Xinfeng, Hongmen Pavilion.

The city of Xinfeng, which started in the early years of the Han Dynasty, was a new city built for Liu Taigong on the site of Qin Liyi, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty.

It is said that Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, pacified the world, listened to the advice of the strategist Lou Jing, set the capital of Guanzhong, and chose the site of Chang'an, but also made the Emperor Taishang live in the Changle Palace built by Xiao He, but Liu Taigong, who was born as a commoner and was accustomed to the life of the market, although he was clothed and fed, and was extremely noble, he still missed the days of cockfighting and lackeys in Fengyi, Pei County, and eating wine and bowing.

Therefore, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, simply moved all the population of his hometown Fengyi and built Xinfeng City according to the style of Fengyi for Emperor Taishang to live.

There is Lishan Mountain in the territory of Xinfeng City, and Hongmen Pavilion relies on Lishan Mountain, the location is dangerous, after the overlord Xiang Yu entered Guanzhong, he once stationed troops in Hongmen, and invited Gaozu Liu Bang to this banquet, the sparks of the two heroes collided at the banquet, and then under the pen of Sima Qian, it turned into a legend of Hongmen banquet that has been passed down through the ages.

Xu Rong camped in Hongmen Pavilion, and what he liked was naturally an important geographical location of Hongmen.

It's dusk, and the smoke is curling.

Xu Rong, who was wearing armor and a sword, led a team of personal soldiers to inspect the defense in the camp, and Xu Kun, who was neatly draped, also followed him, and the two of them passed through the tents of many soldiers one after the other, and finally came to the front of the Chinese army's big tent.

was originally able to regain control of the army and lead the troops to the battle, which was a matter of great joy to Xu Kun, who was eager to make contributions, but following Xu Rong to patrol the camp made Xu Kun's enthusiasm a lot lonely.

The soldiers in the army were not strong in their desire to fight, which Xu Kun expected, but he didn't expect that as the days of garrisoning Hongmen Pavilion passed day by day, the morale of the battalion sergeants and soldiers slowly declined.

Along the way, there were a lot of soldiers who were immersed in cooking, but they lacked the enthusiastic spirit of the past, and there were also whispering military officials, as soon as they saw Xu Rong's personal soldiers, they closed their mouths directly.

Of course, Xu Kun noticed the strange atmosphere in the camp, but when he wanted to come forward to ask and scold, he was stopped by Xu Rong, and the two watched and walked like this, crossed most of the barracks, and returned to the gate of the Chinese army.

Xu Rong, who didn't stop, didn't look good, and he didn't say a word, although Xu Kun had doubts in his heart, but it was not easy to ask openly, so he could only suppress the question, and only after he reached the Chinese army did he ask Xu Rong, who was silent:

"My lord, since you saw that the soldiers in the battalion were unstable, why didn't you let the child come forward just now?"

Xu Rong didn't seem to hear Xu Kun's questioning words, he looked at the big flag in front of him waving in the wind, listening to the sound of fighting in the wind, and after a long time, he spit out a sentence.

"Big things go!"

"Your Excellency!"

Dong Zhuo died, the Liangzhou army fell apart, and the overall morale of the Xiliang army to which Xu Rong belonged was huge.

And the rumor that the Chang'an court wanted to kill all the people of Liangzhou, as it spread, became more and more unscrupulous, confusing the truth with falsehood, which made the soldiers in Xu Rong's camp suspicious.

It's a pity that Xu Rong can only watch the situation deteriorate in these matters, but he can't do anything about it, because he has no power to influence the decisions of the court princes, nor has he the means to erase these rumors from the hearts of the soldiers in the battalion.

If it is according to Xu Kun's practice, imposing military punishment on the soldiers in public, and exhaustively investigating the rumors, then invisibly, it will be even more confirmed to confirm the rumors that he wants to kill all the people of Liangzhou.

