It was the eighth day and night of the winter month of the fifth and eighth year of the Zhou calendar when Lihua and his entourage arrived at Yuxiao Pass, and there was still one day left before the deadline.

After contacting the defenders of Yuxiao Pass and checking the deer runes and related documents, the defenders of Yuxiao Pass opened the gate and let a group of 100 people enter the city.

As soon as Lihua and the others entered the city, they were shocked by the spectacular scenery in front of them, where is this city, it is clearly a barrier carved out on the top of the mountain.

Although the road to enter the pass from the east side is rugged and steep, compared with the road out of the pass in front of him, it can be called a smooth road, no wonder Rong Di has never broken through the seven passes of Sumeru in more than 500 years.

In fact, Yuxiao Pass is not a pass, but is composed of five passes, which respectively guard the four passages from outside the pass to the inside of the pass, and the four passages converge from west to east in front of the main pass of Yuxiao Pass and become a road.

Moreover, these five gates are scattered and concave, and the last is the main city of Yuxiao.

There is a pass on the northwest side of the main city, and there are three small pass cities on the southwest side, which stand on four relatively flat plateaus on the top of Yuxiao Mountain.

In addition to the main pass, the other four passes are connected with the main pass, and these four roads converge in front of the main pass of Yuxiao, so it can be said that each small pass is the gateway of the main pass.

When Lihua came, it was sunset, standing on the main gate and looking west, the Sumeru Mountains were stacked with peaks and peaks, the forest and the snow fields, and the eyes were even more smoky.

The road of Xiaguan has been submerged in the clouds and mist all the way to the west, and the places that can be seen on the left and right are covered by clouds and smoke, leaving only countless mountains exposed on the clouds and mist, dotted with stars, from near to far, from large to small.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the scenery in front of me golden, and the clouds pierced through a few rays of light.

Yuxiao Pass, which together with the other six passes, defended the golden ou of Shenzhou, shining brightly under the golden light.

It seems that Yang He once said that Yuxiao Pass was only two thousand troops guarding the pass, but it was a fact, because there was no room for more soldiers here.

It can be seen that some of these guards usually live in the tunnels dug under the gates, and even the gates to the other four passes are from the surface down the mountain, standing at the gates, you can see that the passage was originally a naturally formed karst cave, but the ground of this karst cave has been carved into wide stone steps for hundreds of years.

A large area of the castle is occupied by a two-story castle tower, on which you can see dense archers shooting holes, and on the top of the castle tower stands a huge black Xuanwu battle flag, hunting and fluttering in the cold wind on the top of the mountain.

Zhu Lihua carefully observed and found that the second floor of this city tower was indeed the highest place within a radius of hundreds of miles.

"Da Da Da"

At this moment, Zhu Lihua heard a sound of footsteps in the distance.

Looking for prestige, he saw the three of them walking towards him.

The leader was dressed in armor but not a helmet, and his hair was not tied up but draped over his shoulders, and his face was as pale as copper, and his body was burly, and he looked like he had not been groomed for a long time.

In fact, when he came to Yuxiao Pass just now, he found that the soldiers guarding the pass were in tatters and dirty from their clothes to their faces, and some of them were even more skinny, but what they couldn't hide in their eyes was fierce, indifferent, numb and tired, and it would be even more so when they looked at it again.

The coming general also saw the standing Zhu Lihua, and saw that his face was like jade, standing like a pine, wearing a black coat, and he was looking at himself like a torch.

He didn't care at first when he heard the guards report that a team of 100 people had come, but the guards said that it was a doctor, which surprised him.

As the lord of Yuxiao Pass, he has thousands of people, and he has fought out by killing Rong Di's military exploits in the past ten years, and as an ordinary person, he has also won the highest rank among the four lords of Gongshi, Shangzao, Hairpin and Civilian, and he has been canonized by the monarch for two or five hundred lords, and has been stationed to guard Yuxiao Pass for a long time.

Seeing Zhu Lihua, he was surprised that this aristocratic child had a trace of temperament that was impressive, but he still looked down on Zhu Lihua from the bottom of his heart.

