Zhang Yan was beheaded, and the Wei troops at Lingshikou suddenly lost the courage to fight again and knelt down one after another. Gan Ning held the knife in one hand and Zhang Yan's head in the other. He panted heavily and looked around. All the Wei troops surrendered, abandoning their swords. The stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and the Lingshikou was recaptured.
Many people died in the battle, especially the young and middle-aged people who were the first to resist. Hundreds of them were killed in the battle. However, Lao Liu and He Lao Er who were under the city were lucky and did not die in the battle. Instead, they killed many enemies. Breaking down the city gate is a great achievement.
Gan Ning ordered his troops to imprison the soldiers, and after taking over the city defense, he called over the leaders of the people who had just helped him capture the city.
Lao Liu and He Lao Er were covered in blood at the moment, but their eyes were shining brightly, and their faces were filled with uncontrollable excitement, because they knew that they had made contributions in this battle, and the rewards would definitely be huge.
Seeing Gan Ning, the two of them hurriedly knelt down and said, "Caomin Dingliu (caomin He Zhu!) pays homage to the general."
Gan Ning wiped his face and glanced at them. He was about twenty years old and had a strong body. If you compare it with others, he was a good young man. He said with a smile: "You are the ones who led the people to resist the Wei army." ?”
"Yes!" the two replied.
Gan Ning nodded, stared at them and asked: "Are you willing to follow a certain army? Of course, if you are not willing, I will report it to the emperor, report your military exploits, and give you gold and silver."
The two looked at each other, excitement written in their eyes and faces.
He kowtowed quickly: "The common people are willing to follow the general, even if they die!"
Gan Ning was overjoyed and quickly helped the two of them up: "Okay! Okay! Okay! Since you are willing to follow so-and-so, so-and-so will not treat you badly. Come here! Bring me the two pieces of armor and swords given to me by the emperor!"
Not long after, two sets of brand-new, shiny armors were presented. Ding Liu and He Zhu's eyes widened when they looked at them, and they salivated.
"You don't have to refuse!" Gan Ning handed the armor to them and said with a smile, "You have made great contributions in this battle. You have just joined my command. This is someone's intention. Public and private should be distinguished! This is what I will reward you. Yes, when the emperor’s reward arrives, you will be indispensable.”
"Thank you, General!" The two men were excited as they held up their armors.
Gan Ning: "Go down and ask those who participated in the battle just now to see if there is anyone willing to follow a certain person. If so, you will be incorporated into your own team and become the basis for joining the army."
"Here!"
The two were overjoyed and immediately went to prepare after bidding farewell to Gan Ning.
The army rested for three days at Lingshikou. Gan Ning was just about to leave for Yejing when suddenly an order came from Chang'an. The battle in Duyang City was fierce and he was told to go south quickly.
When Gan Ning saw the battle report and saw that Zhang Qian and Hu Jun had died in battle, he was so frightened that his hair stood on end. These two people are the emperor's personal bodyguards. How could they die in battle? Could it be that the emperor...
He didn't dare to think any more, but his heart was filled with panic and anxiety. He knew that if something happened to the emperor, it would be a high-level national secret and would not be spread easily. If there was an accident, what would happen to such a large foundation? Not caring about anything else, he hurriedly ordered the army to move south quickly.
…
Chang'an City.
When thousands of cavalrymen sent by Xi Zhicai harassed Chang'an, Jia Xu, Liu Ye and Li Ru accurately predicted that they would go south, and the target was naturally Zhang Xiu, Emperor Jing of Nanyang.
The three men immediately ordered the detective horses to rush south quickly, and ordered Yan Yan to lead 30,000 infantrymen not to come to Chang'an, but to go directly to Wuguan. The results they obtained surprised them. Wu Guandao saw no trace of Xi Zhicai's soldiers and horses, and the 40,000-strong army disappeared as if they had evaporated.
"They must have entered the Qinling Mountains." Liu Ye said firmly. "The Qinling Mountains are densely forested and dangerous. I didn't expect that he would have such courage to dare to cross the Qinling Mountains and go south."
In Shang Cheng Pavilion, the three prime ministers were sitting at the bottom, and Zhang Biao, the prince of Jingguo who was still a child but had already overseen the country, was sitting at the top, with a pair of black and angry pupils blinking with wisdom. When he heard that his father in Nanyang was in potential danger, he stared at Jia Xu and said, "Wei Jun Xi Zhicai penetrated deep into the Qinling Mountains to the south, and his whereabouts are unpredictable. My father is in Nanyang, what should we do?"
During the period when Zhang Biao was supervising the country, he learned a lot of knowledge about governing the country. Under Jia Xu's devoted teachings, he learned a lot of imperial power and skills, and had a vague imperial temperament. However, this temperament is still a bit lacking at present. It's immature, but it's not easy for Zhang Biao at his age.
The three of them looked at each other after hearing Zhang Biao's words.
Jia Xu said: "Your Royal Highness, Xi Zhicai led the army to cross the Qinling Mountains because of their unpredictable whereabouts. Only in this way can we achieve the effect of surprising victory and pose a threat to the emperor. It will not be easy to find them."
Liu Ye said: "I believe that if we want to eliminate the threat from the Wei army in the Qinling Mountains, we need to take three steps: First, Xi Zhicai's target must be the emperor. We only need to strengthen the troops around the emperor, even if Xi Zhicai has the advantage of surprise attack, It is also difficult to succeed; secondly, there is Funiu Mountain to the south of Qinling Mountains and north of Nanyang. People are ordered to strengthen patrols within a hundred miles of Funiu Mountain to eliminate danger; thirdly, a team of cavalry is specially selected to be in Nanyang and Wuguan for special defense. Playing with Zhicai's soldiers and horses."
Zhang Biao thought about it seriously, and then looked at Jia Xu: "Liu Xiangyan is right. These three steps can alleviate the danger to our father. Who is the right person to send?"
Jia Xu smiled and said to Zhang Biao: "Your Highness, the battle report from Lingshikou has been received. Governor Gan has recaptured the city, killed the enemy general Zhang Yan, and is preparing to go east to assist Captain Zhang in the battle. He can be ordered to lead his troops south. . Wuguan is temporarily defended by Yan Yan."
Zhang Biao nodded: "Okay, let's take what Mr. Jia said."
Li Ru said: "Your Royal Highness, the emperor's personal guards Zhang Qian and Hu Jun died protecting him and have been buried in Nanyang. I have chosen two guards from Liangzhou and Beizhou. One is named Qin Zhen, a warrior from Xiliang, and the other His name is Tulichen, a warrior selected by the Xiongnu."
After Zhang Qian and Hu Jun died in battle, Chang'an immediately ordered Liangzhou and Beizhou to select a warrior to personally protect Zhang Xiu's safety. They must not only have a clean background, but also be reliable and loyal.
Qin Zhen is a native of Zuli, Wuwei County, the hometown of Emperor Zhang Xiu of Dajing. He has a very clean background, is honest and loyal, and has strong martial arts skills; Tu Lichen is the nephew of Hu Chuquan and the cousin of the imperial concubine Margaret, who is also very capable. , is a warrior of the Huns.
Zhang Biao knew their background and nodded: "Father cannot be without guards, so we can order them to go to Nanyang."
"Here!" Li Ruyun said.
