Chapter 503: Never sit still and wait for death
In shock and anger, Li Xian drew his sword and pointed it at the soldier who reported the news, with veins bulging on his forehead: "What did you say? Say it again!"
The soldier was so terrified that he fell to his knees, kowtowed and said in a trembling voice: "...This matter is of great importance. How dare I deceive the Duke! The Duke's mansion in the capital has been surrounded by the imperial guards. The imperial envoy who delivered the decree is on the way and will arrive in Tanzhou in three days at the latest!"
When Li Xian heard this, his mind went blank for a moment, and the hand holding the sword trembled slightly because he was holding the sword too tightly.
At this time, a message came from outside the tent, saying that the military advisor came to ask for a meeting.
"Back off!" Li Xian shouted in a stern voice, ordering the soldiers kneeling in front of him to retreat.
The soldier retreated out of the tent with sweat on his forehead, and did not dare to look up when he passed by the military advisor who was walking in.
"Mr. Cai..." Li Xian looked at the military advisor who walked in quickly.
The gray-haired military advisor took a look at his demeanor and the sword in his hand, and saluted hastily: "General!"
Li Xian: "Sir, have you also learned about this..."
"Yes." The military advisor's eyes were filled with an undisguised solemnity. He was a trusted adviser to the Duke of Korea's mansion and was in charge of the intelligence organization under Li Xian to a large extent. He had just received the news from the capital and had hurried over.
"According to your opinion..." Li Xian asked word by word, "Does the Saint really want to punish me?"
The military advisor was silent for a moment, and then said, "It is said that the Saint has made up his mind, and everyone in the capital has heard about this matter. And the Grand Princess Xuan'an has made up her mind to wait in the capital for the Duke to be escorted back to the capital for punishment. She is bound not to give up..."
"What a great Grand Princess Li Rong! She is nothing but a shameless slut!" Li Xian let out an angry laugh from deep in his throat and swung his sword at the screen beside him: "How dare you force me to this point!"
The screen collapsed with a loud bang, and the military advisor hurriedly advised: "Duke, please calm down first..."
Li Xian threw away his sword, walked to the table and sat down, closed his eyes, and tried to calm his mind. However, the anger in his chest became more and more violent. He gritted his teeth and said, "My aunt wants to kill me..."
"She clearly promised that once I have made great achievements in this battle and established my reputation in the army, she would try to hand over the Xuan Ce Army to me..."
"I just won a battle!" He suddenly waved his hand towards the north: "Yuezhou and Dongting were all recovered by me! Not only that, I also killed a full 100,000 Bian troops! The Bian army was seriously injured! It is only a matter of time before I take Bian Chunliang's head!"
He had endured so much cold words and insults all the way to get to this point, and when he was about to succeed, his aunt wanted to kill him? He thought his aunt must be old and senile, and he would be able to gain fame after this battle. With the Xuan Ce Army in hand, he could become the sharpest killing weapon in his aunt's hands... But his aunt chose to abandon him at this moment!
He had clearly been following his aunt's wishes, but she wanted him to bear such a crime and die in such a miserable state... Then what was the point of all the things he had done to win? Was he just making wedding clothes for others? To die when he was closest to victory... How could he accept this!
Li Xian withdrew his hand and placed it on the low table beside him. After closing his eyes and taking a few trembling breaths, he said in a much calmer tone: "Sir, I can't go back to Beijing..."
The military advisor's expression changed slightly, and he reminded him indirectly: "But the Duke's wife and her husband are both in the capital..."
The Duke of Korea's mansion in the capital not only housed Li Xian's wife and children, but also the second and third wives, who were Li Xian's brothers from the same father, and their respective families.
"If I die, they won't live long either." Li Xian said in a serious tone, "I am my father's eldest son. As long as I am here, the bloodline of the Duke of Han will not be cut off..."
The military advisor was terrified when he heard this: "What the Duke means is..."
"Since my aunt is willing to treat me like an abandoned child so easily, how can she ask me to be loyal to her to the end..." Li Xian's voice was low, but every word was clear: "If the elders are unkind, then you can't blame the younger generation for being unfilial."
He is not a useless person like Ming Jin. When the emperor gives an order, he can only kneel on the execution platform and die...
If it was in the South Territory in the past, even if the emperor was far away, he might not have dared to have such thoughts, but now is far different from the past -
A mere country bumpkin could raise his arm and forge swords to fight against the government. How could he sit there and wait for death when he had a large army? The military advisor dropped his robe and knelt down, saying, "... This is a very unacceptable move and is absolutely not a feasible strategy. Please think twice, Duke!"
Li Xian looked at him, his eyes turned cold, and he asked slowly, "Sir, do you want me to just sit there and die?"
