Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 984 Tuogu
Autumn of the fourteenth year of Tianyou.

There were peasant uprisings within the empire and rebellions by vassal states outside. The Tang Dynasty had never been so chaotic.

With loyal people saving the empire and reinforcements coming from outside, the Tang Dynasty does not seem to be in danger.

The Tang Dynasty would not have reached its current state if it had not been for the disapproval of God after nurturing scholars for three hundred years.

Millions of disaster victims north of the Yellow River swept across Hebei like a swarm of bees. This sweep was like a blazing flame and destructive magma.

All the farmers who could not survive broke out in uprising. There was no organization, no goals, no plans. It was a war for the right to survive.

Officials don't want to die, and common people don't want to starve to death.

What ultimately determines who survives is the weapons in their hands and their strong bodies.

A large number of disaster victims in Hebei went southwards trying to reach Jianghuai, where there were still large tracts of fertile farmland. According to rough estimates, there were no less than three million disaster victims fleeing on the road, and this number continued to increase as order was destroyed.

Hebei was one of the most densely populated regions in the empire.

The areas north of the Huai River and south of the Yellow River, where the victims were hit, were also among the most densely populated areas in the empire. Once the order in these two areas was disrupted, the number of people affected would reach tens of millions.

This is a number that is unimaginable for any agricultural country. During the reign of Emperor Li of Han in the Han Dynasty, there were countless refugees in Guandong, but the number was only two to three million. That disaster led to the downfall of Emperor Li of Han.

Now, if there is no chaos in Heluo, the Guandong area of ​​the Tang Dynasty will suffer five or even ten times the impact.

Kanto will become a purgatory.

This is especially true in cold weather like now.

While a large number of victims were heading south, another wave of victims were heading towards Hedong in an organized manner. They tried to go around Heluo from Hedong. After all, there were many passes and rivers heading south, but the Yellow River leading to Heluo had already frozen.

Especially now, the defense of Hedong is very weak, and most of the Hedong soldiers are still confronting the Yan army on the front line.

When Li Keyong went on the expedition, he never thought that the Central Plains would become like this. He almost transferred all the elite troops from Hedong, and now only some not-so-elite soldiers are left in Hedong.

When he received the news from the Central Plains, he wanted to return to Hedong. After all, his youngest son Li Cunxu and his wife and daughter were in Hedong, and he was very worried about their safety.

If the rear is not secure, how can the front be secure?
But when Luo Xingyun asked him what he thought, Li Keyong glanced at the coffin in the barracks, then at the brave soldiers. He finally gritted his teeth and said, "General, I will not return to Hedong until I defeat the enemy army and get the imperial edict!"

There were a large number of Li descendants in the Yan army.

That’s right, although they killed the King of Yan and rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, it does not mean that there were no descendants of Li among them.

After three hundred years of development, many descendants of the Li family have become almost the same as ordinary people, and their names are not even recorded in the family tree.

This requires us to talk about the difference between clan members and descendants.

Take Liu Bei as an example. In the beginning, he was just a descendant of Liu. This was certainly not false. All the people in Liu Bei’s village were descendants of Liu Bang. But at this time, the throne of the Han Empire had nothing to do with him.

He also has no inheritance rights.

Until he was included in the royal family genealogy and became a relative of the Han royal family, from then on, he no longer needed to tell others that he was the descendant of so-and-so, but only needed to say that he was a relative of the Han royal family.

Only at this time was he officially one of the heirs to the Han Dynasty.

After Liu Xie abdicated the throne to Cao Wei, as one of the heirs to the Han Empire, he was fully qualified to declare Liu Xie's abdication illegal and ascend the throne himself.

Although the Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty had many differences, they still had something in common in terms of royal families.

After three hundred years, those smaller clans within the smaller clans had already become the same as ordinary people, without any inheritance rights at all. They didn't even have the title of clan member.

In the Li family genealogy of Shendu, only the immediate descendants are recorded, most of whom hold titles of varying degrees of nobility.

Li Keyong was a legitimate royal relative of the Li family and the Prince of Hedong, which was a very high title.

Moreover, Li Keyong's branch came from the Li family after the Kaiyuan Revolution.

Among the Li clan, there was a gap with many of the Li clans who were enfeoffed before the Kaiyuan period, which was a rare sight in the Tang Dynasty.

After Kaiyuan, the Li royal family starting from Li Shengyi was the product of the unification of Li and Luo. The royal family starting from here was separated from the previous ones.

