The winter snow came very quickly. The sky just turned dark yesterday, but today, the fields are already covered with snow. When Ye Chang woke up, he found that it was extremely bright outside. He lay on the bed for a while, and then got up from the bed with Xiang'er taking care of him. A sound like a silver bell came over with a burst of chill: "It's snowing, so heavy snow." Ye Chang frowned and hurried to the door, finding that there was indeed a thick layer of snow in the yard. There was not much wind last night, but I never thought that so much snow would fall silently. Facing the snow in his eyes, Ye Chang was in a daze for a moment, seemingly unwilling to ask, "What do you have to do today, Sir?" Liu Changqing, whose eyes were a little red, had been waiting in front of the door for a long time. When he saw Ye Chang coming out, he didn't feel too cold. Xuan went straight to the topic. "The snow is very heavy. Are any people in the city suffering from the disaster?" Ye Chang asked. "I was busy with this last night. More than 170 houses in the city were collapsed by snow, and 34 of them were homeless. My subordinates, together with the Luoyang Order, placed them in the homes of relatives and friends and crushed them to death. Seven people were arrested. In addition, people were patrolled on the street, and all the homeless people were taken to the shelter for temporary shelter. Fortunately, the thieves have been put down, and the coal energy sources are constantly being brought in. I went to ask about it this morning. , the price of coal is three hundred and seventy-two cents, and the price has dropped. " "Let the policemen go from door to door to warn that coal is poisonous, and you must be careful when using it. Do not close the doors and windows tightly, and you must leave a gap for the poisonous gas to escape. " " Yes." Liu Changqing responded again. He knew that Ye Chang was in a bad mood and did not dare to take action. Just as he was about to retreat, Ye Chang suddenly spoke again: "Liu Gong, go summon An Yuanguang to come. It's snowing heavily today. I'm quite uneasy. I don't know the people outside the city." "What's the situation? I want to go out to inspect the city." "It's snowing so heavily" Liu Changqing hesitated. "It's the heavy snow that's why I want to go. It's because after the rebellion, people's livelihood is difficult. If I don't go and see, I feel really uneasy." Ye Chang said slowly. His words moved Liu Changqing a little. After he withdrew immediately, An Yuanguang came to Ye Chang soon. Ye Chang gave some instructions. An Yuanguang was very happy. Ye Chang did not take anyone else with him on this tour, but he only took him. He clearly looked at him differently. After he agreed, he went out to order troops, but came back an hour later: "Ye Shangshu, the troops and horses are ready." "This time I may have to patrol the capital for a few days, and I may even go to Henan to have a look. Are you ready?" "How many days of food and grass do you need?" "According to Ye Gong's order, prepare enough food and grass for seven days." This is Ye Chang's habit of leading his troops. His soldiers must carry seven days of food and grass when they go out, no matter what mission they are performing. This rule may seem rigid, but it is actually the result of Ye Chang's careful consideration. Seven days of food and grass is enough to fight an offensive and defensive battle, so that you don't have to worry about not having enough food to support you after being raided and surrounded. Ye Chang led the troops to the east, comforting them all the way, and summoning officials from various places to arrange matters to deal with the heavy snow. Along the way, officials were more or less Blame Ye Chang for making a fuss: Although the snow is heavy, it has not yet reached the point of causing a disaster, so there is no need to be so concerned. But as long as Ye Chang discovered this kind of thinking, he would inevitably get angry and scold him, and there were a few unlucky guys who were dismissed by Ye Chang on the spot. Maybe it was because of the hard work along the way, or maybe he was in a depressed mood. When he arrived at Luokoucang, Yan Zhenqing was startled when he saw Ye Chang: "What's wrong with Mr. Ye?" "I feel cold and a little uncomfortable." Ye Chang was on the horse He replied with a thick nasal voice: "But it doesn't matter, I'll rest in Luokoucang for a few days, and you can find a better doctor." Yan Zhenqing looked at his appearance and described him as a little haggard. It was not as simple as he said. . He was secretly worried and sent someone to invite the doctor. He accompanied Ye Chang inside. "Don't worry Mr. Yan, just let me rest." Seeing Yan Zhenqing following him every step of the way, Ye Chang smiled and said to him. Yan Zhenqing was silent for a while, and then whispered: "Don't be too worried, Mr. Ye. No matter what happens in the court, Mr. Ye has made great contributions to the country, and most of the hearts of the officials and people in the world are with Mr. Ye." He knew that Ye Chang's health had always been good. If there are signs of serious illness at this time, it is likely to be caused by worry and anger. The direct cause is that the imperial court summoned An Lushan to the capital. In the eyes of ordinary people, this paper edict was normal, but Yan Zhenqing understood that it actually represented the court's distrust of Ye Chang. If the imperial court really wants to put an end to the rebellion quickly, it only needs to order An Lushan's troops to come, and