Tibet

Li Ye arrived at Hangu Pass at one watch at night. He sent a sergeant to contact Hangu Pass and ask for passage.

The chief general of Hangu Pass is the famous general Hao Tingyu. Hao Tingyu was first a general of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy Guo Ziyi, and later became a general of Li Guangbi. He followed Li Guangbi in the north and south, and made numerous achievements. Later, he was jointly recommended by Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi to serve as Hangu Pass. The soldiers and horses envoys from Guguan led 20,000 troops to guard Hangu Pass.

Of course, a Hangu Pass cannot accommodate 20,000 troops. Twenty thousand people is actually a defense system, including a series of more than a dozen dangerous locations including Hangu Pass, Lingbao County and Shaanxi County. The leader is Hangu Pass, with some The actual garrison was 5,000 men.

Of course, this actually violated the agreement between the two parties that no troops could be stationed in Shaanzhou, but that was just a verbal agreement, and neither party took it seriously.

Just like the two parties agreed that the navy in Jingxiang was not allowed to go ashore, in fact, except for Xiangyang, the navy from other places still went ashore to rest.

General Hao Tingyu had just fallen asleep. When he heard that His Highness King Qi had passed the border, he sat up, put on his clothes and ran towards Guancheng.

When he ran to Guancheng, a sergeant saluted him and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi has private matters to go to Luoyang. He passed by Hangu Pass. Please let the general go!"

Hao Tingyu asked again: "Is His Royal Highness King Qi here in person?"

"Exactly! His Royal Highness King Qi is just outside the city."

Hao Tingyu looked out of the city. Under the moonlight, he saw a dark mass of cavalry. He was startled and asked urgently: "How many people are there to pass?"

"Three thousand people in total!"

Hao Tingyu is in a bit of a dilemma. Three thousand people need to have a military order from the Marshal's Palace or a gold medal from the Emperor to pass. Now they have not received any notification. What should they do?

He thought for a moment and said to the sergeant: "Go back and tell His Highness King Qi, please wait for a while, and we can discuss it and find a solution!"

The sergeant returned, and Hao Tingyu immediately ordered: "Instruct the four lieutenants to come to my tent immediately to discuss matters!"

The soldiers rushed back to the team and reported to Li Ye in front of the carriage: "Your Highness, General Hao said that he needs to discuss it with his generals. Please wait for a moment."

Li Ye nodded, "I understand, order the entire army to rest where they are!"

Princess Dugu Xinyue said worriedly: "Husband, is the guard trying to make things difficult for us?"

Li Ye shook his head, "The guard's name is Hao Tingyu. He was Li Guangbi's general. He is a very upright man. He will not make things difficult for us. It's just that the court has a system. For three thousand of us to pass, we need the emperor's approval or the approval of the Generalissimo. He has no power to switch. Let him go."

"Will we not be able to pass the test?"

Li Ye shook his head and smiled and said: "There is a Yellow River ferry at Dayandu nearby. We can go up the Yellow River there, bypass Hangu Pass, and then disembark at the Mianchi Yellow River ferry. But the ice is too cold, so we won't take this step unless we have to. Just wait patiently!"

Hao Tingyu summoned four lieutenant generals to discuss important matters in the big tent. Everyone was very excited when they heard that His Royal Highness King Qi was coming. Liu Bi thought: "General, the eunuchs have exclusive power and the court is unfair. Why not take this opportunity to serve His Highness King Qi!"

The unfairness of the imperial court refers to the feudal towns. The Tang army suffered numerous casualties in order to suppress the rebellion. The generals made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty and the country. However, in the end, the rebels awarded kings to kings and separatist regimes to separatist regimes. However, they did not talk about titles and official positions. Even the salary was very low and it was difficult to support a family, so the soldiers were seriously dissatisfied. In addition, the incident of issuing large amounts of money broke the hearts of the soldiers. "

Hao Tingyu sighed, "It's easy for us to surrender, but it will implicate the old general. I can't bear this kind of thing."

