Great Han Empire

Chapter 286
Marching Sima Zuoyan and Bing Caoying Du Wei Tianzhong stood at the gate to greet them.

"Old man, Junyi..." Li Hongfei got off his horse and shouted happily, "I'm back, I'm back."

Tian Zhong ran a few steps, grabbed Li Hong's big hand, and said with a smile: "Zimin, come back, come back." He was very excited, his eyes were a little wet, "I said a long time ago, you are dead. I can't lose my life."

"How are you doing recently?" Li Hong asked with concern.

"It's very strong, and I'm going to follow my lord to fight to the sunset." Tian Zhong said with a smile, "You have worked hard too. I heard that the tiger head and the machete were both injured. How are you doing now?"

"The tiger head is nothing serious, but the machete is more serious." Li Hong said, "I want to leave him in Jizhou, but he refuses to do it, and he is arguing to come back. I have no choice but to have him carried to Chang'an. "

"Haha, if there is a battle, he certainly doesn't want to stay in Jizhou to recuperate." Tian Zhong said, "Where is Zilong? Didn't Zilong come back with the Black Panther Yicong?"

"I asked him to lead the Changshui camp." Li Hong smiled, "Didn't you tell me many times that you want him to lead the troops?"

"It's time for him to lead troops." Tian Zhong smiled happily, "Okay, okay."

At this time, Zuo Yan came over, bowed and said, "My lord, you have worked hard all the way."

"Junyi..." Li Hong hastily stretched out his hand to hold Zuo Yan's hands, and said with a smile, "It's hard work, I'm just anxious. How about it, Yu Xing and the others set off?"

"Lord Xianyu has already set off with two battalions of infantry from Lord Yushi and Lord Gao Lan." Zuo Yan replied, "Now only the old man's soldiers are left in the camp."

Li Hong nodded, and then introduced Song Wen, Xie Ming and others to Zuo Yan and Tian Zhong.

"Junyi, this is Changfeng and Lianzhi. From now on, they will be engaged and mastered in the army."

Zuo Yan was overjoyed.Now there is no one to deal with a large number of paperwork in the army. Although I am so busy that I don't even have time to sleep, the paperwork on my desk is still piled up like a mountain.Now that a few staff members have come down, big problems can be solved.

"Old man, both Wenlong and Zhongzhi are the best students in the Taixue, and I will entrust them to you." Li Hong pulled Tang Yun and Yin Si and said to Tian Zhong, "Wenlong is good at breeding goods, and Zhongzhi is good at farming. Being good at civil engineering will be your job in the future. Now, you won't complain that you don't have anyone under your command, will you?"

Tang Yun and Yin Si hurriedly saluted the old man.

"Don't dare to be, dare not be." Tian Zhong raised one with each hand and said with a smile, "I'm a groom and a rough man. Although I can read a few words, I don't understand anything. From now on, it's all up to you for the military camp. There are two."

Everyone chatted and laughed at the Yuanmen for a while, and then walked into the empty camp.

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In the big tent, Li Hong looked through the latest news submitted by Zuo Yan, and then handed it to Li Wei and Song Wen.

"The army of Lord Yan Rou, Lord Xianyuyin, and Lord Huaxiong has changed the marching direction and is rapidly approaching Linjing City." Zuo Yan pointed to the map and introduced, "Master Xianyufu brought Lord Yushi and Lord Gao Lan with him. The army is rushing day and night to Linjing for an early rendezvous."

"When will Xu Rong, Nie Xiao and Lou Lu's cavalry arrive at Linjing?" Li Hong asked.

"About six days later." Zuo Yan said, "Master Quyi, Kuangfengsha and Hengji's cavalry are slowing down the enemy's attack speed along the Qingshui River."

"How fast are the barbarians moving?"

"The speed is not very fast, only tens of miles a day." Zuo Yan replied, "The news sent by Mr. Zheng Xin said that the Hu people were advancing steadily and as a whole, and they did not give us any chance to sneak attack. Zhou has suffered from the adults and the Fengyun cavalry. This time, he was very careful. Whether he was marching or camping, the defense was very tight, and the distance between the armies was also kept very tight. I heard that Qu Yi wanted to attack the camp, but so far he has not found one. suitable time."

"Why do the Hu people walk so slowly?" Li Wei asked strangely, "Although the road from Fuping to Gaoping is rough and difficult, there is obviously a problem with the marching speed? Do they still have a large army behind?"

