An Lushan was not a heartless person.

The "sheep thief" of that year saved his life with his wit when he was on the verge of death and won the favor of Zhang Shougui, which shows his ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

It was the thirteenth year of the Tianbao period. With the reminder of his strategist Yan Zhuang, An Lushan realized that he was still short of time and was not fully prepared.

Yan Zhuang told An Lushan in a firm tone that if he started the rebellion now, he would only have a 30% chance of success.

If we wait a year before launching the uprising, we will have a 70% chance of success.

Rebellion is the activity with the greatest risk and the highest potential return.

A 70% chance of winning is already very high.

The chief counselor Yan Zhuang and the military strategist Gao Shang were suspected of deliberately increasing An Lushan's confidence.

Originally, An Lushan did not dare to come, but under the strong persuasion of Yan Zhuang and Gao Shang, and after getting some reliable information from the spy Liu Luogu who stayed in Chang'an, An Lushan regained his courage to fight in the battlefield and went to Chang'an again.

Yang Guozhong made a bet with Li Longji with a solemn oath.

With An Lushan entering Chang'an, Yang Guozhong's bet failed.

This time, An Lushan did not pass along the flying eaves of the Daming Palace, he went straight to the Xingqing Palace.

After the horse stopped outside the Xingqing Palace, An Lushan, panting, crawled to the Hua'e Xianghui Tower.

He burst into tears as soon as he saw Li Longji, as if he had suffered a great injustice. The sound made anyone who heard it sad and cried, unable to control himself.

"Why Lushan?"

When Li Longji saw An Lushan lying on the ground, dusty and exhausted, he felt sorry for this grown-up son.

"I am a Hu person, I don't know much about the etiquette of the Central Plains, I only have a sincere heart. It's just that I was favored by the saint and promoted to the noble position I am today. Therefore, I am envied by the prime minister. I estimate that I will die in the hands of the prime minister in a short time."

"I weep for this, and am sad because I cannot serve my father and mother."

An Lushan cried to Li Longji with tears and snot, and was heartbroken.

"Don't worry, Lushan. I believe you. I will never listen to anyone else again."

"It is not easy for Lushan to come here. Send someone to the treasury to get 10,000 strings of cash as a reward for Lushan."

Seeing An Lushan like this, how could Li Longji not trust An Lushan? Not only did he no longer doubt An Lushan, he also immediately rewarded him with 10 million yuan.

At the same time, Li Longji was dissatisfied with Yang Guozhong's meddling and troublemaking.

However, Li Longji still trusted Yang Guozhong very much and had no intention of removing him from his position as prime minister.

Li Longji now pursues political stability more, so that he can be free from worries and live in peace and comfort.

"Thank you, Saint. I will repay your favor with all my heart. I will help you to suppress the tribes in the northeast and let them see your power and virtue."

An Lushan kowtowed quickly to express his gratitude and breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew that at this point, Li Longji would not hold him accountable anymore.

At least not in the short term.

After Li Longji comforted An Lushan for a while, he let An Lushan return to his mansion to rest, and during this time he accompanied him in eating, drinking and having fun.

An Lushan wanted to leave Chang'an and return to Fan Yang immediately, but he had to obey Li Longji's arrangements.

Although An Lushan had a magnificent mansion in Chang'an City, with pots and pans decorated with gold, his heart had changed and he didn't want to stay here any longer.

As soon as An Lushan left Xingqing Palace, Li Longji summoned the right prime minister Yang Guozhong and the left prime minister Chen Xilie to the Qinzheng Office Building.

"Your servant Yang Guozhong pays homage to the Saint!"

"Your servant Chen Xilie pays homage to the Saint!"

Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie bowed first after entering the building.

"I almost misunderstood a loyal minister and a good general after hearing what you said. I know that you and your ministers are not on good terms. Don't speak ill of Lushan anymore in the future, otherwise I will be angry and punish you."

Li Longji did not say no need to be polite, but instead scolded him harshly.

Yang Guozhong was never-ending, so Li Longji spoke harshly this time.

Of course, it was more to scare Yang Guozhong.

"Your Majesty, An Lushan has evil ambitions and will certainly follow the example of Shi Le. Please send ministers to Fanyang to check the weapons and food of the Fanyang and Pinglu armies. There must be some clues of rebellion."

Yang Guozhong was anxious. He believed that An Lushan was plotting a rebellion and urged Li Longji to kill him to prevent future troubles.

Only by killing An Lushan could he devote all his strength to fighting against another powerful enemy, Li Xuan.

"Guozhong, if I send someone to your house, will I be able to find out anything?"

Li Longji stared at Yang Guozhong and asked.

This time Yang Guozhong was speechless.

He had a dirty bottom, but he was only seeking profit for himself, while An Lushan was endangering the country.

"Sage, a Hu general has 200,000 elite soldiers and is connected with Khitan, Xi, Tongluo, Shiwei, and Mohe. He also knows the strengths and weaknesses of the mountains and rivers in the Central Plains. If he marches straight in, the Central Plains will have no power to resist. Please think twice, Saint!"

Yang Guozhong gritted his teeth and explained to Li Longji the dangers posed by An Lushan.

Hebei and Henan were empty, and An Lushan wanted to destroy the country, but it was just a thought. How could he do that?
If An Lushan rebelled, the Tang Dynasty would not have enough time to dispatch troops from Hexi, Shuofang and Longyou.

Not to mention the Anxi Beiting Army, which was far away in the Western Regions and preparing for an expedition.

Sometimes, when the roots are broken, the branches can easily collapse.

"That's enough! You, the prime ministers, should be open-minded. Don't be resentful of my favor to Lushan. Have I shown you less favor? Isn't being prime minister enough?"

