This eastern expedition to Goguryeo was regarded by the whole country as a feast of meritorious service, and it was very likely to be the last large-scale war fought by the empire in the next few decades. Anyone who gained enough military merit in this battle could
Maintaining the power and interests of the family may even go a step further. However, if one falls behind in this battle, there will be no chance to make up for it. The family will therefore fall behind and it will be difficult to stand up again.
Under this background, it can be said that they participated enthusiastically, sending out the most outstanding children and the most elite forces in the family, trying every means to sharpen their heads and infiltrate the Eastern Expedition army, and even joined forces to squeeze out Fang Jun and his family. If it were not for the strength of various clans,
It’s because the navy is so weak that it may not even be left with the task of transporting food, fodder, ordnance by sea...
The greed of the clans for profit is not only endless, but also has no bottom line.
It is precisely because of this that almost all the nobles in the world have their own eyes and ears in the Eastern Expedition army, and can get a glimpse of the situation in the army at any time. However, since His Majesty Li Er fell from his horse and injured him, and now the army has returned to the Tang Dynasty, it is more than a thousand miles away from Guanzhong.
, but no news came back about His Majesty Li Er or even the army’s decision.
Being able to support the family business in troubled times, and survive until now when the prosperous age is beginning to show, and the country is strong, no one in the family is a fool. Having news is naturally the best, but sometimes there is no news, but it is also a different kind of news...
There is a strange atmosphere everywhere in the army, and almost every link is unusual, which inevitably makes people think.
Thinking back to the fact that His Majesty Li Er was seriously injured, and the various parties in the army were constrained by disputes, and that he had not returned to Chang'an for two months...an unbearable answer was almost ready to be revealed.
Every ups and downs and changes in the situation mean that some factions will rise and some factions will fall into the abyss. This is a good time to make a desperate move.
Sitting still means not making progress...
In the current situation, the decision is actually very simple. As long as His Majesty Li Er is here, no matter what storms and waves Guanlong stirs up, they will eventually have to die down. Everything will be subject to the will of His Majesty Li Er.
But if His Majesty Li Er is not here, it will be a completely different matter.
As long as the Guanlong army captures Taiji Palace and deposes the prince, then no matter who is supported as the crown prince, it can become an established fact. Naturally, those loyal to the East Palace will continue to resist, but by that time, the various clans in Hedong and Hexi will become the decisive force
, who they support can determine the final outcome.
If they support the annexation of the East Palace, they will fight against Guanlong, and the world will immediately fall into fragmentation, and a mighty civil war is inevitable.
If they support Guanlong, they can easily crush the Eastern Palace annex and settle the overall situation in one fell swoop. Even if the Eastern Expedition army returns to Guanzhong, it will be of no avail. Without the prestige of His Majesty Li Er to overwhelm the heroes, the Eastern Expedition army will fall into division and fighting.
Every family has a sharp eye, how can they not know how to make a decision in such a situation? Naturally, they tend to lean towards the stronger side, determine the overall situation in one fell swoop, and then reward and share the benefits based on their merits.
As a result, all the families in Hedong and Hexi gathered their wealth, and countless troops braved the wind and snow to gather towards Guanzhong.
The Sixth Army of the East Palace and half of the Youtun Guards are like a lone boat in the stormy waves, with the possibility of overturning and perishing at any time...
*****
There are ten gates in total on the east, west, south and north sides of Taiji Palace. Among them, there are three gates in the south, Chengtian Gate in the middle, Yongan Gate on the left and Changle Gate on the right; there are two gates in the west and north respectively.
, to the west is Jiayou Gate and Tongming Gate, which are also the east gates of Yeting Palace; to the north are Xuanwu Gate and Anli Gate; to the east is only one gate leading to the East Palace, named Tongxun Gate, which is the west gate of the East Palace.
There are four gates in the north and south of the East Palace. The two gates in the south are Guangyun Gate, Chongming Gate and Yongchun Gate; the gate in the north is called Xuande Gate.
Because the palace maids lived in the palace, it only opened the east and west gates, not the north and south gates. The west gate was only called the west gate and had no name...
Chengtianmen is not only the symbol of Taiji Palace, but also the most important place. Donggong Sixth Army and the Guanlong Army gathered heavy troops to attack each other. The sky was dark and the ground was dark for a while. Corpses were everywhere on the city and below. It was extremely tragic.
As the reinforcements continued to enter Chang'an City, the strength of the rebels was greatly improved, and they were able to take turns to attack. They gradually suppressed the Sixth Army of the East Palace and made them miserable. The situation at Chengtian Gate, Yong'an Gate and other places was critical.
However, the first one to be breached by the rebels was the Jiayou Gate located between Yeting Palace and Taiji Palace...
"kill!"
In the snowy sky, Qin Huaidao, wearing a helmet and armor, rushed toward the rebels who had just climbed to the top of the city with a horizontal knife. Using the momentum of the forward charge, he hit the rebel's shoulder blade with one knife, almost cutting him into two pieces, and then kicked him
Kick down the city wall.
