Since Yin Qiao was ordered to leave Luoyang and go to Gongxian County to supervise the army, Pei Xu was no longer suitable to hide in his mansion, so he could only hide in Pei Pi's army. When the two separated, Pei Xuan asked with a serious expression: "As you expected, is it possible to guard Chenggao Pass?" ”

Yin Qiao shook his head lightly and said, "I don't know." But after a pause, he added: "However, when Luoyang was recovered in the past, I accompanied Da Sima and Zugong to Chenggao Pass and his party......

At that time, Pei Xu was still under Sima Bao, so he had not been able to participate in this period of the past, and he had never heard of it before.

Thinking that Pei and Zu parted ways for the Northern Expedition, Pei should chase the enemy west after the victory of the ditch water until Chenggao Pass. Immediately took Pei Wei, Tao Kan and others to climb the mountain to see the pass, was attacked by Liu Guang, fortunately Zhen Sui bravely, captured Liu Guang in battle, closed the Hu army was frightened, and then a round of charge, Liu Yi and Liu Dan escaped, Xiongguan was dangerous, and it was successfully trapped.

After the recovery of Luoyang, Pei, Zu and others inspected the nearby terrain - to prevent the counterattack of the Hu army, so they planned to set up a visit - and went east until they reached the Chenggao Pass. Pei Gai said at the time: "I have to become Gao, quite a fluke - if the morale of the thief does not fall, and he defends against danger, after all, the mountain road is narrow, and the pass is majestic, and I am afraid that it will not be able to fall in one or twenty days." ”

When he reached the pass and overlooked the mountain, Pei Gai introduced to Zu Ti again: "And the Hu people are not used to guarding the palace. In the past, when I came, the Taoshi walked and said: 'The mountains on the left and right are high, but there may be a path leading to them from the gate, and if you can build more fortifications, and there are horns between them, then the road to pass through the customs for several miles will be covered within the range of the bow and arrow, and it will be difficult to leap one step at a time." ’”

Zu Ti nodded and said: "Shi Xing Su General, what he said is indeed reasonable-in this case, I might as well set up a base according to Shi Xing's words." ”

Pei Gai said with a smile: "I have to Yanzhou and return to Luoyang, although Chenggao is dangerous, there is no way to reuse, so why bother to add a camp?" Zu Ti shook his head and said, "No." Although I have recovered Henan, Hebei is still in the hands of the thieves, and Hanoi is stolen by Zhao Gu, if he crosses the river through a gap, first captures Yanzhou, and then goes west to Yiluo, he must pass through Chenggao, how can he not defend it? Wenyue, the world is not quiet, and there should be foresight for the generals. ”

Now Yin Qiao talked about this past, and then said: "I followed the big Sima West to Guanzhong, more than a few years, returned to Luo, and then did not need to leave Beijing, I don't know if my grandfather repaired Luoyang's city defense and palace Que, whether it was as he said, and rebuilt into Gao." If there is a base on the mountain, that is, a hundred soldiers can resist all people, if there is no base, I am afraid it will be difficult to defend it......"

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but smile slightly bitterly: "If the thief fruit surpasses Chenggao and breaks into Yiluo, then Xun Daoxuan and the others dare not hesitate anymore, and they will summon the great Sima Dong to return, or the big thing can be done...... However, if Luoyang encounters the police again, it will inevitably damage the morale of the people, and the grandfather is in Xingyang, and he will lose his ground or lose his grounds...... Even if I retreat, I am unable to take advantage of the victory to advance and take Xiangguo directly, I am afraid that the war will be delayed, and the country will be in turmoil, and I don't know when it will stop—I am heartfelt, and I don't know how to look forward to it. ”

Pei Xu comforted him and said: "The so-called plan is in the people, and the success is in the sky, if the destiny of heaven is really the great Sima, he can turn evil into good fortune and turn misfortune into blessing." Only the king goes east to defend Gongxian, once he encounters the enemy, what can thousands of soldiers do? If you see that the city is difficult to defend, it is better to abandon it and return to Luoyang, not because of Xun Daoxuan's chaos, and waste your life. ”

