Chapter 155: Meeting the Prince of Guo (5)

This fellow is simply endless?!

Kong Sheng gave a cold smile and turned back to look at Li Chuan without any fear.

Although Li Chuan was the Prince of Guo's heir, Kong Sheng was also a student of the Son of Heaven and an official of the imperial court. In formal occasions and before the public crowd, as long as he did not overstep boundaries or lose propriety, there was no need to fear him.

Besides, Kong Sheng had never planned to make a living under the Prince of Guo from the very beginning, so naturally, he did not care about offending Li Chuan.

What was more, after the defense of Suiyang, regardless of success or failure, the two rebel-suppression armies of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi would launch a massive offensive into Guannei and Luoyang, and the recovery of the Central Plains was just around the corner. By then, the Prince of Guo's "position" of commanding the military and political affairs of Henan and Jiangbei would be stripped away and replaced by Guo Ziyi.

The Prince of Guo would simply be restored to an ordinary Commandery Prince. There were plenty of imperial clansmen in the world; without military power in his hands, the Prince of Guo would just be an ordinary royal family member who could not influence the bigger picture.

"Your Highness, the rise and fall of the world concerns every single person. Now that the country is facing a crisis, though I, Kong Sheng, lack talent, I have received the boundless grace of the Sovereign and am willing to cast personal life and death aside to serve the imperial court. Is there anything wrong with that?" Kong Sheng's voice was calm. Though it could not be called a tit-for-tat retort, his words were sharp and advanced step by step, rendering Li Chuan speechless once again.

*I am simply not afraid of death, I am simply overestimating my capabilities, and I am simply willing to die to save the country from crisis—come and bite me if you dare? !!!*

At this very moment, perhaps Kong Sheng himself did not realize that the rogue-like stubbornness, the reckless and fearless tenacity that still lingered deep within the blood and bones of the "former Kong Sheng," would occasionally flash out at certain times.

"As for state affairs and the survival situation in Henan, as an imperial official, Kong Sheng naturally has his own observations and feelings in his heart. As a local official, is turning a blind eye to the suffering of the common people truly the duty of an official? I am willing to be a mere vanguard in the imperial court's grand enterprise of suppressing the rebellion, and I will exert my utmost strength until my dying breath!" Kong Sheng smiled faintly, and his tone abruptly shifted: "Now that His Majesty has ascended the throne in Lingwu, the righteous armies of the realm respond to the call from all directions. The two grand armies of Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi are forming a pincer movement against the rebel forces of the traitor An, and the recovery of Guannei and Luoyang is imminent, which will naturally resolve the crisis in Henan. This is why Kong Sheng believes Suiyang will not necessarily fall into enemy hands."

Kong Sheng spoke fluently and eloquently. Xue Sheng, the Prefect of Pengcheng, glanced at him, maintaining an expressionless exterior, but secretly praised him inwardly. He thought to himself that although this kid was young, he possessed extraordinary talent and exceptional insight. Right or wrong aside, just being able to place the grand situation of the world within his personal perspective was enough to demonstrate his uncommon courage and breadth of mind.

Li Chuan spat derisively: "A child's view, how utterly shallow! The rebel forces of the traitor An possess hundreds of thousands of troops, rely on Hedong as their stronghold, invade Henan, and threaten Hexi and Longyou. They have long grown too powerful, and the imperial court's suppression forces are progressing slowly. Relying solely on scattered troops in Henan, it is utterly impossible to contend with the rebel army. In a mere tiny speck of land like Suiyang, with only those few thousand troops under Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, it can never be defended."

"If Suiyang is lost, I hope County Magistrate Kong will be true to his words and meet his death with heroic resolve, rather than acting like Linghu Chao and others—fleeing at the mere sound of trouble or surrendering to open the city gates, becoming a traitor whose infamy lasts for ages!"

Li Chuan scoffed, raising his hand to point arrogantly at Kong Sheng. Prince of Guo Li Ju wore a gloomy expression and remained silent.

