Nothing was said all night.

After dawn, Li Dao and Guo Yan returned to Yiwu with a large army.

Hu Zhen, the general of Yiwu, is Dong Zhuo's old department, and Yang Ding, who is also from Liangzhou, are both famous heroes in Liangzhou. Later, after Dong Zhuo's death, he immediately took refuge with Wang Yun. When Li Dao and Guo Yan rebelled, Wang Yun sent him and Xu Rong to lead troops to meet them, but Xu Rong was killed in battle, and he led his troops to surrender.

Since Li Guo began to fight, he felt that Li Dao had no chance of winning, so he switched to Guo Yan and was entrusted with an important task as the guard of Yiwu. Knowing that Li Dao and Guo Yan led their troops to Hewu, he hurriedly ordered the city gate to be closed and the soldiers to go to the city wall to be on guard.

Regarding Hu Zhen's move, one of his military marquis asked puzzledly: "General, you are General Guo's subordinate, why did you hear that General Guo was coming to Yiwu, not only did you not go out of the city to greet him, but ordered the city gate to be closed and the guard was strengthened?" ”

"What do you know?!" Hu Zhen yelled at the military marquis: "In the past, when we defected to the general, he was fighting with Li Dasima. Now that the two of them are together, General Guo is the only one who is the head of Li Da Sima, if Li Da Sima hates me for betraying him and wants to get rid of me, do you think General Guo will help me speak? ”

Regarding Hu Zhen's statement, the military marquis felt that there was some truth. But he looked around and said with some concern: "General, most of the defenders in the city are General Guo's old troops, if the general arrives later, will they be able to do it?" ”

"Take one step at a time, we can't sit still." Hu Zhen looked at the dust rising in the distance and said, "If Li Dasima can forgive my sins, it will not be too late to open the city gate again." ”

Li Dao Guo Yan led his troops to the outside of the city, but found that the city gate was closed and the suspension bridge was hanging high. Li Wei turned his head to look at Guo Yan and asked, "Ado, why don't the guards in the city open the city gate to greet you?" ”

"Childish, you wait here for a while, and I'll ask for the truth." Guo Yan said, urged the horse to the moat, looked up at the city wall, and shouted loudly: "Call Hu Zhen Hu Wen to come out to see me." ”

"The last general will see the general!" Hearing Guo Yan call his name under the city, Hu Zhen couldn't avoid it, so he could only walk to the city wall, leaned out half of his body from the battlement, and said to Guo Yan under the city: "I don't know that the general has not been far away to meet him, and I ask for forgiveness." ”

"Wencai," Guo Yan saw that Hu Zhen's attitude towards him was respectful, knowing that he had not rebelled against himself, and a new hanging one fell back into his stomach, and hurriedly ordered: "Open the city gate quickly, and let me and others enter the city." ”

"Great general, slow down." Seeing that Guo Yan was about to turn around and beckon the soldiers and horses behind him to enter the city, Hu Zhen stopped him loudly: "Hu was originally under the command of Da Sima, and later defected to the general. Now that the general and the big Sima came to Yiwu together, Hu was worried about his life, so he didn't dare to open the city gate. ”

Guo Yan frowned and thought about it, and felt that what Hu Zhen said made some sense, after all, the other party took refuge under Li Wei. If Li Dao is rashly released into the city, what should he do if he wants to settle accounts after the autumn? Therefore, he looked up at Hu Zhen on the city wall and said: "Wencai, you wait here, and after the general and the great Sima have discussed, it will not be too late to reply to you." ”

After speaking, Guo Yan turned his horse's head and returned to the military formation. Seeing that Guo Yan had returned in vain, Li Wei asked with some displeasure: "Ado, why didn't the guards open the city gate for a long time?" ”

"Childish, there is a difficult thing now." Guo Yan said to Li Wei with some embarrassment: "Hu Zhen, the guard general in the city, used to be under your command in the past, and later when you and I exchanged troops, he led his troops to defect to me. The reason why he refused to open the city gate was because he was afraid that after you entered the city, he would give him an after-autumn accounting, and then his life would be difficult to protect. ”

After hearing this, Li Dao frowned and said, "How can this be unreasonable, how could this great Sima hold a grudge against him for such a trivial matter." You go back and tell him, just say that as long as he opens the city gate, this great Sima will never embarrass him. ”

Guo Yan said: "Childish, in my opinion, in order to make Hu Wencai feel at ease, you should personally accompany me to walk under the city wall." As long as you tell Hu Wencai in person, saying that you don't care about the previous things, I believe he will open the city gate immediately. ”

Hearing Guo Yan say this, Li Wei had no choice but to reply helplessly: "That's it, this big Sima will go and give him an explanation." ”

"That's a shame."