Yin Qiao smiled and said: "In the past, from General Guo, I moved to fight up and down the river, and was repeatedly defeated by thieves, and I have long put life and death aside. However, since he followed the great Sima, he had to live in the middle of the dynasty, and he was the responsibility of the Heshang book, and his flesh was reborn, but his ambition was increasingly weakened...... I am very afraid of death now, Ziyu don't worry. ”

Pei Xuan nodded, then lowered his voice and asked: "If the thief really overcomes the danger and enters Yiluo, before the imperial court summons the great Sima, I may use this as an excuse to make Brother Sheng Gong win the soldiers of the five schools and control the inside and outside?" ”

Yin Qiao thought for a while and replied: "Originally, the timing was good, but Xun Daoxuan had already made a book and summoned Zu Lian to return to Luo, if he returned, I am afraid that Ziyu's plan would be difficult to achieve." And if Chenggao is not broken, and even Gongxian is not lost, although Luoyang is dangerous and not dangerous, it seems that this policy cannot be taken, so as not to ridicule - I am going now, it is all planned by Ziyu. "By implication, I advise you not to do that...... If you really want to do it, I won't get involved anyway.

As soon as Yin Qiao went, Pei Xu secretly galloped to Pei Pi's army, but after being welcomed in, he looked at it, and it was not only Pei Pi who came to pick him up, but a person next to him asked with a smile: "Why is Ziyu coming?" "It was given by Prince Wang Gong.

Wang Gong claimed to Su Jun that he went to Luo to report on his work, of course this is nonsense, not to mention that Xun Di would not be able to summon him to return to Luo, even if he fainted for a while under the arrangement of Yin Qiao and others, and agreed to this matter, then there was no reason why Xingyang was still fighting, so he urgently summoned a county in Qingzhou to return to the west. Wang Gong got Pei Wei's secret letter, so he bypassed the battlefield, passed through the Yuyuan Pass, and only secretly entered Luo last night, and entered Pei Pi's army today.

- In fact, he arrived a moment earlier than Pei Xu.

Since the Zhao army was killed under Chenggao Pass, and the news was reported to Luoyang, the whole city was immediately under martial law, and idle people were not allowed to enter without permission. But who is the prince? He had already densely packed chess pieces in Luozhong, and Zhang Yi and others secretly connected with each other, and dragged a considerable number of middle and low-level generals all onto the thief ship, and then sneaked into the city alone, and he was not embarrassed.

Pei Xuan couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw that Wang Gong had arrived—this could remove the burden from his shoulders. So he discussed with Pei Pi and Wang Gong how to deal with the current situation, and Wang Gong directly proposed: "It's time, Sheng Gong should take advantage of Zu Lian's return to Luo, in the name of Yujiao, to seize the five schools and control Luozhong!" ”

Pei Xuan shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not the right time...... and relayed what Yin Qiao said before leaving. Wang Gong pouted and smiled: "Yin Shangshu just shirks his responsibility, why listen to him?" Time must not be lost, the opportunity will not come again, if Zu Lian returns to Luo, then we will plan before and after, and all will turn into smoke and clouds - we will win the five schools! ”

Pei Xue still doesn't feel very reliable, but ...... Anyway, this idea was given by Wang Gong, and if something happened, he would be able to bear it, so if I want to shirk my responsibility, why should I have to fight with him? He pretended to groan and was silent for a long time, which was regarded as acquiescence.

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Yin Qiao left Luoyang, galloped on horseback, and arrived in Gongxian the next day, only to see the surrounding soldiers, but only gathered more than 1,000 people, and most of them were old and weak, and the discipline was also very loose...... Originally, there was an ancestral army to control the Yiluo Basin, and the defense of the counties in Henan was extremely weak, the so-called soldiers, but they were just checking pedestrians and catching thieves, basically they were militia, and there was no regular army, so how could they have combat power?

