Shen Tian's soldiers and horses were sent north by Gu Qing more than a month ago, with the purpose of operating in Hebei, waiting for opportunities, making their own decisions to advance or retreat, causing psychological pressure on An Qingxu and Shi Siming, and thus promoting the surrender of the rebels as soon as possible.

Shen Tian completed the task assigned by Gu Qing to Shen Tian very well. After fully understanding Gu Qing's strategic intention, Shen Tian's 10,000 cavalry galloped across the Hebei plains, coming and going without a trace, causing a lot of damage to the rebels. Under great pressure, tonight's surprise attack on Xiangzhou City stunned the rebels, and they easily captured Xiangzhou.

The fighting strength of the rebels today is vastly different from the fighting strength when An Lushan raised his troops. After more than two years of war and several major battles between the Anxi Army and the rebels, they were once the frontier troops of the Tang Dynasty's northern frontier. Most of the soldiers and horses in the three towns are dead and disabled, and there are not many veterans alive in the army.

After all, the top leaders of the rebel army were not saved and were driven back to Hebei by the Anxi Army. They were still busy dividing the factions and fighting among themselves. The conflict between An Qingxu and Shi Siming had become very acute, and the puppet ministers below also had to choose their side. Take sides.

For example, An Lushan's former advisers Yan Zhuang, Gao Shang, Sun Xiaozhe, etc. were divided into two factions in the internal fighting between the monarch and his ministers. Sadly, An Qingxu, as the puppet emperor, was the weaker one. Military power was in Shi Siming's hands, and Shi Siming could decide An Qingxu's life or death, but An Qingxu had nothing to do with Shi Siming.

After the rebels were defeated and retreated to Hebei, the internal fighting in the court finally affected the army.

Affected by the factional struggle in the court, the generals in the army had to stand on their own sides and fight for power. The training, logistics, recruitment and other matters of ordinary soldiers were all delayed. Today's rebels have basically become a mob.

News that Shen Tian led his troops to capture Xiangzhou reached Jinyang Palace, and the rebels were in panic. Even Shi Siming, who had prepared a retreat, became a little nervous.

Today's world situation is bounded by the Yellow River, with the Tang Dynasty in the south and the rebels in the north. The Tang Dynasty is the undisputed royal orthodoxy, and the rebels are still rebels to this day. The people of the world are all on the side of the imperial court, and no one agrees with the rebels. Rule over Hebei.

Shen Tian led his troops to cross north and capture Xiangzhou, which was a very unfavorable signal for the rebels. The meaning of this signal was that Gu Qing was going to take the initiative to attack and use force to regain Hebei, so Shi Siming had to start to worry.

The bargaining chip in his hand at this time is the vast land of Hebei and hundreds of cities. If they are defeated one by one by the Anxi Army and the rebels become weaker and weaker, and the cities and territory they occupy become smaller and smaller, then Shi Siming's bargaining chip will also be It became less and less. Why did he negotiate with the court at that time?

The news that Shen Tian had defeated Xiangzhou soon reached Jinyang Palace. An Qingxu suddenly became restless and summoned Shi Siming, Feng Yu, Yan Zhuang, Gao Shang and others into the palace to discuss matters.

The monarch and his ministers surprisingly did not quarrel this time. The pressure Shen Tian put on them made them ignore the internal fighting and began to face up to the tens of thousands of troops and speculate on Gu Qing's military intentions.

After discussing for a long time, the monarch and his ministers reached an agreement very efficiently, that is, to submit the surrender form to the Emperor of Tang Dynasty as soon as possible.

The content of the surrender has caused controversy again, such as what conditions should be offered to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, how to ensure the safety of one's property and life after surrender, and how to maintain a certain military power after surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, etc. The details are complicated and trivial. , the monarch and his ministers discussed for a long time without any results, and finally couldn't help but quarreled with each other, and the discussion broke up unhappy.

Feng Yu sat in the main hall and spoke little from beginning to end. His eyes kept glancing at Shi Siming intentionally or unintentionally, expressing his attitude to everyone with silent eyes that he was Shi Siming's person, and Shi Siming was the only one who followed his lead.

Feng Yu's silent statement made An Qingxu quite unhappy, but there was nothing he could do about it, while Shi Siming was extremely satisfied. At least for now, Feng Yu behaved like a complete fanboy and had a kind of blind obedience to him.

Shi Siming needed such a younger brother. If he didn't still have some suspicions about Feng Yu, Shi Siming would definitely find a bright future for Feng Yu after returning to the Tang Dynasty.

