For Li Dao, Zhong Xuan's arrival seemed to be drawing a big cake for him, which made him happy for a while, but later he slowly found out that this was just a cake on paper, and it couldn't be used to satisfy his hunger at all.

However, Li Dao had to be used, and he had to accept Zhong Xuan's construction.

Because, in Li Dao's heart, he is unwilling to abandon the one he currently has. If there is still a slight opportunity, he will seize it.

In fact, this is also the only way for Li Dao to keep what he currently has. Returning to Cao Cao, he still has a glimmer of life, that is, he expects Han Sui to send troops to seize Ma Teng and Ma Chao's base, and then attract reinforcements from the princes of Xiliang to destroy Ma Teng, Ma Chao and his son. Only by destroying Ma Teng and Ma Chao, the lackeys of the New Han Dynasty, can the New Han Dynasty's snooping on Xiliang be truly cut off.

When the time comes, hundreds of thousands of troops of Xiliang and other princes will come to the rescue of his Tianshui, and he Li Wei will be able to continue to sit in Tianshui City and continue to enjoy all the current Yiqiē. Surrendering to Cao Cao, Li Dao also had an insurance. That is, under the condition that his strength with Zai has been greatly weakened, even if he is rescued by the alliance of the princes of Xiliang, he may not be able to sit in Tianshui safely and enjoy the current situation. When the time comes, people like Guo Yan, Niu Fu and others will definitely force him to cling to them. But if he surrendered to Cao Cao, he could borrow Cao Cao's name, so that Guo Yan, Niu Fu and others did not dare to force him, because he was already a co-minister with Han Sui, and Han Sui would definitely support him. With Han Sui's support, he, Li Wei, would not worry about losing the one he had now.

For such reasons, Li Dao agreed to Zhong Xuan. Promised to submit to Cao Cao.

However, in the past few days, Li Dao has become more and more desperate day by day.

He worries every day. Worried that the army of the New Han Army would enter Xilianglai, his Tianshui City was the first to bear the brunt.

Ma Chao led the army to attack the pass from Tianshui to Chencang, and he was worried about the progress of Ma Chao's army almost all the time, worried about whether his defenders could block Ma Chao's attack. He prayed to the heavens every day, hoping that his guards would be able to resist a little longer.

At least, Li Dao hopes that his military horses will stay at the pass. can hold on until Han Sui captures Longxi City, can hold on until the coalition of Xiliang princes kills Jicheng and Tianshui to support him.

But. The situation does not allow Li Dao to be optimistic.

The deserters who fled back reported to him that Ma Chaojun had captured countless checkpoints of the more than 200-mile-long dangerous mountain roads he had painstakingly managed in one day and two nights, and directly attacked the most dangerous Funiu Mountain Pass.

On the other hand, the information of Tong Guò Zhong Xuan. There has been no good news for a long time. Although Han Sui sent troops to attack Longxi City on time, there was no good news that Longxi City was captured.

As time passed, Li Dao became disappointed in Zhong Xuan day by day.

What about taking Longxi and forcing Ma Teng to retreat? What about the coalition of Xiliang princes? Where is it? Where is it?

This is a typical painting of a delicious flatbread, but it is only a flash in the pan, and it is impossible to really use it to satisfy hunger.

In other words, plans have never kept up with the changes.

In the middle. One is that Zhong Xuan himself miscalculated that Ma Chao did not directly attack Tianshui City, but directly attacked the pass from Tianshui to Chencang. Second, they overestimated Li Dao's ability.

As a matter of fact. When Zhong Xuan got Ma Chao to lead the army to attack the small city of Hedong, he once built yì and sent troops with Li Wei, one was to directly attack Liu Yi's army outside Tianshui City, and the other was to send troops to support the small city of Hedong. However, Li Dao did not dare to lead the army out of the city. No matter how Zhong Jian persuaded him, Li Wei just didn't agree.