Xu Rong was pessimistic. After the Battle of Changping, King Zhaoxiang of Qin wanted to destroy Zhao in one fell swoop, and after taking turns to attack Handan, he wanted to use Bai Qi as a general to attack Zhao again, but Bai Qi saw that Zhao was difficult to capture under the situation of the Three Kingdoms Alliance, so he resolutely refused to lead the troops to go on the expedition, saying that "I would rather die of heavy punishment and can't bear to be the general of the defeated army", and finally was slandered in Du You and was given death by King Qin.

Although Xu Rong's strategy with troops is far inferior to Bai Qi, he also knows that with the current army of men and horses who have no fighting heart, it is more defeated than victorious to meet the fierce Li Dao, Guo Yan and other armies, but when he was ordered by Wang Yun to come to meet the enemy, Xu Rong had to take the order hard.

His family members are still in Chang'an City, if he does not receive orders to go on the expedition, with Wang Yun's treatment of Liangzhou generals, he will definitely be punished for collaborating with the enemy, and he will suffer together with his family, and facing Li Dao and Guo Yan, at most, he will die on the battlefield, at least he can save the family members in Chang'an City.

Xu Rong finally turned his head to look at Xu Kun, with the same strictness in his eyes as before, and he was very likely to speak in a calm tone.

"Let's go into the account."

After Xu Rong finished speaking, he took a step and walked towards the Chinese military tent, and Xu Kun also followed.

As soon as he entered the tent, Xu Rong spoke:

"The general trend has gone, it is not up to you and me to reverse it, you quickly pack your bags, take a team of troops at night, sneak out of the camp, and go back to Liaodong."

"Your Excellency!"

This is the second time Xu Kun has been so excited, he can't believe why the father who fought on the battlefield and scolded Fang Xuan in the past has become so depressed, his face is excited, and he insists on his own opinion and says:

"My lord, even though the morale of the battalion sergeants is low, as long as we rely on the geographical advantage and hold the Hongmen Pavilion, there are still Hu Zhen's soldiers and horses in Xinfeng City, and there are also soldiers and horses of Lu Bu and others in Chang'an City, and Li Dao, Guo Yan and others still have the strength to fight, how can the battle situation have reached such a point?"

Xu Rong shook his head and said with some self-deprecation:

"Hu Zhenqi, how many soldiers are in the chest, I don't need to say, you also know, seeing that Li, Guo and others have a large number of soldiers and horses, he does not surrender the city, it is a great luck, as for Lu Bu and other people from Bingzhou, I am only afraid that they are in Chang'an City at the moment, looking forward to us and Li Dao and Guo Yan fighting each other, weak and wounded, how can they rely on it. I am equal to this, like a lonely army, unable to advance or retreat. ”

"But—"

Xu Kun hurriedly wanted to argue, but when the words came to his mouth, he seemed to be stuck in his throat and couldn't speak. He knew his father's character, Xu Rong was already determined to die, and in order to protect his family in the city, he was ordered to lead the troops and resist the army of Li Dao, Guo Yan and others desperately.

As for the defeat and the surrender of Li Dao, Guo Yan and others, as the guide of the counterattack on Chang'an, needless to say, Xu Rong is also impossible to accept, not to mention the filth between his family and Li, Guo and others in the past, just because of Xu Rong's temperament, he will never be able to bear it, and bend his knees in front of Li, Guo and others for the sake of his life.

The method of using soldiers, ten is to surround it, five is to attack it, and the enemy can be divided, if it is less, it can be escaped, and if it is not, it can be avoided. Therefore, the small enemy is strong, and the big enemy is also captured.

You can't avoid it, you can't run away.

Xu Kun originally had a little idea of winning and retiring in his heart, hoping to repeat the great victory of winning more with less and breaking the enemy army in the past under his father's command, and save the lives of his father and son and save the troops to retreat, but Xu Rong's words today obviously extinguished the last illusion in Xu Kun's heart.

"Has the situation come to this point today?"

Xu Kun was disheartened and muttered to himself, as if he was forcing himself to ask himself, and as if he was asking Xu Rong a question.

