April 4th, Luoyang.

"I will have Shi Siming chop off the heads of the governors of Hebei one by one."

An Lushan was furious in Shangyang Palace.

Changshan was captured by Li Guangbi, and the governors of several counties in Hebei were stirring up trouble.

An Lushan, whose temper was becoming increasingly violent, could not tolerate having his retreat cut off.

After establishing Dayan, everything was not as good as imagined.

His condition became worse and his vision became blurrier.

Unable to break through Tongguan, they could only follow Yan Zhuang's advice and expand to the south and southeast, clear the obstacles in front of Jianghuai and open the gateway to the south.

But An Lushan’s ambition was almost worn out.

In addition, the news that Li Xuan's son had also rebelled against the Tang Dynasty not long ago made An Lushan want to return to Youzhou and establish his own regime.

"Your Majesty, calm down. Those little idiots will never amount to anything..."

An Lushan's personal attendant Li Zhuer came running over to comfort him, bowing and nodding.

"bump!"

Unexpectedly, Li Zhuer was kicked to the ground by An Lushan, who angrily scolded him, "What do you know as a eunuch?"

Under normal circumstances, a superior should treat his personal attendants well, but An Lushan dealt with the people around him according to his own wishes.

It's not just Li Zhuer. A few days ago, when An Lushan had an attack, he also beat up his strategist Yan Zhuang.

Can you imagine an emperor beating and kicking his ministers and advisers?

Yan Zhuang served An Lushan for more than 20 years and devoted all his efforts to his counsel. An Lushan did not consider whether Yan Zhuang was disappointed.

They are even less aware of a saying by the ancient Chinese sages: "When a ruler views his subjects as his own hands and feet, the subjects will view the ruler as their confidant; when a ruler views his subjects as grass, the subjects will view the ruler as their enemy."

After Li Zhuer rolled on the ground, he immediately lowered his head and stepped aside.

"Asshole, go and call Yan Zhuang to Shangyang Palace."

An Lushan, not satisfied, cursed Li Zhuer again.

"According to the decree..."

Li Zhuer smiled on the surface, but he hated An Lushan in his heart.

He was a Khitan who had served An Lushan since he was in his teens and became his personal soldier. He was handsome and very cunning and smart.

An Lushan was jealous of his good looks, so he castrated Li Zhuer himself with a knife. Several liters of blood spurted out from his crotch, and Li Zhuer fainted several times and woke up from the pain repeatedly.

When he was about to die, An Lushan smeared ash and fire on his wounds, saving his life. It took a long time for him to recover.

The name "Zhu'er" was given at this time, and its meaning is self-evident. He later became a eunuch and was trusted by An Lushan.

An Lushan had a very big belly, and every time he put on his clothes and tied the belt, he needed three or four people to help him. Two of them lifted up his belly, and Li Zhuer held it up with his head before tying it around his waist.

As An Lushan became increasingly violent, it became difficult to sleep in the majestic palace.

Even though there were many of Li Longji's concubines in Luoyang, An Lushan was still not able to indulge in the gentle pleasures of life.

There is only one person in his heart.

Whenever An Lushan tossed and turned, he needed Li Zhuer's help to fall asleep.

But Li Zhuer was a punching bag, and even though An Lushan treated him as a pig and a dog, he did not dare to have any thoughts of resistance.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

After a while, Yan Zhuang entered Shangyang Palace trembling with fear. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

He was afraid that if his etiquette did not meet An Lushan's wishes, he would be beaten again.

Yan Zhuang also regretted his decision. Why would he assist such a villain as An Lushan?

Although An Lushan has become the emperor, if he continues to have this temper, sooner or later he will become disloyal and the emperor will not be able to last long.

Throughout history, many emperors became incompetent in their later years.

How could a founding emperor become like this in just a few months?
If he had known that Li Xuan would also rebel, he would have gone to join Li Xuan.

"Tongguan has been uncaptured for a long time, Hebei cannot be stable. Does Wu Lingxun have the ability to capture the counties of Nanyang? If not, plan to retreat to Youzhou as soon as possible! Let Li Xuan fight with the thief Tang, and we will look for an opportunity to make a comeback."

