villain

Chapter 404
Zhong Yao didn't stop, and fled in embarrassment all the way.

There are fewer and fewer soldiers around. When they rushed out from Xixiao Mountain, there were still 2000 people, but now...

More than a hundred personal guards protected Zhong Yao and went straight to Hangu Pass.

The Han'an army behind them seemed to be in no hurry to catch up.The more this happened, the more panic Zhong Yao felt.Although he also knew that Hangu Pass was more ominous than good, but apart from Hangu Pass, he seemed to have no way out.

I only hope that Li Dian can stick to Hangu Pass.

If Hangu Pass is not lost, there is still a way out.Zhong Yao knew Li Dian's talent very well, he was an extremely calm and cautious person.Li Dian stopped Zhong Yao when he stormed Hangu Pass.It's just that Zhong Yao at that time, how could he listen to it?As long as Chang'an is captured, he will have enough capital to become Cao Cao's mastermind.

but……

Zhong Yao no longer thought about what kind of predicament he would face after returning to Xuchang.

Beat the horse and whip, and gallop all the way.In the daytime of the second day, I saw the majestic Hangu Guanfu City.On the top of the city, the flag of Cao Jun was still flying, and Zhong Yao suddenly calmed down: "Fortunately, it seems that Hangu Pass is still in my hands!"
The so-called auxiliary city is an auxiliary city wall added behind the pass as the in-depth defense of the pass.

Ordinary passes usually have three to four auxiliary cities with different heights to delay the enemy's offensive.

However, a grand pass like Hangu Pass does not need to build so many auxiliary cities.

One man guards the pass, and the title of Wanfu Mokai is not in vain, so only an auxiliary city was built behind the pass.

The city is three feet high, and the gates are tightly closed.

Zhong Yao urged his horse to the pass and shouted loudly, "Tell General Li Dian quickly and open the city gate immediately!"

There was no movement on the city wall, and there was no sound.

Zhong Yao frowned, and shouted again: "I am Chief Shi Zhongyou, please inform General Li Dian quickly and open the city gate..."

Before the words fell, only the sound of gongs and drums was heard on the top of the city.Rows of soldiers appeared on the city wall, bowed their bows and set arrows, aiming at Zhong Yao and others below the city.Above the gate tower, a scribe in soft armor came into Zhong Yao's eyes.Although he didn't know who it was, from the clothes of the soldiers, Zhong Yao already knew that the situation at Hangu Pass was not good.

At that time, Gao Zu once said that he had killed the snake and rebelled, and he called himself the son of the Red Emperor.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty promoted Huode, and the soldiers were equipped with red uniforms to show the image of the Red Emperor Huode.Cao Cao served the emperor in Xuchang, no matter whether he was "bong" or "coerced", at least for now, he is still a courtier of the Han court.

Therefore, Cao Jun's uniforms are all mainly red.

But the color of the uniforms of the Han'an Army is different.According to Liu Hong, the Han'an army founded the northwest of the mansion. According to Liu Hong, it was called Beiguishui, and Han'an used ink.Therefore, the livery of the Han'an Army is mainly black, and Dong Bi likes it very much.

The soldiers on the top of the city are all in black livery and black armor.

Zhong Yao turned pale with fright, and pulled his horse to leave, but when he heard a sound of clappers, two men and horses rushed out from both sides, trapping Zhong Yao in the middle.

On the big banner on the left is Tabaek Yongwu, and in the middle is written the Korean characters of Douda.

On the big banner on the right are the five characters of Han'an First Army, with a character Dong next to it.

It was Han De and Dong Zhao, the soldiers were quiet and silent, but the cold knife light was extraordinarily cold.

The scribe on the wall smiled, "Mr. Yuan Chang, how have you been?"

Judging from the meaning of this man's words, it seems that he still has some friendship with Zhong Yao.But Zhong Yao seemed to be unable to remember.

After all, everyone was born, and the way out was dead, so Zhong Yao's mood calmed down.

"This is Zhong Yao, who is Er?"

