Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 531 Brother Ji's Tribulation

It was late at night and the north gate of Weinan County was wide open.

It’s not that the defenders didn’t want to close the gate, but the city gate had been burned down, so there was no way to close it even if they wanted to.

Zhang Boyi, who was preparing to lead his troops to attack the city, looked quite relaxed.

Everyone knew that Li Guangbi had given the army a break at the west gate, so after leaving the west gate, the defenders of Weinan County could flee directly to Chang'an via this route.

Even though my life is saved.

The defenders of Weinan County would never stay in the north where there was no city gate protection.

"General Zhang, something is wrong. It's too quiet."

A personal soldier whispered into Zhang Boyi's ear.

At this moment, there were no torches on the city walls, and no sound from inside the city. The open north gate was like a giant beast that devoured human lives, opening its bloody mouth wide, waiting for the warriors who challenged it.

To enter or not to enter?
This matter required Zhang Boyi to make a quick decision. He thought for a few seconds, and then thought of the stinky bird eggs he had fought with during the day, and suddenly felt that he had the advantage.

It's similar to a father beating his son, well, a strong father beating his underage son.

"Why should we hesitate? We have fought all over the country, but can't we defeat a bunch of Chang'an street hooligans?"

Zhang Boyi said nonchalantly.

"rush!"

Zhang Boyi gave the order decisively, and his square face was full of confidence under the light of the torch.

Upon receiving the military order, the drummers and musicians accompanying the team immediately began beating the drums.

The torch-bearing troops began to rush into the city gate.

"kill!"

A loud shout was heard in the distance, and countless soldiers in armor and with unknown numbers and identities rushed out from the darkness and attacked anyone they saw!
"Fell into a trap!"

Zhang Boyi's heart skipped a beat and he secretly thought that something was wrong.

"Put out the torch!"

He shouted loudly that he was not afraid of the two armies facing each other, but he could not use the dark to fight against the light, as it would be too disadvantageous.

At this moment, a crossbow arrow shot from not far away and blew Zhang Boyi's helmet off!

Thanks to his shout, most of his soldiers heard it, and those who didn't hear it followed the example of others and extinguished their torches.

Soon it was pitch black all around, with only faint moonlight, making it impossible to identify friend or foe.

In the darkness, the mysterious "ambush" did not catch them to fight, but ran towards the outside of the city. In the darkness, there was only a swaying, looming figure.

In view of this, the veteran soldiers under Zhang Boyi pretended that they did not see those people leading their troops to rush into the city.

Everyone is rushing to protect themselves.

With darkness against darkness, the two teams, each with its own agenda, quickly broke off contact. Zhang Boyi led his troops to slowly wander around the city in the dark, clearing a path.

And the mysterious ambush troops headed out of the city.

Both sides seemed to have tacitly agreed to avoid war and go their separate ways.

Zhang Boyi knew that it was not right to pursue a desperate enemy. Those people must be heading to Chang'an. Why should he let his troops fight to the death with them? Anyway, Gao Xianzhi's cavalry was waiting for these self-righteous "elites".

Moreover, as long as Li Guangbi brings Zhang Boyi and others to Chang'an, all the gold, silver, treasures and beautiful women will be ready.

It's like an unlocked and unattended warehouse. You can take whatever you want and as much as you want!
A bright future is right in front of us, how can we lose our life on the eve of victory?
What Zhang Boyi didn't know was that the mysterious ambush force was the last elite troops among the defenders led by Zhang Guangsheng.

Since Zhang Boyi didn't cause them any trouble, they were naturally happy to leave the city.

After a long time, Zhang Boyi found that the city was quiet and there seemed to be nothing unusual. He then ordered torches to be lit, checked around, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the bandit army ran away!

"Tell the brothers, don't tell anyone about what happened tonight. Be careful of Li Jieshuai's stick!"

Zhang Boyi whispered instructions to the soldiers around him.

After saying that, he led his infantrymen towards the direction of the county government office. They did not encounter any resistance along the way, as if the defenders in the city had disappeared.

Zhang Boyi thought to himself: General Li Jie is indeed a military genius. After he opened up the western defense, all the weaklings in Weinan County fled to Chang'an through this gap.

They rushed to the county government office without any hindrance, only to find that the office was deserted, dark and without even a ghost in sight.

Suddenly, for some reason, an absurd idea popped up in Zhang Boyi's mind.

The bandits who just broke through were obviously all infantry. Why didn't they go west but chose to go out from the north gate?

Even if they took a detour, they wouldn't be able to run far, and Gao Xianzhi could send cavalry to kill them at any time.

Even if we succeed in breaking through, we still have to go back to Chang'an. Not going back to Chang'an is equivalent to not having broken through!
Could they have some other purpose?

Thinking of this, Zhang Boyi had a bad feeling in his heart.

He ordered his personal soldiers: "Take a hundred sword and shield soldiers and charge into the county government office to test it. Put down your shields, hold up torches and advance slowly!"

"Order!"

