Yu Chaoen was wearing a purple robe, holding a fly whisk on his arm, and strode into Guo Ziyi's military tent.
After entering the tent, he looked around and saw Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huai'en sitting on the top chair with frowns and did not get up to greet them. He suddenly felt something strange in his heart and asked with a forced smile: "Guo Sikong, Doctor Pugu, are we here?"
This Pujin Ferry has been defended for more than ten days, and there has been no movement from the Hexi Army on the other side. Do you two have any insights?"
Guo Ziyi squeezed out a trace of bitterness on his face, stood up and cupped his hands to Yu Chaoen and said: "Guo Ziyi has failed the emperor's favor. Today, he invited the envoy from Yuzhong to come here because he has urgent military information to report."
"Oh?" Yu Chaoen asked, pretending to be surprised, "What kind of military situation is it? Come tell me quickly."
He winked at Pugu Huaien, who then said with a grimace: "Li Siye led his army to break through Longmendu three days ago, and now they have entered Guanzhong and occupied Xiayang County."
"What!" Yu Chaoen was so anxious that he shook his fly whisk and spun it around on the ground, and then scolded Guo Ziyi with the attitude of Zhuge Liang after the fact: "Guo Linggong! Guo Linggong! How much the saint trusts you, and he has entrusted the defense of Guanzhong to you.
, but you repay the emperor's kindness like this. I have told you to be cautious in your actions, and you must not relax at Pujin Ferry and Longmen Ferry, but it is better for you to ignore His Majesty's trust in you and lose Longmen Ferry. Now.
Li Siye drove straight into Guanzhong, can Chang'an be saved? It definitely can't be saved!"
Guo Ziyi seemed calm at this moment, nodded and said: "What Yu Zhongzhong said is absolutely true, but the current plan is to report this news to His Majesty in Chang'an. How to deal with it next is entirely up to His Majesty."
"You don't need to tell me that I know it. Fortunately, the news came in time and you didn't make a huge mistake. The top priority is to report it to Your Majesty as soon as possible so that the imperial court has time to react before Li Siye invades Chang'an!"
Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huaien looked at each other and made a quick judgment, with worries on their faces.
He said to Yu Chaoen thoughtfully: "Although Li Siye entered Guanzhong, he was exhausted from the expedition and the old soldiers were exhausted. However, our army still has 50,000 troops at Pujin Ferry, and it is still capable of fighting. It just requires your Majesty's participation.
"Conquering the army in person, boosting morale and fighting to the death with Li Siye, we will be able to win the battle and turn the tide in one fell swoop."
Yu Chaoen opened his mouth in surprise, then grinned and said: "Do you dare to say this to the saint yourself? Yes, you dare, you are the dignified Guo Sikong. But have you ever considered His Majesty's safety? In
The Yellow River crossing has not blocked anyone, but now we are competing with the world's strongest soldier Feihuqi on the Guanzhong Plain, are you 100% sure?"
"Of course I'm not sure about leading the troops myself, but if His Majesty can send out all the palace guards and personally go on the field to guard the central army to boost their morale, the officers and men of the three armies will definitely be able to defeat the Hexi Army in one go."
"Really?" Looking at the expression on Yu Chaoen's face, he didn't believe a word of Guo Ziyi's words: "Guo Sikong is still too conceited after all, and dares to put His Majesty's safety in the midst of thousands of troops. It's natural for you to come from a military background.
I only consider victory or defeat, but I cannot agree with you. My memorial will only advise Your Majesty to move the capital."
Guo Ziyi sighed helplessly: "Well, since we all have different opinions, we will each submit a memorial. It all depends on His Majesty's decision."
"Okay, Guo Sikong and I have different opinions, so of course we have to report to His Majesty each."
After Yu Chaoen left Guo Ziyi's tent, Pugu Huaien stepped forward sadly and said: "Your Majesty, you have seen it. You are the only one who puts the safety of the country first, but others must be thinking about how to escape."
Guo Ziyi sighed and said: "This is not your Majesty's fault, but actually bad luck. Although your Majesty does not have the talent to save the current situation, if you are an emperor of peace, you can still sympathize with the people and continue the Tang Dynasty."
"But what the world needs now is not the Emperor of Taiping!" Pugu Huaien said excitedly: "What is needed is a sage monarch who can save the common people. I remember when Emperor Taizong first ascended to the throne, the people's livelihood was in decline and the Turks were in trouble.
The Khan led an army of 100,000 to approach the Wei River. Isn't the situation more dangerous than today? Taizong was able to ride to the Wei River bridge alone to face and denounce Jie Li, and made an alliance on the Wei River to force Jie Li to retreat. Only then would the Tang Dynasty become what it is today. If today's
The emperor has one-tenth of Taizong's courage, so why does your Majesty need to be so diligent and constrained at the same time?"
The two were silent for a long time, and finally looked at each other without saying anything.
…
Two memorials with completely different tendencies and contents were sent from Pujindu Camp to Chang'an. Although Guo Ziyi and Yu Chaoen failed to reach an agreement on strategy, their decision at the moment was still unanimous, and they jointly led the withdrawal.
Pujin crossed the camp and moved closer to the outskirts of Chang'an. The final battle to defend Guanzhong would definitely take place outside Chang'an City.
After the Tang army withdrew, the Pujindu Camp was burned down. Guo Ziyi devoted too much energy to this camp, making it a bridgehead to guard the Yellow River. However, after the passage of time, it lost its function, and its only role was not to be left to the opponent.
