Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 530: Stab Brother Ji's heart with the mind of a beast

A ferry crossing north of Weinan County is where Ji Ge’s royal tent is located and also where the army’s headquarters is located.

Although Brother Ji doesn't have to do anything, the 60,000 soldiers under his command are not there to just eat and do nothing!

This time when marching towards Chang'an, the army was divided into two routes, north and south.

The southern route was mainly composed of infantry, responsible for attacking Weinan County and the enemy’s camp and preventing them from returning to Chang’an.

The northern route was to march straight into Chang'an! The plan was to coerce and lure the defenders to open the city and surrender!
As the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, Li Guangbi had to stay by Ji Ge's side at all times and obey his orders.

The power is really great, and the troubles are really annoying.

"General Li Jie, General Wang has led his troops to attack the north gate of Weinan County and is fighting the enemy. According to your instructions, they have set fire to the houses in the city. The fire has already started!"

A messenger hurried up to him and saluted Li Guangbi with his fists clasped.

Ji Ge, who was sitting behind Li Guangbi, raised his eyebrows but said nothing, as if he was waiting for Li Guangbi's reply.

"Since the fire has been set, let Wang Sili leave the city first. Don't act recklessly."

Li Guangbi gave the order calmly.

After the messenger left, he stepped forward and reported to Brother Ji:

“Saint, although Wang Sili’s troops have broken through the north gate of Weinan County, the enemy troops are still numerous. If we force them too hard, I’m afraid they will become desperate and fight like a trapped beast.

Tonight our army will open a road in the west to allow the enemy to escape through there.

General Gao’s Northern Army has a lot of cavalry, so he can just send out one or two thousand men to pursue these deserters.

I have sent people to ambush at the fences and trenches south of Weinan County. When the enemy troops come to reinforce Weinan County from the southern camp, our army will rush over and kill them. We will surely win the battle!"

Li Guangbi saluted Ji Ge with his arms crossed.

Logically speaking, Brother Ji should be very excited to fight back to Chang'an. However, Li Guangbi found that Brother Ji was listless and seemed to be in poor physical condition.

He waited for a long time before Brother Ji slowly said, "Just strangle it slowly. There's no need to rush it overnight."

After he finished speaking, there was only the sound of the flowing water of the Wei River. Brother Ji didn't even look in the direction of Weinan County, but instead kept looking west along the Wei River. At the end of his sight was Chang'an!
He lived in Chang'an for decades!
There are all kinds of memories of Ji Ge from his youth, middle age and old age.

Although he was born in Luoyang, he was a native of Chang'an.

"Changan, I'm back."

Brother Ji spoke slowly in a low voice, with an indescribable obsession.

He is nearly 70 years old, and has left too many footprints in Chang'an.

These fragments hidden in his memory couldn't help but touch his extremely cold heart.

It's like a kind of homesickness.

Li Guangbi stood by like a fool, watching the old emperor muttering to himself, not knowing what to say.

Finally, Gao Lishi noticed his embarrassment and said to Li Guangbi: "General Li, please go back to military affairs. We should capture Weinan County as soon as possible."

At the same time, he walked up to Brother Ji and said, "Saint, it's windy outside, please go into the imperial tent and rest."

"Please rest assured, Saint! I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

Li Guangbi clasped his fists, bowed, and stepped back.

He walked far away from the imperial tent by the river, then he clenched his fists tightly, his eyes red with excitement!

"Foster father, I will lead the troops into Chang'an this time to collect some interest first. When I find a chance in the future, I will come and deal with An Zhongzhang."

Li Guangbi looked out at the Wei River, he still remembered that Wang Zhongsi's revenge had not been avenged.

Li Guangbi was able to achieve his current success thanks to the support of Wang Zhongsi.

This is just like getting on a car or a boat, you have no control over your behavior.

Not to mention that Li Guangbi himself wanted revenge, even if he didn't want to, he had to pretend to want revenge and take action.

This is the integrity that a military man relies on to make a living.

Just as he was thinking about the battle situation, his general Zhang Boyi came over excitedly, clasped his fists and saluted Li Guangbi and reported: "General Li Jie, the enemy troops have set out from the camp and are moving towards Weinan County. Should we..."

He made a motion of wiping his neck.

The city gate was smashed, a fire broke out in the north of the city, and a large number of enemy troops poured into the city.

What this shows is self-evident.

It was reasonable for Yan Zhenqing to send people to reinforce Weinan County.

Digging trenches is the basic skill of war. Soldiers in the camp outside the city can be transferred to the city through trenches, and vice versa. In the trenches, they will not be hit by enemy cavalry.

Even if the other side has more people, they cannot deploy their formation.

It has to be said that although what Yan Zhenqing did was in vain, he did try his best.

"Letting this group of people pass must be intentional to send them to die and test our strength.

They're definitely going to make a big move tonight.

You lead a thousand men to attack the trenches and fences of the camp, test them once and then retreat.

I will have other troops harass them in waves, not letting the enemy army have a moment to rest."

Li Guangbi said to Zhang Boyi, obviously with confidence.

