Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4901 The end of the road

Pei Xingjian was very surprised.

An Yuanshou?
Didn’t the battle report say that at this moment Cheng Yaojin’s Zuo Wuwei had surrounded Fanhe City and the battle had been going on for several days?
Why did An Yuanshou, the commander-in-chief, come to Ganzhou instead of leading his soldiers in Fanhe City?

Who is the person in charge of defending Fanhe City?
Su Liangsi said: "The Duke of Former Liang, the current Duke of Fanhe County, the General of the Left Guard, An Yuanshou."

Pei Xingjian placed the kettle on the desk, frowned and asked in surprise, "Why did this guy come to see me when he is not in Fanhe City?"

As soon as he said this, he realized: "This is a call for help!"

Su Liangsi smiled and said, "The commander-in-chief has a brilliant plan. Duke Lu is eager to return to the capital, the Left Guards are strong, and the Duke of Langya is brave and good at fighting. An Yuanshou knows he cannot win, so he can only ask the Grand Protector-General to mediate."

Pei Xingjian frowned and poured boiling water into the teapot. The tea leaves were brewing and swirling, and a scent of tea wafted out. He said, "Cheng Yaojin moved from Chang'an to Liangzhou and Guzang because your majesty hated An Yuanshou so much. On the surface, it was to prevent An Yuanshou from repenting and repeating his old tricks, but in fact, it was to let Cheng Yaojin find a good opportunity to eliminate him. In this way, there will be no "country within a country" like the An family in Hexi, once and for all. Under such circumstances, how can I go against your majesty's wishes? Besides, even if I am willing to step forward, I can never convince Cheng Yaojin."

Although the Grand Protector of Anxi was a high-ranking official of the second rank, the pinnacle of human officials, he could not control the Sixteen Guards Generals.

This is to hope that he can seek the help of Fang Junzhi, influence His Majesty in the court, and restrain Cheng Yaojin...

This was An Yuanshou's purpose. Pei Xingjian poured two cups of tea, pushed one in front of Su Liangsi, took a sip, and asked, "What do you think?"

He believed that with Su Liangsi's wisdom, he would naturally understand An Yuanshou's intention.

Su Liangsi fiddled with his teacup, pondered for a moment, and said, "The chaos in Hexi will inevitably affect Tubo's strategy. It is indeed necessary to stop this war. But Your Majesty resents An Yuanshou's previous actions. How can Cheng Yaojin retreat without fighting? We can promote peace talks between the two sides, but we must not alarm Chang'an."

An Yuanshou took advantage of the mutiny in Chang'an to raise an army and head for Guanzhong. This was difficult for any emperor to accept. The situation was complicated at the time and the emperor had to tolerate it temporarily. How could he not investigate it later? Therefore, no matter what reasons others gave to persuade His Majesty to let An Yuanshou go, it was impossible and might even backfire on him.

If we want to resolve this war, we can only do so in Hexi.

Pei Xingjian nodded: "That's what I was thinking, let him in."

"Here."

Su Liangsi put down the teacup and turned to leave. After a moment, he brought An Yuanshou in.

An Yuanshou was dressed in rags and looked haggard. No one knew if he dressed like that on purpose or if he had suffered a lot on the way. His beard was messy and he smelled strange. Pei Xingjian had excellent eyesight and could even see lice crawling in and out of his hair and beard...

"Marshal, save me!"

An Yuanshou cried out in grief, then knelt down at Pei Xingjian's feet, prostrating himself on the ground and sobbing.

Pei Xingjian was shocked. In this day and age, people had to kneel to the heavens, the earth, and their parents. Even the king could not easily make people kneel. This was unbearable...

He quickly stood up and took two steps forward, seemingly ignoring An Yuanshou's slovenly appearance. He put his hands on his shoulders and said quickly, "Brother An, how can you do this? Please stand up quickly!"

Su Liangsi was also there to support him.

An Yuanshou stood up and sat down, looking at Pei Xingjian with red eyes: "The clan is about to be destroyed, and the An family is on the verge of despair. I have nowhere else to go and can only risk my life to come to find the Grand Protector. If you can save the An family from destruction, I will repay you with a gift of grass and a ring, and be your slave, even if I die!"

"If you have anything to say, please take your time. Have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up first... I wonder who will be in charge of the troops in Fanhe City since Brother An has come here alone?"

An Yuanshou took the teacup and took a sip, then he exhaled and shook his head, saying, "My family has been robbed and my relatives have been robbed, so I have no choice but to come to the Grand Protector for help. My wife is the only one who can manage the situation at home. I am a man of great stature, but I am humiliated and ashamed to run away from the battlefield!"

Pei Xingjian was a little surprised: "I just read the battle report of Fanhe City. The Zuo Wuwei launched a large-scale attack and used gunpowder and rockets continuously, but returned without success. When the battle report was delivered, Fanhe City was still as strong as a rock... Madam Ling is a heroine."

Trapped in an isolated city, fighting against the most elite Zuowuwei in the Tang Dynasty army, facing Cheng Yaojin, a nobleman of the Zhenguan period and one of the most famous generals in the world... Even if it were any famous general today, he would probably be doomed, but Zhai Liuniang was able to fight on equal terms.

It is no exaggeration to say that "women are as good as men".

