After hearing Han Qian lightly say the reason why he had to attack and kill Xia Zhen, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became much more depressed.

Zhang Ping, Chai Jian, and Li Chong glanced at each other, such a method was used on Xia Zhen today to deter Zheng Hui, but how could it not be a warning to them?

They could also see just now that the third prince was a little uncomfortable at the moment when Han Qian personally cut off Xia Zhen's head, but then his eyes revealed excitement that could not be hidden, like a young beast that had just swallowed its first mouthful of human flesh.

In order to resist the suppression of the Late Red Mansion and the Marquis of Xinchang, did Han Qian not hesitate to cultivate the three princes into a brutal beast that no one could control one day?

Shen Yang sighed slowly, and he didn't know how Han Daoxun's family had taught such a Han Qian, but now was not the time to pursue these details.

In any case, killing Xia Zhen was an extremely risky act, but after success, it shocked people's hearts and was extremely beneficial to the future war.

Especially after killing Xia Zhen, they left the guard camp outside the city, and followed Zheng Hui into the city, in exchange for Zheng Hui, he will inevitably do something to be worthy of the trust of the three princes.

Shen Yang put aside these details, stared at Han Qian for a long time and asked: "According to what you said, Liang Jun is bound to win Jingxiang and other places this time, but how sure are you that His Royal Highness will be able to hold the Danjiang River and block the passage of the soldiers and horses in the Liang State Pass?" ”

Knowing that King Liang Yong was in Wancheng, Shen Yang guessed Han Qian's intention to lure the three princes westward to fight for Qigong, but he didn't know what confidence Han Qian had, only the Dragon Bird Army and a few other miscellaneous soldiers could hold along the Danjiang River.

"Jingxiang is related to the national fortune of Great Chu, His Royal Highness guards the gateway of Great Chu, and it is his duty to do nothing,"

Han Qian didn't want to give Shen Yang another chance to persuade the third prince to return to Xiangzhou City, his tone was unusually firm, and he said in a decisive manner,

"All the soldiers and horses on the Western Front have retreated to Jingzikou and Xichuan City, Your Majesty will not sit back and watch Jingxiang fall, and Shu will not sit and watch Jingxiang be annexed by the Liang army - as long as Jingzikou and Xichuan City can be defended to the end, even if Xiangzhou City falls, Jinling still has a chance to recover Jingxiang, and then the elite of the Liang army does not want to lose Xiangzhou, so they can only withdraw and leave."

"You have worked hard for several months to run Canglang City, and you will give up?" Shen Yang asked.

"The only way to do this is to abandon it as a last resort." Han Qian said.

Although the Liang army raided Iron Crocodile Ridge and Canglang City as soon as they came up, before they completed their deployment, they sensed the unexpected toughness of the defenders in these two places, so they postponed the offensive.

In fact, neither Han Qian nor Li Zhihe have seen the true strength of Liang Jun.

After the main force of the Liang army, especially Xuanjia, entered the Nanyang Basin, it was an extremely stupid idea for Han Qian to think about holding along the Danjiang River and maintaining constant contact with Xiangzhou City.

The only feasible strategy is to accumulate grain and grass supplies for three or four months, and stubbornly defend Jingzikou and Xichuan.

There is a deserted ancient road built by the previous dynasty from Xichuan to Wuguan, in which there are four or five miles of plank road built between the cliffs. Although the plank road has decayed and cannot withstand the passage of people and horses, the stone holes are still intact and easy to repair.

If it weren't for this, even Xichuan could not be defended, and the Dragon Bird Army and other miscellaneous generals all retreated to Jingzikou, waiting for the arrival of Jinling reinforcements.

As for giving up Canglang City, there is nothing to be sorry for.

Under the current situation, if the soldiers and horses and grain and grass in the Liang army cannot be blocked in the Qinling Mountains, all his operations will be in vain, and in the end, he can repel the Liang army.