No matter how weak the enemy was, there were still 20 to 30 thousand people, occupying a county town and a large camp. It would take a long time to kill tens of thousands of pigs, and rushing in blindly to break through the enemy's formation was a bad idea.

"Order!"

Zhang Boyi took the order and left.

After he left, Li Guangbi took a few personal soldiers and walked around the entire front line, and he already had a rough idea of ​​the situation.

Yan Zhenqing is somewhat interesting, or it can be said that he also has capable people under him.

Knowing that most of his soldiers were weak and could easily fail, Yan Zhenqing built a large camp outside the city like a grid, limiting the size of each camp to about 500 people.

One after another.

In this way, soldiers who mutinied or fled because of fear would not affect other camps when their camps were bombed, thus limiting the flow of personnel to the greatest extent!
"Haha, all in vain, it's just a last-ditch struggle."

Li Guangbi sneered and talked to himself.

He saw Zhang Boyi leading his troops to retreat, so he sent another group of people to continue to put pressure on him.

"How's it going?"

Li Guangbi asked when he saw Zhang Boyi looked relaxed.

"General Li Jie, those cowards in the enemy army are about to collapse at the first blow. However, according to your military order, I dare not go deep into the enemy. I will lead my brothers to retreat after destroying the wooden fence."

Zhang Boyi said disapprovingly.

Li Guangbi nodded slightly without explaining anything.

There is no need to reveal the core tactics so early. If things are not kept secret, they will fail. We can just issue military orders when the time comes.

"Go and rest, and get ready. We will defeat the enemy tonight."

Li Guangbi waved his hand, signaling Zhang Boyi to take the troops to rest. Judging from his tone, there would probably be a big battle in the evening.

After a while, he ordered Hao Tingyu to lead a thousand people to continue attacking the junction of the camp and the county town, and destroyed a section of the wooden fence.

Hao Tingyu also did not advance deep into the enemy territory alone. He fought off the enemy, destroyed a section of the fence and then retreated.

The battle continued until dusk, when Li Guangbi called off the troops.

After returning to the imperial tent, Brother Ji just woke up from a nap. Seeing that Li Guangbi came empty-handed, he asked with an unhappy look on his face: "After a day of fierce fighting, you still haven't taken Weinan County?"

This dog emperor forgot everything he said before after a good night's sleep!
"Sir, we were just testing the waters during the day."

Li Guangbi was helpless, but he still explained. Ji Ge did not say anything, but looked at him with interest, waiting for the next words.

"Saint, during the day, my troops were just constantly scaring the bandits. Whenever they were about to break through the defense line, I would withdraw the troops.

As a result, the enemy army was constantly frightened and became like a frightened bird. They would definitely escape under the cover of darkness.

I have already sent people to set up an ambush on the road back to Chang'an, please rest assured, Your Majesty."

So that’s it!
Brother Ji nodded slightly. Although Li Guangbi's words were vague and some details were unclear, it could still be seen that the other party's thinking on using troops was very clear.

Since Yan Zhenqing is lying in wait here, blocking the way with deep trenches and fortifications, it would be unwise to fight head-on. Even if the enemy is defeated by force, the gains would be greater than the losses!
Constantly undermine the enemy's morale, making them feel insecure at any moment, and then when night falls, some of them will inevitably run away.

After all, intelligence showed that most of Yan Zhenqing's men were street thugs and servants of wealthy families who were temporarily recruited from Chang'an, and they themselves did not have much desire to fight.

If they are forced into a desperate situation, these people will fight to the death.

The best strategy is to scare them a bit and then catch them all in one fell swoop!

It has to be said that Li Guangbi is a man of his own means and does not act rashly on impulse.

"Then I will wait here for your good news."

Brother Ji said slowly.

Li Guangbi was startled. He understood that this "Great Tang Saint" who was nearly 70 years old not only had a bad temper, but also could not tolerate any sand in his eyes.

If he cannot win this battle in one go, or if he cannot deal with these small fry in front of him tonight, then Li Guangbi's career as an official will probably be over.

Time passed little by little, and the sky gradually darkened.

Li Guangbi waited patiently outside the imperial tent.

Even though he was extremely anxious and afraid that he had miscalculated, he did not show it on his face and still looked calm.

I waited and waited, and the battlefield fell into deathly silence, as if there was no one there.

Li Guangbi wasted time and competed with Yan Zhenqing in endurance, and he didn't even have dinner.

Midnight had arrived and the hour of midnight had passed, leaving only the crazy chirping of cicadas, buzzing in the surrounding woods.

It's upsetting.

Li Guangbi couldn't hold back any longer. Before he had taken a few steps, Zhang Boyi hurriedly stepped forward and whispered in Li Guangbi's ear: "General Li Jie, the rebels are starting to flee westward in groups of three or five! Another group of soldiers is heading towards the county seat of Weinan County, apparently to reinforce them."

At this time, the soldiers sent by Wang Sili also arrived at the camp and reported to Li Guangbi: "General, General Wang said that someone in Weinan County opened the west gate and headed towards Chang'an. General Wang asked if we should launch a general attack?"