An Lushan said to Yan Zhuang.

When he was not ill, he could still hold back and listen to Yan Zhuang's opinions.

When the pain and illness make him unbearable, he will just ignore it.

"Your Majesty, we now have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and Youzhou alone is not enough to support the army. Since ancient times, heroes have unified the world, and it took more than three or two years. We must be prepared for a long-term battle."

Yan Zhuang was speechless. Since he had already headed south, there was no way back.

Especially since they were in an advantageous position in the army, the two failed attacks on Tongguan were just minor setbacks.

Even if it was difficult to capture Tongguan, they could still defend Shanzhou, control the two ancient roads, and block the Tang Dynasty in the Guanzhong area.

Once Hebei is cleared up, they will first take over the Nanyang counties, and then take over the tax-collecting and population-rich areas of Jianghuai, and then they will occupy half of the country.

He who controls the Central Plains controls the world.

Yan Zhuang has always been confident in his plans, but An Lushan is hesitant and has character problems.

"Your Majesty, you now have many brave generals and counselors. You must not give up halfway. A journey of a hundred steps begins with the halfway mark. I believe that sooner or later, Your Majesty will be able to rule the world and establish the glorious Great Yan."

Yan Zhuang, kneeling on the ground, bowed again and said.

"The little Li Xuan in the west has probably been preparing for a long time. He is treacherous and cunning, and is more difficult to deal with than the false emperor Li Longji. I doubt that the Hexi Army and Longyou Army can stop him, so let him take Chang'an first."

An Lushan said worriedly.

Li Xuan was going to launch a long expedition against the Persian Caliphate, but An Lushan was not very afraid.

Because it would take Li Xuan one or two years to transfer the troops back, and the division's old soldiers were tired and they were definitely no match for the Yanyun Cavalry.

But Li Xuan's sudden rebellion against the Tang Dynasty changed An Lushan's impression of Li Xuan.

Originally, in An Lushan's heart, Li Xuan was a loyal minister who was upright, capable, brave and good at fighting. Now Li Xuan has turned evil in An Lushan's heart, and even the smile of reminiscence has become evil.

He played the role of a clown in front of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan to win their favor.

Li Xuan played the role of a loyal minister serving the country and the people in front of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan.

Life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills.

Who has better skills?
An Lushan had contact with Li Xuan many times. Even though his generals clamored to pull Li Xuan down from the altar, and his advisers used the short-sighted Xiang Yu to predict that he would be defeated at Gaixia sooner or later, Li Xuan's rebellion made An Lushan not think that Li Xuan was Xiang Yu.

He is scared!

Therefore, they returned to Youzhou and defended it earlier than in history.

"I also believe that Li Xuan can take Chang'an. Most of the generals in Hexi and Longyou were cultivated by Li Xuan, and they will not resist Li Xuan. But as long as our army sets up defenses in Shan County, relying on the terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, we can completely prevent Li Xuan from entering the Central Plains. After we, Great Yan, have conquered Jianghuai and gathered elite soldiers, we will fight Li Xuan to the death."

"As for Hebei, your majesty does not need to worry. General Shi and General Cai are both commanders and brave. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi are both unknown men. We can definitely defeat them and recapture Changshan. Don't look at the governors of the counties in Hebei who are jumping for joy and organizing an alliance. Once Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi's Shuofang and Hedong armies are defeated, these governors of Hebei will immediately change their flags and kowtow to your majesty to apologize."

"Although the Pseudo-Tang has gathered troops in Nanyang, there are few disasters in the south, and there are no good horses. What they have gathered is a mob. General Wu Lingxun is leading tens of thousands of cavalry, and they will definitely be defeated."

"After the victory in the battle of Nanyang, Your Majesty can start preparing to attack Jianghuai, and great things will be accomplished!"

Yan Zhuang analyzed it to An Lushan, word by word, in an orderly manner.

But he kept kneeling and An Lushan didn't let him stand up, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Let's wait for the news from Tongguan. I want to kill those villains from Hebei right now, so as to avoid losing my retreat route."

An Lushan was not encouraged by Yan Zhuang's words and was still thinking about his retreat.