So although there are a large number of Li family members in the Yan army, those Li family members and those in the Central Plains are often not the same kind of people.

Li Keyong took action without any psychological burden.

Luo Xingyun patted Li Keyong on the shoulder and said with emotion: "Prince, the court will not forget your loyalty, and His Majesty will not forget your contributions. Regardless of victory or defeat, you will be rewarded and honored."

"As long as the Tang Dynasty is revived, that's all."

When Li Keyong said this, he looked towards Hedong with great concern. His favorite son Li Cunxu was in Jinyang, and he didn't know whether Jinyang City would be breached. He didn't know whether his children and wife would be in danger.

……

Jinyang City.

Li Cunxu was the youngest and most favored son of Li Keyong. Although he was young, he was very brave, knowledgeable about music, aware of righteousness, skilled in archery and horse riding, and at a young age he was able to offer insights into Li Keyong's use of troops.

In the Tang Dynasty, if a person was said to have some of the qualities of Emperor Taizong in some aspect, it was a high compliment and the court would not be dissatisfied with it.

Because in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong is an adjective, representing the chief of the holy kings throughout history.

It was in this atmosphere that Li Cunxu was called "the second Prince of Taiyuan".

Because he is indeed very similar to Emperor Taizong, whether in terms of his background, personality, or abilities, he is very similar to Emperor Taizong.

There is no one in the Tang Dynasty who does not worship Emperor Taizong.

A military man like Li Keyong worshipped Emperor Taizong as a god, so he was extremely fond of his son who looked very much like Emperor Taizong, and even wanted Li Cunxu to inherit his position in the future.

When Li Cunxu was ten years old, he followed Li Keyong to go out of the border to fight some bandits. When he followed his father to Shendu to meet the emperor, he was appreciated by the emperor, who said that young men like Li Cunxu were role models for the sons of the Li family.

When he was fourteen years old, he was already very mature. He was supposed to follow Li Keyong to the expedition, but because his mother was ill, he had to stay in Jinyang.

However, he did not expect that he would encounter peasant army in Jinyang, which really happened to fall into the hands of Li Cunxu.

He did not have elite soldiers, but the peasant army had not yet evolved into an extremely elite army.

Facing the endless crowd, Li Cunxu did not feel the slightest fear. Instead, he was filled with excitement. He was born to be a god of war on the battlefield.

After gathering the guards of the palace, he led only a hundred cavalrymen and launched a surprise attack at night just after the vanguard of the peasant army arrived at the city, taking advantage of the fact that the vanguard was not yet firmly established.

After eighteen battles in three days, the peasant army was completely defeated. The numerical advantage seemed to be non-existent. The leaders were basically beheaded by Li Cunxu and hung on the top of the Jinyang city wall, which made people even more frightened.

After this battle, his reputation throughout Hedong became even more famous, and countless people praised him, saying that a good father will have a good son. The Prince of Hedong was a hero, and his son was also a hero.

During this process, Li Cunxu also trained a young army, a young army that was brave enough to fight.

The distance from Jinyang to Guanzhong is not far, and now there are carrier pigeons to deliver messages, so Li Keyong soon received the good news.

"Father, Jinyang is safe. Mother and sister are not in danger. Father can serve the court with peace of mind. Jinyang has my son here, and no one can come in."

Li Keyong reported the good news to Luo Xingyun, and Luo Xingyun was very happy to see the emergence of such a young talent.

The war in Guanzhong had entered a stalemate phase. After the arrival of the brave warriors, the Yan army had already suffered a lot of losses, which made the Yan army's actions become cautious.

The stalemate between the two sides caused the situation in Guanzhong to deteriorate rapidly. In addition to the armies of both sides, other military forces emerged. These forces were different from those in Hebei. Because of the powerful Yan army and the imperial army, they could only act as bandits.

During the confrontation, the favorable situation on the battlefield had begun to shift towards the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's strong foundation and the people's support in Guanzhong were far beyond what the Yan army could compare to.

After a period of preparation and a grasp of the situation in Guanzhong, Luo Xingyun has decided to launch a counterattack against the Yan army.

But at this time.

Angels from the divine capital Luoyang arrived at the army.

A shocking piece of news came.

"Lord Luo, His Majesty is not feeling well, so I am summoning you back to the capital to prepare for his funeral."

These are simple words, but the meaning they imply is chilling. The emperor is in poor health, so he wants to summon Luo Xingyun back to take charge of his affairs.

But now the war on the front line has reached a critical moment.

Li Keyong hesitated for a while, then said, "Lord Luo, the central government is in a big way. If you can trust me, I can take over here first."

