Chapter 726: Wandering

In the battle of Tongguan, because of the disagreement with Ge Shuhan, when he launched an attack, Ge Shuhan did not let Li Guangbi fight side by side with him, but assigned Li Guangbi to the rear army to escort materials and baggage. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

This was actually an act of naked rejection, but it was because of this move that Li Guangbi and his 10,000 logistics soldiers and horses were able to survive the ambush in the valley. When Ge Shuhan pursued the old and weak soldiers and horses of the rebels, Li Guangbi could not stop Ge Shuhan, but when more than 100,000 soldiers and horses were trapped in the valley and ambushed, Li Guangbi was able to retreat with his whole body, and after the battle, he collected nearly 15,000 remnants. He did not dare to stay in Tongguan, but retreated to the direction of the capital with more than 20,000 remnants of the army.

A few days later, on his way to the capital, Li Guangbi received an order from the imperial court to intercept the rebels with his entire army. Li Guangbi had to stop his march to the capital and chose a slightly more favorable loess slope to build fortifications at a place called Gaoling. Soon after, the five guards of the south and the two guards of the north of the capital arrived, and the strength grew to more than 80,000 people. A few days later, Guo Ziyi led 20,000 remnants of Shuofang to arrive, and the strength was expanded to 100,000, so in the small place of Gaoling, the Tang army temporarily laid a defensive line, intending to block the rebels' westward march to Chang'an.

However, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi actually knew very well in their hearts that with these 100,000 soldiers and horses, they would never be able to stop the footsteps of the rebels. Most of the less than 50,000 soldiers and horses in the hands of the two were old, weak, sick and wounded, and they were all defeated and demoralized. Look at the forbidden troops from the capital, although their armor is bright and magnificent, but from their behavior, we know that they are not war material at all.

Every morning, these soldiers of the Forbidden Army slept until three o'clock in the morning, and they did not train at all, nor did they dig and build fortifications. Groups of three or five gathered together to laugh and play oolong, and they didn't get nervous at all because the enemy was coming. When eating, they have to eat meat and eggs, and they don't even look at green vegetables and pickles. Moreover, these pampered and well-behaved fancy-fighting forbidden troops also looked down on the border troops under Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi, and ridiculed them for their low salaries and poor equipment. They laughed and cursed while others worked. This led to a number of frictions and discontent within the border army and the forbidden army.

Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi saw it in their eyes, and they both sighed secretly. But there's nothing they can do about it. They knew that once these forbidden forces were attacked by the rebels, they were afraid that they would collapse in an instant. The outcome of this battle was a definite defeat. However, they are still very proud one by one, and several generals of the forbidden army who lead the army are all conceited, saying that the rebels are useless, saying that they want to trample the rebels into a cloud of flesh.

Guo Ziyi gave this group of forbidden soldiers a pertinent evaluation: embroidered pillows, arrogant. The frog at the bottom of the well, who does not know the danger of the situation, will suffer from it.

On the afternoon of the ninth day of the first lunar month, the scout cavalry reported that the vanguard of the rebels had arrived thirty miles east of Gaoling, and that they would be able to reach Gaoling tonight. After getting the news, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi immediately became nervous and immediately ordered their troops to prepare for war. And the generals of the forbidden army who got the news didn't care. The soldiers of the Forbidden Army were still wandering around, and they had no plans to prepare for war.

That night, the rebel army of 40,000 arrived on the plain of Gaolingdong and camped, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi wanted to seek out the generals of the forbidden army to discuss the matter of defending against the enemy, but when they arrived at the barracks where the forbidden army was stationed, they were surprised to find that the men and horses in the forbidden army camp were fully armed. The two generals leading the army were neatly draped and riding on their horses and giving orders loudly.

Guo Ziyi hurriedly stepped forward and said, "What is this for?" ”

One of the generals replied, "Haven't you been worried about what will happen to the rebels?" Tonight, I'll show you the methods of my forbidden army. See how we managed to flatten their forward barracks. ”

"What? Are you going to attack the camp? Li Guangbi exclaimed.

"Yes, while they are not firmly established, destroy their vanguard army first, and frustrate their spirit." The general said.

"No, you can't attack the camp. We built the fortifications, and we held on to them. You're going to fight the rebels head-on? Isn't this self-defeating? Li Guangbi said.

"Joke, I see you're scared by the rebels, and if you're afraid, stay behind, I don't need your troops to help. But I don't agree to say that these chapters will destroy your morale. Please come back, both of you, and don't delay our attack on the camp. ”

Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were directly blasted out by the forbidden army. The two rode horses and stood outside the forbidden army camp, watching the teams of forbidden troops rushing out of the camp, and they both felt their hearts sinking and their mood was extremely depressed.

