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

The autumn air has already permeated the bricks of Tongguan.

An Lushan's rebels had been camped at the pass for more than a month. The tents were connected like a black tide, surrounding this pass that controlled the throat of Chang'an.

The hands of the Tang army soldiers on the city wall, holding spears and halberds, were already covered with thick calluses. Their eyes passed through the thick smoke and fell on the big flag embroidered with the word "Yan", and their teeth were chattering.

Geshu Han stood in front of the arrow tower, leaning on an iron staff, his sickly face looking even more haggard in the setting sun.

His back had long been eroded beyond recognition by carbuncles, and every breath was accompanied by severe pain, but his eyes were still astonishingly bright, like two flames swaying in the wind but refusing to go out.

The guards wanted to put a fur coat on him, but he waved them away: "The soldiers are all defending the city with bare chests. What will it look like if I wear such thick clothes?"

Suddenly there was a commotion below the city, and An Lushan's ceremonial procession slowly advanced to within an arrow's reach.

The Hu man was wearing a purple robe and a golden belt, and he was riding a jet-black Ferghana horse. The wolf-tooth sword hanging from his waist flashed fiercely in the sun.

He reined in the reins, looked up at the figure on the city wall, and his hoarse voice pierced through the wind: "Geshu Han! I hope you are well!"

Geshu Han narrowed his eyes and tapped his iron staff against the bricks, making a dull sound. "You traitor, you dare to speak to me?"

An Lushan roared with laughter, causing the surrounding guards to frown. "Traitor? Geshu Han, tell me honestly, has the Tang Dynasty really treated you and me so well?"

"Back in the day, you were just a garrison soldier herding horses in Hexi. If you hadn't earned a name for yourself through your brute strength, you'd be starving in the Gobi Desert right now."

"Our Tang soldiers are promoted based on their military achievements. It's fair and upright!"

Geshu Han's voice suddenly rose. The pain from the carbuncle made cold sweat seep out of his forehead, but he still straightened his back. "Unlike you, you rely on flattery to please the emperor, but secretly raise private soldiers and harbor rebellious intentions!"

"Saint? Which saint?" An Lushan suddenly reined in his horse, and the horse reared up, its front hooves gleaming coldly in the air. "Is it Li Longji, who spent his days indulging in the company of Yang Guifei, or is it Li Longji, the tyrant who listened to Yang Guozhong's slander and treated his border generals like dogs?"

"Geshu Han, you and I are both Hu people. The blood of the grasslands flows in our veins. Why should we risk our lives for the Han people?"

The Tang army officers and soldiers on the city wall roared angrily upon hearing this, and countless arrows were stretched taut on the bowstrings, waiting for the commander's order to shoot through the Hu man's throat.

Geshu Han raised his hand to restrain the restless guards, and slammed his iron staff heavily on the bricks: "An Lushan, listen to me carefully——"

His voice was hoarse, but every word was as strong as iron, rolling down the tower with the wind: "My grandfather was a Turk, and my father was a Hu, but my brother Shu Han was born on the land of the Tang Dynasty, eating the Tang Dynasty's salary and enjoying the Tang Dynasty's favor!"

"Back when I defeated the Tubo at Qinghai Lake, the sage personally gifted me with a golden sword. The people of Chang'an lined the streets to greet me, calling me 'Geshu Yedaidao'! Tell me, how could I betray such a country?"

"Lose?" An Lushan acted as if he had heard a ridiculous joke. He untied a tiger talisman from his waist, threw it into the air, and then caught it firmly. "You are guarding Tongguan, but you are just shielding yourself from the arrows of treacherous scoundrels like Yang Guozhong!"

"He has been plotting a rebellion in Chang'an day and night. The Sage has long been suspicious of you. Otherwise, why would he transfer you back from Hexi and have a group of eunuchs watching your camp?"

Geshu Han's face turned slightly pale, and the pain of the carbuncle suddenly became sharp.

He remembered that half a month ago, the eunuch sent by the saint took a small notebook and recorded the words and deeds of the soldiers stroke by stroke. Even his coughs at night were recorded in the memorial.

But he quickly clenched the iron staff again, his knuckles turning white from the force. "If the king wants his subject to die, he must die! But as long as I have breath left, I will never let you, a rebel, set foot even a single step past Tongguan!"

"What a loyal minister!"

An Lushan's smile suddenly faded, his eyes becoming as sinister as a wolf's. "Then let me ask you, which of the foreign soldiers and generals under your command has not left their homeland?"

"Ask them, are they willing to follow you and die in this isolated city, or follow me back to Chang'an and take back what rightfully belongs to us?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out from below the city.

