Chapter 14 Repaying kindness with hatred
After a great battle, it became virtually impossible for the rebels to capture Luoyang.

The morale of the Luoyang defenders was greatly boosted after the great victory. On the contrary, the garrison forces in Guanzhong were led out by Murong Ji to rescue Luoyang, but almost all of them were wiped out after the battle.

Only 5,000 rear troops, led by Pang Lingxun, were left to guard the Qiao-Han Pass.

The rebels planned to move westward. Naturally, there were wise men in Luoyang who could see the situation clearly, but there were some differences of opinion on how to deal with it.

In the main hall of the palace, Prince of Qi Murong Ju, Prince of Gaoyang Murong He, Zuo Pushe Gao Shize, Yin of Henan Dugu Minzhi, Zuo Lingjun General Zhao Yi and other civil and military ministers gathered together. Even the ten-year-old Crown Prince Murong Tong made an appearance.

"The rebels have been badly defeated, so they will not besiege Luoyang anymore. The Saint's army is already on its way back and will arrive before September. All we need to do is trap the government troops around Luoyang. Once the army arrives, it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag to wipe out the Yang bandits."

Murong He is still relatively optimistic now. Although he has just experienced a great defeat and suffered heavy casualties, his mission of this trip was to relieve the siege of Luoyang City. Now that the rebels have been defeated, although it has little to do with him, the purpose of his sending troops has been achieved.

Even if a saint came back, he would not hold him responsible for the defeat. Even if he had no merit, he had still worked hard, right?
Although Gao Shize, who knew nothing about military affairs, could not stand Murong He's behavior, he also felt that what he said made sense.

A number of civil servants also agreed.

But there were still some people who understood the situation. "What if Yang the bandit marches westward into Guanzhong? Uncle Gaoyang, what is the current situation in Guanzhong? How many troops are there in Chang'an now?"

Murong Ju's words stunned Murong He, "There are only more than 10,000 soldiers guarding Guanzhong and Chang'an now."

They are all old, weak and sick, Murong He added slowly in his heart.

"What if the Yang thief enters Guanzhong? Don't forget that the Hongnong Yang family is a big family in Guanzhong, and Yang Su has a good reputation in Guanzhong."

Gao Shize's expression suddenly turned ugly. "King of Qi, don't we have Hangu Pass and Tongguan to guard?"

Although he knew no military knowledge, he knew that Hangu Pass was the only way to Guanzhong from the west. Back then, the Qin Dynasty relied on Hangu Pass to defeat the enemies of the six kingdoms.

Such a strategic location should be able to stop Yang Xun’s rebels, right?

Murong Ju did not reply, but just coughed twice and looked at Murong He, whose forehead was already sweating. After all, Murong He, the governor of Xijing, knew better what Hangu Pass was like.

"Gao Pushe, you don't know that Hangu Pass has been abandoned since the Former Wei Dynasty, and has not been repaired in this dynasty. It has been in disrepair. As for Tongguan, it can defend against the enemy, but Hongnong Palace and Changping Granary are both west of Tongguan. And now it is different from the end of the Han Dynasty. At the end of the Han Dynasty, there was only one county town, Shan County, but now there are several counties, more than one official road, and various small roads and mountain paths. Even if Hangu Pass is repaired, it will not be able to stop the rebels."

As the governor of Xijing, Murong He was aware of all this. He was even more aware of the emptiness of Guanzhong today. If Yang Xun was really allowed to enter Guanzhong, then with the current military strength in Guanzhong and the influence of the Yang family, I am afraid that Xijing Chang'an would no longer belong to the Murong family.

"We must not let the Yang thief enter Guanzhong."

The scholar who understood the situation said decisively, "Prince Gaoyang must also return quickly and reorganize the defenses. Do not allow the rebels to enter Guanzhong."

Murong He said in embarrassment: "It's just that we don't have enough troops now. I ordered General Pang Lingxun to guard the rear before, and now he should have retreated to the Qiao-Han Pass. If we just guard Tongguan to resist the enemy, it will be enough, but the Saint's Hongnong Palace and Changping Warehouse cannot fall into the hands of the rebels."

