Zu Ti sent an envoy to Su Jun to give an order, asking him to go west between the river and Ji to try to cut off the back road of the Qian army. But in fact, at this time, Su Zigao had already left Taishan County and led his troops back to Pugu City in Le'an County.

Su Jun almost came back with a little pinch, and immediately went to see Shao Zhu, Duan Wenyang and other generals, beat his chest, cried and grabbed the ground, and said It's a pity that I am a step late, I can't save the city of Yici, and I can't save General Shao's life...... Shao Zhu and others were originally annoyed that Su Jun refused to return to the army to save him in time, but seeing this, it didn't seem to be a fake, and the mustard in his heart gradually disappeared.

Only Liu Yao watched coldly, and still refused to give Su Jun a good look. On the one hand, he didn't deal with Su Jun in the first place, and on the other hand, his wife said: "The one who harms the father of the family, Su Jun is also!" If he has the intention of rescuing, he should have returned from Mount Tai to the north as soon as possible, how can he be restrained by two or three thieves and not be able to set off? Distinguish the excuse also! Liu Yaoping listened to Shaw Brothers the most—because he couldn't beat him—and was not confused by Su Jun's performance at all.

Immediately, Wang Gong came to see Su Jun and said that he had just gotten the news, and since the thief was tired of it, he immediately surged westward and crossed the river straight into Yanzhou—the general, you should hurry up to rescue Yanzhou. Su Jun rolled his eyes and said, "When we return from Yanzhou, we don't have time to warm up, can we move troops?" "Wang Gong has practiced trickery all his life, how could he be deceived by Su Jun? It's just that he has no soldiers in his hands, so it is inconvenient to clash head-on with Su Zigao, so he suggested:

"You can make Shao Zhu and other leading troops go first, and if they want to avenge General Shao's revenge, they will be willing to fight to the death, and the merit is in the general's possession."

Su Jun pondered, this is a good idea. Of course, I don't want to fight head-on with Shi Zhao's main force, but since the main force of the Qianjun army is going west and there is no police on the river, it is impossible to keep shrinking in Qingzhou and not go to the rescue of Yanzhou, right? Just let Shao Zhu and them in front, I will follow from behind, if Shao Jun wins, I am the main general, and the credit will naturally not escape; If the Shao army is defeated, I can use the excuse to frustrate the spirit of my army, and it will be difficult to fight again, so I can take the opportunity to withdraw my troops......

So he took Wang Gong to see Shao Zhu and the others, and first asked them how many soldiers and horses they had left. Shao Zhu said: "There are many people in Nandu, old and weak, and there are only two or three thousand people who can fight. Su Jun said enough-"I would like to ask the royal palace to settle the people who are tired of the times, and scatter them in the counties of Le'an to eat, so that the general will have no worries." And when I first returned, the soldiers urgently needed to rest, and now that I heard that the thieves had gone down to Yanzhou, the unknown general would be willing to take the lead for me to smash the flanks of the thieves? For five days at most, I should lead the troops to follow. ”

Before Shao Zhu could answer, Duan Wenyang patted his chest first: "Killing thieves for the court and avenging General Shao is really our duty." It's just that there is not enough food in the army......"

Wang Gong hurriedly said: "It's all on Gong's body." ”

Duan Wenyang said: "In this case, I will take the lead to contain the thieves and prevent them from going deep into Yanzhou." But I hope that General Su will not live up to what he said, and support me so that I can join forces to break the thief. ”

Su Jun swore that I would definitely move troops in five days at most. So Shao Zhu, Duan Wenyang, Liu Yao and other generals immediately led their troops westward and rushed to Licheng in advance.

Only three days after the Shao Jiajun was dispatched, Su Jun also moved, because Wang Gong got the information, Xu Gong rebelled, and Shi Le ordered him to be the assassin of Yanzhou, so that he would besiege Dong'a and protect the back road. As soon as Su Zigao heard something, Shi Le ran away, and there was only Xu Gong in the west at present? So what is there to fear from the bandits? This is a great opportunity for me to make a contribution and take the opportunity to expand my territory and strength! It was to make the general Han Huang take the lead, and the whole army left Pugu City and went straight to Jibei.

