An Chong and the others arrived in Guyin in the morning.

They had not slept for three days, and at most they had squinted for a while while on the road, and their eyes were bloodshot, and their lips were dry and gray.

When An Chong caught slaves in previous years, he often had the experience of not sleeping for a few days, his spirit was not bad, and the two officials who took the lead in leading the koji ball arrived at Xin Er's house first, but Xin Er had already gone to the general's mansion to take duty, and several people hurried to the general's mansion again.

An Chong recognized Wei Xian and told him that there was an urgent military report.

Wei Xian didn't dare to slack off, and immediately entered the court.

Not long after, Xin Er summoned An Chong and others to see him.

When he arrived at the hall, the official of Koji Qiu presented the military report of Koji Qiu to Xin Er.

An Chong was on the side, and the military situation of stealing 20,000 Qin soldiers into Nan'an County was also true.

Listening to An Chong's report, Xin Er carefully read the military report of Kojiqiu, and after listening to and reading it, he was shocked.

A few days ago, he was still discussing with Yang Chao, Tang Ai and others, whether to fight Shuofang, or whether to fight Nan'an and Tianshui, with a pair of hesitation and ambition to point out Qin Tu and seem to let it occupy it, but in a blink of an eye, he got such an enemy situation, and Longxi County was in danger.

The situation is changing too fast.

He was a little caught off guard.

The content of the Kojiqiu Army Report is more detailed than what An Chong said.

It not only recounts the entry of 20,000 Qin soldiers into Nan'an, but also attaches Kojiqiu's judgment on this, that is: the report of "Pu Mao's personal expedition to Wei State" obtained from the previous exploration, in today's view, or Pu Mao's strategy to confuse the enemy, Pu Qin's real target of attack should be Longxi County.

In the second half of the military newspaper, Koji Qiu wrote: Qiu has sent capable scouts to Tianshui County to investigate the enemy situation in this county and see if there are any Qin soldiers stationed; and another book three books, together with a flight to Tangxing County, please Longdongnan eight counties to support our county; One flew to Wudu County, reminding Zhang Daochong to strictly guard the northern boundary of the county, in case the Qin soldiers went south from Tianshui County and raided Wudu; One flew to Yinping County, and ordered Beigong Yue to prepare for the war of Wudu and our county.

These three texts of Koji Qiu, while inviting reinforcements, also reminded Wudu to be vigilant, which can be called quick response and proper response.

Xin Er tried to calm his mind, made a calm demeanor, and ordered An Chong and the others to go down and rest.

After they left, Xin Er called Wei Xian, listened to the beggar outside the hall, and ordered: "Please Shidao, Qianli, Changling come quickly." After a pause, he added, "Invite Guo Sima and Bozhu too!" ”

Wei Xian, Qi Dali and others took the order and left.

The purpose of Zhao Yangchao, Tang Ai, and Zhang Gu is very clear, and the three of them are the masterminds that Xin Er mainly relies on in the military at present.

Guo Daoqing was summoned because Guo Daoqing was not only the new third-in-command of the governor's office, but also a person in Lu Shuang, and such an important military situation could not exclude him; Yang Hezhi was summoned because although he had just thrown himself into the tent, this person seemed to be quite strategic, so he might as well listen to his views.

About half an hour later, Yang Chao, Tang Ai, Zhang Gui, Huang Rong, Yang Fu, Fu Qiao, Guo Daoqing, and Yang Hezhi came one after another.

"This is Mingzong's military report, just sent to me, you can take a look."

Yang Chao and the others just watched it, and their faces became serious.

Zhang Gu pinched his beard, fell into deep thought, and while thinking, he said: "My lord, according to the situation described in the military report, there are two possibilities for Pu Qin's intention to transfer troops into Nan'an County. ”

"Which two are possible?"

"One is the judgment given by General Koji in the military report, Pu Qin really wants to fight our Longxi County."

"What about the other one?"

