When Meng Kai led the army to Tongguan, Qi Kerang had barely set up a battle array. However, the morale of the Tang army, which had not had enough to eat, was very low. In addition, they suffered consecutive defeats near Ruzhou and Luoyang, and most of their armor and weapons were seriously damaged.

Meng Kai saw this, so how could he take these tens of thousands of people seriously?

Meng Kai waved his hand and shouted: "Kill!"

For a time, thousands of horses galloped, and the earth seemed to tremble. The morale of the rebel army was high, and the soldiers' shouts of killing resounded and echoed in the valley for a long time.

Qi Kerang looked at the densely packed rebels at the foot of the mountain, deploying defensive strategies, and he kept issuing various orders.

"Archers prepare—shoot!"

Dense rain of arrows streaked across the sky in rows, with a loud sound of piercing the sky, falling towards the rebels. The rebels who were hit by arrows fell off their horses one after another. Some of the horses fell to the ground after being hit by arrows, and even the knights on the horses were thrown.

As soon as he dismounted, he was trampled under his feet by the war horses coming from behind, turning him into a pulp.

The archers only fired five rounds of feather arrows. Meng Kai's cavalry had already rushed forward, and the two armies were only thirty steps apart.

Qi Kerang ordered: "Spear throwing team, let go!"

Three rows of teams holding short spears threw the short spears in their hands one after another. The short spears were heavy, and when thrown at close range, their force could penetrate war horses, let alone people.

Two rounds of short spears were thrown, and the two sides were in close combat. Only then did Meng Kai's cavalry team show its power. With the charge of the horses, it broke through the defense line composed of Qi Kerang's shield bearers almost instantly.

But before Meng Kai could become happy, he discovered that behind the enemy's shield bearer was a row of deep trenches. After a crowd of people screamed and their horses neighed, the rapidly charging horses were unable to catch up, and one after another they fell into the trenches with both men and horses.

, under the trenches were long bamboo sticks that had been buried in advance. The men and horses who fell behind them died tragically instantly. The people behind them were still unable to recover. There were still large groups of men and horses who fell into the trenches one after another, and they fell to pieces.

When they reacted, another round of short spears was thrown over, pinning them in the trench.

Seeing that the momentum was not right, Meng Kai hurriedly called for gold and retreated his troops. The two armies faced each other two arrows apart.

Meng Kai counted the men and horses and found that he had lost more than 600 men. He made some preparations and prepared for the next round of attack.

However, due to the setback in the first round of charges, morale was affected, and the next two rounds of charges were ineffective.

Meng Kai could only order to postpone the attack, bury pots and cook on the spot, and wait for the arrival of Huang Chao's army.

At this time, Qi Kerang's more than 10,000 troops were already very hungry. Seeing the rebels starting to bury pots for cooking, they felt even more unbearable. Some people had already started to make loud noises. Qi Kerang could not stop himself, and he was extremely anxious.

But "people are as good as iron rice. If you don't eat a meal, you will feel panic." They haven't had a full meal for several days. They finally waited for the people from the court to come, but the beauty got a bowl of porridge and had been busy since morning.

By now, it has been almost consumed.

At dusk, Huang Chao's large group of troops arrived at Tongguan. The rebels shouted "Huang Wang, Huang Wang..." and the sound shook the valley and lasted for a long time.

Qi Kerang's more than 10,000 men and horses looked at the endless crowd of rebels and horses at the bottom of the mountain. They were exhausted, hungry and cold, how could they still fight? After a fierce attack by Huang Chao, Qi Kerang's men and horses were defeated and defeated.

Running away in all directions.

But there were rebels and horses that could not be seen in front of them, and Tongguan was closed behind them. The defeated army had no way to retreat, and it looked like the whole army was annihilated. Zhang Chengfan in the pass looked at the densely packed rebels, and how could he dare to open or close the pass?

The door could only be closed and the soldiers were ordered to keep firing arrows at the rebels from a high position.

Seeing that there was no way to retreat, Qi Kerang's defeated army couldn't fight again and again. It was getting late at this time, so the defeated army could only walk around in a panic. Somehow, they ended up in the "forbidden pit". The forbidden pit is usually closed to traffic and is a special place.

It was set up to collect taxes. The road to the forbidden pit is rugged, overgrown with bushes, very difficult to navigate, and is narrow and long for thirty miles.

But at this time, how could Qi Kerang's defeated army control so many people? The remaining eight thousand men and horses actually rushed into the forbidden pit. It was important to escape, but the road was difficult. They actually turned this bushy forbidden pit into a smooth road overnight.

Shang Rang and Lin Yan followed closely and killed them. Qi Kerang's defeated army only hated their parents for losing two legs and forgot about hunger. They fled towards the pass like bereaved dogs one by one.

Shang Rang and Lin Yan chased for a distance and saw that the mountain road was narrow and long. Looking up, there were cliffs on both sides. They were afraid that the enemy might be ambushing them. If there was an ambush on the top of the mountain, there was no need to fight at all. They would just use rocks to smash down.

If you hit it with your eyes closed, one stone can hit several people. Shang Rang and Lin Yan discussed it and had no choice but to retreat first and then make plans.

By this time, it was completely dark. The rebels had traveled a long distance and were a little tired. They could only camp outside the pass to rest and prepare to continue their attack the next day.

The terrain of Tongguan is dangerous, and it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. But now there is a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides. This dominating pass also seems so weak and vulnerable. The natural pass that usually looks so majestic has become weaker due to the absolute numerical advantage of the rebels.

