Chapter 842: Hope

Outside the west gate of Pingyuan City, Yan Zhenqing led more than 2,000 soldiers to secretly open the city gate and launch a surprise attack on the rebel camp at the third watch. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info said that it was a surprise attack, but in fact, it was just a few hundred steps away from the rebel camp, and then launched rockets to create chaos. Overall, it's just a pretense of attack. The soldiers did not dare to rush into the camp, but they held torches and shook and shouted while shooting arrows, which seemed to be huge, but in fact the thunder was heavy and the rain was small. The purpose of the raid was, of course, only to attract the enemy's ideas, so that the grain movement to the east of the city could be carried out secretly.

The soldiers and horses of Plains City went out of the city to attack the camp, and this was the first time that the rebels had besieged Plains City for months. Even the rebels didn't know where they had the guts to do this. Today has just been a full day of siege during the day, and it is almost time to break the city. The defenders in Plains City should have been unable to withstand several such attacks, but they actually dared to attack out of the city at night? It's really confusing. However, it was precisely because of the confusion and irrationality that it caused some confusion among the rebels. But soon, after figuring out that the Plains City defenders were only a few thousand and were just bluffing. The rebel leading general, Kang Buyebo, gave the order to go out of the camp to meet the enemy.

As a large number of rebels left the camp to engage in the battle, the more than 2,000 defenders of Plains City immediately retreated, because they actually had no capital to engage with them. However, the retreat and the method of firing arrows while turning back still caused some casualties among the rebels. But these casualties are insignificant. The reason why we didn't withdraw quickly was just to stall for time.

Obviously, the rebels did not want to storm the city at night, because it was obviously unwise to chase down the city, and the archers on the walls of the Plains City were not vegetarians. Such a thing as a night siege would never be done by Yasu Nobo. But letting the other party provoke is not Kang Nonobo's style, so the two sides shoot arrows back and forth within a distance of hundreds of paces below the city. The rebels did not attack the city, and Yan Zhenqing did not order the soldiers and horses to retreat into the city, anyway, they wanted to delay time to attract the attention of the other party, and the energy consumption was as long as it wanted. Anyway, there were not many casualties, and the archery at night was not accurate, just random shooting.

Finally, after more than half an hour, both sides were a little excited. The attack on the camp is not like an attack on the camp, and the battle is not like a battle, everyone is like two people who are afraid of each other fighting, spitting on each other for a while and then making no further moves. Yan Zhenqing felt that the time was about the same, and it didn't make much sense to make any more trouble. The opponent has a large number of archers, and although the arrows are just fired indiscriminately, there will still be some casualties. So Yan Zhenqing issued an order to withdraw to the city. Seeing the opponent returning to the city, the judgment army on the opposite side immediately turned around and returned to the camp. The two sides finally broke up peacefully.

Yan Zhenqing ordered the soldiers and horses to quickly retreat to the city, and at the same time urgently sent people to inquire about the grain transportation in Dongcheng. However, before the news of the grain transportation came, Xu Hao, the commander in charge of covering the city tower, suddenly shouted loudly.

"Gong Yan, something is wrong, there seems to be a big movement in the rear of the enemy camp. It looks like a mess. ”

Yan Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly went up to the city to look at the rebel camp, although it was far away, the riots in the rebel camp were still clear and arguable. Among the flickering torches, there seemed to be countless figures rushing into the enemy camp at great speed. Listening closely, there were countless shouts and the sound of sword clashing, which was definitely a surprise attack on the enemy's rear camp.

"What's going on? How could there be soldiers and horses attacking the camp of thieves? Could it be that there are really soldiers and horses to rescue us from our predicament? This...... How can it be? Yan Zhenqing was stunned.

"yes, what the hell is going on? It's confusing. ”

"Look, the soldiers and horses in the north and south have also been reinforced, it seems that this force of soldiers and horses should not be underestimated, and the thieves in the Xicheng camp seem to be unable to withstand it."

While watching the battle, everyone pointed and discussed.

