The two groups of people met near Circular Qiu and stopped on the road together. Changsun Wuji, Yu Wenshiji, Linghu Defen, and Dugulan were sitting in the carriage. They couldn't see clearly what was going on outside and didn't understand why. He raised the curtains of the car and asked, "What happened?"
The soldier outside the car said: "It's Hou Mo Chen Lin, who came with his troops to reinforce and blocked the road..."
"Mother!"
Linghu Defen originally had a hot temper, and he seemed to have cultivated his moral character by spending time in his mansion writing books in the past few years. However, this time he suffered a devastating defeat and the family was about to be destroyed. All those superficial qualities were gone, and he became more and more violent. , after hearing the words of the soldier, he suddenly became furious and cursed loudly.
"If he hadn't been afraid of the enemy and fought bravely, how could Youtunwei attack Jinguangmen so quickly, causing us to be restrained in every aspect and lose every game? Now that the defeat is determined, he came back to talk about reinforcements. Could it be that he went to the prince to beg for mercy? But was rejected? Come on, let that bastard come to the car and watch me chop him with a knife!"
"Calm down! The army in the city is completely defeated right now. There are not many troops left to accompany us to Zhongnan Mountain to wait for Li Ji to return to the capital. The Hou Mo and Chen family's private army is still well-organized and has good combat power, so they can be sent just in time. Use it, what's the point of your chattering like this? Do you really want to push the Hou Mochen family to the East Palace?"
Yu Wenshiji rubbed his brows and tried to persuade him.
The Youtun Guards were too powerful and advanced too fast. At this moment, Yanshoufang and Taipingfang had been captured, and the troops were reaching Chengtian Gate. The more than 10,000 troops remaining outside Chengtian Gate seemed to be a large number, but in fact they were all a mob. Just to be able to resist the Youtun Guards for a while and give the troops in the palace enough time to withdraw.
But do you really rely on those mobs to block the Youtun Guards' surprise attack?
Everyone knows that it is impossible. Perhaps the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses have been defeated by Youtunwei's surprise attack at this moment...
Just as he was thinking about it, a fast horse from the rear formation came galloping towards the carriage. When he arrived outside the carriage, the scout immediately shouted: "Inform Duke Zhao that the Youtun Guards have defeated the army outside the West City and captured Yanshoufang, Taipingfang, and Chengtianmenxia." The troops fought in one place. The Youtun Guards transferred their armored cavalry into the city and launched a surprise attack on the long street outside Chengtianmen. Our army suffered heavy losses and was scattered in all directions. Youtunwei has captured Chengtianmen..."
Everyone around was in an uproar when they heard the news.
The fall of Chengtianmen means that the Guanlong army in Taiji Palace is cut off from all retreats. They will soon face the Youtun Guards and the Sixth Army of the East Palace. They will be destroyed in an instant. There is absolutely no chance... Although this situation has already It was within everyone's expectations, but Youtunwei's attack and plundering like fire, and the sudden advance, were still shocking.
The tens of thousands of Guanlong troops were completely vulnerable to the Youtun Guards.
At this moment, a thought suddenly arose in the minds of countless people - if they had known that the Youtun Guards were so powerful, would Changsun Wuji still launch this mutiny?
Once this thought arises, it cannot be stopped.
Because another question that cannot be ignored arose - under Changsun Wuji's plan, the Guanlong family was coerced into raising troops and carrying out a mutiny. The underestimation of Six Rates' combat power led to today's complete defeat and the impending disaster of the Guanlong Clan. So wouldn't it mean that Changsun Wuji was responsible for all this?
My mind will inevitably wander.
In the current situation, it is impossible to turn defeat into victory. What we rely on is to wait until Li Ji returns to Chang'an. In order to fight against the influx of Shandong and Jiangnan clans into the court, he will take over the Guanlong clan for his own use. , leaving a glimmer of hope, so as not to cut off the roots and kill heads.
But such a big thing as a mutiny would have far-reaching consequences and huge losses. Even if Li Ji acquiesced, how could the prince be willing to let it go?
The best outcome would be for the prince to make concessions under Li Ji's authority, but in the end someone still has to stand up and take responsibility for the mutiny...
Who will bear this responsibility?
…
In the carriage, Changsun Wuji had not yet felt the unpredictable looks from around him, so he said to the soldiers: "Please come over, Hou Mo Chen Lin."
"Here."
The soldiers rode forward. After a moment, Hou Mo Chenlin, who was wearing a helmet and whipping armor, rode to the side of the chariot and horse. He kicked off the saddle and dismounted to show respect. He lowered his head outside the carriage window and said in fear: "The last general, Hou Mo Chenlin, I don't know. What is the order from Duke Zhao?"
Although he knew that the Guanlong clan was losing its troops and its strength was empty at the moment, he would not do anything extraordinary to him, the general who controlled the Hou Mo and Chen family's private soldiers, but who could guarantee that he could accurately understand people's thoughts? At the moment, Guanlong The family was completely defeated, and Changsun Wuji had already lost his mind. If he got angry and ignored him and allowed his soldiers to swarm him and capture him, who would he say to reason?
