-- August 28, 23rd year of Hongwu of the Great Zhou Dynasty --

On the third day after the eldest Sun Xiangyu led the army to leave Luoyang, Li Shou and Xie An led 50,000 troops to the west to conquer the Zhou and slowly advanced towards Gucheng.

Before leaving, Xie An left Qin Can, Zheng Bin and 20,000 soldiers to guard Luoyang, and asked Zhuo Zhi to lead 5,000 soldiers to guard Yanshi, plus 20,000 or 30,000 wounded in Yanshi, there are more than 50,000 soldiers and horses in Luoyang and Yanshi, which is enough to prevent some emergencies.

I have to say that Xie An is still very cautious in doing things, but such a cautious person actually thinks of relying on the newly surrendered Zhang Dong rebels to take Gucheng, which really makes Li Shou a little incomprehensible.

What is even more incomprehensible to him is that after Xie An made a verbal agreement with Zhang Dong, not only released Zhang Dong and other 20,000 rebels, but even the families of the tens of thousands of rebels were also released from Luoyang.

"I still think you're too risky......"

During the march, Li Shou, who had been thinking about this matter for a long time, couldn't help but express his inner worries.

"Huh?" Xie An, who was riding a horse side by side with Li Shou, was stunned when he heard this, and said puzzledly, "About what?" ”

"What else?" Li Shou pursed his lips angrily, lowered his voice and said, "Do you really think that Zhang Dong and the others will turn against the water?" ”

"Why not?"

"This ......" Li Shou was choked by Xie An's rhetorical question, looked left and right, and said in a low voice, "You are gambling with your own life, if that Zhang Dong understands the reason, it would be fine." But if he surrenders by fraud and is investigated in the future, you secretly release a felon of treason, what a felony this is, as the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple, you won't be unclear, right? - Leave nothing else at that, you won't be able to keep your head! ――What are you thinking? I had to discuss it with the king, and I went to negotiate with the rebels, but fortunately, nothing went wrong. Otherwise, you will call this king ......"

Looking at the look of blame in Li Shou's eyes, Xie Anxin couldn't help but be a little moved, and after thinking for a while, he said, "I also know that this is very risky...... However, I feel that for my own selfishness, that woman led 30,000 soldiers to danger in person, and I feel that if I don't do something, I am really sorry for her. I'm sorry for the more than 100,000 people up and down the Western Expeditionary Army......"

"You ......" Li Shou opened his mouth a little stunned, and he vaguely felt that the friend in front of him seemed to be a little strange.

Maybe others don't know. But Li Shou knew very well that yesterday, after Xie An recovered the surrendered general Zhang Dong, he thought about Gucheng more than a dozen times carefully, back and forth, until the sunset, and then called Zhang Dong to him and told him about the affairs of Gucheng in detail.

In the past, how could this kid be so attentive?

It's changing, kid......

Thinking of this, Li Shou sighed. Then he smiled and asked, "To be honest, were you afraid at the time?" ”

"Afraid?" Xie An snorted coldly when he heard this, and looked at Li Shou proudly, but after blinking, he seemed to have become a leaky balloon, and the whole person deflated. Looking left and right, he lowered his voice and said, "If I say, I was actually scared and weak. I can't even walk, do you believe it? ”

Li Shou chuckled and shook his head.

He didn't have the slightest intention of making fun of Xie An, if he was any person, he would feel frightened, you know, there were 20,000 rebel soldiers in the northwest corner of Luoyang at that time, one is not good, it is very likely that the rebels will rush up and chop Xie An and Li Jing and Su Xin who acted as guards into pulp.

Even if Li Jing and Su Xin are military generals, their own martial arts are quite solid, but so what, the other party is a full 20,000 rebels, and just spitting is enough to drown the three of them.

"In that case, why are you going? - This king remembers, you kid is very afraid of death! ”

Li Shou originally thought that Xie An would roll his eyes and glare at him as usual when he heard this, but unexpectedly, Xie An just smiled self-deprecatingly this time.

"Ah, I'm really afraid of death...... I haven't had enough of it, so how can I allow it to die like this? However, I think that in this life, people will always encounter things that need to stand up......"

"Fight for the future?"

"It can also be understood in this way, both public and private, I can't back down this time...... Yu Gong, this matter is related to the lives of that woman and more than 100,000 people up and down my Western Expeditionary Army; For private reasons, only by quelling the rebellion in Luoyang and Chang'an can you and I gain a foothold in Jijing and fulfill the oath of that day...... What's more, the current situation itself is caused by my willfulness, as the woman said, since I want to save Lu Gong, I can't hide behind...... No matter what, I'm going to get to Hanya Pass on time! ”

Looking at Xie An's increasingly determined gaze, Li Shou was moved.

