On this day, deep in the mountains, in the Lushi Mountain Base, Li Changmao, Lu Shiyi and Liu Fangliang were secretly discussing in the study, and the table made by the three of them was full of letters, all of which were some news, or sent from other bases, or intelligence collected by spies hidden in Lu's City and the surrounding cities.

At this moment, Li Changmao quietly watched the two of them browse the contents of many letters, waiting unhurriedly, occasionally picking up the teacup next to him and tasting tea, it was obvious that Li Changmao had already read the content of the letters and waited for the response of the two.

"Mr. Li, regardless of other places, just as far as the situation in the Lu area is concerned, judging from the information from these investigations, You Shiwei and Xu Laichao were ordered to garrison Lancaochuan and Zhuyang Pass, choking the key roads into Shaanxi, although the purpose is to prevent the rebel army from returning to Shaanxi from Lu and Yongning, but under the instigation of Xuan Mo, the governor of Henan, they have the intention of attacking us in the mountains, and we must not be guarded against~"

As soon as Lu Shiyi finished speaking with a worried face, Li Changmao didn't have time to respond, but Liu Fangliang became excited and said excitedly: "Hehe... Just in time, I'm afraid of what he's doing?! ”

While speaking, Liu Fangliang stood up happily, walked back and forth, and said very heroically: "In the past nearly a year, I have been almost crazy, and the other brothers have followed the boss across the five provinces, so I am not happy, but I am trapped here." ”

"In this Lushi Mountain Base Area, in addition to training, it is to eat and sleep, and the days are almost fading out. He, You Shiwei and Xu Laichao, had better not come out, if they dare to enter the mountains to attack us, I have to pack them all up. ”

"Come on, Fang Liang, you just stop for a while, can you sit down?" Li Changmao smiled slightly, beckoned to Liu Fangliang, very helpless, and continued: "Fangliang, about the war, it's not that simple, have you forgotten the boss's repeated advice?" We will mainly mine copper and iron ore, train all kinds of weapons and firearms, and manufacture as many weapons as possible, so as to reserve weapons for future wars. ”

Seeing Liu Fangliang sitting down, Lu Shiyi followed closely and said: "Captain Liu, don't worry, our here is different from other base areas, close to Lu's City, surrounded by the garrisons of the imperial court, some fierce generals who encircle and suppress the rebel army, although we are not afraid to fight them." However, once the base area is exposed and our true combat strength is exposed, it will inevitably strengthen Xuan Mo's heart to encircle and suppress us. ”

"Hehe, Mr. Li, Mr. Lu, I just said it casually, venting the depression in my heart, and I won't act without permission." Liu Fangliang scratched his head and complained loudly: "In the past year, except for the grain and grass troops that robbed the official army, we have hardly done anything here, which really makes people feel bored. ”

Hearing this, Li Changmao was unusual, pursed his lips regardless of his image, and said jokingly: "Fang Liang, I see that you are not idle and boring, and you are not depressed, right?" In addition to the rain and snow, after the end of the farming, every time the training is over, I see you playing basketball, football, martial arts competitions, and having a lot of fun~! Moreover, after Lu Shiyi's training, you have benefited a lot from teaching martial arts without the slightest concealment, and your martial arts have improved. In any case, you shouldn't be bored, right? ”

"Hehe..." Liu Fangliang pretended to smile stupidly, in order to hide the embarrassment when she was poked, she immediately looked at Lu Shiyi, and then said: "Mr. Lu, you just said that You Shiwei and Xu Laichao are very likely to enter the mountain to attack us. Since we can't expose the base areas in advance, we must cover up the real combat effectiveness as much as possible, and when the time comes, how should we deal with it? ”

Li Changmao looked over, also looked at Lu Shiyi, showed hesitation, and said worriedly: "This is a dilemma at all, if you avoid it without fighting, it will expose the existence of the base area; If it is a head-on confrontation, it will inevitably expose our true combat strength, and eventually the existence of the base area. ”