Xu Rong didn't answer him, Dong Zhuo died, the upheaval in the court, the troops of Li Dao, Guo Yan and others, and they were ordered to resist the enemy army, these things, in the final analysis, are not something they can stop, they are like a boat caught in the whirlpool, although they are vigilant and afraid of the stormy waves, but they are deeply trapped in it and can do nothing, they can only drift with the waves, and follow the ups and downs of the waves.

Xu Rong was not afraid of the horse leather shroud, and he also wanted to fight to the death with the army of Li Dao, Guo Yan and others while the morale of the army had not completely dissipated.

But before the decisive battle, he had to find a way to persuade Xu Kun away.

And persuading Xu Kun to go away and extinguish the expectations in his heart is undoubtedly the most direct and effective way.

"After this battle, all the families in the city can escape from prison. Liaodong Taishou Gongsun Du, is my old friend, I recommended him as Liaodong Taishou, there is this kindness, plus such as today's chaos, Liaodong wants to be in a corner of peace, it is the time to employ people, you should pick up your family, go to Liaodong, when you can settle down again, I don't have to worry. ”

Xu Rong tried his best to use a calm voice to arrange the aftermath, but there was a majesty that could not be refused, Xu Kun stood beside him, his face was red, his fists were clenched, and his chest was constantly rising and falling, but he could not do anything, he could only endure the sorrow and indignation in his chest, and listened to Xu Rong's words with his head down.

"Also, there are two things you need to keep in mind."

Xu Rong's voice suddenly rose, and he reached out and grabbed Xu Kun's shoulder tightly.

"One is not to think about revenge, and the other is to return to Liaodong, don't go to Yan Yan in Hedong!"

The battle situation is unfavorable, the danger is like a tired egg, Xu Rong is trapped in the situation, under hard thinking, there is no way to retreat from the enemy, he is already in turmoil, after stabilizing his mind and explaining the aftermath to Xu Kun, he suddenly thought of the two things he was most worried about, and he still couldn't rest assured, so he solemnly spoke again and warned Xu Kun.

Knowing his son Mo Ruo's father, although Xu Kun is a successor, Xu Rong has always regarded him as his own. He knows Xu Kun's character very well, knows his strengths, and knows his flaws, so what he is most afraid of are these two things.

In the current wind, there are still pre-Qin Yu Lie, blood revenge, among the people, there is still existence. Xu Rong was not afraid of dying on the battlefield, but he didn't want Xu Kun to seek revenge for his own death, and he was in danger again.

And the other thing is Yan Yan in Hedong. Xu is because this person escaped from under his nose on the battlefield, or maybe it is because he and this person are at odds with each other, although he discovered Yan Yan's talent, but his fear of him has not faded.

And Yan Yan's performance can indeed be called his evaluation of his "owl posture". As soon as he entered Hedong, Yan Yan was like a tiger entering the mountains and forests, roaring in the wilderness, and in just a few years, he rose to become a force that could not be ignored.

Today, Xu Rong has no choice but to enter a predicament alone, but he still doesn't want Xu Kun to defect to Yan Yan, he can't see the evolution of the situation, and he doesn't have the ability to predict the upheaval of the court, but he still believes in his eyesight, Yan Yan has been under his command for the longest time, what are the means, what are the ambitions, even if he is stupid, when he comes to today's situation, he should have some understanding, so he doesn't want Xu Kun to fall into an unknown danger again.

"Do you remember these two important things?"

Xu Rong's tone was stern, just like he had ordered Xu Kun in the past, even though Xu Kun still didn't agree in his heart, he had to bow his head and promise.

"Remember, child."

"Okay, okay, let's go!"

At the end of the words, although Xu Rong's tone was stern, he tried to squeeze out a little smile. And Xu Kun tried his best to smile after praying goodbye painfully.

Although smiling, both father and son knew that this goodbye was mostly a farewell, and the smile was half stiff and half miserable.