Yan Zhenqing no longer hesitated, and ordered in a deep voice: "Pass the order, all the soldiers and horses in the city will immediately go out of the city to attack the front camp of the thief camp, this time we must really launch an attack to distract the enemy's ideological strength, assist the soldiers and horses attacking the camp, and reduce their pressure." ”

Xu Hao hurriedly said: "Gong Yan, could it be that the rebels deliberately acted for us to lure us to send troops to help?" And then gather us together and annihilate them? ”

Yan Zhenqing shook his head and said, "It's impossible." The old man just figured out why the thieves attacked the city so fiercely in the past two days, because he knew that there were rescue soldiers and horses approaching, so he was so crazy. Don't say more, immediately send the whole team out, they come to save us, do we sit idly by? Is it reasonable? ”

The generals didn't say much, and immediately began to act, there were only more than 4,000 soldiers and horses in the city, 1,000 soldiers and horses were used to cover the grain transportation in the eastern city, and the remaining more than 3,000 were all here. This time, except for the hundreds of soldiers left behind at the head of the city, the rest of the people poured out of the city and killed the rebel camp again.

On the west side of the rebel camp, Wang Yuan's more than 2,500 personal guards cavalry swept into the rebel camp like a tornado. The rebels had already spotted the cavalry miles from the camp. Because the rebels had already received the news that Weizhou had fallen yesterday and that a Tang Dynasty soldier and horse was approaching Pingyuan City. It's just that they didn't expect them to come so quickly. But even so, the night sentry cruising outside the camp soon heard the rumbling sound of hooves stomping on the ground. But even so, by the time they sent the news back to the camp, the rebels had only time to hastily organize hundreds of archers to come to the fortifications to stop them, and the Shence cavalry was already in their sights.

Next, even though the bow and arrow took the lives of nearly a hundred cavalrymen, they could not stop the cavalry from rushing to thunder and destroying the withering and decaying advance. The cavalry rushed through the plain barracks, which had no special protection, and rushed into the camp like a stormy wave.

Warhorses neighed and swords flashed. Countless cavalry figures were interspersed between the camp tents, swords and spears rose and fell, and bows and arrows whizzed and flew wildly. Within a short time, the thousands of thieves in the rebel camp could not resist and began to break up amid screams and massacres.

Kang Buyebo, who had just returned to the camp from the front, learned the news and immediately ordered the soldiers and horses of the front battalion of the Chinese army to meet the battle immediately. When Kang Wuye led thousands of soldiers to the rear camp. In the midst of the chaos and firelight, Kang Nobo saw the true face of the attacker. It was countless cavalry trampling the camp and slaughtering the soldiers. At this time, Kang Wuye Bo also understood why the other party came so quickly, he thought that it would take them at least a few days to arrive, but it turned out that they were all cavalry. The message sent also did not mention this at all.

Kang did not hesitate, and on the one hand, he ordered his thousands of soldiers and horses to immediately step forward to meet the battle, entangle the opponent, and block the opponent who was charging, and on the other hand, he immediately ordered to urge the soldiers and horses at the other city gates that had already collected their troops back to the camp to turn back and reinforce again. This time it wasn't the kind of attack just now, but a real powerful attack. It was a false alarm just now, but now it's the real wolf. It was a charging battalion of thousands of cavalry, and if it was not surrounded and blocked by several times the force, the more than 10,000 troops of the battalion might not be able to stop their gallop.

Wang Yuan took the lead, and the big black horse rushed straight to the middle camp like a black tornado stepping on the ground. Behind him sat Princess Arlo in the saddle, with a bow and arrow in her hand, and the husband and wife formed a husband and wife formation that complemented each other from far and near. But where the enemy is on the side of the horse in front of the horse, Wang Yuan kills it with a long sword. A little farther away, Arlo shot him with a bow and arrow. The fit is seamless.

Sitting on a red-maned horse beside Wang Yuan was Gongsun Lan, her clothes fluttering, like a black cloud on horseback. With a sword in one hand and a hidden weapon in the other, he followed behind Wang Yuan's horse. At this moment, Gongsun Lan has become the protector of Wang Yuan and A Luo, but whenever the two are found to be in danger, Gongsun Lan will take action to resolve it. Because of this, Wang Yuan and A Luo killed unscrupulously, without worrying about their own safety at all.

A dense rain of arrows came from the direction of the rebel camp, but the guards with iron shields suffered extremely limited casualties, and after two rounds of arrow rain, the cavalry brigade had already rushed into the enemy formation and began a new round of slaughter.

Kang Wuye Bo gave the order to kill the infantry to entangle his opponent, because he had already seen the 10,000 reinforcements coming from Nancheng. He knew that against the cavalry, he could only hold them back, not let them charge and trample. Once you trap them in place, you can use superior forces to besiege them and kill them one by one, which is exactly what you want to do at the moment.

