The sun has already hung in the western sky, the smoke and dust from the battlefield have dispersed, leaving only corpses on the ground. The doorway of Jingfeng Gate is still wide open, but no one cares about it anymore.
The armies gradually gathered back to their camps. The last guarding horse army in front of Jingfeng Gate and the defenders also retreated after a brief battle. Upon seeing this, Guo Xin felt that he should go to the Chinese army's tent to check the situation first, so he Zhang Chenghua was left behind to gather his troops and prepare to return to the camp, while he rushed towards the camp.
Soon after arriving at the camp, Guo Xin found that the Saint-Guardian Horse Army, who had just come down from the battle formation, had surrounded the camp. A group of disgraced generals stood at the gate of the camp, arguing angrily with one of the generals.
The generals were loud, and you could hear what they were arguing even before they got close. They were probably going inside to ask for an audience with Shang Hongqian, but the horse army general guarding the camp gate refused to get out of the way of his subordinates. Then he shouted: "We have been ordered by the commander-in-chief to guard the commander-in-chief here. No one from the Chinese army is allowed to enter. I hope you generals can go back to the camp and make arrangements for tomorrow."
"The commander-in-chief is the commander-in-chief of our Xingjie Army. Do we still need outsiders like you to protect us here?"
"Let us in, the military situation is like this, we must meet the commander!"
"Since there is no military order, and they are unwilling to give in, could it be that Bai Chongzan is plotting something evil inside?"
"Ma Jun is young, when we go back to raise troops and come back again, can you stop us with just four feet?"
After saying that, a group of generals were about to call their own soldiers to prepare to storm in. The generals of the horse army could not dissuade them. In desperation, they drew their swords: "Military orders cannot be violated. If you want to force yourself, don't blame us for being ruthless with our sabers!"
The generals of the Xingjie Army were not timid when they saw this and drew their swords one after another. Guo Xin watched the two groups of people at the camp quarreling, and he was beating his heart. The situation in front of him was wrong no matter how he looked at it. Bai Chongzan was doing this. After thinking about it, there were only two possibilities: either Bai Chongzan was crazy and prepared to seize power and surrender to the enemy, or Shang Hong Qian was seriously injured, so he had to take this step to block the news to avoid causing greater turmoil in the entire army.
Just as the two sides were at war with each other, a knight suddenly ran out of the camp and shouted to everyone: "Where are Wang Jin, He Hui, and Fan Aineng?"
After the words fell, the two generals stood out and reported their names. The knight said: "Two generals, the Chinese army has invited you, and I hope you can go quickly."
The two men immediately sheathed their swords, and one of them did not forget to turn around and said: "Everyone, please be patient. When I and I go to meet the commander, we want to see what's inside!"
Guo Xin turned around and looked, but didn't see Wang Jin. When He Hui and Fan Aineng entered the camp gate, the knight who delivered the order asked again: "Is Wang Jin, commander of the vanguard commander, here?"
Just as Guo Xin was about to pick up his horse and return to the camp to inform Wang Jin, he saw Wang Jin hurriedly coming on horseback with a few soldiers: "This general is here!"
Under the gaze of everyone, Wang Jin quickly dismounted his horse, threw the reins to his soldiers, and soon strode into the camp gate.
The generals in front of the camp were talking a lot. Seeing this, Guo Xin turned around and headed back to the camp. As long as Wang Jin entered, he would naturally know what happened inside from Wang Jin's entrance.
On the way back to the camp, Guo Xin felt that the atmosphere in the camp was depressed and decadent. Many people had their heads hanging down, and some were shouting secretly. Even the soldiers around him, such as Guo Pu, were silent. In Guo Xin's view, the military morale was obvious. Already shaken.
War is really unpredictable. A few hours ago, many people, including him, thought Chang'an was within easy reach, but now the whole army has no intention of fighting again. No wonder my uncle Li Chongjin once told him when he was in Weizhou that when an army is out on an expedition, they are most afraid of "stealing their strength", especially when the soldiers are approaching the city. Once the soldiers lose their will to attack the city and become discouraged and timid, everyone wants to go home. , that battle can no longer be fought.
When Guo Xin returned to his tent, he couldn't help but think of his home. He remembered that in his small courtyard in Tokyo, there was a girl with skin as white as jade waiting for him. He took off the fish bag embroidered with jade characters from his waist. This fish bag hung on his waist every day, but it had become an ordinary item. However, after months of fighting, it was inevitably stained with dust.
Guo Xin thought for a while and decided that it was time to write a letter to his family. He rummaged for a long time to find a pen and paper, and when he was about to start writing, he heard Guo Pu's voice outside: "The envoy from the capital has returned from the Chinese army. I asked Brother Yi to come over."
Wang Jin's felt tent was not far from him, just a short walk away. Wang Jin's soldiers were very familiar with him, so they greeted him and let him in.
Unexpectedly, Wang Jin was waiting for him outside the tent. When he saw him coming, he immediately stepped forward and grabbed Guo Xin's hand and led him into the tent. When he entered the tent, he asked: "Shang Hongqian is dead, does Guo Lang know?"
