June 29, dawn.

The king of Qi kept his promise, conquered Liyang, and reported the victory to the province, promising to restore the smooth flow of the Yongji Canal from the beginning of July, so that all the ships that could be collected could be urgently transferred to Zhuo County to transport the grain from Liyang Cang to Zhuo County, and do everything possible to ensure the needs of the northern Xinjiang town.

However, the interruption of the Tongji Canal in Xingyang led to the South Canal transportation line paralyzed, Jiangzuo's materials were stranded in Jianghuai, and the North Canal (Yongji Canal) was unblocked, so the next task of King Qi was of course to make persistent efforts to open up the Tongji Canal. Now that the King of Qi has recovered Liyang and controlled the situation in Liyang, he can free up his hands to take care of other battlefields, but the King of Qi cannot cross the river to the south, and the King of Qi cannot leave Liyang, otherwise the situation in the eastern capital is very likely to get out of control, which is the reason why the provincial and Zhou Fashang, Cui Hongsheng, and Chen Ling's three-way reinforcements have always focused on Liyang.

According to the Liyang agreement of the five-way reinforcements, it was Dong Chun left behind in Pengcheng who was responsible for rescuing Xingyang and opening up the Tongji Canal. Dong Chun is a loyal supporter of King Qi, and he also opposes and prevents King Qi from entering Beijing, but things in politics are changing rapidly, who dares to guarantee that Dong Chun's position will not change in the next moment? Therefore, Zhou Fashang had no intention of rescuing Xingyang, nor did he intend to open up the Tongji Canal, he just concentrated on blocking the waterways of the Great River, and at the same time tried his best to separate the two battlefields of Dongdu and Xingyang, so that he could not only prevent the King of Qi from crossing the river to the south, but also help Dong Chun to kill the traitors and open up the channel, and also threaten the battlefield of the Eastern Capital, which can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

Zhou Fashang complied with the agreement and arrived at his destination on June 28, blocking the waterways of the Great River and cutting off all the main water and land transportation routes connecting the north and south banks of the Great River. On June 29, Wu Benlang waved Fei Qingnu's army to land in Luokou, Han Shige led the army to block, and the two sides fought fiercely, but the advantage of the sailor was obvious, and the purpose was clear, that is, to cut off the connection between the eastern capital and Xingyang, so Fei Qingnu's attack on Luokou Pass was just to contain Han Shige and attract Han Shige's attention, and the real intention of the attack was Wu Benlang's future rectification.

Lai commanded the warship to clear the obstacles on the river, went upstream, and killed Luokoucang. Around dusk, the sailors arrived at Nakkouchang, then lined up on the river to block the waterway, and then began to land, storming Jinkou, and engaging in a fierce battle with the rebels defending Luokouchang. The defenders of Heishi Pass, not far from Luokoucang, suddenly heard that the sailor had arrived, and they were shocked and urgently supported, and at the same time, 100,000 fires were urgently reported to the eastern capital.

Luokoucang must be defended, which is not only related to the development of the war situation in the Eastern Capital, the safety of the mutinous army on the Xingyang battlefield, but also related to the supply of grain and grass for the mutinous army. At present, Huiluocang near the north gate of the eastern capital is still under the control of the Weifu army, so the supply of grain and grass for the entire mutinous army depends on Luokoucang, and if Luokoucang is lost, the situation will be turned upside down.

Yang Xuangan's uncle, Yang Shen, the Marquis of Yi'an, was now the supreme commander of the Eastern Capital Battlefield, and Yang Shen was very surprised after receiving the alarms from Luokoucang and Heishiguan. He was not afraid of Cui Hongsheng and Chen Ling, but he was afraid of Zhou Fashang. The shadow of the famous tree, Zhou Fashang is a famous general in China who is as famous as Yang Su, the old Yue Gong, among the founding fathers of the older generation, Zhou Fashang's military status is high, and there are only a few people who are comparable to him, such as Yang Shen, a small role that does not enter the stream, and in his eyes he is not even an ant.

Yang Shen is self-aware, on the battlefield, he is not Zhou Fashang's opponent at all, as for Yang Xuangan, it is even worse, he can't catch up with the horse, so Yang Shen did not hesitate and decisively ordered to transfer the 5,000 soldiers stationed in Yique Road to Luokoucang overnight, and to hold Luokoucang at any cost. At the same time, the attack on the imperial city was suspended, and troops were urgently dispatched to support Heishi Pass and the Yan Division, and every effort was made to block the Water Division.

Yang Shen was also anxious to write Yang Xuangan on the battlefield of Michi, the battle situation in the eastern capital suddenly changed, and the shape was unfavorable to me, if he could severely damage or even completely annihilate the Xijing army and clear the obstacles on the road to the west, he would quickly evacuate the eastern capital and enter the customs quickly.

On the same day, Dong Chun led his army to the Tianqian defense line, which was close to Jindi Pass.