"Pu Qin still wants to capture Wei. This Qin soldier transferred to Nan'an County was just to strengthen the defense of Nan'an and Tianshui, and to prevent our army from attacking Tianshui and Nan'an counties when they were at war with Wei. ”

Guo Daoqing's eyes lit up, and he said approvingly: "It makes sense! ”

Xin Er asked, "Which of the two possibilities do you think is the biggest?" ”

Zhang Gu thought for a while and replied: "Now I only know that there are 20,000 more Qin soldiers in Nan'an County, and I don't know what the enemy situation in Tianshui County is, and there is too little information to be determined." ”

Guo Daoqing thought so, nodded and said, "Makes sense!" ”

Xin Er asked Yang Chao, Tang Ai, Yang Hezhi and others, and said, "What do you see?" ”

Yang Chao had the same opinion as Zhang Gui, and said: "If there are also a large number of Qin soldiers stationed in Tianshui County, then the combat target of the Qin soldiers must be my Longxi; If there is no large number of Qin soldiers stationed in Tianshui County, then this Qin army in Nan'an should simply be to strengthen the defense of Nan'an and Tianshui, and Pu Mao should still fight Wei. ”

Guo Daoqing stretched out his thumb, praised Yang Chao, and said: "Yang Jun's analysis can be described as incisive and reasonable!" ”

Xin Er asked Tang Ai and Yang Hezhi, and said, "Qianli, Bozhu, what do you two think?" ”

Yang Heyi said in an official dialect mixed with a thick accent from Shudi: "Zhang and Yang Erjun are very true, and He Zhi has no dissent. ”

Tang Ai didn't answer, but asked Xin Er, saying, "What does Ming Gong think?" ”

While waiting for Tang Ai and the others to come, Xin Er had already stabilized his emotions, roughly cleared his mind, and thought of a countermeasure.

The military situation is urgent, and since Tang Ai asked, he didn't hide it.

Xin Er replied: "Chang Ling is right, there is too little information now, and it is not enough to determine Pu Qin's true intentions, but no matter what his true intentions are, Longxi County is the key to my Dingxi River, and there is absolutely no room for error!"

"I intend to first order Koji Zhang, and order him to send troops to aid Mingzong; Then select the elite infantry riders of the royal city, choose the generals to lead, and also go to the aid! ”

The west of Longxi County is the southeast counties of Longzhou in the river (Yellow River), the north and east are divided into Nan'an and Tianshui counties of Puqin, the southeast is Wudu County,—— the north of Wudu County is Tianshui County, and the south of Wudu County is Yinping County.

In other words, for example, if Wudu, Yinping and Hanzhong County and Zitong Half County in the east of Wudu and Yinping are compared to a string of gourds, Longxi County is the vine on the mouth of this gourd, and it is the only passage between this gourd and the "mother tree" of Longzhou.

If this county is captured by Pu Qin, Wudu and other three counties will be cut off from Longzhou, and fall into the north of Tianshui, Fufeng and other counties, the northwest of Longxi and Nan'an counties, and the north of Qin, and there is no reinforcement outside, so they can only rely on themselves to resist the isolation and helplessness of Pu Qin's siege.

A few days ago, when Pu Mao appeared in the eastern part of Qin, claiming to be going to conquer Wei in person, Tang Ai was very excited.

Now, he is the same as Xin Er, his expression is also solemn, and the feather fan in his hand has forgotten to sway.

He said: "If Longxi is lost, Wudu and other places will be lonely. This county must not be lost, whether Pu Qin really wants to fight, or just to increase the number of troops to garrison, it is to seize the seven inches of my Dingxi, we can only temporarily put down the strategy planning of Shuofang or Nan'an and Tianshui, and we need to keep Longxi as the focus of the moment! Troops must be selected immediately to help. Ai and Ming Gong have the same opinion! ”

Guo Daoqing patted his leg and said: "This is called 'rather killing mistakes',...... No, this is called 'rather aid is wrong, not missed', the general is clever! Daoqing expressed his deep admiration! After a pause, the word "reasonable" could not be cut off, as if there was a fish in the throat, and I couldn't help but add another sentence "It's so reasonable!" After saying that, he realized that his thoughts were clear, and he got up.

Xin Er asked, "Why did Sima go?" ”

Guo Daoqing said: "Without further ado, Daoqing will go back to the governor's mansion and draft an order for Fenwu!" ”

General Fenwu is the current military position of Koji Zhang.

