Chapter 351: Raoyang Defeat
"General Yan, do you know why Duke Zheng was defeated?" Guo Ziyi asked.

Yan Zhenqing said: "Liu Heita led his troops across the Fuyang River, deployed a long snake formation, and fought a battle with his back to the river. It was winter, with snow and wind. When the battle started, the government army fought with the wind, but after the battle started, the wind reversed and the soldiers had to face the wind and snow, so they were defeated."

Yan Zhenqing said: "It is April now, with no wind or snow, why didn't Shi Siming choose to fight a desperate battle? It is really puzzling."

Yan Zhenqing thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the rebels have too few soldiers to resist?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

At this time, a small group of rebels suddenly crossed the river by boat, preparing to raid the government troops.

Guo Ziyi immediately ordered his soldiers to meet the enemy. At the same time, he became more confused, thinking: "The reason why Shi Siming was able to capture Raoyang was because he took them by surprise. Could it be that he really wanted to launch another surprise attack because he had few soldiers?"

Guo Ziyi, with doubts, led the government troops to repel the rebels.

After the rebels retreated, they did not defend the river, but ran back to Raoyang City in a panic.

Pugu Huai'en saw this and said, "General, the rebels gave up the advantage of the Fuyang River and retreated to Raoyang. It can be seen that they are also frightened birds. It is better to cross the river and capture Raoyang City now."

Guo Ziyi hesitated for a moment and agreed to Pugu Huai'en's proposal.

Because no matter what, if you want to take Raoyang City, you have to cross the river. Now that the rebels are not guarding the river, it is indeed a good time to cross the river.

Guo Ziyi ordered Yan Zhenqing to lead 10,000 troops to stay behind, and he led 40,000 troops to cross the river and leave.

Not long after, the government army crossed the Fuyang River and arrived at the city of Raoyang.

At the south gate of Raoyang City, Shi Siming ordered the army to lean against the city wall and form a long snake formation. In the middle of the long snake formation, in order to resist the attack of the government troops, Shi Siming arranged heavy cavalry to rush to the top.

Upon seeing this situation, Guo Ziyi immediately organized his troops into a triangle formation, with 20,000 troops in the front and 10,000 troops on each side behind, preparing to cut off Shi Siming's long snake from the middle and then defeat them one by one.

The government troops advanced step by step and soon encountered the heavy cavalry of the rebels.

At this time, Shi Siming immediately organized the army to change its formation. Relying on the mobility advantage of the cavalry, he ordered the two ends of the long snake to press forward, turning the long snake formation into an oblique vertical formation, and encircled the government troops.

At the same time, a thousand rebel soldiers who were ambushed on the city wall showed up at the same time and shot arrows at the government troops like raindrops. In addition, Shi Siming arranged for the rebels to beat hundreds of drums on both sides of the city wall. The sound of the drums was earth-shaking, and the government troops under the city were terrified.

There is no God's perspective on the battlefield. The government troops were in a hurry and only a few lookout vehicles were pushed over, so it was impossible to figure out how many rebels there were for a while.

The government troops on both sides were forced to squeeze towards the middle, and their formation suddenly became chaotic.

The heavy cavalry in the middle of the rebel army fought hard, while the rebels on both sides shouted and killed loudly, surrounded and rushed towards the government troops, and the government troops were in imminent danger!
Guo Ziyi knew that another battle would be disadvantageous, so he ordered Pugu Huai'en to break out from the south.

Puguo Huai'en was extremely brave. He and his son Puguo Yan fought desperately to open a path for the government troops. Guo Ziyi also fought bravely and followed Puguo Huai'en and his son to break through the rebels' encirclement on the south and cross the Fuyang River.

Yan Zhenqing came to support them on the other side of the Fuyang River, so the rebels did not cross the river to pursue them. However, the government troops were defeated in this battle, with ten thousand killed, three thousand captured, and the government army suffering heavy losses.

Guo Ziyi led his troops to retreat to Lucheng with a gloomy look on his face.

