi and Wei Zhi were also very surprised because they had never fought such a simple battle before, and at one point they even suspected that it was Li Lu's conspiracy.

Li Yu ran all the way to Poyang, hoping to go south to Lingnan through Poyang.

(End of this chapter)