If it was just the imperial army, Li Keyong would not hesitate, but there were still brave warriors here, so he was a little hesitant.

Luo Xingyun thought for a moment, then patted Li Keyong on the shoulder and said, "Prince, Guanzhong is now in your hands. I will call over the leaders of the brave warriors later and give you instructions."

Li Keyong said excitedly: "Don't worry, Prince Luo, I will never let you down."

After arranging things here, Luo Xingyun hurriedly left Guanzhong and returned to Luoyang with a group of guards.

……

The top leaders in Luoyang were already in a gloomy mood. The emperor had missed three court meetings in a row, and news spread from the palace that the emperor was unwell.

Most of the court officials were mentally prepared for the emperor's illness. After all, they had seen him vomit blood twice in a row, and everyone knew that his complexion was getting worse and worse.

But it was not until the emperor issued an edict to recall Prince Luo from the Guanzhong front line that everyone realized that the emperor's health was really bad. With the current level of medical technology, it had come to this point that he had to start making arrangements for his funeral.

After Luo Xingyun returned to Luoyang, he entered the palace without delay.

Countless curtains fell, and in the bedroom, the pale-faced Emperor Li Shen was lying on the bed, completely lacking his former elegance. After seeing Luo Xingyun, he forced a faint smile, "Prince Luo, you're back."

Luo Xingyun felt a pang in his heart, and walked over to hold Li Shen's hand, "Your Majesty, I am back, Your Majesty, don't worry."

Li Shen said softly, "Yes, I feel relieved when you come back.

I am no longer able to live. It seems that I will not see the day when the Tang Dynasty returns to peace."

Luo Xingyun wanted to say something to comfort him, but Li Shen said, "Lord Luo, there is no need to comfort me. Although I am not a saintly monarch, I still take these things lightly.

I believe that the Tang Dynasty will surely restore stability. When that day comes, Prince Luo will come to my spirit and tell me about it. Even in the nine springs of hell, that will be enough to comfort me.

I called you back, I think you know what I am going to do."

Luo Xingyun whispered, "His Majesty wants to entrust an orphan to you."

Li Shen heard this and said, "Yes, I want to entrust my son to someone else. I don't have many children, no daughters, and only two sons who are too young. I can't not entrust my son to someone else. I don't trust anyone else. Only if you, King Luo, can be the prince's guardian, can I feel at ease.

But I am not just entrusting my son to you, I am going to make an unprecedented decision." Luo Xingyun actually heard a hint of determination in Li Shen's voice. He looked at Li Shen with some doubt. It's just entrusting my son to you, it shouldn't be like this.

Besides, when Li Shen entrusted his son to others, he was not just entrusting him to himself. At most, he was the chief minister entrusted with the care of the son.

Li Shen said to himself: "Many vassal states have rebelled this time. I have thought about it and found that the Li clan is useless. Now the world is in turmoil and incompetent people occupy high positions. The situation in the world has come to this point. Although there are natural disasters, is there no trace of man-made reasons?
After much thought, I think that only by letting the Luo family guard the place can we really feel at ease.

I want to confer titles of kingship on all the sons of the Luo family.

The current Emperor Li is descended from the blood of the first King of Luo, and there is also Empress Xiaoci and others. Perhaps we are actually a family.

From now on, your descendants, King Luo, will assist the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the Divine Capital. I will also appoint King Yong to guard Xijing, King Yan to guard Karakorum, King Penglai to guard Penglai, King Liao to guard Liaodong, King Wu to guard Jiangnan, and King Song to guard Zhongnan. "

"Your Majesty!"

Luo Xingyun listened to these words, but he did not feel the slightest bit of joy. Instead, he felt a chill in his heart. As Li Shen spoke, he only felt that there were dark clouds covering the sky, and a murderous aura coming from the nine heavens.

Li Shen looked over in confusion. He didn't understand why Luo Xingyun refused. "Lord Luo, is it possible that the Luo family is unwilling to serve the Tang Dynasty? Lord Luo, is there something wrong with what I said?

King Luo does not need to care about the rumors outside. The Luo family has a reputation for thousands of years. My Li family and the Luo family have supported each other for three hundred years. No one can sow discord between our two families. "

Looking at Li Shen's sincere eyes, Luo Xingyun didn't know what to say for a moment. Li Shen said again: "Lord Luo, this is all for the Tang Dynasty. This is the only way I can think of to make the Tang Dynasty last forever. Lord Luo, just agree to me. This is the Tang Dynasty that our ancestors jointly built. How many Luo family members have gone through fire and water for the Tang Dynasty. Can you watch it go to destruction?

