Linzhi

After the messenger, a large group of mighty soldiers and horses rushed in from far to near, just like the rising tide of the sea, covering the flat ground in a short while.

Xiao Chong looked back suddenly, but saw the gorgeous sunset, the flying flags, the soldiers and horses as heavy as mountains, the battle robes fluttering in the wind, and the shouting slogans like mountains and seas, which overwhelmed his own side in momentum for a while.

But looking far away, it is clear that he is playing the banner of King An, but he can't see the shadow of the master.

That's right, I heard that the man is a lame man, how could he go to the battlefield in person and charge forward?Blocked by these many people, it is naturally invisible.

The soldiers who had been attacking the city looked back in astonishment. They did not expect that Ganzhou, which was running out of fuel, had really waited for reinforcements. Frightened by its momentum, many people no longer had the will to fight vigorously, and even lost their minds for a while. The soldiers on the ground smashed down with stone weapons one after another, screaming and falling to the ground.

"Hu Ben Battalion, Valiant Battalion come back to defense with me! Others continue to attack the city!" Xiao Zhong roared, and the messenger followed the order to change the flag, but at this time the morale of his soldiers had been affected by the sudden reinforcements. It also seemed rushed.

In contrast, the army under King An's orders and prohibitions, almost ordered the flags to be raised left and right, and they had already taken action.

The left and right wings each branched out to outflank the enemy, while Lin Miao in the center raised his epee and led the soldiers behind him to kill Xiao Chong.

After all these people ran out, Xiao Zhong saw a figure riding a horse behind him.

That should be He Rong.

He had heard of He Rong's name long ago, when the Liang Kingdom formed an alliance with the Eastern Turks and encircled the Central Plains. He heard that this He Rong had traveled thousands of miles to the Western Turks to persuade Princess Zhending to submit to the Central Plains. The Eastern Turks formed a trend of restraint in twos and twos. If the Eastern Turks had not continued to grow stronger and directly annexed the Western Turks, I am afraid that it would still be a dangerous situation without fighting.

He is Xiao Yu's adoptive son, ranked third, and He Rong, also known as Sanlang, although they have never met each other, they seem to have an inexplicable connection and fate. How can such a fate be lived up to?

Xiao laughed loudly: "Good time!"

Pulling out a gun flower from the spear in his hand, he clamped his legs into the horse's belly, and immediately greeted him with the momentum of ten thousand men.

Above the city tower, a group of soldiers guarding the city saw life in despair, and couldn't help but cheer up. Even though their hands and feet were already weak, they all stepped forward with their knives in that breath, and killed a few enemies to count.

Ying Ziyu hurriedly asked the lieutenant general to gather another [-] soldiers and horses, and went to Nancheng to support Tao Xuan.

"Tao Cishi is the bone of a literati, and if he disagrees with him, he will die in the city. You have to hurry up, lest the sword in his hand move one step faster, and shout as he goes, saying that the imperial court sent King An to save us!"

But he was really wrong. Tao Xuan raised the sword several times, and every time he handed it to his shoulder, he felt that the sword weighed a thousand catties, and he couldn't let go of it.

If other people were here, his behavior must be ridiculous, but Tao Xuan himself did not find it ridiculous. On the contrary, he struggled in pain until he heard someone shouting: "The imperial court sent King An to save us! We are saved!" It's over! Xiao Yu's thief, let's die quickly!"

Tao Xuan raised her head in a daze, thinking that there must be something wrong with my ears, or that Ying Ziyu suppressed even this kind of lie in order to boost morale?But everyone is not stupid, if you find that there is no reinforcements, what's the use?

While trembling, he saw Ying Ziyu's lieutenant leading his troops running towards this side across the street.

... Are there any reinforcements?

The lieutenant galloped and shouted at the top of his lungs: "The imperial reinforcements have arrived, and they are attacking the thieves outside the northern city! The general sent me to come to reinforce and kill all these thieves!"

The hand raised the knife and fell, and an enemy soldier's head fell to the ground.

With a clang, the sword in Tao Xuan's hand also fell to the ground.

Sadness and joy mixed on his face, unbelievable.

The enemy army that was supposed to enter the city was rushed by these five thousand soldiers and horses, and it turned into a melee situation in an instant. Swords and guns clashed with each other, and there was a long cry, all of which turned into rivers of blood on the battlefield.

