Traveling through the troubled times of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Last time, it was said that Wei Zheng took advantage of Li Mi's opportunity to go to Wagang to transfer troops, and came to Chang'an City privately, and secretly met with Luo Yi, the king of Beiping, to arrange a retreat for the brothers.

Introduced by Luo Yi, Wei Zheng met Li Yuan naturally.Wei Zheng admired Li Yuan's tenacious and introverted character and his polite and virtuous corporal's attitude from the bottom of his heart.With this comparison, Li Mi is really not enough.

Therefore, as soon as the two sides confessed, Wei Zheng got Li Yuan's promise that if the Wagang brothers came to seek refuge, the Li family would definitely come out and welcome them.

Before Wei Zheng's plan could be put into action, an incident happened after that, which made the Wagang brothers feel cold, and many people left Wagang because of this, looking for another way out.

It turned out that when Wei Zheng detoured to stay in Chang'an City, a major event happened in Wagangzhai, far away from Henan Province.

The cause of this has to start with the geographical location of Wagangzhai.

This Wagang Village was originally founded by Zhai Rang. At that time, there was a mountain called Heifenggang in the northeast of Wagang Mountain. I can't get used to him, so the two of them have nothing to do with each other, and they don't violate the water of the well, so they live in peace.

When Qin Qiong and others first entered Wagang, when they merged with Zhai Rang's two armies, Qin Qiong, Xu Maogong and others also proposed whether to join forces with Nie Shixiong to strengthen the strength of the mountain, but Zhai Rang refused.

One reason is that Zhai Rang is really not ashamed of Nie Shixiong.It turned out that although Nie Shixiong came from a poor family and was forced to become a bandit, since he occupied Heifenggang, he has a cruel heart and no sympathy for the suffering of the people. The common people often suffered casualties and were despised by Zhai Rang; secondly, we have to talk about Nie Shixiong's ambition.Even if Qin Qiong and the others really ignore the past and let Nie Shixiong join, they may not be willing to join.Nie Shixiong is so ambitious, how could he bow his head and become a minister.

At the beginning, Wagang Village had strong soldiers and horses, and there were countless generals. Nie Shixiong naturally didn't dare to do anything, so he could only hide in his own Black Wind Mound. Going to Yangzhou City gave Nie Shixiong a chance—a chance to capture Wagang.

It has not been a day or two since Nie Shixiong wanted to seize Wagang. Now that Wagang is empty of troops, it is a good opportunity to seize the city.However, because there are still three members of the Pei family, father and son, and his deadly enemy Zhai Rang guarding the village, they can't do it for a while.

While Nie Shixiong was hesitating, Li Mi, who was far away in Yangzhou City, saw that Wei Zheng had gone and never returned, and became suspicious, so he sent others to Wagang to dispatch troops. everyone.

Zhai Rang frowned immediately, and said unhappily: "I still need to transfer troops? He took all the main force of Wagang to Yangzhou City to seize the jade seal. Now he doesn't want the jade seal anymore, just for a woman, I'm afraid All the people against the king against him, and let us transfer our troops to prepare early in case of emergencies. We can't transfer all the soldiers away and leave an empty city here. If something happens, we can What should I do?"

"It's good for him. He doesn't want to withdraw his troops back to Wagang, but also wants to capture Yang Guang alive to seize the jade seal, and also wants to take his wife as his own. Do you want him to take all the good things in this world?"

Pei Renji was also displeased and said: "If you are worried that the crowd will turn against the king against him, then you can take Xiao Empress into custody and negotiate with Yang Guang. How can he do this? Just take people as his own, so lustful, How is it different from that stupid king Yang Guang."

The eldest son of Pei tugged at his father's sleeve, signaling to be cautious, but Pei Ren was basically heartbroken because he lost his son in old age.In the final analysis, it was because Li Mi was eager to win the jade seal, and he was the first to attack the five passes, so his youngest son Pei Yuanqing died. Thinking of Li Mi's daily efforts to provoke the gap between the Luo family and the Pei family, Pei Renji It is a lie to say that he does not vent his anger on Li Mi.

But this Li Mi is still the emperor after all, how can the emperor's order be violated?After Pei Renji complained, he still had to do what should be done.

