The Yan army camp was already preparing for a celebration banquet, and many cattle and sheep were killed and roasted.
The fragrance filled the air all night long, inspiring the soldiers to fight bravely, and the generals also kept shouting encouragement.
"After the city is broken, women of gold and silk will take whatever they ask for!"
Cui Qianyou stepped onto the battlefield and looked at the fire in the distance. He felt sorry for the injured elites, but if you pay, you will be rewarded. He believed that Chang'an City would soon be breached.
When dawn came again, it was already the third day that he had ordered a fierce attack at all costs. The mutton roasted during the night was already cold and the fat had solidified.
"General, celebration banquet?"
"What's the hurry? It's almost over."
From the perspective of the Yan Army, Chang'an was indeed about to be captured. The defenders on the top of the city had become increasingly difficult to repel the Yan Army soldiers who were climbing up. At this time, a group of people had already stood firm on the top of the city. He stood up, formed a queue, and led more soldiers to the city.
It was a section of the city wall 300 steps south of Chunming Gate. The moat under the city wall had been filled with corpses. The flag of the Yan army had been raised high on the city. Only one or two hundred more people needed to climb up, maybe it would be enough. Enter and open the city gate.
However, the garrison on the city invited the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to come out and conduct the expedition in person, which boosted a lot of morale. The Yan army on top of the city was unable to advance even an inch, and there was a tendency to be driven out of the city.
This was the Tang army's last resort, and they had no choice but to capture him without mercy.
Seeing this scene, Cui Qianyou thought for a moment, summoned a soldier, whispered a few instructions, and handed over a letter.
The soldier then rode up to the city, stepped across the moat full of corpses, passed under the shields with a short body, shouted "I'll go up first", grabbed the ladder and climbed up.
The outer wall of Chang'an City is made of blue bricks and painted with purple sand. It is very strong. The Yan army has been attacking the city for so long, but they only used cannon stones and arrows to leave large and small scars on it. The wall is three feet high. It is as tall as six people, and there are many kite heads mounted on the city wall, which is very annoying.
He avoided the kite's head, grabbed the battlement, and finally stood on the battlement at the top of the city, his vision suddenly opened up.
The space above the city wall was huge, four feet wide. The Yan army and the Tang army were fighting here. He did not jump off the battlement, but shouted loudly: "Do you want to hear what Li Heng said to me?" Marshal’s letter?!”
~~
In an arrow tower, Wang Yunxiu shot an arrow and hit a rebel soldier in the neck.
She pulled out another arrow from her back, aimed it at the rebel who was standing on the battlement at the top of the city and was about to release the arrow.
"Wait a minute!"
Yuan Zai rushed to her side and pressed his hand on her arm.
However, Wang Yunxiu ignored it, and with a "swish" sound, the arrow in his hand was shot away.
"puff."
The arrow pierced the open letter of the rebel soldier and penetrated directly into his left eye. He stumbled backward and immediately fell off the high city wall.
Yuan Zai was stunned and said: "What are you doing?!"
"Follow me to kill the enemy!"
Wang Yunxiu ignored it, took two quick steps, changed the arrow window, and shot another person.
Yuan Zai couldn't stop her, thought for a moment, turned around, rushed out of the archery tower, grabbed a soldier and shouted: "Where is the King of Peking?!"
"There!"
Yuan Zai looked around and was surprised. He saw Xue Bai's flag on the top of the city, erected behind a row of wooden curtains. The wooden curtains are movable temporary city walls. If the city wall is captured, it can be used to block it.
enemy.
At this time, Xue Bai was personally directing the advancement of the wooden curtain, and at the same time there were defenders carrying fire boxes, constantly attacking the rebels with fire.
Yuan Zai hesitated for a moment, grabbed a round shield, and hurried over there.
"Hold on and repel this wave of offensive!"
Holding a round shield, Yuan Zai rushed to the nearby place and grabbed Xue Bai, saying: "King of Peiping, I have something to tell you!"
"Push first!" Xue Bai ordered.
Yuan Zai had no choice but to stretch out his hand and follow him pushing a knife cart.
The sword cart is similar to the wooden curtain, but slightly lighter. The two-wheeled cart is erected with a wooden wall, and the side facing the enemy is densely covered with swords, guns and weapons.
"Harder, faster!"
