Chapter 536: Entering the Game Personally

Huayin City, located at the exit of Tong Pass, was originally intended by Fang Youde to be handed directly over to Huangfu Weiming. He had calculated the travel distances; if Huangfu Weiming split his forces, the route through Tong Pass would arrive first, while the route to Puzhou would arrive later.

But, by chance, Huangfu Weiming took a detour and was delayed in Tong Pass for a long time before emerging, so Li Guiren's troops, despite taking the longer road, arrived first.

At this moment, Li Guangbi had already entered Huayin with five thousand elite soldiers.

Huayin City is built against the mountain; it does not directly block the road from Tong Pass to Chang'an, but lies on the southern side of the road.

Its southern side faces the Qinling Mountains, its northern side is the higher plateau, and the middle is relatively low, forming a valley passage.

It is also the main route from Chang'an to Luoyang.

Such terrain, when defended, creates an effect for the attacker of being able to pass but leaving a huge hidden danger.

Leaving Huayin City unattended and rushing straight to Chang'an is feasible, but abandoning such a large city behind, with the passage narrow, is unsafe by any measure.

Looking up, the mountains behind Huayin City are lush, but in Huangfu Weiming's eyes they appear like clawing demons, and merely seeing them feels unpleasant.

He is originally from Guanzhong, and has come to Huayin more than once. He used to think the scenery here was beautiful and endless, never feeling constrained.

This city is like a nail embedded in the heel; it cannot be ignored.

Huangfu Weiming decided to deal with it first.

"Grand Marshal, perhaps we should besiege this place first, then send the main army straight to Chang'an."

An Shouzong clasped his fists and saluted Huangfu Weiming, saying.

"Not urgent for now."

Huangfu Weiming waved his hand, still hesitating whether to abandon Huayin City and order a siege, or to attack the city first.

Such a mountain-built city, aided by the terrain, makes quarrying stone easy, so its walls are relatively high.

Using the ruthless "ant‑attachment siege" is too inefficient; it cannot work well against such a mountain city.

"Send a messenger to persuade surrender; if they submit, high officials and generous rewards will be offered without sparing."

Huangfu Weiming instructed Li Shiyu beside him.

Seeing Li Shiyu about to leave, Huangfu Weiming quickly grabbed him and said, "Don't go; send someone else instead."

Li Shiyu hurriedly thanked with tears of gratitude and obeyed.

Huangfu Weiming has always been generous to subordinates and confidants, which is why he could gather a group of loyal men around him.

Half an hour later, the messenger's corpse was torn apart, head and body separated, and thrown down from Huayin City tower! It was truly the utmost tragedy!

The city's defending commander gave no explanation at all, nor delivered any letters. It seemed the Huayin commander simply did not wish to speak with Huangfu Weiming, and closed the communication channel outright.

The towering walls seemed to mock Huangfu Weiming, saying:

"If you want to fight, then fight! If you don't want to fight, get out quickly!"

"Grand Marshal, the Huayin defending commander seems unwilling to surrender, wanting to live and die with the city."

Li Shiyu cautiously told Huangfu Weiming.

He kept watching his own commander's expression. To be frank, Huangfu the Grand Marshal's face still held together, but compared with his earlier overconfident look, it was noticeably gloomier.

"Grand Marshal, I, the junior commander, think Huayin City must be taken first; otherwise leaving it behind will cause endless future trouble."

Seeing Huangfu Weiming silent, An Shouzong quickly suggested.

This time Huangfu Weiming nodded at him, clearly showing agreement.

Earlier he was still hesitating whether to attack Huayin City because he did not know the defending commander's attitude, so there was no need to rashly force the opponent into a desperate situation!

Huangfu Weiming rose up under the banner of clearing dissent for the "new ruler" Li Wan, and supporting the new ruler's ascent to the throne in Chang'an.

Huangfu Weiming did not proclaim himself emperor; legally that is defensible. At least he has not yet reached the level of being a despicable tyrant three hundred li upwind.

Along the way, many local inspectors were willing to open their cities and surrender, largely because of this. As long as Huangfu Weiming does not claim the throne, this war is a Li family affair; what right do outsiders have to interfere?

"Loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness are not meant for such a place."

Therefore the Huayin defending commander, helping neither side and treating it as if nothing happened, is highly likely. In other words, anyone who is not a die‑hard loyalist of Li Chang would choose this.

If the opponent pretends to be foolish, Huangfu Weiming does not mind letting them do so; just send some troops to encircle. Everyone plays a tacit game—once the Hebei rebels enter Chang'an, Huayin will have no meaning to hold.

"All good for you, me, and everyone; why not do it?"

But now the Huayin defending commander is so fierce, directly killing the messenger and discarding the corpse! This clearly shows a desire for mutual destruction.

