Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

Outside the tent of the Tongguan commander, the north wind blew snow foam onto the flags, making them rustle.

When Bian Lingcheng stepped in through the snow, the snow on his sable cloak hadn't melted yet. He felt the wind from the tent door was blowing into his neck, and he cursed in a shrill voice: "You tactless people! Can't you tuck the tent curtain in tighter? You're freezing to our door, watch out for your hide!"

The guard on duty in the tent had a gloomy expression on his face, but because he was in the presence of the saint, he could only bow and say "yes".

Geshu Han was leaning on the table looking at the map. He turned around slowly when he heard this.

His back was slightly hunched beneath his battle robe, and his graying beard was still stained with medicine residue. When he saw Bian Lingcheng, he simply bowed and said, "I am honored to be here, General Bian. I wonder what the imperial decree is?"

Bian Lingcheng snorted and didn't respond to him. Instead, he walked to the stove in the tent and warmed the charcoal with his hand. The fine mutton-fat jade ring on his finger gleamed in the firelight.

"General Geshu's tent is even colder than our place in Chang'an."

He slowly stirred the silver charcoal in the stove, glancing sideways at Geshu Han. "True. This is Tongguan after all. How can it compare to the bustling market? I just wonder when the general, guarding this cold tent, will stop the saint from worrying about the war outside the pass?"

Geshu Han frowned slightly.

He had dealt with Ling Cheng several times and knew very well that although this man was a eunuch, he loved to show off, especially in front of military generals, using the title of a saint to bully others.

"If the military supervisor has anything to say, please speak frankly."

His voice was a little hoarse. The sequelae of the stroke last year had not yet healed completely. Half of his face was slightly stiff when he spoke.

"Speak frankly?" Bian Lingcheng suddenly turned around, the fake smile on his face completely gone. He pulled out a bright yellow imperial edict from his sleeve and deliberately waved the golden thread on the scroll in front of Geshu Han. "I'm here to deliver the imperial edict. How dare I 'speak frankly' in front of the general? Geshu Han, accept the edict!"

He shouted the last three words loud and shrill, as if he was singing an opera with a pinched throat, but with an unquestionable pressure.

The generals in the tent knelt down one after another. Geshu Han also knelt down slowly while leaning on the table. His knees hit the cold floor tiles with a dull sound.

Bian Lingcheng unfolded the imperial edict and read it in a drawn-out tone, his voice full of pride: "The Emperor of the Great Tang orders: The traitor An Lushan has stationed his troops at Tongguan for a long time and has refused to withdraw, which is a true defiance of the majesty of heaven."

"I now order Geshu Han to immediately mobilize his troops and march out of the pass to meet the enemy within three days. We must annihilate the bandits and recover the territory of the Great Tang."

"Any delay will be treated as disobeying an imperial order!"

He emphasized the four words "punished for disobeying the imperial order" and paused deliberately after reading them, his eyes scraping at Geshu Han's back like a knife.

Geshu Han raised his head suddenly, his gray eyebrows knitted together: "Military Supervisor, this..."

"Hey—" Bian Lingcheng interrupted him immediately, put the imperial edict back into his arms, and brushed off the non-existent dust on the corner of his robe. "General, please don't call me 'Military Supervisor'. I am the one who is here to deliver the imperial edict."

"The Saint's intention is clear: to dispatch troops within three days. If you have anything to say, why not go and tell the Saint?"

"How could a saint be so?" Geshu Han tried to stand up, holding onto the table, but his hands were shaking violently. "Although An Lushan was arrogant, his troops had been attacking Tongguan for so long that their fighting spirit had long been worn out."

"Our army is holding the strategic position. We only need to wait a little longer. The rebels will run out of food and grass and will collapse."

"Sending troops at this time is exactly what they want!"

"Oh, General, do you think that the sage is not as knowledgeable about military tactics as you are?"

Bian Lingcheng sneered, took two steps forward, and lowered his voice, "I've heard that the general has an army of 200,000 but is reluctant to go to war. There's been some gossip in the capital."

"Some say the general is afraid of An Lushan, and some say..."

He deliberately dragged out his tone, watching Geshu Han's face gradually turn pale, "He said that the general wanted to hold his own troops and wait and see the outcome."

"That's nonsense!" Geshu Han slammed the table so hard that the teacups on it jumped up. "My brother, Shu Han, has fought for half his life, with over seventy scars of varying sizes on his body. Which one wasn't for the Tang Dynasty?"

"When Tubo invaded, I led my troops to defend Hexi to the death. I survived many dangers. How could I have ever been afraid of anyone?!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, his chest heaving violently, and the muscles on half of his face twitching, obviously he was furious.

Bian Lingcheng seemed not to see it, but smiled even more proudly: "Don't be angry, General, we only heard about it."

"But after hearing these words, how could the saint not feel doubtful?"

"Think about it, Chang'an is only a short distance away from Tongguan. If the rebels really attack, what will the saint do?"

"What about the entire court?" He suddenly raised his voice. "General, you can't let the Saint wait until the rebels are at the gates before asking you to send troops?"

"You!" Geshu Han was so angry that his whole body was shaking. Suddenly, his vision went dark and his ears were buzzing.

He knew that Bian Lingcheng was deliberately provoking him, but these words pierced his heart like needles.

He recalled how he was full of vigor and ambition when he followed Wang Zhongsi to war when he was young, but now he was being questioned about his loyalty by a eunuch.