Although it was expected, Yin Qiao couldn't help but shudder, and hurriedly sent people east to find out the news of Chenggao Pass. After more than a day, the sentinel returned to report that the gate was still under the banner of my Jin, and it had not yet changed hands. Yin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and asked: "Is there a camp on the mountain left and right of Qiguan?" The reply was: "There are no less than ten fortifications in the company." ”

Yin Qiao was overjoyed and said: "Fortunately, my grandfather was prescient, and I don't have to worry about it!" ”

The tens of thousands of troops led by Zu Ti, except for the guards of Juan County and Yangwu, were all in Xingyang and its surrounding areas, but not Chenggao, why is this? A military division is weak, and only when it is gathered can it be expected to be crowned; The second is that he is actually not too worried about the garrison of Chenggao Pass.

After exploring with Pei Gai that day, Pei Gai waved his army west to Guanzhong, and Zu Ti mobilized manpower and materials to build a fortress on the hill near Chenggao Pass, and paved roads to connect Guanzhong. There are no more than 200 people in the fortresses, less than 100 people, and together with the passes, there are more than 2,000 soldiers guarding them all the year round, and they are easily not withdrawn, and there are plenty of food, grass, and arrows. This time, even if the king of the army guards the pass, and the remnants of Feng Chong lead the remnants of the pass to retreat into the pass, as long as the morale does not fall, it is enough to resist the 100,000 army.

In fact, there are no Feng Pet's hundreds of people, and it is enough to guard the pass, the reason why Zu Ti wanted to send Feng Pet and Tong Jian to temporarily set up camp under the pass by water is to paralyze Shi Le, so that he thinks that it is not difficult to break, and the main breakthrough direction will always point to Chenggao Pass. Zu Ti was worried that he was really going to force Shi Le to be in a hurry, he didn't dare to fight Chenggao, but he was bent on rushing south, ravaging Yuzhou, and even trying to break into Yiluo from between Songshan Mountain and Yangcheng Mountain, so it would be more troublesome for him to deal with it.

Although the army is such a big circle, it is difficult to guarantee the grain route, but the southern part of Xingyang, up to Yingchuan and Xiangcheng in northern Henan, are all anointed places, and this way of burning, killing and looting in the past is enough to ensure the food and drink of 10,000 or 20,000 people, right? If you allow the thieves to trample on Si and Yu, even if you win the battle in the end, I am afraid that the accusations between the government and the opposition will be endless...... General Zu still values face very much.

Therefore, Wang Yang, Lu Ming and other generals crossed the river and reached the pass, so they launched a fierce attack without stopping. They followed Shi Le in Si and Yu at the beginning, and they also passed through Chenggao and Xingyang many times, and they still knew the shape of the mountain and the terrain. I thought that Cheng Gao Xiongguan, I am afraid that if he does not make up his mind and pave the way with human lives, it will be difficult to overcome it, but who would have thought that even if he paved the road with human lives, he still can't beat it!

From the time of Emperor Huai of the Jin Dynasty, Hu Shi was blazing, and the natural danger around Luoyang could not be guarded, and Hu Qi haunted the Yiluo Basin many times. And when the "Yongjia Rebellion", after Hu Han basically controlled the entire Henan, although it was also slightly repaired to Chenggao and sent troops to guard it, Liu Cong thought that the Jin Dynasty was already in the twilight of the road, and the remnants of the Central Plains were not afraid at all, and the world could be determined in a few years, so he didn't take this pass too seriously.

- If the Hu army had stuck to Chenggao that day, it is estimated that Pei Gai would never have taken the pass so easily. Liu Yi, Liu Dan and others originally planned to defeat the Jin army of the Northern Expedition in Yanzhou, so they did not strengthen the defense of Chenggao, and after Liu Cang entered Luoyang, Chenggao had been lost and could no longer defend it.

Therefore, Wang Yang, Lu Ming and other generals still had an impression of Chenggao Pass before Zu Ti built a fortress, thinking that as long as he mustered up courage, he could capture it. But who would have thought that the miles of mountain roads were almost all controlled by the mountain camps, arrows were projected like rain, and rolling wood and stones were thrown down from time to time, and it was really a corpse step by step. Shilerle ordered them to break through the pass in three days, but they attacked for five days in a row, and suffered heavy losses, but they could not attack at all.

reported to Shi Le, Shi Le couldn't help but be furious and said: "In the past, Shihu broke the Jin fortress in the north of Pingyang and piled up the corpses on the fort, can't you wait?" With this victory, how can you not bear to waste your soldiers' lives? Even if 10,000 people die, they must also capture Chenggao! ”

Wang Yang and the others secretly complained bitterly, saying that what Shi Hu did that day, this situation is different, and it cannot be replicated - unless we pile up the corpses of soldiers as high as the cliffs on both sides, is that possible?

