bookrandom Chapter 909: Killing Two Generals in Front of the Battlefield
Chapter 909: Killing Two Generals in Front of the Battlefield
Eunuch Bian Lingcheng stood aside with his hands hanging down, a hint of viciousness flashing in his eyes.
He once served as a military supervisor in Gao Xianzhi's army and wanted Gao Xianzhi to promote his nephew, but was sternly rejected. He also wanted to embezzle military rations for his own benefit, but was publicly reprimanded by Feng Changqing.
Seeing that the emperor is furious, it is a good time to take revenge.
"Your Majesty, please calm down," Bian Lingcheng said in a shrill voice, his voice like nails scraping across wood. "I'm afraid these two generals have long lost their fighting spirit."
"Feng Changqing had just arrived in Luoyang when he submitted a memorial stating, 'The rebels are too powerful to be defeated.' Isn't this simply emboldening others and undermining his own prestige?"
"Gao Xianzhi went even further. I saw it with my own eyes. He secretly transported the silk and grain allocated by the court back to his hometown. When he retreated, in order to travel light, he actually left all the remaining supplies to the rebels! This is not repelling the enemy, it is clearly aiding them!"
"What?" Li Longji stood up suddenly, the jade belt of his dragon robe making it hard for him to breathe. "They dare?"
"Your Majesty," Prime Minister Yang Guozhong hurriedly stepped forward. Although he was at odds with Gao Xianzhi, he also knew the importance of Tongguan. "What Eunuch Bian said may be exaggerated."
"Generals Feng and Gao are both veterans of the battlefield. They must have retreated to Tongguan to hold it. The rebels are currently strong, and killing a general in battle would likely shake their morale."
"Yang Guozhong, what do you know?" Li Longji glared at him, his eyes full of suspicion. "Luoyang is the Eastern Capital, it's my pride! If they lose Luoyang, it's a slap in my face! Do you also think I'm old and can't control these generals anymore?"
Yang Guozhong was so frightened that he knelt down immediately: "I dare not! I am just worried about the defense of Tongguan..."
"Worried? I think you're worried that their achievements will hinder your future!"
Li Longji's rage grew stronger and stronger. He turned his gaze to the Minister of War, Wei Jiansu, and said, "Lord Wei, what do you think we should do?"
Wei Jiansu was over seventy years old, his hair and beard already white. He knelt tremblingly, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, although An Lushan's rebel army is strong, they are isolated and deep in the enemy's territory, and they are short of food and fodder."
"Tongguan is a natural fortress. As long as the two generals hold on, the rebels will be defeated within half a year."
"If we deal with these two, who can take on this important task? General Geshu Han is seriously ill, and Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi are away. There is no one to replace him!"
"I am willing to guarantee with the lives of my entire family that you two generals have absolutely no intention of collaborating with the enemy!"
"Guarantee?" Li Longji sneered and kicked over the table. "You said An Lushan was 'loyal to his master and would never rebel'. Now he's almost at Chang'an. What's the value of your guarantee?"
Wei Jiansu was speechless after being asked this question and lay on the ground trembling.
Cui Qi, the Minister of Rites, also stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty, Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi have always had a grudge against each other, so his words cannot be fully trusted."
"Why not summon the two generals back to Chang'an for a confrontation and find out the truth before making a decision?"
"Call them back? What if the rebels reach Chang'an?" Li Longji's voice suddenly rose. "I think you've colluded and want An Lushan to destroy Chang'an! Pass on my decree - Feng Changqing lost troops and territory, and shook the army's morale. Behead him! Gao Xianzhi abandoned the city and withheld military pay. Behead him!"
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!" Everyone in the hall knelt down immediately, and several old ministers banged their heads on the ground, bleeding profusely. "Your Majesty, please think twice!" But Li Longji had already walked away, and the hem of his dragon robe swept across the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, making a harsh sound.
On the third day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of Tianbao, light snow began to fall outside Tongguan City.
Feng Changqing sat beneath a lamp, writing a memorial, the candlelight illuminating his pale face. The arrow wound on his arm hadn't healed yet, and each word he wrote pierced the wound, causing a dull ache.
He wrote about the rebels' deployment: "An Lushan has 30,000 men in his army, all of whom are brave and skilled in fighting. They need to be restrained by long-range bows and crossbows."
Writing about the defensive loopholes of Tongguan: "The terrain at the southern corner of the city is slightly flat, so we need to send 500 elite soldiers to garrison there and build a three-meter-high fort."
Finally, he wrote: "My death is not a pity. I only hope that Your Majesty will not underestimate the rebels and firmly defend Guanzhong. When General Guo Ziyi returns, he will surely put down the rebellion."
"Your servant Feng Changqing kowtows a hundred times."
