Chinese dining table

Chapter 1223 Avalanche

When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent.

Yun Chu had been looking forward to this big avalanche for a long time.

The saying that political power comes from the barrel of a gun was a golden saying in the era before Yun Chu.

It is equally effective in the Tang Dynasty.

This is the power of wise sayings, which can be traced back to five thousand years ago and can be deposited for tens of thousands of years.

In the past, whenever soldiers from Jinchangfang returned from an expedition with a great victory or a great defeat, they would be given a sumptuous and delicious meal, and the residents would spontaneously sing and dance to welcome them.

From that time on, Yun Chu had been coveting the armed forces of the Tang Dynasty.

However, after only a few years, Li Ji and others discovered that there was something wrong with it, and the project was eventually aborted.

In the past, it was easy to get killed if you touched military power.

Now, Li Ji is dead, Li Zhi is seriously ill, and everyone in the court is busy dividing up power. Yun Chu is ready to once again use the magic weapon of unity between the army and the people.

At least we should let these soldiers from all over the world know that the people of Chang'an love them the most.

The most terrible disaster in the world is war.

If there are ways to resist other disasters, then when faced with a war, a thousand miles of barren land is the least of the worries.

When returning to the Wannian County Government Office, Lu Zhaolin and Yang Jiong did not catch up, so Yun Chu happily drank tea and read books in his own official residence.

It was almost evening when the chief clerk Lu Xiu came back. As soon as he entered the room, he excitedly told Yun Chu how he brought the people to deliver meals to the Jinwu Guards, how the Jinwu Guards gratefully ate the meals they brought and used the blankets they brought to keep warm. He also repeatedly assured them that they would listen to their superiors and ensure that there would be no trouble.

"Sixteen guards, eighty thousand soldiers. If you have the ability to appease the soldiers of each guard, I will lift the curfew in Chang'an and let Chang'an return to normal."

Yun Chu pretended not to see Lu Xiu's excitement and instead made higher demands on him.

"Your Excellency, this is too expensive..." Lu Xiu was shocked by Yun Chu's request and said awkwardly.

Seeing that the emperor's confidant was afraid of difficulties, Yun Chu encouraged him: "Don't make things difficult for yourself in the future. You should gather ideas from all sides and trust your subordinates. They have been in Chang'an for so many years, so they must have their own strengths."

Lu Xiu nodded, bowed, and left Yun Chu's official residence. After closing the door, she went to call a meeting with her staff.

Yun Chu picked up the steamed bun on the stove lid. The bottom of the bun was already roasted brown. He broke it off and ate it slowly with tea. After he finished eating the roasted brown outer skin, he put the steamed bun back on the fire to roast. In this way, he roasted one layer and ate one layer at a time. Finally, the whole bun would enter his stomach in the most delicious way.

Li Shen drank a lot of wine, but found that the more he drank, the more sober he became. Taking a look at the men and women entangled with each other, he pushed open the window, and immediately, the cold air filled the room.

The sun was about to set, and cold fog was surging above the few remaining walls of Chang'an, as if it was going to swallow up the entire city.

In fact, that was not cold fog, but the smoke coming out of people’s cooking fires.

Li Shen, who originally wanted to die drunk, suddenly got so angry that he shouted heartbreakingly - Get out!

The noise was so loud that even the drunk people were scared awake, and a group of disheveled men and women fled out of the door in a panic.

Li Shen picked up a wine jug from the ground, shook it and found there was still wine in it, so he drank it all in one gulp, threw away the jug, found a pipa from the ground, held it in his arms, and started playing it.

A group of clerks in green clothes and small hats walked in from outside the door. They did not disturb Li Shen, but just put the leftover wine and meat from last night into a bamboo basket.

Last night's banquet was very sumptuous, with all kinds of chicken, duck, fish and meat. The drinkers didn't eat much last night, so there were still a lot of whole chickens and ducks, and large pieces of braised meat were spilled on the carpet.

"There are also melons here..."

A clerk said to his companion.

"Why don't we eat it?"

Then, the two clerks sat on the carpet and shared the melon.

Li Shen put down his pipa, found a half-pot of wine and handed it to the clerk.

After eating the melon, the clerk wiped his juicy hands on the carpet, took it and poured the wine in the jug into a wine jar.

Three people obviously work faster than two people, and soon, the three of them collected all the food and drinks in the huge hall together.

Seeing the two clerks carrying the basket and leaving, Li Shen said, "Aren't you coming to arrest me?"

The clerk looked at Li Shen and shook his head, saying, "We collect these leftovers to send to the canteen to be made into a big pot of food for the troops."

Li Shen frowned and asked, "Consolidating the troops?"

The clerk said, "Yes."

"Use these leftovers?"

"They are all good stuff. There are a lot of chicken, duck, fish and meat in here. Just take them back and stew them with pickled vegetables, and it will be a delicious meal. It is also rich in oil and water, much better than the pig food that the soldiers eat."

"The soldiers have no food to eat?"

"We are in the process of rectifying the situation. Many superiors were killed or captured by the Hundred Cavalry Division. A large group of government soldiers were left unattended. The county magistrate ordered the cooks to cook, but the Hundred Cavalry Division refused to allow it. So our chief clerk mobilized the people to donate food to the government soldiers. We brothers felt that the only food donated by the people was rice and flour, so we thought of coming here to extort more money from them."

Hearing that the Hundred Cavalry Division was busy killing officers from the Sixteenth Guard, Li Shen shuddered and asked in a trembling voice, "Didn't the Hundred Cavalry Division go somewhere else to arrest people?"