Li Longji scolded him again, and then said to Yang Guozhong, Chen Xilie and others in a tone of assurance: "I have been sincere to An Lushan, and I believe he will not have any other intentions. The Xi and Khitan in the northeast are all controlled by him. I will protect them myself, so don't worry!"

I will protect myself, don't worry!
This is a letter of guarantee from Li Longji to a minister.

When everything became a reality, when the fig leaf was torn off, when Li Longji's face was rubbed on the ground.

It is conceivable that Li Longji would inevitably lose his mind.

Now that things have come to this, what else can Yang Guozhong say?
Ugh!
A treacherous minister actually sighed loudly, because he met someone more treacherous than him.

He was the chief prime minister, but he could do nothing about it.

If the truth comes out, even if the Tang Dynasty has the god of war Li Xuan, he will be powerless to do anything.

In contrast, Fan Yang goes straight into the Central Plains.

The Persian region is far away at the end of the world!
After An Lushan played with Li Longji for a few days, Li Longji's brain might have been squeezed by the door.

He was preparing to appoint An Lushan as "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi" to show his favor for him.

Different from the Xianbei people in the early Tang Dynasty.

The Xianbei have all been assimilated into the Han culture and have become a part of the Han people.

An Lushan was not only a Hu person, but also a mixed Hu person who was a combination of Turks and Sogdians.

After the news spread, Chang'an was turned upside down.

From noble ministers to ordinary people, everyone was shocked by Li Longji's decision.

An Lushan, the person involved, was also afraid. He was on the verge of rebellion. Becoming prime minister would mean losing control of the Northeast and he might die without a burial place at any time.

Fortunately, at this time, Zhang Yi, a long-time political figure, reported to Li Longji: "Your Majesty, although An Lushan has military merits, he is not well educated. As prime minister, I am afraid he will not be able to handle government affairs and will only become a laughing stock. I am worried that after the edict spreads throughout the world, the four barbarians will despise our Tang Dynasty. Please revoke the edict."

Zhang Yi was the son of Zhang Shuo, a famous prime minister during the Kaiyuan period, and concurrently served as a Hanlin scholar. He was also the son-in-law of Li Longji.

So it was easy to convince Li Longji.

After hearing Zhang Yi's words, Li Longji thought it made sense and gave up the idea of ​​appointing An Lushan as prime minister.

The court and the public breathed a sigh of relief, but An Lushan was still in fear and kept wiping the cold sweat off his face while hiding in a corner.

However, Li Longji replaced An Lushan with a civil official and appointed him concurrently as Shangshu Zuo Pushe.

Currently, Li Xuan concurrently holds the post of Shangshu You Pushe.

In addition, Li Longji appointed several of An Lushan's sons to idle official positions, the highest of which were An Qingzong and An Qingxu. The former was the third-rank Inspector of the Imperial Household, and the latter was the third-rank Minister of Rites.

An Lushan had seen through Li Longji's thoughts. When he was having a great time, he asked Li Longji for permission to allocate 6,000 war horses from the Longyou Pasture Bureau to supplement military expenses.

Historically, An Lushan directly asked Li Longji for the ambassador of the Longyou herdsmen.

Now An Lushan knew that Li Xuan's position as the ambassador of Longyou Herdsmen was very stable and he could not possibly get it, so he wanted to obtain some war horses step by step to strengthen his army.

Li Longji agreed to An Lushan's request without hesitation.

The deputy ambassador of Longyou Herdsmen had no choice but to obey orders and dispatch war horses to An Lushan.

After he informed Li Xuan, Li Xuan asked him to choose a horse that barely met the criteria for war and hand it over to An Lushan.

These war horses have limited capabilities and cannot be used as heavy cavalry.

"My soldiers have repeatedly made great contributions in the battles with the Xi, Khitan, Mohe, Shiwei, Tongluo and other tribes, but they have not been given the status they deserve. I request to promote them as an exception. I hope the saint will give them some blank imperial edicts, which I can take back to the army and directly grant to them."

After tasting the sweetness, An Lushan became more and more greedy. During a cockfighting competition, he asked Li Longji for it again.

"You are such a boastful person, you are so arrogant!"

"Go find Guozhong and the Ministry of War and have them stamp their seals on you. You can take as many decrees as you want to be conferred the titles of general and lieutenant general."

Li Longji pointed at An Lushan and laughed.

An Lushan wanted a blank letter of appointment, which was obviously a way to win people's hearts, but Li Longji thought it was just a show-off, so he agreed without hesitation.

The generals in the Tang Dynasty army included low-level generals such as Yajiang and Langjiang, and these military governors could be promoted.

In addition, the positions of General of the Household and General required the approval of the Ministry of War.

The ranks of generals vary greatly.

If he was to be a general leading the imperial guards, he must be at least a third-rank official and must be appointed by Li Longji himself.

"I thank the Saint!"

An Lushan turned around and took Li Longji's order to the Ministry of War to ask for hundreds of blank letters of appointment at once. He then went to the lower hall of the Secretariat to ask Yang Guozhong to stamp them.

Yang Guozhong was almost angry to death.

He arranged for an old minister to sue An Lushan for winning people's hearts, but Li Longji was furious and ordered the old minister to be kicked out. He also dismissed the old minister from his post as if his tail had been stepped on and never employed him again.

Yang Guozhong asked Lady Guoguo for help again, even at the risk of his life and using his skills in bed, Lady Guoguo did not help him.

Lady Guo, Lady Qin, Lady Han and others were so rich and powerful that they had little knowledge.

At least Yang Guozhong can see the long-term future of the country, while they only care about their own interests.

Their evaluation of loyalty was limited to the pearls and jades that An Lushan presented to them.

