Tongguan.

The rebels have been conquering the obstacles for half a month, and Tongguan is still holding on.

The royal army of the imperial court suffered serious losses. In just half a month, Gao Xianzhi brought 50,000 troops from Chang'an, only more than 20,000 were left, and the losses were more than half.

But Tongguan is still in Gao Xianzhi's hands.

Every attack and defense were extremely tragic. An Lushan became more and more irritable, and the rebels became more and more fierce. With the strict supervision of the generals and extremely tempting rewards, the rebels climbed up like crazy. Gao Xianzhi always came to the city to supervise the battle at a considerable price to command the defenders to fight the rebels' attacks at a considerable price.

Time and time again, the loss of troops on both sides was huge.

Tongguan has been a must-fight for military strategists since ancient times. Its terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The reason why the royal army in the court suffered too much was because the troops and horses in Chang'an had long enjoyed peace and lacked practical combat and training. In terms of physical strength and individual soldiers' quality, they are far less than the elite rebels in a hundred battles. Once the rebels climbed the city wall, it often took the price of three people to exchange for the rebels' life. Therefore, even if Tongguan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the price paid by the royal army is also very tragic.

Late at night, the soldiers fell on the horse roads of the city walls, sleeping with long spears on their heads. Everyone's face was covered with fatigue, and many wounded soldiers were not even wrapped in wounds. They lay on the cold stone slabs, allowing the blood to slowly pass away. Many people just slept like this and never woke up.

Gao Xianzhi walked on the horse road lying on the city wall full of soldiers. His iron armor was stained with dew in the middle of the night, and blood was faintly visible on the shoulders of the iron armor. It was because he was accidentally shot by the enemy's cold arrow while guarding the pass.

Looking at the sleeping soldiers, Gao Xianzhi was in a heavy mood.

In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Tongguan, hundreds of miles away from the capital, who would have thought that it would be such a tragic scene?

A shrill cry suddenly came from the horse road in the distance. The crying only took a short moment and immediately stopped abruptly, as if it was severely scolded by the general.

Gao Xianzhi's expression remained unchanged. As a veteran who had been fighting for many years, he was very familiar with this crying, which meant that a certain intimate robe died of severe injuries.

Behind him, Feng Changqing's face was more solemn than Gao Xianzhi.

"General, the reinforcements from the court have not arrived yet, and there is not even an imperial edict..."

Gao Xianzhi shook his head and said, "The court will not have reinforcements. There are only 30,000 troops left in Chang'an City. No matter what, it cannot be allocated."

Feng Changqing said unwillingly: "But Tongguan can't be defended anymore. If there are no reinforcements, even if we sacrifice our lives, we will eventually be defeated by the rebels."

Gao Xianzhi said in a deep voice: "Will anyone who asks for help from other places come back?"

Feng Changqing shook his head: "After the Hexi Army was defeated in Luoyang City, Geshuhan's condition became more serious and his morale was very low. He is now stationed in Shangzhou and resting. This army will not be available in the short term. The Longyou Army was ordered to be dispatched to Chang'an to guard the garrison, and it is impossible to rush to Tongguan. The garrisons of Guanzhong were also quickly transferred to Chang'an, and there were also troops in the south, Shannan Road, Jiangnan Road, Qiannan Road and other places, who are now rushing to Guanzhong to serve the king, but their journey is long. When they arrive in Guanzhong, it is estimated that it will be a month later."

Gao Xianzhi Xiao Ran sighed: "In one month, the rebels have already captured Tongguan..."

Suddenly remembering something, Gao Xianzhi said, "Where is Gu Qing? Is there no news from Anxi Army?"

"The Anxi Army is ordered to attack Luoyang..." Feng Changqing smiled, with an indescribable sarcasm.

Gao Xianzhi was stunned for a moment, then looked angry: "The Anxi Army has only 50,000 troops, who asked him to go to fight Luoyang? Isn't this asking for death?"

Feng Changqing's face turned chilled: "It's Your Majesty's will."

Gao Xianzhi was stunned again, and then sighed helplessly: "Your Majesty is a life-threatening person..."

Feng Changqing hurriedly stopped him and said, "General, be careful of his words!"

Gao Xianzhi didn't say anything, looking sadly outside the dark Tongguan. In the sky, there seemed to be a pair of eyes in the dark, staring at the world with compassion, from the joys and sorrows of the people to the fortunes of the country, all of which were changing under the gaze of these eyes.

"Even if there is no help, we should stick to it and fight one soldier." Gao Xianzhi said with glaring eyes and gritting his teeth.

The hurried footsteps came, and a scout ran to Gao Xianzhi to salute and said, "General, the villain just returned from inquiring about military information outside the pass. The Anxi army of the Marquis of the Hou Gu of Qingcheng County surrounded Luoyang and cut off the logistics and food routes of the rebels in the north. An Lushan was very anxious and ordered his general Shi Siming to divide 50,000 troops and head to the east and go straight to Luoyang."

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing looked at each other in shock, and were speechless for a while.

After a long time, Feng Changqing said: "Mr. Gu is really a military service... It's hard to predict. He clearly attacked Luoyang under the order, but he simply cut off the rebels' food and supplies..."

