As the saying goes, people are reflected in the shadow of famous trees. Xu Rong's name can be said to be resounding throughout the world, and it has long been a presence in the Liangzhou Army that can make people tremble.
Although Li Jue and Guo Bang are majestic now, back then they were just captains under Xu Rong.
They know Xu Rong's methods best.
Now that they heard that Xu Rong was coming, their courage was almost shattered. Fortunately, Li Ru was there to help them stabilize the situation in the army.
Especially the words just now were like an enlightenment, making them quiet down immediately.
Seeing that Li Jue and Guo Bang finally started to have some brains, Li Ru couldn't help but snorted coldly.
Faced with the fear that Li Jue and others just exuded from the bottom of their hearts, Li Ru, who was Dong Zhuo's advisor, sneered!
Although he was deeply traumatized, he clearly understood one thing.
That means Xu Rong today is no longer the God of War of the past.
This guy, like himself, has witnessed the collapse of his own beliefs, and is even more pitiable than himself.
When his heart is dead, this person will no longer be any different from the walking dead. He has been completely idle since Dong Gong entered Chang'an.
Even Li Ru couldn't blame Dong Zhuo for this.
After all, the reason Dong Zhuo left Xu Rong idle was because Xu Rong was too strong.
It’s not whether Xu Rong has any objections, but as long as Xu Rong wants to, he will definitely succeed.
It would be difficult for him to tolerate this kind of thing in front of anyone in power, so when he restrained or even restricted Xu Rong, Li Ru chose to be silent, because to be fair, if he and Xu Rong were to face off in that situation, he would also It's hard to win.
But things were different now. Wang Yun thought that without Dong Gong, Liangzhou was just a piece of loose sand for him to knead at will.
Lu Bu also vented all his old and new grudges on these Xiliang traitors.
As a man of great merit, Li Su was killed by Lu Bu casually and found a reason to vent his anger. Regardless of whether it was Wang Yun's intention or Lu Bu's intention, this hurt the hearts of the Xiliang army.
In addition, in order to strictly enforce military discipline, Wang Yun and others directly ordered the Qiang Hu and Huns in the Xiliang army to obey their orders honestly, otherwise they would all be killed on the spot.
There is also Lu Bu who is fanning the flames and suppressing them. Now the morale of the Liangzhou soldiers under Xu Rong is still high. Is it possible that Xu Rong himself doesn't know.
Xu Rong is a good commander who can win battles, but there is a prerequisite for this: he needs sufficient logistics, and a lord who can suppress everyone and make the soldiers obey his orders.
Therefore, in the eyes of others, the Xiliang army with Xu Rong and the Xiliang army without Xu Rong are two different things.
But similarly, Xu Rong with himself and Dong Gong present, and Xu Rong alone, are two completely different things.
Li Ru asked the army to move slowly. He concluded that Xu Rong would not charge directly. He was good at overpowering people with force and also had a cautious character, so he would definitely stop at Xinfeng to rectify his soldiers.
At the very least, he could turn the resentment in the hearts of many soldiers into morale, otherwise he would not be able to fight this battle.
And this is Li Ru's opportunity. Since Xu Rong wants to turn things around, Li Ru will be the first to let Xu Rong see what it means to betray relatives and leave.
Xinfeng County is a dangerous place after Chang'an, and it is still a little far away from Li Jue and others.
Xu Rong was so tricked by Li Ru that he stopped here and chose to rest on the spot and seize the time to prepare the army.
This is also Xu Rong's helplessness. According to his thinking, the best way now is to give up all the cities ahead of Chang'an and use Lu Bu's Bingzhou cavalry to continuously harass Li Jue and others.
Then he led his soldiers to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Why, Dong Zhuo had been plundering Guanzhong for a year.
There were not many people in the first place, but now that they have made such a fuss, as long as they open the city gate of Chang'an, a large number of refugees will automatically gather towards Chang'an.
In this way, when Li Jue appears, he will find what kind of situation he is facing.
He had no so-called rear, and no one provided him with supplies. He could only rely on looting places to maintain the expenses and morale of the army.
So after once clearing the country, they will be in a desperate situation. There is no need for a head-to-head fight. Isn't this nonsense?
The soldiers under his command were completely unqualified to fight to the death.
But Xu Rong's proposal would not work with Wang Yun. He would not allow Xu Rong to do this. What he wanted was a hearty victory, a complete victory.
Wang Yun was stunned. He had suffered so much injustice for the big man, and now he was going to pay it back twice as much.
With Wang Yun like this, he couldn't listen to anyone.
On Xinfeng City, looking at the feeble soldiers below, Xu Rong felt like he had a splitting headache. He even looked around and found that even Hu Zhen and others were not there.
