Xiang Ao, who was confident, did not plan to take the army to Hongnong for Qiang Cavalry.

"Although the Qiang people are powerful, they don't take it seriously." Xiang Ao's eyes were contemptuous, and he turned to Han Hao and said: "General Zilong is going to go to Hongnong with the general to fight against the Qiang cavalry this time, and also ask the heir of Yuan to work hard, succeed Zilong as the chief official, and lead the troops back to Hanoi, okay?" ”

Han Hao looked at Xiang Ao with a sincere face, and Han Hao throbbed slightly. When the coalition forces withdraw, the world will inevitably be in chaos, when choosing the master and following, Han Hao's eyes lit up slightly, and he suddenly knelt down on one knee and said solemnly towards Xiang Ao: "If the coalition forces fail to fight against Dong, the world will inevitably be in chaos." Hao is not a famous general, but he is also willing to saddle the horse for Ming Gong, if Ming Gong does not give up, Hao is willing to follow to the death! ”

Although the situation is still chaotic today, Han Hao has been following Xiang Ao for several months, and he can also see a little bit of Xiang Ao's heart. Regardless of whether Xiang Ao would support the Han dynasty or support himself like other princes, Han Hao was extremely optimistic about Xiang Ao. Moreover, he is not from a family, whether he goes north to serve Han Fu and Yuan Shao, or to the south to serve Yuan Shu, Sun Jian and other princes, he will not be reused.

In the past few months, Han Hao's performance in front of Xiang Ao has been considered by himself to be a little permissible. Han Hao lowered his head, still waiting for Xiang Ao's reply with a little apprehension in his heart.

Xiang Ao was stunned at first, he didn't expect Han Hao to take refuge in him. Although I don't know why Han Hao is like this, in Xiang Ao's opinion, is it important? Immediately, Xiang Ao laughed and said, "Haha... I am very fortunate to have the help of the heirs. ”

Xiang Ao picked up Han Hao, who was kneeling on one knee, patted Han Hao's arm heavily, and said solemnly: "Since Yuan Hei can see my Northern Regions and look down on my Xiang Ao, can we join hands with Kuang Fu Sheji?!" ”

Han Hao, who was helped up, looked ecstatic and excited, and hugged his fists at Xiang Ao again: "Hao will die for the lord in every battle!" ”

"Good! Hahaha..."Xiang Ao is in a good mood. After the collapse of the coalition forces, how could Xiang Ao not see the situation in the world. Although he and Cao Cao and others decided to continue the crusade against Dong Zhuo, Xiang Ao was not an ignorant person. If Dong Zhuo can be eliminated, the Liu family of the Han family may still have some hope, even if he assists Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty, Xiang Ao has no resistance.

But if Dong Zhuo is not eliminated, Xiang Ao will also show the determination of the lone army to crusade against Dong Zhuo and revive the Han family to the world. At this time, Xiang Ao was not for himself, but for the millions of people in the Northern Regions, and for the trust of Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty. As for the current majesty in Chang'an City, Xiang Ao had to think of another way.

Compared with other princes in the world, Xiang Ao knows his disadvantages. Although the people of Bingzhou are strong, they are located in a remote area and have few celebrities. If the princes of various places were to fight separately and compete in the Central Plains, Xiang Ao knew that his talent reserve would definitely not be comparable to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others, even Cao Cao after the eunuchs. What's more, Xiang Ao's decrees in the Northern Regions are all aimed at the family, so how many families will support him.

When he decided to give up King Qin and save the Yulin Army, Xiang Ao already had his own thoughts, always thinking about how to expand his team and recruit talents. Han Hao, who has followed Xiang Ao for several months, is not as good as Xu Shu, Jiang Yan and others, but he is also a rare general, and he has more than enough to govern a county. I was going to deal with the Qiang cavalry and rush back to Hanoi to recruit Han Hao, but I didn't expect Han Hao to send it to the door himself.