"We think so too." Zuo Yan looked at Li Hong and said cautiously, "We suspect that the [-] troops of Xianbei King Helian and Northern Xianbei Lord Tuobafeng have left Shangjun and entered the Northland. In the near future, they may Cross the Yellow River and rush to the Qingshui River to join the law day deduction and banquet tour."

Li Hong said solemnly: "Junyi, this guess is correct. Helian and Tuobafeng had already occupied Shuofang County last month. According to their marching speed, they should have already started attacking the Great Wall Fortress in Shangjun, but We have not received any news of the enemy being found in Shangjun so far. What does this mean? It means that they did not go deep into Shangjun at all, nor did they have the intention of breaking through the Great Wall fortress and then raiding Fengyi County along the direction of Luoshui to attack Chang'an. They just wanted to go from Gaoping to that line Make a breakthrough in order to quickly invade Sansuke and Chang'an."

"12?" Song Wen exclaimed, and said, "My lord, if Helian and Tuoba Feng's army arrives in Xiliang, we will have to face 12 cavalry. My lord, our strength is not enough."

Zuo Yan sighed: "We only have less than 10 people. We are indeed a little short in terms of military strength, but we have a good location. Even if we can't win, we can still protect Sanfu and Chang'an." He pointed to the map. Anding County said: "Look, this is Liupan Mountain, which was called Long Mountain in ancient times. It runs from north to south and is majestic. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. After Liupan Mountain, it is Chaona City and Gaoping City. In Gaoping City Before, there were three passes: Xiaoguan Pass, Shimen Pass and Muxia Pass. If we defend these three passes and stop the barbarians at Gaopingchuan outside the pass, we can keep the west of the pass and the center of the pass.”

Everyone in the tent looked at the map carefully and remained silent.Although Zuo Yan's method is very conservative, it is safe.The Hu people were unable to fight for a long time, and their successors were weak, so they had to retreat to the north of the Yellow River.The question is, can the Han army defend these three passes?

"Now in Xiaoguan, Shimen, and Muxia, how many troops do we have?" Li Hong asked.

"There are 500 people in Xiaoguan, and only 300 people in Shimen and Muxia." Zuo Yan said with a wry smile, "It's totally vulnerable."

Li Hong, Li Wei and others were taken aback.

"Why are there only so few troops?" Xie Ming stared in horror and asked, "This place is an important throat, why is there such a small number of troops? Could it be that the Taiwei and the General who are in charge of military affairs in the Han Kingdom are all Are you blind?"

"I asked Mr. Jing Zhaoyin Gai Xungai about this matter, and he said that the court knew about it, but because the various tribes of the Eastern Qiang have been rebelling in Shanghe, Fuping, and Lingzhou in Beidi County for six to seventy years, the Xianbei people are only Invading the Northern Territory, Wuwei and other border counties, the bureaucrats in the imperial court one-sidedly believed that Gaoping was no longer a strategic location. Therefore, in the case of shortage of military resources, they gave up the three passes and regarded them as An ordinary pass."

"Who would have thought that the Xianbei people would dispatch 10,000+ troops to invade my big man?" Zuo Yan said with a wry smile, "At the end of last year, when the Xianbei people were at the border with Chen Bing, many people thought that the Xianbei people were bluffing, and they didn't dare to attack aggressively at all. But looking at it now, the Xianbei people have not only invaded, but the scale is astonishing. From the northern Xinjiang to the western Xinjiang, and from the border of thousands of miles, the Xianbei people have gone crazy."

"I don't think the Xianbei people have gone crazy, but they have planned it for a long time." Li Wei sneered, "They divided into several groups and attacked the border counties of Youzhou, Bingzhou and Xiliang at the same time. Their ultimate goal is one. That was to attack Chang'an, so after the invasion of several other groups of troops, they all died down, or stopped, or secretly rushed to Beidi County to participate in the attack on Chang'an. On the surface, the Hu people are attacking from multiple routes, but in fact They are all deceptive. The real direction of attack is Beidi County. The Hu people entered Anding from Beidi County, and then attacked Sanfu and Chang'an from Anding. The Xianbei people are very skilled in using the method of virtual reality in the art of war. .”

