In the area south of the river, the atmosphere is quite heavy and depressing, among the Jiangning Mansion Guards;

Ning Chongxuan, the general manager of the marching army, who was described as more and more withered and haggard, finally ushered in a trace of good news among the many bad news.

Because, the fall of Jiangbei has been temporarily stopped, whether it is Jiangling Mansion, which seems to be facing the enemy on three sides and the only remaining line, or Ezhou City, which is only separated by a river and is in danger, it is still under the control of local officials and military forces.

"Seeing that in the summer period, it is said that many Western thieves and war horses have begun to show signs of unsuitability?"

"Because of this, some troops were unable to succeed, so they had to stop nearby to recuperate."

"There are spies who risk death to report that the Western Army in Jinghu Road is suspected to have broken out of the epidemic in many parts of the Western Army!!

"Outside of the places where the thieves reside, there are many new pits that have been filled."

"In addition, many people saw with their own eyes the soldiers and horses of Shuofang and Jiuyuan, and they gave up the plundered and hurriedly returned to the division and went north."

"Is it because... The offensive momentum launched by Huaizhen is starting to work? ”

Someone said an incredible conjecture and possibility.

But Ning Chongxuan couldn't help but smile bitterly, he had once again received a secret decree and order related to this from Lingwai Guangfu.

Let him stay in the capital and temporarily take charge of the overall situation of the southeast and southeast provinces in the Lingnei, and further form and communicate with Huaizhen, who has defected from the outside, so as to realize the salvation of the curve with the help of the enemy;

He was even specifically allowed to use all kinds of conventional or unconventional means and methods, such as bribery and inducement, and talking about mobilizing high-level people inside, etc., to advocate and incite public opinion. It drove his forces to fight with the Western Army for a long time, and to buy more time and buffer space for the country to recuperate and rebuild its armed forces.

But in the current situation, what conditions can he come up with that is enough to make Huai Zhen tempted, or can he know the key points that are powerful.

Although this title of the person in charge of the affairs of the various provinces in the mountain sounds, with the resources and power that he can now control, what he can do is not more than some pasting work of plugging and filling in the gaps, and he has tried his best to adjust the only strength in his hands and try to prevent the situation from deteriorating and spreading further, but he has no more energy to do more.

。。。。。。。。

And the first of the westernmost of the Taihang Eight Mountains - Yiguan (now Jiyuan ---- Houma), is located in the winding and steep mountain road of the Wangwu Mountain Range.

"Hurry up and follow me."

Zhang Dekun, the king of Shunyi, who personally pulled the horse and walked, also urged and encouraged the soldiers near him in a hoarse voice, so that they continued to speed up, or re-lifted the heavy ones and almost stopped.

"Think about your wives and children, and think about your wealth,"

"All of them are waiting for us to go back to the rescue."

"The survival of our Hedong Army is in this move."

"For the mountain Jiuqian is very close to the top, don't slack off and relax for a moment."

And where they passed, many chariots and horses that had been mercilessly abandoned and pushed down the cliffs because they were damaged or injured were scattered intermittently among the mountain streams and ravines.

Some of the animals hadn't even died on the spot, and the beasts that emerged nearby slowly approached and coveted them, and let out a desperate wail. All this is as if in the snowstorm in Hebei that year, he was squeezed by Zhang Bangchang and had nowhere to stand and had no way out, and with the only thousands of light horses around him, the history of galloping into Hedong was repeated.

In order to persuade by coercion and temptation, these soldiers gave up the excess baggage and burden that they could not bring, and he even promised heavy rewards and promises, as long as they could return to Taiyuan Mansion one step ahead of those thieves, every soldier could get a reward of rich wealth and direct treatment.

Therefore, under the auspicious means of multi-pronged means, his army can be regarded as bursting with great morale and enthusiasm. The fierce voices hovering in the mountain road and shouting one after another seemed to shake the clouds apart and pierce them.

According to his plan and rhetoric, no matter how bad and difficult the situation is now, as long as he can lead troops back to Taiyuan Mansion in time, then everything is still promising, and everything is easy to say;

After all, Taiyuan Mansion has a strong city wall to block the enemy, and there are sufficient reserves for long-term use and perseverance, not to mention the foundation of the 200,000 or 300,000 people in the city. But the premise of all this is that they, the army that went out, can be rushed back as the backbone of the defense of Taiyuan Mansion.

