Chapter 4: Helplessness

  (When posting, the protagonist's name will automatically change to Yang Xi, I don't know why, it's frustrating!)

  During the conversation, Yang Hui carefully observed the changes in Yang Guozhong's expression and naturally found that the expression of this Tang Dynasty dignitary had changed several times during the conversation. He knew that these words also touched Yang Guozhong's heart, fortunately, he really found the right strategy.

  Yang Guozhong didn't say anything, and immediately continued: "Father, therefore I think that the most important thing for the imperial court to do now is to concentrate all its strength on defending against the rebel army's attack on Tongguan, ensuring that Tongguan does not fall. It's not about going out of the city to annihilate the main force of the rebels! If Tongguan is defended, then Chang'an will also be safe. Father, haven't you thought that Geshu Han's continuous victories might be a ruse by the rebels?

  After Yang Guozhong's eyebrows jumped, Yang Hui continued: "If Geshu Han is forced to go out of the pass and fight, the army will not be advantageous in battle, and ultimately suffer a great defeat and return, or even be annihilated. If Tongguan falls, Chang'an will also be unable to defend!"

  "But after the rebels reached Chang'an, the first person they would deal with would definitely be you, Father. Even if they didn't kill you by slow slicing, our child and several brothers, as well as other family members, might also end up with their heads separated from their bodies! Even if Father protected the Emperor and escaped before Chang'an fell, the Emperor might still vent his anger on Father, punish Father for his crimes. Then our Yang family would definitely face great disaster! Today, when I was thinking about these things while lying down, I became very frightened, so I'm taking a big risk to speak with Father, hoping that Father will think thrice before acting!"

  Yang Hui's last few bold words made Yang Guozhong's facial muscles jump, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly gone, only to be caught by Yang Hui, which made him even more delighted. Could he have hit Yang Guozhong's weak spot?

  For the time being, everything that can be said has been said. Next, it depends on how Yang Guozhong reacts. Yang Hui also stopped speaking and quietly looked at his father, whose mood was completely different from before, to see what he would say and how he would react.

  Yang Guozhong's heart was naturally stirred up, and no one dared to speak such direct words in front of him. Yang Hui was the first person to do so, and his words made Yang Guozhong suddenly come to his senses. What Yang Hui said was not wrong - An Lushan's rebellion was indeed launched under the banner of eliminating the emperor's powerful ministers, which meant "eliminating" him. If Tongguan fell and Chang'an was captured, he would fall into the rebels' hands, and his death would be as miserable as it could get. Being tortured to death was not impossible. Tongguan was the gateway to Chang'an, and if it was defended, Chang'an would have nothing to worry about falling. If Chang'an did not fall, Yang Guozhong would also avoid this great disaster.

  The situation in which Dongdu Luoyang was so easily occupied by the rebels can be seen, if Tongguan falls, Chang'an cannot be defended.

  The city walls of Luoyang are as high as those of Chang'an, and Luoyang was occupied by the rebels in just a few days. If the rebels surround Chang'an, how many more days can Chang'an hold out?

  He was suddenly confused by Yang Guozhong's words, and his confidence in the past few days began to waver. He even wondered whether he should change the imperial order that had already been issued, and recall Geshu Han's troops who were already outside the pass fighting.

  However, he thought that Yang Hui's words were a bit too extreme and exaggerated. Yang Hui was only a 17-year-old young man, how could he possibly think clearly about the great affairs of the military and the country? Maybe he had been misled by someone else's words before speaking like this.

  As soon as he thought about who might have come to persuade Yang Hui, Yang Guozhong felt a surge of anger and wanted to scold him, but seeing Yang Hui's anxious and urgent expression, he calmed down and said slowly: "Hui'er, what you say makes some sense! As your father, I also know that defending Tongguan is the same as defending Chang'an. If Tongguan falls, Chang'an will be in danger too! But to quell the rebellion, it's not possible to just defend Tongguan alone!"

  "Now An Lushan has the intention to retreat and defend Fanyang, abandoning Luoyang! If our army can take the initiative to attack, relying on its superior strength, defeat or even annihilate the rebel army that came from afar, not only will we lift the siege of Tongguan, but we may also be able to retake the Eastern Capital Luoyang. Wouldn't that be even better? Geshu Han's army has 200,000 soldiers and should have this strength! You know, now there are less than 30,000 rebel troops outside Tongguan City, and only 5,000 weak and sickly vanguard troops! Our army is far superior in numbers to the rebels, and Geshu Han is a seasoned general. The north has been continuously victorious, our soldiers' morale is high, if we rely on the natural barrier of Tongguan for one battle, we can achieve complete victory!" After finishing this speech, Yang Guozhong's confidence was boosted again.

  Yang Guozhong's attitude remained unchanged, and Yang Hui was anxious. "Father, this idea is of course very good, but the current military strength of the government army is really low, which can be seen from the situation where Feng Changqing has been defeated in several battles! In these decades, Feng Changqing has made countless achievements in battle, with few defeats, but after encountering the rebel army, he was defeated repeatedly. It's not that his command ability has declined, but rather that the combat strength of his men is really too low!"