"Hehe, sir, the nobleman often forgets things. The student Xu Shu is also from Yingyin, and he is from the same hometown as sir."

Xu Shu?

Zhong Yao's pupils shrank suddenly, staring at the young man on the top of the wall, he said slowly, "Your Excellency is Xu Shu?"

"It's a mere name, it's not worth mentioning, but it makes me laugh! Back then when I was giving lectures in the academy, I used to watch him from afar. I don't want to think about it, it's really amazing that the students and the husband met under such circumstances."

Looking at it from afar...

This sentence is very interesting.If you are studying in an academy, how can you just watch it from a distance?Besides, as long as he is an academy student, Zhong Yao knows the general idea, but he really doesn't remember when Xu Shu appeared.

Xu Shu smiled and said: "In the fourth year of Zhongping, Mr. and the restaurant gave advice. Shu and his classmate were next door. Not only did they listen to Mr.'s high-level lectures, but they even had some conflicts with him. Mr. was in a high position at that time, and ordered The family servant arrested Shu. Shu still remembers how high-spirited Mr. was at that time, and it has been ten years, but he has not dared to forget it."

"you……"

Zhong Yao seems to be a little impressed!
In the fourth year of Zhongping, that's right...Yongqiu rebelled, and after Emperor Ling returned to Luoyang, he massacred the Luoyang family, which caused quite a stir.At that time, He Yong, a famous scholar in Nanyang, also died because of this incident. After the news spread, scholars from all over the world were dissatisfied, especially in Yingchuan.He often gathers in restaurants to talk and comment on various deeds since Emperor Ling.

Yingchuan Academy indeed gathered many students.

But to put it bluntly, the academy is still privately established by the aristocratic family, and most of the students who come out of it are attached to the aristocratic family.

The person who was criticized the most at that time was Dong Bi.

It seems that there was another conflict with life, two students of the academy were killed by the other party, but Zhong Yao was present that time.

The murderer... seemed to be rescued by Dong Bi later, and there was no further news after that.

Could it be that this Xu Shu is...

Looking up, Xu Shu is just like Zhong Yao back then, he looks high-spirited, but he himself has become his defeated opponent.

"Murderer, dare to be arrogant!"

Zhong Yao squeezed out eight characters between his teeth, and then suddenly asked, "Where is General Li Dian?"

"Li Dian?"

Xu Shu smiled, and there were personal guards behind him, who brought up a bloody human head, Xu Shu waved it in his hand.

"It's him?"

"General Lee..."

Although the distance is very far, Zhong Yao can see it very clearly.Although the head was covered with blood, but its eyes were wide open, it was Li Dian's head.Li Dian is still dead!And it seems that there is a taste of death.

Zhong Yao clenched his teeth, and he let out a breath after a while.

"Xu Shu, let me ask you. Although the auxiliary city is not very strong, it will not be easily captured by you with the talent of General Li. You, you, what kind of trick did you use to break through the city in one day? Auxiliary city, and there are no traces?"

Xu Shu chuckled, but didn't answer.

There was a hint of sarcasm in that smile, as if to say: Aren't you a celebrity in the world?Why not make a good guess?
Zhong Yao was taken aback for a moment, and something appeared in his mind.

When I first entered the pass, I found that there was a lot of rammed earth in the pass, and some wells had dried up.At that time, Zhong Yao was eager to march, but Zhong Yao didn't care.Thinking about it now...he blurted out: "But have you dug a tunnel in the pass beforehand?"

Although he didn't express anything on the surface, he was extremely shocked in his heart.

This Zhong Yao is indeed capable.Unexpectedly, in such a short period of time, I guessed the method for me to break through the auxiliary city.

But Zhong Yao smiled wryly: "This is authentic, I'm afraid it's a situation that people have set up long ago, just waiting for me to come to die."It's a pity that the lives of Li Dian and Lejin's two generals were ruined in vain... My lord, Zhong Yao really deserves to die.

