Koji Yi immediately pulled down his face and said unhappily: "Since Lord Sun understands it like this, I have nothing to say." He immediately stood up, faced Zhou Shen, bowed down and said: "General, Lord Sun has always been deeply wary of our Xiliang generals, no matter what we say, he suspects that we have a connection with the rebels, and if this continues, this battle will be lost if we don't fight." Since Master Sun doesn't believe us, what are we still sitting here doing, and the next official has taken his leave. ”

Koji shook his hand and left.

Zhou Shen was expressionless, as if he hadn't seen it, and let him leave. He pointed at Sun Jian and said, "Master Sun, you can talk about it again." ”

Sun Jian said angrily and loudly: "General, Xu Duwei's opinion is based on the rebels and grain and grass. If the rebels really ran out of food and grass and had to stop and stay in Yuzhong City, then we arranged our troops in this way, clearly allowing the enemy to break through and escape. ”

Xu Rong smiled helplessly and patiently explained: "The rebels' retreat in great strides is obviously purposeful. If they want to calculate against us, we can't afford to be on guard. In today's lonely situation, we should be safe and make sure that we are foolproof. ”

Sun Jian shook his head and retorted: "The 50,000 horses of the rebel Beigong Boyu have been completely wiped out by Li Zhonglang near Lingtai Mountain in Anding County, and now the Xiliang rebels have 70,000 people left in Bian Zhang, and their combat effectiveness is not at all comparable to our elite division of 45,000 people." What else could he do except retreat all the way across the Yellow River and flee into the Qiang Land to preserve his strength? Is there a way for him to defeat us? ”

Hua Xiong hurriedly said: "Master Sun, Lao Bian and Han Sui are both learned people, good at using soldiers, and they are also powerful in war, so they can't be despised either. ”

Sun Jian was about to speak, but was stopped by Zhou Shen.

"Siege." Zhou Shen said very resolutely, "Besiege the city, concentrate all the troops to besiege the city." ”

Sun Jian hurriedly shouted, "Your Excellency, ......"

Zhou Shen waved his hand and stopped Sun Jian from speaking.

"It's a fact that Yuzhong City is short of food right now. If the rebels have food, what will Bian Zhang do when he continuously sends people to Jincheng to urge food? If this is fake news, what is Bian Zhang giving us this fake news for? What is the purpose? Just to drag us in Yuzhong City? Zhou Shen smiled, "Even if there is no news, we will also surround Yuzhong City." So I think the news must be accurate. ”

"Now we just need to surround Yuzhong City, resolutely surround it, prevent the rebels from breaking through, and starve the rebels to death in the city, and this Xiliang rebellion will be over."

Sun Jian thought about it, although this method seemed simple, but practical, and then did not say anything more.

Xu Rong's face was full of worry and wanted to say something, but seeing Zhou Shen's expressionless face and resolute attitude, he swallowed the words back from his mouth.

Sun Jian asked, "General, do you want to urgently order Li Zhonglang to come to the rendezvous quickly?" ”

Zhou Shen shook his head and said, "He has made a great contribution to the total annihilation of Beigong Boyu, and the credit for eliminating Bian Zhang should be ours." Don't rush it, let him walk slowly with the troops. ”

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The sky in the western Xinjiang is blue and blue, and the beauty is intoxicating. The sun in the west is scorching, and people who are sunbathed are dizzy and drowsy. The mountains and rivers of Xiliang are so beautiful and pleasant, which makes people forget to return.

Li Hong led his troops to Yicheng.

Fu Xie rushed to Li Hong's camp with a group of attendants. Everyone greeted each other and immediately turned to the topic.

"My lord, where have the troops of General Dong and Captain Huangfu arrived?" Li Hong unfolded the map and asked with a smile.

"In Wudu Road." Fu Xie said, "A few days ago, Captain Huangfu came to write and said that June Thunder led the troops from Longxi County to Wudu County, as if he wanted to return to Daxue Mountain. General Dong and Captain Huangfu had already led the army to chase after them. ”

"What's the news of General Zhou?"