Besides, Xu Niche, with the troops of Dongping, there were six or seven thousand people, and Shi Le also left a staff officer Qin Gu to lead five hundred sharp soldiers to supervise his army, and ordered him to continue to surround Dong'a, and go east to Mount Tai to protect the back road - that is, to guard against Su Jun. Of course, whether Xu Gong can win against Su Jun or not, Shi Le has no bottom in his heart, but since he has already controlled the ferries such as Jianjin, he doesn't pay much attention to whether the northern part of Yanzhou is gained and lost.

Unless the Xu Shrine is broken by Su Jun in a battle, I am forced to divide my troops to garrison Puyang to protect the ferry and protect the grain route; Otherwise, you dog-eat-dog, fight for a month and a half, a month, if I can't break the main force of the Jin army, the chances of winning are slim.

However, Su Jun did not rush to take Dong'e's intentions - as for Hou Shixuan's two blows, it is estimated that he will attack with all his strength, and he will conquer it in three or five days - but on the one hand, he perfunctory Qin Gu, and on the other hand, he sent his generals out to break through the surrounding counties and counties, in order to expand his own troops as soon as possible. He only sent a part of the guerrilla army to Mount Tai, and Yang Jian hurriedly sent another envoy to Su Jun for help.

The Shao Jiajun entered Licheng, received a warm reception from Feng Long, replenished them with food and equipment, and then continued westward along Jishui. When Xu Gong got the report, he asked Qin Gu to monitor Dong'a, and led the main force to meet him, fighting near Wushan and Pingyin City. The Shao army was outnumbered, but each had the ambition of revenge and shame, and killed extremely bravely - Shao Zhu sat in the center, Duan Wenyang and Liu Yao each led dozens of horsemen forward, repeatedly assaulting the enemy formation. Xu Gong was forced to go out in person, so he was forced to retreat the second general, and then built fortifications between Wushan and Pingyin to block the enemy's westward advance, and at the same time summoned the soldiers and horses that infested Mount Tai, and tried to attack the Jin base from the flank.

Shao Zhu's limited forces were difficult to resist the centripetal assault of the rebels, and if he was not careful, he was almost defeated. Fortunately, just when he was struggling to support, Han Huang, the vanguard general of the "Donglai Battalion", arrived, replaced the exhausted Shao Jun, and led his troops forward to take the main formation of Xu Niche.

The two armies fought fiercely for a long time, and it was difficult to distinguish the victory and defeat. The next morning, Han Huang went to the rebel base again to call for battle, Xu Gong sent troops to fight, Han Huang stood up with eight spears, went back and forth, and killed the second general of the rebels. During the war, the "Donglai Battalion" general also arrived, and went out to gallop with Han Huang; It was almost noon, and Kuang Shu also arrived, followed by Su Jun's brother Su Yi......

Xu Gong watched for a long time in front of the battle, and couldn't help but be frightened, and said left and right: "He Qingzhou's brave people, as many as they are?" "That's when I started to be timid. The next day, Su Jun arrived with the main force, and Xu Gong saw that his troops were slightly too much of his own, and he was extremely brave, so he was forced to retreat all lines and retreat to Luzicheng.

Su Junjin forced under Luzi City, but he refused to attack with all his strength. He said to the generals: "Although this city is ruined (it was broken by Shihu once last year), Xu Gong is a thief and a general, with no less than 7,000 people. Hearing that the thieves instigated bandits in the counties of Yanbei and destroyed the counties, I should first regain the lost land for the country, and at the same time cut off the wings of the Xu Niche. So he sent his troops to the south to recover Dongping and Rencheng.

In fact, Su Jun's original intention was not to eliminate Xu Niche so quickly, because once Xu Niche was defeated, it was estimated that the main force of the Xuan army would be in front...... He said in his heart that I might as well rest with Lu Zicheng for ten days and a half months, and when I find out where Shile has arrived and what the battle situation is in the west, it is not too late to attack this city with all my might.