The last ray of sunlight completely disappeared behind the heavy clouds, the night gradually fell, the sky and the earth were dim, and the stars and the moon disappeared.

Such a night is naturally not conducive to defending the city, but how can it be conducive to attacking the city?

From the moment when reinforcements from the other side appeared, Xiao Chong knew that this battle, which was a surefire victory, might become difficult, and even the outcome would be reversed. Don't hesitate to be scarred.

But when night fell, the two sides fought in a melee in the night, gradually unable to distinguish between the enemy and the enemy. The only light source came from the torches on the tower, which were faint and indistinct. Xiao Chong sighed secretly and had to give the order to retreat.

"Your Highness, they are about to retreat!" Lin Miao charged ahead, and the lieutenant general Xiang Xin remained beside He Rong.

He Rong narrowed his eyes and looked at the battlefield: "Get ready to enter the city, and clean up the battlefield after dawn."

"Aren't we going to chase?" The situation is so good, Xiang Xin is a little unwilling to let the enemy escape like this.

He Rong shook his head: "The black lights are blind, we are not as familiar with this place as they are, if the poor bandits have nowhere to go, it will arouse their ferocity, now there are a lot of sacrifices in the city, just waiting for us to clean up the mess, at this time the loss of troops will not be worth the loss. "

Since the coach said so, Xiang Xin had no choice but to give up. After chasing the enemy for a while, he ordered the soldiers to return to the team and prepare to enter the city.

A group of people quickly returned to their original positions, counted the number of people, and carried the injured soldiers to the front on stretchers to prepare to enter the city for treatment. There were also people responsible for cleaning the battlefield and looking for soldiers who were still alive from the dead. Everything was in an orderly manner. The Ganzhou soldiers did not give in.

Seeing this, Ying Ziyu sighed on the tower: "I didn't expect His Royal Highness Wang An to train such an elite army. If I could have tens of thousands more, why did I almost fall today?"

Having said that, seeing that He Rong and the others were about to enter the city, he hurriedly ordered someone to open the city gate, while he ran down the tower to greet them in person.

"Welcome Your Highness to enter the city! Your Highness relieved me of Zhangye's troubles and saved my life. The general will be grateful on behalf of the people of the city!"

He Rong rode in front, and when he saw Ying Ziyu, he reined in and dismounted, followed by Lin Miao, Xiang Xin and others.

"General Ying, you don't need to be too polite. On behalf of the imperial court, I would like to thank you and Tao Cishi for sticking to the end. Otherwise, even if I lead the troops, I will be powerless."

The two entered the city hand in hand, and He Rong asked about the situation in the city and the strength of the soldiers.

Ying Ziyu then sighed: "Don't dare to lie to Your Highness, when Chen Shuai left Ganzhou, he took 5 horses with him, and there were only [-] soldiers left in the city, who were beaten by Xiao Yu's old man. I don't know if there are [-] left, many people have no time to escape, I let them stay at home temporarily."

He Rong nodded: "It's hard to be General Ying, presumably Xiao Yu took the opportunity to send people to attack when he learned that Ganzhou's troops were empty. His Majesty had already ordered me to reinforce Ganzhou at any time, fortunately it was not too late. "

Although there is a decree, who is not guarding his one-acre three-point land these days and is unwilling to fight easily, not to mention that Lingzhou is the fiefdom of King An. If he cherishes his feathers and does not want to send troops, no one can do anything to him. , It's just a reprimand.But he personally led the troops to rescue Ganzhou from the fire and water. This kindness, to Ying Ziyu and Ganzhou, naturally surpassed Mount Tai.

When the people heard that the battle was over, some of them were timid and hid in their cellars and did not dare to come out. Some of them went out to visit in fear, but they saw that the city was in a mess, and there was no scene of the enemy rushing into the city.

It seems... is it really over?

I don’t know whose naughty little boy sneaked out while the adults were tidying up the house and neglected to supervise him. He was playing in the street. When he saw the spear left by the enemy, he thought it was fun, so he moved it. My foot was smashed, and I burst into tears.

He Rong walked over, bent down and moved the spear away, picked up the boy and walked to the side of the road, took out an oiled paper bag from his sleeve, opened it, and handed the boy a piece of autumn pear cake.

