Chapter 356: First Expanding the Head

Li Wan never expected that his father would send him to Lingzhou. His heart was filled with bitterness. Of course, he knew what it meant to go to Lingzhou. Not only would he face the danger of being taken hostage by An Sishun, but more importantly, who would his Hedong Army give to?

Suddenly, Li Wan understood the real reason why his father ordered him to come to Guanlong to protect the emperor. It was not just a guarantor, but to seize his military power in the name of protecting the emperor. She thought a little deeper. Perhaps Wu Xianyi's two sons, like him, were just making wedding dresses for his father.

No wonder the father was willing to agree to the request of the Dangxiang people to defend against the Uighurs. He wanted to bring the Shuofang army back to Chang'an, and then the 180,000 troops would be handed over to the Crown Prince Li Yu. This may be the real reason why the father wanted to come to Shuofang in person.

"What! Are you unwilling to go?"

Li Longji coughed twice, and his tone gradually became stern. Just as Li Wan guessed, Li Longji came to Shuofang this time to collect troops. There were only 80,000 troops in Guanzhong, most of which were new recruits. How could these troops resist the powerful soldiers of the Jiedushi? Li Longji had been the emperor for nearly 40 years. He understood this truth. This was also because he tried his best to fight Tubo. If Tubo was destroyed, Longyou and Hexi would not be so threatened, so that he could transfer some troops back to Chang'an. As for his imperial inspection of Guanlong, on the one hand, he wanted to seize the power of An Sishun himself, but on the other hand, he also wanted to use this opportunity to collect troops and let these troops return to Chang'an. This was his wishful thinking.

At this time, he felt that his son had seen his true thoughts. A trace of murderous intent appeared in his eyes. The flesh on his face shook, and the love disappeared, and it became extremely ferocious and terrifying. He said, "Do you want to resist the order?"

"The boy dares not, and the boy will set out tomorrow morning."

"No! You go now and set off now!"

Li Wan had no choice but to tremble, "Children obey the order."

When Li Wan left, Wu Xianyi wiped the sweat from Li Longji's forehead and whispered to him: "It's so dark outside and it's still raining. Why not let him set off tomorrow."

Li Longji did not answer her words, closed her eyes, and came over for a moment. A painful expression suddenly appeared on his face, and he said anxiously: "Hurry! Give me that medicine."

Wu Xianyi was startled and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you are not in good health and cannot take that medicine. The imperial doctor repeatedly reminded you that you cannot take it when you are sick."

"Hurry... Give it to me!" Li Longji grabbed her wrist and had a very strong force, almost pinching her arm. A strange luster appeared in his eyes, which made Wu Xianyi feel a terrifying.

"I'll give it to you."

She didn't dare to refuse anymore, so she took out a small sandalwood box from the box and opened it. There were dozens of pills as big as red grapes. This red color made Wu Xianyi think of Li Longji's eyes just now, and she felt even more inexplicable worry in her heart.

"hurry up!"

Li Longji was urging her again. Wu Xianyi had to take out two pills, walked quickly to him, carefully helped him up, and gently stuffed one pill into his mouth. Li Longji was like a hungry person. He chewed the medicine a few times and swallowed it. Wu Xianyi fed him two more mouthfuls of water and then squeezed the other pill in his palm. Unexpectedly, Li Longji glanced at her hand and said angrily: "And!"

Wu Xianyi was helpless and sighed in her heart, and had to stuff another pill into his mouth. Li Longji took the medicine and slowly lay down. After a while, the strange gaze of his eyes appeared again, and his hand slowly reached into Wu Xianyi's skirt.

Wu Xianyi was shocked and grabbed Li Longji's hand and begged: "Your Majesty, you are in good health! When you are in better health, I will definitely serve you well. Your Majesty cannot do this now, you must maintain a good health."

Li Longji pulled her hand away a bit, and continued to explore along the inner side of her thighs upwards. Wu Xianyi was both afraid and nervous, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, she shook all over and collapsed and fell to Li Longji. As the force on Li Longji's hand gradually increased, she also gasped in a low voice. The two palace maids next to her finally realized something was wrong. They quickly pulled the curtains and closed the door of the tent.

The two of them stood outside the tent and looked at each other in fear. The emperor was really desperate. He was so sick and still did such a thing. At this time, he could only hear Wu Xianyi's low scream and rhythmic creaking sound from the curtain. The two palace maids sighed secretly and left quietly.

