When the rooster crows, the courtyard gate is reopened.

Fufeng Hou Gongzi walked out slowly. Lost soul, standing under the eaves. Until the courtyard door was slowly closed behind him, he still didn't come back to his senses.

"Childe?" Inside the carriage, the scholar lifted the curtain and called.

"Hmm." Hou Gongzi suddenly sobered up. When the cold wind blows, the whole body is cold. The cold sweat on his eyebrows has turned into ice beads. Take a deep breath and steady your mind. Then he walked to the carriage.

The night is long, destined to be sleepless.

Above Taicang, Zhegui Pavilion. Wearing a gauze hat and a small yellow door in plain clothes, the lamp is in front of it, leading the guests to the hall to rest.

The distinguished guest speaks Wu Nong's soft language, born in a Jiangnan family, and has been a high-ranking official in the family, and he is rich. When I came to Luoyang, I also pointed to the top card in the museum. The status is particularly noble, and it is said that the origin can be traced back to the time of the first emperor. As for his identity, he is not an outsider.

The warehouses are connected by soft ladders. Each detached building stands on top of a warehouse. Guests only go down and down the ladder. As for the women in the building, they have their own hidden paths to the top.

The stone lamps in the courtyard have been lit. The little yellow door has long been blinded, and there is no light. pushed open the door of the hall for the noble son, and bowed down.

The noble son walked into the house and pushed the mullioned sliding door with his backhand, blocking the bright light in the hall.

Guide the way back to the small yellow gate. Extinguish the lamps and candles, take refuge in the dark room, and take your place. There was silence for a moment. Only each other's calm breathing, vaguely recognizable.

These little yellow doors, without the slightest sense of light, do not talk about sleep. When there is nothing to do, they are mostly immersed in half-dreaming and half-waking. It's like falling asleep, but having a sense of it. This unique state of affairs is called "stability" by the internal officials.

For a long time, everyone was settled. One of them got up gently, silently, and walked out of the secret room.

Without waiting for dawn, he quietly returned.

Nothing was said all night.

Longyou, Baishi County.

In the sixth year of Emperor Zhao of the former Han Dynasty (81 years ago), Baishi County was established. The city was built on a plateau in the northwest mountain range of the Lishui (Daxia River) River Valley. The city is trapezoidal, high in the west and low in the east, and is built along the terrain. The north, east and south sides of the city are close to the cliff, and the west city crosses the hillside. A double trench was dug outside the city, and a beacon was erected on the high ground outside the moat.

There is only one gate in White Rock City. Easy to defend and difficult to attack.

It is located on a plateau and has a cold climate. Heavy snowfall has fallen and land transportation has long been cut off. As far as the eye can see, it is white. Prairie valleys, as well as rolling mountain ridges, are covered with snow and ice. The wind is biting. The Han army at the head of the city huddled beside the brazier, listless.

They are all veterans on the border, and most of them have gray temples.

There was a muffled noise in the sky. The experienced pawn immediately pricked up his ears. After a while, it resounded in the sky.

There was a muffled sound like thunder for a while.

"Enemy attack!" The old soldier rose up and rushed to the beacon standing on the high ground outside the trench, shouting loudly. Then he turned and ran towards the winch: "Quickly lift the suspension bridge!" ”

The hemp rope suddenly tightened, breaking countless ice picks. The ice in front of the trench was torn apart. As the crack swam, the outline of the suspension bridge quickly appeared on the ice. With all his might, the old pawn turned the winch. The suspension bridge, which was covered with a thin layer of ice, finally rose with difficulty.

The old soldiers, who were sweating profusely and had smoke on their cheeks, didn't care to wipe them. Then he went to light the wolf smoke again.

"Don't move! Don't move! "The companions on the beacon outside the city have already shouted loudly: "It's the Han army, the Han army has arrived-"

"Han Jun?" The old pawn hurriedly rushed to the battlement. Keep your eyes on it. Sure enough, there was a large group of people and horses, whistling. The people and horses are covered with frost and snow, and they are almost integrated with the mountains and rivers. Although the face is not clear, the flag of the forest is exactly the Han system.

How can the chaotic Qiang ride have such momentum.

A stone's throw away from the city, the spear of the knight in front of him was horizontal. The army slowly stopped.

The centaurs snorted long snorts and lined up. War horses and knights are covered with ice picks, as if they are full of thorns. It is like the resurrection of an ice sculpture.

The flaghandles slammed into the ground, and the thin ice collapsed.

The flag is waving in the wind, it is the red deer flame horns, and the three-legged black is black.

The knight at the head bent his fingers and smashed the ice, and lifted the ghost face: "Under the command of the general of the Auxiliary Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, Zhang Fei, the captain of the military academy, was ordered to enter the city. Open the gates of the city quickly! ”

The sound was like a thunderbolt. If it is fake, Zhang Fei will be replaced.