They quickened their pace and slammed the sword cart into the enemy soldiers. After a burst of screams, there were dense sounds of swords and axes hitting the wooden wall, less than two inches away from Yuan Zai.
Afterwards, on top of the wooden curtain, the defenders finally stabilized this section of the city wall.
"King of Peiping, Anhuamen is asking for help!"
Xue Bai didn't even have time to breathe, so he turned around and rushed south. Yuan Zai followed quickly and said, "Did the King of Peiping just hear that? Li Heng wrote a letter to Cui Qianyou."
"I heard it."
"I may be able to guess some of the content."
"explain."
Yuan Zai said: "First of all, this must be a letter of surrender. As Li Heng, it is impossible to say anything else to Qian Cuiyou. It must be a promise from an official to order Qian Cui You to bring order to the chaos; secondly, Cui Qianyou sent someone to bring this matter to an end."
This letter tells you that there must be something very detrimental to you in it."
"Didn't you already know this a long time ago?" Xue Bai didn't take it seriously.
"What matters is Cui Qianyou's attitude towards you." Yuan Zai said: "Since you have killed his envoy once, he wants to send someone again. It shows that he is sincere to you."
"Don't worry about it, just keep Chang'an."
Yuan Zai said in a sincere tone: "What I said today is not because of my greed for life and fear of death, but because of your consideration... I both know that the reason why Cui Qianyou sent this letter means that your plan has failed! You want to take advantage of it.
He has seen through the bluff and pretentiousness of the northwest frontier army!"
Xue Bai got on his horse and continued walking towards Nancheng without scolding Yuan Zai.
Yuan Zai then continued to catch up and asked, "If Chang'an cannot be defended, what will you do?"
"Chang'an City has one hundred and eight squares, and each square has a square wall. Beyond each square, there is the imperial city. Even if the rebels attack the city gate, it will not be that easy to completely capture Chang'an."
“What’s the use of procrastination?”
"As long as I can last longer than Cui Qianyou."
"So what if we defend Chang'an? Li Heng's army is coming to kill us, can we stop it?"
Xue Bai was silent for a moment and said, "We can talk about this later when we are safe."
"It will be too late when the city is broken! At this time, Cui Qianyou sent envoys twice, and there must be a matter of 'cooperation will benefit both parties'. In a word, Cui Qianyou wants to fight with you against Li Heng."
Yuan Zai was very convinced of this judgment, so he stopped Wang Yunxiu from firing the arrow earlier. Unfortunately, she was too tough.
He suddenly stretched out his hand to pull Xue Bai's reins and said: "I'm not advising you to surrender. But the situation has reached this point. We can't act arrogantly. We have to calm down and find the most appropriate way out. Even if we only talk about how to save the people in the city, Is it really the best way to hold on? If the city is broken, the rebels will burn, kill, and loot. But if the negotiation is done, there is still hope of saving them."
Before Xue Bai could rebuke him, he came closer and said: "King of Beiping, I know why you have endured humiliation and bear the burden all these years. It is not enough to redress the injustice, so you should rebuild the Tang Dynasty. Although Yuan Zai was born in poverty, he was utilitarian. I have a heavy heart, and I will never give up. I am willing to go through life and death. If Chang'an can be defended, I am willing to fill the corpse in the city gate, no matter what, but I have to consider you first. For you, for Chang'an City, and Cui Qianyou Only by talking can there be hope, and I am willing to risk my life to serve as this messenger."
As if he had returned to the time when he was trying to win Wang Yunxiu's favor, Yuan Zai's words became more sincere.
He thought that these words were enough to convince Xue Bai, and Xue Bai should understand that what he said was right. From the Western Wei Dynasty to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, from the Sui Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the conflicts in the world seemed chaotic, but in fact those people were not the ones in power. Whether it is fighting or negotiating, they are nothing more than means of profit distribution.
However, Xue Bai shook his head, pulled back the reins, and drove the horse away.
"I can't even accept them being a vassal, let alone treating him as the master."
Yuan Zai caught up and asked: "The King of Peking is good at dominoes, does he like gambling?"
"I never gamble."
"But I think you are a good player at Pianqiang." Yuan Zai said, "In the lonely city of Chang'an, the saint is running away. With such a bad score, we have deceived Cui Qianyou into willing to give up part of the chips. We should just accept it when it's good."
Xue Bai thought for a while and asked: "What if we can win all this round?"