At this time, Lu Shiyi smiled slightly, did not answer immediately, but reached out and grabbed a few letters, shook them in the air in front of the two, and his words became frustrated, and at the same time said slowly: "The matter is very simple, judging from the current situation in Henan, whether it is Xu Laichao or You Shiwei, let Xuan Mo and his mouth bloom lotus, and he will talk wildly, no matter how reasonable it is, it will be difficult for the two of them to send troops." ”

Let Li Changmao and Liu Fangliang take the letter in their hands, and in the process of the two of them quickly compating, Lu Shiyi continued: "Judging from this information, it is not difficult to find that the situation in Henan is more serious than that in Shaanxi, and there is a shortage of grain and grass supply. The long-term shortage of food and salary, even if Xu Laichao and You Shiwei's soldiers will not mutiny, it is difficult to deploy, and they can barely hold the city. ”

"Mr. Lu is right!" Liu Fangliang preemptively responded with emotion, and then continued: "When I thought of the beginning, when I joined the army with the boss, it was because there was a constant shortage of food and salary, and I couldn't eat enough. When Huang Taiji entered Guanzhong for the first time, he also let us enter King Qin. As a result, we still thought that our battalion would not be hungry for food, and we had to march in a hurry, which directly led to the mutiny of the soldiers, and the boss led us to rebel. ”

"That's true~" Li Changmao nodded lightly, echoed with understanding, and then said: "Although Chongzhen allocated millions of dollars as military expenses, compared to the huge expenses, there are so many troops, and they can't support it for long, and Hong Chengchou has allocated it to some generals, and the garrison of Zhuyangguan has already been full of complaints and opinions. As the letter sent by the boss to us said, in the near future, there will be a large-scale mutiny among the officers and soldiers. ”

"Therefore, Mr. Li, whether it is You Shiwei, Xu Laichao, or Henan Governor Xuan Mo, it is difficult to mobilize the garrison in the city, and it is good to be able to stabilize the morale of the army." Lu Shiyi affirmed and added: "However, the troops brought by Xu and You are stationed in Lancaochuan to prevent other rebel armies from entering Shaanxi, and they cannot be easily mobilized at all. ”

......

In the Zhuyang Pass near Lushi City, in a single barracks where the officers and troops were stationed, there were two people sitting on opposite sides of the general Xu Laichao, who were his two lieutenants who were fighting Liu Zhaoji and Luo Dai.

"General, you better hurry up and send an urgent document to Lord Hong, and allocate food and salary to us as soon as possible, both of us are about to lose control of our subordinates, if we delay any longer, we will have to make a big deal."

As soon as Liu Zhaoji finished speaking, Luo Dai followed closely to speak, his expression and words were full of anxiety, as if he was sitting on pins and needles, and his voice became urgent.

"Yes, general, the garrison in Zhuyang Pass is like a pile of dry firewood that is extremely dry, the battalions are making more and more trouble, and the morale of the army is gradually unstable, if the food and salary can no longer be replenished, don't say that we want to go into the mountains to suppress bandits, we can live and stabilize the troops, it will be good."

"Is the situation really that tense?" Xu Laichao frowned slightly, paused slightly, and without waiting for the two to answer, he asked again: "If the battalions continue to make trouble and kill a few leaders according to military regulations, can't they still suppress it?" ”

"Don't... Don't, general, don't do that. Luo Dai was so frightened that he was full of excitement, cold sweat flowed, his face changed slightly, he waved his hand again and again, and stopped him in a hurry.

Liu Zhaoji's body on the side trembled even more, he was so frightened that he almost stood up, his face was slightly pale, and then he said in a trembling voice: "General, don't do this, once you really kill a few people who take the lead, it will be self-defeating, it is tantamount to throwing sparks into dry firewood, and it will provoke a mutiny in an instant, I'm afraid that before the people are killed, we will ...... instead."

