Ji Tang

Half a day later, a demoralized army appeared outside Iron City.

In fact, the Tiecheng garrison knew that an army was coming here long ago. Because he didn't know the details and the sudden appearance of the army in Chang'an City, he immediately closed the city gate and the five thousand garrison immediately went on guard!
Tiecheng is the largest iron cavalry manufacturing place in the Tang Dynasty besides Xuanzhou Tiecheng.But unlike Xuanzhou, Xuanzhou mainly provided raw materials, smelted iron into cast iron, and then sent it to all parts of the world, and Chang'an Iron City was its largest digestion place.

Hundreds of millions of kilograms of iron enter here every year and are then turned into armor, weapons, farm tools, and various iron products.It can be said that as long as you control this place, you will control the largest arsenal in Chang'an.

In addition, it happened to be the beginning of the year, and the armors and weapons that had been accumulated for more than half a year were all gathered here, and the warehouse could no longer be stacked.

The guard of Tiecheng was none other than the former Chief Protector of Anxi Protectorate, Guo Xiaoke, who had returned from the Western Regions.Since returning from the Western Regions, Li Shimin has not let him go back. First, he almost died at Ximen Pass. Although he was rescued, his body collapsed.

Therefore, he was rearranged here. As the guard of the city with the largest weapons in the Tang Dynasty, he had five thousand elite men under his command.

"General Cavalry, the people coming here are flying the Su flag, and the flags of the left and right military guards. They should be under General Su Liesu and General Xue Wanche. General, please tell me!"

Guo Xiaoke frowned when he heard this. He didn't know about Xue Wanche yet. After all, it just happened this morning.What puzzled him was why they were here?

And it looks like he's lost the battle?Have they already fought with the rebels?
Just when he was hesitating and not knowing what to do, he saw a flag suddenly raised below. When he saw the words on it clearly, he was shocked!
"What? General?"

I saw the inscription on it was "The Duke of the State of Xi, Ji". Who else could it be besides that one?

Just when he was surprised, he saw the team split in the middle, and a chariot appeared at the bottom of the city.Guo Xiaoke quickly took out his telescope and almost dropped it after seeing the person clearly.

"Come here, hang me from the city wall, immediately, immediately!"

The deputy general was shocked when he heard this and said quickly: "General, no, if the rebels kidnap the Duke of Xi, wouldn't you, general, throw yourself into a trap? What will happen to Tiecheng then?"

"Fart, the general was kidnapped? It's a joke. Even if someone says one day that the Iron City was destroyed, I might believe it, but if someone says that the general was kidnapped? I won't believe it!"

"Stop talking nonsense, this is a military order, execute it immediately!"

The lieutenant general had no choice but to order someone to prepare the hanging basket. Just as Guo Xiaoke stepped onto the basket, he turned to the lieutenant general and said: "If something changes later, the city will be handed over to you, even if the other party threatens my life and the general's." Open the city gate. As long as the city gate is not opened, there are five thousand defenders and tens of thousands of craftsmen in the city, which is enough to keep the iron city intact!"

The deputy general asked in confusion: "Since there is danger, why do you still want to go? Is this what the general did?"

After hearing this, Guo Xiaoke was silent for a while and said: "My life was saved by the general. Since the general is here now, I have to go. This is righteousness. But Tiecheng is an important place in the Tang Dynasty, and there is no room for loss. This It’s loyalty.”

"I stand between heaven and earth. Even if I am trapped, I will have no regrets, but I cannot use Iron City as a bet. I will go down to see what is going on. If there is a scam, you don't have to worry about me."

After saying that, he released the hanging basket and the hanging basket dropped rapidly.

Ji Song was stunned when he saw this scene outside, but then he knew what was going on, and said angrily: "This guy is still acting out of anger at this time, it's so stupid!"

Su Lie heard this but said: "General Guo is a loyal man. You have saved his life many times. Due to love, he had to come. Due to reason, he came alone but it was still full of faith. General Why be harsh?"

Ji Song curled his lips. Although what he said didn't sound nice, he felt a little relieved in his heart.

"Let's see what I say about him later. It's unreasonable for a great general to act on his own initiative. If I were a rebel, he would have committed a heinous crime today."

As they were talking, Guo Xiaoke was already approaching. After confirming again, he ran forward excitedly and saluted: "Tiecheng Guardsman Guo Xiaoke pays homage to the general!"

"Bold Guo Xiaoke, do you know your crime? You left the city without permission and ignored His Majesty's trust. How dare you come to see me?"

The corner of Su Lie's mouth twitched, but he still had to step forward to comfort him: "General, calm down, isn't it okay? General Guo must have done this because he saw the general's eagerness. Now is the time to employ people, please ask the general Put the overall situation first and deal with it when the time comes!"