Leaving such a huge hidden threat in the rear is essentially courting death! Without taking Huayin City, Huangfu Weiming's march fears being chased from behind.

"By the way, what does Li Guiren say?"

Huangfu Weiming, with a dissatisfied expression, asked, and Li Shiyu handed him a letter saying, "General Li has already restrained the garrison of Puzhou; he gave no further details on other matters."

Hearing this, Huangfu Weiming felt a little relieved, planning that after capturing Chang'an he would have to find a way to pressure Li Guiren.

This Grand Marshal Huangfu wanted to split forces to attack Puzhou, but the route is clearly inconvenient, with mountains to the north. Only after removing Huayin City will the road ahead open, making division of forces trivial.

"Send the order down, have the soldiers prepare for siege, and act after nightfall."

Huangfu Weiming said to An Shouzong.

"Understood, I will personally command!"

An Shouzong clasped his fists, saluted, and took the order. He knew his chance to rise had arrived.

…

Although on the surface the resistance within Huayin City appears quite determined, with a "beheading messenger to show defiance" and yet saying nothing about its resolve.

In reality, Hao Tingyu almost fought with Li Guangbi over this matter!

"Junshi! Junshi! Grand Marshal Fang said we only need to hold for ten days, why then do you insist on beheading the messenger sent by Huangfu Weiming?"

"Just stall with them a bit, buy time, say you are considering but still have concerns. Isn't that just delaying a few days?"

"With such cajoling, the ten days will pass in a flash. Why kill the messenger? You're being foolish!"

Inside the main tower's command room of Huayin City walls, Hao Tingyu paced anxiously, hopping about like ants on a hot pan, lamenting bitterly in Li Guangbi's ear, nagging nonstop.

He is close to Li Guangbi, so he speaks without many taboos; normally he says what he means directly.

Just now, Li Guangbi did not greet Hao Tingyu, but directly beheaded the messenger sent by Huangfu Weiming. When the messenger's head was presented before Li Guangbi and his men, Hao Tingyu could not believe it was real.

Brother, can you at least listen to what Huangfu Weiming is saying! Perhaps we could even employ a counter‑intelligence plan?

Just letting them be slaughtered like this—aren't we just courting death?

Hao Tingyu hasn't grasped Li Guangbi's train of thought; he is not the commanding general, nor can he disobey the opponent's military orders.

"If we don't provoke Huangfu Weiming, the other side will certainly surround Huayin and charge straight for Chang'an. We would be safe, but how should Marshal Fang's plan be carried out?"

Only by showing strong hostility, making Huangfu Weiming sleepless at night, can we get him to order an all‑out attack on Huayin regardless of cost.

That way we also stall the enemy army.

Marshal Fang's intention is actually to have us stall Huangfu Weiming, not simply to hold the city and be done with it.

Li Guangbi, with a solemn expression, gestured and said, "If we can't discern what Fang Youde is up to, we won't be able to blend in. Just by looking at the terrain between Huayin and Tongguan, one can tell that Fang Youde intends to settle the world with a single battle."

Seeing his resolve, Hao Tingyu could only nod lightly, indicating his agreement.

There is nothing more to say; Hao Tingyu also knows that Li Guangbi has understood Fang Youde's intention: to fight a decisive battle in the narrow stretch of road between Huayin City and Tongguan!

It will decide both victory and death!

Thus, the more impregnable Huayin appears—like a copper wall and iron fortress—the more Huangfu Weiming will lose his reason.

Li Guangbi's hardline stance, even the unchivalrous "cut‑and‑run" order, is actually using himself as bait to enter the scheme.

Victory will bring fame across the world; defeat leads to wandering the Yellow Springs.

Seeing Hao Tingyu's mood settle, Li Guangbi sighed lightly and explained: "The new emperor is, after all, a crown prince ascending the throne; the sage has become the retired emperor. Based on this, we can gradually tidy up the realm; there's no reason we can't proceed step by step. If we let Huangfu Weiming lead troops into Chang'an… sigh!"

Li Guangbi voiced his view: the current Great Tang is already on the brink of nationwide chaos, merely hanging by a breath.

As long as that breath remains, we can still mend the dire situation.

If that breath is gone, say nothing more—the world will plunge into an era of warlords carving up the realm.

That scene is simply unbearable to watch.

Precisely because of this, Li Guangbi decided to gamble on a single match.

The walls of Huayin City have only three sides; one side leans against a mountain.

You take a team to guard the mountain, and heed my call for reinforcements. Wherever the defense breaks, you go there and block the gap.

If the enemy tries to scale the mountain, you can set an ambush and give them a good show!

Li Guangbi instructed Hao Tingyu, saying this move is a desperate last‑ditch, leaving only a death battle.