Yuan Zai was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said: "Cui Qianyou is not a bluffer. He shows weakness and shows sincerity, which just shows that he has a chance to win."
"He cheated on you. His points are not as high as you think. We can win them all."
~~
The setting sun lengthened the shadow of Chang'an City little by little, and gradually touched Cui Qianyou's feet.
As long as Cui Qianyou takes one step forward, he can step into the shadow of Chang'an City.
He had already brought his banner to a place only an arrow away from the city gate, and personally shot a soldier who was guarding the city to death with his bow.
finally.
"The city gate has been breached!"
The city gate, which had been closed for more than three months, was finally opened under the fierce offensive of the Yan army.
Cui Qianyou took a step forward involuntarily and at the same time ordered: "Kill in!"
The trumpets sounded loudly, and the morale of the Yan army was high.
However, another sentry horse came from the east, whispered something in Cui Qianyou's ear.
"A double attack...Tongguan..."
Cui Qianyou clenched his fist vigorously and asked: "How long will it take?"
"The fastest thing is tomorrow morning."
"Explore again."
Looking back, Cui Qianyou's face had regained his composure. He called over another confidant and asked, "Is there any new news about Tian Chengsi?"
"No, the Tang army must have defended the city to avoid fighting and has not yet captured the city."
"Enter Chang'an first..."
"Bang!"
With these words, a huge monument was slammed down from the city gate.
The Chabei is also called the "Thousand Jin Gate". It is a huge piece of wood suspended above the city gate with a pulley. It is five inches thick and covered with iron sheets. It was used when the city gate was breached. This time it suddenly fell down, causing the city gate to collapse. Six or seven rebels were cut into two pieces.
Cui Qianyou couldn't help but feel upset, but the city gates had been breached, so this monument was nothing at all.
"Bump it away!"
So, Yan Jun pushed the car and rushed towards the Cha monument.
Cui Qianyou raised his head and looked towards the city gate tower, looking for Xue Bai's flag. He whispered to himself: "It's stubborn."
"Marshal, the imperial edict has arrived."
"How did it come?" Cui Qianyou's first reaction was a little surprised, and asked: "How did the envoy get through Shaanxi County?"
"It seems...Li Guangbi was released."
Cui Qianyou raised his hand and said: "Keep it in the camp until Chang'an is captured before receiving the order."
His whole body has been wrapped in the shadow of Chang'an City, but his eyes are still very sharp, with the greed and confidence of a gambler.
The Cha stele was smashed into pieces, and the soldiers rushed into the city. At the same time, some generals came back, rushed to Cui Qianyou, and reported: "Marshal, the Cha stele at the inner city gate has also been put down. The general also saw that the Tang army was in A wooden fence was erected in the city."
"Muzha?"
"yes."
The general then squatted down and drew the terrain inside Chunming Gate on the ground. There was originally a wall here, but now there is a wooden wall inside the inner wall. So, are there any traps near the wooden wall? Have to check again.
Cui Qianyou had no choice but to recruit a soldier who climbed to the top of the city to approach and ask, "What's the situation inside the city?"
"Report to the marshal that the Tang army is ready for street fighting..."
~~
Qingmen Street.
With the clatter of horse hoofs, Xue Bai, who had just led his troops to support the south gate, rushed back to the north gate and learned that the rebels had breached the outer city gate.
When he first heard about it, he thought for a moment that he might have lost the bet, or that he might have misjudged the situation, that is, he had misjudged the loyalty and bravery of the Tang army soldiers. But this hesitation lasted only a moment, and he had already considered all aspects. Think clearly and make decisions without regrets.
Not to mention that he still has confidence. At least, he has defended Chang'an City for Datang for so long. Even if he loses, the situation will not be worse than in history. He has already calmed down.
"King Peiping, Cui Qianyou's banner is outside the city!"
"Array up!"
Xue Bai stopped at Ma Chang Street, took out the wrapping cloth and wrapped it again. The wound on his hand after the callus was torn off has not healed, but has become worse and worse. Maybe he can only wait until the war is suspended for a while. There is a chance to recover.
He decided that if the rebels broke through the city gate, he would confront Cui Qianyou once and buy time for the other generals in the city to organize their forces to regain the city gate.