Li Wei paused for a while and continued: "In my opinion, the Xianbei people are well prepared this time. Once we fight, it will be very difficult for us. Especially now, the Xianbei people are still three hundred miles away from Xiaoguan, and our All the armies are still on the road except Lord Qu Yi's [-] cavalry. Even if we want to defend the three passes, we don't have enough troops. How to defend now? What to defend? The current situation is very unfavorable to us, and the situation is grim. "

Li Hong nodded again and again, and said worriedly: "Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin and the others haven't arrived in Linjing today, so it must be very difficult for them to arrive in Gaoping City in three days. Xian Yufu and Xu Rong will take at least four or five days to arrive." Linjing. The Jizhou army led by Yan Liang is even slower. It will take about half a month for them to reach their destination. Now, we can only rely on the [-] cavalry of Qu Yi, Kuangfengsha, and Hengji to stop the enemy and buy us time gone."

He looked up at Xie Ming and said, "Lianzhi, draw up a few orders immediately."

Xie Ming hurriedly agreed and picked up the pen.

"Order Qu Yi, Kuangfengsha, and Hengji to immediately lead the army to retreat into Xiao Pass, Shimen Pass and Muxia Pass. Each of the three will lead their own camps and defend the three passes."

"Tell Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin, and Hua Xiong, and order them to throw away all their belongings and rush to the third pass as quickly as possible."

"Inform Zhao Yun and Liu Ming to immediately lead the Changshui camp and rush to Gaoping City."

"Gaoping City?" Li Hong suddenly remembered something, and muttered to himself, "Gaoping City, Gaoping City." He looked down at the map carefully, and said slowly, "If Helian and Tuobafeng's army suddenly appeared in Outside Gaoping, what shall we do?"

Everyone immediately looked at each other in blank dismay, and the worry on their faces became more intense.

Zuo Yan forced a smile, and said in a low voice: "He Lianhui is so smart? Will he evade our scouts, bypass Gaopingchuan, and go to the pass first?" After talking about it, he lost confidence, and his voice was so low that he couldn't even reach the pass. Can't hear it anymore.

"Otherwise, how can we explain the slow march of Law Ri Deduction and Yan Li You? They have 6 people, are they still afraid of Qu Yi's attack? Their intentions have been completely exposed, and our army is rushing to the front line of Xiao Guan. Don't they know?" Li Hong suddenly slapped the table with force, and said loudly, "Helian and Tuobafeng must have arrived at Gaopingchuan, and the purpose of Luri's slow march is to hold back Qu Yi and cover Helian's army Take the pass and go directly to Gaoping City. As long as the Xianbei people take Gaoping City, Qu Yi's [-] army will be the turtle in the urn, and they won't be able to escape even if they want to."

Li Hong stood up abruptly, and shouted loudly: "Blow the horn, gather the Black Panthers, and I will rush to Gaoping City immediately."

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Li Wei hurried into the military tent.

Xiao Lan slept peacefully on the leather mattress, her beautiful face had lost its previous tenderness due to the days of horse riding and marching, and she looked very haggard.

Li Wei saw that Xiao Lan was so tired that she fell asleep on her side without even taking off her leather armor, her heart trembled, and a strong sense of guilt suddenly filled his body and mind. At this moment, he regretted it, he regretted his impulsiveness , Instigated Li Hong, Zhao Yun and others to snatch Xiao Lan out, and let the woman he loves suffer with him.

All these sufferings are not something he wants to give Xiao Lan, nor should an official woman like Xiao Lan bear them. He feels that he is too selfish. For his own love, for his own desire, he actually dragged his true love to infinity. In endless suffering.Li Wei shook his head in frustration.Why did I suddenly become so cruel and ruthless?Could this be the happiness that I promised Xiao Lan?

If I hadn't robbed Xiao Lan by force, Xiao Lan would be the new bride in the Sangong's mansion, living a carefree and luxurious life in a warm new house, she wouldn't be as hard and miserable as she is now. She will be as wandering as she is now, and she will not be marching day and night on a dirty horse wearing ugly armor every day. She is no longer a soft and delicate woman, she has become a soldier of the Han army. Could it be that Do you give her happiness yourself?

Li Wei held Xiao Lan's hand, put it to his mouth gently, and kissed her gently a few times.He was leaving, he couldn't bear to wake Xiao Lan up, he was going to the battlefield.

The sound of horns and horns gathered outside the military tents, the neighing of war horses and the shouts of soldiers tore through the tranquility of the camp, resounding through the sky at dusk.

Li Wei picked up the fur mattress beside Xiao Lan, covered her lightly, and looked at her affectionately, unwilling to leave for a long time.

