Nie Xiao's unexpected death made the Qiang people quickly lose all their fighting spirit, especially when Nie Xiao's personal guard battalion rushed up to retrieve Nie Xiao's body, but was brutally slaughtered by the heavy armor soldiers and was cut to pieces, the Qiang people were dumbfounded. I don't know who was the first to start running away, the five or six thousand cavalry that had not yet started the battle collapsed, like birds and beasts, and no one dared to look at Guan Yu again.

Zhao An and Ren Ping Hanyang officials were dumbfounded, and at the same time they were speechless by the strong combat power of Liu Xiu's subordinates, and at the same time, a burst of ecstasy passed through their hearts. It's a shame that they didn't surrender to the Qiang people as easily as the people of Jincheng, otherwise they would have to be enemies of Liu Xiu now, and being an enemy of such a person is obviously not a thing that can make people happy.

Pound's eyes lit up, his fists clenched tightly, and his face flushed. He has always been conceited and brave, and today he knows that there are many masters in the world, whether it is Xu Yu or Guan Yu, the strength of these people is beyond his reach at present.

I must work hard to train in martial arts, so that I can capture the flag like them in the future.

Liu Xiu saw all their horror in his eyes, but he deliberately had a light expression, and said lightly: "Two adults, let's not delay, let's rush to Jicheng immediately." ”

"General, your subordinates are really fierce generals." Zhao An couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

Liu Xiu smiled lightly, his subordinates really have no shortage of fierce generals, and when dealing with the Xiliang people who are not ashamed of martial arts, the strong force makes him full of confidence. He said a few words modestly, urging Zhao An and the others to set off immediately, and as for cleaning up the battlefield, he handed it over to Shangqi Ling Ren Ping to deal with.

Two hours later, Liu Xiu saw the tall city walls of Jicheng.

As soon as he saw Liu Xiu, Fan Jin was relieved, and his originally pale face regained his calm. He told Liu Xiu that the scouts had reported that more than 20,000 Qiang people had entered Hanyang, and he was very worried that Liu Xiu would have a bad encounter with them.

"Who led the troops?" Liu Xiu complained bitterly in his heart, but he refused to show a trace of panic. He had just stabilized the people of Hanyang with a hearty victory, and at this moment, he had to show the demeanor of a victorious general.

"What kind of wolf to burn." Although Fan Jin is a famous man in Nanyang, he dares to come to Xiliang to be a Taishou, and he has been doing it for more than ten years, but this courage is not comparable to ordinary Confucian scholars. Seeing that although Liu Xiu only had 3,000 people, he was able to defeat Nie Xiao's 10,000 army and behead Nie Xiao in battle, his confidence in Liu Xiu increased greatly.

"Okay, wait for him to die." Liu Xiu smiled disapprenousively, "Please Fan Fujun prepare some wine and food, I came all the way from Guanzhong, and I was a little hungry." ”

Fan Jin laughed, "Jin has long known that the soldiers are hard, and he has already asked people to prepare wine and food, please drink with the generals and the warriors." ”

Liu Xiu thanked him and entered the city with Fan Jin. Three thousand soldiers sat on horseback with their backs straight, their eyes did not squint, holding the reins in one hand, holding the iron halberd in their hands in the other, lined up in a neat procession, and slowly entered the city.

The officials of the Liangzhou Thorn Mansion, the Hanyang Taishou Mansion and the big clans in Jicheng had already received the news from Fan Jin, and hurried to greet them, and they were surprised and delighted when they saw these three thousand elites. Although they didn't know that the wolf was rushing to Jicheng, they knew that the Qiang people had occupied Jincheng and Longxi, and the strikers had crossed Jicheng and rushed to Shangqi, and Jicheng could be surrounded by the Qiang people at any time.

Fan Jin arched his hand at these Hanyang heroes with a smile on his face, and said loudly: "Tell you a good news." ”

Everyone looked at each other puzzled, it was indeed good news that Liu Xiu, the general of the Heart Daowei, had arrived in Jicheng, but he had already arrived in front of everyone, do you still need to say it? Could there be better news than this one?

