The Hun captives who rushed out of the gate immediately rode their horses in different directions. They looked around, and there were indeed several fires in the city, and most of the soldiers and soldiers patrolling the streets went to the places where the fires broke out. And the people and households in the province were also panicked and fled in all directions.

Many soldiers on the street paid no attention to the Hun captives. As if they had been pardoned for a moment, they each chose a passage with a small number of people, and then they galloped out and went straight to the gates. However, the sound of horses' hooves as they galloped finally attracted the attention of some of the Wu Wei soldiers on the side of the road. When they saw that the person on the horse was the Xiongnu prisoner who had been detained in the dungeon, the generals of the Wuwei army near Zuo were holding weapons and shouting to surround them.

Seeing that it attracted the attention of the soldiers on the left, the prisoners who were riding immediately became even more anxious. They kept urging their horses under their crotches and continued to gallop towards the city gate not far away. Seeing that the war horse did not have the slightest intention of slowing down, the soldiers and soldiers of Wuwei who were gathered around began to retreat one after another, so they were ordered to go everywhere to put out the fire, and most of the soldiers only carried swords and crossbows, so they had to watch these captives gallop away.

When the guards at the gates of the inner city saw the fleeing captives, they immediately fired arrows at them with bows and crossbows. In the meantime, several more fell from their horses. And there were still captives who escaped the rain of arrows, rushed straight out of the city gates, and rode away!

The big captive and the bold captive ran to the left of the south gate, and they were also shot at by the defenders of the city. The Wu Wei sergeants, who had already witnessed several captives rushing to escape, were already shouting to capture the fleeing enemy at this time. And the arrows fired by the defenders at the head of the city shot down the daring captives who rode behind. Without caring about turning back to save him, the big horse jumped and galloped out of the city gate.

As the night deepened, the non-commissioned officers of Wu Wei, who had previously gone out to fight fires and arrest the so-called fugitives, returned to the camp one after another. The news of the prisoner's escape had spread in the camp, but the person in charge of guarding the prisoners was Lu Yi, who had already been promoted to the commander of a hundred people under Zhou Xing's command. Lu Yi learned that the captives had escaped, and hurriedly went to Li Yanzhi's house to meet and plead guilty.

Lu Yi entered the house, but saw Li Yanzhi for a long time, holding a book, looking at it gracefully. He only said that Li Yanzhi didn't know about it, and hurriedly clenched his fists and knocked on the ground: "The last general is not well guarded, causing the enemy prisoners to escape, please punish Changshi for his crimes......"

Li Yanzhi smiled faintly when he heard this, and then put down the book. He was dressed in a blue and white cloth today, and with the scroll in his hand, he didn't look like a general, but more like a Confucian who couldn't release the scroll.

"Lu Yi, I handed these captives into your care, but how did you torture and abuse them every day to make them escape? It was my intention to beat the trumpets and drums beforehand, to order the whole army to go out of the camp and to rescue the fugitives from the fire. I never expected your troops to come out in the same way, and I am also responsible for the escape of the prisoners......"

"Today, the subordinate is on duty, and when the fire breaks out in the city, the subordinate is leading his troops to patrol the city. Unexpectedly, the enemy escaped, which had nothing to do with Changshi, and all his subordinates were negligent, hoping that Changshi would be convicted......"

Li Yanzhi looked at Lu Yi quietly for a while, then got up, walked in front of Lu Yi, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Since this is the case, you can go to Liu Beibu to receive the punishment." These captives don't matter much, and I'll send someone to explain to Liu Beibu later, and I'll give you twenty sticks as a punishment. ”

When Lu Yi heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to kowtow: "My subordinates, thank you Changshi Kuanren." With that, he got up and took a few steps back, then turned and went out of the house. After Lu Yi came out of the house, Li Yanzhi called the guards on duty outside the house again, and said: "You take me to order arrows, go to Liu Beibu's place, and inform him that this time Lu Yi is not good to defend and the enemy is captured, and he will be punished with twenty military sticks." ”

When the soldier heard this, he took the order. Li Yanzhi sat down and thought about it for a while, then picked up the book on the table and continued to read it.

And far away in the state of Guzang, the news of the extermination of the captives spread, making the state governance of the city almost a sea of joy. The people of the various squares took to the streets to welcome the victorious return of the cavalry.

Chen Zhen mobilized cavalry from all over the world this time, and the action of exterminating the captive cavalry came to a successful end with the destruction of several captive cavalry. Although the Su Guard cavalry also attacked repeatedly in these operations, thanks to the state and county cavalry that cooperated with the attack, there was not much loss.

The losses were not large, but the results were relatively rich. This time, Chen Zhen returned to the division and escorted back to Zhouzhi more than 200 Xiongnu prisoners. The rest of the Qiang captives have been released after the two of them have discussed it. In this regard, although the generals sent by various states and counties had a lot of complaints, they could not change Chen Zhen's decision.