Xin Er said in his heart: "I don't realize that this Guo Sima is still a vigorous and resolute acute son." He said, "Okay, you go!" ”

Guo Daoqing saluted, withdrew from the hall, and arrived outside the general's mansion, from among the servants waiting outside the mansion, selected one person, and ordered to report the military report of Koji Qiu and Xin Er's countermeasures and arrangements, and immediately report to Koji Shuang to know, and then, take the car to write a letter to the governor's mansion.

Xin Er and the others continued to discuss in the hall.

Yang Chao said: "Just as Ming Gong Gao saw, Longxi must not be lost, it must be helped!" However, compared to the time of the war, the troops that can be mobilized in the royal city today are really stretched. Dare to ask Ming Gong, who wants to send Wangcheng to aid Longxi? How do you plan to use soldiers? ”

When Koji Shuang fought Ranxing before, there were still a lot of mobile field forces that could be used in Dingxi, but now, Dingxi has successively expanded its territory, and successively added four counties of Longxi, Wudu, Yinping, Hanzhong and Zitong half counties, these four and a half counties all need to be garrisoned, and therefore the four and a half counties in the territory of Duorong people, people, and wingmen need to be used to suppress the soldiers and horses, so the mobile forces available in Dingxi are indeed as Yang Chao said, compared with before, a lot less.

Otherwise, when he planned to fight Shuofang or Nan'an and Tianshui, he would not have had to transfer the garrison of the Western Regions to be used as the main force.

The Tang and Hu Bu cavalry in Dingxi now have a total of 80,000 or 90,000, which is the number of soldiers obtained after expansion. According to the total number of people in Longdi, these 80,000 or 90,000 soldiers and horses are basically the upper limit of the number of soldiers that can be raised in Dingxi without losing vitality.

Of these tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, nearly 20,000 were stationed in the eight southeastern counties, 10,000 were stationed in the three counties of Qinzhou, and less than 10,000 were stationed in Hanzhong County and Zitong Half County.

In addition, there are more than 20,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the Western Regions and the West Sea.

The present garrison of the royal capital is 24,500 men.

It is mainly Xin Er, Cao Fei, and Lu Shuang, with a total of 18,000 people.

Because after conquering Hanzhong and Zitong, Xin Er left a considerable number of troops to defend the local area, and his current troops in Wangcheng are the least of the three, only 5,000. The number of troops in Cao Fei's department and the Koji Shuang department is basically similar, with Cao Fei's department having 6,000 and the Koji Shuang department having 7,000.

Get rid of the troops of the three of him, Chen Sun is Lang Zhongling, Lang Zhongling's many positions are in charge, there are guards and guards, and there are also some soldiers and horses under him, but not much, Lang Guan, Miyagi Janissary or something, thousands of people.

Yang Fu's assassination division, although the rank is not high, the power is equal to that of the lieutenant of the division, responsible for the security of the capital, and his subordinates also have some soldiers and horses, such as Ti cavalry, but the number is less, Ti cavalry is two hundred, and the armor is five hundred, which is not as good as Chen Sun, not even a thousand people.

In addition, it is the soldiers of the city gates, the east and west garden cities are not counted, the north city, the middle city, the south city of the three cities, a total of 3,000 soldiers, these 3,000 soldiers are all infantry, belonging to the governor's direct management belt.

Xin Er said: "The eight counties in the southeast, such as Huanghe, Caohan, Linqiang and other counties, are all important places, and they must be stationed without heavy troops, and it is estimated that the soldiers and horses that Kojizhang can send are at most 5,000. The garrison of Longxi County has 4,000 foot cavalry, plus 5,000 reinforcements from Lizhang, with the help of the city wall, it is roughly enough to resist the 20,000 Qin soldiers who infiltrated Nan'an, but if Pu Qin really plots against my Longxi County, then its Tianshui County must have been heavily stationed at this time. The five thousand reinforcements from the Ming Sect and the southeast are not enough to guard Longxi County.

"If you want to ensure that Longxi is not lost, you must at least send another 10,000 people from Wangcheng to help. Of these 10,000 people, I plan to use Lao Cao's headquarters as the mainstay, and if there are not enough of them, I will make up for them with Lieutenant Koji and Chen Sun. ”

The eight counties in the southeast of Longzhou are not far from Longxi, Wudu and Yinping, and this area is the place where the Rong people live as early as the Qin Dynasty in the previous dynasty. The counties of Huanghe, Caohan, and Linqiang are all full of Rong people in their territory, and these places all occupy the main roads, and they cannot be garrisoned without soldiers for a day. Therefore, the soldiers and horses that can be transferred to help Longxi County are at most four or five thousand people.

