In the evening, more than two hundred cavalrymen arrived at an abandoned village on the south bank of the Xijing River.

The leading general got off his horse and cursed.

"Eating dog intestines, if I get hold of Gao Hui, I will trample him into mud with horse hooves."

This is Guo Xi, Guo Ziyi’s third son.

Not long ago, due to Gao Hui's leak of military information, the Tang army was defeated by Tubo. Chaos occurred in the Qinlong defense line, causing Dazalu Gong to lead a troop into Guanzhong.

Because of this incident, there was a lot of criticism of Guo Ziyi in the army. Guo Xi could not accept those words, thinking that Gao Hui was not an old general of the Guo family, and was already a general in Jingzhou before Guo Ziyi guarded Qinlong, and had even secretly communicated with Tubo.

, how can you blame Guo Ziyi?

But regardless of these reasons in the army, victory is victory and defeat is defeat. The only way to wash away the shame is to defeat the Tibetan army.

Now Guo Ziyi is still reorganizing the defeated troops, and is worried about Dazalu Gong's advance. At the same time, he dispatches a small group of troops to find the route of his main attack, and tries his best to intercept the Tibetan army.

Guo Xi learned that Gao Hui had explored Pingliang and deployed troops in Pizhou area, so he pursued him all the way here.

He was also anxious, so he abandoned his infantry and baggage and only led his elite cavalry on the road.

He scolded him until his mouth was dry. He sat down in a dilapidated house in the village, picked up the water bag and took a sip before Tan Ma hurried back happily.

"General, we found traces of a large group of troops marching over there."

"Come and see with me!"

Guo Xi put down his water bag and strode towards the Xijing River. He stood on the bank and looked at the other side with a telescope. Sure enough, he saw a lot of footprints and feces.

He put down the telescope and wanted to cross the river to take a look, but he couldn't do it for a while, so he asked Tan Ma, "Did you touch it? Is it hot?"

"Touched, it's cold."

"How hard? How dry?"

"It's a bit runny inside after crushing it. It must have been two days old."

"Chase."

Guo Xi immediately issued the order.

The horses in his army have been running all day, and they cannot run at night and can only move slowly. If Dazhalu Gong is rushing towards Chang'an, it is obvious that he cannot stop him.

So, he quickly sent two groups of sentry horses to deliver the news to Guo Ziyi and Chang'an respectively.

In fact, it is not certain whether Dazhalu Gong took this route. News like this was sent to the Chinese army from all directions, which often confused the commander. All Guo Xi could do was report it truthfully and test Guo Ziyi's judgment.

The team marched all night.

Although Guo Xi was lax in running the army and often indulged his soldiers in looting, he still had a good reputation among the soldiers and could lead the troops at critical moments.

As they marched, they were getting closer to the Tibetan army, but their physical strength was gradually exhausted, and the rations they carried were exhausted. They were getting further and further away from the infantry and baggage behind. Even if they caught up with the Tibetan army, they were unable to fight.

war.

On the next day, he encountered a troop of troops ahead, but Guo Xi did not dare to approach. He was also worried that the enemy would find him. This was indeed Ye Gong's love for dragons.

"Quiet the flags, silence the drums, and wait for the scouting horses to go to a higher place to see which group of people they are."

"General, the other party's cavalry has arrived."

"Mom." Guo Xi ordered: "Go to the hillside and occupy a high place."

After a while, the other party's cavalry came over, but Bai Xiaode was in front, inviting Guo Xi to join forces.

"To say we are joining forces is just to make me listen to him."

Normally, Guo Xi would have ignored Bai Xiaode. Now he was eager to win, so he passed on.

When the two met, Bai Xiaode asked Guo Xi to listen to his instructions. Guo Xi did not say anything and only asked Bai Xiaode to provide food and grass.

That night, while chewing dried meat, Guo Xi said, "I just can't understand why Da Zha Lu Gong is going to kill Chang'an like this. Aren't you afraid that my grandfather will cut off his escape?"

"You really can't figure it out?" Bai Xiaode asked, his eyes seemed to have deep meaning.

"Otherwise?" Guo Xi said, "What do you mean by this? I have figured it out, why don't I tell you?"

"Yesterday, I received an imperial edict, which may be able to clear up your doubts."

"What imperial edict?"

Bai Xiaode glanced at the tent casually. Everyone inside and outside the tent was already his people. As for Guo Xi's men, they were so tired that they rested after eating dry food.

Only then did he take out an imperial edict.

Guo Xi took it and unfolded it. His eyes widened in surprise and he was speechless for a long time.

The content of the imperial edict was not simple. First, it was said that the emperor had died, but now the country was in turmoil and the prince was away. The emperor was worried that there would be unruly ministers who would subvert the country, so he kept the funeral secret for the time being and summoned Xin Jinggao, Li Guochen, Bai Yuanguang and other generals back to the capital. Debriefing. The remaining generals in the northwest are guarding the city and are not allowed to leave without permission.