Even Yang Yuhuan was deceived by An Lushan's harmless attitude. She believed that her godson had no ulterior motives.

The hostile relationship between Yang Guozhong and Li Xuan made Yang Yuhuan feel that Yang Guozhong and An Lushan were not in harmony.

Faced with the honor and reward given to An Lushan for returning to the palace, she remained silent.

At this moment, the title of "bringing disaster to the country and the people" will inevitably be attributed to her.

The Five Yangs became rich and powerful because of her, Yang Guozhong became prime minister because of her, and An Lushan was her godson.

You can say she did nothing, or you can say she did everything.

This is irrefutable!
When An Lushan was in Chang'an, he did everything he could to please Li Longji, including cockfighting, cuju, and Chupu fighting, presenting all kinds of rare treasures, and saying all kinds of flattering things.

He was getting fatter and fatter, and even his walking was unsteady. Seeing Li Longji enjoying himself at the banquet, he immediately demonstrated his "medical miracle" and started dancing the Hu Xuan dance just like he had done ten years ago.

The funny expression and the fat body spinning like the wind made Li Longji burst into laughter.

The fine wine was spilled, and the aroma spread all over the floor.

Li Longji was just entertaining himself with a cheerful smile on his face.

Sometimes, Li Longji would also ask Yang Yuhuan to dance for him.

Yang Yuhuan's Hu Xuan dance is light and graceful. When she dances, her gorgeous clothes flutter like fairies, and the hanging tassels jingle crisply.

Lotus flowers bloom with every step, like a graceful fairy.

Dancing clear shadow, like in the world.

When he was more interested, Li Longji would let his hair down and wear a 羯鼓.

He didn't use a drumstick, but beat the drum with both hands. Above the hall, his body swayed to the rhythm.

Hazy, as if drunk and awake.

"Snapped!"

He accidentally bumped into a shelf.

The exquisite, flawless, and elegantly colored celadon vase fell from the shelf and shattered.

Li Longji was unaware and continued his indulgence.

No one who accompanied him at the banquet found anything strange.

The prosperous times are like this celadon tribute from the Yue Kiln, exquisite but fragile.

During the Tianbao period, there was a banquet of bliss.

Amidst the cheers, Li Longji always got drunk at banquets.

That dream was like heaven on earth.

Wherever he goes, there is the shadow of the human world.

It was night in Huaqing Palace and day in Xingqing Palace.

He flew side by side with a beautiful soul in the sky, dancing gracefully.

The heavenly music of "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat" rang out in the sky, and all the mundane world could no longer disturb him.

When he woke up, Li Longji was intoxicated by the sight of Yang Yuhuan dressing herself in front of the mirror and was reminiscing about the memory.

Want to fall into the next dream.

If this continues for ten thousand years, then you would be a god in heaven!

……

Two months later, An Lushan was afraid of more trouble and requested to leave Chang'an.

After all, he is dancing on the edge of a knife.

Once Li Longji becomes suspicious, it will be like a tidal wave, and he will be beheaded.

Passing by Longshouyuan in the northeast, An Lushan took a deep look at the Daming Palace. He opened his arms on the horse, embracing the country, embracing Chang'an, embracing the palace, and he thought of his godmother Yang Yuhuan in his dreams.

This was also one of the factors that led An Lushan to start his rebellion. He would get everything from Li Longji.

Because An Lushan was guilty and always felt that someone would harm him, he was more cautious on his way back. After leaving Tongguan, he took the water route down the Yellow River to the east.

Dissatisfied that the boatman's speed was not fast enough, An Lushan ordered the boatmen to change shifts every 15 miles and travel day and night without a break.

After getting off the boat, An Lushan headed north along the official road, constantly changing horses as if he was running for his life, without stopping to rest in any county.

Therefore, An Lushan, a fat man, actually walked more than 300 miles a day and ran back to Fan Yang from Chang'an in one breath.

"I have accomplished something great!"

This was An Lushan’s first words when he returned to Fan Yang.

He swore that he would never go to Chang'an again unless he led his thousands of troops.

He forced Li Longji to surrender and presented Lady Yuhuan to him.

During the two months in Chang'an, An Lushan did not have a good night's sleep.

"Sir, I risked my life to buy us more than a year!"

An Lushan drank some tea to calm himself down and said to his adviser Yan Zhuang.

"Your Majesty is tenacious and has the qualities of a founding monarch. Who can stop you from ascending to the throne? Next year you can send troops and attack Chang'an."

Yan Zhuang nodded secretly, thinking it was safe.

In one year, he could prepare almost all the food and fodder, and also prepare all the weapons and armor.

"Haha, even though I'm a foreigner, I can still satisfy my desire to be an emperor."

An Lushan laughed loudly and looked forward to that position very much.

"Your Highness, we can also contact the Mohe, Shiwei, Tongluo and other tribes."

On the other side of the hall, Gao Shang stroked his beard and spoke to An Lushan.

"I'll leave this matter to you, sir. I'll accomplish great things and I'll never treat them unfairly. Treasures, silks, women, everything you need."

An Lushan handed this matter over to Gao Shang.

"According to the order!"

Gao Shang nodded.

He has now entered into a competitive relationship with Yan Zhuang. There can be multiple prime ministers, but there is only one chief prime minister.

Looking at the power of Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie, there is a world of difference between them.

"I also heard that next spring Li Xuan will lead the Anxi and Beiting armies to Persia, and then march to the Arab Empire to a place in the Mediterranean. It will take two years to march from there to Chang'an. God is really helping me."

An Lushan shared the good news with his adviser and military advisor.

"When Li Xuan returns, the prince will be waiting in Chang'an. How can his exhausted army, who has traveled a long way, defeat our Yanyun cavalry?"