The discussion ended hastily, and Feng Yu walked out of the palace, bid farewell to Shi Siming respectfully, and prepared to return home.

Shi Siming suddenly stopped him and said with a smile: "Brother Feng Xian, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is there a beautiful lady waiting for you at home?"

Feng Yu's eyelids twitched, and he quickly showed a familiar cynical smile, saying: "General Shi, who knows me well, Yu brother has been very close to a woman recently. The woman came from the Southern Dynasties, and Yu brother was an old friend.

Living in Yudi’s house..."

With a look on his face, Feng Yu winked at Shi Siming. Feng Yu said with a smile: "...that woman is a little fierce horse. I haven't conquered it yet. Haha, the general should know that I like it. Conquering a fierce horse is the happiest thing in this life."

."

Shi Siming laughed and said: "My dear brother's preferences are also the preferences of all men in the world. However, the government is heavy, and my dear brother is now the left prime minister of my country. Conquering the powerful horses should not take too much energy, and the state affairs should be the most important thing."

Feng Yu hurriedly said: "General, don't worry, my foolish brother was once frivolous, but now he can still distinguish the serious from the serious. He will never interfere with state affairs, otherwise the general will be punished."

Shi Siming's eyes flashed and he said with a smile: "Who is that Southern Dynasty woman from? Have you ever checked her details?"

Feng Yu immediately said: "She is an old friend who has known her for many years. She has a clean family background. She lost her parents when she was young. She was raised by a commoner family. When Yu Di was playing in Chang'an City, he met her by chance. Yu Di dared to give her a

My head guarantees that she is definitely not a spy of the Southern Dynasties."

Shi Siming smiled brightly and said: "Since my dear brother can trust her, I won't say anything. My dear brother, be careful yourself."

Feng Yuwei said yes.

Shi Siming said again: "By the way, don't rush back home first, come with me to meet someone..."

"who?"

“You’ll know it when you see it.”

…………

Shi Siming led Feng Yu to the General's Mansion. Feng Yu, confused, followed Shi Siming into the middle courtyard and outside a wing on the west side.

Shi Siming smiled mysteriously and said: "This man is a famous person. He came to Jinyang for some reason. One of his subordinates saw him in Luoyang and recognized him at a glance, so he was sent to my house...

…”

Feng Yu became more and more curious and couldn't help but poke his head towards the crack in the door of the wing room.

Before the door was opened, I heard a vague murmur coming from inside. The voice was not high-pitched, but it carried a bit of high-spirited excitement, which made people instantly open-minded.

"I'm so drunk that I'm about to go to sleep. I want to bring you my harp tomorrow... Haha, good wine! A gold bottle worth ten thousand dollars worth of wine, and a jade plate worth ten thousand dollars worth of precious wine. Who is sneaking around outside? Come and bring me some wine!"

"

Feng Yu was so frightened by the last shout that he could not help but take a few steps back, and his face instantly turned pale.

Shi Siming thought he was frightened, so he couldn't help laughing and said: "What are you afraid of, good brother? There is a person writing poetry on your left, and the left prime minister is so frightened that his face turned pale, haha!"

Feng Yu tried his best to squeeze out a smile and said: "I wonder who...is this person inside?"

Shi Siming smiled and said, "Li Bai, layman Taibai, have you ever heard of me?"

Feng Yu looked astonished and said: "It turns out to be Taibai layman. This man is very famous. It is said that he is a fellow countryman of mine in Shu. He has written poems that even children in Shu can recite a few lines casually...

I didn't expect him to come to Jinyang."

Shi Siming nodded and said: "I saw Li Bai once when he was serving as a Hanlin in the palace and waiting for imperial edicts. When An Lushan came to the capital to congratulate him, I met him once. Haha, he stayed in the palace as an official but he was also uninhibited. He even ignored the emperor and his concubines.

In the eyes of the people in Chang'an City, he is very fond of this person. Many literati worship him as a heavenly being and he has a very high reputation as a literary talent among the people."

Feng Yu immediately understood why Shi Siming valued a poet so much and specially brought him back to his house to entertain him.

However, Feng Yu's heart was very heavy, with a sense of despair that the end was approaching.

Li Bai had been to Shiqiao Village, and Feng Yu was also from Shiqiao Village. Back then, Li Bai was entertained by Gu Qing and stayed in the village for a while. Feng Yu was also a naughty boy at that time, and he got involved with this drunkard who was drunk all day long.

He looks familiar, and he often plays pranks on him.

