When Yang Hao returned to Fengzhou, it was already the end of March, and the news of Wang Qian's death from the civil strife of the Tiande army was only known after he arrived in Linzhou. The purpose of this trip to Chang'an was basically achieved, but it was also a little frightened. On the afternoon of the second day after the secret conversation with Xie Bozhi, Li Ang ordered Wang Chongwen to enter Beijing in early April to complete the marriage.

On the surface, Yang Hao's strategy did not achieve any effect, but in fact it was not. Wang Chongwen had always been worried that he would be taken hostage by Qiu Shiliang after entering Beijing, forcing him to hand over Shuofang Town. Therefore, he insisted on asking for a marriage in Lingwu, and Qiu Shiliang had acquiesced to this request before, but at this time he changed the location of the wedding to Chang'an, which actually announced the indefinite delay of Li Qing's marriage.

Li Qing's excitement was beyond words, she quietly slipped out of the palace that night and hosted a banquet for Yang Hao at the inn where Yang Hao stayed. Unexpectedly, halfway through the banquet, an accident occurred. A team of Jinwu guards broke into the inn on the pretext of arresting the Tibetan spies, and searched door to door. Yang Kai stepped forward to stop him, but he was detained, and the person who came claimed to have a holy decree was very arrogant. In the end, Li Qing was forced to come forward in person to retreat the generals.

For Li Qing, this little episode was just a little angry, a little loss of face, or being scolded by the Empress Dowager Guo after returning to the palace. But Yang Hao knew in his heart that this was a serious warning from Qiu Shiliang to himself. Therefore, he left Chang'an in a hurry early the next morning, because he was in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to say hello to Li Qing.

When passing through Linzhou, Yang Hao found that thousands of garrisons had been added to the city, and they were all elite Hedong soldiers. The battalions were busy stockpiling grain and grass, and there were faint signs of sending troops westward. Yang Hao had to take Xiao Chang'an to inspect the defense, and it was not until this time that he learned of Wang Qian's death and the news of the infighting in the Tiande army.

Yang Hao was extremely shocked in his heart, not Wang Qian's violent death, but that he didn't know that such a big thing had happened, like a blind man and a deaf person. Guan Suo has been following him, why can't he get any news? Yang Hao instinctively thought of the mutiny. Therefore, when Li Changlin proposed to send a sentry to escort him north. He ostensibly agreed, but when it was dark, he took Guan Suo and left alone.

Yang Hao first arrived at the camp of Cheng Keling in Luoyanchuan. After Cheng Keling took over the Xiao Cavalry Battalion, he moved to the east of Luoyanchuan to train his troops.

Cheng Keling was quite surprised by Yang Hao's sudden arrival, Yang Hao asked about the situation of the camps in Fengzhou after he left, and Cheng Keling reported truthfully one by one, but he didn't know what Yang Hao's intention was in his heart. After that, Yang Hao suddenly appeared in the Yanchuan Military Reclamation Farm when Suo was unprepared. Suo E and Cheng Keling accompanied him to inspect the farm, and the strange thing was that Yang Hao did not ask about farming this time, but asked in detail about the combat readiness and training of the garrison.

Suo E did not dare to hide it at all, and at that moment Yang Hao used the exercise as a pretext to transfer the three sentinels of the captive camp, and the two sentinels of the Xiaocai battalion crossed the river overnight and stationed in Manghu Village and Xishan, eighteen miles west of Feng'an City. Yang Hao himself crossed the river to the north at the beginning of the time. Cheng Keling and Suo E sent him to the river, thinking that he was going to Fengzhou, but after Yang Hao crossed the river, he went west along the river. The two came alone, and only then did Yang Hao feel relieved.

Returning to the Defense Embassy, Sekiso summoned all the officers in the intelligence room in one place and announced that all of them were suspended for inspection. At the same time, the fire camp strengthened martial law throughout the city. The news of Yang Hao's return to the city was not released, and even Qing'er and others only learned that Yang Hao had returned to the city in the afternoon of the next day.

