The Qinling Mountains run vertically from east to west, starting from Kunlun in the west and ending at Funiu Mountain in the east, forming the dividing line between Long and Shu. The northern foot of the Qinling Mountains is known as the Seventy-Two Valleys of the Qinling Mountains.
Ziwu Road is one of them. The valley is more than 600 miles long. The north mouth is called Zi, located in the south of Chang'an. The south mouth is called Wu, in the southeast of Hanzhong, and goes north to the Zhongnan Mountain section. People in Guanzhong also call it Ziwu Valley.
In Ziwu Valley, Emperor Wu once built the ancient Xuandu Altar here. If it was not for the Zen ceremony, he would use this place to worship heaven and pray in place of Mount Tai.
Although there were Taoist priests living there afterwards, they had long lost their former glory. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court vigorously pursued and killed the Taoist priests. The Taoist priests fled to Hanzhong and joined Zhang Lu, leaving the place desolate.
Taoist Master Zuo Ci was highly regarded by Prime Minister Cao Cao, and taught Taoism to his disciples at Shaoshi Mountain in Songshan Mountain. Under the secret guidance of Liu Qi, he sent his disciple Ge Xuan to lead twenty disciples to Zhongnan Mountain to practice Xuandu Temple and revive the luck of the Han Dynasty.
Xuandu Temple is surrounded by mountains. The fairy mountain is shaped like a lotus. You can see the smoke and clouds of Mount Li to the north, the snow-covered Taibai to the west, and the lingering Wei River to the south. It is full of fairy spirit all year round.
Since Wei Yan led his troops out of Ziwu Valley, Xuandu Temple, which was originally inaccessible and isolated from the world, has become lively. He helped Taoist priests open fields and cultivated land, and renovated all abandoned Taoist temples, as if they had returned to the grand occasion of Emperor Wu's sacrifice to heaven. .
There have been many changes in the war in Guanzhong in recent days. Xiahou Yuan's troops entered the Xiegu Road, Chang'an sent troops to support, and a large number of troops were recruited in the city. Wei Yan sent Li Hu and 500 people to sneak into the city as internal response.
Just as he was preparing to plan the capture of the city, he suddenly heard that Zhang Fei had breached Lantian Pass, which made Wei Yan extremely anxious. If Zhang Fei directly killed him at the gate of Chang'an City, wouldn't he have come in vain?
When he was in a hurry to send troops, he was advised by Ge Xuan to put the overall situation first. Water can benefit all things without fighting. Everything has its own destiny and will come true when it comes.
Seeing that Wei Yan was restless every day, Ge Xuan invited him to meditate in the alchemy room and told him that as a general, he should be quiet and secluded, and he should be disciplined and should not be upset and lead to war.
Sure enough, a few days later, Chang'an sent troops to besiege Lantian, and Zhang Fei was defeated at Lantian Pass. Wei Yan was overjoyed. He had guessed that Zhang Fei must have deliberately attracted Cao's army and lured the Chang'an defenders to make achievements for himself.
On this day, Wei Yan was cultivating his energy with Ge Xuanxue in the temple. When he was feeling restless, Wang Ping finally came to report that Li Hu had successfully sneaked into Chang'an City with his people.
"It's all done!" Wei Yan laughed and stood up, clasping his fists towards Ge Xuan and saying, "Thank you, Taoist Master, for your guidance!"
Ge Xuan had already entered meditation, sitting there like a clay sculpture. Wei Yan sighed, bowed and left silently.
A young boy in his twenties, at the time when he is ambitious and making great achievements, is so old and depressed, staying in the mountains, and will turn into a handful of loess decades later. What is the difference between life and death?
Arriving at the altar to worship the gods in the east, on the bare earth platform, the banner of the Han Dynasty fluttered in the wind, echoing the mountains behind, as if Emperor Wu was standing there, looking forward to the man of the Han Dynasty reorganizing the country and achieving great things again.
"Han Zuo——" Wei Yan took a deep breath, strode up to the high platform, glanced at the Banzhen soldiers who had shared life and death for half a year, and couldn't help but feel his heart surge.
"Everyone, in the past, your ancestors helped our ancestors to pacify Guanzhong and established a foundation for hundreds of years. The Ba people have been favored from generation to generation and their names will go down in history. Today, the world is in chaos, the king's gang is weak, and it is time for you to make contributions. A certain person is a Han official, and I am serving as a chariot. The cavalry general ordered to restore the old capital and revitalize the Han Dynasty. After you become warriors of the Ba people, the glory of your ancestors will be continued by you. The resurgence of the Han Dynasty is imminent in this battle, and we can only win, not lose!"
