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Volume 5: Breaking the Formation Chapter 29: Killing the Jiao (5)

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    You are not fighting for the power of one family, you are protecting our own home!

    Zhou Xinxin¡¯s answer was so convincing that Li Kuo couldn¡¯t help but feel inspired.

    Yes, when I first heard about An Lushan¡¯s rebellion and led his troops to march north resolutely, wasn¡¯t what he did to protect the Tang Dynasty and the homeland that belonged to each of them?  This Tang Dynasty does not belong to Li Heng and his son, nor to the Li Tang court, but to each of them!

    Whether it¡¯s the prince or the street guy who sells his strength, they all have the same blue sky above their heads and the same earth under their feet.  The reason why the Tang Dynasty is the Tang Dynasty is not because of the prominent family trees of the emperors, generals and ministers, but because of the efforts and perseverance of every Tang person.  Only then did they create their own Datang!

    And now the rebels want to destroy the Tang Dynasty that countless Tang people have exchanged for their lives and blood. As a Tang person, will I really ignore this heavy responsibility on my shoulders because of personal grudges?

    I would never do that!

    Since I put on this military uniform, I have been destined to never let go of this heavy responsibility in my life.

    "Not guilty, you are right. The Tang Dynasty we protect is not the Tang Dynasty of Li Heng and his son!" Li Kuo said with a smile: "However, now the army is besieging Chang'an City, and the city's destruction is just around the corner. Even if I lead the army to attack Tongguan  , it¡¯s just the icing on the cake, not a big deal. Instead of doing this, it¡¯s better to do something that is more beneficial to the Tang Dynasty and more beneficial to our homeland!¡±

    Zhou Wuwei frowned and murmured: "Is it more beneficial to the Tang Dynasty and to our homeland?"

    "That's right!" Li Kuo nodded and said: "Now the war situation between Chang'an and Suiyang is exactly the opposite. Instead of going to Chang'an to add icing on the cake, we might as well go to Suiyang to provide help in the snow. The people in Chang'an City are common people, aren't the people in Suiyang City?  Common people? We are not guarding the country of a family, nor are we guarding only the homes of emperors and generals!"

    Why was Li Heng so anxious to regain Chang'an City?  Because Chang'an symbolizes Guo Zuo and the hope of the Tang Dynasty.  Although Suiyang's geographical location is very important, it does not have certain symbolic significance after all.  If Li Heng was asked to choose, of course he would choose to recapture Chang'an first and give the rebels a heavy psychological blow.

    So he did not hesitate to send all his troops to Chang'an, so he did not hesitate to borrow troops from the Uighurs to attack the city. This was not because he was worried about the safety of the people in Chang'an, but because he cared about his throne.

    So he would rather sacrifice hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Suiyang City to satisfy his own selfish desires.

    But Li Kuo would not do this. In his eyes, the lives of the people of Chang'an City and the people of Suiyang were equally noble, and the status of the land of Chang'an City and the land of Suiyang was equally important.

    What they protect is not the country of a single family, what they protect is the homeland that belongs to every Tang person!

    It doesn¡¯t matter whether you are high or low, this is the Tang Dynasty that belongs to everyone, this is the Tang Dynasty that belongs to Chinese culture!

    When the sun rises, it¡¯s the Tang Dynasty!

    As soon as Li Kuo's decision to march to Suiyang was proposed, he received the response and support of many Jianghuai Army officers and soldiers.

    This is not difficult to understand. Except for a few soldiers in the Tongwu Camp, most of the Jianghuai Army are natives of Jiangdu.  Now Suiyang is surrounded by rebels. Without reinforcements, the city will be defeated sooner or later.

    By then, the door to Jianghuai will be opened, and it will be the people of Jianghuai Road who will suffer.

    "Compared to Chang'an City, the people of Jiangdu City are the relatives of these Jianghuai soldiers!"

    Everyone in the world has selfish motives. If they were given a choice, they would of course choose to protect their relatives who are closer to them!

    With the full support of all the soldiers, Li Kuo further strengthened his idea. He personally wrote a letter to Guo Ziyi, declining Guo Linggong's kindness, and stated that he would march into Suiyang to relieve the siege of Suiyang.

    Soon after, Guo Ziyi wrote back to Li Kuo.  He greatly appreciated Li Kuo's righteous deeds and said that he would do his best to speak for Li Kuo in front of His Majesty the Emperor in order to eliminate the gap between the two monarchs and their ministers.

    Li Kuo laughed at Guo Ziyi's move and didn't take it seriously.

    Eliminate the estrangement?  Three feet of ice cannot be frozen in a day. How can the barriers be so easily eliminated?  Now he just hopes to put down the rebellion as soon as possible and lead his family to live a peaceful life!

    As for the so-called kindness and favor, he doesn¡¯t ask for it and doesn¡¯t care!

    After the plan was decided, Li Kuo sent someone to notify Uncle Gao Shi, saying that he would go to Jianghuai to pick up his relatives after the siege in Suiyang was relieved, so that he would not have to trouble his old man too much.

