100,000 male soldiers suddenly "boomed" under the Tongguan, and the general of the Xiliang Army, Duan Xuan, who was sitting in Xiongguan and quietly watching Li Dao and Guo Yan fight, was so frightened that his soul was scattered, and he urgently sent a messenger to Chang'an to report to the police, and at the same time, all the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command were transferred into the pass, and he made up his mind to defend the pass to the death and never send troops to fight with the wolf-like Qingzhou army for his life.

After three consecutive days, Duan Xuan and his more than 10,000 frightened subordinates did not dare to close their eyes, solemnly closed, and watched the strong Qingzhou army continue to open up, under the command of the general Tai Shici, all the retreat routes of Tongguan were blocked, not to mention that the messenger sent to Chang'an to call the police a few days ago had already been intercepted and killed by the cavalry under Guan Hai, who had quietly driven in advance from the other side of the frozen river.

At noon on the fourth day, the banner of the cavalry general Liu Cun fluttered high in the center of the camp at the east entrance of Tongguan, and then, more than 20,000 cavalry led by Tai Shici, Xu Sheng and other generals unhindered bypassing the frozen river on the north side of Tongguan, and marched straight to Chang'an at an alarming speed.

Early in the morning of the fifth day, Duan Xuan, who was described as haggard, had just boarded the city pass, and was surprised to see the banner of his old friend Yang Feng appear under the pass, and the 15,000 cavalry led by Guan Hai appeared at the west of Tongguan at the same time, and hundreds of large ballistae were quickly pushed to the edge of the range of the arrow crossbow and swung away.

Duan Xuan and more than 10,000 defenders on the pass were terrified by this situation, and just when Duan Xuan repeatedly weighed whether to surrender or defend desperately, his old friend Yang Feng single-handedly walked out of the black-pressed Qingzhou army array, and came to the pass and shouted Duan Xuan's name.

The frightened Duan Xuan didn't dare to open the door, and used a huge basket to hang Yang Feng, who had been persuaded to surrender, to the closing building. After Yang Feng and Duan Xuan's salute. A few words made Duan Xuan's hanging heart settle down peacefully:

"The general of the chariot and cavalry, Brother Yu, greets the virtuous brother. This time the soldiers pressed the border completely to go to Chang'an to welcome the young emperor and the Chinese Wu of the dynasty back to Luoyang, and they would never kill the virtuous brothers. Lord Yang Biao, an angel, made a public promise that as long as the virtuous brother was willing to obey the will of the imperial court, he and the general of the chariot cavalry would try their best to protect the current status of the virtuous brother, and presented 50,000 quintals of grain and 10,000 sets of winter clothes to the virtuous brother's department, allowing the virtuous brother to choose another place to be stationed. ”

After Duan Xuan, who knew that if he didn't agree, he would end up miserable, and after getting the head guarantee of his old friend Yang Feng, he immediately rode out of the customs with Yang Feng, and respectfully met Liu Cun and Yang Biao and other civil and military ministers. not only won high praise from Liu Cun and Yang Biao, but also kept his position and the jobs of tens of thousands of soldiers under his command.

Just after noon, 30,000 Qingzhou troops entered Tongguan to take over the defense, and the remaining 40,000 horses passed through Tongguan to join the Guanhai Division, and then continued the westward expedition non-stop, Liu Cun and Yang Biao and others and the command center were sitting in Tongguan and waiting for news from the front.

The banquet that night was extremely lively, Duan Xuan, who had obtained a large amount of grain, grass and winter clothes, was completely relieved, and after Duan Xuan quietly discussed with Yang Feng, he took the initiative to ask Liu Cun to designate a piece of land to live in.

Liu Cun immediately agreed, and generously assigned the four counties of Hanoi County, which was rich and stable, to Duan Xuan's command. With great trust, Duan Xuan was asked to shoulder the defense along the Great River north of Luoyang, once the young emperor and the Chinese Wu of the dynasty returned to Luoyang safely. He will immediately report Duan Xuan's exploits, and ask the young emperor and the imperial court to give Duan Xuan greater praise.