Hongnong Palace is the emperor's temporary palace, and there are mountains of grain in the Changping warehouse. If this falls into Yang Xun's hands, given Murong Ying's temper, it would be difficult for them to explain.

"Why don't you give me a few battalions of new troops to guard Hongnong Palace?"

After considering for a moment, Gao Shi nodded and had no choice but to agree.

Li Yuanhui, who had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, was somewhat happy. A lieutenant could have his own tent and no longer have to sleep on a large bunk bed. He could also cook his own meals, since he was in charge of 400 people. Although he had not yet been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, his salary had been raised.

Dou Guangying suddenly had one more lieutenant, making it six. However, the first meeting after becoming a lieutenant made Li Yuanhui want to curse.

I thought the rebels had just experienced a defeat and would not attack the city in the short term. And the performance of this new army yesterday was hard to describe, and they almost collapsed. In the short term, the bigwigs in the court should not let them take the initiative to attack, right?

Who knew that just after this wishful thinking was put into practice for a short time, the military order came: In order to prevent the rebels from advancing westward into Guanzhong, the new army sent 5,000 soldiers to follow Murong He westward to block the Qiao-Han Pass.
There just happened to be Dou Guang’s camp.

Moreover, Li Yuanhui also heard that this was a special request from Gaoyang King Murong He, "You must bring along the young man from yesterday." How could he repay kindness with enmity?
Isn’t this too inhumane?

But when you are in the army, you have no choice but to obey the orders. Otherwise, you will have to chop off a few heads.

After receiving the military order, Li Yuanhui asked people to pack up. Although he had been promoted to a higher position, he was in charge of fewer people.

He was in charge of fifty people before the battle, but only twenty-three were left after the battle, all of whom were members of his Li family. Four of them died on the battlefield, and three were injured and would not be able to fight in the short term.

After giving the instructions, he went to his uncle to ask for leave and returned home.

His elder brother Li Xiaoyan happened to be at home and was very happy to see him back.

"Well done, Silang. You really made our Li family proud. Now everyone in Dongdu knows your name, Li Silang. You shot the enemy general Yang Xi to death with one arrow and saved the defeat. It's good. If Aye knew, he would be very happy. How are you getting used to being in the army these days? Is your diet okay? Tell the kitchen to make more meat today."

Li Yuanhui could only force a smile and said, "Thank you for the compliment, brother. I have been fine in the camp these few days. I happened to be under my uncle's command. Originally, my sixth uncle's tenth brother was a captain. Who knew that he could shoot so accurately yesterday? Now I am a captain."

Li Xiaoyan asked about the situation on the battlefield yesterday with great interest, and Li Yuanhui talked about his experiences and feelings, but concealed the fact that he did not want to make progress.

"As expected of me, I am a descendant of the Longxi Li family. I have superb archery skills. Now you have surpassed Erlang. If he hears that you have made a great contribution, he will definitely compete with you when he comes back. Hahahaha."

"It was just luck, it was all due to my luck. My archery skills are naturally inferior to my second brother's."

Li Yuanhui actually wanted to tell his elder brother, "Don't mention my bragging. He really can't compare with that guy in archery."

As for other things, there is no comparison.

Li Erfeng, that is the ceiling of emperors in the eyes of many history lovers.

Li Xiaoyan said, "Confucius said, 'A gentleman has nothing to fight for, so he must shoot! Young people should have vigor and vitality. I see that you have competed with Erlang in archery before. Now that you have made a great success, how come you have lost your vigor?"

This made Li Yuanhui speechless. It was not the same before, but now he knew that he could not afford to offend his second brother.
He made up a story at any time: "Brother, actually after I fell off my horse some time ago, I suddenly felt that although personal bravery is important, to be a general, one cannot rely solely on one's own strength. I plan to read more classics and history in the future. Whether I am an official or a general, it will definitely be helpful."

Li Xiaoyan said seriously, "Si Lang has really grown up. I have long warned Er Lang not to rely too much on his strength, but he never took it seriously. I never thought that Si Lang would have such insights after serving in the army for a few days. If Aye knew that you had such insights, he would be very happy."

Li Yuanhui: “.”

He suddenly felt that the situation was a bit bad. He should keep a low profile in the future. The Li family was not easy to deal with.
Li Er, you should be quite generous, right?

(End of this chapter)