Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 626 Like a Dog
Xue Bai was mentally prepared to fight a battle with Guo Ziyi.

He was a very scheming person, so he never suffered any serious loss in his life, and even fought for the throne by conspiracy. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this, but it was inevitable that some problems could not be solved by just taking shortcuts, especially for reforms, which required passion and courage to rush forward even if it meant getting a bloody head.

Guo Ziyi happens to be a strong enough opponent, even stronger than Li Longji and Li Heng on the battlefield. If Xue Bai can defeat him, he will gain real respect from the world.

At that time, he will no longer be the traitor who usurped the throne by impersonating the emperor, but the king who changed the dynasty with strength and courage.

He needed this victory so much, otherwise he would always be seen as just a speculator in the eyes of his subjects and would never accomplish great things.

He would rather lose than compromise.

Therefore, when Xue Bai heard Zhang Yong's earnest advice to him to back down, he did not appreciate it at all and refused directly.

"Go back and tell Guo Ziyi that it's time for him to fight for Li Tang."

Zhang Yong suddenly felt disappointed. Today, Xue Bai and Guo Ziyi were both eager to fight, but he, as the messenger, had been hoping to calm the situation, but unfortunately he ended up in failure.

After leaving the camp, he sighed deeply and prepared to mount his horse, but the groom here whispered something.

"Mr. Zhang, come with me. Someone wants to see you."

Zhang Yong listened to the rather mysterious tone, sensed that things might be turning around, and nodded.

Following the groom out of the camp, they headed south into a forest. Zhang Yong couldn't help but worry that he might be killed and his body dumped in the wilderness, until a dilapidated Taoist temple appeared in front of him.

Entering and passing through the main hall, one sees someone sitting quietly in the courtyard, his Taoist robe fluttering in the wind, giving one a feeling of floating in the air.

Zhang Yong's mind moved, and he said, "Could it be that Immortal Li is here in person?"

"I often dream of becoming an immortal, but I have not yet become one. I am still burdened by this earthly world."

Zhang Yong was very surprised to see that it was really Li Qin, and said, "I beg Mr. Li to help us stop the war and save the people from the flames of war."

Li Mi turned around and looked at Zhang Yong with eyes that seemed to see through everything, and said, "I do have a way to end the war, but I'm afraid there won't be enough time."

"Sir, if you have a way, please let me know. I will never refuse anything I can do for you."

Li Mi then took out a gourd from his sleeve, poured out a red pill from it, pinched it with two fingers and showed it to Zhang Yong, saying: "This is my method."

Zhang Yong asked in confusion, "Do you want me to eat it?"

He actually took two steps forward and reached out to take it.

Li Mi took away the medicine pill immediately.

"This is a poison pill. You can't eat it."

"Poison pill? Who do you want to poison, sir?"

After asking this question, Zhang Yong pondered over it in his mind and soon came up with an answer. He then asked, "Could it be... the emperor?"

"That's right." Li Mi said, "I came out of retirement this time to eradicate the traitor Xue and bring peace to the world."

Zhang Yong was greatly surprised and did not dare to believe it immediately. He asked, "Why did you tell me such an important thing? We are just meeting for the first time today."

Li Mi said calmly: "I have a keen eye and know that you can be trusted. This is the first reason. Secondly, I hope you can tell Li Qiyun to buy time for me."

"Okay, I will definitely complete what you asked."

"If you don't keep it secret, you will fail. You don't need to tell anyone else except Li Qiyun, lest you endanger my life."

"What about Mr. Guo?" Zhang Yong asked, "Can I tell Mr. Guo?"

Li Mi said: "It's no use telling him."

Zhang Yong didn't understand it at first. When he returned to the camp, he told Guo Ziyi about it. He thought Guo Ziyi would be excited about it, but Guo Ziyi didn't react much.

"How can a military and national affair be resolved by a poison pill? Prepare for war."

"Father, if we can get rid of Xue Ni in a simpler way, wouldn't it be a benefit to the people?"

Guo Ziyi asked, "Do you know why he has come to this point?"

"Is he really not the heir to the throne?"

"He has used too many unorthodox methods and cannot convince the public." Guo Ziyi said, "Even if Li Changyuan can succeed in assassinating me in the future, can I let him enter Chang'an today?"