The rain outside is getting heavier and heavier.

Huizhou is close to Lingzhou, which is today's Jingyuan County, Gansu. It is the Liupan Mountains. It has continuous mountains and rugged terrain. Although it is not very far from Lingzhou, the Shuofang Army needs to cross Liupan Mountain. In addition, heavy rain falls from the sky, which is also a severe test for their march.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the Shuofang army had difficulty crossing Liupan Mountain. At this time, they had only half of their journey. They were located in Wulan County. An Si Shun was burning with fire. He knew that his whereabouts must have been known by Li Longji. If he was no longer a river, he would die if he was caught up by the imperial army.

"Master!"

An officer rushed over and reported: "The spy got the news that due to heavy rain, the water of the Yellow River rose sharply, and the wind and waves were high and the waves were rapid at night, so he could not cross the river."

"Is there any latest news from the Lord?"

"Not yet. They should still be in Qinggangling. The spy said the rain was getting heavier there."

An Sishun thought for a while and said decisively: "I won't go to Huizhou to cross the river, just cross the river from the Ulan Ferry."

Wulan County is an important pass of the Yellow River. On the other side of the river is the base of the Xinquan Army. In less than half an hour, the army had arrived at the ferry. Because the water here is gentle and it is easier to cross the river, it has been a place of prosperity for commerce since ancient times, and Wulan County was also formed.

It was raining heavily, and most of the ships were moored at the ferry, and the black and white land was elusive at a glance. At noon, it was lunch time, and most of the boat people were eating on the ship. At this moment, a thousand vanguard troops roared and the soldiers rushed onto the big ship in groups of three or three, scolding and snatching the ships. In a moment, more than 200 passenger and cargo ships were conquered by the Shuofang Army.

In less than half an hour, An Sishun's army arrived at the ferry. The dozens of passenger and cargo ferry ships that the vanguard forces had been waiting for a long time. An Sishun immediately ordered to get on board, but an accident occurred at this time. There were rumors in the army that An Sishun was not going to Hexi to fight the Uighur army, but the imperial army was about to come to Lingzhou. An Sishun went to Hexi to hide.

The rumors soon escalated, and the three armies shouted and refused to board the ship.

"Shishuai An, please explain clearly before leaving!"

An Sishun had no choice but to order someone to build a high platform. In the drizzle of rain and fog, he walked up to the high platform.

"Brothers, there are rumors that I am avoiding the emperor and going to Hexi. I know where the rumor starts. I can tell you with my chest that there is no such thing! I received the news that the Uighurs went to Zhangye from Juyanhai. The situation was critical, and the Hexi army was transferred by Geshuhan. The troops in Hexi were empty. I received the decree of the emperor. I could not tell my brothers at first, but since everyone doubted it, I will show you!"

He took out an imperial edict from his arms, which was his will to be exempted from Shuofang Jiedu. He raised it high and shouted, "Did you see clearly? This is the imperial edict!"

He walked down the steps, unfolded the imperial edict, and held it in front of the soldiers one by one, shouting sternly: "Did you see it clearly? Have you seen it?"

Not to mention that the rain and fog obstructed the vision and could not see the handwriting on it clearly. Even if it could be seen clearly, most of the soldiers were illiterate, and no one knew what was written on it. However, An Sishun's posture temporarily eliminated the soldiers' doubts.

Seeing that everyone believed it, An Sishun immediately waved his hand and said, "The whole army got on the ship!"

The army began to board the ship one after another. At this time, a confidant general slowly walked to An Sishun and whispered: "You can only hide it for a while. After arriving in Hexi, there is no Uighur army. How can the general explain it after he arrives?"

An Sishun looked at the soldiers queuing up on the boat in a dark line and sighed softly, "Planning is for people, and success is for heaven!"

More than 200 large ships slowly sailed to the opposite bank in the dense rain. The rain was heavy on the river surface, the wind was strong and the waves were high. The large ships were pounding violently on the river surface, and it was extremely difficult to drive. If you were not careful, you would be in danger of capsizing. In this weather, ships generally did not sail, but under the coercion of the soldiers, the boatmen had to bite the bullet and sail in the wind and waves, with extremely slow speed.