The gray-haired military advisor had an earnest and solemn look in his eyes, his eyes slightly reddened: "The late Duke was grateful for the Emperor's grace, and entrusted me with the task of helping the General to share His Majesty's worries and safeguard the foundation of the Duke of Korea's Mansion. He repeatedly reminded me of the word 'guard'... Cai cannot bear to see the General commit such a treasonous act and disregard the people in the Mansion!"
He was a counselor under the former Duke of Korea, and therefore was extremely loyal to the Duke of Korea's mansion.
He knew that if Li Xian rebelled, it would inevitably drag the innocent people in the Hanguogong Mansion in Beijing into a desperate situation, and even bring disaster to the entire He family...
He made all his efforts for Li Xian, but they had disagreements over the past year or so. Li Xian was dissatisfied with his over-cautiousness, while he was worried that Li Xian would make mistakes in his haste to achieve success.
Perhaps knowing that he would stop it, Li Xian decided to create the plague without consulting him. By the time Li Xian found out about it, it was already too late...
The mistake has been made, and the top priority now is to prevent a greater disaster from happening!
"Please listen to me for the last time, Duke!"
Military Advisor Cai knocked his head heavily on the ground for the first time and advised: "The Duke's return to the capital this time may not necessarily mean his death... Cai Jun will try to confess his guilt to the emperor and the people of the world, and make it clear that it was Cai who caused the plague! In this way, the emperor may take the opportunity to save the Duke's life! Even if there is pressure from the Grand Princess Xuan'an, the emperor is forced to hold the Duke accountable, but at most he can be stripped of his military power and punished and exiled. There is still a glimmer of hope!"
"When the situation changes in the future, the Duke may have a chance to rise again!"
"Please listen to what I have to say, Duke!"
Military Advisor Cai kowtowed again, with blood already visible on his forehead.
Li Xian sighed faintly, stood up and walked over, kneeling on one knee in front of Military Advisor Cai, and raised his hand to hold one of Military Advisor Cai's arms: "Military Advisor's painstaking efforts to protect me with his life are really moving..."
Military Advisor Cai raised his head: "Duke..."
However, before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt something sharp being pushed into his heart.
Military Advisor Cai froze and tried to struggle, but Li Xian held his shoulders tightly with one hand.
Li Xian thrust the dagger deeper with his other hand and said with a smile, "But I know that the one who asked the military advisor to protect me with his life was not me, but those people in the Duke of Han's Mansion who only cared about pleasure..."
"For their sake, the military advisor wanted to trick me into going back to die..."
Seeing blood oozing from the corner of Military Advisor Cai's mouth, Li Xian pushed him back as if he was throwing away a piece of rag, stood up and sneered, "What the Military Advisor said today must be very much in line with Father's wishes, so go and tell Father."
As Li Xian spoke, he turned around, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant: "After all, these are words that are only suitable for the dead to hear... and I don't want to die yet."
Soon, Li Xian had the military advisor's body collected.
After everything was settled, Li Xian immediately asked Xiao Min and others to come and discuss the matter.
The news that the capital was going to punish him would surely reach Tanzhou soon. If he wanted to live, he could not delay even a bit.
"To the east of Tanzhou, near Yuanzhou, someone, instigated by Bian Chunliang, has gathered tens of thousands of rioters and is planning to flee to Tanzhou. Spies report that this group of rioters is preparing to leave..."
Li Xian said in a very cold tone: "If we let them enter Tanzhou, Bian Chunliang's power will grow stronger...so we must intercept them on the way."
"They are just a bunch of rabble!" Yan Chenglu, Li Xian's deputy general, stood up and said, "Let me lead the troops to kill them!"
Deputy General Ao beside Xiao Min frowned upon hearing this: "People are already in chaos around here, how can we continue to kill people indiscriminately!"
Yan Chenglu glanced over and said sarcastically, "General Ao is so soft-hearted to the rebels. Do you think that the knives in their hands won't be able to chop you down in the future?"
Deputy General Ao had no intention of arguing with him. He turned to look at Xiao Min, asking for instructions in his eyes: "General..."
"Most of these people were probably just deceived and instigated by others, and their crimes are not punishable by death." Xiao Min stood up, looked at Li Xian, and said with a cupped hand: "I am willing to settle this matter."
Yan Chenglu also bowed and asked: "Commander--"
Li Xian looked at Xiao Min with a half-smile: "General Xiao has always been kind, is he planning to persuade them with reason and emotion?"
Xiao Min didn't say much, only said: "Xiao promises that this chaos will be quelled at the lowest cost."
Tens of thousands of rioters is not a small number. Deputy General Ao said, "I am willing to go with you, Deputy General."
