In the north of Yin County, here is about fifty miles away from Tongguan, the north is the towering Qinling Mountains, steep and steep, the mountain shape is abrupt and strange, forming a huge valley, the valley is densely wooded, the stream is murmuring, but the land is very barren, only scattered some small villages that rely on the mountains to eat the mountains.

In one of its valleys, there is a small village called Hanzhuang, where most of the people in the village live a closed and peaceful life by collecting medicine and hunting.

But on this day, the peaceful life of the people in the village was disrupted, and a huge army suddenly drove in front of their village and set up camp.

The village chief of Hanzhuang often went to Chang'an to sell medicine, he knew that in the past few months there had been a large army to Tongguan, but no army was stationed in the middle of the road, one day, the village chief was invited by the soldiers, and when he returned, he never said a word about this army, no matter to anyone, not even his wife and father.

Fortunately, the presence of troops here did not interfere with their lives, and it was even quieter than their village, which made people wonder if it would be an empty camp.

This army was the Anxi army that came from Fengxiang, and they marched day and night, and then drove to Huayin County in only one day and one night, and hid in this valley.

This day was the beginning of the month, and it was also the fifth day that Geshuhan's army left Tongguan.

A cavalry scout came galloping from the east, jumped off his horse and entered the barracks, and ran straight to the tent in a panic.

"General, there is an urgent military situation!"

The scout flew into the tent and said to Li Qing, who was reclining on the chair and reading: "General, I don't know where to kill a rebel army outside Tongguan, about 10,000 people. ”

"Got it, probe again!"

The scout took the order and left. Li Qing slowly closed the book, his originally relaxed expression gradually became solemn, although history was advanced by two years, but it did not deviate from its track, everything coincided, if it was a coincidence, then this kind of coincidence was too weird.

It was time for him to make a move, and he slowly walked to the tent door, staring at the remnant sun in the distance. The fiery red light was sown on the Guan Plains, but in Li Qing's eyes, they were not flames, but the blood of 300,000 soldiers.

He knew that outside of his Tongguan, another fiasco of the officers and soldiers of the Tang Dynasty was about to happen, although he knew, but he did not stop it, maybe this is the environment that changed people, and the cruel political struggle in more than ten years. His heart has long been hardened, and he has no sympathy, he needs this defeat of the Tang Army, and then it will be his turn to appear on the stage of history. Moreover, from a certain point of view, Yang Guozhong and Ge Shuhan had a bad relationship, and it was not him who planned it.

He was just about to enter the camp when suddenly a deep voice sounded behind him, "General, I have something to look for you!" ”

Li Qing turned around. Seeing that it was his lieutenant Li Siye, his face was melancholy, and his eyes were a little sad.

"Come on! Come in and talk. ”

Li Qing grabbed his shoulders. Let him into the big tent, the two of them sat down, a personal soldier came in and served tea, Li Qing picked up the teacup, quickly glanced at him, and saw that he seemed to be in a heavy mood. couldn't help laughing and said, "What is it that makes us iron men so worried?" ”

"Isn't the general worried? Soldiers are at great speed. Win with whims. Ge Shuhan led an army of 300,000 to the east slowly, and he was able to win many victories. Aren't those rebels just waiting there to kill him? With such an obvious plan to lure the enemy, he couldn't see it? ”

Li Siye sighed, "I'm worried that Cui Qianyou will make a surprise attack on the small road to take Tongguan, if the defenders are negligent in guarding against it, Tongguan will be lost, and I will take a break from the Tang Dynasty!" ”

Li Qing smiled and said: "Heiye has a clear mind and anticipates the enemy first, which is good!" I have just received information that Cui Qianyou's army of about 10,000 people has arrived in Tongguan. ”

"What!" Li Siye stood up, "Then general, why don't we go to Tongguan?" Do you want to see him lost? ”

Li Qing glanced at him, but did not speak, Li Siye sat down in a daze, he suddenly understood something, Li Qing has been stationed in Huayin, did he already know that there would be this result?