The little boy stuffed his mouth full of sweetness, and the crying naturally disappeared.

Although this scene is small, in the eyes of the exhausted soldiers after the war, it can still make people smile, and feel that their resistance to the death is not useless.

At the very least, it protects the people of this city from being displaced and turmoiled.

Ying Ziyu is not a person who is good at flattery, but he wanted to make a good impression in front of His Royal Highness Prince An. Seeing that He Rong put down the little boy and came back, he racked his brains to say a word of praise: "Your Highness is kind, and he also wears special clothes. with candy!"

He Rong said quietly: "I prepared this candy for myself."

Ying Ziyu choked, and Lin Miao burst out laughing beside her.

The laughter dispelled the dark clouds hanging over the heads of the crowd, and after a while, Tao Xuan, the governor of Ganzhou, also rushed over.

"I pay my respects to Your Highness, thank you Your Highness for coming to help in time, and saving the whole city from fire and water!"

Ying Ziyu had sharp eyes: "Tao Shijun, the cuts on your neck are still bleeding, hurry up and bandage them!"

Tao Xuan rubbed his neck, met He Rong's knowing eyes, and couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "I'm ashamed to say that I wanted to die in the city, but who knows how many times I can't be cruel. I used to despise generals for being rude. Now it seems."

He Rong smiled slightly: "Fortunately, we didn't have time to act, otherwise we would lose a promising minister."

Tao Xuan's face was hot, and he said again and again: "Your Highness, please don't bury me. Thanks to His Highness and General Ying, I am just a dispensable foil."

"General Ying can fight, but he can't govern Ganzhou on your behalf. Zhangye is a commercial fortress from east to west. If there is peace and prosperity, there will be endless business trips. But now that the war has resumed, the trade routes have been interrupted. For merchants, it is for the court. As far as the situation is concerned, it is not a good thing, and the situation must be stabilized as soon as possible to avoid greater losses."

"What Your Highness said is true, I will be educated." Tao Xuan cupped his hands in embarrassment.

After the war, there were many things to do, such as counting the casualties, taking care of the wounded, appeasing the people, reorganizing the troops, and recuperating. Everyone hardly cared about going to sleep. Even He Rong had been discussing the follow-up deployment with Lin Miao.

The city was finally able to restore peace, even if only temporarily.

People took advantage of the retreat of the enemy army and fell asleep exhaustedly. The wounded were placed in a separate medical office in the city. Tao Xuan summoned the doctors from the city's traditional Chinese medicine hall to treat them, and sent government servants to help. He Rong ordered Soldiers entering the city are not allowed to disturb the people, and they are all stationed in two military camps in the city, together with local soldiers.Ying Ziyu was busy counting the number of people and settling in the Lingzhou Army who came to help. He kept wandering between the barracks and didn't have time to stop and rest all night.

It wasn't until dawn that several people reunited in the governor's mansion to discuss future plans.

"Your Highness, do you want to go back to Lingzhou?"

Ying Ziyu's face was exhausted, and she could almost fall asleep sitting up. It was Tao Xuan who asked this question.

He Rong said: "With Xue Tan and Princess Zhending in Lingzhou, the enemy dare not attack rashly for a while, so there is no need to rush back."

Hearing this, Tao Xuan took a reassurance and breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course he didn't want He Rong to go back. Everyone knew that Xiao Chong's retreat was only temporary, and he would make a comeback in a short while. If there was no reinforcements, Ganzhou would still have only a dead end.

Tao Xuan also knew the identity of Princess Zhending. It was rumored that King An had a close relationship with the former princess. He even sent someone to rescue her back to the Central Plains privately for her sake. King An went his own way and didn't care about his reputation at all. Now that he brought troops to aid Ganzhou, he was relieved to hand over Lingzhou to Princess Zhending, which shows how friendly the two are.If it weren't for the fact that the princess was old enough to be the mother of King An, Tao Xuan would really think in a wrong way.

"With His Royal Highness sitting here, I finally feel at ease." Tao Xuan said happily.

It's because there are people above An Xin, so you don't have to be charged with the first crime if something goes wrong, right?Lin Miao glanced at him.

