Chapter 608: Chapter 80: Schemes and Deceit, Chaos Unleashed!
Perhaps it was truly because of excessive fear.
At this moment, he surprisingly felt a bit unafraid, and after taking a deep breath, he suddenly stood up:
"As Lord Yang said!"
As soon as he finished speaking, voices of dissuasion immediately sounded.
"Your Majesty, in such a crisis, even if Yang Xiang truly can quell the rebels, one cannot be careless. The Gu Clan must be summoned immediately!"
"Hebei is a vital region. As long as the Gu Clan is there, they can surely stabilize the hearts of the Gu Clan people."
"..."
Voices of dissuasion continued to resound.
Hearing this, Li Longji’s eyes suddenly sharpened, just about to agree.
But then another round of scolding erupted.
"What do you take the Emperor for? Now, people under heaven say the Emperor killed the Grand Tutor, and even the rebel An uses this as a reason for treason."
"Given the current situation, if the Emperor reemploys the Gu Clan, wouldn’t that be telling everyone the Emperor is bowing to the Gu Clan?"
"If that truly happens."
"What would the future rulers of the Great Tang do? How would descendants regard the Emperor?"
"..."
—— These were Yang Guozhong’s people.
Clearly, they sensed Yang Guozhong’s intention and didn’t want the Gu Clan to reemerge to steal Yang Guozhong’s glory during this time.
The same old story.
Who doesn’t want to be the next Gu Clan?
In this grand chaos, this is their only chance!
The two factions thus quarreled in the court, and Li Longji, stunned, watched this scene, his expression particularly complex.
Countless thoughts flashed by.
He hesitated for a long while, finally shaking his head, not taking that step.
These people enlightened him.
As an Emperor, how can he bow to his ministers?
This matter was decided under such circumstances.
The news spread instantly.
Gu Yi was not in the least surprised by Li Longji’s decision, for Li Longji was beyond redemption.
When he, knowing full well the precedent of Emperor Li of Han, still treated Gu Hao this way, it already showed to what extent he was changed by power.
This act, how was it different from that of Emperor Li of Han?
No—
Li Longji was even more excessive; even the Emperor Li of Han of old didn’t force a Patriarch of the Gu Clan to death.
Gu Hao’s health was not a secret.
There’s no need to say more about the deeper meanings in Li Longji’s actions.
As for Yang Guozhong, naturally, there was no need to say more.
Reaching this point, he didn’t even bother to manipulate Gu Xuan to do anything, just wanted to quietly wait for Yang Guozhong to mess everything up.
He was not Feng Changqing.
Yang Guozhong had not a bit of a chance of winning.
But he would surely use Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, and Gu Yi was already prepared. As soon as Yang Guozhong showed a decline or made a wrong command, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing would gather his troops.
This is the real time for him to take action.
Gu Yi ultimately could not let the Gu Clan do everything too definitively; this would tear off the most important guise of the Gu Clan, and must wait until Li Longji truly gives up everything.
Only then can he act decisively!
The news spread in all directions.
The people across the land were all shocked by Li Longji’s decision, and even those who initially didn’t believe Li Longji would do the deed of Emperor Li of Han began to doubt.
Reaching this juncture, would the Emperor still not reemploy the Gu Clan?
Is he truly going to abandon the Gu Clan?
Various rumors made the already restless hearts even more turbulent.
This was naturally a scene An Lushan was pleased to see.
Compared to history, he was indeed stronger by more than just a bit, whether in allying with foreign tribes or in timing the rebellion.
Such actions that could influence public opinion were naturally what An Lushan was pleased to see.
He would even, like before, actively push for all of this to happen.
This is where An Lushan’s cleverness lay.
As a Hu, he was well aware of the influence of the Gu Clan among ordinary people, and the banner he raised formed a strong contrast with the actions of Li Longji.
This perhaps could not deceive the literati.
But for those at the very bottom, who were not even clear about the era name.
This was equally a lethal move!
An Lushan wanted to actively stir up chaos and rise amidst the great turmoil!
The entire Kyushu was in a state of unrest.
An Lushan’s army set out from Fan Yang, intending, as history originally unfolded, to use swift, precise, and ruthless marching tactics to directly attack Huanglong and seize the entire central hub of the Great Tang.
And Yang Guozhong eventually left Luoyang in this situation.
To personally guard Tong Pass.
Hoping to rise completely through this upheaval.
Countless messages spread continuously, just as An Lushan predicted, when various rumors about Li Longji spread again, finally some people began to support him.
No one wanted to live in a chaotic world.
For ordinary people, no matter how difficult life was, as long as there was a glimmer of hope to live, it was enough.