Gao Shang clapped his hands and said.

"Of course, my Yeluohe is invincible!"

An Lushan was very proud.

At this moment, Yan Zhuang and Gao Shang were both overwhelmed with emotion and extremely confident.

Intellectuals of humble status like them can only turn their lives around in this way.

A real man cannot die while doing something, and he cannot live by chewing grass roots!

After resting for a few days, An Lushan took the letter of appointment and lavishly rewarded the soldiers, which boosted the morale of the soldiers and made them want to fight for him and make great achievements.

At the same time, through this appointment of generals, An Lushan discovered that there were some tough Han generals in the army, and it seemed that he had found some clues.

An Lushan immediately ordered the secret arrest and imprisonment of these 32 Han generals.

Since these Han generals included military envoys and deputy envoys, whose positions were not low, the dog-headed military advisor Gao Shang told An Lushan that after a while, he should let He Qiannian enter Chang'an and request the saint to replace these 32 Han generals with foreign generals on the grounds that they were "cowardly", so that he could keep the army under firm control.

An Lushan thought it was feasible as long as he did not go to Chang'an.

He is ready to claim illness!

……

Shortly after An Lushan left Chang'an, heavy rain suddenly hit the Guanzhong area.

After the heavy rain stopped, it continued to rain heavily for dozens of days.

Just before the wheat was ripe it began to rain heavily, destroying all the fertile fields and leaving no harvest.

Countless farmlands were flooded, and the Guanzhong region was covered with rivers, turning into a swamp, making it impossible to grow new crops.

It is no longer the Kaiyuan period when the royal family and aristocrats sucked blood from the people of Guanzhong. Although there is surplus food, it is not much.

You know, with the development of the times and the rapid population growth, Chang'an is no longer suitable as a capital.

Chang'an has never effectively solved the most important food problem in the capital.

During the Kaiyuan period, Li Longji handled government affairs in Luoyang for nearly ten years, which was euphemistically called "moving the capital to find food."

Wei Jian opened up Guangyuntan, which alleviated the food shortage in Chang'an to a certain extent, but it was only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

So in recent years, the imperial court has been purchasing grain from Guanzhong.

Even some rich farmers sold their grain to the imperial court in exchange for money.

And this kind of transaction is the beginning of disaster for the people.

The surge in food prices was predictable.

The great sage Li Longji finally felt guilty in Xingqing Palace and called Yang Guozhong to Nanxun Palace and asked: "It has rained heavily for so many days. Is there any disaster or flood near Chang'an?"

Li Longji had been wise after all, so the continuous heavy rains naturally made people think of disasters.

"Sir, although there has been a lot of rain, it has not harmed the crops. Please rest assured."

Yang Guozhong patted his chest and assured.

Li Longji was not in the mood to delve into the matter further and believed Yang Guozhong's lies.

The heavy rain continued for another ten days, and Li Longji thought that the wheat could not be harvested during the rain.

Yang Guozhong got a bunch of wheat from somewhere. The ears were long and thick, and the grains were full.

Only then did Li Longji feel completely relieved.

At the same time, Yang Guozhong played a shady trick and asked the Xianyang magistrate to impeach Jingzhao Yin Li Xian, saying that Li Xian was incompetent in the face of the heavy rain disaster.

At Li Longji's order, Li Xian was demoted to the prefect of Changsha.

The new Jingzhao Yin was a close confidant recommended by Yang Guozhong.

As the prefect of Jingzhao, Li Xian tried his best to provide disaster relief, but due to the heavy rain, he lacked manpower and could not do anything.

The only way was to maintain the grain price in Chang'an as much as possible through the dispatch of grain from the Jingzhao warehouse and the Changping granary, and then provide disaster relief when the rain stopped.

On the second day after Li Xian was demoted, grain prices in Chang'an collapsed instantly.

Before the disaster, the price of grain in Chang'an was 20 wen for a dou of rice, but in just a few days it rose to 400 wen for a dou of rice.

Ordinary people could only buy two or three dou of rice with all they had.

And how many days can this amount of rice sustain a family?

The people of Chang'an sang: If you want to buy rice at a low price, the best way is to chase Li Xian.

It can be seen that Li Xian’s rule as Jingzhao Yin in the past few years has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Naturally, Yang Guozhong would not admit that it was his fault for driving Li Xian away. He concealed the fact and even began to strictly control disasters, leaving local governors and county magistrates to deal with them on their own.

This creates the illusion that the counties are not affected by the heavy rain, because the sage would not leave Chang'an anyway.

Fang Guan, the governor of Fufeng, reported to Li Longji that the local flood was serious.

But Fang Guan's memorial never reached Li Longji.

When Yang Guozhong saw Fang Guan jumping out, he asked the censor to interrogate Fang Guan, which made Fang Guan very embarrassed and lost his official position.

As a result, the locals were afraid of Yang Guozhong's power and dared not reveal anything.

This has brought hardship to the people of Guanzhong!
The Nanxun Hall was decorated with gold and jade, paved with silk, filled with incense and brightly lit.

The great sage Li Longji was not very stupid.

After more than sixty consecutive hours of heavy rain, I was awakened by a thunder while taking a nap.

"What's going on? It's still raining!"

He walked out of Nanxun Hall step by step in his slippers, looking at the water flowing under the eaves, as if thinking about something.

From the entrance of the hall, one could see that the sky in the distance was dark, raindrops were roaring with the strong wind, and the day was as dark as night.

The entire celestial phenomenon gives people a feeling of horror!
At some point, Gao Lishi appeared quietly behind Li Longji with a whisk in his hand.

At this time, Gao Lishi was no longer tall, his back was slightly bent, and his face was full of wrinkles.

