In Dunhuang City, Guo Ziyi was sitting in the pavilion of a wine shop, looking out the window at the long street.
Guo Yao came up and saluted Guo Ziyi.
Guo Ziyi asked without looking back: "How?"
Guo Yao: "Kong Changshi met the Sogdian named Kang in the east of the city."
Guo Ziyi took a sip of wine and whispered: "It seems that what Kong You said about 'coming to Dunhuang on business' was for these slaves from Luoyang."
Guo Yao asked in confusion: "How did Kong You get together with a Sogdian slave trader?"
Guo Ziyi: "Buy the slave label from the Luoyang bandit army, and then transport it all the way to Anxi. In the middle, there is the principal of buying the slave, the escort for transportation, the documents for customs clearance, and the supplies along the way. If you think about it carefully, there are
Which merchant can do this alone?”
Guo Yao was stunned and asked: "What do you mean, father, there is the shadow of the Anxi Protectorate behind this?"
Guo Ziyi: "Kong You, the Kang family in Shicheng, and the Anxi Protectorate are just chess pieces. The person who is really in charge of the overall situation behind the scenes is actually the one in Liangcheng."
Guo Yao: "Shuai Zhou?"
Guo Ziyi nodded slightly.
Guo Yao: "Admiral Zhou spent so much money to buy a group of common people from the Luoyang bandit army, and then went to great lengths to transport them to Anxi. What was his purpose?"
Guo Ziyi drank the wine in the glass and did not answer, but turned her sight to the end of the long street.
Guo Yao followed Guo Ziyi's line of sight and looked out the window.
I saw a large number of people driving carriages, carrying their children and their children, entering the city from outside Dunhuang City. The long streets were crowded and noisy.
Guo Yaoqi asked: "How come there are so many people entering the city?"
Guo Ziyi looked solemn and dropped four words: "Dunhuang is in danger."
After saying that, Guo Ziyi left the wine shop and rode straight to the Dunhuang Mansion.
Inviting officials such as the Dunhuang Sima and the Prefectural Guard School Lieutenant, Guo Ziyi ordered Dunhuang to enter the city on guard in the name of the Anxi Protectorate in front of everyone. He also recruited brave men in the city to intensify training and prepare to defend against the enemy.
The officials in Dunhuang City looked at each other in confusion.
Someone had the courage to say to Guo Ziyi: "The governor Duan is leading the troops outside, and General Guo is taking charge of the matter rashly. I'm afraid this is not in line with etiquette."
Guo Ziyi asked everyone: "Where did the people gathered outside the city come from?"
An official replied: "A few days ago, Governor Duan sent out fast horses to move all the merchants and residents from Shouchang, Yumen, Daqi and other places to Dunhuang."
Guo Ziyi asked: "The governor Duan has 8,000 elite soldiers. If we only need to divide the troops to deal with the Tibetan cavalry, why make such a fuss and let all the people outside the city come to the city to take refuge?"
The Dunhuang officials were speechless for a moment.
At this moment, a person walked out of the gate of Fuzhi, but it was Kong You.
After entering the central hall, he said to the officials: "What General Guo said is not alarmist. Dunhuang is in danger at the moment."
As soon as this statement came out, Dunhuang officials were all surprised.
Guo Ziyi said: "If the news of the Tibetan army's entry reaches Dunhuang, it will definitely cause chaos in the city. People flee, food prices soar, night movements, etc. are all possible. In order to buy time, Governor Duan led the army to snipe the Tibetan army, and ordered
Residents from Daqi and other places moved to Dunhuang, and then asked for help from Guazhou, Beiting, Anxi and other places. This was a response of tight external conditions and loose internal conditions, which is not wrong."
"However, it has been seven days since Governor Duan last sent news to Dunhuang. During these seven days, news from the front line was completely interrupted. I thought it was related to the tense war and continuous heavy rain."
Kong You said from the side: "A few days ago, there was a heavy rain around Shazhou that had not been seen in decades. All roads between Dunhuang and Qianqian prefectures and counties and Rongbao were interrupted. Messengers could not travel. The city was not aware of what was happening in the front.
There was no news at all, and they were almost blind. No one knew whether the Tang army won or lost on the front line."