If this kind of thing were done before him, it would be a single blow.
But now if he takes action against Hu Zhen and others, this army will definitely mutiny. It is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw.
"Wait a minute, take a moment, take a moment."
In the end, Xu Rong had no choice but to look up to the sky and sigh.
At this time, in Hu Zhen's tent, as the deputy commander of the army, Hu Zhen was extremely respectful.
Hu Zhen has never looked like this in front of Xu Rong, but now he is respectful and natural.
Standing in front of Hu Zhen at this time was Dong Zhuo's number one confidant, Li Ru and Li Wenyou.
Under the smile on Li Ru's face, Hu Zhen kept nodding and murmuring promises, as if he had no objection at all.
And Li Ru left naturally, leaving this big tent naturally, leaving this military camp naturally, and Hu Zhendu discovered a problem with a cold sweat on his face.
He didn't know how Li Ru appeared here, nor how he left.
This is what Li Ru is telling him. In front of him, this seemingly rigorous camp is like a house with air leakage on all sides, full of various loopholes.
Faced with this situation, Hu Zhen also knew that he actually had no choice.
The moment Li Ru returned to Li Jue's camp was the moment the war began.
After receiving Li Ru's confirmation, Li Jue immediately ordered the army to speed up and move towards Xinfeng again. Like many people, at this time, Li Jue also had full trust in Li Ru.
On Xinfeng City, looking at the oncoming Li Jue army, Xu Rong chose to leave the city.
Although he also knew that defending the city was easier than fighting in the field, he also knew that with the guys he brought, the possibility of opening the city gate was obviously more serious.
Once he entered the street fighting, the cavalry in his hands really became a decoration, which was his last hope of making a comeback.
"Get out of the city and fight!" Xu Rong shouted, and the army slowly drove out of Xinfeng, facing Li Jue from a distance.
Looking at Li Jue, who seemed to be in a tight battle formation, he would not have dared to take action if not for Li Ru's guarantee.
"Sir, are you sure this plan is feasible?"
"You can rest assured that Xu Rong is just showing up." Li Ru chuckled lightly and then stopped talking.
After Li Jue received confirmation again, he nodded silently, then drew out his sword from his waist and rode forward, "Charge!"
There were no greetings, no shouts, or even morale boosting. With a loud roar and the sound of war drums, the soldiers under his command immediately charged towards Xu Rong's army.
At this time, Guo Bang also drew the long sword from his waist and said, "Kill Xu Rong and plunder Chang'an!"
With the same simple and clear roar, another army charged.
Xu Rong looked at the charging army and took a deep breath, "Form up!"
This time Xu Rong chose to form a camp, and all the cavalry were placed on the periphery. Their commander was Hu Zhen. Xu Rong did not trust Hu Zhen, but Hu Zhen played a great role.
The soldiers who had just recovered some morale quickly formed a formation to meet the enemy under the command of Xu Rong. A famous soldier raised a large shield and lined up spears facing the front.
Li Jue looked at the familiar formation. Back then, he was the deputy general standing next to Xu Rong. Now, things have changed, and he actually has to kill his former coach with his own hands. The feeling is really unimaginable for him.
Li Jue, who was well aware of Xu Rong's ability, did not hit him head-on. That was what a fool would do. Just when he was about to enter the range of Xu Rong's army's crossbowmen, Li Jue roared, and the army immediately divided into two groups. Directly bypassing Xu Rong's front.
Go straight to the cavalry on the flank.
Although most of Li Jue's men are cavalry, this style of fighting is really rare. After all, the cavalry are hedging. Once they are hindered and dragged by the opponent, the infantry can successfully surround them and then slowly strangle them.
Li Jue's way of seeking death made Xu Rong's eyes narrow. He guessed Li Jue's purpose and knew their next move.
Sure enough, the moment Li Jue took action, Hu Zhen, who was supposed to be guarding the army on the flanks, suddenly changed direction and charged towards both sides of Xu Rong's army.
Hu Zhen even took the initiative to get out of his own way. He was betraying him as soon as he came up.
Seeing Hu Zhen's betrayal and the panic of the soldiers on both sides, Xu Rong was not worried at all. He had already expected this.
He placed Hu Zhen on both sides of him in order to lure Li Jue to divide his troops and attack, because only when Li Jue's army was separated could he have a chance to charge directly at the central army.
When it was not conducive to defense, Xu Rong chose to attack the opponent to see who could knock down the opponent's flag first.
"Charge the army!" Xu Rong roared, leading his front army, which was his only support and the only one he could rely on, towards the opponent's central army.