Changsun Wuji opened the car curtain, took a deep look at Hou Mo and Chen Lin, and said slowly: "The defeat of Jinguangmen was not your fault. It was all because I underestimated the impact of the iron cavalry equipped with the Youtun Guards. Also because Dou Dewei was afraid of the enemy and was too timid to fight, he retreated without permission."
Define the nature of the incident first, so that Hou Mo and Chen Lin will not think about things here and there, and be too frightened to try their best.
Now is the most important time to employ people. No matter how big of a mistake you make, you can be punished with meritorious deeds...
Hou Mo Chen Lin saw the mirror in his heart, and his face was full of gratitude: "Thank you so much, Duke Zhao, for your compassion... However, I am a defeated general and I know my responsibilities well, so I am willing to repay Duke Zhao with my bloody courage. I will try my best to die without regrets!"
The attitude still needs to be made clear. First, Hou Mo and Chen Qian were raised as the leader of Guanlong to lead the mutiny. Later, the Hou Mo and Chen family spared no effort to participate in it. Today, they want to break away from the Guanlong clan. How about the East Palace? Will you agree?
We are still grasshoppers on the same rope with the Guanlong families, and we have to be tied together...
Changsun Wuji nodded and said: "Chengtianmen has fallen. The troops in the palace cannot withdraw. The defeat has been determined. Let's retreat to Zhongnan Mountain and plan the follow-up. Let's work together to overcome the difficulties."
"Here!"
Hou Mo and Chen Lin took the order, straightened up on horseback, clasped their hands and clasped their fists, then rode back to their own army formation, waved their hands and said loudly: "Turn the army, get out of the way, and rear for the friendly troops!"
Thousands of elite private soldiers from the Mo Chen family ordered to move aside and let the Guanlong army withdraw from Chang'an City move forward. Yu Wenshiji opened a corner of the curtain in the carriage and looked at the troops on the roadside who were quite neat. Hou Mo, a private soldier of the Chen family, sighed and said quietly: "I'm afraid it's hard to escape from this disaster."
Now that defeat was certain, the only hope was to retreat to Zhongnan Mountain to wait for Li Ji to return to the capital, and then beg for mercy and volunteer to be his pawn to encourage him.
However, even if Li Ji will use Guanlong to fight against the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan, because Guanlong is deeply rooted in Guanzhong, Longyou and other places, in order to prevent backlash, he will definitely dismantle Guanlong in a drastic way. All the previous glory of each family will be lost. To become false, you have to face various restrictions.
Even if you escape a disaster and still survive in this world, it will be difficult to make a comeback and make a comeback...
The carriage swayed, and Dugu Lan also sighed softly, patted his thigh, and said: "There are both blessings and misfortunes, life and death are on the thin line... How can things in this world be as everyone wishes?"
Life and death are often separated by a thin line, while blessing and misfortune are often two sides of the same coin.
Although the Dugu family made it clear that they would not participate in the rebellion at the beginning, as the mutiny progressed, under the pressure of Changsun Wuji, the Dugu family was half forced and half actively involved. Without him, the reason for the original refusal to join was because the Dugu family
I think the risk is too great, but seeing the great potential of Guanlong's army and the great benefits at their fingertips, who wouldn't be jealous?
Although Changsun Wuji was on the verge of despair today because of his momentary greed, why was he the same?
People die for profit, and birds die for food.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was very heavy, even a bit dejected and hopeless.
Even though the four people here have seen strong winds and waves, have unparalleled experience, and stand at the pinnacle of power in this empire, the current setbacks they have suffered and the impending impasse still make them shaken and unable to control themselves.
The sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded outside the car, and several people's hearts sank at the same time.
Now they are all like frightened birds. If there is any slight disturbance, they are afraid that the Youtun Guards will chase after them...
"Reporting to Duke Zhao, we have just received news that Duke Lu has led his army through the north of Lishan Mountain and headed straight for Chunming Gate. The British Duke is commanding the army and is following closely behind."
The scout reported in a low voice outside the car window and felt relieved when he heard that Cheng Yaojin had returned.
This also means that Li Ji is not far away from returning to Chang'an. No matter how bad the current situation is for the Guanlong clan, as long as Li Ji returns and negotiates with them, the decline will probably be stopped immediately and some basic vitality will be retained more or less.
We will not let future generations start from scratch with nothing but ruins...
Changsun Wuji kept calm and ordered: "Send the order and speed up the march!"
After the scouts outside the car had gone away, he explained to several people: "Li Ji's tendency is still unknown. We cannot put our life and death future above past speculation... Although Cheng Yaojin claims to be neutral, he never intervenes.
Although Li Jiyuan is in Lishan, who knows whether Cheng Yaojin will cooperate with the East Palace to rob and kill us? Moreover, Li Ji’s thoughts are hidden too deep. If he returns to Beijing this time, it will be like
The withdrawal from Liaodong was so slow, but we pinned all our hopes on him and let down our guard, and were caught up by the Youtun Guards... That would be troublesome."
The rest of the people were convinced.
Guanlongmen Valve has experienced this failure, and its losses have reached its peak, and it can no longer tolerate any accidents...