Mei Long was worried that after Wenpu's soldiers and horses arrived in Zhengcheng, Xuanyuan Shao would replace him, but Wenpu didn't have the heart to think so much at this time.

What he needs to solve most now is the problem of food and clothing for his soldiers.

Tens of thousands of troops, falling apart, followed him down with only more than 3,000 people, most of them were guards, the rest were originally subordinate to the Hexi Army, when the defeat and retreat, almost all the Hexi Army had been scattered, and there were only more than 1,000 people left, perhaps because they didn't know how to go, so they retreated to Hujin with Wenpu.

From top to bottom, everyone's hearts were unusually heavy.

After entering the territory of Hujin, he immediately got Mei Long's order to temporarily camp outside Wuyang County, which is a small county in the north of Hujin, and reluctantly scraped together some tents to send out, that is, food, which was also squeezed out from between his teeth.

Wen Pu thought that after retreating to Hujin, he would soon go to Zhengcheng, rest well, and make plans, but when he entered Hujin, it was not at all the arrangement he thought, and he couldn't even move around at will in Hujin.

He was a little annoyed in his heart, whether it was food and shelter, it was extremely hard, and in order to prevent disturbing the people, three thousand soldiers and horses could not even enter the city to rest, and the most dazzling guard regiment of the empire was now like a flower child, staying outside the city and relying on alms in the city to survive, even so, the rations were still not for a while, and at the end of the day, sometimes they could not even eat a full meal.

The soldiers under him were all furious, and many even suggested rushing directly into the city to ask the city officials to force food, but Wenpu resolutely stopped him.

After all, the Guards are the elite of the empire, with their own pride, if they rush into the county seat, there is no doubt about bandits, and there is even a suspicion of rebellion.

The cold wind is cold, the army is up and down, but they are already at a loss for the future, those Hexi soldiers who originally came with Wenpu, thinking of following Wenpu, even if there is no reward, can always be fed and clothed, but after stopping outside the city for some time, these people know that this is just a sweet dream, a small county town, limited storage, lack of resources, to support three thousand soldiers and horses, it is really difficult, that is, the two thousand war horses, the daily consumption is also a great problem.

In the cold winter, even people eat is a problem, not to mention horses, most of the war horses are already exhausted, lying on the ground and unable to stand up, there are Hexi soldiers who are so hungry that they can't stand it, and secretly slaughter a war horse, which was learned by Wen Pu, and immediately ordered to kill the person who was headed, and the others were beaten with dozens of military sticks.

Wen Pu is the purest soldier, and he is a cavalryman, and his feelings for war horses are extraordinary, and he can't tolerate soldiers slaughtering war horses for food.

Although several times sent people to the city to find the county magistrate to urge the soldiers to ask for food, at the beginning, the magistrate in the city was afraid of the status of the guards and personally raised food in the city, but later, the magistrate found all kinds of excuses to delay, but in the past few days, there is no trace, and even no one can be found.

Wen Pu actually knew very well in his heart that before the Hujin conscription and mobilization, he had requisitioned grain and grass in Hujin, which can be said to have reached the point of exhausting the land and fishing, and this county town naturally collected a lot, and now it is impossible to support the food and drink of 3,000 soldiers and horses, but at this time, in addition to finding a place to ask for food, where can I go?

Wenpu's military regulations are strict, although it has reached this situation, but it still adheres to strict military regulations, of course, the soldiers under his command do not dare to steal and rob, so there are soldiers in the army who secretly flee, mainly Hexi soldiers who came with the team, they followed, just to eat food, and now there is no food to eat, so there is no need to continue to stay.

Wen Pu was also helpless against those soldiers who fled without authorization, so he simply turned a blind eye, and if anyone was willing to leave, he would not stop him, and in just a few days, hundreds of people had left, leaving only more than 2,000 soldiers and horses.

Wen Pu also sent someone to Zhengcheng to inquire about the situation, and the reply he got was that he was always preparing, so he was not impatient.

Just when Wenpu's patience was about to be worn out, the people sent by Xuanyuan Shao finally arrived and asked Wenpu to lead the soldiers and horses to Zhengcheng.

Wen Pu breathed a sigh of relief, but then he thought that it would take four or five days to go from Wuyang to Zhengcheng all the way, and the food on hand was not enough to support four or five days.

In desperation, Wenpu could only go to the county seat in person to find the county order for grain, but the Wuyang County order was still nowhere to be found as always, and there was no grain in the county warehouse.

Wenpu really had no choice but to distribute the food on hand that barely supported him for a day, hoping to grit his teeth and make it to Zhengcheng.

The whole army was opened, the road in Hujin was rugged, and it was impossible to walk much in a day, but the most important thing was that all the main roads in Hujin were set up with checkpoints, and soldiers and horses were sent to garrison them.

Fortunately, in the end, the soldiers guarding the checkpoint did not dare to really stop them, so they just checked and determined the identities of Wenpu and the guards, and then let them go.

The guards did not eat well, did not sleep well, and suffered hardships along the way, and one by one they had a fire in their hearts.