Gao Xianzhi looked at the rebel camp outside the pass, and could see the movement of troops. It was still brightly lit in the middle of the night. Gao Xianzhi smiled: "What Gu Qing thinks is not an ordinary truth, but this decision is done well, and Luoyang cannot be attacked. If you cut off the enemy's food and grass, you can play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, and let the enemy go out of the city to fight with him, especially... He also forced An Lushan to divide his troops, which indirectly alleviated the crisis in Tongguan. It's very wonderful, haha!"

"There is such a person in the country and the country is very lucky!"

…………

North of Luoyang City, Anxi Army Camp.

Huangfu Sisi walked into Shuai Tin with a food box. The food box contained several dishes she had carefully prepared. The dishes were very delicious, and the strong aroma of meat could be vaguely smelled through the food box.

This picky guy only eats meat and not vegetables. His face is particularly hateful when he is picky about food. He can say all kinds of harsh words. After Huangfu Sisi has experienced it several times in person, she decided to follow him in the future. Anyway, she no longer wants to hear the sarcastic words that the speaker would jump into the well when he gets angry.

When I first arrived at the lamplight, I lit a few candles in my tent, but it still seemed a little dim.

Gu Qing looked tired and leaned over a huge sand table in the middle of the tent. He stared at a certain point on the sand table with his eyes intent, and had been keeping this movement for a long time.

Huangfu Sisi put down the food box, turned around and looked for a few candlesticks, lit a few more candles, and the handsome tent finally became brighter.

"Mr. Marquis, it's time to have a meal." Huangfu Sisi shook his arm softly.

Gu Qing came to his senses and looked at the food box for the first time, then saw her the second time.

"What dish did you cook today? I won't eat it if the taste is bad. I starved myself to death. I will ask you if you feel sorry for me."

Huangfu Sisi rolled her eyes and snorted, "I won't say whether I feel bad physically or mentally. If the Marquis starves herself to death, I will ask you if it's uncomfortable."

"Come on, hurt each other."

"Okay, today I made your favorite stewed lamb for you. I stewed it on a slow-fire for two hours. It was stewed so hard that it melted in my mouth. Does the Marquis like it?"

It was strange that in the past, after Huangfu Sisi finished speaking, Gu Qing would have been impatient, and he would have picked up the food box and cooked the meal without saying a word. At this moment, Gu Qing still didn't move. Huangfu Sisi stared at his face curiously, and only then did she find a smile on his face, but his smile was very reluctant, and a solemn look appeared in his eyes.

"What's wrong with the Marquis? Are you tired of eating the dishes I cook?"

Gu Qing shook his head, turned his eyes to the sand table, and sighed: "I have no appetite these days... The Anxi Army is about to usher in a big battle, and this battle will be very tragic."

Huangfu Sisi said in surprise: "Although I do not participate in military affairs, I have also heard from the soldiers that we have been doing well recently. Not only did we intercept the rebels' food routes, and forced the Luoyang City garrison to send troops out of the city to fight us several times, but we also intercepted a batch of rebels' food supplies, and everything was perfect."

Gu Qing snorted: "What do the soldiers below know? How can the two armies fight smoothly? Any war is deadly. If you are the chief general of the enemy, will you watch your food passage be intercepted?"

Huangfu Sisi suddenly smiled sweetly and said, "If I were the chief general of the enemy army, I would simply surrender to the Marquis. The Marquis can act recklessly with me, do whatever I want..."

A picture appeared in Gu Qing's mind. An Lushan, who was fat and swollen, tied his hands and knelt in front of him, and shyly made a picking position with a look of shyness. Hanchun looked charming and humming a strange tune, "Come on, happy, there's a lot of time anyway"...

Gu Qing shivered, with a look of horror in his eyes, and then stared at Huangfu Sisi and said seriously: "If you are the chief general of the enemy, you must fight to the death. After fighting for a war, you will be able to wipe your neck quickly and don't cause trouble for me, do you know?"

Huangfu Sisi said angrily: "I am talking nonsense, the marquis is so serious."

Seeing that Gu Qing's expression was still a little depressed, Huangfu Sisi said worriedly: "Is the Anxi Army about to fight? Is it a decisive battle with the rebels in Luoyang City?"

Gu Qing shook his head: "There are only more than 10,000 rebels in Luoyang City. Gao Shang can only hold on and cannot take the initiative, and he has no confidence to fight me in a decisive battle, but I guess An Lushan's reinforcements are coming soon..."

Huangfu Sisi said in surprise: "Did all the 150,000 troops of An Lushan's rebels come?"

"That won't be. Both the grain route and Tongguan are very important to An Lushan, but I guess An Lushan values ​​Tongguan more. After all, after conquering Tongguan, Chang'an City is just around the corner. After conquering Chang'an City, the problem of the rebels' food route can be temporarily alleviated, so An Lushan should have only tens of thousands of troops rushing to help..."

"However, even these tens of thousands of soldiers are not easy for the Anxi Army. After this war, I don't know how many brothers will lose..."

Huangfu Sisi said: "Why don't the marquis avoid the edge and deal with the enemy in Guanzhong? It can not only restrain the rebels' troops, but also preserve their own strength..."

Gu Qing looked at her in surprise and smiled: "I didn't expect you to have some insight into military affairs."

Huangfu Sisi said proudly: "I am from a general. I have read a lot of military books in my father's study when I was a child. I have also seen my father arrange troops with his own eyes and are never unfamiliar with military affairs."
Chapter completed!