It was under this Luzi City that Su Jun finally received the military order from Zu Ti from time to time, and he couldn't help but be taken aback after the seal, saying: "Grandpa is seriously ill, and he can do it?!" He said in his heart that if I don't sell my strength again, I'm afraid that Zu Ti will settle accounts with himself in the future, right? The Governor of Dadu has already come with an order, and he wants me to listen to Zu Li's dispatch, so how dare I disobey this order?

But after thinking about it again, blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, and with the military order of General Zu, it is convenient to take the opportunity to seek some personal interests for himself......

Soon Dongping and Rencheng were recovered, and Su Jun, as the governor of Qingzhou, appointed Jia Ning as the minister of Dongping, and his old friend Xu Shen as the minister of Rencheng. Immediately waiting for the general to lead his troops back, he immediately ordered the whole army to press on and storm Luzicheng. Xu Gong tried every means to plot and garrison for another four days, but was finally forced to abandon the city and retreat to Dong'a.

However, at this time, Dong'e had also fallen into the hands of the Zhao army - although there were only 500 soldiers including Qin Gu left in the city, but it was still so frightened that Hou Shixuan could not sleep and eat, so he fled out of the north of the city without waiting for Xu Gong to be defeated. When Su Jun heard about this, he immediately impeached Hou Shixuan, and at the same time appointed his younger brother Su Yi as the minister of Jibei - the four counties of Yanbei, and three of them fell into the hands of Su Jun.

And Su Jun also asked the acting Kuang Shu to be the Taishou of Puyang by the way - anyway, I heard that the original Taishou had been martyred, and the assassin Shi Xiahou Cheng was sent to the west, as for whether the news is true, you can ignore it for the time being, I will occupy the seat first. Just when the army is in danger and the war is fierce, I think that the imperial court will not reject its own performance-this has been a practice for decades-even if you want to take back the Yanbei counties after the war, then you have to come up with some other benefits to exchange with me, it is reasonable.

Immediately, Duan Wenyang was the vanguard, and the army pointed to Dong'e, and Xu Gong and Qin Gu retreated again until the easternmost Qiuqiu of Puyang. Xiaqiu was originally the seat of Yanzhou Prefecture, and Cai Bao, Zu Yue, and Xiahou Cheng were all stationed here. It's just that Xiahou Cheng is a relatively wasted person, afraid of being forced by Xu Gong, not long after taking office, he moved west to rule in Puyang City, and then did not see the enemy, heard the alarm and retreated first, and fled to Yan County in one breath, that is, in Yan County for Zuji captured.

Therefore, Xiaqiu is not only a large county, but also a relatively solid city, and the defense facilities are relatively perfect. Xu Gong immediately stuck to the hill, and then hurriedly sent Kuaima to the west to ask Shile for help.

At this time, Shile had already penetrated deep into Xingyang County. After he entered Xingyang, he first attacked Yangwu and sent Lu Ming to attack Juan County, the main purpose of which was to lure out Xu Liu, who was stationed in Xingyang, and try to destroy the main force of the Jin army in the field. However, the two cities of Yangwu and Juan County sent envoys one after another, broke through the siege, and galloped towards Xingyang, but the Jin army on the Xingyang side never moved.

Zhang Jing judged from this and said: "Xu Liu is very timid, which can be seen from this." He said that according to the report, Xu Liu divided his troops to guard the fortresses such as Licheng and Longcheng, and dug long trenches and built fortresses between the fortresses, as if he wanted to build a solid defense line. We have to hurry up now, if the Jin people build a defense line and form a long-term confrontation situation, then this time the division will be in vain.

Therefore, it was suggested that Shi Le divide his troops to monitor Juan County and Yangwu, and the main force should continue to go deep and attack Xingyang.

Shi Le, who tried in vain to make a big victory, couldn't help but hesitate in this bone's eye. He asked Zhang Jing: "Xu Liu is not deceitful?" He first based on Yangwu and Juan County, showing a horn trend, resuming the management of Li, Long and other cities, as if setting a trap, deliberately luring me deeper. If you don't conquer the two cities, you will go forward, and I am afraid that the thieves will ...... tricks."