Guo Xin was immediately shocked. Wang Jin knew the answer when he saw his expression, so he led him to sit down first.
Guo Xin sat down and still couldn't digest the news for a while. After all, Shang Hongqian's identity was really important! Not to mention that he had just replaced Liu Ci as the Infantry Commander of the Guards before leaving. His position was the third-ranking figure in the Forbidden Army system after Shi Hongzhao, the Ma Bujun Commander, and Liu Xin, the Ma Jun Commander. Among the tens of thousands of troops in the Yongxing camp, he is also the deputy commander second only to Guo Congyi, the commander of the camp. If we take into account his background of representing the imperial court and the imperial army, after Guo Congyi arrives in Chang'an, I am afraid he will still have to be Shang. Hongqian is the main one.
However, such an important figure in the Yongxing camp and even the Tokyo Forbidden Army died so easily under Chang'an City!
Guo Xin woke up from the brief shock and slowly asked: "Everyone in the army thought that Bai Chongzan rescued Marquis Shang Yu and returned to the camp. Why did he suddenly... die?"
"I heard what Bai Chongzan said. When Shiang Hongqian was in Jingfengmen, he was still breathing, and he was still shouting about killing the thief. But after he was rescued, he was speechless. When he opened his mouth, he was bleeding. After taking off his armor, he found that his chest had long been He was beaten into a hole! He looked lifeless. Not only Bai Chongzan was present at the time, but several of Shang Hongqian's soldiers could prove it. His words were not wrong, so he had to surround the Chinese army to prevent the morale of the army from being chaotic. .”
Guo Xin sighed and thought clearly about the current situation. Since Shang Hongqian is dead, according to the camp setup, the positions under the camp commander are the camp infantry commander, camp cavalry commander and vanguard commander. The infantry commander is at Jingfengmen. They were also seriously injured and now unconscious. The successors in charge of the camp naturally fell on Bai Chongzan and Wang Jin, the horse envoy and pioneer envoy of the camp. However, the problem is that the main force of the imperial army under Chang'an City is the more than 10,000 infantry troops from Xingjie Youxiang brought by Shang Hongqian. Bai Chongzan and Wang Jin are the generals of the Protector and Fengguo armies respectively, so they have to recruit Xingjie Youxiang. He Hui and Fan Aineng, who are more prestigious in the chamber, discussed travel matters together.
Wang Jin clenched his fists and said angrily: "Back when I was in Xinfeng, I felt that this man was just a common man. It was only because of his high position that I had to be restrained by him. These days, all I can do is drive our heroes from the Imperial Army in vain. They lost their lives, but I didn’t see him having any other abilities, but now he is greedy for power and rashly dies in the battle. What a reckless man! What a reckless man!"
As if he felt that his voice was too loud, Wang Jin cleared his throat and lowered his voice: "It's just that he lost his life alone, but now he has to miss important events of the court!"
Wang Jin was almost relieved of military power by Shang Hongqian before, so he could not help but feel resentful in his heart. However, Shang Hongqian was considered kind to him after all, so Guo Xin did not say anything and only acted like he was listening. When Wang Jin saw that he was silent, he did not In order to continue his interest, he pondered for a long time, sighed and shook his head again.
"A few of us briefly discussed in the Chinese Army and tentatively decided on three ideas: first, to jointly report to the imperial court and the Privy Council overnight, asking the imperial court to judge merits and demerits and formulate strategies; second, to block the news in the army and only inform the commander-in-chief and above. We will wait until the camp leader, General Guo Gong, and his troops arrive before making a decision; thirdly, the entire army will be reorganized, all siege operations will be suspended, and sentries will be added to guard the camp to prevent the enemy troops from taking advantage of the situation."
"So Guo Lang's tiger-shooting cannon can be stopped for this period of time."
In the current situation, there is no point in firing the tiger cannon again and again. This is a matter of course. Guo Xin readily responded with clasped fists.
Then Wang Jin hesitated and said: "But there is something that needs Guo Lang's help right now."
Guo Xin did not agree directly, but asked with interest: "I wonder what the envoy is referring to?"
Wang Jin scratched his beard: "We have been discussing with the army for a long time. I am afraid that the court does not know the details here, and the officials and princes will be suspicious in the court, and instead they will blame innocent soldiers. Therefore, I want to ask Guo Lang to inform Guo in detail. Regarding the situation here, Privy Councilor, Shang Hongqian did not listen to my advice and insisted on attacking urgently. He raved that he would break the city in ten days, and finally died in a wasteful battle. In addition, our decision to postpone the attack at the moment is not a sign of cowardice, but a sign of cowardice. The city of Chang'an was fortified and deep, and it was difficult to conquer it lightly. In addition, Fan Shang Hongqian underestimated the enemy in the previous wave battle, and the Imperial Army suffered a lot of casualties. The soldiers needed time to repair and fight again. Guo Lang was able to speak to Privy Guo better than any of us. , when we explain it in detail, Privy Council Guo will definitely know the reason for our camp, and then the Privy Council will speak to the emperor, and we will be safe in this room."