But it was said, don't there still be soldiers and horses stationed in Wudu and Yinping? Why don't you transfer the soldiers and horses of these two counties to Longxi for reinforcements?

First, Wudu is adjacent to Tianshui County in the north, if Pu Qin really wants to fight Longxi, he will definitely not turn a blind eye to Wudu County, and will definitely send a division to attack Wudu to cut off the right flank of Longxi; Second, the two counties of Wudu and Yinping are also newly acquired lands, and there are quite a lot of people who are not attached, and the county must not have enough soldiers and horses to suppress it, otherwise, once the strong tycoons in the county take advantage of the gap to cause chaos, the consequences will be unimaginable.

The two reasons are combined, and the garrisons of these two counties are immovable, so it is good to hope that the two counties can hold the territory.

Yang Chao sighed and said: "I am still poor in the west of the people!" In case of emergency, the soldiers and horses will not be enough! ”

There are few poor people in Dingxi, and with the expansion of the territory, the problem of insufficient soldiers and horses began to appear.

On the other hand, Pu Qin, Pu Qin, not only the original national strength, the people's strength is far better than Dingxi, the standing army and horses are more than Dingxi, Pu Mao in the past two years, through his "magnanimity", and successively received Yao Tao, Zhao Xing two departments for use, a total of people, herdsmen tens of thousands of households, accounts, more than 20,000 people, but compared with before, further enriched Pu Qin's war force.

Although in the battle between Longxi and Ranxing, it seems that Pu Qin is down, but that is because Pu Qin did not regard Dingxi as a big enemy, and the focus of Pu Mao and Meng Lang's attention is always in Wei, and now, when Pu Mao and Meng Lang finally shift their attention to Dingxi, the pressure faced by Dingxi is inevitable, and it is as heavy as Mount Tai immediately.

Regarding the essential weakness of Dingxi's "few people and poor country", Xin Er is very clear.

That's why he has been actively attacking foreign countries before, and his intention is actually to "replace defense with offense".

Now, judging from the situation facing Longxi, the attack probably cannot be attacked, so it can only retreat and seek defense.

Xin Er looked at the courtyard outside the hall, the sun was shining, the flowers and plants were growing, full of spring light, he thought in his heart: "My national strength in Dingxi is far less than Pu Qin, Pu Qin is really going to attack Longxi County, Longxi, can I hold it?" ”

The plan was roughly decided, Xin Er entered the palace, and asked the Zuo family to convene a temporary court meeting to deploy the matter of aiding Longxi.

Zuo's heard that Longxi was in danger, and his face was discolored.

She has been listening to politics for more than two years, not as ignorant of military politics as she was earlier, she knows a thing or two about the importance of Longxi, and under the nervousness, the "general" forgot to shout, as in the past in Zhuye Ze, when she pinned the safety of herself and Ling Hule and Ling Huwan on Xin Er, she blurted out the small characters and said: "Agua! Does Qin Yu want to fight Longxi? What can I do? ”

No matter how bottomless Xin Er is, he can't show it in front of Zuo.

He was handsome, his eyes were calm, he comforted Zuo, and said, "Don't be afraid, Queen Mother! At present, it is impossible to determine whether Pu Qin wants to beat me in Longxi. Even if Pu Qin really wants to fight, Mingzong has both civil and military qualifications, and I am talented in Dingxi, sneaking across Weishui and capturing Qin soldiers and prisoners, which shows his courage; Investigate and smell the enemy's situation, send four in a row, all kinds of arrangements, very appropriate, it can be seen that its ability to adapt, has its town to defend Longxi, in the short term, it is the Qin soldiers to launch an offensive, Longxi will also be safe; And by half a month at the latest, the reinforcements from the eight counties in the southeast of me and Wangcheng will be able to arrive in Longxi successively, with more than 10,000 cavalry reinforcements, Pu Qin will send 100,000 troops, and I can defend Longxi! ”

Zuo was still not at ease, his beautiful eyes were worried, he asked Xin'er, and said: "Pu Qin's soldiers are strong and strong, if the country invades my Longxi, with only more than 10,000 reinforcements, I am afraid that I will not be able to cover it." Agua, if you can't hold it? ”

Zuo is quite smart, and he saw at a glance the crux of whether Longxi could hold on, that is, the disparity in the number of troops available to the enemy and us.