A fishy and sweet taste suddenly rushed up his throat. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he fell straight back.

"General!" The generals in the tent shouted and rushed over, and the tent was suddenly in chaos.

Bian Lingcheng took two steps back and looked at Geshu Han lying on the ground. His face was expressionless. He only curled his lips at the eunuch beside him and said, "You are really not easily frightened."

"Our family hasn't said anything yet, and it collapsed?"

He straightened his clothes and said, "Alright, the imperial decree has been passed on. We have to return to Chang'an to report."

"Tell your general, if we don't see our troops leave Tongguan within three days, we will have no choice but to report the truth to the Saint."

After saying this, he led his people out of the tent without looking back. When his cloak swept past the tent door, he deliberately created a gust of wind.

It was already late at night when Geshu Han awoke. A single oil lamp lit the tent, casting a dim glow. Lieutenant General Wang Sili was guarding his bedside. Seeing him open his eyes, he hurried forward, "General, you're awake! The doctor says you're suffering from a relapse of an old illness caused by anxiety. You need to rest."

Geshu Han struggled to sit up, but was held down by Wang Sili.

"Don't worry about me," he said in a weak voice, but with an undeniable urgency, "Pen and ink... bring me pen and ink!"

Wang Sili knew what he was going to do, so he quickly asked someone to prepare paper and pen, and helped him lean back on the pillow.

Geshu Han took the pen, his wrist was shaking so much that he could hardly hold it, and ink dripped onto the paper, leaving a small black mark.

"Your Majesty..." He gritted his teeth and wrote stroke by stroke, "Your Majesty, your Majesty, I, Geshu Han, am shocked and terrified upon hearing your decree. This is not because I am afraid of war, but because I am truly concerned for our country and our people."

"Although An Lushan was rampant, he had been stationed at Tongguan for several months, and his food and fodder were gradually running out. His followers were already thinking of dispersing."

"I shall hold the dangerous position and wait for the enemy to collapse on their own."

"If we force our troops to march out within three days, the plains outside the pass are vast and open, making them easy targets for the enemy cavalry to roam. Our army is mostly infantry, so we may find it difficult to resist them."

"This is An Lushan's plan to lure me into battle. A saint must not fall for his treacherous scheme!"

As he was writing this, he suddenly had a violent cough. Wang Sili quickly handed him a handkerchief and advised, "General, please take a break before continuing."

Geshu Han waved his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, but his eyes became more determined: "I know that I am old and weak. After the stroke, my hands and feet are not convenient. I am no longer the same as I used to be."

"However, as long as I hold Tongguan Pass for one day, I will not allow the rebels to advance even a single step."

"If the saint trusts me, I am willing to gamble my body on this game. I only need to hold out for another month, and I will surely be able to present An Lushan's head."

"If you force me to send troops, I'm afraid not only I will die, but Tongguan will be breached and Chang'an will be in danger!"

He wrote very quickly, the tip of his pen making a rustling sound as it moved across the paper, as if he was racing against time.

"Throughout my military career, I have never failed a saint or the Tang Dynasty."

"I now beg the Saint with tears and blood to revoke your order and wait for another opportunity."

"If the Saint insists on urging us to fight, I... I will fight to the death to thank the Saint for his great grace and to thank the people of the Tang Dynasty!"

As the last word fell, the pen in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang".

He looked at the blood-stained memorial and suddenly burst into tears.

He recalled the time during the Kaiyuan era when he had accompanied the sage on a hunt in Huaqing Palace. The sage had been so wise and powerful back then, but now...

"General Wang," Geshu Han grasped Wang Sili's hand, his knuckles white from the force. "You must personally deliver this memorial to Chang'an. Remember, you must personally deliver it to the Saint. Tell him that even if I die, I, Geshu Han, will die on the walls of Tongguan. I will never let the rebels get past me!"

Wang Sili held the memorial in his hands, his eyes red as he kowtowed heavily: "I obey your command! General, rest assured, I will pass on your message even if it costs me my life!"

When Wang Sili set out with his personal soldiers at night, Bian Lingcheng was roasting a fire in the Tongguan Posthouse and drinking tribute wine brought from Chang'an.

The young eunuch came in to report that Geshu Han had woken up, and he also wrote a memorial and asked Wang Sili to send it to Chang'an.

Bian Lingcheng took a sip of wine and sneered, "Write a memorial? He thinks writing a memorial can change the Saint's mind? It's too late."

He put down his wine glass and said to the young eunuch, "Go tell the people at the post station to prepare the fastest horse and the best dry food for Wang Sili so that he can reach Chang'an as soon as possible."

The young eunuch was puzzled: "Eunuch, if the emperor sees this memorial, what if..."

"What if?" Bian Lingcheng glanced at him. "What the Saint hates most right now is someone disobeying his orders. The more Geshu Han cries and shouts about not sending troops, the more the Saint thinks there's something wrong with him."

"Besides, we have already sent someone to report the 'gossip' in the capital to the Saint. Do you really think the Saint is urging the war because of the rebels?"

He chuckled, his eyes full of calculation, "Once Wang Sili delivers the memorial, our family will have to speak clearly in front of the Saint."

"If Geshu Han doesn't send troops, he will die. If he sends troops... he will also die."

The wind and snow outside the posthouse became even stronger, as if it was going to swallow up the entire Tongguan.

At this moment, in the Tongguan garrison commander's tent, Geshu Han was looking at the map on the wall. Overnight, his hair seemed to have turned a lot whiter.