send these troops to Ye Chang. It is expected that within ten months, the rebellion will be settled, and there is no need for An Lushan himself to come. But now the imperial court summoned An Lushan, and instead of letting him go directly to the battlefield, he was placed in the capital. It was clearly because he was wary of seeing Ye Chang winning many battles and raising nearly 20,000 elite soldiers with his bare hands. An Lushan came here for the second purpose of defending the capital. The real purpose was to deal with Ye Chang. Not long after, a doctor was invited to diagnose Ye Chang and prescribe some medicine. After coming out, Yan Zhenqing asked him for details, and the doctor looked slightly strange: "Although Mr. Ye is fine, he has worked too hard and needs to rest." This is not much different from what Yan Zhenqing thought, so he orderedHe nodded and sent the doctor away. But at night, Li Yuan, who was beside Ye Chang, came to look for Yan Zhenqing, saying that Ye Chang had summoned him for something. Yan Zhenqing came and went as instructed, but saw Ye Chang with a cold expression and a suit of armor. Yan Zhenqing was stunned: "Ye Gong is still resting. What happened?" "I'm going south overnight to go straight to Yuzhou," Ye Chang said. "But Mr. Ye's health" "My health is not serious. The purpose of releasing the news of my illness along the way was to cover up the thieves' ears. The thieves only thought that I was here to recuperate, and it was snowing heavily, so they would not prepare for me, so they took the opportunity to catch me. Live at the head of thieves and stabilize the world." When Ye Chang said this, he smiled slightly: "Some people only think that I will stop the troops and fight with An Lushan first How can I be such a person who does not care about the overall situation? " Yan Zhenqing looked at Ye Chang. For a while, she felt tears filling her eyes: "Ye Gong is indeed the pillar of the Tang Dynasty. How can An Lushan be compared with Ye Gong?" Ye Chang smiled and didn't say anything more about it. Ask Yan Zhenqing to cover his whereabouts and only tell the outside world that he is recovering from illness. After the plan was decided, Ye Chang quietly left the city. He only brought An Yuanguang and more than 20 soldiers with him. Even Li Yuan stayed in Luokou Cangcheng. Looking at Ye Chang's leaving figure, Yan Zhenqing burst into tears again: How unfair the court was to Ye Chang, and how selfless Ye Chang was for the world. Such people should be in the position of Zhou and Yi, ruling the world, governing the country and bringing peace to the country. He But unknown to him, Ye Chang always had a faint smile on his face. The imperial court transferred An Lushan to the capital to prevent him from leading troops to the capital to fight for power. What's the use? What Ye Chang wants to fight for is not the small space in the capital. What he wants to fight for is the support of officials and people in the world. Loyal and upright people like Yan Zhenqing can't stand the imperial court now. As long as they go one step further, they will entrust the hope of the world to themselves. At that time, not to mention An Lushan, Li Longji himself returned to twenty years old. At that time, there was no way to stop him from entering the capital to take power! What's more, these people who were blinded by the greed in front of them would do some things for Ye Chang that he wanted to do but were inconvenient to do. Shangcai Chengzhong , Yuan Chao has not yet fallen asleep. He occupied one of the best houses in the city and was holding a banquet in the lobby. All the thieves' leaders, except Chen Zhuang who stayed in Huainan, were all here. "Brothers, it is impossible for us, four to five hundred thousand people, to live in one place for a long time. We must decide on a strategy early." When the wine was slightly smoked, Yuan Chao drove away the female musician and said to the thieves: "Nothing else. Not to mention, we have more than 50,000 people in Shangcai, plus the new investment of more than 20,000, the total is nearly 80,000. The food in Shangcai can feed us for up to ten days. After ten days, we can eat wherever we go. "It's a big problem." The thieves laughed loudly. There were so many of them that they gathered in one place during the battle, but after the battle, they dispersed to eat. It could be said that they ate wherever they fought. They had never worried about food before. Fang Qing's status was second only to Yuan Chao. After laughing for a while, he said: "Of course we are going to Luoyang to eat. Although Brother Yuan Wu was defeated, we can go back to the old army and gather 700,000 to 800,000 people. Ye Chang will If he really has the ability to spread the beans into an army, he can't recruit so many people, right? Let's capture him then and take him to replace Brother Yuan with the dog officials." "If we go to Luoyang, we must do a good job with An Lu. Prepare for the meeting of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers." Yuan Chao sneered in his heart: "Which brother is willing to lead our army as the vanguard?" When this question was asked, everyone immediately stopped laughing. At this time, through careful investigation by all parties, they have found out clearly that the soldiers and horses Ye Chang "transformed" turned out to be retired veterans and workers in the mining workshop. Everyone figured that there were not many such people around Luoyang, so they were not afraid of Ye Chang. But An Lushan was different. An Lushan's subordinates were all elite