The results of the investigation into the intelligence room showed that there were no traitors or moles inside. On the day of Wang Qian's violent illness, Huang Yiliang sent someone to send the information to Chang'an quickly, but the person who delivered the letter never returned. The intelligence room is also investigating the reason, and the preliminary judgment is that Yang Hao was closely monitored after entering the city, and the messenger could not get in touch with him. It is even possible that the Messenger has fallen into the hands of someone else.

Yang Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief, in the past year, he has rebelled against others, and others have rebelled against themselves, and he can't help but be a little nervous and suspicious. As for saying that he was being watched in Chang'an, it was no secret at all. Chang'an is the fundamental place of the Tang Dynasty and the place of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is also a paradise for spy activities, in addition to the judge's hall of the Shence Army, the small Tsing Yi of the inner palace, and the Jinjuan Yuan in Chang'an, which is located in Chang'an, are also happy to do this. Originally, Yang Hao was still a little smug, he was not good at letting Zhang Cheng go to Chang'an, but now it seems that this move is not wrong, but it is not a good move.

Local strong towns such as Hedong, Shuofang, and Hebei are in Chang'an, how big and how strong the strength is, compared with them, the Tiande Army Jinyuan is really not worth a look. What's more, there are two forces in it. When he was in Chang'an, Yang Hao once said to Guan Suo in a mocking tone: "When can you do it, I will lose a money bag in Dongshi, who can you steal in one day, which chef did Jing Zhaoyin eat the dishes on the dinner table at night, what fans do the princes and grandsons have in the Qu She, what hobbies do the fans have, and what officials in the court want to beat our ideas, if you let him lose his official position and dismiss him in advance, then even if you cultivate to perfection, I can sleep peacefully." ”

Guan Suo said disapprerovingly: "These are not difficult, as long as you give me power, I will definitely do it within three years." Yang Hao said: "I asked for money again, dozens of you have used funds that are worth the expenses of four battalions." Guan Suo refuted: "Which soldiers and young generals only need to eat two meals a day and distribute three sets of clothes in a season, let's see the princes and grandsons, and the money to reward the concierge is enough for the soldiers to eat for a month." The expenses of the four battalions seem to be a lot, and they can be used, which is to be broken in half with one word. ”

Yang Hao said: "Didn't I promise you, the funds will be increased slowly in the future, and you will be added with two more battalions this year, three years later, no, two years later, according to the budget of ten battalions, it will be allocated to you." It is equivalent to raising another Xining army. ”

Guan Suo said: "I also know that your family is not good, so it is better to give me an order to let the manager of the two business inns raise their own funds." Save you every day. Yang Hao smiled: "From now on, you will not fight this idea again." I would never agree with that. Guan Suo sighed when he heard this, shrugged his shoulders and said, "What is the reason?" Afraid that I have a lot of money and won't listen to you? There are only a few people in the intelligence room, and the fire camp will be solved in half a day as soon as you give the order. What are you afraid of? ”

Yang Hao admired his straightforward character, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother, you are right to listen to me, once this mouth is opened, there will be endless troubles in the future." When the time comes, it will be difficult not only for me, but also for you, the big brother. After saying this, Yang Hao softened his tone, "As for the employment of people, I can give you some more power." For example, Zhang Ren, you really think he is a usable person, I can give him to you. When Guan Suo heard this, he felt a little comforted in his heart, Zhang Ren's crime should be beheaded, but his talent was available, and he asked several times tentatively, but he still agreed to himself.

As soon as Zhang Ren's opening is opened, many things can be handled with reference. This is undoubtedly a major concession by Yang Hao to himself.

After learning that it was a false alarm, Yang Hao ordered the review of the intelligence room to be lifted. He asked several of the clerks in the office to take the opportunity to hand over the office papers, and the intelligence room listened to the reaction of the audience to the censorship. The clerks did not hear any discontent. This made Yang Hao feel relieved at the same time, but also made him feel a little guilty. So he fulfilled last year's promise ahead of schedule, approved the intelligence office's request to increase the budget, and reconsidered the positioning of this special agency.