As he said this, he glared at his son-in-law, telling him to stop thinking about useless things and just concentrate on preparing for the battle.

But Zhang Yong felt that Li Mi was truly a man of foresight and became even more convinced.

He still found Li Qiyun and told him about this.

Li Qijun is now under tremendous pressure. On the one hand, the nobles in Guanzhong are at a loss and are in a panic under the military power of Xue Bai. On the other hand, Xue Bai is not without supporters. Many officials who support the new law believe that they are rebels, slandering the emperor and plotting against the law.

All these problems are borne by him.

As you can imagine, when he heard that Li Mi had a simple way to solve all problems, he felt a lot more relieved.

Of course, Li Qiyun is a smart man and will not believe anything immediately.

"Li Mi told you about such an important matter? Isn't he afraid that the matter will be exposed and Xue Ni will take his life first?"

"He said he knew I was trustworthy and told me to tell only Lord Li."

This sentence made Li Qijun feel relieved, and he thought that Li Mi understood him and trusted him.

He paced back and forth, muttering, "If we can deal with Xue Ni, there will be no need to start a war again."

After thinking for a while, Li Qiyun made up his mind and told Zhang Yong something, and he called everyone to discuss it.

There were fewer people coming to this meeting, after all, it seemed like a fight was about to break out.

"The emperor is the descendant of Emperor Xuanzong himself, so this is not false. He wants to restore the surname Xue now, but it is just because he is angry. But we should not be impulsive in state affairs. In my opinion, we should welcome him back to Chang'an and slowly persuade him."

As soon as Li Qijun opened his mouth, his attitude changed drastically, causing many people who didn't want to fight to agree with him and feel that he finally figured it out.

Those who are determined to resist will inevitably become angry and curse.

"You are a bunch of cowards! Xue Ni wants your wealth, but you don't even dare to risk it. You claim to be from a family of nobles, but what's the difference between you and the profiteers? It's ridiculous to associate with you!"

~~
Guo Ziyi ignored the interference around him. The next day, when Xue Bai's troops began to cross the river, he immediately ordered an attack.

No one could understand how difficult it was for him to issue this order, and how much interference and obstacles he encountered.

But the war drums still sounded.

Even though some soldiers were uneasy at first, wondering how they dared to intercept the emperor, when they heard the familiar drum beats, they put aside their distractions and did their work in an orderly manner as if they were in a normal battle.

In this battle, the first to bear the brunt was Guo Xi.

Guo Ziyi did not require a great victory in the first battle, he only asked to prevent Xue Bai from crossing the river.

Before the battle, Guo Xi asked Guo Ziyi, there is no food in Chang'an, what is the point even if Xue Bai can be stopped for a day or two?
"Don't think too much. The important thing is to dare to fight him, and even win. Only by fighting, he will understand the attitude of us ministers - the ancestral temple of Li Tang cannot be shaken!"

Because of this last sentence, Guo Xi put aside his worries.

He knew what he was fighting for.

"Nike an arrow!"

When the troops on the other side began to cross the river, Guo Xi waved his hand vigorously and shouted, "Shoot!"

Arrows flew all over the sky, he drew his sword and shouted: "The Li Tang ancestral temple cannot be shaken!"

Gradually, this sentence became the belief and slogan of the Tang army on the west bank.

In fact, they didn't understand the guessing game between the emperor and his courtiers, nor did they care about Xue Bai's true and false, ambiguous identity, but they needed a reason to fight this battle.

If the emperor was a traitor plotting to usurp the throne, they would kill him; if the emperor was angry with his subjects, they would beat him until he surrendered. It was that simple.

This army finally gradually implemented the will of the commander-in-chief.

In the west bank camp, on the battlefield, Guo Ziyi held the telescope and did not put it down for a long time.

In terms of ability to command operations, he is far superior to Xue Bai, but there are actually not many people in the world who have the opportunity to command large armies in battle, and Xue Bai happened to have received several training in large-scale battles.

It can be said that Xue Bai is a good opponent that Guo Ziyi rarely encounters.

The victory or defeat on the battlefield is not only determined by command ability, but also by too many other factors. In fact, in today's battle, Xue Bai was far superior to Guo Ziyi in terms of manpower, food, equipment, morale, etc.