Presumably, this kind of hand-to-hand fighting is what Cui Qianyou has been looking forward to for a long time. After all, Fan Yang Xiaoqi's strength lies in impact fighting.
The war horse under its crotch was pawing the ground with its hooves, and two large flags were erected across the city wall. The distance was actually very close.
The halo of the setting sun shines on Xue Bai's silver helmet, dyeing it golden.
He sat astride the war horse and seemed to be asleep. After all, he was too tired during this period, and the survival of Chang'an City was on his shoulders.
Why is he responsible for it? Because as the emperor's grandson, he was granted the title of county king and has the greatest fame and power... In fact, he is not the emperor's grandson, but a lowly slave. Even if he escapes to Shu County, there will be no one at all. Blame him harshly.
In the final analysis, it was what he wanted to bear. Everything he endured was what he had been pursuing tirelessly. The Master said: "If you seek benevolence and gain it, why complain?"
Xue Bai opened his eyes, raised his weapon high, and lived and died with Chang'an.
The setting sun completely sets over the western mountains, and night falls.
"when--"
In a daze, he heard the sound of a trumpet and thought it was his imagination, so he shook his head.
~~
Yao Runeng looked back and saw a ray of sunset shining into the streets and alleys in Chang'an City, which was extremely beautiful.
He suddenly regretted it.
I regret that I should not be a writer of legends, but should learn to paint. I painted Chang'an in its heyday, because I was afraid that I would never see it again.
With tears streaming down his face, he leaned over and picked up the dropped knife.
In the last sunset, he saw Zhang Xiaojing being besieged by four rebels. He had fallen to the ground. A rebel grabbed him and raised his knife to kill Zhang Xiaojing.
"puff."
Yao Runeng bumped into him and fell to the ground. At the same time, he slashed the rebel's calf with his knife. He didn't care and stabbed him in the armor.
"stand up!"
Zhang Xiaojing shouted to Yao Runeng to get up quickly, because he saw that the rebels had already swung their swords to kill Yao Runeng.
The wind blew and the sky suddenly turned dark. Zhang Xiaojing's eyes widened, trying to see clearly what was happening in the darkness.
Gradually, as his eyes adjusted to the night, he saw that the rebel's sword was tilted and struck Yao Runeng's arm.
"when--"
It was at this time that they heard a long golden sound.
While the rebels were stunned, Zhang Xiaojing suddenly jumped up to fight, pulled Yao Runeng back, and burst out with a surprised shout.
"Hold it!"
"Did you keep it?"
Yao Runeng was surprised and turned to look outside the city, only to see the banner of the rebel coach getting further and further away.
The next moment, he asked: "Why?"
"Why? We defended Chang'an!"
"How did you do it?" Yao Runeng was very curious and murmured: "How did the King of Peking do it?"
Suddenly cheers came from the city.
"King of Peking! King of Peking..."
They turned around and saw that bonfires were lit up on Qingmen Street, and the soldiers were cheering around Xue Bai.
"Ha ha."
Zhang Xiaojing also threw down his weapons and joined their carnival.
Defending Chang'an gave Xue Bai an incomparable status in his heart.
~~
A moment before sunset, Li Cong was standing on the Calyx Xianghui Tower.
This place is not far from the city gate. For someone of his status, he has been to the front line in person, and he has indeed inspired many soldiers. But it seems to be of no help at first. The moment the sun sets, he feels that the entire country
Tangdu fell into darkness.
However, it was in the darkness that he heard the sound of the rebels withdrawing.
He didn't know the reason, but one could imagine the surprise in his heart.
He swallowed the countless "how could" and "how could" he said in his mouth. With tears in his eyes, he looked to the sky and murmured: "God bless the Tang Dynasty, God bless the Tang Dynasty."
"Your Highness, Your Highness defended the capital?!"
Although the more specific situation is not yet known, since Xue Bai said that this was the last battle to defend Chang'an, everyone believed that the rebels were about to retreat.
The officials behind Li Cong were also surprised. After exclaiming in surprise, they quickly began to sing his praises.
With his father and brother running away, he managed the country by himself, guarded Chang'an alone, and led a ragtag crowd to block the elite main force of the rebels. These merits are of course extremely high, and he really deserves it.
Listening to these words of praise, a smile of great joy appeared on Li Cong's face. He seemed to be able to imagine himself ruling the world and rebuilding the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
However, this joy was quickly interrupted by a voice.
