After settling in Qishan, the Shu army was in no hurry to leave. Their journey was too arduous, and according to Jia Xu's judgment, the Westerners in Jincheng and Xiangwu estimated that it would take at least seven days from receiving the news to recruiting troops, so they were not in a hurry and rested in the mountain fort for three days. Later, he was ready to leave.
When the city was abandoned, Zhang Liao stood in the front line and looked back at the mountain fortress. He said with emotion: "It is a pity to abandon such a huge defense in the world." Mountain fortresses in the world are mostly fortresses built on dangerous cliffs. Although they are steep, they are not insignificant. No flaws. But Qishan Fort is completely different. This is due to the unique terrain of Qishan Mountain. It rises up from the flat land. Although it is not towering, the base of the mountain is round and round. After a little construction, it becomes a natural fortress. Zhang Liao himself judged that even if a hundred thousand people attacked the city here, they would probably waste time.
The emperor led the horse out. When he heard Zhang Liao's words, he said: "General, if you can enter Qishan today, you will be able to do so in the future." Dong Zhao smiled and nodded. He thought that the northward journey was successfully completed. Not only did he welcome back from Chang'an, The emperor has four thousand elite soldiers from Qishan in his hands. He has done great service to the country and himself, so he is extremely happy.
A group of people just walked along Qishan Road to Yangpingguan. Although the Qishan Road is the longest, the terrain is the flattest and most convenient. Dong Zhao estimated that the 400-mile journey would take about four days. Unexpectedly, on the day of going south, there was a sudden strong wind and thunder that lasted all night long. The strong wind blew sand and rocks flying and rustling among the trees. The thunder was as continuous as the entire Qinling Mountains bursting apart, making the Shu people's ears ring and dizzy, which was extremely rare in Longshang.
People suddenly remembered that in February Yiji, there was a sudden solar eclipse in the sky, which could be seen everywhere. A solar eclipse is a sign of disaster, but nothing unusual happened anywhere. Chen Chong didn't like to talk about it, so he put it aside. But according to folklore, a solar eclipse coincides with the fall of a giant star, and the real dragon is about to die! It spread quickly, although as time passed, everyone gradually forgot about it. But at this time, when they saw the thunder in the sky on the Qishan Road, the people of Shu could not help but remember this incident. All these signs showed that the so-called Gengyin Year of the Tiger was not like an ordinary year.
But as a result, their marching speed naturally slowed down. On the evening of the third day, the Shu people's vanguard had just arrived at Xianglu Cliff, which was still more than thirty miles away from the mouth of the Jialing River and two hundred miles away from Yangping Pass. During the journey, they rested in the shade under the cliff that night. Only the Emperor, Dong Zhao and a few others set up tents.
At dawn the next day, when it was still dark, the palace attendants woke up the emperor who had not yet risen and said, "Your Majesty, Ambassador Dong said that he has a military report!"
The emperor was still sleepy, but after hearing this, he reluctantly put on his clothes and got up. As he was getting dressed, he thought: "Dong Zhao has never reported any military information to me during the few days I have been with the army. Why did he come to me today? Could it be that the Shu army in Hanzhong came to pick me up?"
It was not bright yet. When the emperor came out, he found that not only Dong Zhao was there, but also Jia Xu, Zhang Liao and others were there. Dong Zhao cupped his hands when they met, then approached and whispered: "Your Majesty, the front team arrived at the mouth of the Jialing River and found that there seemed to be flags flying by traitors."
The emperor was shocked and immediately asked: "How many people are there? Can they survive?" Dong Zhao did not answer, but Zhang Liao on the side said: "We are still investigating, and we will be rewarded soon." The emperor knew that Zhang Liao could not lie. But observing the worried look on his face, one can understand that there are not a few enemy troops. I was speechless for a moment, so I went back to visit Concubine Dong Guifei and other wives and children.
About two-quarters of an hour later, Wu Ban reported back that not only the Jialing River estuary, but also the 20-mile mountain road from the Jiangkou to Qiumu Bay were full of red ocher red flags from the imperial court. Forty thousand people! This news shocked everyone present. The Shu Road was rough and difficult, and they took the Qishan Road unexpectedly. How could the imperial court send such a large army to stop them?
It was Jia Xu who told the most likely scenario. He said with a gloomy face: "There are experts in the imperial court! He probably knows that we can't enter Hanzhong via the Tangluo, Baoxie, and Ziwu roads, and Qishan Mountain is surrounded by It's too late, so we might as well go in the opposite direction, march deep from Chencang to this point, and block it in front of Yangping Pass, so that we and others will have no way out."
Dong Zhao held the tree with his hand and did not move for a long time. He thought that the work was done, but something went wrong here. What should he do? There is only one mountain road, and if you go to other wilderness areas, let alone whether you can succeed, once you are discovered by Xichao, you will be in a desperate situation. Kill him hard? This mountain road can only be blocked by one man but cannot be opened by ten thousand people. How can there be any reason to win?
After a long while, he asked: "Have you seen the enemy flag clearly? Who is leading the troops?"
"There is a handsome flag from Xifu! Duan Yan must be here!"