He was afraid that the evil Li Xuan would deal with him after taking Chang'an.

Li Xuan's great military achievements are real.

Yan Zhuang was very disappointed after hearing this. How could the rebels always think of a way to retreat?
Besides, it's far from that point yet.

Only if you have the courage to go forward even if there are tens of millions of people around you can you achieve great achievements like Liu Bang and Liu Xiu.

"Your Majesty, I have another way to increase our chances of winning."

Yan Zhuang thought for a moment and came up with a new plan.

"Sir, please stand up and tell me quickly."

Only then did An Lushan let Yan Zhuang stand up and speak.

"We can send secret envoys to contact the Huihe and Tubo respectively and ask them to cut off the Hexi Corridor. This way, Li Xuan will be unable to take care of both ends."

"It goes without saying that there was a conflict between Li Xuan and Tubo. Tubo lost its prime minister, thousands of miles of territory, and 500,000 soldiers. Chidai Zhudan was also a prisoner in Chang'an. The Uighur Khan Moyanchuo once led 50,000 cavalry to review troops north of Baitinghai, but was ambushed by Li Xuan and returned alone."

"If your majesty continues to offer inducements, they will definitely attack the Hexi Corridor. Li Xuan's base is Anxi Beiting and Hezhong Longyou. If he loses these, he will not be able to cause any trouble in Guanzhong."

"Your Majesty, don't worry that Li Xuan's rebellion will be bad for you. This is precisely your opportunity! Just as Minister Gao said, the fate of the Purple Star Emperor is with you. This is destiny!"

"Your Majesty entered Ziwei City in Luoyang in just two months. This has come true."

Yan Zhuang rubbed his knees and offered advice to An Lushan again.

He was afraid that An Lushan's will was not firm, so he put forward the noble "theory of prophecy".

An Lushan believed these words the most.

"Mr. Brilliant plan, Sir, let me arrange it."

An Lushan was overjoyed after hearing this, and said to Yan Zhuang: "The current prime minister is Da Xixun, and it is a last resort. You will be the chief prime minister sooner or later."

Yan Zhuang's words were very convincing, making An Lushan feel that Li Xuan had many enemies and it would not be easy to succeed.

Who else but me can be the emperor?
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yan Zhuang pretended to be delighted and bowed.

He had seen through An Lushan's moody nature. He helped An Lushan in order to protect the country he had worked so hard to build.

At this time, Yan Zhuang had already planned to get close to An Qingxu and secretly became friends with him.

"Your Majesty, General Cui of Shan County has submitted a memorial for your review!"

While Yan Zhuang was discussing the affairs of the world with An Lushan, Li Zhuer walked cautiously into the hall with a memorial and handed it to An Lushan with his head down.

An Lushan took the memorial and sat up straight.

If you observe carefully, you will find that An Lushan's expression and movements when reading the memorial are exactly the same as Li Longji's.

He is imitating Li Longji.

Deep down, I believe that an emperor should be so majestic.

"Haha... this old dog Geshu Han actually led hundreds of thousands of troops out of Tongguan to Lingbao. God is really helping me."

"The Imperial Army is weak, and the new army is even weaker. How can they defeat our Yanyun cavalry and the tigers and wolves outside the Great Wall?"

An Lushan closed the memorial and laughed. He no longer had the thought of returning to Yanyun. He began to daydream about unifying the country again.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. With General Cui's wisdom, we will surely win a great victory! If we take Tongguan, it will be easier to stop Li Xuan's eastward advance."

Yan Zhuang congratulated An Lushan.

"Order General Cui to report military intelligence to me every day from now on!"

An Lushan was waiting for Cui Qianyou to bring him good news.

"God's will is in my hands! It is said that success or failure determines a hero. No matter how great Li Xuan's achievements are, he will be ruined because of his rebellion, and he won't even have the chance to be a loyal minister!"

Since An Lushan had always been jealous of Li Xuan, he now felt proud and confident of victory, so he naturally wanted to belittle him severely.

At that time, he and Li Xuan were both favored by Li Longji and were rivals. But Li Xuan was a great poet, the best lyricist in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and he was also the prime minister, so all the praise was on Li Xuan.

