Tibet

Chapter 707 Gradual Retreat
Li Dai returned to the study. Only when he returned to the study did he feel a sense of security. During today's discussion, the emperor was praising his son, but his eyes were staring at him, which made him very uncomfortable. The emperor was afraid that he would take the initiative to go to Chang'an.

The emperor’s thoughts!It was obvious that Ye'er's contribution was too great, which made him fearful.

At this time, my wife Pei Sanniang came in with a cup of tea and closed the door. She also said angrily: "If I find out who the spy is, I will blind her eyes!"

Li Dai sighed and said, "Madam, don't be angry. I'm not the only one. I heard from Dugu Ming that more than 50 officials were under surveillance, and even Dugu Lie was under surveillance."

Pei Sanniang sneered: "I thought that the new emperor would be better than the old emperor when he ascended the throne, but it turned out that the old emperor was much better. At least he wouldn't spy on the ministers, and at least he wouldn't restrict my travel. I want to go to Xiangyang to see my granddaughter. Do you want me to do that? I go?"

Li Dai nodded, "If you want to go, madam, go ahead!"

"Really?"

Pei Sanniang didn't believe it, "Didn't you say that the emperor wouldn't approve it?"

Li Dai smiled bitterly and said: "Ye'er has made such a great contribution. You have a good reason to visit your relatives. I don't think the emperor will stop it anymore!"

"Then I don't understand. Since Ye'er has made such a big contribution, you don't seem to be very happy. Why?"

Li Dai stood up, opened the door and looked outside, then opened the window and looked outside. He picked up a pen and wrote four words: 'Great achievements shake the master'.

Pei Sanniang was shocked. She understood immediately, "The emperor wants to take action against Ye'er?"

"Not yet, but I guess it will be soon."

Pei Sanniang suddenly became anxious, "They won't find excuses to kill Ye'er!"

Li Dai sighed, "The higher you climb, the harder you fall. I will write him a letter and let him think about it carefully."

That night, Li Dai wrote a long letter to his son Li Ye, asking Liu Wutong to rush to Chang'an overnight.

Chang'an, Daming Palace, there is no moonlight at night, the weather is gloomy, the north wind is howling, it is extremely cold, and a heavy snow is coming.

Hundreds of soldiers held torches, illuminating the open space in front of the inner treasury like daylight. Thousands of large boxes were piled in the open space. Li Ye packed up and took away all the hundreds of thousands of treasures and 300 million gold coins in the inner treasury. This was not him Personal needs, these are wealth, and they will be the capital for raising an army in the future.

Thousands of soldiers were busy loading and unloading, tying up these large boxes and placing them on the backs of camels.

The reason why Li Ye chose to set out at night was because he mainly wanted to avoid the eyes and ears of Cui Guangyuan and Su Zhen. When dealing with An Lushan's army, they worked together, but once the common enemy disappeared, they began to work for their own masters.

Li Ye knew very well that Cui Guangyuan had been using Yingxin to secretly contact the emperor. He could understand this. After all, Cui Guangyuan was Jing Zhaoyin and Su Zhen was the magistrate of Wannian County.

Although Cui Guangyuan would not stop him, it would not be good to take things away in front of him. At least give him a reason to explain to his superiors.

Of course, Li Ye did not take away all the supplies. He did not take away bulk supplies such as grain, tea, oil, etc. He also did not take away the 60 guan of money, a large amount of cloth, silks, bronzes, lacquerware, paper, and precious wood in Zuo Zangtang. Wait, he won’t take it away either.

He took away the armor from the arsenal and the treasures from the inner treasury, as well as five hundred high-level craftsmen.

Of the 2 troops he recruited in Chang'an, [-] were willing to follow him south. This moved Li Ye very much. In order to avoid unpleasant conflicts with the court, Li Ye decided to retreat in batches.

Today he has received definite news that Anlushan's army has passed Tongguan and marched toward Luoyang. The enemy army has gone far, so Li Ye's first batch of 3 troops will also retreat.

The camel bells rang, and [-] camels carrying [-] large boxes entered the imperial city. They would meet up with [-] other camels loaded with military supplies outside the city. Another [-] camels were mainly used for carrying burdens. The grain was escorted by [-] cavalry led by Pei Xiu, and the army marched to Wuguan in Shangzhou.

Li Ye came to the city head of Qujiang Pool and watched a team of [-] camels and [-] cavalry bypass Qujiang Pool and head toward Lantian County in the southeast.