Ji Song nodded, signaled Guo Xiaoke to stand up, and said directly: "Have rebels arrived here? What's the situation with the rebels now?"

Guo Xiaoke was stunned and said in confusion: "You didn't meet the rebels? Then this is..."

He pointed at the people behind him who looked defeated.

Ji Song's face instantly turned dark when he heard this. He couldn't bring up this matter. Forget it, now is not the time to talk about these things. He pointed at the city gate and said, "Open the door. I am taking over Tiecheng now. There is no order from me." , no one is allowed to leave!"

"Those who do not follow will be killed without mercy!"

"promise!"

Guo Xiaoke agreed to Ji Song's order without even thinking about it. In his opinion, even if everyone in the world rebelled, this person would be unlikely to rebel.But then again, if this person really rebels, he is really no match for him, so he might as well just let it go.If the sky falls, there will be someone to support it.

"Open the door!"

The deputy general on the city had been observing the city with binoculars. When Guo Xiaoke knelt down on one knee and saluted, he knew that this was one of his own.If it weren't for Duke Xi's arrival, with his arrogance, even if the prince came, he would just give it away!

So he no longer hesitated and said loudly: "Open the city gate!"

Just when they were about to enter the city gate, there was a commotion behind them, and more than ten cavalrymen were gradually approaching. When everyone saw who was coming, they were all surprised.

"Duke Xi, stay!"

Li Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief. After he secretly lurked out of the city with more than ten people from Chang'an, he rushed here non-stop.Hurrying and hurrying, I finally caught up.

Cheng Yaojin finally calmed down at this time. Ji Song was fine, and it seemed that he had subdued the rebels. Although the number had decreased, it was probably due to a big battle.

"Ziyi, I finally found you!"

Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin looked Ji Song up and down and found that there was nothing else but a little embarrassed, so they felt relieved!
"Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin? Why are you here too?" Guo Xiaoke said in surprise.

"Okay, no more words, Ji Song, take the order!"

Ji Song was stunned. When Li Ji took out the imperial edict, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Ji Song takes the edict!"

".Order the Duke of Ning, the head of Wuying Pavilion, and Ji Song as the general to command all the armies in Guanzhong and wipe out the rebellion here!"

The imperial edict is very short, just a few sentences.But its significance shocked everyone. Commanding all the troops of General Guan?Appointed as a general?What kind of trust and power is this?
Even Li Ji and others are jealous, which shows His Majesty's trust in Ji Song!

"Your Majesty, Ji Song, accept the order!" After taking the imperial edict and checking it carefully to make sure there was nothing wrong, he felt helpless. Why did he have to go to the battlefield again?

"General, you are now a real general. This is His Majesty's tiger talisman. If it matches the tiger talisman at the head of your Wuying Pavilion, you can mobilize all the troops in Gyeonggi Province."

Li Ji held the tiger talisman in his hand, bowed and said: "General, please take the tiger talisman!"

"General, please take the tiger talisman!" Cheng Yaojin and others quickly followed.

"General, please take the tiger talisman!"

This was the roar of nearly [-] soldiers behind them, especially the soldiers of Youwuwei, who were crying with joy. The general said that he wanted them to take the blame and perform meritorious service, but they were still uneasy in their hearts. These people are all guilty, no matter who they serve under in the future. , are destined to be cannon fodder.Yes, you deserve it. Even if you survive, you won't end up well in the future.

But now, the general has become their commander-in-chief. Who is the general?That was the invincible commander who led them to defeat the million-eating coalition. Under his leadership, they had absolute confidence to win this battle, and they didn't have to worry about becoming cannon fodder!
The general said that they can no longer stay in the Central Plains, no matter what happens in the future.

They also know this, no one will treat a former rebel army sincerely.But the general said that he would find a place for them to go in the future, and there would be no need to worry about the court settling accounts in the future.

Su Lie looked at the Youwu Guards officers with some sideways eyes. Just now they looked like their parents were dead and had no energy. Why are they all now as if they had been injected with chicken blood?

Ji Song ignored them, but waved his hand and said: "Enter the city!"

Boom boom~
The army advanced into the city and went directly to the warehouse in the center of the city.The moment the warehouse door opened, everyone's breath stopped.

"Hey, darling, how many weapons and armor does this guy get?"

Cheng Yaojin stepped forward in surprise and touched a pair of bright light armor.

"There are more than half a year's worth of weapons and armor stored here. If we take them all out, we can equip an army of fifty thousand, all of which will be armored soldiers!"

There are also 3000 Heng Dao and [-] Mo Dao. Unfortunately, there are no war horses. Otherwise, a horse armor of no less than [-] people could be formed.

Guo Xiaoke said with arrogance, no wonder, this is the only one in the world. Fortunately, years ago, because the supervisors also vacated the warehouse, there was no room to install these weapons and armors, so they were ordered to delay the delivery until after the year. That’s why we have so much inventory, otherwise it would be nice to have one-tenth of it now.