"General Zhou besieged Yuzhong City. They wrote that the rebels were short of food and were preparing to trap the enemy in the city of Elm. Fu Xie said worriedly, "It seems that Lao Bian is going to be finished, and the matter of Xiliang's rebellion is also coming to an end." ”

Li Hong smiled: "It's a good thing. Why, do you still wish you had a few more fights? ”

Fu Xie shook his head and said, "Lao Bian and Han Sui don't fight for a long time, and they retreat for thousands of miles, there must be a reason. I'm worried that General Zhou will go deep alone and will be tricked. Li Zhonglang had better rush over as soon as possible. ”

Li Hong pointed to the map and said: "From the west of Yicheng, to Pingxiang City for two hundred miles, and then from Pingxiang City to the west, to Yuzhong City for more than four hundred miles. We still have more than 600 miles to go to reach Yuzhong City. I heard from a few people who led the way that if we marched as fast as we could, it would take us at least ten days to reach Yuzhong City. Now we are carrying a large amount of grain and grass, and the speed must be a little slower, and it is estimated that it will be two days late. ”

Fu Xie sighed and said, "I hope they will be careful and don't fall for the old side." ”

Li Hong comforted: "There are several Xiliang generals under General Zhou's account, they are very familiar with Lao Bian and Han Sui, and they know how powerful the two of them are, so they should be careful." ”

"General Zhou and Sun Jian, the military officer of Lord Taiwei, don't trust the Xiliang generals and don't listen to their advice at all." Fu Xie smiled bitterly, "What do these Xiliang generals think in their hearts, who knows?" ”

"No matter what they think in their hearts, we have to trust them first." Li Hong said with a smile, "They grew up in Xiliang and are familiar with everything here, and of course they have to rely on them to suppress the rebellion in Xiliang." Just because they were friends with the rebel leaders in the past does not give us unreasonable suspicion of them. ”

Fu Xie nodded and said: "Xu Rong, Lu Yi and Hua Xiong are all fierce generals of Xiliang, and they have always been loyal to defend the territory of the Great Han Kingdom. But it is difficult to say whether their subordinates have anything to do with the rebels or not. ”

"What about Ma Teng?" Li Hong asked.

Fu Xie was noncommittal and did not answer.

Zhao Yun lifted the curtain and strode in.

"My lord, hurry up."

"Where did it come from?" Li Hong asked.

"It was sent from General Zhou's camp in Yuzhong City." Zhao Yun replied, "It seems that things are in a hurry, and the person who delivered the letter rode four war horses. ”

Li Hong and Fu Xie were taken aback and hurriedly opened the bamboo slips.

"The rebels occupied Kwai Yuan Gorge and cut off the grain route." Li Hong smiled bitterly, "It's troublesome." ”

Fu Xie's expression was solemn and speechless for a long time.

Bian Zhang and Han Sui finally made a move.

＝＝＝

The red sunset hangs lonely in the western sky, big and round, so red that it is shocking and intoxicating.

Zhou Shen retracted his gaze and slowly turned his head to look at Sun Jian standing behind him, with a blank expression.

20,000 rebels quietly occupied both ends of the Kwai Yuan Gorge, cutting off not only the grain route of the Han army, but also the retreat of the Han army. Now it is not the rebels of the Han army besieging Yuzhong City, but the rebels besieging Zhou Shen's Han army under Yuzhong City, just waiting for the Han army to run out of food, which is the moment of siege and annihilation. Bian Zhang made a random move, and suddenly turned the clouds and rain, and immediately forced the triumphant Han army into a desperate situation.

"General, with our strength, it will not be a problem to kill Kwai Yuan Gorge, and you don't need to worry about it." Sun Jian took a step forward and comforted in a low voice, "If we drop our baggage and travel lightly, we can rush back to Pingxiang City in three or four days, and the loss should not be large." ”

"Twice westward, twice to repel Bian Zhang." Zhou Shen smiled bitterly, "This opportunity is so good, I still fell for it, I am really unwilling." ”

"Bian Zhang and Han Sui had already premeditated, and they deliberately tricked us into being fooled, and we couldn't prevent it. So far, the troops have not lost anything, which can be considered a fluke. Sun Jian twisted his short beard and said with some chagrin: "A few days ago, we were carried away by the impending victory, and we underestimated the cunning of the rebels, so much so that we made a mistake in judgment. I remember that only Xu Duwei was more sober at that time, and he pointed out that the crisis of the army was in Kwaiyuan Gorge, but at that time we didn't listen to it and ignored his advice. ”

Sun Jian glanced at Zhou Shen and whispered, "Now it seems that among the three of them, Xu Duwei can be trusted. ”

Zhou Shen glanced at him and asked, "What does Wentai mean by putting his troops in front?" Or put it in the back? ”

"It's better to put it in front." Sun Jian replied, "The general will take 10,000 people to the middle, and I will take 10,000 people to postpone." Let Huaxiong's 5,000 men follow Xu Rong, and Koyi's 10,000 men walk ahead of me. ”

Zhou Shen frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "How about we ask for Du Xu's opinion?" This withdrawal is a matter of life and death for everyone, and we cannot but be extra cautious. ”

Sun Jian suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. The last time he made a mistake in judging the military situation, he didn't give an accurate opinion, and General Zhou Shen didn't seem to trust himself very much.

