On October 16th, Xu Huang hurriedly ordered his troops in Chang'an, thinking about the strategy to regain Hongnong while recruiting grain, fodder and weapons. So in the harsh winter wind, the people of Chang'an once again saw a large group of soldiers escorting carriages and horses passing through the north of the city. However, the scale was obviously not as large as two months ago, and the morale of the soldiers was also low.
People who have seen them say that although they are energetic, the fear in their eyes cannot be concealed. After all, no one expected that the Eastern Expedition army, which was expected to win, would encounter such a fragile defeat. Although no one said it explicitly, they all thought in their hearts: The coming peaceful time might be gone in an instant. What I then recalled was the precarious and frightening situation under the rule of Ryoto in the past.
At this moment, Chen Chong led his troops on horseback out of the city and encountered a group of victims taking refuge in the northern suburbs of the capital. The surrounding trees are withered, and the surrounding fields are flat and open. Standing on the Wei Bridge and looking to the left and right, we can see the victims in single clothes hesitating on the road, like stars in the night. This couldn't help but remind him of the scene when he went from Luoyang to Xihe twelve years ago. The people in the western suburbs of Luoyang were also so embarrassed.
Fortunately, there is a charity warehouse in Chang'an just to deal with the situation at hand. Chang'an ordered Yu Fan to set up tents on the outskirts of the city with his servants to solve the problem. But Chen Chong was still worried and said to the shooting aid beside him: "This year's winter wheat harvest has been exhausted. If the war is delayed until next spring plowing, there may be disaster."
Sheyuan was the younger brother of Shejian, the governor of Hongnong, and the son-in-law of Huangfusong, the former chariot and cavalry general. Chen Chong sent him out of the city this time just to entrust him with the important task of pacifying Liangzhou. Knowing that Chen Chong was worried, Sheyuan persuaded Chen Chong and said: "I worry about you, my mother. I will go to Longshang today and I will mobilize elite troops to prevent them from returning empty-handed."
Chen Chong nodded slightly when he heard the words and said softly: "You don't necessarily need to borrow troops for this trip. At the beginning of the year, Han Sui and others surrendered to me. They just thought that we were invincible and they had no choice but to do it. But now the Guandong soldiers are defeated. , although he has a hostage with me, his intentions are unknown. Therefore, if Lu Bu said that he cannot mobilize troops, it is normal. Your first priority during this trip is still on the word "Fu".
Seeing that Sheyuan was deep in thought, Chen Chong took his hand and told him: "Lü Bu has brothers Zhang Meng and Zhang Chang under his command. They are both pillars of the imperial court and queens of famous families. If you are not sure about Lü Bu's thoughts, you can ask them. That’s enough, there’s no need to force anything else.”
Shooting aid looked troubled, but in the end he nodded and said, "I understand." After saying that, he called his followers, said goodbye to Chen Chong, and then turned his horse to run northwest.
Chen Chong urged him that time was of the essence, and the reinforcements would be fired day and night. He changed horses at the rural pavilion every hundred miles and only rested for two or three hours a day. Even though he went over mountains and ridges all the way, it only took him five days to cross the 700-mile mountain journey and arrive at Liangzhou Prefecture and Lingzhou.
Before setting off, Sheyuan was warned by Chen Chong in every possible way and thought that this trip to Liangzhou would be quite hard. Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Lingzhou, once Lu Bu heard about it, he personally arranged a place for the shooting aid, gave him jade horses and asked about the angel's intention.
Sheyuan first asked Lu Bu, after Han Sui and others surrendered, did they ever disobey Wang Hua? Lu Bu immediately responded and said that although they were occasionally grievances, they could wash away their reputation as thieves and never bear any resentment.
Sheyuan asked Lu Bu again, "With the great chaos in Guandong, Liang troops must be dispatched to fight. Is there any difficulty in the state capital?" Lu Bu also agreed, thinking that it was his duty to serve the emperor and Longshou, and he should allocate 40,000 soldiers from the state. It's just that Liangzhou is a small area and it will take some time. Please wait in your house.