Shen Yang knew that Han Qian had already made a full plan, and then seeing that the third prince was firm, it was beyond his ability to change it, and at the same time, he also felt a trace of frustration that everything was led by others, and he leaned forward slightly, and said, "I hope everything can be as you expected." ”

Zheng Hui finally decided to separate Xia Zhenyan's cronies from ordinary Yingzhou state soldiers to supervise, and at this time, the people and horses escorting grain and grass in Yingzhou were also detained first.

After dealing with all this, Xichuan City under the morning light has gradually become brighter.

“……”

After dealing with everything, Zheng Hui, who returned to the back house of the town general's mansion, was also so shocked that he didn't know what to say for a long time.

"In order to guard the Great Chu Mountains and Rivers, His Highness spared no expense to sit in Xichuan. If Lord Zheng is cowardly, we can arrange for the Huangzhou soldiers and horses to retreat south, and replace them with other brave generals. Han Qian stood behind the third prince and looked at Zheng Hui and said.

Zheng Hui subconsciously grinned bitterly, but then he felt that Han Qian's gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Knowing that Zhu Yu, the king of Liang Yong, was in Wancheng, although Zheng Hui was flustered, he could also think clearly at this time, the three princes were all in charge of Xichuan, and what would be the consequences of him leading the Huangzhou state troops to withdraw.

If he was lucky enough to win this battle and finally repelled the Liang army, his best outcome would be to resign and go into hiding.

If the third prince is unfortunately captured or killed in battle, his head is beheaded alone, and he does not involve his family, it will be the best end.

What's more, the three princes all killed Xia Zhen in public, how could they let him go?

Thinking of this, Zheng Hui cheered up, knelt down in front of the third prince, and said: "The emperor's grace is vast, Zheng Hui only wishes to shroud the body of horse leather and serve His Royal Highness." ”

Although Zheng Hui's deferential statement at this time was somewhat compelling, Yang Yuanpu was still extremely excited.

The whole thing is full of danger, and it is possible to lose everything, but for him who is young and enthusiastic, the adventure at this time makes him have a kind of overflowing spirit.

Yang Yuanpu didn't sleep all night, and he was also radiant, and he couldn't wait to pull Han Qian to go to the military camp and city wall to inspect it.

"When the guard battalion enters the city bravely, Lord Zheng will accompany His Royal Highness to the military camp and city wall to inspect the city, and I will first understand the material reserves of Xichuan with Mr. Shen Yang, and see how to deploy the defense of Xichuan and Jingzikou." Han Qian rubbed his slightly tingling cheeks, the time left for them was too limited.

After the guard battalion and the Zuo Si scouts entered the city, Yang Yuanpu was first accompanied by Zheng Hui, Chai Jian and others to inspect the walls of the military camp, Han Qian and Shen Yang stayed in the public hall of the town general's mansion to look through a large pile of documents moved by Zheng Hui's scribes, calculate the family background on the Xichuan side, and draw up a comprehensive plan for the next defense.

"The people you left in Xiangzhou City, you should report this matter to the defense envoy at this time, right?" Shen Yang put down a stack of papers, looked at Han Qian and asked.

"When the gate of Xiangzhou opens today, I will arrange for scouts outside the city to gallop into the city with the letter I wrote to meet Guo Rong," Han Qian said, "We can't admit that we already knew about this, right?" ”

"No matter what kind of ambition you have, these two days and two nights should not be delayed, do you know how many fewer people will die if the defense embassy prepares for two more days?" Shen Yang asked.

"Lord Du may be the number one person, but this matter was reported to the Defense Embassy in advance, and Mr. Shen can guarantee that so many generals and officials of the Defense Envoy can be as selfless and chaotic as Mr. Shen?"

Han Qian put down the paperwork in his hand and said indifferently,

"Once the scouts of the Liang army lurking in Xiangzhou City know that Zhu Yu's whereabouts have been exposed, will the main force of the Liang army first go to kill the Zaoyang and Yingzhou fronts in the east according to the original plan, or will the troops reverse and gather heavy troops to attack the Tiecrocodile Ridge, Xichuan, and Canglang City first? No matter what you think of me, Mr. Shen, I can't take this risk! ”

Shen Yang thought about it for a while, but he couldn't find the words to refute Han Qian, especially when Han Qian predicted that the Liang army's planned plan was very likely to attack Zaoyang City, which was guarded by the prince Ma Xun of Tanzhou Jiedu, he knew that Han Qian would not be able to disclose this matter in advance.