Sun Jian immediately replied: "This kind of confidential matter is better at night and given temporary notice." Although Xu Duwei can be trusted, what about his subordinates? If the news of our withdrawal at night is leaked out, and the rebels place heavy troops in Kwai Yuen Gorge and surround us in the gorge, then we will have no way to live. ”

Zhou Shen looked up at the blood-red sun and pondered. At this critical time, in this unfamiliar environment, the officers and men of the army should work together from top to bottom, if they don't trust the Xiliang generals anymore, I'm afraid they will really die without a place to be buried. In order to destroy himself, Bian Zhang has been planning for a long time. Since he was able to ambush the men and horses outside the city in advance and cut off his own retreat, of course he also thought of a way to eat himself. If he had set up a heavy army in Kwai Yuan Gorge, wouldn't he have thrown himself into a net and had a desperate way to survive.

"Go and ask for Captain Xu." Zhou Shen had a cold face and shouted at the attendant standing in the distance.

The corners of Sun Jian's eyebrows jumped, and a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.

＝＝＝

As night fell, Xu Rong rushed from the South Gate camp to the Chinese army camp. He hurriedly walked into the big tent and leaned over to salute Zhou Shen.

"Lord Xu, the army's food and grass are about to run out, and we plan to retreat tonight." Zhou Shen waved his hand to signal Xu Rong to be exempt, and said expressionlessly, "Do you have any suggestions?" ”

Xu Rong sat aside and asked slowly, "General, how many days can the grain and grass of the troops last?" ”

Zhou Shen turned his eyes to look at Sun Jian.

"Three days." Sun Jian said, "It is 400 miles to Pingxiang City. We should have no problem throwing away all the baggage, letting the soldiers march lightly, day and night, and walking 400 miles in three days. ”

Xu Rong then wanted to ask something, but he hesitated for a moment and didn't make a sound.

Zhou Shen saw it in his eyes and immediately asked, "What does Xu Duwei want to say?" At this critical time, we should trust each other, say anything directly, and don't talk about it. ”

Xu Rong blushed, smiled a little embarrassedly, and said, "Can you ask about the withdrawal route?" ”

"Absolutely." Zhou Shen said, "Wentai, let's talk about our withdrawal plan carefully, and let Lord Xu understand the specific situation." ”

Sun Jian spread out the map and explained the withdrawal plan in detail.

"Lord Xu, what do you think of my method?" Sun Jian asked confidently, "Do you have anything to add?" ”

Zhou Shen's face was indifferent, but his eyes looked at Xu Rong expectantly.

Xu Rong smiled faintly and said, "If we go to Kwai Yuan Gorge, we will die." ”

Zhou Shen and Sun Jian were moved at the same time.

Zhou Shen's face was shocked, and several wrinkles on his forehead were almost squeezed together; Sun Jian was angry and shocked, his brows were tightly locked, and his eyes widened.

"Tell me." Zhou Shen pointed at Xu Rong and said, "Tell me what's going on." ”

"I have been friends with Lao Bian and Mr. Wenyue for several years, and I admire their intelligence. To tell the truth, Lao Bian's talent and personality are second to none in Xiliang, and no one can match him, even the famous Mr. Wenyue has to bow down. Why did Lao Bian get the support of the rebels? Why did Beigong Boyu put a knife on his neck to force him to rebel? Xu Rong smiled bitterly, "Lord Taiwei and you have all despised Lao Bian and Mr. Wenyue, so much so that they ......"

Xu Rong felt that the words behind him were unpleasant, swallowed back, he pointed to the Kwaiyuan Gorge on the map and said: "The Kwaiyuan Gorge is our only way to retreat, Lao Bian knows that we want to break through, and he will definitely spread fire and burning things in the woods of the canyon, and lay heavy troops at the exit of the canyon." As soon as we rush into the canyon, the rebels guarding the entrance to the canyon will immediately set the woods on fire. As soon as the fire broke out, the rebels in the city would pour out. In a very short period of time, we could neither break out of the fire nor reach the exit of the canyon. When the enemy army in the city is killed, we will be the turtle in the urn, and the Kwai Yuan Canyon will be our burial place. ”

Zhou Shen and Sun Jian's faces were very ugly.

"You can't kill it." Xu Rong glanced at them, shook his head, and said word by word, "You can't kill them." ”

Zhou Shen looked at Xu Rong. Xu Rong sat calmly next to the map, unhurried and calm, as if he no longer cared about the crisis in front of him. Is there a way for him to get out of trouble?

"What advice does Lord Xu have?" Zhou Shen asked.

"Kwai Yuan Gorge has always been under our close surveillance, and it stands to reason that there is no way for the rebels to evade our surveillance and occupy the canyon unknowingly." Xu Rong said, "But why did Laobian's troops suddenly come out and occupy Kwaiyuan Gorge? ”

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