After learning more about the Tiande Army incident, Yang Hao summoned Ling Tong, Li Tong, Zhuang Yunqing, Yu Chong, and Lu Guang to discuss countermeasures overnight. The opinions of the five men were basically the same: secretly mobilize four to five battalions of troops to assemble and stand by, adopt different countermeasures depending on the development of the military situation of Tiande, and send troops to intervene if necessary.

As soon as the meeting ended, Yang Hao received the news that Huyan Valley was attacked by the White Water Fox.

As soon as they walked out of the gate of the embassy, Ling Tong and the five of them were called back again. The opinions of the five were divided into two factions, Ling Tong, Li Tong, and Zhuang Yunqing advocated immediately sending troops to intervene, and Lu Guang resolutely opposed sending troops.

The reason for the main battle faction is simple: once the Tiande army falls into the hands of the White Water Fox, the threat to Fengzhou will potentially turn into reality immediately. Not to mention that the white water fox is belligerent, and he is familiar with the reality of Fengzhou. After he joined the Tiande army, in order to resist the pressure from the east and west, he was bound to join forces with Liu Qingling in Hedong, and if the two formed an alliance, Liu Wei's Zhenwu army would be attacked on three sides, or destroyed by the white water fox, or take refuge in Liu Qingling. Either one means the complete collapse of the Three Towns Alliance, and Toyosu is also difficult to preserve. Li Tong also cited Liu Qingling's dispatch of troops to Linzhou as an example to support his viewpoint. After occupying Linzhou, the Hedong Army not only completed the semi-encirclement of Fengzhou, but also blocked the road for Xia Sui to send troops to the north.

The reason for Lu Guang's opposition was that the White Water Fox had only 4,000 troops in the south, while the Tiande army had 15,000 troops, excluding 3,000 old, weak, sick and disabled, and the strength was three times that of him. The Tiande army has lost the Huyan Valley, and the three brothers of the Wang family will give up their previous suspicions and go all out to defend the surrendered city. The people of Murowei are good at field warfare but not good at siege, and there are many defeats and few victories in this battle. At this time, if Fengzhou sends troops, the white water fox is likely to retreat to Huyan Valley and defend it with danger. It is a taboo in the art of war for the expeditionary army to camp under the fortified city, which consumes morale, wastes food and grass, and has no merit. Rather than working in vain, it is better to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight for the time being, and wait until both sides are defeated and then send troops to reap the benefits of the fisherman.

Yang Hao synthesized the opinions of the two parties and decided to urgently transfer the Leopard Battalion, the Fengya Battalion, and the Xiaocai Battalion to cross the Yellow River eastward with the Tiedang Battalion and the Jinfeng Battalion, and attack the three surnames of Murowei who went south from the Great Tongchuan River in two ways. After succeeding, the army moved to the north of Muna Mountain and made a move to attack Huyan Valley. At the same time, the Tiger Battalion, the Jingqi Battalion, and the 1st Police Battalion were each stationed in Jiuniang Pass, preparing to advance eastward along the river.

Just when the battalions were urgently assembled, the Tiande army suddenly changed, Wang Mian accidentally drowned when crossing the river, and Ma Yue, who stayed behind, insisted that Wang Feng was secretly murdered, and led tens of thousands of people from all parts of the front army to cross the river at the same time in the south of Muna Mountain and east of the Zhongshou City.

The military rations in the surrendered city had been exhausted, and Wang Feng forcibly requisitioned the surplus grain of the people without compensation, and on the other hand, he sent people to cross the river to urge Liu De's three divisions of the Hedong Army hundreds of miles away. Liu Desan's army of 20,000 troops marched west along the river, and his original purpose was to force Wang Mian to admit that Wang Feng was the queen of the Tiande army, if he did not annihilate the main force of the Tiande front army under Wang Mian from the south of the Yellow River, on the one hand, to ensure that Wang Feng took over the Tiande army, and on the other hand, to take over the thirteen counties of Henan of the Tiande army.