So, Zhai Rang and Pei Renji discussed it, forget it, let's send some troops to Wagangba first, and the leader of the army is Zhai Rang.

As the leading general, Zhai Rang was recommended by himself.Zhai Rang really has too much resentment towards Li Mi. Before Luo Cheng left, he had already felt resentment in his heart, but now he heard that Li Mi's behavior became even more absurd. He was very dissatisfied with dispatching troops to protect him. It was difficult for others to say anything, even Cheng Yaojin. Dare to say, don't forget, this Wagang village was originally mine, if you, Li Mi, mess around, I, the owner of the village, is still here, and you are the one who chased me away!

With this in mind, Zhai Rang took some loyal generals around him to Yangzhou City, intending to question Li Mi.

Unexpectedly, less than a day after Pei Renji sent Zhai Rang away, someone from the city came to call for battle.

Who is coming?

It was Nie Shixiong from Heifenggang.

This Nie Shixiong inquired about the news that Zhai Rang led his troops to leave Wagang one day ago, and thought that this was a great opportunity to capture Wagang. No, he led the army to encircle and suppress Wagang.

See what he yells—

"Soldiers, let's not be afraid of that Wagang. Listen to me, this Wagang is now an empty city. All the generals have been transferred to Yangzhou City to seize the jade seal. We don't need to be afraid of them!"

"Brothers, this Wagang village is a good place. If you want food, you can have food, and if you want women, you can have women. We've got a great bargain! Follow the master to eat delicious food and drink spicy food!"

Most of the troops led by Nie Shixiong were like-minded people with his interests, and some of them would not be able to get on the stage. Hearing his yell now, those with green eyes were about to rush to Wagang Village.

Pei Renji was so angry.

Pei Renji was so proud and arrogant that he couldn't tolerate the provocation from the bandits, so he raised his sword and rode his horse to fight.

The two horses passed by, and Pei Renji and Nie Shixiong fought against each other for the first time. When Pei Renji was about to close, Nie Shixiong suddenly turned around and shouted: "Look at the knife—"

Pei Renji thought that Nie Shixiong would strike again with his knife, but who would have thought that what Nie Shixiong said was looking at the knife was the Willow Leaf Flying Knife in his sleeve.

Although Pei Renji said he was skilled in martial arts, he was old after all. Nie Shixiong made a sudden move. Pei Renji couldn't dodge it for a while, but only had time to grunt. one knife.

Nie Shixiong's camp burst into cheers. Pei's eldest son, Pei Yuanlong, didn't even have time to wipe away his tears. He hurried forward to snatch Pei Renji's body back, and retreated into the city gate, holding the corpse and crying bitterly.

Nie Shixiong's army was like wolves, tigers and leopards, constantly clamoring outside the city gate, threatening to crush Wagang Village.

But now there are only Pei Yuanlong and Pei Yuanhu in the city who can fight against the generals, even if the Pei brothers are willing to fight to the death, but there are all the families of the soldiers in the city, how can they risk their lives?

The Pei brothers could only close the gates of the city, and secretly sent people to Yangzhou City to report the news.

No, the people sent there kept on going all the way, and when they arrived at Yangzhou City, they almost met Zhai Rang.

Before Zhai Rang had time to question Li Mi, people heard that Nie Shixiong sneaked in to attack Wagang Village, and General Pei died in battle.

Li Mi was shocked when he heard the news, and quickly asked Xu Maogong: "Military Master, what should I do?"

Xu Maogong was angry with Li Mi in his heart. At the beginning, we all advised you not to accept Empress Xiao, but you were so bold and determined to go your own way that you would rather take the risk of offending the rebellious king than wait for Empress Xiao. The concubine was kept in the harem, and the anti-kings complained about our Wagang.Afterwards, you worried that the rebel kings would take this opportunity to rebel against you, so you immediately sent people back to Wagang to dispatch troops to protect you.There are not many defenders in Wagang, and now you have transferred them here. Does Nie Shixiong have an opportunity?

Are you saying that you are self-inflicted? If you hadn't been narrow-minded and driven away Luo Cheng, the Luo family army would not have left.

