Tiantang

Chapter 364 Yan Zhenqing Was Forced to Fight

Chapter 372 Yan Zhenqing was forced to fight

Li Heng was startled, he stared at his eldest son in disbelief, and remained silent for a long time.

He fled Chang'an in a hurry, and he didn't forget to take Li Yu out of Chang'an, but agreed to Jianning Wang Li Tan's request to stay in Chang'an.From this, it shows that subconsciously, among his two sons, Li Heng is actually inclined to Li Yu unconsciously.

For Li Yu, he valued it even more.

This point, maybe Li Heng himself didn't realize it.

Li Heng did not expect that Li Yu would take the initiative to rush to the front line of Tongguan, claiming to serve the country and resist the rebels.

Of his two sons, one stays in Chang'an without fear of death, and the other rushes to the country in times of crisis, which should be something to be comforted by.But for Li Heng, this is extremely pedantic.

Li Heng frowned, and was about to refuse, but saw Li Yu paying homage to the ground, and said with emotion, "Your servant should go to the front line instead of the father, to boost the morale of our army, and prevent the rebels from focusing on the front!"

"Please give me your permission!"

Once Li Yu said this, it would be difficult for Li Heng to refuse.

Li Heng hesitated for a while, and finally waved his hands helplessly and said, "I will give you 2000 soldiers and horses, and you can go to Tongguan. I will appoint you as the peace envoy of the counter-insurgency army, and go to Zhang Xuan's army as a supervisor."

Li Yu was overjoyed, thanked him repeatedly, and then left solemnly.

He saw that Li Tan took the initiative to stay in Chang'an, and his prestige in the government and the public instantly rose to a new level. If he rushed to Tongguan to serve in Zhang Xuan's army this time, once the rebellion was successfully suppressed, his achievements and prestige would stabilize Li Tan.

Li Yu led 2000 cavalry to rush to Tongguan day and night.

In addition, it was a bit surprising that Zhang Xuan got the news that Li Yu had joined the army and rushed to Tongguan and was canonized by the emperor as the army supervisor during the march.It's not bad that Li Yu has this kind of courage and courage.At the very least, he was somewhat stronger than his father, Li Heng.

However, Zhang Xuan didn't take it too seriously.

If Li Yu is acquainted and wants to gain a share of military merit, he will give Li Yu a chance; but if Li Yu has other plans to plot against the law, then don't blame Zhang Xuan for not giving face.

Tongguan.

Amid the ardent expectations of the generals and the persecution in a disguised form, and under the multiple pressures from the court, the people and the army, Yan Zhenqing finally made a difficult decision: to divide the troops into [-], and personally lead the [-] troops who made a surprise attack on Cui Qianyou in Shan County. Weak soldiers.

If you don't fight, you won't be able to retreat, and the morale of the army will be unstable.And the imperial decree of the emperor is still vivid, urging to go to war.

For various reasons, Yan Zhenqing decided to take a risk.

At present, his bid is only 5 soldiers and horses. He divides [-] troops to attack Shan County, leaving [-] guards.

General Fan Zheng of Zhonglang wanted to lead the army, but was rejected by Yan Zhenqing.

The generals didn't know that Yan Zhenqing had already intended to die this time.

If this battle fell into the trap of An Lushan and was defeated again, Yan Zhenqing did not intend to return to Tongguan, as the emperor said, he would just die in the battle.As for whether Tongguan can be held after his death, Yan Zhenqing can't care about that.

The gate of Tongguan opened, and Yan Zhenqing led the army out in armor.

Fan Zheng and others will see each other off all the way, but they are silent and the atmosphere is very gloomy.Going out with this kind of morale is an ominous omen in itself, but Yan Zhenqing has no way out.

"Commander, the general is waiting at Tongguan to wait for the commander's triumphant return! Take care, commander! If anything happens, please return to Tongguan quickly, and the general will lead the army to rescue!" Fan Zheng clasped his fists immediately.

Yan Zhenqing frowned, and sneered inwardly.Heart said: You, Fan Zheng, worked hard to cooperate with the generals to force me to fight, isn't your purpose just to take this opportunity to force me into thinking, so that I can replace you?
But Yan Zhenqing knew that even if he did not agree to fight, the confusion of the army would lead to mutiny.It is not certain that Fan Zheng will collude with some generals, take the opportunity to seize Yan Zhenqing's military power, and even open Tongguan and surrender to Anlu Mountain.

Yan Zhenqing sighed inwardly: If I go here, I will sacrifice my own life, perhaps in exchange for the safety of Tongguan.If Tongguan persisted for a few more days and the army of King Qin of Yongning arrived, people like Fan Zheng would not dare to disagree.

But Yan Zhenqing didn't show it on his face. Instead, he looked around at the generals and said with emotion, "Generals, this commander will give up his life for a fight. It's good if he wins, but if he doesn't win, he will fall into the trap of the rebels. Please take care of your safety."

Yan Zhenqing clasped his fists to salute the generals on the horse.

Fan Zheng smiled slightly, and took the lead to reply, "Commander, don't worry! The last general must guard Tongguan to prevent the rebels from entering the pass!"

Yan Zhenqing stared deeply at Fan Zheng, said nothing more, turned around and galloped away.Under the leadership of Yan Zhenqing, the [-] Tang troops, whose morale was not high, galloped in the direction of Shan County in the bleak autumn wind.

Fan Zheng looked at the back of Yan Zhenqing's army marching, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but smile.

In fact, Fan Zheng knew better than anyone else that Yan Zhenqing had less than a [-]% chance of succeeding in the battle against Shan County, and most likely he would lose another army and die in battle.

Back in Guanzhong, Fan Zheng immediately asked his confidant captain to take his memorial to Longzhou to report to the emperor, framing Yan Zhenqing to lead the army to fight without heeding advice, leaving himself clear.

