Chapter 609: Chapter 81: Fleeing the Country in Disgrace, Exposing Ugliness
——A great shock across Kyushu!
An Lushan was indeed exceedingly clever; he perfectly utilized Li Longji’s unpopular actions to cloak himself in a sanctified guise.
The Gu Clan was unwilling to submit to him, so he leveraged the momentum of the Gu Clan.
Li Longji’s actions were laid bare here.
This naturally provided An Lushan with an excuse, and coupled with his prior days of continuous sacrifices to the Gu Clan, these measures eventually garnered considerable support from many.
Of course, among them were those who sought opportunism.
After all, An Lushan’s momentum was indeed fierce,
but the majority of them were ordinary people who believed in the Gu Clan and resented the way the Emperor treated the Gu Clan.
This was actually a double-edged sword.
If Li Longji were to reinstate the Gu Clan under such circumstances, it would be easy for these people to be swayed.
But An Lushan knew exactly what kind of person Li Longji was.
It was impossible for him to admit his mistakes before the whole world; he was convinced that Li Longji would never admit his mistakes.
Apart from this, An Lushan had already made thorough preparations.
He did not expect these people to help him conquer many cities; the core of his venture was to seize every opportunity and, in coordination with Tubo, directly seize the entire Guanzhong.
As long as the entire central hub of the Great Tang was rendered ineffective.
Then he would have nothing to fear.
These people were not elite forces and could only be used to create momentum for him.
But for An Lushan now.
Just this alone was already enough!
...
The situation was in total chaos.
In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, in September.
An Lushan led his elite cavalry down the Hebei Road, swiftly advancing south along the flat relay route west of the Yongji Canal, heading straight for the gentle areas downstream of the Yellow River.
He intended to forcefully cross the Yellow River and directly take Guanzhong.
——This maneuver was extremely risky.
Although Fan Yang’s development had far exceeded its original history, and it had Goguryeo and Baekje providing supplies for it,
the problem was that this operation stretched the supply line too far.
Especially having abandoned the land of Hebei.
This was a massive gap, likely allowing someone to cut off the supply line, making them completely an isolated force.
But how could An Lushan overlook these issues?
The people he had gathered earlier played a role at this time; he was not at all stingy with his rewards to showcase this to the whole of Hebei.
If some chose to resist him, naturally others would choose to help him for the sake of benefits.
Especially under such circumstances where the Gu Clan suffered significant blows!
The situation in Hebei instantly became volatile.
And this precisely gave An Lushan an opportunity to exploit.
It is worth mentioning that Gu Yi did not let the Gu Clan of Julu take the lead in directly resisting An Lushan, nor did he block other forces wanting to resist An Lushan.
From the perspective of the bigger picture, this did appear somewhat selfish.
After all, this was a valuable opportunity.
And with the Gu Clan’s reputation in Hebei, as long as the Gu Clan stood up, it could certainly rally the entire Hebei to deliver a fatal blow to An Lushan.
But what benefit would that bring to the Gu Clan?
If An Lushan were defeated—
The Great Tang would swiftly reorganize its armies, and Tubo would not have enough strength to advance into Guanzhong again, by then, the one standing above would still be the already senile Li Longji.
In such a scenario, would the Gu Clan regain his favor?
The answer was evidently no!
With Li Longji’s current temperament, after a fleeting moment of peace, he would immediately become wary of the Gu Clan’s growing influence in Hebei Road.
Even this unauthorized military action would be seen by him as a thorn in his heart.
By then, the Gu Clan would not only be out of favor but would also incur his deep suspicion and hatred.
This is human nature; no one can escape it.
The Gu Clan is no saint.
The Great Tang now is not the Great Han of old where the entire nation could be entrusted to the Gu Clan.
Gu Xi could bear the great burden of the Great Han alone, Gu Chen could relinquish the throne before him, including Gu Kang, Gu Yan, and even the initial Gu Xiao.
The entire Gu Clan was profoundly bound with the Great Han.
And what of the Great Tang today?
Although the Gu Clan’s status in the Great Tang is also very exalted, it all boils down to the fact that the Gu Clan already wields significant influence on its own.
Remember, when the Li Tang was established, it relied on the banner of the Gu Clan!
Gu Yu guarded the frontier for the peace of Kyushu.
Gu Quan left the mountains with Li Shimin for the stability of the realm and later scarred his face to assist him.
Gu Jing, entrusted with the orphaned, protected the state, and was the pillar for the emperors of three reigns.
All of this was indeed intertwined.
And since Li Longji abandoned the Gu Clan, he had to bear the consequent price.
Gu Yi could not do everything recklessly.
After all, "not involving imperial power"—is the main reason why the Gu Clan could pass on gloriously to this day.
At least for now, Gu Yi could not let it end at his hands.
Of course, there were ardent members of the Gu Clan, shouting to fight for the myriad lands of Kyushu, but ultimately they could not represent the entire Gu Clan.
Moreover, precisely because of Gu Quan’s past actions,
even when these people left home, they would also choose to live in obscurity.
For all of this, Gu Yi was helpless, but for the sake of the entire family, he had no choice but to continue waiting.
In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, in October.
——Geshu Han, the Jiedu Envoy of both West River and Longyou, passed away at the front line.
His pressure had indeed reached the limit.
Driven by immense interests, Tubo launched an all-out effort this time; the noble leaders all brought their elite forces, with an offensive unmatched in ferocity before.
And Geshu Han was already afflicted with chronic illness.
Under such immense pressure, this renowned general finally ran out of strength, falling at the battlefront against the enemy.
The situation, instantaneously collapsed!