"Although General Wei only brought 3,000 people, these 3,000 people are all warriors of a hundred battles. You've seen it, but I'm sure you can't imagine how brave they are. Fan Jin waved his hand, signaled everyone to be quiet, and then called Zhao An: "You come to tell everyone how General Wei defeated 10,000 rebels today." ”

When everyone heard this, they immediately moved, they knew that a large number of Qiang people had rushed to Shangqi, and it was likely to collide with Liu Xiu, but Liu Xiu only had 3,000 people, and the army was neat, and they couldn't see the appearance of just going through a vicious battle, they all thought that Liu Xiu either didn't meet the Qiang people, or they didn't fight, and they came to Jicheng from other roads. But now Fan Jin said that Liu Xiu had defeated those Qiang people, which was much to everyone's surprise, so he couldn't help but prick up his ears and listen attentively.

Zhao An told what he had seen and heard, and everyone was in an uproar. If Zhao An was not a local, everyone knew the roots, and they wouldn't dare to believe Zhao An's words at all. 3,000 men defeated 10,000 men, and it took less than an hour before and after, and the death was even more minimal, who would believe such a result? The reverse is pretty much the same.

However, Zhao An is a member of the Zhao family, one of the four surnames of Tianshui, and it has not been an official in Hanyang Taishou Mansion for a day or two, and everyone knows his personality very well, and there is no reason not to believe his words. But this result is too unbelievable to accept.

For a moment, these people looked at each other, not knowing whether to believe or not.

Fan Jin smiled slightly, and arched his hand at Liu Xiu: "General Wei, please take out Nie Xiao's head and show it to everyone, right?" Otherwise, they wouldn't believe it. ”

Liu Xiu waved his hand silently and motioned for Guan Yu to come out. Guan Yu turned over and dismounted, took off the leather bag containing Nie Xiao's head from the horse's back, walked in front of Liu Xiu and saluted, then took out Nie Xiao's head and held it high, facing everyone, standing proudly.

Fan Jin laughed heartily and said: "Everyone, this is the head of the rebel leader Nie Xiao, Nie Xiao is from Hanyang, you must have someone who knows him, you might as well come out and recognize him, see if it's not him." ”

Only then did Liu Xiu know that Nie Xiao was still from Hanyang, so it was no wonder that he would enter Hanyang as a striker.

After hearing Fan Jin's words, someone who knew Nie Xiao squeezed out of the crowd, and after carefully identifying the head in Guan Yu's hand, it proved that what Fan Jin said was indeed the truth. As soon as he heard that Liu Xiu had really broken 10,000 rebels with 3,000 people, and that the victory was extremely easy, the crowd boiled again.

"General Wei is mighty!" Someone raised his fist and shouted.

"General Wei is mighty!" More people shouted, and when Zhao An saw it, he hurriedly walked to Guan Yu's side, raised his hand and shouted: "Guan Dudu is mighty!" ”

Only then did everyone know that the tall and mighty man in front of them was surnamed Guan, and they were excited and shouted along. Listening to the tidal cheers, Guan Yu's tense face slowly relaxed, he raised his hand to greet everyone, and then shouted loudly: "General Wei is mighty!" ”

Under his leadership, the cheers rose higher and higher, and the atmosphere reached **.

Fan Jin invited Liu Xiu into the Taishou Mansion and set up a banquet to entertain him, and he said to Liu Xiu very happily: "The general fought this battle well, with this beginning, it can deter the Qiang people and boost the morale of the people." ”

Liu Xiu said gratefully: "Thank you for your support, with the help of Fujun, I am more confident in defending Jicheng and stabilizing Liangzhou." He was telling the truth, Fan Jin's behavior just now was not unintentional, and praising him was by no means the main purpose, he specially let those Hanyang people take a look, so that they could have confidence in Liu Xiu, and believed that Liu Xiu could defend Jicheng, so that the people of Jicheng could be stable, and they could be willing to support Liu Xiu and stabilize Hanyang. Otherwise, no matter how brave Liu Xiu's 3,000 people are, it is impossible to really control the situation.

Although Liu Xiu hates those fake celebrities, he still admires this kind of talented and responsible celebrities, and he does not hesitate to praise himself.

With this good start, at the next banquet, the big clans of Ji County stepped forward to toast Liu Xiu, expressing their willingness to advance and retreat with Liu Xiu to protect the territory and the people. Liu Xiu thanked them one by one, and then quickly took over the defense of Jicheng, and discussed the relevant military and money issues with each family.

The next day, the scouts came with the news that the Sky Wolf had stopped advancing, and was currently stationed in the area of Zhuyu Mountain in the southwest of Jicheng, blocking the road into Longxi County, and it seemed that he had learned that Nie Xiao had been defeated and that the official army had entered Jicheng, and was waiting for reinforcements.

