An Lushan rebelled, Yang Yuhuan left, and Li Longji, who was in his prime, was actually disheartened.

The emperors of the Tang Dynasty have always been arrogant in the world and commanded the world. Even if there were two dissatisfied Empress Wu, the people in power in the court were extremely powerful, and no barbarian from all over the world dared to disobey him. He had never been beaten by a traitor.

I have to lose the emperor who is running around in the capital.

Li Longji was a pioneer, especially in the first half of his life, he was still praised by the people all over the world, praising him as a prosperous and wise king who was far ahead of Emperor Taizong and Gaozong.

As a result, Mingjun lost his capital and half of his country as soon as he looked back, and his glorious and prosperous age was in turmoil overnight.

How should he be evaluated as an emperor in the history books a hundred years later?

Li Longji is seventy years old and is destined to be unable to make a comeback in this life. The rebellion may be put down, but he will inevitably be nailed to the pillar of shame of all the emperors of the Tang Dynasty forever. When future generations talk about him, the Kaiyuan era is worth mentioning.

But what's even more remarkable is that he almost became the king of the country's subjugation.

When he heard the news that the crown prince Li Heng had ascended the throne in Lingzhou, Li Longji was heartbroken. He was so frightened and angry that he immediately wanted to issue an imperial edict to the world to tell the world that the prince's throne was incorrect.

However, there was a mysterious voice in a corner of my heart that repeatedly said, "It's great to be relieved of power and pressure."

Yes, it's great. From now on, I am no longer an emperor, and I no longer have to bear heavy burdens.

Li Longji is seventy years old, and his ambitions have long been exhausted. His imperial aura is full of twilight and depression. He is like a pet dog of noble blood. Although he has lived a lifetime of good clothing and good food, he has no

No more energy to please the master.

"That's it..." Li Longji sat on the futon and looked at the empty hall absentmindedly.

Gao Lishi stood in front of him with a bow, his expression was lonely and sad, and he lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Longji's droopy eyelids slowly opened. The moment he learned that Li Heng had ascended the throne, all his energy seemed to have been drained. At this moment, he was like a dry and old skin.

"When Prince Lingzhou ascends the throne, how many courtiers support him?" Li Longji asked slowly.

Gao Lishi said softly: "After the fall of Chang'an, the courtiers were scattered in all directions. Some came to Shuzhong with Your Majesty, and some traveled thousands of miles to Lingzhou to serve under the prince. According to the news received by the old slave, on the day of the prince's enthronement ceremony,

About two hundred court officials attended the ceremony..."

Li Longji hummed, and then said: "What about Guo Ziyi, An Chongzhang, Gao Xianzhi, Gu Qing and other people with military power? What is their attitude?"

Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment and then said with difficulty: "All the generals are willing to support the crown prince on his enthronement. An Chongzhang, Gu Qing and others who were unable to attend the ceremony also wrote in their own words that they were willing to support him, and paid homage to the prince from afar with the courtesy of a monarch and his ministers."

Li Longji's eyes widened suddenly, revealing a frightening sharp light. Then the sharp light slowly faded away, like a lamp that ran out of oil, gradually extinguishing in his pupils.

"I treat you all well, why do you all abandon me today?" Li Longji sighed sadly.

Gao Lishi knelt down in front of Li Longji and cried: "Your Majesty, I will never abandon Your Majesty. I only want to be driven by Your Majesty in my life."

Li Longji also shed tears, stood up and helped Gao Lishi up, patted his shoulder vigorously, and said: "I am lucky to know General Gao in this life. When times are desperate, General Gao is the only one who shares my misfortunes and blessings..."

The two cried bitterly for a long time, and Gao Lishi calmed down and said: "Your Majesty, things have turned around. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, privately proclaimed himself emperor without the imperial edict, which is a great treason. Your Majesty only needs a piece of imperial edict to announce to the world that he will be crowned Crown Prince."

If the throne is not upright, the people in the world will not recognize him as the legitimate throne and will instead regard you as the emperor."

