Chang'an.
A city that has been forgotten for nearly two hundred years.
After Liu Xiu established his capital in Luoyang, this once glorious capital gradually withered.
What was once a big city with a population of over a million now only has a population of over 200,000.
Since Dong Zhuo moved the capital, people have continued to escape from Chang'an.
First, Huangfu Song led nearly 100,000 people to go north to Liangzhou, and then various aristocratic families moved their families to Jingzhou, Yizhou and other places.
Today's Chang'an is nominally the capital of the country, but in fact it doesn't even have a decent street patrol team.
The work in charge of the city's defense had to be handed over to the army, which also caused panic among the people of Chang'an. You must know that more than 70% of Dong Zhuo's army were from the Liangzhou Army, and about 30% of them were of mixed Han and Hu descent.
In this era where race is the unit and blood is the bond, mixed race is not a good status. Being discriminated against since childhood naturally breeds many conflicts. If these conflicts find a channel to vent, they will inevitably cause serious social conflicts. .
"Wenhe (Jia Xu), what happened just now? Why did the Grand Master suddenly summon an army to go north to Hedong County?"
Duan Xuan, a fellow villager of Jia Xu, both were from Guzang, Wuwei.
Seeing Duan Xuan following him, Jia Xu couldn't help but stop and glanced back. Seeing that there was no one else, he frowned and said: "Zhongming (duan Xuan), can't you see that the Grand Master is here?" It’s self-destruction.”
Duan Yan frowned, looked around warily, and said in a deep voice: "He must have been deceived by others. Sending troops to Hedong County at this time is tantamount to striking an egg with an egg against a stone. It is impossible for the Grand Master not to know this truth, but he still wants to send troops Going north, there must be something to rely on."
Jia Xu sneered and didn't respond.
Seeing him like this, Duan Xuan understood in his heart, bowed his fist to Jia Xu, and left with his deputy Shi Shiran.
Although Duan Yan is a soldier under Dong Zhuo, he can be said to be a typical representative of "coming out of the mire but not stained".
Duan Xuan's style was very special. Most of the Liangzhou Army generals under Dong Zhuo were domineering and even ignored the law. Only the army led by Duan Xuan could always maintain strict military discipline.
In addition, after being ordered to station troops in Huayin, Duan Yan almost became an independent individual and did not participate in any of Dong Zhuo's perverse actions. After Dong Zhuo's death, he immediately responded to the court's call to surrender, but did not lead troops to Beijing to see the young emperor to express his loyalty.
When the young emperor fled to Huayin, Duan Yan went to the city gate to greet him respectfully and entertained him with delicious food and drinks. When the young emperor wanted to leave, he neither detained nor kept him, and even delivered it to the city gate himself.
Later, Cao Cao "received the emperor's orders but refused to submit", and he actively responded to Cao Cao, and finally succeeded in getting rid of Dong Zhuo's shadow. In his later years, he became the ninth minister and became one of the founders of Cao Wei.
Coincidentally, the character who also came from Dong Zhuojun and ended up very well is actually Duan Xuan's fellow countryman, Jia Xu.
Watch Duan Xuan leave.
Jia Xu couldn't help but frown. Based on his understanding of Duan Yan, Duan Yan would definitely not try his best this time when he went north to Hedong County.
"so what?"
Jia Xu couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth and raised his eyes to look at the flowing clouds in the sky.
“In today’s troubled times, if I can’t find a wise king to help me in time, what use will this body have to me?”…
His eyebrows wrinkled slightly, and he looked through the towering city walls, seeming to see Anyi County thousands of miles away.
"I hope it's all in time. Dong Zhuo colluded with foreigners in an attempt to destroy the Wei family, thinking that he could crush Hedong with his superior army, but I think otherwise... The army has not yet reached the border, so my letter can be regarded as a timely help. I just don't know if it will be appreciated..."
···
Luoyang.
The horse quickly passed through the unguarded city gate and galloped all the way to the former general's mansion.
Lu Bu was drinking and chatting with his subordinates in the council hall. When he learned that Chang'an was in urgent need of eight hundred miles, his thick eyebrows couldn't help but wrinkled.
"It's been such a troubled time."
Lu Bu looked at Gao Shun and Zhang Liao who were standing aside, both of them also had expressions of disbelief.
"Attack Hedong County?"
After seeing the secret message, Hao Meng screamed out in surprise, as if he had seen something that frightened him.
Song Xian, Hou Cheng and others also looked at each other in confusion.
The eight generals also looked at Lu Bu who was looking up, wondering what Lu Bu would choose.
In their opinion, attacking Hedong County at this time is no different from letting them die.
During this period of time, they had been constantly dealing with Dong's coalition forces, and the military consumption was not small. Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an and took away a large amount of supplies. As a result, they had to go to Chang'an to apply for dispatch of any supplies they wanted. Not only is it troublesome, it also causes trouble.