He attended the banquet with Li Xuan, who was Yang Guifei's godson. However, Lady Yuhuan's eyes were always fixed on Li Xuan, which made An Lushan angry.

What's even more dramatic is that the two of them rebelled in the same year...

An Lushan always thought that Li Xuan's rebellion was a coincidence.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Yan Zhuang smiled slightly.

He believed that Li Xuan was stronger than An Lushan in many ways.

But Li Xuan didn't have his strict and dignified assistance!

……

Lingbao.

In the first year of Tianbao, the county, which had just been renamed because of Taishang Laojun, is now experiencing an unprecedented war.

Due to the terrain, Geshu Han lost in intelligence as soon as the battle began.

Less than twenty miles away from Tongguan, Geshu Han took a boat down the river to observe the terrain.

and find routes for the troops.

After looking around, there is only one way to go.

"The ancient road between the two capitals is not just Tongguan!"

Geshu Han sighed.

There are many places that are not conducive to the advance of the army.

After having a clear idea in his mind, Geshu Han returned to the camp to think deeply.

A day later, tens of thousands of rebel infantrymen appeared on the plains east of Lingbao.

Geshu Han began to deploy infantry and cavalry, preparing to attack the 10,000 rebel soldiers.

"General, the rebels are not so few in number, it might be a trap!"

Judge Tian Liangqiu reminded Geshu Han.

"What can I do? If I don't send out troops within two days, Feng Shenwei will kill me. He carries the Shangfang Zhanma Sword. I can only rely on the will of the soldiers to defeat the enemy."

Geshu Han said helplessly that he knew his own limitations. How could he not see that the mere 10,000 soldiers were luring the enemy deep into the territory? If he took a step back or hesitated for a day, he would be killed.

"Prince Tianshui rebelled, and the Marshal was implicated. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a passive situation!"

Tian Liangqiu felt sad for Geshu Han.

"I just regret not listening to you and going to Chang'an to kill Yang Guozhong. Now there is no such opportunity. But I believe Yang Guozhong will be punished."

Geshu Han did not regret following Li Shuai.

He also knew that with General Li's prestige, it would not take long for him to take over all the troops in Hexi and Longyou.

If he were asked to lead the cavalry to fight against General Li, it would be difficult for him to do so.

At this time, Geshu Han already understood the significance of this battle.

Geshu Han ordered his cavalry to advance and wipe out the 10,000 rebels on the plain.

On the plains east of Lingbao, Geshu Han sent Li Chengguang to lead 30,000 elite troops in the front and Pang Zhong to lead 80,000 soldiers in the back.

The cavalry were divided into two wings, and the huge formation pressed forward.

"Dong dong dong..."

Geshu Han and Tian Liangqiu led 20,000 soldiers to beat drums and supervise the battle on the other side of the Yellow River. The sound of war drums boosted the morale of the three armies.

The soldiers, mainly composed of the Jiqi, Feiqi, Hubing and new recruits, had not received much training after An Lushan's rebellion, and there had not even been a single unified exercise.

Therefore, the mobilization of a hundred thousand troops caused chaos on the plain.

They did not line up neatly because of the dense sound of war drums.

Fortunately, the rebels’ formation was not in order and could even be described as a defeated army.

Because the rebel teams consisted of five people in some teams, ten people in some teams, some were advancing, and some were retreating.

"The bandits are better than them!"

"They are not rebels, they are just a mob. The elite soldiers of Yanyun are no better than this."

"We will have dinner together after we capture the enemy general."

When the general of the cavalry saw that the other side was weaker, his confidence suddenly increased and he pointed at the rebels and mocked them.

Geshu Han, who was watching the battle, felt something was wrong, but he ordered his messengers to be ready to convey his military orders to the other side of the river at any time.

"Kill!"

Shouts of killing rang out, and the armored soldiers in the front rows of both sides collided with each other.

The armored infantrymen fought back and forth, hacking and stabbing each other.

The Tang army suffered greater casualties than the rebels.

A quarter of an hour later, the ground was littered with corpses, and the Tang army began to worry about the rebels' fighting power.