Kong Sheng laughed instead of getting angry, sneering inwardly: *What the hell do you know! If you, the Prince of Guo, hadn't led a heavy army to flee Henan, retreated to guard Pengcheng, and focused solely on self-preservation, how could various places in Henan have fallen so quickly? If you hadn't stood idly by regarding the crisis in Suiyang and ignored Zhang Xun's dispatched pleas for help, how could Suiyang have fallen and perished after holding out for a whole year?*

*Starting from the Prince of Guo, you people are all shameful deserters, yet you turn around to mock Linghu Chao and others. Isn't this just the fifty steps laughing at the hundred steps?*

However, Kong Sheng knew very well that these thoughts should only be muttered to himself; if spoken aloud, not to mention Li Chuan, even Li Ju and Li Xuan would fly into a rage and flip out on the spot.

To put it bluntly, this was Kong Sheng's historical and value perspective as a time-traveler. Set within this era, such views and arguments were often major taboos that must not even be mentioned.

"Your Highness, looking across the realm, the land of Suiyang is inherently insignificant. Yet the land of Suiyang is also tied to the overall situation of Henan and Jiangbei. If Suiyang falls, the entire Henan will completely fall into the hands of the rebel army. If the rebel forces capitalize on their momentum of great victory and lead a massive army southward, Pengcheng will be in danger."

Li Ju's heart stirred, his eyebrows lifted, and he listened quietly to what Kong Sheng would say next. In fact, Li Ju knew better than anyone that if Henan completely fell, the situation in Jiangbei would also become extremely difficult. However, for the sake of self-preservation and preserving his own strength, Li Ju had no desire to engage in a life-or-death battle with the rebel forces. He had long made up his mind that if the rebel forces launched a massive offensive against Jiangbei, he would not defend Pengcheng to the death; instead, he would continue to retreat toward Jiangnan, extending the flames of war to dozens of prefectures in Jiangnan. With the prosperous Jiangnan as his rear base, he did not care at all.

Kong Sheng saw right through Li Ju's thoughts. This was an important factor in his low regard for the Prince of Guo. If everyone belonging to the Tang imperial court were as selfish, narrow-minded, and cowardly in the face of war as the Prince of Guo, this realm and country would inevitably fall into the hands of the rebel An.

Kong Sheng smiled slightly and continued: "Therefore, Suiyang cannot be lost. By defending Suiyang, Henan can be protected, which means Jiangbei is protected. From the perspective of the overall situation, the imperial court thus issued an edict commanding Commissioner Yang of Jiangnan to reorganize the Jiangnan troops and march north to resist the thieves. Lord Li's trip to Jiangnan this time is precisely for this purpose."

At this point, Kong Sheng cast a deep, meaningful gaze toward Li Fuguo.

Li Ju and the others also turned their heads somewhat unexpectedly to look at Li Fuguo. Li Fuguo's true mission in coming to Jiangnan had not yet spread to Jiangbei due to blocked communications.

The corners of Li Fuguo's mouth twitched, and his expression turned slightly awkward, but he still nodded slowly and said in a deep voice: "That's right. This old servant came to Jiangnan to issue the imperial edict this time because the imperial court has conferred upon Yang Qi the title of Grand Commander of Military Expeditions for the Two Circuits of Jiangnan, along with the儀同三司 official rank. He will soon command the Jiangnan garrison to march north and resist the thieves."

Li Ju let out a soft exclamation. Due to the chaos of war and blocked information, he did not know that Li Heng's court had already bestowed higher official ranks and titles upon Yang Qi, nor did he know about the edict ordering Yang Qi to lead his troops northward. Hearing this, he felt somewhat shocked.

At the same time, he felt a measure of dissatisfaction and jealousy. He considered himself to be holding the front line against the rebels, yet the emperor had not bestowed any praise upon him, breeding resentment in his heart.

"Therefore, once Commissioner Yang's Jiangnan troops march north and merge with the Jiangnan-Jiangbei grand army, the Henan rebels will actually no longer be anything to worry about." Kong Sheng's voice lowered, his peripheral vision sweeping across Li Fuguo, whose expression was gloomy and mouth twitching: "With the country in crisis, if all parties and factions unite as one heart to jointly resist the traitor An, why worry that the traitor An will not be annihilated?"