    After everything was settled, Li Kuo felt relieved.

    Suiyang, here I come!

    It was almost July and the weather was very hot.

      Only when night falls and the stars are covered, this feeling will subside slightly.

    It has been two days since Li Kuo led his army to leave Tangzhou, and now they have arrived outside Nanton City.  Since the rebels near Chang'an, Xijing, were defeated continuously under the siege of the imperial army, they are now only shrinking and entrenched in the Chang'an City area, posing no threat to Tangzhou at all.

    With no worries, Li Kuo simply transferred all 10,000 elites in the city, leaving only 5,000 rural warriors to guard the city.  In addition to the more than a thousand horse thieves gathered in Shangcai.  Now Li Kuo also has 11,000 cavalry in his hands.

    Although these cavalry are not as arrogant and powerful as Yiluohe, they are all elites carefully trained by Li Kuo. They may not be at a disadvantage when encountering ordinary rebel cavalry.

    With such a light cavalry, the small group of rebels along the way took the initiative to avoid it and did not dare to directly attack it.

    The purpose of Li Kuo's trip was very clear, which was to relieve the siege of Suiyang.  Now Suiyang City has been besieged for a long time, and every day of delay is a day of danger, so Li Kuo ordered the entire army to carry only half a month's rations, march a hundred miles a day, and only rest for three hours at night.

    Such a hasty march is extremely rare even among elite rebels.

    "Qi Lang, if we go further, we will reach Luyi!" Zhou Wuwei pointed at a small town on the map and tapped it lightly.

    Li Kuo frowned and said through the weak firelight: "I heard that Tian Chengsi has deployed heavy troops in this generation? Is there any other way to Suiyang?"

    Zhou Wuxin helplessly spread his hands and said, "If we go far, we have to go a long way. We only have half a month's worth of food with us. If we go a long way, food will be even tighter."

    Li Kuo nodded and said: "Then let's go from Luyi. I have heard that Tian Chengsi is famous, so I will take this opportunity to have a good meeting!"

    A night of silence.

    In the early morning of the next day, the morning light was just beginning to fade, and the soldiers got up to bury the pot and cook.  But half an hour later, the soldiers who had had breakfast broke out of camp and set off towards Luyi.

    Luyi is located beside the Xifei River, less than two hundred miles away from Suiyang.

    The rebel general Tian Chengsi was responsible for garrisoning the outskirts of Suiyang to prevent Tang troops from rushing to help.  However, the area outside Suiyang City is too large, and Tian Chengsi cannot control it even with three heads and six arms.  So he sent several confidants to take charge of several fortresses, and Luyi City was the key city to be defended.

    In fact, it is not necessary to pass through the city to pass through Luyi. It is more convenient to wade through the shallows downstream.

    After sending another scout to survey the surrounding terrain, Li Kuo decided to cross the river from Xifeishui.

    What surprised Li Kuo was that they were not blocked by the rebels when they crossed the river. By the time the entire army crossed the Xifei River, they did not even see the shadow of the rebels.  This result surprised Li Kuo. After all, Luyi was an important town, and the rebels would not have too few troops to defend themselves. Even if they could not compete with him in a head-on confrontation, they could still do it through roundabouts and containment.

    How could this thousands of thousands of riders galloping from the city, how could the generals not noticed?

    With the rebels¡¯ competitive nature, how could they huddle in the city and watch themselves crossing the water?

    When something unexpected happens, there must be a monster, so Li Kuo secretly became vigilant and ordered the entire army to be on guard.

    "Qi Lang, I don't think this behavior of the rebels is very strange." Zhou Wuwei held the reins with one hand and used the scabbard to push aside the branches of the shrubs above his head, while explaining: "Think about it, the main force of the rebels now is  Surrounded within ten miles outside Suiyang City, in the opinion of the rebels, if we go to rescue Suiyang, they can let us go. After all, there are more than 100,000 troops stationed outside Suiyang City, waiting to besiege the city and call for reinforcements.  And if we were not there to rescue Suiyang, there would be no need for them to attack. After all, it is not their responsibility. If they attack rashly, it would be overstepping their authority. If they win, it is easy to say, but if they lose, they will probably be taken away by us.  Luyi, by then they really won¡¯t be able to tell the story of their suffering.¡±

    Li Kuo nodded. Zhou Wuzui¡¯s analysis was very reasonable. After all, his army and horses were approaching fiercely. It was not a bad choice to hold on to the city without confirming his true purpose.

    There is no need to worry about these things at the moment. You should be more concerned about the next step.

    "But the rest of the road is not easy to walk. If you want to go to Suiyang, you must cross the Bianhuan River. This river is extremely fast and cannot be crossed by wading."

    Zhou Wuwei analyzed in a deep voice: "Either ferry, or cross on the bridge. The former is feasible, but there are too many of us and we can't find enough ferries. If something goes wrong on the way, we won't be able to form a formation to meet him.  enemy."

    "So we can only cross by stepping on the bridge?" Li Kuo frowned and asked in a deep voice.

    ps: Suiyang City, I wonder if Qilang can get there in time?
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