Chen An asked for an order to take the path of the Fenshui River Valley and copy it out of Xihe County, Liu Yang and others repeatedly persuaded him, but Chen An was extremely stubborn and repeatedly insisted on asking - and looked at the expression, listened to the words, even if he was not allowed to order, he would go against the order, in order to atone for the crime. Liu Yang had no choice but to select 500 elite foot soldiers, deliver them to him, and make ten days' rations. But he repeatedly said: "If you encounter an enemy on the way, you must retreat, and you must not fight!" ”

So early the next morning, without waiting for Yao Yizhong to lead his troops to launch an assault on the fortress in front of the mountain, Chen An led 500 soldiers to the west, and when he came to the mountain pass before noon, he immediately walked north. If you want to talk about this road, Yao Yizhong also built a fort in it in the past, so you can still find a guide who is familiar with the road in the first half, as for the second half of the approaching Xihe County, you can only cross the river by feeling the stones.

The road is more than 100 miles from north to south, but along the water potential, twists and turns, it is not less than 150 miles. On the premise that the infantry on the flat ground did not have too much baggage to drag down and did not have to guard against the enemy's attack from the flank, they could walk faster for seventy or eighty miles a day, but they could only pass side by side in many places, and their speed could not be improved. Chen An hurried slowly, only entering the mountain for more than 20 miles in the first half of the day, and it was dark—this kind of terrain, of course, he didn't dare to drive at night with torches, so he had to lie down in place and in his clothes—and on the second day, he had only walked less than fifty miles throughout the day.

However, soon after they went on the road on the third day, they ran into two civilians, and the soldiers instinctively rushed forward with their weapons, so frightened that they turned around and ran. But he couldn't run fast on the narrow road, and after walking a short distance, one of them fell to the ground, and the soldier took the opportunity to pounce on him and hold it, and the rest of the man seemed to be reluctant, so he had to turn around and kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.

The soldiers looked at the woman who was pressed down again, and she looked like she was in her twenties and less than thirty years old, and she looked quite good.

When Chen An heard the news, he finally squeezed through the middle of the line, and at this time, the soldiers had already pressed the two of them to their knees. Chen An sat on the mountain rock with a big grin, and asked sharply, "Where are you and others?" After passing through this trail, is it because you want to sneak over the border and can't do it? ”

At this time, Pingyang belonged to Jin, and Xihe belonged to Zhao, although neither recognized the other's regime, let alone a border treaty, after all, they were not allowed to communicate with each other.

The man among the two, who was the husband of the woman who fell and was captured first, hurriedly trembled, and replied: "The villains and others are all Jiexiu Jinmin, trapped in the land, and now Jiexiu is not able to live, but to help the old and the young, go south to serve the king, the general is a Jin minister, please don't kill us and others......"

Chen An frowned, and asked, "How can you take a break and not live?" ”

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It turned out that Shi Hu left Zhang Xiong to guard the mountain pass, and since he led the army to cross the mountain and return to the West River, he immediately led thousands of cavalry and hurriedly went north to Jinyang. He asked Zhang Raccoon to lead the main force, temporarily stationed in Jiexiu, and had to build a fortification in the north of the mountain, on the one hand, to meet Zhang Xiong, on the other hand, to prevent the Jin people from breaking through the fortress in the south of the mountain, all the way to the north of the mountain.

Considering the problem of grain and grass, Zhang Xiong was allowed to mobilize some soldiers and horses, and then go north from Jiexiu to the south of Taiyuan County. In the south of Taiyuan, the Fenshui flows through a big Ze, called Jiuze, the radius is dozens of miles, the water is abundant, so the surrounding area of Jiuze, has always been the place where the land is fertile and the population is prosperous, the Jin Dynasty will set up many counties, including Jiexiu, Zhongyang, Xicheng of the West River, and Pingtao, Wu County, Zhongdu, Beijing and so on of Taiyuan, densely packed and dotted, such as Zhongdu and Beijing, the two counties are only ten miles apart, standing at the head of the city, can look at each other from afar......

So Zhang Qun said at the beginning, the vicinity of Jiuze is very rich, even after the war, there are hundreds of thousands of households in several counties, although the treasury is empty, is it that the people's families are owed a little surplus food? With these scattered people's food, the army can rest here to wait for the Taiwei to return after recovering Jinyang.

Just touched the skin of the mouth easily, but it brought a deep disaster to tens of thousands of Li Shu-

Zhang Raccoon led the troops into Jiexiu, so he ordered to seize the houses and collect food - because there was really nothing to eat, and some of the remnants were either left to Zhang Xiong or handed over to Shi Hu. He deliberately took care of it, this is my land, don't go too far, just grab food, don't kill people with knives. However, robbing the people's homes of food is forcing them to their deaths, and how can they not have conflicts, and once there is a conflict, the soldiers have knives and guns in their hands, so they will naturally choose the simplest and crispest way to deal with it......

