Cai Yan's wedding is scheduled for the ninth day of October.

On the third day of October, everything is suitable and there are no taboos.

Offering the emperor to burn incense and bathe, leading the ministers to worship the emperor in the Taimiao, worship the emperors of the past dynasties, pray for the blessing of the gods, and the army went out smoothly to exterminate the thieves.

Lu Bu, the general of the chariot cavalry, held the Yue Jia Festival, received the sword of the Son of Heaven, commanded 100,000 elite soldiers, and immediately set out to defeat the traitor Dong Zhuo. Before leaving, Lu Xiaoshu appointed Xu Huang as the captain of the Tun cavalry, Gao Shun as the captain of the infantry, Wei Xu as the captain of the Yue cavalry, Hou as the captain of the shooting sound, and Zang Ba as the captain of Changshui, each performing its own duties. Sima Lang and Yang Xiu were counselors of the army and went out with the army.

The generals made a blood alliance, drank the Zhuangxing wine, and marched towards Hangu Pass in the majestic horn sound.

Lu Xiaoshu walked out of Luoyang City, looked back at the tall and majestic Luoyang City Tower, and saw that the city tower was crowded, his father-in-law Ding Yuan, father-in-law Yan Song, and his wife Yan Xiuli and others stood against the wall, watching the army go away.

Yan Xiuli's eyes were red, and when she saw her husband looking back, she hurriedly waved her hand, and her heart was even more detached. There have never been more soldiers, the grass is miserable everywhere, these 100,000 men are hot-blooded, how many people will stain the loess with blood, and how many relatives will be heartbroken? Lu Xiaoshu couldn't bear to look at it anymore, and turned to leave.

Hangu Pass guards the throat of Cuihan, Hengling in the west, Jiejian in the east, Qinling in the south, the Yellow River in the north, the terrain is dangerous, the road is narrow, known as "the car is not on the track, the horse is not the same as the bridle". Easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is a place where ancient soldiers and armor must fight.

The army went all the way to the west, and finally arrived at Hangu Pass two days later, and the army marched westward, and garrisoned five miles from Hangu Pass to rest. Lu Xiaoshu led his subordinates to rush to the Hangu Pass, and saw that the pass was steep and tall, built by the mountain, the city gate was built in the cracks of the mountain wall, and the mountain stretched for thousands of miles, and it was absolutely impossible to bypass. The mountains in the north are frequently close to the Yellow River, which is high and steep, and it is undoubtedly a Jedi. There is more Hongnong River as a moat in front of the pass, and the cliff is dangerous, and it is difficult to overcome!

Lu Xiaoshu couldn't help but admire: "Such a dangerous pass, it is really a masterpiece of heaven and earth." Sure enough, it is a place where a husband and a wife are closed, and ten thousand people are not open. ”

Behind him, Sima Lang nodded and said: "What the general said is very true, Dong Zhuo only needs to send five thousand elite soldiers in this Hangu Pass, and our army is really difficult to break!" ”

Yang Xiu stopped and said in high spirits: "Boda's words are very wrong, since ancient times, there are only people's hearts that cannot be penetrated, how can there be a city that cannot be conquered?" No matter how steep the pass of the city is, it needs people to garrison it, and it is impossible to see that the city can last forever. ”

Seeing that Yang Xiu seemed to have a plan, Lu Xiaoshu hurriedly smiled and asked, "Listening to Dezu's words, it seems that he has a clever plan?" ”

Yang Xiu said with a smile: "Don't worry, general, this Hangu guard Wang Fang once served in Luoyang, is the former Gong Cao counselor of his father's account, two years ago Xiliang Han Sui, Bian Zhang rebelled, was transferred to Dong Zhuo's army to serve in the rebellion, only because of his combat bravery, quite used by Dong Zhuo, I am familiar with him, I can persuade him to surrender to the general." ”

Lu Xiaoshu was quite hesitant, although Yang Xiu's proposal was feasible, but Yang Xiu was the son of Sikong Yang Biao, and if there was an accident, it would be difficult for him to explain.