However, from the standpoint of Da Chu, whether to lose the elite Dragon Bird Army of the lineage, or to sacrifice the soldiers and horses of Tanzhou, who had always been ambitious, even Shen Yang did not feel that he could resist this temptation.

Who in the world can be truly selfless and ask for the lives of the people?

Shen Yang sighed lightly and said to Han Qian: "If Xichuan is undefendable, I hope you can find a way to protect Your Highness's life, no matter how bad it is, don't let Your Highness fall into the hands of Liang Jun, instead of thinking about selling Your Highness for a good price." ”

"......" Han Qian didn't respond to Shen Yang's words, and changed the topic and said, "After Du Chongtao learns about this, he will definitely send someone to ask His Highness to return to Xiangzhou City, and when the time comes, Mr. Shen will write an impassioned letter for His Highness to inform Jing Xiang's generals." Mr. Shen Yang should also know that the final decision on the outcome may be the morale of the generals that ordinary people can't figure out......"

…………

…………

Guo Rong knocked on the door of Xu Zhaoling's house in a panic, and what he held in his hand was a letter that had just been opened.

This letter was written by Han Qian before nightfall the day before, and he specially arranged for someone to stay at this time, and then enter the city and deliver it to Guo Rong.

"Smack!"

Xu Zhaoling read the letter, and hurriedly swept his favorite white porcelain tea cup to the ground with the wide sleeves of his robe, and smashed it.

"Zhu Yu's little boy is in Wancheng in the north?! How is this possible? Xu Zhaoling stared at Guo Rong in shock and asked, unable to believe that all this was true.

"I'm afraid it's true,"

Jin Rui, the head of Deng Xiangfang, also received Guo Rong's report, rushed over panting, sat down under Xu Zhaoling, and said in a deep voice,

"A few days ago, the secret agent of the Ministry of Justice sent back the news, saying that more than 10,000 Liang army infantry armor advancing in the direction of the Tang River in Wancheng were advancing extremely fast. And this infantry armor came from Fangcheng, even if the road was muddy, but after several days of marching, there was no fatigue, and where it went, it was orderly, and there was no sign of distraction, not like the ordinary military horses assembled by the Liang army in Ruzhou and Xuzhou - I didn't particularly care at first, thinking that even if the Liang army wanted to contain this side, it would always have to send some disciplined elites over, but now that I think about it, it is indeed possible that the elite of Xuanjia is dressed. ”

"Yang Yuanpu, this son of Yang Yuanpu, went out of Xiangzhou City to the Western Front, so he knew about it, right?" Xu Zhaoling asked hesitantly.

Although this letter was sent by Zuo Si Scout who had just entered the city, Guo Rong also tended to agree with Xu Zhaoling's judgment, but he had some courage in his heart to appreciate his son Yang Yuanpu.

"Such important news, Yang Yuanpu dared to hide it for two days before he said it?" Xu Zhaoling slapped the table and shouted, "What is he trying to do?" ”

"The Third Princes should want to fight to defend the mountains and rivers," Jin Rui said calmly, "But the Third Princes can still tell that they only confirmed this matter after arriving in Canglang City or Iron Crocodile Ridge, so they sent someone to deliver the letter as soon as possible." ”

"Let's go see Du Chongtao and see how they make arrangements." Xu Zhaoling stood up and asked Guo Rong and Jin Rui to meet Du Chongtao with them.

However, when he stepped out of the courtyard gate and was about to get into the carriage, Xu Zhaoling remembered something, called a leader of the family soldiers behind him to give a few words, and handed a waist card to the man, saying: "You load all the kaki and treasures in the house into the car, and go out of the city with my order, no one will stop you." Yingzhou is also not safe, you go directly to Jingzhou, and then find a boat in Jingzhou to send people and things back to Jinling first. ”

Seeing that Xu Zhaoling was there to arrange these things, Jin Rui glanced at Guo Rong, and neither of them was silent.