Chapter 144 General

Some people suggested that Yang Xuangan should first be crowned king, while others thought that he should not be ostentatious. However, Li Zixiong said bluntly: "Now that it has come to this, the whole world is watching. If we are timid, how can we win the hearts of the people? It is better to be crowned emperor, show favor to the people and win the hearts of the people."

However, Wei Fusi and Li Mi both opposed it. When Yang Xuangan asked the reason, they both remained silent.

In his heart, Wei Fusi still looked down on Yang Xuangan, thinking that Yang Xuangan used such despicable means to force him to submit, and was not worthy of ruling the world. And now that he had taken control of Luoyang, it was not because of his superior means, but he was just taking advantage of the opportunity.

However, Li Mi felt that something was unusual. It would be fine if everything that happened in Luoyang City was arranged by them, but it was not. This meant that in addition to the emperor and them, there was another force that was confusing the situation.

Under such circumstances, it is not a good thing to rashly proclaim yourself emperor and cause discussion throughout the world.

But he did not dare to say he wanted to sue, because due to his frequent dissuasion, the two of them had begun to disagree. Yang Xuangan would rather discuss many things with Wei Fusi than call him.

However, after Yang Xuangan captured Luoyang, which he had longed for, he had gotten rid of his original mentality of planning for retreat. Now he was full of pride and even planned to humiliate Li Jiancheng in the future.

But he knew his own business, and he did not need to ask for advice on the battlefield, but he had to consider the opinions of Wei Fusi and Li Mi in political affairs.

Therefore, he specially called two people over. Yang Xuangan stood in front of Yang Guang's dragon chair, and from time to time he reached out to touch the fine and delicate dragon scales on it. What was the point of being a high-ranking official? Did he dare to touch this chair?

This was the situation the two saw when they arrived. They both frowned at the same time, but didn't say anything.

Yang Xuangan turned around and looked at the two of them and said, "Whether to be crowned king or emperor directly, this still needs to be discussed with the two of you. There are only three of us here, so you can speak frankly."

Wei Fusi did not say anything, and Yang Xuangan was already used to it, but he was not angry. The garrison commander of Chang'an City was the King of Dai, and the King of Dai's maternal family was the Wei family. He still had to rely on Wei Fusi in many ways.

He still believed that the capture of Luoyang City was due to Wei Fusi's contribution. Little did he know that Wei Fusi used the excuse of advising his relatives and old friends every day to send letters about the strength of Yang Xuangan's troops.

But I didn’t expect that Luoyang City would actually open.

Li Mi sighed and said, "In the past, Chen Sheng wanted to be king, but Zhang Er advised him but was rejected. Wei Wu sought the supreme position, but Xun Yu stopped him and was executed. Now I want to speak to Yang Gong, but I am afraid of following the footsteps of the above two gentlemen. It is easy to flatter Yang Gong, but it is not my original intention."

Yang Xuangan strode down the steps and said, "Master, you and I are not king and subject, but close friends. We have been raising the banner of justice together until now. How could I be so arrogant? Just speak frankly."

Li Mi looked at Yang Xuangan for a long time before saying, "Since we started the army, we have won many battles, but only bandits have responded to us, and the counties have not made any moves. We have even sent government troops to attack us many times. In this situation, how can we claim to be king or emperor?"

Yang Xuangan laughed when he heard this and said, "I thought it was a flaw, Lord, there are naturally people in the counties and prefectures of the world who secretly respond to us, but I saw that the Eastern Capital has not been conquered, so I asked them to keep it secret.

Now that we have entered Luoyang, we will let them respond in unison to show their strength."

Li Mi did not look at all relieved: "Among the more than 190 counties in the country, are there 70 or 80 that will respond?"

The smile on Yang Xuangan's face froze. If he had such power, he would have rebelled long ago. Why did he have to wait until Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo to rebel?

"No."

"Twenty or thirty counties?"

“That should be the case.”

