In the evening, a fast horse delivered the news of the fall of Puzhou to Chang'an. Li Mao, who had just received Tian Chenghe's order to defend Puzhou to the death, dragged the cavalry of the Shence Army, and defended the safety of Chang'an, and was still praising Tian Chenghe's loyalty with the people around him, was suddenly dumbfounded.

"Bastard thing, and said that it could be delayed for more than ten days, and the city was broken before two hours arrived, which is ridiculous. There is a set of bragging, and any big words that are not ashamed of the strong soldiers and horses in the city are all vulnerable. Li Mao was furious and tore Tian Chenghe's song to pieces.

"Your Majesty is angry, Tian Chengsi is afraid that he has done his best, and he can be regarded as a fierce general......" Huang An, the chamberlain, said in a low voice.

"Bold...... You still dare to speak to him, are you taking advantage of him? Li Mao shouted angrily.

"How dare a slave or maid, how dare a slave or a slave. The slave maid meant that Wang Yuan's 30,000 cavalry came violently, and they were coming towards the capital. Tian Chenghei couldn't stop him because the opponent was too strong. Your Majesty doesn't have to be angry about Tian Chenghe's affairs at this moment, the safety of the capital is a big matter. Huang An hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

Li Mao's heart froze, and she frowned.

"There are more than 40,000 soldiers and horses in the capital city, and they can ...... Can you break through the capital? Li Mao said this, but his tone was a little weak.

"With His Majesty in charge, the capital is naturally as stable as Mount Tai. But the slave felt that it was better not to take this risk. The slave maid is not to increase the prestige of others, the slave maid believes that the capital is the core place of my Tang Dynasty, and the safety of His Majesty is as important as Mount Tai, and it is necessary to absolutely guarantee the safety of His Majesty. If there is a slight slip-up...... That's when the sky fell. Your Majesty must not be careless. Huang An said in a low voice.

"It's also said that the safety of the capital is the top priority, even if they can't capture the capital, but if it is raging in the surrounding area, it is not a good thing. It seems that I am going to order Li Guangbi to withdraw his troops. However, Li Guangbi has now attacked Ningzhou, and now he wants to withdraw his troops, wouldn't it be a waste of his previous efforts. ”

"Your Majesty, the slaves and maids dare not say much about military affairs. But the slave always felt that it would be much more serious to let the capital go alone and let 30,000 cavalry show off their might under the capital. Moreover, if Marshal Li returns to the army, he may be able to intercept and strangle these 30,000 cavalry and destroy the main cavalry of the Shence Army, which is much more important than the gains and losses of one city and one pool. ”

"It makes sense, Huang An, you've grown recently. Have you been reading lately? ”

"Your Majesty made fun of it, what kind of truth does the slave and maid understand, the slave and maid are illiterate, they are just figuring it out by themselves. Your Majesty has to decide for himself, but don't listen to the nonsense of the slave and maid, otherwise something goes wrong, and the slave and maid can't afford to bear the crime. ”

Li Mao smiled and said, "You shrink quickly." Let me tell you the truth, I have already sent someone to deliver the message. Li Guangbi must come back to ensure the safety of the capital. I don't want these 30,000 cavalry to make trouble around Chang'an. Besides, the extent has already guessed their intentions. To the extent that they absolutely did not dare to attack the city, they wanted to cut off Li Guangbi's grain and grass. This matter is very serious, if Li Guangbi's grain and grass are broken, how can he attack Shudi? If it is delayed for a long time, it will not be pleasing to be dragged by Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses. Hey, to put it mildly, it's useless to return to the people, they were actually defeated by Wang Yuan, 100,000 cavalry, how can they fight in a battle. In the current situation, I still have to wait a little longer, and wait until there are more than 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers and horses in the south, and the number of soldiers and horses is enough to exterminate this thief. Hey, speaking of which, my strength is still limited. ”

Huang An said suddenly: "It turns out that Your Majesty and General Cheng have already made a plan, and the slave and maid are still pretending to be smart enough to say these words, which is really a superfluous move." Your Majesty Mingjian, we should gather hundreds of thousands of troops, and then push them over in one go, and even the mountains will be bulldozed for him, and Wang Yuan will not have to jump. You should be patient or patient. ”

Li Mao smiled and said: "Yes, Huang An, what you said is right, you still have to endure it." If you can't bear it, you will make a big plan. ”

Huang An said: "I don't know if Wang Yuan's guy will be unforgiving, and attack while we are not ready." ”

"Phew, what's his point? I expected that he would not dare to attack, he would have no reason to attack, that would be a blatant rebellion, and I would not dare to do so if I didn't give him a chance. Li Mao said coldly.