.
At this time, Li Siye had completed his strategic deployment for Guanzhong and even for the situation in the world. At this time, in the northern region, Shi Siming led his troops to attack Taiyuan and was in a dilemma.
After a disastrous defeat, they had to return to Fan Yang to regroup. This was the last victory for the imperial court that year.
Since all the troops in Guanzhong were concentrated in the hands of Guo Ziyi and Yu Chaoen, the defenses of the other states and counties were ineffective. Duan Xiushi set out from Xiayang County and successively conquered Heyang, Pucheng, Fuping, and Liquan, and finally entered Fengxiang County to the west and captured Fufeng County.
, Chencang and Qishan counties are firmly in our hands.
It is worth mentioning that Chencang County has now changed its name and was given the name Baoji County by Li Heng. In the early days of the Anshi Rebellion, it was precisely because this place served as the link between Guanzhong and Hanzhong that the dying Tang Dynasty gained a glimmer of hope. Li Siye sent Duan Xiushi to occupy it first.
Here, Li Heng's extravagant hopes of entering Shu will be completely cut off, and his final path to regaining control of Lingwu will be cut off.
The memorials of Yu Chaoen and Guo Ziyi entered Chang'an City one after another. Li Fuguo was frightened after seeing the memorials. His eyes were dizzy and he almost went into shock. Fortunately, his godsons gave him a few sips of life-saving tea and pinched the person hard.
Only then did he faintly wake up.
After waking up, he was frightened. His first words were: "Quick, quick! Send both memorials to His Majesty's desk."
After Li Heng received the memorial, he also broke out in a cold sweat, propped himself up from the bed, and hurriedly sent someone to invite Li Fuguo and Li Mi.
Li Fuguo went to the imperial court with a pale face, but the eunuch who delivered the order came back with the fish charm and the official seal and knelt down to apologize: "Your Majesty, Li Mi has hung the official seal on the beam and left Chang'an without a trace.
.”
Li Heng opened his eyes wide and said blankly: "Chang Yuan, has the situation deteriorated to this point that even you are not willing to serve me?"
Li Fuguo had no choice but to calm down and remonstrated with the emperor in a low voice: "Everyone, please don't be too dejected. Fortunately, there is no road ahead for everyone. What's more, you are the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, blessed by the virtues of your ancestors, and you have the orthodoxy of the country. You will definitely meet
Turn misfortune into good fortune and continue the country's legacy."
Li Heng coughed twice, then picked up the two memorials sent by Yu Chaoen from the table and asked: "Yu Chaoen said that Li Siye's troops in Hexi were so powerful that they broke through in just one day.
At the Longmen Ferry of the Yellow River, the many soldiers and horses in Guanzhong led by Guo Ziyi are afraid that they will be unable to resist, and I am asked to consider moving south in advance to preserve the foundation of the imperial court."
"Guo Ziyi said that the loss of Longmen Crossing was due to a momentary misjudgment on his part. Although more than 7,000 Shence troops were lost, the main force of Longxiang Shuofang's army is still there. Li Siye worked hard on the expedition, and the three armies have reached the end of their strength. As long as I, the commander, lead the expedition in person,
The athletes guarding Guanzhong will engage in a decisive battle with Li Siye and will surely defeat him."
Li Heng was hesitant in his heart, lowered his head and rubbed his palms and said: "Both the memorials of Yu Chaoen and Guo Ziyi have their insights, but I have worries in my heart and it is difficult to make a decision. I don't want to live up to the inheritance of my ancestors, so I came up with a two-pronged strategy.
It has been decided that you will take the prince and the emperor to leave Chang'an and escape from Fengxiang Mansion to Shu. I will personally lead the soldiers of Guanzhong and fight to the death with the traitor Li Siye in Chang'an. What do you think?"
Li Fuguo took a breath of cold air, the same history could actually be repeated again. It had only been four years since Li Longji escaped, and the old emperor was still alive. The Tang Dynasty experienced the second ups and downs. As Li Longji, he
Heng's slave, and as his humerus minister, had a deeper understanding of his fate. There was no emperor more unlucky than him in the world. He did not enjoy the fruits of his father's prosperous Kaiyuan era, but he bore the consequences of the Tianbao crisis.
, on the way to escape Shuzhong to seek the throne for himself, but what he got was a broken country.
He had worked hard since he took the throne and never felt comfortable for a day, but the situation became increasingly worse. During his reign, Li Siye rebelled and led the Hexi Army to the doorstep of his home. Who wouldn't feel aggrieved by this?
His fate and that of the emperor were actually tied together, so Li Heng asked him where he was going. Guo Ziyi's memorial made some sense. The emperor's imperial conquest was a personal one, and although it was a huge risk for him personally, it was not for the Tang Dynasty.
It was just a chance to survive. Even if Li Heng Yujia's personal expedition suffered a disastrous defeat and lost his life, Prince Li Yu had already fled and could still regroup in Jiangnan or Shu. At least the people of the world would not lose confidence in the Tang Dynasty.
But as for him, his fate was tied to the emperor. Once he fled south with the kidnapped prince, without Li Heng's protection, he, a powerful eunuch who once dominated the government and the public, would only become a victim of the local vassal forces.
When he thought of this, Li Fuguo's knees softened and he knelt down. With a look of sincerity on his face, he said with tears: "Your Majesty, you must not do this!"