"We must win, we must win!" The Banzhen soldiers raised their big shields, beat them hard and shouted, the sound shook the whole country.
The Ba people have grown up listening to the legends of their ancestors' bravery and fighting skills. Who wouldn't be excited to finally become a warrior like their ancestors and a hero to be praised and admired by future generations?
"Go down the mountain!" Wei Yan personally raised the flag and pointed forward, and the Banzhen soldiers turned into more than ten small teams and disappeared into the forest.
After the Han army left, Ge Xuan walked slowly to the altar, but his black and white eyes were full of doubts. According to the deduction index taught by his master, it was clear that the luck of the Han Dynasty was exhausted, but the purple star in the sky was shining brightly and the stars were guarding it, but If you don't compete with it, this security is not in line with the celestial phenomena.
"Liu Boxei..." Ge Xuan muttered softly, and took out a thunder and fire talisman from his sleeve. This was a secret technique taught by his master before leaving, and it was actually passed down from Liu Qi's hand.
According to Liu Qi, this thunder and fire talisman is extremely powerful and sounds like a thunderbolt. When testing elixirs, you must be in an open place and stay away from one foot away, otherwise your life will be in danger. This is the main reason why Zuo Ci sent him to this deep mountain to refine elixirs. reason.
At this time, all the soldiers and horses had withdrawn, and there were no other people waiting in the temple. Ge Xuan had been curious for a long time, and immediately ordered: "Go and prepare some saltpeter quickly."
Wei Yan and Wang Ping disguised themselves as woodcutters and went out of Zhongnan Mountain to Chang'an. They saw that the people were discussing the war. After Liu Xiong's encouragement, they all expected Liu Qi's troops to arrive early. As the people of the Imperial Township, they were more powerful than the people of Nanyang. Qualified to revive the Han Dynasty.
Wang Ping said happily: "The hearts of the people can be used, and Chang'an is already in the bag!"
The spring breeze brought warmth, and the soldiers who put on light clothes quickly gathered at the foot of Chang'an City in batches. Guanzhong had been fighting for years, and there were many refugees. The police officers in Chang'an were even arresting people and confiscating them, and the interrogation of outsiders was not strict.
The defenders of Chang'an followed Dianman to stop Zhang Fei. As long as Lantian Pass was recaptured, the crisis in Chang'an could be resolved. However, no one expected that there was a strange army in Ziwu Valley who was about to launch a thunderous strike.
Half a month later, people from all walks of life arrived one after another. Wei Yan sent people to join forces and agreed on a date to meet at Baqiao in the east of the city to discuss the siege of Chang'an.
Wang Ping said: "Li Hu is already in the city. There is no need to alert the defenders. We can capture the city together from the inside and outside."
Wei Yan said: "With all the Chang'an defenders out, I expect there will be more patrols in the city. Chang'an City is dangerous and tall, and there are inner and outer cities. If we invade the outer city and the defenders retreat to the inner city, it will be of no use. It's better to settle once and for all."
Wang Ping asked hurriedly: "General, what's your clever plan?"
Wei Yan sneered and said: "Now the generals of Chang'an are leading their troops outside, and General Zhang has attracted the defenders to go out. It is for us to accomplish this wonderful feat! That Xiahou Mao is a son of Gaoliang. He is young and timid, cowardly and without any plan. When he saw a certain large army If the city suddenly arrives, they will abandon the city and leave. The remaining Jingzhao prefects and new soldiers will not have to worry about it. Once the city is captured, Dianman will withdraw his troops and leave. General Zhang will lead the army into the city, and Cao's army in Weishui and Chencang will not have to worry about it. Xia Houyuan, Xu Huang is a turtle in a urn!"
Wang Ping nodded and said: "General, if Xiahou Mao is as the general said, even if he is not willing to retreat, he only needs to attract the attention of the defenders and ask Li Hu to quietly open the outer city. Once the city is breached, the morale of the defenders will be in chaos. Xiahou Mao will Have to go."
Wei Yan touched his beard and smiled: "Hey, if this guy doesn't want to meet his brother-in-law again, he will run away."
Wang Ping said: "In this case, we should prepare straw torches overnight, connect and surround the city outside the city at night, and use bluffs. The general will intimidate Xiahou Mao at the south gate, and the general and Li Hu will take the opportunity to break through the north gate. Then a big thing can be decided."
"Zi Jun coincides with me." Wei Yan was convinced and immediately sent an order to prepare supplies.
