On the wall of Qin'an City.
The city defense supplies were piled high, and the soldiers were armed and strong. Everyone was fat and strong, with a resolute expression and sharp eyes.
In addition to the soldiers, there were also many civilians. They were armed with crude weapons and had no armor, but there was no fear in their expressions.
The folk customs in Gansu are really tough.
Yuan Xiao was actually unprepared, but he was much better than Han Fengxian. After resisting Zhang Sheng's attack, he began to organize the people, strengthen defense, and stabilize the morale of the army.
From the current point of view, Qin'an City is safe.
In front of the city gate tower.
Yuan Xiao was wearing heavy armor, with a scarlet cloak hanging behind him, holding the handle of the knife in his left hand, standing proudly, overlooking the Han army camp.
"Hey." Yuan Xiao didn't look abnormal, but he sighed in his heart.
Not long after, he turned to his confidant Gongsun Zhuo and said, "Let's have a drink."
"Yes." Gongsun Zhuo, who had a strong waist and a strong back, answered with his fists clasped.
The two of them entered the city gate tower together, and the soldiers brought a round table and served food and wine. The two of them were drinking and eating.
"Brother, I feel miserable but I have no one to talk to. I can only tell you." Yuan Xiao raised his head and said after finishing three glasses of wine.
Gongsun Zhuo didn't speak, just looked at Yuan Xiao.
"Hey." Yuan Xiao sighed again, and then said: "I lost my parents when I was a child, and the prince adopted me. He hired a teacher to teach me martial arts and learn all the skills. I am also willing to work hard for the prince. , I fought bravely against the Slavs and Turks over the years, and I was injured and bled countless times."
"Of course I am willing to help him fight the Han army. But ah."
"There is something called destiny."
Yuan Xiao looked depressed, picked up the wine glass again, took a sip of the dull wine and put the glass down again.
"Bang!" There was a sound.
"I agree with the prince's sending troops to Guanzhong. At that time, it was about taking chestnuts from the fire. If he could succeed, he would be the overlord of the party. But after the failure and retreat to Gansu, there should be no ambition. Although the people of Gansu are brave and good at fighting, the land is barren and they lack Talents. There are many people who have divided Gansu since ancient times. But what will happen to them? They are not good."
"What's more, Wu Nian's situation is set. It's time to change his destiny. He shouldn't still have ambitions."
"Even if you are ambitious, you cannot accept Wu Nian's title of king. If you use the name of the governor of Chu to lead Gansu, if you are defeated, you can retreat from Qishan Road to Bashu. You will still be a loyal minister of Chu and avoid the disaster of death."
"Your Majesty won't listen to me. He won't listen to me."
"It's not that there have been no loyal ministers since ancient times when a country was destroyed. It's just that the king's loyal words are hard to hear."
After finishing speaking, Yuan Xiao exhaled the smell of alcohol, poured himself another glass of wine, raised his head and drank it all.
Gongsun Zhuo sat aside and acted as a quiet listener, not saying a word.
The two brothers crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood together. He knows Yuan Xiao very well.
Now the Han army bypassed Jieting, attacked the Longxi Plateau, and captured the city. Judging from the unprepared situation in Gansu, Longxi must be in chaos now.
The probability of the Han army winning is very high.
However, Yuan Xiao still defended the city, refused Zhang Sheng's persuasion to surrender, and stubbornly resisted Zhang Sheng's attack.
Two words.
Loyalty.
You know you can't do it, but you do it.
"My brother is a loyal minister, and Han Laocheng is also a wise master. But his strength is too weak." Gongsun Zhuo thought to himself.
Gongsun Zhuo drank with Yuan Xiao, but when he was almost done drinking, Yuan Xiao stopped drinking.
If he is drunk, who will defend the city?
...........
Lanzhou City.
The news from the front has not come yet.
Lanzhou is full of tranquility and peace both inside and outside the city.
As usual, shops on both sides of the street were open and there was an endless stream of pedestrians on the road. There is a steady stream of caravans entering and leaving Lanzhou City.
Outside the wine shop, a scantily clad Orchid from the Western Regions swayed her waist and hips, attracting drinkers.
What a big city with prosperous commerce.
Inside the heavily guarded palace. Craftsmen are working hard on the renovation, trying to build a majestic palace that suits Han Laocheng's status.
In the side hall.
Han Laocheng is discussing military and state affairs with his confidant Dou Rong.
Han Laocheng was wearing royal robes, showing an angry face, and said: "Guan Chaoqiang killed the envoys of the solitary king and was determined to rebel against the solitary king. Immediately let Panda lead ten thousand elite troops to Liangzhou Mansion to destroy him. he."
"yes."
Dou Rong bowed in response, and when he raised his head, he said again:
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be angry. Now we are allied with the Han Dynasty and have harmonious relations with the Turks and Slavs. It will be easy to occupy a province and concentrate our efforts to wipe out Guan Chaoqiang."
"Yes." Han Laocheng nodded slightly and his expression softened. But he was still angry and said: "When you kill Guan Chaoqiang, hang his head on the city gate as a warning to others."
Dou Rong nodded and was about to get up and leave to mobilize troops. At this moment, a civil servant broke in from the outside with a frightened expression. He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, something serious has happened. News came from the direction of the street pavilion. The Han cavalry bypassed the street pavilion and divided their forces to attack the prefectures and counties in Longxi. . Wang Gui has conquered Pingliang Prefecture. The situation in other prefectures and counties is unknown."
"What did you say?!!!!"
Han Laocheng and Dou Rong were stunned and stood up without a sound. Han Laocheng immediately became dizzy and held the coffee table with his hands to prevent him from falling. The tea cup on the coffee table fell to the ground and shattered.
"Fell into a trap." Dou Rong reacted quickly and stamped his right foot, showing a look of frustration.
"Wu Nian's attack in the east and west was to paralyze us. He failed."
"Being a king, granting gold and food also paralyzed us. But he succeeded. His first target was Jieting, and his second target was the prefectures and counties in Longxi. He wants to support war with war."
"We trusted Jieting so much that we didn't expect that Wu Nian would take the risk and go deep alone. The prefectures and counties in Longxi were not very prepared."
"This is bad."
Han Laocheng calmed down and waved his sleeves to the civil servant who came to report, letting him go down. Then he took a deep breath and said to Dou Rong: "King Gu also knows that he has been tricked. Now is not the time to regret, he should find a way to remedy it."
"How many people are there in the city now?"
"There are twenty-five thousand horse and infantry troops, including five thousand cavalry."
Dou Rong knew everything and said immediately.
"Send the cavalry out immediately and combine the intelligence. Defend the city that can be defended first. Don't fight with the Han cavalry in the field."
"Immediately recruit people in Lanzhou Prefecture. Encourage people to bring their own arrows and horses. Form an army. Propagate to the people."
"The Han army is treacherous. Wu Nian is a treacherous villain. When the Han army invades Gansu, they will definitely burn, kill and loot. In order to protect their homeland and land, Gansu men must fight bravely. Fight with the Han army."
At the end of the sentence, Han Laocheng took a deep breath, then opened his mouth and said loudly.
"Yes." Dou Rong bowed in response and immediately turned around and went down.
"Wu Nian. You deceived the lonely king. One hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver and ten thousand stones of grain."
"How dare you ignore Jieting City and let the cavalry go deep into the city alone."
"Wu Nian!!!!!!"
Han Laocheng walked out of the door, holding on to the door frame, looking in the direction of the street pavilion, his eyes about to burst.
It was really unexpected.