And just rightly —
After the Emperor Li of Han, the whole world was in chaos for far too long!
No one wanted to see this happen again.
At the same time, due to the disordered command system of the Tang Army, Tubo formally stepped into Longyou, making every effort to enter Guanzhong.
This was not because the Tang Army was weak.
There was no way —
Just like fate, the Jiedu Envoys of both the West River and Longyou areas fell ill!
Just a few months ago, Geshu Han on his way to the court had a stroke due to indulgence in wine and women with the Tumen Army, which resulted in hemiplegia, and this matter had long been reported back to the court.
According to history.
He should have returned to Chang’an to recuperate, and eventually, due to various factors, Tubo would still have broken through Longyou and even occupied Chang’an.
But today is completely different.
Before Geshu Han could return to the Capital City, he faced the Tubo invasion.
This could even be considered much better than the original history in some respects, after all, the experience of Geshu Han was here, much better than Zhou Bi.
But it’s exactly because of his physical condition that Geshu Han couldn’t manage too much on the battlefield.
As a hemiplegic.
How could he fully control the ever-changing battlefield?
At the same time, under the unprecedented momentum, several counties around Fan Yang surrendered at the mere sight of the advancing force, and the Goguryeo and Baekje troops, along with the pirates, rode the waves and directly attacked the Great Tang.
This unprecedented great chaos in Kyushu officially commenced!
——————
"Lushan had long harbored treacherous intentions but was deeply apprehensive of the Gu Clan in Hebei.
The Gu Clan had long-standing power and influence, with hearts and connections in Yan and Zhao, and though they resided in the court, the people of Hebei were steadfastly devoted to them, no matter how Lushan plotted, he could not prevail.
At the end of the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era, the Patriarch of the Gu Clan, Hao, was feared by Emperor Xuanzong, and eventually, he died of anxiety.
Lushan secretly sent spies to widely spread rumors in Hebei and the Two Capitals, claiming "The Emperor betrayed the Gu Clan, similar to Emperor Li of Han", causing public opinion to be inflamed and slander reaching the palace.
Lushan was secretly pleased, believing that chaos was already brewing.
Knowing the hearts of the people in Hebei were not aligned, Lushan decided to take a dangerous course, forming alliances with foreigners to shake the world.
He prioritized allying with the Tubo Zanpu, Tsri Songtsen Gampo.
Tsri Songtsen Gampo, who had newly usurped his sovereign Chide Zuzan, was of great talent and avarice.
In March of the fourteenth year, Lushan’s secret envoy arrived in Lhasa, offering the Nine Bends of West River and ten thousand miles of Western Regions to entice joint action.
The envoy said to the Zanpu: "I have led one hundred and fifty thousand elite troops from Fan Yang, along with the Goguryeo and Baekje, totaling two hundred thousand, following the transport line south of the river, and will seize Luoyang within twenty days, block the grain transport, and strangle the throat of Guanzhong.
I hope the Zanpu will unleash thunderous forces to break through Dazhen Pass in ten days, take Long Mountain so that Geshu Han is constrained in Longyou. West of Chang’an, a fertile land of a thousand miles will be at your command to gallop through!"
His words hit the mark of greed, and Tsri Songtsen Gampo clapped his hands and said "Yes".
He also sent envoys across the sea, to collude with the southeast sea pirates and the remnants of Goguryeo and Baekje.
At that time, there were vast profits in sea trade, and as a result, pirates rose in swarms. Lushan baited them with great profits, inciting their grievances against the Gu Clan, agreeing to jointly disturb Mingzhou State, Panyu, and Donglai, making beacon fires blaze across the sea frontier, severing the trade routes to restrain the main forces of the Tang Navy and hinder their northern aid, causing the whole world to be shaken.
At this time, Emperor Xuanzong was beset with public opinion, but he refused an edict of confessing guilt, nor did he reinstate the descendants of the Gu Clan to pacify Hebei.
The rumors spread by Lushan grew more intense, and Hebei swayed.
Tubo quickly raided the borders, and urgent messages of distress from the sea frontier arrived one after another, causing great turmoil in the empire, with everyone knowing a major change was imminent.
Lushan, seeing the disturbances inside and outside the realm, deemed the time ripe, and in July of the fourteenth year, he raised troops in Fan Yang, proclaiming two hundred thousand troops, declaring: "The current Emperor is dim-witted and perverse, betraying and killing meritorious officials and wise men, and the world will abandon him together! Lushan humbly carries out heaven’s punishment, deposing the foolish and establishing the wise!"
Though not all of Hebei sided with him, after long-endured peace, counties and prefectures were in a panic, whether collapsing or hesitating."
—— "Tang Book. Biography of An Lushan"