Li Longji sighed desolately, shook his head and said: "You can think of it, can't the prince not think of it? He must have made thorough preparations before he ascended the throne, otherwise why do you think Guo Ziyi, Gu Qing and others would support him? Naturally, they would have agreed with him in advance

They have been in contact, and now the military power is in the hands of these generals. As long as they are willing to support him, the crown prince's throne will be secure."

Gao Lishi said anxiously: "How can these people who live on the emperor's salary do such unfaithful and unjust things behind your Majesty's back? Your Majesty should write a letter to question..."

Li Longji shook his head and sighed: "That's all, the situation is over, leave some dignity for me, repairing books is just humiliating myself."

Gao Lishi stamped his feet anxiously and said: "Your Majesty, this is the throne! How can you give up the power granted by heaven so easily to others?"

Li Longji stared at a lone lamp in the hall with a lonely expression, and said softly: "The power granted by heaven has been completely violated by me. No matter how treacherous the prince's move is, it is he who gathered the defeated troops in Lingzhou, suppressed the rebellion and eliminated the thieves.

, but I gave up on countering the rebellion and hid in Shu to escape the war. I am not as good as him."

Gao Lishi said angrily: "Your Majesty is the lord of ten thousand times, so naturally he cannot stand under a dangerous wall, but the throne does not allow others to covet it. It should belong to your Majesty. Your Majesty only abdicates to get the crown prince in his turn. Otherwise, it will be unfair to get the throne."

"

Li Longji sighed: "General Gao, I am already seventy years old, and my life is not far away. Even if I continue to be emperor, how many more years can I last? When the people of the world suppressed the rebellion and killed the enemy, what did I do? Wait for it.

When the rebellion is put down and I return to power in the capital, what will the people of the world think of me?"

"That's all, that's it..." Li Longji sighed, the king was completely exhausted at this moment.

Gao Lishi said anxiously: "Your Majesty, are you really going to admit that the crown prince is the emperor?"

Li Longji nodded: "The rebellion has not been subdued, and the Tian family should not have another setback, otherwise the country will really not be saved. The prince has been in office for decades, and it is his turn. Has the prince issued an edict on his accession to the throne?"

"Yes, Lingzhou ascends the throne, grants amnesty to the world, and honors His Majesty as...the Supreme Emperor."

Li Longji closed his eyes and asked again: "What else?"

"The courtiers were rewarded, and several important ministers were granted titles. Among them, Gu Qing was promoted to the title of Duke of Shu, and was granted the title of deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses..."

Li Longji shook his head and sighed: "You have no plans, Gu Qing, a fierce tiger. You have to guard against it. You can only be imprisoned in a cage, how can you let it roam in the mountains and forests? Even if you are granted a title, you should also be given a title. How can you be promoted to a noble title? If the decree for granting a title is like this,

Who else in the world can control him? Hasn’t the prince thought about what to do after suppressing the rebellion?"

Gao Lishi whispered: "The prince must have discussed it with his advisers."

Li Longji said slowly: "The Anxi army under Gu Qing's command is powerful, and its combat power is also the best among the elites of the Tang Dynasty. If he has a rebellious intention, the disaster will be as bad as the rebellion of the An thieves. How can I, the Li family's royal family, be able to sit on the throne again?"

"General Gao ordered Shiren to write a letter telling the prince that in the name of the Emperor, the Anxi Army should take the initiative to attack Guanzhong, and try to consume the Anxi Army as much as possible in the battle to suppress the rebellion. After the rebellion is suppressed, Gu Qing can be made prime minister and withdraw.

Remove him from his military post, split up the Anxi Army under his command, and distribute the officers and soldiers to various places. Only in this way can this problem be eliminated forever."

Gao Lishi respectfully obeyed the order.

Li Longji hesitated for a moment, and then said: "In addition, in the name of the Supreme Emperor, I issued an edict to the world, saying that I am old and can no longer handle complicated affairs, so I am located in Taizi Heng. I hope that the new emperor will live up to his ancestors, the country, and self-denial."