Things went so smoothly that the shooting assistant found it incredible. However, he was already exhausted, tired and hungry from traveling all the way, and he couldn't think of anything else. Seeing this, Lu Bu simply stayed with him for dinner, and called some of his staff to accompany him, telling him some stories about Chang'an. After the banquet, it was late at night in a blink of an eye.
Summer nights in Liangzhou are mostly clear, but winter nights are too dry and cold. Although it hasn't snowed yet, people are sitting at home with their hands and feet as stiff as lying in the snow, so they can only take out the brazier early. When people were keeping warm, they drank buttermilk while chatting, and their hands, feet, and stomachs all warmed up.
Now that he had eaten and drank enough, Sheyuan was a little dazed. He listened to the sharp whistling wind outside the house, and suddenly smiled at Lu Bu: "It's so cold in Liangzhou, how can you still hear the crows?" Lu Bu laughed when he heard this. : "The angel is drunk. There are no trees around here. Where can the crows come from?" Sheyuan was puzzled. He listened for a while and found that there was indeed nothing. He laughed at himself and said, "He is indeed drunk. He just needs some sleep." , and we'll get up again at three o'clock tomorrow." Lu Bu also nodded and asked the maid to help him back to the room.
After the shooting aid went to the room to rest, Lu Bu sent two more people to watch. He came out casually and entered a small room next door. There were no tables, lights or candles in the room, only a brazier and two straw mats. The fire in the brazier was sometimes weak and sometimes strong, making Jia Xu's figure beside him also change.
The crows outside the room just now were a sign that Jia Xu was urging Lu Bu to end the banquet and discuss important matters with him. Lu Bu sat down and saw Jia Xu pinching his beard and thinking deeply. He asked first, "It's not what we expected when the imperial court sent someone to deliver a message. What do you think?"
It turned out that as early as four days ago, Dong Zhao had secretly reported the news of the defeat of Guandong and Dong Cheng's sequestration of the pass to Lingzhou. At the end of the secret letter, Dong Zhao also attached a date for sending troops, hoping that Lu Bu could follow the previous agreement with Dong Cheng and wait until the army from central Sichuan arrived in Guanzhong to send troops together to attack Chang'an. Lu Bu was naturally overjoyed when he heard the news. He had been discussing with Jia Xu about sending troops for the past two days. Unexpectedly, a messenger suddenly arrived in the court, which caught them off guard. Jia Xu temporarily warned the messenger that if the messenger asked for anything, he should grant it to him. This is how today's drama happened.
Jia Xu lowered his hands and asked, "What is the envoy's request?" without answering first.
"Ha" Lu Bu shook his sleeves and said with a smile: "It's just that Liu Xuande lost too many troops and reinforcements had to be sent from Guanzhong. He planned to ask me to send some reinforcements. I agreed, and the boy was overjoyed and didn't know what to say."
Jia Xu frowned when he heard this, reached out and turned over the red coals in the basin with iron tongs, and suddenly said: "That's not right."
He sat upright and looked directly at Lu Bu and said, "How can the envoy be overjoyed just because he received permission to mobilize troops? I am afraid that before setting off, someone told him not to think about deploying troops. Such important matters must have been arranged by Chen Chong himself! And he Since I’ve warned you like this, I’m afraid I’m already wary of the general.”
When Lu Bu heard this, he disagreed and objected: "How can this be seen? It's just a few words. Wen He is thinking too much!"
Jia Xu shook his head and said: "To deal with an opponent like Chen Chong, it is natural to expect the enemy to be lenient. It's better not to be careful. If you really have a secret defense, I think the original plan will be useless."
Lu Bu touched his chin and asked, "It's useless? I joined forces with Shuzhong, and there are always 150,000 people. How can it be useless?"
Seeing that Lu Bu still didn't pay attention to him, Jia Xu couldn't help but feel helpless. He relaxed a little and explained to him: "The so-called soldiers are shaped like water and don't stick to regular shapes. Although the number of soldiers is large, victory is inevitable. We are united with Shu, but After all, it is an army of two families. If Chen Chong hears the news and moves the emperor to Jinyang, and only guards Puban and Fenyin, what can he do?"
After hearing this, Lu Bu finally showed hesitation. He had never thought about this. After Dong Zhuo rebelled against Baibo, Chen Chong built additional cities in Puban and Fenyin. He also knew that the cities were difficult to conquer. If he was ordered to cross the river and attack by force, it was hard to say that he would win.