The guards hurried to pass on the order, and soon, a hundred soldiers with swords in their right hands and torches in their left hands, wearing heavy armor, filed in. Soon, the torches in the county government office were lit one by one.

Zhang Boyi frowned and thought hard at the gate of the county government office, but he still couldn't figure out what that small bandit army was doing.

Even if these few people want to reverse the situation, they can't do it!

He was feeling very nervous, as if he had overlooked something important.

In fact, it was normal that Zhang Boyi couldn't figure it out, because he had been fighting in the Longyou Jiedushi defense zone for a long time, which was the front line against Tubo, and there were only two results: killing and being killed.

Therefore, the military orders to be executed were relatively simple. All they had to do was kill the Tibetans they saw and that was it. They also had to guard against the Tibetans from breaking into the city. There was no need to think deeply about complex issues such as why, whether, or what to do.

Just as he was lost in thought, his personal guards came out, clasped their fists and saluted him, saying, "General Zhang, there is no one in the county government office!"

This reminded Zhang Boyi!

"Is there no one?"

Zhang Boyi asked in a deep voice, his tone already sounding a bit harsh.

"General, there is indeed no one left, or rather, there is no one in this city."

The personal soldier replied with some grievance.

"Is that so? Alas!"

Zhang Boyi sighed softly. He knew that he could still be brave and strong, but he was not good at commanding a battle. He could only follow orders and carry out military orders.

He is the same age as Li Guangbi, but they have different fates.

This is the gap between people, you can't refuse to accept it.

"General Zhang, it's nothing. The Saint is like that now, how dare he punish us!

I thought it was a few years ago!

This time, once we get to Chang'an, we will have the final say. We can rob any family we want, and the Saint can't disagree!"

The personal soldier spoke to Zhang Boyi with a proud look on his face.

"Saint? Yes! Saint! Old Saint!"

Zhang Boyi suddenly realized what those people were trying to do.

They were heading for the saint's royal tent!
Because it’s dark under the lamp, there are the least people there!
Li Guangbi's careful deployment was aimed at annihilating the enemy and leaving no future troubles.

But it’s not to protect the saint!

The Western Army had no intention of protecting the emperor. They were not imperial guards. When they fought against the Tibetans, they didn't care what would happen to the emperor!
I don't have that mindset. "Quick, quick, quick, return to the imperial tent to defend! Those people are going to assassinate the emperor!"

Zhang Boyi's voice was trembling as he spoke!
What a big deal!

Now all the mobile forces under Li Guangbi's command are either pursuing or ambushing. These 3,000 people are the only organized field army near Ji Ge's tent.

The rest of the people were all smart and capable soldiers selected by Li Guangbi from the army, who were specially assigned to run errands for Brother Ji. In terms of eliteness, they were actually not as good as Zhang Boyi and other soldiers in full armor.

"Pass the order down, run, go to the imperial tent to protect the emperor, protect the emperor!"

The tone of Zhang Boyi's voice had changed when he gave orders.

……

Outside the imperial tent beside the Wei River, Brother Ji looked at the flowing Wei River in silence.

There was not much to see at night, and you could only see as far as the torchlight could reach.

A bright moon is reflected on the surface of the Wei River in the distance. This scene makes people feel desolate.

"Lishi, why do you think Quanzhong betrayed me?"

Brother Ji turned his back to Gao Lishi and asked a question that the other party didn't know how to answer.

Seeing that Gao Lishi did not answer, Brother Ji did not care and continued:
"That year was my birthday, and Quanzhong personally trained six horses, then led the way, dancing on the saddle.

Six warriors dancing on horseback, how majestic!
When the drums sounded, the warriors retreated and the horses danced alone on the platform again.

The horse that Quanzhong had ridden before, with a jade bowl filled with fine wine in its mouth, slowly walked up to me, put the bowl in front of me, and toasted me.

At that time, I was really happy, and I still haven't forgotten this birthday gift.

It was great, I had everything at that time."

Ji Ge's face showed a mixture of envy and disappointment. He sighed and continued, "When things were so difficult, Quanzhong didn't betray me. Why would he betray me now? I can't understand how I have done him wrong. I won't accept it!"

He spoke with grief, helplessness, and endless bitterness.

"Don't be sad, saint. He is the one who failed the saint."

Gao Lishi echoed softly.

Fang Youde supported Li Heng to take the position at the most critical moment, which was like a stab in the back for Brother Ji!

It can be said that it was this move that created the current situation of the Tang Dynasty.

At least that's what it looks like on the surface.

What Brother Ji couldn't understand was: Fang Quanzhong was such a ruthless person. Even his own son didn't rebel at that time, so why did he rebel?
No one could give him an answer.

At this moment, a large number of footsteps were faintly heard from the west.

"Stop! Password!"

The sentry on duty outside the imperial tent shouted loudly.

call out!call out!call out!
call out!call out!call out!
In answer, there were at least a hundred poisonous arrows shot from the darkness.

All of a sudden, arrows rained down!