In his opinion, this kind of young aristocratic child is nothing more than staying in the city until Rong Di invaded the pass and going back to be an official, life and death can not be shared, and he has to eat and drink well, so he has no good impression of Lihua, but he is a little surprised why Lihua is only a hundred generals.

Now he didn't have time to think about it, he arched his hand towards Lihua and said with a grin:

"This must be the Doctor Li, the guard general in Xia Yuxiao, not more, the two or five hundred Lord Han Yun, who has seen the Doctor Li, and please forgive him for being in the lower armor and not being able to salute."

Lu Lihua smiled slightly, he couldn't hear the contempt in Han Yun's words, and he understood the disdain in the heart of this commoner nobleman, after all, this Han Qianjiang was the same as other local military and martial artists, and there were few people who could afford these hereditary nobles from their hearts.

The etiquette on weekdays is nothing more than a rule of etiquette left over hundreds of years, and smart people will not take such false etiquette seriously.

Zhu Lihua fell to the ground with a deep swipe at Han Yun, and said: "Han Qianjiang is very polite, this time in Yuxiao Pass, I am a hundred generals, under the control of Han Qianjiang, and I will also arrange a station." ”

Han Yun was a little surprised when he heard this, this doctor had a very low attitude, there were not many noble children who came to Yuxiao Pass in the past, but it was not nothing, most of them were five hundred masters, although they would not interfere in their own military affairs after coming to Yuxiao Pass, they were all arrogant and rude, they only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, and even more importantly, they brought the concubine in the family, the musician of the pianist, which made him very annoying.

But what he said and did made him have a good impression of this noble child for the first time.

Han Yun said: "That's it, then I will invite General Lili into the building to talk in detail." With that, he turned and walked in the direction of the tower.

Seeing that this thousand generals spoke crisply and acted neatly, he was a general who had been in a hundred battles, and seeing Han Yun reminded him of Yang He.

It seems that intersecting with people in the military is indeed simpler and more straightforward than the civilian elite, and there is no need to use your brain to think about so many twists and turns.

Yu Lihua thought as he followed Han Yun into the Guan Lou.

A separate room was carved out on the east side of the first floor of the Guan Building, which was the place where the main general would go on business on weekdays, and it was also the meeting hall where the Guan army wanted to discuss major matters.

The area here is not large, that is, it does not affect the military use of the city tower, and it can also be located in the center to observe the overall situation and command the whole army.

After the two entered the house, Han Yun sat on the ground, and Lihua stood still, and Han Yun sat down when he saw it.

When the rest of the soldiers saw that they were seated, they were left standing at the door, and the other soldiers went out to their own business.

Han Yun said to Lihua: "Baili Baijiang, it's getting late today, I will arrange for Baijiang and others to rest first, and tomorrow I will order someone to arrange for Baili Baijiang to guard the main pass."

According to the law of the past, Rong Di is very likely to knock on the pass in a year, but the terrain of my Yuxiao Pass is dangerous, and there are four passes in front of the wooden hedgehog, the golden bull, the earth bat, and the water carp from north to south in front of the Yuxiao Pass, and they are horns of each other.

Hundreds of generals should be no obstacle to live in Yuxiao Pass, in the past five hundred years, only Muqi Pass has been broken several times because of the slightly flat terrain outside the pass, and the remaining three passes are rarely broken, and Yuxiao Pass has never been lost.

The hundred generals in the column can rest assured, after repelling this Rong Di knock, I will give some of the Rong Di heads killed to the hundred generals. ”

Lihua smiled at Han Yun and said, "I have thanked the Qianjiang first, there is a request in the Qianli, I don't know if the Qianjiang can agree." ”

Han Yun felt a little stunned when he heard this, thinking to himself that I have said it so clearly, what else does this Lihua have to ask for, although he is a nobleman, he can't be too presumptuous.

Lu Lihua seemed to see Han Yun's thoughts, stood up and said with a straight face:

"Thousands of generals, according to the weekly routine, the nobles must be on the front line in person, and they will be killed if they are afraid of the enemy.

According to the law of my Qin State, the same is true, I implore Lord Qianjiang to send me to guard the first four passes.

