The marching Sima Zuoyan and the soldier Cao Battalion Captain Tian Zhong stood at the gate to greet them.

"Uncle, Junyi......" Li Hongfei dismounted and shouted happily, "I'm back, I'm back." ”

Tian Zhong ran a few steps, grabbed Li Hong's big hand, and said with a smile: "People, it's good to come back, it's good to come back." He was very excited, his eyes were a little moist, "I said a long time ago, you just can't die." ”

"How are you doing?" Li Hong asked with concern.

"It's very strong, and I'm going to fight with the adults until Sunset." Tian Zhong smiled, "You have also worked hard." I heard that both the tiger head and the machete were injured, how is it now? ”

"The tiger head is not a big deal, but the machete is a little more serious." Li Hong said, "I want to leave him in Jizhou, but he won't do it, and he is clamoring to come back." I had no choice but to have someone carry him to Chang'an. ”

"Haha, there is a war, of course he doesn't want to stay in Jizhou to recuperate." Tian Zhong said, "What about Zilong? Zilong didn't come back with Black Panther Yicong? ”

"I've put him in charge of the Changshui Camp." Li Hong smiled, "Didn't you tell me many times that you want him to lead the troops?" ”

"It's time for him to lead the troops, too." Tian Zhong smiled happily, "Okay, good." ”

At this time, Zuo Yan walked over, bowed down and said, "My lord has worked hard all the way. ”

"Junyi......" Li Hong hurriedly reached out to hold Zuo Yan's hands, and said with a smile, "I can't talk about hard work, but I'm anxious." How about it, Yuxing and they all set off, right? ”

"Lord Xianyu has already set off with the two battalions of infantry of Lord Jade and Lord Gao Lan." Zuo Yan replied, "The battalion is now left with the old man's Bingcao battalion." ”

Li Hong nodded, and then introduced Song Wen, Xie Ming and others to Zuo Yan and Tian Chong.

"Junyi, this is Changfeng and Zhizhi, and in the future, he will be engaged in the army and the master is thin."

Zuo Yan was overjoyed. Now there is no one to deal with a large number of paperwork in the army, and although I am so busy that I don't even have time to sleep, the documents on my desk are still piling up. This has a few staff members, and the big problem can be solved.

"Uncle, Wenlong and Zhongzhi are both the best among the Taixue students, and I handed them over to you." Li Hong pulled Tang Yun and Yin Si and said to Tian Chong, "Wenlong is good at cargo farming, Zhong Zhi is good at civil engineering, and it will be yours in the future." This time, you won't complain that there is no one under you, right? ”

Tang Yun and Yin Si hurriedly saluted the old man.

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Tian Zhong picked one up with one hand and said with a smile, "I'm a horseman, a rough man, although I know a few words, but I don't understand anything, and in the future, the affairs of this Bingcao camp will depend on the two of you." ”

Everyone laughed and laughed at Yuanmen for a while, and walked into the empty camp.

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In the big tent, Li Hong looked through the latest news presented by Zuo Yan, and then handed it to Li Wei and Song Wen.

"The armies of Lord Yan Rou, Lord Xian Yuyin, and Lord Huaxiong have changed the direction of their march and are rapidly approaching Linjing City." Zuo Yan pointed to the map and introduced, "Lord Xian Yufu is rushing to Linjing day and night with the army of Lord Jade and Lord Gao Lan, so that they can meet as soon as possible. ”

"When will Xu Rong, Nie Xiao and Lou Lu's cavalry be able to arrive in Linjing?" Li Hong asked.

"About six days later." Zuo Yan said, "The cavalry of Lord Kojiyi, Tempest Sand, and Heng Sacrifice are slowing down the enemy's attack speed in the area of the Qingshui River. ”

"How fast are the Hu people moving?"

"The speed is not very fast, only dozens of miles a day." Zuo Yan replied, "The news sent by Lord Zheng Xin said that the Hu people were fighting steadily and advancing as a whole, and they did not give us any chance to sneak attack at all. The Xianbei people have suffered losses from adults and Fengyun Iron Cavalry in Youzhou, and this time they are very careful, whether they are marching or camping, the defense is very tight, and the distance between the armies is also kept very tight. I heard that Koji Yoshiki had the intention of attacking the camp, but he had not found the right time so far. ”

"Why do Hu people walk so slowly?" Li Wei asked strangely, "Although the road from Fuping to Gaoping is rugged and difficult, there is obviously a problem with the speed of this march?" Do they still have a great army behind? ”