"Understood, I'll go prepare right away!"

Hao Tingyu clasped his fists in salute to Li Guangbi, then descended the city tower to muster troops.

Li Guangbi stepped out of the command tent onto the city wall, gazing down; densely packed were people—soldiers of the Hebei rebel army preparing to siege the city.

However, their siege engines are crude; to capture the city tonight, they can only climb the mountain and launch a surprise attack from the northern slope.

Of course, the woods around Huayin are abundant; using these trees to craft siege engines is no difficulty, probably taking two or three days.

Li Guangbi counted the days on his fingers, silently cursing that Fang Youde actually ordered him to hold Huayin for ten days.

According to his estimate, the first five days are relatively easy, the next three become dangerous, and in the final two days he can only leave it to fate, watching how both sides perform.

Whether they can hold the city, Li Guangbi truly has no certainty.

He only hopes Fang Youde's troops arrive a bit sooner; this time, if reinforcements are slow, the outlook is grim.

Li Guangbi prayed silently that Fang Youde would not slip up at the crucial moment.

Sure enough, as he expected, late at night the ant‑like siege began outside the wall!

An Shouchong selected some soldiers adept at climbing to act as a suicide squad. They stepped onto hastily made wooden ladders to scale the wall. Because the ladders were too short, for the last foot they used iron picks as tools, stepping into the wall's stone crevices to climb.

This short‑sighted, quick‑fix method is essentially no different from sending heads to the grave. Clearly they can't get up, yet they force it!

The unit assaulting the gate also fared poorly; under a hail of arrows many died before they could pour oil and torches onto the gate. Unexpectedly, the gate was burned successfully, but the three gate entrances were blocked by piles of stones.

Huayin is never short of large stones. Li Guangbi had already anticipated this, and simply used stones to seal the gates!

In short: if you don't submit, fight; surrender is not an option!

An Shouchong, watching from below the city, felt his blood boil, yet managed to stay composed. Because whether it's burning the gate or scaling the wall, it's all a feint to draw the enemy's attention.

His true killing move is a 500‑person assault team. These men will quietly climb the mountain, then lie in wait. When, three days later, the siege engines are ready and the main assault begins, this team will force their way into Huayin City from the mountain!

Then, surrounded on four sides with siege engine support, how could Huayin City not fall?

However, at dawn, An Shouchong saw dozens of wounded soldiers tumble down the mountain, almost all dead. They reported that when they quietly ascended last night, they were discovered by a pre‑set defending force.

After a round of slaughter, only those dozens barely escaped down the mountain; the rest perished.

An Shouchong's heart tightened, realizing this siege had finally met a worthy opponent.

Yet, perhaps Heaven itself wishes to punish them. Starting that day, it rained heavily for three consecutive days; the western slopes of Tongguan were washed, causing landslides that buried hundreds of Huangfu Weiming's soldiers, crushing morale, and sparking rumors.

……

Boom—!

Lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating Li Chang's pale face.

He stood at the main gate of the Purple Palace, watching the incessant downpour, his mood growing gloomy and irritable.

Yan Zhenqing, wearing a straw raincoat and holding a bamboo umbrella, arrived at the Purple Palace. His complexion was also grim; after handing the rain‑shielding item to the attending eunuch, he saluted Li Chang with a spread‑hand gesture and said, "Your Majesty, I have come to report the situation at the front."

"What's the situation now?"

Li Chang asked calmly.

"Huangfu Weiming is leading tens of thousands of elite troops in a fierce assault on Huayin; Marshal Fang's forces… are nowhere to be found."

Yan Zhenqing let out a long sigh.

To keep it secret, Fang Youde concealed the whereabouts of his troops. Because secrecy is essential to avoid defeat, informing Li Chang of the army's movements—who knows if there are spies in the court?

Huangfu Weiming, after all, is an important figure of a Guanzhong family; would he have no eyes and ears in Chang'an?

One must admit, Fang Youde is extremely cautious when it comes to warfare.

Fang Youde does not speak, so Yan Zhenqing naturally does not know, but he can be certain that Fang Youde will never surrender to Huangfu Weiming.

Like that.

Li Chang sighed, and actually didn't say anything.

Your Majesty should prepare to leave Chang'an, go to Liangzhou, go to Shuofang—any will do.

Yan Zhenqing advised, saying, it's not that he doesn't want to resist, but he really doesn't think Fang Youde can win. Huangfu Weiming's elite troops are too many, and they are clamoring to enter Chang'an, morale soaring!

Beloved official, go rest; I will not leave Chang'an, this time I won't go anywhere.

Li Chang's eyes flashed with a hint of resolve, and he spoke to Yan Zhenqing in a firm, unyielding manner.