Chapter 1: Chang'an Storm (I)

Chang'an, after the eighth year of Wude, was surging.

A lot of things have happened in the past four years. But after thinking about it carefully, nothing seems to have happened in these four years.

In the fourth year of Wude, Jiangnan was peaceful.

Xiao Xian of the Later Liang Dynasty was destroyed, and the Xiao Sui court went to Nanyang.

Feng Ang of Lingnan announced his surrender, and Fang Xuanling surrendered in Hongzhou... The fierce war at the end of the Sui Dynasty disappeared in just four years. The princes of all walks of life died and surrendered, and the Li Tang Dynasty became as stable as Mount Tai overnight.

In China, abandoned land began to cultivate again.

After drawing on the tax adjustment law of renting and taxation implemented by Li Yanqing in Xingyang County, Li Yuan finally made up his mind to start implementing it nationwide.

After two years of adjustment, the Li Tang Dynasty showed a thriving scene.

In foreign countries, at the end of the fourth year of Wude, Silla joined forces with Baekje to resolve to eliminate Goguryeo, which had already been in the midst of the twilight west. Goguryeo was no longer as prosperous as it was in the struggle between Yuan Taizuo and Yizhi Wende. After the three campaigns of Goguryeo by Emperor Yang of Sui, although the Sui Dynasty caused the turmoil in the Sui Dynasty, Goguryeo itself was also greatly damaged. In desperation, Yuan Taizuo asked the people of the Marx for help.

No matter what, although the Goguryeo people were separated, they were always a member of the Marine people.

After receiving Yuan Taizuo's request for help, the people of the Marine immediately prepared their troops and prepared to send troops to provide assistance. Unexpectedly, Du Ruhui suddenly launched an attack at this time and ordered Luo Shixin and Liu Heita to split their troops into two groups to attack the Marine people. Li Yuan did not have much affection for the three countries on the Korean Peninsula... Although the failure of the three expeditions of Goguryeo belonged to Yang Guang, Li Yuan, who was born in Guanlong nobles, was also unacceptable. In the fifth year of Wude, Li Yuan ordered the general manager of Luzhou Xu Shiji to be the governor of Youzhou, and under the jurisdiction of the six prefectures, and joined forces with Du Ruhui to attack. At the same time, he transferred the general manager of Youzhou Xin Wenli to Jiangnan and serve as the governor of Jingzhou.

This seemingly ordinary mobilization hides endless mystery.

After Xu Shiji arrived in Youzhou, he immediately began to attack the people of the Marx... At the same time, Li Yuan appointed Du Ruhui as the Liaodong comfort envoy and implemented the art of being kind to Goguryeo. In the sixth year of Wude, Du Ruhui and Yizhi Wende reached an agreement, and Goguryeo ceded three cities east of Yalushui to obtain material assistance from Li Tang and resisted the conquests of Silla and Baekje.

Subsequently, Li Yuan ordered Du Ruhui to establish the Andong Governor's Office in Liaodong, and Du Ruhui immediately became the first Grand Governor.

In March of the same year, the Li people from Liaozi's army were destroyed, and Ning Changzhen's son Ning Xuan was killed. The troops that destroyed Liaozi were not under the rule of Li Tang. This army was called the Dragoon, all of which were composed of Li people from all over the country of Lingnan. However, they were hired by Li Yanqing and sent troops to conquer Liaozi. Then, without waiting for Chang'an to react, the Dragoon pursued across the border and attacked Zhenla Kingdom.

At the end of the sixth year of Wude, the rebels of Zhenla Kingdom were destroyed. The king of Zhenla Kingdom sent his son north to Chang'an to submit a letter of state, wishing to surrender forever.

The dragon cavalry did not return to Lingnan, but instead stationed in the King's Capital of Zhenla, Wendan City.

Externally, the king of Zhenla Kingdom claimed that the Dragon Cavalry was hired by him to take over the defense of the entire Zhenla Kingdom; while internally, the Dragon Cavalry began to expand greatly. In just one year, the Dragon Cavalry had nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses under the Dragon Cavalry, becoming the largest military force of the Zhenla Kingdom.

But where did this dragon cavalry come from?

In Chang'an, he was confused...

They only knew the degree of the name of the leader of the Dragon Cavalry, but their deputy was Du Fuwei, a bandit who ravaged the Jianghuai period during the Xiao Sui period.

After discussing with the court officials, Li Yuan finally made a decision.

The commander of Annan Grand Governor Li Yanqing was ordered to reset the Annan Grand Governor's Office, but under his rule, it expanded from the 54 prefectures and counties to 118 prefectures and counties. Yunnan, Guizhou and Liaozi areas were all under the jurisdiction of Annan Grand Governor's Office. In addition to the position of Annan Grand Governor, Li Yanqing was also appointed as the General of Zhennan, General Qilin, and Governor of Lingnan Military Affairs. He was appointed as the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Three Divisions. If the third rank is below, he can be executed first and then reported.

This edict recognizes Li Yanqing's status in the Lingnan region and even the entire Yunnan-Guizhou region.

The entire Lingnan Road was under the jurisdiction of Li Yanqing, and the eight prefectures under Feng Ang were also included in Li Yanqing's hands.

