Jiuqu Castle is located on the Banyuan on the north bank of Luoshui, and there are nine saka songs in ten miles, so it has this name, which also shows that the terrain of this place is complex and changeable, and there are nine ups and downs of the valley in just ten miles.

These nine Sakahara valleys of varying heights are located on the northern shore of the Naksu, and if you do not control them, it will be difficult to navigate the Naksu Valley, and the flanks will be fiercely attacked by the enemy.

Among the Jiuqu Sakahara, the roof area of the Erqu Sakahara is the widest, and the slopes on both sides are steep and straight, and the main city defense of the Jiuqu City is set on it. The reason why it is said to be the main body is because there are other camps near the left, which cooperate with each other to form the defense line of Jiuqu City.

The terrain of Jiuqu is complex and changeable, it is the key point in the east of Nankun Road, and it has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times, and with the boundary between the eastern and western Wei territories in Guannan, the contention for this place has also reached a white heat.

The last renovation of the city here is when Hou Jing controlled Heluo before, and the Jiuqu City on the Erqu Ridge was built by Hou Jing in the tenth year of the Great Unification, and its old city is located in the northeast of the plateau, and the scale is more than twice as small as the new city, both the topography and the control of the Luoshui River are not as far as the new city.

Previously, when Hou Jing was in turmoil in Henan, when the defenders of the Eastern Wei Dynasty on the Heluo side were panicking, Li Yuan led the men and horses of all roads in western Henan to capture Jiuqu City and open up the Nanqu Road in one fell swoop. Then Li Bi led the Chinese soldiers and horses to follow this east, and Li Yuan led his troops back to Jiuqu City.

A few days ago, due to the loss of the two cities of Heyang, the situation between Heluo was reversed, and the armies were defeated and fled one after another, Li Yuan was supposed to lead his troops north to receive support, but on the way, he heard that Zhao Gui abandoned Guanxi, and encountered the defeated army of Yifeng who was being chased and killed by the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and retreated to Yiyang Jiuqu City to garrison.

Now the remnants of Li Yuan and Yifeng are trapped in Jiuqu New Town, while Zhu Hunyuan of the Eastern Dynasty is centered on the ancient city a few miles away, dividing troops to hold the terrain around Jiuqu City, and constantly attacking and harassing day and night.

Li Yuan's former subordinate to Li Yuan's western Henan people are now stationed in Yishui Fuliu City with Li Tai, Li Yuan's headquarters of nearly 5,000 Gaoping soldiers, before the diplomatic war fled and dispersed part, withdrawn to Jiuqu City There are more than 3,000 people.

As for Yifeng's men, it was much more miserable, he originally led 2,000 cavalry to guard the upper reaches of the river, and Yuwen did not inform him at all when the Yuwen guards were defeated and evacuated, or Li Bi fled all the way from Luodong and was about to enter the Han Guancheng when he sent 500 elite cavalry to inform Yifeng to answer him.

However, at this time, the cavalry of the Hulu Jin Department, which had entered the southern city of Heyang, had already pursued, and Yifeng led his troops to flee all the way south, and was supposed to evacuate Heluo along the Beikun Road, but Zhao Gui, who was supposed to be sitting here, had already evacuated in advance, making Yifeng's entire army almost wiped out in front of the pass.

Fortunately, with Li Yuan's timely rescue, Yifeng was able to escape from the enemy's encirclement, but his men and horses were almost exhausted, and only dozens of personal soldiers broke through with him. Even if the other men and horses were not killed, they must have been rounded up and captured by the people of the Eastern Dynasty.

At this time, the defenders in Jiuqu City only had more than 3,000 remnants of the defeated army, but the Eastern Dynasty Kezhu Hunyuan who besieged the city and the subsequent reinforcements of the infantry and cavalry were nearly 20,000 people. In addition to the huge gap in strength and morale, what is even more fatal is that the grain and grass reserves in the city are about to be exhausted!

In fact, at the beginning of the Western Dynasty's advance to Heluo, in addition to the grain and grass supplies they carried, they also seized a considerable amount of materials from the fortresses of the Eastern Army.

However, most of these grain and grass materials were requisitioned with the army, especially after Li Boshan conquered the two cities of Heyang, the country sent additional reinforcements, because of the hasty mobilization and insufficient material preparation, Yifeng led the men and horses to simply go to Heluo directly from Huazhou Hefang, and naturally could only supply in Heluo on the spot.

Therefore, almost all the grain and grass seized by Jiuqu City, Hanguan City and other fortresses were transported to Heqiao for a period of time, and then they were sent back by Yuwen Hu.

However, the storage in Jiuqu City is not empty, and there are still many materials stored, especially the number of silk silks is the most impressive, there are tens of thousands of horses!

So many silk silks are not all the trophies of Li Yuan's department, most of them are obtained from Li Boshan.

Some of the personnel and materials captured by these generals who supported their troops in the battle could be directly used in the follow-up battles, and the rest of the goods and spoils could be disposed of freely.

Li Boshan had seized a large amount of loot before, and the ordnance and the like were distributed to all roads in western Henan, and the grain and grass were also handed over to the public for personal use, and in addition to that, there was a large amount of money.

Before leaving, Li Boshan found Li Yuan, transferred the money and silk to Li Yuan, and waited until he returned to Kansai, and then Li Yuan's brother Li Xian paid the same amount of money and silk materials.

