Chapter Eleven Preparing to Set Off

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  "What requirements do you have, just tell me!" It is not clear whether it was the words presented by Yang Jie earlier, including the analysis of the situation and the means of rescue, that moved Li Longji to eliminate his doubts about Yang Jie's young age and firmly decided to let this young man lead the army to rescue Tongguan; or because all the ministers in the court, including Yang Guozhong, supported letting Yang Jie lead the army to rescue urgently, making Li Longji believe that Yang Jie could lead the army; or whether he guessed what Yang Guozhong was thinking at the moment. After hearing Yang Jie's request, Li Longji also agreed without hesitation.

  "May Your Majesty grant me a handwritten decree, allowing me to command any troops stationed near Tongguan. Those who disobey orders will be subject to my disposal!"

  "I have agreed, and I will immediately give you the imperial edict!" Li Longji had already consented before the ministers stood up to oppose it, without much hesitation.

  Since Li Longji agreed to his request, Yang Hui let out a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to continue making demands when no other ministers stood up to express different views: "Also, how to deploy troops on the front line of Tongguan, how to defend against the enemy, I hope that all will be judged by me according to the situation, and the court will not intervene. At least before the crisis in Tongguan is resolved, do not order me what to do!"

  "What?! The people in the palace couldn't help but exclaim. If the previous request was still somewhat reasonable, then this one was a bit too much. If the emperor made other considerations from a broader perspective, could Yang Hui just ignore it?"

  However, Yang Guozhong was not surprised by the demands made by Yang Hui, but rather that his son would think so far ahead and be so bold as to dare make such requests in front of the Emperor and so many high-ranking officials.

  Under the gaze of Yang Guozhong and other officials, Emperor Xianzong thought for a moment before agreeing to Yang's request: "Alright, I agree! I will grant you an imperial edict and a precious sword. You will be in charge of all military affairs at Tong Pass. Until the crisis at Tong Pass is resolved, the court will not interfere with the military affairs there. If anyone dares to disobey your orders, you can use the sword I bestow upon you to execute them on the spot, and report to me afterwards! Do you have any other requests? However, let me make one thing clear: if I agree to these conditions and you still fail to defend Tong Pass, I will not forgive you!"

  "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will do my best to defeat the enemy and defend Tongguan, bringing peace back to the capital. If not, I will apologize with my death!" Yang Gui said proudly, and immediately made another request: "Your Majesty, after I lead the army out, I hope you can order more troops to quickly support Tongguan, in case of unexpected events! The remaining soldiers at Tongguan are all defeated and have no fighting spirit. If the enemy launches a full-scale attack after clearing the battlefield, it will be difficult for me to defend Tongguan with just the 3,000 soldiers you gave me. Moreover, the military supplies needed for defending the city must also be delivered in time..."

  Taking advantage of the occasion to express his loyalty and ambition, Yang Guozhong made some requests and also explained how he would greet the enemy after arriving at Tongguan, which was a supplement to what he had just said. Li Longji listened with great joy, while Yang Guozhong and other officials were shocked.

  A seventeen-year-old young man can say more insightful suggestions than these people on the scene. How can it not surprise people?

  It seems that Yang Guo really had a deep understanding of the Tongguan war, so he dared to request troops to rescue him today; some people also think that today is Yang Guozhong and Yang Guo singing in unison, with the goal of grasping military power and expanding the Yang family's influence. However, those who have this idea still admire Yang Guozhong's boldness, or despise him for using every means to gain power, even pushing his own son to the forefront!

  But few people guessed what Yang Guozhong was thinking at this time!

  He had a mind to sacrifice his most beloved youngest son to save his family from misfortune.

  If Yang Guang fails to save Tongguan, the blame will be on Yang Guang's head, and he can let the imperial court deal with him. As a father, he is willing to let his underage son lead the army, which is enough to show that all his decisions are for the country's justice and to defeat the rebels. Others should not criticize him for this; in front of the emperor, he can also justify himself. If Yang Guang succeeds in blocking the rebels outside Tongguan City, then he will have nothing to worry about. The great merit established by his son will largely be attributed to him as the father, and the reputation of the Yang family will greatly increase. Yang Guang can also push his son to the forefront and ask for rewards from the emperor, even seeking official positions.

  It depends on how Yang Hui performs. Listening to Yang Hui's words, which were all reasonable and to the point, Yang Guozhong felt a glimmer of hope at a time when he was almost in despair. These days, his son had been performing very differently from before; could it be that he really had become enlightened after being injured?

  But now is not the time to pursue this point, after listening to Yang Hui's statement, the emperor agreed and immediately stood up, with a very clear attitude supporting his son's request: "Your Majesty, if you want to send troops to rescue Tongguan urgently, you must hand over all military affairs in Tongguan to Yu. How can he command the army otherwise? The situation on the front line of Tongguan is changing rapidly, and only the commander-in-chief on the front line can make deployments and judgments based on specific changes in the situation. Therefore, Your Majesty and the ministers in the court will not interfere with the war in the front."

  Yang Guozhong made such a statement, and Wei Jian and others also stood up to echo him.

  This was roughly equivalent to settling the most important matter, and Li Longji left Yang Guozhong, Yang Hui, Wei Jianwen, Chen Xuanli and other important courtiers to discuss the details of the rescue operation in Tongguan. Just now, Yang Guozhong had proposed that Yang Hui lead the three thousand cavalrymen led by Li Fude, Liu Guangting and others, and hand them over to Yang Hui for command. With these three thousand cavalrymen, they would ride in relay teams to rush to Tongguan at the earliest possible time.