For this reason, Zhong Miao even told him how unbearable the military horses of Liu Yi who stayed outside Tianshui City were with the information he had, but he still failed to incite Li Dao. Li Wei even thought that not to mention that Liu Yi's army outside Tianshui City was some new army, even if it was some ordinary people, some old, weak, sick and disabled, he didn't think he could defeat Liu Yi. Because, using some ordinary people to make the enemy run into a bloody mess is what Liu Yi is best at. In Li Wei's heart, there is a kind of sick man, as long as he is under Liu Yi's hands, he will become a man-eating tiger.

With this mentality, how could Li Dao dare to send troops to attack Liu Yi?

What's more, it's obvious that Liu Yi didn't take him in his eyes at all, didn't look at the past few days, almost every day, some female generals came to challenge him Li Dao? Who in their own army would dare to fight?

For these female generals around Liu Yi, Li Dao is not ignorant. At least, Li Dao knows that there is a daughter of Huang Zhong next to Liu Yi, and this woman is Huang Wudie, who is calling for war every day, that is not weaker than his Li Dao's female general, he Li Dao does not dare to fight with it, his subordinates, who is the enemy of the female general?

Zhong Xuan also persuaded him to send troops to attack Liu Yi's military camp, he Zhong Xuan had such courage, Li Wei would rather send him 10,000 or 20,000 military horses, and let him lead the army to attack Liu Yi to try?

In addition, Zhong Xuan did not expect that Han Sui's attack on Longxi City would be blocked. As far as he knew, Ma Teng left less than 10,000 soldiers and horses in Longxi City, only thousands of old and weak soldiers, Han Sui led the elite military horses, and it should have been captured by hand to capture Longxi City, but it was not able to take it for a long time.

In Longxi City, something happened that no one expected.

Zhong Xuan's intelligence is not wrong, Longxi City is indeed only thousands of old and weak soldiers. However, because Ma Teng had openly surrendered to the New Han Dynasty, the people of Longxi City were determined and suddenly had a spiritual belief.

The goodness of the New Han Dynasty is obvious to all.

Xiliang has been in chaos for too long, and the people of Longxi City are desperate for stability. Especially the children of the people of Longxi City, who sacrificed tens of thousands of people for the new Han Dynasty. Hatred also directly made the people of Longxi City return to the New Han Dynasty, and they were extremely eager to one day be under the rule of the New Han Dynasty, so that they could all live a stable and prosperous new life.

Who is Han Sui? In the minds of the people of Longxi City, he is a traitor and a traitor. At this moment, whoever comes to break their illusion of longing for beauty is their common enemy.

Arguably. When the people of Longxi City learned that Han Sui led an army to attack Longxi City, the people in the city were unprecedentedly united, and everyone was angry. More spontaneously mobilized and participated in the garrison of Longxi City.

If Liu Yi could be at the scene, I am afraid that he would be moved to tears by the kind of people who worked hard to defend their homes.

The people of the whole city, really men, women, and children, all mobilized and participated in the defense of the city. and he that hath strength shall carry the materials of the city to the head of the city. Well. Don't have supplies to defend the city? It didn't matter, they tore down all their houses and made simmers from the beams of their houses. They tore down the walls of their houses, took bricks and used them as stones, and moved them to the city.

The elderly, children, and women who don't have the strength are also doing what they can, such as. Take the iron pot of the house and go to the city. Make a fire and boil some water, if Han Sui's army comes to attack the city, the boiling water in their pot can be poured down to kill and injure the enemy. And in this way, even some children can do it.

Many of the people simply moved to the city to live, regardless of the cold weather and the snowfall. Everyone worked together and put on a posture of fighting to the death with Han Sui's army.

Well. On the head of Longxi City, there are all some people with resolute eyes.

Han Sui's army set out from Jincheng and killed the city of Longxi two days later.

At this time, Ma Teng's handwritten letter was delivered to Han Sui when he arrived at the city of Longxi.

Ma Teng's words in the letter did make Han Sui hesitate. After all, he and Ma Teng have been brothers for many years, and over the years, they do have some affection. He had different ideas from Ma Teng, who returned to the New Han Dynasty and voted for Cao Cao. Originally, he didn't want to fight with Ma Teng's soldiers too early and kill each other.

However, now, each has its own master, and he can only launch an attack on Longxi City. If Ma Teng was here, Han Sui might think about it again, but Ma Teng was not there, with just one of his letters, how could he give up the attack?

