Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4902 Solution
An Yuanshou had a bitter face, not knowing how to make a decision.

On one hand, the family business that more than a dozen generations have worked hard to build was lost in one day, completely bidding farewell to the realm of the aristocratic family; on the other hand, being trapped in an isolated city and fighting in a desperate situation may lead to the destruction of the entire clan... Both glasses of wine are poisonous.

Su Liangsi advised gently: "As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. People must be alive to have a family, otherwise how can we talk about other things? Besides, the commander's suggestion is very kind. After all, even if the An family agrees to move to Guanzhong, it still needs the approval of Your Majesty. It is inevitable that the Duke of Yue will advise Your Majesty... Whether it will succeed or not is still a matter of time."

Keep the pressure on.

Pei Xingjian continued, "In any case, Brother An must make a decision early. The Left Guard is very powerful. Everyone regards Fan He as a hero who has returned to Chang'an. They must be fearless and brave. Brother An's troops may not be able to hold out for a few days."

An Yuanshou gritted his teeth and said, "My subordinates, the Zuo Xiaowei, are no pushovers. The brothers are fighting to the death, and no one dares to guarantee victory."

This is just talking too hard. Being on the verge of despair can indeed make everyone united and their fighting power soar, but it may also accelerate collapse...

Pei Xingjian shook his head and poured another cup of tea for An Yuanshou: "If Brother An is so confident, then I can only wish Brother An a successful start. I will have someone prepare a banquet to entertain Brother An. You can stay here tonight and return to Fanhe early tomorrow morning. Although my sister-in-law is a heroine, she is not the commander of an army. It is difficult for her to stabilize the morale of the army in times of crisis. Brother An is still needed to take charge of the overall situation."

"I……"

An Yuanshou knew that this was Pei Xingjian's bottom line, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, "Then I'll follow the Grand Protector's words, but I also have a request. I beg the Grand Protector to send someone to escort the An family to Guanzhong to ensure their safety, otherwise Cheng Yaojin, that villain, might kill them."

Given His Majesty's hatred for the An family, whether he secretly instructed Cheng Yaojin to kill them all, or Cheng Yaojin guessed His Majesty's intention and killed them, the journey to Guanzhong would surely be full of dangers...

Pei Xingjian then laughed out loud: "This is what should be expected. Although An was wrong, his crime does not deserve death. It is our duty to protect the safety of the An family."

He looked at Su Liangsi and ordered, "Let's stop for a while before heading to Tubo. You will lead a brigade to Fanhe first, and meet Duke Lu with my seal of commander, asking him to suspend the attack. When Fanhe opens the city and surrenders, you must keep both armies calm. The three parties will jointly report the details to His Majesty, and then wait for His Majesty's order on the spot."

Su Liangsi understood what he meant, suppressed his gratitude, and said solemnly: "I obey your command."

This is a credit given to him for free.

Your Majesty deeply hates the An family for stabbing you in the back at the critical moment. This is a great shame for a king, but it is not necessary to see the entire An family annihilated. If the entire An family can be moved to Guanzhong and brought under the control of the court, there will no longer be a "country within a country" like the An family in Hexi, and the imperial power will cover the prefectures and counties, and government orders can be implemented. At the same time, the fields and properties accumulated by the An family for more than ten generations can be taken back into the imperial treasury, then it is not necessary to let the An family go.

In this way, he would not be branded as a "meritorious massacrer" and at the same time, he would be able to enrich the An family's century-old fortune. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. Why not do it?
The An family was able to preserve its clan and avoid being wiped out. Cheng Yaojin was able to get the merit he wanted without a life-and-death battle, and his return to Chang'an was just around the corner. Su Liangsi was able to get some credit for nothing, and Pei Xingjian was able to sit in Hexi and calmly avert a brutal war of fratricide, which was also a great achievement.

Su Liangsi praised and admired him in his heart. In such a short period of time, he came up with such a strategy that catered to the interests of all parties, and he handled the process just right. He was truly an outstanding strategic man and had the ability to be a prime minister. Su Liangsi felt ashamed of himself for not being as good as him.

An Yuanshou's face was tangled, and after a long time he sighed and had to bow his head to accept the reality: "The Grand Protector's strategy is unparalleled, and I admire him deeply. If he is lucky enough to survive in the future, this kindness will definitely be remembered by the whole clan and will never be forgotten."

As long as Fang Jun advises them, the lives of the An family can be saved. As for the other extravagant wealth... they can no longer care about it.

Immediately, Su Liangsi led a brigade of soldiers to escort An Yuanshou from Ganzhou and rushed along the official road to Fanhe City.

When they reached 50 miles west of Fanhe City, they found that the road had been blocked by the elite cavalry of the Left Guard. Cavalry was not needed in a siege, so the most elite troops of the Left Guard were placed here. Not only did they block the road to prevent the defenders of Fanhe City from retreating, but they also stopped merchants heading east and did not allow them to enter the war zone.

Su Liangsi personally came to the front army, lifted up his helmet in the wind and snow, looked sharp, raised the token of the Grand Protector of Anxi, and said in a cold voice: "I am ordered by the Grand Protector of Anxi to go to Fanhe City on official business. You all should get out of the way quickly!"

The Zuowuwei cavalry hurried forward to check the token, and after confirming that it was correct, they immediately moved the barricades away and cleared the way.

Su Liangsi ordered, "Which general is leading the army to attack Fanhe City at this moment?"

"He is the General of the Left Guard and the Duke of Langya."