Guo Ziyi: "The immediate plan is to prepare for war as soon as possible in case the war ahead is unfavorable."
All the officials in Dunhuang shouted "Hey" when they heard this.
After leaving the mansion, Guo Ziyi looked at Kong You and asked: "What did Kong Changshi think the Tang army under Duan Jishi is doing now?"
Kong You didn't mince words and said directly: "It's more bad than good."
Guo Ziyi nodded slightly and said: "I have heard that Chang Shi is good at strategy. Please help me with the difficulty of Dunhuang."
Kong You looked at Guo Ziyi, bowed and said with a smile: "The commander-in-chief appointed General Guo as the protector of Anxi. You have only a short history, so you should do your best."
Guo Ziyi felt relieved after hearing this.
The two people, who have different positions and personalities, stood together by chance and fought against the enemy side by side. It was truly a trick of fate.
A few days later, more than a hundred cavalrymen who retreated from Shanque Peak entered Dunhuang City with Duan Xiushi, who was seriously injured.
Guo Ziyi first ordered the whole city to be under martial law, then sent out security officers to stabilize people's hearts in the city, and finally sent out scouts to inquire about information from all around.
After doing all this, Guo Ziyi had some free time to ask about the war on the front line.
The first is Duan Xiushi's injuries. According to the doctor's report, the governor's sternum was broken, and a piece of broken bone even penetrated into the chest, causing massive bleeding. It is a miracle that he can survive to this day.
Then there is the situation of the Doulu Army and the Yumen Army. Of the eight thousand Tang soldiers, only a hundred cavalry returned. The rest died in the war, including Guo Ziyi's old partner Chang Huiwu.
Finally, there was the enemy's strength, a 110,000-strong army of thirteen six-winged troops. The Tubo people went against the usual pattern of fighting against the autumn wind in previous years. This time, they almost mobilized in full force, catching the Tang army by surprise.
After understanding the situation, Guo Ziyi held the first military council in Dunhuang Mansion.
First, let’s introduce the four thousand Qingqi of the Moli Army who just arrived.
In the eastern part of Shazhou, the rain was slightly lighter than in other areas. Molijun, who was in Guazhou, did not waste too much time on the road due to the heavy rain and arrived at Dunhuang in time.
Guo Ziyi had served in the Moli Army for many years, and everyone in the army respected him as the chief general. Even the current military envoy of the Moli Army was a partial general promoted by Guo Ziyi.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Therefore, the Moli Army took Guo Ziyi as their general and became the main force in the defense of Dunhuang.
As for the other military forces in the city.
There are about 2,300 Dunhuang guardsmen. Under Duan Xiushi's training, their combat prowess is quite good, not inferior to ordinary soldiers at all.
There are about 3,000 volunteers temporarily recruited in the city. Although they have only been trained for a short period of time, they are still more than enough to serve as auxiliary troops.
As for Anxi and Beiting, heavy rain caused flash floods and washed away the official roads connecting Dunhuang. Therefore, the reinforcements from Anxi and Beiting were unable to reach the battlefield in the short term.
In other words, Guo Ziyi only had about 9,000 available soldiers.
The Tubo army of 110,000 lost about 22,000 people in the mountain peaks. Although the casualties were heavy, the main force was still there. Compared with Dunhuang, its strength was almost nine to one. The situation was not optimistic.
At the military council, Guo Ziyi issued his respective tasks to his generals and city officials.
Everyone had their errands, but Kong You was the only one who ignored the military discussion and stood alone in the corner, holding a miscellaneous book and reading with gusto.
Guo Ziyi glanced at him and asked: "Dunhuang War, regarding city defense, training, military preparation, etc., does Chang Shi have anything to add?"
Seeing everyone looking over, Kong You waved his hand and said: "General Guo has prepared everything carefully and everything is detailed. You is dull and has nothing to say."
Hearing this, Guo Ziyi's eldest son Guo Yao snorted coldly and said: "When I was in Liangzhou, I heard about the reputation of Confucius. I thought he was some great person. But now it seems that he is just a mediocre person, not as good as..."
Hearing this, Guo Ziyi glanced at Guo Yao coldly. After the latter saw it, his heart froze and he quickly shut up, not daring to say anything more.