Tao Xuan also felt that his words were wrong, and said awkwardly: "Your Highness, forgive me, I am not good at military matters. When Chen Shuai was there, Chen Shuai took care of all military matters. Later, Chen Shuai was transferred to Jinzhou for emergency treatment. The general is naturally an experienced veteran on the battlefield, but because the number of soldiers in Ganzhou has been reduced by half at once, and now he is under enemy attack, his strength has dropped significantly, so..."

He Rong looked at Ying Ziyu: "How is the result of General Ying's count?"

Ying Ziyu was called out so suddenly that she almost knocked her head on the table, and suddenly woke up with a jolt.

"Returning to Your Highness, I only have time to order the battalions to make a rough count. The two military camps in the city used to have more than [-] people, but now there are tens of thousands of wounded and more than [-] dead. The total number of people who are still capable of fighting is less than [-]." !"

He Rong nodded: "Where is Xiao Yu? Chen Shuai must have sent someone to inquire about the other party's situation before?"

Ying Ziyu said: "Yes, under Xiao Yu's command in Liangzhou, they claim to have 20 soldiers. His third son Xiao Chong is leading the army this time. The number of people attacking the city must be twice as many as ours. The number of Fang killed and injured should be as many as [-] to [-], and maybe Xiao Yu will continue to send troops to him so that he can continue to attack the city."

While speaking, Ying Ziyu ordered someone to find a topographic map, assembled several tables into a table, and slowly unfolded the map on it.

"Your Highness, please see that Liangzhou is located in the southeast of Ganzhou, but the north of Ganzhou and Longyou Road are all occupied by Xiaoyu. Three hundred miles north of Zhangye City, there is a small town named Wutang. The town was originally the boundary between Ganzhou and Liangzhou, but since the old traitor Xiao Yu rebelled against the imperial court, Wutang Town was also occupied by Liangzhou, and the imperial court has not taken it back."

Lin Miao understood: "You mean, Xiao Zhong led his troops back last night and will be stationed in Wutang Town, waiting for the opportunity to attack the city again?"

Ying Ziyu: "That's right. This time the Turkic people went south and Chen Shuai was transferred away. The old thief Xiao Yu must think that Ganzhou is easy to win and will not give up easily. Although he lost a little last night, Xiao Zhong was in Wutang Town to reorganize." After the soldiers, we are bound to launch an attack on Zhangye again. In my opinion, instead of passively waiting for someone to attack the door, it is better for us to take the initiative. The main force starts from Nancheng, detours at the foot of Qilian Mountain, lays an ambush behind the enemy, and then sends the Qingqi squad to the fifth How about attacking the enemy at night in Tang Town, burning their food and grass, and disturbing their morale, when the main force will attack, they will be caught off guard?"

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and even the drowsiness disappeared.

"It's good, but we need to think about it in the long run." He Rong said.

A basin of cold water was poured on her head, and Ying Ziyu's smile froze, and she said anxiously: "Your Highness, your troops are so fast! If we drag on and wait until Xiao Zhong's rest is over before adding troops, we will lose the slightest advantage! "

Seeing that He Rong was noncommittal, Ying Ziyu's heart completely cooled down.

He thought to himself, shouldn't he get used to it by now?The imperial court is always like this, they don't fight when they should fight, and they retreat when they shouldn't. If Chen Shuai hadn't been transferred in a hurry, how could Xiao Yu have the courage to fight Ganzhou?We must know that Chen Shuai's reputation spread far and wide, but even the Turkic people are afraid of it.King An's performance is not surprising. The court only asked him to reinforce Ganzhou, but did not let him take the initiative to attack. Once the troops were lost, the court would hold King An accountable for his crimes. Naturally, he would not send troops easily.

Thinking like this, his expression turned gray and cold, and a warm heart was held out, but it was frozen into ice cubes and shattered into pieces.

Seeing the change in Ying Ziyu's expression, He Rong knew that Ying Ziyu must be thinking wrong.

He smiled and said to Lin Miao, "Haoyuan, you can talk to General Ying."

Lin Miao laughed and said, "General Ying misunderstood. Our Highness is definitely not willing to send troops, but we really need to make a long-term plan. Have you heard that the old thief Xiao Yu has three sons?"

Ying Ziyu nodded: "The eldest son, Xiao Yun, and the second son, Xiao Lian, were born by Xiao Yu himself. The third son, Xiao Chong, who is leading the army this time, is Xiao Yu's adopted son, but it is said that he is also on the Xiao family tree."