"But Your Majesty, Marshal Li attacked Gyeongju and Ningju. Doesn't that give him truth? ”

"What do you know, I asked Li Guangbi to attack Gyeongju and Ningzhou, but I didn't issue a holy decree to crusade against Wang Yuan. I will tell Wang Yuan that the reason why I attacked Qingzhou and Ningzhou was because Li Heng and the other rebels were hiding in the second city of Qingning, so I ordered the pursuit. What could he have to say? I made another will, added his officials, and rewarded him for driving away the Hui people, and he had nothing to say. If he acts recklessly, the whole world will think that he is a rebel, and his weakness is here, understand? ”

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has already prepared a backhand, and the slave is stupid enough to ask such a ridiculous question." Huang An exclaimed.

Li Mao smiled and said lightly: "I don't dare to say Shengming, but I don't dare to say anything about Shengjun, but I don't ask myself much worse than those Shengjun Mingjun." I also have means, but the previous me was underestimated by others and was not allowed to use it. ”

Huang Anlian claimed to be. Li Mao waved his hand and got up and walked towards the dormitory, suddenly stopped and turned his head and asked, "Where is the Lishan Palace...... Any news? ”

Huang An hurriedly said in a low voice: "Yes, the Emperor Taishang is sick, but the Imperial Doctor said...... It's okay for a while. ”

Li Mao sneered and said: "He can really hold on, it's time for him, and he still holds on to death." Huang An, you can go and take a look if you have nothing to do, and convey my greetings. In addition, the few chamberlains around him, you have found a chance to deal with me. That one is named Zhang Dequan, I heard that he had some disagreements with you before? You can get him back now. He wanted to live, so I let the people around him die one by one, to live, and to live alone, lonely, and lonely. ”

Li Mao walked away after saying that, and Huang An, who was drenched in cold sweat, stood in place in a daze.

……

Under the city of Ningzhou, the war was raging. In three days, Li Guangbi built hundreds of catapult siege vehicles and began a full-scale attack on Ningzhou.

Because of the delay and delay, and receiving the news that Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses had arrived south of Lingzhou and would arrive at Longyou Road in six or seven days, Li Guangbi was even more anxious to capture Ningzhou City, hoping to advance to Longzhou in these six or seven days, so as to block the road for the Shence army to return to Chengdu.

Therefore, when the siege began, Li Guangbi sent all his elite troops, and this recruit formed a huge siege corps and began an uninterrupted continuous onslaught on Ningzhou.

In the city, Li Mi led more than 30,000 soldiers and horses to block the attack with all his might, relying on the advantage of bows and crossbows to defend the city. From early morning to early afternoon, in just three or four hours, the two sides fought each other as many as four times. The siege soldiers and horses launched a fierce attack like a tide, and the defenders also stubbornly withstood these four sieges. The number of dead and wounded on both sides was also extremely large. The besieging side suffered more than 16,000 casualties in the siege of the city in several hours, while the defenders also suffered more than 8,000 casualties, and the ratio of casualties on the attacking and defending sides was basically about 1 to 2.

Among them, in the third and fourth sieges launched by the elite infantry led by Li Guangbi himself, the attackers all attacked the city wall. Li Guangbi almost saw the dawn of victory, but in the end, because the opponent was determined to defend the city, and the attacking recruits were really unusable, which led to the failure to take the city in one go.

In the afternoon, the scorching sun scorched the battlefield, and the temperature was frighteningly high. Li Guangbi called off the siege because he found that the soldiers and horses were exhausted and urgently needed to replenish their strength and recuperate. In addition, the catapult was badly damaged and the stones were thrown out and needed urgent repairs and replenishment. More importantly, Lee Kwang-pil needed to convene a military meeting to rebuke and punish certain men for their performance in the morning siege battle. This will be decisive for the next siege.

In the big tent, the temperature was sweltering. The smell of sour sweat was everywhere. Bursts of hot wind carried the smell of blood and corpses on the battlefield, and the people wanted to vomit. Li Guangbi sat in the center, and next to him sat Zheng Qiushan. The generals sat with their armor covered in blood, each with a water bladder in their hands, and kept drinking water. The sound of cursing and complaining is endless.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Li Guangbi maintained a neat appearance and demeanor, frowned and glanced at the group of disheveled generals in front of him.

