Once the task was assigned, the problems faced by the 20,000 forbidden troops were solved, and the ten captains all felt that their eyes were suddenly bright. It was only at this time that everyone realized that they had been involved in a thrilling **, and this expedition was very different from their previous thoughts, and it was not the same as the ease of travel. Even if he relied on the virtue of his ancestors and would not fight with the prince's escort soldiers and horses, it would be an extremely severe test to rush to Tongguan according to Yang Zhi's assignment.

Yang Zhi is the son of a notorious Xinyang profiteer in the eyes of outsiders, and after coming to this world, he has been exposed to it and asked himself: If you want to drive these ten captains to lead 20,000 soldiers who are as young as them to die for themselves, if you only rely on a few slogans such as "Serve the country with loyalty and make meritorious contributions" to fool them, it is far from enough to stimulate their enthusiasm in their bones.

The flexible combination of sticks and carrots is a trick that Yang Zhi has long been familiar with: "I just said that we are firmly tied to the same boat. If you really don't want to do it with me, it's too late to get out of here! When I opened the bow and didn't look back, I pricked up my ears and listened: There is only a piece of sky above your head, and that is me! Those who dare to disobey orders will be killed! Those who dare to delay military aircraft will be killed! Those who dare to collude with any outsiders will be killed! ”

Without hesitation, the ten lieutenants knelt down in unison, and responded in a solemn voice: "Obey the order!" Even if the sky is falling apart, we can only obey the general's orders! ”

"Good." Yang Zhi nodded with satisfaction, and his tone slowed down: "The ancients had a cloud: there is a heart for good, although evil is not punished. Intentionally evil, although good is not praised. Although this is the case, as the elite of the Xia Army, it is natural for us to be strict in the army. Today, I put my words here: no matter what the success or failure of this trip is, no matter who sits on the Dragon Court in the future, I am confident that it will not be too difficult to protect a few of you by my means. As long as you do your best with all your heart, I will not treat you badly. If all goes well on this trip, I will ensure that you are promoted to a partial general. At least five thousand taels of silver. If someone unfortunately sacrifices his life, in addition to the pension of 10,000 taels of silver, I am responsible for raising the children and my parents for the elderly! In addition, the order was immediately issued: from now on, the salary will be doubled. Double pension for casualties! There is another reward for meritorious service! ”

Although Great Xia has been difficult to use troops abroad and even the treasury for many years, it has never been stingy with rewards for military achievements. But no matter how heavy the court's reward was, the price offered by Yang Zhi was still enough to make the ten lieutenants look straight when they heard it, and at the same time they had doubts about whether he could fully honor it in the future.

Captain Liu Dang is worthy of being a businessman, and Yang Zhi's words are full of gold for the time being. If there is no more than 200,000 taels of silver, I am afraid that it will not be able to end, will it be allocated by the imperial court or will Yang Zhi pay for it himself? It was Liu Dang who said with a sneer: "General, the imperial court has its own regulations on rewards, pensions and salaries, and I am very grateful for your kindness to the soldiers, but this is just this...... I'm afraid it's not quite suitable, right? ”

Yang Zhi said coldly: "What? Believe me? Don't say that I have the royal gold medal in my hand, but I don't have a gold medal, and there are so many grains and grass deposited in the Qin family, and I am afraid that I will not be able to exchange for these few silvers? Brother, you want to follow me Yang someone. Not only must you be fat enough, but you must also slowly get used to getting rich. ”

The reason why Yang Zhi wrote a big check was not just to buy people's hearts, as soon as the words came out, the grain and grass "stored" in the Qin family was equivalent to becoming firewood into the stove. Enough grain and grass for 40,000 horses to support a month is not a small amount, and it is impossible to say that it will evaporate out of thin air. Come to such a hand, and you can block back a sentence in the future: I have exchanged it for silver to reward the driver, what else do you ask?

Now that he has 20,000 soldiers and horses in his hand, as long as the situation does not get out of control, it is too late for either the emperor or the crown prince to thank him. In the last recital, he begged for a reward and a silver reward, and no one dared to and would not miss him. In case of a fire fight with the prince's escort soldiers and horses, which leads to civil strife in Great Xia, won't the team of soldiers and horses in his hands immediately change his surname to Yang? Spend a few hundred thousand taels to buy 20,000 Xia army elites, where to find such a cost-effective business? Stinky boy. Are you a fool to me? Joke! Does Lao Tzu seem to be a person who does a loss-making business?

If the ten lieutenants had found out the little Jiujiu in Yang Zhi's heart, they would probably faint to death on the spot. Think about it, this uncle has the support of the royal gold medal, and he has just released a "money exchange theory", he is afraid of a bird? What nonsense, follow him with all your heart!

After knowing the reason and moving the money. The 20,000 Forbidden Army was like a chicken blood, like 20,000 mad dogs scattered with joy, each doing its own thing and moving quickly.

