Chapter 14 Those who strangle the customs win the world

It is said that Li Tangdong was left behind by Liu Yunzhang to comply with public opinion, gave up the order of Li Jun, Emperor Xizong of Tang, asked him to defend Luoyang, and resolutely led the army and civilians of Luoyang to obey Daqi. Huang Chao retained Liu Yunzhang to serve in the Daqi Dynasty. Liu Yunzhang refused to resign and went back to his hometown Mingzhou.

After Huang Chao led a large army into Luoyang, he took a series of powerful measures to fight local tycoons, divide fields, and implement a policy of equalizing wealth in Luoyang, which quickly stabilized people's hearts.

After the consolidation of Luoyang, Huang Chao ordered that the generals of Daqi rest from fighting in Luoyang, eat well, sleep well, rectify weapons, and prepare for the next round of greater revolutionary storm.

Lu Qi, Wen Ying, Huang Hao, Huang Xiong, Huang Ying, Wang Ying and Wang Yan gathered together with Huang Chao, Cao Min and Sun Mei. Sun Mei stroked the faces of Huang Ying and Huang Yan, and said excitedly, "Son, we are finally living together. Mom is so happy!"

Wang Ying nodded sensiblely: "Mom, last time Yanmei and I were in Qilu, we had a fight with Lu Qi, Wen Ying, Huang Hao, Huang Xiong, Huang Ying and Tang Jun, and we won a complete victory, hehe!"

Wang Yan said crisply, "Mom, my martial arts have made great progress recently!"

Sun Mei asked, "Who guided you?"

Wang Yan tilted her neck and said mischievously, "It was Lu Qi, Wen Ying and several other brothers and sisters, especially Wen Ying, who taught me swordsmanship, hehe!"

Lu Qi walked to Sun Mei and shouted, "Dir-in-law, when we enter Chang'an, Sister Ying and I will get married. You have to do it for us!"

Sun Mei nodded and said happily, "Xiao Lu, don't worry, at that time, Brother Huang will personally host the wedding for you two!"

At this time, Luoyang City was full of laughter. The poor people in the past turned over and became masters, while the princes and rich people became street rats, and everyone shouted to beat them. On the eve of the birth of the Great Qi Dynasty, its idea of peace was actively supported by the people.

Contrary to the booming situation of the Huang Chao Uprising Army, the Li Tang court has become a mess. Li Yan heard that Luoyang, the eastern capital, was lost and no longer had the intention to play. Instead, he went to govern every day.

Li Jun scolded Liu Yunzhang on the Xuanzheng Hall: "Liu Yunzhang, you old man, I treat you well, but you have lived up to my trust and gave Dongdu Luoyang to the Huangchao thief, which made me angry!"

All the Wenwu in the hall bowed their heads and said nothing, thinking about their own thoughts. Most civil and military officials are thinking about their own safety and where to escape. Because they know in their hearts that the next offensive target of Huang Chao's army must be Chang'an, and Chang'an will definitely lose. So, after the loss of Beijing, where should my family and I go to settle down?

Only a few Li Tang Wenwu considered fighting with the Huang Chao army to prevent the rebels from attacking Chang'an.

Li Yan asked, "All Aiqing, Huang Chao's thieves are now stationed in Luoyang and will soon attack Tongguan in the west. What do you think you should do?"

Dou Luyu came out of duty and said, "Your Majesty, the Huangchao thief is fierce, and the soldiers are strong and strong. Although there were many troops in the Tang Dynasty, one was scattered all over the country, and the other was that many square towns were disobedient. Like Gao Qian, he is obviously inaction. If Gao Yu contributed, the yellow nest thief would not easily cross the Yangtze River and enter Luoyang. Now the old minister said that it was too late. Alas, it's really sad that the Tang Dynasty has done what it is today!"

Li Yan suddenly slapped the imperial case and shouted, "The Tang Dynasty is in danger. Hasn't there been no general to stand up and serve the country?"

