After the defeat of the Zhao army at Santai, Shile was forced to shrink all his forces, gather surrounding materials, and stick to Xiangguo City.

After all, Xiangguo is the capital of Zhao, although it was originally just an ordinary county, because the country was not established for a long time, and it has not been expanded, after all, the city wall is thickened, the city wall is increased, and other solid defense measures have been carried out one after another. Therefore, Shi Le felt that as long as the upper and lower levels were united and the command was good, there should be hope to hold on for half a year or even longer.

If the Chinese army is unable to conquer Xiangguo for a long time, and the people of the surrounding counties are delayed because of the war, and the soldiers have almost exhausted their grain reserves, they will definitely have no food and clothing, and there will definitely be chaos. If the Chinese had enough supplies to provide relief, though unlikely, they would not have been able to hold on for a long time, and if they were forced to retreat south of Zhangshui, the Zhao regime would not necessarily have no chance of a resurgence.

Therefore, Shi Lexian in the city, not only killed the Duan Piyan brothers who were obviously not strong, but also expelled all the Zhao people (so Jin people) civilians out of the city, leaving the countrymen (Hu Zhen and others) alone to defend the city. And he urgently summoned Cheng Yao, looted grain from Jizhou, gathered soldiers and horses, and returned to the capital to come to King Qin.

However, Zu Tidu had already lined up under the city of Xiangguo and besieged the city, but he never heard the news of Cheng Ziyuan...... Shi Le was angry about this, and even scolded Cheng later, causing Cheng Hou and the prince Shi Hong to bow down and plead guilty, cry blood and kowtow, and finally made Shi Le temporarily discouraged.

So why didn't Cheng Ziyuan come? The reason is also very simple, he can't come......

When Cheng Yao arrived in Jizhou, he dispatched soldiers and horses to suppress bandits everywhere, and looted materials by the way. However, the life of the bandits originated from the fact that the Shi Zhao regime fished in Jizhou, forcing the people to take risks.

Especially when the news of Zu Li's Northern Expedition and Lian Victory's victory came, many big clans and wealthy families in Jizhou couldn't help but be ready to move.

Jizhou Gaomen, headed by the two Cui clans of Boling and Qinghe, and the Li clan of Zhaojun, the Xing clan of Hejian, the Gao clan of Bohai, etc., most of them guarded the gate and refused to go out rashly to Zhao - just like the Pei clan and the Xue clan in Hedong. One is that the world is chaotic, the situation is dark and unclear, the bigger the family, the more cautious it must be to advance and retreat; Second, these high-ranking disciples also look down on the unliterate Hu Xuan in their hearts, and they are unwilling to stoop to each other.

On the other hand, if the Zhao regime wants to stabilize the local area as soon as possible and expect the people to collect taxes, it cannot but rely on these local snakes to a certain extent, and dare not force them too much; As long as each family is willing to pretend to send one or two children from distant branches to the county, it will be regarded as giving face to the secession regime, and they will be safe for the time being. Most of the ministers from the family under Shi Le, such as Xun Xuan, Pei Xian, Fu Chang, etc., were alone, far away from the family, defeated and taken prisoner, and were forced to leave the government - in the original history, there were Cui Yue and Lu Chen from Liu Kun's old department, and so on.

Similarly, in the original history, it was not until the Tuoba clan entered the Central Plains that Tuoba Tao forcibly conquered Fan Yang Lu Xuan, Boling Cui Xuan, Zhaojun Li Ling, Hejian Xing Ying, Bohai Gao Yun, Guangping You Ya, Taiyuan Zhang Wei and others to Pingcheng, and then began to tie these Central Plains clans to their own chariots step by step.

Therefore, in the end of the Zhao Dynasty for thirty-three years, they could not completely surrender to those Hebei clans, so now that the country has only been established for a few years, they will be defeated like a mountain, and the Hebei clans will continue to perfunctory and deal with them? In case the Chinese army comes, and they use the thief as an excuse to kill us, there is no reason at all.

