In Suizhou, the drums of the generals who had been silent for two years suddenly sounded again.

Suizhou Zhizhong is engaged in Chu Yuntian, and don't drive Wu Youdao. Standing on the left and right in front of the assassination case, the generals from all walks of life put on their helmets and armor and hurriedly ran in.

In the past few years, under the exclusion and suppression of the two states of Linfu, Suizhou has been harsh and hungry, and has almost become a dead city, in this city, only those who enlist in the army can still have something to eat, so the people of Suizhou are enthusiastic to join the army, even the old and the young, Suizhou is afraid that there will be no more than 40,000 troops at this time.

As long as he can open a bow and carry a gun, most of them will be recruited, the grain in the treasury will be eaten, all the big households will be divided, and all the gold, silver and jewelry will be exchanged for rice and grain from smugglers, and the priority will be given to the army. The grain is also decreasing day by day, if it were not for the imperial court successfully bribing Chizhong and launching an attack on Fuzhou at the right time, Suizhou would really not be able to hold on.

"Generals, we have been working hard in Suizhou for two years, and now we ...... Finally, there is a rì of the beginning! ”

Li Jiyun said excitedly to the generals. The news that the imperial court sent troops to Fugu, except for a few of his henchmen and generals, everyone else was still in the dark, and when they heard Li Jiyun's words, they all turned their eyes to him.

More than two years of forbearance, hiding, and painful suffering have made Li Jiyun have undergone great changes. His appearance is no different from before, but his temperament is much calmer, his eyes used to be empty-eyed, and his feelings were rough and arrogant, but now, no matter who he looks at, the fierce light shining in the fierce sky is the light of yīn eagle like ghost fire, and it has become yīn forbearance in case of trouble.

He smiled calmly, and then announced to the generals who were extremely closed to the news and had fallen into despair: "Everyone, our great enemy Yang Hao, colluded with the Chizhong of Caochengchuan to seize Fugu, but the opportunity was revealed, the alliance between the two families of Zheyang has collapsed, and Fuzhou Zheyuxun fled to Beijing to ask for troops to quell the rebellion from the Zhao official family. Now Zhao Guanjia has mobilized the six-way army, sent troops to Fuzhou, and sent Pan Mei to lead an army of 50,000, and now it is on the way, hehe, the imperial court and Yang Hao, finally have to do it! ”

When the generals in the hall heard this, they couldn't help but feel shocked, and Li Jiyun said again: "Do you think that this official's ambition is exhausted, and he has just been drunk and dreamed of death in the past two years?" In the past two years, the official has also secretly established contact with the imperial court, this time the imperial court sent troops to attack Fuzhou, and the official also got an order from the imperial court, ordering the official to attack Yinzhou, so that the Yang family army could not take care of the head and tail, and create an opportunity for Pan Mei to attack the two states of Linfu. ”

The battalion commander Xiao Fenghan was overjoyed and said: "My lord, if we recapture Yinzhou, it will be enough to gain a foothold in the fortified city, the northwest is dominated by our party Xiang Qiang people, and if the imperial court wants to control the northwest, it must always support a leader who can be accepted by the Qiang people." As soon as Yang Hao fell, who else is more qualified than you, with the help of the imperial court, Yang Hao and Zhe Yuxun collapsed again, this northwest, this will be difficult for the five states, and it will definitely be able to return to the hands of adults. ”

These generals under Li Jiyun, except for Chu Yuntian and Wu Youdao, who are like decorations, are all cronies promoted by Li Jiyun in the past two years, and this deputy general Xiao Fenghan is Li Jiyun's guard captain and promoted to be the battalion commander. After listening to Xiao Fenghan's words, Li Jiyun said hesitantly: "Fenghan, what you think is too simple. ”

Xiao Fenghan was stunned and said in surprise: "My lord, is what my subordinates said wrong?" ”

"Of course not."

