Chapter Sixteen: Geshu Han's Support

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  Yang Guozhong thus decisively beheaded Huo Baojin and subdued the other conspirators, shocking not only his own soldiers but also Geshu Han and Pong Zhun.

  Yang Guozhong's young son is really ruthless and cruel in his killings!

  Geshu Han and Pang Zhong also understood, Yang Hui's earlier words ignoring Geshu Han were just to distract Huo Baozhen, not to put Geshu Han in a desperate situation.

  Otherwise, Yang Jie's subordinates would have shot and killed the soldiers who were holding Geshu Han hostage at the first time, and protected him.

  Order the personal soldiers under your command to tie up all those people on the ground, and Yang Hui immediately ordered Li De Fu and Pang Zhong to lead their soldiers to rush to the south gate. "General Li, General Pang, you quickly bring your soldiers to the south gate, eliminate the remnants of Huo Bao's rebellion, I order you, no matter what the cost, you must control the south gate, do not lose it! If there are those who resist and disobey, kill them without pardon!"

  "Ah! This..." Li Fude was shocked, at this time Yang Hui actually ordered him to take over the South Gate. If he led his troops away, if Geshu Han and Pong Zhong wanted to harm Yang Hui, how could the few hundred personal soldiers by Yang Hui's side possibly cope?

  He looked at Yang Jie, then at Pang Zhong, with a look of being at a loss.

  "General Li, General Pang, are you not leaving yet? Do you want to disobey orders?" Yang Gui commanded once again.

  He wasn't worried that Geshuhan and Pang Zhong would do something to him, his earlier move of beheading Huo Baren had been shocking enough for them, and they wouldn't make any wrong decisions.

  He wasn't worried that Li Fude's men would lose control of the south gate, as Huo Bao's main subordinates were either killed or captured by him. At most one or two capable subordinates were left to guard the south gate, and if they suddenly attacked, those people would definitely not be able to withstand it!

  He let Pang Zhong pass, just to test the reaction of Geshu Han and his subordinate to his order, taking the initiative, not expecting Pang Zhong to fully obey his command now.

  "Obey Yang Bing's command and go quickly to the South Gate!" After Yang Gui finished giving his order, Ge Shuhan unexpectedly said a sentence.

  "Yes! Yang Bingma Shi, Mo Jiang Zun Ling!" Li Fude hesitated for a moment, and then led the order to go, leading 1,500 soldiers rushing towards the south gate, leaving behind more than 1,000 remaining soldiers to Yang Hui.

  On the other side, Pang Zhong hesitated for a moment, then saluted Geshu Han on horseback and said: "General Geshu, I will follow your orders. I will go to the South Gate immediately. The South Gate must not be lost, otherwise the rebel army will attack and Tongguan will be lost!" With that, he didn't wait for Geshu Han's response and immediately led his troops to chase after Li Fude.

  Watching the torches' long dragon heading towards the south gate, the earth-shaking horseshoes sound faded away from near to far, Yang Hui let out a long sigh of relief.

  Li Fude and Pang Zhong led their soldiers to rush south after the gate, Yang Hui then put the long sword back in its scabbard, jumped off his horse, walked to Geshu Han's front, respectfully saluted: "The newly appointed Tongguan Army Commander Yang Hui pays respects to General Geshu!"

  After Geshu Han subconsciously returned a courtesy, Yang Gui said: "General Geshu, I have been ordered by the Emperor to lead 3,000 troops to urgently rescue Tongguan. The Left Dragon Guard General Chen Xuanli will follow with tens of thousands of troops and arrive as early as this evening! The military situation is urgent, so I won't say any more idle talk. Please, General Geshu, after the safety of the South Gate is secured, issue an order to all the generals to convene an emergency military meeting and re-deploy the defenses at Tongguan!"

  Seeing Geshu Han's hesitation, Yang Jie let out a long sigh. "General Geshu, I know that my father and you have some past grievances, but now the situation is critical. Even if there are huge grievances, we should not consider them for the time being. The most important thing now is to think of ways to block the rebel army outside Tongguan City and not let them occupy Tongguan while their military strength is at its peak! I led my soldiers to rush overnight for nearly 300 miles, just in case something happens to Tongguan... Otherwise..."

  Geshu Han is not an ordinary person, he stepped on countless people's bodies to climb to his current position. After being attached to the Tang Dynasty for many years, he has also learned a lot about the art of governance. Seeing Yang Hui's resolute expression, how could he still consider anything else? After taking a long breath, he said: "General Yang, you've come at just the right time. I didn't expect the court to send troops to rescue Tongguan so quickly. Please follow me into the account and discuss the re-arrangement of Tongguan City's defenses! Don't worry about the south gate, Generals Pang and Li will lead the army over there, it's definitely not a problem!"

  It can be said that Ge Shuhan was shocked by Yang Qi's decisive and ruthless move to kill Huo Bao, and was also surprised by the fierce aura revealed by Yang Qi. He knew that the kind of murderous aura revealed on Yang Qi's body could not have been revealed without experiencing many life-and-death struggles.