Xin Er was silent for a moment, did not have time to say big words, faced Zuo's worries, and said angrily: "Zhang Shao has led more than 10,000 soldiers from the Western Regions to the east, if Pu Qin invades my Longxi, if Longxi can't hold it, wait for Zhang Shao's soldiers to arrive, and all the soldiers and horses of the royal city and various counties will be combined into one, and the ministers will lead it, and then fight it back for the queen mother!" ”

The meaning of Xin Er's words is clearly that Xin Er does not have sufficient confidence in whether he can hold Longxi, but he dares to say "not enough confidence", which just shows that Xin Er is not fooling Zuo, Zuo's trust is precisely because Xin Er will never lie to her, so after listening to Xin Er's words "not enough confidence", Zuo's worries were suddenly dispelled.

Thinking of the death of Linghu Feng, in the past three years, it was all dependent on Xin Er, so that Hu Le's throne was stable, and Dingxi continued to expand outward, and the country's prestige was rising, Zuo's heart at this time was half grateful for Xin Er's hard work and loyalty in the past, and half because of Xin Er's sudden joy caused by the sentence "Fight it back for the Queen Mother".

She said to herself, "Do you want to call back for me?" Why didn't Agua say that he was the king, and not that he was Dingxi? Why do you say it's for me? Agua fought for me in the north and south, but I could only give him a small county in Jiankang as a food town, I really can't stand his heart and credit with me! Thinking wildly, he asked, "Ah Gua, the day before yesterday, someone appointed you to the post of the three government affairs, why did you still resign?" ”

Xin Er was dumbfounded, and couldn't understand how the Zuo family could think of this stubble from the crisis in Longxi, and patiently replied: "Queen Mother, the record of the three affairs is the head of the courtiers, with the name of the minister, the reputation, the reputation, and the qualifications, where is it enough for this position?" Those who have repeatedly recommended ministers for this position are either ill-intentioned people or villains who pat on the back, and the Queen Mother should severely reprimand them! ”

Zuo said obediently: "Okay. ”

In the afternoon, Chen Sun, Lu Shuang, Sun Yan, Cao Fei, Zhang Hun and others were summoned to the court.

Shi Zhang, the right chief of the governor's office, Shi Tangai, the left chief, Guo Daoqing, Yang Chao, Huang Rong, Fu Qiao, Yang Fu and others also participated.

Xin Er told them about the military situation in Longxi, and Fang Chen said his countermeasures, and an urgent report was sent in from outside the palace.

The emergency report was written by Kojiqiu.

Xin Er opened it to watch.

Koji Qiu said in the emergency report: The scouts sent to Tianshui County have been found out, and Meng Lang personally led more than 30,000 troops to enter Tianshui County.

At this point, the hostile situation in Longxi became clear.

There is no second possibility, it can only be that Pu Qin wants to invade Longxi on a large scale.

Chen Sun, Lu Shuang, Sun Yan, Cao Fei, Zhang Hun and others were all shocked.

The situation has been ascertained, and Xin Er is no longer bottomless, but down-to-earth.

He said loudly: "The minister dares to ask the queen mother and the king to immediately send a decree, ordering Lu Zhang to rush to the aid of Longxi, annoying Cao to lead the army to command the Wangcheng garrison of 10,000 people, and also go south to support on the same day!" He ordered Zhang Shao again for a period of twenty days, and he must arrive at Guyin as a backup. ”

Zuo's cherry lips opened lightly and said, "Quasi-play!" ”

In the panic of Chen Sun and other ministers in the hall, Xin Er and Zuo's ministers, one calmly and the other unhurried, stood out from the crowd.

……

The news that Pu Qin was going to attack Longxi spread and soon spread throughout the circle of magnates and scholars in the royal city.

When Pan Kuan, who was "recuperating at home", heard the news, he was writing a letter to Song Hong, who was "returning to his hometown".

He stopped the pen in his hand, raised his face and didn't know what to think about for a while, and ordered the big slave outside the house: "Go and invite Song Xian to me!" ”

Linghu Qu heard the news when he was eating grapes.