Li Jiyun sat down on the case, glanced at the generals standing in front of the case with great ambition, and said in a deep voice: "The reason why the imperial court has not been able to firmly control the northwest is because the northwest has its own style, and the generals enjoy the right to dominate the life and death of the place, just like one side of the waiting. Now that the imperial court has the opportunity to march into the northwest, if it has to do so, how can it hand over the territory and people it has acquired to others? Hmph, all the emperors since ancient times, is there anyone who likes to control military power more than his Zhao family? ”

Xiao Fenghan only said yes, Li Jiyun's eyes flashed, and he said with a cruel smile: "If our strength is strong enough, if the imperial court can't eat the fat in the northwest and can't quell the rebellion in the northwest, then ...... Only then will the official family reluctantly support a person and impose a restraint policy on the northwest. What we're going to do now. It is to find a way to take millet from the fire and create this opportunity. ”

Marching Sima Wu Huohuo is also a general who Li Jiyun picked up, and said loudly when he heard this: "Damn, in the past two years, I have been stuck in this Suizhou City, life is not like life, death is not like death, and my subordinates have already endured enough." My lord, my subordinate is a rough man, I can't understand these twists and turns, what you say, let's just do it.

Li Jiyun smiled and said: "The official's meaning ......, let's feint attack Yinzhou, change the route halfway, and go straight to Xiazhou." Take back the land of my Li clan's Zhongxing. You all know what Xiazhou means to our party Xiangqiang people, Xiazhou is to our party Xiangqiang people, just like Luzhou is a holy place for monks in the northwest!

As long as we recapture Xiazhou, Yang Hao has already offended the imperial court, planted his biggest enemy, and lost Xiazhou and become a lost dog, Yeli, Xifeng and other seven clan patriarchs, how can they not think about the fate and future of their clan? At that point, they had to turn back. Pledge your allegiance to me again, hehe! ”

Don't drive Wu Youdao frowned, and couldn't help but say: "My lord, how important Xiazhou is, we know, Yang Hao naturally knows, I'm afraid...... Xiazhou will be more difficult to fight than Yinzhou, right? ”

Li Jiyun glanced at him, gritted his teeth and smiled: "Otherwise, Yang Hao is not in Xiazhou now, he is ambitious, and he will dominate Hexi." He has led his troops all the way to Yumen Pass, and the Ganzhou Hui soldiers are strong and strong, and it is not easy to deal with, so Yang Hao bypassed Ganzhou.

Hehe, with the war here, his grain and grass will be cut off, when Yang Haojun was in turmoil and fled back in a hurry, do you think Ganzhou Hui will let go of this God-given opportunity? Do you think the Rebels will let this opportunity go? There are chasing soldiers in the back, and there is a strong enemy in front, and it is difficult to say whether Yang Hao can come back alive and be awarded the head under the knife of this official. ”

Wu Youdao and Chu Yuntian glanced at each other, and they both faintly heard that something was wrong: since Chizhong was bribed by Yang Hao and joined forces with Yang Hao to annex Fuzhou, then at this critical moment, how could Yang Hao go out and conquer Yumen Pass in the west? This is too counterintuitive, even if he wants to attack the east and west, so he will not really leave an ambush to deal with the situation, right?

However, although they had doubts in their hearts, the two of them didn't dare to say it, the two of them could live because Li Jiyun needed the two former Suizhou officials to serve as a façade when he was under the pseudonym Li Pishou, and the power of the two had long been hollowed out, and now the people in charge of the army are Li Jiyun's henchmen, how dare they anger him.

Li Jiyun said proudly, raised his eyebrows, and said: "Before Yang Hao left, he transferred all the Xiazhou army to the Western Regions, and on the eastern front, the main force was deployed in Yinzhou and Linzhou. We hit Xiazhou, which was a surprise. Speaking of which, Yinzhou has the same high walls as Xiazhou. It's not easy to attack, but my Li family has been in Xiazhou for more than 100 years, and the wealthy gentlemen in the city, how can they all be attributed to Yang Hao so quickly, as long as the official rushes to Xiazhou, I will show my name Li Jiyun......"

