Chapter 248: Battle for the Dragon Throne, Sweet Shu becomes the queen!

Liangzhou City.

Zhuge Liang and Gu Dazu sat opposite each other in the lobby, while outside the city gate was crowded with a large number of refugees fleeing from Youzhou.

"Kong Ming, tens of thousands of refugees are too heavy a burden."

"After Beimang occupies Youzhou, they will definitely gather troops and attack us while we are still fighting."

"Moreover, who can guarantee that these refugees don't have spies arranged by Xu Fengnian? If they suddenly cause chaos when we are fighting the Northern Mang, how can we deal with them?"

Zhuge Liang understood this logic very well. Xu Fengnian suddenly abandoned Youzhou and left hundreds of thousands of people to Beimang. This move really surprised Zhuge Liang.

"If Your Highness only wants to be the King of Northwest Tang, like Xu Xiao did back then, you can certainly ignore these refugees."

"Isn't Xu Xiao's indulgence of Xu Fengnian and Chu Lushan over the years the best proof? To be a local overlord, all you need is for the people to submit."

"However, if Your Highness is determined to rule the world, you still have to win over the people's hearts. Otherwise, just like the Liyang court, it will fall apart in less than 20 years."

Gu Dazu was speechless for a moment. After all, the Southern Tang was just a separatist regime, and the Emperor of the Hong family didn't care about the suffering of the people.

As the two were talking, the Imperial Guards brought Li Changan's order, "It's all up to the military advisor."

It is not difficult to accept so many people, but it is not easy to handle so many people well. If Zhao Dingxiu proposed such an idea, Li Changan would definitely say that he was a corrupt scholar.

But if Zhuge Liang wanted to accept these refugees, he must have the ability to handle it well. There is no right or wrong method, the most important thing is people.

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, which caused the gunshot wound on his face to hurt, and he immediately stopped smiling.

"General, take care of these refugees. There are tens of thousands more troops coming!"

His thoughts were simple. Youzhou had been abandoned by Beiliang, and Beimang would not treat the people of Youzhou well. Where could these people escape to?

Would they dare to escape to Xu Fengnian who had abandoned them once? Definitely not.

If these people who bear the national hatred and family feuds seek refuge in Liangzhou, it will be a great help to Li Changan.

Youzhou.

The new King of Beiliang, Xu Fengnian, rebelled against the Liyang court, abandoned Youzhou, and made it a buffer zone between himself and Shazhou, buying time for his own rise.

However, Yan Wenluan, the infantry commander guarding Youzhou, rebelled against Xu Fengnian and led the 20,000 veteran soldiers of the Yugu Camp to vow not to leave Youzhou until death.

With his superb skills, Xu Fengnian transferred most of Yan Wenluan's troops, leaving only Yan Wenluan's 20,000 veteran soldiers to guard Youzhou alone.

On the city wall, Yan Wenluan looked at the huge Northern Mang army below the city. Zhong Shentong assembled another 200,000 troops and came to take over Youzhou according to the agreement with Xu Fengnian.

Yan Wenluan turned his head with a cold look towards the east, which was the direction the King of Beiliang left. His eyes were full of incomprehension and resentment.

"Old prince, did you see that? The new prince left all the people of Youzhou to the Beimang people! This is the Youzhou you have guarded for more than ten years!"

"The prince said that we should put the overall situation first. Li Changan and Bei Mang are not people we can resist right now, so we must conserve our strength and buy time!"

"But I can't figure it out. What should we do with the hundreds of thousands of people in Youzhou? Should we leave them to the brutal Beimang army?"

"Without Liangzhou, and now Youzhou, is Xu Fengnian still worthy of being the King of Beiliang?"

Xu Fengnian's prestige in the army was not high to begin with, and with Xu Xiao's sudden death, Xu Fengnian came to power hastily, and there were many old ministers who were dissatisfied.

Xu Fengnian is looking at the overall situation of Beiliang. Now no matter whether he confronts Beimang or Shazhou head-on, he will end up dead. Buying time for development is the only way to survive.

This strategy caused many old ministers to become disloyal, and Yan Wenluan was one of them.

"Yugu Camp, defend Beilaoguan Pass to the death!"

Following Yan Wenluan's angry shout, the old soldiers on the city wall were filled with indignation. These people were also indignant at Xu Fengnian for abandoning Youzhou.

