Chapter 547: Not that he cannot be killed
Before this, King Fanyang never refuted or questioned any of Duan Shiang’s decisions, but that was based on the premise that everything went smoothly.
Duan Shiang led his troops south and was invincible, sweeping through the eastern capital Luoyang like a gust of wind. Along the way, King Fan Yang often woke up to hear that the army had captured another city. This made him almost accustomed to this kind of life of sitting back and reaping the fruits of others' labor. Naturally, he was willing to trust and rely on Duan Shiang, and even obey his every word.
But now it’s different.
After the setback in the attack on Bianzhou, they lost Zhengzhou and Xuzhou one after another. Duan Shiang was injured, the army suffered repeated defeats, and was even besieged on three sides by Chang Suining...
Surrounded by such a crisis, King Fan Yang felt that his mind had become much clearer.
He believed that he did not have any big ambitions, and his biggest hobbies in life were just eating and having sex. For him, this opportunity to start a rebellion was like a pie falling from the sky. This pie was so fragrant and big that it made him dizzy and floating...
Whenever Prince Fan Yang looked toward the capital, he always felt that it was all unreal, as if everything had come too easily, as if it was all based on luck.
And now it’s good! This difficult situation now gave him a sense of reality, and he felt at ease...
Li Fu wow, isn't he a cheapskate? King Fan Yang pointed at his own nose and cursed himself in his heart.
After cursing, King Fan Yang began to face his own situation and thoughts.
All these things that he got for free gave him a feeling of making money for nothing, which everyone likes. If he was asked to return them, he could grit his teeth and get over it...
In short, he did not have the obsession of not giving up until he reached the Yellow River, nor did he have the determination to die together with the great cause.
King Fan Yang honestly accepted the thought of retreat that had arisen in his heart.
Let’s retreat.
While we still have the foundation in the north, and while this retreat has not been blocked by Chang Suining, hurry up and retreat north! The north is so vast, if it doesn't work, just go back to the old nest Fanyang and close the door. As long as you run fast enough, are you afraid of having no way to survive? Of course, when Li Fu mentioned the idea of running away to Duan Shiang, he did not forget to call it: "Shiang, as long as you have the green mountains, you will not worry about having no firewood to burn..."
Duan Shiang almost bluntly rejected Li Fu's proposal.
"If Your Majesty withdraws from Luoyang at this time, won't all the previous efforts be wasted? Those forces that chose to support Your Majesty because of Your Majesty's defense of Luoyang will also disperse one after another."
"This retreat will cause the army to lose its morale and its people to disperse. It is doomed to be defeated like a landslide."
"Your Highness, why should you be so eager to retreat because of a temporary dilemma? If Chang Suining really has a good chance of winning, why has she been so slow to act? In the final analysis, she is just trying to bluff by besieging us. If Your Highness really retreats, it will be exactly what she wants, and she will be handing Luoyang over to her!"
"The direct battle has not yet begun. Your Majesty should remain calm and wait. Don't rush to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige."
"Your Majesty, just rest assured and leave this matter to me."
Such disagreements had occurred several times between King Fanyang and Duan Shiang.
King Fanyang wanted to retreat, but Duan Shiang was unwilling to do so.
Duan Shiang was not unaware of the worst outcome, but his intentions were fundamentally different from those of King Fanyang.
Duan Shiang knew that King Fanyang was afraid of death, but the life or death of King Fanyang and the survival of the Fanyang army were not what he really considered.
For Duan Shiang, it would be best if he could win the battle against Chang Suining, but even if he couldn't win, he would definitely do his best to contain and severely damage the Jiangdu Army's forces...
He was not afraid of a head-on battle with Chang Suining. He still had 170,000 troops here, and Chang Suining did not have the ability to crush him in one fell swoop. Once the two sides went to war, he would be able to further disrupt the situation in Luoyang and Henan Road and create opportunities for the Rongwang Mansion in Yizhou.
Chang Suining is a thorn in the eyes of the "Prince", and now he has a grudge against him for having his arm broken off. Therefore, he will not hesitate to use all the strength of the Fanyang Army to perish together with him!
It's not that he didn't care about the consequences, but he didn't take the consequences of the Fanyang army seriously.
Originally it was just a sword, so it doesn't matter if it breaks, as long as it can be put to good use.
Duan Shiang was almost determined to let the Fanyang army and the Jiangdu army perish together, so he naturally would not pay attention to King Fanyang's words of retreat.
Duan Shiang was on his way to discuss matters with his subordinates when the guard leader who was in charge of supervising the children of the Cui family came over and followed Duan Shiang. He lowered his voice and said, "General, the Cui family has not left yet..."
He tried to throw it twice more, but still failed to throw those people away.
