It is difficult to walk at night, especially in winter, the cold wind is howling, the ground is icy and slippery, pedestrians and horses must be careful when walking, Fang Daye leads the horse, walks alone on the official road, and is constantly overtaken by the people behind, those people push carts, drive cattle and sheep, and may still hold children in their arms, and strive to move forward, as if the Huns are following behind the buttocks.

Slowly, fewer and fewer people caught up behind, and it became less urgent, and one wife complained to her husband as she walked: "You are in a hurry, many of the neighbors have decided to stay in the city, see the situation and say whether to leave or not...... I don't know what's going on at home, the dozen chickens and ducks haven't been fed tonight. Did you lock the door? ”

The husband also regretted it a little, didn't want to admit it, didn't want to argue, just kept saying, "I know." ”

Fang Daye turned around and glanced at the north wind, facing the north wind, there was no shadow of Shenxiongguan in the darkness, although the idea of stabilizing the people's hearts was from him, and the young general Zhenbei seemed to have executed it well.

Behind a dilapidated wall on the side of the road, a bonfire was lit, dozens of people gathered in a circle to keep warm, and someone shouted to the old man walking alone on the official road: "Don't go, there is no village or shop in front, come and bake the fire, and hurry tomorrow." ”

Fang Daye found a place to tie the horse, took out a little bean feed to feed the horse, and then squeezed into the crowd to share a little warmth.

Most of the people around me know each other and are discussing the "general trend of the world" enthusiastically.

"For decades, Da Chu has never been defeated by the Huns, and this time it won't, we may have left too early."

"It's not what it used to be, young man, it's not what it used to be, when Emperor Wu was in the past, the Chu army went out of the pass to chase the Huns to fight, how could there be a situation where the Huns approached Shenxiong Pass? Alas, I remember that there were Chu army sentry posts hundreds of miles away from Hebei, and the Chu people could come and go and graze cattle and horses at will. Since Emperor Wu ascended to heaven, I have never left the north gate of Shenxiong Pass. ”

"The new General Zhenbei looks good, as if he is a general who can fight."

"Too young, when Emperor Wu was in power, a person as young as him, no matter how noble his background was, could only be a captain, and after studying with a veteran for a few years, he would be qualified to lead the troops independently. No, General Zhenbei is too young to be an opponent of the Huns. We're on the right track, that is...... It's a little too anxious, but you can actually wait for one night. ”

"Alas, I don't know if it's good or bad to return to my hometown in a hurry, I heard that there are riots in many places in Guannai, I hope my hometown is fine, don't let me meet."

"Hehe, the most unfortunate thing is not that I encountered a riot, but that after returning to my hometown, I caught up with the government to recruit soldiers, and was sent back to Shenxiong Pass."

Most of the people in Shenxiong Pass are merchants, so they are anxious to leave the city and return to their hometowns, and they are afraid of being conscripted and requisitioned, everyone sighs again and again, "the time of Emperor Wu" is frequently mentioned, and there are not a few years apart, the people forget the cruelty of Emperor Wu in the late period, and only remember that the wind and rain are smooth, and everyone lives and works in peace and contentment.

"Uncle, you're from the north, right?" Someone asked.

Fang Daye snorted, he didn't like to chat.

"How about the Broken Iron City, can you hold it?"

Fang Daye pondered for a while, "It can probably hold for ten to fifteen days, if the reinforcements in the Guannai are delayed, it will be dangerous." ”

"Where are there any soldiers in the Guan, they all went to quell the riots, and the internal and external troubles have rushed together."

"Great Chu knows that there are internal and external troubles, the Huns may not know, they have been defeated for decades, they must be weak-minded, as long as the Chu army shows fighting spirit, it may be able to force the Huns to retreat."

Fang Daye didn't speak like ordinary people, the people around him were in awe of him, and made room for him, and someone even handed over a pot of hot wine, Fang Daye drank two sips, and a warmth flowed from his abdomen to his limbs, feeling more comfortable.

"Listen to what you mean, you should first eliminate the troubles, and then calm the internal worries?" Someone asked.

Fang Daye cherished words like gold in front of General Zhenbei, but he was able to talk eloquently in the face of a group of people, "The frequent riots in the Guannan are nothing more than because the people lack financial resources, and the accumulation has been too heavy in recent years, so the people are not able to make a living, and as soon as they are instigated, they join the bandit gang." In this, the re-endowment is the cause, the riot is the effect, and the re-endowment is mainly for the decisive battle with the Xiongnu. Pacifying internal worries can not reduce the endowment, but defeating the Xiongnu can return the benefits to the people, and the riots will disappear. ”

The crowd didn't understand it, but they became more and more in awe, and an old man asked: "Now that the riots are scattered in the counties, if they are not quelled in time, I am afraid that they will be connected after the winter, and it will be useless to reduce the tax at that time, right?" ”

"Of course, we can't indulge in riots, but we don't have to put them to death, and the counties and counties just need to guard the gates and prevent the rioters from leaving their localities. I am afraid of one point, the Huns are far away, the riot is close to the belly, the court is afraid of the near and the far, the troops are used to quell the chaos, and finally the civil strife is not settled, but the Huns have entered the customs, and it is not easy to get out again. ”

The people didn't understand so much, they just felt that what the old man said was very reasonable, and a middle-aged woman smiled and said: "You can see it so thoroughly, the court won't make mistakes." ”

"Probably not." Fang Daye didn't want to frighten this group of people, he didn't even understand what he was talking about, but the idea came spontaneously, and he had to blurt it out, but unfortunately, there was no suitable audience in front of him.