At this time, Li Sheng hurriedly came over and said: "I have just received the news that Yu Chaoen has led an army of [-] to the north. They will arrive in Chang'an in three days via Ziwu Valley." Li Sheng had already made it clear that he would not follow Li Ye to Xiangyang. He commanded all the troops that Li Ye could not take away, so he was attracted by Cui Guangyuan. However, Li Sheng did not go to Xiangyang because of family reasons, and he himself had returned to Li Ye.

So when he gets the news, he will promptly notify Li Ye.

Li Ye nodded and smiled: "In that case, I can officially leave Chang'an the day after tomorrow. I will hand over to Cui Guangyuan tomorrow, so you can come too! I will leave Chang'an's defense to you."

Early the next morning, Li Ye held a handover ceremony with Jingzhao Yin Cui Guangyuan at the Temporary Lu Palace.

The temporary Jingzhao Jiedu Palace they had established before had been dissolved. Cui Guangyuan resumed his position as Jingzhao Yin. He had not been dismissed. Su Zhen was also appointed by Emperor Li Heng as Jingzhao Shaoyin to assist Cui Guangyuan in maintaining order in Chang'an.

Li Ye handed Cui Guangyuan an inventory of Chang'an's treasury and said with a smile: "I have closed all the treasury and put seals on it. I have a detailed inventory of supplies. Cui Shijun can count them one by one when he has time."

Although Cui Guangyuan is his own master, he is a good person, reasonable and adaptable, and Su Zhen is also quite generous. Cui Guangyuan's inventory list was marked as empty, so he took up a pen and wrote two lines of notes at the back. , the armory noted that "the war was exhausted", while the inner treasury noted that "most of it was plundered by the bandits, and the remaining money was used to reward the three armies." '

In fact, both Cui Guangyuan and Su Zhen knew that they were taken away by Li Ye, but after all, they fought side by side for more than twenty days, and Li Ye treated them well, and they wanted to pay this favor.

Cui Guangyuan and Su Zhen signed the handover inventory respectively. At the same time, Li Ye, Cui Guangyuan, and Li Sheng also handed over the defense of Chang'an. The signatures of both parties were completed, which meant that Chang'an had no relationship with Li Ye, and he could withdraw at any time.

"His Royal Highness handed over the grain depot to us, what about the supplies for the army on the road?" Cui Guangyuan asked worriedly.

Li Ye smiled and said: "There is still some food and grass in the army, and the people have also sent a lot of pigs and sheep. I would like to ask Cui Shijun to mobilize thousands of carts for me to transport food and supplies to Wuguan."

Su Zhen next to him said with a smile: "This is a small problem. The thousands of large vehicles we requisitioned before have not been disbanded yet. I believe they are all willing to serve His Highness!"

Cui Guangyuan pondered for a moment and asked: "It is estimated that the emperor will arrive in Chang'an soon. Your Highness, won't you meet the emperor in person?"

Li Ye smiled bitterly and said: "There are still [-] Yan troops from Luoyang attacking Xiangyang. I must return to Xiangyang as soon as possible. Cui Shijun, please explain it to me!"

"It would be best for Your Highness to write a memorial to the Emperor, something more formal."

"Right!"

Li Ye nodded, "I will write it today, and I will lead the army to set off early tomorrow morning!"

In the study, Li Ye is writing a memorial to the emperor, which can be said to be a detailed military report. He has written it before, but has not finished it yet. It can be used as a formal report to the emperor.

At this time, the soldier said at the door: "Someone came from Hanzhong to deliver a letter, saying it was a letter from His Highness's father!"

Li Ye quickly put down his pen and went out to greet him. Sure enough, it was Liu Wutong. Liu Wutong stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "In this humble position, I see you, Your Highness!"

"Get up quickly, let's sit in the lobby!"

Li Ye took Liu Wutong and sat down in the living room. Liu Wutong took out a thick letter and handed it to Li Ye, "I was walking through Ziwu Valley. I encountered an army of [-] people led by Yu Chaoen on the way. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and from The path bypassed them, otherwise we would be in trouble if we were caught by them. The master has repeatedly told me that the letter is very important and cannot be obtained by outsiders."

Li Ye opened the letter and took a quick look at it. Basically, his father's feelings about the officialdom over the years, his inferences about the court's next move, and his suggestions for himself showed that his father was already the dignified left prime minister of the court, and was no longer the Wu Xia'a he used to be. Meng, who sees things thoroughly and wisely, is no less than his grandfather Li Linfu.

Li Ye nodded and asked, "How is my mother?"

"Madam has already set off for Xiangyang. A businessman came to say that the Yan army in Xiangyang has withdrawn northward and is complete."

"Oops!"

Li Ye secretly screamed in his heart that something was wrong. What if his mother went to Xiangyang and met Yang Yuhuan?
(End of this chapter)