Chapter Sixty Of course there is confidence

  Completely different from the anxious and urgent feeling of Cui Gan, the Tang army leaders on top of Guanzhong City were all surprised and delighted. Whether it was Geshu Han who tried to maintain a low profile, or Wang Silie, Li Chengguang, Gao Shi and other leaders, they all had joyful expressions and were gloating over the misfortune of others.

  Pang Zhong and Li Fude's arrangements before withdrawing their troops indeed had a miraculous effect, causing the rebel army that charged in to suffer heavy losses, further delaying the rebel army's attack. Some generals even said privately that Pang Zhong and Li Fude's "despicable tricks" were really vicious, making Cui Qianyou suffer greatly.

  Of course, these "dark" tactics were not temporary ideas, but had been planned long ago. Such planning was not only in the Han Dynasty's Tongguan City, but also in the Sui Dynasty's Tongguan City. Whether it was the Han Dynasty's Tongguan City or the Sui Dynasty's Tongguan City, it cannot be said that they would never be breached, and there may come a time when the city is broken through. When the city is breached, some last resort measures must be reserved to deal with the enemy. These measures must have been planned in advance, just like dismantling the stairs of the lower city, which was a large-scale project that could not be done temporarily, and would definitely make a big noise, so it must have been prepared in advance.

  There is also a large amount of hay and oil, all prepared in advance, just in case, temporarily there is no place to get them.

  Looking at the soaring flames in the direction of Hantangguan City, Yang Kai got an effective rest and stood on the east gate tower to observe the situation in that direction. The arrangement made by Pang Zhong and Li Fude before their withdrawal played such a powerful role, which was quite beyond his expectation.

  This not only recreated the rebel army's attack on Tong Pass again, but also successfully slowed down the rebel army's attack speed on Tong Pass.

  "General Yang, based on my estimation, the big fire in Tongguan City will last for at least an hour or more. The rebel army won't be able to arrive here until around noon. We still have one or two hours to rest and prepare!" Standing beside General Yang, Gao Shi said with emotion: "I truly admire General Yang! For a first-time commander, you've made such excellent arrangements based on the terrain of Tongguan! I think even Commander Gesu...Commander Gesu wouldn't be able to make such arrangements! I believe that under your leadership, the defenders of Tongguan will be able to withstand the rebel army's attack until the arrival of reinforcements!"

  "Reinforcements can arrive before nightfall at the latest, I hope we can hold on until then!" Yang Hui's heart was slightly joyful, but his expression didn't reveal anything, he just had a calm and collected look, his eyes still fixed on the direction of Hantang Pass City. "I hope the old Hantang Pass City's defenses can slow down the rebels' advance as much as possible, to buy us more time!"

  "General Yang, no matter when the rebels arrive, I will have our soldiers fight to the death and never let a single rebel set foot on the head of Tongguan City!" Gao Shi stood up straight and responded loudly.

  His heroic demeanor made Li Chengguang, who was standing on the other side, look at him with a strange and slanted gaze.

  Li Chengguang naturally did not understand why his official rank was lower than that of Yang Guozhong, and Gao Shi, who had always been prejudiced against Yang Guozhong, would be favored by Yang Guozhong and promoted to a higher position. Meanwhile, Li Chengguang, who had always gotten along well with Yang Guozhong, did not receive special treatment from Yang Guozhong, which made him feel somewhat resentful. He even developed prejudices against Gao Shi, who had been repeatedly promoted by Ge Shuhan.

  But Yang Jie's one sentence instruction made the little thoughts in his heart disappear quickly.

  "General Li, this is my first time commanding a battle, and General Gao has not experienced many battles either. But you, General Li, have fought in countless battles and achieved numerous merits, with rich combat experience. When the rebel army attacks the city, the defense of the east gate will rely on your command. I will stand here and personally watch how you repel the rebel army's attack! Yang Hui turned his head, his eyes fixed on Li Chengguang in the direction of Hantong Pass, and said with great majesty: "I will report to the imperial court all the heroic deeds of our officers and men without exception, and request rewards for everyone!"

  When Yang Gui said this, Li Chengguang also felt a little grateful and honored. He immediately turned around and saluted, shouting loudly: "General Yang, I will not disappoint your expectations! I will lead my soldiers to repel the rebel army that has come to attack, and not let any rebel soldier set foot on the head of Tongguan City! The city is in place, the people are in place, the city is broken, the people are busy, I and my soldiers will definitely share the same fate as Tongguan City!"

  "Alright! General, I believe our brave soldiers will definitely be able to repel the rebel army's attack!" Yang Hui also shouted loudly and said in a voice that could be heard by all the soldiers under the city gate: "The rebels have suffered consecutive heavy losses, their morale must be greatly reduced. If we fight back desperately when they attack the city, we will surely make them retreat in disarray! Brothers, let's kill the enemy fiercely and eliminate the rebel army's arrogance!"

  "Please, General, rest assured that we will fight to the death!" Li Chengguang immediately shouted loudly and drew his sword from his waist, roaring: "As long as the city stands, its people stand; when the city falls, its people perish!"

  "The city is intact, its people are intact; the city is broken, its people are lost!" The soldiers on the city wall also waved their weapons and shouted loudly with Li Chengguang.

  Affected by this, other Tang army officers and men also shouted angrily, and even frightened many birds in the nearby forest to fly away.

  "Marshal, I really didn't expect the imperial court to appoint Yang Guozhong as the commander-in-chief of the army so quickly!" Wang Silie looked over here with surprise and said to Geshu Han who was sitting on the city wall, staring at the direction of Hantong Pass: "I also really didn't expect that Yang Guozhong would have such ability, using some simple methods to make the rebel army suffer heavy losses one after another. This child is not simple!"

  Geshu Han listened and replied softly after a while: "Yes, this child is not simple. No one expected that it would be this child who would save the Tongguan crisis! Today, I also believe that the Tongguan garrison under his leadership will definitely hold on to the pass until the arrival of the follow-up reinforcements. The rebels will not be able to take the head of Tongguan City! Hehe! Yang Hui can really save Tongguan from danger and save the Tang Dynasty from danger!"

  "Marshal, do you really think so?" Wang Silie was slightly surprised.

  "Yes!" Geshu Han nodded slowly, "This child's ability is not ordinary, his decisiveness and ruthlessness are even more than you and me. Just look at his performance over the past two days and you'll understand. With Yang Guozhong supporting him in the court, no one can do anything to him! He can do as he pleases, just like how he beheaded Jian Liancheng in public without any repercussions from the court. Now he's even been appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the army by the court, a position that has never been given to someone so young since the founding of our great Tang dynasty. When Chen Xuanli arrives with his troops, he will definitely not dare to disobey his orders. With these 600,000 to 700,000 soldiers under his command, defending the city tightly, the rebel army will not be able to take Tongguan City!"

  "What the marshal said is true," Wang Silie nodded and then said with some anxiety: "But now the follow-up reinforcements have not arrived at Tongguan, if the rebels launch a desperate attack before the reinforcements arrive, whether we can hold Tongguan City is still an unknown number!"

  Ge Shuhan turned back to Wang Silie with a wry smile, sighed and said: "We must be able to hold on to Tongguan City, General Wang, don't you even have this confidence?"

  Geshuhan's unusual gaze made Wang Silie jump, and he immediately straightened his body and said loudly: "This general certainly has confidence!"

  Ge Shuhan also fell silent, and once again cast his gaze in the direction of Hantangguan City.