Do we have to go through the pain that the Luo family went through when the Zhou Dynasty fell? "

Luo Xingyun felt mixed emotions. He whispered, "Your Majesty, let me think about it again. This matter is too big for the Luo family. I will try my best to discuss it with the clan members."

Li Shen didn't understand why Luo Xingyun would refuse such a good thing, but he could sense the uneasiness in Luo Xingyun's heart. "Prince Luo, please think about it carefully. Tomorrow morning, I will summon all the ministers to announce the appointment of Prince Luo as the minister to take care of the orphan."

Luo Xingyun left the palace in a state of worry. He had never been so distraught as he was today.

It was said that he was discussing it with the clansmen, but in fact most of the Luo clan members were away and had no time to return. The person who most needed to be discussed on this matter was the high priest.

The contemporary high priestess of the Luo family is Luo Xingyun's sister. After hearing what Luo Xingyun said, she also fell into silence. Even as the head of the family and the high priestess, there were some things they did not know. But they both knew that the Luo family was now the second most powerful family in the world. If they agreed to the emperor's request, there might be unpredictable consequences.

No one knows what the ending will be, and no one knows whether the Luo family can bear it.

In the family legend, the Luo clan was not the clan loved by God as rumored, but a clan rejected by God.

This kind of disgust reached its peak after the destruction of the Hu people's destiny, because this world originally had a set route, but since then, this route has been completely destroyed, and now, things like the destiny of the past have completely disappeared.

The hazy God seemed to have disappeared from the world, but Luo knew that He was still there, because the ancestor Su Wang had not returned yet. Only after the ancestor Su Wang returned, would everything truly end.

For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, whether to take risks or not, this is what Luo Xingyun is confused about.

The high priest was silent for a long time, and then he sighed slowly and said: "If all the tribesmen were called back, what would they choose?"

Luo Xingyun was silent for a moment, then understood what his sister meant, and whispered, “The tribesmen will agree to the emperor’s request.

This is the Tang Dynasty of the Li family and also the Tang Dynasty of the Luo family.

Over the past three hundred years, we have participated in every aspect of the Tang Dynasty, and he and we have become one.

The family has made too much effort for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. We cannot give up. It is even difficult to see another dynasty replacing it.

Today the emperor asked me, do you want to see a tragedy like the one that happened in Bang Zhou?

Yes.

I don’t want to, I don’t want to see such a tragedy.”

The high priest whispered again: "In this case, then make your choice. I have a feeling that this will be the key decision for us to remove the shackles. I got such a revelation from King Su and Goddess Luo."

Luo Xingyun suddenly raised his head, "Sister, what did you say?"

Luo Shi still has a layer of shackles on his body, which Luo Shi has always known. But now the high priest said that the shackles may have to be removed.

The high priest frowned and said, "I am not particularly clear about the specific situation, but I vaguely feel that it may go in this direction, but I cannot see the twists and turns of the future. It may be a good thing, or it may be a bad thing."

"Does the Su Wang Patriarch have any warnings?"

"No, ever since the fate of the grassland was broken, the Su Wang Patriarch has not given any warnings."

……

Ji Zhao was sleeping in the pillar at the bottom of the world. At this time, he had completely understood what the system was, his identity, and what responsibilities he had in this world.

At this point, the main task of the system is no longer that important. As long as he gets out of here, the system will disappear. The mission has been completed, and of course there is no need for it to exist.

Luo's actions no longer posed any threat to him, so he certainly wouldn't give any warnings. He was in Tianzhu, making his final effort.

Luo didn't know.

Fortunately, Luo was not particularly stupid and knew that this matter had no impact on Ji Zhao.

……

In the end, Luo Xingyun decided to follow his inner instructions. This was not only his own idea, but also the idea of ​​the entire family, to protect the Tang Dynasty, revitalize the Tang Dynasty, and make the Tang Dynasty great again.

Simple thoughts, filled with Luo's feelings towards the Tang Dynasty.

For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, Luo Xingyun was willing to take the risk. Moreover, there were countless inexplicable things pushing him to choose this path.

The weather is sunny.

A group of important officials walked into the palace. Everyone knew what was going to be announced today. The news of Prince Luo entering the palace yesterday had already spread. They all knew that soon the Tang Dynasty would welcome another "emperor".