Yu Cong said, "Your Majesty doesn't know anything. Not long ago, you sent Zhang Chengfan, Wang Shihui and Zhao Ke to order 50,000 soldiers to Tongguan to assist Qi Ke to guard the customs. Alas, many soldiers heard that they went to Tongguan to fight against Huangchao thieves and pirates, and suddenly ran away many people. Only Wang Shihui led thousands of people to Tongguan. Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke are still conscription!"

"Zhang Chengfan, Zhao Ke, bastards! Haven't you gone on an expedition yet? I'm going to put them in prison!" Li Yan was furious.

Tian Lingzi said, "Your Majesty is angry. The old slave will go to the barracks now and urge Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke to handle the recruitment!"

Li Jun's expression softened a little and pretended to be calm and said, "Tian Aiqing, this time I'm going to use the left and right Shence Army, so you can take charge of the expedition!"

Tian Lingzi was shocked when he heard this, but the more powerful and powerful people are, the more afraid they are to go to the front line. Tian Lingzi rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that the old slave is afraid of going to the front line. It's only the yellow nest thief, and the old slave doesn't pay attention to it at all. What the old slave has to do now is to protect His Majesty's personal safety, coordinate and manage the Beijing army, and urge the nearby towns to rise up against thieves! If the old slave does not go to the front line, it does not mean that the old slave does not resist the thief!"

What an old traitor and slippery Tian Lingzi, in order to save his life, came to the ground. His high-sounding words were eye-catching. Which of the literary and martial arts in the hall dared to refute Tian Lingzi's shameless reverence.

Li Yan felt very deaf and announced his holy order: "I appointed Tian Lingzi as the capital of Ru, Luo, Jin, Jiang, Tong, Hua and other states, and led the left and right Shence armies to fight against Huang Chao in the east. The specific military affairs will be handled by Tian Lingzi!"

Tian Lingzi knelt down and kowtowed his head: "Thank you, Lord Longen. In order to defend the natural danger of Tongguan, the old minister has a plan to open the royal treasury, give gold, silver and brocade clothes to the generals, and add the meritorious personnel among the expedition generals to the rank of Jin, he will definitely make the Tang soldiers with their lives and calm down the yellow nest thieves as soon as possible!"

Tian Lingzi was really fierce this time, at the cost of pouring everything in Chang'an City and fighting with the Huang Chao army!

"Are you going to open the imperial library? Give royal money to the generals? Then it's all moved out. What do the royal personnel need? Li Yan looked suspicious and had a painful expression.

"Your Majesty, after defeating the Huangchao Thieves, the world is Your Majesty's, which is inexhaustible and inexhaustible. Your Majesty did this, showing the vastness of the emperor and the style of the Tang Dynasty!" Tian Lingzi quickly explained.

"Well, that's it. As long as you keep Tongguan, you will move out Chang'an City, and I agree!" Li Jun burst into tears as he spoke.

These tears are tears of regret for the loser.

As the saying goes, under the reward, there must be a brave man. Tian Lingzi ordered Sergeant Shence to open the imperial library and reward the soldiers. The news quickly spread all over Chang'an City. This move really worked. Some children of poor families came to sign up for the army in order to make a living. In this way, under the guidance of Tian Lingzi, Zhang Chengfan, Zhao Ke and other generals put together and gathered a team of more than 20,000 people.

Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke led the Shence Army to set out from the capital. The soldiers of the Shence Army were all children of a rich family in Chang'an. They bribed eunuchs and were named for military status to obtain a generous gift. However, these people usually wore gorgeous clothes and rode fast horses. With the power of eunuchs, they were arrogant, but they have never participated in the battle. Now they have heard that To go to the front line, father and son get together and hold their heads and cry. Many people use gold and silk to hire poor people living in sick workshops to act on their behalf. These people often can't operate weapons.