By the time of the afternoon, Yang Zhi's 5,000 lightly armed horsemen and nearly 8,000 war horses were ready to go. Yang Zhi's mobilization order was only a few words: "On the Chinese New Year's Eve of Wucheng's twenty-fifth year, we will spend it in the saddle." Before sunset tomorrow, we will have the first meal in Tongguan in the twenty-sixth year of Wucheng in the Xia calendar! Boys! Let's go! ”

In fact, Yang Zhi also did what he said. By the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year in the twenty-sixth year of Wucheng in the Xia calendar, Yang Zhi, whose eyes were bloodshot, had seen the majestic Tongguan City Tower from afar. He has peerless martial arts, and it is not difficult to stiffen a horse that does not fit his eyes day and night. But for the cavalry under his command, it was like a purgatory-like nightmare. The 5,000 lightly armed elite horsemen who arrived at Tongguan after Yang Zhi and did not fall behind were less than 4,000 people. And as long as the tight breath in the chests of these 4,000 people is released, I am afraid that they can only be carried into Tongguan. What's more, whether the prince's men and horses have been stationed in the city first, the situation is completely unclear. Just in case, the four thousand exhausted cavalry must be allowed to maintain or restore their combat effectiveness to the greatest extent. It was Yang Zhi who did not slow down his journey until he was ten miles away from Tongguan, and ordered Zhu Dawei, Luo Ying, Chen Zhun, Hu Zhixiong, Xiao Gang, and other five captains to line up and stand by in place, but they were strictly ordered not to get off their horses and rest.

Yang Zhi took advantage of this gap and continued to ride alone for five or six miles before he looked at the head of Tongguan City. There was no Ming and Yellow Dragon Banner at the head of the city, and the patrol soldiers did not seem to be unusual.

If you think about it carefully, Zhongzhou is also only about 300 miles away from Luoyang, and the emperor's holy drive traveled for five full days from December 22 to 27, so the daily journey is only about 60 miles. Even if the prince's escort set off from Luoyang early in the morning of December 28, it is unlikely that they will arrive at Tongguan within four days of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Even if the prince's men and horses have been stationed in Tongguan, it is impossible for them to have the determination to fight, and deliberately set up an ambush in the city to wait for him to fall into the net.

After careful consideration, Yang Zhi decided that he had successfully rushed to Tongguan before the prince. According to the normal speed of the escort soldiers, it can be estimated that it will arrive at the earliest on the evening of the second day of the Lunar New Year tomorrow or the morning after tomorrow. Immediately, he sighed and settled down, turned his horse's head and walked back. Among the five captains, Zhu Dawei was older and had experienced actual combat, and Yang ordered 20 capable soldiers to go to the front of the pass to report first, and he led 4,000 cavalry to march calmly.

Tongguan is the east gate of Gongwei Chang'an and Guanzhong, and is the throat road connecting Northwest, North China and Central Plains, and its strategic location is very important. Tongguan was founded in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, has a long history, ranks second among the top ten famous customs in China, and is famous for "Xiongguan Tiger" since ancient times. Xiongguan refers to the building of the east gate of Tongguan, and the tiger stands in the corner of the Qilin Mountain outside the east gate, which resembles a tiger squatting at the pass. The east gate city tower is adjacent to the Yellow River in the north, faces the corner of Qilin Mountain, has the ditch moat in the east, is the only gate to enter the pass from the east, it is dangerous and abnormal, there is the tendency of "one husband is the pass, ten thousand people are not open".

Since the emperor ascended the throne, the whole world has been very happy, so that the Xia army, known as a million heroes, still feels that the army is overstretched. Even so, there were still 50,000 elite soldiers stationed in Tongguan, accounting for more than a quarter of the 200,000 forbidden troops. In the Great Xia Forbidden Army system, Tongguan Shou will be ranked fourth after the general of the forbidden army and the two deputy generals, and is usually an important candidate for the second echelon of the military leadership class.

The current Tongguan guard is named Ye Chuang, it is said that he is only about 30 years old young general, here has been guarding for more than three years, the emperor drove the army before the personal reshuffle to the senior military generals, but did not wash him. Because Yang Zhi was too strong and unusual, after returning from the desert, the emperor deliberately did not let him get involved in the military forces. Coupled with the haste of this action, he didn't know much about Ye Chuang's details.

Yang Zhi pondered, the emperor has always known how to make good use of people, and he will never entrust the heavy responsibility of guarding such a strategic place to people who are brave and unscrupulous, which shows that Ye Chuang is definitely not an idle person. The Emperor is a scheming master of balance. The prince stays by the emperor's side day and night, and no matter how "diligent and benevolent" he usually pretends to be, the emperor will never let him have any chance to take charge of the army and force the palace, otherwise the prince will not choose to take risks when the class teacher returns to the court. The second son, King Ning, and the third son, King Kang, each had heavy troops to guard outside, and the emperor would not hand over the elite forbidden army placed at the door of his house to them. Thinking about it, Ye Chuangying, like Wang Yunong, Zhou Ting and others, belongs to the emperor's hardcore confidants.

However, the most difficult thing in the world to understand is the human heart, and the prince's vain attempt to succeed in advance is by no means a whim. What Yang Zhi wanted to do when he came to Tongguan, if Ye Chuang was willing, not only could he do the same, but also did it much more than Yang Zhi's confidence. But what Yang Zhi is most worried about now is that the reverse is also true! What kind of person is Ye Chuang?

Just as he was groaning, Zhu Dawei had already turned around and reported: "General, General Ye personally led all the generals under his tent out of the city to greet him!" ”

Yang Zhi couldn't help frowning: After less than half an hour of back and forth when Zhu Dawei went to report, Ye Chuang was able to summon all the generals under his tent to go out of the city to greet him? The only explanation can only be that he was prepared! Resolutely waved his hand and said, "Enter the customs!" ”

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