"Captain, wait a minute. Forgive me for waiting, and the county lieutenant will arrive later. ”

"Hurry up, hurry up. Late wounded war horse! Zhang Fei shouted.

"Whoa!"

Before the words fell, the county lieutenant of Baicheng had already ascended to the top of the city.

Looking at it, it is like a fake Han iron horse.

"Open the gates quickly." After checking the military talisman seal, the county lieutenant gave an order.

Jackets, winter uniforms, armor and riding equipment, wrapped in a large coat, people and horses only show their eyes, multiple protection against the cold. It is also normal to brave the wind and snow.

The crotch is a fresh and humble horse, which can withstand extreme cold. But you need to be careful of the wind chill. Running all the way, sweating profusely. If you don't dry it in time and put on a blanket to keep out the cold, you will definitely get infected.

When I asked where the camp was, 10,000 elite horsemen and 1,000 military vehicles roared in.

Wait to stabilize the camp and place the war horses. Zhang Fei rushed to meet with a group of officials in Baishi City.

"Meet Captain Zhang." The magistrate of Baicheng County ordered a group of subordinate officials to line up to greet each other.

"Excuse me." Zhang Fei hugged his fists and said: "Zhang was ordered to garrison Baishi, looking for an opportunity to fight with the Qiang thief. There are many disturbances, and I hope to take care of them. ”

"Don't dare, don't dare." The county magistrate stretched out his hand to invite him and entered the official house.

The charcoal fire in the house is blazing, driving away the cold.

Zhang Fei took off his battle helmet and led eighteen horsemen to line up. Take the two edicts of the Liangzhou Thorn History Mansion and the Fuhan General's Mansion, and hand them to the Baishi County Magistrate for inspection.

After confirming that it was correct, the county magistrate finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Dare to ask Captain Zhang, how to use soldiers in the cold and snow?" ”

"All things in the army, don't worry about the Ming Court." Zhang Fei said with a smile: "If there are soldiers disturbing the people, please also ask the Ming Court to enforce the law impartially." ”

"The subordinate obeys." The military and government are separated, and the magistrate of Baishi County can rest assured.

"Where is the thief now?" Zhang Fei got straight to the point.

The county lieutenant blurted out: "They are all shrunk in the west-leaning mountains." ”

The county magistrate hurriedly said: "Captain Qiyu." The Qiang people in the west-leaning mountains are the Zhong Cunqiang tribe, and they did not conspire to rebel. ”

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "The Qiang people are going backwards and have no fixed place to live. Here today, tomorrow there. The same is true of the seeds, which are divided and merged, and swallowed up each other, how can they be distinguished! ”

"This ......," the county magistrate was speechless.

"There may be a barricade garrison nearby." Zhang Fei asked again.

The county lieutenant replied: "There is a garrison at the White Stone Barrier. ”

"Where is the obstacle?"

"The obstacle is in the upper reaches of Lishui Zhijin, at the southern foot of Baishi Cliff." The lieutenant said.

Baishi barrier is located in the tributary of Lishui, on the platform where the Yangqu River and the Yangla River converge in later generations. It is bordered by the (Ganga) grassland in the west and Caohan in the north. Crossing the pass of the Qilian Mountain branch (Dariga Mountain) in the northwest, you can pass through Xiqiang. It is a key military traffic point.

In the former Han Dynasty, the city barrier had been repaired and garrisoned. Because it is a hollow cross-shaped city fortress, and in each corner of the cross city, set up eight city piers, into eight corners, so the name is "octagonal city" later. The periphery of the city is a moat, the north city is by the mountain without a gate, the west city through the south gate to the east city has an outer outline, and the south gate has an outer city. The walls are made of sand, reeds, red willows, etc., which are rammed layer by layer. The walls of the castle are high and thick. There is no dead angle for the crossbow shooting under the city, and the passage of the city gate is very small, and there is no gap to take advantage of, which can be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Five miles north of the barrier city, is the white stone cliff. This cliff, the wall stands thousands of miles, and the white jade shines. Across the heaven and earth, stretching for dozens of miles, dazzling and magnificent.

"The Lishui River Valley, shaped like a horse's hoof, can connect the White Stone Barrier and the White Stone City." The county lieutenant then used his finger to draw an arc of hooves on the topographic map of the mountains and rivers.

"How far apart are the two places." Zhang Fei asked.

"About two hundred miles." The county lieutenant replied.

"Got it." Zhang Fei clenched his fists: "The military situation is urgent, farewell!" ”

The county lieutenant suddenly asked, "Does the lieutenant want to break the collusion between the Qiangs?" ”

Zhang Feihuan's eyes widened: "How do you know!" ”