On the third day of November, Xu Huang led all his troops to Pishi County.

This was his first time leading an independent expedition, and he was very excited; And after only two years of following the lord, he grew from a county official to a taishou, and his heart was full of gratitude to Gao Shun; Previously, it was unimaginable for a person like him to come from a good family; I secretly decided in my heart that I must be cautious and live up to the trust and trust of my lord.

Although Xu Huang is a native of Hedong, he is far away from the Yellow River and is not familiar with the clear water of the Yellow River; The same is true for others, including Zhou Fei, Guan Yu and others.

The officers and soldiers who went to Pishi County in advance reported that the Yellow River had frozen at this time, making it convenient for the troops to pass through, and that they could directly cross the river through the ice in Fenyin County without crossing the river through Longmengu.

Xu Huang is overjoyed, in this way, the trip can be shortened by two days, and it is safer and more convenient; Immediately sent cavalry to investigate, and the results of the report were consistent with the facts, so Xu Huang immediately sent someone to report the news to Zhou Fei, and used Fenyin County as a temporary material supply point and a place to cross the river.

This incident touched Xu Huang a lot, as a leading general, he didn't know the local climate, he really shouldn't, and he must prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future.

There is Longmen Mountain in the north 30 miles of Xiayang County, there is Longmen Pass under the mountain, and the pass is Longmen Ferry, also called Yumen Ferry, which is the main road of Qin and Jin Traffic.

The sixth army arrived in Fenyin County, and after a short rest, Xu Huang ordered the army to cross the river early the next morning.

At this time, it is close to the winter solstice season, and the weather is very cold; Fortunately, with the support of the lord, the Wuhuan cavalry were all dressed in sheepskin jackets, while the Han soldiers wore new cotton jackets, cotton pants, cotton shoes and leather hats, although they looked very bloated, but they were extremely warm, and the weight was much lighter than sheepskin clothes, which did not affect the play of tactical movements.

The ice of the Yellow River is very thick, but Xu Huang did not dare to be careless, first sent a tun of cavalry to test, and sure enough, nothing happened, and then the large army was divided into left, middle and right three ways to advance to the opposite bank.

First, two cavalry crossed the river from the right, and the other two crossed the river from the left, and he brought the rest of the cavalry to cross the river from the middle.

In order to ensure safety, each cavalry was divided into five columns, with large spacing and row spacing, and slowed down, dismounted and marched slowly.

After Song Xian led the infantry to carry the baggage hall, the spacing of the baggage vehicles was larger.

Xiayang County and Fenyin County face each other across the river.

The cavalry on the left and right quickly crossed the river and quickly surrounded Xiayang City.

At this time, Xiayang City was not occupied by Qianghu, and after the official army withdrew, the local clans organized families, recruited young people in the city, and recommended people who knew how to fight to organize defense.

Seeing the arrival of the Han officers and soldiers, the people in the city rushed to celebrate, and the people who defended the city hurriedly opened the door to greet them and reported to the major families.

However, the cavalry did not get an order and did not enter the city, and continued to guard outside the city, waiting for Xu Huang's arrival.

The families in the city were greatly encouraged when they heard the news, they had already learned the news that the imperial court had appointed a new Shangjun Taishou, who would soon regain their homeland, and their perseverance finally paid off, and they no longer had to worry about their lives in fear in the future, and they were busy organizing the affairs of the army.

Soon, Xu Huang arrived, and the heads of the families and the officers who temporarily defended the city hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects.

"I'll see Taishou later!"

Xu Huang was very casual and said with a smile: "Hehe, please get up, you have held the city and protected the people of the Han Dynasty from robbery, you are all heroes of the Han Dynasty, this official has just arrived, and you will have to rely on your help in the future." ”

The temporary officer took a step forward and said, "Taishou, please settle the official army in the barracks in the city, but it has been idle for a long time and needs to be repaired." ”

"Haha, it doesn't matter."

Subsequently, the cavalry marched into the city to guard and inspect the barracks; A group of cavalry stood guard outside the city to meet the arrival of the infantry; After checking that there were no mistakes, the remaining cavalry took the lead in entering the barracks and began to repair the houses.

And Xu Huang stayed in the Taishou Mansion, and the family had already sent his family to clean up.