So the family took action one after another, inciting civil unrest in secret, thinking that it would be a step forward in the future. For a time, the thieves in Hebei were blazing, no longer as before, but only blocking the road to rob merchants and travelers, and the small forces gradually snowballed into big forces, and began to burn villages and towns, raid cities, and expel soldiers.

- If Zhang Bin tried to return to Xiangguo from Youzhou at this time, it is estimated that without Cheng Yao's scheme, he would naturally be cut down in the middle of the road - and there are more than one or two teams that have the ability and willingness to cut him.

Cheng Yao was in Gaoyang County, and was surrounded by tens of thousands of people and bandits, not to mention transporting grain to support Xiangguo, and led his troops back to King Qin, and even the possibility of escaping alone fell to the bottom, and he could only cage the city and hold on......

Then, with Bolu as the center, the turmoil quickly spread to the west and north, and the displaced people of Jizhou went to Youzhou to eat, and there were many thieves in Youzhou. Even before Zhang Bin left, the arrangement in Youzhou was relatively reliable, after all, the main soldiers and horses had already been led by Kong Chang to the south, and there were less than 10,000 people left, so they could only guard a few central cities, and it was difficult to even open up the communication lines between each other.

When the news reached Liaoxi, Murong Han couldn't sit still, and immediately played his father Murong Diao, asking to send troops west to restore Youzhou.

Murong Diao wrote a letter to discuss this matter with Liu Kun, but Liu Kun was reluctant at first. Because it was originally said well, you have to help me attack Goguryeo first, in case Cui Yu borrowed Guryyeo soldiers to capture Pingzhou, let me solve my worries first, and then we can stand in the west. But Wen Qiao persuaded Liu Kun to say:

"The thieves were defeated in Xingyang before, but unexpectedly it became a landslide, resulting in a group of thieves in Youzhou and Hebei, and it was difficult for Zhao soldiers to defend. Such a great opportunity, do not miss, once I first go east to break the Guryeo, then I am afraid that Pingzhou will be decided, and the thieves have been destroyed, and the secluded and Ji are in the hands of the officials and soldiers, and the adults are not the size of the work.

"The Lord used to be the pillar stone of the Jin Dynasty, and in the Hua Dynasty, there was almost no achievement, even if the Son of Heaven is still a major person, the Lord can still look at the face and the old man (referring to the ancestors) in the same dynasty? And the two states are in chaos, the people are miserable, and the adults are rewarded by the state, how can they turn a deaf ear? Cui Yu has no plan, and Juli is far away, and he may not dare to invade Pingzhou; And even if it comes, although I am uneven, I can get the secluded and hopeful, which is enough to compensate - between advance and retreat, I hope that the adults will think twice. ”

So Liu Kun finally decided to send Liu Yan to lead 3,000 troops to meet Murong Han and attack Youzhou. However, this matter was frustrated by Murong Hao-how can you let the eldest brother make more meritorious contributions and occupy the land again-repeatedly persuaded Murong Diao, instead of recovering Youzhou, it is better to take advantage of the opportunity of the civil strife of the Tuoba clan, let's destroy the old enemy Yuwen Department first.

Fortunately, the masterminds Lu Chang and Yang Tan, who Murong Diao trusted, were all on Murong Han's side - they were all from Youzhou, and they naturally wanted to recover their hometowns, but they lacked interest in conquering Yuwen. Therefore, in the end, Murong Diao left Murong Hao alone to defend the country, and raised three armies, with Murong Han as the vanguard, and went straight to Yan to kill.

General Zhao of Youzhou could only ask Yuwen Xun Nickyan for help, but Xun Nickyan did not dare not save him based on the cold of his lips and teeth, so he led his troops south and stationed in Hunu, in order to threaten the flank of the combined forces of Murong and Liu. Murong Hao got revenge, and without waiting for his father's orders, he led the left-behind man Ma Xizheng and successfully defeated the Yuwen Master Yidougui. Xun Nickyan was forced to go north, but was chased by Murong Han, and he was shot off his horse with an arrow......

