Although the rank of the guard of the city gate is small, it is very powerful, especially in a prosperous place like Xiangyang, the city gate official is a good position. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 In normal times, he is in charge of the gate tax of pedestrians inside and outside the city gates, and he can get some oil and water in his hands, but on special occasions, for example, he is in charge of the opening and closing of the city gates, and the entry of the teams outside the city.

Although it is quite hard to be the keeper of this city gate to eat and live on the city tower, it is not bad to be able to slowly accumulate some surplus money and show off his might in front of others. If it's just an ordinary person, it should be satisfied to be the gate guard of Xiangyang City, but this one who is on patrol here tonight doesn't think so. Born in a wealthy family and having studied for a few years, he always thought that he was a condescending talent here, and he felt that he should be able to enter and exit the shogunate with his own ability.

"Alas, it's not that I can't do it, it's that God didn't give me a chance." He often told a few of his guards when he was drunk.

"That's ...... Is that...... When the boss gets rich, don't forget a few of us. His men did not understand his exclamation, but as the lowest group, they were still quite capable of boasting about their skills in walking horses and their ability to observe words and expressions after they had lost their blood as soldiers—they all catered to the exclamations of their superiors. This can be regarded as the survival of these "villains".

On a cold day, there is nothing more pleasant than hiding in a warm place, munching on meat and drinking. Naturally, this wine has to be boiled hot. Although the curfew will be enforced tonight, and no light will be allowed in the whole city at night, there is a policy and a countermeasure. For him, who is qualified to stay in the castle tower, it is still possible to light the castle full of lights, boil piping hot green grass wine, and gulp down freshly cooked dog meat without letting the outside people see the slightest abnormality: when dozens of huge black cloths surround the house, it is simple.

After all, it is a big city in the world, and the city defense of Xiangyang is very good, and even the city tower is built with very thick loess tired of hard stones and giant trees. It's a cold winter everywhere, but it's a rare warm place.

While raising a glass and drinking freely, while listening to the compliments of his subordinates, although he knew that most of them were patting horses, he could not help but smile happily. The thickness and solidity of the castle tower cut off the world, which was a world of its own, from the outside, and he didn't know what was going on outside. Because you can't hear the outside at all. When such a general Xiahou Zhong came down from the city, he was still eating, drinking, and talking. It wasn't until the soldiers on guard outside hurriedly ran in to report to him what had happened that he had a rough idea of what was going on.

"What a door to open so late. Let them wait for the night under the city. He was already a little sleepy by this time after eating and drinking, and naturally he didn't want to do anything more, so he wanted to send them away casually.

"This ...... I'm afraid it's not good......" The creep hesitated slightly.

"What's wrong?" His eyes widened suddenly: "It's so dark, there's not even a glimmer of light." In such a situation, you can't even recognize who is who, how do you know that they are your own people? He was afraid that Xiao Bing couldn't find a reason to point out the other side, and a smug smile appeared on his face. He likes this kind of thing and feels this kind of moment, because only when he instructs others like this can he feel the feeling of superiority.

Because he was very proud, the tone of his words was very affirmative. Although the little soldier who came in was not his cronies, he was also a person who knew how to read words and feelings, and he heard his affirmation, and he didn't say anything more at the moment, and walked out with his feet up. He is also helpless, because he is not a guard here, just a character who obeys orders. For the orders of his immediate boss, even if he was unwilling in his heart, he had to listen to them.

"No wonder you can't go up? It's simply impossible to waste the opportunity and climb up. The soldier muttered resentfully.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Although the soldier's voice was small, his ears were very beautiful and sensitive, and he really heard this whispered complaint. He had been the gatekeeper for many years, and it was rare for him to meet any high-ranking people in Pingsuri, and in this acre of land at the south gate, he was basically the head, and he had his own prestige, and he hated those who dared to challenge his prestige. Xiao Bing's words were just a subconscious complaint on the surface, but in his ears they undoubtedly became a provocation from a prickly figure to him. So, he suddenly shouted: "Come back!" He called the creep.

The soldier seemed to realize his verbal "disrespect" to the commander, and without saying a word, he turned around and stood in front of him again with his head bowed, and the whole person behaved like a piece of wood.