Therefore, Lu Bu put his sword across his knees, patted the scabbard, and finally said: "What Wen He said is indeed reasonable, but the plan has been decided and Dong Gong has already acted. I'm afraid it won't be possible to change it. That's why Chen Chong fled north to the Jin Dynasty. Yang, but I can always get the third assistant in Guanzhong, and Chen Chong will be destroyed sooner or later if he is attacked from both sides!"
Jia Xu couldn't help but smile when he heard this and said softly: "Why did Feng Xian forget that Dong Gong promised in July that you will be the shepherd of Bingzhou and Liu Fan will be the captain of the Sili school!"
Lu Bu was startled, stood up and whispered: "Zhao Niang, I forgot! If this happens, won't my fight be in vain?"
Jia Xu nodded slightly. Lu Bu saw that his face was calm and showed no trace of sadness or joy. He immediately sat down and lowered his head and asked, "Since Wen He has pointed it out, he must have a good idea in his mind. Please teach me how to do it."
Jia Xu looked around and said decisively: "Send troops immediately!"
Lu Bu was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Today?"
"Get ready today." Jia Xu waved his hand and said: "Although Chen Chong is on guard now, he cannot be sure after all. He is still between two options, and the Northern Army is going to Hongnong to quell the rebellion. Guanzhong is extremely empty. Isn't this a God-given opportunity? ? The general should send troops quickly and besiege Xijing! Otherwise, if you miss the opportunity, you will not be able to blame others if you die."
Lu Bu is usually brave, but at this time he couldn't help but hesitate. After all, going deep alone is a taboo on the march. If you do anything wrong, you will die without a burial place.
This was the moment to make up his mind. Jia Xu added: "If it is achieved in one battle, the general can monopolize the government, and then divide the troops into Baoxie and Ziwu. Guanzhong will be exclusive to the general, what can he do in Shuzhong?"
When Lu Bu heard this, his expression changed again and again, and finally he revealed the evil in his chest. He drew his sword and said, "In that case, we will follow Wen He's words! We will order our troops tomorrow!"
Jia Xu warned: "General, don't forget that Zhang Chang, Zhang Meng, Wang Ling, Li Jun and others are all people planted by Chen Chong. If what we do is not secret and they leak it, we will live up to what God has created today." The situation is over!”
Lu Bu suddenly realized and sneered: "What you mean is that I sent troops to arrest them suddenly. Then..." He cut his hand in the air, obviously he had murderous intentions towards these people.
Unexpectedly, Jia Xu shook his head and said: "No, the general is the teacher of King Qin this time. He has been ordered by His Majesty to punish thieves. Why should he indiscriminately kill the country's innocent people? If he wants to achieve immortal achievements, the general must stop killing. , Cherish to kill. Just capture these people and hand them over to Han Wen to make an appointment with them. After all, he and others have always regarded themselves as loyal ministers and filial sons. When His Majesty entrusts the country to the general and punishes the two thieves, are they still afraid of causing trouble?" At this point, Both Jia Xu and Lu Bu couldn't help laughing.
Jia Xu stretched out his hand in front of the brazier, picked up the iron tongs, and emphasized: "The important thing is that this time the troops must be sent out quickly! If it is urgent, it will take three or four days, if it is slow, it will take seven days. We will send troops to the distant mountains and destroy them." Leader. Before Chen Chong can mobilize, he will take advantage of the situation and change his colors, and go straight to Chang'an." At this point, he suddenly threw a piece of charcoal into the basin, and a heat wave immediately took off, sparks flew everywhere, and the room suddenly became bright.
After saying this, Lu Bu felt relieved in his chest. The depression that Liu Bei had suppressed for several years was gone. He sighed at this moment: "It's a pity that wise men like Chen Chong value mediocre people like Liu Bei. Now Liu Bei has been completely defeated and even overthrown." The country is in danger. If I kill him now, I don’t know if he will regret it."
Jia Xu had another idea. He thought: Lu Bu is only brave, but his power makes him stupid. He is really not the one to entrust him to. If I can enter the capital safely, should I leave him and assist the emperor?