In this way, the originally powerful Yuwen Department was almost wiped out, half of the troops were annexed by the Murong Department, and half of them fled west to attach themselves to the Tuoba clan.

However, at the same time, as Liu Kun expected, Pingzhou Guo heard the warning news - the king of Goguryeo, Yifuli, was instigated by Cui Yu and took the opportunity to enter the Kou along the Mazi River. Liu Kun did not have many remaining soldiers and horses, and did not dare to go out of the city to resist, so the Guli army ravaged Liaodong and then surrounded Xiangping City. Liu Kun personally ascended the city and commanded the offensive and defensive battles, after all, Goguryeo's technical level was relatively backward and he was not good at attacking the city, so he could not overcome the siege of Xiangping for two months......

This is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

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Zu Ti besieged Xiangguo City, but the progress was not very smooth.

There are three main reasons: First, the Chinese army was tired after a long battle, and the grain and materials were gradually unable to help, although the troops were divided and the surrounding counties were taken, but what they often obtained was searched and captured by the Zhao soldiers, and the thieves robbed it again, and the empty city that was left behind. Theoretically, this is close to the state of "the end of the crossbow".

Therefore, Changshi Zhang Chang put forward three suggestions: the best policy, temporarily release the siege of Xiangguo, retreat to the area south of Handan, and shrink the front line to facilitate the mobilization and supply of materials; The middle strategy, the deep wall and high fortress, besieged the city of Xiangguo, and then released half of the soldiers and horses, and went south to Yanzhou to eat, which can also reduce the pressure of the transportation road; Make a decision, ask the imperial court to send a fresh army to assist in the siege. However, Zu Ti was still hesitating and refused to take it.

The second point is that Shi Le is old in the battle formation after all, and there are generals such as Gan An and Kong Chang under his command, and they are quite closely guarded in the city. Now most of the residents of Xiangguo City have been expelled - naturally some of them have taken the initiative to run - only more than 1,000 Zhao officials remain, as well as nearly 10,000 soldiers of Hu and Xia. With 10,000 people guarding such a well-fortified town, as long as there is enough food and materials to eat, it is easy to become strong and indestructible - after bombing all the civilians away, the food stored in the city is indeed enough to eat for several months.

And it is rumored everywhere that wherever the Chinese army passed, Yu Hu and Qian were all killed, women and children were not forgiven, and chickens and dogs were not left. Therefore, the soldiers and soldiers in the city have already saved their will to die, and they are extremely brave.

This is also the reason why Zu Ti did not dare to use the three strategies offered by Zhang Chang - to retreat to Handan, in order to raise again, naturally he was not very willing. And the enemy army is tens of thousands, morale does not drop but rises, like a trapped beast fight, if I have a slight negligence, it is inevitable that it will be glimpsed flawed, breaking out of the siege, and even may lead to the rout of the whole army, the siege of the city instantly collapsed, at this critical juncture, how dare you let half of the soldiers and horses go south to eat?

At this time, we should not be weak, but should increase the troops. But even if they ask the imperial court for reinforcements, the food is almost out of supply, and Wei Hai and Yang Qing write letters to complain about their grievances in three days, how many reinforcements can the imperial court send and dare to send?

As for the third point of the poor situation, Zhiqu Liu heard that Santai had lost and Xiangguo was threatened, so he really did his best to raise the soldiers and horses of the two counties of Leping and Shangdang, and went out of Taihang from Jingcheng to the east, and galloped south to come to help.

In fact, the Shangdang army had already been transferred by Xuan'an, and in the end, Zhiqu Liu could only pull out more than 5,000 soldiers, and only when they entered the border of Hebei, they were scattered by a third...... There are more than 3,000 of them all of the old troops and veterans brought out by him for many years, not only loyal to the main general, but also battle-hardened and brave in battle.