The curtain was lifted, and an attendant came in, and said in a low voice, "My lord, the Black Panther Rebel Battalion has been assembled, my lord, please go on the road immediately."

Li Wei nodded.He suddenly made a decision, he wanted to send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang, regardless of whether he lived or died in this battle, he would send Xiao Lan back.

===

Because the war came very suddenly, the food, grass, weapons and supplies prepared for the war had not yet been transported to the camp, especially the urgently needed civilian husband, and there was no one in sight.More than ten days ago, Sima Jiwei, the military commander of Bingcao Camp, personally led people to Chang'an to supervise the office.

Li Hong took Tian Zhong's skinny hand, patted Tian Zhong's shoulder vigorously, and said with a smile: "Old man, you must arrive at Linjing early, otherwise, I won't be able to fight this battle. This time the battle is not like before. A few times, the previous few times we had few people, and we took the initiative to attack, as long as we brought enough food, grass and supplies. But this time, we have [-] troops on the front line, and we are fighting defensive battles. Therefore, there must be sufficient guarantees for food, grass and weapons, and they must be continuously supplied. Old man, it’s up to you.”

Tian Zhong smiled confidently: "My lord, please rest assured, we will win this battle."

"Are you so confident?" Li Hong asked with a smile, "Do you know fortune telling?"

"As long as I see you, I have the confidence to win this battle." Tian Zhong said with a smile, "Good luck is always on our side."

===

Tang Yun and Yin Si accompanied Cao Ying to follow up, and they saw off Li Wei, Xie Ming and others.Yin Si was the youngest, and he was very disappointed when he saw his good friends leaving him one by one and going their separate ways.

"What to give? We'll meet in a few days." Xie Ming pointed to Yin Si and said, "Zhongzhi, be happy, and work hard after Mr. Tian, ​​so as not to embarrass the teacher."

"It would be great if the big axe was here." Tang Yun smiled, "With him around, we are always very happy and laugh a lot."

"Chen Hao is now following Lord Yan. He is already the leader of the army. He has two thousand soldiers under him. He is proud of himself. How can he still joke with us?" Li Wei teased, "And Yu Peng, he is now It's Lord Yan's Assistant Army Sima. Think about it, how would he feel if Lord Yan supported him?"

"Haha, you must be very arrogant." Xie Ming said with a smile, "We will meet again after this battle is over, after we drive the Manhu out of the territory of the big man."

Everyone laughed, and the sorrow of parting suddenly disappeared.

"Wenlong, Zhongzhi, I entrust you with something, and you must promise me." Li Wei said solemnly.

"What's the matter, tell me." Tang Yun said with a smile, "Do you want us to take good care of Xiao Lan?"

"I want you to find a way to send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang, and say that I'm dead." Li Wei said sadly.

"Why?" Yin Si asked loudly in surprise, "Why did you send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang?"

Tang Yun and Xie Ming glanced at each other, knowing each other.The two looked at the painful Li Wei sympathetically and remained silent.

Along the way, Xiao Lan suffered too much, not to mention Li Wei, even the two of them couldn't bear it after seeing it.A woman disguises herself as a man and wears leather armor all day long in the military camp. Not to mention the inconveniences of living in the barracks. Let’s just talk about marching and riding horses. The distance is more than 100 miles a day. , not to mention torture-like sitting.Later, Xiao Lan couldn't sit still, so she lay on the horse and gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face.When will this hard life end?
Following the leopard is an endless battle, an endless journey, and no guarantee of life. It is indeed cruel for Xiao Lan to live in such an environment.

"Li Zhongyuan, you are the one who robbed Xiaolan, and you are the one who wants to send Xiaolan back. Are you still human? Have you thought about Xiaolan? Have you thought about the teacher?" Yin Si yelled in desperation.

Li Wei looked up at the sky, excruciating pain.

"Li Zhongyuan, a man dares to do things bravely, why do you do such a villainous thing?"

Li Hong and Tian Zhong heard the sound and came.Yin Si scolded Li Wei again in front of Li Hong.

Li Hong suddenly thought of Fengxue, and the unforgettable thoughts almost made Li Hong breathless.He suddenly shouted loudly: "I want to kill Helian, I must kill him."

Everyone was stunned.

Li Hong pointed at Li Wei's nose, and shouted violently again: "Leave Xiao Lan, or I will kill you!"

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(End of this chapter)