Wang Yuan soon understood the rebels' intentions, as he also saw enemy reinforcements. Of course, Wang Yuan can't be surrounded by them, it is impossible to turn back at present, and the only way is to rush forward directly, kill through the enemy camp, and enter the plain city. In this way, you can get out of trouble, and you can also complete the goal of leaving with one blow and destroying part of the enemy's living forces. Wang Yuan didn't expect to be able to defeat more than 20,000 rebels tonight, it was impossible.

"Zhao Qing Tan Ping, order to keep the formation and follow me to the city to kill." Wang Yuan shouted loudly.

The order was given, Wang Yuan swung his sword and slashed a rebel soldier before nodding to Gongsun Lan beside him: "Cousin, let's take the lead together and break a bloody road." ”

Gongsun Lan smiled and nodded, and rushed forward, with a flick of his wrist, countless gravel shots, and more than a dozen rebel soldiers in front of him fell over and were injured, and at the same time, Gongsun Lan's horse also rushed over. Wang Yuan shouted, urging the dark horse to follow closely. The broken sword in his hand slashed several times, and in the flickering of the sword light, two broken arms flew into the sky, and the two rebel soldiers fell down screaming, and Wang Yuan's war horse was already outside Zhang Xu.

In the rear, Zhao Qing, Tan and others led thousands of cavalry to follow closely behind Wang Yuan and Gongsun Lan, trampling and slashing out a bloody path, and rushing towards the dense rebel soldiers in front.

The rebels desperately blocked the way, and did not hesitate to block the way with their flesh and blood. However, their belly was attacked by Yan Zhenqing's 3,000 infantry who had returned from the city. Although the 3,000 infantry were not strong in combat, their attacks on the flanks were very effective. The arrows shot a large number of rebels, causing chaos in which the rebels were attacked before and after. In the midst of this chaos, the personal guard cavalry charged, slashing with swords, chopping melons and vegetables, and the heads were rolling and the blood was flowing.

The rebel soldiers and horses finally couldn't withstand such a massacre, and even with the death order issued by Kang Nobo, it was inevitable that they would flee. Before reinforcements arrived on the right, thousands of rebels blocking the way began to flee in all directions. The cavalry of the Shence Army charged through the middle of the camp like a torrent, leaving behind a place of corpses and flesh, and rushed away under the eyes of Kang Muyebo, rushing to the bottom of the plain city.

Yan Zhenqing's 3,000 infantry also followed closely in the footsteps of the cavalry and quickly retreated to the city. Yan Zhenqing, who was standing in front of the city gate, saw the cavalry rolling in, and a smile appeared on his face. Then, he heard a cavalry general in glittering gold armor waving and shouting at him.

"Yan Taishou, don't come unharmed."

Yan Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought for a moment, suddenly his face was full of surprise, his beard shook with excitement, and he muttered, "Why is he?" How is this possible? ”

……

Although it was late at night, the whole plain city was full of jubilation. The people crowded the streets to watch the cavalry of the Shence Army galloping past on the prancing horses, cheering and applauding one after another. Many people knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the sky, tears streaming down their faces.

For nine months, the city of Plains has been isolated, endured numerous sieges, killed and wounded thousands of soldiers and civilians, experienced the desperate situation of the city several times, experienced fear and pain, helplessness and hunger countless times. What's even more unbearable is that over time, it has become an island in the middle of the sea. Without any news from the outside world, without any hope of getting out of trouble, it has become a forgotten corner of the world. And today, they finally saw the soldiers and horses sent by the imperial court, how could this not make them cry with joy and tears.

Surrounded by the people of the city, more than 2,000 cavalry marched along the main street to the county square. Under the steps in front of the Yamen Square, Wang Yuan turned over and dismounted, and entered the yamen and sat down surrounded by everyone. It was only at this time that Yan Zhenqing and Wang Yuan had a chance to really talk. The road was noisy just now, and the two had no chance to communicate at all.

"Wang Jiedu, I didn't expect you to lead the army to come, it really surprised Yan. I heard your voice outside the city just now, and Yan thought it was a dream. Yan Zhenqing said with a smile.