Take up the new post and restore the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty."

Gao Lishi agreed with a sad expression.

After Li Longji finished speaking, his expression was already a little tired. He closed his eyes for a while and suddenly asked: "My wife... is it okay to be at Gu Qing's place? But ask someone..."

"yes."

"That's all, please step back. I'm a little tired and want to take a nap."

Gao Lishi bowed and retreated.

Li Longji was sitting alone in the hall and suddenly spread out his hands. His hands were still as white as jade and had been well maintained over the years. They looked nothing like the hands of a seventy-year-old man.

But his hands were empty.

No power, no beloved woman, nothing left.

Today, he is just a lonely old man, like a planet that has lost its gravity. After the glory has dimmed, the people who should leave have left him one after another, and he is no longer attractive to anyone.

If history is a drama, the lights on his stage have dimmed, and he quietly exits in the darkness.

There was no applause from the audience, and he did not perform this scene brilliantly.

Originally, it was supposed to be exciting.

…………

Tongguan.

Although Tongguan has been recaptured, the Anxi Army has stationed in Tongguan and repaired many damaged city walls and towers. The generals and civil servants under the Anxi Army are nervously carrying out post-war cleanup work.

The grain, grass and weapons left behind by the rebels need to be counted, the surrendered rebels need to be questioned and interrogated, the defense materials at the top of the city need to be replenished, etc.

Everyone is busy, except Gu Qing who is somewhat free.

He is the commander of the first army and does not need to do these things himself. He only needs to listen to the final results.

Standing on top of Tongguan City, Gu Qing looked west at Chang'an.

Outside the stacked mountain streams, the city walls and palaces of Chang'an seem to be vaguely visible. The ancient city that has gone through thousands of years and has been replaced by countless heroes and kings is still standing quietly on the Guanzhong Plain in the distance.

Thousands of years have passed, and the hero finally turned into a handful of loess, but Chang'an is still Chang'an. It tells the world with a silent and cold attitude that there is no eternal country in the world, and no immortal foundation. The only one who can conquer this ancient city is,

It's time.

Duan Wuji quietly walked up behind Gu Qing and saluted: "My lord, the second batch of taxes from the south has been sent, and the civil servants in the rear army are counting them."

Gu Qing turned around and looked at him: "How much is the second batch of taxes?"

"The grain totals 10,000 shi, as well as 8,000 jins of pig iron, 5,000 jins of dried meat, 800 prime-age war horses, and 20,000 guan of money."

Gu Qing nodded: "It will be available for a while. You can go and collect the third and fourth batch of taxes before the rebels withdraw from Guanzhong. The logistics of the Anxi Army cannot be interrupted, otherwise there will be big trouble."

"yes."

Duan Wuji straightened up, stood at Tongguan and looked at the distant Chang'an, and said softly: "Sir, Tongguan has been recovered, and the city of Chang'an will be recovered soon, right?"

"It's almost time. There is a plain to the west of Tongguan, which is suitable for a decisive battle on the plain. Our Anxi army is all cavalry. We have an advantage on this point. It is only a matter of time before the rebels are driven back to the north of the Yellow River..."

"Will we send troops to Guanzhong to fight the rebels in a few days?"

Gu Qing shook his head: "There is no rush. The army will rest for a few days and see what happens to Shuofang's army."

Duan Wuji said in confusion: "Shuofang's army..."

"To be precise, let's look at the movements of the new emperor. The rebels were driven back to the north of the Yellow River, which means they have been defeated by more than half. I wonder if the new emperor has the idea of ​​killing the rabbit and killing the dog. If so,

If you don’t think about it, then everyone won’t be too happy.”

Duan Wuji thought for a while and said: "My lord, the student thinks that the Anxi army should regain Chang'an as soon as possible. If the emperor has an edict, he can wipe out the rebels in Jingguanzhong in the name of refusing to go north to wipe out the rebellion, and let Shuofang army take the lead. Anxi
To be continued...