It's just pitiful for Old General Pei, who was famous for his life, brave and good at fighting, to die in the hands of such grassroots bandits.

Xu Maogong was full of emotion in his heart, lowered his eyes, and said: "I haven't thought of any way yet."

Qin Qiong, Wang Junke and the others looked at each other, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the city is empty, with less than [-] soldiers, and the rear is full of relatives of the soldiers. They are all old and young, women and children. We must hurry up." Going back to rescue, it’s too late, I’m afraid I’ll regret it too late, how about this, I’ll send [-] soldiers and horses first, and set off immediately to go back.”

What Qin Qiong said is also what the generals think, who doesn't care about his relatives, Zhang Ziyan, his mother, Cheng Yaojin's old lady, Wang Junke's wife, and You Junda's younger brother are all in the village.

Li Mi was also anxious, and blurted out almost without using his brain: "This is not acceptable. If you leave with soldiers and horses, what will the anti-kings come to attack me again? What should I do with my beloved concubines?"

As soon as Li Mi said this, Qin Qiong and the others felt really cold. It's been a while, and you are still thinking about the concubine of the subjugated king.

Li Mi saw that Qin Qiong's face was gloomy, and it was already covered with dark clouds, and he realized that he had said something wrong, so he stood aside dumbly, but did not speak.

"Second brother Qin, the emperor didn't mean that, the emperor said—" Uncle Wang wanted to mediate, but was interrupted by Qin Qiong as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Brother Bodang, I didn't talk to you!" Qin Qiong gritted his teeth.

Uncle Wang was slapped in the face, and his face was embarrassing.

Qin Qiong first learned that his brother-in-law died in the battle to seize the jade seal, and then heard the news that his adoptive son Qin Yong had died for no apparent reason. At this moment, even Zi Yan was almost lost, and he was anxious for a long time, wishing to grow up with each other. Wings flew back, and at this juncture, Li Mi was still talking to him about the concubine of the subjugated king!How could he not make him angry, and immediately snorted at Li Mi: "Your Majesty, you are preaching the will, ask the brothers if they will listen to you!"

Cheng Yaojin was about to cry, and said angrily: "What are you still hesitating about? It's not your wife, your old lady is in the village, you can leave them alive or alive, right? Just ask us brothers, the people in the village Who are they? Our mother, our daughter-in-law, our brothers and sisters, and our young son! Can you just watch them die on the mountain like this? You won’t save them, will you? Okay, I save!"

"Brothers, if you want to go back to Wagang Village to save people, come with Cheng Yaojin!"

Cheng Yaojin raised his arms and shouted, the Western Wei army was all in disarray, and the generals responded one after another, running and shouting: "Go back and save people! Go back and save people!"

When Uncle Wang saw this posture, he might not be able to stop him, so he hurriedly said to Li Mi: "Your Majesty, you should make a decision early!"

In Li Mi's heart, he was so reluctant to give up Yuxi, so he left like this, didn't he just leave the opportunity to those anti-kings?But if he didn't leave, he was afraid of being tricked by the anti-kings.In the end, he could only say: "The teacher of the Western Wei Dynasty returns to the court!"

No, the Western Wei army was the first to come to Yangzhou City and the first to leave.

When Qin Qiong and others hurried to Wagang Village, the defenders of Wagang also tried their best. The dead and wounded were powerless.If the reinforcements don't arrive, Nie Shixiong will really break the city.

Seeing the reinforcements now, I was overjoyed and felt like I had escaped from death.

Cheng Yaojin took the lead, when he saw the leading enemy general, he rushed forward to call for battle without saying a word, this father-in-law's revenge must be avenged.

Cheng Yaojin was furious, he raised his big ax and slashed at it, catching Nie Shixiong by surprise, his horse stumbled and almost rolled to the ground, he managed to get up, but before the throwing knife in his sleeve could be released, Cheng Yaojin caught him off guard. The ax directly chopped off the head.

When the soldiers of Heifenggang saw that their leaders had all been killed, they were in a panic. Cheng Yaojin shouted again: "Brothers, go, drive out this group of people who want to occupy my homeland! Avenge the dead brothers !"