More than a dozen prisoners in shackles walked out of the rebel camp. They were all foreign generals under Geshu Han.

The leading Turkic man raised his head and cried out to the tower: "General! An Lushan said that if you open the city, he will make you the King of Northwest China and let us return to the grasslands to herd sheep! Just surrender!"

"Shut up!" Geshu Han suddenly pointed his iron staff at the prisoner, his eyes red with anger. "My Geshu Han's soldiers are soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in life and ghosts of the Tang Dynasty in death! If anyone dares to say the word 'surrender' again, I will chop him down first!"

He turned to look at the soldiers behind him, and his voice suddenly softened: "Brothers, I know you miss home."

"After we defeat the rebels, I will petition the Saint to allow you to return home with wages, build houses for your parents, and find wives for your children."

"But now, we have nowhere to retreat—Chang'an is behind us, with hundreds of millions of people, we have to defend it!"

A thunderous cry erupted from the Tang army: "Defend Tongguan to the death! Never surrender!"

An Lushan's face darkened completely. He knew that it was futile to persuade him to surrender.

Although the old man Geshu Han was seriously ill, he was like a red-hot iron, firmly stuck to the top of Tongguan City. As long as he was there, this pass would be difficult to break through.

He turned his horse around and was about to return to the camp, but he saw dust suddenly rising from the Tongguan city gate, and a team of galloping horses broke through the twilight and headed straight for the city wall.

"It's General Wang Sili!" the personal guard suddenly shouted.

Geshu Han's heart sank suddenly.

He was the one who sent Wang Sili to Chang'an for help, so how come he came back so quickly?

He struggled to move forward, only to see Wang Sili dismounting from his horse, holding a bright yellow scroll in his arms, his face as pale as paper.

"General Wang, does the saint have any orders?" Geshu Han asked anxiously.

Wang Sili fell to his knees with a thud, tears mixed with dust streaming down his face. "General... the Saint... the Saint ordered you to dispatch the troops immediately."

"What did you say?" Geshu Han stumbled back half a step as if struck by lightning, his iron staff scratching the bricks with a harsh sound. "The main force of the rebels is outside the city. Sending troops at this time is suicide! Doesn't the saint understand?"

"The sage said..." Wang Sili's voice trembled like a leaf in the wind, "that you have so much power and might be treacherous. He also said that if you don't fight within three days, you will... be charged with treason."

The last few words were like poisoned ice cones, piercing into Geshu Han's heart.

He suddenly covered his chest with his hands, a fishy and sweet taste ran through his throat, and a mouthful of blood flowed down the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the bright yellow scroll, like a suddenly blooming red plum.

"Collaborating with the enemy?" he muttered to himself, then suddenly burst into a shrill laugh filled with sadness. "I've guarded the pass for months, suffered heavy casualties, and all I get in return is the charge of colluding with the enemy?"

The soldiers on the city wall were stunned. They had never seen the Marshal lose his composure like this.

Wang Sili lay on the ground, not daring to look up. He only heard Geshu Han's laughter gradually fade away, and finally turned into a heavy sigh: "Bring me a pen and ink."

The personal guards quickly spread out the rice paper, and Geshu Han picked up the wolf hair brush with trembling hands, but he couldn't hold it steadily.

He looked at An Lushan's tent at the foot of the city, and thought of the music and singing in Chang'an. Suddenly, he threw his pen to the ground and said, "Pass the order. At dawn tomorrow, the entire army will attack!"

"Master, you can't do that!" Wang Sili suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face. "This is An Lushan's trap. The saint... he's been deceived by this traitor!"

Geshu Han didn't look at him, but only watched the setting sun in the west. The setting sun was sinking into the mountains, dyeing the walls of Tongguan a blood-red.

He recalled his youth in Hexi, riding a warhorse and chasing the sunset. The sky was so blue at that time, and the flag of the Tang Dynasty fluttered in the wind, as if it could fly forever.

"If the ruler wishes his subject to die, the subject must die."

He spoke softly, his voice as light as a sigh, but it made everyone present's eyes red.

The night wind suddenly turned cold, causing the flags on the city walls to flutter.

Geshu Han leaned against the battlement, looked at the lights of the rebel camp in the distance, and suddenly sang a Hexi folk song in a low voice.

The song was hoarse and broken, but with a heartbreaking stubbornness, it echoed in the night sky of Tongguan for a long time.

An Lushan, who was standing below the city, heard the singing and suddenly reined in his horse. He listened for a moment and suddenly sneered at the tower: "Geshu Han, it seems you can't hold on any longer."

"Tomorrow, I will be at the top of Tongguan City, waiting for you to kowtow to me."