Zhiqu Liu first defeated the bandits all the way, recovered Yuanshi County, and after a little rest, he immediately led his troops south along the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain, bypassing Xiangguo, to attack Handan. When Zu Li heard the news, he urgently sent his son Zu Lian to lead his troops to the rescue.

Zu Lian despised the enemy's outnumberedness, which led to negligence, but he was ambushed by the six pseudo-subordinates and defeated between Handan and Wu'an. In this regard, the grain route of the Chinese army was also blocked by the six branches for a time, but fortunately, Yang Qing arranged it properly, and Wei Hai responded in time, so he was not robbed much by the army.

Zu Ti was forced to go to Handan in person to encircle and suppress Qu Liu. However, he did not dare to mobilize too many troops to besiege Xiangguo City, so he could only use almost all the cavalry that played a small role in the siege battle, and it took nearly half a month before and after, and finally drove Qu Liu back, and then besieged Lin Shu City.

——This is mainly because the number of the six soldiers is outnumbered, and there are not many war horses, since the Shangdang returned from a long distance to King Qin, he fought everywhere, and did not dare to attack the famous city of Dayi, so he did not have a long time to rest and replenish the opportunity, and finally he was tired and difficult to continue, which was surrounded by the Chinese army.

The general Chen Jian also once advised Qu Liu, saying: "Tens of thousands of Hua Kou besieged Xiangguo, and we can't break through the siege, so we only patrol the periphery, so what can I do?" Moreover, it is easy to be bitten by the Chinese Kou, resulting in the annihilation of the whole army. It is better for the general to temporarily leave Wei County and Guangping and go north, occupy the cities of Jizhou or Youzhou, eliminate the thieves, slowly expand the troops and horses, and accumulate materials. Then even if Xiangguo does not defend it, we can have a place to stand......"

Zhi Quliu only shook his head at this, and said, "The King of Heaven is in danger, how can I abandon him?" If you want to occupy Youyou and Ji, why not come to the east, and continue to guard Leping and the party? And the situation in Jizhou is chaotic and unclear, if I go to get it, it will be difficult to find a place to stand on my feet in a few months.

"Even if I can seize Youji and Ji and establish a foothold, but the country of Xiang is broken, and it is most difficult for the Heavenly King to escape, what good is it? I know that I can't do anything, but I just delay the time for Huakou to break the city, and then try to finally do my part of the loyalty to the Heavenly King. When I had a good relationship with the king of heaven, the king of heaven treated me very kindly, and my husband would repay him if he was gracious, but I had to die for the country, how could I let him go? ”

At this point, he was still fighting in the western part of Guangping and Wei County, and was finally intercepted and copied by the Chinese cavalry, and besieged in Linxi County.

After arranging the defensive matters, Jian Chen came to report to Qu Liu, saying: "The enemy does not have many horsemen, and may not be able to conquer this city lightly, but if I want to break through the siege and leave, I will inevitably be pursued by the enemy and lead to destruction...... Now there is only one way to defend the city, like Xiangguo, the food and grass in the city are limited, but there is no rescue outside the city, and it will overturn sooner or later......"

Zhi Quliu smiled at Chen Jian and said: "Wen Huakou wants to kill all Hu and Qian, but he is not good at slaughtering Zhao people...... Now this forest is my place of death, and if you are unwilling to die for the country, you might as well disperse. Change your name to change your name, and from then on, you can plough the acres and be a common man...... Or go directly to the Chinese, and I won't blame you and others. ”

Chen Jian immediately said: "The general's words, is it a test of the last general?" I have a grudge against Pei to kill my brother, and the general knows it, so how can I have a reason to vote for China? Since the general wants to martyr the king, the last general will martyr the general, what is the difficulty-since the army has been in service, life and death have been put aside a long time ago! ”