Therefore, at the beginning of the war, Guo Ziyi fought very hard.

He was worried that Xue Bai would use a large number of firearms, so he chose a more conservative defensive strategy. He lost the opportunity to strike first and was passive everywhere.

But the enemy never used any firearms. Guo Ziyi guessed that Xue Bai's intention in fighting this battle was not to hurt the enemy but to win over the people, but he had already missed the opportunity and could only make up for it slowly.

More than an hour after the battle started, scouts suddenly came running back.

Before Guo Ziyi heard the report, he quickly walked to the north side of the battle platform and looked. Sure enough, he saw a large group of cavalry galloping towards this side.

He was not surprised but delighted, and murmured, "You are anxious."

If the situation were reversed and he were in charge of Xue Bai's troops, he would not send out the cavalry so early, but would keep them for use as a surprise force at the last moment.

Because of the fighting on the battlefield, the number of people who die in a period of time is limited. When the two sides are evenly matched, no matter how many strategies there are, the soldiers will only kill so many people. The winner lies in the mentality, that is, the morale.

After the war, the soldiers were tired and more likely to collapse. The war had just begun, and even if Xue Bai sent out more special forces, it would be difficult to cause a huge psychological impact on Guo Ziyi's subordinates. Of course, the premise was that he was Guo Ziyi.

After Guo Ziyi saw the general's flag clearly, he thought for a moment and gave an order.

"Sound the horn, retreat."

When the horn sounded, Tian Chengsi, who was riding his horse at full speed, couldn't help but have a change of mentality. He felt that Guo Ziyi was old and had lost his fighting spirit, and he was scared off by him so quickly.

He also considered whether this was a feint to retreat.

Although it is easy to say that a feint retreat is a common tactic, few generals can actually do it, because it is easy for soldiers to retreat and end up in a real rout. Even Guo Ziyi had to prepare in advance and could not feint a retreat on impulse.

Therefore, Tian Chengsi ordered the pursuit of Guo Ziyi without hesitation, vowing to make the first contribution.

"Chase after Guo Ziyi's banner!"

"kill!"

The Fanyang cavalry immediately sped up and chased in the direction of Guo Ziyi's retreat.

……

On the battlefield on the east bank of the Ba River, Xue Bai was also watching the changes on the battlefield with a telescope.

He also knew that the surprise troops should not be deployed too early, especially the Fanyang cavalry. As long as they have not appeared on the battlefield, they can invisibly give the enemy a sense of deterrence and psychological pressure. On the contrary, when they really show up, the enemy may think that they are just that.

But the reason why Xue Bai gave such command was because he did not have much confidence in controlling this army.

Back then, he recruited them to surrender and established military settlements in Hebei. Only now, when most of the soldiers had land and harvested food every day, did he dare to mobilize and command them to fight. This was an attempt and also a test.

In fact, it was only after Tian Chengsi had been ordered to go south that Xue Bai decided to confront the aristocratic families head-on. Before that, he was not sure whether he could mobilize the generals of Fanyang.

And to this day, he still feels uneasy about Tian Chengsi.

At this time, seeing Tian Chengsi's cavalry chasing Guo Ziyi, Xue Bai frowned and immediately said: "Pass the order, let Tian Chengsi's troops stop chasing and besiege Guo Xi!" The flag order was just issued here, but it was too late.

Looking through the telescope, one could see the Fanyang cavalry, who were at the forefront, falling to the ground.

……

"Hey!"

The tripwire suddenly sprang up from the ground.

The horse neighed sadly, and the knight on the horse was suddenly sent flying, falling heavily to the ground with his armor, causing chaos.

Including Tian Chengsi, who also bumped heavily into the personal soldiers in front of him.

He was shocked and wondered why there was a tripwire. Did Guo Ziyi set an ambush beforehand?

The thought gave him a chill and a tremor of fear.

Since he was like this, the soldiers under his command were naturally uneasy, and they immediately reversed the situation.

And at this moment, the sound of the horn stopped abruptly and was replaced by the charge horn.

In front, the swaying flag of Guo Ziyi changed direction and rushed towards Tian Chengsi.

"Kill!"

