"Ladies and gentlemen, Guan Yunchang has led an army of 50,000 people, and he has already reached the highest level, and he is only less than a hundred miles away from Xicheng!" In the Hanning Taishou Mansion, located in the southern Zhengcheng of Hanzhong, Zhang Lu gathered everyone and announced this not very pleasant news in a deep voice.

Silence, deathly silence.

In the past year, to be precise, since Zhang Lu helped Cao Ying to send troops to Jingzhou, his life has not been very easy. first beat Shangyong and was beaten by Zang Ba and was forced to withdraw from the army; Moreover, Zhang Ren took the opportunity to connect the two counties of Danqu and Padang, and lost almost half of the territory. Now Guan Yu is coming with an army of 50,000 in a rage, obviously not to drink tea, but to settle old accounts.

After a long time, Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei spoke: "Big brother, the soldiers are coming to block, and the water is coming to cover the earth." Guan Yu is here, and the younger brother is willing to lead a group of men and horses to meet the enemy in Xicheng. ”

"Huh?" Zhang Lu hadn't made a decision when he heard this, and Yan Pu, the strategist on the side, had already frowned and said: "The city of Xicheng is not very steep, and it is also my previous battle in Hanzhong, and the army and horses suffered heavy casualties. And Guan Yu has an army of 50,000, at this time, I am afraid that it is not the best strategy to defend Xicheng! ”

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Lu felt a little wrong when he heard Yan Pu's words, and hurriedly asked. As Yan Pu, who had the most outstanding wisdom under his command, Zhang Lu had to listen to his opinions more at this time.

"It's better to retreat to Hanzhong and defend Yangping Pass!" Yan Pu hesitated slightly, and finally gritted his teeth. Zhang Lu's face suddenly became gloomy when he heard this, and the expressions of the officials were not very good-looking. Badong and Danqu have been lost, and if he takes the initiative to give up Xicheng again, then Zhang Lu's loss will be great. If it was in the past, Xicheng, a place that was easy to attack and difficult to defend, would have been lost, but now the capital is not much, even if it is another county, Zhang Lu will not be able to do it painfully.

"Big brother, don't, retreat before fighting, it's not good for the army, let me resist first!" Zhang Wei said urgently. Zhang Lu was silent for a long time, and then asked, "How many military horses are there now?" ”

"There are about 40,000 military horses, and there are 10,000 new troops in training." General Yang Ren replied.

"That being the case, second brother, you first lead 20,000 horses to Xicheng Xiazhai, and Yang Ren will go with the army." Zhang Lu thought about it and arranged it first, and the two agreed respectfully, and led the army to go without mentioning it. Yan Pu watched from the side, and sighed secretly in his heart: the original army was not sufficient, and he still divided his troops to resist the enemy, wouldn't this be self-defeating. Besides, can it be that 20,000 people can stop the Jingzhou army? You must know that it is Guan Yu, Pingyu Prefecture and Pingjing Prefecture are almost effortless Guan Yu. Relying on Zhang Wei's piece of material, even Zang Ba can't fight, let alone Guan Yu?

However, Yan Pu also knew that the current Zhang Lu would definitely not be able to hear his own words. He has already suffered heavy losses, and he never wants to lose Xicheng again. But Rao is like this, Yan Pu still has to do as much as possible for Zhang Lu. Not for anything else, just because Zhang Lu has always valued himself so much, and he can't watch him being broken. Zhang Lu governed Hanzhong with teaching, and others were only awarded the position of teaching in the middle school, but he was still a military advisor, which shows the importance of his own weapon.

After sorting out his thoughts a little, Yan Pu admonished again: "My lord, although Guan Yu's army has come here, Liu Bei's use of troops has always been unexpected, and Liu Zhang of Yizhou is his brother of the same clan. If Liu Zhang joins forces with him to attack, the big thing will be over! ”

"Not bad!" Zhang Lu also regretted it a little now, and when he was hot-headed, he promised Cao Ying to send troops. thought that he could take the opportunity to get a piece of the pie, but he didn't want Liu Zhang's guy to take the opportunity to attack him; I don't want Liu Bei to be besieged by several armies, and he doesn't even have a hair; I didn't expect that Cao Ying's six-way army marching together was just a pretense, and now he went to fight with the Xianbei people, leaving himself here as a scapegoat; I didn't expect that I would be attacked by Erliu now, so passive.

"In the opinion of the public, what should I do?" Zhang Lu knew that Yan Pu would not be untargeted, and there must be a countermeasure, so he hurriedly asked. Yan Pu lowered his head and thought about it, and finally said a little helplessly: "When the Yizhou army comes to attack, it must go to Jiameng Pass or Baishui Pass." But if you want to enter Hanzhong from now on, you must pass through Yangping Pass. At present, our army is short of troops, so we should first shrink our forces and garrison Yangpingguan and Xingshi and Baocheng. As for some places outside the gates, let's abandon them first. ”

"That's all there is to it!" Zhang Lu sighed. At that moment, Zhang Wei and Yang Ren were ordered to lead an army of 20,000 to Xicheng to resist Guan Yu, Yang Ang led an army of 10,000 to Yangping Pass to prevent Liu Zhang, and Zhang Lu himself sat in Nanzheng and allocated grain and grass to be in the center.

