When Chen Chong heard this, he turned his hand and nearly knocked down the penholder. Before he could say anything, Guan Yu stood up and asked, "What happened to my brother? Are you feeling well?"
Before Meng Jian could take a deep breath, Chen Chong saw that he was covered in smoke and dust, the towel on his head was messy and scattered, and there were some scratches on his hands. He waved his hand to Guan Yu to wait a moment, and went to the well in the backyard to fetch a basin of water. He took a towel and asked Meng Jian to clean it for a while. Then he took him back to the hall and asked, "But Xuande was in trouble when he arrived at Baitan Mountain? "
Meng Jian shook his head and explained the current situation of the war in detail. Years ago, Liu was ordered to go to Baitan Mountain in Youzhou to rescue the siege. Considering that Gongsun Zan had been besieged for nearly half a year, Liu Bei did not dare to delay, so he chose to take the nearest road to Guangwu via Lucheng to enter Daijun. Next, they crossed the Qiyi River between the two peaks to Sangqian, crossed the Zhi River, and climbed the Hengshan Mountain in the north of the county, and unexpectedly ran into the Xianbei army head-on.
The Dongping Army crossed mountains and ridges one after another, and both men and horses were exhausted. At that time, the forward was at the junction of two mountains. The Xianbei people suddenly burst out of the mountains and forests, and the forward was unable to resist. The rear formation only saw a panic in the front formation, and heard the loud sounds of killing, and their morale was greatly depressed. Liu Bei tried several times to counterattack with his elite troops, but was repulsed by the Xianbei armored cavalry.
Unable to move forward, we have to retreat. Zhang Fei led the rear formation into the front formation and marched towards Sangqian. Unexpectedly, a Xianbei cavalry circled to the north of the river control, blocking Liu Bei's southward retreat. The north and south were cut off, and there were high mountains and cliffs to the east and west. The whole army fought desperately and managed to break out of the siege, with only a few hundred people covering Liu Bei's way out.
When the Xianbei people saw that Liu Bei was wearing two armors, a red eagle coat on his head, and a dazzling long sword with a golden sheath on his waist, they knew that he was the commander-in-chief of the Han army, so they also sent troops to pursue him. Liu Bei had no choice but to order his troops to disperse. , he took off his armor, covered himself with withered yellow water plants, and leaned over with Zhang Fei by the river bank.
The two of them were lying on the ice, the cold air filtering through their silk clothes, making them shiver with cold, but the sound of the Xianbei knight's hooves kept wandering not far away, and most recently it was less than three feet away from the hiding place. It wasn't until the sky became dark that Zhang Fei heard the human voices disappear completely. But when he touched his brother beside him, he realized that Liu Bei had passed out from the cold.
Zhang Fei hurriedly took Liu Bei back to Sangqian. Sang Qianling called for a doctor at night, smeared Liu Bei's body with wine repeatedly, and rubbed him until he was red. He also sent people to take care of his food day and night. It was not until two days later that Liu Bei opened his eyes. Now he is infected with wind and cold and is still ill. On the bed, I don't know when I will get better. But time waits for no one, so Zhang Fei recruited a few more skirmishers in Sangqian and managed to gather several hundred men. He must be heading south to return to Taiyuan via Jizhou.
Hearing that Liu Bei had survived, Guan Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking about the difficulty of curing typhoid fever, he became worried again. He suppressed his distracting thoughts and asked Chen Chong, "Ting Jian, after such a big change, we may not be able to stay here any longer." Yes." Chen Chong raised his forehead and frowned, and said slowly to Meng Jian: "Gongwei, you go back to Jinyang. I will go there to make arrangements in a few days."
After Meng Jian left, Chen Chong packed his bags, closed the door of the hall, and went north to bid farewell to Guo Da. At this time, Guo Da's grudges were gone. Hearing such a big event, he couldn't help but worry about his trip. He asked Chen Chong: "Liu Shijun has been defeated. Taiyuan's soldiers have been almost wiped out. Dragon Head has returned to Taiyuan. What's the best plan?"
When Chen Chong thought about everything, he couldn't help but sigh to Guo Da Tai: "It's just to gather the defeated soldiers and appease people's hearts. I just don't know how I can face my fellow kin with such shame." But then he said seriously: "Commander Guo, I'm going to do all the things here. There is nothing to worry about, except for the matter of Meiji, I hope Guo Shuai will pay more attention to it. Once there is a change in Meiji, I will be useless in Taiyuan."
At this point, Guo Da considered the profit and loss, and then asked: "Didn't the dragon head know the news? Because of the assassination of King Youxian by Shanyu Fuluo, he trapped and killed King Youxian in Meiji at the end of the year, and the other princes bowed their heads and tied their necks. , I dare not say anything. Although it is said that Yufuluo's governance is not good now, but the power alone is better than that of the previous generations, and the kings can be killed with one hand, how can there be a big change? "
Chen Chong's eyelids twitched, and then he said with his usual expression: "The major events in the world are not handled by force. Guo Shuai will be defeated if Yu Fuluo continues to be tyrannical. I advise Guo Shuai to cut ties with him as soon as possible." Guo Da hesitated. , but still solemnly promise.
