National color raw owl

The towering Xigu Pass is majestic and huge, stretching for dozens of miles. Looking up from the bottom of the pass, you can only see dense figures of people on the pass, but looking down from above the pass, the passers-by below the city are as small as ants.

Xigu Pass is located at the throat of Beiling, [-] miles away. Da Xizhang's [-] elite soldiers are used to guard Xigu Pass.

The barracks of the Xiguguan garrison was in the pass, less than ten miles away from Xiguguan. Five thousand soldiers and horses took turns guarding the pass. Although many people often came and went from Xiguguan, the structure of Xiguguan was not known to outsiders.

The deployment of troops at Xiguguan is actually divided into three places.

One of them is naturally the copper gate of the pass. In fact, there is not one copper gate, but two copper gates. The West Valley Pass not only stretches for dozens of miles, but also has a width of several miles. Therefore, when people pass through the pass, it is like a When passing through the tunnel, there is a section of road in the middle, and torches will be lit so that people can clearly see the road passing.

At the entrance and exit, there is a copper door, which is controlled by a mechanism. When the mechanism is activated, more than a dozen strong soldiers are required to activate it. The two copper doors have always been opened at the same time according to the time of day. and off.

The mechanism is not actually in the passage.

Xiguguan is a huge monster that stretches across the northwest and the pass. Great efforts have been made throughout the dynasties. There are actually stone gates on both sides of the passage. Enter the stone gate and climb the stone ladder to enter the belly of the pass. , there is a large space in the middle of Xiguguan that is empty stomach, which is used to garrison the army, and there are holes on the wall of the pass, not only can you observe the outside situation through the holes at ordinary times, but also once a war occurs, these holes The hole can instantly become an arrow hole.

The Xigu Pass garrison was equipped with a group of elite crossbow arrows from the empire. These crossbowmen were stationed in the inner wall of the pass, and the mechanism for the Tongmen Pass was also set up in the inner wall of the wall.

On the pass wall, there is the third deployment of troops, which is also the main force of Xigu Pass. On the pass wall tens of miles away, the troops on the two wings are slightly weaker, but above the pass copper gate, there are densely deployed many troops. elite soldiers.

At least [-] soldiers and horses are needed to fully equip the three troops. Therefore, the guarding force of Xigu Pass has never been less than [-] soldiers and horses.

As for Xigu Pass, the defenders have always felt that it is a solid wall. As long as the pass is closed, everyone believes that even if an army of [-] is killed, there is nothing they can do.

As the guard of Xiguguan, Da Xizhang has never taken it lightly. Xiguguan has its own set of strict military rules and regulations, but Da Xizhang has always been severely punished if someone violates the military law.

Although everyone knows that Xigu Pass is as strong as gold, Da Xizhang has never neglected the training of the defenders. Once the defenders are transferred to the barracks, it does not mean that they can rest. For the army, it is much easier to be on duty day and night at the pass than to practice rigorously in the barracks.

Because of this, the [-] soldiers and horses at Xiguguan have always been an army with extremely strong combat effectiveness, and Da Xizhang also has absolute authority in Xiguguan.

For more than half a month since the pass was closed, a large number of people gathered in the pass. Looking from the pass, it stretched for more than ten miles, and it was a dark patch. Moreover, the people did not disperse because the pass was blocked. There are new refugees coming.

Da Xizhang stood at the critical point, with his hands resting on the wall, looking at the people in the pass densely packed like ants, his brows were furrowed, forming a line.

"General, there are more and more people." A general beside him frowned and said, "The number of people gathered here has exceeded 2, and people will come here every day. If this continues, it will definitely cause riots in the pass. .”

"Yes, General, the people in the city are mixed together, and I'm afraid there are many people with ulterior motives among them." Another general was also worried: "Do you want to order them to disperse and leave?"

Da Xizhang moved his eyes to the guarding barracks in the distance. The barracks were built on the mountain, with arrow towers and fences. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, "If someone is sent to disperse them at this time, I'm afraid someone will take the opportunity to cause trouble. Just guard the pass , don't worry about them, it won't be long before they have no hope of getting out, and they will naturally retreat...!"

"Yes!"

Da Xizhang glanced at a general beside him, and asked, "Changqing, can the people who went to Xishan to urge food come back?"

The military rations for the [-] guards at Xiguguan have always been allocated from the Chen Yang warehouse, one of the four major granaries in the empire. However, except for the Jinling warehouse in Jinling, which still has a surplus in the four major granaries of the empire, the other major granaries are already empty and have not yet arrived. During the autumn harvest, the people naturally have no food to collect, so the granary has not yet been filled with food.

Yuan Buji of Jinling Dao made a rebellion and took control of Jinling. First of all, he took the Jinling warehouse as his own. However, his buttocks were still hot, and his generals rebelled. After Yuan Buji was killed, Jinling Dao was divided into three, located in the north The Jinling warehouse in Jinling was also occupied by Xu Chang, who claimed to be King Ren.