The delighted Duan Xuan immediately reciprocated by telling Liu Cun in detail about the internal strife and fierce battles that had taken place outside Chang'an City in the past half a month, not only revealing the strength and damage of Li Dao and Guo Yan, but also telling the truth about the process of Hu Zhen, Niu Fu, Hu Che'er and others being drawn into the battle.

Hearing that Hu Zhen and other Western Liang army generals were led into a melee by Li Dao and Guo Yan after taking the lead, Liu Cun's last bit of scruples disappeared, and he praised Duan Xuan with great joy, and once again gave Duan Xuan 5,000 sets of infantry weapons equipped by the Qingzhou Army, and allowed Duan Xuan's troops to continue to be stationed in the pass to rest, and return to Luoyang together after the end of the Western Expedition, and then go to the new station after meeting the young emperor and the ministers of the court.

When the banquet dispersed, Liu Cun immediately summoned Zhao Rong, Man Chong, Cui Yan, Gongsun Fang and others to discuss the troop adjustment plan, and it was not dispersed until the dead of night.

After everyone came up with countermeasures, they went back to rest contentedly, and the henchman Zhao Rong returned to Liu Cun's bedroom again, and the first question after sitting down made Liu Cun admire: "Have Lu Jiu and Lu Pei already led their troops to lurk inside and outside Chang'an?" ”

"Sure enough, I can't hide anything from Mr."

Liu Cunle replied, seeing that Zhao Rong's face was full of solemnity and hesitation, Liu Cun had no choice but to report in a low voice: "Huangmen Ling Zhang Dun has already intersected with me, and over the years, most of the major news sent back from Chang'an is the result of Zhang Dun's hard work. ”

"In order to let him, an old qualified servant who was excluded by the eunuchs around the young emperor, take the position, I spent tens of millions of dollars for him to bribe Shangguan and the inner palace, and he was also very competitive, and a year ago he successfully won the trust of the young emperor and several important ministers in the court, squeezed out the dangerous eunuch Chen Pu, and became an important yellow door order."

"Two months ago, Lu Pei successfully led the three hundred elites of the Tiger and Leopard Battalion to secretly arrive in Chang'an, get in touch with Zhang Dun and plan a rescue operation, and the three caravans under the command of Lu Jiu also successfully lurked inside and outside Chang'an soon after, and quietly guarded the town fifty miles east of Chang'an according to Zhang Dun's instructions, as long as the more than 20,000 cavalry led by Ziyi and Wen Xiang broke through the line of Li Dao and Guo Yan and others and arrived outside Chang'an City, Zhang Dun and Lu Pei, who had been preparing for a long time, immediately escorted the young emperor and several important ministers of the court and the central government to secretly go out of the city to converge."

"Thousands of generals and servants under the command of Yang Biao, Zhao Qi, Ma Richan and other adults will set fire to create chaos everywhere, so that Li Dao's troops who stayed in the city were caught off guard.

Zhao Rong nodded silently, seeing that Liu Cun seemed unwilling to say anything, he hesitated for a long time, and finally dared to ask a heart-wrenching question: "Does the lord really want to send the young emperor to the dragon chair?" ”

Liu Cun, who had long known that he couldn't hide from Zhao Rong and Gongsun Pei, smiled bitterly: "Sir, do you really think I'm willing?" If the young emperor is rescued and sent to the throne, those courtiers who have been selfish and have always opposed the new policy of Qingzhou will regain power and opportunities. ”

"Once they settle down and rebuild the dynasty, these people will show their true colors and attack what we have done, and at the same time, they will reconnect with the world's wealthy families, and use all means to regain their lost power, status, land and slaves, even if I have a million soldiers, I am afraid I will not be able to suppress their greed and desire!" (To be continued......)