Li Yuan led thousands of soldiers to sit in Hengnong in western Henan, naturally there was a cost to raise the army, and from time to time he had to help the people and horses of all roads in western Henan, so the demand for money and food was great. If it is all supported by Guanzhong, the cost along the way alone is very huge.

Therefore, even if Li Yuandang agreed to this proposal of two conveniences, he sent people to Hanguan City to receive these spoils of Li Boshan and stored them in Jiuqu City.

"My lord, the guards cleaned the warehouses and collected nearly 100 stones of Chen Gu miscellaneous mushrooms, mixed with bran to make a meal. But if there is no turning point tomorrow, cattle and horses will need to be slaughtered to satisfy hunger. ”

A subordinate general stepped forward and said to Li Yuan with a worried expression: "It's just, it's just that if we kill cattle, horses, and livestock, it will be difficult for our army to break through the encirclement and retreat, and at most it can only last for ten days." If no reinforcements arrive, the future is worrying......"

"There will be reinforcements, there will be!"

After hearing this, Li Yuan replied categorically, he first looked to the west, then to the east, and then said in a deep voice: "The army of Fang Jin is defeated and retreated, and it is inevitable that the people in the country will be panicked. Daxingtai is trapped here, and he must sit around to settle the public's feelings.

But as long as the city is still defended, it will not be said that the previous achievements have been lost. Sooner or later, reinforcements will definitely be sent! Not to mention that Li Boshan still led tens of thousands of people to fight Yichuan, if he knew that Heluo was shocked, he would definitely lead his troops to return to aid as soon as possible! ”

Although two "certainly" are used, it sounds like the tone is very firm, but it is precisely because I know that it may not be, so I repeatedly emphasize self-deception through the tone.

The situation in the country has been delicate recently, especially around the ownership of the military power in Longxi, and many people have turned cold eyes, and it was originally a very exciting thing to enter the river bridge, but it turned out to be like this.

Even if Daxingtai wants to send troops to help, it must also consider the situation in the country, if the number of people is too small, it will not help to solve the difficulties, and how long it will take for a large-scale military mobilization can still be judged through the further development of the situation and situation.

As for Li Boshan, he was proud of his achievements before, but he was dismissed from his post at Heqiao and assigned elsewhere, and he was afraid that anyone would have resentment in his heart. What's more, now that the situation in Heluo has collapsed, even if he wants to return to help, he has to consider what the risk is, whether it is worth it, and whether he can do it.

If the factor of his father-in-law Duguxin is taken into account, then Li Boshan's choice will be more variable. Although his own brothers praised Li Boshan for his strength and reliability, Li Yuan did not seem to have the affection to make him ignore the danger and save him at any cost. If Li Boshan had no intention of coming to the rescue, it would be difficult for those generals in western Henan to influence their thoughts.

Taking advantage of the end of the enemy's offensive, Li Yuan first ordered the people defending the city to hurry up and rest, and then walked down the city to visit Yifeng, who was recuperating from his injuries in bed.

After Yi Feng inquired about today's battle situation, he sighed with shame: "It's a pity that I am not strong and can't fight the enemy side by side with Yang Pinggong." Now that I am sitting in the city of sorrow and the grain is gradually running out, if I really can't hold on to it, Yangping Gong will break through and go straight, and you don't have to count on me......"

Li Yuanjian saw that Yifeng, a brave general, was depressed and no longer optimistic, and his mood became quite heavy, but he still cheered up and said: "Please rest assured, Duke Leling, Jiuqu City is an important town for advancing and retreating from Heluo, and it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, although the thief army is numerous, it is difficult to break the city." Our army just needs to stick to this and wait for reinforcements to arrive, and the siege will be lifted naturally! ”

"How easy it is to talk about reinforcements so far!"

Yi Fengxin was mourned by the division and brigade, and he was in pain, and his mood was a little low, and when he heard Li Yuan's comfort, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "Alas, the former Daxingtai disregarded the hard work of the Hanoi Gongjing and was eager to replace it with the Duke of Zhangwu, so that both the internal and external ministers of Hanoi were chaotic, which was quite sad. Now that Heluo has been defeated, the situation in the country is bound to be even more panicked......"

"The lord is in charge of the Taiwan and declares the government, and the appointment of the state and county uncle is already within the decree of the government, how can he try to kill with personal feelings! Leling Gong must no longer hold this dissenting opinion and hinder the political voice of the country. Hanoi's sincerity is hard work, and the imperial court also pays him with a high position, and he has not been disappointed, and there is no grievance. ”

Compared with the old party of Beizhen such as Yifeng, Li Yuan and other generals who attached to Daxingtai in Guanxi have no involvement in those nostalgia, so their loyalty to Daxingtai is also more pure.

When Yifeng heard Li Yuan say this, he also felt speechless, and only smiled apologetically at Li Yuan, and then kept silent.

After Li Yuan saw this, he didn't stay any longer, and after explaining that Yifeng was recuperating from his injuries, he got up and left.

He detoured to the front of the warehouse in the city, looking at the warehouse full of silk silks, although he knew that he was a little unreasonable, but he still thought viciously in his heart that if Li Boshan did not come to the rescue, he would certainly have a bad future, and the account of these tens of thousands of silk horses must be relied on, anyway, he would die without proof, and he would have to let Li Boshan suffer a dumb loss!

Thinking that Li Boshan might be speechless in the future, Li Yuan couldn't help but chuckle twice, but this idea of having fun in the misery didn't last long, and the sound of fighting outside the city sounded again, and he hurriedly walked to the city wall.

(End of chapter)