"What a difficult road!"

In Shangyong City, Guan Yu also sighed. Since leaving Xiangyang, taking Shangyong to Xicheng, the road is rugged and narrow along the way, and each march is only dozens of miles. Such a rapid march is also unprecedented for Guan Yu. If it is said that the soldiers who go into battle lightly can naturally go faster, but the grain and grass can't be left unloaded.

"The mountain road has always been like this, but at most two more days, you can reach Xicheng." Shangyong guard general Shen Tan is a local and is most familiar with the terrain in this area. Hanzhong is on the line of mediocrity, but it is a narrow valley road between Daba Mountain and Qinling, this road is not a little more difficult to walk than on the plain.

"Shen Taishou, this valley road is already so rugged, so if you march to Guanzhong through Hanzhong in the future, wouldn't it be even more rugged and difficult?" Guan Yu took a breath and suddenly asked.

Shen Tan thought about it when he heard this, but said with a wry smile: "Junhou, if you go to Guanzhong through the Hanzhong Valley Road, those valley roads are even more difficult to walk than this path. Unless it is to take the Qishan Avenue in Longyou, it will be very difficult. Guan Yu nodded when he heard this, and didn't say anything for a while.

"Yujun Hou, Zhang Lu sent his brother Zhang Wei and general Yang Ren to lead an army of 20,000 to Xicheng." At this time, a scout came back to report.

"Hmph, just in time." Guan Yu just snorted when he heard this. Shen Tan also smiled on the side: "Junhou, the city of Xicheng is not very tall, with the courage of my Jingzhou army, with the trebuchet, you will be able to win easily!" ”

"That's great!" Guan Yu immediately sent the order down, and the whole army marched to Xicheng.

"What a difficult road!"

On a small road in Ba County, the young Ma Jian looked up at the hot sun in the sky, and felt his head shake a little. After settling down, he hurriedly untied the kettle from Ma'anshan. After drinking two sips of water, this was a little bit of a relief from the heat.

This is already the third day after Zhao Feng and his party entered Yizhou. In the past three days, everyone has walked on mountain roads, which are really nine bends and eighteen bends. Sometimes, I have to go over a mountain with great effort, only to find that there is a bigger mountain in front of me, and I am really frustrated as I walk.

"Young, can you still eat?" Zhuge Jun hit his horse and caught up with Ma Jian and asked.

"I'm okay, Ah Jun, what about you?" Ma Tan asked rhetorically.

"I've farmed, and I can still endure this bit of hardship!" Zhuge Jun said with a smile. Compared with Ma Yan, who was so hot, Zhuge Jun's complexion did look much better.

"Alas, Ah Jun, you and I went out this year, I thought that we could show our ambitions and benefit the people, but I didn't expect to be sent here to suffer with the army. Although fighting is not enjoyment, this General Zhao is not interesting enough. only arranged for the two of them to be a scholar, and he didn't even have a staff officer, so he couldn't help but underestimate the power of our Lumen Mountain disciples. Ma Jian suddenly said a little angrily.

When Ma Tan and Zhuge both came to Zhao Feng one after another, the latter felt that both of them were a little flashy and exaggerated after a brief conversation with the two, so they first arranged for Ma Tan and Zhuge to be scholars, wanting them to experience at the grassroots level first.

The so-called Shuzuo is a civil official similar to the accountant of later generations, responsible for bookkeeping and other affairs. If you talk about official rank, forty stone per year! Ma Tan and Zhuge both thought that they were the sons of famous families in Lumen Mountain, and the elder brother had a very close relationship with Zhao Feng, plus he had not yet completed the officials of the Left General's Mansion, how could he make a 400 stone or even 600 stone Peng officials, and if he mixed well, maybe he could mix a Zhonglang general or engage in it, who knew that Zhao Feng was so stingy, only to give a book.

"Forget it, let the general hear it, be careful that you don't even have a proper book, go carry a gun and be a soldier!" Although Zhuge Jun is also a little dissatisfied, after all, he is a person who has experienced family changes, and he has seen the hot and cold world, and his surname is still calmer than Ma Yan. It's just that in his heart, he can't help but feel that Zhao Feng is a little jealous, otherwise he doesn't know good materials.

"Niu Jin, how are those two boys doing now?" Zhao Feng, who was commanding the army in China, also took the time to ask Niu Jin. said that he wanted to train them, but Zhao Feng still didn't treat them like ordinary officials. Not to mention anything else, how can ordinary Shuzuo have a horse to ride.

"Don't mention the general, these two boys are constantly complaining along the way, just like little daughters-in-law." Niu Jin pouted.

"Hmph, looks like we're going to have to give them a good beating." Zhao Feng said silently in his heart. That night, the army was stationed more than eighty miles away from Ba County, and Zhao Feng took the opportunity to order someone to call Ma Tan and Zhuge Jun to inquire about something.