Grapes are Linghujing's favorite, and Linghuqu weeps and grieves while eating.

After hearing the news of the little slave, he stayed for a while, wiped away his tears, and ordered: "Fatal Che, I want to go to see the father!" ”

The news also reached Qu Yuanguang's home.

And Qu Yuanguang's eyes lit up, and he rushed to his father's house, but he didn't have time to knock on the door, and ran straight in.

Ba Ruoneng hurriedly pushed away the Xianbei little maid in his arms and scolded: "Son of a bitch! Do? ”

Yuan Guang didn't see the little maid's clothes in disarray, and he didn't pay attention to the two pieces of white flesh that flashed, and said eagerly: "Father! Qin Yu sent tens of thousands of troops to attack Longxi! Guyin is now short of soldiers and horses, so he can only send 10,000 people to help, which is obviously not enough! My family has received the grace of the conscription general, the so-called raising soldiers for a thousand days and using soldiers for a while, father, it is time for my father and son to contribute to the conquest! ”

Ba Ruo Neng said: "Qin Yu wants to fight Longxi? He said angrily, "Your Lao Tzu is now living in Guyin, and there are no soldiers under him, even if Guyin does not have enough troops to aid Longxi, how can I contribute to the conquest?" ”

"Although my father's subordinates have no soldiers, the tens of thousands of people of Lu Shuihu are on both sides of Jiankang County and Lu Shui! Father can ask to see the captives, and he volunteered to recruit the warriors of my Lu Shuihu for the conquest, and with the prestige of my father in my Lu Shuihu, he can also recruit four or five thousand horsemen for the conscription. With the previous four or five thousand horsemen, father, won't my father and son be able to contribute to the conquest? ”

"This ......"

"Father, don't you usually have hot eyes for Cao Fei and the bald Boye generations in the royal city? How can they show off their might? That Cao Fei is five short figures, greedy for money and profit, and just a mediocre child, why dare he be rude to his father? Bald and wild, why do you dare to ......, cough cough, in short, isn't it because my father has no soldiers in his hands now? Father, if you can seize this opportunity, this is the perfect time for you to regain your prestige! ”

After all, Ba Ruoneng has been a chief for most of his life, and it is still difficult to give up the scenery of the past.

He hesitated and said, "But will the conquest let me go to Jiankang County and Lushui to recruit troops?" ”

And Qu Yuanguang spat and said: "Longxi is related to the safety of Wudu, Yinping, Hanzhong, Zitong and other places, and the position is really critical, and the capture will definitely not allow it to be lost, and he is now short of troops to use, how can he refuse his father!" ”

Ba Ruoneng said: "If you say that, I really have a chance to take charge of the army again?" ”

And Qu Yuanguang stomped his feet, waved his hands exaggeratedly, and tried his best to encourage his father, saying: "Father, what a chance!" It's a big opportunity! Father, don't miss the opportunity! Now hurry up and ask for the captive! ”

Ba Ruo was moved by what he said, and after cleaning up a little, he went out to the general's mansion and asked to see Xin Er.

But as Yuanguang expected, after a short period of consideration, Xin Er agreed to Ba Ruoneng's "please Ying".

Ba Ruo can and his brother Lu Zhu, his sons Pingluo, Yuan Guang, and Nan Cheng, that is, Cheng Zhou, the son of Lu Zhu, the whole family set out, left the city that night, galloped to Jiankang County and both sides of Lu Shui, and when they arrived at the land boundary, they went to various departments separately to gather Lu Shuihu's strong men.

In two days' work, more than 4,000 light horses were counted.

If you can take it, return to Guyin.

Cao Fei had led his troops and horses south the day before yesterday, and just this morning, another urgent military report from Koji Qiu arrived, and the Qin soldiers of Tianshui County divided their troops into two routes, and the division was led by Ran Seng Nu to attack Wudu County in the south; The main force was personally commanded by Meng Lang, and he had already launched a tentative attack on Longxi. Xin Er did not waste time, and transferred Lan Bao's palm to join forces with Ba Ruo Neng, and immediately ordered Ba Ruo Neng and Lan Bao to chase Cao Fei.

……

On the north bank of Weishui, the reinforcements sent by Lizhang crossed the Yellow River and marched to the junction of Wushi County and Nan'an County, where they encountered a Qin army.