At this moment, he was in a state of confusion, looking at Li Qing in a daze, unable to say a word, Li Qing slowly walked to his side, pinched his shoulder, and slowly walked to the tent door, looking at the last touch of sunset swallowed by the mountains, for a long time, he said in a somewhat hoarse voice: "I, like you, are loyal to Datang, and hope that the prosperous era of Kaiyuan can be reappeared, but my Datang is already terminally ill, from top to bottom, it is filled with the smell of decayIt is now falling into darkness, but tomorrow it will rise just as much, and it will be the rising sun. ”

Li Qing turned around slowly, stared at Li Siye, his eyes glowed with a strange look, and said word by word: "I hope you don't object to what I want to do." ”

Although Li Siye couldn't understand what he was saying, he felt Li Qing's sincerity, especially when he said the words 'loyal to the Tang Dynasty', his eyes were full of nostalgia, which made Li Siye deeply moved, and he nodded silently to express his support for his decision.

Suddenly, there was a burst of exclamations outside the door, Li Qing was surprised, he walked out of the big tent in a few steps, and said angrily: "What's the fluster? ”

"Look, General!" A pro-soldier pointed into the distance, Li Qing followed his finger and saw a faint fire in the distance, at this time Li Siye also followed, he was suddenly startled, and blurted out: "That's Huayin County!" ”

"Come on, go check the situation quickly!" Li Qing hurriedly turned around and ordered his own soldiers, he was a little nervous, Guan had no soldiers, but a fire suddenly broke out in Huayin County, and he was worried that An Lushan's army had been killed.

Before the people who went to investigate left, a scout scattered around the periphery galloped in, he turned over and dismounted, and half-knelt on the ground to report: "Report to the general, Huayin County has been sacked by the Tongguan army, and the entire county has been burned!" ”

Li Qing and Li Siye looked at each other, and they both realized at the same time that it was very likely that something had happened to Tongguan, and at this moment, another team of scouts drove over, and the sound of horses' hooves broke through the dusk twilight, and they brought news that almost stunned everyone: the Tongguan guards surrendered to the rebels, and Tongguan had been lost!

About a quarter of an hour later, all the generals of the Anxi Army, Duan Xiushi, Nan Jiyun, Xi Yuanqing, Tian Zhen, Lifei Yuanli, He Lou Yurun and others spontaneously came to the Shuai tent.

The 300,000 Tang troops were more auspicious, and the rebels occupied Tongguan. Now there is only one army left in the pass, and it is time for them to come out

It's time for Liangdi.

"The general gives the order! Taking advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold, we retake Tongguan! ”

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—

"General, Tongguan has been lost, we should rush to Chang'an now and rectify Chang'an's defense!"

.

Everyone asked for troops to fight.

"Bang!" With a bang, Li Qing slapped the table and shouted, "Shut up for me!" ”

There was a sudden silence in the tent. Everyone looked at the boss and waited for him to speak. Li Qing's brows tightened, he paced back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back, and after a while, he said to everyone in a deep voice: "Although the number of our Anxi army is not large, they are all experienced in a hundred battles and can block ten, especially our most elite Modao army, which is the nemesis of An Lushan Youzhou Iron Cavalry." Not only that, but we also have one of our greatest strengths, which is that we are hidden. No one knows, the rebels think that the pass is empty, and they must not be guarded, as long as we surprise the army, we will be able to succeed in the first battle. ”

When he saw that everyone had already moved, he said categorically: "So now there is only one word: 'Wait', waiting for the best opportunity." No one is allowed to send troops without my orders. ”

All the generals thought that what Li Qing said was reasonable, and saw that he had given a strict order. After a moment of discussion, they slowly dispersed.

Only Duan Xiushi walked the slower. It wasn't until everyone had gone far away that he came back after a circle outside, and he gave a military salute and said, "General." I have something to say. ”

Li Qing was examining his sand table. See him come in. Immediately got up and smiled: "Look at how you are grinding." I know you're coming back, what. Do you have any good suggestions? ”

Duan Xiushi slowly walked to Li Qing's side, and when he saw that he had planted a small red flag near Xianyang, he suddenly smiled and said, "The real reason why the general is unwilling to send troops now is probably because he wants to use the rebels to force the emperor out of Chang'an!" ”

Li Qing didn't speak, he picked up a small red flag and planted it in Han. Only then did he glance at Duan Xiushi slightly. With a faint smile, "How do you know?" ”