On the top of the wall, Xu Shu said: "Mr. Yuanchang, now you have nowhere to go, and you will be pursued. You might as well explain that the plan you designed for the chaos of snakes has been executed by my military adviser since the day it was implemented." Aware. Now, the snakes in Chang'an and those rebels have all been caught. When you sent troops to attack Hangu Pass, General Pang De sent troops from Jiguan, crossed the river south, and attacked Gucheng by surprise. Hehe, Tai Shici Now I'm afraid I can't protect myself."

"what!"

For a moment, Zhong Yao's heart was ashamed.

The plan of a group of snakes dancing wildly that he had painstakingly planned was suddenly seen through.

I'm afraid that Panlong's secret will be hard to keep.As Guo Jia said: If you want to release snakes in the future, I am afraid it will be difficult!

It's winter now, and the river is frozen.

If the Han'an army comes out from Jiguan, as long as they cross the river, the whole Jingzhao will be threatened. There are capable people in Guanzhong!

Xu Shu said grimly: "Sir, there is no way out now, why don't you surrender to my lord? With your talent, you will definitely be able to..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhong Yao sternly shouted: "Don't talk nonsense, how can I submit to my humble husband. Today Zhong is not capable enough, so he falls into your schemes. But in the future, there will be a chariot general to avenge us. Xu Shu, now that there are many heroes competing for the deer, it is not yet known who will win the deer. Zhong will be waiting for your arrival under the Nine Springs. My lord, Yao is one step ahead!"

Zhong Yao got off his horse, straightened his clothes, drew his sword, and slashed his neck.

A generation of celebrities died tragically in Hangu Pass in this way, and more than a hundred personal guards also launched a death attack after Zhong Yao's death.

Xu Shu sneered and said, "Who wins? It's not clear yet, it's just the final victory. Who will give up my lord!"

******
On the seventh day of the first lunar month of the second year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's [-] troops were completely destroyed in Hangu Pass.

When Tai Shici heard the news that Zhong Yao was in danger, he immediately sent troops to rescue him.On the way, he was attacked by the forward army under Pound's command, causing heavy casualties.Tai Shici retreated to Luoyang and reported to Xuchang urgently.But Pang De did not attack again, and quickly withdrew into the pass, joined forces with Chen Dao, Huang Zhong and others, supported the heroic soldiers and looked at Jingzhao, which shocked the princes of the world.

When Cao Cao got the news in Xuchang, he fainted on the spot.

Le Jin Li Dian, that was his old subordinate who had followed him since Chen Liu sent troops to attack Dong Zhuo.And Zhong Yao is more popular with Cao Cao.Now that all three are dead, the blow to Cao Cao is even greater than the annihilation of the [-] army.

"I want to use all my troops to attack Chang'an and avenge Yuan Chang Wenqian and Mancheng!"

After waking up, Cao Cao roared angrily.Regardless of whether his words were for show or sincere, the generals under his command were both moved and worried.How can Cao Cao, who has lost his mind, be able to contend with the increasingly powerful Guanzhong?
At this moment, two people walked in from outside the hall.

"My lord, absolutely not!"

Everyone looked, but it was Guo Jia and Lu Su.The two were in a hurry, obviously arriving in Xuchang after traveling all the way.

Cao Cao wondered: "Respect your filial son, why are you two together..."

"My lord, you must not act rashly. It is rumored that Dong Xiping is overseeing the battle in Hedong, and if he attacks Chang'an again, there may be no results. Besides, the [-] troops are all lost in Hangu Pass, and it is time to recover. It is impossible to attack now. It worked."

"Guo Jia, why do you always speak for Dong Xiping? Could it be a secret collusion?"

Xiahou Dun was furious when he heard this.He and Li Dian can also be regarded as old partners, and they have formed a friendship since the beginning of Cao Cao.

Calculating the time, it was almost ten years.

When Xiahoudun was stationed in Chenliu, Li Dian was his deputy. The friendship between the two can be said to be very deep.

Li Dian was killed, and Xiahou Dun felt an evil fire in his heart.

