Since Chen Chong occupied Hangu Pass, he has been transporting grain and grass to Sun Jian while repairing Hangu Pass.
After the foundation of Guanqiang was dug down by the Central Route Army, the cleanup work was not easy. Because there are not only the masonry of the collapsed city wall, but also the wood used by Dong Yue to increase the height, piled up in a mess with the rammed earth, and there are also many Liang people's corpses underneath. In order to prevent the epidemic, Chen Chong lit a burning fire on the road. Every time he dug out a corpse, he threw it into the flames. The smell of burnt and rotten food lingered for seven days, so that after cleaning up, people appeared along the road. The soldiers all sniffed and sneezed strangely.
After cleaning up, Chen Chong arranged for people to re-consolidate the depression. Now that he had settled in Hangu Pass, Chen Chong did not want it to be breached by the same tactics again, so he attached great importance to this matter. He first had people go to the mountains and forests to pick gravel, and then went to The fine sand was sifted out by the stream, mixed with the two and buried in the depression. Then people brought water, sprinkled it again and tamped it again. This was repeated five times before the foundation was refilled.
It took ten days to go back and forth from cleaning up to tamping the soil. The repair of the city wall had not yet begun. At this time, the soldiers repairing the city began to complain. Zang Ba, the captain of Qingzhou, came from a rough background and felt sorry for his soldiers, so he complained to Chen Chong. Said: "Building a city is hard work, but now it is early spring, cold and tired, and the soldiers shed a layer of skin just by moving stones. The location of Hangu Pass is so dangerous, and a small city can defeat the enemy, so why bother to bother people like this?" Woolen cloth?"
Chen Chong comforted and said: "Xuan Gao, I know the soldiers are working hard, but the reason why I built the city in this way is precisely because this place is dangerous and a place of life and death. No matter how cautious you are, you must know that manpower is sometimes poor. No matter how hard you work, you can't be too cautious." It’s just a seven-point chance of winning.”
"Why not ten points?"
“God’s will is unpredictable and cannot be forced.”
On the sixth day of the lunar month, when he was planning to rebuild the city wall, news came from Wei You in Jiguan, saying that on the third day of the lunar month, he noticed a change in the Dongyuan Liang people, and sent scouts to investigate and found that the Niu Fu regiment that was confronting him was heading south rapidly. I don't know why. Therefore, he sent a letter to Chen Chong asking how the Jiguan garrison should respond.
After Chen Chong read the letter, he immediately held a military meeting with the soldiers. Tao Qiuhong analyzed: "It seems that Dong Zhuo has made up his mind and plans to fight to the death in Mianchi." Chen Chong nodded in agreement and said with a smile: "This is also a good thing. After this battle, at least there is no need to use weapons in the Guanzhong area. "Immediately wrote a reply, requesting Wei You's army to go south to join forces with Sun Jian's troops.
When Chen Chong said this, the generals also heard it. It was obvious that he also planned to lead his army to participate in the battle, so they all became happy. After all, since everyone went south to Jinyang, they first built a new city on the sandbank, then built a river bridge, and now they repaired the Hangu Pass wall. Except for the Mengjinguan guarding the city, there was no major fighting along the way, just like laboring workers. Make them very dissatisfied. Privately they said: A warrior should wield his sword and chop off his head on the battlefield, but how can he achieve great deeds in the sand.
Now that I can finally participate in a battle, a battle that determines the ownership of the world, it is really a warrior's lifelong dream. Not long after Chen Chong finished speaking, many people rushed forward, asking Chen Chong to be a pioneer, and asked him when he would march westward to Xin'an. Seeing the high morale of everyone, Chen Chong was quite satisfied. He replied: "When Guancheng is repaired, we will send troops."…
Now no one complained about the construction of the city. The entire army of 20,000 people worked together, and within six days, all the remaining walls were completed. Xinguan City was not a rush job. The city wall was four feet high and three feet wide. There were two layers of blue bricks on the outside. There were four stone watchtowers in front of the wall. A trench one foot deep and wide was dug in front of the city. Although the soldiers worked hard during the construction, when they saw the city after it was completed, they all sighed deeply and said that it was impregnable.
