On the ninth day of the eleventh month in the fourteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan, who was also the military governor of Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong, mobilized his Tang army, as well as the Tongluo, Xi, Khitan, and Shiwei army, a total of two hundred and fifty thousand men. They used the excuse of 'worrying about the country' and attacking Yang Guozhong as an excuse.
An Lushan rode on the iron palanquin, his elite infantry and cavalry troops stirred up a cloud of dust for thousands of miles, their clamor shook the earth.
The people had not seen war for generations and were shocked when they heard that Fanyang was mobilized. Hebei was under An Lushan's jurisdiction. Wherever the rebels passed, the local magistrates either opened their gates to welcome the rebels, abandoned their cities, or were captured and killed by the rebels. Soon, the rebels took control of Hebei.
On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month? Emperor Xuanzong appointed the military governor of Anxi, Feng Changqing, as the military governor of Fanyang and Pinglu to defend Luoyang. He then appointed Prince Rong Li Wan as the marshal and Right Great General Go Seonji as the deputy marshal. At the same time, he sent Bi Sichen to recruit troops to defend Luoyang.
Most of the Tang elite troops had not returned. Feng Changqing and Go Seonji recruited troops in Chang 'an and Luoyang. They were all commoners who lacked battle experience and had not undergone training.
Although An Lushan's army encountered some obstacles, they still managed to enter Luoyang on the twelfth day of the twelfth month.
Feng Changqing and Go Seonji, who had retreated to Tong Pass, defended the pass and did not come out. Unfortunately, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang believed the false accusation of the eunuch in charge of supervising the army and executed Feng Changqing and Go Seonji for the crime of 'losing discipline and losing one's teacher'.
On the first day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Great Yan in Luoyang.
After killing Feng Changqing and Go Seonji, Emperor Xuanzong appointed the military governor of Longyou, Geshu Han, as the deputy marshal and ordered him to lead two hundred thousand troops to defend Tong Pass. Tong Pass was a strategic location, easy to defend and difficult to attack. After Geshu Han entered Tong Pass, he immediately fortified the city and built high walls.
In the first month of the fifteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan ordered his son An Qingxu to attack Tong Pass but was repelled by Geshu Han. The main force of An's army was blocked at Tong Pass for several months and could not advance westward.
Seeing that attacking by force was not working, An Lushan ordered Cui Qianyou to station the old, weak, and sick soldiers in Shan Commandery and hide the elite troops to lure Geshu Han into battle.
In the fifth month, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang received news that the rebel general Cui Qianyou had less than four thousand troops in Shan Commandery, and they were all weak and unprepared. He ordered Geshu Han to send troops to recover Shan Luo.
Geshu Han immediately wrote a letter to Emperor Xuanzong. "An Lushan has been using troops for a long time. Now that he's rebelling, it's impossible that he didn't make preparations. He's definitely using weak troops to lure us in. If we attack, we'll fall into his trap. Moreover, the rebel army's expedition was long and arduous, so speed was their advantage. The imperial army relied on the natural stronghold of Tong Pass to defend against them. Spring, Tong, a and a hundred, a, a, a, a, and a. a a, a, a, a. a, and a.
At the same time, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were attacking the rebel general Shi Siming in Hebei. They won several major victories and their progress was very smooth. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi thought that Tong Pass should be defended and should not be attacked. They wanted to lead the Shuo army to Fanyang and destroy the rebel's nest.
But Prime Minister Yang Guozhong suspected that Geshu Han was plotting against him. He said to Emperor Xuanzong, "If Geshu Han does not move, we will miss this opportunity."
Emperor Xuanzong believed the slanderous words and ignored Guo Ziyi and Li Zhimou. He sent messengers to urge Geshu Han to fight.
Geshu Han was forced into a corner and wept bitterly.