Guo Jia's intervention made Xia Houdun so angry that he rushed to the ground, pointing at Guo Jia and yelling.

"Yuan Rang, don't be rude, why don't you apologize to Feng Xiao?"

Cao Cao stopped angrily, and after calming down his emotions, he also knew that he was a little impulsive just now.

"Dong Xiping really appeared in Hedong?"

Xun You nodded, "A detailed report, Dong Bi appeared in Anyi at the end of the year, Zhang He and Xu Huang attacked Gao Lan twice, and Gao Lan was defeated. And Chang'an...is also suffering heavy losses now. The secret of the coiled snake may have been mastered by Dong Xiping hands."

Cao Cao gasped and looked at Guo Jia.

At the beginning, Guo Jia reminded Cao Cao.Once the action fails, Pan Snake's years of hard work will be in vain.

At the beginning, Cao Cao was also obsessed with ghosts. After listening to Zhong Yao's words, he vetoed Guo Jia's idea.

Now it seems that Guo Jia is more farsighted.Cao Cao stood up and bowed deeply to Guo Jia: "I regret that I didn't listen to Feng Xiao's advice."

"My lord, it must not be like this!"

Guo Jia quickly moved away, his voice a little excited, "Eating the king's salary and relieving the king's worries is the duty of Jia. It was also Jia's fault for not being able to dissuade the lord at the beginning. Now, we only have a long-term plan and seek to recuperate first. , and make plans after recovering your energy."

Everyone also stepped forward to persuade Cao Cao to return to his seat.

"Then in the view of filial piety, what should we do now?"

"My lord, Dong Xiping defeated our army at Hangu Pass, but his strength is not enough to send troops to attack Jingzhao immediately. The most urgent thing is to send a confidant general to guard Jingzhao to prevent Dong Xiping's men from sending troops to attack and harass. "

"It should be so, but who should be sent?"

Guo Jia's eyes swept over the generals, and all of them puffed up their chests unconsciously.

That means: choose me, choose me!
Especially Xiahoudun, who was gearing up, wished he could recommend himself in the past.But Guo Jia didn't look at him at all.

"General Xia Houyuan has excellent martial arts skills and outstanding military skills. He is calm and stable enough to guard Luoyang. General Tai Shici suffered a big defeat, but it was not due to the battle. In fact, Yuan Chang was too impatient, which caused this defeat. Besides, Zi Yi and The Han'an army has fought many times, and I know the Han'an army best, so I can serve as General Xia Houyuan's deputy general and guard Jingzhao together."

When Cao Cao heard this, he also agreed very much.

Indeed, in terms of trustworthy generals with outstanding literary and military skills, this room really belongs to Xia Houyuan.

"Miaocai, would you like to go?"

"Yuan Dan has a breath, and the Dong family's army will not be allowed to step on Jingzhao."

"That's very good. I will invite the emperor to call you General Annan tomorrow. The safety of the south of Jingzhao depends on you!"

"Yuan will not disgrace his life!"

This General Annan is a miscellaneous general.

Cao Cao is now an official worshiping Sikong, driving a chariot and riding a military general, and controlling military affairs.But in name, there is still a cutscene.

After the arrangements were made, Cao Cao couldn't help frowning.

This time Dong Bi made a disappearance, but Cao Cao had gains and losses.The three lost were Zhong Yao, but they also got Lu Bu Gao Shun and other generals.It's just that Cao Cao was still a little unsure about the use of Lu Bu, and it was difficult to make a decision for a while.

At the same time, Dong Bi is now firmly seated in Guanzhong, is it possible to watch him grow bigger?

"My lords, Dong Bi's power is growing day by day, what should I do?"

Everyone was silent, bowed their heads in thought.But at this time, Lu Su, who had been silent all this time, took a step forward, "My lord, Su has a plan to share my worries."

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A little trivia in the afternoon, so the update is a bit late.

There will be another update around twelve o'clock. Starting tomorrow, try to restore the normal time update.

(End of this chapter)