Chapter 131 Suspicion
Li Jiancheng's straightforward answer surprised several people a little, and they felt much more at ease. It was fine at ordinary times, but the more the time came, the more they could feel Li Jiancheng's importance.

This was also a test. If Li Jiancheng agreed, King Dai would find a way to refuse, and then order people to imprison Li Jiancheng and wait for His Majesty to return before discussing the matter.

I really can't imagine that if Li Jiancheng raised his arms in Chang'an to respond to Yang Xuangan, or led the elite troops in Chang'an to join Yang Xuangan's army, that would be a huge disaster.

Li Jiancheng continued: "It's not just me. Many of the suitable generals in Chang'an currently serve under Yang Su. We should try to avoid such people."

He bowed to Dai Wang Yang You and said, "The most suitable candidate at this time is Wei Shangshu. Please judge for yourself, Your Highness."

The Minister of Justice Wei Wensheng also said to the King of Dai: "Since Yang Xuangan has decided to attack Luoyang, with his military strength, he certainly cannot split his troops to attack Chang'an.

As Li Langjun said, Yang Su has been the commander of the army several times in the past. The military power at this time cannot be entrusted to him lightly. It is best for the old minister to lead the army himself."

As the person in charge of the power, since Wei Wensheng had made the decision, King Dai Yang You could not stop him unless he openly rebelled.

Moreover, before leaving, the emperor had instructed Yang You to treat Wei Wensheng with respect as a teacher and not to disobey easily.

Yang You nodded and said, "Then let's do as the Shangshu says."

Wei Wensheng was not grateful for Li Jiancheng's recommendation, but was worried whether this was a deliberate attempt to get him out.

So he looked at Li Yuan and his son and said, "I know that you and your son are in mourning, but the country is in turmoil, your Majesty has not returned and your Highness is still young. As the governor of Chang'an, I have to do some things."

Li Yuan had no expression on his face. "Without the order of Your Majesty or His Royal Highness the Prince of Dai, I will not go out or see guests after returning to the palace. Minister Wei can also send someone to watch over me."

Wei Wensheng shook his head: "I would like to ask Duke Tang to come with me to help the Eastern Capital."

The rest of the people shut their mouths and lowered their heads, not looking at Li Yuan and his son. Only Prince Dai Yang You stared closely at Li Jiancheng's expression, as if he wanted to see something.

Li Yuan said with an unpleasant expression, "Minister Wei, I lost my father when I was young. My mother raised me with great difficulty. She has only passed away for a few months, and you want me to abandon the etiquette of mourning and go with the army?"

Wei Wensheng sighed and bowed his hands, saying, "You must fulfill your duties and responsibilities. Your Majesty left Chang'an and His Royal Highness the Prince of Dai to me before leaving. Today, I will be a bad guy."

The father and son must be separated and serve as each other's hostages. After all, Li Jiancheng had a close relationship with Yang Xuangan, so it would be more appropriate to take Li Yuan with him.

Wei Yijie hurriedly tried to ease the tension, saying, "Although filial piety is the most important virtue, people have always been willing to sacrifice filial piety for loyalty, even in times of war. This is the case today."

Dai Wang Yang You also said at the suggestion of his uncle: "When the royal grandfather comes back, I will definitely ask the royal grandfather to make up the order to take away the love, so that the Duke can be both loyal and filial."

Li Yuan glanced at his son and knew that this matter could not be refused simply on the basis of filial piety. If they refused to leave, Wei Wensheng would most likely imprison them directly in the palace.

"Thanks to Minister Wei's favor, I will follow the army to help the Eastern Capital. My son Jiancheng, you must behave yourself after returning home and stand guard in front of the spirit tablet to mourn for your father."

"As you command." Li Jiancheng bowed to his father, then turned to Wei Wensheng calmly and asked, "Does the Minister have any other instructions for Jiancheng?"