Zhang Jingdao: "Our army is numerous, and the Jin Kou is outnumbered, even if it is divided and controlled, it will not be defeated." Although Xu Liu is cowardly, and may not be able to convince the public, but if the deep ditch and high fortress are purely to defend the palace, and can stop our army from going straight to Luoyang, I am afraid that his prestige will increase day by day, which will be very disadvantageous to me. Your Majesty should be decided, and you can't delay it. ”

Shi Leji pondered for a while, and finally nodded and said, "Qingyan's words are also reasonable...... However, when the army is sent south to the area of Bolang and Changsha, it will protect the flanks and threaten the ...... of Yuzhou"

So he ordered Lu Ming to attack Juan County, Wu Yu to attack Yangwu, Kong Chang led his troops south to Bolang Changsha, and tried to attack Zhongmu, he sent the main force of 100,000 from himself, and marched forward to Longcheng.

In fact, in terms of topography, Xingyang County is more closely connected with Yanzhou in the east and Yuzhou in the south, and is separated from the Yiluo Basin in the west. But because of this, it has become an important gateway to the east of Luoyang, the key to the east and west, so the early Han Dynasty belonged to Henan County, although it was divided, it was always in the jurisdiction of the division.

Shile wants to kill the Yiluo Basin from Xiangguo, there are two main roads to go, one is Hebei, through Ji County, Hanoi, cross the river and go south; The second is Henan, through Yanzhou and Xingyang, and breaks into Gao and west. Of course, it is also possible to go around in a big circle, pass through Yanzhou and go to Yuzhou, and then break through the Weihan Pass and Yuyuan Pass to the north, but the longer the march route, the heavier the transportation burden, and the danger factor rises in a straight line, so it can basically be ignored.

Zhang Jing's plan is to take the middle road and go to Xingyang and Chenggao. If the Dun army is under the strong pass and cannot enter for a long time, they can only summon the Hanoi garrison from Huting and Tongguan to help, or the army will cross north, and then try to break through the Jin army's defense line in the west of Hanoi. However, in this case, it will inevitably be time-consuming and laborious, and I am afraid that the logistics support will be difficult to keep up, and this is just a helpless last resort.

——————————

When Shi Le was approaching Xingyang, in the city of Luoyang, late one night, Liang Jun and Liang Yun secretly visited Yin Qiao and asked him: "Is it feasible for Situ to leave before leaving?" ”

Yin Qiao frowned slightly, and asked, "......What are you referring to?"

Liang Jun said: "Xu Jizu is not a soldier who can also be a soldier, he was slow to act after hearing that he was ordered, and it is said that he left Luoyang to the east, and he only traveled twenty miles in one day, so he was tired of falling, Xu Gong rebelled again, and the counties of Yanbei gradually fell into the hands of thieves. Now he succumbed in Xingyang City, not daring to compete with the enemy, but to defend it for a long time. I might as well take the opportunity to shake the officials, play the impeachment, and ridicule the Xun family for taking the opportunity to collude, and dismiss the ancestor from the post of general because he has been ill for a long time and the recommendation is inhuman......"

Yin Qiao hurriedly waved his hand: "This matter is definitely not feasible, you should be careful not to think about it!" ”

Liang Yun rolled his eyes and asked, "Why can't it be done?" Before Situ left, didn't he talk to you? Only in this way can the great Sima Dong come to Luo's aid, and because of the Xun family's reckless behavior, the government will be washed away. ”

Yin Qiao replied: "Xian Situ did talk to me about this plan, and I deeply agree. However...... The situation is very different from the previous negotiation. If Da Sima is still in Chang'an, and the Chinese army is frustrated by Yanbei, or is only tired of falling and cannot be saved, then what Jun and others say is naturally feasible. However, now Da Sima is in Jinyang, and the road is far away......"

Liang Yun interjected: "It's not far from hundreds of miles......

Yin Qiao ignored it, just paused for a moment, and then continued: "And the Chinese army is close to Xingyang, if Xu Jizu is impeached, the army's heart will be chaotic, and when the time comes, the thieves will fall into Xingyang and break into Gao, then Luoyang will be in danger!" What is the difference between us waiting for this time to conspire and acting for a thief? Don't say that again! ”

(Battlefield Literature)