After several years, Feng Yu was still deeply impressed by Li Bai, and Li Bai...unless the beam in the wing suddenly broke and hit the drunkard on the head, causing him to lose his memory instantly, there was a high probability that he would also recognize Feng Yu.

.

No one knows why Li Bai suddenly appeared in Jinyang City, and no one knows where Li Bai went after the Anlushan Rebellion. His whereabouts are mysterious, coming and going like the wind. In the peaceful years, he appeared in the majestic Shiqiao Village in the middle of Shu.

In the mountains, during the turmoil, he suddenly appeared in the city occupied by the rebels.

A mysterious man.

But Feng Yu's heart was very heavy. As soon as the two of them met, Feng Yu's background was completely revealed. The so-called Yizhou merchant family, the so-called young dandy running rampant in Yizhou, etc., all the characters collapsed instantly. Just one sentence "Stone"

"Qiao Village", Shi Siming will immediately think of Gu Qing's birthplace, a person who grew up in the same village as Gu Qing. If he said that he was not a spy, no one would believe it.

Feng Yu's heart was beating violently at this moment. He had realized that he was in a desperate situation. The next moment might be the time for him to bid farewell to this world.

In the moment of life and death, Feng Yu suddenly remembered that he still had many regrets in his life...

Relatives, friends, and lovers all had no time to say goodbye.

Feng Yu smiled miserably. At this moment, Feng Yu didn't even have time to express his feelings. Shi Siming had already pushed open the door of the wing, pretending to be heroic and laughed and said: "Reuner Taibai, I have admired you for a long time."

Feng Yu sighed silently, tried to straighten his chest, and followed Shi Siming in with an indifferent expression.

In the wing room, Li Bai had bare feet, his hair disheveled like a madman, and his moon-white gown was stained with wine and oil stains. It was so dirty that he hadn't washed it for an unknown amount of time. The beard under his chin was already a bit white, and the beard on his forehead was slightly white.

The hairline has also quietly moved up. Compared to the last time I saw him in Shiqiao Village, Li Bai looks older now.

Drunk Li Bai was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, chanting something vaguely in his mouth. From time to time, a wine burp came out from the depth of his throat. The smell of wine in the room was very strong, and the people who walked in were just

The smell makes you feel a bit drunk.

After entering the door, Shi Siming made a cross-hand salute to Li Bai and said with a big smile: "I have admired the reputation of Taibai layman for a long time. How lucky I am to meet you today. I'm so polite to you, Shi Siming."

Li Bai still had his eyes closed, as if he hadn't heard anything and had no reaction.

Shi Siming was not unhappy at all. He knew very well that the man in front of him was someone who even the emperor and the noble concubines did not bother to pay attention to. There were as many poets in the prosperous times as crucian carp crossing the river. Li Bai's poems were unique and could be called the first in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. However, Li Bai's character was more

His poems are more famous, such as "light on princes" and "nobles on nobles", which are just basic operations.

With his hot face pressed against his cold butt, Shi Siming didn't feel embarrassed at all, and instead smiled even brighter.

"Taibai layman, Taibai layman? Do you want to drink? How about someone bringing you some wine?" Shi Siming leaned over and asked softly.

Speaking of wine, Li Bai immediately opened his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it. Master Shixian was so hopeless. Only wine in the world could move him.

"Here comes the wine!" Li Bai waved his hand coolly, as if the sword fairy was summoning his Xiaoyao sword.

The wine came quickly. It wasn't flown in, it was sent by servants in the mansion.

Li Bai opened the seal of the wine jar, picked up the jar and poured it into his mouth. In the blink of an eye, he drank half of the jar of wine, drank half of it in his mouth, and drank half of it in his clothes.

Putting down the wine jar, Li Bai sighed with contentment and finally came back to his senses. Only then did he raise his eyes to take a formal look at Shi Siming and Feng Yu for the first time.

Feng Yu swallowed nervously and stood numbly behind Shi Siming without moving.

Unexpectedly, Li Bai acted as if he didn't know him at all, his eyes passed by him without stopping at all, and finally looked at Shi Siming.

"Who are you?" Li Bai squinted his drunken eyes and burped.

Shi Siming said with a smile: "I just said that the general of the Yan Kingdom's army is Shi Siming."

Li Bai was silent for a moment with slow response, and then asked: "Where is this place?"

Shi Siming still smiled and said: "This place is the capital of Dayan, Jinyang."

Li Bai frowned and fell into deep thought. After thinking for a long time, he finally pulled back his hair with his hands in pain and lamented: "Oh! Why am I here? How did I cross the Yellow River? Shouldn't I be in Luoyang?"
To be continued...