Li Wei impatiently urged his mount and followed Guo Yan to the moat. He raised his head and shouted at the city wall, "Where is Hu Zhen? ”

Hu Zhen heard Li Ji shouting at himself under the city, and hurriedly leaned out, and said with a respectful attitude: "The last general Hu Zhen, see Da Sima!" ”

"Hu Wencai, as long as you open the city gate!" Li Dao said in a commanding tone: "This great Sima will definitely not care about your betrayal in the past. If the oath is violated, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed. ”

Hearing Li Dao swearing outside the city, Hu Zhen knew that his life was saved, and hurriedly said: "Please wait for the great Sima and the general, the last general will immediately order someone to open the city gate." Then he instructed the soldiers around him, "Open the city gates, lower the drawbridge, and welcome the army into the city!" ”

The drawbridge was lowered and the gates opened. Hu Zhen personally stood at the gate of the city to greet Li and Guo Yan. He knelt down in front of the horses of the two and said respectfully: "The last general, Hu Zhen, see the great Sima, see the general!" ”

Although Li Dao hated this person who betrayed him, now his subordinates have been lost, and even his two most trusted nephews were both killed in yesterday's battle. For a person like Hu Zhen who has some ability, he naturally has to find a way to win him over. Seeing Hu Zhen kneeling in front of his horse at this moment, he hurriedly turned over and dismounted, stretched out his hand to help the other party, and said with a smile: "General Hu doesn't need to be polite, please get up quickly!" Let's go into the city with this great Sima. ”

Everything that happened in front of the city gate was seen by Wu Xi, and he felt that he could use this matter to make a fuss. Maybe the plan to seize Hewu and eradicate Li Guo's two thieves will be twice as effective with half the effort. He saw that Li Wei walked into the city arm in arm with the other party in order to win over Hu Zhen, and hurriedly rode his horse to Guo Yan's side, and said to him: "General, the last general looks at this Hu Wencai and seems to have the intention of rejoining the Great Sima, you have to be more careful." ”

Guo Yan looked at Li Dao and Hu Zhen who were walking in front, and his heart was not sour, he snorted heavily with his nose, and said to Wu Xi: "Let's enter the city." ”

Wu Xi was half a horse behind Guo Yan, walked along the street towards the city, and at the same time began to "slander": "General, if Hu Wencai defects to Da Sima, our life in Yiwu City will not be easy. ”

Guo Yan thought deeply about Wu Xi's statement, he lowered his head and thought about it, and then said: "What you said is quite reasonable. Hu Zhen can no longer be allowed to continue to serve as the guard general of Yiwu, and when he arrives in the council hall later, the general has his own opinions. ”

Soon, everyone came to the council hall and sat down. Guo Yan opened his mouth and said to Li Dao: "Childish, since we have arrived in Yiwu, presumably the soldiers and horses of Jizhou will also come to the city in the near future. If Hu Wencai only relies on Hu Wencai to defend the city alone, I am afraid that his strength will not be enough, I think it is better to let him hand over the south gate to Wu Xi to be responsible. ”

Regarding Guo Yan's arrangement, Li Dao did not object, but nodded in agreement. Wu Xi originally thought that he would have to work hard to serve as the guard general in the city, but he didn't expect to achieve his goal so easily, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly went out to salute Li Guo and the others: "Thank you for the love of the great Sima and the general, Wu Xi will definitely live up to the expectations of the two." ”

And after Hu Zhen heard that Guo Yan handed over the task of guarding the south of the city to Wu Xi, he couldn't help but feel lost. However, seeing that the wood was already in the boat, he could only go out of the ranks, and after saluting the two, he said with a bitter face: "The last general will obey the order." Later, he will hand over the defense of the south of the city to General Wu. ”

Hu Zhen considered that Li Guo and the others had traveled so far, so he hurriedly beckoned his subordinates to prepare wine and food, and washed the dust for them in the conference hall. At the same time, he also ordered people to send wine and food to the soldiers and horses who entered the barracks.

After the banquet dispersed, Guo Yan called Wu Xi aside and told him: "This general looks at Hu Zhen, and it seems that he has objections. After you take over the defense of the south of the city, you have to be more vigilant. ”

"Please rest assured, General." Wu Xi patted his chest and assured Guo Yan: "The last general will never let a single soldier under Hu Zhen step into the south of the city for half a step." ”

Regarding Wu Xi's reply, Guo Yan nodded with satisfaction and said, "So good! ”

Wu Xi returned to the station, hurriedly called Feng Er, and said to him: "Feng Er, General Guo has ordered General Ben to be responsible for the defense of the south of the city, you can sneak out of the city as soon as possible, and report this news to General Zhao and Mr. Guo." ”

"General, don't, don't!" After hearing Wu Xi's order, Feng Er hurriedly dissuaded and said: "The general has just got the errand to defend the south of the city, presumably Hu Zhen will definitely be resentful, and he will definitely send someone to monitor nearby." If we do something rash, we will be noticed. ”

Fortunately, Wu Xi is not a stubborn person, and he can still listen to Feng Er's opinion. He humbly asked Feng Er for advice and said, "Then you say, what should we do?" ”