My father was killed in battle under Xiaoguan City 19 years ago, and I vowed to avenge my father.

Thousands of generals, if the pass is broken, the blood will be dry, and if the city is dead, the blood of the nobles will be sprinkled on the Guanshan after all. ”

After saying his thoughts in one breath, Zhu Lihua looked at Han Yun fixedly.

After Han Yun heard what Lihua said, he didn't believe his ears, there were still nobles who were not afraid of death in these years, it was really unheard of, so he was surprised and subconsciously said: "Where do you say to guard?" ”

Originally, he just wanted to verify what he had just said with Zhu Lihua.

But after hearing this, Zhu Lihua said sonorously: "Mu Qi Pass! ”

Gao Yunce, Wei Yuanqi, Liang Qingshu and their soldiers gathered under the gate, and after eating together, they stood together on the edge of the city and looked at the mountains in front of them.

Liang Qingshu said to the two beside him: "I don't know where we will be arranged to guard the pass, look at this terrain, Rong Di can't do it if he wants to break through this pass without 10,000 people, this pass is a master, and 10,000 people can't open it, I watched it for a long time, and I didn't find the weakness of the gate, and it will be okay to stay here." ”

Gao Yunce also nodded slightly, pointed to the four passes in the distance and said:

"Where can Rong Di come here.

The focus of the first four levels of contention, Yuxiao Pass has never been breached, but also because of the protection of the first four levels, the road before the four levels is narrow, no matter how many Rong Di people are, they can only spread out more than a dozen people at the same time, and the combat surface is narrow, so it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Even if one level is broken, the number of enemies who come to the Yuxiao main pass will not be too many, so there is no need to be afraid.

But if the first four passes are broken, although the terrain of Yuxiao Pass is more precipitous, the terrain under the pass is much wider than the first four passes, the battle area of Rong Di will be wider, and the places guarded by our army will also increase.

The city is small, and the number of defenders will not exceed 2,000, if Rong Di is not afraid of death and injury, he will attack the city..."

Saying this, Gao Yunce stopped talking.

Of course, Liang Wei and the others understood what Gao Yunce thought, if the Yuxiao Pass was broken, Rong Di would invade from the south of Qin for the first time, and Xiao Guan's back would be exposed in front of Rong Di.

Moreover, the rear army is empty, and Rong Di has no worries about plundering the population and money, so there is no need to be afraid of the Xiaoguan defenders intercepting and killing, just withdraw from Yuxiao Pass.

To say that after Rong Di occupies Yuxiao Pass, there will be a stronghold that can be attacked and defended, and then the world's resistance to Rong will not be once in ten years.

Thinking about the worst, Yao Jun's previous Shenzhou catastrophe may recur.

Of course, Yuxiao Pass has never been breached for five hundred years, and they are very sure in their hearts that it will not be in the future.

While he was talking, he saw Zhu Lihua come over and said to the three of them who were stunned after listening: "Let's go, go to Muqi Pass." ”

Lihua and the others arrived at Yuxiao Pass before sunset, and were delayed in the city for less than an hour.

It is not far from Yuxiao Pass to Muqi Pass, but it also walked for half an hour, mainly because although the eye distance is close, it takes some hours to walk down the mountain and then up the mountain.

When you arrive at the Wooden Hedgehog Pass, you can see that the sun has completely set, leaving only a little afterglow, and the sky looks a little overcast.

After arriving at the Qimu Pass, Han Yun's herald soldiers called the soldiers guarding the city to open the gate, and everyone immediately walked in.

As soon as they entered the wooden hedgehog pass, everyone covered their noses, and even almost vomited.

The Muqi Pass is more than four times smaller than the Yuxiao Pass, and the style is completely a miniature version of the Yuxiao Pass.

The west-facing Guancheng is five zhang high, no more than ten zhang wide, and there is a two-story wooden gate tower above the gate.

The distance between the north and south of the pass is slightly wider, the depth is about 20 zhang, the north and south sides are the abyss, the north side leans on the cliff side and builds several stone houses, it can be seen that half of them are inhabitants, and half of them are used to reserve weapons, grain and grass.