Grief, desolation, and anger spread throughout the entire city, but not a single old soldier fled. They had been confronting the Northern Mang for more than a decade and had fought several wars of varying sizes. They had long been enemies of the Northern Mang.

Zhong Shentong looked at the well-defended Beilao Pass from afar and couldn't help but get angry. Xu Fengnian had promised to give Youzhou to Beimang, but he actually left 20,000 people to defend it.

"Report to the general, the King of Beiliang sent a message that Yan Wenluan rebelled and established himself as an independent ruler. He has surrendered to Li Changan and is no longer under the command of Beiliang!"

This magical power caused the loss of Dong Zhuo and Tuoba Chunshun. Now, after listening to the latest intelligence, he could not help but say angrily, "What do you mean by surrendering to Li Changan? It's just that he didn't clean his own ass. He said it in such a high-sounding way!"

Beimang went south to occupy Youzhou, forming a buffer zone between Li Changan and Xu Fengnian. Beimang understood this principle.

However, Beimang has to move south step by step. Occupying Youzhou first is a big step forward. There is no reason for Beimang to refuse such a huge benefit.

The Queen of Beimang certainly knew that Xu Fengnian wanted to use Beimang to stop Li Changan, but the Queen did not care. She was still confident that even if it suffered a small defeat, Beimang still had the foundation to destroy Li Changan.

After all, Beimang had an army of one million, and Li Changan only had more than 200,000 men.

First swallow up Li Changan, and at the same time cause civil strife in the Liyang Dynasty. After completely eliminating Li Changan, then clean up the strife in the Liyang court. Isn't it as easy as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves?

At this point, Zhong Shentong ordered an attack on the city without hesitation. He knew that Youzhou had been resisting Beimang for years and had a deep hatred for Beimang. If he didn't kill Yan Wenluan as a warning to others, he would encounter a lot of resistance in the future.

The first step for Beimang to march southwards must be to show bloodiness and military might!

"Send the order, attack the city!"

As time passed, the setting sun turned blood red, the entire Beilao Pass was almost soaked in blood, and the roars of fighting resounded through the sky.

The Beiliang army was like ants, endless and black. Ladders were set up at the city gates, and most of the Yugu Camp suffered casualties.

These old soldiers from Beiliang are very brave, but they are facing an army from Beimang that is ten times larger than theirs!

These people have settled down in Youzhou. Behind them are their homes. They know the consequences of losing the city, so they can only fight to the death.

However, the strength between the enemy and us was too disparate, and in the end more than 20,000 people were killed, without a single survivor.

Yan Wenluan was hit by dozens of arrows and died on the city wall of Beilao Pass, becoming the last ray of light of Beiliang.

Zhong Shentong, who rode his horse into the city, had an extremely ugly expression on his face, because in this battle Beimang lost another 50,000!
It is really unimaginable that with such a huge advantage in military strength, they would lose twice their own strength to annihilate 20,000 veterans from the Yugu Camp.

By this calculation, the Northern Mang lost a total of 300,000 troops in the defeat at Rouran Mountain, the defeat at Yanjia Lake, and the battle at Beilao Pass!
Beimang lost a large territory in the west and only got the Youzhou land offered by Xu Fengnian. It was a huge loss.

"Alright, alright. Just 20,000 Beiliang infantrymen have defeated 50,000 Beimang warriors!"

"The army continues to march south. Any city that resists will be massacred!"

"The women and property in the city belong to the respective armies. This general will not ask about them!"

After hearing Zhong Shentong’s words, the Beimang generals who were originally a little discouraged instantly regained their momentum!
If Youzhou still dares to resist, they should see the consequences of their actions!
In fact, Beimang has been established for hundreds of years and has rarely carried out massacres. However, the current situation is special. If we do not put pressure on Youzhou, we don’t know how much military power we will lose.

What's more, these arrogant and powerful soldiers in Beimang have suffered such heavy losses. How can we appease the morale of the army if we don't let them vent their anger?

Occupying Youzhou is just the beginning. Later we will have to fight a decisive battle with Li Changan, and then compete for the Central Plains. I don’t know how many tough battles we will have to fight, so the morale of the army must not be weakened!

Sure enough, cheers broke out among the Beimang army!

Why do we fight life-and-death battles? What does the grand cause of expanding territory and unifying the world have to do with them?