As for the Tubo army, the decree stated that Da Zha Lugong had submitted his surrender and requested to go to Chang'an to worship, and the officers and soldiers were not allowed to stop him. Then, the Supreme Emperor also awarded Guo Ziyi, Pugu Huaien and other generals...

"how?"

Seeing Guo Xi holding the imperial edict in a daze, Bai Xiaode asked, "What do you think of this edict?"

"I don't understand." Guo Xi said, "Did Zhalu Gong go to Chang'an to pay tribute? How is that possible?"

"How is it impossible?" Bai Xiaode asked: "Can he capture Chang'an? Or even if he captures Chang'an, can he hold it? If he didn't completely defeat Marshal Guo, robbed his children of gold and silk, and brought them back to Tubo? "

Only then did Guo Xi realize that the Tubo people could not occupy Chang'an for the purpose of rule this time, but only for plunder, and it was not worth taking such a big risk.

"Do they really want to pay tribute? To whom?"

"The Great Emperor."

After saying this, Guo Xi immediately figured it out.

Dazalu Gong did have the intention of peace talks, but he failed to reach an agreement with the then Prince Supervisor. Now he suddenly paid tribute to the Supreme Emperor. It would be better to say that the Supreme Emperor borrowed troops from him to eradicate the Prince Supervisor.

Looking at the generals who were recalled to the capital by the Supreme Emperor, they were all people with little reputation and little merit in the past two years, which meant that they were not valued by the Crown Prince and were probably the Supreme Emperor's people.

As for the reward Guo Ziyi and Pu Guhuaien, it was to appease and win over them.

When looking at this imperial edict, one should not only look at what the Supreme Emperor said, but also what he did not say... Guo Xi glanced around and did not see a rare reward for the king on it.

After thinking about it in his mind, he still had something to puzzle about, so he asked: "General Bai, I am a straightforward person. If you want to say anything, just say it."

"good."

Bai Xiaode pondered and said slowly: "Since Your Majesty has passed away, this battle is no longer a battle between us and Tubo to defend our territory, but a battle for imperial power to seize power. If I say whether you followed the order today or not, it doesn't matter. Yu Dayi, it just depends on which side you think you can win by betting, how do you choose?"

"How do I choose? There are so many choices..."

In the middle of speaking, Guo Xi suddenly hesitated.

The current situation is that the Supreme Emperor has implicitly expressed the idea of ​​borrowing troops from Tubo in order to restore the country, and he may have already taken control of the situation in Chang'an, and at the same time the Tubo army is approaching; although the Crown Prince also has a chance to control the situation, the premise is that Wang Rao must arrive first In Chang'an, the result was not good. Not only was Wang Nannan defeated by Dazhalu Gong, but the prince wanted to meet Wang Nannan, but Chang'an was also lost.

How to choose? Guo Xi is willing to continue chasing Dazalu Gong, but in fact he can't defeat him even if he catches him.

This choice has a very low probability of success, but the risk is extremely high. If it fails, not only will the crime be reduced, but Guo Ziyi will also be implicated.

Guo Xi finally realized that he had no decision-making power, and it all depended on Guo Ziyi's attitude.

He couldn't help but thought: "I lost to Dazalu Gong on purpose, was it intentional?"

With this thought, his will instantly collapsed.

After chasing all the way, he was already very tired, but he was sustained by his righteousness to defend his country and his filial piety to wash away the humiliation of defeat for his grandfather.

But now, like everyone else in the army, he was suspicious of Guo Ziyi, suspecting that Guo Ziyi had known about the Emperor's plan for a long time.

Yes, how could such a smart person be deceived by Gao Hui? How could he lose to Dazalu Gong?

All you need to do is turn a blind eye and you can achieve great success. What can't you do?

A thin layer of sweat gradually formed on Guo Xi's forehead.

He did not answer Bai Xiaode's question, but asked: "How does General Bai plan to choose?"

Bai Xiaode tapped the decree lightly and said: "As long as it can make us hesitate, its effect will be achieved..."

Guo Xi stopped talking.

He felt that this method of defeating people's hearts was sometimes more terrifying than swords, guns, swords and halberds on the battlefield.

Seeing that he was silent, Bai Xiaode raised the jug, drank all the wine in it, and called for others.

Just at this moment, someone outside the tent suddenly shouted: "General, the imperial decree has arrived!"

Guo Xi was stunned and surprised.

"Imperial edict? Whose edict?"

~~

Liquan.

Flags were fluttering above the not-so-large city, and the city gates were tightly closed. No people were passing through, and there was only a sense of solemnity.

Several people came from the west on fast horses and checked their identities at the gate of the city.

"I want to see His Highness."

Li Mi only said one sentence, and naturally some soldiers came forward to show him the talisman, showing his identity as prime minister.
To be continued...