Li Tang's expedition was about to set off. On this day, Tang Xizong boarded Zhang Xinmen and saw the departure of the Eastern Expeditionary Army from the city tower. Zhang Chengfan said to Tang Xizong: "I heard that Huang Chao had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and drums rushed westward. Qi Ke let more than 10,000 hungry soldiers in Tongguan. Reject the enemy. Today, Your Majesty sent me to station more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in Tongguan, and I didn't hear the discussion of allocating food and salaries for us. It really chilled me to let us resist the strong enemy. I hope your majesty can mobilized all the elite soldiers for our support as soon as possible.

Li Yan replied, "General Zhang, you take a step ahead, and then the reinforcements will come!"

Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke had no choice but to lead their troops to Tongguan and walk to Huazhou. When Pei Qianyu, the assassin of Huazhou, moved to Xuanxi's observation envoy, all the soldiers and civilians fled into Huashan. The city was empty, and there were only dust rats left in the state treasury. Fortunately, there were still thousands of meters in the granary. Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke asked the sergeants to bring all the Chen Mi in the granary. In fact, there were only about three days of rations.

Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke led their troops to Tongguan, joined the garrison of Qi Kerang and Wang Shihui, and found more than 100 villagers in Qingcaomao*, and asked them to draw water for the service and prepare to defend the city. At this time, Zhang Chengfanjun and Qi Ke had been out of food, and none of the soldiers had the will to fight.

There are 999 bends in the Yellow River in the world. On the map of China, you can see the only bend of the Yellow River that is less than 90 degrees at a glance, that is, Tongguan, which is famous for being the world's majestic pass. Shuijing Note: "The river flows south of the customs, because it is called Tongguan." It was built in the first year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (196). Tongguan is located at the eastern end of Chang'an, Qinling in the south, Hangu in the north, and Gonghua Mountain in the west. It is the east gate of Guanzhong. It is located at the ferry of the Yellow River, which is the key to the post road from Chang'an to Luoyang. It is the key to enter and exit the Three Qin. Therefore, it has become the only place to enter the Central Plains and the west of the Guanzhong and the Western Regions since the end of the Han Dynasty. It has always been a must-have place for soldiers. It is known as "the first danger in the country", "the throat of the four towns" and "one hundred and two gates" The reputation.

The natural scenery in Tongguan area is very beautiful and touching. The mountains and rivers in the territory are picturesque, and there are four visions. "The three peaks of Huayue stand on the threshold, and the Yellow River is nine curved." Scorpion Mountain, Phoenix, Kirin, Yintai and pen racks in the five mountains of the city, pavilions and pavilions are built according to the mountains; the three cities in the east, west and north are towering and towering; the water gate towers in the south and north are facing each other; the water passes through the city into the yellow; the huge waves of the north of the city is surrounded by the Yellow River. The truth is: the mountain starts from the ground, and people are in the picture! Moke, a coquettish man running on Chang'an Road, passed through Tongguan, and sighed and chanted.

After completing the adaptation and rest in Luoyang, the Huangchao Uprising Army began a new round of military operations. One day, Huang Chao held a military meeting in Luoyang. Daqi Wenwu gathered together to discuss the great plan of the Western Expedition to Chang'an.

Huang Chao said: "At present, the army is getting stronger and stronger, but living in Luoyang is not a long-term solution. At present, Lu Jingren is responsible for the confrontation with the Tang army in Lingnan; the Jiangnan base is guarded by Fang Te and Ma Xiang of Yue Lingfei's department of the fourth village. After taking down Tongguan, I will let Lingfei lead the main force of Daqi's fourth village to develop in the south of the Yangtze River; in western Zhejiang, Liu Ying and Ye Xiang guard the base area; Caozhou, Puzhou and Yunzhou in the area of Qilu are by Zhang Si Tai and Li Chengyou led the troops to guard. Next, we are going to attack Tongguan. Let's discuss it!"

Chai Cun said, "Tongguan is dangerous. According to the east, you can attack the west. According to the west, you can sweep the east. If you rely on the south, you can control the north, and the north can be in the south. There are all dangerous. The ancients once sighed, 'The road on earth is dangerous!' This time Daqi attacked Tongguan, Li Tang would definitely defend it with a risk! But to enter Chang'an, we must take down the Tongguan!"

