"Go to bed early and get up early, take care of yourself! Go to bed early and get up early, take care of yourself!"
The watchman's bangs and shouts penetrated the cold winter night, splitting time and space, and drifted far away.
"It's five o'clock..."
The second lady, who was covered with snow, raised her head numbly. She stretched out her hand to wipe away the tears that were about to overflow. The cuffs of her sleeves had already formed hard ice due to the snow and tears, and it was extremely hurtful to slide across her cheeks. But compared to the hurtful ice and snow, Zhang Xun's scolding was the chill that penetrated her bones, making her breathless and heartbroken.
Just like that, she returned to the mansion in a state of despair, choked with sobs and confused for a while. The second lady didn't know when, she lay on the table and fell asleep lightly.
Zhang Xun in the hut didn't pay any attention to his wife. He returned to the hut, put down the things in his hands, sat down cross-legged, and continued to be inexplicably angry. Mo Sheng couldn't persuade him either. Firstly, the two of them were not too familiar with each other, and secondly, he really had no way to speak, so he had no choice but to sit cross-legged and open the fragrant food box.
In the food box are delicious snacks and side dishes, eight items in total, all served on white plates. They are colorful and colorful. Just the appearance of them makes people's fingers move. Although Mo Sheng didn't like his mouth, but in such weather, looking at these colorful and warm delicacies made him feel happy in his heart. The steaming steam with the aroma of oil went straight to Mo Sheng's heart. Mo Sheng couldn't help but praise:
"Mrs. Zhang is such a virtuous wife. It's really God's love that such a good person can take care of her. God loves her so much!"
Zhang Xun looked at the dishes on the table. They were all his favorites. After hearing Mo Sheng's emotion, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a big mistake just now. His wife held up a lamp to make food, and even came here in the snow and cold, but because he was angry about the "Lingbao Battle", he unintentionally vented all his anger on his wife. He thought of his second wife That rather stingy thought was also a little shameful and restless at the moment. Mo Sheng saw Zhang Xun's embarrassment and knew that this man was as afraid of his wife as he was. Mo Sheng didn't make fun of him either. A man is a man and only has hidden fears because of his preference. Mo Sheng can deeply understand the truth. I am afraid of you because I love you, afraid of your suffering, afraid of your tiredness, afraid of your grievances, afraid of you not caring.
The bamboo basket brought by the second lady was filled with delicacies, and the one-foot-tall bamboo tube was naturally filled with fine wine. Mo Sheng had smelled the aroma of wine before the second lady arrived at the hut. Just by smelling that smell, he knew that it was Du Kang who could not be exchanged for a lot of money.
Dukang Wine is a famous wine in the world. The spring water where Dukang Wine is brewed is called Jiuquan. The water in Jiuquan is clear and clear, with a sweet and pure taste. Every summer, you can smell the natural aroma of Jiuquan. Dukang Liquor is rich and fragrant. The winemakers use high-quality Guanzhong wheat to mix it with high, medium and high temperatures. They also select glutinous sorghum as the raw material for brewing. They adopt the method of "sealing the cellar with fragrant mud, entering it into the pond at low temperature, long-term fermentation, mixed steaming and continuous tanking, and ensuring the quality and quantity of the wine." The wine is brewed using techniques such as picking wine, grading storage, aging and esterification, and careful blending. The wine jug in front of me has not yet been taken out. Just by smelling its smell, I know it is definitely the best. It should be Erzhi wine, more than 25 years old. Aged.
"Good wine, good wine, worth a thousand dollars! Hahaha".
Looking at the slightly yellowish nectar, Mo Sheng ignored any etiquette and poured himself a bowl. He drank it in one gulp. The wine passed through his throat and intestines and he had endless aftertaste. He couldn't help but beam with joy and slapped the table with laughter.
Zhang Xun was infected by Mo Sheng's heroic spirit, and he let go of the little regrets in his heart and became happy. He is not a cultivator. In this ice and snow, it is more comfortable to drink wine warmed by charcoal fire. At that moment, he was appreciating the wine and setting up a small charcoal stove. He felt even more guilty for being incomprehensible and wasting his wife's thoughtfulness. After a while, the wine was warmed up. Mo Sheng took the warm wine from Zhang Xunjing and drank a glass. It was not as satisfying as the iced one. Just like this, the two of them started talking freely over the side dishes, one iced and one warm.