The rebel soldiers fought for their lives as if they were not afraid of death.

At this moment, the flag in the rebel camp suddenly fell down, and then the rebels' rear team became the front team, shouting and running away.

The Tang army didn't care about that, thinking that they had more numbers and the rebels were unstoppable.

Now is a great time to gain military merit.

"General, stop the pursuit immediately. This must be a trap!"

Tian Liangqiu said to Geshu Han.

"Beat the drums to call back the troops..."

Geshu Han ordered the troops to retreat.

"Dong dong dong..."

But at this time, the imperial guards led by the Qiqi were chasing down the so-called "remnant soldiers and defeated generals" like gods of war, striving for military merit, and did not obey the command of the drums at all.

"Damn it! I'm going to kill the leading general right now!"

Geshu Han cursed angrily.

There are too many troops, and it is very difficult to give orders.

Throughout history, any general who can command an army of 100,000 and win can be called a famous general.

But in many battles, having more soldiers and more generals is not necessarily a good thing.

In desperation, Geshu Han could only order his soldiers to fight with all their might and plan a route of retreat.

He and Tian Liangqiu no longer watched and supervised the battle, but rowed to the other side and led the troops to join the battlefield in person.

The Tang army pursued the rebels all the way from the plains of Lingbao to the narrow road.

Thousands of rebels were killed along the way, boosting the morale of the Tang army.

Even if the rebels entered the narrow passage, the Tang army didn't care and they rushed in all at once.

The path is winding, narrow, dangerous and deep.

There were hiding places on the mountains on both sides, where armored soldiers were hiding.

These were exactly the soldiers that Cui Qianyou had ambushed.

At the same time, on the other side of the narrow road, swords and spears were like a forest, and Cui Qianyou’s real elite soldiers were present.

The tactic of luring the enemy deep into our territory, which has been tried and tested throughout history, has succeeded again.

"Woo...Woo..."

When their own soldiers passed through, the horn sounded.

In an instant, the rebels who were ambushing on the mountains on both sides suddenly shouted and stood up, bursting with murderous intent.

Huge rocks and thick logs were pushed down from the two mountains.

"Bump..."

"Dangdang..."

The earth shook and the mountains trembled. Gray smoke filled the sky and a loud roar was heard in the ears, like thunder.

"Not good... The rebels have ambushed us, retreat quickly!"

The Tang army was terrified by this scene, and some simply threw their weapons on the ground and fled in panic.

"what……"

However, tens of thousands of Tang Dynasty's cavalry and flying cavalry soldiers had gathered on the narrow road.

They pushed and shoved each other, countless people stumbled, some injured themselves with their weapons, and screams were heard everywhere.

No matter how fast you run, you can't outrun the sudden fall of thunder, rocks and rolling logs.

The huge impact force smashed many Tang soldiers into meat paste, and some of their armor was crushed into pieces.

Wave after wave, the Tang army, which was striving for merit, fell in this "Valley of Death".

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

After the rebels ran out of thunder stones and rolling logs, they fired thunder crossbows. The surviving Tang army could hardly escape the destruction of the crossbows.

When the rebels ran out of crossbow arrows, Cui Qianyou commanded the elite rebels to enter the narrow passage.

The Tang army was passive, and the rebel heroes pounced on the flock of sheep like a tiger, slaughtering them continuously.

"We can't go on like this! We must retreat!"

When Geshu Han arrived, the team was in chaos in the narrow passage, unable to advance or retreat.

He commanded horse-drawn felt carts as the vanguard to attack the rebels in an attempt to break through.

"A mere trifle! The Tang army has run out of tricks. Push the train out!"

Cui Qianyou snorted coldly when he saw this.

On the other side, he used dozens of straw carts to block the Tang army's vehicles and set them on fire.

"When the smoke rose, the soldiers shouted loudly."

Cui Qianyou gave another order.

The straw cart was set on fire and quickly rushed towards the Tang army's car, with thick smoke billowing for a while.

"Fake Tang bastard, surrender immediately!"

"You cowardly rat, if you have the guts, fight me..."

"Kill Tang Dog!"

