Wang Xun was not the only one who was disappointed with the court's decision. Several other veterans of the Anxi Army who had fought under Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were also filled with indignation. On the second day after hearing that the imperial court was preparing to let the rebels evacuate Chang'an safely, the current Beiting Jiedushi Li Siye led his troops out without permission and launched a storming attack on Chang'an City.
In the past few days, the rebel generals were painstakingly thinking about how to bite Wang Xun hard before evacuating Chang'an, so their attention was naturally focused on the west of the city. Unexpectedly, a warning signal suddenly sounded in the north of the city, and Li Siye was caught off guard. In the blink of an eye, the city defense was breached in more than ten places, and more Beiting elites quickly climbed up the ladder.
The rebel coach Li Rengui was so excited that he rushed all the reserve troops to the north wall in a panic. He also issued orders to the generals to continuously mobilize troops and horses from other walls. After working very hard for a long time, they managed to take back the north wall from the hands of the Tang army. After the war, the number of people was counted, and the number was reduced by more than 3,000, not counting the more than 4,000 new casualties.
As the attacker, Li Siye¡¯s men also suffered heavy losses. However, most of the bad breath in his heart was finally dissipated. Seeing that there was no hope of destroying the city, Li Siye ordered his deputy Li Fei Yuanli to pay gold and withdraw the troops on his behalf, while he rode an old horse and went straight to apologize.
As a veteran who has been in the army for nearly forty years, Guo Ziyi certainly understands the reasons why Li Siye did such a drastic thing. Hearing that the other party came alone, he quickly stood up and walked out of the handsome tent. He grabbed Li Siye who was trying to kneel to him and said with a smile: "Guo was thinking of sending someone to kill the rebel first, so as not to They didn't know what was good or bad. They didn't expect General Li and Guo to go to the same place. This battle was well fought and timely, and it showed the majesty of the Tang Dynasty. If Li Guiren is still stubborn, we will take turns Go up there and just consume him, and you can consume him to death!"
"The general ignored military orders and went to war without authorization. Please punish Marshal Guo according to the law and set an example to others!" Guo Ziyi finished speaking, and Li Siye had time to ask for punishment himself. Of course, his voice could not be very high. In the ears of other generals, it was just a joke, and no one was willing to take it seriously.
"Hey!" Guo Ziyi shook his head repeatedly, his gray beard flying up and down, "The two armies are fighting, and the chance of victory is fleeting. If you take the initiative to go out of the camp to look for fighters and kill and injure the enemy's vitality, how can you be guilty?! Besides, you are not Didn't you send someone to notify me? Didn't you just discover the loopholes in the enemy's city defense and have you already sent someone to deliver a message to me? It's just that I have to consider the overall situation and cannot provide you with effective support in time. "
"This" Li Siye had tears in his eyes and could not say any more unnecessary words. Before going to war, he had already made up his mind. He would rather risk his life and be engaged in military law than to thank Gao Xianzhi for his kindness back then. Unexpectedly, Guo Ziyi took the risk of being impeached by the supervisory army and shouldered all responsibilities alone.
Bai Xiaode, Pugu Huaien, Wang Sili and other Hu and Han generals saw Guo Ziyi protecting his subordinates in this way, and were impressed by the latter's magnanimity. They all spoke to cover up for Li Siye. Cheng Yuanzhen, the eunuch sent by the Lingwu court to oversee the army, saw that all the generals were united and knew that even if he made trouble at this moment, he would not be able to do anything to Li Siye. I had no choice but to follow the current, took half a step forward, and said with a smile: "Earlier, our family was so anxious when we heard the war drums outside in the camp that we almost thought that Li Jiedu was about to become the first king with a different surname in the Tang Dynasty in the past thirty years. We were getting ready. Congratulations to Li Jiedu, but I didn¡¯t expect that Li Jiedu fell short in the end. But it¡¯s good, the rebels in the city at least know that we don¡¯t have to force them to evacuate voluntarily. His Majesty wants to have a good life in heaven. For my sake, I agreed to let them live! Qin Zhuangyuan, do you think this is true?!"
"Your Majesty has far-sightedness, which is beyond the reach of a small minister!" Qin Guozhen was suddenly ordered, and he quickly smiled and handed over his hand.
"Your Majesty is wise!" All the generals bowed their hands to the north.
Cheng Yuanzhen sold a favor and wanted to recover the cost immediately, "But we have to be more careful about sending people into the city to discuss with the rebels. His Majesty ascended the throne in Lingwu on July 12 last year. After taking office, the situation in the world has changed Turn the corner immediately. Now that the Holy Spirit has been in charge for a whole year, we can¡¯t spend the next Hungry Ghost Festival in a place so poor that even a bird can¡¯t even shit!¡±
Everyone had secretly guessed before that the imperial court was eager to give the rebels a way out in order to move back to Chang'an as soon as possible. Now that I heard His Majesty's confidant eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen say it himself, I felt mixed feelings. Seeing the generals' expressions changing, Cheng Yuanzhen smiled and continued to add, "Don't think our family is straightforward. We don't have enough education and don't understand so many twists and turns. I just remember a common saying, 'You can't work hard and you will be exhausted. It's all in vain. 'Don't all this world and Chang'an belong to your Majesty? Your Majesty is our employer. Of course we have no choice but to obey whatever the employer asks us to do and how to do it. Otherwise, no matter how well we do it, it will still be nothing. It¡¯s all in vain, at least it¡¯s a crime of contempt for the Holy Father, ???Can't run away! "
The words sounded like an exhortation and a threat, leaving the generals speechless. Qin Guozhen was afraid that Cheng Yuanzhen would push everyone too hard and it would be counterproductive, so he quickly smiled and said to the side: "Shuai Guo has always been mature and prudent in his work. He must have made arrangements quietly after receiving the imperial edict. Cheng Jianjun only rested in the camp for a few days. , I will surely hear a reply from the rebels soon."