Xu Rong's charge indeed stunned Li Jue. He never expected that Xu Rong would use the entire rear army and flanks as bait to let Hu Zhen join them, and use this panicked army to hold him back.
And taking advantage of this time, he could lead his troops and horses into his central army. This kind of risk-taking strategy was really unexpected.
He knew that Xu Rong was difficult to deal with, but he didn't expect that the old coach would be so decisive.
However, although Li Jue was in a daze, he still did not panic at all, and even continued to attack calmly.
Xu Rong's idea was really good, but he forgot that there was someone as important as him beside him.
Li Ru looked at Xu Rong and his soldiers who were getting closer and closer in the middle army. He just smiled at the corner of his mouth, and then looked at a general wearing armor next to him.
"Flying Bear Army, your chance for revenge has come!"
Following Li Ru's soft drink, a group of heavily armored soldiers slowly walked out of the military formation.
And they were the Xiliang warriors, the Flying Bear Army, who followed Dong Zhuo in his wars in the north and south, and protected Dong Zhuo's safety!
Xu Rong was shocked by the appearance of the Flying Bear Army. He knew that the Flying Bear Army was among Li Jue's army, but he did not expect that in such a life-and-death battle, Li Jue would abandon the Flying Bear Army and stay behind.
Among the thousands of soldiers wearing three layers of leather armor, holding spears and short crossbows hanging from their waists, cold sweat appeared on Xu Rong's forehead for the first time.
"Kill!" At this time, Xu Rong knew that moving forward would lead to death, but Xu Rong still chose to roar again, because he knew that retreating at this time would also lead to death.
Li Ru looked at Xu Rong, who was still charging, with neither joy nor sadness on his face. He didn't understand battle formations, but he knew how to bring a person from hope to despair.
Such as now.
"The Flying Bear Army comes forward, General Zhang Ji takes over the battlefield, and General Zhang Xiu covers it from both sides. This time Li also wants to let Xu Rong feel what it feels like to be suppressed by the general trend!"
At this time, in the Xiliang rebel army, Li Ru's orders continued to spread to the army and to the ears of the generals.
Li Ru's voice was so calm that it was chilling, but with his orders, the situation on the battlefield became more and more obvious.
A loud arrow rose into the sky, and then a cavalry appeared from a distance and rushed in the direction of Xu Rong, and a general turned behind him, it was Xiliang General Zhang Ji.
After they appeared, Xu Rong's army was completely divided, and the rear army was completely cut off and defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si in cooperation with Hu Zhen.
At the same time, Xu Rong ran into the majestic Flying Bear Army head-on. After a fight, they were completely in a desperate situation.
Zhang Ji fought steadily and never acted rashly. Zhang Xiu's fierce attacks and fierce attacks continued to tear Xu Rong's rear formation apart with his own bravery.
The two uncles and nephews cooperated with the Feixiong Army to fight, and finally completely trapped Xu Rong, the first commander of the Xiliang Army at that time.
Looking at the fewer and fewer soldiers around him and Zhang Xiu getting closer and closer, Xu Rong didn't feel panic or fear at all. There was only one sentence in his heart.
"This moment has finally arrived."
Xu Rong has given up on continuing to command, so let him give himself one last chance of dignity in this last battle.
He had been wandering all his life, from Youzhou to Liangzhou, and from Liangzhou to Sili. Through constant fighting and fighting, he had grown from an unknown soldier to the so-called invincible general.
Only he himself knows why he is always victorious and invincible. It's just that he didn't have the slightest fame when he lost.
He is still a little guy whose name is unknown to his opponents.
"Kill!" More and more shouts of killing gathered around him. The soldiers around him had been killed, and only about a hundred people were still guarding him.
These people were his cronies who followed him in the north and south. They were not elite, but they were indeed loyal to him.
Now that he was about to die because of him, the only trace of guilt in Xu Rong's heart might be for them.
"General, I am incompetent and cannot protect the general."
A young soldier suddenly said something to Xu Rong, and then when he looked at him, he showed a faint smile to him, then his face changed, and he charged towards Li Jue fiercely. .
And more and more soldiers behind him also rushed out in the same way.
These people are all veterans who have fought with Xu Rong for many years. Compared with the Xiliang Army, whose military discipline is corrupt, the military discipline of these people is actually not that good.
But their loyalty to Xu Rong can make up for everything.
Even in the desperate situation, they did not abandon Xu Rong, nor did they want to trade Xu Rong's life for their safety.
This is the old pawn, the old pawn who is willing to commit his life for Xu Rong.
It's a pity that these loyal soldiers could not bring Xu Rong any life at this time. They could only fall in front of him one by one.