"That's right, take out the weapons and armor, change all the members' uniforms, and select Modao hands to form the Modao battalion."

"Is there a crossbow machine?" Ji Song turned around and asked.

Guo Xiaoke was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead, and said embarrassedly: "Look at my memory, I almost forgot. Because I had prepared some for the battle in the Western Regions, but in the end you didn't ask for them. It was said that it was not easy to replenish the arrows, and it still occupied There is no place to store it. The general has no place to store it, so it has been kept here. I will take you there~"

"No need, just tell me how many there are?" Ji Song waved his hand impatiently. People whose time is precious now have no time to check them one by one.

"I don't take this general seriously because it has been kept in storage. I can't tell you the exact number, but there are at least 300 of them and at least [-] million arrows."

"Sigh~"

Ji Song's hand suddenly shook and he looked at Guo Xiaoke in disbelief.

Now let alone him, everyone else gasped, "Hey, darling, there are so many damn things?"

Ji Song pondered for a moment and didn't know what he thought of. He glanced in the direction of Chang'an and thought to himself: My Majesty, you are really thinking hard. How long have you been preparing for this day?

"Take them all out and change your clothes immediately when the army arrives!"

"promise!"
-
In the huge conference hall, Li Ji was thoughtful, and Cheng Yaojin's eyes were wandering, but without exception, the previous tense mood suddenly relaxed.

What a joke, just these things in Tiecheng's warehouse are enough for them to fight a war to destroy the country, and this does not include the food stored in the city.

Just now, Guo Xiaoke seemed to have thought of something and said he was going to see how much food was in the granary?Everyone was stunned, how much food was there to check?How did you become the city guard?

But when they came to the warehouse and learned that there was enough food and fodder for a hundred thousand troops for three months, they were all dumbfounded.

At this time, if they still thought that all this was a coincidence, they would be really stupid.And the armor's delivery to Chang'an was suddenly delayed.There were [-] crossbows built in the early years, and as many as [-] arrows.

Now tell them that there is enough food and grass for a hundred thousand troops for three months?They wouldn't believe it if it wasn't a pre-arranged beating to death.

They suddenly understood when they thought of His Majesty's confident appearance and An Ran who had everything under control!

Your Majesty definitely knows the rebels' plan and has made the worst arrangements. I'm afraid it was him who arranged Ji Song's departure from the city, otherwise everything would be unclear.

Su Lie suddenly felt a chill. Using the world as a chessboard and the army as chess pieces, His Majesty has played such a big game!
He suddenly thought about whether the same thing happened with Xue Wanche. He shuddered and suddenly woke up in his heart. When he met the general's unexplained eyes, he quickly lowered his head.

"General Su, what's wrong with you?" Ji Song said quietly,

"No, the general just feels a little cold! Yes, it's just a little cold!" He didn't dare to wipe the cold sweat on his head. He was frightened by his own thoughts. He didn't know whether the general was involved in this matter, but He understands something.That is, this matter must be kept in the stomach, and no one can talk about it, otherwise no one will be able to protect themselves.

"Well, since it's cold, wear more clothes and don't get sick from it."

"People like to think about things. Sometimes it's better to be simple? Do you think that's the truth?" Ji Song's words meant something. Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin understood, and cold sweat broke out instantly.Su Lie was even more unbearable and said in a trembling voice: "General, I understand!"

"Okay, it's just a joke. The rebels have laid siege to the city, but we have received news that there are other armies gathering towards Chang'an, so our goal is"

He drew a big circle on the map, with Gaoling, Tongguan, Wuguan, Jiayuguan, and the Yellow River Ferry as the boundaries, with Chang'an as the center, and pointed a little at Chencang, and said: "They fight theirs, and we fight ours." , there are tens of thousands of troops in Chang'an, the city has sufficient food and grass, and sufficient soldiers and armor, enough to control the city for several months, what we have to do now is..."

"Chencang, prevent the opponent from defeating Hanzhong, and Jiayuguan, guard their home base in Longxi. Tongguan is guarded by this general. No Kwantung troops must appear in Guanzhong, otherwise they will come to see you."

"Wuguan, the same is true. All the Yellow River crossings were blown up. Five thousand elderly garrison troops were pinned here to death by me."

"My general, Duke Lu, Duke Ying, and Duke Zhai Yang will each lead a large army to sweep through Guanzhong. If they can annihilate them all, they will annihilate them all. If they cannot, they will rush to Chang'an. Either they will be killed in one battle, or they will sweep through Guanzhong with the force of thunder. They must not be allowed to wreak havoc among the elders in Guanzhong after their defeat."

"Did you hear that clearly?" (End of Chapter)