Among the people who welcomed the triumphant guards on the road outside the city, many of them were villagers from the left, and after hearing that the townships had been attacked, they came to Guzang for refuge with their families. These days, Gu Zangling is busy back and forth, and it is very hard. Settling these villagers to settle in the state for a while, they consumed a lot of money and grain in the government treasury. Fortunately, now that the captives have been extinguished, Gu Zang Ling, who is standing in the ranks of subordinate officials, is finally relieved.

Zhang Jun heard that Chen Zhen reported the victory, and he also personally led his subordinate officials out of the city to greet him. Chen Zhen saw that the envoy Jun was at the head of a team of officials, so he hurriedly stepped forward and knocked on the ground with his fists: "There is a trust to make Jun Hongfu, and Zhen is fortunate not to be dishonored." ”

Zhang Jun helped Chen Zhen up, and said to his subordinates proudly: "In the eleventh year, Chen Zhichong led the army to Lingju and attacked the thieves. Returned with a big victory. Now he has attacked and destroyed the captives, and has repeatedly saved the whole state from fire and water. Chen Zhichong is the lonely guard! ”

When Chen Zhen heard Zhang Jun's praise, she felt uneasy, and was about to bow down with her fists and humble herself. However, Chen Zhen slammed his force and held his arm, so that he could not bow down. Chen Zhen was moved in her heart, but she still whispered to Zhang Jun: "Envoy, why do you need to be like this......"

Zhang Jun took Chen Zhen's arm, and the two walked towards the city together. The subordinate officers followed one after another, and the rest of the cavalry of the guards followed the subordinate ranks. After only a hundred paces, the Hun captives who were escorted in the queue of the guards became the targets of the people who welcomed the attack on the side of the road.

The people took materials on the spot, and immediately stones, clods and other things flew towards the Hun captives, and they also took the guards who were escorted around them. They retreated, out of the range of the captives. The attacks continued until the captives were taken into the city gates.

Zhang Jun, who was at the head of the team, took Chen Zhen's arm and walked more than a dozen steps quickly, and then looked back to confirm that he was not closely followed by the rest of the people, Zhang Jun lowered his voice and said: "I don't know that since you led the army to the expedition, there has not been a day of peace in the Assassin's Mansion. Facing many vassals alone, I really have the heart and powerlessness! ”

When Chen Zhen heard this, he frowned and pondered for a moment, and then asked: "But the high gate in the state still advises the king to conquer Longxi?" ”

Seeing that Zhang Jun nodded slowly, Chen Zhen was silent for a long time, and then said: "According to what his subordinates have seen, if these high-ranking families are willing to sacrifice their wealth and gather their troops to support, it is not impossible for you to plan for this." ”

Zhang Jun was surprised when he heard Chen Zhen's words. In the previous deliberations of the subordinates of the Assassin Mansion, Chen Zhen clearly expressed his opposition to the rash advance and hastily started a war with the thieves. At this time, he said something completely opposite, which made Zhang Jun difficult to understand.

"Why do you say this?" Zhang Jun thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't understand why Chen Zhen's attitude changed, so he asked bluntly.

"In this pursuit of the captive cavalry, I saw Li Dingdong screening the captured captives, giving dry food to the Qiang among them, and then letting them go, but wantonly beating, insulting, abusing and even torturing the captured Huns. The subordinates asked the reason, and replied that in the land of Longxi, the Qiang people have lived for a long time, and whoever occupies Longxi must be restrained and given preferential treatment, and at the same time drive it into an army to prepare for war. ”

However, if you want to rule Longlong for a long time, you must migrate people to Longlong, intermarry with the Qiang, and at the same time call the leaders of the Qiang tribes as officials, give preferential treatment, and restrain corruption. And the folk integration with each other, encouraging the Qiang people to abandon nonsense, after a few generations, there will be no Qiang! Today, Liu Zhao has tried his best to take advantage of the people of Diqiang, and he has detained the relatives of the leaders of various departments as hostages, which will not last long. ”

Zhang Jun frowned and listened to what Chen Zhen said, nodded frequently, and saw that Chen Zhen's voice paused slightly, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it, you might as well continue to say Chen." ”

Chen Zhen cleared his throat and continued: "Zhizhi has long had the ambition to restrain Longxi, and what he said and did was to pave the way for the future. Release the Qiang captives as a show of goodwill to the ministry. The abuse and killing of Xiongnu captives was intended to make them flee back, acting as a rebellion and dividing the relationship between Liu Zhao and the Qiang tribes. In the future, if I raise my troops and go down, where these people will stand, you will definitely know where they will be. ”

"What's more, the high gates in the state have also suffered from thieves, and there have been cases of captives intercepting and killing female dependents. Under the excitement of the crowd, you can use this as a basis and urge everyone to make more efforts......"