"Should?" Yang Xuangan said helplessly, "People's hearts are fickle. I have been promised these, but whether they will respond depends on the situation. It's normal if there are more or less."

Wei Fusi was full of malice: "Then we shouldn't order them to raise troops to respond. We should wait until Guanzhong is conquered. Then twenty or thirty counties can lead a hundred counties to respond. This is the general trend of people's hearts."

Li Mi's face showed no expression, he just said: "Although the defense of the Eastern Capital is strong, reinforcements from all over the world are coming. You should have stood up and fought hard to take Guanzhong early. Now you are eager to show your self-esteem, aren't you just trying to make people laugh at you?"

Yang Xuangan suppressed his anger and sent the two men out in a gentle manner. After everyone left, he sat on the dragon throne angrily, but he only felt an itchy back and could not sit still at all, nor could he feel the great joy of ruling the world.

…………

When Yang Xuangan entered the Eastern Capital, the offensive and defensive situation changed. After Yang Jishan left a letter to Li Jiancheng, he withdrew back to Luoyang City, while they deployed their troops outside the city.

Li Jiancheng couldn't help laughing after reading the letter, and said to everyone: "Brother Yang, what a mean person you are! I was disdainful of being offered the title of king before, but now Yang Jishan says that I am blind and can only be a marquis."

The people below laughed in unison, but it was obvious that they couldn't laugh anymore. Originally, Yang Xuangan couldn't attack Luoyang, so he was just a turtle in a jar.

But once you enter Luoyang, you will have the potential to make a big leap forward.

At this moment, an angel came to convey an imperial decree. Li Jiancheng led everyone to set up an incense table to receive the decree. The content was generally the same, such as being loyal and dedicated to overcoming difficulties and so on.

In short, everyone was promoted, especially Li Jiancheng, the commander-in-chief of the army. He was directly promoted to General of the Right Guard and Doctor of the Golden Purple Palace, and was granted a fief of 1,000 households.

If everything goes according to plan, it would take at least another twenty years for Li Jiancheng to get such a position after he inherited the title of Duke of Tang, and the prerequisite was to have a dog that was the most attentive and sensible to the emperor.

But now, there is no need, and there is no need to even win a battle. As long as he does not lead the army to join Yang Xuangan and sweep across the entire Guanzhong, he will be a great contributor to the emperor.

Li Jiancheng accepted the imperial edict and expressed his gratitude. He was appointed General of the Right Guard, one of the twelve generals of the imperial guards, a third-rank military officer, in charge of all government affairs and all Yingyang Prefectures.

The rank of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu was of the second rank. Li Jiancheng was still the eldest son of the Duke of Tang, and his official positions and titles were almost at their limit. The only honorary ranks above him were those of Zhuguo, Prince of a County, Shangshu Ling, and the Third Preceptor of the Crown Prince.

It can be seen how anxious and helpless the emperor is now. He has begun to be afraid.

Li Jiancheng's army of 80,000 to 90,000 may not be a big deal, but it also represents the attitude of the Guanlong nobles, at least a considerable part of them.

After Yang Xuangan captured the Eastern Capital and proved his strength and luck, he was qualified and had the opportunity to change the dynasty. So, it was time for representatives of various families to start placing their bets.

The in-laws would instinctively unite together, even if their opinions were not so consistent. Therefore, no matter how unhappy Yang Xuangan was, he had to tolerate Li Mi and Wei Fusi.

And what were Li Mi and Wei Fusi compared to Li Jiancheng? Five or six years ago, these two people were no longer worthy of being mentioned in the same breath with Li Jiancheng.

Although Yang Jishan spoke toughly, as long as Li Jiancheng showed his attitude, he still had to put on a smiling face, offer him the title of prince, and beg him to accept it.

Of course, as to whether there will be revenge in the future, that is a matter for the future. Neither of the Yang brothers is a magnanimous person.

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(End of this chapter)