The soldiers rushing in the front were holding sabers. They were border troops who had been fighting against Tubo for many years and had rich experience in fighting against cavalry.

Not to mention that Guo Ziyi had already discovered the Fan Yang troops a few days ago. Even if he hadn't, based on his combat habits, he would still have set up a large number of traps.

As for feigning defeat, which other generals had never been able to do, it was a daily routine for him and his soldiers to fight the enemy.

As a so-called famous general, he did not have many strategies that would amaze people, but he had extremely solid basic skills.

Soon, Tian Chengsi began to retreat, trying to open up the battle line.

He came with great momentum, but ended up retreating in disgrace, which dealt a heavy blow to the overall morale, and the situation showed signs of being reversed.

During the An-Shi Rebellion, the Fanyang cavalry, which had terrorized the world, fell into Xue Bai's hands and was unable to defeat Guo Ziyi. It became more difficult for Xue Bai to achieve his goal in this battle.

"No retreat! Move the central army forward and defeat Guo Xi first!"

If it were a normal battle, if we recalled the Fanyang cavalry and reorganized them, there would always be new opportunities.

Chang'an has little food, so a longer battle would be more advantageous to Xue Bai.

But he thought in a different direction and simply faced it head-on.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

This time, the war drums sounded on the east bank, and Xue Bai used his main force to attack Guo Xi on the other side of the river.

From a distance, Tian Chengsi saw this and reacted immediately.

He originally wanted to use the mobility of the cavalry to withdraw from the battlefield, but at this time he pulled the reins and turned to attack Guo Xi, trying to work with the central army to capture Guo Ziyi's vanguard troops.

The battle situation then entered a stalemate.

The fighting lasted until the afternoon, and the two sides were still tied.

Regardless of winning or losing, at least Xue Bai has the strength to face Guo Ziyi head-on.

This obviously far exceeded many people's expectations.

~~
In the camp on the west bank of the Bashui River, Li Qijun looked at the stalemate, a layer of sweat covering his forehead.

He really didn't expect Xue Bai to achieve such results.

A young man who rose to power through conspiracy and trickery could actually fight back and forth with a world-famous battlefield star and it was hard to tell who was better. This really changed their view of Xue Bai.

In the past, they always thought that Xue Bai's achievements came from the cultivation of Emperor Xuanzong and the support of various famous generals. Now they have seen it with their own eyes and are filled with fear.

But Guo Ziyi was already old, while Xue Bai was in his prime.

It can be imagined that within a few years, he will become a famous general who is invincible in the world, and it is not impossible for him to create a career with martial arts.

Li Qiyun shook his head, put these distracting thoughts behind him, and returned his thoughts to how to maintain the Li Tang royal family and stabilize people's hearts.

He was able to keep his composure, but others were already panicking.

"Guo Ziyi couldn't subdue this traitor?!"

Even some of the ministers who had originally firmly opposed Xue Bai began to panic and started to clamor.

"If we cannot defeat Xue Ni today, what will we do in the future when Chang'an is short of food?"

They were like this, not to mention others. Everyone was talking at once, which only made the panic even worse.

Li Qiyun finally found an opportunity to speak and said, "Gentlemen, this battle is not meaningless. After this battle, we will be better able to negotiate terms with them."

He was still relatively rational and did not place all his hopes on Li Mi. He thought it would not be too late to fight a battle first and then discuss welcoming Xue Bai into the city.

But at this time, others did not buy it.

"If we lose, there will be nothing to discuss. You and I will both be traitors!"

“No one wants to end up like those people in Dongdu.”

These two sentences are extremely inspiring.

To put it bluntly, none of these people can make a living. On the contrary, they all live a life of luxury. How could they be willing to risk their lives to fight with Xue Bai?

Before, I just thought that Xue Bai had weaknesses and was easy to bully.

"No way? Guo Ziyi can still lose?"

Soon, a change on the battlefield shattered their luck.

In the west, from the direction of Chang'an City, a group of soldiers and horses came quickly. Although their number was small, they were very sharp. The scouts reported the enemy's flag, which turned out to be Xue Zhan.

"Who is Xue Zhan?"

"The descendant of Xue Rengui. The Saint took refuge in his home."

"What? Doesn't that mean Guo Ziyi will lose?!"

"How to do?"

"..."