For a time, although Li Yanqing was far away in Lingnan, his name as King Lingnan was circulating in the streets and alleys of Luoyang, Chang'an.

Although he was not as good as Li Jiancheng's crown prince, he was not as good as Li Shimin's Shangshu Ling and General Tiance.

But above the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Yanqing had already vaguely equal to the Lingzhou Grand Governor Li Xuanba, and was even more superior to the royal families...

Everything seems so beautiful!

If there was no such thing that happened in the seven years of Wude, people might have forgotten what it means to have no one mountain tolerant of two tigers.

In May of the seventh year of Wude, Li Yuan went to Yuhua Mountain to rest, while Chang'an left the prince to supervise the country.

In fact, Li Yuan was very satisfied with the prince.

Li Jiancheng was gentle and mellow in nature, with the spirit of an elder, and was well-organized in handling matters. The court praised Li Jiancheng very much.

However, at this moment, a horrifying news spread from Chang'an to Yuhua Mountain located in the north of Tongchuan County.

This Yuhua Mountain has a steep terrain and is a key point connecting Guanzhong and north and south.

The Renzhi Palace, the palace where the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty cools down, is located in this Yuhua Mountain.

The Renzhi Palace was built on the hillside, and its layout and decoration were not gorgeous. The palace walls were piled up with heavy stones, with various arrow towers and mercerations on them. It is said that the Renzhi Palace was built only one month, but the food in the granaries in the palace was enough for tens of thousands of people to eat for half a year. Therefore, it is more appropriate to say that the Renzhi Palace is a fortress rather than a palace.

Seven years have passed in a flash, and Li Yuan has become a bit old.

Because of his health, he came to the Renzhi Palace to rest, but he didn't expect that this would happen when he was resting.

"Yang Wengan, do you want to rebel?"

Li Yuan took a deep breath and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

Renzhi Palace is located in Tongchuan County, while Tongchuan County is located in Qingzhou... If you are lucky, Yang Wengan is the general manager of the army and horse in Qingzhou, and he also serves as the governor of Qingzhou. In other words, if Yang Wengan rebels, Renzhi Palace will be the first to be affected.

The Qingzhou General Administration is located in Qingyang, only 60 miles away from Tongchuan County.

What is the concept of sixty miles?

From the gate of the General Administration Office, ride on a horse and arrive outside the gate of the Renzhi Palace in as fast as three and a half hours.

Yang Wengan, who holds the soldiers and horses of Qingzhou, lacks the most horses. Renzhi Palace only stationed in the three palaces, with a total of 3,600 soldiers and horses. It is indeed a bit dangerous to resist Yang Wengan. However, Li Yuan was also an emperor after all, so he was not worried about this.

What he really worried about was whether this matter was true or false?

If it is true, then what role does Prince Li Jiancheng play in it?

Because, this Yang Wengan is Li Jiancheng's person...

What made Li Yuan most uneasy was that the person who reported this matter was actually written by the Eastern Palace. Among the six commanders of the Eastern Palace, there were two lower-level military officers, one named Qiaogongshan and the other named Er Wenhuan. They were originally ordered by Wei Ting, the left guard of the Eastern Palace, to transport a batch of armored military weapons to Yang Wengan. However, they did not expect that the two of them changed the route halfway and actually ran to Renzhi Palace to report.

After Li Yuan learned the news, he could not believe that this was the fact...

On the fifth day of the sixth month, Li Yuan ordered a petty horse to return to Chang'an. Three days later, Li Jiancheng appeared in Renzhi's palace with a pale face.

What happened in these three days?

No one knows it anymore... In short, there is a lot of intrigue and deception.

On the ninth day of the lunar month, Li Yuan ordered the minister of the Sennong Temple Yu Wenying to go to Qingyang to recruit Yang Wengan, but the result was that Yu Wenying never returned, as if the world had evaporated.

By June 24, rumors were increasing.

What surprised Li Yuan even more was that Yang Wengan finally rebelled in Qingyang... What's worse, Yang Wengan also haunted Ningzhou, which is adjacent to Qingzhou, and said that he is now invincible and the prince is Mingde, and he put forward the slogan of "killing the King of Qin and clearing the king's side"...

It is said that the governor of Jingzhou and the general of the Zuo Yigu have responded publicly...

It is said that the group of governors and prefects in Shandong, appointed by the prince two years ago, were all ready to move.

It is said that even the Grand Governor Du of Annan, the General of Zhennan, the General of Qilin, and the King of Henan Li Yanqing were a little uneasy...

However, as soon as this news came out, Li Yuan was no longer afraid!

He was indeed a little afraid of Li Yanqing, but if Li Yanqing would rebel, he would never believe it.

Li Yanqing is a smart man, and is far away from Lingnan... If he really wanted to rebel, then the old subordinates in Youzhou, Liaodong, and Jingxiang would have long since risen. Once these old subordinates of Li Yanqing took action, how could the world be so peaceful?

Li Yanqing did not rebel, which shows that things were not as complicated as imagined.

It is urgent that Li Yuan must quell the turmoil in Guanzhong.

You know, although the order in Renzhi Palace is barely still there, people's hearts are becoming more and more uneasy.

As Yang Wengan soldiers set off Baijia Fort and was less than twenty miles away from Yuhua Mountain, Li Yuan finally made the final decision.
Chapter completed!