  "Nowadays, the 200,000 troops in Tongguan have a maximum of only 30,000 combatants, and the rest are just a mob. Unless they are trained for half a year, they will not have any combat effectiveness. Once they encounter the enemy, they may collapse immediately, and it will be a disaster! In my opinion, it's already not bad that those tens of thousands of troops can hold Tongguan, how dare you think about winning a battle?" Yang Hui asked bluntly.

  Yang Guozhong's anger had dissipated a lot, and he was somewhat pleased that his son had such insight, able to speak out so many truths in front of him. He smiled comfortingly and said: "Xi'er, Fourth Son, you have such insight into the current war situation, it makes your father very happy. In this regard, you are much stronger than several of your older brothers. From now on, if you have any thoughts or ideas, feel free to share them with your father, no matter what you say, your father will not get angry! As for this matter, the Emperor has already discussed it with his ministers, everything is the Emperor's decision, so don't worry about it. You've just been injured, don't think too much, just focus on recovering. Your father still has things to attend to, you have time to go see your mother!"

  "Father, listen to me for a few more words!" Yang Hui saw Yang Guozhong was about to leave and hastily went forward, grasping Yang Guozhong's sleeve, entreating: "Father, I hope you can carefully consider what your child has just said. All the worries your child has expressed may become reality!"

  Yang Guozhong merely let out a slight sigh and didn't react much to his words, Yang Hui's heart which was originally full of hope fell through the floor, filled with sorrow and indignation, but still once again "admonished" Yang Guozhong: "Father, really can't let Geshu Han lead the army to attack, now the rebel army has 5,000 weak and sick soldiers stationed in front of Tongguan, it must be a ploy to lure our army out! Now that the rebel army's rear is continuously defeated, the postal road between Luoyang and Fanyang is damaged, An Lushan wants to quickly capture Tongguan and take Chang'an, so he won't have any worries in the back! The enemy's show of weakness under Tongguan city is definitely a ploy to lure the enemy, they want to lure Geshu Han to lead the army deep in, preparing to ambush somewhere! Father, absolutely don't fall for An Lushan's ploy!"

  Yang Jie pulled at Yang Guozhong's sleeve and begged, "Father, according to what I've learned, the imperial court has already summoned the King of Jing's army to come and quell the rebellion. This is very unfavorable for the rebels! The current rebel army is eager to capture Chang'an, which would win over more people and avoid encountering more government troops. They are even more eager to engage in a decisive battle with the defending officials of the capital! We cannot fulfill their wishes by going out of the pass to fight, but instead should hold on to the strategic location and make them unable to do anything! If we send the troops from Tongguan Pass out to fight, it would be exactly what the rebels want. Outside Tongguan City, the terrain is narrow and not suitable for large-scale battles. Even if Geshu Han leads an army of 200,000 out of the pass to fight, the most he can deploy face-to-face is less than 40,000 or 50,000 troops, which is no match for the rebels! Please, father, think thrice before acting, otherwise we won't even have a chance to regret it! Do you want our whole family to end up in a tragic situation?"

  Yang Guozhong turned his head, looked at Yang Hui with affectionate eyes, patted the hand that Yang Hui was holding onto his sleeve, and smiled: "Fourth son, your father knows you're worried about the fate of our Yang family, which makes your father very pleased. You've spoken so much sense on the matter of pacifying the rebellion, it's surprising! Your father hasn't discussed court matters with you in years, but it seems your understanding of state affairs is even better than that of your older brothers. Don't worry, your father will give you opportunities to get involved in court politics and have His Majesty grant you an official position, letting you work in the imperial court! As for the arrangements for the war effort, His Majesty will discuss and decide with his ministers, so don't say anything more about it! Your father has urgent matters to attend to and can't linger in the manor for too long. You've just recovered from your injuries, so don't get too worked up, take good care of yourself! Alright, your father is off now, he still needs to report some things to His Majesty later. You rest!"

  He shook off Yang Hui's hand that was pulling on his sleeve, ignoring Yang Hui's repeated calls from behind him, and walked out in big strides. He also ordered Ping'er and several other servants from Yang Hui's quarters to enter the house and attend to Yang Hui's rest.

  Yang Guozhong ignored him and walked away, Yang Hui was anxious and angry, he called out several times but got no response, so he chased after Yang Guozhong, wanting to catch up with him and explain things more clearly. However, he only made it to the gate before being stopped by several servants who pulled him back into the house.

  "Fourth Master, you've just recovered from your illness, hurry back to bed and rest!" said Ping'er, the little maid who had come up to support his arm.

  Yang Zheng, who was holding his other arm, also said in a very anxious tone: "Fourth Master, the old master has ordered that you should rest well in the house and take care of your body before saying anything else. When he is free, he will come to visit you and accompany you to talk! I have already sent someone to tell the lady that your injury is almost healed, if the lady can get up, he will definitely come to visit you!"

  "Let me go! I still have something very important to tell my father!" Yang Hui struggled hard, trying to break free from the grip of the two servants.

  But possibly because this body had just recovered from illness, it was unable to exert any strength and was supported back to the bed by Yang Zheng and Ping'er. The sorrow and indignation in her heart were indescribable, she had an urge to kill Yang Guozhong, but ultimately could only lie back on the bed unwillingly.

  Good heavens, how did things turn out this way?