Gucheng is located in the northwest of Henan County, if it is just so, this is also an ordinary county seat, but with a fast horse between it and the capital city of Luoyang, a round trip may not take an afternoon, such a short distance, there is no obstacle in the middle, it is already destined to be of extraordinary strategic significance here.

As the imperial capital, Luoyang's defense is naturally not to be underestimated, even after several turmoil, but whether it is Dong Zhuo before or Lu Bu now, he will only strengthen the city defense, of course, the force defending the city must also be firmly grasped in his own hands.

However, at this moment, it was not the originally arranged guards stationed in this valley city, but Cao Xing came here to replace him.

Strictly speaking, the current Cao Xing is the general of the defeated army under Ma Chao, if it weren't for Yan Xing's "timely" arrival, I'm afraid it's impossible to say whether he can stand here now, after all, the garrison in Hongnong County is almost completely wiped out, it can be said to be a fiasco, even if Lu Bu didn't say anything about it, Cao Xing himself couldn't stand it, and he urgently needed to atone for his crimes, so although Jia Xu asked him to return to Luoyang, he still insisted on defending the city here.

Jia Xu didn't doubt his ability, but he was a little worried that he would be crushed by the huge psychological pressure after being hit, let alone blocking the enemy, even if it was the level in his heart, it would be very difficult to pass, if he left a psychological shadow from now on, it would not be good, so he ordered Yan Xing to lead the army to assist on the side, in fact, the garrison was in Henan, ready to rush to the aid of Cao Xing's side.

When I was in Hongnong County before, although I knew that Yan Xing itself was actually near Gyeonggi, the distance was very close. It is likely that the rescue was deliberately delayed, but neither side wanted to tear their faces at this time, so they didn't say anything for the time being; That was now completely under Jia Xu's nose, and he believed that Yan Xing should not have the courage to act against the yin.

Of course, no one is completely sure, so just in case, Jia Xu still sent Zhang He out, and this Han Fu general was also eager to show his skills under the new master, even if this did not seem to be a big battle, but with his exquisite mind, he could also see that Cao Xing's status was not ordinary, so he naturally gladly accepted the order.

At this time, Jia Xu was a little relieved. Let Zhang He lurk beside him. Whether it is in a strategic sense, or simply to ensure Cao Xing's safety - after all, there are not many people Zhang He brought out, and there are not too many, it is all beneficial.

Of course, Cao Xing, who was in the valley city at this time, didn't know this. Others won't be as fiery as Dian Wei. It's not like Gao Shun is upright and unchanging. Although Zhang Liao is still much inferior in ability, he is quite similar to him in temperament, and he can be smooth and flexible. But there is his own persistence in his heart.

is the most painful point for him, which is also the reason why he has always insisted on staying on the front line of Gucheng to face the combined forces of Ma Chao and Li Ru, of course, provided that they can break through Hangu Pass.

In fact, Hangu Pass is the real first pass from Hongnong to Luoyang, but there are natural dangers here, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is more than enough to directly send a mature and steady Chaozhong General to guard in the past, and Cao Xing is stationed in Gucheng, but the defense is that the other party bypasses Hangu Pass and tends to come to Gucheng, after all, compared with the natural geographical advantages of Hanguguan, although Gucheng has also been built into a strong city, it is just compared to Xin'an, Henan These are almost undefended places in many cases, It is precisely necessary to rely on generals like Cao Xing who can levy and defend well.

As for Gu Cheng's original guard, with his seniority and status, where would he dare to say anything in the face of Cao Xing, fortunately, although Cao Xuan took his place as soon as he came, he still had enough respect for him, which is also where Cao Xing's smoothness begins, and there are no contradictions between them, and the cooperation is considered pleasant.

As for how to arrange the city defense, although Cao Xing said that he was not a general but a defender, but he also had a lot of experience in the previous experience of defending the city, and the people who were placed in this valley city were some soldiers who were good at guarding, and they were also handy in arranging, but I don't know how much combat power they could exert at that time.

