Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

Chapter 122 Escape without fighting

A fierce rage ignited in Li Mao's heart, the flames reflecting in his eyes.

He appeared like a god of war poised to strike, not allowing Shi Siming's rebel army to concede even a fraction of their strength!

Upon seeing this, Guo Ziyi immediately said, "Your Highness, we cannot delay any longer. Shall we march on Chang'an at full speed?"

Now he and Li Mao share the same fate, and are bound by a common destiny.

Seeing Li Mao's worry and anger over Chang'an, Guo Ziyi felt his blood rush to his head and wished he could immediately charge back to Chang'an.

"No!" To everyone's surprise, Li Mao categorically denied it.

Guo Ziyi looked puzzled.

Li Mao explained, "Shi Siming's ability to lead the rebel army into the city silently proves that he is even more cunning than An Lushan. If we rashly lead our troops in, we might fall into his trap."

Guo Ziyi immediately said, "In that case, I am willing to lead a light cavalry to the front to ascertain the enemy's strength and weaknesses, and clear the way for Your Highness!"

Guo Ziyi clasped his hands in a gesture of supplication, his eyes revealing an unwavering determination.

Leading troops ahead into a city already laid in ambush by the enemy was undoubtedly extremely dangerous. And it seems that no one but Guo Ziyi could successfully accomplish such a task.

Although Li Mao valued talent, he knew that now was not the time to hesitate, so he returned Guo Ziyi's bow and said, "Alright, be careful. I will lead the army to follow you and make sure we meet up."

With Li Mao's permission, Guo Ziyi led his light cavalry and sped towards the majestic city of Chang'an like a whirlwind.

Li Mao looked at the remaining troops around him and gave an order: "General Guo risked his life to defend Chang'an, we can't stand idly by. Everyone, divide into teams and search Lindu Village and all the surrounding villages to rescue the survivors!"

There must be more than one survivor like the woman next to me.

Li Mao wanted to find them, protect them, and learn more details about Shi Siming's private army from them.

and also……

Where did his adoptive father, Emperor Li Longji, and Crown Prince Li Heng go, abandoning the city and its people?

And Yang Yuhuan, who was at the Taizhen Temple.

How is she?

Time waits for no one, and Li Mao carries too much on his shoulders.

He didn't even have time to grieve or think things through before he and his men threw themselves into the rescue mission.

Three days later, on a night, more than twenty survivors gathered together.

The general in charge of counting the number of people reported to Li Mao: "Your Highness, a total of twenty-seven survivors were rescued, most of whom were elderly, weak, women and children, the oldest boy being no more than ten years old. There were no adult men... none of them. It is said that they were all killed by Shi Siming's private army at the first opportunity, leaving no one alive."

The general then presented the list of survivors to Li Mao for his review.

But Li Mao had no interest in finding out the names of the survivors.

His reason was filled with anger.

How many lives did Shi Siming's actions cost the lives of so many brave men of the Tang Dynasty?

Li Longji, who was in the capital, was completely unaware of such a large-scale massacre of the village and did not send troops to help in the end!

Li Mao suddenly stood up and walked towards where the survivors were camped.

The survivors were all dressed in rags and looked utterly dejected.

Even so, upon seeing Li Mao's arrival, they all knelt and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Shou."

"Please rise quickly!" Li Mao stepped forward to help the elderly man at the head of the group.

The old farmer was found in an abandoned stable with his granddaughter. He looked like he had suffered a lot, but his spirits were still good.

The old farmer said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, almost everyone in our village was killed by those bastards... Only my granddaughter and I escaped here and hid. Those people were extremely cruel, they didn't even spare children."

Upon hearing this, Li Mao felt distressed.

He then clenched his fist and said to the old farmer, "You stay with the army for now, I will take care of you. The dead are gone, the living must live well!"

He then instructed his subordinates to expedite the establishment of the camp.

The deputy general accepted the order and immediately made the arrangements.

Just as Li Mao was about to turn and leave, the old farmer suddenly called out to him: "Your Highness, wait a moment... I am old, but my eyesight and hearing are still good. I have some information about Chang'an that may be useful to you."

Upon hearing the words "Chang'an," Li Mao stopped in his tracks.

The old farmer said, "That day I was on my way into the city to buy goods when, just as I reached the city gate, Shi Siming's army suddenly launched an attack, burning, killing, and looting throughout the city. I quickly found a safe place to hide, thinking that the Emperor would surely send troops to suppress the rebellion in time, and I would go out when it was safe to do so..."

To his surprise, only a small number of city garrison troops were deployed to suppress the unrest. The well-equipped and highly trained Imperial Guards and similar units within the palace were nowhere to be seen.

At first, the defenders fought back fiercely.

News spread from the palace that they should hold out a little longer, as the Emperor would personally lead troops to suppress the rebellion. This news greatly boosted morale, and they resisted tenaciously for some time.

"Later...then suddenly, the defending general held the head of his dead subordinate and wept uncontrollably. Almost instantly, the stubborn defending army collapsed and retreated step by step, and the city was completely captured by Shi Siming."

As the old man spoke, he glanced at Li Mao with some nervousness.

Li Mao knew there must be some reason behind this, and immediately said, "Old man, please continue. Tell the truth, and I will forgive you."

The old man continued, "Finally, I heard from the city's residents who fled with me... that the emperor, who had promised to personally lead the expedition, not only failed to appear for some reason, but also took advantage of the chaos to escape Chang'an through a secret passage with a large number of imperial guards and civil and military officials, abandoning us!"

He even brought several concubines with him.

It turns out that in his eyes, these people were more important than the common people and the garrison!

Upon hearing this, Li Mao couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Indeed, he shouldn't have had any expectations of Li Longji.

Historically, Li Longji did indeed choose to abandon the city and its people when the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, fleeing Chang'an with only a few people he valued, adding a significant chapter to his tarnished reputation in his later years.

But now, only a few remnants of An Lushan's private army remain.

Even if Shi Siming was incredibly capable, he was still far inferior to An Lushan's army in history!

Why couldn't Li Longji choose to resist?

Although Li Mao had always been dissatisfied with Li Longji, he never expected that even when An Lushan was being defeated by them, the emperor would still choose to flee without a fight, abandoning the troops and people who trusted him.

What is chilling is that none of the court officials offered any advice, so easily abandoning their responsibilities!

"Your Highness, what's going on?"

Guo Ziyi also rushed back at this time, looking travel-worn.

He had already gathered some intelligence on the enemy—Shi Siming had indeed occupied part of the city wall and set up outposts everywhere to prevent a Tang army counterattack. However, the entire city of Chang'an had not yet fallen into enemy hands.

His eyes lit up as he said, "I have some good news!"