After more than an hour of travel, the ships finally arrived at the other side. An Sishun was in the middle. His ship was the largest, with a total of 1,000 stones, and could carry more than 500 people. An Sishun and his more than 200 personal soldiers had not yet landed. An Sishun discovered the abnormality on the other side. He saw teams of cavalry flying on the shore, separating his soldiers. The cavalry were shouting something loudly. An Sishun seemed to step on the air and fell into the abyss. He had already realized that these cavalry were not his army, so they could only be Guo Ziyi's pursuers arrived.

At this time, a large group of troops slowly appeared on the shore. At the front of the team was a veteran, with an iron helmet and silver armor, majestic and staring at his big ship coldly, and Guo Ziyi, the governor of Xinshuofang who was about to replace him.

He was still not deceived by himself. An Sishun almost wanted to jump off the Yellow River in pain. He knew too well that Guo Ziyi's prestige in the Shuofang army. Except for his own personal soldiers, all the soldiers believed him. After that, he was completely finished.

At this time, more than 10,000 soldiers who had already landed on the shore burst into shouts: "Don't betray the Tang Dynasty and follow General Guo!"

Even his confidant generals were raising their arms and shouting, and a chill appeared in An Sishun's heart. At this time, a personal soldier stepped forward and said, "Ship An, we will go back to the other side immediately!"

An Sishun shook his head gently. Although the world is big, there is no place for him to live in. An Lushan is interested in his army. Now that his army is lost, he has no value in use. Will An Lushan take the risk of taking him in? Besides, they have no blood relationship at all, and An Lushan is just a surname An of the bombarded surname.

"Shit the boat up, I want to talk to Guo Ziyi!"

The big ship slowly leaned on the shore, An Shunsi walked to the bow and whispered: "Please come forward and talk to each other!"

Guo Ziyi urged him to step forward, and immediately clasped his fists and said, "An Shuai, I'm sorry, I can't let you go to Hexi?"

"Do you know I'm going to Hexi?" An Sishun said in his eyes.

Guo Ziyi nodded, "In fact, you have nowhere to go except Hexi."

"What if I go to Fan Yang?"

"It is better to surrender to His Majesty than to surrender to Fan Yang. With the character of a great general rather than a ox, I know that the great general will definitely not surrender to An Lushan. Besides, Gao Xiuyan told me that the great general's surrender to An Lushan is just a cover."

"Hmph!" An Sishun snorted coldly and said, "If you intercept me successfully this time, you will definitely get a heavy reward from Li Longji!"

"An Sishun!" Guo Ziyi glared suddenly and said sternly: "Don't you regret it now?"

An Sishun smiled. The louder he laughed, and finally he laughed to the sky, and tears flowed out. He suddenly stopped laughing and said to Guo Ziyi contemptuously: "Guo Ziyi, do you think Li Longji is truly the governor of Shuofang? Don't dream, he is just using you temporarily, and sooner or later you will become the ghost under his sword. Today I will be your fate tomorrow! If you let me go, I will be your deputy general. Let's start a big event together in Hexi. How about?"

Although An Sishun knew that hope was slim, he still wanted to give it a try. The miracle did not happen. Guo Ziyi shook his head gently, "An Sishun, I will give you one last chance and surrender. I will plead for the emperor and beg him to spare your life."

"What if I don't agree?"

Guo Ziyi stopped talking. He waved his hand, and nearly a thousand cavalry raised their short spears together. Thousands of cold spearheads pointed at him. Although they could not use crossbow arrows on rainy days, these thousand short spears were enough to stab him to pieces. He didn't even have a chance to escape. An Sishun knew that he was no longer immune. He suddenly drew out his sword and laughed, "I, An Sishun, stand between heaven and earth, cannot dominate one side, and how can I live in the world? Since I have no hope in this life, I will wait for the next life!"

He smeared the sword across his neck, and blood burst out, dyeing the entire sword red. His throat clattered several times, and a large amount of blood poured out again. He stared at the river and finally glanced at tens of thousands of soldiers standing on the shore. He smiled miserably on his face and fell straight backwards.

Guo Ziyi sighed softly and ordered his left and right, "Take his head, put it in the box, pass my order, and the army crosses the river again."

He turned his horse's head and slowly walked towards the army lonely. An Sishun's words seemed to echo in his ears: 'Do you think Li Longji is truly named as the governor of Shuofang? Don't dream, he is just using you temporarily, sooner or later, you will become a ghost under his sword. Today I will be your fate tomorrow!'
Chapter completed!