The Wagang generals who came here were all brave and defeated the enemy army. They had been holding back all their energy to beat Yang Guang, but in the end Yang Guang didn't hit him, and they were all fighting Heifenggang.

Within half a day, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Wang Junke, You Junda, Xie Yingdeng and the others had dealt with the thieves in Heifenggang submissively, but this matter is far from over.

At night, the brothers drank some wine, Zhai let three glasses of wine down, and began to babble. At first, he thought about the difficulty of founding Wagang, and later he said that he respected all the heroes because he was defeated by Luo Cheng. Willingly welcome Qin Qiong and other brothers who rebelled in Jinan Prefecture into Wagang. Afterwards, the brothers made a lot of money, and Wagang has the current scale, but now, this Wagang is about to be destroyed by Li Mi!

Zhai Rang was so indignant that he pushed away Wang Bodang who wanted to persuade him: "You let me talk! I won't be happy if I don't talk today!"

Zhai Rang pointed at Cheng Yaojin and said, "You, brother Cheng, you said you... oh!"

Cheng Yaojin pursed his lips tightly, lowered his head and said nothing, he had already regretted the past in his heart.

"Why is he, Li Mi? Why does he want to seize the military power of the Luo family? Why do you drive Brother Luo away? Why does he almost bury our Wagang old and young women and children for his own selfishness?"

All night, Zhai Rang complained a lot, but in the end Xu Maogong saw that he was too drunk and ordered someone to help him down to rest.

I thought nothing would happen overnight, but I didn't expect to hear a series of wailing at the third watch. Qin Qiong and others came out of the room after dressing, and saw the guards in the courtyard rushing away. They stopped him and asked, and found out that it was Zhai Rang who assassinated the emperor. Now let the emperor execute the law on the spot.

Qin Qiong felt dizzy and didn't know where he was for a moment. He looked up at the sky, it was dark, and he didn't know what to do next.

Qin Qiong immediately went to Li Mi's bedroom, where many acquaintances had already gathered, Xu Maogong, Wang Bodang, Cheng Yaojin and others all arrived.

Without waiting for Qin Qiong to ask questions, Li Mi pointed to Zhai Rang, whose head and body were separated from His Highness, and solemnly said, "Zhai Rang, a traitor, broke into my bedroom and wanted to assassinate me. If it wasn't for Uncle Wang drawing his sword to protect his brother, my life would be over."

Qin Qiong was the first to not believe this, and said with certainty: "Your Majesty, is there a misunderstanding? Although brother Zhai Rang has a violent temper, he is pure in nature and loyal to his ministers. How could he commit assassination?"

"Can't I still lie?" Li Mi's face darkened, and he turned to look at Wang Bodang and said, "Bodang, tell me about the scene at that time..."

Uncle Wang thought about it, and was about to speak, Cheng Yaojin stopped him with a wave of his hand, and said, "Second Brother Qin, what else do you want him to say? Everything they say is their reason, do you believe that Brother Di doesn't know that much?" Proper? Anyway, I don’t believe it. Now that brother Zhai is dead, there is no evidence to prove his death, so they can say whatever they want, even if they don’t listen! Li Mi, I, Cheng Yaojin, really regret it, so regretful that my intestines are green!”

The monarch and his ministers were about to draw their swords and bows. Xu Maogong saw that the momentum was not right, and now he was in Li Mi's palace again. He was afraid that everyone would suffer, so he immediately rescued him and said: "Your Majesty, please listen to my minister's words, even if Zhai Rang did something out of the ordinary But after all, he is the founder of Wagang, and he has made a lot of contributions to the Western Wei Dynasty. He offended the emperor, so he should be beheaded, but since he is dead, I hope the emperor will bury him in a big funeral for the sake of his illustrious military exploits. .”

Li Mi felt much more at ease when he heard this, and went down the slope: "What the military adviser said is exactly what I want, and the decree will be passed on, and General Zhai will be buried with a grand ceremony."

It seems that Zhai Rang's death did not cause much disturbance, but Li Mi knew what everyone thought, and he was more diligent than usual.But Wagang Village has long lost the peace of the past, and everyone is ready to move, waiting for an opportunity to move.