Chapter 343: Killing the King and Usurping the Throne, God-Given Opportunity

Wuzhou City, Earl's Mansion.

Today is the seventeenth day since Liu Ziyu, Earl of Wuzhou, refused to follow the order of the Ministry of War to transfer the troops in Wuzhou City to Liaodong to participate in the war. It is also the thirteenth day of the Battle of Talas between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire.

At this time, the news of the Battle of Talas had already been intercepted by Liu Ziyu.

After learning that Lan Yu, Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty, was defeated in Talas and almost died on the battlefield, Liu Ziyu finally began to face up to Bater, the son of the Khan of the fallen Turkic country.

At the same time, it also strengthened his determination to disobey the order and raise troops to fight against Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian and the court.

He even broke up with his adoptive father Liu Xinwu.

Prior to this, the Ministry of War had issued three orders to transfer troops to Liu Ziyu in accordance with the order of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian, including an imperial edict issued by the emperor himself, urging Liu Ziyu to hurry up and send troops to Liaodong.

However, Liu Ziyu refused all of them on the grounds that the war in Mobei had started again and the remnants of the Turks were coming.

Even when his adoptive father Liu Xinwu personally accompanied the eunuchs of the imperial court's Silijian to Wuzhou City to announce the imperial decree, Liu Ziyu stayed at home and did not give Liu Xinwu any face at all.

Not only that, under Liu Ziyu's instigation, the garrison generals of the eight neighboring cities of Weizhou, Youzhou, and Zhuozhou also refused to execute the military transfer order, and formed an offensive and defensive alliance with Liu Ziyu, who was adjacent to Mobei, to jointly fight against the court.

Among them, Liu Ziyu not only coerced but also lured.

He first threatened the "Tea and Horse Case" to force the generals of the Sixteen States of Youyun who had participated in it to obey him, and then lured these generals by dividing the world equally after the success of the war.

In this way, these Youyun generals who were tied to Liu Ziyu's warships had to follow him to the end.

In recent times, these Youyun generals, including Liu Ziyu, have been nervous and worried, waiting for the day when the Arab Empire's eastward expedition army will bypass the northern desert and directly take the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

However, Liu Ziyu and his group of arrogant soldiers and brave generals have not waited for Bater, the son of the fallen Khan of the Turkic country, to bring the Arab Empire's eastward expedition army that "beat up" Lan Yu, the Anxi Marquis of the Tang Dynasty in Talas. Instead, they have waited for the news that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian ordered the relocation of the capital and personally led the expedition!

On this day, in the Earl's Mansion in Wuzhou City.

The generals of Liu Ziyu's faction from all over Youyun gathered in the Earl's Mansion to discuss the matter of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian personally leading the expedition to the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

Luo Ping'an, the general of Youzhou, was loud and impatient. Before Liu Ziyu came to the meeting hall, he shouted in a loud voice: "Generals--"

"I heard that the emperor had the Ministry of War mobilize 260,000 troops from all over the country to come to Youyun to punish the crimes. It is said that they also include the elite cavalry that the emperor raised in Longcheng that year--Iron Pagoda!"

Hiss--

As soon as these words came out, all the Youyun generals in the meeting hall took a breath of cold air.

Zhao Xiaofei, the garrison general of Zhuozhou, immediately stood up from his chair and asked solemnly: "General Luo, is this news true?"

Yes!

"It's absolutely true!"

Luo Ping'an nodded and said, "This news was sent to me by a sworn brother in the Ministry of War at the risk of his life from Jinling City overnight;"

"As soon as I learned the news, I reported it to the deputy general. That's why I summoned you all to discuss this matter today!"

"It's over!"

After getting a positive answer, Zhao Xiaofei, the garrison general of Zhuozhou, was disheartened.

The other generals present were not much better, with droopy faces, as if their father had died!