Chapter 153 Defeat
Li Jiancheng led his men back to the camp, and the family generals returned to their positions. Shan Qin and the other man did not go to find Luo Yi, which made Luo Yi, who had been worried about this matter, feel a little uncomfortable.

This clearly shows that you don't treat him as your own. If Luo Yi didn't feel anything before, as one of the Twelve Guards Generals of the Imperial Court, a person with all his abilities doesn't necessarily have to be under your command.

But after a round of battles, he had to admit that it felt great to be able to display his talents to his heart's content under Li Jiancheng's protection. No one would deliberately suppress his confidants, and his merits would be reported to the court truthfully. He didn't have to worry about food shortages wherever he went...

Li Jiancheng had no time to think about Luo Yi, as this man was not a peaceful one and there was no need to win him over at the moment. He received an order from the emperor, ordering him to go around the pass and prepare to intercept Yang Xuangan.

This decree was inexplicable, but it was obvious that the emperor was already preparing to kill Yang Xuangan. There must have been great progress in Luoyang, which was not surprising.

After all, most of the people in Luoyang City were the emperor's confidants. They turned a blind eye and let Yang Xuangan enter the city because King Yang Tong of Yue was dead. If they did not let Yang Xuangan enter the city, they would have to explain this matter to the emperor.

Now that all the sins are borne by Yang Xuangan, they don't have to worry anymore, and it is time to welcome back His Majesty the Emperor. After so long, His Majesty should know who the loyal ministers of the Sui Dynasty are, right?

Li Jiancheng entered the pass in accordance with the emperor's order. After setting up a pocket formation at the mountain pass, he began to wait. Half a month later, he received news that Yang Xuangan was leading his remnants and defeated troops here.

At this time, Yang Xuangan was still encouraging people: "The reinforcements are coming. We can't stay in Luoyang for long. It is better to go straight into Guanzhong and open the Yongfeng granary to provide relief to the poor. The three prefectures can be controlled by our command. With the treasury in hand, we can fight for the world in the east. This is also the business of a hegemon!"

He also ordered Li Mi, Li Zixiong and others to spread the word among the army that there was already an internal response in Chang'an City, so they could enter the city and defend it as soon as the army arrived.

But even so, there are still many soldiers fleeing every day. They don’t know what is happening ahead, but the pursuers behind them are real.

After finally entering Tongguan, they fell into an ambush by Li Jiancheng. The army was immediately defeated and scattered. Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin, who were commanding the soldiers, ignored the defeated soldiers and just held on to Yang Xuangan.

Li Jiancheng stood on a high place watching the battle below. After much thought, he decided to call off the troops. He did not want to eat the credit as it was too big and greasy. If he forced himself to swallow it, he would vomit and have diarrhea.

Although Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao were puzzled, they still obeyed the military order, even though this merit would make them immediately appreciated by the emperor.

Luo Yi was a little hesitant and couldn't resist the impulse several times, but he still gave up. Partly because he didn't want to go against Li Jiancheng's wishes, and partly because without the support of friendly forces, he could not defeat Yang Xuangan who was already in a desperate situation.

The fact that a overlord is still alive is not just talk. Yang Xuangan is the emperor, but he still leads his troops with red eyes and is invincible. The guards beside him also charge into battle regardless of casualties.

In this situation, we can only defeat them by sacrificing human lives and exhausting their energy.

As expected, just as they showed signs of relaxing, Yang Xuangan keenly sensed the opportunity and led his personal soldiers to break through a gap and rush into Guanzhong. Li Jiancheng ordered the scouts to chase closely and not lose track of them.

Just as the army was being assembled to gather the surrendered soldiers, the pursuers led by Yuwen Shu, Lai Huer, Qu Tutong and others also arrived. Without saying hello to Li Jiancheng, they asked the soldier about the direction in which Yang Xuangan fled, and then continued to lead their troops in pursuit.

Shan Xiongxin felt so heartbroken that the meat in his mouth flew away: "My dear, if we fight harder, we may be able to keep Yang Xuangan. This is a great achievement."

When Qin Shubao saw that there were several great generals of the imperial court among the pursuers, he understood why Li Jiancheng had sounded the retreat and admired him even more.

So he advised Shan Xiongxin: "We have done a great job in pacifying Liu Yuanjin, and we also eliminated Yang Xuangan, who was weak. There are too many people who envy us. It's a good time to be glorious, but there will be dangers all the time.

Qin Shubao thought that Li Jiancheng was afraid of Yuwen Shu and others, but in fact he was afraid of only one person, and that was Yang Guang. In the eyes of this Majesty, the more capable a person is, the more he deserves to die.

Therefore, Yuwen Shu, who made constant mistakes, was the one he liked the most. After slowly reorganizing his army, Li Jiancheng sent troops to pursue. Yang Xuangan was now like a wild deer in a hunt, blocked from all directions, with only one dead end. Now it all depends on who can come out on top.

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Yang Xuangan, who had escaped, looked around on horseback. The more he looked, the more disappointed he felt. The world was so big, where else could he go?

"Brother, Chang'an! Let's go to Chang'an!"

Yang Jishan was hit by two arrows, but he still endured the pain and said: "Chang'an is empty at the moment, and most of the people there are my relatives, unlike Luoyang, which is mostly populated by Yang Guang, the dictator's confidants."

Li Mi was not interested: "With our limited military strength, our relatives and friends in Chang'an will not bet on us."

Li Zixiong's face darkened: "Are we just going to die? Only Chang'an can save us from danger. Even if the chance is slim, we should give it a try!"

Yang Xuangan stared in one direction and couldn't help but smile, which surprised everyone.

"Big brother?"

"His Majesty?"

Yang Xuangan seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden: "I am going home, I am going to kowtow in front of my father's old grave. As a son, I will do my best to avenge my father. It is not in vain that I have lived. Fallen leaves should return to their roots, and I will die in my hometown."

Only then did everyone realize that the direction Yang Xuangan was looking at was clearly Hongnong County.

Yang Jishan burst into tears, as they were the only two brothers left.

Li Mi had no expression on his face, but Li Zixiong sighed helplessly: "God has been unkind to me, forcing me to serve such a master. It is only natural that I will die in disgrace."

Yang Xuangan did not look at Li Zixiong, but said to the guards behind him: "The court will only pursue me relentlessly, you should flee now and find a sparsely populated place to survive.

After our uprising, the fall of the Sui Dynasty is not far away. As long as you are careful and cautious, you can survive a few years and a new situation will emerge. You can join the army and make meritorious contributions openly. "

The only people still following Yang Xuangan are the 8,000 soldiers and horses that he had when he started the rebellion. They were the foundation that Yang Su had accumulated over decades. Now there are only about a thousand of them left.

Finally, more than two hundred people wanted to leave. Yang Xuangan searched them all over, gave them valuables as gifts, and asked them to leave quickly.

There were barely a thousand people left. They didn't say anything, but their intention was to follow their master to the underworld. Yang Xuangan did not try to persuade them. Such loyalty and righteousness needed no slander.

"Master, I have one last request from you. Take my brother and circumvent the pursuers and surrender to Li Jiancheng. He will probably save your lives."

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(End of this chapter)