Chapter 72: The Reinforcements Are Blocked

  Chang'an City, Xingqing Palace.

  Yang Guozhong, who was discussing important matters with Emperor Li Longji and Wei Jianzhen, heard the thunder rumbling from afar and couldn't help but turn his head to look outside the window. He saw that the sun had already set outside, it was a bit dark, the wind was strong, and the flowers and trees in the palace garden were swaying wildly in the chaotic gusts of wind.

  Li Longji stopped talking and felt a bit uneasy. He signaled to Gao Lishi, who was standing silently on one side, to support him as he walked to the window.

  Affected by the gloomy weather, Yang Guozhong and Wei Jian felt a little unwell in their hearts, just like Li Longji. They followed the emperor to get up and walked to the window.

  "The sky is going to rain heavily!" Li Longji looked out of the window at the dark sky, with thick clouds rolling rapidly in the strong wind, and said with some emotion, "I wonder if Tongguan has rained?"

  "It should be raining from the east!" Yang Guozhong looked at the dark clouds in the southeast direction and muttered, "Tongguan must be raining now, probably very heavily!"

  "Tongguan must be raining!" Li Longji sighed with Yang Guozhong, "If Tongguan is rainy, this battle will not be easy to fight!"

  Looking at the increasingly dark sky, Yang Guozhong thought for a moment and turned to look at Li Longji with a slightly gloomy face: "Your Majesty, I think it's good that it's raining in Tongguan! If it rains heavily, the rebel army's attack will definitely be delayed. Attacking the city in the rain is a taboo, which is quite beneficial for my Tongguan garrison. It's really heaven helping me. I hope this rain lasts as long as possible, best until tomorrow!"

  Li Longji slightly turned his head and glanced at Yang Guozhong, who was full of confidence, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

  Wei Su, standing by, saw the emperor's expression and hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously: "Your Majesty, I think if it rains heavily at Tongguan, it may not be a good thing! The strength of our Tongguan garrison lies in bows and arrows, but on rainy days, the power of bows and arrows cannot be fully utilized!"

  "Why did Prime Minister Wei say that?" Yang Guozhong was somewhat startled and stared blankly at Wei Jian.

  Li Longji turned around, looking at Yang Guozhong and said: "Guozhong, Wei Aiqing is right. If it rains heavily in Tongguan, it may cause trouble for the progress of the war. I have personally led troops before and know how hard it is to fight in windy and rainy weather. The power of arrows will be greatly reduced, which is very unfavorable for the defense of Tongguan. If the rebels are attacking the city now, the defending officials and soldiers must be having a hard time, after all, there are too many rebel troops!"

  The Emperor nodded in agreement, and Wei Zhen immediately said: "Your Majesty, I also think that the heavy rain will cause a lot of trouble for my subsequent reinforcements to advance. The soldiers are marching in the wind and rain, and their speed will definitely not be fast. If the rain lasts for a long time, it will inevitably delay the arrival of the reinforcements. If the rebels take advantage of the continuous rain to attack, it will be very unfavorable for our troops defending Tongguan!"

  Wei Zhen's last few words struck a chord in Yang Guozhong's heart, making him immediately worried. He also immediately bowed to Li Longji and said: "Your Majesty, I hope Your Majesty will issue another order to General Chen, as well as Du Hua and Zhang Jian, so that they won't delay their journey due to the rain. They must advance in the rain as quickly as possible to reach Tongguan as soon as possible, lest Tongguan be lost!"

  "Hmm! That makes sense!" Li Longji immediately nodded, turned around and said to Gao Lishi who was following behind him: "Lishi, quickly pass on the imperial edict, tell Chen Xuanli, Dou Hua, and Zhang Jian to speed up their march, no matter how strong the wind or rain is, they must not stop. Dou Hua and Zhang Jian's troops must arrive at Tongguan before nightfall, there can be no mistake, otherwise, those who are lazy will be severely punished!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty!" Gao Lishi responded, bowed and turned to leave, conveying Li Longji's edict and ordering it to be delivered as quickly as possible to Chen Xuanli, Dou Hua and Zhang Jian.

  "Crack......" A loud noise, a bright lightning bolt split the dark sky in two, startling the three people inside the temple. Yang Guozhong and Wei Zhen rushed over to support Li Longji.

  "Your Majesty, it's about to rain heavily, why don't you go inside and rest for a while?" Yang Guozhong said in a soft voice.

