The moonlight was cold and cold, but the horse's hooves trampled on the withered grassy earth. The moon in the northwest seems to be higher than that of Chongdu, and the moon of Rulian is also whiter and colder than that of Chongdu.

Walking on the road he came, three days later, in the early morning, Xi Yan led the army to retreat to Lingzhou. The journey went surprisingly smoothly, with almost no encounters with an enemy force. On the one hand, this is because he is cautious, and on the other hand, it is also because the small armies of the countries have been wiped out by the Great Zhao Iron Cavalry.

When Xi Yan rode his horse into Lingzhou City, he immediately rushed to the temporary line to report to his brother.

But when he came to the gate of Xingyuan, he was told that Huan Guohou was assigning tasks to the generals, and it would not be finished for a while. With a tired body, Xi Yan went back to his barracks to bathe and rest. When he regained some energy, there was another scene of moon and stars outside the window.

Neatly changing into a clean robe, Xi Yan hurried to the coach.

The entire Lingzhou has now almost become a military city, and all the soldiers are housed in the original civilian houses.

Xi Yan saw that although there were many wounded soldiers in the city, they all seemed to have been properly healed. The elder brother has always been strict in organizing the army, and he will never allow ordinary soldiers to gamble and make trouble, and every army under the command of Huan Guohou is neat and brave and good at fighting.

It's been twelve days since I saw my brother, and I just met, but what Xi Yan did to my brother was the etiquette between the generals and commanders in the army.

"The last general led two thousand horsemen to run long distances for nine days and nights, and five battles in nine days, all of which were victorious, and a total of more than 20,000 heads of the enemy were killed, and he came to return his life to Hou Ye!"

Xi Luan stretched out his hand to help him up, and said approvingly: "Yes, you can have such a record when you first enter the battlefield, and I will definitely give you a good credit." The scout you sent back a few days ago said that you led your army to the Zhenyuan Pass, but is it true? ”

"Yes," Xi Yan's answer was crisp and neat, and even the other general present couldn't help but widen his eyes, and asked in disbelief, "General Xi, there are strong enemies around Zhenyuan Pass, you only have two thousand horsemen, and you dare to attack Zhenyuan Pass?" ”

"Why don't you dare?" Xi Yan looked at him with a smile, and the arrogance in his eyes was slightly revealed, "There are still two guards in Zhenyuan Pass, Xiao and Leopard, if I don't go, I'm afraid I will let Fu Mang's treacherous plan succeed." ”

"Hmm......" Xi Luan also chuckled and nodded, the scout had already reported to him about the transfer of the main force of Northern Qin, for Xi Yan's approach, although he was a little aggressive, but he did achieve unexpected results, so he did not reprimand, only slightly admonished, "Although the battle is good, you still have to be cautious, not too aggressive." ”

"Yes, but brother...... I don't know anything. ”

"You say." Xi Luan looked at him gently, and then said, "Do you want to ask, why did Xiao Yi resolutely not leave after learning that Fu Mang was going to besiege the Xiao Cavalry Guards and Leopard Cavalry Guards in the Pass, and I didn't allow them to retreat?" ”

"Yes, although the military order is like a mountain, if there is an emergency, the generals who are outside can also deal with it flexibly. Although Fu Mang's encirclement was unsuccessful, he still had 200,000 troops after all, and he was afraid that tens of thousands of soldiers of the Xiao Cavalry Guard and the Leopard Cavalry Guard would not be able to defend the pass. ”

"That's a good question," Xi Luan explained as he led him to the map, "but have you ever thought that it would be unreasonable to let all the cavalry go to defend it?" ”

Xi Yan paused, still nodding and said, "I thought about it." Cavalry can only form combat effectiveness when it moves, and if it does not move, it is not conducive to combat. Since my brother also understands this truth, why do you want to take this dead move? ”

"Because their mission is not to arm in the first place." Xi Luan pointed to Jincheng on the map and explained to Xi Yan, "Fu Mang knows the strengths and weaknesses of the Northern Qin army, and it is indeed a wise choice for him to abandon Lingzhou. And after we recover Lingzhou, the next step is to conquer Jincheng. The Uighur army occupying Jincheng was already trapped in the city because they were reluctant to abandon the city, but after all, the Uighurs and the Northern Qin were the same dog, and it was difficult to guarantee that Fu Mang would not lead the army to come to the aid of Jincheng, so the real task of the Xiao and Leopard guards was to contain the main force of the Northern Qin near the Zhenyuan Pass in the west, so that Fu Mang could not return to Jincheng alone. ”

"If this is the case, no wonder Xiao Yi resolutely refuses to retreat." Xi Yan suddenly understood, and then said, "Then my attack on the pass will disrupt my brother's arrangement?" ”

"It doesn't matter." Xi Luan waved his hand, his tone was still gentle, "Xiao and Leopard are going to move." So it's not a dead move, it's a live move. Cavalry's Blade...... It was not needed in the storm, so I sent the mobile and nimble cavalry to contain the Northern Qin army, and the rest to Jincheng. Seeing that winter is about to begin, if we can take Jincheng earlier, the grain and grass can be transported by water. ”

"Yes," Xi Yan knew what his brother was worried about, hundreds of thousands of troops, the most difficult thing to guarantee was food, grass and winter clothing. Not to mention in this vast northwest. Now that all these pressures are on his brother's shoulders, how can he really be without pressure?

The so-called use of soldiers like gods and not tasting defeat is just the result of making sufficient preparations. As for what preparations and plans the brother has made behind these achievements, no one cares. They just want to see the good news that spreads frequently, and no one will care about the mountains and bones after that.

Thinking of this, Xi Yan comforted him, "But we have sent troops to besiege Jincheng for several days, and it will not be difficult to capture it. ”

"There's no need to be too anxious," Xi Luan looked light, as if the pressure of hundreds of thousands of troops was as light as a feather, "Even if the water is frozen, the grain and grass can still come by the official road, but whether the water is frozen or not, Jincheng must be attacked." You only saw the field battle a few days ago, and after a few days, the soldiers will send the golden city, and you can also go to see what kind of siege is the way to play. ”

"Yes." Although Xi Yan once longed for such a golden iron horse battle, he knew ...... Of all the battles, the siege was undoubtedly the most tragic.

When attacking a city, the attacking and defending sides compete for the gains and losses between square inches, and for the ownership of this square inch, both sides have to pay a heavy price, and even for a place for one person, the attacking side has to pay dozens of lives; And the defenders must also sacrifice their flesh and blood without reservation.

It's an ordeal for both sides.

The weather seemed to be colder, and on the eve of the great battle, all the soldiers waited peacefully, recuperating in this place that had been plundered by the Northern Qin Iron Cavalry. When the sword in their hands is unsheathed again, Da Zhao will announce to the world in the strongest way that this dynasty that has gone through a hundred years of ups and downs will not be violated in the slightest.