This is Xu Rong’s unprecedented sense of weakness and powerlessness!
At this moment, all Xu Rong's guilt was stuck in his heart, even if Hu Zhen rebelled, even if the Qiang and Huns turned against each other, even if a large number of soldiers knelt down and asked to surrender.
But the people around him still didn't give up on him. Perhaps at this last moment, a general would still have people who were willing to die for him. This was a kind of pride.
"Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji!" Xu Rong held the long sword with both hands. His hair was flying freely during the fight, and a few touches of silvery white were slowly revealed in the black hair.
When everyone completely surrounded him, his roar made everyone on the battlefield pause.
Everyone was gearing up, but no one dared to take the initiative.
Xu Rong is their commander-in-chief, at least he used to be their commander-in-chief. Maybe they have no loyalty to this man, but they are full of respect for this man.
He is not a gifted genius, but he is like himself, fighting his way out from the bottom with one blow and one shot.
Zhang Ji always remembered that when Xu Rong came to the army, they were comrades in the same army. A few years later, they fought back to back on countless tragic battlefields.
He became the only survivor in a thousand and lived to this day. Xu Rong was his most reliable backer and his most trusted colleague.
"Zhang Ji, the Xiliang army general, has met General Xu Rong!"
Now Xu Rong is still his most respected commander, and he deserves such worship.
At the same time, Xiliang Army general Guo Bang also came to Xu Rong.
"The last general Guo Si was a horse thief and a fierce bandit in the Western Regions. He fought with the general in Xihe and was captured by the general. Gu Nian, the last general, was quite capable and asked the lord to take him into his custody.
In today's battle, the last general, Guo Bang, pays homage to the general again! "
Guo Si was a bandit and was defeated by Xu Rong. Xu Rong felt sorry for his helpless life and his ability, so he took the initiative to ask Dong Zhuo to join the army.
Guo Si, like many others, has received a lot of favors from Xu Rong over the years. Half of his ability to lead troops is his talent, and the other half is Xu Rong's teaching.
"The last general Zhang Xiu joined the army in the third year of Zhongping and served as the general's uncle. He has kept the general's teachings in mind for several years. Today, the last general pays homage to the general again."
As Zhang Ji's nephew, Zhang Xiu did not come to Zhang Ji as soon as he entered the army, but was sent to Xu Rong's side by Zhang Ji to be a little uncle.
Training his ability to lead troops from scratch.
One after another, generals and commanders stood up. Xu Rong was from a humble background. He knew very well how difficult it was for a poor boy with nothing to learn anything.
So when he was able to help other juniors, he never refused any junior who wanted to ask for advice for any reason.
Regardless of whether he is a general or a soldier, this is a commander who has never been truly trusted, but he is an elder respected by everyone.
At first, generals such as Zhang Ji and Guo Si, then Colonel Sima, and finally many soldiers came to Xu Rong.
One after another, they knelt in front of Xu Rong. This was their farewell to Xu Rong and the final respect for Xu Rong.
At the end, only a few people stood in place, including Li Jue, Li Ru, and Hu Zhen.
Hu Zhen didn't dare to see Xu Rong. He had always avoided seeing Xu Rong, and he didn't dare to face him.
Li Ru did not kneel because Xu Rong was not worthy of his kneeling. Xu Rong was once the commander-in-chief of the three armies, and Li Ru single-handedly took charge of the rise of Dong Zhuo. No one of them is worse than the other.
As for Li Jue.
If there is any general in the Xiliang army who does not need to accept Xu Rong's guidance, Li Jue is definitely one.
This is a close confidant of Dong Zhuo. If Guo Bang was born as a bandit and got to this point by relying on talent and hard work, then Li Jue got to where he is now purely by relying on talent.
As a child of a small aristocratic family in the North, Li Jue was one of the few generals in Dong Zhuo's army who was not a Hanshi.
Yun Wen and Yun Wu were very strategic and had always been the one that Dong Zhuo truly relied on. This was why Li Ru found Li Jue as soon as he knew that Dong Zhuo was helpless.
He is the only one among all the Xiliang troops who can reach this point with his own talent.
Therefore, although Li Jue respected Xu Rong very much and was even a little afraid, he could tell everyone openly and honestly.
He has never been favored by Xu Rong.
At this time, looking at the Xiliang children who were kneeling together, Xu Rong also showed a helpless smile. They were all comrades who fought together in the past.
These people were once his most trusted subordinates. He once led them to conquer Yongliang, and once led them to fight against the whole world.
But now times have changed, things have changed, and he and they have successfully walked on two completely different paths, and he has lost so cleanly.
"General, have you ever regretted it?"
