Xiangguo City was besieged for more than two months, and the gates of all sides were blocked with wood and stone to prevent the Chinese army from using equipment such as crashes to break the door.

It's just that Kong Chang has always been treacherous and slippery, and he likes to leave a way out when things happen, so he has already arranged a secret secret door in the north of the city that is not sealed, and guards protect it. After weeping goodbye to Shile, he gathered hundreds of people, took advantage of the killing in the city, sneaked out of the secret gate, and then rode his horse towards the junction of the two fortresses.

Li Han hugged Shi Hong, and also led more than 100 people to find Kong Chang, and when he finally found this secret door, Kong Chang and the others had already gone far.

The Chinese soldiers were busy capturing the northern city with the cooperation of friendly troops entering from the east gate, but unexpectedly, there were enemy horsemen protruding from the seemingly no gate, and they neglected to take precautions for a while, and were successfully escaped by Kong Chang on the premise of paying half of the casualties, and then fled in embarrassment. Li Han was a step slower, but he was surrounded by the embarrassed Chinese general Han Qian's leading corps, and the generals under his command killed fewer and fewer soldiers, and he was no longer lucky.

Li Han couldn't help but look up to the sky and sighed: "Heaven not only wants to kill Zhao, but also wants to destroy the Shi clan?" In desperation, he threw Shi Hong under the horse, trampled him to death, and then turned the spear in his hand and stabbed himself in the throat to death.

Han Qian picked up some battlefields, and naturally found the body of the child who was trampled to death by the horse's hooves, and felt that it must be very human, so he ordered it to be reined in. It wasn't until the next day that I was looking for someone to identify, and I found out that it was the pseudo-Zhao prince Shi Hong.

Most of the rest of the Zhao generals died in the city, and only Wu Yu was seriously injured and captured.

After Zu Ti entered the city, he immediately ordered the captured Shi Zhao generals to be loaded into a prisoner car and escorted to Luoyang - at this time, those who were still besieging the city were not Shi Le's sworn friends, but must be Zhao Zhi's senior officials, the former was unwilling to go, the latter was unable to leave, and none of them were innocent. Therefore, all those who are not dead will be beheaded, and the heads will be piled up in front of the city, and the tree will be a Jingguan.

Zu Ti went to the Zhao Palace, and pulled a few times with a spear on the ruins of the main hall, trying to find the remains of Shi Le - but it was useless, Zu Ti had already asked the soldiers to dig it up. Zu Ti scolded Zu Chuan and said: "If Slippery Kou used arson to cover up his whereabouts, in fact, he absconded, isn't it your great crime?!" "And I did hear that a small group of soldiers escaped from the northern city, although two or three of them were captured, saying that they would be Kong Chang, but who knows if Shi Le is hiding in it?

He had already sent Feng Tie to lead the cavalry to chase after him, but he didn't know if he could catch up......

He has always been cautious, so after a little shake in the Zhao Palace, he withdrew and stayed in the Xun Mansion. As for Xun Sui and others, Zu Shizhi naturally looks down on them - what kind of family, now my ancestor is in the new dynasty, and he is also crowned by the family.

However, he was still polite, called Xun Xuan, handed him the report drafted by the secretary, and asked: "You are good at dictionaries, who can embellish it for me?" In order to keep Pei Xian's second son entrusted to him, Xun Sui recommended: "Pei Jingsi's second son, Ru and Ying, are brilliant and can be driven by generals." ”

Immediately ordered Pei Ru and Pei Ying to come over and decorate the chapter, after Zu Ti read it, he expressed his satisfaction - he was also a scholar after all, although his own pen is average, and the article is good and can still be seen - but then he said: "Qing and others are thieves as Chinese, and I can pardon them, and they should be attributed to Luoyang, waiting for the judgment of the Son of Heaven." "But look at your willingness to help, I don't put you two in the car, you guys should be honest, don't plan to run off on the road.