"Congratulations to the lord and the general!" Zhao Yun, who has been with Han Hao for several months, also admires Han Hao very much, although his martial arts are not as good as himself, Dian Wei and others, and his literature is not as good as the military divisions and commanders in the Northern Regions, but he is better than both civil and military, and he is an all-rounder. Now that Han Hao is serving his father-in-law, Zhao Yun is also overjoyed.

"Haha, General Zilong is polite!" Han Hao laughed and said: "General Zilong is the boss of the last general, and I ask General Zilong to take care of him!" ”

Han Hao seemed to integrate very quickly, imitating the usual jokes between Dian Wei and Zhao Yun on weekdays, and teasing Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun raised his eyebrows, looked at Han Hao with an unkind face, and said, "Yuan Hei has learned badly!" ”

"Hahaha..."Xiang Ao laughed, relieved to see that the generals under his command were so harmonious.

Both the main ministers and ministers are suitable, and Han Hao's dedication has made Xiang Ao's army more cohesive. Especially when Xiang Ao inspected the barracks, he was full of confidence and hope, which made the morale of the entire barracks vigorous, and during the drill, he shouted to kill the sky. The incessant roaring outside the city frightened the people and families in Anyi City enough, and they thought that the rebels and foreigners were coming.

To defeat the 15,000 Yu Qiang cavalry besieging Hongnong, Xiang Ao only planned to lead the most elite 3,000 feathers to kill and 2,000 righteous followers. The remaining nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses were brought back to Hanoi by Han Hao for rectification, and after waiting for Xiang Ao's return, Hanoi was brought under the rule of the Northern Regions. Hengdian and his Yulin were seriously injured, so they had to temporarily follow Han Hao back to Hanoi to recuperate, and to reorganize Yulin, Xiang Ao had to try to recruit and assign soldiers for Hengdian, so he couldn't come in a hurry.

With the departure of Xiang Ao's army, the family in Anyi County was much more relieved, but the people were frightened and anxious all day long. After making preparations, Xiang Ao led Zhao Yun, Dian Wei and 5,000 male soldiers to Hongnong.

"Lord, the scout is here to report, there is no trace of the Qiang people near Shaanxi County!"

"The scouts haven't seen it?" Xiang Ao was puzzled and a little stunned at the same time.

"I haven't seen it!"

"Huh!" Xiang Ao smiled contemptuously: "Do the Qiang people really think that there is no one in the Han Dynasty?" Besieging Hongnong and not exploring the surrounding counties! "Even if it seems reckless, Dian Wei, who doesn't care about military affairs on weekdays, is also stunned, is there such a war? Aren't you afraid of being attacked and flanked? Dian Wei shook his head speechlessly and sighed.

"Zilong should have rushed to Hebei County." Xiang Ao's personal guards spread out the map and looked at it for a moment and said: "Order the whole army to cross the Yellow River immediately, detour south of Hongnong, and raid the Qiang cavalry." ”

Immediately, Xiang Ao's 3,000 army passed by the proud Qiang cavalry and came to a hundred miles south of Hongnong County. At this time, in Hebei County, a small number of more than 1,000 households migrated outside the city under the urging of the county order and Zhao Yunyi.

"Brother, if I burn such a tall city wall of the Han people, why fear wild beasts, why fear other tribes in the Western Regions!"

Ma Se looked at Hongnong, who couldn't be attacked in front of him, and was full of emotion, and his eyes were full of envy.

"Arthur doesn't have to be envious!" Ma Yan looked at the Hongnong city wall a little stupidly and said firmly: "I burn to be favored by the sky, there will be a day, I burn when the iron hoof will trample on all the cities of the Han Dynasty and enslave the Han people!" ”

"Well, Arthur believes in his brother!" Ma Se nodded heavily, his eyes equally determined.