The generals straightened their backs and quieted down. In front of Li Guangbi, no one dared to hang on to him, because they all knew that if Li Guangbi turned his face, it would be extremely ruthless.

"You have all worked hard, although the battle in the morning did not take Ningzhou, but your performance is ...... Ben Shuai is still satisfied. In the morning, we almost attacked, but unfortunately we did not succeed in the end, but from the morning's fighting, it is clear that it is only a matter of time before we take Ningzhou. Ningzhou must be ours. Li Guangbi said loudly.

The generals sighed, thinking it was a rebuke from a thunderous storm, but Li Shuai's opening words set the tone. It seems that this meeting is mainly based on encouragement and relief, and Li Shuai will not get angry.

"However......" Li Guangbi's voice sounded, and the generals were shocked. Someone secretly said in his heart: "Sure enough...... It won't be that easy. ”

"However, the performance of some generals and soldiers in this morning's siege battle is outrageous. could have taken it in one fell swoop, but because some people didn't listen to the command, were greedy for life and afraid of death, they delayed the fighter plane, resulting in a complete failure, what do you say should be done with such people? Should such a person be punished? ”

Li Guangbi's voice resounded in the big tent. The generals glanced at each other a few times, but did not dare to speak. Several generals bowed their heads weakly.

"Where is Jiang Zuguang?" Li Guangbi suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

The generals were frightened, and a bloated general hurriedly stood up and said in a panic: "Li Shuai, the last general Jiang Zuguang is here." ”

"Jiang Zuguang, are you guilty?" Li Guangbi shouted coldly.

"The last general...... I don't know what the sin is. Jiang Zuguang glanced at Zheng Qiushan, who was sitting next to Li Guangbi with his eyes closed, and replied in a low voice.

"You don't know sin? During the siege of the city in the morning, General Liu's soldiers and horses broke through the north wall of the city gate, and when hundreds of soldiers climbed the city wall, why didn't your soldiers and horses attack the surrounding city walls with all their might, give the opponent's soldiers and horses defending the city heavy pressure, and reduce the pressure on the city head? Not only did you not attack, but your soldiers and horses actually retreated, causing the soldiers and horses led by General Liu to fall short, and all the brothers in Dengcheng were slaughtered, do you dare to say that you don't know the crime? ”

"This ...... Li Shuai, the last general is according to the order of Vice Marshal Zheng before the war. Deputy Marshal Zheng said that our soldiers and horses are all new soldiers, and if you feel that the situation is not right, you can withdraw and rest and attack again. At that time, 3,000 of my men were killed and wounded, and the soldiers were very timid, and I feared a rout, so I ordered a retreat to rest. ”

"Shut up...... What do you mean...... Vice Marshal Zheng ordered you to retreat? Li Guangbi glanced at Zheng Qiushan, turned his head and shouted.

"This ......" Jiang Zuguang hesitated, not knowing how to answer. If it was an order from Vice Marshal Zheng, wouldn't it lead the fire to Vice Marshal Zheng, and if it wasn't Vice Marshal Zheng's order, then wouldn't he have to bear all the responsibility.

"Li Shuai, the old man did say something like this before the war, and the old man was worried about the morale of the recruits and avoided a large-scale rout. Li Shuai also knew that the soldiers led by the old man were all new soldiers, and he had only experienced a few battles, which was far from enough. Zheng Qiushan suddenly opened his eyes and said.

Li Guangbi turned around and said with a sneer on his face: "Vice Marshal Zheng, didn't you hear what Ben Shuai said before the battle in the morning?" Ben Shuai said that today everyone must move forward and attack with all their might, and there is no prevarication or justification. Don't you count what Ben Shuai said? You, Vice Marshal Zheng, want to disobey the orders of the marshal behind your back? ”

The air in the tent instantly cooled, and many people finally understood that Li Guangbi's purpose in convening this meeting was probably to come specifically for Vice Marshal Zheng. There was some friction between Vice Marshal Zheng and Li Shuai, and the generals in the army had already noticed it, but they didn't expect it to come so soon, and they didn't know how it would end.