"We think so too." Zuo Yan looked at Li Hong and said cautiously, "We suspect that the 60,000-strong army of the Xianbei King and Lian and the Northern Xianbei Lord Tuoba Feng have left Shangjun and entered the Northland, and in the near future, they may cross the Yellow River and rush to the Qingshui River to rendezvous with the Liri Deduction and Banquet Liyou." ”

Li Hong said with a solemn face: "Junyi, this guess is very correct. Helian and Tuoba Feng had already occupied Shuofang County last month, and according to the speed of their march, they should have started attacking the Great Wall Fortress in Shangjun a long time ago, but we have not received any news that the enemy has been found in Shangjun, what does this mean? It shows that they did not go deep into Shangjun at all, nor did they have the intention of breaking through the Great Wall fortress and then raiding Fengyi County along the direction of Luoshui to attack Chang'an, they just wanted to break through from Gaoping and Chao in order to quickly invade Sanfu and Chang'an. ”

"120,000?" Song Wen exclaimed in surprise and said, "My lord, if the army of Helian and Tuoba Feng arrives in Xiliang, we will have to face 120,000 iron horsemen, my lord, our strength is not enough." ”

Zuo Yan sighed: "We only have less than 100,000 people, and we are indeed a little inferior in terms of troops, but we have a geographical advantage, even if we can't win, we can still protect Sanfu and Chang'an." He pointed to Anding County on the map and said: "You see, this is Liupan Mountain, known as Longshan in ancient times, it runs through the north and south, the momentum is majestic, and it has always been a place where soldiers must fight. Out of Liupan Mountain, it is Chaona City and Gaoping City, before Gaoping City, there are three passes of Xiaoguan, Shimen Pass and Muxia Pass. If we hold these three passes and intercept the Hu people at Gaopingchuan outside the pass, we can keep Guanxi and Guanzhong. ”

The people in the tent looked at the map carefully and remained silent. Zuo Yan's approach, although conservative, is very safe. The Hu people fought for a long time, and their follow-up was weak, so they had to retreat to the north of the Yellow River. The question is, can the Han army hold these three levels?

"Now in Xiaoguan, Shimen, and Muxia, how many troops do we have?" Li Hong asked.

"There are five hundred people in Xiaoguan, and there are only three hundred people in Shimen and Muxia." Zuo Yan smiled bitterly, "It's not vulnerable at all." ”

Li Hong, Li Wei and others were taken aback.

"Why are there only so many people?" After Xie Ming was shocked, he glared and asked, "This place is a choke point, why is it equipped with such a small number of troops?" Are the captains and generals in charge of military affairs in the Great Han Kingdom blind? ”

"I asked Lord Jingzhao Yin Gai Xungai about this matter, and he said that the imperial court knew about it, but because the Dongqiang tribes had been rebelling in Shanghe, Fuping, and Lingzhou in Beidi County for sixty or seventy years, and the Xianbei people only invaded Beidi, Wuwei and other border counties, so those bureaucrats in the imperial court one-sidedly believed that Gaoping was no longer a strategic place, so in the case of a shortage of military resources, they gave up the three passes and regarded them as ordinary small passes."

"Who would have thought that this time the Xianbei people would send an army of more than 100,000 to invade my Han?" Zuo Yan smiled bitterly, "At the end of last year, when the Xianbei people were at the border of Chen Bing, many people thought that the Xianbei people were bluffing and did not dare to attack on a large scale at all, but now look at it, the Xianbei people not only came in, but the scale was staggering. From the north to the west, attacks were launched simultaneously from thousands of miles of borders, and the Xianbei people went crazy. ”

"I don't think the Xianbei people are crazy, but they have been premeditated for a long time." Li Wei sneered, "They divided into several routes, and attacked the border counties of Youzhou, Bingzhou and Xiliang at the same time, and their ultimate goal was to attack Chang'an, so after the invasion of several other groups of people and horses, they all died down, or stopped at the horse, or secretly rushed to Beidi County to participate in the attack on Chang'an." On the surface, the Hu people are attacking from multiple directions, but in fact, they are all deceptive, and the real direction of attack is Beidi County. The Hu people entered Anding from Beidi County, and then fought from Anding to Sanfu and Chang'an. Xianbei people are very skilled in the use of the virtual and real ways in the art of war. ”