Only money and women are the greatest motivation!

Half a month later, Tai'an City.

Emperor Zhao Chun fell into deep depression and irritability. He could not understand why he had governed the country diligently but the country was in chaos just four years after he took the throne.

Li Changan occupied the four states of Sha, Liang, Shu, and Qing, and was now fighting a fierce battle with Beimang in the northwest. Xu Fengnian turned around and took over Hezhou and Yongzhou, and together with the original Lingzhou, he was unstoppable in the north.

Not only did King Zhao Bing of Yan not help to suppress the rebellion, he even launched an army in the south on the pretext of clearing the court of corrupt officials. He won victory after victory and had already captured several states.

"I just lost a battle once, how come the whole world is in chaos!"

In the entire Liyang court, only the 100,000 troops near Tai'an City could be mobilized, and other places could not be taken care of at all.

Even the great strategist Yuan Benxi himself could not have imagined that the situation in the world would take a sharp turn for the worse simply because of the failure of the encirclement and suppression of Li Changan.

Xu Fengnian suddenly dropped his disguise and started a rebellion. King Yan Chi took advantage of the situation without caring about his manners. The development of the situation had far exceeded his previous plan.

Zhao Chun, who should have been in his prime, first lost his beloved daughter, and then the country fell into chaos. Every day brought news of the loss of troops and great defeats. Now his health is deteriorating and he is even showing signs of premature aging.

"Teacher, Zhong Shentong massacred ten counties in Youzhou and killed tens of thousands of people! This is what Xu Fengnian did!"

Yuan Benxi sighed, "Xu Fengnian even massacred an entire city in Yongzhou to avenge the humiliation he inflicted on Li Changan."

"King Chi of Yan also massacred three cities in Jiangxin County to weaken the will of the imperial army to resist..."

Zhao Chun was completely ruined. He had never been to the battlefield. He only knew how to govern the country, let the people live and work in peace and contentment, consolidate the power of Liyang, and make Liyang last for thousands of years.

But now, the massacres that were seen everywhere during the Spring and Autumn Period were happening again in Liyang, and this blow was huge.

In other words, he was a complete failure as an emperor, causing Li Yang to return to its pre-unification state. With Bei Mang moving south, the situation became even worse!
Zhao Chun, exhausted both physically and mentally, finally fell ill after not being able to sleep well for more than a month.

"Teacher... please assist the Crown Prince in managing state affairs..."

Crown Prince Zhao Zhuan is young and intelligent, but given the current situation, it would be difficult for Zhao Li to save the situation even if he were resurrected.

Dunhuang City.

Li Changan gathered his army and returned directly to Dunhuang City. He did not send anyone to occupy the land of Beimang.

Beimang still has an army of 700,000. Dividing the troops to occupy these places will only add to the trouble. The people in those places are temporarily unavailable, so there is no need to expand the business.

However, Qingzhou can infiltrate Huainan, and Western Shu can begin to infiltrate Nanzhao. These two directions are much more reliable than managing Northern Mang.

Li Changan did not send troops to fight with Beimang for Youzhou because he did not want to pay for Xu Fengnian's mistake, and Xu Fengnian did it on purpose because he wanted Li Changan to fight with Beimang.

Beimang had experienced two major defeats and finally got a respite in Youzhou. Now the morale is high, and it is not the time for a decisive battle. This time, the five routes of Liyang Dynasty encircled Shazhou, and too many changes occurred. Li Changan also needed to replenish troops to stabilize the situation.

One day, Hongshu met the bluebird at the palace gate.

When Bluebird saw Sweet Potato's charming look, he planned to pass by with a cold face, but Sweet Potato was different today and also had a cold face.

Bluebird was a little surprised, because Sweet Potato always smiled every time he saw her. Even though Bluebird always had a cold face, the two of them always had something to talk about.

Sweet Potato was obviously abnormal today, with its pair of charming peach eyes fixed on Bluebird's back.

Qingniao took a few steps and couldn't help but stop. Over the years, her relationship with Li Changan had been kept secret. To outsiders, she and Jiang Si were just Li Changan's bodyguards.

Hongshu was also very busy, but she always had to say a few words to Qingniao every time she saw her. However, when she thought that Qingniao, as a guard, had been with Li Changan longer than some of the concubines, she didn't know what to say.