Seeing him hesitate, Yang Xiu understood in his heart, and said with a smile: "General rest assured, I know that Wang Fang has always been loyal, and if I dare to go, I will definitely be sure, even if I don't succeed, I will not be embarrassed by my father's kindness." ”

Lu Xiaoshu saw that he looked firm and full of confidence, so he said: "Then there is Lao Dezu!" Then he turned to Gao Shunyan and said, "Send fifty warriors to escort Dezu to the pass." ”

Yang Xiu hurriedly said: "The general is slow, it is useless to bring more guards, it will make the other party suspicious, I will only bring one person to go immediately." ”

Lu Xiaoshu sighed: "Dezu is not afraid of life and death, and he is very admirable when he goes to the country" and turned his head to ask the people behind him: "Who wants to accompany Dezu to the enemy camp?" ”

Cheng Lian, the commander of the cavalry, rushed out of the queue and said: "The last general is willing to go!" ”

Lu Xiaoshu was overjoyed and awarded Yang Xiu a letter talisman credential to make him go immediately.

Yang Xiu and Cheng Lian drove their horses to Hangu Pass, and suddenly heard a sharp arrow coming through the air, Cheng Lian hurriedly stepped forward to stop it, but saw that the arrow had been exhausted and fell in front of the two horses.

At this time, someone in the Hangu Guancheng Tower shouted: "Someone who comes stops, if you go further, there will be death and no life!" ”

Yang Xiu clasped his fists and shouted: "I am Yang Xiu, a lieutenant in the army, and today I am ordered by Lu Bu, the general of the chariot cavalry, to negotiate the military, and please pass it on." ”

A middle-aged general walked out of the city wall, his face was gloomy, it was the guard general Wang Fang, and he only heard his loud voice: "It turned out to be Dezu, today the two armies are facing each other, you and I will not talk about personal friendship, just don't see it." ”

Yang Xiu said with a smile: "General Wang, I am waiting for me to come here on the orders of the general, only for official negotiations, not for personal friendship." ”

Wang Fang hesitated slightly, then put down the drawbridge, opened the gate, and let the two enter Hangu Pass.

The two entered the pass, looked up, only to see that the pass city was more than ten zhang high, high and dangerous, daunting, thinking that if it was a strong attack on Hangu Pass, but this tall city was strong and insurmountable.

There is only a space of more than a dozen zhang in the strong city of the pass, the houses and halls are built according to the mountain, there are countless caves all over the foot of the mountain, for the soldiers to live, the mountains on both sides are towering like clouds, such as sharp blades are cut into, the gap in the middle only allows three or four people to walk in parallel, look up, the mountains on both sides go straight up to the sky, as if in the abyss of hell! Don't talk about war, even if you look up on foot, you feel terrified.

In Hangu Pass, except for the soldiers on duty on the city wall, the rest were all fragmented, standing or squatting, scattered around the clearing, looking at Yang Xiu and the others who came with their horses, with an indifferent expression.

Wang Fang once worked in front of Yang Xiu's father Yang Biao, and Yang Xiu was familiar with each other, Yang Xiu often pestered him to play when he was young, at this time Wang Fang saw Yang Xiu again, and secretly sighed, the former child, now he is a young man, and he also received the order to negotiate with himself in front of the battle, only sighing that time turns, the years are like songs, the strong man is old, and the hero is young.

Before he could sigh, Yang Xiu had already walked over, clasped his fists and bowed down, "General, I haven't seen you for a long time, are you okay?" ”

Wang Fang was comforted in his heart, although the two sides were hostile, Yang Xiu still remembered the old friendship, and still used the old etiquette, so he smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay, is Lord Weiwei okay?" ”

Yang Xiu bowed down and replied, "My father is fine, General Lao is worried." ”

It turned out that when Wang Fang served under Yang Biao, Yang Biao served as a guard lieutenant, commanding the palace guard forbidden army, and was also responsible for verifying officials.

Wang Fang invited the two to speak in the hall, the hall is narrow, Wang Fang is in the first seat, there are two tables on the left side, the top is a young general, the appearance is strange, rat eyes and monkey gills, two front teeth burst out of the mouth, so that it is still unforgettable. The next is a young scribe, dressed in a green shirt, with a strange expression, and a pair of eyes that shine, as if he can see through people's hearts.

Yang Xiu was in the guest seat on the right, and Cheng Lian stood behind him with a sword.

Wang Fang led everyone to sit down, and then recommended Yang Xiu: "This is General Huang Rong, the deputy general of our army, and this is Jia Xu, the counselor of our army, Mr. Wenhe." ”

After Yang Xiuyi saw the salute one by one, Wang Fang asked, "What is Dezu doing here?" But it doesn't hurt to talk about it. ”

Yang Xiu saw that he did not avoid others, so he was no longer taboo, and said loudly: "I came here on the order of the general of the chariot and cavalry, hoping that the general will return to the imperial court and not help the abuse!" ”