Is this really the Xie An I know?

Is it Xie An, who slept with gold in his arms in the middle of the night after entering the palace?

Is it Xie An, who has instigated himself many times to go to the Qinglou to eat flowers and wine?

Is it Xie An, who is troublesome and fishes in the troubled waters of the palace every day?

Is it the lazy, greedy and lustful Xie An?

Thinking of this, Li Shou shook his head slightly, sighed with a smile, and then looked at Xie An and sighed sincerely, "It's become reliable, Xie An!" ”

"What's that called?" Xie An rolled his eyes.

Li Shou smiled softly, and then laughed at himself, "But listening to you say this, this king is a little ashamed of himself, this king is obviously the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, but he ...... Still...... Alas, at that time, it should have been this king who persuaded that Zhang Dongcai! ”

As if he had seen through what Li Shou was thinking, Xie An raised his right hand and slapped Li Shou's arm fiercely, and while the latter covered his arm and grinned, he said with a smile, "You are the prince, if you go, will Zhang Dong and those people descend?" It's probably holding you hostage...... Okay, if you have a specialization in the art industry, you just stay behind and figure it out, how to fill in the battle report with gorgeous words, I still expect your battle report to be promoted and make a fortune! ”

"You kid...... Li Shou shook his head with a smile, and secretly sighed in his heart.

Speaking of which......

Since this kid served as the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple, he has gradually become diligent. It is said that getting up at the hour of the hour every day is much more diligent than when you were in the palace......

[Your Highness, what about the boy?] ]

[Huh?] Xie An? Hmm, I guess I'm still asleep......]

[What?] All three poles on the day...... That stinky boy! ]

Fauber, did you see that?

The stinky boy you call is gradually becoming more reliable!

"Hehehe!" The corners of Li Shou's mouth couldn't help laughing, and he came back to his senses. But he suddenly found that Xie An was looking at him with a strange gaze of surprise and fear, and he couldn't help but turn red, coughed, and changed the topic and said, "Cough! Speaking of which, how confident do you have in that Zhang Dong? Do you really think that the 20,000 rebels will really rebel after returning to Valley City? ”

Seeing that Li Shou suddenly got involved in this matter. The expression on Xie An's face became solemn for a long time, and he frowned. said, "About fifty percent!" ”

"In that case, why did you let those family members go? Wouldn't it be better to keep them hostage? ”

Xie An shook his head slightly when he heard this, and said, "I have also thought about this matter, and I have thought about whether to detain those tens of thousands of family dependents...... Although the news of Zhang Dong's surrender was not leaked to Gu Cheng. However, if only Zhang Dong's 20,000 rebels are released, not to mention how loyal these people are, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get through the test with Ou Peng, the defender of Gucheng alone......

"Why?"

"You have also seen that most of the rebels in Luoyang are in Luoyang. Rather than just asking Zhang Dong's 20,000 rebels to plot against Gucheng, it is better to ask them to take their families away, so that they can gain the trust of Ou Peng, the defender of Gucheng. On the other hand, this can also express Zhang Dong's sincerity in accepting their rebels......"

"I see," Li Shou nodded with relief, and then said with a wry smile, "However, I still think it's too risky, one is not good, this is to let the tiger return to the mountain, if that Zhang Dong is treacherous, and joins forces with Ou Peng, the defender of Gucheng, to defend Gucheng, I am afraid that it will be difficult to conquer Gucheng with as many as 30,000 troops with my 50,000 soldiers alone...... Have you thought about this? ”

"To be honest, I've thought about it......" nodded, Xie An Zhengse said, "Judging from the marching map, the distance from Hangu Pass to Gucheng is roughly similar to the distance from Gucheng to Luoyang, in other words, once Ou Peng, the defender of Gucheng, learned from the deserters of the Luoyang rebels that Luoyang had fallen, and immediately asked for help from Hangu Pass, we may not be able to take this city before the rebels in Hangu Pass rescue Gucheng...... In this case, it is better to take the risk and use the power of Zhang Dong's rebel army to help us take Gucheng, if Zhang Dong keeps his promise, we can take Gucheng without blood, on the other hand, even if he is untrustworthy, the worst result is nothing more than that we cannot take Gucheng within a day, so we fall into a dilemma......"

"Well, that's just as well!" Li Shou nodded convincingly, then sighed and said, "I hope that Zhang Dong will repay his kindness, otherwise, I will be in trouble when I wait......"

