From Yique City to the west, there is a path through the mountains until outside Shouan City. There are few people on this road. Not far from Shouan County, there is a skyscraper village with a small number of soldiers stationed to guard the road.
Dong Xian serves as Zhai Xing's deputy, and the contact and cooperation between the two parties is through several mountain trails. Due to the inconvenience of transportation, the relationship between the two parties was relatively cold. In particular, most of the imperial rewards went to Zhai Xing, which made Dong Xian particularly dissatisfied.
Zhai Cong led a few soldiers and left Yique City and walked along the mountain road. It was late winter and the mountain road was quiet, with no one around except Zhai Xing and his party. At night, I could only sleep in the woods nearby, which was extremely difficult.
After traveling for two days, we arrived at Motian Village in the evening. Dong Xian's soldiers above saw it was Zhai Cong and asked him to come into the stronghold and warm themselves by the fire in the stronghold hall.
Entering the village hall, Zhai Cong stamped his feet and stood by the fire. He asked the village commander: "Lieutenant Dong has been in Shou'an for some time. I wonder if he has ever attacked Luoyang City? It's only until the end of the year. How can we delay it?"
The village guard laughed and said: "You are joking in the office! Dong Taiwei only has three thousand soldiers and horses, how can he dare to attack Luoyang City?"
Zhai Cong said: "We are attacking Luoyang now, and three thousand soldiers and horses are already quite a lot!"
The village guard said: "Yamen, have you broken through the Dragon Gate? If you hadn't broken through the Dragon Gate, there would have been more than 10,000 soldiers in Luoyang City!"
Zhai Cong looked at Zhai Ding, and after a while, he couldn't help but sigh.
After sitting down by the fire, the soldiers took out the dry food and shared it with Zhai Cong. This village is located in the mountains, so Dong Xian didn't pay much attention to it and seldom gave it to him for support. There are more than a dozen villagers, as long as they have food so that they won't starve to death, and there is no meat for Zhai Cong.
After eating dry food and feeling sulky for a while, Zhai Cong fell asleep leaning against the fire. The next day, without waiting for dawn, he led his soldiers down the mountain and headed straight for Shouan City. Motian Village was not far from Shouan, and at noon, we arrived outside the city.
The city gates were closed, and there were no pedestrians on the nearby roads at noon. When the soldiers on the city saw it was Zhai Cong, they hurried in to report.
Not long after, Zhang Qi came out of the city, followed by Zhai Cong, and entered Shou'an City together.
When I arrived at the county government office, I met with Mr. Dong. Dong Xian excused himself to have something to do and asked Zhang Qi to hold a banquet to welcome Zhai Cong.
In the back office, Zhai Cong looked at the vegetables and a pot of village wine on the table, and was stunned for a while. It wasn't until Zhang Qi came over that he came back to his senses.
He ordered his soldiers to pour the wine. Zhang Qi raised his glass and said, "I've come all the way from Yameni. Let me have a drink."
Zhai Cong picked up the wine, raised his head and drank it all. He slapped the wine glass on the table and said, "Lieutenant, although I am not a person who enjoys himself, but you only place a few vegetables and no fish or meat. What do you mean?"
Zhang Qi said: "Please forgive me, Yameni! There is really nothing we can do. We have been in Shouan for a month, and it is not easy to transport food in winter. This is all we have in the city. Just eat some, drink two glasses of wine, and fill our stomachs."
Zhai Cong sneered: "I am also a soldier, who can fool me with such a trick! A few vegetables and a pot of village wine, do you cry to me about poverty? Dong Taiwei occupied several counties and thousands of troops. No matter how depressed he was, he would not do this !”
Zhang Qi said: "Yamen, haven't you heard that the official family was chased by the Jin army and had no way to escape. Even a piece of cake is delicious! Thousands of our troops are sitting in Shou'an County, and food and grass cannot be transported from behind. What if we don't do this? ?”
Zhai Cong looked at Zhang Qi with sharp eyes and said nothing for a long time.
Zhang Qi remained calm and just urged Zhai Cong to drink and eat.