"King of Peiping!"
"King of Peiping!"
Li Cong walked a few steps and looked east from the railing. He could see that countless soldiers on Qingmen Street had thrown away their weapons and surrounded Xue Bai, cheering with heartfelt support.
The smile on his face froze involuntarily, and he felt a chill running down his spine, as if someone was holding a dagger to his back.
From the sunset, to the enemy troops shouting gold, to the cheers of the Tang army, only a short moment passed. However, Li Cong's heart went through twists and turns from despair to surprise to fear.
A dark cloud covered the moon.
But a bonfire was lit on the long street.
To the west, Li Cong stood on a high pavilion in the palace, and to the east, Zhang Xiaojing stood at the head of the city with corpses strewn everywhere, while looking at the jubilant Chang'an soldiers and civilians illuminated by bonfires.
~~
"King of Peiping!"
"King of Peiping!"
Xue Bai was surrounded by cheers. He turned around and looked around, feeling a little confused.
He thought of that snowy day when he first came here, looking around Chang'an and wondering who he was. Now amid the cheers in the sky, he finally found the answer to this question.
It has nothing to do with the title "King of Peiping", whether it is a county king or a prince, it is not important at all. What is important is that he has established a connection with Chang'an City and the fate of the soldiers and civilians in the city. He got what he wanted.
The power will also bear the corresponding responsibilities, and he will protect it.
In the past, many ambitions were just words, but now "protecting Chang'an" has become a reality. He has become more and more aware of the meaning of life after rebirth.
It took him a short moment to digest the joy of such a victory. Xue Bai calmed down, passed Jiang Hai, and passed on the orders one after another.
"Send sentries immediately to inquire about news everywhere."
Jiang Hai was still in ecstasy. He was stunned for a moment before saluting: "Here."
"Repair the city gates and treat the wounded...Please ask Yan Xiang and General Wang Nan to take charge."
"Here."
Xue Bai waved his hand, lowered his voice and said, "I want to meet Wang Sili and Li Chengguang respectively. Go and make arrangements quickly."
Nowadays, in Chang'an City, apart from Chen Xuanli, the general of the Longwu Army, Wang Sili and Li Chengguang are the highest-ranking generals. However, because of the defeat of Tongguan, the two of them kept a low profile. They have only been defending the city as expected.
The rare opportunity to conduct a sneak attack out of the city was given to Wang, and he did not compete with Xue Bai for command.
However, the reason why Xue Bai was able to command them was not because of his higher prestige in the army. Part of the reason was that at this critical moment, Li Cong gave him the status of the emperor's grandson and the power to act on behalf of the prince.
.
While the siege of Chang'an was still pending, no one tried to break this balance. Once the rebels retreated, the situation was bound to change.
Now, it was the time when Xue Bai's prestige was at its highest, and he took this prestige with him immediately to have a good talk with Wang Sili and Li Chengguang.
~~
Dawn.
Yuan Zai climbed up to the city tower and looked eastward with his telescope. As the morning light gradually fell, he discovered that the rebels had broken out of camp.
He was a little surprised, and suddenly recalled Xue Bai's words "win everything" in his mind.
"it turns out……"
He murmured, and had to admire Xue Bai's grasp of the situation. But the sentry horse has not returned yet, and it is not clear what was discovered outside Chang'an.
Then, Yuan Zai became more and more surprised and subconsciously stretched his neck.
Because through the telescope, he saw that the rebels were not retreating eastward, but instead slowly marching southwest.
Why?
Yuan Zai thought about it and thought that there was only one explanation, that is, Huayin, Tongguan, and Shaanxi Province in the east were cut off by the Tang army at one or more places, and the Tang army was not weak, and even Cui Qianyou had to stop the attack in time. Chang'an, avoid its sharp edges.
Also, if the rebels go west, they will inevitably meet up with the troops currently in the west. In other words, Cui Qianyou sent a lot of troops westward.
From this point of view, Xue Bai's bluff plan seems to be half successful, but it is more likely that Li Heng really sent troops.
Yuan Zai's heart, which had just relaxed, suddenly became tense again. He then turned around, summoned a group of soldiers, and ordered: "Send more people to clean up the corpses in the city and find the letter I want!"
People like him never want to lag behind others in the power struggle. They must see with their own eyes what Li Heng is planning.