The rebels shouted and cursed, mixing in all kinds of nonsense.

The Tang army was blinded by the smoke and dust, and could only hear shouts and screams all around them. They thought the rebels were in the smoke and fire, so they called in archers to shoot.

However, Cui Qianyou had already ordered his soldiers to retreat.

The Tang army was accidentally injured again.

It was not until dark, when the Tang army had run out of arrows, that they realized there were no rebels at all.

The Tang army was also constantly retreating from the narrow road, and its formation became more chaotic.

"Rumble..."

At the same time, thousands of Tongluo elite cavalry, led by Tian Qianzhen, suddenly attacked from the flank of the Tang army.

These elite Tongluo cavalrymen followed Cui Qianyou's military orders and came in a roundabout way.

The Tang army lost their temper when they saw this situation. Even though they were numerous and powerful, they did not think of resisting and shouted for their lives.

Under attack from all sides, the Tang army soldiers panicked and many fell into the Yellow River and drowned.

Cui Qianyou sent his main infantry and cavalry to pursue the victory. When the Tang army's rear army saw that the front army was defeated, they also fled to Tongguan.

There were three deep trenches outside Tongguan, which were originally intended to block the rebels, but now they became a death trap for the Tang army.

The poor quality of the Tang army was afraid of the enemy like a tiger. Under the pressure of the rebels, the defeated troops fell into the trenches. The trenches, which were ten feet deep, were soon filled with troops and horses, and countless casualties were suffered.

Full of grief, Geshu Han crossed the Yellow River and arrived at the military camp on the other side.

After the war, he only gathered 5,000 men, which was a complete defeat.

"Gao Xianzhi is my fate. I'm dead!"

Geshu Han thought he would fail, but he didn't expect to fail so miserably.

He couldn't stop crying in the dark night.

Among the remnants of the defeated army, no matter they were the once mighty cavalry or the once invincible flying cavalry, they all looked dejected.

The defeat was so easy!

"General, we have more than 100,000 soldiers, and there are no way that only 5,000 are left. We should gather the lost soldiers and return to Tongguan."

Tian Liangqiu suggested to Geshu Han.

"I don't know where Feng Shenwei is. He must be planning to kill me. I can't go back to Tongguan."

It might be the stroke that made Geshu Han afraid of death.

After this great defeat, he did not dare to go back even though Tongguan was only a dozen miles away from him.

"What does the Marshal think?"

Tian Liangqiu was the judge promoted by Geshu Han. If Geshu Han was killed, he would not be much better off.

The biggest responsibility for this great defeat lies with the court's urging.

If he is not careful, the coach will be killed. Who can withstand this?

Moreover, the Jiqi and Feiqi were too arrogant and did not obey the command of the war drums at the critical moment.

In Li Xuan's army, those who "did not advance despite beating drums and did not stop despite ringing gongs" were directly beheaded as yamen commanders, escorts, and team leaders.

The golden drums are the eyes and ears of the commander-in-chief.

In a battlefield of a hundred miles in radius, shouting and eyes alone will not be enough.

"Occupy Hedong County and defend Hedong!"

Geshu Han made a decision that was different from history.

The main reason is that Geshu Han did not bring the soldiers from Helong and the Hu tribes in this time and space.

Most of those traitors are now under Li Xuan's command and are completely obedient to him.

"We will follow the Marshal!"

Tian Liangqiu, Li Chengguang and others were willing to obey.

He understood why Geshu Han wanted to occupy Hedong County.

Some of the remnants of the defeated cavalry and flying cavalry refused to obey Geshu Han's request to be incorporated.

During the two days, Geshu Han could only recruit some new soldiers and the remnant soldiers from Shuofang and Hedong.

A total of about 10,000 people headed towards Hedong City.

During these two days, Cui Qianyou took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the discouraged Tongguan.

This majestic fortress in the world exudes a grim atmosphere of desolation.

The soldiers defending the city resisted, but they could not stop the murderous intent of the rebels.

There is no head coach to command, there are not enough people and there are too many loopholes.

Cui Qianyou attacked from more than a dozen directions and finally broke through Tongguan two days later...

(End of this chapter)