At this moment, outside the north gate of Huating County, Chang Da was busy reciting rites with Pei Longqian and carefully inquiring about the war in Yuanzhou.
Pei Longqian seemed to be a little absent-minded, and said with a forced smile: "I hate that King Xiangyi went to war rashly... It is said that Hou Pingyuan County Duke sent troops to help, but was defeated. Liang thieves swept through the three states. I have no choice but to lead troops south. withdraw."
Chang Da was not good at military strategy, but he was an old bureaucrat. When he heard this, he felt something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he just asked: "Can Pingliang County be invaded by Liang thieves?"
Pei Longqian shook his head, "The Liang thieves who came south to invade Longzhou detoured around Guyuan and broke through Liupan Pass first and then Longshan Pass. They did not attack Pingliang County."
Pei Xuanji on the side interrupted and asked: "Jiulang, have you seen any traces of Liang Jun during the retreat south?"
"Scouts once reported that thousands of Liang troops were withdrawing to the northwest, possibly returning to attack Guyuan." Pei Longqian's eyes flashed, "Let's talk about it first in the city. We encountered several battles south this time and our horses were damaged. The soldiers had to enter the city to avoid .”
In fact, Pei Longqian did not come from Pingliang County. After the report of the battle in Lingzhou came, he led his troops northward and was defeated by Liang Jun outside Guyuan County. He only led a few hundred cavalry southward. After that, he encountered the enemy several times along the way and suffered heavy casualties. Although they were exhausted, they also collected many of the defeated Tang soldiers and gathered nearly a thousand people to flee into Longzhou.
Chang Da nodded in agreement, glanced at the few guards around Pei Longqian, and said with a smile: "With such a brave man, Huating must be impregnable this time."
Pei Longqian smiled and said: "Now that Huating has enough troops, it will definitely be able to resist the Liang army in the north and wait for reinforcements."
The two looked at each other and smiled. In the final analysis, they had the same idea. Although they lost the battle, after all, the main culprits were Li Shenfu and Duan Decao, who were still unknown, and he had to hold on to Longzhou, which was considered meritorious.
Chang Da was still thinking in his mind that Pei Longqian and Pei Xuanji were both brothers of the Wenxi Pei family's Western Household. Relying on this power, the King of Handan should not dare to seize the army, right?
What Chang Da fears most is that Li Shan seizes the army and makes meritorious service. Outsiders don't know the inside story of last year's war, but Chang Da knows it very well through Chang He. Later, Li Shan impeached him for defeat, resulting in Zhang Shilong's death in battle.
Chang Da knew very well that his power in the court and his relationship with His Majesty could not be compared with Li Shan... But in this way, he could be regarded as indirectly joining the East Palace.
Still thinking about these nonsense things, Pei Xuanji over there smiled and added: "Jiulang arrived just in time, the reinforcements from Liyuan County seem to have arrived too."
Pei Longqian was delighted, "Who is coming?"
Huating, who had been silent, ordered Zhang Wenxi to say softly: "The King of Handan led hundreds of his guards to come north for reinforcements."
"King of Handan?" Pei Longqian was even more delighted, "King of Handan defeated the Turks last year and became famous. If he is in charge, Longzhou will be safe!"
The corner of Chang Da's mouth was a little crooked. He suddenly remembered that Handan King Li Huairen had been recommended by Pei Shiju several times. He hesitated for a moment and was about to say something when suddenly there was a noise.
Pei Longqian frowned and looked back. Before he could take a closer look, a sharp and pitiful scream came out. Dozens of soldiers from the Tang Dynasty, armed with long knives, rushed out of the crowd and rushed towards the city gate quickly.
While everyone was still in a daze, Zhang Wenguan, who had just arrived, shouted sternly: "It must be the Liang thieves who got in!"
"That's right!" Pei Longqian shouted loudly, "Hurry and close the city gate!"
