Wu Gui, the prefect of Yangcheng, hurried to Qianya, found his subordinates, and asked him to quickly summon the Yangcheng captain to discuss the matter.
In Xixia, Long Chen decentralized official positions in order to control his hometown of Xixia.
In a city, the prefect is the chief official and is responsible for civil affairs, torture and other matters. At the same time, the school captain is responsible for military affairs and is the second-in-command of the city.
Civil affairs and military administration were separated, and the prefect and the lieutenant supervised each other. When encountering important matters, the prefect and the lieutenant must jointly report to them to avoid dictatorship and separatism.
Gui Fei asked Wu Gui to summon a hundred thousand men. The matter was too big for the prefect Wu Gui to take over.
Moreover, this matter is a military matter, and logically it should be handled by the captain.
Therefore, the prefect Wu Gui asked his men to go to the school captain to discuss the matter.
The men hurried out and walked a few streets to the captain's mansion.
The place where the captain is located has a separate office and is not in the same yamen as the prefect.
When he arrived at the door, the soldier guarding the door stopped him and asked.
Both parties knew each other, and the subordinates told the story, and the soldiers reported it immediately.
Soon, a sturdy middle-aged man came out. This man's name was Li Guishou, a native of Zhou Dynasty, and the current captain of the Yangcheng school.
"Captain Li."
When his subordinates saw Li Guishou, they immediately saluted respectfully.
The school captain and the prefect were on the same level, and the prefect usually took the lead, so his subordinates respected Li Guishou very much.
"Well, let's go."
Li Guishou nodded, immediately mounted his horse, and took two guards to the prefect's mansion.
When they arrived at the prefect's mansion, Wu Gui was discussing matters with the chief registrar.
"Captain Li, please sit down."
Seeing Li Guishou, Wu Gui immediately stood up and saluted with a smile.
Li Guishou replied: "Prefect Wu."
After sitting down, the prefect Wu Gui got straight to the point and said, "Li Xiaowei, please read this. This is an urgent report from the front line. It says that the ghost tribe may invade the border. We are ordered to recruit 100,000 troops and rush to the north."
The chief bookkeeper gave the urgent report to Li Guishou, who received the urgent report with Donna's signature on it.
Donna is the commander-in-chief of Xixia's hometown, and all military and political affairs obey Donna's orders. She has no problem recruiting new soldiers.
"We just had a great victory at Yanmen Pass, why do we need to recruit troops again?"
Donna asked for conscription. Li Guishou was a school captain and was in charge of military affairs in Yangcheng. The matter naturally fell on Li Guishou.
Yangcheng has already recruited a large number of troops once, and it will be very difficult to recruit another hundred thousand soldiers and horses.
"It is precisely because of the great victory at Yanmen Pass that the ghost clan suffered too many casualties and needs to arrest people to suck their blood."
"The King of Wu is stationed in the east, and the ghost tribe does not dare to invade. The northern border of Xixia is their target."
"Hey, this is difficult to handle. If all the strong men are recruited into the army, how will I get the food?"
Wu Gui pretended to be in trouble. He was in charge of civil affairs and grain growing.
able-bodied men enlisted in the army, and there was no one to farm the land, so there would be no harvest.
There is a war in the north, and Yangcheng must have food to hand over. It is difficult for him to be the governor.
"There is nothing we can do. If the ghost tribe breaks through the border, there will be nothing left."
Captain Li Guishou knew the priorities and put the war with the ghosts first, putting other things later.
"Yes, this matter is urgent. We need 100,000 people in three days."
"Logically speaking, military affairs are Colonel Li's business, and I shouldn't overstep his authority. However, time is too tight, so I am assisting Colonel Li in recruiting soldiers."
The prefect Wu Gui was very proactive. Li Guishou focused on the overall situation and did not doubt it. He said: "Whatever the prefect says, it is all for the sake of the court. I will send people to recruit troops immediately."
Prefect Wu Gui stood up and said, "Okay, I'll send someone down here too."
Li Guishou stood up and left, and Wu Gui immediately ordered the recruitment of troops.
Li Guishou returned to the captain's mansion and immediately ordered Yangcheng and nearby cities to recruit troops.