Li Wei paused for a moment and continued: "In my opinion, the Xianbei people are very well prepared this time, and once the fight starts, we will have a hard time. Especially now, the Xianbei people are still three hundred miles away from Xiaoguan, and our armies are still on the road except for the 30,000 cavalry of Lord Liyi. Even if we want to defend the three levels, we don't have enough troops, how can we defend them now? What to keep? The current situation is very unfavorable for us, the situation is serious. ”

Li Hong nodded again and again, and said worriedly: "Yan Rou and Xian Yuyin haven't arrived in Linjing today, and it will definitely be very difficult for them to rush to Gaoping City in three days." Xian Yufu and Xu Rong will not be able to reach Linjing for at least four or five days. The Jizhou army led by Yan Liang was even slower, and it would take them about half a month to reach their destination. Now, only the 30,000 cavalry of Kojiyi, Storm Sand, and Heng Sai can stop the enemy and buy us time. ”

He glanced up at Xie Ming and said, "Collect it, draft a few orders immediately." ”

Xie Ming hurriedly agreed and picked up the pen.

"Order Kojiyi, Storm Sand, and Heng Sacrifice, and immediately lead the army to retreat into Xiao Pass, Shimen Pass, and Muxia Pass, and each of the three leads the camp to defend the three passes."

"Tell Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin, and Hua Xiong, and order them to throw away all their baggage and immediately rush to the third level as quickly as possible."

"Inform Zhao Yun and Liu Ming, immediately lead the Changshui battalion, and rush to Gaoping City."

"Gaoping City?" Li Hong suddenly remembered something, and muttered to himself, "Gaoping City, Gaoping City." He looked down at the map carefully, and said slowly, "What should we do if the army of Helian and Tuoba Feng suddenly appears outside Gaoping City?" ”

Everyone immediately looked at each other, and the gloom on their faces became even stronger.

Zuo Yan smiled reluctantly and whispered, "Helian will be so smart? Will he evade our scouts, bypass Gao Pingchuan, and kill the pass first? Later, his confidence was so lost that his voice was so low that he couldn't even hear it.

Otherwise, how can we explain the slow march of the Ritsuri and the feast? There are 60,000 of them, are they still afraid of the attack of Koji? Their intentions have been completely exposed, and our army is speeding towards the front line of Xiaoguan, don't they know? Li Hong suddenly slapped the case hard, and said loudly, "Helian and Tuoba Feng must have arrived at Gaopingchuan, and the purpose of Riri's slow march is to drag down Liyi, to cover Helian's army to take the pass, and kill directly to Gaoping City." As long as the Xianbei people take Gaoping City, the 30,000 army of Liyi will be the turtle in the urn, and they can't run away if they want to. ”

Li Hong stood up abruptly and shouted loudly: "Blow the trumpet, gather the black panther righteous servants, I will rush to Gaoping City immediately." ”

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Li Wei hurriedly walked into the military tent.

Xiao Lan slept quietly on the leather mattress, and her beautiful face had lost its former delicacy because of the days of horseback marching, and she looked very haggard.

Li Wei saw that Xiao Lan was so tired that he didn't even take off his leather armor and fell asleep, his heart trembled, and a strong guilt suddenly filled his body and mind, at this moment, he regretted it, he regretted that he was impulsive, and instigated Li Hong and Zhao Yun and others to snatch Xiao Lan out, and let his beloved woman suffer with him.

All this suffering is not what he wants to give Xiao Lan, nor is it something that an official eunuch like Xiao Lan should bear, he feels that he is too selfish, for his love, for his own hope, he actually dragged his beloved into endless suffering. Li Wei shook his head in frustration. How did you suddenly become so cruel and ruthless? Is this the happiness he promised to Xiaolan?

If he hadn't robbed Xiao Lan, Xiao Lan would now be the new lady in the Sangong Mansion, living a carefree and luxurious life in a warm new house, she would not be as difficult and difficult as she is now, she would not be as upside down as she is now, and she would not be like now wearing ugly armor and riding on a dirty war horse day and night, she is no longer a soft and delicate woman, she has become a Han soldier, is this the happiness she gives her?

Li Wei held Xiao Lan's hand, gently put it to his mouth, and kissed it gently. He's leaving, he can't bear to wake up Xiao Lan, he's going to battle.

The sound of bull horns gathered outside the tent came and went, and the neighing of war horses and the shouts of soldiers tore through the silence of the camp and resounded in the twilight sky.

Li Wei picked up the fur mattress placed beside Xiao Lan, covered it for her lightly, looked at her affectionately with his eyes, and was reluctant to leave for a long time.