The sewage on the ground in the gate flows sideways, and the smell is so strong that people dare not look or smell, and everyone can only stand on their feet during the march.

The herald did not dare to go any further, but stood at the door and shouted, "Where is the guard of the wooden hedgehog?" Hurry up and listen to orders. ”

After saying that, he quickly covered his mouth and nose.

At the sound of an order, more than 20 people came out of the house in the gate, these people were in rags, with yellow faces and thin muscles, even worse than the defenders of Yuxiao Pass, and they also emitted a foul smell.

After a while, one of them stepped forward and said to the herald:

"Lao Tzu is sleeping, what are you arguing about, and then I want to make noise Lao Tzu will throw you down the mountain to be the companion of the Rong people."

After that, everyone in the gate laughed.

The herald was humiliated, but he was not annoyed, but said loudly again:

"An Xu's hundred generals will listen to the order, Han Qian will have an order, and order you to quickly return to the soldiers of Muqi Pass to defend Yuxiao Pass, and the defense of this place will be handed over to the hundred generals of Yulihua.

There must be no mistake in the speed of execution after the order. ”

After saying that, he looked at the man, there was a trace of guilt in his eyes, and he lowered his head and whispered to the hundred generals named An Xuzhi:

"Lord Baijiang, you can go home."

"Home?

Where is home?

My brothers are here, and this is home.

Wang Min, you go back, tell the thousand generals, just say that the wooden deer army of 100 people, in the Zhou calendar 584 to change the defense to this point, four years of experience 18 times of war, won the Xirong head 613, kill the cliff can not get the head of countless people, the whole army of the Mu Hedgehog army 108 people in the Zhou calendar 588 month of the eighth month of the whole army died. ”

With that, he walked back slowly, and the soldiers with him followed him into the house.

When the herald soldier of Wang Min saw An Xuzhi and the others entering, he shouted with a crying voice: "General An Bai, it's not that the thousand generals don't send reinforcements, but that they really have a last resort."

An Baijiang, I know that you are reluctant to die brothers, but you have thought that there are still living brothers, you don't think about yourself, but also think about your brothers. ”

After all, I actually started crying.

"Wang Min, go, I don't blame you, you know, how can we leave the Wooden Snake Pass, it is better to die in their hands than to die with our brothers."

After finishing speaking, no matter how Wang Min cried and shouted, there was not a single word coming from the house in the gate.

Gao Yunce, Liang Qingshu, Wei Yuanqi and others were a little confused when they saw this scene.

Although the dead in this battle are cruel, but it is also an inevitable thing, the people who are on the border of the soldiers have long been conscious, what is wrong with the defenders of this wooden hedgehog pass, it looks like walking corpses, but they have a true friendship with their comrades who guard the pass, and it is also touching to hear.

The scene at this moment is in line with Daqin's military song "No Clothes": "How can it be said that there are no clothes? with the Son. ”

After watching this conversation, Zhu Lihua, who was in deep thought, stepped forward at this time, and he took Wang Min up and said to him:

"This soldier, if you go back and resume your life, just say that I have handled the handover with General An Bai, and this will be stationed at the Wooden Hedgehog Pass, General An Bai is there, let me enlighten him again."

Wang Min looked at Zhu Lihua gratefully, knelt down on one knee and arched his hand:

"Thank you Bai Li, An Bai Jiang and his brothers have suffered so much, and they have taken care of Bai Li, and Wang Min has kowtowed to you."

After that, he knocked his head three times.

Seeing that Wang Min was about to kowtow to himself, Zhu Lihua took a step sideways and gave up Wang Min's front to Mu Qi Guannei.

Wang Min kowtowed, and hurried back to Yuxiao Pass to resume his life.

At this time, the sky was completely dark, and Zhu Lihua lowered his head and muttered for a moment, and said to Liu He:

"I won't enter the customs tonight, just rest outside the customs.

You ordered someone to make a fire and make some rice soup and liquid food before the pass, and add some minced meat. ”

Liu He looked at the Lulihua, and then at the dark Guannei, and said loudly: "Oh! ”