Moreover, Cui Lang and others have seldom gone out in the past few days. They seem to be a little tired and just stay in the mansion every day to eat, drink and have fun.
Duan Shiang, whose wounds had not yet healed, was worrying about the battle situation. Hearing this, he just frowned and said, "Let them go. Just take good care of them."
Letting the Cui family go was a signal from Yizhou. I guess the "Prince" had already reached an agreement with the Cui family in secret.
But on the surface he was working for the King of Fan Yang, so it was not easy for him to openly let Cui Lang and others leave. Since these useless people were happy there and didn't want to leave, then let them be, as long as they were alive.
Seeing that Duan Shiang had no time to deal with these trivial matters, the guard commander paused after agreeing and did not continue to follow.
…
It was afternoon, and when King Fan Yang was taking a nap, he had a nightmare and woke up in a sweat.
"I just dreamed that the enemy troops stationed in the west were approaching Luoyang another thirty miles..." King Fanyang sat up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and murmured, "Fortunately, it was just a dream."
"Father, your dream is too fantastic..." A young man standing by the couch said in surprise, "Someone just reported that the Huainan Road army in the west has advanced another 50 miles towards Luoyang!"
The breath that King Fanyang had just let out suddenly came back to him: "...What!"
Fifty miles? It was actually twenty miles more than in his dream!
"Is Chang Suining going to attack?!" Prince Fan Yang lifted the quilt and got off the bed. The young man hurriedly put clothes on him.
King Fanyang asked anxiously: "What should we do?"
"Father, don't worry. General Duan is already dealing with it." The young man said, "Even if a fight breaks out, they won't be able to break into Luoyang City in a short time. Let's just wait for news from General Duan."
"You don't care about anything. You're just roasting a sweet potato when you're on fire. The strings in your head are looser than the waistband of an 80-year-old man!" Li Fu knocked on the boy's head a few times and asked unhappily, "What are you doing here?"
"My son is not here alone." The young man said, "Cui Liulang is also outside. He wants to see his father."
The young man's name is Li Yun. He has been in close contact with Cui Lang recently. This is because the two of them have the same elegant hobby: cricket fighting.
King Fanyang was upset when he heard Cui Lang's name. Not only was he useless, but he was also very good at spending his money. The cost of Cui Lang's 30 children was about to catch up with the military pay of his 10,000 soldiers! King Fanyang subconsciously waved his hand and refused: "Go away, let him go back."
However, at this moment, Cui Lang's voice was heard from outside the curtain: "Is the prince awake?"
Li Yun quickly responded: "Wake up, wake up! Come in quickly!"
After receiving the invitation, Cui Lang walked in very familiarly and saluted King Fan Yang with a grin.
King Fanyang has always created an image of treating the children of the Cui family with courtesy to the outside world, so Cui Lang was not hindered from entering and leaving the Luoyang Palace, not to mention that Li Yun was accompanying him.
"Cui Liulang, please take a seat." Li Yun warmly entertained his father.
Cui Lang sat down on the chair beside the small table without any hesitation. Li Yun sat down on the other side and started to peel pine nuts for Cui Lang in a servile manner.
Prince Fan Yang, who was wearing an outer robe and sitting beside the couch, snorted and laughed when he saw this. He had originally laughed at his own kid for having a very loose brain, but he didn't expect that the one from the Cui family was even worse. Maybe they were birds of a feather.
"Why do you want to see me, Cui Liulang?" King Fanyang took the tea handed to him by the maid and asked Cui Lang.
Cui Lang did not answer but asked, "Is the prince worried these days?"
King Fanyang drank a few sips of tea, and when he heard this, he raised his eyelids and looked at Cui Lang, and said very honestly: "My life is hanging by a thread, do you think I am worried?"
"That's right." Cui Lang smiled and said, "I am here to help His Majesty resolve his worries and offer some advice."
Li Yun was very surprised to hear this. Cui Liulang was actually here for business? Cui Liulang actually had business to do?
King Fanyang put down his teacup and sighed, "Even if Cui Liulang dares to offer this strategy, I may not dare to use it."
Although there was no mention of disdain, every word was full of disdain.
"Your Highness, please at least listen first." Cui Lang said, leaning towards the direction of King Fanyang, and lowering his voice slightly, "This method is very simple. Your Highness only needs to kill one person."
"Oh, who to kill?" King Fanyang asked casually.
Cui Lang: "General Duan Shiang."
King Fanyang looked at him.
Li Yun stared with his eyes wide open. Just as he was about to speak, he saw his father wave his hand, and the two maids in the room bowed and retreated.
"You want me to kill General Duan..." King Fanyang looked at Cui Lang with amusement: "So you can surrender to Chang Suining?"