Duan Xiushi stroked his black beard lightly. smiled slightly: "I have followed the general for so many years, and the general is far-sighted. How can I not know one, two, from the general to take Fengxiang at night, I know that the general does not mean to Longyou, and from the current deployment, the general seems to have known that there will be this ending, but he does not take advantage of the situation to take Tongguan, there is only one explanation, let the rebels enter the pass, and use them to force the emperor out of Chang'an. ”

Speaking of this, he picked up the wooden stick, planted a small flag near Xianyang with one finger and said: "Forcing the emperor out of Chang'an and completing the general's last move here, am I right?" ”

"You're right."

Li Qing gently patted the wooden frame of the sand table and sneered: "I made this sand table two years ago, and I have been waiting for this day for two whole years. ”

He suddenly looked back at Duan Xiushi, and said with a slight smile: "I'm worried that I can't find a confidant to do a big thing for me, isn't it one in front of me now?" ”

Duan Xiushi immediately knelt down, pressed his hand on his chest and said loudly: "Duan Xiushi is willing to serve the general!" ”

"Okay, I'll give you a thousand troops, and after the emperor leaves Chang'an, you will enter Chang'an immediately."

Li Qing's voice suddenly became lower, his eyes slowly narrowed into a slit, and a heavy murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he whispered in Duan Xiushi's ear: "If you don't escape the emperor and grandson, except for the family of King Ning, you will take the rest of them away from Chang'an in the name of protection, and kill all of them to me halfway, leaving no one, just saying that you have encountered rebel gangsters!" ”

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Chang'an, since Ge Shuhan led the army to the east, good news is frequent, Chang'an citizens are looking forward to it, waiting for the official army to recover the eastern capital, and bring An Lushan's head back to show the public, but after waiting for a few days, there is no news of Ge Shuhan.

On the morning of this day, as the first batch of soldiers who fled back from Tongguan appeared at the gate of Chang'an, the news of the loss of Tongguan spread all over the city in an instant, Chang'an began to panic, first of all, the price of rice, in two hours from 300 per bucket to 2,000 per bucket, despite this, Chang'an citizens still poured out of their pockets, frantically snapped up, not only grain, salt, oil, cloth, vegetables and vegetables, all the necessities of life, there was a price surge, and the people rushed to buy the land.

By noon, the entire family of Chang'an people began to appear at the Chang'an city gate in an endless stream, they helped the old and the young, or sat in horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, or on foot, running aimlessly to the west.

In the afternoon, the shops began to close, more and more people left Chang'an, all kinds of news about An Lushan massacre circulated in Chang'an, some people began to cry and run wildly, a hysterical sense of fear filled the hearts of the people of Chang'an.

At this time, the government posted a notice to calm the people, saying that Ge Shuhan's 300,000 troops were rushing back to help, and they would recapture Tongguan in the near future, so please calm the people for a while.

After the notice was posted, the situation in Chang'an stabilized, the price of rice began to fall to 1,000 per bucket, and some citizens who were about to flee also unloaded their belongings from the carriage and waited to see the situation before making plans.

A carriage was escorted by hundreds of attendants, along Zhuque Street towards Xingqing Palace, this is the carriage of the right minister Yang Guozhong, at this time, the first minister of the Tang Dynasty is tired of cowering in the corner of the carriage and thinking about countermeasures, of course, it is not how to withdraw the army, but how to deal with Li Longji's reproach and clear his responsibility.

Yang Guozhong was shocked and frightened, shocked that Tongguan was lost, and there was no soldier in the pass who could resist, but he was afraid that Li Longji would let him take responsibility.

In fact, he had no choice but to go to Xingqing Palace at this time, Li Longji ordered him to meet him with three holy decrees, the first two of which he avoided by maintaining order on the street, and when he went home for lunch, he happened to bump into the third holy decree, which was similar to Ge Shuhan's five gold medals.

Just as Yang Guozhong's carriage was about to leave Suzaku Street, a man wearing a hat and riding a horse was standing around the corner, he stared at Yang Guozhong's carriage disappearing, then he smiled coldly, turned his horse's head and flew away towards Gao Lishi's mansion.