Swift, sudden, and covert, the main feature is to not say a word beforehand and kill after the incident!

The sentries on duty were shot into pieces!
"Escort! Escort!"

Someone in the camp shouted loudly, and then someone in the darkness shot a crossbow towards the place where the sound came from, and immediately the place became quiet.

"Saint! Someone is trying to assassinate me!"

Gao Lishi's face changed drastically and he exclaimed in a low voice, but Brother Ji seemed to have Alzheimer's disease and did not react at all to what was happening!
"Saint, put on your slave's clothes! Run! Run to the south!"

While shouting, Gao Lishi took off his Tang army uniform and stuffed it into Ji Ge's arms without saying a word.

Then he took off Ji Ge's dragon robe and put it on himself.

Seeing that Ji Ge was dressing slowly, Gao Lishi hurriedly helped him dress. Then he cut his palm and blood dripped onto Ji Ge's clothes on his back.

At this moment, some of the several hundred guards in the camp had reacted and gathered at the camp gate, forming a small sword and shield wall to guard against the enemy's spearmen.

But more bandits directly climbed over the camp fence and launched a sneak attack from behind the sword and shield wall!
With more people against fewer, the remaining guards in the camp were quickly killed. The mysterious sneak attack team poured into the camp like a tide and rushed towards the imperial tent where Ji Ge was.

"Look, the old emperor is running over there!"

Gao Lishi ran to a dark place and shouted loudly.

Brother Ji simply lay down behind a big rock, not moving a single muscle.

There was a streak of blood on his back, which was caused by Gao Lishi cutting open his palm and staining his back red.

Seeing that the enemy army had not yet rushed over, Gao Lishi, wearing a dragon robe, ran back and appeared under the firelight.

This time someone saw him!

"Over there! Chase after him! If you kill that bastard, His Majesty will reward you handsomely!"

The leader Zhang Guangsheng shouted, his face twisted with excitement and fury!

Today's strategy of escaping death and survival was indeed concealed from the opponent.

If a person himself believes that a blow is certain to kill him, then the enemy will naturally think so as well and thus fail to guard against it.

When deploying troops, strengthening the left wing will weaken the right wing, strengthening the forwards will weaken the rear guard, and strengthening everywhere will weaken everywhere. After judging the enemy's situation, strengthening where it should be strengthened and weakening where it should be weakened is the correct way to command and dispatch.

By taking advantage of this, using twenty or thirty thousand small fish to attract the opponent's attention and send them to death, Zhang Guangsheng earned a chance to kill Brother Ji!
"Kill! Kill the thief today! Wealth and glory are just around the corner!"

Zhang Guangsheng shouted again.

Perhaps it was because Gao Lishi acted too convincingly, or because the night was too dark, or perhaps it was because Zhang Guangsheng and his soldiers were too excited, they did not even notice the "corpse" lying motionless on the ground next to a large rock not far from the imperial tent!
Brother Ji tilted his head, his heart beating like a drum.

He once again felt the fatal threat, and this time death was really close to him.

It was so close that an enemy soldier coming to clean up the battlefield could spot clues.

In a split second, life or death can be decided.

Brother Ji didn't dare to move. He could only squint his eyes and observe the situation around him.

The bandit army chased Gao Lishi desperately.

But unfortunately, they were wearing armor, and Gao Lishi was in very good health. He was a messenger on weekdays, so he had extraordinary running strength. For a while, the bandit army could not catch up!

The purpose of those people seemed very clear, they were coming for Brother Ji.

At this moment, a bandit soldier following behind quietly entered the imperial tent like a ghost, and no one knew what he was going to do.

Soon, the man came out with a silver basin that Ji Ge used to wash his feet, and a copper chamber pot.

Suddenly, he saw a dead man lying near a large rock next to the imperial tent, so he walked closer with a torch in hand.

Ji Ge's heart was in his throat, but luckily, the soldier saw the blood on Ji Ge's back and thought that he was a defender who was stabbed to death because he tried to escape, so he didn't look at it carefully and turned around and left.

If Brother Ji hadn't been wearing his military helmet, or if this soldier had stepped forward to "lick the bag", he would have noticed something was wrong!
By then, Brother Ji won't be able to run away even if he wants to. How can he possibly defeat the young and strong soldiers armed to the teeth?

At the critical moment, this bandit soldier turned around and headed towards the main force, and picked up the emperor's silver basin for washing feet and a chamber pot for defecating. The unexpected wealth made him so happy that he lost himself in joy!
call!
Watching the soldier slowly walking away with the silver basin in his left hand and the chamber pot in his right hand, Brother Ji couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Really dangerous!

He couldn't help but worry about Gao Lishi.

With so many pursuers behind him, can Gao Lishi escape?
How did he escape?

Brother Ji had a hunch that this time, Gao Lishi would have a hard time escaping danger.

At this moment, Brother Ji was like a fallen immortal. Every time he encountered a disaster, he would lose a treasure, until he was left with nothing and died.

(End of this chapter)