After a while, Zhai Cong said: "Lieutenant Dong's army is in Shou'an, not far from Luoyang. Why don't you attack it? The front is flat and there is no danger to defend Luoyang. What are you waiting for here?"
Zhang Qi said: "Captain Dong only has 3,000 troops, so how can he dare to attack Luoyang City? Although Meng Bangxiong is weak, he still has 10,000 troops, how can he dare to underestimate him? Not to mention, there are people who pretend to be Qi and Liu Yu to support him. ! It was agreed at that time that you would attack Luoyang and we would help you from the side. Now that you have launched an army at Longmen, Meng Bangxiong’s strength has not been damaged, so we can only wait!"
Zhai Cong said: "The terrain of Longmen is difficult and difficult to capture at the moment. We can only try to capture it slowly——"
Zhang Qi smiled and said: "Take it slowly! Your army is hiding behind Yique City and has been recharging its strength in the past two years. Of course, you can try it slowly. Not to mention that Dengzhou soldiers from Ruzhou will give you food and supplies, and even There are pigs and sheep, how can we compare? The four counties are deep in the mountains, and the outside is locked tightly by Meng Bangxiong. Our life is difficult! Three thousand people in this county can be supported in a few days, but how can we survive in a few months! "
Zhai Cong said: "It's difficult for us too. Six thousand troops are stationed at Longmen, and the food and salary in the rear cannot be provided. What's the same? Marching and fighting are like this. What can we do? The only way is to rise up and fight the enemy to the death!"
Zhang Qi said: "In the yamen, you have six thousand soldiers and horses, and there are Dengzhou soldiers behind to help you. Naturally, you are not afraid of Meng Bangxiong. But we only have three thousand soldiers and horses, and we have no strong support. How dare we attack Luoyang? How many counties have we been able to defend in the past few years?" It’s already rare, how can I dare to think of more?”
Zhai Cong was silent, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Zhang Qi smiled and raised his glass to persuade Zhai Cong to drink.
After drinking a few glasses of wine and eating a few chopsticks of vegetables, Zhai Cong felt really bad. He said to Zhang Qi: "Lieutenant, you also know the terrain of Longmen. It is really difficult to attack with two mountains and one river. The army coming from the south cannot break through Longmen, so they always bypass Shou'an and fight eastward. Taiwei Dong's army has gathered in Shou'an. Why not attack Luoyang City from the east? If we are worried about not having enough troops, we can send troops from the alley."
Zhang Qi shook his hands after hearing this. Said: "Yameni, you must not do this! There is not much food in Shou'an City. You send troops here. What will they eat? It is easy to walk on the mountain path, but it is very difficult to transport food! When the army gathers in this city, there will be no food. What should I do?”
Zhai Cong said: "Although the mountain road is difficult to walk, it is passable after all. It's just a matter of carrying it on your back and shoulders. We will definitely transport food here. What do you think?"
Zhang Qi sighed: "Yamen, don't say these self-deceptive words. How can Taiwei Dong, a powerful hero, allow you to do whatever you want? In the battle of Luoyang, it depends on whether you can break through the Dragon Gate and attack the city. You broke through the Dragon Gate. , then everything is fine! Lieutenant Dong will never sit back and watch here, and will definitely send troops to help. If we can't break the dragon gate, then don't worry about anything!"
Zhai Cong said: "Meng Bangxiong defends Longmen with all his strength, and it is difficult to find any flaws for a while. If you send troops from Shou'an to attack Luoyang City, the defenders will definitely be in a hurry and expose the flaws. By then, if we work together, won't we be able to break through Longmen and enter the city?"
Zhang Qi looked at Zhai Cong and shook his head slightly, not knowing what to say for a moment.
If Zhai Xing didn't attack Longmen, how could Dong Xian send troops? The two sides said they were serving as chief and deputy, but in fact they were independent forces. Dong Xian had no reason to take advantage of Zhai Xing's fire. If the dragon gate cannot be breached, Zhai Xing will have no leverage.