Wang Yuan laughed and said: "I am cowardly in my hometown, and the same is true when I see my old friend." I'm also worried that Yan Taishou will see that I am coming, so he will turn around and leave. ”

Yan Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "Wang Jiedu, Yan may be wrong to blame you for what happened back then." Let's talk about this matter separately, tell Yan Mou, how did you get to my Plains City? Could it be that the imperial army has already reached the east of Luoyang and recovered a large area of lost territory? ”

Wang Yuan was just about to speak, but Zhao Qing on the side suddenly interjected: "Yan Taishou, your title is wrong, although my family marshal is also the envoy of Jiannan and Longyou, he is already the new minister of my Tang Dynasty, and he is the generalissimo of the counterinsurgency army appointed by His Majesty. It's time for Yan Taishou to change his name. ”

Yan Zhenqing was stunned, looked at Wang Yuan in amazement, and said, "You...... Are you my Tang Xiangguo? Generalissimo of the counterinsurgency? ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Your Majesty has made me shoulder a heavy responsibility, and I am really afraid that I am walking on thin ice. There is really no suitable candidate for the time being, so I promise Your Majesty to temporarily take the post of prime minister. As for the post of marshal of counterinsurgency, it is my duty to shirk it. ”

Yan Zhenqing got up and walked out of the table to bow down, and said, "Humble Yan Zhenqing has seen Wang Xiangguo. If you don't know the reason, it's rude. ”

Wang Yuan hurriedly helped Yan Zhenqing up and said: "Why bother, we are old friends, I would rather you be called Wang Bachelor Wang Gongzi, but I don't like to listen to any Wang Xiang Wang Marshal, let alone do such a salute." Don't. ”

Yan Zhenqing smacked his lips and said: "One day in the mountains, a thousand years on the ground." Stuck here for months, I didn't expect the world to change so quickly. However, Yan believes that with you in charge of the DPRK, I am expected to prosper in the Tang Dynasty, and the counterinsurgency is imminent. ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said: "That's not something I can do alone, it takes everyone's hard work." For example, if you are too guarded, stick to the lonely city for nine months, and fight with the rebels for life and death, this is the hope that my Datang will inevitably prosper. Everyone in the world is like Yan Taishou, how can there be a place for rebels? ”

Yan Zhenqing hurriedly waved his hand and said humbly: "I don't dare to take this seriously, I don't dare to do it." Yan is just doing his own duty, and since I am the Taishou of Pingyuan County appointed by the imperial court, I should ensure the safety of one party and keep Pingyuan City. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and nodded, and then Wang Yuan introduced the people accompanying Yan Zhenqing one by one, and when he saw that Feng Wang Li Heng also came with the army, Yan Zhenqing was even more surprised, and knelt down and bowed. Li Heng was very happy, sure enough, this trip was right, Yan Zhenqing saw himself as if he had seen his father, and he came with the army this time to represent the imperial power, which is an undoubted fact.

After everyone sat down again, they were about to inquire about their situation in detail, but the shouts of the people outside the yamen became louder and louder, almost drowning out the words of everyone. Yan Zhenqing hurriedly ordered Li Ze to hand it over to see what was going on, and soon after Li Ze handed it in to report.

"Report to Wang Xiangguo, Feng Wangye, and Yan Taishou. The people clamored to see the generals from the imperial court, saying that they wanted to invite the generals from the imperial court to tell them about the situation outside. ”

Yan Zhenqing said with a smile: "The fathers and villagers are all very happy tonight, and they are the happiest tonight in the past nine months." Then Wang Xiangguo, please take care of you and say a few words to the people of Pingyuan City. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Yan Taishou, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to speak, Prince Feng is here, let's let Prince Feng say a few words to the people." He is more suitable. ”

Li Heng wanted to agree in his heart, but he knew that this was not the place for him to be in the limelight, and if he stood up and spoke, it would be tantamount to stealing Wang Yuan's credit and limelight. This kind of thing can't be done anyway, because it has already annoyed Wang Yuan once not long ago, so it's better to settle down.

"No, no, no, where am I eligible? If Marshal Wang hadn't led the army to rescue this time, where would there be today? Even I was skeptical that I would ever be able to reach Plains City. Besides, Marshal Wang is my right minister of the Tang Dynasty, and you are more suitable to speak than me. Li Heng smiled.

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "That's it, then I'll go and say." I also want to say hello to the people of Plains City. ”

Yan Zhenqing stroked his beard and smiled, and at that moment, everyone surrounded Wang Yuan out of the yamen lobby and came to the front steps. Tens of thousands of pairs of bright eyes full of anticipation looked here, although they were all black and thin, but tonight they were as happy as eating delicacies from the mountains and seas.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is the moment when our Plains City ushers in the dawn. We finally ushered in the soldiers and horses of the imperial court. Standing in front of you is my generalissimo Ma of the Tang Dynasty rebels who came to rescue us, and Wang Xiangguo of the dynasty. Now, I would like to ask Wang Xiangguo to say a few words to you. Yan Zhenqing said loudly.