Saying goodbye to Bai Bo, Chen Chong and Guan Yu changed into military uniforms, put on bamboo hats to hide their faces, rode horses all the way across the frozen Yellow River, entered Zishi via Lishi, and then headed north to Jinyang. When Chen Chong arrived in Jinyang, it was already the seventh day of the first lunar month. Jian Yong was waiting at the gate of the mansion. When he saw him arriving, he immediately exclaimed: "Ting Jian, you are finally here."
Chen Chong took off his bamboo hat and asked Jian Yong, "Do you have any news about Yide and the others? How long do they expect to be back here?"
Jian Yong complained: "Xuande is seriously ill now, so how can he dare to go fast? Yide wrote yesterday that he is in Shangai, and it is estimated that there will be four days before the annexation. It is estimated that it will have to wait until next month for him to arrive in Jinyang. "
As the three of them walked, Chen Chong asked again: "What is the situation in Taiyuan now? From what I saw along the road, the Xihe Canal has been basically completed, and most of the people in Taiyuan have returned to their hometowns. The New Year has just passed, and this is the time when confidence is most needed. Now Xuande suffered such a big defeat, so we must not make people panic. Don't let the Xianbei people arrive by then, and we will be in chaos first."
"I know this without you having to tell me." Jian Yong rolled up his sleeves to keep out the cold. He analyzed the known situation: "Now I strictly keep my word and only inform the princes in the county governor's house and order them to strictly prohibit them from spreading rumors. But the biggest problem now is , Taiyuan County has no troops left!"
"Previously when Xianbei invaded Koumayi, Xuande stationed most of the troops in Qixian County, and then rescued all the troops from Baitan Mountain. Now there are only more than 3,000 soldiers in the county. With such a force, if Xianbei invades, we will be able to defend Jin. Yang is too hard to use!" Jian Yong sighed and stamped his feet anxiously.
Then the three of them walked to the main hall of the Taishou Mansion. The staff of the Taishou Mansion in the hall were preliminarily sorting out the post-war pensions. Everyone looked bitter and frowned. When they heard the sound of several people stepping on the door, they all looked up. Seeing Chen Chong's calm expression, his sadness disappeared for a moment, and he saluted and greeted Chen Chong.
Chen Chong had seen everyone, and he was familiar with most of the people here. After all, in addition to the county magistrates, he also specially recruited several staff for Liu Bei, who were either friends or students. The leader among them is Dou Fu, who is now the Cheng of Taiyuan County. He put down the volume in his hand and said teasingly to Chen Chong: "Why, Ting Jian, you have been re-employed by the imperial court?"
"Perhaps in half a year." Chen Chong replied with a smile. He turned to salute everyone in the hall and said: "Although I, Chen Chong, am white now, I still have the heart to serve the country with fists and fists. I hope you will not despise Chen Chong for his humble position. Let Chen Chong do his part."
Everyone also burst into laughter and moved the main seat out of the way, allowing Chen Chong to preside over the county dynasty.
Chen Chong first asked Jian Yong, the chief secretary: "Xianhe, you just said that Xuande has troops stationed in Qixian County. How many troops are there?" "There are still six thousand." "Recall them all!" Chen Chong knocked on the table with his hand. He said decisively: "King Huyan was defeated before, and the garrison strength was already insufficient. We just hoped to delay the time and wait for reinforcements. Now that there are no reinforcements to send, it is just a waste of troops to still be stationed in Qixian County."
Chen Chong said to the soldier Cao Rong, Ling Hu Yuan: "Chengde, you organize the remaining soldiers in the county to go to Langmeng to repair the city. When the Wuzhou troops return to the county, they will be handed over to you to command." Then he said to Cao Rong, Gu Yiyan. : "Yuanhu, go and make a calculation with Cang Cao to see how much grain is left. Then tour the counties, leave the spring seeds in each county, and transport the remaining grain to Jinyang."
At this point, Chen Chong turned to the county prime minister Dou Fu and asked: "Zixun, the county residents who repaired the canals should have returned from Xihe one after another. Have they all moved back to the counties?" Dou Fu shook his head and said: "Now the county Many counties in the south have returned to their hometowns, but the northern part of the county is too desolate, and there are Black Mountain bandits and raiders from time to time, so only eleven people have returned home."
"Then take it easy." Chen Chong hesitated for a moment, then said: "The situation in the north of the county is gloomy now, and a war will happen sooner or later. The Xianbei people have won many battles, and they just rely on the number of horses and the number of riders, but if there are many horses, they will inevitably follow the water and grass. Now, I plan to burn grass along the river in the north of the county. The Xianbei people see that the water and grass are separated, and the offensive will definitely not last long. But as a result, the north of the county will not be able to farm this year."
At this point, Chen Chong had generally completed his arrangements for Xianbei, but he felt particularly inadequate. He said to Guan Yu: "Yunchang, you can go to Guangwu to call for Yanyu Ledu. If our army withdraws its defenses at Yanmen, they will use a large force to After the defeat, we cannot treat Xianbei as one day, it is better to invite them to withdraw into the county. Once Xianbei invades, we can protect their tribe from worries and give us some room to spare."
This is when everything is settled. Chen Chong and others dispersed from the hall. He stood up and thought about the current situation. After meditating for a moment, he relaxed and pulled out the green sword to look at the texture of the sword body. The blade of the sword reflected his face and the brilliance in his pupils, which made Chen Chong both familiar and unfamiliar.
He thought he would be a little frustrated, but the corners of his mouth turned upward. He returned the green sword to its scabbard, caressed his face, and murmured: The battle will never end.