Xun Xuan and others are very grateful, and said that you will take extra care, we are all scholars, even if we want to run away, how can we have this courage and ability...... And although the Central Plains is big, the Zhao Dynasty has been destroyed, and they are all Chinese land, where can we go?

Packing up the battlefield and checking the spoils of war, he was busy all day, and it was not until the afternoon of the next day that Zu Ti summoned all the generals to hold a banquet to celebrate. Changshi Zhang Changyu reported that the search for the property and goods of the people of the Liang people yielded hundreds of millions, and what is even more gratifying is that there are still more than 10,000 grains and grass, which can be used urgently. Zu Qi Fangxi, Fan Ya and others said: "The thief has been destroyed, and the two states of Hebei and Youzhou are expected to be passed on." Now the soldiers are tired, and the grain and grass are not sufficient, that is, they will get ten thousand grains, but they will only be relieved of the emergency. The last general will wait for discussion, and please stay in Xiangguo for the time being, take a good rest and rectify, and it is not appropriate to continue to go north. ”

Zu Ti nodded, and said in his heart that this was an inevitable thing - I would not be able to defeat Xiangguo again, and I had the consciousness of temporarily retiring from the army. But then he let out a long sigh and stopped drinking.

Zu Jian asked: "Your Excellency is celebrating this immortal achievement, why do you sigh?" But is it because he can't get the head of Shile? It's all a child's fault......"

Zu Ti waved his hand and said: "The stone thief is the first evil, and the world is in trouble, even if he gets his corpse, sooner or later he will be burned to ashes, and he will be headed, but it is just more glorious for his father and the court, it doesn't matter." Even if the stone thief is not dead, it is expected that it will not be able to set off any big storms in the secluded, Hebei and other places......"

After a pause, he said: "The one who sighs for his father, a famous general since ancient times, can die on the bed as a horse leather shroud?" And after this battle, I am afraid that it will be the last battle of my life, and I will never have the opportunity to fight again......"

Wei Ce asked suspiciously: "Although the thieves are destroyed, the world has not been decided, and there are still Jin ...... in the south Jiangnan does not obey the king, sooner or later it will have to be defeated, how can the marshal have no chance to go into battle? ”

Zu Ti smiled bitterly: "The army of the new dynasty is half in my hands, how can the court rest assured?" I used to make a covenant with the Son of Heaven to destroy karma, and since I have fulfilled my promise, how can I not hand over my military power? As for Gangnam...... It's my own family, and I'm quite weak, what's the fun of fighting? I can only ask the court to appoint another general. ”

When the generals heard this, they looked at each other and felt a little depressed. Feng Pet asked: "After the victory of the marshal, how will the imperial court place the marshal?" ”

Zu Ti said: "It's just to be idle and scattered, and support me for the rest of my life in a high position...... Maybe I will take over the post of Tao Shixing, and let the Shixing go to the south of the Yangtze River. ”

Wei Ce hurriedly said: "We can jointly play and ask the Son of Heaven to make the marshal take up the position of the cardinal and become the prime minister." ”

The Privy Council is the department in charge of the military, including not only the nuclear skills of the generals, the promotion, but also the training of the army, the preparation of materials, and the assignment of specific tasks...... No, is it better than ever?

Zu Ti hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Of course, I have this wish, but the Qing and the others must not play the court because of this. Then he said: "The Son of Heaven is not a man who does not know soldiers, but only knows soldiers, and he knows that soldiers are a sharp weapon of the country, and if he gives it lightly to others, or uses it improperly, he will hurt himself." I should implore the Son of Heaven so that all the princes can be rewarded for their merits, and not be treated slowly because they are not the old ministry of the Son of Heaven. However, the secretary and others should also avoid suspicion and not play in series, so as not to make the court mistakenly think that there is a threat intention.

