－－－－－－－－－－

－－－－－－－－－－－－

It was already getting dark, and Pang Zhong rode a big black horse at the forefront of the team.

There was only a forward battalion of 500 men in front of him, and such a marching arrangement was actually quite risky, and if he was ambushed by the rebels, Pang Zhong, as the commander of the former army, was likely to be encircled immediately. But along the way, Pang Zhong, who wanted to revenge the defeat of Lingbao with a huge victory, and was heroic, kept marching like this. He also took into account the possibility of an ambush by the rebels, the forward battalion was marching at a distance of 100 men, and if the forward battalion was ambushed or attacked by the rebels, the 5,000 men and horses on each side of him would quickly spread out in formation and rush over.

During the march, Pang Zhong kept receiving reports from scouts or other sergeants about what was going on along the way, whether there were rebel scouts in front of him, and so on. Most of the rebel scouts in the direction of the army's advance were cleaned up by the soldiers of the special training camp, and some of the more fortunate fish that slipped through the net were also solved by the elite scouts sent by Pang Zhong.

Maybe this is all because the main general Cui Qianyou is not in the city, if Cui Qianyou is outside the city, Pang Zhong believes that the rebels will not be so indifferent. Although there was no definite news back to the city of Shaanxi, a large number of scouts sent by the city did not return, which in itself was an abnormal situation. A large number of scouts disappeared for no reason and failed to return to the city, so it can only be said that the scouts have been dealt with by the opponent, and the opponent's army will arrive.

If it is an experienced leading general, he must have already dealt with it.

Pang Zhong, who received the news that the rebels had not made a big move, did not know how fortunate he was, he really admired Yang Xi's decisiveness in doing things, and dared to defy public opinion, and after receiving the news that Cui Qianyou had left Shaanxi County, he immediately decided to raise a large army to take the initiative to attack and prepare to capture the gateway to Tongguan. Pang Zhong believed that if he had led the army, he would not have been able to make a decision so quickly and order the army out of the border on the same day. He will definitely report to the imperial court urgently, and after the imperial court agrees, he will mobilize and make arrangements, and it is very good that the whole army can be ready and ready to march on the third day of the order.

What kind of efficiency is this?

It seems that this time God must favor Datang and favor him, so that he, the general of the defeated army, has the opportunity to take revenge and make military achievements.

"General, eight miles ahead is Shaanxi County, and the rebels have discovered the whereabouts of our army!"

Just as Pang Zhong was running forward with two sighs of emotion from time to time, a sergeant quickly ran up to him and reported the situation loudly.

"Got it!" After Pang Zhong simply agreed, he immediately ordered the officers and men of the whole army to speed up, arrive at the city of Shaanxi County as soon as possible, and set up an attack formation. It was not a surprise to Pang Zhong that he was discovered by the rebels, but it was quite a surprise to Pang Zhong that he was discovered by the other party only eight miles away from Shaanxi County, which can be said to be very fortunate.

The eight-mile journey does not take much time to pass, leaving little time for the rebels to prepare.

The rebels will be very shocked when they find out that our army has appeared under the city of Shaanxi County, and the deployment they have made in a hurry will definitely not be so complete, if our army launches an attack before the rebels have made complete defenses, the effect will be very good.

After the order was issued, Pang Zhong immediately asked people to inform Yang Xi, who was about seven or eight miles away, that he was also riding his horse and galloping.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Cui Qianyou was recalled to Luoyang by An Lushan, who planned to lead the army back to Fanyang and defend the old nest, to discuss the military situation.

After receiving reports from all sides, An Lushan discussed with his ministers for a few days, and finally made up his mind to personally lead 100,000 horses back to help Fanyang, so as not to lose Fanyang, and protect the safety of the post road between Fanyang and Luoyang. At the same time, the crown prince An Qingxu was ordered to stay in Luoyang, and a large number of capable ministers and good generals were left for An Qingxu to assist in the guard.

The specific situation An Lushan was also ready to convene major ministers and generals to discuss, and Cui Qianyou, who led the army to defend Shaanxi County, was also recalled to Luoyang by An Lushan and An Qingxu.

After the Battle of Tongguan was inconclusive, the army retreated to Shaanxi County and stationed troops and horses in many places to strictly guard against the attack of the Tang army. But a few months have passed, the Tang army has not made any movement, just retreated in Tongguan City, and there is no sign of taking the initiative to fight, whether it is An Lushan or An Qingxu, or Cui Qianyou who led the army to defend Shaanxi County, they all believe that the Tang army will learn the lesson of Lingbao's defeat, only defend and not attack, and will not go out to fight. In the end, Cui Qianyou also withdrew some of the fortified places, and after receiving the order from An Lushan and An Qingxu to summon him to Luoyang to discuss matters, he also left with confidence. It's just that Cui Qianyou still made some arrangements before leaving Shaanxi County, and retreated to Shaanxi County on the whole line, without making any defenses outside the city.

He believed that even if the Tang army sent troops to attack, with the tall and strong walls of Shaanxi County, the Tang army would be helpless. And he blocked the news very tightly, except for some cronies and generals, others did not know that he left Shaanxi County and went to Luoyang.

After Cui Qianyou left Shaanxi County, military affairs were handed over to his deputy general Li Ling.

Li Ling also believed that it was impossible for the Tang army to take the initiative to attack Shaanxi County, they did not have this ability.

However, the news came at dinner time on the fourth day after Cui Qianyou left, but he was taken aback.

"General, outside the city of Shaanxi County, a large number of Tang troops appeared, and there were tens of thousands!"

"What?" Li Ling, who was drinking and eating meat with his two deputies, stood up in fright, and knocked over the wine jug on the table in front of him and didn't care. "The Tang army actually took the initiative to attack Shaanxi County......"

"The Tang army is actually preparing to attack Shaanxi County?" Li Ling's deputy, Chen Lian, was also stunned.

Li Ling was a battle-hardened general in the end, so he reacted immediately, kicked over the wine case in front of him, pulled out the saber on his waist with a bang, and immediately rushed outside. "Order the whole army to prepare for battle and strictly prevent the Tang Army from attacking the city!"

With the issuance of Li Ling's order, for a time, the entire Shaanxi County city was in chaos, everywhere was a noisy scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping, countless sergeants rode horses on the streets, and the sound of people shouting and neighing horses could be heard everywhere.

Li Ling led a few deputies and his own soldiers to quickly ascend to the west gate of Shaanxi County City, and when he saw the scene outside the city, he gasped.

Countless torches were lit outside the city of Shaanxi County, densely packed and invisible, and there were follow-up torches coming in. The Tang army stopped about a mile outside the city, and many Tang soldiers were busy non-stop, watching the scene of assembling stone throwers and other objects for the siege.

Knowing that the Tang army would attack the city soon, Li Ling also ordered again to prepare the soldiers of the city and make every effort to block the Tang army's siege. At the same time, he also immediately ordered the sergeant to leave the city and sent an urgent report to Luoyang, hoping to catch up with Cui Qianyou and let the deputy marshal return to the town of Shaanxi County.