Lu Xingxing and Yue Gao were not afraid and waved their troops to face the battle. The alliance army once completely annihilated the Xuzhou Yingyang led by Wu Benlang's general Liang Dezhong in the battle of Panshi Mountain in Pengcheng, and had a certain psychological advantage, because the morale of the soldiers was like a rainbow and full of fighting spirit.

Out of caution, Lu Xingxing hurriedly wrote to Gu Jue, asking Gu Jue to help "take care" of his flank at the moment of the fierce battle between the alliance army and Xuzhou Yingyang, so as to prevent Yang Qing, the king of Xun, and Cui Baode, the governor of Xingyang, from taking the opportunity to kill from the south of Tongji Canal and form a flanking attack with Dong Chun.

Although Gu Jue deployed the main force in the area of Zhukou and Niuzhukou, he still deployed heavy troops on the front line of Xingyang and Xingze to block Yang Qing, the king of Xun, and Cui Baode, the commander of Xingyang, on the front line of Guancheng and Junyi. Lu Xingxing's name is "Asking for Help", which is actually a warning to Gu Jue that the two sides must work together to avoid being divided and surrounded by the Weifu army and broken by each one. Gu Jue knew this, but he now had to defend against King Yang Qing in the south, fight against the sailors in the north, support the tiger prison in the west, and take care of Jindi Pass in the east.

Gu Jue hurriedly wrote to Han Shige overnight, if the sailors captured Luokoucang and Heishi Pass, the Dongdu battlefield and the Xingyang battlefield would be divided and surrounded, and Yang Xuangan on the Dongdu battlefield was strong because of his strength, and there was still the possibility of rushing left and right, and if he couldn't enter the pass, he could go south to Yuzhou and even Jingxiang, and they didn't have this condition, they would definitely be wiped out in the encirclement on all sides, and the only chance of life was Jindi Pass, as long as they tried to ensure that Jindi Pass was not lost, they would have a chance to break out of the encirclement, so Gu Jue told Han Shige, He wants to focus on the direction of Jindi Pass and strengthen the cooperation with Lu Xingxing of the Alliance, so it will be difficult to take care of the Tiger Prison, and if Han Shige wants to ensure the first line of the Tiger Prison, Huangmaban, and Luokou, he can only turn to Luokoucang and Heishi Pass.

However, at this moment, Yang Qing, the king of Xun, who was in charge of the city, and Cui Baode, the governor of Xingyang in Junyi City, were closed, and they did not know that Zhou Fashang's sailors had blocked the waterway of the great river, nor did they know that Pengcheng's army left behind Dong Chun had approached Jindi Pass, and what they saw was that Han Xiangguo's Song Yu army was crossing the Jishui and rushing to the Tongji Canal overwhelmingly.

Cui Baode made a judgment based on this, in order to capture the entire Xingyang County, the rebels adopted the technique of internal and external attack, so he urgently told Yang Qing, the king of Xun, that the shape is becoming more and more sinister, and now he can only hold on to the city and wait for help, if it is really not possible, he will give up the capital to manage the city, and the two will work together to hold Junyi, so that they can hold on for a longer time.

At the moment when the Xingyang battlefield was "stormy and the waves were high", the Zhangshui River in Hebei Province, hundreds of miles away, was also turbulent, and hundreds of giant rafts made of mud and wooden planks were shuttling back and forth on the river, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the alliance and a large amount of grain baggage were hiding in the mountains and forests on the south bank, anxiously waiting for these rafts to ferry them to the north bank in turn.

Li Zixiong, Chen Rui, Han Yao, Wuyang, Hao Xiaode, Sun Xuanya, Wang Bo and other high-level members of the alliance gathered in a river valley to discuss a specific plan for going north.

The crossing of the Zhangshui River meant that the alliance began the most difficult journey north. Zhangshui River is located in the territory of Wei County, more than 50 miles away from it is Anyang City, the capital of Wei County, more than 30 miles away from the north is Fuyang City, and more than 100 miles to the north is Handan City, the capital of Wu'an County. These three cities are all important towns in Hebei, outstanding people, prosperous, many families, has always been a place for soldiers to fight, there are heavy soldiers, and the local township regiment is also very powerful, if it is not for the Eastern Expedition to draw out the Hebei Zhuying Yang and local armed forces, the alliance does not dare to go north from here, but even so, the alliance does not dare to take it lightly, still go all out, cautious, in case of accidents.