Since Xiao Yu proclaimed himself emperor, he imitated the imperial system in everything, including posthumously proclaiming all his father and grandfather Gao Zu emperor, registering his sons in the clan genealogy and so on. It is said that although Xiao Chong is an adopted son, It is also on the genealogy, that is, the children of the Xiao family who are serious.

Lin Miao said: "Although Xiao Chong is not his own son, he has long been known as wise and virtuous among the three sons. It is said that Xiao Yu has not been crowned prince until now because he values ​​Xiao Chong and wants to pass on the throne to him, because the officials objected. I heard that the eldest son, Xiao Yun, is obsessed with Buddhism and has no intention of being emperor, while the second son, Xiao Lian, is fond of literature, and gathers with literati and inkmen all day long to discuss poetry, so Xiao Yu is not happy with it. Only Xiao Zhong can inherit his mantle and carry forward the Xiao family's foundation."

Ying Ziyu was impatient to listen to the entanglements among the enemies, but in front of He Rong, he couldn't interrupt Lin Miao, so he had to listen patiently.

"so?"

Lin Miao said: "Therefore, the Xiao Clan's interior is not impregnable. As long as we make use of it, we may not be able to find weaknesses. Only then can we attack the enemy thoroughly."

"How long will it take? I'm afraid this can't be achieved in just a few days, right?" Ying Ziyu frowned and doubted. It seems unfamiliar.

Lin Miao glanced at He Rong, and said with a smile, "Not necessarily, in fact, before coming to Ganzhou, His Highness has already sent people to inform the secret agents lurking in the high gates of Liangzhou, spreading rumors about Xiao Chong."

Ying Ziyu showed surprise, only then did he know that Wang An and the others had come prepared.

"What rumour?"

Lin Miao stretched out two fingers: "One is that Xiao Chong had a long-standing intention of committing crimes. This time he leads the army outside and supports his own self-respect. If he makes great achievements, he will incite the courtiers to ask Xiao Yu to make him the crown prince. If Xiao Yu doesn't stand up, This is to force the palace. Second, Xiao Chong is actually not Xiao Yu's son, but Xiao Yu's illegitimate son!"

Ying Ziyu doubted: "Just relying on these two rumors, can Xiao's army become unstable? This sounds like nothing, right?"

"Your Highness is brilliant!" Tao Xuan suddenly clapped her hands and shouted loudly.

Without waiting for others to speak, he took the initiative to explain to Ying Ziyu: "Do you still remember that Chen Shuai said that Xiao Yu guarded the border city with him back then, and the city was deep and taciturn?"

Ying Ziyu nodded.

Tao Xuan said with a smile: "Suspicious people will not dispel their doubts just because the other party is a close relative. On the contrary, a hero like Xiao Yu will always guard against the people around him, and close relatives are no exception. The first rumor As soon as it comes out, Xiao Yu will probably laugh it off, but in private, people will still pay attention to Xiao Chong's movements, especially guard against the gang of courtiers who are close to Xiao Chong. But when the second rumor spreads to his ears, Xiao Yu will doubt it. This rumor was spread by Xiao Zhong himself, because everyone knows that Xiao Zhong is an adopted son, but if Xiao Zhong succeeds in usurping the throne in the future, with this rumor of an illegitimate son, he will pave the way for himself to spread the rumor, and crown himself with a twisted and bizarre story. His background and his position will become justifiable. So Xiao Yu has every reason to doubt him."

"Tao Cishi has a great opinion. The most important thing is that three people become tigers. If you repeat a lie ten or twenty times, even a smart person will believe it [-]% to [-]%. Xiao Zhong will not be held as the commander-in-chief, but he will also send people to supervise the army to contain Xiao Zhong. Xiao Zhong is not a fool, so he will naturally feel unhappy if he is suspected of this. At that time, won't we have an opportunity to take advantage of it? " Lin Miao added.

Ying Ziyu was speechless.

Unexpectedly, Tao Cishi was not very good at defending the city and fighting, but he was always thinking about conspiracy and tricks.

Ah no, this method seems to be the idea of ​​Wang An and Lin Miao.

Well, it's really wise and powerful.

"Then there's nothing we can do now?"

"Wait."