With Feng Changqing and Go Seonji killed as an example, Geshu Han was forced to leave Tong Pass on the fourth day of the sixth month. On the seventh, he met Cui Qianyou's troops at the West Plains of Lingbao.
Lingbao faced a mountain to the south and the Yellow River to the north. There was a seventy mile long mountain road in the middle. Cui Qianyou hid his elite troops on the mountain to the south and fought the Tang army on the eighth day.
Wang Sili led fifty thousand elite troops and Pang Zhong followed behind with a hundred thousand. Another thirty thousand were sent to the north bank of the Yellow River to assist them.
When the two armies crossed swords, the Tang army saw that the rebels were disorganized and wanted to escape. So they charged forward but were lured into a narrow road. The rebels suddenly set up an ambush and threw rocks and logs from the mountain. The Tang soldiers were crowded in the narrow road and were unable to spread out. There were many casualties.
Geshu Han hurriedly ordered the carts to charge in front, trying to open up a path. But the carts were blocked by the rebels and could not move forward. The Tang army was blinded by the smoke and thought that the rebels were hiding in the smoke. They fired arrows randomly and only realized that they had fallen into a trap when the sun set.
At this time, Cui Qianyou ordered the Tongluo Elite Cavalry to attack the back of the Tang army from the south. The Tang army was attacked from the front and back and was in a mess. Some abandoned their armor and fled into the valley. Some were squeezed into the Yellow River and drowned.
The Tang rear army saw that the front was defeated and collapsed without a fight. The Tang army on the north bank of the Yellow River saw that the situation was unfavorable and scattered. Of the two hundred thousand Tang soldiers, only about eight thousand made it back to Tong Pass.
On the ninth day, Cui Qianyou captured Tong Pass.
Geshu Han was forced by his subordinates to surrender to An Lushan.
This battle was a typical example of ambush in the history of China. Emperor Xuanzong miscalculated the situation and refused to adopt the strategy of defending the stronghold, exhausting the enemy, and waiting for an opportunity to attack. He left Tong Pass too early to counterattack. As a result, he lost both his men and his territory, which caused the war to take a turn for the worse.
Cui Qianyou hid his strength and lured the Tang army into an ambush. During the battle, he lowered his flag and tried to escape. He lured the Tang army into the ambush area and won a great victory.
Chang 'an was in chaos when they learned that Tong Pass was lost. Only one or two of the officials went to court. Emperor Xuanzong went to the House of Diligent Government and issued a decree saying that he would personally lead the army, but no one believed him.
In the end, Emperor Xuanzong escaped from Yanqiu Gate with the Imperial Concubine, her sister, the Imperial Prince, the Princess, the Imperial Concubine, Yang Guozhong, Wei Jiansu, Wei Fangjin, Chen Xuanli, and his attendants. They escaped to Shu under the protection of the Six Imperial Guards.
Then came the Mawei Inn Mutiny.
The battle of Tong Pass was the most important turning point in the An Zhi rebellion. If Tong Pass was still there, Ouyang Shuo was 90% sure that he would win the battle. If Tong Pass was lost, it would be a disaster.
…
Outside Chang 'an, Ouyang Shuo met up with Feng Qiuhuang. He heard a series of battle announcements.
"Battle announcement: A total of eight lords participated in the An-Shi rebellion, with a total of 450,000 soldiers. The Tang camp has two lords, with a total of 1.5 million soldiers. The An Lushan camp has six lords, with a total of 300,000 soldiers. "
…
"Battle announcement: Because the Tang camp is weaker than the An Lushan camp, according to the battle rules, the Tang camp will automatically receive a 50% increase in defense."
…
Because the Tang camp only had half of the An Lushan camp, the increase was very significant.
"Battle announcement: According to the results of the nobility and merit test, the Tang camp's Dissimilated Man is represented by He Yue Wuyi, Wang Jue. The An Lushan camp's Dissimilated Man is represented by Di Chen, First-class Marquis. "
…
Although Di Chen had obtained the Merit Talisman, he was still a bit away from becoming a Duke. It was unknown if Di Chen could be promoted to a Duke after the battle.