"Li Shuai, where do you start? Decrepit soldiers are new recruits, you know that. The soldiers and horses in Li Shuai's hands are elite, and today's battle should be the main force of elite soldiers and horses, and my soldiers and horses can only assist on the side, and their combat power is not high, and they can't play too much of a role. In the battle in the morning, my soldiers and horses lost more than 10,000, isn't this all my strength? Coupled with the siege three days ago, the loss of my soldiers and horses has approached 20,000, what do you want me to do? Zheng Qiushan also shot back coldly.

"Your soldiers? Hehe, Vice Marshal Zheng, our soldiers and horses are all soldiers and horses of the imperial court, is it your personal private soldier? I am the commander of the army, and all the soldiers and horses are under the control of the commander, which Vice Marshal Zheng will not understand. Is Vice Marshal Zheng used to doing business in Jiangnan, and the generals and horses also look like the private property of your Zheng family, then you are wrong. ”

Li Guangbi's words were mean, and he deliberately pointed out Zheng Qiushan's background in business, saying that you, a businessman, still came to point fingers at me, which is really ridiculous. Implicit disdain.

Zheng Qiushan was annoyed in his heart, and frowned: "Li Shuai, what are you talking about?" Lao Yu is also a deputy marshal now, this is appointed by His Majesty personally, isn't Lao Yu not even qualified to say a few words? ”

Li Guangbi said coldly: "If you want to speak, wait until the war is over, you will say, on the battlefield, the commander has the final say." The commander reiterated once that all the soldiers and horses here are controlled by me, and whoever dares to disobey the commander's order is to disobey the military order. If you disobey the military order, you will be punished by military law, no matter who it is, whether it is the imperial family or the relatives, the commander will not show mercy. This is military law. On the battlefield, there are no two orders and no mercy in the law, and this is the most basic combat guarantee. This morning's fighting is bad because some people don't obey military orders. Therefore, Ben Shuai will not tolerate it. Vice Marshal Zheng, as long as you say a word, did you order your soldiers and horses to retreat at will, ignoring the commander's military orders? ”

Zheng Qiushan suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter, and today Li Guangbi's spearhead was aimed at himself, and Li Guangbi seemed to be ready to deal with himself. In the army, Li Guangbi's prestige is 100 times higher than his own, and most of the generals in the account are Li Guangbi's people, and it seems that he will suffer a big loss when he makes trouble. If Li Guangbi made a mistake and recklessly disobeyed the military order and slashed himself here, it would be really regrettable. A good man does not suffer immediate losses, and forbearance is a smart move, just like when he forbears the Cui family, it is unknown who will have the upper hand in the end, why bother to turn his face with him here.

Thinking of this, Zheng Qiushan hurriedly changed his face and said with a smile: "Li Shuai, stop your anger." As you said, the old man was born as a merchant, and he didn't have much experience in leading the army, and he didn't know much about some of the rules in the army. The old decay is here to accompany Li Shuai. However, when it comes to the fact that Lao Yu connived at his generals to ignore Li Shuai's military orders, this can be wronged by Lao Yu. The old man said that he wanted them to weigh the morale of the recruits so as not to cause a rout. But this does not conflict with Li Shuai's military orders. The old man also told them that they must act in accordance with Li Shuai's military orders, the commander in the army is Li Shuai, and Li Shuai's orders must be strictly obeyed by everyone, there is no doubt about this. ”

Li Guangbi sneered in his heart, this Zheng Qiushan is still knowledgeable about current affairs, and knows that the wind makes the rudder. In fact, Li Guangbi didn't want to do anything to Zheng Qiushan today, but he just wanted to suppress his arrogance, so that he knew that he was not a person who could be easily provoked, and his previous words were just intimidating. If he really kills Zheng Qiushan, Li Guangbi has to think about it, after all, Zheng Qiushan's current status is not something that can be killed casually. He is the ruler of the country, and he is also an important minister, and he is the source of recruitment of soldiers and horses and the supply of grain and grass in the south.

"I see, that is to say, this Jiang Zuguang is fleeing from the war privately?" Li Guangbi said coldly.

"This ...... I guess so. Zheng Qiushan said softly.

"Huh? Vice Marshal Zheng, how can you say that? Humble ...... The inferior rank is in accordance with ......," Jiang Zuguang shouted.

"Shut up, how can the old decay let you escape from the battle and not obey the order? Are you pouring cold water on the decay? Zheng Qiushan said angrily.

"I don't dare to be humble, but I ......"

"Bold Jiang Zuguang, your own business, but to push