Chapter Seventy-six Worries

  Chang'an City, Xingqing Palace.

  Yang Guozhong, who was discussing important matters with Emperor Li Longji and Wei Jianzhen, heard the thunder rumbling from afar and couldn't help but turn his head to look outside the window. He saw that the sun had already set outside, it was a bit dark, the wind was strong, and the flowers and trees in the palace garden were swaying wildly in the chaotic gusts of wind.

  Li Longji stopped talking and felt a bit uneasy. He signaled to Gao Lishi, who was standing silently on one side, to support him as he walked to the window.

  Affected by the gloomy weather, Yang Guozhong and Wei Jian felt a little unwell in their hearts, just like Li Longji. They followed the emperor to get up and walked to the window.

  "The sky is going to rain heavily!" Li Longji looked out of the window at the dark sky, with thick clouds rolling rapidly in the strong wind, and said with some emotion, "I wonder if Tongguan has rained?"

  "It should be raining from the east!" Yang Guozhong looked at the dark clouds in the southeast direction and muttered, "Tongguan must be raining now, probably very heavily!"

  "Tongguan must be raining!" Li Longji followed Yang Guozhong and sighed, "If Tongguan is raining, this rain will be very heavy, this battle will not be easy to fight!"

  Looking at the increasingly dark sky, Yang Guozhong thought for a moment and turned to look at Li Longji with a slightly gloomy face: "Your Majesty, I think it's good that it's raining in Tongguan! If it rains heavily, the rebel army's attack will definitely be delayed. Attacking the city in the rain is a taboo, which is quite beneficial for my Tongguan garrison. It's really heaven helping me. I hope this rain lasts as long as possible, best to last until tomorrow!"

  Li Longji slightly turned his head and glanced at Yang Guozhong, who was full of confidence, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

  Wei Zhen, standing by the side, seeing the emperor's expression, hesitated for a moment and then carefully said: "Your Majesty, I think if Tongguan also has heavy rain, it may not be a good thing!"

  "Why did Prime Minister Wei say that?" Yang Guozhong was somewhat startled and stared blankly at Wei Jian.

  Li Longji turned around with his hands behind his back and looked at Yang Guozhong, saying: "Guozhong, Wei Aiqing is probably right. If it rains heavily in Tongguan, it may cause trouble for the progress of the war!"

  "Your Majesty, I don't understand!" Yang Guozhong still didn't quite get it, and looked at Li Longji with a puzzled expression, then at Wei Jian who was nodding vigorously in agreement with the emperor's words. "Your Majesty, I think that after such a heavy rain, the rebel army will definitely delay their attack on Tongguan City, which would give us more time to wait for the arrival of our reinforcements! As long as General Chen's 60,000 troops arrive at Tongguan, we have nothing to worry about! Given the current situation, Du Hua and Zhang Jian's 8,000 troops can reach Tongguan City before nightfall, and General Chen's remaining 50,000+ troops can also arrive by midnight or dawn! If this rain continues until nightfall, it's likely that the rebel army won't have a chance to attack today and will have to wait until tomorrow. By tomorrow, my tens of thousands of troops will already be at Tongguan! I think this is why I believe this is heaven helping the great Tang dynasty!"

  Li Longji did not respond to Yang Guozhong's questioning, but instead signaled to Wei Jiansu, who was hesitating on one side.

  Seeing the emperor's intention and Yang Guozhong's doubts, Wei Jian hesitated for a moment before speaking out his thoughts: "Your Majesty, Lord Yang, my troops defending Tongguan rely on the strategic location of the pass to hold their ground. From what I know, over the past half year or so, Geshu Han has been able to defend Tongguan without losing it mainly because of the powerful killing power of our arrows! The rebels have no way to deploy large numbers of troops under the city walls, whether it's the old or new Tongguan city. Meanwhile, my troops on top of the Tongguan city wall can concentrate their strength to attack small-scale rebel forces, and even if the rebels launch continuous attacks, we can still effectively kill them with arrows. This is also the main reason why Tongguan has consumed countless arrows over the past half year!"

