Tibet

When An Lushan learned that Ashina Chengqing was defeated in Lantian County and the entire army was destroyed, he was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he urgently summoned Gao Shang and Chang'an defense envoy An Taiqing to discuss countermeasures.

Not long after, the guards shouted loudly outside the palace: "Gao Xiangguo and General An are here to see you!"

"Hurry up and help me up!" An Lushan quickly ordered.

Li Zhuer got in from the bottom of An Lushan's fleshy body, put his head on his back, gritted his teeth, and tried his best to push him up. Eight strong palace ladies quickly stepped forward and leaned against An Lushan's back as much as possible. Sit down and become his pad.

An Lushan waved his hand and said, "Announce their presence!"

Not long after, Prime Minister Gao Shang and General An Taiqing hurried in, bowed and saluted, "See your Majesty!"

"Two dear friends, excuse me. I have just received an urgent report that Ashina Chengqing's army has been completely destroyed in Lantian County. Li Ye is leading an army of 50,000 to attack Chang'an. What should I do?"

Gao Shang was also startled and asked quickly: "Where is Ashina Chengqing now?"

An Lushan said bitterly: "This bastard did not dare to come to see me and fled to Hebei. He sent his men to report the news."

An Lushan asked An Taiqing again: "How many troops do we have now?"

An Taiqing quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, there are still 20,000 troops and 10,000 Guards Cavalry. There are 30,000 troops in total. Your Majesty's cavalry is especially powerful. I believe that we can definitely fight against Li Ye's army!" "

Gao Shang immediately expressed his opposition, "Ten thousand troops cannot leave the emperor's side. Without these ten thousand cavalry, hundreds of peasants can besiege the emperor. The minister suggested that the emperor patrol the Jingyuan Road north and join the main army of 200,000 people."

"Chang'an just handed it over to Li Ye like this?" An Taiqing said dissatisfied.

Gao Shang shook his head, "General, you don't understand what I mean. I'm just ensuring your majesty's safety. Chang'an can't give up. General An will continue to lead an army of 20,000 to guard it. If we hold on for another five or six days, the main force of 200,000 will come back." , Li Ye will definitely be defeated and flee, and Chang'an will be saved. At that time, an army of 200,000 will fight back to Lingzhou and capture Li Heng alive in one go."

Before An Taiqing could answer, An Lushan said without hesitation: "That's it, Taiqing, I will leave Chang'an to you!"

An Taiqing was the adopted son of An Lushan. He did not dare to disobey, so he quickly bowed and said: "I obey the order!"

An Lushan left as soon as he said so. He appointed An Taiqing to stay in Chang'an and led 20,000 troops to guard Chang'an. He took a dozen of his close ministers including Gao Shang and Zhang Tongru, as well as his favorite concubine and several sons such as An Qinghe, to leave from the Ming Dynasty. Gong Zhongxuanmen left Chang'an and headed northeast toward Jingyuan Road under the escort of 10,000 elite cavalry.

An Taiqing immediately summoned the generals for deployment. The 20,000-strong army was not small in total, but by no means large. They were distributed across nine city gates in Chang'an, with only over 2,000 men at each city gate.

An Taiqing sent someone to find Zhang Ping, the magistrate of Chang'an County. Not long after, Zhang Ping hurried over and asked, "General, are you looking for me?"

An Taiqing smiled and said: "I have something to trouble you."

"General, you are too polite. If you need any humble service, just ask!"

An Taiqing liked Zhang Ping's down-to-earth attitude very much, unlike the arrogant attitude of those educated civil servants.

He patted Zhang Ping on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Li Ye is leading the Jianghan Tang Army to attack Chang'an. The emperor ordered me to guard Chang'an City, but I only have 20,000 men. You are a local snake. I want you to recruit a few people for me." What do you think, husband of all people?"

Zhang Ping's heart was pounding, Li Ye was coming to kill him, and he would definitely send someone to find him.

Zhang Ping immediately patted his chest and said, "No problem, I will send people to post notices today. I will go to the big households tonight to raise some money and food. I will start recruiting civilians early tomorrow morning. As long as there is money and food, the young people of Chang'an will definitely sign up!"