The curtain was lifted, and an attendant walked in, lowered his voice and said, "My lord, the Black Panther Righteous Battalion has been assembled, please go on the road immediately." ”

Li Wei nodded. He suddenly made a decision, he wanted to send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang, no matter whether he lived or died in this battle, he would send Xiao Lan back.

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Due to the suddenness of the war, the grain, grass, weapons and baggage prepared for the big war had not yet been transported to the camp, especially the people who were in urgent need, and not a single figure was seen. Ten days ago, Sima Jiwei, a soldier of the Bingcao Battalion, personally led people to Chang'an to supervise it.

Li Hong took Tian Chong's thin hand, patted Tian Chong's shoulder hard, and said with a smile: "Uncle, you must rush to Linjing as soon as possible, otherwise, I won't be able to fight this battle." This battle is not like the previous few times, the first few times we had few people, we all took the initiative to attack, as long as we brought enough grain, grass and baggage. But not this time, this time we have 100,000 troops on the front line, fighting a defensive war, fighting for attrition, so there must be sufficient guarantees for grain and grass weapons, and we must supply them continuously. Uncle, it's up to you. ”

Tian Zhong smiled confidently: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, we will win this battle." ”

"Are you so confident?" Li Hong smiled and asked, "Do you know how to tell hexagrams?" ”

"As long as I see you, I have the confidence to win this battle." Tian Zhong smiled, "Good luck has always been on our side. ”

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Tang Yun and Yin Si followed up with Cao Ying, and the two saw off Li Wei, Xie Ming and others. Yin Si was the youngest, and he looked very disappointed when he saw his good friends leaving him one by one and running to different things.

"What to send? We'll see each other in a few days. Xie Ming pointed at Yin Si and said, "Zhongzhi, be happy, follow Master Tian and do things well, don't lose the teacher's face." ”

"If only the big axe was there." Tang Yun smiled, "With him, we are always very happy and laugh a lot." ”

"Chen Hao is now following behind Lord Yan, he is already the leading military horse, and there are two thousand soldiers under him, he is proud, where will he tell us jokes." Li Wei teased, "There is also Yu Peng, he is now Lord Yan's Zuojun Sima." Think about it, with Lord Yan supporting him, what kind of mood will he have? ”

"Haha, it must be very arrogant." Xie Ming said with a smile, "When this battle is over, after we drive the barbarians out of the territory of the Han Dynasty, we will get together again." ”

Everyone laughed, and the sorrow of parting suddenly disappeared.

"Wenlong, Zhongzhi, I entrust you with one thing, you must promise me." Li Wei said solemnly.

"What's the matter, you say." Tang Yun smiled, "Do you want us to take care of Xiaolan?" ”

"I want you to think of a way to send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang, saying that I am dead." Li Wei said with a gloomy expression.

"Why?" Yin Si asked loudly in surprise, "Why did you send Xiao Lan back to Luoyang?" ”

Tang Yun and Xie Ming glanced at each other, knowing each other in their hearts. The two looked at the painful Li Wei sympathetically and remained silent.

Along the way, Xiao Lan suffered too much, not to mention Li Wei, even the two of them couldn't bear it when they saw it. Not to mention the many inconveniences of a woman disguised as a man and wearing leather armor all day long in the barracks, let's just say that the march and horseback riding, more than 100 miles a day, from morning to night, eating and sleeping in the open, even the bumps will make people fall apart, not to mention the torture of sitting. Xiao Lan couldn't sit still later, so she lay on the horse and gritted her teeth and endured, tears flowing. How long will this kind of hard life end?

Following behind the leopard, it is an endless battle, an endless road, and there is no guarantee for life, so it is indeed cruel to let Xiaolan live in this environment.

"Li Zhongyuan, you are the one who robbed Xiao Lan, and you are the one who wants to send Xiao Lan back, are you still human? Have you thought about it for Shinoarashi? Have you ever thought about it for a teacher? Yin Si was in a hurry and scolded.

Li Wei looked up at the sky, in pain.

"Li Zhongyuan, the eldest husband dares to do things, why do you want to do such a villainous thing?"

Li Hong and Tian Zhong came over when they heard the sound. Yin Si scolded Li Wei again in front of Li Hong.

Li Hong suddenly remembered the wind and snow, and that kind of unforgettable longing almost made Li Hong breathless. He suddenly shouted loudly: "I want to kill Helian, I must kill him." ”

Everyone was stunned.

Li Hong pointed at Li Wei's nose and shouted again: "Leave Xiao Lan, otherwise I will kill you!" ”

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