"Send someone to inform General Niu immediately, and tell him that I have arrived at the city of Fanhe to meet him, and invite him to come and see me."

"Here."

The soldiers of the Zuowu Guard did not dare to be negligent. The Anxi Protector-General was not only higher in rank than the Sixteen Guards' Generals, but he was also a strategic stronghold of the empire. More than 100,000 Anxi troops guarding the Western Regions could be called the world's number one frontier official. Even the prime minister in the court did not dare to take it lightly and would never disobey his orders.

……

Su Liangsi led a brigade of cavalry and advanced in the wind and snow. It was already evening when they arrived at the city of Fanhe. The snow had subsided slightly, but the wind had increased sharply. The snow on the ground that had not yet frozen was blown up by the north wind and raged between heaven and earth. The outline of Fanhe City in the distance was blurred and looming in the vastness.

When they arrived at the Macheng River, scouts from the Zuo Wuwei came and led them to see Niu Jinda and his group of several hundred people stationed by the river. They had piled up snow on the river bank to block the cold wind, and then set up a tent, which was rustling in the strong wind.

Niu Jinda did not dare to be arrogant after receiving the news. He not only came to meet him, but also stood in the cold wind to greet him, and then took Su Liangsi's hand and walked into the tent.

Now that a new emperor has ascended the throne and a new dynasty has taken place, the former nobles of the Zhenguan period are no longer popular. The old guys have either been gradually transferred or slowly lost their power, especially the military. Now it is the young generation represented by Fang Jun who rules the world. These young people are bold and capable, and not only have they kept the country conquered by the nobles of the Zhenguan period impregnable, but they have also formulated a series of grand strategies, allowing the influence of the imperial army to continue to spread outward.

Whether in the far west or on the sea, the Tang army marched forward triumphantly and swept across the world, spreading the might of the Tang Dynasty to every piece of land and every sea under the sky.

This is something that the nobles of the Zhenguan period could never do.

The future life is to be feared.

The two men went into the tent hand in hand and sat down separately. Niu Jinda said affectionately, "Your father and I are old friends. We served together under Emperor Taizong in the past and were very compatible with each other. It's a pity that your father passed away suddenly, and I am very sad about it. But fortunately, my nephew is very capable and has a bright future. Your father should be comforted by this."

Su Liangsi quickly stood up and said respectfully, "My late father has mentioned the Duke of Langya many times in front of me, saying that you are brave and good at fighting, the bravest among the three armies, and that you are a gentleman who observes etiquette and respects me very much."

His father, Su Shichang, once served as the military advisor of the "Tian Ce Mansion" and was also listed as one of the "Eighteen Scholars". Niu Jinda had an old relationship with him and was considered Su Liangsi's elder...

"Hey, I mentioned the past to show that there is no need to be formal between you and me, not to act like an elder in front of you. Come on, take a seat and have a glass of wine to warm yourself up."

"Thank you, Lord."

Sitting down again, Niu Jinda poured a glass of wine for Su Liangsi and watched him drink it. He didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The evidence of An Yuanshou's conspiracy to rebel is solid, and there is also the signature of Gu Zang Yin to prove it. In order to prevent him from taking risks and causing chaos in Hexi, our general had to attack him repeatedly. At the same time, he has already sent an urgent message to Chang'an 800 miles away to inform him of the details. But I don't know why the Anxi Protectorate intervened and what they want to do?"

Su Liangsi said: "An Yuanshou is in our army right now."

Niu Jinda glared and said, "Why is my dear nephew associating with this rebel? Come on, go and capture this beast!"

"Please be patient, Lord."

Su Liangsi smiled and stopped Niu Jinda: "Why is the county lord doing this? Although the An family has committed the crime of treason, it is necessary for Your Majesty to issue an imperial decree to arrest and punish them. Duke Lu has already overstepped his authority by starting a war without authorization."

"A traitor should be punished by everyone, and it cannot be called usurpation."

"That being said, the court has its own laws. If everyone follows the example of Duke Lu, wouldn't the world be in chaos? I'm afraid the gentlemen in the court will not approve of it."

Whether it is treason is not up to you, Cheng Yaojin, and Niu Jinda to decide. Even if the evidence is conclusive, it still needs to be tried by the three judges and judged by Your Majesty before the final punishment can be imposed.

How can it be justified for you to talk to yourself and then attack with cavalry? Do you really think those imperial censors in the court are vegetarians?
Your ultimate goal is to comply with His Majesty's wishes and eliminate An Yuanshou, and then return to Chang'an with merit. However, if this matter is widely discussed in the court, and the censors are eager to impeach and criticize you, I'm afraid things will not go as smoothly as imagined. Once there are twists and turns, the matter of returning to Chang'an will be delayed or even cancelled...

Although Niu Jinda was brave in battle, he was not stupid. He just didn't like to use his brain because Cheng Yaojin gave him advice. After listening to Su Liangsi's words, he thought about it for a while and realized that it made sense.

After a pause, he asked, "What does the Grand Protector say?"

The "Tibetan Strategy" was initiated by the Ministry of War. To put it bluntly, Fang Jun was the mastermind behind the scenes. Therefore, even an arrogant and domineering person like Cheng Yaojin did not dare to ignore Pei Xingjian's opinion. Once the "Tibetan Strategy" was destroyed and angered Fang Jun, that guy would be angry and interfere regardless of their past friendship. It would take who knows when the Left Guard would be able to return to Chang'an...