An Taiqing was so moved that he didn't even have to pay for the money or food himself. This Zhang Ping was so considerate!

Zhang Ping took the initiative to invite Ying and said: "I also have 1,500 subordinates, all masters of various martial arts schools. Why don't we also put on armor and be responsible for guarding the Taicang and the treasury!"

An Taiqing was a little hesitant. Chang'an's food was too important, and he was a little uneasy about handing it over to Zhang Ping, but if he refused, he was afraid of hurting Zhang Ping's enthusiasm.

Zhang Ping saw his hesitation and immediately said anxiously: "If it weren't for the cultivation of the emperor, I would still be a local dog in Chang'an. How could I have the status I have today? If the Tang army came back again, how could there be room for ruffian officials like me?" , I am also fighting for my own vital interests. If the granary is lost, I, Zhang Ping, will come to see you with my head!"

An Taiqing was moved by Zhang Ping's sincerity and nodded, "Okay! I will leave the granary and treasury to you. You go to the armory to get the armor and weapons. I will give you the password in the evening."

Zhang Ping hurried back to his house. He was the magistrate of Chang'an County, and his house was naturally next to the county government office. As soon as he entered the house, his entourage came up to him and said: "A guest is looking for the county king. He says he is a relative of the county king and is waiting in the guest hall. "

How could Zhang Ping not understand that Li Ye must have sent someone to find him.

He nodded and walked quickly to the living room. When he entered the living room, he saw two people sitting in the hall. One of them, Zhang Ping, recognized him at a glance as Li Xiyue, the deputy leader of Li Ye's personal soldiers. The other one he had never seen before. He is tall and burly, and has a talented appearance.

Li Xiyue quickly stood up and saluted, "Brother Zhang, long time no see!"

Zhang Ping smiled and said: "I know you will come, this is"

"This is Nan Jiyun, the most powerful general under King Lu."

"Oh! It turns out to be General Nan. I've admired him for a long time."

Nan Jiyun smiled and said, "His Royal Highness will lead an army to attack Chang'an tonight and send me in as an internal response. His Highness said that Magistrate Zhang has three hundred elite warriors under his command."

Zhang Ping said quickly: "Indeed, they are hidden-winged warriors of the Dugu family. They can serve His Royal Highness King Lu at any time, but will we attack the city tonight?"

Nan Jiyun nodded, "His Royal Highness King Lu did not want to harm the people of Chang'an, so he decided to attack the city at night. Secondly, he asked County Magistrate Zhang to keep the granary and treasury!"

"I know that An Taiqing has entrusted me with the granary and treasury to guard it. I will definitely ensure the safety of the food. I wonder where your highness is going to attack the city?"

"You should enter the city from the Beicheng Palace. This is the weakest point in Chang'an's defense."

"That's no problem. Taicang is also in Taiji Palace, and we can definitely assist."

Nan Jiyun was really happy in his heart. He didn't expect that His Highness had already arranged for his own people in Chang'an, and he was actually the magistrate of Chang'an. This was simply a sign that God had helped him succeed.

"What's the situation in the city now? Is An Lushan still in the city?"

Zhang Ping smiled bitterly and said: "An Lushan has already escaped and left in the morning. Maybe we can catch up!"

Nan Jiyun shook his head, "His Highness's army will not arrive in Chang'an until around two o'clock in the evening. It will probably be too late. Moreover, our goal is to seize Chang'an and control Chang'an's food supply."

Zhang Ping nodded and said: "General Nan is right. I have written to His Royal Highness King Lu a long time ago. Without Chang'an to deliver food, Yan's 200,000-strong army would not be able to hold on for a month, so Taicang's food is the most important thing." The weight of it.”

"How many troops are there in the city currently?"

"About 20,000 people."

Nan Jiyun took out a map and unfolded it: "Your Highness is going to enter the city from Fanglin Gate in the West Inner Garden at the third watch. Once His Highness enters the city, you immediately send someone to inform An Taiqing that Your Highness does not want to be with the Yan army in Chang'an." Street fighting breaks out!”