Busy with the layout of woodblock printing and movable type printing, Gao Lishi looks older than in history.

Even though Li Longji favored Yuan Siyi, Gao Lishi was still with him in the end.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Gao Lishi will silently stand behind Li Longji, never leaving him, and depend on him through life and death.

"It has been going on for more than sixty days. This is a natural disaster! The heavy rain never stops. Gao Lishi can say nothing." Li Longji knew that the person standing behind him was Gao Lishi. He did not turn around, but spoke slowly, his words deep.

He finally realized that he might have been deceived by Yang Guozhong.

How could there be no disasters when it rains so heavily continuously?
What has he been doing in the past two months?

"Ever since the sage took a high position and did nothing, he lent his power to Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, rewards and punishments have been inappropriate, and the yin and yang have been out of balance. How dare I say anything?"

Gao Lishi saw the water flowing into the palace like a river, and he imagined that the Guanzhong area had become a swamp.

Occasionally when he returned to Xingningfang, he also heard some news.

He also knew that the price of rice in Chang'an had increased twenty times.

Moreover, most of them were bought by princes and nobles, and common people could not afford to buy food.

But the crying tears and the heavy rain blend together, who can tell them apart?
The granary in Changping was even emptied, and even local officials used tricks to take advantage of it.

The waterway that once connected Guangyuntan is no longer accessible to navigation.

The land is muddy and not passable.

Even if Yang Guozhong wanted to transport rice, corn and wheat from Luoyang, he would not be able to do so in time.

Luoyang has a granary that is unique in the world.

Although the granary in Chang'an was not small, it was never filled up because of the group of people who had left their jobs and wasted food.

Even though there was still a lot of grain, Yang Guozhong did not plan to open the granaries to release the grain, because he still had to supply it to the emperor, ministers, imperial guards, palace ladies, and so on.

Not civilians!
After hearing Gao Lishi's words, Li Longji remained silent.

The sentence "How dare I say anything" almost says everything that needs to be said.

If Li Longji suddenly came to his senses and returned to the early Kaiyuan period, he would definitely reflect on himself, first dismiss Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie from their positions as prime ministers, and then start to take action personally to dispatch palace warehouses for disaster relief.

Because according to astronomical phenomena, the heavy rain will stop after autumn.

Does it rain in winter?
At that time, food can be transported from the eastern capital Luoyang to provide relief to Chang'an.

But at this moment, Li Longji was full of fragility. He had been blinded by his self-esteem, and pretended not to know Gao Lishi's kind words.

The emperor had enough worries and he didn't want to add to them.

It's tiring, just let it go! He believes the disaster will pass, so let the people suffer!

If one wants to enjoy his old age in peace, he should act like he is enjoying his old age in peace. He chose to believe that Yang Guozhong would be able to handle it in the end.

Perhaps Li Longji would smile heartily when he heard the good news about the expansion to the Mediterranean in the west.

Gao Lishi watched Li Longji return to the palace in his slippers and sighed.

Fortunately, it was Gao Lishi, who was like an old brother, who advised him. If it was any other minister, it would have been "unpleasant to the ear" and Li Longji would have been furious again.

At this moment, Gao Lishi missed Li Qilang, the prime minister after Li Linfu and before Yang Guozhong.

Perhaps when he was here, this disaster would never have been like this.

Gao Lishi already had a bad feeling, but since his master was like this, he could only hope for the best.

After getting dressed again, Li Longji ordered a banquet, singing and dancing in Hua'e Xianghui Tower, and summoned Wu Yang to join the banquet.

The king could not get enough of the slow singing and dancing and the stringed instruments.

Li Longji listened to the rain, watched the singing and dancing, and drank fine wine.

But I didn't expect to reach the third floor window of Hua'e Xianghui Tower.

As the tallest building in Chang'an, it is twelve meters high.

As soon as he opened the curtains, he could see the alleys of Chang'an like a river, and the vast expanse of land outside the city.

You can also see the magnificent mansions of Wu Yang and Yang Guozhong, which are full of brilliance and stand out like a crane among chickens.

Once upon a time, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty had a sudden urge to stand on the highest building of the imperial palace to take in the surrounding scenery, but the eunuch Zhang Rang came out to stop him: "The emperor cannot go up high, otherwise there will be rebellion."

Emperor Ling of Han believed it to be true and immediately gave up climbing the mountain.

Because in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the ten eunuchs, the "Ten Constant Attendants", were extremely powerful, they deceived their superiors and subordinates, and played tricks. Their mansions in Luoyang City were said to be more magnificent than the imperial palace.

Eunuchs such as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were afraid that their true colors would be exposed, so they made up the lie that "the emperor cannot ascend to high places."

The difference is that Li Longji knew that he would see the answer by climbing to a higher place.

But he deceived himself and didn't want to lift the curtain.

Out of sight, out of mind; this is Li Longji’s mentality.

From this perspective, who is stronger between Emperor Ling of Han and Li Longji?
There is a reason why the four words "natural disasters" and "man-made disasters" are combined together.

Not far from the Hua'e Tower where singing and dancing were taking place, Du Fu waded in the water, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, looking exhausted.

He was angry at the court's inaction.

Even in such a situation, the imperial guards still haven't come out to help the people of Chang'an, and the national treasury has not opened its warehouses to release grain.

Heavy rains caused a disaster, and Chang'an was flooded. The drainage system was unable to function in time, and the people had to swim in and out of the water to make a living.

The entire Chang'an city was shrouded in a huge cloud, and traffic had long been blocked.

The trees are under the water, and all things are in the clouds.

What you think hinders your actions, and what you believe makes it impossible to make sense...