"In the villain's opinion, we still don't move." Feng Er pondered for a while and said: "When General Zhao and his troops are in the city, it will not be too late for the small ones to go out of the city to report the news." ”

"If that's the case, it's up to you." Wu Xi said to Feng Er: "Take this opportunity, you choose some more reliable people, who are responsible for guarding the city gate, and when the time with the Jizhou soldiers and horses is better, immediately open the city gate and surrender." ”

"General, opening the gates is secondary." Feng Er said with some hesitation: "We must first get rid of the two thieves Li Dao and Guo Yan." ”

After listening to Feng Er's words, Wu Xi walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. After a while, he stopped and said to Feng Er: "I just entered Yiwu today, and it seems a little too hasty to invite Li Guo and the others to the banquet, which may arouse the suspicion of the two of them." Only a few days later, find another opportunity to lure the two thieves to the mansion, and then the general will ambush the knife and axe hand and divide the two of them into pieces. ”

Although Zhao Yun did not take advantage of the night to rob the camp, he still roamed outside Li Guo's camp with the scout horses he sent. Therefore, as soon as Li Guo and the others pulled out the camp and went to Yiwu, Zhao Yun knew about it as soon as possible. After he waited for Tanma to finish speaking, he asked Guo Jia: "Mr. Fengxiao, I don't know when we will raise troops to attack Yiwu?" ”

"No hurry, no hurry. Li Guo and the two thieves entered the Wuwu, like a turtle in an urn, and sooner or later they will be captured by us. Guo Jia said, pointed to the west, and said, "General Zilong, has you forgotten that there is still a team of soldiers and horses to the west of us." If you don't eradicate them, you will rashly attack Yiwu, and you may have to worry about the enemy. ”

"Mr. Fengxiao, then we will send troops to attack the camp first." Zhao Yun waited for Guo Jia to say this, and immediately hurriedly said: "As long as we capture this camp, we can lead our troops to attack Yiwu." ”

"General Zilong, to get rid of this army of soldiers and horses, you don't need to use swords." Guo Jia smiled and said to Zhao Yun: "Jia is waiting for someone, as long as this person goes to the camp in the west of the city, maybe the defenders inside will surrender without a fight." ”

"Surrender without a fight?" Zhao Yun was skeptical of Guo Jia's statement, but he did not refute Guo Jia, but asked curiously: "Mr. Fengxiao, I don't know who the lobbyist you are talking about is surnamed or not?" ”

Guo Jia said with a smile: "The soldiers and horses in the camp in the west of the city are all Li Dao's fellow villagers, and it just so happens that the people Jia plans to send to the camp to persuade him to surrender are also Li Dao's fellow villagers. His surname is Huangfu and his single name is Li, and he is the son of Huangfu Song, and he must be very sure that he will come forward to persuade the camp in the west of the city to surrender. ”

While the two were talking, a Dubo suddenly walked in outside and reported to Zhao Yunyu: "General Qiyu, there is an official outside who asks to see you." ”

"The official asks to see you?" When Zhao Yun and Guo Jia heard Du Bo say this, they both thought in their hearts at the same time: "Could it be that Huangfu Li is here?" ”

After Zhao Yun and Guo Jia glanced at each other, they asked Du Bo: "Did anyone say who his surname was?" ”

"General Hui," Du Bo replied respectfully, "the person who came said that his surname was Huangfu, and the single word was a single character, and it was invited by Mr. Guo." ”

"Sure enough, Huangfu Li is here." After confirming that the person who came was Huangfu Li, Guo Jia couldn't help but be overjoyed, and he said to Zhao Yun: "The general is here for a while, and he will wait for Jia to personally welcome Mr. Huangfu into the account." ”

After a while, Guo Jia walked in with a middle-aged man in a black official uniform. As soon as the man saw Zhao Yun, he stepped forward and bowed: "Huangfu Li has seen General Zhao!" ”

"Mr. Huangfu is exempt!" Zhao Yun hurriedly stepped forward to support Huangfu Li, and after a few polite words, beckoned him to sit down. asked: "Mr. Huangfu, I heard Mr. Fengxiao say, you are willing to enter the camp in the west of the city to persuade you to surrender, I don't know if you are sure?" ”

"The soldiers of the battalion in the west of the city are all fellow villagers. I don't want to see their lives ruined, so I'm willing to take a risk. After getting up and saluting Zhao Yun, Huangfu Li said, "Please send someone to send someone to the camp." ”

Seeing that Huangfu Li was in such a hurry to go to the camp in the west of the city, Zhao Yun did not stop him, and hurriedly called a military marquis and ordered him to lead five hundred soldiers to escort Huangfu Li to the camp in the west of the city. And told him: "When you escort the gentleman to the camp, wait outside the camp, when the gentleman will come out, and when will you return." Do you understand? ”

"Whoa!" After the military marquis loudly agreed, he walked up to Huangfu Li, bowed down to him and said, "Mr. Huangfu, please!" ”