As Xiguguan is the key point of the empire, military rations are absolutely indispensable, and Chen Yang's warehouse has no food supply, so the imperial court ordered Xiguguan's military rations to be raised by Xishan Road Qiao Mingtang.

When the people of Xiliang invaded the Northwest, Chen Yang’s small grain warehouse was allotted to the Northwest. Xishan and Anyi also borne a huge burden. Although the money and food in Xishan’s Qiao Mingtang’s hands were not rich, they were used to support Xigu It is barely achievable to shut down five thousand defenders.

The main army of Xishan was originally led by Qiao Mingtang to enter the capital to serve as the king, but unfortunately before the troops arrived, the capital was destroyed by refugees. The main force was concentrated on the Liangzhou line to the south of Xishan, and the anti-kings defending Jinling Road took advantage of the situation to attack northward.

Although the three kings of Jinling Road are in rebellion and are now fighting among themselves, you fight and kill each other, but in the west there is Da Xizhang who locked Xigu Pass to block the Northwest Army, and in the north is Yuan Chongshang who also served Qin, Qiao Mingtang has nothing to worry about. It is necessary to gather the main force of Xishan in the Liangzhou area at the junction of Xishan and Jinling. Not only can it defend the safety of the southern line, but as long as the opportunity is found, troops can be sent from Liangzhou at any time to take the Jinling warehouse in one fell swoop, and even drive straight into Jinling Road. .

Assistant Liangzhou's Xishan main force naturally consumes a lot of money and food. For Qiao Mingtang, who is already struggling financially, the pressure is extremely heavy. Food and grass are naturally delayed from time to time and cannot be delivered as scheduled.

"Report to General, I haven't come back yet." The general named Chang Qing said respectfully, "There are three days left before the delivery of food and grass, but judging from the current situation, Qiao Mingtang will not be able to deliver as scheduled."

A grumpy general next to him couldn't help but said: "General, Qiao Mingtang is procrastinating every time. What exactly is he trying to do? It is the imperial court's order to supply us with food and grass. He Qiao Mingtang is trying to resist purpose?"

Da Xizhang shook his head, and said lightly: "Wait a little longer, since the day has not arrived, let's stay calm." Glancing at the generals around him, he said: "We don't need to be impatient, Qiao Mingtang is not counted now. It's a good thing, although it's a bit late every time, but at least it's delivered every time... That's right, how long can our military rations last?"

"Returning to the general, the army rations can still last for ten days and a half months, there is no big problem." Changqing said: "And the rations for everyone can be reduced, and it will last for 20 days, there will be no problem."

Da Xizhang nodded slightly, and didn't say much, but at this moment, he heard a voice from a distance: "General, General...!"

Several people turned their heads, only to see shouts coming from the other side of the wall, and a flag waving. This Xigu Pass is magnificent, above the wall, the width is several miles, and the two sides are separated by a long distance. It will be conveyed by flag language, Da Xizhang frowned when he saw the waving flag, and several generals who followed him changed their colors slightly.

"General, there are soldiers and horses coming to the pass." Changqing said in a deep voice.

Da Xizhang didn't hesitate, walked over quickly, randomly walked faster and faster, even trotted all the way, when he reached the critical moment, someone raised his finger and said: "General, look...!"

No need for that person to point it out, Da Xizhang and all the generals have already seen that a group of men and horses are galloping towards the broad avenue, like a cloud of black clouds blowing with the wind.

Since Xiguguan was blocked, news has spread in the northwest. Although many people gathered in the pass to pass through and enter the northwest, there are very few people in the northwest who are close to Xiguguan. a figure.

At this time, a group of people suddenly appeared, which naturally attracted special attention.

Changqing snatched the flagpole from the flag bearer at the side and waved it. Immediately, someone next to him lifted the horn and blew the horn. Once the horn sounded, there were horns echoing at both ends. Soon, at the critical moment, more than a dozen horns At the same time, there was a humming sound, and the defenders above the critical moment immediately moved. The dozens of catapults placed above the critical point were originally lined up in the center of the critical point. The gatekeepers rushed over immediately, a team of five or six people pushed the catapult over, and the archers took their bows in their hands and leaned close to the edge of the wall.

"Don't act rashly." Da Xizhang put one hand on the wall and raised the other to signal the soldiers not to act rashly. He fixed his eyes on the rolling black cloud and said in a deep voice, "It's a cavalry soldier. There should be... .....two 300 people...!"

"Two or 300 people?" Changqing had already handed over the flagpole to the flag bearer beside him. He also put his hands on the wall and looked down from a high position. "General, is it a scout from the Northwest Army?"

A general immediately geared up and said excitedly: "Okay, they finally couldn't help it, General, it seems that the Northwest Army is going to attack the pass...... Hahaha, we need to let them know, what? It’s called an iron wall!”

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