Lu Bu was nominally Dong Zhuo's adopted son, but in fact many decisions were blocked by Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu and Dong Zhuo's younger brother Dong Min. Lu Bu and his party were extremely aggrieved in Luoyang.
After a few months, there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the army. At this time, Dong Zhuo asked them to go to Hedong County to die. To be honest, several of them were scolding their mothers in their hearts, and almost scolded all the women in Dong Zhuo's family.
"General, you must not be careless about this matter. This is probably Niu Fu's poisonous plan. The purpose is to weaken our military strength."
"Yes, general, going to attack Hedong County at this time is no different from a chicken hitting a stone. Let them go on their own. We will stay in Luoyang, hum!"
Hou Cheng and Hao Meng were the first to speak, but after they finished speaking, they realized that Lu Bu didn't look at them at all, but was holding the Fang Tian Painted Halberd in his hand and wiping it repeatedly.
Seeing this, Hao Meng had no choice but to look at Gao Shun.
Gao Shun shook his head in a cryptic manner, signaling him to calm down.
Zhang Liao and Gao Shun looked at each other, nodded at the same time, then stood up, clasped their fists and bowed to Lu Bu, saying: "General, it's time to make a decision!"
Lu Bu's eyes narrowed, and the expression on his face looked slightly entangled and hesitant.
Seeing this, Gao Shun took out a copy of "The Great Han Dragon and Tiger List" from his arms.
He opened the "Dragon and Tiger List" with both hands to the ranking list, and said: "General, Mr. Wei Shijun has always ranked you at the top since the first issue was released last year. Anyone with a discerning eye will know why at a glance. Is the general still there?" Can’t you see it?”
Zhang Liao also clasped his fists and said: "Seniors are for those who know me. If you treat me as a country's soldier, I will repay you as a country's soldier. The guard envoys will fight with the heart of the general. If the general can join me, he will be reused immediately."
Lu Bu stared blankly at the "Great Han Dragon and Tiger List" in Gao Shun's hand. He was already a mentally unstable person, otherwise he would not have been deceived by fellow countryman Li Su into killing his adoptive father Ding Yuan. …
When Gao Shun and Zhang Liao said this, they suddenly became a little cautious.
The main reason is that Dong Zhuo doesn't trust him too much, and always lets Niu Fu and Dong Min suppress him, which makes him very uncomfortable. Lu Bu is a person who goes his own way, and what he dislikes most is being controlled by others.
Hou Cheng, Hao Meng and others were so shocked that they could not speak. They did not expect that Gao Shun and Zhang Liao would suddenly persuade Lu Bu to surrender to Wei Shijun.
However, when they thought about the power of the Longshan Army and the richness and prosperity of Hedong, a look of expectation appeared on the faces of several people. In their opinion, following Wei Cheng would definitely be ten thousand times better than following Dong Zhuo.
After all, Wei Cheng was really kind to his subordinates.
Unlike Dong Zhuo, who actually let them die.
···
Shuofang.
Xu Shu and Sima Fang stood on the tower.
In front of the two of them stood a clairvoyant, which is an astronomical telescope that costs more than one hundred yuan online.
Stargazing is definitely not possible, but on the endless prairie, it is more than enough to see what the troops stationed dozens of miles away are doing.
"About 200,000, it's really fierce." Sima Fang said with a frown.
Xu Shu also nodded with a gloomy face. He came to Shuofang for development, not for war. His good plans were interrupted by the Huns, so it was strange that he was in a good mood.
Sima Fang smiled at him and said, "There will definitely be a wave of temptations tomorrow at the latest."
Xu Shu nodded slightly, rolled his eyes, smiled and said to Sima Fang: "In that case, the defense of the city will be left to the prefect, and Xu will follow you to learn some skills."
Sima Fang: "..."
"Hey, sir, don't leave."
Seeing Sima Fang turning around and walking away, Xu Shu was stunned for a moment and found it very funny. He quickly followed him and continued teasing.
The two of them got off the tower and saw Sima Yi approaching with two men.
"Gao Zheng, the seventh team of the Longshan Army, has met Grand Administrator Sima and Governor Xu."
The other man seemed to be in awe, and he also cupped his fists and saluted.
Xu Shu and Lao Gao bowed their hands and asked with concern: "Why don't Captain Gao have a good rest in the tent? Is there something wrong?"
Lao Gao clasped his fists again and said, "I have some bad news to tell Governor Xu."
"oh?"
Xu Shu and Sima Fang looked at each other, their eyebrows serious.
Lao Gao gestured to the man next to him and said in a deep voice: "Just now, General Xu sent news that a large army also appeared in the direction of Dingxiang, and almost at the same time, the secret guards were in Wuyuan and A gathering of barbarians was also found in the clouds."