Xie An smiled when he heard this, and said in a low voice, "If it's just for Zhang Dong, I'm very careful...... Zhang Dong should know that if he betrays us, not only will he lose the opportunity to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, but he will also be unable to gain a foothold in the rebels, and there will be no place for him to stay in the world! - This man is cautious, and most likely would not do such a stupid thing! ”

"You seem to have a lot of confidence in that Zhang Dong? Scold! I hope so......"

At the same time, in the forest one hundred and fifty or sixty miles away from Li Shou and Xie An, Zhang Dong, the chief general of the Luoyang rebels, was also resting and discussing this matter with his subordinates.

"It's unexpected, that kid really dares to let us go......" It was Liao Li, a rebel general who had a relationship with Xie An the day before yesterday.

As soon as the words fell, the rebel general Deng Bin sneered and said, "I think that kid has to let it go, otherwise, just if I wait for 20,000 soldiers to go to Gucheng, most of the Ou Peng in Gucheng will be suspicious...... Hum! Do you think everyone else is stupid? ”

"If it was purely to fool Ou Peng around, he could also only put half of it and detain the families of the other half of our soldiers in Luoyang as a human resource ......," the rebel general Wu Yue interjected.

"......" Deng Bin opened his mouth and was speechless.

"Okay," waving his hand, Zhang Dong said in a deep voice, "Whether Xie Shaoqing is seeking Gu Cheng or expressing his sincerity to us." This person's courage alone is not something we can match, put yourself in the shoes of others, I Zhang Dong don't think I have the guts......" said, he showed a somewhat relaxed smile on his face, and said with a smile, "If he said that he took the risk of negotiating with us alone, I Zhang Dong believed five points, then now." I, Zhang Dongxin, are very ...... this person."

Deng Bin frowned slightly and asked, "Does General Zhang really want to cooperate with that Xie Anli and plot against Ou Peng?" ”

Zhang Dong let out a long sigh when he heard this, shook his head and said, "We are all the people of Dazhou, and we have no choice but to become thieves...... In the past, there was no way to ask the court for help. In desperation, mistakes were made again and again. Now, there is a clear path in front of us, what are we waiting for? ――Right now, I have seen Xie Shaoqing's sincerity, and since this is the case, we must also prove our sincerity! ”

"Wait!" Hearing this, Deng Bin hurriedly stopped Zhang Dong, frowned and said, "As far as we know, that Xie An is just a mere fifth-grade official. Can you really influence this? ”

"He's the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple!" Zhang Dong frowned and glanced at Deng Bin, and said in a deep voice, "Anyway, this is an opportunity for us and others...... That Xie Shaoqing's words that day, you should have heard it later, but you can only believe him. We have the opportunity to wash away the stigma, otherwise, we can only be thieves for one lifetime, and thieves for the rest of the world. Fight with the imperial court ...... endlessly"

"The imperial court doesn't necessarily have the upper hand right now!" Deng Bin pursed his lips and sneered.

Zhang Dong smiled faintly when he heard this, and asked rhetorically, "General Deng, do you really think so?" ”

"What?"

Shaking his head, Zhang Dong looked at the generals gathered in a circle around him, and said in a low voice, "At the moment, the battle situation in the imperial court is unfavorable, and this matter is true, but don't forget, the famous generals in the imperial court who are good at fighting have not yet made any arrangements!" -- Thirty years ago, the first fierce general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the [Tiger of Hanoi] of the Seventeenth City of Liankenan Tang, the Duke of Liangqiu......"

"Liang Qiu Qian, Liang Qiu Boxuan? Although he was brave back then, he is just an old pawn now......" Deng Bin skimmed disdainfully.

"Old pawn? Yes, this old man is now old, but don't forget, Li Mao of Northern Xinjiang [Xiang Wang], Jijing's [Yanhu Ji] Liangqiu Dance, that is all taught by the old man, the deeds of these two people, you also know, five years ago in the Northern Hebei War, that Li Mao and that Liangqiu Dance, only led 20,000 Eastern Army Shenwu Battalion, and defeated 100,000 Beirong wolf cavalry, right now, Liangqiu Dance and his command of 20,000 Eastern Army are still on standby in Jijing, and Li Mao, holding 100,000 troops in Northern Xinjiang, not to mention the rest of the fierce generals and soldiers and horses, just these two roads, It's not like we're in the way...... Once [Xiang Wang] Li Mao waves his army south, or [Yan Hu Ji] Liang Qiu Wu personally goes out, when the time comes, even if I want to surrender, I'm afraid there will be no chance! ”

The generals nodded secretly when they heard this, after all, on the battlefield in northern Hebei five years ago, the brilliant achievements of Li Mao and Liang Qiuwu really shocked the people of the world, and it is no wonder that these rebels are afraid.