The people were in a commotion, they didn't expect that it was the right minister of the dynasty who came tonight, they thought it was just an ordinary general, but they didn't expect the imperial court to send Xiangguo to come to the rescue in person, which shows that the imperial court attaches great importance to Pingyuan City.

"Thank you Wang Xiangguo, thank you Marshal Wang." The people shouted.

Wang Yuan took two steps forward and waved his hand, and the people quieted down. Wang Yuan looked around at the tens of thousands of people in the audience, his face was calm, and he said loudly: "All the fathers and villagers of Pingyuan City, please accept my Wang Yuan's salute. On behalf of the Imperial Court and Your Majesty, I would like to pay tribute to the fathers and villagers of Plains City. When the thieves are swarming, and the whole world is in ink, you will tell the people of the world with your actions what integrity is, what is fearlessness, and what loyalty is. You are admirable, and you will be remembered through the ages. ”

The people were silent, and some people burst into tears again, and Wang Yuan's few words aroused countless emotions in their hearts. In countless days of hesitation, fear, hardship and despair, they did not shed tears like this, but they were filled with tears by these words.

"You are here to stay, and the court has never forgotten you. However, the rebels attacked fiercely and captured Chang'an City all the way, and the imperial court was forced to go to Shu to settle down, so they were unable to rescue you from trouble in time, which made you suffer too much. Fortunately, with Yan Tai staying here, and with the persistence of all the villagers and elders, the clouds finally cleared and saw the light of day. Do you want to know what's going on out there? I can tell you very briefly. After His Majesty was free, the dragon was in good health. The yamen of all the ministries of the imperial court have also established themselves in Chengdu, and now state affairs are running as usual. Millions of people who followed His Majesty into Shu from Hebei, Hedong, Luoyang, Chang'an and other places were also resettled, and they were all fed, clothed, and sheltered. At the same time, our 130,000 counterinsurgency army won successive battles, and 180,000 rebels attacked Shu, and were defeated by our army. Now the 130,000 army with himself as the commander and Gao Xianzhi as the deputy commander has marched out of Shu to the periphery of Chang'an. Before I arrived, we had swept through dozens of state capitals around Chang'an and recaptured vast tracts of land. The rebels in Chang'an City cowered in the city and did not dare to go out of the city to fight, trembling with fear like rats in a hole in the ground. When our army cuts off the passage between Chang'an and Luoyang, we will be able to recapture Chang'an in a few days. After that, Luoyang can be recaptured, and An Lushan can be driven out of Luoyang and driven to the north. All in all, the situation was very good, and the two capitals could soon be recovered and the rebellion put down. Folks, good days are coming, and you don't have to be afraid anymore, and you don't have to go hungry and suffer anymore. ”

"Hooray! Banzai! The people listened with great emotion, and some people took the lead in shouting, and suddenly the whole audience chanted long live. I don't know who I'm calling.

"Fellow fathers and fellow villagers, I know you are very happy, but there are still 10,000 or 20,000 enemy troops outside the city, and although we have entered tonight, we are not out of danger. Soon a large number of enemy troops will arrive. So it's too early for us to celebrate. I need to discuss with Yan Taishou how to defend against the enemy. And you should go back and get some sleep. I heard that you are all hungry, so we have brought some dry food, and we will set up dozens of large pots here tomorrow morning to cook rice, so that you are full. But at this moment, you have to disperse, if you don't want to sleep, you can go to the city to help the guard, so that the brothers who defend the city can also sleep for a while. In short, if we work hard, we will definitely be able to get out of trouble. ”

Wang Yuan ended his lecture with a smile. The people shouted one after another: "What Wang Xiangguo said is that we will not cause chaos here, go home and go to the city with strength to watch." ”

Soon after, the people exchanged words and laughter, and dispersed. The square instantly became empty.

"Yan Taishou, let's go in, the people are gone." Wang Yuan said to Yan Zhenqing with a smile.

Yan Zhenqing looked at Wang Yuan quietly and said: "Wang Xiangguo, thank you, what you said just now made Yan's heart warm, and Yan's persistence was not in vain." Yan also thanked you for running Jiannan for many years, and the imperial court finally had a place to survive in times of great disaster, as well as the capital to make a comeback. Please accept my Yan Zhenqing's worship. ”