The man took out a Kan map and saw several red arrows marked on it. The arrows fell on the four counties of Shuofang, Wuyuan, Yunzhong and Dingxiang. The approximate number of troops was also marked on it.
It is similar to what Xu Shu and Sima Fang predicted. There are about 200,000 Xiongnu troops in Shuofang, but this is nothing. The scary thing is that there are still 80,000 in Wuyuan, 30,000 to 50,000 in Yunzhong, and even more in Dingxiang. One hundred thousand.
"This, is this an all-out attack?" Sima Yi exclaimed in surprise.
The man from the secret guard looked at him, nodded and said: "It's almost a mass movement. Our people are going deep into the Hu area to explore the reason. The Hu people are spending so much effort to use troops against us. There must be someone behind the scenes."...
When Xu Shu and Sima Fang heard this, they opened their eyes wide at the same time and shouted in unison: "Oops, this is a plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain."
The two looked at each other, and Xu Shu continued: "Their target is Hedong County!"
Sima Fang nodded, frowned and said, "It seems that Dong Zhuo is the one who can collude with the Hu people to go south."
The expressions of Xu Shu and others changed greatly, and they hurriedly looked at the Kanyu map in the hands of the secret guard.
I saw that below Hedong County were Chang'an and Luoyang. The two capitals were in the south of Hedong, and they were at odds with each other. If they used troops against Hedong County at the same time, they could cross the river in less than a day and march straight in.
"this……"
Xu Shu panicked, not only him, but also Lao Gao and Sima Yi who came to deliver the letter were shocked.
They all knew that part of Hedong's forces went to Langya County in Xuzhou to help Tao Qian drive away Cao's army.
The remaining people also went north to Shuofang this time, with two thousand Longshan troops and ten thousand city guards.
The Longshan Army left behind in Anyi only had less than a thousand people, and the City Guards only had two thousand. Their combat effectiveness could only be calculated as the three thousand City Guards who maintained local security, but the total was not enough. Six thousand people.
Dong Zhuo inherited a lot of He Jin's power, and later recruited many troops one after another. Together with the original 50,000 Liangzhou Army, the army he could handle was at least 200,000 strong.
Even if they press all the way, they can overturn the city wall of Anyi County!
After all, Sima Yi had never seen what a real war was like. Judging from the number of people, he felt that the master was a pill.
So, he said eagerly: "No, we must give up Shuofang immediately and go back to save my master."
Xu Shu and Sima Fang also nodded in agreement. Now they are all members of the big ship of the Wei family. The Wei family cannot fail. To be precise, Wei Cheng cannot have anything happen to him, otherwise they will all suffer the same.
However, they didn't wait for the two of them to speak.
The man from the secret guard suddenly laughed.
Several people looked at him doubtfully, and Sima Yi even shouted angrily: "Master is still on the verge of life and death, how dare you laugh?"
The secret guard knew that Sima Yi had no ill intentions. His ability to think about Wei Cheng in this way made him sincerely respect him.
The man clasped his fists and saluted, and said calmly: "Don't worry, young gentleman, the 200,000-strong army still can't attack the east of the river. Even if it does, the second master can stop them from coming back."
The people in the secret guard are all old people of the Wei family, and they are used to calling Wei Cheng "Second Master" instead of Young Master or Envoy.
He said confidently: "The reason why the superiors asked me to send the information was not to ask you to come back for help, but to ask you to be more careful. Don't let the Huns steal a millet or a meter from my land. As for other things, , you don’t have to worry, you just need to complete the tasks ordered by the second master.”
After saying that, the secret guard cupped his fists and saluted, and said: "That's all. I still have a mission, so I can't stay for a long time. I'll see you guys again by chance."
"Uh, are you leaving now?" Before Sima Yi came back to his senses, the man guarding him had already walked away.
Seeing that his mission was completed, Lao Gao also clasped his fists and said: "Prefect Sima, Governor Xu, I have to go back and make preparations. It seems that the Huns will come over tomorrow morning at the latest, and I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle later, haha. "
Lao Gao laughed loudly and left, seemingly not taking the 200,000 Huns seriously.
Xu Shu, Sima Fang, Sima Yi and his son looked at each other in shock.
All three of them were a little numb.
They have never seen Wei's true strength, so naturally they don't have much confidence.
But the secret guards are different from Lao Gao. They are used to it. In the face of absolute strength, there is really no use in having more people.
As for whether Hedong can hold Dong Zhuo's offensive.
The two of them were even less worried.
With Wei Cheng personally in charge, no matter how many people come, they won't be enough to kill.
The only regret in their hearts is that they cannot witness those miraculous scenes with their own eyes.