Others might not catch the deeper meaning in Kong Sheng's words, but Li Fuguo heard every single word clearly and distinctly. He began to tremble inwardly; Kong Sheng's vague and veiled warning was completely piercing to the heart. He suddenly realized that even though he had submitted a memorial accusing Yang Qi of suspected treason, without conclusive evidence—and with the emperor currently in urgent need of people—how could the emperor use the mere words of a eunuch to force a regional military commissioner into rebellion?

Conversely, if Yang Qi truly led his troops northward, even if it were just for show, the suspicion of treason would be instantly washed clean. Li Heng's imperial throne was not yet firmly seated, and he would definitely not easily move against a powerful regional commissioner like Yang Qi who held local military and political authority.

By that time, the one in misfortune would likely be Li Fuguo himself.

Li Fuguo broke out in a cold sweat and sat there feeling somewhat upset and restless.

Kong Sheng kept his composure as he observed Li Fuguo. From Li Fuguo's subtle expression changes, he had roughly gauged the situation. He knew that his purpose in seeking an audience with the Prince of Guo today to test Li Fuguo had basically been achieved. With these words of his, given Li Fuguo's gloomy, suspicious, and fickle personality, there was an eighty percent chance he would not rashly report Yang Qi for treason to the imperial court.

At the very least, under the premise that Yang Qi's treason had not become an established fact, he would not dare to make a reckless report.

Kong Sheng thought to himself that upon leaving the Prince of Guo's residence, he must immediately write a confidential letter to Yang Qi, warning him that he must take action with practical measures to clarify and wash away the suspicion surrounding the Yang family.

In fact, Yang Qi was no fool. With his political wisdom and mental acumen, it was impossible for him to have no countermeasures against Li Fuguo fleeing Jiangning.

At this moment, Yang Qi had actually already submitted a memorial to the imperial court, claiming that the imperial envoy Li Fuguo had mysteriously gone missing during his travels, and that he had dispatched troops to search everywhere without success, and so on. Yang Qi took the initiative to plead guilty to the imperial court while simultaneously issuing a declaration in Jiangning to reorganize the military and prepare for war, stating that he would obey the imperial edict and lead ten thousand elite troops from the two circuits of Jiangnan to march north and resist the thieves shortly.

Yang Qi spoke very eloquently, but to put it bluntly, it was merely going through the motions without any substantive action. However, gathering provisions and preparing the military were real; as to whether they would march north against the rebels or harbor other ulterior motives, only he himself knew.

Of course, to make the matter solid, avoid future criticism, and make the play appear more authentic, Yang Qi ordered his own directly subordinate elite guard force of three thousand men to leave Jiangning and march north to Runzhou, under the banner of being the vanguard of the Jiangnan grand army marching north to resist the rebels.

Just as he had agreed in his secret discussion with Kong Sheng that day, if the defense of Taiyuan personally commanded by Li Guangbi failed, it would mean the Li Tang court no longer had the capacity to recover Guannei and Central Plains. Once that happened, the realm would surely fall into separatist warlordism and renewed beacon fires. As a local emperor in the Jiangnan region, he would not be willing to lag behind others and would raise the banner of self-reliance in Jiangnan.

And these three thousand men marching north to Runzhou would also take advantage of the situation to seize Runzhou and the Shannan line, incorporating most of the territories of Jiangnan, Shannan, and Huainan into the Yang family's sphere of influence amidst the chaos, standing as a rival to the Prince of Guo Li Ju in Jiangbei.

Of course, if Li Guangbi successfully defended Taiyuan and advanced his troops into the Central Plains, then this vanguard force of three thousand would be important evidence for Yang Qi to claim credit and seek rewards from the imperial court.

Kong Sheng suddenly realized: could the Prince of Guo Li Ju in Jiangbei, by preserving his personal strength in this manner, also harbor rebellious thoughts of sitting back to watch developments or even taking advantage of the fire?

At this thought, he could not help looking toward the gloomy Prince of Guo Li Ju. Mulling over this in his mind for a long time, he felt that this was entirely possible.

With the realm in chaos, various careerists ran amok. Under such circumstances, for any leader of a major faction holding military power to harbor the thought of raising troops to seize the realm and don the yellow robe, it was actually the most normal thing in the world.