This is a poem written by Du Fu more than a month ago. It was written to Li Longji's sixth son Li Yu, and it implicitly and plainly reproduces the flood in Chang'an City.

But Li Yu could see it, but Li Longji could not.

After writing a poem to Li Yu, Du Fu felt that the criticism was too mild.

He didn't know what was happening outside the city, but he learned about the disaster in the civilian gathering area in the south of Chang'an.

The severity of the disaster broke Du Fu's heart. He thought about it for a long time and wrote another poem to his good friend Cen Shen.

I hope the rain will stop and the sky will clear soon so that I can send this poem to Anxi Qiuci and let my benefactor Li Xuan see it.

Go out and come back again, your feet are still the same as before.

……

Alas, all the people, the harvest is beyond saving.

How can we kill the Cloud Master and mend the leak in the sky?

The Ming Dynasty hides the sun and the moon, and the wilderness calls out to beasts.

A gentleman is strong and cautious, while a villain is trapped and rushes.

There are high mountains in the south, and I am afraid that they will be flooded by rivers.

It is the festival of chrysanthemums in the eastern hedge, blooming for whom...

……

In the small city of Chang'an, relatives and friends are so close yet so far away from each other.

The people's houses were leaking everywhere, and they had to move to several places to take shelter for a meal. Rice and vegetables were submerged in sewage, and the newly opened chrysanthemums were hit by the rain in the hazel bushes. Birds and hawks were listless, with their wings drooping.

This poem is more critical of the officials headed by Yang Guozhong, directly accusing them of being ineffective in disaster relief.

The people’s food supply is flooded, but the granaries are still not opened to release the grain. How miserable!
Oh my God!

Who can turn the tide, fix the leak and stop the heavy rain?

Is this unprecedented heavy rain going to wash away the majestic Zhongnan Mountains?
When he was filled with grief and indignation, Du Fu threw down his cloak and ran in the rain. He was no longer a nobleman, but a member of the common people.

But Du Fu is just a commoner, his cries, his voice, are destined to be pale and powerless.

Li Longji, who was not far from him, could only hear the soft music of stringed instruments.

"Saint, although there is a minor disaster, everything is going well and it will pass soon."

When Li Longji returned to Nanxun Palace again, Yang Guozhong's voice came.

It was this kind of sound that made him sleep more peacefully.

In September, the rain finally stopped.

Li Longji's mood suddenly became cheerful, like a cloudy day clearing up.

Du Fu immediately left the city and walked through the mud to learn about the disaster situation in Jingzhao.

During this trip, he wrote another set of seven-character ancient poems, "Three Laments on Autumn Rain", which have satirical and admonishing significance.

Regulated verse is the true peak of Du Fu's works.

It is also the highest realm of poetry.

These eight short sentences are as surging as the Yangtze River.

Because human nature is eccentric and good sentences are written, it will never stop until death if the words are not shocking.

Du Fu had always liked ancient poetry.

He also created new Yuefu title poems such as "The March of the Soldiers" and "The Beautiful Lady".

But at this moment, Du Fu's ability to refine words and sentences had matured.

When a poet says that meter restricts people's imagination, he has already lost.

Although "Autumn Rain Sigh" is not a regulated verse, it shows that Du Fu is approaching regulated verse.

The wind is slow and the rain is long in autumn, and the whole world is covered with the same cloud.

The leaving horse and the coming cow can no longer be distinguished, and the turbid Jing and clear Wei rivers cannot be separated.

He cannot tell the difference between cattle and horses, and cannot distinguish between the boundaries.

Such poems should not be the notes of a prosperous age.

Li Longji only knew how to listen to the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the poems of Li Xuan, Li Bai, Wang Wei, and Wang Changling.

Rather than Du Fu's poems.

It is worth mentioning that when the young Du Fu was in Luoyang, heavy rains also caused disasters in the Heluo area.

Du Fu also wrote a poem titled "A Letter to My Younger Brother in Linyi on the Bitter Rain".

At that time, Du Fu's thoughts were unrestrained, and he was in the psychological state of "wandering between Qi and Zhao, wearing fur coats and riding horses, quite wild, singing on the terrace in spring, and hunting beside Qingqiu in winter".

He focused all his efforts on describing the spectacular sight of heavy rain and his wild imagination of myths and legends, but only briefly mentioned the disasters brought by the heavy rain and showed little concern.

But now Du Fu is old!

Some people in later generations said that Du Fu never became young and Li Bai never grew old.

But Li and Du are also human beings. They were young and old once.

……

When a country is in disaster, the sound of mourning drums continues.

When it was raining heavily in Chang'an, Li Mi, the commander-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty's southern expeditionary army, led the newly trained Tang army to attack Nanzhao.

This time, Yang Guozhong vowed to adopt a three-pronged pincer attack tactic.

He asked Li Mi to lead the main force of the Tang army to attack Nanzhao from the north.

Troops were dispatched from the Annan Protectorate, including some ethnic minority forces, to attack Nanzhao from the southeast.

Then he ordered the Tibetan great minister Mashang Zhongbajie to send troops from the west to attack the flank of the Nanzhao army and cooperate with the main force of the Tang army to complete the annihilation.

This plan seemed flawless, and Yang Guozhong was in charge of the remote control.

Yang Guozhong was already waiting for the saint's praise and reward.

Although Mashang Zhongbajie is unknown, he is not an easy person to deal with.

As Tubo's national strength and military force recovered to a certain extent, Tubo was unwilling to be exploited by the Tang Dynasty year after year.

It was only because of Li Xuan's presence that they dared not jump north over the Bayankala Mountains.

But as the great leader Trisong Detsen grew up, his soul that was unwilling to be lonely finally awakened.