Although the words stopped abruptly, Xu Laichao heard the implied meaning behind it, and he and the others were besieged by the mutinous soldiers and killed instead.

At this moment, the room was quiet, as silent as death, Xu Laichao's expression became more and more solemn, and after a while, his voice became extremely low, and he muttered to himself: "It seems that it is impossible to enter the mountain to encircle and suppress, the first task is to stabilize the morale of the army and prevent the army from mutiny, and the key to solving the problem is to pay for food." ”

"General, this is hard to prevent." Luo Dai interjected with a solemn face, and then continued: "Lord Hong ordered us to garrison Zhuyang Pass to prevent the rebellious army from escaping from the Lu clan to Shaanxi, so that we can't help but equip the soldiers with weapons. However, the lack of pay was a little better, and it was able to barely stabilize the situation and stabilize the morale of the army. However, if the soldiers do not have enough to eat, not only will they not fight, but they will mutini and defect to the rebellious army. ”

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Liu Zhaoji's expression froze, and he reminded in a deep voice: "General, before the food and salary are replenished, we must send more guards to spread the eyeliner, secretly monitor the battalions, and if there is any abnormal movement, even if we can't control the situation, we should take precautions in advance, so as not to fall into a situation from which we will never recover." ”

Hearing this, Luo Dai's heart was shocked, and he followed suit: "Yes, general, the one who can be trusted now is the guards, and more guards must be sent to monitor the movements of each battalion to ensure that they can grasp their every move." If there is really any emergency, we can also ask You Shiwei for help to ensure that Zhuyangguan will not be lost. ”

"You're right, you should really keep track of the movements of the battalions." Xu Laichao nodded lightly, responded to a word, and continued: "Lord Hong and General Cao are holding on to Xi'an City, fighting with the rebellious army, if there is anything wrong with Zhuyangguan at this time, more rebellious troops will flee to Shaanxi and join the thieves, Lord Hong and General Cao will inevitably be under great pressure, and Xi'an Mansion will be in danger." ”

However, at this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the barracks, as well as the "sonorous" sound of various swords slashing against each other, and the extremely tragic sound of fighting, which made the three of them startled, stood up suddenly, and wanted to go out to have a look.

A soldier broke in, covered in blood, and said in a hurry: "Three generals, the big thing is not good, the cavalry of each battalion has rebelled and is killing this side!" ”

The moment they heard the sound of the fight, the three of them had already guessed in their hearts, and when they heard the words of the soldiers, they suddenly felt a chill in their hearts, and Liu Zhaoji hurriedly said: "General, it seems that you can't stay in Zhuyang Pass anymore, the situation is irreparable, and you must kill it immediately." With the current strength of our Guards, we can't stabilize the situation at all, and we can't suppress it! ”

"Yes, general, it is important to save your life, for the sake of today, you can only go to Yongning, move rescue troops to You Shiwei stationed in Lancao River, and take back Zhuyang Pass." Luo Dai also persuaded anxiously, pulled out the saber with one hand, and rushed out with Liu Zhaoji pulling Xu Lai with the other.

......

At the same time, in the Yangping Pass of the Han River in Shaanxi, I saw the flames soaring into the sky, the smoke was filled, and the sound of all kinds of fighting and screaming was everywhere in the pass, one after another, echoing in the entire Pingyang Pass.

There were even soldiers who climbed the building and escaped over the wall, running far away from Yangping Pass.

Soon after, the city gate of Yangping Pass was opened, and a team of iron horsemen poured out, everyone with more or less property in their hands, like bandits and bandits, who had just robbed Yangping Pass.

However, judging from their costumes, they are the officials and soldiers of the imperial court!

At this moment, the customs area has long been in chaos, everywhere is full of flames, beacon fires are everywhere, black smoke is raging, shops and houses are engulfed in flames, and the streets are full of corpses, both ordinary people and officers and soldiers who cannot avoid being stoned or burned to death.