As he was writing, Bian Lingcheng rushed in with the imperial edict, followed by a team of swordsmen. "Feng Changqing, accept the edict!"
Bian Lingcheng unfolded the imperial edict and read it in a shrill voice, "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Feng Changqing has lost his troops and territory, and has shaken the morale of the army. He deserves death and must be executed immediately!"
Feng Changqing put down his pen, stood up calmly, folded the memorial, and handed it to Bian Lingcheng: "Eunuch, please be sure to present this memorial to His Majesty."
Bian Lingcheng snatched it away and casually threw it to the young eunuch behind him, sneering, "You're about to die, and you're still thinking about this? Tie him up!"
The executioner came forward to tie him up, but Feng Changqing waved his hand: "No need. I can walk on my own."
He straightened his disheveled robes, looked at the falling snow outside the window, and said softly, "I joined the army at the age of fifteen, following General Gao to conquer the Western Regions. How majestic the Tang Dynasty was at that time."
The execution ground was set up in an open space outside Tongguan City, and the snow-covered ground was trampled into a muddy patch.
Feng Changqing stood in the snow, looking at the soldiers who were watching. The new recruits who had followed him from Luoyang were all red-eyed. He said loudly, "Brothers, I, Feng Changqing, was incompetent and failed to defend Luoyang, but I retreated to Tongguan to protect Chang'an and our home!"
"After I die, you must remember that defending Tongguan means defending the Tang Dynasty!"
After saying this, he closed his eyes and waited for death.
Gao Xianzhi was escorted down from the city wall.
He had just finished inspecting the defenses when he heard that Feng Changqing had been beheaded. He ran to the execution ground like a madman without even having time to fasten his armor.
Seeing Feng Changqing lying in a pool of blood, he suddenly broke free from the guards, rushed over and hugged the gradually cooling body, tears streaming down his face: "Changqing! Changqing! You and I have been comrades for thirty years. We have fought from Suiye City to Congling. We have fought all kinds of tough battles. How could you fail here!"
Bian Lingcheng stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Gao Xianzhi, receive the order!"
Gao Xianzhi suddenly looked up, his red eyes fixed on Bian Lingcheng. "I, Gao Xianzhi, have fought in hundreds of battles and never failed my country! You accuse me of withholding military rations. Do you have any evidence?"
"You said I abandoned Shan County, but you know Shan County has no strategic location to defend. If I don't abandon the city, my entire army will be annihilated."
Bian Lingcheng was frightened by his aura and took a step back. He forced himself to remain calm and unfolded the imperial edict: "Your Majesty says you are guilty, so you are guilty! Gao Xianzhi abandoned the city and mourned his chastity, and withheld military pay. You must be executed immediately!"
"Hahaha!" Gao Xianzhi laughed heartily, his laughter filled with grief and indignation. "I, Gao Xianzhi, led the army on a western expedition, beheaded the King of Bolor, captured the Tibetan king, and recovered thousands of miles of lost territory for the Tang Dynasty. Yet today I am to die at the hands of a eunuch's slander! Where is justice?"
The surrounding soldiers were in an uproar. The veterans who had fought with him in the Western Regions fell to their knees and roared, "General, you are innocent!" "We testify that the general has never withheld rations!"
"Please report to His Majesty and spare the general's life!" The shouts were so loud that snowflakes fell to the ground, and even the executioners hesitated and dared not step forward.
Gao Xianzhi looked at these brothers who had followed him through life and death, tears mixed with snow water flowing down his face.
He raised his hand to signal for silence, his voice hoarse but firm: "Brothers, I, Gao Xianzhi, swear to heaven that I have never betrayed my country in my life. I may be arrogant, but I am loyal to my country. Today, if the king demands death, I must die. But you must remember - guard Tongguan and Chang'an!"
The knife flashed again.
This time, the soldiers did not shout anymore, but just held their swords and guns silently, watching the two famous generals fall in a pool of blood. Snowflakes fell on their bodies, gradually covering the glaring red.
When the news reached Chang'an, Li Longji was having a banquet in the warm room of Huaqing Palace, and dancers were singing and dancing in the hall.
Bian Lingcheng knelt outside the hall and reported: "Your Majesty, Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi have been executed." Li Longji just said "hmm" lightly, waved his hand to let him leave, and continued to hold the wine glass.
On the top of Tongguan City, the surviving soldiers looked westward towards Chang'an, and the light in their eyes gradually faded.
Someone quietly put away the defense map written by Feng Changqing, and someone hid Gao Xianzhi's sword in the cracks of the city wall bricks.
A few days later, Li Longji ordered the seriously ill Geshu Han to lead troops for a decisive battle.
There were many famous generals in the Tang Dynasty, but Li Longji never took this rebellion seriously. He even let a eunuch command the famous generals to fight.