  But what he didn't understand was that Yang Hui was a well-known young master in Chang'an City, with decent talent and martial arts skills, but had never joined the army or killed anyone before. So why did this young man exude such a terrifying aura?

  In Geshu Han's confusion, Yang Kai stepped forward and held his hand, supporting Geshu Han as he walked towards the house that served as his command center. He said in a low voice: "General Geshu, I actually know that my father's proposal was wrong. What our army needs to do now is to defend Tongguan well, confront the rebel army, consume their strength, and hold them back until the loyalist troops from various places arrive. Only then can we engage in a decisive battle with the rebels! Tongguan must not be lost, or Chang'an will be in danger! However, since the situation has already developed to this point, it's pointless to dwell on the past now. What we need to do is think of every possible way to defend Tongguan and prevent the rebel army from opening the gateway to Chang'an. Other matters can wait until after Tongguan is secured."

  Ge Shuhan originally had hundreds of personal soldiers, but he lost most of them when his army was defeated. In the end, only thirty or so were left, and these thirty or so personal soldiers were just killed by Huo Baozhen. There is no one to take care of him temporarily, so Yang Hui naturally went to support him.

  Yang Hui did not let others come forward to support Ge Shuhan, but instead personally supported Ge Shuhan back to the commander's tent, which made Ge Shuhan even more surprised.

  How could Yang Guozhong's son treat him like this?

  There were no words blaming him for the defeat of his troops, but rather that he had previously petitioned the imperial court several times, and it was the best strategy to defend Tongguan with all one's might.

  Is this still Yang Guozhong's son?

  Under suspicion, Ge Shuhan couldn't help but glance at Yang Jie's expression several times. After not seeing any deceitful intentions from the young man, he slightly let out a sigh of relief and stopped worrying about anything else. He replied to Yang Jie: "Yang, if your father also thinks this way, it would be better for the imperial court to concentrate all its efforts on defending Tongguan instead of ordering our army to fight outside the pass! We wouldn't have ended up in this situation today! I know that the imperial court has already appointed you as the new commander-in-chief of Tongguan. You must also bring an imperial decree dismissing me from all my positions and taking me back to Chang'an for punishment! As I've lost the battle, I'm willing to accept any punishment from the imperial court. Please give your orders, Yang! I will hand over the defense of Tongguan city to you!"

  Geshu Han's change in tone made Yang Hui feel that the old general had accepted his arrival as the new commander of the army and would no longer hinder him, and was willing to plead guilty to the court. This made him breathe a sigh of relief, and he immediately said: "General Geshu is right about one thing, that is, the imperial court has indeed issued an edict stripping you of all your posts, but it did not order me to take you back to Chang'an for punishment, only to let you surrender as a commoner and redeem your crimes through merit! However, I know that defending Tongguan City is indispensable with General Geshu's help! Although I led the army here today, bringing imperial orders, you are still the highest commander in charge of Tongguan defense. How to deploy troops, everything will be decided by your command!"

  Seeing Geshu Han's puzzled expression, Yang Hui smiled wryly and spoke bluntly: "General Geshu, I'm sure you also understand that without your presence here, even if I had the emperor's edict in hand as a military envoy, I wouldn't be able to command many of the soldiers inside Tongguan City. In that case, Tongguan City would definitely not be able to withstand! With the great enemy before us, regardless of any personal grudges, we should put them aside and unite to defend against the enemy! I hope General Geshu is also thinking this way!"

  "Yang Bingma, your tolerance is much greater than your father's!" Geshu Han stopped in his tracks, smiling wryly with a strange expression as he looked at Yang Hui. "However, I have a premonition that the court has chosen the right person to lead the army to rescue us. If someone else were leading the army, Tongguan City would already be in chaos and I might even have been taken hostage by Huo Biren! Even if we could arrive on time, it's not certain that we would dare to eliminate Huo Biren so decisively! Ha ha, I will follow your advice, put aside personal grudges, and work together to defeat the enemy. We will block the rebels outside Tongguan City. Once the city is secure, you can take me to Chang'an, and I will plead guilty before the Emperor!"

  Geshu Han's attitude changed in an instant, Yang Hui was very surprised and delighted, and hurriedly said: "General Geshu can put national affairs and military affairs first, and set aside personal grudges and safety, I am deeply moved. After Tongguan is defended, I will personally escort General Geshu back to Chang'an, and plead with His Majesty to forgive your crimes! Victory or defeat is a common occurrence in the military, and General Geshu was ordered by the court to go out of the pass and fight, leading to failure, the blame cannot be borne by you alone!"

  Geshu Han understood Yang's words as a kind of flattery, and even temporarily ignored his "dazzlement". He chuckled twice and said: "That's for later, let's talk about it after we've defended Tongguan Pass! However, the court has already relieved me of my position as Commander-in-Chief. So, you shouldn't call me Commander-in-Chief anymore either. The defense of Tongguan will be under your command from now on. I'll summon all the generals to discuss matters later and have them listen to your deployment! I'm sure these generals will still give me some face! I hope Yang, the General of the Army, can lead his troops and defend Tongguan Pass!"

  Actually, Geshan himself didn't know why he suddenly changed his attitude towards Yang Qi and spoke like that.