His doting father Chidai Zhudan was arrested by General Tian and imprisoned in Chang'an, so that the seeds of hatred were deeply buried in his bones from an early age.

Trisong Detsen dreamed of being like his ancestor Songtsen Gampo, who "killed yaks at a young age", and like the heroes in mythology, he would rush into Chang'an and rescue his father.

Mashang Zhongbajie had a huge influence in Tubo. Unlike in history, at this time he and Enlan Dazhalugong had complete control over the government.

Trisong Detsen was unable to rule the country for a while, but Mashang Zhongbajie decided to obey Trisong Detsen and make things difficult for the Tang army.

And for strategic reasons, Mashang Zhongbajie did not want the Tang Dynasty to destroy Nanzhao.

If there was no Nanzhao, the Tang Dynasty could send troops from Nanzhao at any time and enter the snowy plateau. This was not what Mashang Zhongbajie wanted to see.

So he pretended to obey Yang Guozhong's orders but secretly disobeyed them, and sent envoys to Nanzhao secretly to tell Geluofeng that they would deploy troops on the western border of Nanzhao but would not attack, and asked Geluofeng to deal with the Tang army.

He also claimed that the Tang army without the Heavenly General was like a tiger without teeth and was not worth worrying about.

The total military strength of Nanzhao is not large. If the Tang and Tubo attack at the same time, even if the Tang army is a bunch of pigs, they can easily win.

Geluofeng was feeling extremely anxious, but when he heard the news about Mashang Zhongbajie, he was overjoyed.

He had no choice but to trust Tubo at this critical moment.

Geluofeng inherited the excellent abilities of his father Piluoge, and even surpassed him, being even better at fighting.

At the beginning of the battle, Geluofeng adopted the strategy of luring the enemy deep into his territory, and caused a series of small defeats to make the Tang army's main general Li Mi become dizzy with victory.

He ignored the news of other reinforcements and led the main force straight ahead.

In the end, after the two armies of the Tang army were led to the Nanzhao capital of Yamato City, Geluofeng relied on the strong city to block the attack.

The Tang army had traveled a long way, was short of food and fodder, suffered from malaria, and was unable to adapt to the climate and water. They fell ill one after another on this land.

As a result, when the war broke out, the Tang army had very little combat effectiveness left.

In fact, Geluofeng still has a lot of reinforcements hidden.

He saw that the Tang army was at the end of its strength, and the reinforcements and troops in the capital rushed out together, leaving the Tang army without any power to resist.

This time, it was even worse than the first southern expedition.

Tens of thousands of troops were annihilated. Countless families in the two capitals will face the pain of losing their husbands, sons, and fathers, fulfilling Du Fu's prophecy that "new ghosts are troubled and old ghosts are crying, the sky is cloudy and rainy, and the sound of chirping ghosts is heard."

Just when the heavy rain stopped, Yang Guozhong received the news from Jiannan.

This news came like a bolt from the blue.

There was still no clue about disaster relief in Guanzhong area, and the defeat in Jiannan was enough to destroy his reputation.

He was furious and incompetent in his mansion, scolding Li Mi for being incompetent and Mashang Zhongbajie for wanting to betray the Tang Dynasty.

Why didn't the Tibetan cavalry appear during the great war?

Yang Guozhong sent a letter to Tubo, questioning Mashang Zhongbajie and ordering the surveillance of the post station from Jiannan to Chang'an.

Don't let the news of the defeat reach Chang'an.

A few days later, Yang Guozhong changed his appearance and went to visit Li Longji, who was living a life of luxury in Xingqing Palace.

He forged a "congratulatory letter", stating that the battle was a great victory, in which more than ten thousand enemies were annihilated, forcing Nanzhao to retreat back to the capital city of Yamato for defense.

However, the Tang army was short of food and fodder and had to retreat, failing to destroy Nanzhao.

However, Yang Guozhong assured Li Longji that the next southern expedition would definitely lead to the destruction of Nanzhao.

As for Tubo, no matter what, Yang Guozhong could only suffer in silence.

When Li Longji heard that they had won but had not destroyed the country, he was not very happy. He just rewarded Yang Guozhong with 1,000 pieces of silk, 100 pieces of gold, and 10,000 strings of money, and told him to prepare them himself.

Because Li Xuan destroyed big countries, expanded territory, and won many battles, Li Longji was not very interested in battles of this intensity.

In Li Longji's view, Nanzhao was just a small barbarian country in the south, and killing 10,000 enemies was insignificant in his glorious resume.

After all, truth will come to light. It is not easy for Yang Guozhong to hide the truth.

Before long, the news of the complete annihilation of the southern expeditionary army spread throughout Chang'an.

The people in Guanzhong were wailing loudly. They had just experienced a flood that had not occurred in a century, and now they were experiencing the pain of losing their loved ones.

Coupled with the lack of food and hunger, the people's anger and resentment increased infinitely during this year.

Just as the winter of the thirteenth year of Tianbao began, a major event occurred in Chang'an.

Yang Yuhuan's eighth sister, Lady Qin, died of illness at home before going to Huaqing Palace, ending her sinful life.

Perhaps, Mrs. Qin, who died at this time, was the luckiest among the Five Yangs...

Yang Yuhuan had always had a good relationship with her sisters, and this made her heartbroken.

Coupled with her longing for Li Xuan and the endless loneliness, Yang Yuhuan looked haggard at this time, like a flower in the wind, which made people feel pity for her.

In the desolate palace, I always sit alone in silence.

Gazing at the bright moon, I was lost in thought from time to time.

Sometimes, without realizing it, your face is covered with tear marks.

She no longer likes blooming flowers, but prefers falling flowers and iron flowers, these fleeting things.