If Qingniao can't seize such an opportunity, it only means that His Highness doesn't like Qingniao's cold personality.

But today, Sweet Potato seemed to have discovered something. The bluebird turned around and slowly walked in front of Sweet Potato.

"You devil, why don't you mind your own business this time?"

Hongshu gritted his teeth and pinched Bluebird's small waist, "You little slut, you always act so noble!"

"It seems all my worries about you were in vain. I see you're doing a great job!"

There was no formality between the two of them, and Qingniao said without hesitation, "You're too kind. I'm still far behind you."

Hongshu let go and glared at Bluebird with resentment, her chest heaving with anger.

She has always cared about Bluebird, and Bluebird appreciated it. "I know you are kind-hearted. His Highness is still waiting for you."

After the blue bird left, Sweet Potato calmed down and entered the palace.

At this moment, Li Changan sat on the dragon throne of the female lord of Dunhuang without any hesitation, but he complained that the chair was too small.

After seeing Hongshu come in, Li Changan pointed at her and said, "There is a dragon robe that the empress has never worn. I think the size is suitable for you. Go and try it on."

Hongshu obeyed obediently, and then went to the back to change into a dragon robe. The woman said softly, "Your Highness, how do you like this one?"

Li Changan admired her from head to toe, then let Hongshu sit on his lap, "Not bad, it fits her perfectly."

Hongshu clung to Li Changan and said with a sweet smile, "This dragon robe should be worn by Your Highness. How would I look if I wore it?"

As Hongshu was talking, one of her slender hands passed across her waist. Her eyes were charming and spring was in her brows.

Although Hongshu has been with Li Changan for four years, Li Changan has many concubines and often goes out, so Hongshu cherishes every opportunity to accompany Li Changan.

The woman's body was as white as jade, and the sweet potato was a piece of mellow white jade, which made Li Changan unable to stop every time. Just like this time, there was nothing under the dragon robe.

"Sweet potato, please be my princess."

Hongshu's gentle little hands suddenly tightened, and ripples suddenly appeared in her heart. She dared not go against Li Changan's decision.

What Li Changan said meant that he didn't care about her background and wanted her to be his only wife.

Hongshu was somewhat flattered, and she whispered in a dreamy voice, "I obey your order."

She had already been placed on the dragon throne, and she no longer hesitated to say "obey the order". There was nothing to be shy about, as Li Changan was determined to be the master of the world.

Her body was sensitive and she was shaking slightly.

Li Changan chuckled.

"Hongshu has great ambitions. It seems that being a princess cannot satisfy you. You want to be the queen."

Hongshu whispered in Li Changan's ear, "I... dare not."

Her face was as red as a pink peach, and her long black hair was scattered on the dragon throne, making her body look even more fair and beautiful.

Every moment costs a thousand gold coins. I guess I have spent several thousand gold coins now. "Your Highness."

For some reason, Li Changan never seemed to get tired sitting on the dragon throne.

……

Three days later, Li Changan announced to the world that the four states of Sha, Liang, Shu and Qing would be officially incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

He officially appointed Hongshu as the princess consort. Since they had rebelled, he no longer cared about the limit on the number of concubines. Xu Weixiong, Xue Songguan, Huyan Guanyin, Pei Nanwei, and Yu Youwei were all appointed as concubines.

As for Xu Zhihu and Zhao Fengya, they could only be concubines, and would remain concubines from then on.

Qingniao and Jiang Si still want to protect Li Changan closely, so they have to hold off on conferring titles for now. Wait until the world is at peace in the future before conferring titles on these two as concubines.

Three months later.

The situation in the world is still turbulent. Xu Fengnian is expanding eastwards frantically and is about to take over Jizhou.

Zhao Bing headed north and reached Quanzhou, which was only a few dozen miles away from Tai'an City.

Xu Fengnian and Zhao Bing formed a pincer attack on Tai'an City. Tai'an City was in danger, and the fighting troops had been lost. The entire court was in a state of panic.

It was also at this time that Xu Fengnian and Zhao Bing began peace talks, and the two conspired to divide the world of Fenyang.

Because Xu Fengnian did not have the strength to fight against Li Yang's young eunuchs and the Qi-refining masters of the Imperial Observatory, he would not be safe even if he occupied Tai'an City.