When everyone walked into the bedroom and saw the emperor lying on the sickbed, they could smell the smell of medicine. That feeling of desolation filled everyone's heart. The emperor was so angry and worried about the current situation in the world that he became like this.

The Lord humiliates his ministers to death.

The emperor encountered such a thing, but as a minister, he had no good solution and could only solve the problem bit by bit.

"My dears, it's been a long time since we last met. I miss you very much."

Li Shen was in good spirits. "I summoned you all today for the purpose of which I'm sure you can all guess. Crown Prince, go and pay your respects to King Luo. From today on, he is your prime minister and father. You must treat him like your own father."

Prince Luo sat steadily on the chair. Crown Prince Li Yan, who was still a child less than five years old, walked up to Luo Xingyun and paid his respects.

Li Shen watched this scene, and after the crown prince finished paying his respects, he said softly, "In the past, it always took many people to entrust an orphan to someone else, but now the world is in turmoil and needs a unified government. I will no longer have so many regents, and Prince Luo alone is enough."

There was some commotion among the crowd. It was somewhat unexpected that only one regent was appointed. What was the difference between this and letting Prince Luo be regent?
With the late emperor's will, no one would be able to resist his orders. Li Shen added, "If the crown prince is unworthy, I still have a son. Prince Luo can choose the best one."

Everyone in the hall was already somewhat numb, but these words were nothing more than just for hearing. Even the prince was still so young. To put it bluntly, the prince was not out of danger yet.

Even in modern society, pediatrics is one of the most complicated departments, not to mention in ancient times when there were not so many instruments and supplies such as antibiotics.

The second prince is younger than the crown prince. He is still alive and kicking today, but he may die the day after tomorrow. It is very normal.

In fact, this is also the only thing that Li Shen is worried about. He trusts Luo Xingyun. With Luo Xingyun around, he doesn't have to worry about the power of the Li family falling into others' hands in the future. But he is really worried about whether the prince can grow up smoothly.

In the final analysis, it was because there were too few offspring. The later emperors were not like the first emperors, who were more fertile than the last. As a dynasty was established longer, it seemed that it would gradually reach the point where there were few offspring, until the emperor became childless.

"From now on, the Crown Prince will leave his duties to King Luo."

"I will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."

Li Shen stroked the prince's little head with infinite affection in his eyes. The prince was so young that he didn't know what kind of world he would face.

Fortunately, I can assign him a minister who can shoulder the heavy responsibility and whom he can trust.

Perhaps by the time he grows up, the Tang Dynasty will have been stable.

Li Shen thought so, and then looked at Luo Xingyun, "Lord Luo, what do you think about what I told you yesterday?"

Luo Xingyun's face was solemn, "I will obey your majesty's order."

Li Shen's face immediately lit up, "Lord Luo, Lord Luo, I knew you would agree. I knew this is the Luo family."

He was very happy, and the ministers in the palace didn't know why the emperor was suddenly so happy.

"Pass on my decree!"

Li Shen's voice became high-pitched. He wanted to explain all these things before he died. This was one of the very few things he could do for the Tang Dynasty.

Then the mouths of the ministers in the hall opened wider and wider.

Has the emperor gone mad?

Although the emperor spoke weakly, his words were clear and logical, and it was obvious that there was nothing wrong with him.

Moreover, they all heard clearly the conversation between the Emperor and King Luo just now. The Emperor mentioned this matter yesterday, but King Luo had not yet directly agreed to it.

Then I thought about it.

Everyone immediately knew why the emperor did this.

In today's world, the Luo family is too important to maintain the stability of the Tang Dynasty. They can almost be called the stabilizer.

The most important thing is that for the emperors of all dynasties, the Luo family is more trustworthy than the Li clan. At this critical moment of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor chose to believe in the Luo family.

Only the Luo family can make him feel at ease.

The emperor wanted to completely tie the Luo family to the chariot of the Tang Dynasty, just like he did to the Zhou Dynasty. Anyone who has read history will never forget that the Luo Kingdom repeatedly supported the Zhou royal family.

It was such an incredible decree.

But what happened between Li and Luo was so normal, as if everything was reasonable.

Of course, some ministers wanted to object, but they were immediately shut up by the emperor with a stern "Shut up".

At that moment, a trace of murderous intent appeared on the face of the usually gentle emperor. His Highness's ministers immediately understood that this matter could not be persuaded, otherwise the emperor would really kill someone.

Everyone watched as imperial edicts and decrees were written on paper and then stamped with the emperor's seal.

The transfer of power lies right here!

(End of this chapter)