Liu Desan thought through the details of each step, the characteristics and tactics of Wang Mian and each of his subordinates, the history, current situation, establishment, and combat strength of the Tiande former army, and the climate, geography, and customs of the warring areas. As the head of Liu Qingling's ten generals, Liu Desan is cautious but never conformist, and every battle must be decided before acting, so he has experienced a hundred battles and rarely loses. The work of war exploits, even if he is as arrogant as Dong Bacheng, he also looks at him differently and admires him. But Liu De never thought that Wang Mian would drown. The former army of Tiande would fall into the hands of the arrogant and belligerent Ma Yue, and regardless of the whole army in the rear, he crossed the river to the north and went to the siege of Zhongcheng.

When you have designed every detail of the battlefield, but suddenly you can't find your opponent, this kind of loss and frustration is enough to destroy a person's body and will. Liu Desan fell ill like this, and he couldn't afford to get sick. The 20,000-strong army was forced to stop and wait for instructions from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Wang Feng was completely desperate, and he said to Liang Yangu bitterly with tears in his eyes: "It's not that I don't want to form an alliance with Hedong, it's that they are not sincere. Ma Yue's heart is clear, if I fall into his hands, I will definitely die without a place to be buried. For today's plan, he can only give up the position of the future to his uncle, hoping that the third brother can donate his former suspicions to solve the siege and keep the inheritance left by his father. ”

Liang Yangu said: "Now that the Huyan Valley has been lost, all the grain and grass hoarded in the valley have been lost. Although the third prince has thousands of soldiers in his hands, how can he hold on to it if there is no food in the city? ”

Wang Feng said: "How did the teacher forget that we have sworn an oath with Fengzhou and Zhenwu Army, and at this time of crisis, how can they sit idly by?" Whether it is Fengzhou or Zhenwu Army, as long as they agree to send troops, they will be able to reach the city in seven or eight days. I join forces with my third brother, can't I carry it for ten days and half a month no matter how difficult it is? ”

Liang Yangu sneered: "You think too simply, the two of them are allied with the Tiande Army!" Seeing that Wang Feng didn't understand what he meant, Liang Yangu had to explain patiently: "The three towns oath is only for mutual protection, as long as they admit the oath that the old marshal made with them that day, whether the Wang family or the Ma family is in charge of the Tiande Army is no different to them." Doesn't Ma Yue understand this truth? His envoy must have already rushed to Fengzhou and Zhenwu's army. ”

Wang Feng said: "It seems that the teacher said so, the students have no choice but to live and die with the city." ”

Liang Yangu said: "Actually, there is still a way, but I am afraid that the son is unwilling." ”

When Wang Feng heard that there was a way to go, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked urgently, "Teacher, teach me quickly." ”

Liang Yangu said word by word: "Ally with the White Water Fox." ”

Wang Feng gasped, frowned and said nothing. Seeing that he was hesitant, Liang Yangu was a little anxious in his heart, and said loudly: "The white water fox is different from Ma Yue. The white water fox is a hungry dog, and he came to the house just to find something to eat, and when he had filled his stomach, he left, and if he took the initiative to feed him, he could also use it to drive him. Ma Yue, on the other hand, is a wolf who eats people and does not spit out bones, and he will not give up unless you let him gnaw all the flesh on his body. ”

Wang Feng pondered for a long time, and asked uneasily: "But he only has 4,000 horses, can he retreat?" ”

Liang Yangu said with a smile: "Of course, he can't do it alone, but if you add the third prince and the soldiers and horses in the city, can't he retreat from the horses?" Wang Feng was overjoyed when he heard this, Wang Lin is an honest man after all, and when life and death come, he will definitely stand by his side. The three-way army of 15,000 people can naturally fight with Ma Yue.

Thinking of this, Wang Feng said excitedly: "Please ask the teacher to contact the white water fox as soon as possible." As for how much gold, silver and jade silk he is allowed, the teacher will deal with it at his discretion. ”