"Mr. Mo, General Wang Sili is in front, General Pang Zhong leads the army, and the handsome brother Shu Han is behind to supervise the army in pursuit. With such careful and cautious advancement, I really can't understand why the rebels are still sacrificing thousands of lives in vain. , what’s their back-up plan?”
The two continued their previous conversation, and Zhang Xun raised his own question. Mo Sheng drank another glass, praised the wine, put down the glass, recovered his thoughts, and answered Zhang Xun's questions slowly.
"Cui Qianyou has been planning for Lingbao for several months. Before the decisive battle, he hid all his elite soldiers behind the formation and only sent more than ten thousand miscellaneous soldiers to capture prisoners. The formation was chaotic, sparse and dense, front and rear. The Tang Dynasty official army When the soldiers saw it, they all laughed at the rebels who didn't know how to use troops. Seeing that the rebels had few soldiers and were all a mob, Ge Shuhan forgot his true intention and ordered the entire army to attack. The army was ordered to attack across the board. Before the Tang Dynasty The cavalrymen harvested the heads of the rebels like melons and vegetables. The enemy retreated for hundreds of miles, and finally entered the pass. There were cliffs on both sides of the pass. The Tang army moved forward without encountering almost any decent resistance. It was inevitable that we would relax, and we would be lured into the defile one by one by the rebels. At this time, the Tang army and horse battle line stretched out for hundreds of miles, and nearly 200,000 horses were advancing on this defile."
"Oh, that's too bad!"
Knowing that the result was a disastrous defeat due to an ambush, Zhang Xun couldn't help but sigh. Mo Sheng didn't say anything, took a small drink and continued to talk about the subsequent battle.
"While the cavalry of the former army continued to harvest the rebels, General Wang Sili inexplicably felt an ominous sign. He quickly reined in his horse and waited. At this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of cannons from all directions, and countless rolling logs on the mountains on both sides of the pass. Stones fell like hail, and wood and rocks were thrown down together. Because the Tang army's battle line was too long, there was no room for maneuver on the narrow pass. The falling rocks and rolling trees carried the power of the terrain and fell like raindrops. Several dozen kilograms of heavy objects fell from the middle of the mountain. Rolling down, like cracking mountains and cracking rocks, the officers and soldiers of flesh and blood were killed and injured one after another, many of them were directly smashed into pulp. The entire army was suddenly attacked and was in a dilemma. Cui Qianyu led his troops to the north of the Yellow River and attacked Ge Shuhan. Soldiers. The rebels built dozens of felt chariots, painted dragons and tigers, and drove horses to attack the enemy's battle formation. Ge Shuhan himself even led his own soldiers to kill from Gaofu to intercept the rebels' approach, but did not want to feel the enemy's battle formation. The chariots, cattle and horses were frightened by the monsters that turned into dragons and tigers, and the formation was in chaos. Ge Shuhan, who was severely injured, saw that the situation was not good, and even fell out. The rebels realized that the plan had succeeded, so they used straw carts to block the felt The carts were piled with firewood and straw on the road, and were set on fire by the wind. Dozens of lit straw carts were pushed down the valley. Flames burned the sky, the wind was fierce and the smoke was flying. The felt carts were burned. In an instant, it became dark as night, and the two armies were indistinguishable. , the generals of the Tang Army had no choice but to shout loudly and order their troops to line up and fire arrows randomly, and for a while the bows and crossbows were fired randomly. The soldiers' eyes were confused by the black smoke, and they only knew how to set up their bows and shoot randomly, but they didn't want the arrows to fly randomly, and many of them fell on themselves. At that time, they didn’t even care to see which side was attacking. They only knew how to protect themselves desperately. As a result, they fought each other and their bodies were covered in blood. At dawn, it was known that the rebels had retreated early, so the Tang army quickly retreated. The roads in Guandong were narrow and it was not conducive to retreat. Seeing that the time had come, the rebel commander Cui Qianyu ordered Tongluo's elite cavalry to detour from the southern valley to fight out from behind the Tang army. The rebels also sent troops to set up a suspicion in Nanshan, and used their elite cavalry to approach the Yellow River and cross it. At this time, under attack from both front and rear, the Tang army could not exert its power in large numbers. They fell into chaos, broke up and fled for their lives. Tens of