Liu Xiu immediately convened everyone to discuss how to deal with the more than 20,000 Qiang people.

Fan Jin stroked his beard and didn't say a word, just set his eyes on the few people who had been invited. These people are all big clans in Hanyang, and they are also currently serving in the Assassin's Mansion or Taishou Mansion, and compared to Fan Jin, they are the real power faction that really controls Hanyang.

A Taishoufu Gongcao named Yang Hui stood up, "Zhu Yuan Mountain is the only way to the southwest of Longxi, if the general wants to rebel, he must pass through this road, and the rebel Qiang wants to enter Hanyang and invade Guanzhong, which is also one of the main roads." Zhu Yuan Mountain is located between the South Mountain and the North Mountain, it is a rare garrison land, if the Qiang people occupy this place, at any time to maintain the pressure on Jicheng, for the general, it is very unfavorable. ”

The others nodded frequently and echoed.

Liu Xiu saw it in his eyes, and was a little angry, these people only thought about driving the Qiang people out of Hanyang, but they didn't know the danger here. There are 20,000 Qiang people, and they have just experienced Nie Xiao's fiasco, so they must be on guard, how can it be so easy to fight. His troops are insufficient, but these Hanyang people do not say a word, all their support stays on the lip service, and so far there is no real action. With his 3,000 men to attack, even if it is a victory, it is a miserable victory, and in the end, few people will come back alive.

These people are all human spirits, but it is undeniable that many people put their own interests first, as long as their interests are not damaged, Liu Xiu's defeat or undefeat is not important to them, at least not the decision surname, they can cooperate with the Qiang people like those heroes in Jincheng.

Liu Xiu glanced at Fan Jin, Fan Jin smiled silently, and returned Liu Xiu's empathetic look.

Fu Xie hesitated, stood up, first arched his hand to Liu Xiu and Fan Jin, and then looked at those Hanyang Haoqiang who were subconsciously sitting together, and asked suspiciously: "It is said that the Qiang people raised 150,000 troops, and what we know at present is only 30,000 or 40,000 people in Anding and Beidi, and there are 30,000 people in Hanyang, so where are the 50,000 or 60,000 people?" ”

"In the Golden City." A man in his forties stood up. His name is Jiang Xu, and he is engaged in Hanyang soldier Cao, who is in charge of Hanyang's military affairs. He nodded to Liu Xiu: "According to the information we got earlier, the main force of the rebel has been in Jincheng, and the Wang family and the Bian family have all joined them, but the Han family and the Koji family have not yet expressed their position, especially the Han family, because of Han Sui, they have clearly refused to cooperate and defend themselves. ”

"How long can the castle of a clan last?" Fu Xie glanced at everyone, "If my guess is right, Bian Zhang and the kingdom are thinking about the old feelings and don't want to kill." But if they learned that the general had entered Jicheng, could they still be so tolerant? Even if they don't surrender and leave thousands of people to guard them, Bian Zhang and the kingdom can still draw out nearly 50,000 troops to besiege Jicheng, and at that time, even if Jicheng is strong, it will inevitably be surrounded and impassable, and other counties will inevitably be poisoned by it. ”

Those who were not at home in Jicheng frowned and began to worry.

"In today's plan, we should defeat the Heavenly Wolf and recapture Zhuyuan Mountain before the main force of the rebels arrives, so that our army can attack and retreat, at least Hanyang can be kept unharmed." Fu Xie turned around and saluted Liu Xiu: "Please don't hesitate, general, immediately attack the Heavenly Wolf." ”

The people of Hanyang also wanted Liu Xiu to attack the wolf, and Fu Xie also wanted Liu Xiu to attack the wolf, but the meaning was slightly different. The Hanyang people wanted Liu Xiu to attack alone, and they sat on the guard, but Fu Xie reminded them that if Liu Xiu refused to attack because of insufficient troops, then after the Qiang people besieged Jicheng, the most unlucky people were the Hanyang people, you either surrendered to the Qiang people, or you will be robbed by the Qiang people, even if you surrender, you have to take out a lot of property to appease those Qiang people, in this case, why don't you take it out to support Liu Xiu?

Everyone is a smart person, and with a little dialing, you can understand the difference. One by one, they began to stand up and express their approval, some sent troops, some sent food, and in a short time, more than 2,000 people were put together, and more than 20,000 stones and more than grain were raised.