"What do you mean by that?" He frowned and stared coldly at the soldier's blank face.

"I think you've wasted the great opportunity you have." The little soldier stared at his cold gaze and gave him such an answer that was neither humble nor arrogant.

"Great opportunity?" He was a little puzzled, "Tell me?" ”

"General Xiahou Zhong is surnamed Xiahou, which should be regarded as the prime minister's relative in Prime Minister Cao's army. Although we don't know exactly what his last official position was, since he can be called a general, it is at least the rank of a lieutenant general or above. With such a grade and such a blood relationship, I think General Xiahou Zhong should be very valued by Prime Minister Cao Cheng. If the adults really have the heart to leave here and find another career, wouldn't it be good to follow the path of General Xiahou Zhong? As long as we are comfortable serving him now. The little soldier said with an oath, his black eyes flashing with the light of what he described as "wisdom".

"Oh?" He glanced at the little soldier in surprise, as if he didn't expect that this young soldier, who had just been assigned to his subordinates not long ago, and who didn't usually like to talk much, still had such sharp observation skills, and actually discovered something that he hadn't even noticed: "What you said is very good." It's very good, I wanted to quietly let people do it, but you saw through it, it's amazing. Although he didn't see this at all, in front of his subordinates, he always had to ensure that he was reserved and had a place to store his face. So, he said so.

"Huh...... The boss deserves to be the boss...... "When the people in the room heard him say this, they didn't understand what he meant by his slight embarrassment. At that moment, there was a sound of slapping horses, and his embarrassment was eliminated very smoothly.

For everyone's praise, there was no resentment on the face of the little soldier that the credit was taken away. In fact, he also has his own abacus in his heart, and this abacus still needs the help of his own chief at the moment. "Boss, with your talents, if you are taken by General Xiahou Zhong, you will at least have the rank of partial colonel. The little one now asks the boss for help with some things. He pushed up a smile on his face and looked at his commander with a sycophancy.

"Oh? Something. Seeing that Xiao Bing no longer dwelled on the reasons for his embarrassment, but asked for himself, his face suddenly improved, his face was full of smiles, and he asked very kindly: "Just say it." As long as I can do it, I will never skimp on my strength. "He was a little arrogant, a little arrogant, and a little jealous, but he wasn't a stupid man. He is no stranger to giving the other party some desserts to eat after suppressing the other party, but he can do it with ease.

"Well, I only hope that after the boss is promoted, he can help my younger brother and make me a personal soldier of General Xiahou." The soldier smiled humbly and whispered his ambitions. Although the pro-soldier is not a high-grade official position, it is the position that can obtain the most official position. In this era where everything needs to be appreciated by others and promoted by others, becoming a cronie of a high-ranking official, such as a pro-soldier and the like, because being able to get along with the commander day and night is definitely one of the shortcuts to promotion. Xiaobing is very young, that is, in his early twenties, it is the time to work hard, of course he has his own plans for the future. However, he is also a delicate person, and he knows very well that his background is different from the boss in front of him, so he chose the path of becoming General Xiahou's personal soldier. In his opinion, Xiahou Zhong, who was waiting under the city, was definitely an extremely important task in Cao's army, and his future prospects should not be underestimated.

"Gotta fight!" The little soldier puffed himself up and looked at him expectantly.

"That's nature...... Natural! He smiled and hurriedly agreed. It's not that he doesn't have any awareness of Xiao Bing's thoughts, on the contrary, he understands it very well. However, he didn't resent the idea that the creep wanted to leave him, and even hoped that the creep would have such thoughts. Because in his opinion, the existence of this little soldier is undoubtedly somewhat threatening to his own superiority, and he does not have the stomach to accommodate those who are better than himself as his subordinates.

"Then thank you, Boss." Xiao Bing said with a smile, he was really satisfied that the current matter could be solved so smoothly. After all, this is a win-win situation without any conflict - you can use the recommendation of the chief to get a good position with a good chance of moving up, and the chief can also use this opportunity to get a higher position. Both of them got what they wanted, but it couldn't have been more wonderful.

Of course, they didn't know that General Xiahou Zhong, who had been waiting under the city for a long time, was just a group of enemies who wanted to take Xiangyang.