thousands of people fell into the Yellow River and drowned. Their desperate howls shook the earth. The people beside the Yellow River In order to escape for their lives, the Tang army rushed onto the grain transport ships. Due to overloading, almost all the hundreds of grain transport ships sank to the bottom of the Yellow River. The remaining Tang troops had to bundle their weapons together, use their guns as oars, and row to the other side of the Yellow River. , only one-two-tenth of the soldiers who finally came ashore were originally dug outside Tongguan City. There were three trenches, each two feet wide and one foot deep. They were originally intended to block the rebel cavalry, but they did not expect that this would become a reminder to their own people. The pit. The panicked Tang army fell into these trenches. Before they could get up, they were trampled down again by the people behind them. They were trampled into meat patties alive by their own people. They followed one after another. Soon the deep trenches were filled with flesh and blood. The people behind them were trampled down. He trampled on the bodies of his comrades before escaping back to the main city of Tongguan. Seeing this, Ge Shuhan hurriedly ordered more than a hundred of his men to rush to Shouyang Mountain, then crossed west to Tongjin Post, issued a notice to collect the scattered soldiers, and waited for them to flee. After the Tang soldiers entered the pass, Ge Shuhan counted their numbers and found that out of the 200,000 troops, only more than 8,000 were left."
"This... this... this..."
Zhang Xun was "here" for a long time, and he really couldn't think of a better word to express it. He didn't expect that Ge Shuhan, a famous general of the generation who had held on to Tongguan for half a year and had more than 400,000 yuan, would lose so hastily. He could accept the battle between the two armies and fight to the death for several days and nights, or he could accept the fierce siege by the rebels, but he could not accept hundreds of thousands of people being hung around like fish.
"Ge Shuhan is unworthy of being called a famous general. He dared to enter such a dangerous place without thorough investigation. It is really a disaster for one person and millions of people!"
Zhang Xun was furious and cursed through gritted teeth. Mo Sheng listened to him swearing, knowing that he was furious at the moment and it was hard to persuade him.
"Wang Sili is also a loser. How could it be that none of the spies and scouts sent out discovered the abnormality of the bandit ambush! The towering mountain is thousands of miles away, and there is no way to hide such a large-scale layout from everyone!"
Mo Sheng didn't know how to answer. If a spy really knew the thief's plan, An Neng would be defeated like this. It’s just that even Mo Sheng himself didn’t know that there were many people who saw the actions of Anqingxu Cui Qianyou and others. Tens of thousands of people had been camping in the mountains for several months, burning mountains and breaking rocks, repairing canals and water, and cutting down wood. How could it be possible? No one knows that there is no airtight thing in the world. It's just that Cui Qianyou is the latest to keep secrets. Almost half of his strength is guarding it. Those mortals who see something wrong are silenced. Those who are not mortals come and go. Due to the difference between immortals and mortals, it is inconvenient to intervene. This worldly bondage can only be viewed from the sidelines. These outsiders who are practicing in the mountains have been away from the world for countless years. One more thing is worse than one less thing. Cultivation is not easy, so why bother looking for trouble again.
"On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Ge Shuhan picked up the remaining troops and defeated the generals, and re-defended the pass, thinking of continuing to deal with the rebels. The rebels took a moment to rest, and the powerful rolling torrent rushed towards the Tang army. Fan promoted by Ge Shuhan Seeing that the situation was over, Huoba Quyen and others made up their minds and prepared to surrender. Huoba Quyen said to Ge Shuhan:
"The thief has arrived. Please mount your horse."
After Ge Shuhan mounted his horse, Huo Ba Quy Nhon said:
"Young Master abandoned him in one battle with 200,000 people. How can he see the emperor again? And you can't see Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing? Please go eastward now!"
At this moment, Ge Shuhan knew the intention of his men. He naturally refused to resist, but the situation was over. Huoba Quyen did not wait for him to hesitate, ordered his trusted followers to ride with him, and tied Ge Shuhan's feet to the horse's belly, along with the others. The generals who refused to surrender were escorted east together. At this time, the rebel general Tian Qianzhen arrived, and Huoba Quiren surrendered. Dozens of Tang army generals were sent to Luoyang. Tongguan fell and Chang'an was in danger visible to the naked eye.