When Li Jiyun said this, he clenched his fists tightly, and said resentfully: "How similar is this scene to two years ago? Hehe......, how did he Yang Hao take my Xiazhou at the beginning, and now I have to take it back in the same way, at the beginning, how was my father and son embarrassed, and the end of the road is desperate, today...... I also want to let him Yang Hao taste the same. ”

Wu Youzhi, the general political senator, is an old man in Suizhou, but this person saw the opportunity early, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he had already thrown himself into Li Jiyun, and he was very valued by him, and he couldn't help but be a little worried when he heard this: "My lord, since the imperial court ordered us to fight Yinzhou to contain Yang Jiye, if we rashly turn to Xiazhou, will it anger the officials?" ”

Li Jiyun yīnyīn smiled and said, "Who said we won't go to Yinzhou?" Merely...... Seeing that the Yinzhou soldiers had enough food, they had already prepared, and in desperation, we turned to attack Xiazhou. Hehe, the one who guards Xiazhou is a man who has never led soldiers, and can only talk about the cultivation of soldiers on paper, a literati who has passed the Jinshi examination, let's go to Xiazhou, wouldn't it be better to cooperate with the imperial court soldiers and horses to contain Yang Jiye? ”

Senator Wu said again with doubts: "What your lord said is very true. But...... If the imperial court wins the two states of Linzhou, and we succeed in a sneak attack on Xiazhou, Yang Hao's men and horses are in turmoil, then the imperial court can easily seek Yinzhou, and at that time, Yinzhou, Fuzhou, Linzhou, and Suizhou are in the hands of the imperial court, and the imperial court will not continue to move westward? If the imperial court forces the Lord to hand over Xiazhou, how should we deal with it at that time? ”

Li Jiyun laughed, shook his head and said: "No, no, at that time, the imperial court will definitely appoint this official as the envoy of the difficult festival and the shepherd of the northwest for the imperial court." ”

Senator Wu was surprised and said, "Why are you so sure? ”

Li Jiyun smiled and didn't answer, turned his head and said: "All the soldiers, return to the camp immediately, order all the soldiers and horses, carry all the grain and grass, and the whole army will pull out the camp at three o'clock." ”

He stood up and said in a deep voice: "Success or failure, in this move, we must cut off all retreats, move forward to live, retreat and die, the three armies are united in one mind, and seek a great cause." So...... Before sending troops, burn this Suizhou city to me! The official wants to ...... Back, water, one, battle!

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The three messengers stood by the Yellow River, washed their faces, moistened their chapped lips, and then removed the water bladder and drew up the water. The water of the Yellow River here is clear and sweet, but the riverside is full of yellow sand. It is when the sun sets, and the undulating sand mountains in the distance transform into a fiery red face under the setting sun, like a burning flame.

About a few miles away, a desert spectacle was being staged, a huge tornado with two thick ends and a thin middle, reaching the sky and the ground, was rolling up countless yellow sands, roaring unscrupulously on the empty desert.

When the water bladder was full, the three knights turned on their horses, and took one last look at the boundless sea of sand, the flaming sand mountains, and the wind dragon that connected the heavens and the earth, and then continued to the west in the sunset.

Under their feet is the soft and dry yellow sand, and the most out-of-the-way horses in the Western Regions can't run, they sometimes gallop, sometimes dismount and lead the horses to trek through the sand mountains with difficulty, sometimes the whole person sits on the sand mountain, and rolls straight down the hill with a rumbling sound, while their horses neigh, wagging their tails to catch up.

They were messengers who came from Fuzhou, and they were carrying the urgent military situation of Fuzhou and sending them to Yang Hao, who was supervising the westward expedition. Yang Hao has just conquered Liangzhou and Suzhou, and there is still a Ganzhou in between, and he has not had time to set up a message transmission channel, the road in the Western Regions is not easy to walk, coupled with the harsh environment, they have really suffered a lot along the way, but they know what an important mission they shoulder, and they are still stubbornly fighting with heaven and earth, marching......