In the silence of the night, the wheezing of the war horse became a deep and distant existence. Nearly half an hour has passed since the little soldier at the head of the city said that he was going to report the situation to his boss, this is not too troublesome, it took so long, how much Huang Zhong, who had been waiting in the city for a long time, was a little surprised and impatient. But they understood the urgency of the matter, and though they were a little uneasy about it, they showed remarkable patience and waited there quietly.

A cavalry army dressed in black stood under the night, but the view from the far away of the city was so blurry, as if it had dissolved into the night, which made it difficult to see.

Led by the soldiers, he walked up the city wall and leaned over the gap between the battlements and watched from top to bottom for a long time. Despite his shortcomings of one kind or another, he was a hard-working man, and he never wanted things to be messed up in his own hands.

"I still can't see clearly." He scratched his head helplessly, and ordered the soldiers beside him: "Do you know the residence of the military envoys who came over this evening? When I went to the past, I invited them over, and I said that a team of Gangneung men suddenly appeared under the city, and we couldn't distinguish it, so let them come and help. ”

"Yes!" The little soldier glanced at his boss strangely, nodded slightly, turned around and ran out. To be honest, he didn't know why his boss had become so cautious when it came to the end: "Enemy? How is this possible? Xiangyang has never encountered an enemy so far. ”

The little soldier hurried away. He ran easily, but everyone in the city and under the city was once again in the cold wind. Xiangyang City is very large, which shows the prosperity of Xiangyang, and at the same time makes everyone's wait a little longer. The people who called the door in the city had changed three times, and the words in their mouths became more and more impatient. This is understandable, after all, no one wants to stay in such a cold place. Although the climate in the south of the Yangtze River is much better than that in the north, for soldiers who do not have as many warm clothes as the generals, this is really good.

Half an hour had passed by the dry shouts of the people under the city, and he heard the sound of horses' hooves in the inner city. He knew that the creep had brought him.

"My lords, I'm afraid he has already told you about the situation. Well, please help me take a look, are these people down there? Seeing a few people coming up, he hurriedly stepped forward and said his thoughts straight to the point. He wasn't afraid of what they were doing, because he could already feel their personalities at the first sight of them - they were all straightforward soldiers, and it was better to let them do things.

"Oh? Let me take a look? Naturally, there was a difference between the superior and the inferior among several military envoys, and as soon as his words fell, one of them quickly picked up the conversation, and went straight to the battlement of the city gate and looked down. Fortunately, it's a mess, and you can't see anything. The man also shouted and asked the next sentence of the city: "Is it the person who is loyal to the general?" ”

"Exactly, exactly!" The response of the city was very fast, and a harmonious voice immediately sounded: "We have received an order to go to Runan, and we missed the opportunity to camp because of the urgency of the matter, and please be accommodating from the city and let us go into the city to rest for a night." There are not many of us, only about 2,000. ”

"In that case, please ......wait a moment," the envoy nodded, as if he had confirmed their identities, and affirmed to him, who had been looking at him, "It is indeed my own people." ”

"That's good!" He relieved himself and rejoiced, and shouted loudly to the soldiers at the city gate: "Open the door, let go!" ”

"Yes!" Order, the soldiers naturally moved quickly.

He couldn't see all this from the top of the city, but he could feel it very well from the movement of his men. He then turned his head to the military envoy: "Since they are all from Jiangling, then please go down with me." To be honest, I have the heart to get acquainted with this Lord Xiahou Zhong. I would also like to ask the military envoy to introduce me. ”

"Hehe, that's fine." The military envoy quickly glanced at each other, and a strange smile suddenly flashed on his face in the dark, but he nodded at the city gate guard who had been thinking about promotion. After all, at the moment when this thing was about to come to pass, they really didn't want to make things worse because of this, and they would naturally intercede for the request of the city gate guard, but the object of this intercession was not General Xiahou Zhong of Cao Jun, but Huang Zhong and Huang Hansheng, the generals of Li Shengjun.

