The general responsible for guarding Tongguan was Liu Xin, the deputy commander of the Imperial City Forbidden Army.
To be honest, he was under a lot of pressure, because he lost two of the three frontier passes at once, and all the pressure was concentrated on the important town of Tongguan.
First, they dealt with all the young and old families who lost the city gate. Later, they directly changed the guard general of Tongguan and asked him to be sent here.
Because of what happened, Su Xuanyong didn't trust the general who defended the city at all, and only trusted the Royal Forbidden Army.
That's why he came to Tongguan to serve as the commander-in-chief.
But this general is not that easy to be in charge of. The one coming from the opposite side is Yamu Lei, the famous general of Great Rong.
Although he is the deputy commander of the imperial army and has great power, after all, most of his tasks are still responsible for the security of the Imperial City of Kyoto.
Fighting alone was easy for him, but facing such a large-scale siege with Da Rong's famous generals on the opposite side, it would be strange if Liu Xinxin said he wasn't nervous at all.
Fortunately, the city wall of Tongguan is high and thick, and he has 40,000 troops in his hands. His task is also simple, just hold Yamulei back at all costs.
Taking the initiative or anything like that is not what he should do.
But only when you take over this job do you know how stressful it is.
Yamulei's two-day fierce attack, although Tongguan was still in his hands, their losses were not small. The 40,000-strong army suffered more than 5,000 casualties in two days.
This is still a passive defense. If they really fight face to face, Liu Xin absolutely believes that their tens of thousands of troops will be completely eaten by Yamulei.
The wolf soldiers were worthy of being the elite of Da Rong. When fighting, they were really desperate for their lives. They all acted like crazy. They stormed Tongguan regardless of the situation.
If this continues, Liu Xin is really unsure whether he can hold on for seven to ten days.
This is both external and internal, and he is indispensable to worry about.
Originally, Kyoto could support 15,000 troops this time, but in fact, only 10,000 came.
The five thousand men who did not come were none other than the veteran Youzi led by Su Qi'an.
Not only did Su Qian's army not come, but more importantly, after leaving Kyoto, his whereabouts were completely gone, as if he had disappeared.
No matter it was Kyoto or him, both sides sent out scouts, but no trace of Su Qi'an's men could be found.
The five thousand people in the hall just disappeared out of thin air.
Liu Xin still knew something about Su Qi'an. He had seen what he did on the northern battlefield and understood that the fighting style of this descendant of the royal family must be different.
Therefore, he did not blame Su Qi'an too much for the disappearance of his team. He only hoped that Su Qi'an could help him at the critical moment.
Just because Liu Xin was able to figure it out like this doesn't mean that some people around him don't have opinions.
The one who had the biggest objection was the powerful prince who came to support. That guy, three or four powerful princes, made more noise than the thirty or forty people.
Liu Xin had to tighten his nerves externally and actively defend against Yamulei's attack. Internally, he had to work hard to appease these powerful princes.
After these two days, Liu Xin's spirit was quite exhausted.
If it weren't for Yamulei's continuous attacks, these powerful princes might have returned to Kyoto and severely sued Su Qi'an in front of the emperor.
The failure to go did not mean that they had no movement. They directly sent the complaint and the military report back to Kyoto in the rear.
Liu Xin was dissatisfied with their approach, but he could not stop it. All he could do was to state the facts to prevent the other party from exaggerating. I believe that His Majesty should make a judgment.
Liu Xin, who was standing on the city wall, looked at the wolf soldiers who had temporarily retreated. He relaxed a little and looked at the sky. He felt that he had survived today.
Including this day, there are three days in total. As long as we hold on for a week, the crisis in Tongguan can be resolved.
Turning his head, he ordered his subordinates to gather the fallen soldiers and speed up the repair of the defenses.
In the rear, various soldiers were busy one after another, including one at a remote corner.
Several powerful nobles, headed by Zheng Liang, gathered around.
Looking at the fallen soldiers being carried down in front of him, Zheng Liang covered his mouth with a look of disgust on his face.
A powerful nobleman next to him said, "Brother Liang, do you think we can bring down the man named Su if we do this?"
"What? Are you scared?" Zheng Liang raised his eyebrows.
The powerful Marquis shook his head repeatedly, "What did Brother Liang say? If we don't get rid of Su Qi'an, we people will never have a good life. But I think His Majesty still trusts him. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to complain." It’s effective.”
Zheng Liang disagreed, "You are right, His Majesty does trust him, but this trust is only based on absolute loyalty to His Majesty. Do you think Su Qian is the kind of obedient person? I miss him when he loses contact this time. It will be like the last battle in Ningzhou, catching the opponent off guard."
"Last time it was Ningzhou, which is far away from Kyoto. This time it's Kyoto. His silence hurts His Majesty's trust. As long as we can plant a seed of doubt, His Majesty will take care of the rest. .”
"I see. As expected of Brother Liang, killing people and attacking the heart is the most important thing. This is a great move."
As soon as the powerful prince finished his compliments, an inappropriate voice sounded beside him.