Guo Ziyi had also received the news that Xue Zhan had arrived, and he calmly dispatched a troop to resist.

Today, Xue Zhan seemed like he could be the surprise weapon to break the impasse. Unfortunately, he was still too young. Perhaps because he was too worried, he ran all the way here frantically. When he arrived at the battlefield, he was exhausted and could not speed up to form a powerful attack.

Although Xue Rengui's descendants are good, they are still a little short of the mark.

In Guo Ziyi's eyes, today's battle was basically over, and the two sides were evenly matched. If one must say, his losses were indeed slightly greater, but a battle is never decided in a short period of time.

The final result is the result, and the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit.

At this moment, shouting was heard outside.

"Don't come in! The commander is giving orders..."

"Step aside!"

Guo Ziyi turned around and saw red and purple eyes. It was a group of important officials of the court who came in a hurry.

"Guo Ziyi! You are so brave!"

Before he even arrived, some officials had already started shouting and scolding.

"We have come to the outskirts of the capital to welcome the emperor. What are you doing? Openly rebelling? Hurry up and order the troops to withdraw and apologize to the saint!"

Before this, Guo Ziyi had nothing to do with the reform, and he had no intention of getting involved. It was because of Liu Zheng's rebellion and rumors that the emperor had passed away that he rushed to Chang'an on the official document from the Secretariat.

Later, because of the turmoil in Luoyang, he agreed to support Li Yin after these people's persuasion.

Even now, he still insists on protecting the Li Tang ancestral temple, but these people have changed their faces again.

With a bang, Guo Ziyi said coldly, "I am not raising an army to protect your few acres of land, and I will not accept your orders. We are fighting now, so retreat!"

"Fighting? You are fighting against a saint!"

"Since he is a traitor to Xue, I have the duty to defend my territory, so I cannot let him enter Chang'an."

Guo Ziyi's position was different from these people. He did not care about the reform, but only cared about Xue Bai's name, which was exactly what others did not care about at all.

In front of people pursuing interests, his persistence seems a little ridiculous.

"Guo Ziyi, what grounds do you have to say that the saint is Xue Ni? Yes, he publicly revealed the name he used when he sought refuge, because that was his name back then! No one can deny that he is Xue Bai, but what is even more undeniable is that he is of the bloodline of the Tang Dynasty, and is the one who was passed down by Emperor Xuanzong and the previous emperor."

Guo Ziyi didn't want to pay attention to such sophistry and looked towards the direction of the battlefield.

In just this short moment, the situation on the battlefield had changed and he had no time to argue with these people.

But the sophistry is increasing.

"What has your Majesty done wrong? He took on the identity of Xue Bai because he was persecuted in the Three Commoners Case. He still remembers the past even after ascending the throne, which shows that he is a person who cherishes the past."

"Yes, Li Xian plotted treason and slandered the emperor, causing His Majesty to be furious, which led to the current major case in Luoyang. Guo Ziyi, are you an accomplice of Li Xian?!"

Even Li Qiyun couldn't stand listening to these spineless words.

When his land and slaves were confiscated, he cursed Xue as a traitor. Seeing that he could not win the battle, he could not wait to defend the emperor. The so-called aristocratic family could not escape the greed and cowardice of human nature after all.

"Everyone get down!"

Guo Ziyi no longer had time to dwell on this and had to focus on the battlefield. He ordered his soldiers to drive all these officials away.

At this time, it was visible to the naked eye from the battlefield that Xue Bai's troops had gradually gained an advantage.

Some officials were worried that Xue Bai would take revenge on them later if he won, so they decided to make contributions at this time.

"Seize his banner!"

I don't know which official suddenly shouted, but he actually rushed over to grab the waving flag, causing a group of officials to scramble for it. This would be a serious crime under normal circumstances, but these people were all officials of the court wearing red and purple, so the soldiers on the battlefield did not dare to draw their swords against them.

"No more fighting, I want to protect the emperor..."

"Escort!"

On the battlefield along the Bashui River, the fighting continues.

The soldiers crawled and rolled in pools of blood, fighting at the risk of their lives for the interests of others.

On the battlefield, the nobles and officials scrambled for the banner, like a group of dogs fighting for a piece of meat in the market...

(End of this chapter)