Chen Chong ordered the soldiers to rest for a night, and then reorganized the army to the west the next day. However, he had to send people to stay at Hangu Pass. This was not a good job, and the other allied forces would not be willing to do it. After much thought, he finally had to force himself. Headquarters, so he went to have a heart-to-heart talk with Wei Xuan, who was born in Xihe, hoping that he would not hold a grudge against him. Wei Xuan agreed readily and said with a smile: "It is not my wish to be born or die, but when you are done, you will remember me for my contribution!"
By the next day, the vanguard of Hangu Pass had already set off, and Chen Chong was also packing up and saluting in the room. He knew that he could not fight, so except for a green sword presented by Cao Cao, there were no other weapons in the room. Most of them were some books, pens, and paper. . Chen Chong classified the battle formations, county maps, city defense design and other drawings in detail. Just as he was folding them into the wooden box, the city guard suddenly sent a message saying that an envoy from Yuan Shu had entered the pass and asked Chen Chong if he wanted to see him.
Chen Chong heard something strange. He asked the city guard: "How many people are there in their party? Who is the leader? Didn't they say they wanted to see me?"
The city guard thought for a while and replied: "There are six of them. Only one of them should be a nobleman, and the other five are just servants. They only said that they were hussar envoys, and they had something urgent to report to General Polu, and they had no intention of kissing him. Jian Fujun. But he was stopped by Wei Sima. Wei Sima said that it was an urgent moment for the army to set off, and they must wait for the envoy's order before letting them pass."
After hearing this, Chen Chong immediately put down his things, straightened his appearance, and said to the city guard: "Then take me with you."
He got off the tower and saw a group of people blocked at the gate by Wei Yan. The leader was wearing a plain robe and was gesticulating and talking to Wei Yan. But Wei Yan didn't say a word. He held the knife in his hand and stood there like a green pine. He didn't move an inch even if his saliva flew everywhere.
Chen Chong stepped forward and realized that the envoy was Yuan Si, a member of Yuan Shu's sect and a relative of his clan in Runan. Just as the city guard said, they were a group of six people with nine horses. The burdens on the horses were bulging. Except for the leader Yuan Si, the rest of the servants were all simply dressed and well-built. They were obviously guards or servants.
When Yuan Si saw Chen Chong arriving, his eyes couldn't help but dodge around. But he immediately realized something was wrong, so he forced himself to undergo plastic surgery and said to Chen Chong, "I've seen a dragon's head before."
Chen Chong waved his hand to indicate that he would not be polite, and asked straight to the point: "Zichang, Hussar sent you here, why? What happened in Guandong?"
Unexpectedly, Chen Chong hit the target, and Yuan Si couldn't help being startled. He then hurriedly replied: "Everything is fine in Guandong. It's just that the Ming Dynasty heard a message from Polu saying that he would have a decisive battle with Dong thief in the near future, so he asked me to join Polu's army. The Lieutenant Governor also brought some gold and silver to distribute to the generals and boost their morale." After that, he patted the package on his horse, and there was a sound of metal collision.
This was a good reason, but Chen Chong didn't believe it. He and Yuan Si exchanged a few words, and Yuan Si begged Chen Chong to let him go. Chen Chong had no reason to stop him, nor could he openly break with Yuan Shu. After thinking for a moment, he still let Yuan Si and his party pass. …
Gu Weiyan looked at Yuan Siyuan's retreating figure with suspicion on his face. He said to Chen Chong: "This man said he was going to supervise the army to boost morale, but I see that his actions are obscene and his words are shaky. He clearly has something evil in his heart! Sir, really let him Pass?"
Chen Chong patted Wei Yan's shoulder armor, shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Chief Wen can see it, and I can naturally see it too. You can't stop him. It mainly depends on what he wants. The so-called reward to the three armies is naturally false." He hesitated for a moment, but still did not express his guess.
Now there are bound to be changes in Guandong, which can make Yuan Shu suddenly change his mind, and it can only be the influence of Yuan Shao. If what I expected was correct, Yuan Shao must have sent his army to attack Yuzhou.