Suddenly, the old general was in a state of flux, hung his head, and concentrated on the fire.

Another person respectfully asked, "Old man, you are an official of the imperial court, right?" ”

"I'm a prisoner and I've just been released."

As soon as these words were spoken, the area around the campfire fell silent, and only the crackling of firewood and the howling of the wind could be heard.

There was a sudden sound of horses' hooves in the distance, and it was a little strange to dare to gallop on such a night and on such a ground, and everyone looked towards the official road. Three knights came, and one of them enthusiastically shouted, "Come and roast the fire......

Before he finished speaking, the three knights had stopped, wearing armor, and at first glance they were the generals of the army. No one squeaked, first, they were afraid of officials, and second, they did not dare to delay military affairs.

"Has anyone ever seen an old man? About sixty years old, tall, alone, riding a horse. A knight asked aloud.

Almost without looking, everyone's eyes were on the newly joined man.

Fang Daye sighed heavily, turned around and walked to his mount, and the knight on the official road saw him, "Isn't that ...... General ......"

Han Ruzi jumped off the horse, he was very happy in his heart, he finally caught up, it was smoother than expected, he prepared a lot of words, no matter what, he had to keep the old general.

Fang Daye led the horse to the official road, saluted General Zhenbei, and asked, "How many troops can General Zhenbei mobilize?" ”

Han Ruzi didn't expect that Fang Daye would be the first to ask questions, and was stunned for a moment, "I'm fighting for ......"

"Let's put it another way, how many troops does General Zhenbei want to mobilize?"

Han Ruzi thought for a while, "I hope to mobilize all the Chu troops." ”

"Okay, I'll go back with you."

Fang Daye jumped on the horse.

Han Ruzi was stunned again, but after all, the goal was achieved, he also turned over and got on the horse, and Fang Daye drove side by side, and walked along the original road to Shenxiong Pass together, and soon talked about the current trend, Fang Daye was abnormal, and his mouth was gushing endlessly, and Han Ruzi only had to listen.

Around the bonfire on the side of the road, an old man said: "I just said that this is not an ordinary person, it must be a fallen official, and he was invited back again, you all remember, I stopped him just now." ”

"Third uncle, you see that everyone invites people over, not just him."

"Don't you recognize the general who invited the man? In the lobby of Shenxiongguan, he signed the documents for us. ”

"General Zhenbei? You say that's General Zhenbei? It's so dark, do you see clearly? ”

"Absolutely, how can there be such a young general?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and an old man said: "With these two here, why can't the Chu army defeat the Huns?" Wait for dawn, let's go back to Shenxiong Pass, and we won't have to suffer from traveling far. ”

When returning to the pass, there is no need to gallop on horseback, but Han Ruzi feels that time flies faster than going out of the pass, Fang Daye's analysis made him suddenly, "Tomorrow I will send troops to support the Broken Iron City, and go in batches, one batch in the morning and afternoon every day, the number is not much, but it is necessary to make the Huns feel that the Huns are constantly dispatching troops in the pass." ”

"Frequent sending of troops can confuse the Huns, but the most important thing is grain and grass, the broken iron city did not think to accommodate more than 20,000 Chu troops, the stored grain and grass can not last long, Shenxiong Pass must hold the grain road, if the front Chu army can block the Huns in Hebei, everything is fine, if not, you have to set up a few strongholds along the way to ensure the supply of grain and grass. If General Zhenbei doesn't think I'm old, send me. ”

Guarding the grain road is much more dangerous than guarding the broken iron city, Han Ruzi didn't want the old general to take risks, so he just arrived at the city gate and waited to open the door, he smiled and said: "I take the liberty to ask, what made the old general Fang decide to go back to Shenxiong Pass with me?" ”

The city gate clicked, and Fang Daye said, "I need someone to listen to me." After a pause, he continued: "General Zhenbei is probably the only person who is willing to listen and has the ability to do so. ”

Han Ruzi smiled, "It's not a secret, before I arrived in Broken Iron City, someone recommended Old General Fang to me." ”

"Oh? Someone still remembers me as an old fellow. ”

The city gate was opened, and a group of generals, including the master bookkeeper, greeted them, and they were really afraid that the general of Zhenbei would never return.

"Shi Yangfeng, the former permanent attendant of the Central Committee and the current commander of the Northern Army, strongly recommends General Fang to me."

"Yang Feng? Haven't heard of this person. "Fang Daye was stationed on the frontier all the year round, and later went to Qi as an official, so he didn't know much about the eunuchs in the palace.

It was the second half of the night when I returned to the general's mansion, and the soldiers in several military camps in the pass were just ordered to arrive, Han Ruzi and Fang Daye did not rest, and began to arrange for the army to go to support the broken iron city.

In a hurry, Shenxiong Pass could only gather a total of more than 5,000 soldiers and divide them into six teams to ensure that there would be reinforcements to the Broken Iron City in the morning and afternoon of the next three days, during which Han Ruzi had to find more reinforcements.

Han Ruzi spent a sleepless night in Shenxiong Pass, and on the other side of the broken iron city, all the soldiers also did not sleep.

The first reinforcements had not yet left the pass, and the Huns had already crossed the river. (To be continued.) )