Unfortunately, it was discovered too late, and the choice made at the critical moment was a big mistake. In fact, there were not many Liang soldiers who infiltrated the Tang army, only two or three groups, totaling more than a hundred people, while waiting outside the city to enter the city There were hundreds of Tang soldiers.
If he could hold on to the city gate and attack from inside and outside, he would be fine. However, Pei Longqian mistakenly asked people to close the city gate. This directly caused the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty outside the city to lose their fighting spirit. Their morale was low due to the continuous defeats. Now the general will also Abandoned outside the city... It seemed that in just an instant, the Tang army fled in all directions, and more than a hundred Liang soldiers had already reached the city gate.
Pei Longqian, who had been frightened by the battle in Guyuan, ran away without hesitation, and did not forget to drag Pei Xuanji with him, who was still stupid. However, Chang Da, the general manager of Longzhou, and Huating Ling Zhang Wenxi also ordered the soldiers to resist desperately and tried to close the door. city gate.
Fan Shiyi, who had just arrived, stared at this scene with his mouth open. A sudden change occurred. In a very short period of time, nearly a thousand Tang troops were defeated. They even fled like hundreds of rabbits without the enemy chasing them. , and more than a hundred big men rushed towards the city gate with long knives.
There was a huge chaos at the city gate, and some soldiers were trying their best to resist, but more soldiers abandoned their helmets and fled into the city. Fan Shiyi could clearly see that the flags at the top of the city had fallen.
Fan Shiyi was really stunned. When he came to investigate more than an hour ago, it was still calm. He was surprised that Lang Jun didn't cause any trouble this time.
But in the blink of an eye, Liang Bing sneaked into the snooping Tang army to steal the city, and Lang Jun met him again!
No, Lang Jun has already entered the city... Fan Shiyi was about to ride away when his face suddenly changed. He jumped off his mount and listened carefully. The ground was shaking slightly. It was obvious that a large number of cavalry was coming. .
Too bad, too bad!
Fan Shiyi got on his horse and drove the horse to the south with all his strength. He had only one thought in his mind, Lang Jun is really a disaster star!
At this time, Li Shan, who had already entered the city, also realized that something was wrong. He only had one thought in his mind, but unlike Fan Shiyi, this time, it was really not my fault!
This time it's all Hou Chen's fault!
On the main street in the middle of Huating County, hundreds of soldiers and young men of the Tang Dynasty were fleeing south. Everyone knew that the only way to survive now was through the South City Gate.
Several guards waved their riding whips and even swept their swords across, driving the deserters in front to both sides. Wang Junhao rushed to Li Shan's side, "Lang Jun, what should I do?"
Li Shan took a deep breath. If he ran away at this time, there was a high chance that he could escape, but how could he escape?
Not to mention my character in this life, not to mention that my reputation was greatly damaged by my escape, at least I can't leave brothers Zhang Wenxi and Zhang Wenguan here.
Li Shan pointed forward and shouted: "Go forward and snatch the people out!"
The general ordered and the guards all obeyed. They all shouted and drove their horses north. Li Shan glanced at Hou Hongtao, who was looking hesitant at the side, "If you don't dare, retreat immediately."
Zhu Ba sneered and said: "Lang Jun's bodyguards are all warriors in the army. You are not qualified!"
Hou Hongtao has a strong temperament. He was imprisoned by Li Shentong last year, largely because of his character. After hearing these words, his eyes burst into flames, his legs exerted force, and the strong horse that was suppressed under his crotch shot out like an arrow from the string, blinking. Time passed Zhu Ba, Zhao Da, and even Wang Junhao, taking the lead.
Looking from a distance, Li Shan couldn't help but cursed Chang Da again in his heart. This guy is really a waste. He had already arrived and he still made such a fuss!
But after just a few glances, Li Shan knew that Huating County could not be saved. The defenders were retreating steadily. Liang soldiers had captured the city gate, and a steady stream of cavalry had appeared in the city.
(End of chapter)