The clerk said, "In the imperial city, there is so much blood flowing, how can we have the time to care about the outside world?"

Li Shen took out a handful of golden melon seeds from his pocket and handed them to the clerk, saying, "Who is in charge outside the imperial city?"

The clerk held the golden melon seeds and said dully, "Of course it's my county lord."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen immediately took out his money bag from his sleeve and put it all in the clerk's hand and asked, "Where is your county lord?"

The clerk said happily, "In the county government office."

Watching the two clerks leave happily, Li Shen pinched his thigh hard, screaming in pain, then picked up the pipa and started playing it like a madman, the tune was out of tune, just to vent his anger.

It was not until two Hundred Cavalrymen wearing tall black crowns, scarlet cloaks, and swords slung across their waists came into Li Shen's sight that the pipa in his hand slipped from his hand weakly, making a muffled sound...

After the people from the Baiqi Division left, Li Shen, with a pale face, fell to the carpet. He felt for a wine jug on the ground and wanted to drink some wine to calm his nerves. However, he found that the wine in the jug had already been drunk up by the two petty officials.

Li Shen, who was slumped on the ground, muttered to himself after a while: "So, I was blackmailed by the Hundred Cavalry Division?"

Yun Chu did not leave his official residence until dark. The situation was urgent, so he did not take off his armor. He just sat in the official residence, not going anywhere and not seeing anyone.

In fact, during that night, many people left Chang'an City. They carried all kinds of food and warm things and entered the camp of the Sixteen Guards.

Early in the morning, Prince Yong Xian came to the Wannian County Government Office to find Yun Chu.

As soon as he saw Yun Chu, he asked, "Are you ready to guard against the Sixteen Guards?"

Yun Chu looked up at Yong Wangxian and said, "Are you just thinking about this now?"

Yong Wangxian said anxiously: "It's the fourth day. I thought one day would be enough."

Yun Chu said: "The soldiers of the Sixteen Guards are all loyal men. They all stayed in their own camps and never caused any trouble in Chang'an."

After hearing this, Yong Wangxian was stunned for a moment, looked at Yun Chu and said, "Did you appease him?"

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "His Majesty has sent me a very useful chief clerk. It seems that His Majesty has other instructions for you?"

Yong Wangxian nodded and said, "I am not allowed to leave the mansion within three days. Today is the fourth day."

Yun Chu was shocked when he heard this, and looked at Yong Wangxian and wanted to speak, but in the end he opened and closed his mouth twice and no sound came out.

When Zhang Jia came in to deliver water, Yun Chu asked, "What's the situation around Chang'an?"

Zhang Jia saw that the county magistrate was asking in front of Yong Wangxian, so he said in a trembling voice: "I sent out sixteen scouts, but only one came back. He said there were government soldiers on the other side of Baqiao."

Yun Chu waved his hand to let Zhang Jia retreat. As he took off his armor, he asked Yong Wangxian, who was shaking like a leaf in the wind, "How do you feel?"

Prince Yong said: "Father, even I..."

Yun Chu hung the armor on the rack and said to Yong Wangxian, "Go back to your palace and have a good sleep. I am also going home to sleep."

Yong Wangxian said: "I don't know anything, I only know one thing, before you came back, the firearms of the 16 guards of Chang'an were all taken away by the Ministry of War in the name of renewal, and I also heard that the various weapons consumed by the 16 guards of Chang'an in the autumn military exercises were not replenished at night.

Even the army’s food and fodder supply is only five days long.”

Yun Chu sighed and said, "You should have told me."

Yong Wangxian said: "This is a top secret in the army, how can it be leaked so easily?"

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "I always thought that the commander of the Sixteen Guards of Chang'an was General He Qi of the Left Guards, but I didn't expect it to be you."

Yong Wangxian sighed and said to Yun Chu with some fatigue: "I will go back to rest."

Yun Chu nodded and watched him leave.

After the Yong Wang Xiancai left, Zhang Jia came in again and said, "The government troops of the sixteen states of Guanzhong are around Chang'an."

Yun Chu nodded to show that he understood and let Zhang Jia leave.

At this moment, all the mysteries in his heart have been completely solved.

The moment the emperor launched the Bloody Night in Luoyang, the Bloody Night in Chang'an had already been prepared. Unlike the urgency of the Bloody Night in Luoyang, the purge in Chang'an was much more secretive.

Luoyang is to the east of Chang'an, and Jiucheng Palace is to the west of Chang'an. The emperor had to pass through Chang'an when he arrived at Jiucheng Palace from the eastern capital Luoyang. However, Yun Chu, who stayed behind in Chang'an, had never heard the news of the emperor's visit to Chang'an.

When the emperor's decree to move into Jiucheng Palace reached Chang'an, Yun Chu realized that the emperor was already in Jiucheng Palace.

This means that the emperor passed by Chang'an but did not enter!
He arrived at Jiucheng Palace secretly.

Jiucheng Palace is three hundred miles away from Chang'an!

This distance is exactly the distance between the headquarters of a general and the vanguard camp, which is a very safe distance for war.

The emperor's rash order to eliminate traitors and Zhou Xing and Ruichun's rash actions to eliminate traitors were only intended to arouse the hearts of all those in Chang'an who had evil intentions.

Yun Chu felt a chill in his heart and cold sweat ran down his back.

When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent. As long as the snowflake moves, it will be buried in the avalanche.

(End of this chapter)