Chapter 143 Luoyang City Opens
When the three of them returned to the camp, the seats were naturally assigned. Luo Yi, who was originally quite arrogant, consciously bowed last.

There was no way. Judging from their backgrounds, it was obvious that the two of them were Li Jiancheng's confidants. In terms of ability, neither of them was inferior to himself. It was obvious that there was not much difference between having him and not having him. There was no reason to be arrogant.

He came to join Li Jiancheng specifically instead of the more elite navy officer Zhou Fashang, because Li Jiancheng had no generals under his command, so he came to help.

"Thank you for your hard work, General Luo. If you hadn't come to our aid, we would have been defeated again in today's battle."

Luo Yi said he was not worthy of it, and then asked curiously: "Sir, I am a lowly official and have never received a direct order from His Majesty, but I think it must be an urgent order. Although we are not as good as the enemy, we still have the advantage in military strength. Why don't we try a trick?"

Li Jiancheng said: "Although risky tactics can win, there is also the possibility of disastrous defeat. If our army is defeated, Luoyang will be in danger. As long as we hold on, at least Li Zixiong and Yang Jishan's 50,000 troops will be held back by us, which is a great achievement.

Luo Yi was somewhat disapproving. It was true that delaying the enemy was a merit, but how could he show such a merit in front of the emperor and get a heavy reward?

But he had no right to question Li Jiancheng's decision, let alone the courage to say that he regretted coming here and asked if he could switch to Zhou Fashang now.

Li Jiancheng knew that Luo Yi only wanted fame, wealth and power, so he wanted to try everything. It's not that it's a bad thing, but in this world, if you are not born into a noble family, your life will be like that if you don't try hard.

There was a lot of room for official positions in the imperial court, and many people from noble families came one after another to show off in front of the emperor.

Li Jiancheng ordered the three generals to sit down, and then said to Luo Yi, "There is one more thing that I have not told you. I just received a letter from the Right Guard General, Duke Hua. I haven't had time to read it yet, but from what the messenger said, it seems to be related to you."

Luo Yi's face changed, but he still stood up and explained: "I have a grudge against Duke Hua, I never thought..."

Before he could finish, Li Jiancheng waved his hand and pointed to the unopened letter on the table, and said to the guard beside him: "Since General Luo is already under my command, I will not read this letter. You give the letter to the messenger and tell him that I will go to apologize to you after the battle."

Li Chong'er, the great-grandfather of Li Jing, Duke of Hua, was Li Yuan's sixth-generation ancestor. Li Jiancheng should have called Li Jing "uncle", but Li Jing was a loyal and honest minister of the emperor, just like Wei Wensheng, Fan Zigai, Lai Huer and others.

Therefore, although he was in a high position and had great power, he was worthless to Li Jiancheng, and it was not worth suppressing Luo Yi for him.

Luo Yi first did not expect Li Jing to be so petty, and then he did not expect that Li Jiancheng would be willing to offend another close confidant of the emperor for the sake of him, a person he had just met.

Even if he had a heart of stone, he couldn't help but feel the urge to die for his friend. At this moment, when Luo Yi looked at Li Jiancheng at the top, he felt something different.

…………

Zhou Fashang was obviously not as capable of withstanding pressure as Li Jiancheng. He only gathered several groups of soldiers who came to support him, and then directly chose Wei Wensheng's path. However, the slight difference was that he first launched a surprise attack on Yang Xuangan's camp at night.

The gains were fruitful, but Yang Xuangan was no ordinary man. He immediately decided to let go of those panicked soldiers and directly integrate the elite troops that had not yet lost control. He first withdrew from the camp and then went around to cut off Zhou Fashang's retreat.

The two armies fought in chaos until dawn, and no one knew how many people died at the hands of their own people, but it didn't matter. Zhou Fashang obeyed the imperial edict, preventing the rebels from attacking Luoyang for at least a few days, and Yang Xuangan also took advantage of the situation to kill Zhou Fashang's elite cavalry. The battle here was fierce, and although Zhou Fashang also suffered heavy losses, he still had a steady stream of government soldiers coming, and Yang Xuangan had to recall Li Zixiong and his 20,000 troops to ensure that he could attack Luoyang while resisting Zhou Fashang.

However, the rebels, who were already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, could not withstand Li Jiancheng's army even if they were more elite. It was Yang Jishan's turn to fight and be defeated, and to retreat continuously.

Just when the emperor was happy to receive the good news, a shocking piece of bad news came: King Yang Tong of Yue was poisoned to death.

Fan Zigai, the governor of Luoyang, went on a killing spree in order to find out the truth about the murder of the emperor's grandson. He beheaded more than ten high-ranking officials in one day. The ministers could not bear it any longer and opened the city gates to welcome Yang Xuangan into the city. Soon, Fan Zigai's head was hung at the city gate.

The emperor fainted upon receiving the news. The ministers accompanying him hurriedly called for the imperial physician to treat him while at the same time unable to resist exchanging glances. Is there going to be another change of dynasty?
To be honest, they were not very willing to do so, as chaos was not a good thing for most families. However, they had some expectations in their hearts, as the current emperor was too mean and ungrateful.

Soon, Yang Guang woke up with a start, as if he had just woken up from a dream. He was very sensitive to the strange atmosphere and immediately covered his face and cried: "You villain, you actually killed one of my important ministers. You killed me!"

The civil and military officials were astonished. Given the emperor's character, he should be heartbroken and anxious because of the loss of Luoyang, and not because of Fan Zigai. It was even possible that he should be held accountable for the serious crime of failing to protect the emperor's grandson and defend Luoyang.

The only thing you shouldn't do is feel sorry for a minister. If the emperor had such a heart, how could the world be like this today?

But if Li Jiancheng was around, he would have discovered that the former King of Jin, Yang Guang, had returned.

The emperor did not vent his anger as usual, or order the dispatch of food and troops to return at all costs. Instead, he ordered the Ministry of Rites to arrange Fan Zigai's funeral immediately, and he would lead all officials to express condolences.

In a short moment, he decided on the posthumous title of Jing for Fan Zigai, posthumously conferred him the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, promoted him to the rank of Duke of Jiguo, and ordered his son to inherit the title, and also gave him various gold and silver rewards.

Although everyone could see that the emperor acted in this way to rally the people because he felt a real threat, they also felt that His Majesty had finally turned over a new leaf.

Li Jing and others who received the secret letter from Li Jiancheng also began to raise grain formally. The blocked river roads and grain routes in various places seemed to be suddenly unblocked. Although there were still occasional bandits who did not know what was good for them, it was much better than before.

The emperor was in no mood to ponder the matter, so he directly issued an edict of commendation and began to gather elite troops in the army. He wanted to personally retake Luoyang.

Yang Xuangan, who entered the city, was also given many titles and promotions at the suggestion of Li Mi and Wei Fusi. Those who had made contributions were directly promoted and given titles, and those who had not made any contributions were also given various rewards. Even those who expressed their loyalty verbally could be promoted.

But problems soon arose. The ranks of some officials in Luoyang were not lower than Yang Xuangan's. How could he promote them?

...............

(End of this chapter)