In Fan Zheng's plan, this time is the best time for him to replace Yan Zhenqing.

If Yan Zhenqing suffers another defeat, the imperial court will order his execution and hand over all the military power in Tongguan to him.At that time, he will act according to the circumstances. If Tongguan can be defended, he will defend it. If he can't, he will lead his army to sacrifice the pass and return to Anlu Mountain to seek a brighter future.

In fact, one day before, Yan Zhenqing had sent his confidants to the north to report to Zhang Xuan urgently with his handwritten letter.In the letter, Yan Zhenqing explained his situation and mentality in detail, and at the same time pointed out the current state of confusion in the army and the ambitions of Fan Zheng and others.

In a word, Yan Zhenqing was forced to fight, the morale of the army was confused, the generals were dissatisfied, and Tongguan was at stake. Please Zhang Xuan rush to help, so that Tongguan will not be lost!

……

……

Zhang Tong led [-] feather guards to get the news of Yan Zhenqing's risky battle at Guanxi Station, which is less than a hundred miles away from Tongguan.Zhang Tong was shocked, and immediately ordered his soldiers to put on horses and gallop to speed up, and finally arrived at the bottom of Tongguan at dusk and sunset of the day.

A force of more than [-] soldiers and horses suddenly appeared inside Tongguan, Fan Zheng was surprised and a little bit annoyed.He had just finished scheming against Yan Zhenqing, and before he had truly grasped the military power of the Tongguan garrison, another general of the Habayashi Guard, Zhang Tong, came. Isn't it depressing?
No matter Zhang Tong's official rank or military prestige, he is far from being comparable to a general in the Henan army. Once Zhang Tong is allowed to enter the pass, the command of the Tonglian Army will inevitably fall into Zhang Tong's hands, and he will never be with him again.

Fan Zheng stood on the tower and looked down, his face gloomy like water.

His confidant deputy general Meng Ping stood beside him and looked down, and said in a low voice, "General Fan, where did Zhang Tong of the Yulin Guard come from? Isn't the Habayashi Guard guarding Chang'an? How did he get there?" Tongguan is coming? Could it be the emperor's order?"

Fan Zheng stomped his feet resentfully, "We have been busy for a long time in vain, and let them take advantage of it! No, you can't switch it! Meng Ping, pass down the order, saying that the rebel army can't open it without authorization. If there is no order from the court, even if it is Imperial soldiers and horses cannot be stationed in Tongguan at will!"

Meng Ping took the order and left.

Zhang Tong led the army to help, but the Tongguan defenders did not open the switch to let them go, which made Zhang Tong furious.His rush to aid Tongguan this time is only Zhang Xuan's suggestion, and the dispatch of Jianning King Li Tan, where is the emperor's edict?
However, Zhang Tong is also a veteran in the army who has been on the battlefield for a long time. After a little thought, he judged that there was something wrong with the Tongguan defenders.

Thinking of this, although Zhang Tong was anxious, he had no choice but to set up camp under the inner side of Tongguan, preparing to slowly negotiate with the general of Tongguan defenders.

"Go and ask, who is the main general in Guanzhong? Let's say that this official is Zhang Tong, General of the Imperial Court Yulinwei. He was ordered by Zhang Xuan, the general of the world's soldiers and horses, the chief of the anti-insurgency march, and the king of Yongning, to rush to Chang'an. Please also ask him to hurry up." Quickly open the city gate and welcome our army to enter the pass!" Zhang Tong instructed his confidant, Captain Jiao Xiong.

Jiao Xiong led the way and negotiated with Fan Zheng's confidant, Meng Ping.

Meng Ping's heart trembled when he heard that it was Zhang Xuan's military order.He couldn't decide, so he hurried back to report to Fan Zheng.

Fan Zheng smiled coldly, "What about Zhang Xuan? Meng Ping, tell them that they are not allowed to enter the customs without the imperial order! Or, we can wait until Master Yan Zhenqing returns from the battle!"

Meng Ping took a step forward slightly worried, "General, I heard that the imperial court has conferred King Yongning as the Grand Marshal of the World's Army and Horses, to control the soldiers and horses of all kings in the world, and to know all the counter-insurgency matters, if..."

Before Meng Ping finished speaking, Fan Zheng glared at him.Meng Ping didn't dare to say any more, and left obediently.

Watching Meng Ping's leaving back, Fan Zheng's expression changed.

He is an ambitious person and always wants to replace Yan Zhenqing.Now that he finally had a chance, yet another Zhang Tong popped up, how could he be reconciled.

Fan Zheng's face gradually became gloomy, and a crazy idea suddenly appeared in his mind: Why don't you send someone to contact the rebels in Anlu Mountain, and open Tongguan to welcome Fan Yang's army and horses when Yan Zhenqing is away? He made great achievements in the world, presumably the Emperor An Lushan of Yan in Luoyang would not be stingy with the position of a general.

After hesitating for a long time, Fan Zheng decided to take the risk.He immediately summoned his servant Fan Tie and gave some secret instructions.

Fan Tie took advantage of the night to sneak out of the pass, and Pegasus went straight to the camp of Li Guiren, the Anlushan general who was closest to Tongguan.Li Guiren was ordered to attack Tongguan, but because the terrain of Tongguan was difficult to defend and difficult to attack, Li Guiren did not act rashly for the time being, and was waiting for the return of the soldiers and horses who attacked the two Huaihe Rivers, and then concentrated his superior forces to attack Tongguan.

If Fan Zheng is allowed to succeed, not only Tongguan, but also Chang'an will be at stake.As a result, Zhang Xuan's more than [-] troops were also caught in the embarrassing situation of passive defense.

(End of this chapter)