Some people ran away, while others went to provide reinforcements.

Li Guangbi immediately understood that in critical moments, different people would make different choices.

But it doesn't matter which choice he makes, because he and Gao Xianzhi have already laid a tight net.

When those bandit troops left the city and camp and fled back, they were on the road to death.

"Fireworks, general attack!"

Li Guangbi gave the order in a deep voice.

After an incense stick of time, three fireworks bloomed in the air above Ji Ge's tent.

boom! boom! boom!
The brilliant fireworks were fleeting, and the soldiers on the ground began to move.

……

In the dead of night, in the northern part of Weinan County, a troop of one thousand men quietly gathered.

The leader was Zhang Guangsheng.

These people are composed of elite personnel from the Jinwu Guards and Qianniu Guards in the palace, as well as many retired veterans of the border troops.

They were all wearing heavy armor, holding long spears, with horn crossbows on their backs and quivers hanging on their waists, ready for a fatal attack.

During the day, these people risked their lives to move from the camp outside the city into the city just for this moment.

"General Zhang, can such a risky thing be successful?"

Yan Zhenqing lowered his posture and asked without hesitation.

"Needless to say? It's just like hitting a rock with an egg, a gamble of life.

If you were to work under General Fang Jie with your skills, you wouldn't even be able to lead a thousand soldiers."

Zhang Guangsheng complained unintentionally, then realized that he had said something wrong, and immediately clasped his fists to apologize and said, "I said something wrong, please don't blame me, Minister Yan."

At this critical moment, how could Yan Zhenqing blame him? It’s hard to say whether he can survive the night!
Zhang Guangsheng continued to explain:

"I have seen the emperor's tent on the high plateau of Luduan Village.

There is a very special tent near the ferry on the south bank of the Wei River. I guess that is where the emperor is. It is not far from Weinan County.

Although our troops are few, most of the enemy's troops are concentrated elsewhere and are not on guard against Weinan County.

Taking advantage of the night, we will charge directly to the imperial tent. As long as we can hold the emperor hostage, the siege of Chang'an will be lifted."

Zhang Guangsheng said with a hint of pride.

"So you asked me to order a breakout and let those soldiers leave on their own, which is to create chaos?"

Yan Zhenqing began to understand Zhang Guangsheng's plan.

Give a slight hint to the recruited thugs and tell them that those who want to leave can leave on their own.

These people came to the army just to get the military pay, and were frightened out of their wits when Li Guangbi sent people to charge into the enemy's ranks during the day. Their hearts had already flown away.

Now it's getting late, and the opportunity to fish in troubled waters has come. If those people don't run away, are they still hiding in the military camp to lay eggs?

They will definitely run away.

Li Guangbi had expected these useless people to run away, and the ambushers had already been in place. It was impossible for a large group of soldiers to gather in one place.

Therefore, it is certain that the military force in Ji Ge's tent on the south bank of the Wei River is relatively light. At least compared with daytime, the number of soldiers on duty has been greatly reduced.

After all this, the opportunity has come, hasn't it?
"Yes, Lord Yan, haven't you heard that a kind person cannot command an army?"

Zhang Guangsheng said this confidently, as if he didn't feel at all how cruel it was to push tens of thousands of people to death just to pave the way for these one thousand elite troops.

As long as this attack is successful, even if we fail to hijack him, it would be a huge profit if we can kill Brother Ji.

"When you led the army under Fang Qing, you really learned a lot."

Yan Zhenqing sighed with emotion.

Fang Zhongyong's subordinates are so powerful, it's hard to imagine how strong he is now. Wang Zhongsi is Fang Zhongyong's father-in-law. If this man comes to seek revenge in the future, who can stop him?

Yan Zhenqing couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At this moment, three fireworks lit up in the sky above the imperial tent in the distance.

Zhang Guangsheng put away the smile on his face and said solemnly: "The general attack from the opposite side has begun. Someone will definitely come to attack the north gate. Lord Yan, now it's a matter of the brave winning when two meet on a narrow road. You should go in front, otherwise the brothers won't trust you. If you don't charge, no one will charge, and then we'll be done for."

Zhang Guangsheng ordered his personal soldiers to put armor on Yan Zhenqing. Although it was only leather armor, it was enough to make Yan Zhenqing feel suffocated.

The weight of this armor is truly beyond imagination.

After he had put on his armor, Zhang Guangsheng patted Yan Zhenqing on the shoulder, not caring about hierarchy at all, and a carefree smile appeared on his face.

"Mr. Yan, our brothers have narrowly escaped death tonight. When it's time to take action, don't be soft-hearted. The rewards that should be given must not be reduced in any way."

He patted the sword at his waist, and a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes!
Zhang Guangsheng is hinting at "regicide"! They want to kill Brother Ji, these soldiers have gone crazy!
Yan Zhenqing's heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and he nodded slightly in silence.

Will it really succeed?

Yan Zhenqing asked himself this question quietly in his heart, but unfortunately he couldn't find the answer.

(End of this chapter)