Let's talk about Shu Han, the Marshal of the Tang Dynasty who was kidnapped to Luoyang by his men. An Lushan was very excited when he heard that his men had captured Shu Han alive. He ordered his men to take Ge Shu Han to his palace and sit on it. Sitting on the dragon throne, Ge Shuhan smiled triumphantly:
"You always looked down on me in the past, how about now?"
Ge Shuhan, who had suffered such a tragic defeat, had no heroic courage at this time. He knelt down in front of An Lushan as if his spine had been ripped out, and apologized. He just wanted to survive a miserable life, crying to An Lushan. Lushan said:
"The naked eye does not recognize Your Majesty, which is why this is the case. Your Majesty is the master of chaos, and he is destined to return. Li Guangbi is in Tumen, Lai Qi is in Henan, and Lu Jiong is in Nanyang. I surrendered them for Your Majesty, and I can pacify these three Tang armies in one fell swoop."
An Lushan was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately made Ge Shuhan, the seller who was trying to survive, the title of Sikong. However, he ordered people to drag Nahuo Guiren down and behead him in public to show his goodwill to Ge Shuhan.
"Could it be that all the generals under Ge Shuhan in the past were such traitors without kings and fathers! Could it be that they were all willing to collude with Ge Shuhan and be infamy for thousands of years!"
Zhang Xun cursed Ge Shuhan angrily, and also asked about the situation of the battle behind him.
"Of course there are not all cowards like Ge Shuhan in the world. Most of the generals and officials who received Ge Shuhan's letter urging him to surrender wrote back and scolded him for not dying for the country and losing the dignity of the country's ministers. An Lushan originally pointed out He hoped that the old guy could be of some use, but he didn't want to have the opposite effect and be disappointed, so he imprisoned Ge Shuhan in the Luoyang Forbidden Garden, and waited until he captured Chang'an City to kill him in front of the emperor's gate."
"Regardless of the stance of the two rebel armies of the Tang Dynasty, based on strategic analysis alone, the Battle of Lingbao was a typical ambush battle. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty misjudged the situation, was eager for success, and refused to adopt the policy of holding on to key dangers, exhausting the enemy for a long time, and waiting for opportunities to attack. , prematurely ordered Ge Shuhan to leave the border and counterattack, resulting in the loss of both men and land, which caused the counter-insurgency war to take a turn for the worse. The thief general Cui Qianyu was ready to go forward. Although he used human life as a bait, the purpose of luring the Tang army to abandon the danger and go to war was indignant. It was indeed achieved. During the decisive battle, he pretended to be defeated by Yan Qi and wanted to escape, luring the Tang army into an ambush, causing Ge Shuhan to suffer an unprecedented defeat in his life, and his reputation as a victorious general was in vain."
Mo Sheng's words were concise and comprehensive, and he gave a thorough summary of the Lingbao battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, leaving only Inspector Zhang with a look of annoyance on his face.
"Yes, in the battle of Lingbao, His Majesty Emperor Ming was eager for quick success, Yang Guozhong was misleading with his slanderous words, Ge Shuhan was not prepared well, Cui Qianyou was scheming, Tongguan was lost, it is God's will!"
After a long time, Zhang Xun sighed to the sky, but to Mo Sheng's ears, these words seemed a bit evasive. After all, he was still a somewhat foolish and loyal Confucian scholar. Anyone with a discerning eye can know that the defeat of Tongguan was, to put it bluntly, all the fault of the emperor alone. If he had not been suspicious, An Lushan would not have been able to break in for a hundred years. Now that Zhang Xun understands all the cause and effect, he still wants to defend the emperor unreasonably. It is really unwise!
"Master Zhang is really an exquisite person!"
Listening to Mo Sheng's slightly sarcastic words, Zhang Xun could taste the disapproval in it. However, as a loyal and patriotic Confucian scholar, even if the emperor made all kinds of mistakes, he could not belittle himself and could only try his best to repair it. It was also clear that the rebels were in such a turbulent situation, but Zhang Xun still chose to face it head on. No matter the outcome was that a fly shook a tree or he fought through thorns and thorns, he always had no regrets.