border troops, making them fearful. Even if they are not afraid, they still have to worry. The status of these bandit leaders is basically determined by the number of their subordinates. If you fight for the vanguard against An Lushan, even if you win miserably, you will suffer great losses, which means you will lose the right to speak among the rebels. Seeing that everyone was silent, Yuan Chao sneered: "It seems that all brothers are sensible people. Although we have a large number of people at this time, we are not elite enough to compete with the elite officers and soldiers. The art of war has it that we must The most important thing for us now is not to capture Luoyang, but to give in temporarily, add more soldiers during the expedition, and train an elite force. I think we have rested enough here. "Starting tomorrow, I will prepare to cross the Huaihe River and return to Huainan Road. If you don't want to go back, just stay here." "Whoever is willing to stay here will become the first target to be eliminated by An Lushan and Ye Chang." They all shouted: "Brother Yuan, where is this? We all follow Brother Yuan's orders. Wherever Brother Yuan goes, we will go." Only Fang Qing frowned and said nothing. Yuan Chao looked at him and saw that he was reluctant to speak, so he smiled and said, "Brother Fang Xian, do you want to stay in Henan Road?" "No, I just thought, we have hundreds of thousands of people, and half of Huainan Road has been wiped out by us. What's next? Where to eat? Are you really going to Guangling?"It's not easy to handle. It is said that Wang Qinian and Han Huangshang spent a lot of money to recruit brave men, and they want to fight with us" Fang Qing is not afraid of officers and soldiers, but he is a little afraid of Wang Qinian and Han Huangshang, because he knows that these two They are ordinary people. If they are really pressed, these two can rely on the wealth of Jinshan and recruit brave men. They dare not defeat them. At least they will not have much problem in choosing a stronghold in Guangling. Under the city, if the imperial army is behind them, they will end up like Yuan Ying. "Of course it is not Guangling. I intend to march westward to Shannan. "Yuan Chao curled his lips and said: "When we retreat, An Lushan and Ye Chang will fight among themselves for merit in the government. At that time, I will enter Guanzhong from the north of Ziwu Valley, or go back to Henan Road. No matter what, it is better to seize Luokou Cang than to meet its sharpness at this time." "Brother Yuan thinks that An and Ye will fight among themselves? " "The one who knows best what those dog officers are thinking must be the dog officers. The dog officers I captured this time will guarantee their lives. An and Ye will turn against each other." "How can the words of those dog officers be accurate? . "Fang Qing muttered. "If Brother Fang Xian doesn't believe it, you can stay here. " He didn't have the courage to let Fang Qing's troops stay in Huaibei. After smiling sarcastically, he kept silent. Seeing that everyone finally reached an agreement, Yuan Chao calmed down and felt quite exhausted: That dog official The dog eunuch is right. He cannot unify his orders. Therefore, although he has a large number of manpower, he can only fight against the wind. If he encounters a tough battle, his efforts will inevitably be wasted. Just like this time, he summoned the leaders of various families to hold a meeting. It took three days to first mediate their disputes, then to persuade them one by one, and finally to prevent them from changing their minds temporarily. Eunuch Gou suggested that after Ye Changan Lushan's sharp attack, he should build a plan. There is really no need to delay! After the banquet, Yuan Chao returned to the inner house and saw Da Xijie and Luo Fengxian sitting across from each other holding the stove. They didn't know what to say. They were very angry when they saw Yuan Chao coming back. When the man stood up, Da Xijie first asked: "Mr. Yuan, what is the result of the discussion? " "You two are right, they agreed. " "We have said before that these people only think about themselves, but no one thinks about the foundation of Mr. Yuan. If Mr. Yuan really wants to achieve the things of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, he must recruit talents and promote capable ones. "Da Xiqiao carefully observed Yuan Chao's face: "In the past, Emperor Taizong could only defeat the Quartet if he had Li Jing, Xu Shiji, Yuchi Gong, Changsun Wuji and many other people following him. A villain is not talented, so he is willing to be a minister of Yuan Gong." "There is no need to say these words. By the way, I have already ordered them to arrange for two beautiful women to serve you. "Yuan Chao said: "If you have any other ideas, please give them to me quickly." The two of them looked at each other, wondering if there was any good strategy. They were just arguing over it. They were just arguing over whether Yuan Chao could succeed. . But at the end of the fight, the two agreed that although the imperial court had lost a lot of people's hearts, Li Tang's foundation was still there and it was not yet time to overthrow him. If he wanted to live longer, he could only stay away from the Central Plains. Taking advantage of the internal disputes in the Central Plains, Li and Tang were lingering in the corner. After the dispute in the Central Plains came to an end, they quickly offered their land and accepted the surrender, so as to forget the past. But they did not dare to say this to Yuan Chao.