When he thought about it, Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh: he had stayed in Suanzao just to beware of Yuan Shao's betrayal of the alliance. However, the situation changed and the northern route failed, forcing him to personally lead his troops westward. This gave Yuan Shao the opportunity to betray the alliance. He originally planned to race against time to bring peace to Dong Zhuo first, but unexpectedly Yuan Shao could not wait any longer and was able to stir up trouble in less than a month.
Then Yuan Shu's purpose of sending the envoy was obvious. There was no other possibility except ordering Sun Jian to withdraw his troops and let him return to Yuzhou quickly to aid.
After completing the deduction in his belly, Chen Chong made an immediate decision. He first went to meet Tao Qiuhong and entrusted him with all the arrangements for the westward march of the armies. He told him: "March quickly and don't be slow!" After hearing what he said, Tao Qiuhong slowly asked: "Dragon Head" Where will it go?" Chen Chong replied: "It cannot be said, but it is the birthplace of all people and the foundation of the country."
Tao Qiuhong responded to this matter.
Chen Chong immediately changed into light clothes, hastily packed the hand-drawn atlas and loaded it on Qing Wei's back. He also summoned Wei Yan and asked him to transfer the affairs in his hands to Tai Shici, and said to him: "The situation is urgent. We have to go to Xin'an quickly. It is best to meet with General Polu before Yuan Si."
After not traveling with Chen Chong for a long time, Wei Yan readily agreed. When they were ready, they set off from Hangu Pass. Calculating the time Yuan Si and his party left, it was about two hours late.
The sky was getting dark, but Chen Chong didn't care so much. He and Wei Yan rode out of the pass, and along the way were the forwards who were moving slowly with fire. The horseshoes of the two men clicked together, and their figures seemed like a gust of wind. The soldiers in the vanguard looked at them curiously, and then they realized that it was the commander who had run away, which caused another discussion in the army.
The bright moon shines brightly, and the pale golden moonlight shines down, covering everything in the night with a layer of pale white gauze, like tears or eyes. After stepping through the pass, the world suddenly opened up. The battlefield of the previous few days appeared in front of us. The battlefield had been cleaned up by the Jing people, and the soldiers in the vanguard had also been thrown away by Chen Chong. Now there was only a gurgling stream around them, like a stream, and the two sides The howls of wolves and mountain apes came from the mountain, as if he and Wei Yan were the only ones left in the world.
But this vast creation could not occupy Chen Chong's heart at this moment. He could only look anxiously to the west, looking for the lights of the Jing people under the moonlight, looking for Xin'an City, and looking for Yuan Si and his party who were walking in the front.
He arrived five miles east of Xin'an on the 14th, where Sun Jian's troops camped. When he arrived, Chen Chong didn't see Yuan Si along the way, and he couldn't help feeling a little cold. He knew that the other party had arrived first, so he could only I prayed in my heart that Sun Jian had not yet made up his mind.
After greeting the Xin'an camp guard, Army Commander Ma Zhuzhi came to take him into the city. Zhu Zhi asked him in surprise: "Why is the dragon head here?"
Chen Chong paused his thoughts and replied with a breathy smile: "I have something important to discuss with Polu, and I really can't wait any longer."
Zhu Zhi also smiled. He admired this leader of the noble clan who was slightly younger than him very much. He led the way and said, "I'm afraid the general has been asleep for a long time. The dragon head can come at dawn, so why bother so much."
Hearing that Sun Jian had fallen asleep, Chen Chong felt relieved and asked, "Isn't anyone else coming?"
Zhu Zhi replied: "I have just changed my guard. How could anyone come so late at night?"
The two stopped in front of the city mansion, the house was brightly lit. Chen Chong's heart sank to the bottom, and it was obvious that Sun Jian had woken up.
Zhu Zhi announced that when Chen Chong and Wei Yan entered the room, they saw Sun Jian sitting on the bed with his hand on his forehead. Yuan Si and four followers were standing on one side. Sun Jian heard the footsteps and looked up at Chen Chong again, his eyes were abnormal. decadent.
He sighed: "Ting Jian, I plan to retreat."
. .