"I would like to advise the generals on defense to be careful not to imitate Ge Shu."
This may be the only lesson Zhang Xun can draw from the Lingbao battle.
"Since the fall of Tongguan on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Chang'an has become an undefended city. However, the suspicious An Lushan did not attack Chang'an immediately for the sake of caution. Instead, he ordered Cui Qianyou to garrison Tongguan and detect the movements of the Tang army. Unexpectedly, in June In the early morning of the 13th, before Anlushan made any move, the emperor fled in panic. Cui Guangyuan, who stayed behind in Jingzhao, surrendered to Anlushan's army. Anlushan then sent his trusted general Sun Xiaozhe to lead troops into Chang'an."
After saying these words, Mo Sheng didn't speak anymore. He just held chopsticks in one hand and raised a glass in the other, pouring and drinking by himself, intoxicated by the taste of the food and wine.
Although Mo Sheng basically understood the entire process of the Battle of Tongguan through the energy of the Mo Zhe Guild, he did not know everything about what happened in the Imperial City later on. From Yan Zhenqing's report to the capital, to Yan Gaoqing and others consolidating their forces and officially raising the flag, then to Wang Chengye pretending to take military merit, then to the fall of Luoyang, Gao Xianzhi was granted death and granted the title of Changqing, until Tongguan was lost, and Ge Shuhan was captured alive , the reports of repeated defeats on the front line are like snow in June, one letter is colder than the other. The Anlushan rebels were unstoppable, and the old emperor of Chang'an City finally began to panic. Listening to the report read by Gao Lishi, he first couldn't believe that Ge Shuhan could be so stubborn. After repeated confirmations, he finally understood the twists and turns of the Tongguan front, and finally understood the reality. It seemed that An Lushan's knife It was really almost resting on his neck.
That night, after dispersing the group of civil and military officials who had been noisy all night, only the emperor and Gao Lishi were left in the majestic hall.
The best man in the world slowly fell silent at this moment. He was no longer angry or panicked, but became more and more calm. Gao Lishi, who was waiting beside him, did not dare to speak. Emperor Tang seemed to be having a flashback at this moment. The dragon spirit and tiger gall that had been corroded by wine slowly began to wake up. His rickety body became upright, his eyes became brighter and colder, and the corners of his mouth curved into something that looked like a smile but not a smile. It's like going back to the past.
As the person closest to the emperor, Gao Lishi had not seen this curve for many years. He knew what this curve meant. After all, what accompanied this curve was nothing but mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Li Xiaosan, who helped the late emperor to overthrow a generation of empresses, the prince who eradicated the ambitious Empress Wei, the new emperor who forced his own aunt to death, and the cold-blooded emperor who later killed three of his sons in one day, not to mention those big hands. In the battle of annihilating the country with a wave of blood conquering all directions, everything happened after the man in front of him made that arc.
I just don’t know if this emperor, who has shown his prowess again, can turn the tide!
The city of Chang'an in June was hot and restless, and the palaces and courtyards were unavoidable. Most of the people were still ignorant, but the officials were much more alert. The final outcome of the Battle of Tongguan affected the lives of every imperial official. While they waited anxiously, they arranged for their confidants to prepare their troops and belongings, ready to flee the imperial capital at any time. Under the surging undercurrent, the fate of Chang'an City is all pinned in the hands of the man sitting at the highest position in the Daming Palace. I wonder if he can solve the problem like his idol, His Majesty Taizong, the "First Emperor of the Tang Dynasty". This time the "Bianqiao Alliance"!
Gao Lishi lowered his head in silence, listening to the sound of cicadas outside the hall. The "cicadas... cicadas..." seemed a little uneasy. At this moment, His Majesty, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke:
"Gao Lishi, send someone to the Taishi Bureau to ask Taishi Ling Li Xianshi!"
Gao Lishi listened to the order, responded, bowed and was about to retreat, when the emperor raised his head and added:
"You'd better go there yourself!"
After hearing these meaningful words, Mr. Gao, who understood the emperor's heart well, immediately understood, said "promise" and left the palace gate!
At this time, the Daming Palace looked lifeless and crumbling under the scorching sun during the day!