So small and powerless.

Zhang Chengfan's troops endured hunger and fear and spent a sleepless night.

The next day, the rebels launched another attack. The several trenches before Tongguan had been filled with soil by the rebels and the poor people who came to help. The defense line outside Tongguan had been completely destroyed, and most of Qi Kerang's troops had also escaped.

Don't know where to go.

The two sides fought fiercely for a whole day, but Huang Chao's men still failed to capture Tongguan, a dangerous pass. However, Zhang Chengfan knew his situation. The arrows at the pass had been exhausted, so Zhang Chengfan ordered the officers and soldiers to throw stones from a high position. The rebels were stunned for a while.

There's really no way around it.

Shang Rang and Lin Yan remembered the forbidden pit where Qi Kerang's defeated troops escaped yesterday, and they discussed whether to fight through the forbidden pit.

Shang Rang gritted his teeth and said: "It's not a problem to keep going so long. It's so easy for us to hit here now, thanks to the fact that King Qin's army from the Tang Dynasty hasn't arrived yet. Once the people from all the vassal towns arrive in time, we can try to get it again."

Going down to Tongguan is not that easy."

Lin Yan frowned and said: "General Shang's intention is that we rush through this forbidden pit? But this road is so dangerous, how could the enemy not defend it? If we are ambushed, then..."

Shang Rang interrupted him and said: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch the tiger's cubs. Why don't we give him a try?" After Shang Rang's eldest brother Shang Junchang was arrested that year, he was beheaded at Goujiling in Chang'an East City.

Forget the blood feud of his elder brother. At this time, he was not far from Chang'an. He was eager for revenge, so he knew that there might be an ambush in the forbidden pit, but he didn't care so much.

Lin Yan wanted to say something else, but Shang Rang had already given the order: "Li Tangbin listens to the order. You lead five thousand men and horses to rush in from the forbidden pit. Regardless of whether there is an ambush in front of you, you must rush through at any cost. As long as you get through the forbidden pit,

After that, we can attack from both front and back, and Tongguan will be within easy reach."

Lin Yan knew that anything he said would be in vain, so he stopped talking. He knew that Shang Rang's eldest brother, Shang Junchang, was executed at Gouji Ridge in the East City of Chang'an by Li Xuan's order. Shang Rang was eager for revenge, so he said more.

It's no use, so I can only rush to report to Huang Chao first.

At dusk, Wang Shihui, who was escorting the grain and fodder, had also arrived at Tongguan. Zhang Chengfan heard that more than 10,000 people from Qi Kerang had fled back to the pass through the forbidden pit, and Qi Kerang had also disappeared. Wang Shihui was shocked and said: "General Zhang did not send anyone

Guard the forbidden pit?"

Zhang Chengfan originally had less than 3,000 men and horses, so how could he find the manpower? Besides, he had no generals to send, and he had no time to think about the forbidden pits. The offensive directed by Huang Chao in Tongguan alone was already overwhelmed, so where could he still find it?

Can you care about the forbidden pit?

At this time, after hearing what Wang Shihui said, he couldn't help but feel his head as big as a bucket. Of course he also knew the principle of "Those who guard the pass but do not guard the forbidden ditch are still guarding the forbidden ditch." He hurriedly assigned 800 men and horses to Wang Shihui to guard the forbidden pit.

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Wang Shihui took the order and left, praying to heaven in his heart. Never let the rebels rush in from the forbidden pit, otherwise they would fail. What is terrible is what happened. When he arrived at the forbidden pit, Li Tangbin led

Only half of the five thousand troops had already crossed the forbidden pit. Li Tangbin also found it easier than expected and did not encounter any resistance at all along the way.

Li Tangbin had 5,000 men. How could Wang Shihui's 800 men stop him? The two sides started a fierce battle at the exit of the forbidden pit. At this time, rebels continued to pour out of the forbidden pit. In just one pack of cigarettes,

The rebel troops that poured out have already surrounded the troops of the Wang Division Association, and there is no doubt about the outcome of the battle.

In less than half an hour, there were not many of the 800 men and horses left by Wang Shihui, and Wang Shihui himself was also wounded in many places.

Li Tangbin, however, was extremely brave, charging back and forth on the battlefield in person, leaving blood and flesh flying wherever he passed.

Master Wang's meeting was over and the situation was over. He did not want to be captured and humiliated, so he simply killed himself with his sword and shed the last drop of blood for the Tang Dynasty.

Li Tangbin ordered a thousand troops to guard the exit of the forbidden pit, and he led the rest of the troops into Tongguan.

After receiving the news sent by Li Tangbin, Shang Rang also led a large group of troops through the forbidden pit and went around Tongguan.

Zhang Chengfan heard the shouts of killing behind him and knew that the troops from the Wang Division were still not there yet and rushed to guard the Forbidden Pit. After the Forbidden Pit was lost, there was no point in holding Tongguan anymore, so he simply paid the money to withdraw his troops and led the remaining defeated soldiers westward towards Chang'an.

Escape.

In just two days, the last line of defense in the east of Chang'an, Tongguan Tianzhan, had been occupied by Huang Chao's rebels.

On the third day, which was the third day of the twelfth lunar month, Huang Chao ordered Meng Kai's general Cheng Linghuan to lead 5,000 troops to guard Tongguan. He led various armies to march towards Chang'an, and arrived in Huazhou at dusk that afternoon.

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When Huang Chao's rebels arrived at Huazhou City, they suddenly felt that something was wrong with Huazhou City. What was wrong?
Chapter completed!