Dong Zhao laughed miserably and said, "Tell your Majesty about this!" When Liu Xie came out of the tent again, he saw that everyone was silent, but he did not look frustrated. Instead, he asked, "What can I do now? "
"There is only one way!" Zhang Liao pressed the hilt of his sword and stepped forward and said: "You all lead the army back to Qishan Fort to defend it. I will take a few cavalry along the trail to Hanzhong to ask for help. Zhang Lu still has 30,000 soldiers in Hanzhong. It will only take more than a month. If we fight based on the city, we will be able to defeat the enemy and win!"
This was the only way, and no one had any objections. After Zhang Liao led several cavalry into the jungle, the rest began to direct the soldiers to turn around and return. However, Liu Xie had a premonition in his heart that he would never be able to enter Hanzhong. His wife and children beside him obviously felt the same way, so they were sobbing faintly on the road, but he showed a calm face, tried his best to calm everyone's emotions, turned to the back and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Jia next to me is a famous person in the world, and he also He is a famous general in the world, and with him under his command, there will be no serious problems."
When the army turned back, the Western Army at Jiangkou also noticed it and immediately sent the front team to follow the Shu Army. Everyone was originally worried that Duan Xuanhui would pursue him immediately and affect the speed of the Shu Army's return. However, contrary to their expectations, the Han Army's The main force always maintained a distance of twenty miles from them. Even the scouts from the front team immediately retreated at the first sign of confrontation, and then continued to follow depending on the situation.
On the way back, the wind and thunder continued, and silent raindrops began to fall in the haze, and then slowly increased in intensity. When the Shu people returned to Qishan Mountain in the rain, the sky and the earth were filled with torrents of mud. Even if they had raincoats to protect them from the rain, everyone was still wet. It was so transparent that they felt chilled all over.
After hurriedly entering the castle, the emperor was exhausted. After scrubbing himself, he quickly fell asleep on the couch with his clothes on. Dong Zhao and Jia Xu discussed whether to kill the Han soldiers who had surrendered before. After all, if they wanted to defend the city, this was an extremely uneasy factor.
When the emperor slept until dusk, he suddenly woke up and said, "Where is Mr. Jia? Let him come to see me."
Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he saw Jia Xu standing by the door, smiling at him and saying, "Has your majesty changed your mind?" The emperor said, "I won't leave, but I hope you, sir, can help me send Qi'er away." Jia Xu sighed. He took a breath and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I have discussed it with the Queen and sent His Highness away two hours ago."
Liu Xie breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself: "Okay, it's good if he leaves." At this time, he walked to the door and found that the rain had stopped, and a ray of golden sunshine came into his eyes. The sun has set on the western hills, emitting its last golden rays. The countless green mountains on the left and right are bathed in warmth and harmony at this time, without any profit or dispute, waiting for the night to fall.
He saw the setting sun slowly sinking into the mountains, leaving only an afterglow still reflecting on the clouds in the west. Finally, even the afterglow became darker and darker, the sky turned blue-black, and the mountains became faint. White clouds were drifting, and the western sky revealed a faint starlight. In the night surrounding Qishan Fort, two fire dragons, one in the south and one in the north, gradually appeared in the river valley. The firelight illuminated the flags, and you could see Duan Xuan's Tengu flag to the south, and a brand new military flag to the north with the Blue Sky Black Bird flag painted on it. I don't know who the leader of this army is.
But the question was soon answered. More than ten knights from the northern army rushed straight to Qishan Castle. They shouted to the city at the edge of the arrow range: "The crown prince is here, and the generals in the city will come out to answer!"
It turns out to be Liu Xie! Why did he come so quickly? Could it be that all the arrangements for this containment were made by him? Liu Xie was taken aback. Before he could think clearly, he heard the people in the city shout loudly: "Sichuan thief! Return His Majesty quickly! Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
When Liu Xie heard this, he simply stood in the most conspicuous position of the city tower and shouted at the bottom: "Why bother talking! I will just sit in the city and see who of you can be made a marquis!"
When the knights in the city heard this, they immediately laughed and said: "Your Majesty is joking." Then they immediately returned to the army to report to Liu Xie. The generals of the Xifu Army were also beside him, waiting for him to express his position.
Liu Xie touched the tip of his brow, turned to Duan Xuan and said, "May I ask the governor, do you know how much food and grass is left in the fort?"
"As a rule, the city usually has enough grain to last four months. The last grain adjustment was at the end of April, more than a month ago. There are about 9,000 people in the city, so it should be enough for one month." Duan Xuan replied.
"One month?" Liu Xie put down his hand and turned to Duan Xuan with a smile: "Then we will wait here for three months to see if the emperor can change his mind. I will leave Governor Duan to worry about everything in the meantime."
After finishing speaking, Duan Xuan heard the connection and his face darkened, but he still lowered his head and responded: "Please rest assured, Prince, even if it is a sparrow, I will not let it fly into Qishan Mountain!"
That night, the Xifu Army began to set up a siege camp around Qishan Fort, and then dug a trench around the city and introduced the Western Han River into the middle. Although they did not attack the city, the siege could be said to be impenetrable. But what puzzled the soldiers was why Prince Dai sent a military order to stay here for three months when there was only one month of food in the city. The generals who were familiar with history books understood that Prince Dai planned to imitate Li Dui's sand dune siege and starve the emperor to death in the mountain fortress.