  Li Longji has ordered the troops to prepare quickly, and as soon as they are ready, they will set out. He also formally decreed that Yang Hui be appointed as the commander of the Tongguan army, taking full control of military affairs in Tongguan, and stripping Geshu Han of his position as Commander-in-Chief, allowing him to serve in the army as a commoner.

  The crimes of Geshu Han and his subordinate generals will be dealt with after the Tongguan battle is over!

  It was during the discussion with Li Longji and several senior officials in the court that Yang Hui learned about the specific process of the defeat at Tongguan.

  On June 4, the imperial court issued an edict after an emergency meeting, ordering Geshu Han to lead his troops out of the pass and engage in battle. After repeatedly petitioning against it and presenting his reasons, which were not accepted by the imperial court, Geshu Han had no choice but to lead his great army east out of Tong Pass. On the 7th, at Xiyuan, west of Lingbao County, Henan, they encountered the enemy general Cui Qianbai's troops.

  The rebels had long been prepared and occupied the strategic positions to deal with the Tang army. To break the stalemate, Geshu Han prepared to use his military superiority to launch a strong attack on the rebels.

  On the eighth day, at dawn, just as the sky was brightening, Ge Shuhan ordered his troops to have Wang Silie and other generals lead 50,000 elite soldiers at the front, while Pang Zhong led 100,000 cavalrymen to follow behind. Another 30,000 men were stationed on high ground north of the Yellow River to observe and beat drums to boost morale.

  There is a narrow pass between Tongguan and Shanzhou, 70 miles long, with mountains to the south and the Yellow River to the north. The narrowest point can only allow one cart to pass through. An Lushan's general Cui Qianyou used less than 10,000 weak and disabled soldiers as bait, personally leading 50,000 elite troops to ambush on both sides of the pass.

  The Tang army, eager to defeat the rebels, advanced into the pass without carefully observing the enemy situation. After the vanguard entered the pass, countless wooden logs and rocks fell from above, causing heavy casualties among the Tang troops. The army was thrown into chaos and unable to organize effective resistance.

  Geshu Han saw that things were not going well, so he immediately ordered the felt carts to take the lead and prepare to use them as cover to charge through the ambush circle and get behind the rebel army. However, this plan was seen through by Cui Qianyou, who immediately ordered more than a dozen carts loaded with dry grass to block the Tang army's path and set fire to them.

  At this time, the east wind suddenly rose, and the smoke and fog all drifted into the Tang army's formation, causing chaos among the government troops, even leading to self-inflicted casualties. A contingent of rebel cavalry appeared from the south mountain direction behind the Tang army and launched a surprise attack. The government troops were even more shocked, their front and rear lines became disordered, and they quickly collapsed in defeat. The 30,000 government troops on the north bank of the Yellow River also retreated without a fight upon seeing that the situation was unfavorable, and Geshu Han could not stop them.

  This is the first battle report sent back by the supervising eunuchs after the defeat in the war, and there are continuous reports of the situation, but they are all news of defeats. As for where Geshu Han went, how many soldiers were lucky enough to escape, and how Tongguan was defended, it is not clear at present.

  It is not clear whether it was because of Yang Guifei's statement, or because of his identity and sense of mission, that after discussing the details of the emergency relief for Tongguan, Emperor Xuanzong decided to let Chen Xuanli lead the subsequent relief troops. General-in-Chief Chen Xuanli volunteered: "Your Majesty, in times of national crisis, I dare not stay idly in the palace. Tongguan is in urgent danger, and I wish to lead the follow-up troops to rescue Tongguan!"

  In the 26th year of Kaiyuan, in November, the Left and Right Feathered Forest Armies were divided to establish the Dragon Warrior Army, with one Left and one Right Dragon Warrior Great General each. That same year, Chen Xuanli led troops to help Li Longji seize the throne, killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle. As the Left Dragon Warrior Great General, he could be considered one of Li Longji's most trusted individuals.

  Seeing that Chen Xuanli, who was nearly sixty years old and the commander of the Imperial Guard, volunteered, Li Longji was slightly surprised, but knowing it wasn't the time to discuss other matters, he agreed after brief consideration. "Alright, I grant your request, Chen Ai-qing. Immediately summon the troops inside and outside Chang'an City, at least 50,000, with the fastest speed to rescue Tongguan, no mistakes allowed!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty! I obey your orders!" Chen Xuanli received his orders and immediately bowed and left to make preparations.

  Li Longji walked up to Yang Hui, who was also preparing to leave, patted Yang Hui's shoulder with his hand, looked at him seriously for a moment, and then let out a long sigh. "Yang Si Lang, I hope you can do as you said, drive back the rebels, guard Tongguan, and don't disappoint me and your father!"

  Yang Hui stood proudly and answered in a dignified tone: "I will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty and Father!"

  "Good! After you arrive at Tongguan, if the situation is safe and sound, you can hold on to Tongguan and send a fire signal to report safety; if the situation is unfavorable... I can only make other plans! You go!" Li Longji said, waving his hand to indicate that Yang Guozhong lead Yang Hui to make preparations.

  Yang Hui did not hesitate again and urged Yang Guozhong, who still wanted to say a few more words, to quickly walk out of the palace.

  Someone has come to report that the 3,000 horses and men led by Li Fude and Liu Guangting have gathered outside the palace and the required horses are also ready, they can set off now!