"That's good, that's good. His Majesty sent the supervisory troops to Guo Shuai that day, and our family spent a lot of effort to accept the assignment. It is because we believe that with Guo Shuai's ability, no matter what your Majesty asks, Everything can be done smoothly!¡±
Guo Ziyi¡¯s ability is not only in marching and fighting, but also has her own way of dealing with eggless eunuchs like Cheng Yuanzhen. He smiled and cupped his hands, and expressed his position loudly: "Thank you, Mr. Cheng, for your trust. Guo will certainly live up to expectations! Someone, please bring the letter of persuasion to surrender written by Guo in the morning to Supervisor Cheng. After General Cheng has inspected it, , immediately send dead soldiers to Li Guiren!"
There were thousands of guards trotting, handing Cheng Yuanzhen a handwritten letter written by Guo Ziyi to the rebel general. Although Cheng Yuanzhen doesn't read many books, he has basic reading skills. Holding Guo Ziyi's letter, he read it carefully two or three times. He couldn't find anything that made him dissatisfied, so he smiled and expressed his agreement.
Guo Ziyi simply acted as a good person and asked Cheng Yuanzhen to provide guarantee to the rebels with him in the name of supervising the army. As long as they are willing to evacuate Chang'an and do not destroy the palaces and houses in the city, the Tang army will not pursue them. Let them go south or north and return to Luoyang by detour.
Cheng Yuanzhen received unexpected courtesy and was elated. After signing the letter crookedly, he put down his pen and asked hesitantly: "This, this, this is the first time our family has done this kind of thing, and we really don't have any experience. Marshal Guo, if the rebels are willing to evacuate If so, can we really guarantee not to follow and kill you? I mean, I mean, of course Cheng can trust the character of you and the generals here. But to the west, didn¡¯t that guy to the west just make those harsh words yesterday? What?!"
For someone in the city, we must go to heaven and earth to hunt him down to the end. This is what the latter said personally when the Qin brothers tested Wang Xun's attitude the day before yesterday. Not to mention that Cheng Yuanzhen dared to show off his power in front of Guo Ziyi and Li Siye, he really didn't have the guts to go to the Anxi Army and chirp. Everyone knows that Gao Lishi's adopted son Feng Bin was torn in half because he offended Wang Xun. Afterwards, both the then emperor and the founding prince pretended that nothing had happened. He didn't even bother to mention Feng Bin's name.
Supervisory troops can only be sent to those who are absolutely loyal to the Tang Dynasty. The less sure they are of their loyalty, the less likely the imperial court will send close confidants to supervise them. Even if His Majesty the Emperor has the courage to assign, no eunuch dares to bet his own head. This is the current situation of the Lingwu court, and it is not a joke. Cheng Yuanzhen knew how big his safety range was, so he would never take the initiative to touch Wang Xun's reverse scale. He only knew how to fan the flames in Guo Ziyi's ears and let the latter stand up for him. And what kind of person Guo Ziyi is, how could he be willing to be used as a gunman by a eunuch? ! Besides, he had other plans in mind, and he would not ruin his own arrangements just to please Cheng Yuanzhen.
At that moment, the old general waved his hands and said with a smile: "That's just an angry word, it can't be true. Besides, the total number of soldiers and horses in the city is no less than 60,000, which is twice as many as the Anxi Army. As long as the people inside don't take the initiative to tease the king, Xun, how could he sacrifice the lives of his brothers for nothing because of personal grudges? Don't worry, Guo has always been very accurate in judging people. Although Wang Jiedu is young and vigorous, he is by no means the kind of person who ignores the overall situation. !¡±
"Our family hopes so!" Cheng Yuanzhen shrugged, not quite trusting Guo Ziyi's judgment.
In order to let him rest at ease, Guo Ziyi thought for a while and issued a series of orders. Let the Shuofang Army of the direct line, the Beiting Army of Li Siye, the Qiuci Army of Bai Xiaode, the Hedong Army of Li Guangbi, and the 100,000 soldiers and horses borrowed by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty from the Uighurs, all move closer to the main camp. Make way for the south and east directions of the city to allow the rebels to leave safely.
At the same time, he took on the airs of a coach and made a stern statement. From now on, no one can take the initiative to attack the rebels in the city without their own orders. Until the two parties reach a final agreement, or the negotiation completely fails.
Seeing that Guo Ziyi did it so simply and thoroughly, Cheng Yuanzhen finally put his heart back in his stomach. Taking Qin Guozhen's hand, he asked him to go to the back tent with him and write a letter for him to report the details of the battlefield to the court. Qin Guozhen couldn't resist, so he had to bow his hands and say goodbye to the generals. Guo Ziyi led Li Guangbi and other generals to send the supervisory army and the imperial envoy out of the commander's tent. When the two were far away, he called a confidant with his hand, handed him the letter Cheng Yuanzhen had just signed, and whispered: "You should set off now and go into the city to write a letter to Li Guiren and Zhang Tongru on my behalf, telling them that as long as they evacuate Chang'an voluntarily, I willWithin ten days, no troops will be sent to pursue him. In addition, Wang Mingyun has said before that anyone who has a personal enmity with him will not be let go. Although I am the commander of the first army, I cannot interfere in Wang Mingyun's private affairs. Whether to leave or not, Li Guiren and Zhang Tongru must give me a clear answer within three days! "