"General Li, it seems that it is impossible to delay the steps of the rebels. The forbidden army is going to die, they have no idea how powerful the rebels are. If they lose, we won't be able to hold this place with less than 50,000 people. Rather than that, I think, it's better to plan ahead. Guo Ziyi said in a deep voice.

"You're right, we can't bury the 50,000 soldiers and horses in our hands. Later, we will stick to the fortifications, and if we can't hold on, we will quickly evacuate. I will merge with you and go north, attack the enemy's flank, and strive to recapture the area of Taiyuan Yunzhong, and see if we can contain the footsteps of the rebels. Hey, but in this way, the capital is in danger. Li Guangbi sighed.

Guo Ziyi said: "If the capital is lost, it will be lost, it is just a city." You and I immediately went up and asked Your Majesty to leave the capital to avoid trouble. Waiting for reinforcements from General Wang seemed unrealistic. If the capital is lost, it will be recaptured. If His Majesty is injured by the rebels, then it is a big deal. ”

"That's all I can do." Li Guangbi nodded.

……

There were no surprises in this night raid. For An Lushan's rebels, this kind of night raid is simply pediatric. The soldiers and horses who have been fighting on the border for a long time have extremely experienced experience in dealing with this kind of night attack, and this kind of tactics that have been used by them have long been on their guard. Not to mention that there is a solemn reminder, even if there is no greeting from above, the rebels' vanguard will be on their own guard.

Therefore, when the 60,000 soldiers and horses of the forbidden army rushed down the Gaoling soil slope and rushed towards the rebel camp, the rebels were already ready to meet them. The forbidden army was greeted by a rain of arrows in all directions in the darkness, followed by countless obstacles to resist the horses, and then ambushes and earth-shattering shouts on all sides.

There was no suspense, and the 60,000 forbidden troops were beaten into prototypes with only one face, and it turned out that they were not a group of dragons, but a group of insects. In the face of the ruthless crushing of the rebels, the Datang Forbidden Army collapsed in less than half an hour. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses began a great rout, and the rebels pursued and killed countless people. If it weren't for Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi's soldiers and horses sniping the pursuers with bows and arrows in the rear according to the terrain, I am afraid that these 60,000 soldiers and horses would all be buried.

In the middle of the night, only a small number of people fled back in embarrassment, and the two confident generals of the forbidden army did not know where they died, and they could not even find their corpses. After two or three hours, less than 20,000 of the 60,000 majestic forbidden army remained, and they were all disgraced and frightened. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi tried to appease them, but they had already been frightened, and under the leadership of several leading generals, they left Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi's less than 50,000 soldiers and horses alone.

Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were relatively speechless, they discussed a few words in a low voice, and felt that they couldn't stay here and wait for death. As soon as the morning dawns, the rebels will launch a fierce attack, and now there are only less than 50,000 old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers left, which is not enough to resist the advance of the rebels. If you use the mantis arm as a car, not to mention the lives of the soldiers and horses, you can't stop the advance of the rebels, so it is better to evacuate quickly at night.

The two deliberated for a moment, and both made a decision. So taking advantage of the darkness of the night, 45,000 soldiers and horses quickly evacuated the Gaoling soil slope where the fortifications had been dug for several days, and went all the way to the north.

A day later, the imperial court received the news of the defeat of Gaoling, although it was expected, but the 100,000 army was defeated without even stopping the rebels for half a day, which was unexpected. The last 100,000 soldiers and horses had been defeated, and there was nothing left between the rebels and Chang'an, and in another four or five days, the rebels would be under the city of Chang'an.

The situation that had been eased became tense again, and rumors were also spreading in Chang'an City, although the imperial court did not announce the defeat of Gaoling, but the gossip had already spread, and the rout of Gaoling's 100,000 soldiers and horses was actually no secret. Most of the people in Chang'an City have begun to pack up their belongings and prepare to escape from Chang'an.

In Xingqing Palace, Xuanzong is also playing the same idea as the people. Although three holy decrees were issued to Wang Yuan in a row, Wang Yuan did not grow wings, and it took at least half a month for the whole army to arrive in Chang'an. Now Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses have just set off from Chengdu, and there is still no time to reach the capital, but the rebels are almost under the city of Chang'an. For the first time, Xuanzong had to start seriously considering his personal safety. He can't stay in the capital, he can't wait for An Lushan to break the city, and then become a prisoner of An Lushan.

In the decades since he ascended the throne, Xuanzong has never once considered his own security, and this time he had to face it. Although it is extremely embarrassing, although it is extremely annoying, this is a real problem in front of us, and you can't stay in Chang'an and wait for An Lushan to catch yourself. Although Xuanzong has said many times that he will drive the royal conquest in person, he will defend Chang'an to the death, and he will not leave Chang'an Yunyun if he is killed, but that is just talk.