At this time, the family suffered, every household shed blood, Jiexiu Ling was shocked when he heard the news, and hurriedly ran to mourn Zhang Raccoon, but only halfway up, he heard that the soldiers even broke the county government. Jiexiu Ling hurriedly turned back, only to see that the inner room was turned into a mess, his wife was lying in a pool of blood, and the two concubines were taken captive without a trace...... So he cried a lot, and even if the hanging beam committed suicide.

The soldiers didn't think about it, and reported to Zhang Raccoon Dog, saying that Jiexiu had ordered the corrupt government to store grain, and it was difficult to supply the army, so he hanged himself in fear of crime. On the one hand, they know that the law does not hold the people accountable, and with the prestige of Zhang Raccoon, it is impossible to severely punish the soldiers for this; On the other hand, the county order is not a system with itself, the scribes are all under the management of the book, and the top boss is Xu Xian, but isn't Xu Xian a rebellion? So who else will be there to avenge the county order?

Jiexiu was originally a big county, so the lord of a county could be named "Ling", but under the rule of Shi Hu, it had become increasingly withered and dilapidated, the county citizens were only thousands, and there were only about 200 households living in the city, how could it be enough for tens of thousands of troops to loot? Zhang Raccoon was about to divide his troops, but the Guo brothers directly hit the door and asked him to distribute the food he had grabbed to his own subordinates first.

Behind the Guo family stands Guo Ao, one of the "eighteen horsemen" of Shi Le's early family, how can he be compared to Zhang Raccoon Dog, who was born as a thief? Although Guo Ao was originally just a horse thief...... After all, the thief who was attached first, and the thief who joined later, are definitely not the same. It was only because Shi Hu no longer trusted Guo that he ordered Zhang Raccoon to temporarily command the whole army, but with Zhang Raccoon's prestige, many generals were not convinced, especially Guo.

Guo Rong said, according to the instructions of the king of Taiyuan before leaving, as soon as we arrive in Jiexiu and rest for a while, we must immediately build a fortress in front of the mountain to prevent the Jin people from breaking Zhang Xiong and going north. This heavy task is undertaken by my Guo Jiajun, so you have to distribute the food to us first, so we can go to repair the base, how can you work with an empty stomach?

Zhang Raccoon had no choice but to say that he didn't dare to have two generals in this matter, so this grain was ...... Seeing that Guo Rong and Guo Quan glared almost at the same time, he hurriedly replied: "Jiexiu County is small, how much grain can be stored?" I think there will be more places in Wu County, Zhongdu and other places, and I also ask the two generals to lead their troops to station, and I will take care of the matter of rest. ”

In fact, how can Er Guo be willing to repair the base? But use this as an excuse to part ways with Zhang Raccoon - who is impatient to listen to the thief's military orders! So he got the promise, Er Guo immediately led his troops to the north, went to ravage Wu County, almost like a locust transit, looted the villages along the way, because the county town could not enter, so it was not satisfied, and continued to drive to the central capital.

With Erguo as an example, the soldiers were torn apart, and even the subordinate general Ma Qiu led more than 1,000 people straight to Pingtao County. Pingtao is nearly a hundred miles away from Jiexiu, because he has the lowest status, so he is the farthest. Of course, since he marched hungry, he naturally passed through the town on the road, and saw the village slaughtering the village, Ma Qiu would never be soft.

The people of several counties suffered from this catastrophe and were forced to leave their hometowns and flee in all directions, including a couple, because they were relatively familiar with the paths of the Fenshui River Valley, simply threw themselves into Jindi, and bumped into Chen An's department head-on. The man reported that I was originally from Pingyang, about twelve or thirteen years ago, because I was bullied by thieves, I had no choice but to flee north through this small road, and wanted to go to Yihe Prefecture Liu Zhijun, but in Jiexiu was favored by the rich man, recruited as a son-in-law, and stayed.

This rich man originally had hundreds of acres of land, and also merged more than a dozen tenants - it is said that the head of the family was Liu Kun's old department, retired due to injury, and had the support of a history of thorns, so he seized some land and tenants in remote places, and was not embarrassed - but after Liu Kun was defeated and the army entered the country, the head of the family was angry to death, and it was difficult for a young couple to keep the old business, and now there are only about ten acres of barren land left, and they have to plough and weave themselves to survive.

Even so, they could not escape the doom of the ruined family, although they did not live in the city, the transit of the Karma army was not avoided, the grain was plundered, the thin mule was slaughtered and cooked on the spot, the hostess was also raped, and the six-year-old son was trampled alive by the Karma soldiers...... was forced to have no choice, so he had to flee to his hometown Pingyang by the same route. After all, it was under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, so it wouldn't be too harsh on the people, right? Moreover, judging from the posture of the re-entry of the army, eighty percent of them have suffered defeat, and Pingyang County should be able to stabilize for a while.

As long as it is peaceful, you can hope to live, and people are not as good as dogs in troubled times!