If that was the case, China would soon have a second dynasty.
Ouyang Shuo suppressed his thoughts and went to register with the quartermaster as usual. He then asked about the current progress of the battle. "May I ask, General, where are the rebels now? Is Tong Pass still there?"
"Reporting to the two sirs, Tong Pass has been lost a few days ago. The Western Capital is in chaos. The two sirs have led the army to reinforce us. It is the right time." The quartermaster's reply made Ouyang Shuo and Feng Qiuhuang's hearts sink.
Feng Qiuhuang said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Oh no, we are really going to lose to Di Chen this time. To be safe, we should quickly lead the troops into the deep mountains and wait until the battle is over. "
Hearing this, Ouyang Shuo did not say anything, but the quartermaster's expression changed drastically.
Ouyang Shuo smiled at the quartermaster and said, "General, you don't need to worry. Since we're here to help, we won't give up halfway. Help me tell the palace that this prince will enter the palace to have an audience with His Majesty."
"Yes!"
The quartermaster's expression eased up and he turned to leave.
Seeing that Feng Qiuhuang was puzzled, Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, "Let's go to the tent to discuss."
Gaia's deduction of the battle time was indeed out of Ouyang Shuo's expectation. Indeed, in history, the Tang Dynasty still managed to quell the rebellion after Chang 'an fell, but that was a matter that happened a few years later.
The biggest difference between the battle map and history was that there was a variable, the Mutant Army.
Now that the An Lushan's camp had the 300,000 Mutant Army of the [Yanhuang Alliance], would they still be devoured by the provincial governors of the Tang Dynasty like in history? Not necessarily.
Moreover, with Di Chen and the others around, the scene of An Lushan's son, An Qingxu, wanting to 'kill his father' and causing chaos in the An Lushan's camp would not happen in the battle map.
The entire battle situation was extremely disadvantageous to the Tang Dynasty's camp.
Returning to the tent, Ouyang Shuo said to Feng Qiuhuang, "Gaia will not arrange a real deadlock. It seems like we are walking on a dead end, but that is only because we have not found the key to breaking out of this predicament."
"Although that is true, the Tong Pass has already fallen, and the enemy will soon reach Chang 'an. There is not much time left for us." Feng Qiuhuang was still not optimistic.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, "There is no need to be anxious. I will go and meet the legendary Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji first. After I return, we will decide what to do."
"That is the only way."
After Feng Qiuhuang left, Ouyang Shuo then said to the accompanying military advisor, Pang Tong, "Shiyuan, we will have to rely on your intelligence to break out of this predicament."
For this battle, Ouyang Shuo did not bring Jia Xu, who he was used to using, but Pang Tong, the 'newcomer'. Naturally, he wanted to give Pang Tong a chance to display his talents and establish a foothold in the Resource Cabinet.
Ouyang Shuo was already well-versed in the way of using people.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will not let you down." Pang Tong was also a proud person. After transferring from Shu Han to Great Xia and entering the Resource Cabinet, he naturally wanted to show off.
In the Resource Cabinet, other than Zhang Liang, Jia Xu, Ju Shu, and Chen Gong were all from the same generation as him.
Before Ouyang Shuo left, Pang Tong suddenly said, "After Your Majesty enters the palace to meet Tang Xuanzong, why don't you find some time to meet the Crown Prince, Li Xiang?"
Ouyang Shuo was startled, and the corner of his mouth revealed a trace of a smile.
For Pang Tong to say such words, it proved that he had done a lot of homework in the three days of preparation for the An-Shi Rebellion. His loyalty was commendable, so how could Ouyang Shuo not feel gratified?
"I wonder if I will be able to meet the legendary Yang Guifei this time?" Looking at the tall city walls of Chang 'an, Ouyang Shuo sighed.
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