Zhang Jun still wrinkled his eyebrows, thought about it carefully, and then said: "Now the households sheltered by various families in the state are lonely and estimated, and I am afraid that they will exceed half of the total number in the state." Lonely and afraid that if Longxi is restored, each family is still in Longxi to delineate the governing power, maintain a tacit understanding, so that the people of Longxi, Longxi, can not be used by me, what should I do? ”

Chen Zhen shrugged helplessly and said: "Envoy, at this time, the high gates of the scholar clan have been sitting one after another, and when Duke Wu was there, he also repeatedly admonished the descendants to treat the scholar clan preferentially and govern the state with the power of the scholar clan." Although most of the people of the subordinate clan are fetters and constraints at present, the envoy has not been able to shake their foundation at the moment......"

"If the envoy tries to recover his homeland, the state sergeant clan Gaomen, and even the Longshang wealthy clan, still make the monarch have to borrow heavy strength." Chen Zhen sighed, and then continued: "Although these people are now fettered, if you are in charge, you can also make them contribute to the Eastern Crusade. At present, all families need to raise their own food and weapons, raise troops, and they are bound to win, and they will not be like the child's play in the last year. It's just that the general is still difficult to weigh the candidates, so that you can know what to do. ”

Zhang Jun pondered for a moment, then turned his head to look at Chen Zhen: "Among the scholars now, can there be a person who can be the commander-in-chief?" ”

Chen Zhen groaned, and Zhang Jun saw that Chen Zhen did not reply, so he continued: "If the commander-in-chief has no one to appoint, how will he raise troops?" ”

There was a long silence between the two, and after a while, Chen Zhen tried to say, "General Song Ji of Yanglie may be a great task." I respectfully ask you to make a decision......"

Zhang Jun frowned: "Song Ji went to Han Pu last year and held Woganling with Liu Yin. Lone once asked the generals who fled back after defeat, and said that Song Ji was above the military discussion, but he did not say anything, and when the army broke and fled, he also led his own troops to flee the battlefield first. Not to mention that in Lingju, he also bought the first Mao Gong from Li Dingdong. Is it okay to appoint this person? ”

Chen Zhen heard that Zhang Jun took the lead in denying Song Ji, so he thought about it, and asked tentatively: "Jincheng County guards Zhang Lang, has been in battle for a long time, and he is old and serious, and he can be the commander-in-chief, what does the king think?" ”

Although Zhang Lang has a clear understanding of the situation and has been in battle for a long time, he is old after all. In recent years, Jincheng has been in a worrying situation, with few soldiers, and although there is a lot of support from the state, it is still difficult to provide a strong soldier. It is not impossible for Zhang Lang to be handsome, but who will guard the land of Jincheng? ”

Chen Zhen pondered for a moment, and then said: "Wuxing is too guarded by Xin Yan, and his strategy is outstanding, when he was in Woganling before, it was Xin Fujun who suggested that Han Duhu should fight a decisive battle quickly and defeat Liu Yin, but he was vetoed by Han Pu. In recent years, Xinfujun has mined iron ore, built military weapons, and trained soldiers. Today's Wuxing County soldiers are no longer comparable to the past. ”

"Wu Xing is the elbow of the state, and the Xin family is the wife of the Wu Gong, so he is relieved to put it here. Although Xin Yan was quite strategic and insightful, he led the army to serve on several expeditions, but he was defeated. This man is an ominous leader and cannot be appointed......"

Chen Zhen sighed: "In this case, the subordinates can only recommend themselves to the envoy Mao. Make you think, can Jane be up to this great task? ”

When Zhang Jun heard this, he laughed and said, "Chen Zhechong Gong Weizhou Zhi, how can he move lightly?" Don't think about it again. Otherwise, a big aunt will not dare to walk around......"

Chen Zhen was speechless, so he had to hang his head and said: "My subordinates don't know who can be appointed as the commander here, I hope that the king will make it clear that one or two ......."

"Yin's Yinping, Yinjian, and Li Bai, the long history of the Western Regions, can all be handsome. However, the specific candidates still need to be decided after the subordinate officials have been agreed. ”

Zhang Jun threw out three candidates in one go, but what he said in the end still made Chen Zhen quite frustrated. As the envoy who ruled the whole state, the power in his hands did not seem to match the position he was in. And the constraints from all sides are obviously a piece of his heart that makes him depressed.

The land of Longxi, since the beginning of Zhang's Wugong, three generations have only occupied it briefly after unremitting efforts. And that was during the Zhang Mao period. It was the land of Longxi occupied by the Liangzhou regime, which once brought the territory of Liangzhou to its historical peak. It's just that in the face of the huge military pressure brought about by Liu Yao's personal expedition, the Liangzhou generals lost their ground, so that they collapsed for thousands of miles, and then on the south bank of the Great River, only a golden city stood alone.

Chen Zhen and Zhang Jun are now clear that if they want to raise troops to conquer Longxi, the matter of selecting a commander is the top priority. The person who becomes the commander-in-chief must not only be recognized by the state sergeant clan, but also defeat the enemy army on the battlefield and then win. And this is undoubtedly an almost impossible thing to achieve.

Chen Zhen twisted her eyebrows and pondered for a moment, then raised her head cautiously: "What does Ming Gong think, how is Li Dingdong?" ”