Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 993 – An Emperor Guards the Country, a Ruler Dies for It
Ouyang Shuo was not in a rush to go to the prince’s manor. He first passed the token from Li Jingji to a Personal Guard and ordered, “Pass this to the advisor and ask him to move the troops into the city.”
“Yes my king!” The guard turned around and left.
The meeting with Li Longji and Yang Guozhong made Ouyang Shuo really disappointed. The two of them were determined to flee, but Ouyang Shuo would not accede to their request.
With 150 thousand elite troops in his hands, Ouyang Shuo could do what others wanted but could not achieve. Ouyang Shuo also understood the reason why Pang Tong asked him to visit the prince, Li Xiang.
As the Tang Dynasty prince, Li Xiang had a really bad life.
From the moment he was set as the next ruler, Li Xiang was under pressure from both Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, so his life was a really tough one.
Solely during Li Linfu’s time, to remove the prince’s faction, Li Linfu caused two incidents regarding Li Xiang’s marriage. As a result, he divorced twice, which made him feel really sour. He was psychologically hurt.
Yang Guozhong was next, and he had another fight for power against Li Xiang. On the surface, Chang An City was really prideful. However, internally, it was a dangerous place. Only when the An Lushan Rebellion happened did Li Xiang find a chance to strike back.
Without a doubt, the person who planned the mutiny of Maweiyi was Li Xiang.
Tang Xuanzong hurried to flee to the Shu Lands, bringing with him three thousand guards. Li Xiang had two thousand men with him, which included the elite guards forces – flying dragon guards.
6th month, 14th day, the fleeing forces reached Maweiyi. As the soldiers were hungry and tired, they started to grumble.
This gave Li Xiang, who was planning in the dark, a great chance.
Yang Guozhong was chased by the guards troops to Maweiyi’s west gate, where he was cut down. His son Yang Xuan and his wife were also killed during the chaos.
Li Xiang single-handedly planned the mutiny, killing the Yang family and pointing his spear at Tang Xuanzong. Tang Xuanzong entering the Shu Lands was irreversible, and the father and son duo going their separate ways was bound to happen.
Tianbao 15th year, 7th month, 9th day, Li Xiang arrived in Wuling. After a round of planning and preparation, on the 12th day, he had a simple ascension ceremony on the south gate city tower.
At this point, the An Lushan Rebellion welcomed another turning point.
When he heard that Ouyang Shuo was here to visit, Li Xiang did not dare to take it lightly and personally invited him into the manor.
The current Li Xiang was already 45, and he was not some majestic young man. He was a slightly plump and sad faced middle-aged man.
Ouyang Shuo could not imagine how such a person had the courage to start a mutiny. The mutiny of Maweiyi was definitely planned. Moreover, based on the timing, Li Xiang should have definitely started planning it.
“The prince wants to use methods to kill Yang Guozhong?” Ouyang Shuo was really direct.
‘Huadang!’
The exquisite jade porcelain cup was smashed to pieces on the ground and tea splashed. In the Tang Xuanzong era, the way of the tea was rising, and the era that Tea Saint Lu Yu appeared in was after the An Lushan Rebellion.
Li Xiang did not notice, and his face was ashen white, as he trembled, “You, what you are saying. I do not, I do not understand.”
Ouyang Shuo smiled, “Prince, do not worry. What you want to do, just with my 150 thousand troops, I can help you complete in Chang An. Why don’t I tell you a piece of news? The emperor has allowed me to move troops to defend the city.”
Li Xiang sent away the servant who was about to clean up the tea glass, and he calmed himself down, “If that’s the case, what do I need to do?”
Ouyang Shuo nodded in approval, “Prince, have you heard of a sentence?”
“Please speak!” Li Xiang said really respectfully.
“An emperor guards the country, a ruler dies for it.”
Li Xiang was stunned; these words were after his time and were used to describe the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he had not heard of these words before. “So, what you’re saying is you want me to stay in Chang An?”
“Why, you don’t dare?”
Li Xiang was at a lost. Although he was a prince, at such a stage, he was less of a person than the player before him. He gritted his teeth, “Tong Pass has been taken. Can we defend Chang An?”
Being worried about Chang An City was just one of the reasons. Li Xiang also had another thought; he wanted to contact Guo Ziyi. After all, the Great Tang army was loyal to Tang; it was not some player army.
Ouyang Shuo’s pitch black eyes saw through Li Xiang’s thoughts, “Whether we can defend or not is my problem. You do not have to worry.”
Li Xiang’s face tensed up, and he tightly gripped his robe.
“Insult; this was an utter insult to the royal family!”
Ouyang Shuo was unwilling to stay for any longer, so he stood up and said, “A huge change is about to occur; please prepare early.”
The current Ouyang Shuo was like the power ministers of China. He was like Huo Guang, like Dong Zhuo. In Li Xiang’s eyes, he was a devil.
