On the seventh day after the Battle of Tongguan, Guo Yao's head was sent to the main camp of the Tang Army's Central Formation.
In the large meeting room, the wooden box containing Guo Yao's head was opened on the table. The generals of the Tang army were silent, and everyone turned their attention to the top.
Guo Ziyi, who learned of the death of her eldest son, stood at the innermost part of the meeting room, her face as calm as water, but her hands were trembling slightly.
Guo Ziyi tried her best to suppress her emotions and whispered: "Put it away."
Since the establishment of the Northern Tang Dynasty in the first year of Tianyou, the Battle of Tongguan has become the biggest defeat in the Northern Tang's foreign wars.
Of the 50,000-strong partial army, more than 30,000 died in battle.
The general Li Siye was seriously injured and is still lying in bed unable to get off the ground. The marching deputy general Guo Yao died in the battle, his subordinate general Yu Qi, Li Hongchen died in the battle, and thirteen of his subordinate generals were killed.
The losses of generals and soldiers were secondary.
After the defeat of Tongguan, An Shouzhong led the Yan army to attack the Tang army's formation and took away a lot of tiger squat cannons and gunpowder.
The firearms fell into the hands of the enemy, making Beitang's biggest reliance on victory known to the enemy.
Although the enemy cannot imitate the firearm after acquiring the Sky Thunder, from now on, the enemy will no longer attribute it to sorcery, but will instead develop a series of targeted tactics.
This was the biggest trouble that the Battle of Tongguan brought to the Northern Tang army.
Seeing Guo Yao's head being taken out of the tent by the sergeant, Guo Ziyi seemed to have aged much for a moment.
He closed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "I have no way of commanding the troops. I am ashamed of the Prime Minister and the court."
The generals looked at each other, and someone bowed and said: "Commander, the matter has come to this, please forgive me and accept the change... Our army has been attacking the city for more than a month, and still cannot take Chang'an. However, the traitor general An Shouzhong led tens of thousands of Yan troops.
We have plundered countless baggage and have now entered the city. I hope the commander will decide how to fight the next battle as soon as possible."
Guo Ziyi waved his hand: "The morale of the bandit army is high. If we attack the city at this time, the gains outweigh the losses. Pass on the order. The three armies will recuperate and stay put for the time being."
All the generals call you.
After the military meeting was over, Guo Ziyi was in the big tent. He first let out a long sigh, then called for his personal guards and asked, "Where is Judge Kong?"
The guard replied: "Judge Kong should be counting supplies in the rear camp at this time."
Guo Ziyi: "Okay, let's ask Judge Kong to come over..."
Before he finished speaking, Guo Ziyi shook his head: "That's all, I'll go see him in person."
After leaving the big tent, Guo Ziyi went all the way to the back camp under the leadership of his personal guards.
Entering the hall of Houying Arsenal, Guo Ziyi saw Kong You sitting in the hall, with a pot of warm tea, a plate of fried beans and a book on the table in front of him. He was living a more leisurely life than the others.
After Kong You saw Guo Ziyi, he stood up calmly and saluted the latter.
Guo Ziyi sat down, looked at Kong You quietly, and said, "Bohong is quite relaxed here."
Kong You: "Everything in the army is complicated, and I have a dull temper. It's better to keep a low profile when getting along with others."
When Guo Ziyi heard this, she couldn't help but be startled when she thought of the relationship between Kong You and the military officials.
Kong You saw Guo Ziyi's expression and laughed softly: "Commander, don't worry too much. Kong You was born in a slave family and did not take the imperial examination to become an official. Others think that you are a flatterer and a treacherous person. Only then can he be appreciated by the prime minister. Again."
In addition, in the Liangcheng incident earlier, many of the criminals involved had connections with the military, so it is natural for me to keep a low profile."
Hearing this, Guo Ziyi nodded slightly. Not many people knew about Kong You's ability. Most people thought that Kong You was able to obtain his current position solely because of his relationship with the prime minister. However, they did not know that this man's resourcefulness could be said to be among the best in the army.
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Guo Ziyi: "The 50,000-strong partial army led by Li Siye was defeated at Tongguan. An Shouzhong reinforcements have entered Chang'an. The morale of the rebel army has been greatly boosted. What should I do next? Can Bo Hong give me some advice?"
Kong You glanced at Guo Ziyi and fell silent.
At the beginning, Zhou Jun placed Kong You in the Central Route Army and specifically instructed Guo Ziyi to attack Chang'an slowly and not to rush.
Zhou Jun's implication is that although Guo Ziyi is good at leading troops in battles, the name of recovering Chang'an is too great. Even if Guo Ziyi acts calmly, in the face of this great achievement, he is likely to be eager for quick success and make the wrong move.
The purpose of sending Kong You to Guo Ziyi's command is to persuade the latter to prevent the implementation of wrong strategies in time.
Zhou Jun thought so, but Kong You had his own plans.
Due to his background and work style, Kong You's popularity and reputation in the military were not very good.
Guo Ziyi originally made Li Siye the commander of the partial army and Guo Yao as the deputy general of the march. Kong You could see the problem at a glance, but he was unwilling to stand up and correct him.
If he stood up and told the truth, firstly, he would offend Li Siye, Guo Yao and even Guo Ziyi; secondly, if Kong You succeeded in persuading Guo Ziyi to change his mind and make him change his general or even cancel the strategy of encirclement and reinforcements, then in the future, if
The war situation is difficult, and it is difficult to guarantee that someone will not take advantage of the opportunity and blame Kong You for his incompetence.
Therefore, Kong You had the idea of sitting back and watching, putting self-preservation first. He just gave a few symbolic reminders and simply ignored it.
Guo Ziyi is also an old man. When he saw Kong You's behavior, he immediately guessed what he was thinking.
Guo Ziyi knew that if he wanted Kong You to speak, he would be ignored for his own sake, but there was one person whom Kong You would definitely listen to.
Guo Ziyi: "The Prime Minister once said that the war in Chang'an was dangerous and we should not act too hastily. I was eager to do my best and made a big mistake. I really regret it!"
Hearing Guo Ziyi mention Zhou Jun, Kong You sighed and said frankly: "The Prime Minister is unpredictable and beyond the reach of ordinary people. Naturally, we cannot compare with him... Marshal Guo is good at military affairs. The defeat of Tongguan was just a temporary defeat. There is no need to be overly complacent."
Responsibility, as for defeating the enemy's strategy..."
Guo Ziyi pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
Kong You: "You don't know anything about military affairs. You can only speculate on people's hearts, and you know a little bit about it. The bandit army has just won a great victory, and its morale is high. An Shouzhong has captured many firearms of our army. The Tang army will use demon magic to
Rumors cannot be proven by themselves... The combat power of our enemies and ours is declining and increasing. If we want to capture Chang'an, instead of attacking the city, it is better to lure the rebels out of the city and then have a showdown."
Guo Ziyi frowned: "Chang'an City is well-defended, and An Shouzhong has always been strategic. It will be extremely difficult to lure him to lead his troops out of the city."
Kong You: "In normal times, it is naturally extremely difficult. But now our army is defeated, but it is the best opportunity... The key lies in the eight words 'show the enemy weakness and set a bait'."
Guo Ziyi: "Show the enemy weakness and set a bait?"
Kong You: "Commander, please listen to me slowly."
Guo Ziyi sat closer and began to listen to Kong You's explanation of the tactics to lure the enemy in the Battle of Chang'an.
The more Guo Ziyi listened, the more frightened he became, and his eyes widened unconsciously. After listening, he sighed: "This plan is actually a chain plan. If it works, the situation in Chang'an will be settled!"