"The world has been in turmoil for a long time, and the hearts of the people are looking forward to peace, if not, why did I abandon Jin and Fenghua that day? For example, the Son of Heaven once said to me in the past: 'The general trend of the world, the vast soup, if you go with it, you will live, and if you go against it, you will die.' 'You can only go to selfishness and follow the public will, respect Huashuo and be loyal to the Son of Heaven, and you will be able to be a prince for all generations, and you will not follow me for many years to fight; If you are arrogant, have the intention of being meritorious or even strong, you will definitely not end well - Su Jun is Yin Jian, although he retreats to Jiangnan, how can he last long? ”

When the generals heard this, they all gave up their hands and were taught.

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Zu Ti's original plan was to lead the main force to return south, go to Xingyang or Yanbei to eat, leave only more than 10,000 people to garrison Xiangguo, Handan and other cities, slowly appease the surrounding forces, pacify Guangping County, and wait until the autumn harvest to fully advance to Jizhou - no way, that place is too chaotic, it is inconvenient to calm down for the time being.

However, he was about to leave, and suddenly got news that Liu Kun had borrowed Murong soldiers and marched west to attack Youzhou. Zu Ti couldn't help frowning and said, "I've already cut down its strength, and Yue Shi wants to take advantage of its fatigue?" "This old friend is really worry-free.

So he temporarily sent Feng Tie to lead 3,000 cavalry to the north, asking him: "In the city on the way, if you can appease you, you can appease it, don't delay, try to settle Youzhou first!" ”

Youzhou Prefecture was originally in Zhuo County in Fanyang State, and later Wang Jun ruled Youzhou and moved north to Jixian County in Yan State. Of course, Zu Ti didn't expect to rely on a few thousand cavalry to get ahead of Liu Kun and settle the entire Youzhou-besides, the two counties of Beiping and Liaoxi in the east of Youzhou were originally in the hands of the Murong clan-he only hoped that Feng Tie could seize Jixian County in advance and regain the name of Youzhou. Take a step back and seize Zhuo County; No matter how bad it is, you have to Chen Bing on the Juma River to show Liu Kun:

Your Excellency is here, don't continue to go south, my ancestor in Jizhou has already booked.

Feng Tie received the order and wanted to go north from Xiangguo, Zhang Chang suggested: "The general might as well enter the Qing River to the east first, and take Boling from the north of the Qing River." Hebei family, only Qinghe, Boling Er Cui is the most expensive, if you can get their help, the surrounding dock fort will be expected to fall, even the thieves are expected to be subdued. ”

Feng Tienai did as he said, passing through Julu and Anping to Qinghe. He personally went to Tobu City to meet Cui Yu, the elder of the Cui clan in Qinghe, but Cui Yu deceived him for being too low and refused to meet.

Fortunately, Feng Tie had already been taught face-to-face by Zu Ti, Zhang Chang and others, so he sent someone to Cui Yu and said: "Brother Daoru is now at Young Master Liu (Liu Kun), is it true that Duke Cui does not accept me, is he waiting for his return?" ”

Cui Daoru is Cui Yue, but in fact, he is not Cui Yu's own brother, and the two of them have five suits in terms of relationship.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a famous scholar Cui Yan Cui Jiqi, who was a lieutenant and a lieutenant in the Wei State, and was later given death for angering Cao Cao - Cui Yu was Cui Yan's great-grandson. In addition, there is Cui Lin Cui Deru, who is Cui Yan's younger brother, and Yi Shi Wei, who worshiped as Sikong when Emperor Ming was the emperor, and was named the Marquis of Anyang Pavilion - Cui Yue is Cui Lin's great-grandson. Therefore, Cui Yu and Cui Yue belong to the same family.

Cui Yan's branch was originally long in the Cui clan in Qinghe, but since Cui Yan was killed and Cui Lin became noble, it gradually declined.

But Cui Yue's foundation is not comparable to Cui Yu. Because Cui Yue's grandfather Cui Shu (Cui Lin's son) had three daughters, one married Liu Kun, the second married Lu Zhi, and the third married Wen Xiang - that is to say, Cui Yue is Liu Kun's wife and nephew, and Lu Chen and Wen Qiao are cousins. Therefore, Feng Tie reminded Cui Yu that once Hebei is pacified, Cui Yue will return strongly with the help of Liu Kun, and then you will still be able to continue to hold on to the clan power of the Cui clan in Qinghe? If you don't find yourself a bigger backer in advance, I'm afraid you'll have to step aside!