Song Xian stayed in the barracks and was in charge of the affairs of the city.

Xu Huang was very satisfied with the local situation, and Xiayang City was not lost, so that they had a foothold in Hexi. Hurriedly sent someone to invite the former city guard, he wanted to know the local situation.

"Acting county lieutenant Sun Kai to meet Taishou!"

"County Lieutenant Sun, please take a seat, no need to be polite, let's talk about the situation in the city first."

County Lieutenant Sun said, "Yes, Taishou." The counties east of Luoshui all fell into the hands of Qianghu, but the city of Xiayang was high and close to Hedong County, and the soldiers in the city swore to defend to the death, Qianghu failed to conquer, but the outside of the city was looted. There were now 3,000 regular defenders, 1,500 young and strong, and 2,000 old and weak auxiliaries, all of whom were conscripted men aged from sixteen to sixty; If Taishou comes a month late, the food in the city will run out, and the people in the city will be forced to cross east. ”

"What's the situation outside the city? Let's go into more detail. ”

"Yes, Taishou. According to the Qianghu tradition, they would rob young women and strong men as slaves, or force young men to join the army, the old and weak would be brutally killed, all supplies would be looted, they would burn houses, destroy cities, and then evacuate to safe areas for grazing; Those who failed to escape in time were all in trouble, and it is estimated that there is no one outside the city at this moment. ”

"Where is the safe area?"

"Taishou, a hundred miles away from the bank of the Yellow River, is what Qiang Hu thinks is a safe area."

Xu Huang asked again: "Are there any people in the city who are willing to join the army?" ”

Sun Kai replied firmly: "Everyone is willing to join the army!" ”

Xu Huang saw that the other party's conversation was clear and intentional, so he said, "Tell me about your own situation." ”

"Taishou, a local of Kainai, served in the army in his early years, and was an official to the tun chief, and then returned to his hometown because of the disability of his left arm, this time it was the villagers in the city who trusted Kai, so he was elected as a temporary county lieutenant, please don't blame Taishou."

Xu Huang was very happy in his heart, there was a person who was familiar with the local situation, and he would save a lot of trouble, so he said: "Okay, you have meritorious service in defending the city, and this official has appointed you to continue to serve as the acting county lieutenant, and you will enjoy a salary of 400 stones." ”

Sun Kai was overjoyed, and hurriedly bowed and said: "Kai thanks Taishou!" ”

Xu Huang also arranged: "In the afternoon, lead the officers and soldiers in the city and the young men to the barracks to participate in the selection, those who are qualified for cavalry participate in the cavalry, those who are qualified for infantry can be infantry, and those who are eliminated can hire some auxiliaries from them." ”

Sun Kai was even more pleased, and hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes, Taishou." In this way, the new Taishou will not only save the people in the city, but also provide them with a way to live, otherwise they will have no food to survive this cold winter.

Subsequently, Xu Huang ordered the official opening of the government, and the Taishou Mansion Lord Bo, the county Cheng, and the Cao officials, as well as the county magistrates and county officials of Xiayang County, who came together, officially began their work.

The first task is to open a grain store and sell grain at a low price; The second is household registration statistics, which provides relief to the poor and the elderly.

The military aspect was mainly handled by Xu Huang, first of all, he sent infantry to take over the city defense and strengthen the defense; secondly, send cavalry to the surrounding area to reconnoiter the enemy's situation; There was also the selection of officers and soldiers in the afternoon.

As soon as the treatment of cavalry and infantry was announced, it was immediately enthusiastically responded to by the residents of the city, and even if they could join the infantry, it would alleviate their crisis and let their families get through the difficulties, and the Taishou would also hire some auxiliaries, which would greatly alleviate the plight of the residents of the city.

What disappointed everyone was that the recruitment criteria were too strict, and after an afternoon of selection, only 1,1000 cavalry and 1,800 infantry were selected, which was still Xu Huang and Song Xian relaxed the criteria a little, otherwise there would be fewer people selected.

Xu Huang placed one hundred of the infantry under the command of Sun Kai to maintain law and order in the city.

The next morning, the great clans of the city went to the barracks to hold a banquet and sent a large amount of gold, copper coins, grain, and fat sheep.

Xu Huang reciprocated the favor and allowed each family to send two young and promising juniors to the Taishou Mansion as officials.