"But brother, don't you need to send scouts near Hongnong City? We are alone, but Arthur is still a little more careful. ”

Ma Yan smiled contemptuously and said: "The area from Luoyang to Chang'an has been harmed by Dong Zhuo, there is Baibo in Hedong, and Yuan Shu in Jingzhou has shrunk, who will send troops to the division?" Before attacking Hongnong, hadn't many scouts been sent to investigate? Arthur don't worry! ”

Under Ma Yu's comfort, Ma Se put his mind at ease, nodded and said: "It's just that Hongnong in the county town is like this, I don't know how magnificent Luoyang was in the past!" ”

"Arthur, don't think about it, we will leave after the plunder. Although there is no large army in the Sili area, it is not a place to stay. After attacking Hongnong's subordinates for a long time, Ma Yan was still a little worried and said, "Don't rest." Come on, give an order, and the whole army will press on! ”

The general who defended the city was Wang Hong, a fellow villager of Situ Wang Yun of the dynasty. Looking at the less than 1,000 people left in the city, who were old, weak, sick and disabled, Wang Hong sighed. Dong Zhuo not only burned Luoyang, but also took away all the elites from all over the country along the way, and most of the people were also moved, leaving behind mostly old and weak women and children. When Wang Yun recommended Wang Hong to Dong Zhuo to be the Taishou of Hongnong, Wang Hong was still grateful.

In the current situation, Wang Hong doesn't know whether it was right to rush to Hongnong to take office. Cao Cao crusaded against Dong Zhuo, and when he passed by Hongnong, except for asking for some grain and grass, he did not commit any crime in autumn. Wang Hong never imagined that after Cao Cao left, there would be Qiang people who dared to enter the hinterland of the Han Dynasty alone and attack the city. Wang Hong sent many dead soldiers out of the city to ask for help from all sides.

However, the Qiang cavalry was very good, and most of them were intercepted and killed. Even if a few brave people sent a secret letter for help, the surrounding counties were afraid of the Qiang cavalry army, and they stubbornly defended their respective cities, not daring to leave the city.

Zishi, Zishi, you can make me miserable! Wang Hong thought so, and seemed to blame Wang Yun a little. But as an important minister of the imperial court, Wang Hong never thought of surrendering. Although he had never seen the cruelty of the nomads to the Han people, Wang Hong knew that those who dared to go deep alone must not be soft-hearted. If he surrenders, not only himself, but even all the people in the city may not be able to survive.

Wang Hong had a gloomy face, standing on the city wall, staring fiercely at the Qiang cavalry who were not afraid of death attacking Hongnong under the city wall.

One offense and one defense, another day passes. At three o'clock, the cold sun of early autumn slowly set down the mountain in the distance. The bright red sunset sprinkled the last warm daylight of the day on the head of Hongnong City. The dark red blood that had solidified everywhere on the city wall was also illuminated red, and when you looked closely, it seemed to come to life, slowly flowing with the afterglow of the setting sun.

Ma Yan under the city sighed and looked at Hongnong City helplessly. Of the 15,000 soldiers and horses, nearly 5,000 were lost in three days, and only the Han people defending the city were worth more than 1,000 casualties. If it weren't for the lack of defensive forces in the city, Ma Yan would have given up the siege and plundered the towns and towns.

The nights in early autumn are a little cool, and if you don't pay attention to it, you can easily catch a cold and get caught with wind chill. The nomads were not good at healing, and they were alone, and Ma Yu did not dare to take too many risks, so he had to call out the trumpet and withdraw his troops. However, Wang Hong, who was on the city wall, did not have any relaxed expression, and his face was even more solemn. Wang Hong looked at the cold sun that was still half left in the mountains in the west, and sighed: How long can you keep it? Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?

Thundered... Just as the soldiers on both sides were slackening and rejoicing that the battle was over today, a deafening trampling sound could be heard from the direction of the mound to the south.

Cavalry! Ma Yu was horrified! At this time, how could there be such a large number of cavalry in the realm of Sili? The nomad knew best about the tremors of the cavalry charge, not to mention the Ma Yan as the leader.