As for Ma Teng's letter, he sincerely hoped that he Han Sui would really attack Longxi City, once the city was broken, he hoped that Han Sui could control his army, and hoped that Han Sui's army would not harm the people of Longxi City, but Han Sui didn't think so. For his current situation, if he captures Longxi City and does not plunder, how can he raise the army at military expense?

The surrender of Cao Cao is still just a matter of name for the time being, and some benefits that cannot be obtained. To really raise an army, he has to rely on himself.

Therefore, Han Sui only hesitated for a moment, and then ordered his military horses to attack Longxi City.

However, when Han Sui's military horse advanced to the city wall, it stopped autonomously.

Because, his sergeant, saw the guards on the head of the city, where are the guards? All of them were old and weak, women and children.

Looking at the women who were carrying the babies on their backs, they struggled to lift a stone and waited for them on the wall stacks, and listened to the cry of the babies behind the women. Look at the children, because they were not tall enough, they climbed directly between the battlements and stood, holding a small stone in their hands.

These people, they have fought and plundered countless times in their lives, but they have never encountered such a situation.

Can the innocent child's cry wake up the conscience of some Han Sui sergeants?

They bent their bows and arrows, and they had already drawn into a full moon, but there seemed to be an invisible pressure that made them never fire their bows and arrows.

Among them, there have been some accidents. It's ridiculous.

Well, Li Daniu is a group leader in Han Sui's army, he finally came out of the way, was incorporated into the infantry battalion, and became the captain.

Of course, for the cavalry-heavy Xiliang Army, the infantry is equivalent to the dead soldiers during the siege, so Li Daniu was the first batch of soldiers who died as siege soldiers and was pushed to the front.

When the army approached the city of Longxi, they were all stunned when they saw the situation on the city. Li Ke suddenly saw a familiar figure in the city, whose figure seemed to be carrying a little baby on his back.

He fixed his eyes, wasn't that his woman?

He subconsciously broke away from the team, staring blankly at the figure at the head of the city and approaching the city.

When he got closer, he was sure that it was his woman, and he quickly shouted his woman's name.

"Sanya! Sanya, what the hell are you doing in the city? Come home! Come home! ”

His army is ready to go to war, what if his own woman has any three strengths and two weaknesses? Li Daniu panicked and shouted under the city.

And the women of the city heard it. Seeing that the person below was actually her own man, she couldn't help but cry out Li Daniu's name excitedly.

When she said that the child she was carrying was the son of Li Daniu, Li Daniu collapsed all of a sudden. He ran under the city gate without hesitation, knocked on the gate and called for the door to open, saying that he wanted to go home.

Well, this situation is not only Li Daniu's family.

You must know that Han Sui and Ma Teng turned against each other and ran away, and he was in the army. There are also many people who are children of Longxi City. Li Daniu's situation made more Han Sui soldiers recognize that the people in the city were actually their relatives, where could they attack Longxi City?

A siege battle that was supposed to be a vicious battle. It actually developed into a confession meeting in the city and under the city.

In this way, how could Han Sui dare to seriously and forcibly order the siege of the city? If he really dared to give the order, his horses would soon be scattered.

No one expected this situation.

Outcome. It was Han Sui who forcibly ordered his military horses to retreat and set up camp. Prepare to find the opportunity to capture Longxi City again. However, the military horses that he forcibly retreated with military orders had countless desertions overnight, and they all fled back to Longxi City.

In this way, although Han Sui's army reached Longxi City, there was no siege battle as scheduled. Such a situation made Han Suijun in a dilemma under Longxi City. Because of this, there is no good news to report to Zhong Xuan.

Other than that. Zhong Miao sent people to contact the princes of Xiliang, except for Guo Yan who promised to send troops. The rest of the princes are still taking a wait-and-see attitude. The main reason why they have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude is that it is not easy for them to raise an army, and if they want to lead the army to fight, who will supply them with food supplies or something? Zhong Miao sent people to talk to them, in fact, they all knew very well, everyone knew that if the New Han Army moved to Xiliang, none of them would have a good life, but so what? Why do they have to listen to you, and what real benefits can you give them?