Things went on simply and neatly. With the relaxation of the winch, the fall of the suspension bridge, and the opening of the south gate of Xiangyang, Huang Zhong led five hundred to enter the city gate quickly with swift steps. Before he crossed the city gate, he didn't say much, just waved his hand, and the five hundred people who swarmed in scattered in all directions, quickly controlling all corners of the south gate of the city. His lightning speed made the city gate guard and his subordinates, who followed several military envoys downstairs to meet him, stunned: "You...... What are you doing? ”

The torches were lit in the hands of the soldiers entering the city, and under the scorching heat, Huang Zhong's unobtrusive figure appeared in front of the surprised, he took off his helmet, revealing a face that was familiar to all Xiangyang soldiers: "Didn't do anything...... We're just here to accept Xiangyang City. He smiled.

"Pick up ...... Receiving Xiangyang City? Do you still need to accept it...... Xiangyang ...... Wasn't Xiangyang originally the prime minister? Is this some misunderstanding...... The astonished man's astonishment made him speechless, he had thought until now. The team in front of him was Cao Cao's team.

"Where is there any misunderstanding? The land of Xiangyang, the milk hall hall Jingsheng lord leader. Although the lord is dead, but the eldest prince is still there, how can he get it into the hands of Cao Cao, a thief? Now, the Cao thief has been defeated in Chibi, and it is difficult to protect itself, how can he take care of you? Huang Zhong looked coldly at the stunned group of people, with a mocking smile on his face: "We are taking over Xiangyang City today by the order of the eldest prince. Hehe, I have to settle the old accounts of your group of people. The lord's bones are not cold, and he actually gave up the inheritance to others, hum! You're very good. ”

"The general spares his life! Spare your life, General! Seeing that Huang Zhong said seriously and his face was stern, dozens of people of all sizes who were controlled here were suddenly deflated and hurriedly knelt on the ground and bowed their heads to forgiveness, "General, these things were originally decided by those people above, how can we eat and serve as soldiers to disobey." Please also ask the general to be clear. ”

"Discerning? I'll be aware of it. However, if you people say that there is nothing wrong at all, then you are too foolish, right? Huang Zhong looked at their faces and said. Although he still held on to that point in his words and refused to relax, there was undoubtedly a slight loosening in his tone, as if he had the intention of not wanting their lives.

"The general and I are all acting according to the orders from above, even if there is something wrong, we can't help ourselves. No matter how much the general hates us, he should know what we have done and that we will not die. I would like to ask the general to forgive us once and give us a chance to make meritorious contributions. The crowd fell on their knees and wept bitterly. They are all understanding people, and they have worked for so many years in the city gate, the most crowded place, and they still can't hear the meaning of Huang Zhong's words. Seeing that Huang Zhong had the intention of not killing himself, they naturally quickly followed the snake with the stick, and they promised again and again.

Seeing them so obedient, Huang Zhong was satisfied. However, the satisfaction in his heart did not show it on his face, and he knew that for these characters who were like grass on the wall, he could not give them any good looks in such an emergency situation. You have to keep a cold face on them, and use the power of your hands to deter them, and make them obedient, like a strong wind, which blows through and makes the grass on the ground obedient.

With a wave of his hand, the team dispersed, and the 10,000 horses that entered the city quickly divided into four teams of 2,500 people and rushed into the vast night. They had already entered the city, and they no longer concealed their body movements, and the sound of footsteps alarmed the entire Xiangyang City. The people who had lived in peace had no idea what was happening, and they woke up in fear and nervous to face a situation that had never been seen before.

The Kuai family's mansion was also lit up after there was movement in the city. Although Xiahoudun completely entrusted the defense of Xiangyang City to Kuai Yue before leaving, in such a large rear, he did not hear any news on weekdays and did not know what the things in front of him had reached, so it was naturally impossible for Kuai Yue to eat and sleep in the barracks like in wartime. He is already in his fifties, he is also an old man, as a wealthy man, he has his own set of rules for eating, dressing and acting, and when nothing major happens, this rule is naturally still there. After dealing with the day's affairs, he fell asleep on time until this series of accidents happened.

"What's going on out there?" Kuai Yue, who was awakened, quickly appeared in the lobby of the mansion dressed neatly, listening to the noisy sound outside, he asked his housekeeper Kuai Zhong with a serious expression.

"Sir, it seems that the enemy has invaded the city." Kuai Zhong shook his gray beard and replied with a nervous expression.

"Enemies? Where did the enemy come from? Kuai Yue was slightly stunned when he heard this, and said puzzledly.