"Brother Liang, I think we have gone too far in this matter. After all, Su Qi'an is here to protect Kyoto. If Kyoto is lost, we will be in danger."
The one who spoke was Chen Dao. His father was a first-rank Chen Guogong. He also contributed to the last battlefield in Ningzhou, and he also won a moderate military merit.
Zheng Liang looked at Chen Dao and said coldly, "Chen Dao, since when have you become such a mother-in-law? Huh, don't think that last time on the Ningzhou battlefield, Su Qian helped you in a small way and helped you gain military honors. Think him well."
"Don't forget how Zhao Ang died. This Su Qian is not as harmless as you think. If he gets ruthless, he will kill you."
"Besides, he and we are not the same people. If you want to speak for you, go back and ask your grandfather to see if he agrees. Don't miss your future because of a moment of soft-heartedness!"
"Yes, Brother Liang is right, Chen Dao, don't ignore some things because of your soft-heartedness. Otherwise, you will lose your life in the future. Don't blame us for not reminding you."
After being warned by Zheng Liang and others, Chen Dao nodded repeatedly and left with them.
At the same time, inside the wolf army’s camp.
A man wearing armor, about forty years old, was sitting behind the square table.
He was holding a military book in his hand, and the candlelight on the table was flickering, reflecting a look of perseverance on his face.
Judging from his face and attire, he is very different from Rong Ren, but somewhat similar to Ryo Ren.
His long hair was tied up high, and his resolute face was full of vicissitudes of life, but his eyes were flashing with a little cunning.
This person is none other than Daiei's famous general, Yamulei, the master of mobility.
Yamulei is not a pure Rongren. In fact, his life experience is the same as Solmu from Taning City, and he is a mixed race of Liangrong.
But the difference between Yamulei is that he actually relied on his own military exploits to rise from an unknown soldier to the position of a general bit by bit.
Da Rong has occupied the two states of Qingyou for hundreds of years. Although it has great discrimination against the local Liang people, their status is very low.
But with the accession of Kushu's father to the throne, a series of reforms were introduced in Qingyou Prefecture.
It has been almost thirty or forty years since Cook's generation came to be, and a lot of talents have still emerged.
Liu Shengming and Yamulei are the best among them.
The latter, in particular, is very keen on war and is best at surprise attacks.
Among the famous generals in Da Rong, Yamulei was deeply trusted by Cook Shu.
The battlefield Yamulei was originally responsible for was the northwest battlefield, and he was an old rival with Wang Zhenshan. Because of the second prince's rise to power, he was secretly transferred away from the northwest battlefield.
Since then, he has been lurking silently at the northern border, waiting for the opportunity.
Because of the defeat in the Ningzhou battlefield last time, the second prince understood that the price of using a large army to force out the Ningzhou military city one by one was too high.
It would be better to launch a sneak attack from a long distance. Although it is very risky, once it is successful, it can immediately turn the entire battle situation around.
The only person who made Ku Shu change his mentality in this way was Su Qi'an of Daliang who impressed him deeply.
If he hadn't driven straight in and caused trouble behind him, his losses in the last battle of Ningzhou would not have been so great.
Therefore, this time, Cook's powerful general, Yamurei, also planned a surprise attack deep into the hinterland.
Following a routine harassment of the soldiers, Yamulei's wolf soldiers waited for the opportunity. They first pretended to be ordinary harassing soldiers, showing off their weakness to the enemy, and easily deceived several dignitaries and young men in Great Liang.
Basically, at a very small cost, Juyong and Hangu were captured directly within one day.
At the same time as it was captured, Kushu immediately sent an army of 200,000 people south. Taking advantage of the opportunity to invade south, the tens of thousands of troops hidden in the army moved as quickly as possible with the Ya who occupied Juyong and Hangu. Mu Lei converges.
This was the most thrilling experience Yamulei had experienced in all his years in the army.
After all, every move must be just right. Once the other party reacts, their lone army will either be trapped and annihilated, or they will be defeated and retreat.
Fortunately, the final result was very smooth.
Joining up with the follow-up wolf soldiers, a total of 50,000 people, the army on the Ningzhou battlefield ahead was held back by Ku Shu's army again.
It would take seven to ten days for reinforcements from states near Kyoto to arrive for rescue.
The vacuum zone that appeared during this period was the best opportunity for him, Yamulei, to win Tongguan in one fell swoop and approach the Great Liang Kyoto.
Once they can capture the Great Liang Kyoto, this will definitely be the highlight of Yamulei's military record.
And if he really does this, Yamulei will definitely be written into the biographies of famous generals and be respected by future generals.
But within three days, they were unable to move forward. They were blocked at Tongguan, unable to move forward even half a step.
Although the Tongguan defenders suffered heavy casualties, the same was true for them. If they continued to waste their lives, even if they captured Tongguan, they would not have enough troops to attack Kyoto.
Because by then, the reinforcements from Daliang Kyoto will arrive.
Gradually, some discordant voices emerged in Yamulei's military camp. Several lieutenants did not understand why the general, who was always good at mobile tactics, would engage in such a clumsy war of attrition.