  However, the killing power of the rain-soaked arrows would greatly decrease. If the rebels were not afraid of difficulties and did not care about losses, and launched a rainy attack on the city, then our army's defense difficulty would increase significantly! Moreover, there are only over 10,000 soldiers defending the new and old Tongguan City, and the follow-up reinforcements are still on the way. The rebel army has around 150,000 soldiers, and An Lushan is personally leading the reinforcements to rush over! If we lose the power of arrows, relying solely on hand-to-hand combat, our Tongguan garrison would be at a disadvantage and would definitely face danger! Furthermore, the heavy rain could collapse the already dilapidated Tongguan city walls, making it easier for the rebels to climb the city. Therefore, I think that the rain is not a blessing from heaven, but will have an even more unfavorable impact on our army!

  "Wei Ai-qing is right!" Li Longji thought similarly to Wei Jian-su, and after hearing Wei's reasons, he immediately nodded in agreement. He then turned to Yang Guozhong, who still looked uncertain, and said: "Guo-zhong, I think the same way. As someone who has personally led troops, I know how hard it is to fight in wind and rain. If the rebels are attacking the city now, our defending troops will definitely be struggling, after all, the rebel forces are too numerous!"

  When the Emperor nodded in agreement, Wei Zhen saw that after Li Longji's few words of lamentation, he immediately followed up with another explanation: "Your Majesty, I also think that the heavy rain will cause great trouble for my subsequent relief troops to advance. The soldiers are advancing in the wind and rain, and their speed will definitely not be fast. If the rain lasts for a long time, it will inevitably delay the arrival of the relief troops. If the rebels take advantage of the continuous rain to attack, it will be very unfavorable to our Tongguan garrison!"

  Wei Zhen's last few words struck a chord in Yang Guozhong's heart, making him immediately worried. If the reinforcements were indeed delayed due to heavy rain and could not arrive at Tongguan on time, the danger of Tongguan would increase. He immediately made a courtesy call to Emperor Xuanzong, saying: "Your Majesty, I hope you will issue another order to General Chen, as well as Du Hua and Zhang Jian, telling them not to delay their journey due to rain, but to rush forward in the rain, so as to arrive at Tongguan as soon as possible, lest Tongguan suffer a loss!"

  "Hmm! That makes sense!" Li Longji immediately nodded, turned around and said to Gao Lishi who was following behind him: "Lishi, quickly pass on the imperial edict, tell Chen Xuanli, Dou Hua, and Zhang Jian to speed up their march, no matter how strong the wind or rain is, they must not stop. Dou Hua and Zhang Jian's troops must arrive at Tongguan before nightfall, there can be no mistake, otherwise, severe punishment will be meted out!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty!" Gao Lishi responded, bowed and turned to leave, conveying Li Longji's edict and ordering it to be delivered as quickly as possible to Chen Xuanli, Dou Hua and Zhang Jian.

  "Crack......" A loud noise, a bright flash of lightning split the dark sky in two, startling the three people inside. Yang Guozhong and Wei Jian rushed over to support Li Longji.

  "Your Majesty, it's about to rain heavily, why don't you go inside and rest for a while?" Yang Guozhong said in a soft voice.

  "Alright, let's go inside!" Li Longji nodded and signaled Yang Guozhong and Wei Zhen to support him as he went in.

  Yang Guozhong whispered to Emperor Xianzong as he supported him into the palace, "Your Majesty, as long as Chen Xuanli's troops can arrive at Tongguan as soon as possible, we don't have to worry about the rebel army even if they have tens of thousands more soldiers! The remaining 30,000 soldiers are also being quickly assembled, and I have strictly ordered them to depart before nightfall, striving to reach Tongguan by tomorrow evening!"

  "I hope Tongguan is worry-free!" Li Longji sighed softly and didn't speak again.

  Another flash of lightning cut down, and the earth-shaking thunder followed. "Dadada..." The continuous sound echoed in the yard, which was the sound of large raindrops falling to the ground.

  As the thunder grew more frequent, the dark clouds in the sky churned even more violently, and finally, when the wind died down, a torrential rain came pouring down from the heavens!