In the end, Shi Le was in a hurry and personally went to Chenggao Pass to command the battle. But when he watched the situation of the closure, even he couldn't help but gasp, and said in his heart, this place, even if you don't count the casualties of the soldiers, you can't take it for a month or two...... is thinking about nothing, suddenly there is an urgent report, and the state and county are lost!

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After Lu He got Li Ju's approval, he immediately led his troops to cross Wangwu Mountain and enter Hanoi, and then he personally led 2,000 cavalry, day and night, to the county seat. The Jin army was reinforced, and its morale was greatly boosted, but the Zhao army in the opposite city began to waver. So without waiting for the Guanzhong army to officially join the battlefield, Li Ju pushed the newly built ladder to the edge of the trench, attacked it for a day, and finally opened the city wall of the state and county.

Before entering the state and county, an angel arrived, informing the Chenggao Pass that it was attacked by the enemy, and he wanted to transfer his ancestors to return to the south and protect the Beijing division. However, Li Ju persuaded Zu Lian and said: "I have Kezhou County, Shanyang County, and Huai County at my fingertips, and from here, I can go straight to Jijun to cut off the back road of thieves." Ancestor once set up a camp on the left and right mountains of Chenggao, and its pass is majestic, how can it be easily lost? I but Jia Yong forward, Chenggao and Xingyang's difficulties are self-relieved; If you return to Luozhong in the south at this time, you will not be able to do anything in the war, but you will lose the opportunity! ”

So he used the excuse of "the general is outside, and the king's order is not affected" - besides, the military power is in the hands of Zu Ti, how can Shangshu Province interfere casually - send back the angel, and then the army marched straight along the Qinshui River and killed under Huaixian County.

Although the prefecture and county, Shanyang, and Huai counties are triangular in the deployment, the state and county garrisons that are naturally at the forefront are the most precise, the most refined, and the defense is also the most tight, and the other two cities are much worse. As a result, the Jin army successfully conquered Huai County, and the Shanyang Zhao army went out of the city to rescue, but was intercepted by the Guanzhong army and easily defeated.

At the same time as the loss of Huai County, the report of the defeat of the state and county finally reached the territory of Xingyang, and Shi Le couldn't help but look up to the sky and sighed: "I don't care if I want to die this day?!" Then he smiled bitterly and said: "It's not a matter of heaven, since I gamble, I deserve to suffer defeat......" immediately ordered the three armies, saying that now it is death to advance, and it is also death to retreat, it is better to face the enemy and die, and you can still leave the name of the eternal martyrs - "Qing and others follow me, go straight to Chenggao Pass!" "I plan to take the lead and charge at the gate.

All the generals are stupid, in the current situation, whoever goes up will die, the probability of retreating alive is too low, even if the king of heaven has the care of a hundred gods, after all, the arrows are not long-sighted, and the rolling wood is even more swept away...... Hurry up and drag Shi Le to death. Kong Chang, who followed him, knelt down in front of him and kowtowed.

Kong Chang said: "Although our army has been frustrated, our ancestors are in Xingyang, and their strength is also tired, and they retreat sharply at this time, and there is still a way to survive. If you can retreat 100,000 people to Hebei, block the road to the east of Li Ju and others, re-summon General Gan and Zhiqu Liulai, and take advantage of the danger of Dahe and Taihang, you will definitely be able to fight against Jin Kou for several years. A few years later, the situation may change, for example, as Taifu said, Pei Gai or conspired to usurp, Pei, Zu or rebelled, I Zhao Fuzhen is hopeful. Your Majesty is here, Zhao will not die, if Your Majesty begs for death, what will he do? ! ”