Wei Wensheng knew that this had completely offended the Duke of Tang's Mansion, but since he was paid by the emperor, he should be loyal to the emperor and share the emperor's worries, so why should he be afraid?
"Please follow your father's wishes, sir."

Li Jiancheng nodded and bowed respectfully to Dai Wang Yang You, saying, "Your Highness, although I don't think that the traitor Yang Xuangan will split his troops, this is a matter of state, so we must make more preparations. The 100,000 civilians who are repairing the city defenses should be temporarily sent to the army for training to be fully prepared."

Seeing that his uncle and the Minister of Justice both nodded, Yang You agreed to the matter.

Wei Wensheng then took Li Yuan to mobilize the troops and prepare to set off. Li Jiancheng returned to his mansion, comforted his mother, wife and brothers, and then closed the door again to avoid outsiders.

…………

At the foot of Luoyang City, Yang Xuangan personally held a sacrifice to summon the soul. On the soul sail was written Pei Gong Hongce, that is, Pei Hongce, the governor of Henan, who had fought and been defeated all the way and had to deliver Yang Xuangan 7,000 young and strong men and soldiers.

It turned out that after Pei Hongce fled back to the city in defeat, he had a conflict with Fan Zigai, who was left behind in Luoyang. The fundamental reason was the dispute over the command of Luoyang's defense.

Fan Zigai was an extremely capable man, having served as governor of various poor frontier regions. He was both civil and military, and was a close confidant of the emperor who was personally promoted by him. However, he had a fatal flaw, which was that he had no prominent family background and had never served in the court before.

He was a governor of the Eastern Capital who had risen to power overnight and then suddenly fallen, so naturally he had no disciples, former officials, relatives or friends to speak of. The absence of these meant that even though he held a high position, he did not have the corresponding authority.

Therefore, even though Pei Hongce was a defeated general, there were still some relatives and old friends who helped him to exonerate himself and supported him to take charge of the overall situation. The Hedong Pei family was so prominent.

But unexpectedly, Fan Zigai made up his mind and ordered his men to kill Pei Hongce on the spot.

The emperor had gathered many loyal and righteous people over the years. In this time of crisis, his trusted ministers were willing to offend high-ranking officials for the sake of his country.

Pei Hongce died just like that. Of course, there were people who spoke up for him and accused Fan Zigai of seeking personal revenge. However, when they saw that Fan Zigai was going to kill more people, Yang Wang, the chief academician of the Imperial College, and others could only kowtow and beg for mercy.

After all, the ministers appointed by Fan Zigai to stay behind could secretly disobey him, but they could not confront him head-on unless King Yang Tong of Yue spoke up. But like King Yang You of Dai, the emperor also instructed him before leaving to treat Fan Zigai with the respect of a teacher and to obey and trust him.

So Fan Zigai firmly grasped the power of Luoyang and began to arrange defense matters. He immediately summoned the surrounding counties to raise troops for reinforcement, and reorganized the soldiers defending the city, strictly ordering them not to open the city gates without authorization. Anyone who behaved strangely could be executed first and reported later.

The responses of Yang Xuangan and Fan Zigai were seen by everyone who was paying attention to the situation. Fan Zigai's actions reminded them of the emperor, who also treated the lives of nobles with indifference and shouted for fighting and killing at the slightest disagreement.

Yang Xuangan's actions were much better. After the sacrifice to summon the soul, Yang Xuangan said to his soldiers: "I am a senior general, and my family has accumulated a huge amount of gold. As for wealth and honor, I have nothing to ask for."

The soldiers below all nodded. Born into the Yang family of Hongnong and the eldest son of the former Duke of Chu, Shangzhuguo Shangshuling, wealth and honor were his natural destiny.

Yang Xuangan looked at the crowd and felt a strong desire to plead for the people and rebuild the country: "I don't care about those who have their families destroyed, but only want to help the world solve its urgent needs and save the lives of the people!
...............

(End of this chapter)