Pugu Huai'en was always quiet, but he couldn't help but say at this moment: "Shi Siming does have some tricks. He didn't learn from Liu Heita to fight with his back to the river. Instead, he pretended to be defeated first, then gave up the advantage of Fuyang River, and lured our army into the encirclement. The long snake formation can actually be used in this way!" Guo Ziyi sighed and said, "I underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. I will write a memorial to the court to apologize."

Yan Zhenqing said: "We can't blame you for the defeat. The rebels are all elite soldiers. Our army only has the most elite Shuofang Army. The second-line troops I led are difficult to fight against the rebels."

Guo Ziyi shook his head and said, "As the commander-in-chief, I should have taken all factors into consideration. I failed to do so and that was my fault. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and I submitted a congratulatory letter the day before yesterday. I had originally wanted to win a great victory and present it to Your Majesty, but I did not expect to suffer such a disastrous defeat."

Pu Gu Huai En said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. You don't have to blame yourself too much. I am worried that after you submit your apology, His Majesty will transfer the generals of the four towns of Longyou Road to lead the troops. The four towns of Longyou Road are different from the Shuofang Army, and changing generals before the battle is not good for the war. It is better to conceal it first and report it to His Majesty after we win the battle again."

"Don't do that." Guo Ziyi flatly refused, saying, "Since you've already made a mistake, why do you have to make it again? Your Majesty is a young man of talent, no matter how he arranges things, there must be a purpose. As ministers, we must not speculate on the emperor's mind, and we must not deceive the emperor."

"Yes." Pugu Huai'en did not refute, but was unhappy.

Guo Ziyi said: "If Your Majesty really changes the commander, I hope you will give us your full support to recover Hebei and restore peace to the world. This is the top priority."

"Yes." The generals received the order in unison.

……

Yecheng.

An Lushan blamed Cui Qianyou for the defeat in Shanzhou and demoted Cui Qianyou.

When someone leaves, someone else takes over. An Lushan originally planned to replace Cui Qianyou with Sun Xiaozhe, but considering the critical situation, he finally used An Shouzhong.

An Lushan knew that An Shouzhong's military talent was higher than Sun Xiaozhe's, and he often compared An Shouzhong to his champion marquis Huo Qubing. However, he hesitated when appointing An Shouzhong because An Shouzhong had a good relationship with An Qingxu, but An Lushan did not want An Qingxu to succeed to the throne.

An Qingxu was An Lushan's second son. He and his eldest son An Qingzong were both born to An Lushan's wife. An Qingzong had been executed by Li Longji before. According to the order of succession, An Qingxu should have inherited the throne, but now An Lushan preferred his younger son An Qingen, born to his favorite concubine, and wanted An Qingen to succeed him.

Historically, it was for this reason that An Qingxu joined forces with Yan Zhuang and An Lushan's personal eunuch Li Zhuer to kill An Lushan.

Of course, deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest was only one of the reasons why An Lushan was killed. Other important reasons included An Lushan's suppression of the Han people, both civil and military, and making the Han minister Yan Zhuang submit to An Qingxu. He also fell ill in his later years, had a bad temper, and would kill people around him at will.

But now, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out ahead of schedule, Li Heng suppressed the An Lushan rebels, and history changed. An Lushan was not seriously ill, he endured the dispute between the Hu and Han people, and forced by the situation, in order to maintain stability, he had no intention of deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son.

An Lushan summoned An Shouzhong to discuss matters alone and asked, "Shouzhong, what do you think? Should we retreat to Fanyang and establish our own regime?"

An Shouzhong said: "Retreating without a fight will only boost the morale of the Tang court and make the Yan army lose confidence. Besides, we are not at the end of our rope yet. Once we win a battle, those fence-sitters in Hebei will be tempted to move. Only by occupying Hebei can we truly establish our own territory and then move south."

An Lushan asked: "The government troops are surrounding us from three sides. Do you have the confidence to win?"

An Shouzhong said: "From the beginning, I wanted to let the Tang army out for a decisive battle. Although the Tang army has a slight advantage now, we are also capable of fighting. I am 40% sure."

An Lushan asked, "Only 40%?"

An Shouzhong said, "Only 40%. If you are worried, I am willing to resign."

(End of this chapter)