The soldiers on the left and right also fought hard to kill the enemy, and they fought in a melee with the rebels who had climbed to the top of the city. Blood spurted out and screamed repeatedly. Many rebels were killed on the spot, and there were many casualties on their own side. The rebels' attack on the city was thwarted.
However, dozens of ladders were set up at the top of the city, and countless rebels climbed up to the top of the city. Facing the brave Liu Lian soldiers, they resisted desperately in order to give their companions time to climb to the top of the city. The number of rebels was too many, and Qin Huaidao could not do anything.
He rushed left and right and killed more than ten rebels, but still the rebels gradually swarmed to the top of the city.
Qin Huaidao's eyes were about to burst. He chopped down a rebel with a knife, gathered his soldiers on the left and right, and shouted: "The rebels are plotting rebellion. As the sixth commander of the East Palace, we shall defend His Highness until we die! You all, fight to the death today, follow me."
I will kill the enemy!"
After guarding the imperial city for more than two months, and countless soldiers died in battle, how could they allow the rebels to break into the city from the area they were guarding?
Even if he dies, he must die on the Jiayou Gate!
The soldiers on the left and right faced the swarming rebels. Although they were all defeated, they showed no fear. They roared and shouted in unison: "Here!"
The momentum was so strong that all the rebels in front of them changed their colors. Although there were many in number, they only continued to spread towards the city wall and did not dare to attack head-on.
Qin Huaidao was about to lead his soldiers to fight to the death. Suddenly, soldiers behind him ran up to the city and shouted: "With the commander's order, we can withdraw!"
Qin Huaidao just didn't dare to disobey the military order, but when he saw the rebels breaking through the city from Jiayou Gate, he felt really unwilling to accept it. He spat hard, cursed with red eyes: "Mother!" Then he quickly gathered his soldiers and withdrew from Jiayou.
Youmen, retreat towards Shujing Hall and Anren Hall behind you.
The outer defense line of Miyagi Castle has since been lost.
…
Li Jing stood on the Jiade Gate, holding the hilt of the horizontal knife on his waist, with bulging veins on the back of his hand. With a pair of tiger eyes, he watched countless rebel soldiers pouring in from Chengtian Gate like a tide.
Chaos, clenching teeth tightly. Even if the strategy of luring the enemy deeper and gradually resisting was decided, the fall of Chengtianmen meant that this palace, which symbolized the supreme power of the imperial power, was about to fall into the flames of war. Such a failure was the result of figures like Li Jing.
It is absolutely impossible to accept it calmly.
In his wasted but meritorious career, it was an inescapable shame.
Taking a deep breath, Li Jing immediately ordered the six troops to retreat back and enter the palace city. They should follow the pre-planned strategy step by step and hold on to fight. The purpose of retreating to the palace city before was to gather troops and fight the enemy decisively, risking their lives and retreating for His Royal Highness.
Hexi is buying time and retreating to the palace city now in order to deal with the enemy and wait for Fang Jun's army to break into Chang'an City, so that they can cooperate with the outside to defend the palace city, and even turn against the enemy and defeat the rebels.
Different purposes lead to different strategies.
In a decisive battle with the enemy, you don't care about casualties. You just want to break the enemy's momentum and block his vigor. When dealing with the enemy, you must stick to the Tai Chi Palace while preserving your own strength and drag the enemy into a bitter battle. The former is tragic and the whole army is wiped out at every turn.
But all it takes is a burst of bloody courage; the latter is wretched, but requires more subtle arrangements and command, doubling the difficulty.
Fortunately, Li Jing had been proficient in the art of war throughout his life, and had gone through numerous battles in the south and north, so he was able to cope with the current situation. However, his military strength was at an absolute disadvantage, and it was not possible to reverse the situation and win by manpower.
Immediately, Li Jing sat under Jiade's gate, dispatched troops and generals, and strategized.
The Sixth Army of the East Palace kept retreating from the outermost palace wall into the palace, but because they had already made arrangements, they retreated without chaos. Although the Guanlong rebels were able to occupy the front line of the palace wall and disintegrate the defense of the Sixth Army of the East Palace, they were unable to take advantage of the victory and pursue the expansion.
The results of the battle can only be eaten away bit by bit into the palace following the leadership of Dong Gong Liu.
And because when we captured the imperial city before, we encountered gunpowder planted by the defenders and were bombed, causing countless losses and low morale. We didn’t dare to follow too closely at this moment. Every time we attacked a palace in the East Palace that had been vacated by the Sixth Army, we had to be careful and careful.
After checking and confirming that no gunpowder was buried, they dared to move in. In addition, the Donggong Sixth Army did not retreat blindly. The tactics of resisting every step of the way led to the extremely slow advancement of the Guanlong army.
Outside the city, the news that Fang Jun commanded an army to storm Chang'an spread to Yanshoufang like a stream, and the situation became increasingly tense and suffocating. Faced with the slow-moving battle for the palace, everyone in Guanlong was on fire and anxious.