When the people of Yangcheng heard that the army was being drafted again, they were quite complaining.
The Central Plains is at war with the ghost tribe, and everyone knows about it. However, the conscription is too frequent, draining away the strong men, and more military rations have to be supplied, and the people are complaining.
When Li Guishou and Wu Gui were recruiting troops, Guitai and Li Chengdao lived in the backyard, eating people and drinking blood every day.
Wu Gui ordered the backyard to be closed. No one knew that the ghost was hiding in the backyard.
...
After Tang Heizi came out of Yanmen Pass with fifty horses and two spies, he kept searching westward.
After chasing for more than three hundred miles, there was no trace of Ma Feizi.
"General Tang, that's not right. Why is there no trace at all?"
A Xichang spy caught up with Tang Heizi and said.
The spy's name was Qu Tong, and his tracking skills were very good.
Coming out of Yanmen Pass, Qu Tong has been searching for horse hoof prints.
Ma Feizi is a horse breeder, and it is easy to steal a good horse from Yanmen Pass.
The distance between Yanmen Pass and Xixia was very long, and it was impossible for Ma Feizi to escape on foot.
But after searching for so long, Qu Tong found nothing.
"I also feel strange. Did Ma Feizi fly away?"
Tang Heizi also felt strange that there was no trace of Ma Feizi at all.
"Are we chasing in the wrong direction? Ma Feizi didn't go to Xixia to find King Wu, but went out of Yanmen Pass to chase King Wu?"
Qu Tong expressed his guess, and Tang Heizi said in embarrassment: "If Ma Feizi went north after leaving the customs, we have indeed pursued the wrong one."
Qu Tong asked: "Do you want to chase north?"
Tang Heizi thought for a while, shook his head and said, "No, chase west. If Ma Feizi goes north to chase Wu Sheng, there is no point in our pursuit."
If Ma Feizi chases Wu Sheng, there is no need for Tang Heizi to chase him, because he is likely to run into Wu Sheng.
Therefore, Tang Heizi chose to continue chasing west.
"Okay, then keep going west."
Although Qu Tong disagreed, he must obey. This is military discipline.
...
Xixia Acropolis.
This place is located on the northeastern border of Xixia, and the snow in the mountains is melting, nourishing the dry land.
The place where the snow water flows is lush and green, full of life.
When Yu Wenkai arrived outside the city with three thousand magic dragon battalions, Xiong Wei, the governor of the acropolis, was so frightened that he beat gongs and drums to summon the soldiers. The gates on all sides were immediately closed, and the people farming outside the city were frightened and fled in panic.
They thought the ghosts had reached the Acropolis.
Yang Hu looked at the soldiers on the acropolis. They were all old and weak, and the number was very small. He said: "Such a city can be broken through in a quarter of an hour if Qin Hao encounters it."
Tan Wenyue said: "The gap in combat power is too big. The city is full of old and weak people. No wonder Long Chen said that this place is vulnerable to attack."
Yu Wenkai looked around and saw a river flowing down from the mountain and winding south around the Acropolis.
Next to the river are fertile fields, and the green grass at the foot of the mountain is suitable for grazing.
For Xixia, this is indeed a good place, second only to the fertile land in the south.
"Go tell the governor of the acropolis that we are not enemies. Don't be frightened by the lack of distinction between ourselves and the enemy."
Yu Wenkai smiled, and Yang Hu rode his horse to the bottom of the city and shouted to the soldiers on the city: "We are the Demon Dragon Camp. Long Chen asked us to come and defend the city."
The soldiers on the city didn't know about the Demon Dragon Camp. They only thought that the three thousand soldiers and horses under the city were air-conditioned and looked very scary.
"What is the Demon Dragon Camp? Are you a ghost tribe?"
The crossbows on the city were aimed at Yang Hu, and the soldiers were very nervous.
Yang Hu felt that he couldn't explain clearly, so he asked: "Where is your prefect Xiong Wei? Let him speak out!"
The soldiers on the city didn't listen at all and shouted: "Stand back, otherwise we will release arrows!"
The soldiers in the Acropolis are not stupid. They are few and it is best to let the enemy retreat automatically. If a war breaks out, they will not be able to withstand it.