Daqi Wenwu began to discuss the strategy of attacking Tongguan, and the government office became lively. But it has been discussed for a long time, because they play differently and can't unify their opinions for a while.

Huang Chao pressed down second-hand and shouted, "Brothers and sisters, be quiet, so that you can calm down and come up with a good way!"

The venue suddenly became quiet.

Fei Chuangu stood up and said confidently, "I have thought about it again and again. There is a Qinling barrier in the south of Tongguan, a barrier in the Yellow River in the north, and a natural defense line of crossing things such as forbidden ditches, Yuanwanggou and Manluochuan in the east. It is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. But Xiongguan is dead and people are alive. At present, our army quickly killed Tongguan while Li Tang's army had not yet gathered near Tongguan. As soon as Luoyang was defeated, I sent a detective horse to Tongguan to detect the enemy situation. Yesterday, I came back to tell him that there were only more than 10,000 people in the Tongguan garrison of Qi Kerang and Wang Shihui. In addition to the 20,000 or 30,000 reinforcements of Zhang Chengfan and Zhao Ke, the garrison of Tongguan Li Tang is currently less than 50,000. At least half of these guards are forcibly enlisted, and these recruits* will not fight at all. In this way, our army will go straight to Tongguan with lightning action. As long as thousands of Tang troops are eliminated, the remaining Tang army will have no fighting spirit. If they don't escape or surrender, Tongguan can go down!"

Chai Cun nodded and praised: "Mr. Fei expected the enemy first, and Chai Cun admired it! Don't miss the opportunity. The time will never come again. If you want to seize Tongguan, you must first take Guazhou. Brother Huang, send troops!"

After listening to the words of Fei Chuangu and Chai Cun, they were quite convinced, so they no longer argued about the tactics of attacking Tongguan.

Huang Chao's eyes were like a torch and ordered: "Now I have issued a combat order. Meng Kai's and Cao Min's headquarters in the first village and Cao Min's headquarters in the second village acted together with the Chinese army to prepare for the attack Tongguan; Huang Siye's third village attacked Shanzhou and opened the channel for the army's westward advance; Yue Lingfei's fourth village attacked Gozhou and swept the periphery of Tongguan; the fifth village Gai Hong's troops garrisoned in Luoyang to prevent the Central Plains Tang army from attacking the side of our army. Daqi's soldiers and horses in Lingnan, Jiangnan, Zhejiang and Fujian, Qilu, Central Plains and other places should constantly attack and harass the Tang army, so that the Tang army cannot quickly gather troops near Chang'an and Luoyang!"

Daqi and the congregation Wenwu shouted: "Take down Tongguan and kill Chang'an!"

Huang Chao shouted, "Start taking action!"

The brave and fearless generals began an exciting Western expedition under the correct command of Huang Chao, Sun Mei, Chai Cun and Shang Rang. This Western expedition will end Li Tang's more than 200 years of rule in Chang'an!

Huang Siye's third village of Daqi launched a fierce attack on Shanzhou with a rapid action. In just one day, it occupied Shaanxi Prefecture; Yue Lingfei's fourth village of Daqi led its troops to march and attacked Guzhou at night. Li Tang's ghou garrison could not resist it, and most of them surrendered. Daqi included Guzhou in its territory.

Huang Chao was overjoyed when he heard the news and said, "Siye and Lingfei made extraordinary actions. In just a few days, they captured Shaanxi and Gozhou in one fell swoop and opened the door to Tongguan. Congratulations!"

Chai Cun laughed and said, "The good play has just begun, and the highlight is in the back. Brother Huang, I dare to bet that after taking down Tongguan, the Tang army will be brave, and Li Tang must have a lot of Fang Zhenjiedu envoys to return to Daqi!"

"At that time, the whole China will be ours. Brother Huang will be the emperor, and we will be the officials of the Qi Dynasty!" Sun Mei said excitedly, with the joy of victory on her face.