Yang Hao has been in the city of Guazhou, the relationship between Guasha and Guasha is like the relationship between the two states of Linzhou, lips and teeth depend on each other, rely on each other, and if one of them is lost, the door will be opened, if Guazhou is lost, Yang Hao will take this as a stronghold, it can completely offset the unfavorable factors of the extension of the labor division's expeditionary front, poor supply, and unfounded advance and retreat, forming a fatal threat to the Guiyi army, so Cao Yangong personally sat in Guazhou and waited for it.

Yang Hao set up a large camp under the city of Guazhou, and the camp stretched for ten miles.

He did not rush to attack, and as soon as the army was stationed, he sent 500 arrows to his head, and each arrow was accompanied by a letter summoning the surrender of the rebels, and the words were earnest and inciting. Cao Yangong and Cao Zitao's uncle and nephew immediately commanded the cronies to search all over the city and recover Yang Hao's leaflets, but the news had already spread, and the Guiyi army originally lacked hostility towards Yang Hao, and it was out of reach, but the legend said that he really personally led the army to Guazhou City, and when he sent them a surrender leaflet, their morale became even lower, and Cao Yan's nephews and nephews were terrified, so they had to send their most loyal and reliable people to each battalion as a supervisor to prevent the army from mutiny.

The next day, Yang Hao officially launched an attack on Guazhou City, because from Suzhou to Guazhou, there was a long desert road in the middle, and the heavy siege equipment could not continue to be carried, so the actual threat caused by Yang Hao's offensive to Guazhou was relatively limited, but Yang Haojun's hard siege crossbow still caused quite serious casualties to the Shazhou defenders.

Wei Jiayu, Yang Hao also rì night to the city to implement sāo harassment tactics, occasionally with propaganda offensives, Cao Yangong's uncle and nephew commanded the soldiers and horses to support hard, another bitter battle is over, the shouting of the night is gone, the blood has not dried, the heaven and earth are occupied by the wind and sand again, Cao Yangong's uncle and nephew boarded the city, looking at Yang Hao's military camp: the Guiyi army occupies the geographical advantage, this Guazhou is the only oasis to the west from this, there is a long yellow sand on all sides, if Yang Hao's offensive only stops here, they believe that they can survive this pass, Until Yang Hao ran out of grain and grass and took the initiative to retreat.

As the sun set, Yang Hao stood quietly in the desert in the remnants of the sun, and in front of him was the lonely city that stood tall in the long yellow sand, and the sunset dragged his shadow for a long time......

He is also waiting, waiting for news from Shazhou. The descendants of the Zhang family have left the power center of the Guiyi Army for a long time, and their influence on the senior generals of the Guiyi Army is limited, but the Zhang family still enjoys a very high prestige among Guashashilin, the family, the people and ordinary soldiers, and the Buddhist forces in Guasha will not oppose his unification of Hexi; The clever move of adjusting the road without a trace to the governor of Suzhou not only caused a very strong shock to Guashashilin, but also made Cao Yangong in chaos, pushing many officials who had anything to do with Lu Wuxian to his side.

All the prerequisites were ready, and before sending out the troops, he even sent a dog to rush to the sandbank with the most outstanding flying feather spy to help the Zhang family succeed. Now, he has successfully dragged Cao Yangong to Guazhou, just waiting for good news to come out from the sandbank.

"I am also a son and daughter of the Han family, if I have to do it, I will never meet the Guiyi saber soldiers. However, if Shazhou is defeated and Cao Yangong insists on not surrendering, then ...... I can't say anything about the Guiyi army that obstructs my unification of Hexi...... I had no choice but to do it! ”

Yang Hao looked at Guazhou City in the distance and decided to secretly, he stretched out his hand to wrap up the cloak that was rolled up by the wind and sand, and was turning around to return to the camp, as soon as his body turned, he saw two soldiers running towards him in a hurry, his steps were hurried, kicking up a piece of yellow sand, Yang Hao couldn't help frowning, the two soldiers rushed to the front, and hurriedly shouted: "Dashuai, please...... Please hurry back to the camp, Fuzhou messenger, bring an urgent military situation! ”