Cui Lang smiled without comment.
"Not to mention that even if I do this, I may not be able to save my life, and the court may not be willing to forgive me easily..." King Fanyang seemed puzzled and said: "Just talking about the current situation, if I withdraw, I still have a chance to survive. Why do I have to cut off my own arm to survive?"
Cui Lang smiled and said, "But General Duan is here. Your Majesty, I'm afraid your decision on whether the army should stay or go won't count--"
Nine out of ten military power of the Fanyang Army was in the hands of Duan Shiang.
Cui Lang continued, "What if General Duan refuses to agree to withdraw no matter what, and never thinks of leaving a way out for the prince?"
King Fanyang laughed for a while, then said, "Shiang and I will suffer together, why would he want to destroy my life?"
Cui Lang: "Your Highness, are you so sure that General Duan will be loyal to you?"
"We are not related, but I know how loyal Shiang is to me." King Fanyang adjusted his beard and said with a smile, "But as long as the great cause is not accomplished, he will keep me safe... I need him, and he doesn't need me either."
Cui Lang's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but it did not stop him from continuing: "But what if the person General Duan really wants to support is someone else?"
"Oh?" King Fanyang seemed to be interested: "Who?"
As their eyes met, Cui Lang said, "Prince Rong of Yizhou."
Prince Fanyang raised his slightly sparse eyebrows and said, "Li Yin?"
His expression didn't reveal whether he believed it or not.
"Think about it..." Cui Lang continued in a casual tone, "He has someone loyal to him who would like to use your life and the lives of the Fanyang Army to tie down the imperial forces and pave the way for Prince Rong. How could he choose to retreat north for your safety?"
"That does make sense..." King Fanyang supported his knees and stood up from the bed: "But where is the evidence?"
"Shiang is my good general. If I kill him wrongly because of a few unfounded assumptions, how can I have peace of mind?"
As King Fan Yang put on his robe and paced back and forth, he slowly drew out the sword hanging beside him, turned the tip of the sword slightly, and pointed it at Cui Lang's neck.
Li Yun was so frightened that his legs went limp and he quickly knelt down: "Father..."
"Although I don't want to offend the pens of the Cui family, if the Cui family wants to help King Rong succeed and wants to sow discord, and treat me as a brainless fool..." King Fanyang's round face was still smiling: "I can kill a smart Cui kid like you."
Looking at the sword that was so close to him, Cui Lang leaned back, leaned his head against the back of the chair, and forced a slightly stiff smile.
Who said that King Fanyang was just a brainless puppet? He knew it in his heart.
These few words clearly showed the Cui family's position.
It looks like a fat cat, but it actually has sharp claws.
At this moment, Cui Lang had reason to believe that if Duan Shiang could really support King Fanyang to come to the capital, if the former was slower, King Fanyang would definitely do the move of crossing the river and destroying the bridge - smilingly getting rid of the meritorious official, and then shedding a few sad tears afterwards.
King Fanyang is not easily frightened.
The reason why Chang Suining had not rashly revealed the relationship between Duan Shiang and Prince Rong to Prince Fanyang was because she had no real evidence in her hands. If she publicized the matter too early, it would only alarm Duan Shiang, and once Duan Shiang became wary, it would be even more difficult to obtain evidence.
Therefore, Chang Suining chose to besiege Luoyang step by step to make King Fanyang want to retreat. However, Chang Suining knew very well that Duan Shiang would not retreat from Luoyang. When the two of them had a disagreement, it would be the best time to attack their hearts.
Cui Lang, who volunteered to stay and act as an insider, is undoubtedly the most suitable person to do this.
In the eyes of outsiders, he seems to be useless enough, and people around him will not easily become wary of him, so many things are particularly convenient for him to do.
But at the same time, it is also very risky.
Cui Lang needs to be careful in grasping all the important points and must not be lax or take any chances.
Besides, this required him to have unconditional trust in Chang Suining. After all, all the information he obtained came from Chang Suining's written information, and he did not personally experience any process of analyzing the truth.
If the information given by Chang Suining was wrong, or if Cui Lang hesitated for a moment during the execution, death would be waiting for him.
Intelligence, courage and decisiveness are all essential here.
At this moment, Cui Lang stretched out two fingers as calmly as possible, pressed them against the sword spine, and gently pushed the sword to one side and said softly: "The evidence that the prince wants will be here later..."
Thank you all for your monthly tickets, thank you book friends Li Xiaoshu, Yanzhihu 1, the sea in the shell klc, the endless rain of the parasol tree, the lonely cello, a Ning sauce, the book has its own meta, like the reward from book friends such as no cp ~ Good night.
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