Li Longji believed that his wife Yuhuan was unable to bear the blow of Mrs. Qin's death, so he felt even more pity for Yang Yuhuan.

Fearing that Yang Yuhuan would be sad again because of her brothers and sisters' affairs, Li Longji became more indulgent towards Lady Guoguo, Lady Hanguo, Yang Jian and Yang Qi.

When Li Longji heard some news that was unfavorable to Yang Guozhong, he acted as if nothing had happened.

After Li Xian was demoted, civil and military officials were afraid of Yang Guozhong and dared not mention him, and the court entered its final period of "silence".

Gao Lishi saw all this and was worried.

In the cold winter, in the Huaqing Palace, Li Longji was chatting with his old brother Gao Lishi in the Feishuang Hall surrounded by hot springs.

Gao Lishi implicitly revealed some concerns about the future of the country.

"Li Shi, I am old now. I will entrust the affairs of the court to the prime minister, and the affairs of the border to the generals. What else do I have to worry about?"

Li Longji smiled and told Gao Lishi not to think too much about it.

But Gao Lishi came with a purpose, so he would not stop there. He stood up and advised Li Longji, "I heard that the Yunnan area was not as victorious as the prime minister said, but was repeatedly defeated. The current border commander has too many soldiers. Although the imperial guards in the Southern Court are numerous, they have not been trained for a long time. Some of them are hawkers in the markets, and some are guards for dignitaries. They will definitely not be a match for the border troops."

"May I ask how the sage can guard against the border troops? I am worried that if a disaster occurs, it will be difficult to save the situation. How can we be free from worries?"

The meaning of Gao Lishi's words was very clear. First, he was pointing out that Yang Guozhong deceived his superiors and subordinates and played political games, which led to the two defeats of the Tang Dynasty in its southern expeditions.

The second is an allusion to An Lushan.

It was believed that An Lushan had evil ambitions and would collude with the Khitan, Xi and other Hu people to rebel.

"Don't say any more. I know my limits."

Li Longji was very displeased and he reprimanded Gao Lishi.

He couldn't bear to hear such annoying words.

His wife Yuhuan is in a bad mood. Should he let him deal with Yang Guozhong?
He felt that Yang Guozhong's mistake was just a minor one and the outcome could be easily reversed.

As for An Lushan, everything was under his control.

An Lushan could not possibly rebel!

Gao Lishi bowed and dared not say anything more for fear of angering Li Longji.

When facing Li Longji, Gao Lishi's advice was always superficial.

It can be understood that Gao Lishi was not tough enough, and all his interests revolved around Li Longji, so he acted like this when giving advice.

It was another winter, and Li Longji spent it leisurely in Huaqing Palace.

This year is the fourteenth year of Tianbao.

In this spring when the ice and snow melted and all things came back to life, Li Longji once again invited An Lushan to Chang'an to play.

However, An Lushan refused due to illness.

This time, Li Longji was stunned.

As far as he could remember, this was the first time An Lushan refused his summons.

However, his self-esteem made Li Longji subconsciously believe that this was a coincidence.

Yes, it's a coincidence.

The sentence "I will protect myself, you don't have to worry" is so harsh.

But Li Longji deceived himself and paralyzed himself.

He was hoping for the best and thought An Lushan would not rebel.

He also felt that even if there were problems, he would not worry because he still had the invincible Li Qilang.

An Lushan claimed to be ill and unable to come to Chang'an, but he sent the Sogdian general He Qiannian to ask the saint to replace the thirty-two "cowardly" Han generals with brave Hu generals.

The whole court was shocked!

In this era, people believed that the orthodox dynasty was the Han dynasty.

Since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there has been a system in which Hu people "are not allowed to serve as generals."

Therefore, despite the hard work and great contributions of Qibi Heli and Ashina She'er, they still could not be promoted to generals.

Li Longji has set a precedent for appointing a Hu person as a general.

And this Hu general was still replacing the Han generals in the army.

Everyone said that An Lushan would rebel, and everyone knew Sima Zhao's intention.

Only Li Longji didn't believe it, and he agreed to An Lushan's request.

A minister risked his life to advise An Lushan, but Li Longji was able to break through his defense and tied up the minister and sent him to Fan Yang to be dealt with by An Lushan.

He also threatened that anyone who dared to mention An Lushan's rebellion again would be tied up and taken to Fan Yang.

This really made everyone in the world shut up.

In April, Li Longji sent Minister Pei Shiyan to appease An Lushan and check on his condition.

An Lushan was just pretending to be sick. He refused to allow the "imperial envoy" to enter the door, and he also prohibited Pei Shiyan and his party from moving around in Fan Yang.

After waiting for half a month, he met Pei Shiyan.

An Lushan deliberately gathered all his personal soldiers, armed them to the teeth, drew their swords, and acted aggressively in order to scare Pei Shiyan.

At this time, An Lushan was ready to launch an uprising.

But troops are usually sent out in autumn when the weather is fine and the horses are fat, not now.

After Pei Shiyan read the imperial edict to An Lushan, he immediately ran back to Chang'an and reported to Li Longji that "An Lushan did not behave like a subject."

But Li Longji thought Pei Shiyan was exaggerating and deliberately angering An Lushan, so he did not believe him.

However, Li Longji's doubts grew deeper and deeper.

He arranged a marriage for An Qingzong, An Lushan's hostage left in Chang'an, and promised him a daughter of the royal family.

They planned to take advantage of the wedding of Emperor An Qing and Princess Rong Yi in two months to summon An Lushan to the court to attend the wedding...

……

In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, February, Qiuci City.

While undercurrents were surging in the Central Plains, a troop deployment was also taking place outside the city of Kucha.

This is the preparation before the drums and horns sound...

(End of this chapter)