Liu Xiu estimated that he touched it, plus the original county soldiers in Ji County, he now has about 7,000 people on hand, and there is already the possibility of a war. He immediately began to discuss how to fight, Jiang Xu was a local, and he was in charge of the military of the county, and he was very familiar with the terrain around Zhu Yu Mountain, so he explained it to Liu Xiu at the moment.

The terrain of Zhuyuan Mountain is unique, the surrounding mountains are heavy and complex, there are South Mountain, there are West Mountain, and what can garrison the army is only a small meadow. There are seven or eight rivers within a distance of less than 100 miles to the north of the mountain, which is not suitable for the movement of the army at all, and there is only one large Ben River water to the south, but it is not easy to cross the big Ben River water to attack Zhu Yuanchuan, because the mountains and forests there are dense, and it is very difficult to walk. More importantly, the Qiang people were good at mountain warfare, and this terrain was very suitable for them, but it was not conducive to the advantages of Liu Xiu's troops, which were mainly cavalry.

Jiang Xu finally came to a conclusion and said regretfully: "At present, there is no better way than to attack head-on with foot soldiers. ”

Liu Xiu was very depressed, talked for a long time, and came to such a conclusion, which couldn't help but make people not depressed. Originally, I was worried about the lack of troops, but now I know that the troops are sufficient, and there is only one way to attack, no wonder those people are a little hesitant.

Liu Xiu asked everyone to step back and sit alone in front of the map in contemplation. Hao Zhao stood quietly aside, and Pang De, who officially became Liu Xiu's guard, also stood there, looking at Liu Xiu without saying a word.

"Easy to defend but hard to attack...... Not conducive to the actions of the Great Army...... It's not good for cavalry......" Jiang Xu's words with an obvious Liangzhou accent echoed in Liu Xiu's mind, making Liu Xiu feel a little upset. But when he thought of Pound, he couldn't let this emotion be exposed, so he had to summon Pound in front of him and start chatting.

"In which direction is your house?"

"Here." Pound found the location of the road on the map. The road is in the upper reaches of Weishui, northwest of Jicheng, about seventy or eighty miles away from Ji County.

"And if you're going home, where do you go from?" Liu Xiu joked, "If you go from Zhu Yu Mountain, it will be quite far away." ”

"I don't go from Zhu Yu Mountain." Pang De saw that Liu Xiu's tone was gentle, and there was no shelf of a superior person, and his mood became relaxed, and he touched his chin embarrassedly. "I take the mountain road, although the mountain road is difficult to walk, but it is much closer and faster."

"Mountain Road?" Liu Xiu paused for a moment, and then had an idea, "Do you know that you can go around the mountain road to the west of Zhuyuan Mountain?" ”

"Yes." Pang De said without thinking, and then realized Liu Xiu's purpose, and hurriedly shook his head and said: "General, those mountain roads are very difficult to walk, it is no problem for a few people to walk, but the army can't walk, and the war horse is even more impossible." ”

"Hehe, then you don't care about it for now, you tell me if there is one and how long it will take."

Pang De blinked his eyes and thought for a while: "It will take about five days to walk, and there will be a few more waters, and after walking to the Heishui Gorge, you will turn south, and you will be able to see the military camp of Zhu Yu Mountain." He reminded again: "These roads are not easy to walk. ”

Liu Xiu smiled: "Do you think those people under Xu Dudu can go?" ”

Pang De thought about the scene that day when Xu Yu led the tigers to attack the mountain, and nodded again and again: "They will definitely be able to walk." ”

"That'll do." Liu Xiu sat up and glanced at Hao Zhao: "Go and find Wang Daochang and Xu Dudu." ”

Wang Zhi and Xu Yu soon arrived. Wang Zhi is good at concealment, needless to say, the flexibility of his body is needless to say, because the tiger warriors under Xu Yu were crushed to death by Guan Yu's heavy armor in attacking fortifications, and the name of the strongest foot soldier was hopeless, so he simply developed in the direction of omnipotence. He not only let those tiger warriors practice swords, halberds, bows and crossbows and other martial arts, but also learned light body techniques from Wang Zhi, and specially asked Liu Xiu for instructions, so that Liu Xiu could pass on the monkey form in the Five Elements Technique to some trustworthy tiger warriors. In Hu Shiping's training, balancing skills such as climbing over walls and ridges are also compulsory subjects.