"I don't know much about that, but that's what the whole city says. It's already bustling with people outside. Kuai Zhong explained helplessly with a bitter face.

"...... outside?" The confusion on Kuai Yue's face became even greater, "What the hell is going on?" ”

As he was talking, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching outside, and then stopped, and it seemed that a group of people came directly to his house, and then there was a knock on the door: "Is Mr. Kuai Yue at home?" My general wants to meet with my husband. ”

"Your general?" When Kuai Yue heard this, a bad feeling welled up in his heart. "Isn't Xiangyang City really broken?" He was skeptical, but he thought it was unlikely: "Where can an enemy attack this place directly?" What's more, it still broke the city silently. He thought for a while, shook his head with a headache, and finally decided to suspend this thoughtless thought. Things have come to this point, and it is useless to think about other problems. Kuai Yue is a smart person, so he naturally understands what he should do at the moment. "Let me get dressed." He shouted loudly outside. This is just a pretext, in fact, he has already been dressed up for a long time, he needs to use such an excuse to delay the time, so that his family can be arranged properly - a big mansion like his is definitely authentic, that is just in case, under the usual peace of Xiangyang, even Kuai Yue himself never thought that he would really use this authentic day.

At this moment, the people outside seemed very patient, at least they kept quiet until Kuai Yue arranged everything and opened the door of the house himself.

The door slowly opened in the light of the torches lit on both sides of the house. Kuai Yue, who was dressed in a cyan brocade robe, led the family members behind him who had already prepared their armor to appear at the opening of the gate. Except for Kuai Yue himself, most of them drew their blades. The flickering sharpness shone in the scorching firelight. On the walls of the house there were groups of soldiers with bows and arrows, and they looked nervously at the people outside the door with the same guarded expressions. The other party's tolerance gave the Kuai family the opportunity to reorganize their army, and they did not thank each other for it. Here, the emperor and the lord are not as important as their own head of the family. As long as Kuai Yue, who is the head of the family, gives an order, these people will definitely kill the enemy outside regardless of anything else.

Of course, Kuai Yue's side used his own swords and guns as a backing to face the enemy, and Huang Zhong, as an enemy, naturally did not come to meet Kuai Yue with good food and wine. Although the battle in the city has not ended for a while, the soldiers and horses scattered to the various gates have not yet been recovered, and what is in front of Huang Zhong is the more than 2,000 people who are following him at this moment, but Huang Zhong is very clever in using the background of the current dark night and the uncertainty to disperse the people and horses in his hands, and faintly create a huge posture around the entire mansion, making people feel that there are definitely no more than 10,000 people surrounding him when they look away.

"I've seen Mr. Xenomorph!" Seeing that the door of Kuai's house was opened, and Kuai Yue appeared in front of him, Huang Zhong hurriedly took a few steps forward and saluted Kuai Yue. Although they are still enemies of each other at the moment, for Huang Zhong, who is a native of Jingzhou himself, Kuai Yue, who was once his colleague, is undoubtedly a person worthy of his admiration, whether it is in terms of knowledge, strategy, or dealing with people.

"You...... Are you Hansheng!? How did you end up here? Hearing Huang Zhong's greetings and seeing Huang Zhong's figure that was not unfamiliar, Kuai Yue was very surprised, he definitely never thought that Huang Zhong, who was already a general under Li Sheng's account in Changsha, would actually appear here. Have you taken Xiangyang? Kuai Yue's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it was true, but everything was clear to him.

"Exactly!" Huang Zhong nodded slowly, and then threw out a news that was like a thunderbolt to Kuai Yue: "Prime Minister Cao's army has been defeated by the coalition army of my lord, Uncle Liu Huang and Sun Quan in Chibi, and the 800,000-strong army has collapsed, and Prime Minister Cao himself does not know whether he is alive or dead. Now Gangneung and Yangyang have fallen into our hands. ”

"......" heard the news, Kuai Yue was even more surprised, he stood on the spot in shock, and did not say a word for a long time, as if he was trying to digest the news in front of him, which was definitely not good for him. It wasn't until half an hour later that he shook his lips, which were slightly pale because of the discoloration of his face, and asked, "Then what do you want now?" ”

"I need your cooperation!" Huang Zhong said.