Even Deng Bin, who didn't care about it at first, had to admit that Da Zhou had not yet used the real elite division.

After thinking about it, Deng Bin frowned and said, "But then Xie An, can you really help me wash away the stigma?" Don't bother with him when the time comes, but he will live up to our trust......"

"Well," Zhang Dong smiled when he heard this, raised his hand and touched the beard on his chin, and said in a low voice, "Didn't General Deng notice?" That Lord Xie, who is only seventeen or eighteen years old, has not yet been weakly crowned, how can he be the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple who is on the top of the fifth grade? ”

Deng Bin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he subconsciously said, "Could it be ......"

"Ahh There must be a backer behind this person, otherwise, at an age when he has not yet been weakened, how can he be in such a high position? You have also seen that the generals of the Zhou army of the Western Expedition are all looking forward to this person...... From this point of view, it must be that the backing force behind this person is very strong, and it is because of this that he has such courage to release 20,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of family members from Luoyang......"

The generals were overjoyed when they heard this.

They naturally wouldn't have thought that the reason why generals such as Fei Guo, Li Jing, and Su Xin obeyed what Xie An said was just that Xie An lied to them that all this was the plan of the eldest grandson Xiangyu, but there was one thing that Zhang Dong guessed correctly, that is, behind Xie An, there was indeed a powerful backer, that is, his wife, that is, the object of fear of Zhang Dong and others, [Yanhu Ji] Liang Qiu Wu, and the real behind-the-scenes military advisor who designed to conquer Luoyang, [Lu Ji] eldest grandson Xiangyu.

A day later, Zhang Dong and his 20,000 rebels, with tens of thousands of family members, successfully entered Gucheng.

Sure enough, when he saw the families of the tens of thousands of soldiers, Ou Peng, the guard of Gucheng, did not doubt it.

No, it should be said that Ou Peng would not have thought that Zhang Dong and others had secretly surrendered to Xie An in order to wash away the stigma of the traitors they were carrying, on the contrary, he was overjoyed with the arrival of Zhang Dong's 20,000 new forces.

After all, the news of the fall of Luoyang had already reached Gucheng, and Ou Peng didn't have to think about it to know that the next target of the Zhou army in the western expedition was Gucheng that he guarded.

During this period, in order to prevent the leakage of secrets, Zhang Dong asked Ou Peng for a vacant land in Gucheng and placed the families of his 20,000 soldiers together.

After all, although he conspired with Xie An to stage a scene to break out of the encirclement, many well-informed generals in the rebel army, in order to appease the fear of their families, have secretly told them that they are ready to abandon the darkness and turn to the light.

In this way, on August 31, Li Shou and Xie An finally came to the vicinity of Gucheng with an army of 50,000 under their command.

Thinking about it, everyone knows that Xie An deliberately slowed down the trip, firstly, to ensure that the soldiers under his command are energetic, and secondly, it is to let Zhang Dong have enough time to arrive in Gucheng, otherwise, Zhang Dong's 20,000 rebels with tens of thousands of family dependents, how could they leave the 50,000 Zhou troops of the Western Expedition far behind?

"Sure enough, it's here!" Above the city tower, Ou Peng climbed up and looked out, watching the rebels slowly approaching the valley city in the distance.

Glancing at Ou Peng, Zhang Dong followed Xie An's instructions and deliberately said, "Did the general really decide to go out of the city to face the battle?" Hangu Pass reinforcements are coming, it is better to defend ......"

"No!" Ou Peng shook his head when he heard this, and said, "Although reinforcements from Hangu Pass are coming, the strong city walls and so many defenders in Luoyang are not enough to hold the city, how can I hold Gucheng?" - Oh, Ou has no intention of satirizing the general! ”

"General Ou is serious, how dare a defeated general?"

Seeing Zhang Dong's self-deprecating face, Ou Peng hurriedly said, "Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, General Zhang don't care......" As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the Zhou army in the distance outside the city, his face was ruthless, and he said in a deep voice, "Since you can't hold it, you can only go out of the city to fight!" ――According to the plan agreed yesterday, Ou will personally go to meet this wave of Zhou Jun! As for Gu Cheng, it will be handed over to General Zhang......"

"Yes!" Zhang Dong hugged his fists.

Ou Peng would never have imagined that by the time he said this, he would have been defeated......