At dusk that day, the Guards were walking on the rugged road of Kojin exhausted, but they heard the sound of horses' hooves ahead, and Wen Pu went up to meet him, but he already heard someone shouting: "Where is General Wen?" ”

Wenpu said in a deep voice: "Wenpu is here, who are you?" ”

The person who came was dressed in an official uniform, saw Wen Pu, rolled off the horse, and arched his hand from a distance: "General Wen, I have worked hard all the way, the next official is Zhang Xian, the director of the Hujin Military Department, and there is an urgent military order to send it over!" ”

Wenpu frowned, but Zhang Xian had already stepped on the snow and stepped forward, took the official document and handed it over, Wenpu took it and opened it, glanced at it, frowned and said, "Transfer troops to Pearl Ridge?" What is this Pearl Ridge? ”

Zhang Xian raised his hand and pointed to the northwest: "It's only a day's journey from here, and it's the key point to hold the northwest direction." ”

"Governor Mei asked the general to transfer troops to Pearl Ridge, why didn't he send someone over earlier?" Wen Pu said unhappily: "We have been walking for two or three days, isn't this return taking the wrong road?" ”

"Xia Guan has already rushed over at the fastest speed." Zhang Xian smiled bitterly: "Originally, Meidu and Commander Xuanyuan have already discussed to let General Wen and the soldiers go to Zhengcheng to rest and recuperate, and even the military camp has been prepared for this, but as soon as Commander Xuanyuan sent people, we received news that Chu Huan's Northwest Army has already shown signs of going south, and once it goes south, they will definitely pass through Pearl Ridge!" ”

Wen Pu was stunned, then frowned: "So fast? ”

"I think Chu Huan is worried that the longer the time drags on, the more fully prepared Hujin will be." Zhang Xian sneered: "The main force of Hujin is mostly deployed on the southern front to resist the Hebei traitors, so hey, Meidu didn't expect Hexi to achieve it so quickly, so the defenders of Pearl Ridge are very weak, and many of them are newly recruited soldiers and horses, and they have no actual combat experience!" ”

Wenpu asked, "What do Commander Xuanyuan and Mei Du mean, but let all my soldiers and horses go to Pearl Ridge?" ”

"That's not necessary." Zhang Xian said with a smile: "Pearl Ridge is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is more than enough to deploy 1,800 people, and now there are 200 soldiers and horses deployed there, and if there are 7 or 800 people, it will be golden." ”

Wen Pu groaned slightly, picked up the document and looked at it carefully, before saying: "This is just asking the general to send troops to reinforce Pearl Ridge, and there is no mention of dividing troops!" ”

"General Wen, it's not a secret, on the other side of the southern front, the thieves under the Qingtian King are already ready to move, and just a few days ago, they have been tentatively attacking this side!" Zhang Xian shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Today's Hujin is already in danger, there is Qingtian King in the south, and Chu Huan in the north, if you really want to rest, I'm afraid that there is no time at all." Compared to the fact that there are still many dangerous passes in the north that can be garrisoned, the situation in the south is much more severe, so although it is said that General Wen is to go to Zhengcheng to rest, but it will not take a few days, it is still necessary for General Wen to lead his troops to the southern front and prepare to fight against the Qingtian King! ”

"I see." Wen Pu also sighed: "Exterminating the traitors is a matter within the general's responsibility, but there is nothing to say, the general is also ready to go into battle at any time, Lord Zhang, I don't know if the saint is good now?" ”

Zhang Xian looked left and right, approached Wenpu, and said in a low voice: "Commander Xuanyuan originally instructed not to say too much outside, but since General Wen asked, the lower officials did not dare to hide it, there is something important to do in the saint, and now it is not in Zhengcheng, but the meaning of Commander Xuanyuan is that the saint will arrive soon." ”

Wen Pu showed a worried look, bowed his head slightly, and then said in a deep voice: "Yuan Yinglong! ”

A subordinate general in the back stepped forward and arched his hand: "General! ”

"You lead 800 men and horses to Pearl Ridge at once to reinforce the defenders there." Wen Pu said: "The Northwest Army is already preparing to attack Hujin in the south, and it is necessary to hold Pearl Ridge and not let the Northwest Army take a step forward." Then he asked Zhang Xian: "Lord Zhang, after Yuan Yinglong arrives over there, who will be in charge of the military power?" ”

Zhang Xian immediately said: "Meidu has an order, after the arrival of the Guards, all military affairs will be under the command of the Guards, and the hundreds of soldiers in Pearl Ridge will assist in the guards." He added: "What Meidu means is that General Wen can send a general who is good at defense to guard Pearl Ridge." ”

"Yuan Yinglong is enough to take on this role."

"That's good, that's good!" Zhang Xian arched his hand at Yuan Yinglong and said, "Everything has General Yuan!" ”

Yuan Yinglong asked: "It is incumbent on us to guard the pass, but there are some things to say ahead, is the grain and grass equipment in Pearl Ridge substantial?" Don't let the brothers go hungry! ”

"General Yuan rest assured, in fact, Hujin's money and grain are mainly allocated to various important passes, Pearl Ridge is the top priority, it can be regarded as the northwest gateway to the northwest of Hujin, where the grain and grass can be supported for at least two months, in addition, Zhengcheng is still trying his best to prepare, and will never let General Yuan have worries!"

"So much the best!" Yuan Yinglong arched his hand at Wen Pu, "General, the last general will leave, take care of the general!" But without delay, he gathered eight hundred soldiers, turned his head and headed northwest.