"Now that Huo Xiaohan and Han Jinluo led the army to break off, they blocked the enemy of Anyang, and Wang Deren gave a response; Liu Heimin led the army to the north to open the way, its main force has formed an encirclement of Fuyang, and its selection of Liu Shishan has joined Yang Gongqing and is approaching Handan. Chen Ruixi was overjoyed and said happily, "The shape is very beneficial to us, if nothing happens, we will be able to cross Handan in two or three days, get out of danger, and stride north." ”

"Where are we going?" Although Hao Xiaode's voice was not loud, and the questions he asked were very ordinary, they attracted everyone's attention, even Chen Rui was stern, because he didn't know the answer, except for Li Fengyun, no one knew where the destination of the north was, only that he knew to go to the counties in northern Hebei first, that is, the four counties of Zhao County, Hengshan, Boling and Shanggu. These four counties are the foundation of the Li clan and the Boling Cui clan of Zhao County, the sphere of influence of the wealthy families in northern Hebei, and the support force behind Li Fengyun identified by the alliance's top leaders. Li Fengyun had clearly said before that as long as he passed Handan and entered Zhao County, the alliance would be safe. However, this kind of information is only known to the top of the alliance, and even fewer people know about Li Fengyun's own secrets. These are all secrets at the highest level of the alliance and cannot be disclosed, and the result of secrecy is that the middle and low-level officers and ordinary soldiers and civilians of the alliance are at a loss for the future, do not know where the hope is, and do not know whether the future is bright, so morale is low, and many people, especially Hebei people, miss their hometown and relatives, and naturally germinate the idea of going home.

In the past, I was forced to survive under pressure, and I was shrouded in the shadow of death, and I couldn't take care of it, but now the pressure of survival is less, my waist is bulging, and the journey home is near, of course, I am homesick. It's just that now it's a thief that everyone shouts and beats, and if it falls into the hands of the government, its head will be gone, and going home alone is purely looking for death, and if you want to go home, you have to go back together in a group, so as soon as it spreads ten, ten and hundred, the army's heart will float.

Fortunately, middle- and low-level officers can still distinguish between gains and losses. Middle and low-level officers are not as simple as ordinary non-commissioned officers, they think more, they have their backs to the big trees to enjoy the shade, there is still hope for following the alliance to break into the world, there are many people and great strength, compared with the past, now there are fewer days of starvation, and there are fewer days when they are chased by the officers and soldiers to the sky and no way to enter the ground, and the safety of life is also guaranteed to a certain extent, unlike in the past when you have to worry about whether you can see the sun tomorrow every day, and more importantly, the heroes have made a promise that they have found a way to "turn over the salted fish", In the future, even if you can't achieve the great cause of kingship, you can return to the ranks of nobles and live a normal life. This promise has no meaning for ordinary soldiers, after the war, they still go home to farm, but the meaning for middle and low-level officers is different, they can leap into the dragon gate, turn into nobles, glorify their ancestors, and shade their descendants, so great, how can they not fight? How can you let go of such an opportunity?

The middle and low-level officers are stable, and the entire army is also stable, but the problem now is that Li Fengyun is not there, the supreme commander of the alliance is not there, the soul of the alliance is not there, and the entire high-level of the alliance is now anxious, and they are all at a loss about the prospects. Still struggling to survive.

Chen Rui knew that the people's hearts were scattered and the team was difficult to lead, and the top priority was to stabilize these heroes and increase their confidence, but he didn't have this ability, and Li Zixiong didn't have it, so he could only hope for the two super giants of Zhaojun Li and Boling Cui, so he invited Liu Xuan and Kong Yingda, two generations of Hebei Confucians, and asked Liu Heimin to protect them day and night and rushed to Zhao County to urgently "ask for help".

It's just that far water can't quench the thirst of the near, Hao Xiaode can't bear it anymore, and takes the lead in attacking, and his "aggressive" edge makes Chen Rui powerless to parry.

"Our destination is here." At the critical moment, Li Zixiong stood up, pointed to Hengshan on the map, and patted it vigorously, "Hengshan is located between Dai, Jin, Hebei, and Yan, and can be entered and exited in all directions, which is very conducive to our respite and recuperate." Then he pointed to the Zhangshui River in front of him, "This is a thousand miles away from Heng Mountain, we can get there in half a month, if we work harder, day and night, it may take less than half a month." ”

"So smooth?" Sun Xuanya questioned, "Isn't there an official army to intercept us on the way?" ”

"Now the eagles of Hebei are in two places." Li Zixiong said, "Most of them are on the battlefield in Liaodong, a small part goes to Liyang, and the rest of the old and weak are sick and disabled, and it is commendable to be able to defend the city gate." However, considering that the return of the expeditionary force may be faster than we expected, and that the Zhuojun side may also send another army south to quell the rebellion, we must speed up the northward march just in case. ”

Everyone nodded and agreed with what Li Zixiong said. Hao Xiaode frowned deeply, and said in a solemn tone, "If there is no interception by the official army, it does not mean that we can go north to Heng Mountain." Hengshan is very strange to us, unfamiliar with life, if there is no support and help from local forces, even if we go to Hengshan, it is difficult to survive, once it falls into the encirclement and blockade of the official army, how can we survive? Do you rely on the mountain to eat the mountain? ”

Chen Rui knew what the heroes meant as soon as he heard it, but he couldn't make a promise, he hadn't made contact with the two giants, and his promise was too light, and he couldn't win the trust of the heroes. Chen Rui sighed bitterly and was silent.

"I can make a promise to you." Li Zixiong's strong and firm voice sounded again, "As long as you arrive in Handan, you can meet the people you want to see and get the promises you want." ”

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