Huang Chao nodded and said to the generals, "Now deploy to attack Tongguan!" The oath meeting will be held in Gozhou tomorrow!"

The next morning, on the school grounds in Quzhou, the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army were energetic and energetic. Huang Chao stood on the platform and said generously: "Daqi soldiers, after years of bloody struggle, we have finally killed near Chang'an. Do you have confidence that the Chinese army, the first village and the second village soldiers and horses of Daqi formed the Western Expeditionary Army to attack Tongguan this time?

The generals of Daqi shouted:

"Resolutely take down Tongguan and kill Chang'an!"

"Eat Li Yan!"

"The sky is equal, and the big Qi will win!"

......

Huang Chao turned over and jumped on the yellow horse. The yellow horse turned over its hoofs and brightened its palms, leading its neck and hiss. Huang Chao shouted, "Dai warriors, go on an expedition! Target Tongguan!"

After the Western Expeditionary Army left Guizhou, they marched towards Tongguan!

Along the way, the Western Expeditionary force of Daqi advanced neatly and calmly. The road from Guzhou to Tongguan is indeed extremely steep, but when you see the deep cliffs and the sheep intestine path in the middle, you can only take one car and one ride. During the walk, you can overlook the Yellow River, which is extremely dangerous.

Soon, Meng Kai's department, the first village of Daqi, arrived at the city of Tongguan, and the banners of the rebels were all over the mountains and fields, endless. Zhang Chengfan and Qi Ke asked Wang Shihui and Zhao Ke to lead the army to fight, but they were repulsed by Meng Kai's troops. Wang Shihui and Zhao Ke led their troops back into the customs.

After Huang Chao led the army to arrive, Meng Kai told Huang Chao about the war situation. Huang Chao listened and decided to launch a general attack on Tongguan.

Under the order of Huang Chao, the Western Expeditionary of Qi shouted loudly and shocked the Yellow River and Huashan. Zhang Chengfan and Qi Ke ordered the Tang army to resist as hard as they can. The second Qi and Tang army stopped fighting until noon.

At this time, the Tang soldiers who guarded the customs were extremely hungry, so they shouted loudly and burned the camp and dispersed. Qi Ke was shocked and had to restrain his troops to defend Tongguan. There is a valley on the edge of Tongguan, which is usually forbidden for people to travel in the valley in order to urge commercial taxes. People call this valley a "forbidden pit". Huang Chao's army came in a hurry, and the officers and soldiers were caught off guard. The soldiers collapsed from the valley and entered the forbidden pit. The shrubs and vines inside were as thick as spider webs, and they stepped on a flat road overnight.

Zhang Chengfan distributed all the heavy and private bags to the soldiers and sent people to the court to complain about the emergency, saying: I led the army to leave Beijing for six days, and no soldiers were added, and the military pay was not even seen. On the day of Tongguan, the Huangchao giant bandits had come to shut down. I resisted 600,000 enemies with more than 20,000 people. Qi Ke outside the customs let the army disperse because of hunger and stepped on the forbidden pit. If I lose Tongguan, I will be willing to punish the punishment of throwing myself into the oil pan; but where is the shame of the prime minister of the court? I heard that your majesty has talked about going west to Shu, and if your majesty's golden sedan chair moves, I'm afraid that the generals of the court will collapse. Before I die in the war, I dare to say a few words boldly with my body that still exists for a moment. I hope that Your Majesty and close eunuchs and prime ministers will think carefully and urgently recruit troops to rescue the defense of Tongguan. If Tongguan can be guarded, the foundation founded by our Tang Dynasty Gaozu and Taizong may still be supported, so that the footsteps of Huang Chaobu Anlu Mountain will be destroyed. And Weichen, I was better than Brother Shuhan when I died in the war!

Zhang Chengfan's memorial is really a little "the wind is bleak and the water is cold". Unfortunately, at this time, Li Tang, at sunset, Xishan, even if Zhang Chengfan dares to fight, there are not many Li Tang soldiers to support him.

After all, whether the Western Expeditionary Force can capture Tongguan, let's see the next chapter.