After seeing the flexible skills of these tigers with his own eyes, Pound was in awe, and the last trace of worry was put down. He was young and warlike, and he didn't think that Liu Xiu took hundreds of tiger soldiers to find the bad luck of the Qiang people was the most dangerous thing, on the contrary, he was a little eager to try, and he couldn't wait to fly to Zhu Yuchuan in one step and fight with the Qiang people.

Liu Xiu found Fan Jin and Jiang Xu, and asked them to take the army out of the city from Ming Ming, move forward thirty miles every day, and then retreat twenty miles, and delay until two or three days later, and then confront the Qiang people in Zhuyuan Mountain. If the Qiang people don't take the initiative to attack them, they should not cause trouble, and if the disparity between us and the enemy is too great, then they can also retreat temporarily.

Fan Jin and Jiang Xu didn't know why, they didn't know why Liu Xiu would let them do this, and they didn't understand why Liu Xiu didn't lead the troops himself, but handed over the military power to them.

"I have other things to do." Liu Xiu didn't tell them the truth, he knew that Jiang Xu might not have any opinions, but Fan Jin would definitely say that he was reckless and reckless, not a general.

Fan Jin and the others had just gone out, Fu Xie came to find him, and as soon as he saw Liu Xiu, he said straight to the point: "Is the general going to raid the Qiang people from the path?" ”

Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, looked around, which of his heart was unstable, this kind of person could not stay by his side.

"The general doesn't need to look at it, I guessed it myself." Fu Xie pointed at Pang De, "He is a local, he must know some gossip." The general's sudden move at a time when he was at a loss, and his refusal to explain it to everyone, must have been this plan. ”

Liu Xiu secretly praised himself, this guy is smart enough, no less than people like Xun You and Jia Xu.

"What do you think of Nan Rong?"

"Takami doesn't." Fu Xie arched his hand and said calmly: "Xie Bucai, I am willing to attack Sima for the general and on behalf of the general." Please put the overall situation first and sit in Jicheng. ”

"You're going?" Liu Xiu was surprised, he originally thought that Fu Xie was trying to dissuade him.

"I can go, because I'm dead, it has no impact on the overall situation, and if something happens to the general, Liangzhou will be out of control." Fu Xie looked at Liu Xiu's eyes and said word by word: "Although I get along with the general lightly, I can see that the general has something important to do." People who do big things should not take this risk. ”

Liu Xiu was shocked, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, could it be that he accidentally said something that made this Fu Xie see the problem. No, I've never had the intention of rebelling in front of anyone. If you have to say that there is, it is also a little bit of meaning in front of Yan Zhong, but where did Fu Xie see it? Is this guy a goblin?

"Big deal?" Liu Xiu smiled disguisedly: "What big thing can I do, my big thing is to pacify Liangzhou." ”

"The Qiang people are easy to attack and difficult to convince, and the matter in Liangzhou is not something that can be solved in a day or two. Although the general is young, he has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he must not fail to see this. Fu Xie saw that Liu Xiu was a little unnatural, and he also felt that he was a little aggressive, so he slowed down his tone. The general's forces are insufficient, and the best strategy at the moment is to hold on to Jicheng instead of rushing to defeat the Heavenly Wolf. Because of the defeat of the Heavenly Wolf, it will not solve the Qiang Chaos in Liangzhou. The general was in a hurry to win, even at the risk of his own life, how could he make such a decision if there was no reason? ”

Hearing this, a stone fell to the ground in Liu Xiu's heart. It scared me to death, the words were so serious, what did he see before, it turned out to be this. He shook his head and motioned for Fu Xie to sit down. "Nanrong doesn't know, I'm in a hurry to solve the Heavenly Wolf because I don't want the matter in Liangzhou to drag on for too long. Not to mention the old saying that a battle is expensive and a victory is not expensive for a long time, just talk about the situation in Jincheng, I can't delay it for too long. If you don't talk about the Koji family, I'll just talk about the Han family. The reason why the Han family is not attached to the chaos is because Han Sui became an official in response to my conquest, and I have the righteousness of a monarch and a minister with him, so the Han family does not rebel, and I can't sit idly by. There are tens of thousands of Qiang people, how long can the Han family support? If the Han family suffers a disaster, how can I explain to Han Sui? ”

Fu Xie was silent and listened quietly, but the suspicion in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

(To be continued)