It has been more than a month since the city of Zhending City, the prefecture of Changshan County, was besieged by 40,000 rebels. Although Yan Gaoqing recruited many regiments to train troops, and under his command were civil and military officials from other counties in Hebei, as well as the Yanzhao warriors who were unwilling to submit to An Lushan, after experiencing cruel offensive and defensive wars day after day, his only glad that the partial division of Anbei returned to support in time, so that he could barely hold on for so long. However, Zhending is not a strong city like Chang'an and Luoyang. Now it is not a cold winter. It cannot be poured into ice to prevent the enemy from siegeing the city. All they can do is to drive the enemy down from the city day and night with their flesh and blood.

"How many days have you been?"

In the evening, standing on the top of the city full of corpses and wounded, he suddenly heard Yan Gaoqing ask such a question. Yuan Luqian, who was unshaven and thin, whispered: "It's the 43rd day."

"Forty-three days... Haha, every night when I close my eyes, I don't know if I can see the sun tomorrow, so every day I persist, I think, it's great to live."

Yan Gaoqing's face was extremely bitter. As An Lushan sent troops back to Hebei one after another, Changshan Zhending City, which was located on the two avenues of north and south, east and west, became a thorn in the eye that the rebels must remove. He sent people to contact Jia Xun, the governor of Fan Yang appointed by An Lushan, but Jia Xun was killed because of the incident. Shi Siming rushed back to Youzhou in time to take charge of the overall situation. The troops of Ye County dragged down the three troops of the Tang army, and Zhending was besieged by Cai Xide's army, and became an isolated city in practical sense. The county lords who held up the uprising flags in various places only recruited regiments to train troops, but how could these Minzhuang, who had never experienced the battle formation, besieged the rebels? In just a few days, the rebels were defeated by the rebels one after another.

Not only that, he had long known that a partial army in Taiyuan had entered Jingxing Pass, but Cai Xide was stationed in the west. But since Hedong reinforcements have not arrived yet, it means that the glimmer of hope in the west is already very slim.

Seeing that Yan Gaoqing's face was withered, and he had lost less than 10 or 20 kilograms from the siege to the present, Yuan Luqian could only comfort him: "Now the three troops from Anbei, Shuofang, Hedong, Shuofang, have approached Ye County. As long as we persist, we will definitely be able to wait until they come to help."

"You and I have worked together for so many years, don't say these things to comfort me. I ask you, how many casualties have been killed or injured since you defended the city?"

Yuan Luqian's expression changed drastically. Under Yan Gaoqing's gaze, he said bitterly: "The recruited regiment trained a total of 8,000 troops. There were no less than 2,400 people killed in battle in the past month, and more than 4,000 injured. This is thanks to Anbei's well-trained soldiers and horses and under the greatest pressure. But just now General Pugu told me that more than 800 people have been killed in the Anbei army, and almost everyone is injured."

"That's it. It's a miracle to be able to persevere until now." Yan Gaoqing sighed. When a team of people recruited from the city lifted the bodies of the fallen soldiers from the top of the city, his eyes were filled with water. "I have been thinking these days, are I too anxious? If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't wait to raise the flag of uprising and call on the ministers of all prefectures and counties to follow, only two Anbei routes, one strange and one Zheng Anbei army raided Hebei, An Lushan might not have sent so many troops back, maybe it wouldn't have turned Changshan County into a scorched earth, and it wouldn't have let the people of Zhending suffer so much. I just need to be vain and wait for the opportunity to do so. Don't care about the temporary stigma. Then just stab the rebels in the back, and you won't be tired..."

When Yan Gaoqing talked about his son, Yuan Luqian's expression changed drastically. When Cai Xide's army besieged the city, he once promoted the city that when the city was broken, he would definitely use the eldest son of the two people who had been taken away by An Lushan and their entire clan to slaughter the city, and even issued a city slaughter order. If it weren't for the 4,000 soldiers from Pugudang, I was afraid that the city would have been in chaos. Now, their son's life and death are uncertain, and the pressure in front of him is getting bigger and bigger. What's even more desperate is that the news that Du Shiyi, who was striving to promote not long ago, had been killed in Chang'an.

"General Pugu is here"

Pugudang used to fight with his father Pugu Huaien in the south and north, and made countless achievements. Especially in the battle with the Uighurs, he and Pugu Huaien fought back and forth among thousands of troops and fought to the death and refused to retreat. They firmly held Mo Yanchu's main force and won the precious time for victory for the army. However, he did not expect that the opportunity he had finally won to be the only one who was defending Changshan Zhending City, watching the rebels attack the city again and again, and watching the tribesmen and subordinates who followed him to make achievements fell in front of him. He didn't know how many times he regretted that he shouldn't have robbed Aguten of the position of the leader of the partial division with Aguten.

However, he had been tempered by the continuous killing and was so hard that he saw Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian that he was as if he had eaten a charcoal.

"Envoy Yan, I have something I have been holding back for a long time. I have to ask you. I heard that you were promoted by An Lushan. Then I went from joining the army to the judge of the governor, and then to the current prefect of a county. Since he is your benefactor, why do you have to leave behind the high-ranking officials An Lushan promised to you for the sake of the foolish monarch in the court and turn against him?"