If you want to fight against Liu Kun, is there a more suitable backer than Zu Li?

Cui Yu suddenly realized this, and hurriedly sent his son Cui Yu to see Feng Tie, expressed his attitude from China, and promised to restrain the surrounding forces and not be hindered by Huaqi. Feng Tie immediately appointed Cui Yu as the county guard of Qinghe, and then continued north, resuming through Anping and towards Boling.

The Boling Cui clan and the Qinghe Cui clan are of the same origin, and the ancestors are all Donglai Hou Cui Yiru of the Qin Dynasty. Meaning such as the second son, the eldest is Cui Boji (Cui Ye), living in Qinghe Dongwu City, that is, Chengqing River Cui, the second is Cui Zhongju, living in Boling Anping, that is, Cheng Boling Cui. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Boling Cui produced a Taiwei Cui Lie, who was famous for a while, and was later killed by Li Dao and Guo Yan. Since then, Boling Cui has gradually sunk, and the only one who can still be mentioned is Cui Jun, the second son of Cui Lie - that is, Zhuge Liang's good friend and hermit Cui Zhouping.

Therefore, during the Wei and Jin dynasties, Boling Cui has always been the head of Qinghe Cui, and Feng Tienai took Cui Yu's letter to worship, and received the help of Boling Cui's family. He learned from this that the northern Gaoyang County Zhibo Lu City was trapped by tens of thousands of displaced people, and the mastermind behind it was the Boling Cui clan......

Bolu City is a necessary place to pass through on the north to Youzhou, so Feng Tie, with the assistance of the Boling Cui clan, intends to absorb these displaced forces and seize Bolu as a base for advancement. But who would have thought that the banner of the word "Hua" had just been erected under the city, and the city would be decorated with people to send a letter asking for surrender.

Cheng Yao has been trapped in Bolu City for almost two months, and the Quartet has not been rescued, but there are more and more murderers gathered under the city. In fact, if it is just some homeless people and bandits, he is not afraid, but behind the homeless, there will be a Hebei clan fanning the flames......

If they were pure outcasts and bandits, how could they not be able to capture a city for nearly two months and refuse to disperse? Where do they get their food? How can they get along with each other? How can there be no forces secretly instigating, funding, or even indirectly directing it!

In fact, there are only three or four thousand Zhao soldiers in the city, and the people's hearts have long been scattered and their morale is depressed. It's just that not long ago, the news that Xiangguo had been conquered by the Chinese army, and even Shi Le had set himself on fire, Zhao Bing and Zhao generals were all afraid, that is, please open the city - or surrender, or flee, this king is hanging, what kind of stubborn resistance are we still fighting here!

Cheng Yao warned them: "The truth of this news is unknown...... in fact, according to his estimates, most of them are true-"Even if it is true, Xiangguo is broken, where can we flee?" If you say that the city is open and surrendered, they are all thieves and outcasts, scattered and have no subordinates, how can you tolerate me? Is it true that you are willing to be a thief?

"If Zhao Guo dies, the Chinese will take Jizhou in the north, and we can continue to defend it, waiting for the Chinese army to come, and then it will not be too late to surrender."

- If you want to surrender, you have to surrender to the regular army, how can you surrender to the grass head army?

Therefore, Feng Tie arrived, and Cheng Yao sent people out of the city to discuss the conditions of surrender. Feng Tie pretended to agree, and when the other party opened the city, he immediately ordered the displaced people who had been appeased by him to control the four gates, and then ordered the soldiers to tie up Cheng Yao. Cheng Ziyuan shouted: "Why did the general break his trust and plot to kill me?!" ”

Feng Tiedao: "The generals have surrendered, and the past is not investigated, but you are a heavy minister of Zhao Zhao, how dare I pardon it?" Since the threshold was sent to Luoyang, waiting for the Son of Heaven to judge. ”