He knew the purpose of General Xiao's personal visit. Most of these rioters were disillusioned with the current court and were easily instigated. General Xiao was enough to represent the court. If he came forward to intimidate and appease them, it would surely be twice the result with half the effort.
Xiao Min looked at Li Xian, waiting for him to give in.
Li Xian nodded absentmindedly, "Okay, in that case, I'll trouble General Xiao to make the trip."
Xiao Min nodded. It was obvious that such matters should be dealt with sooner rather than later. After agreeing with Li Xian to lead 5,000 cavalrymen, Xiao Min immediately prepared to go with Deputy General Ao.
After the other generals left, Yan Chenglu said with some dissatisfaction: "Why did the commander let this Xiao come over and take the credit for nothing?"
Li Xian ignored his question and asked: "Except for the seriously ill soldiers, how many available troops can be assembled in the camp now?"
Yan Chenglu made a rough calculation and said, "Commander-in-chief, there are about 70,000."
"Seventy thousand..." Li Xian was obviously not satisfied with this number, but he still said: "After Xiao Min leaves, immediately gather these seventy thousand troops and prepare all the food and supplies as soon as possible, and prepare to leave the camp with me."
Yan Chenglu was stunned: "Commander, are you... going to attack Tanzhou again?"
But the attack on Tanzhou is only less than a hundred miles away, why should we bring all the food and supplies with us?
The upcoming siege will not be fought in such a cumbersome way.
"No, not to Tanzhou." Li Xian shook his head, looked outside the tent and said, "It should be Mianzhou."
Yan Chenglu was shocked and confused: "...Mianyangzhou?!"
Instead of attacking the Bian army, they are going to attack Mianzhou. Could it be...
Li Xian looked at Yan Chenglu with a smile: "Why, don't you want to join me in achieving great things?"
Yan Chenglu was startled and suddenly came back to his senses. With excited eyes, he clasped his fists and knelt down: "I am willing to follow the coach until death!"
Helping the court fight wars, one has to endure the nagging of civil servants and take into account public opinion. If one is not careful, one will end up in a thankless job, which is really infuriating and cowardly!
Yan Chenglu did not ask Li Xian why he suddenly made such a decision. Nowadays, there are many people who rebel, and it is nothing more than ambition.
It's a fight anyway, so why not have a good fight? And fight for yourself, and you can get ready-made benefits! Yan Chenglu's heart was burning, and suddenly he thought of something: "But Commander, Chang Suining seems to be still in Mianzhou now!"
"Isn't this better?" Li Xian's eyes flickered. "The garrison of Mianzhou is only over 10,000. With Chang Suining's men, we can barely gather 20,000. The other troops of Huainan Road are separated by the Han River and it will be difficult for them to rush to help in a short time... and we will lead 70,000 troops to catch them by surprise. Are you still afraid that we can't take Mianzhou?"
"Then you will be able to deal with Chang Suining." Li Xian smiled at Yan Chenglu and said, "This will not only make you famous, but also relieve you of the humiliation you suffered on the banks of the Han River that day. Isn't that great?"
These words made Yan Chenglu's blood boil, as if he had already smelled the exciting smell of blood. He clasped his fists again and said, "I will live up to the coach's trust!"
Li Xian chose to attack Mianzhou. Although it was a hasty decision, it was not a blind move. He had weighed it over and over again. To the south was the Bian army, to the west was to shorten the distance to the capital, and to the east was the natural barrier of the Gan River...
To the north is Yuezhou, so he only needs to go there as soon as possible, lead his troops to take over the administration, and then take over Mianyangzhou by surprise... When he has occupied the two cities, he can settle down smoothly and then plan other things.
Thinking of this, Li Xian's heart was in turmoil, and he secretly clenched his fists. There is always a way out. This time, his aunt is forcing him so hard, maybe it's his chance to take advantage of the chaos! Yan Chenglu has already stood up, and can't wait to arrange the gathering of troops.
Before leaving, Li Xian said, "Also, after Xiao Min leaves the camp, don't give him a chance to come back—"
Letting Xiao Min leave this time is both a way to lure the tiger away from the mountain and to cut the weeds at their roots.
There are still subordinates of Xiao Min in the army. When the troops are gathered and set off, he will announce that Xiao Min has secretly colluded with Bian Chunliang and has been killed... If anyone dares to question it, he will take the opportunity to eliminate those generals loyal to Xiao Min to prevent future troubles and control the situation in the shortest time possible.
Li Xian was extremely anxious and had already made a general plan. He then summoned several of his confidants. While they were conspiring and discussing, a soldier came to report that Allan had been found and brought back to the army.
Li Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, showing some surprise.
See you tomorrow~
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