As for the worries of the Xinhan army entering Xiliang, they were not worried about the first day. However, all these years have passed, and it hasn't come like this? Without any tangible benefits, they will definitely not send troops lightly.

As for Guo Yan, his territory of influence is already next to Li Dao's territory, if Li Dao is finished, then he may be next. That's why he agreed to send troops to support Li Dao. However, this dispatch of troops is not unconditional, he wants Li Dao to promise to provide him with grain and grass for his military horses, he will send troops to support Li Dao, and there is also a batch of materials to Li Dao, if he does not give it, it will be embarrassing, and he will not want to get the support of his Guo Yan's soldiers.

Anyway, Guo Yan is now holding the idea that a dead Taoist friend will not die and be poor, and there is no benefit, so he doesn't bother to pay attention to Li Dao.

The reason why this is the case is also related to the topography of Xiliang. In Xiliang, it is easy to find a place with dangerous terrain to settle down, and even if the New Han army marches into Xiliang, it is not easy to eliminate many princes in Xiliang in a short time.

Xiliang has been in turmoil for so long, and the imperial court has not stopped sending military horses to suppress the thieves, but it has not been effective, so those princes have a kind of luck in their hearts, thinking that even if the New Han army enters Xilianglai, as long as they don't engage in war with it, with the size of Xiliang, they can still find a place to live?

It can be seen that with the failure of Zhong Xuan's various plans, Li Wei lost more and more confidence in Zhong Xuan.

It was difficult for Han Suijun to attack Longxi City, and none of the so-called reinforcements were missing. Li Dao was a little desperate for Zhong Xuan.

Now, the New Han army has approached the city, and now it is time for Li Dao to make a final decision.

Zhong Xuan was late, and Li Wei was a little impatient when he waited.

And Zhong Xuan, at this moment, does not have the calmness and freedom when he came to see Li Dao earlier. His expression was also a little haggard, and his eyes were blank.

When he saw Li Dao, he asked with a strong spirit: "General Li, what is the important matter of summoning Zhong?" ”

"Mr. Zhong Xuan, I want to ask, when will General Han Sui be able to take Longxi City? Also, where are the reinforcements to support my Li Dao? Hehe, what about the coalition forces that said they were going to attack Jicheng, and what about the men and horses that they said were good? Li Dao said to Zhong Qian with a little resentment.

"General Li, please be calm for a while, Zhong has already sent someone to urge General Han Sui to do his best to capture Longxi City, and then wave his army to Jicheng. Also, it is imperative for the princes of Xiliang to form an alliance to resist Liu Yi, but they attach too much importance to their personal interests, and they must General Li to provide them with food and grass before they can send troops......" Zhong Xuan said as calmly as possible.

"That's it! Mr. Zhong Xuan, I, Li, have heard these words many times, and I don't want to hear them anymore, what's more, do you think that even if Han Sui captures Longxi now, it will be advantageous for me to be Li? As for asking me Li Dao to supply grain and grass to the princes, do you think I, Li Dao, can I get so much grain and grass? If the grain and grass of hundreds of thousands of military horses can be taken out casually, then why should Xiliang wait for the Xinhan army to enter the customs to pacify? I, Li Dao, have already swept Xiliang and unified Xiliang. Li Dao stood up and looked at Zhong Xuan with a cold light in his eyes.

Zhong Xuan was a little weak-hearted by Li Dao and lowered his head. He also already knew that the New Han Army had already killed outside Tianshui City, and at this moment, there was no longer much point in talking about that.

At this time, even if Zhong Xuan has thousands of strategies in his heart, I am afraid that it will not be useful.

"What? Don't have anything to say? Li Dao said angrily.

"General Li......" Zhong Xuan raised his head and looked at Li Wei's somewhat angry gaze and said: "Han Sui's attack is not effective, there should be a reason, but, as mentioned below, the princes of Xiliang have formed an alliance to resist Liu Yi, and Zhong will definitely become a reality in the near future." As for the so-called grain and grass problem, General Li can rest assured that Zhong has his own channels to get the grain and grass. At present, the most important thing is to ask General Li to defend Tianshui City for a period of time and wait for the arrival of reinforcements! (To be continued......)