If someone else asked such a question, Yan Gaoqing would definitely scold him with a harsh voice. However, he understood very well that the reason why Pugudang, who had killed many rebels these days, said this was not to mock him or to surrender to the rebels, but only because he felt angry after hearing the news promoted by the rebels. So he could only smile bitterly and try his best to say in the most gentle tone: "An Lushan has the kindness of knowing me, but General Pugu should not forget, whose kindness of knowing he has received? If His Majesty had not promoted him again and again, how could he remember His Majesty's kindness of knowing what he is today?"

"Hmph, that foolish monarch is blind. Zhang Shouqi, a general with great military achievements, has just given a false military order. He lied to report his military achievements with just one thought. This made An Lushan prosper. In the end, he became the governor of the Three Towns. Now, my Majesty Du recovered Chang'an and Luoyang, turning the tide, but he was still suspicious of the tyrant. If the rebels said it was true, the Majesty has a few shortcomings. If he could defend Changshan's true determination in the future, I would definitely raise the army and return to Chang'an and go to the Golden Palace to question the tyrant monarch in person, whether he deserves to be the Emperor of Tang."

At this moment, Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian were far more than Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian. Many generals and soldiers followed Pugudang up. But when they heard the tyrant monarch who was utterly uttered, they had seen too many robes and injured in the past few days, but no one stood up to criticize him for being disrespectful. Some people were squirming their lips, but they swallowed them unconsciously when they said something to their mouths.

The rebels' announcement that Du Shiyi was dead when they were shouting under the city is really heartbreaking

"General Pugu, how can the rebels take what they say seriously? If you really hate it, then let your relatives suffer from the enemy."

Yan Gaoqing could only explain this hard. Seeing that Pugudang snorted coldly and stopped talking, he said in a deep voice: "The reason why I, Yan Gaoqing, did not accept the high-ranking officials and generous salaries of the rebel army, but raised the banner of uprising to rebel against him is because of loyalty and righteousness. This loyalty is not only loyal to His Majesty, but also loyal to An Lushan, the Tang Dynasty. If I can really govern the army with virtue and polite the people with kindness, I may also be able to betray him for the time being, and follow him for the time being, but he used those who did not follow to punish the three clans to coerce the civil and military officials of Youzhou. This time, Jia Xun and the three clans were all implicated because they planned to surrender anyway. If such a person was in the world, he would only be a tyrant who was more terrifying than a foolish monarch."

Yan Gaoqing said the word "The Unscrupulous Lord" for the first time, and even Yuan Luqian couldn't help but look at it. Although he knew that this was just a general reference, it was not that the prefect of Changshan who really disobeyed the etiquette and criticized the emperor, he still sighed deeply in his heart. Hebei was full of creatures, Changshan corpses were everywhere, and his eldest son's life and death were uncertain. In addition, the overwhelming rumors, even if the iron attacked people could not withstand such a blow, let alone Yan Gaoqing?

"Okay, just for your Yan Jun's words, even if my subordinates and I fight for this life, we will defend Changshan. I hope we can really see the flag of the general appearing under Zhending City alive."

Pugudang said this and then said to his left and right: "Send the order to let all the people guarding the city during the day go down and rest. If there are those who do not leave, they will drive them back. It is a good thing not to be afraid of death, but there is no need to fight at night, so it is better to leave it to those of us who are used to fighting."

After more than a month of bloody battles and perseverance, Pugudang and the thousands of Pugu warriors under his command have long been completely accepted by the villagers in Zhending City and won their respect. Whenever they rest on shifts, countless people always send water and food, and even unmarried women promised to marry, hoping to leave the single men for the rest of the family, because for them not only take the half-day defense in the morning, but also defend against the enemy's sneak attack at night, every military and civilian is grateful to him. Especially Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian, who had just heard that Pugudang was full of resentment and bitterness, were all they could do at this time.

However, just as Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian were planning to go down the city to return to the prefect's mansion and seize the time to deal with some of the most urgent matters, from pensions and casualties to counting supply soldiers, they suddenly found thunderous joy among the rebels. Then, in the afterglow of the sunset, they saw an extremely eye-catching banner being beaten out.

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Yan Gaoqing's face immediately looked as if dead, and subconsciously muttered to himself: "Is it because An Lushan personally fought?"

Not only Yan Gaoqing, but Yuan Luqian's face was not much better, but the newborn calf of Pugudang was not afraid of tigers. At this moment, he sneered and spitted on the ground, and said contemptuously: "If An Lushan personally fought, that would be just right. I want him to see what an unbreakable city is."

Although he said this, Pugudang knew very well. No matter whether it was An Lushan or not, I was afraid that the next wave of offensive would be the most terrifying time in so many days. If he couldn't stand it, he would never go back to see his father, wife, and son, and he would not be able to live and determine Du Shiyi's life and death.

No matter how difficult it is, his servant Gudang must survive
Chapter completed!