The defense envoy of Weihan was Guo Ziyi. If they surrendered, Guo Ziyi would be implicated, and they couldn't bear it.

"What should we do?" The four of them looked at Hao Tingyu.

Hao Tingyu said slowly: "There is a way, and it requires everyone's cooperation. If the court will hold you accountable, then it will be my responsibility."

"What can the general do?"

Hao Tingyu pondered for a moment and said: "I can ask His Highness King Qi to pass the customs in batches. As long as there are no more than a thousand people, that is my authority."

"General, it's better to surrender!"

Everyone complained one after another: "We really don't want to serve the imperial court and the eunuchs. We are always in arrears with our salaries and our brothers live in poverty. His Highness the King of Qi is also a Tang Army. Isn't it the same thing to serve His Highness the King of Qi?"

It was so easy to come across this opportunity, and no one wanted to let it go.

Hao Tingyu bit his lip and said, "I'm going to meet King Qi right now to see what his wishes are!"

After waiting for half an hour, Zhang Yun, the deputy commander of the soldiers, reported to Li Ye, "Your Highness, guard Hao Tingyu is asking to see you!"

"Ask him to come up!"

Not long after, Hao Tingyu stepped forward and bowed to report: "As a humble post, I am sending Hao Tingyu, the military envoy, to see your Majesty!"

Li Ye nodded, "I have some personal matters to go to Luoyang, so I'm going to trouble General Hao!"

"Reporting to Your Highness, according to normal regulations, I have no right to let His Highness pass, but I have thought of two alternative ways to let His Highness pass!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "What workaround can you tell me?"

"The humble post has a certain authority, that is, it allows people of less than 1,000 people to pass the customs. While reporting to the court, the humble post can be allowed to pass depending on the situation. In this case, can your highness's 3,000 people pass the customs in three batches?"

Li Ye smiled again and asked: "What about the second method?"

"The second way is that I would like to surrender to His Highness and order all the troops to evacuate Hangu Pass."

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, the general's first plan is meaningless. It is deceiving himself and others. The general will be liquidated by the court. So why not just go with the second plan? But aren't the other soldiers willing to surrender to the Guanlong Army?"

"Everyone is willing to be loyal to His Highness, but if we all surrender, General Guo will be held accountable by the court, which will implicate him."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "Follow the wishes of the brothers! Don't worry about General Guo. He will be dismissed from office by the eunuchs. It is a good thing for him."

Hao Tingyu suddenly woke up and said quickly: "I understand the humble position!"

Hao Tingyu hurried back to the customs. Soon, he led five thousand soldiers out of the customs and surrendered. Li Ye appeased the generals and retained their official positions. He also named Hao Tingyu General Yunhui and asked them to pack their belongings. Li Ye sent five thousand soldiers with him. The soldiers went to Tongguan and handed them over to Wei Boyu for reorganization.

At the same time, Li Ye sent his own troops to the other side of the Yellow River and ordered the 10,000 troops marching with them on the other side of the Yellow River to come to Hangu Pass immediately.

These 10,000 troops are specially arranged to march simultaneously with Li Ye. Once Li Ye encounters a situation on the south bank, these 10,000 cavalry troops will immediately rush across the Yellow River to support them. Otherwise, the 30,000 troops stationed in Heyang, a hundred miles away, will be left behind. If you rush to support, it will be too late.

Soon, Xi Wanli led 10,000 cavalry across the frozen Yellow River and arrived at Hangu Pass.

"Your Majesty, I have a humble duty!" Xi Wanli bowed and saluted.

"It's such a cold weather, it's hard for General and my brothers."

Li Ye pointed at Hangu Pass and said: "The defenders of Hangu Pass have surrendered to me. I asked them to go to Tongguan. Now Hangu Pass is an empty pass. You can lead your brothers to station at Hangu Pass."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Xi Wanli led his army to Hangu Pass. Li Ye's three thousand troops rested for the night in Hangu Pass and continued eastward early the next morning. Shaanxi County was in front of them.