On the other hand, it is the consideration of pinning hopes on external breaking factors.

Although he has taken a decisive and ruthless action to remove people and things in the army that are related to the Western Army and may become an obstacle,; So he pulled out the camp and returned to the hinterland of Hedong, but he did not give up his hopes and follow-up calculations for the western army under the influence of the overall situation.

Because this is also a big gamble, using his last bit of hole cards and chips to lead the whole precarious situation; In turn, the Western Army was forced to make corresponding countermeasures and actions after serious deficiencies and flaws in the rear and an important link in the supply line; As a result, he was passively and directly involved in the front line of confrontation with the Huai army that invaded Hedong, and reduced his pressure and loss in disguise.

In this way, as long as he persists for a long time, whether it is the Western Army or the Huai Army, they will be dragged into this slow and indefinite battle and attrition, which will give him more opportunities and possibilities to break the game.

With this complicated and painful feeling, they finally walked out of the long Wangwu mountains in the Tiesha Pass, and returned to the relatively spacious and flat Jiangzhou/Quwo Basin; From there, he drove straight to Linfen, Hongdong, Zhaocheng, and Huoyi along the Fenshui all the way, and after simply searching for money and grain and thousands of soldiers, he passed through Lingshi, Huiqiu, Xiaoyi, and Pingyao Zhuyi, and recovered many mules, horses, cattle, and livestock and drove the army to the front of the army.

Only then did he arrive at Qi County, where Taiyuan Prefecture was still under local control, amid the chaotic news of the Huai army's infestation and the rumors that it was difficult to distinguish between true and false, and also obtained first-hand news about the enemy.

Then, they passed through Wenshui, Qingyuan, and Jiaocheng, which were also chaotic and out of control, and arrived at the final destination of the upper reaches of Fenshui on the north side of Mengshan.

Although there are traces of war raging in the four fields. But on the head of Yangqu City, Taiyuan Prefecture, which stands majestically in the distance, is still fluttering, which is the golden crow of the Northern Han Dynasty, which can't help but make Zhang Dekun, including many Hedong soldiers who have lost a lot of baggage and mules and horses, greatly relieved

It's just that when they rushed to the city with homesickness and all kinds of longing, under the leadership of the cavalry, they were greeted not by some kind of cheering and eagerness to open the city gates, but by a large uproar.

Then, after a moment of inexplicable astonishment and stopping, a large cloud of smoke and dust rolled up from the west and east of the city at the same time, as well as a tremor like a wave and then a hoof, pierced and washed away the irrepressible joy and excitement of these Hedong soldiers who had just returned home.

And between the two large areas of wind and smoke and dust, the horseshoe print wind and thunder flag held high in the center is impressively hunting in the wind.

"Huai Qi."

"It's Huaikou's cavalry."

"Prepare for war on the spot."

"Drop all your loads and move quickly towards the walls."

With the chain reaction caused by this terrible shout, the entire army, which was scattered because of the rapid march, boiled like a nest.

And the hundreds of Hedong cavalry who arrived under the city first also turned around and divided the city into two teams, and collided head-on with the Huai cavalry that was attacking from east to west. After a brief shout and roar, it disappeared completely.

In the distance, a larger-scale infantry army array, surrounded by parallel cannons, slowly advanced among the countless sparkling armor.

。。。。。

In Tongguan City, there is an atmosphere of emergency and chaos.

"Tens of thousands of Hedong troops withdrew from Shaanzhou without authorization?"

"The Guanfeng envoy and the general Yuhou who were sent to contact in the army didn't send any news?"

"King Shunyi doesn't have any explanation or explanation anywhere."

"I'm afraid the situation in Hedong will change."

"Xu Tianwolf, the prince of Beiliang, and the general Yan Wenluan, have led the dragoon army to deal with it."

"In addition, Yuan Zuozong, the deputy commander of Beiliang, Qi Dangguo, the former general of Zuoya, and Yao Jian, the general of Shotsheng, led Gu Zangjun and Tianshui Guanjian and Yongcheng Yicong, about 50,000 rushed from the customs to respond. "

"Please rest assured."