On a battlefield in the city, Deng Xi was leading a team of soldiers to suppress the mutinous troops, and the whole person was very embarrassed.

At this time, a soldier ran from a distance, fighting with the mutinous soldiers, while approaching Deng Xi, as soon as he came closer, his voice was a little hoarse and said: "General, the infantry in the pass can't be moved at all, they turn a blind eye to the mutinous troops, and they don't care at all." ”

"What about the cavalry?" Deng Xi was still fighting, still fighting hard, and roared without looking back.

"General, although the cavalry obeyed your orders, they had no will to fight, and they were immediately defeated by the rebellious army, fleeing one after another, and some even joined the ranks of rebellion and robbed the people in the pass."

After answering, the soldiers who reported the news saw that Deng Xi did not react in the slightest, and there was no follow-up, and then looked at the chaotic army around him like a tide, so he said anxiously: "General, Yangping Pass can't be guarded, so let your subordinates cover your escape." This gang of rebels has long been killed, and they hate the commanders very much. If you are caught by them, it will be difficult to save your life. ”

"Don't worry about me, even if you leave, it is the duty of this general to be stationed at Yangping Pass, and if you are locked up, you will be lost!"

With the roar of the last sentence, Deng Xi no longer paid attention to the messenger soldier, and suddenly burst out with a momentum, exerted all the strength of his body, waved the big knife in his hand again and again, and went straight to the chaos to kill, holding the heart of death.

Soon, Deng Xi's figure was drowned in the chaos of the army, with several swords in his body, and he fell heavily in a pool of blood, and a generation of famous generals disappeared.

The next day, in Xi'an City, Xi'an Prefecture, which is close to Hanzhong Mansion, Hong Chengchou's temporary residence, in the hall, Hong Chengchou sat upright in armor, his eyebrows and eyes showed exhaustion, and the armor on his body still retained the smell of gunsmoke, dust and blood stains after the war.

At this moment, the two sides below are full of generals, and Cao Wenzhao is the first one on one side, only to hear Hong Chengchou say happily: "Generals, the chaotic army has finally retreated, and Xi'an Mansion has been saved." But we can't have the slightest ......."

Before the word "slack" could be spit out, suddenly, Hong Chengchou's words were abruptly interrupted by a loud shout, making everyone subconsciously raise their eyes and look at the door of the hall.

"Newspaper... Emergency MI... Urgent military situation..."

In an instant, a soldier rushed in, I don't know if he was tired, or he acted too quickly, the whole person was paralyzed on the ground, barely maintaining a kneeling posture, and gasped and reported: "Lord Qiyu, the big thing is not good, Zhuyang Pass and Pingyang Pass mutiny have occurred one after another, the staff general You Shiwei and the guerrillas Liu Zhaoji and Luo Dai were seriously injured, and they were lucky to escape from Zhuyang Pass with the remnants, and the thieves have crossed Zhuyang Pass and entered Shaanxi. ”

At this moment, there was silence in the hall, everyone was shocked, they couldn't believe his ears, Hong Chengchou was even a little stunned, such a sudden change was completely unexpected by him, but he still asked: "What about Deng Xi and Deng Zongbing?" ”

"Lord Qiyu, General Deng was brutalized by the rebels."

Hong Chengchou was too late to be angry and sad, his heart suddenly became nervous, he mentioned his throat for a while, hurriedly looked at Cao Wenzhao, and hurriedly ordered: "General Cao Bing, you can't rest, in order to prevent more chaotic troops from fleeing back to Shaanxi from Henan, for the sake of the overall situation, this official ordered you to go to the land of Shangluo immediately, garrison Shangluo and Xing'an, and block the chaotic army advancing westward!" ”

"Yes, my lord, the last will go!"

Cao Wenzhao didn't hesitate, he agreed, and at the same time stood up, beckoned his generals, and turned around and walked out of the hall.