The man cried with a handful of snot and tears, kowtowed again and again, and even blood came out of his forehead, Chen An's copper skin and iron bones, even his heart and intestines were cast in iron, but he had no mercy at all - he was the head of the army in troubled times, and he was not a man with lofty ideals who worried about the country and the people. Then Banzhong interrupted the man's chatter with a loud cry, and asked him, "Since you are familiar with the road, will you guide me?" ”

The man begged for forgiveness, Chen An couldn't help but sneer, and immediately ordered the song: "Since the woman has been defiled by the thief, and her chastity is not guaranteed anyway, it is cheaper for you to wait for a few - just enjoy it here, so that you can refresh your spirits and continue to follow me on your way." ”

Several of the subordinates were ordered, and while laughing lewdly, they came to tear the woman apart. The husband panicked, kowtowed again and begged for mercy, expressing his willingness to act as a guide - "Please don't offend my wife." Chen An waved his hand, ordered the tribunes to retreat, and then tied the couple's hands with hemp rope, forcing them to lead the way first.

With a guide, the walk was a little faster, and by the afternoon of the fourth day, I finally got out of the pass. The man turned his head and said to Chen An: "From here, fifteen miles to the west, it is the county seat of Jiexiu...... Chen An asked him: "Where is the road?" The man said: "Jiexiu to the south, that is, there is a big road, over two ridges, you can enter the flat land, and then thirty miles, and will go over the mountain, straight to Pingyang." ”

Chen An nodded, predicting that if the Qiang army built a second line of defense in the north of the mountain, it would probably be on the two mountains that the man said, or thirty miles south. He planned to send his troops to the sentinel in advance, and if he had a base, he would conquer it, and if he had no base, he would follow the road to the south and attack Zhang Xiong with the main force in front and back.

Just as the order was being given, the couple knelt down again and begged for leniency. Chen An said okay, untie the ropes, and let them go - but only to the south, if you see the north, you must go to the thief to tell the thief, don't blame me for being ruthless. The man pleaded: "The villain has no grain of rice, and he has followed the general for the past two days to get a hungry stomach, and now he is going to Pingyang, not to mention that it will take three or five days, and I hope that the general will reward him with some dry food...... Chen An glared: "How can I have surplus grain and you?" If you are afraid of starvation and death, why don't I wait for you to have a good time! Then he drew the knife from his waist.

It was still a small colonel who had the audacity to intercede for the couple, saying: "The Metropolitan Governor often admonishes us not to abuse the people, not to kill indiscriminately, and the general not to violate the teachings of the Metropolitan Governor." What if there is only a few days' food for a man and a woman, so what about having some with him? Chen An was not allowed, and thought about it again, except for more than a dozen troops, most of these 500 people are the elites selected by various armies, belonging to the three armies of the Great Sima, not my own private soldiers, or deceased soldiers, if I disobey the will of the soldiers for a little thing, I am afraid that it will be difficult to fight in the future......

So he put the knife back to the sheath and snorted coldly: "The governor wants to take care of the people in the world, how can he have time to take care of one family after another?" But since you want to be a good man, you will divide some rations with him. ”

Some of the slightly sympathetic soldiers you take a bite, I have a handful, and I gave some dry food to the couple, and the two of them are grateful and resigned. Besides, Chen An sent his soldiers to inquire about the news, and he got a report before it got dark, saying that not only did the mountain pass have no bases, but even Jiexiu City was empty!

- Even if Zhang Raccoon grabbed Jiexiu, he would not be able to collect more than 1,000 people's food for ten days, how could he give up the rest of the counties to his comrades? Naturally, he has already left, and at this time he is in Zhongyang City - it is better to stay away from each other with the Guo brothers, so as not to look down on each other and be idle in vain. As for the building of a fortress behind the mountain...... If you haven't eaten enough food, who has the strength to work?

Zhang Raccoon was even depressed, leaving too much food for his brother...... The king of Taiyuan wanted to tie up the Jin people with an empty camp for five days, and then reinstate Zhang Xiong to guard the fortress in front of the mountain for ten days, so he left nearly twenty days of food for his 5,000 people. Now that I think about it, the king of Taiyuan will quickly go to recapture Jinyang, and he will die for seven or eight days, so it is enough to leave ten days of food for his brother, and the remaining ten days can be eaten for me......

Chen An had to report, hurriedly led his troops to Jiexiu County, and when he entered the city, he saw that it was empty, and there was nothing but corpses...... However, the city was intact. So he closed the city gates, and went to the city in batches to guard them, intending to rest here for one night, and tomorrow he would climb the mountain from the big road, and go to the back of Zhang Xiong - the north and south of the road are less than a hundred miles, and it will take three days at most, and I will have enough food to eat. But the question is, should I stay on guard?

If you leave troops behind, less than 500 people to fight Zhang Xiong's 5,000 soldiers, even if the strange soldiers fall from the sky and attack from the front and back, I am afraid that it will not be very safe; If you don't stay...... The work of capturing the city is not small, so it is a pity to give up......

But when he got up the next morning, he knew that he didn't have to be in a dilemma, because the banner of the Jin family had already appeared on the southern horizon...... No, to be more precise, it is the special banner of the three armies of the Great Sima of Guanzhong.