  "Hmm, let's go inside!" Li Longji nodded and signaled Yang Guozhong and Wei Jian to support him as he went in.

  Yang Guozhong whispered to Emperor Xianzong as he supported him into the palace, "Your Majesty, as long as Chen Xuanli's troops can arrive at Tong Pass as soon as possible, we don't have to worry about the rebel army even if they have several hundred thousand soldiers! The remaining 30,000 soldiers are also being quickly assembled, and I have given strict orders for them to depart before nightfall, striving to reach Tong Pass by tomorrow evening!"

  "I hope Tongguan is worry-free!" Li Longji let out a soft sigh and didn't speak again.

  Another flash of lightning cut down, and the earth-shaking thunder followed. "Dadada..." The continuous sound echoed in the yard, which was the sound of large raindrops falling to the ground.

  As the thunder grew more frequent, the dark clouds in the sky churned and surged even more violently, until finally, when the wind died down, a torrential rain came pouring down from the heavens!

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  This heavy rain started from Tongguan direction, that is east side, the rain belt moved from Tongguan to Chang'an direction, the range was very large, after a long time raining in Tongguan, Chang'an just began to rain.

  The reinforcements that were rushing to Tongguan were also drenched in the rain. Du Hua and Zhang Jian's troops, anxious as burning fire, did not stop due to the heavy rain and continued to advance through the wind and rain. However, Chen Xuanli did not have the same urgent idea of seeking help like Du Hua and Zhang Jian. He had his own plan, wanting to wait until the Tongguan garrison and the rebels were exhausted from fighting each other, then he would arrive at Tongguan to personally clean up the remaining forces.

  If it were so, then Tongguan was saved, all thanks to his credit. No matter what Yang Guozhong or Geshu Han did in the front, they had no merit because they lost battles and almost lost Tongguan. He played the role of a hero who came to the rescue, he led the reinforcements to save Tongguan, and salvaged the fate of the Tang Dynasty. He was a great hero, while others were just good-for-nothings.

  Chen Xuanli originally had no direct conflict with Yang Guozhong, but after the twenty thousand strong army at Tong Pass was almost completely annihilated and the situation arose where Tong Pass, the gateway to Chang'an, was in imminent danger, his original dissatisfaction with Yang Guozhong that he had hidden in his heart was strongly expressed. He even dared to openly criticize Yang Guozhong in front of the Emperor, asking him to punish him. He knew that from then on, a rift would form between him and Yang Guozhong, and they could no longer be indifferent to each other's affairs. He hoped to use this opportunity of the Battle of Tong Pass to further weaken Yang Guozhong's influence, or even have the court hold him accountable for his crimes.

  He clearly wanted to achieve this, and he couldn't let the credit for defending Tongguan all go to Yang Guozhong. He had to put it on his own head, take most of the credit for himself, so that his influence in the imperial court would rise sharply, becoming a meritorious minister who saved the Tang Dynasty from danger, and even having the opportunity and strength to confront Yang Guozhong.

  With this in mind, when he saw the sudden change in weather, with lightning and thunder, and strong winds blowing, he immediately ordered his soldiers to find a place to take shelter from the wind and rain.

  At the beginning, the strong wind indeed made it difficult for the soldiers to march against the wind. Later, the heavy rain that fell also blurred their vision. Chen Xuanli was relieved and hid in the post station to avoid the wind and rain.

  He naturally thought that the rebels would not attack in such extreme bad weather and would certainly start their attack after the rain stopped.

  He was aware of the previous battle situation, and he knew that Yang Kai had used some small tricks to successfully block the rebel army in front of Hantang Pass for a night and a morning. The rebel army did not arrive at Suizhou until after noon, and they would not launch an attack on Suizhou until they had gathered their forces. If they were a bit slower, it was likely that they would not have attacked the city before the heavy rain arrived.

  With such a guess, Chen Xuanyu was not in a hurry at all. He even ordered the station officer to warm up some wine and prepare some hot dishes to fill his hunger while hiding from the rain in the station. The journey was rushed and exhausting, with great physical exertion, so he needed to rest well and replenish his energy.

  He also hastily ordered his soldiers to advance in the rain after receiving the emperor's order delivered by a fast horse through the post station.

  Neither Duan Hua nor Zhang Jian and Chen Xuanyi knew that the Tongguan War was now in full swing, with both sides fighting desperately.