Chapter 56: When false, then true; when true, then false.

  I've caught a severe cold, feeling miserable to death. Tang Yuan wants to slack off a bit, sleeping early every day. For the next two days, I'll update two chapters per day, and make up for the owed ones later. Please forgive me, book friends!

  Gao Shi could never have imagined that this chance encounter with Yang Hui on the city wall in the early hours of dawn would unexpectedly lead to his promotion.

  Although Yang Jie's promotion made him hesitant to accept, after all, the other party was the son of Yang Guozhong. However, due to his initial good impression of Yang Jie and the arrangements he made after arriving at Tongguan, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for him. He felt that it would be great to work under someone who is decisive and efficient, without any hesitation or delay, and that his own abilities might be fully utilized.

  Gao Shi hesitated for a moment and then accepted Yang Jie's on-the-spot appointment, expressing his determination.

  Gao Shi accepted his temporary appointment without any hesitation, and Yang Jie knew that this historical figure had already begun to obey him. In any era, in order to do great things, one must have a group of capable subordinates with high loyalty. Yang Jie also understood that although he was now acting as the commander-in-chief, there were almost no people who would completely obey him personally.

  Whether it was Geshu Han or Pong Zhong, Li Fude and others, they were only temporarily obedient to him because he bore the sacred mission or because of his father Yang Guozhong's trust in him. If these preconditions were gone, these people would not take him seriously either.

  In the following process, he not only had to lead the remaining tens of thousands of defeated soldiers and generals to defend Tongguan City, but also had to continuously recruit "small brothers".

  Only when you have a group of people who are loyal to you can you accomplish things and achieve great things.

  He hoped Gao Shi would be his first "younger brother" and that he could listen to him, do things for him, and make plans for him.

  He also believed that no matter how old a person was, he had the confidence to make them surrender to his abilities and means, helping him achieve great things.

  Just after crossing over, relying on some special opportunities to stand at the current height, a height that makes many people look up to him, Yang Kai would not let go of this opportunity, and he wanted to take advantage of any kind of "momentum" to throw a few punches.

  This was not an idea that came out of thin air, but rather a natural development as he gradually grasped the situation in Tongguan.

  At this point, he also immediately hinted to Gao Shuai not to be too polite, stood up straight and proudly, and said seriously: "General Gao, the commander has read your poems before. 'The Han family's smoke and dust are in the northeast, The Han general broke his family to defeat the remaining rebels, A man is born to be proud of his bravery, The emperor is unusually generous with his favor.' What a heroic poem this is! It's not an exaggeration to call it a timeless masterpiece. The commander hopes that your performance in the battle will also be as majestic and dignified as what you wrote in your poems!"

  Yang Ke unexpectedly recited his own poem "Yan Ge Xing" on the spot, and also praised him highly. Gao Shi was both surprised and delighted.

  In fact, this poem is full of complaints and grievances, blaming Zhang Shougui for being arrogant and underestimating the enemy, leading to defeat in battle, causing soldiers to pay a great price, but he didn't expect Yang Hui to use this poem to praise his grandeur and demeanor, it's really a bit embarrassing.

  Yang Ke was able to recite this poem and greatly admired it, which was something that Gao Shi had not expected, and even felt a sense of kindred spirit.

  Yang Qi remembered his poem and praised it while also praising his talent and magnanimity, which was of course a feeling of being understood and recognized.

  Gao Shi certainly didn't know that Yang Hui only remembered the first few lines of this famous poem, and didn't know the rest.

  Gao Zhan's expression changed slightly, and Yang Kai took the opportunity to say: "General Gao, General Li and General Pang made very good arrangements before withdrawing from Hantong Pass. They must have confused the rebels, who will not discover that our army has abandoned Hantong Pass until dawn. Moreover, they will need some time to enter the city. When the rebels arrive here and attack Tongguan City, it will take at least several hours! I believe the rebels will not attack the city for several hours, so I came to inspect the city early with my guards to boost the morale of our soldiers. I hope the rebels can delay their attack on Tongguan City!"

  Yang Kai naturally knew that the big fire set by Pang Zhong before withdrawing from Hantang Pass, as well as the subsequent destructive measures, had almost destroyed the defensive functions of Hantang Pass. The fake troops arranged before the retreat would make the rebels confused, and the traps would also make them suffer a lot. If the rebels only discovered that our army had withdrawn from Hantang Pass after dawn, they would have to spend a long time to determine whether our army was really withdrawing or setting up an ambush, or laying out an empty city plan to lure them into a trap. This process might take several hours.

  At present, time is precious for both sides. The rebels want to capture Tongguan City as soon as possible and seize it before the subsequent Tang army arrives, so as not to lose their advantage; while the Tang army hopes that the rebel's attack will be delayed again, in order to gain more time to wait for the arrival of reinforcements. For the Tang army defending Tongguan City, every extra hour of rest allows them to recover a little more strength.

  After hearing what Yang Hui said, Gao Shi had a puzzled expression, but he didn't ask any questions.

  Yang Kai didn't say anything else and ordered Gao Shi: "General Gao, you just follow the commander to patrol the city! After patrolling the city, go back and rest!"

  "Yes, Marshal!" Gao Shi made a courtesy and responded with a voice, and also instructed his subordinates to follow him and accompany Yang Hui on the city patrol.

  At this time, there were not many soldiers guarding the city wall, and there were not many patrolling soldiers. Most of the soldiers had been arranged to go to sleep and rest.

  Yang Kai tried not to disturb the sleeping soldiers, but instead went with Gao Shi to inspect the defensive situation on each city gate tower, reminding the guards on the city wall to be vigilant and keep a sharp eye out for any unusual situations.

  However, after making a round of the city walls, Yang Kai knew that his worry about the rebels sneaking into the city under the cover of darkness was unnecessary.

  Although the weather was good tonight, because the half-moon had already set and it was almost the darkest time before dawn, there seemed to be a light fog rising. The whole world looked black and gray, and the road outside Tongguan City was very difficult to walk. If you didn't carry torches or borrow moonlight, it would be impossible to travel at night, even for people who were very familiar with this area.

  Therefore, the soldiers on the city wall at night were not too worried that the rebels would sneak over to launch a surprise attack, and the generals in charge of each city gate only arranged for a small number of soldiers to be on guard duty, taking turns patrolling and sleeping. On the huge beacon tower of the Twelve Cities, there were also only a few soldiers wandering around on each city wall.

  "Marshal, it seems that the rebels really thought our army would die defending Hantang Pass and give up. The attack before nightfall was defeated again, and they gave up their attack for the night!" Gao Shi sighed after making a round of the city walls.

  Yang Hui smiled silently for a moment, and said with a hint of emotion: "When we are weak, we pretend to be strong; when we are strong, we pretend to be weak. Our army will fight to the death to prevent the rebel army from occupying Hantonguan City. Neither Cui Qianyou nor Tian Qianzhen, or An Qingxu, would have expected that our army would abandon Hantonguan City overnight and retreat to Suizhou City with all our might. I believe that tomorrow morning, when they enter the empty Hantonguan City, they will stamp their feet in frustration!"

  "Would that it were so!" Gao Shi also had some slight feelings of melancholy, but he still had his doubts.

  But it turned out that Yang Jie's words were indeed correct!