Moreover, Zhao Bing's military force is also strong. The most important thing for both sides at present is to drive Zhao Chun and his son off the throne first, and then continue to fight for the world.

After Beimang massacred ten counties, there was no more resistance in the whole of Youzhou and they finally occupied Youzhou completely.

However, a large number of people from Youzhou fled to the neighboring Liangzhou. Even if they could survive under the rule of Beimang, they could only be inferior people, and their life and death were decided by others.

When the people heard that Liangzhou was accepting refugees from Youzhou, they all fled. More than 100,000 refugees entered Liangzhou, and 50,000 to 60,000 of them volunteered to join the army.

During these three months, all affairs in the four states progressed in an orderly manner. Thanks to Zhuge Liang's hard work day and night, Liangzhou not only absorbed the refugees but also trained new troops.

Recruitment is also underway in Xishu, Qingzhou and other places. Now Li Changan needs to expand his military force. The most lacking thing in the confrontation with Beimang is manpower.

Li Changan came to Liangzhou and began to personally prepare for the war with Beimang, because all the signs of Zhong Shentong in Youzhou showed that Beimang was about to launch a large-scale counterattack.

Tongmen Pass is the border between Liangzhou and Youzhou.

Li Changan has already gathered more than 100,000 soldiers and horses here, and Zhong Shentong has once again assembled an army of 300,000, with the target being Tongmen Pass.

This time, both sides have gathered their strength, and this decisive battle will determine the direction of the world situation.

If Li Changan wins, Youzhou and southern Beimang will be incorporated into the territory, and Lingzhou, where the Beiliang Palace is located, will also be surrounded by the Tang Kingdom.

If Zhong Shentong wins, the three states of Liangzhou, Qingzhou and Xishu will all be occupied by the Northern Mang, and the Northern Mang will truly penetrate deep into the heart of Liyang.

The sun is setting.

Li Changan sat on the city wall, with Zhuge Liang and Gu Dazu behind him.

Li Changan now feels more at ease than in any previous battle.

Before, he was always the weak one or the attacked one, but now after a few months of rest, he is full of confidence in defeating Beimang.

In his opinion, it was a very stupid act for the Northern Mang cavalry to attack the pass after moving south.

As a grassland force, they could not defeat the Tang army in cavalry battles, let alone attacking cities and strongholds.

However, he also understood Empress Murong's thoughts. If they really wanted to go south to compete for the Central Plains, siege battles were inevitable.

The Beimang cavalrymen who had eaten and drunk their fill in Youzhou were all burning with a strong desire to kill, holding scimitars in their hands and roaring to the sky!
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Tens of thousands of fierce Beimang cavalry stopped hundreds of feet in front of Tongmen Pass, obeying orders and marching in unison.

Even Zhuge Liang couldn't help but sigh, "After all, this is an army that started out by plundering. Now that they have plundered Youzhou, their momentum is even stronger."

A Beimang general wearing heavy armor with a wolf head took the lead and began to challenge in front of the city gate.

"Yelü Dongchuang, the vanguard under the command of the general!"

"My Beimang army of one million will soon march south. Li Changan, please open the city gate quickly. I can still leave you a way out!"

"If you wait until a million troops enter Liang Province, You Province will be a lesson for you!"

The Northern Mang general's desperate roar was met with a merciless rain of arrows!

Yelu Dongchuang was so angry that he shouted to the tens of thousands of elite soldiers, "My men, Li Changan doesn't know what's good for him, what should we do with him?"

The Beimang soldiers who charged forward under the arrows shouted in unison, "Massacre the city!"

"Destroy Liangzhou! Shock the Southern Barbarians!"

In the Beimang camp, flags were flying and drums were beating. Beimang soldiers set up ladders and began to attack the city.

On top of the city wall were the most elite Modao soldiers and Baili soldiers, as well as the world's best masters, who broke up the siege rocks.

With such careful preparation, Li Changan was confident that he would not allow a single Beimang soldier to climb onto the city wall.

These Beimang soldiers were newly assembled and had not experienced the Battle of Yanjia Lake. They thought that this city pass was as fragile as the city of Youzhou.

However, all the soldiers who climbed up the city wall were killed, and the siege rocks could not get close to the wall!

At this time, the Beimang soldiers discovered that this city pass was more solid than Beilao Pass!
(End of this chapter)