"Meet the general, the unknown general summoned the two of us, what's the matter?" Ma Jian and Zhuge both came to Zhao Feng's big tent, and after the salute was finished, Ma Jian asked loudly. Although the tone is quite respectful, no matter how you sound like you are a strategist.

Zhao Feng silently picked up the two account books on the table, opened one of them and said to Ma Yan: "Ma Yan, Zhuge Jun, the two of you, as scholars, are responsible for the calculation of the money and food consumption of my 10,000-strong army. Why are there so many errors and omissions in the account books? In the end, his tone was also a little stern, and he threw the account book in front of the two with a "snap".

"Huh?" Ma Tan and Zhuge were both stunned, because the two of them were not reused along the way, and the mountain road trek was very painful, and they had to get by doing things, and it was best to save effort. The two of them knew that they were in charge of bookkeeping in the army, so the surname Suo made do with it, and they just couldn't ask for a big stubble. I thought that no one would be able to see through the doorway, but I didn't want to be told by Zhao Feng today.

Ma Jian had a ghost in his heart, so he naturally didn't dare to be strong, so he had to say with a smile: "What the general said, the two of us may have made some mistakes, wait for me to check it." After speaking, he stepped forward and picked up the account book to read it again. He only said that after Zhao Feng entered Sichuan, he found an official who was familiar with the accounts in the local area to check the accounts, and then he found stubble.

"No need, I have already calculated all the gaps in your accounts for you here." After Zhao Feng finished speaking, he picked up another account book and threw it to them. Ma Tan and Zhuge Jun looked at each other, and hurriedly picked it up to take a look, and sure enough, everything was settled. What surprised Ma Jian even more was that the handwriting was Zhao Feng himself.

"General, you will also settle accounts?" Ma Tan stammered a little. In this era, the average military general will only read some military books or something at most, and there are very few who can settle accounts.

"Hmph, don't you know anything about me?" Zhao Feng snorted coldly, but he was secretly proud in his heart, Lao Tzu was a person who had studied mathematics for more than ten years in his previous life, and he counted the account of 10,000 army money and food consumption, and it was not easy to capture, it was better than you boys who couldn't even use an abacus.

"The general stayed up all night last night just to settle this account?" Zhuge Jun suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked.

"That's it!" Zhao Feng snorted. The two of them were ashamed and worried again.

At this moment, Zhao Feng's voice sounded in the ears of the two again: "The three armies have not been sent, and the grain and grass go first." As a scholar, you made the amount of food and grass for the army unclear, and the configuration was unknown. If you are held accountable, I am afraid that you will not be able to escape this crime of corruption and fraud! ”

The two of them heard the words "corruption and fraud", and even though it was early summer, they felt as if a basin of cold water was poured on their heads, and they almost lost their souls on the spot. At worst, this matter can only be regarded as a work error, and at worst, it can be said that they are corrupt and corrupt, and it can also be said that the evidence is conclusive. If they really want to be investigated, they will be dismissed and investigated at the lightest, and even Shuzuo is not properly handled. At that moment, Ma Jian was also anxious: "General, we just miscalculated the account, and we don't dare to embezzle military rations, General." After speaking, the two hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

"Humph!" Zhao Feng looked at the two of them who were frightened by him, Zhao Feng felt that the heat was almost over, but his tone was still very serious: "I see that the two of you have been going with the army these days, and it is true that you have not transported the military grain away and embezzled." The crime of embezzlement, perhaps, is not. ”

"That's, that's!" Ma Tan and Zhuge both heard that although Zhao Feng's tone was still very unkind, they finally relaxed and hurriedly agreed.

"Alas!" Zhao Feng also sighed, and said in a slightly slower tone: "Your two brothers asked me to remind you well and have more experience." Both of you are Pang Degong's elder brothers, and you have a bright future. It's a pity that he is young and frivolous, and he is impetuous. I just want to place you in grassroots work and hone your surname. I don't want you two to even be able to do this little bit of settling accounts, it's really unexpected. It's so ambitious, and the eyes are high. I don't have to do big things, I can't do it well in hours, I can't look down on such people! ”

"The general is taught!" Ma Jian was a little ashamed and embarrassed. The two of them finally understood that Zhao Feng was beating them today. Rao is like this, and the two of them also broke out in a cold sweat.

"Now that you are derelict in your duties, you can avoid the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living sin. Punish the two of you for half a year, and give me the accounts overnight! Zhao Feng finally said.

"I'll understand!" Ma Tan and Zhuge both secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They have a lot of family information, and they don't take this point into account. It's just that after that, I don't have the courage to fool around anymore.

"Sample, I can't fix you two rookies!" Looking at Zhuge Jun and Ma Jian who were going upside down, Zhao Feng also pouted, but he secretly smiled bitterly in his heart, he could be regarded as helping Zhuge Liang and Ma Liang educate his younger brother.

Some people have to educate their younger brothers, while others have to educate their sons. Thousands of miles away on the Mobei grassland, Cao Ying looked at the military report that had just been delivered, but there was no expression fluctuation on his face. In front of him, eighteen-year-old Cao Pi and sixteen-year-old Cao Zhang stood beside him, listening respectfully to the teachings.

(To be continued)