Li Xiang stood stunned at the spot, not knowing how to react.
Before leaving, Ouyang Shuo said coldly, “Please remember these words, Chang An City lacks loyalty, lacks generals, and lacks merciful and smart people; the only thing it does not lack is emperors.”
Li Xiang’s fingernails slowly dug into his skin. However, he did not feel any pain in his heart.
…
Leaving the prince manor, Ouyang Shuo led his forces to the residence that Li Longji had arranged for him. Inside, Feng Qiuhuang, Pang Tong, and Shihu were already waiting.
Pang Tong received the token that Ouyang Shuo had sent him and immediately understood. He sent 30 thousand heavy armored mountain barbarians and three thousand Divine Martial Guards into the city to take charge of the city gates as the pass into the city.
“My king, Chang An City is already under our control,” Pang Tong reported.
Ouyang Shuo smiled, “The advisor really knows me. Next, how to let Li Longji abdicate? I hope to let the prince Li Xiang ascend. I need you to plan for it.”
Since Li Xiang was destined to get the position through a mutiny, Ouyang Shuo decided to let that come through. However, the ascension would not be at Wuling City but at Chang An City.
With that, it was all the more proper.
Through this, Ouyang Shuo could also control the Tang Dynasty camp and use the entire power of the Tang Camp to fight the rebels and not fight alone.
“Do not worry, my king!” Pang Tong was really confident.
It was Feng Qiuhuang who was filled with confusion, so she asked, “Wuyi, what are you trying to do? Are we really going to defend Chang An?”
“Is that not okay?” Ouyang Shuo asked.
“That’s totally not okay.” Feng Qiuhuang was furious, “Apart from the mountain barbarians, the rest of our troops are cavalry. How can we defend?”
“If it were just defending, we would not be able to obtain a complete victory. I have an idea.” As he spoke, Ouyang Shuo laid out his plan.
After he voiced his plan, the room was totally silent.
“You are crazy!” Feng Qiuhuang exclaimed.
Ouyang Shuo smiled. Gaia had moved the Battle Map to such a special time; it was giving the Tang Dynasty camp a dead problem.
“We can only win by doing that. Feng Wu, trust me.” Ouyang Shuo tried to persuade her.
Feng Qiuhuang gave him a bitter smile, “I’m already on your ship, what can I do?”
With the plan discussed, both of them went to make their preparations. The rebel army could arrive at any moment, so they did not have much time left.
…
Luoyang.
Just as Ouyang Shuo was talking to Li Longji, Di Chen met An Lushan.
People like An Lushan found it hard to trust others, and he had a theory, ‘Whoever’s army is bigger, whoever’s fist is larger; whoever’s fist is larger, whoever is boss.’
Di Chen leading the 300 thousand troops and suddenly descending on Luoyang had given An Lushan a lot of pressure. An Lushan originally wanted to order Cui Ganyou to not wait for troops and take down Chang An right away, but he was stopped by Di Chen.
“Chang An has 150 thousand player troops there. If Cui Ganyou goes there now, it would be sending him to his death. If he’s not careful, the enemy might even take back Tong Pass.”
An Lushan did not believe it, “Are the enemy player troops that strong?”
“Although I do not want to admit it, they will only be stronger than you imagine.” Even with the advantage, Di Chen did not want to underestimate his opponent.
Their opponent was a person who kept on creating miracles.
An Lushan asked, “Then in your eyes, what should we do?”
“Let Cui Ganyou continue to defend Tong Pass and not step out. Once I lead the troops there, we will move together to take over Chang An.”
“What if they run?”
Di Chen smiled, “If they run, that would be the best.”
…
Night, Chang An.
30 thousand heavy armored infantry troops moved into Chang An city, making the Capital City that was already brimming with rumors even more boisterous.
Some people said that this army was here to protect the fleeing emperor, some said that they were here to protect Chang An, and some even spread rumors that they were here to occupy Chang An.
No matter what, once night fell, Chang An was under curfew. However, different from before, the soldiers patrolling became the mountain barbarians soldiers.
Xingqing Palace and the prince manor became heavily guarded areas.
This night was destined to not be peaceful.
Under the night sky, the first to take action was the three thousand Divine Martial Guards. Suddenly, they charged into the Xingqing camp and took down the thousand guards in it.
Next, Li Xiang arrived and had a conversation with his father.
Once Li Xiang left the palace, Tang Xuanzong fell to the floor. Accompanying by his side was Yang Guifei. Tears filled her eyes as she looked on in pity.
“Traitor son, what a traitor.”
Tang Xuanzong was totally unwilling. He cursed out, but no one cared about him.
The usually solemn Xingqing Palace became really cold like a palace of exiled people.
At the same time, the minister’s manor was swarmed by soldiers who killed him on the spot.
In one night, Chang An City was turned on its head.