However, the more he said this, the more guilty and ashamed An Yuanshou felt. He then said angrily, "I was ordered by the emperor to give up Guzang City, which my ancestors had run for more than ten generations, and moved to Fanhe. I was very careful and cautious, and I did not harm the merchants and travelers. I loved the people in my jurisdiction like my own children. I did nothing wrong. Who would have thought that the old traitor Cheng Yaojin would brazenly raise an army and launch a surprise attack to start a war. He attacked the Tang army on the territory of the Tang Dynasty. He was so cruel and outrageous! I ask the Grand Protector to be fair and reprimand him to stop his cruel behavior and save my An family from the water and fire!"

Having said this, he gnashed his teeth and burst into tears.

He still couldn't understand why Cheng Yaojin was so bold.

He was well aware of His Majesty's hatred, and he also understood Cheng Yaojin's intention of staying in Liangzhou. He was careful everywhere and on guard at all times, not daring to make the slightest mistake that would allow him to be caught. But even so, Cheng Yaojin still launched an attack brazenly.

This happened within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and they were attacking fellow soldiers in the Tang Army!

Pei Xingjian sighed and said to Su Liangsi, "Bring the letter that Duke Lu sent me earlier, and have my brother take a look at it."

"Here."

Su Liangsi turned over, took out a letter from the cabinet beside the desk, and walked over to hand it to An Yuanshou.

An Yuanshou wiped his nose and tears, took the letter in doubt, opened it and took a look. His eyes suddenly widened in shock!
"This, this, this is simply slander!"

Dragon robe?!
The Great Seal?!
Even if you want to frame someone, can you not do it so obviously?

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "This is an official letter from Duke Lu asking the Anxi Army to cut off Fanhe City's retreat route to the west. It cannot be forged."

Whether it is the dragon robe or the national seal, it definitely exists. Although Cheng Yaojin seems to be a bastard and reckless, he is actually very careful and meticulous. It is absolutely impossible for him to make up a "false" crime and execute someone first and then report to the police later.

An Yuanshou's face was filled with shock, anger, and grievance. "My An family has thrived in Liangzhou for more than a dozen generations. No matter whether we were prosperous or declining, we never thought of establishing our own country. Moreover, we made great contributions when the Tang Dynasty was founded. How could we rebel at this time? The so-called dragon robe and national seal are nonsense!"

Pei Xingjian looked calm, but he did not agree with An Yuanshou's words: "It is unfair to say that you, the An family, established your own country, but if you are plotting treason and establishing a new king, it is not groundless."

Su Liangsi said: "It is said that the imperial seal is made of beautiful jade from Khotan, which is very similar to the material of the imperial seal Heshi Bi. Both were collected from the Khotan region at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, and the symbolic meaning is very strong. And the dragon robe was hand-painted with gold thread by craftsmen from the Western Regions, with unique craftsmanship... If it was shipped to Chang'an and given to someone who aspires to seize the throne, it makes perfect sense."

There is actually a logical fallacy here: "Although it cannot be proved to be true, it also cannot be proved to be false," a typical case of presumption of innocence.

But since it involves the supreme imperial power, if there is even the slightest doubt, it can be confirmed as true and irrefutable.

The emperor won't listen to your argument.

An Yuanshou opened his mouth, but could not utter a word...

Pei Xingjian personally poured a cup of tea for An Yuanshou, and said sincerely: "I know why you came here. You don't want to see the meritorious service of the empire fail to complete its beginning and end and perish with the country, and you don't want the entire Hexi to fall into chaos because of the war between you. But what I want to say is that the An family actually has no way out."

An Yuanshou still held out a last glimmer of hope: "As long as the Grand Protector warns Cheng Yaojin, he will definitely stop the attack."

"I am only the Grand Protector of Anxi. How can I govern Duke Lu and his Left Guard? I don't have the power, and I don't have the right to do so."

"Is the Grand Protector going to just watch Fanhe City being slaughtered and turned into a den of ghosts on earth?"

"It's not like there's nothing we can do."

An Yuanshou was in high spirits: "I'd like to hear the details!"

Pei Xingjian said calmly: "Put down your weapons, open the city and surrender! Then the An family will move to Guanzhong, and Brother An will personally come before His Majesty to apologize."

An Yuanshou: "…Abandoning the land where our ancestors lived is no different from death."

Pei Xingjian said calmly: "Then you can go back to Fanhe and wait for death. Why did you have to brave the wind and snow to come to Ganzhou?"

An Yuanshou: “…”

Su Liangsi said, "The An family has a deep foundation and countless wealth. Even if they move to Guanzhong, they are still one of the most powerful families in the world. His Majesty is kind and although he hates your previous betrayal of raising an army without authorization, as long as you come before him and plead guilty, he will certainly forgive you. Not only will the lives of your entire family be safe, but you will most likely not even lose your title."

What he lost was just Liangzhou, which had been managed by more than ten generations, and the official position of General of the Left Guard.

An Yuanshou was in so much pain that he was speechless.

The An family was a royal family of the Parthian Empire. They came to Liangzhou to escape the war and brought a lot of wealth with them. They have been working hard in Liangzhou for more than ten generations and are now the richest in the world. However, all the money in the family was entrusted to An Yongda to take to Chang'an, where it was looted by Cheng Yaojin. All that was left were real estate such as land and houses. Once the whole family migrated, it would be difficult to sell these things for a good price.

It would require a huge amount of money to buy land and properties for a large number of clan members to move to Guanzhong. Where would they get so much money?
Pei Xingjian said: "If Brother An listens to my advice, I can also ask the Duke of Yue to say a few good words for you in front of His Majesty. That's all I have to say. Brother An, take care of yourself."