But anyway, now in Gucheng, Cao Xing is waiting for him, and it can even be said that he is gearing up, just waiting for Ma Chao's people to attack, although he is sleek, he will not care, but he is a very grudgeful person, if Ma Chao and Zhang Xiu are above board to fight with him, then let alone ask for his life to come here to atone for his crimes, he will definitely not let go of himself for the lives of those sons and daughters who were killed by himself; The problem is that the other party used a sneak attack, and Zhang Xiu can be said to repay virtue with resentment, and Cao Xuan has enough reason to hate them.

Emotionally speaking, on the one hand, Cao Xing hopes to be able to take revenge himself, but on the other hand, he also hopes that Hangu Pass can keep the enemy army out, which is also the most beneficial situation for their side, which can be said to be very contradictory; However, intellectually, Cao Xing thinks that no matter how Ma Chao is, Li Ru is definitely unlikely to choose to directly fight hard, and it is more likely that he will find a way to bypass Hangu Pass, and with his experience in building city defenses in Luoyang, he may know what shortcuts he has, once there is one, he will definitely not let go, and it is likely that the tough battle will still be on the side of Gucheng, which makes him think about it and can't help but feel excited.

However, some of the orders from Jia Xu also made Cao Xuan sometimes a little difficult, if he was told not to stay, it would be easy to say, but it was for him to pay more attention when he met Li Ru, who could also be said to be the people of the Xiliang Army, if he could, try to surrender as much as possible, and don't hurt them, fortunately, it is not mandatory here, that is, depending on the situation, he will not be subject to the orders of the monarch outside, not to mention that it is just Jia Xu, the think tank and military advisor of the Taiwei Mansion, but Cao Xuan knows that this is not only Jia Xu's meaning, but also Lu Bu's idea, Naturally, he wants to be the best he can be.

It's a pity that no matter what preparations and decisions are made, there is one thing that cannot be changed, that is, now he is the passive defense party, and he can only wait here quietly for the arrival of the place, after all, with the menacing appearance of the other party, it is impossible to attack rashly under the premise of unknown circumstances, not to mention that the troops sent to him by Jia Xu are not enough to directly collide with the other party, and it is more than enough to defend the city.

This kind of waiting seems a bit aimless and boring, the most test of people's patience, fortunately, now this thing Cao Xing is the most lacking, except for sometimes it is inevitable to think about why people don't come, is to go around, even if the enemy does not appear for a moment, Cao Xuan does not dare to relax for a moment, who knows that this is not a trick by the other party to deliberately paralyze.

The same is true on this day, after going to a few places to investigate, and then dealing with some cumbersome things - although Cao Xuan himself doesn't care, but as Lu Bu's henchman and celebrity in the eyes of outsiders, naturally there are all kinds of flattery and overtures pouring forward, such as this Gucheng County Cheng, who comes to report from time to time, and Cao Xing's character is not very good at directly refusing or even sweeping out of the house, and the other party's face is thick enough, as if he didn't notice it, so Cao Xing has no way to refuse, After all, if he doesn't hit the smiling person, the other party is not without a place to help him, so Cao Xing will help him deal with some small things by the way-after that, Cao Xing is ready to go back to his residence.

He always remembered the military order and revenge in his heart, so naturally it was impossible to live in the place arranged for him by the county Cheng, but in the military camp where he was stationed, with the soldiers, perhaps it was precisely because of this "close to the people" that these strange Gucheng defenders could accept him as the airborne commander so quickly.

After the evening, the usual training is over, and then until the next day's dawn, most of the time the barracks are actually relatively quiet, occasionally a little noisy, the movement is not particularly big, generally those soldiers who patrol at night are more restrained, when Cao Xing came back, he saw such a quiet state of the barracks.

However, as the main general, he knows very well that this is just an appearance, once the enemy situation is discovered, the tranquility will be broken in an instant, and a warm scene of shadows and voices will be formed.

But he didn't expect that this moment would come soon...... (To be continued......)