The siege battle lasted from morning to noon, until the scorching sun began to slant with black smoke, the sound of fighting, blood, and killing, all of which seemed to be exhausted, or perhaps after half a day of suffering and baptism, everyone had become numb to these things that had been filling them all along. The desolate and tragic sound has long been like the wailing of the geese in the sky in autumn, although it is still a little worrying, but it has long been a matter outside the sky, and the rich smell of blood has been like the smell of an oasis in the desert, although it has penetrated into people's bones, permeating people's whole body, but it is still gently drifting back and forth with the wind.

The Jin and Zhou armies under Luyang City were silently doing their own thing, and they used the last bit of strength in their bodies under the drive of life and death. Zhou Jun stood on the tower of the city with a bow and shot arrows; Boiling oil and then pouring it silently; Numbly lifted the wood and stones, and looked at the black and yellow shaking underneath and smashed them down. The Jin army stood under the city tower and also shot arrows with bows; Silently climbing the ladder, unlucky an arrow that flew out of nowhere hit his chest, and then fell into the air as soon as his eyes were black, and fell to the ground like a stone; Some stepped forward to fill the vacancies of their comrades in front, risking boiling oil and random arrows, desperately pushing the crash.

Finally, when everyone was about to sink silently and finally end this long tug-of-war boringly, a huge voice suddenly sounded at the west gate of Luyang, like throwing a boulder into a pool of stagnant water, and the ripples quickly dispersed around the battlefield.

"The West Gate has been breached!"

Countless Jin troops erupted from the silence, and they rushed like madness towards the west gate that had finally been smashed by the crashed car. If they continue to fight like they did just now, it is estimated that they will really go crazy in the end.

The entire west gate of Luyang was like a few drops of water suddenly falling into the boiling oil, and it exploded in a plop, and thousands of Jin army sergeants rushed desperately towards the west gate with shouts, and the Zhou army that rushed to the west gate from all over Luyang City also rushed to the west gate from all over Luyang City. After the shouting broke out for a few breaths, the Zhou army and the Jin army suddenly collided together in the Ximen doorway, and at that moment, the piercing sound of weapons intertwined, as well as the sound of roaring and scolding, sounded in the doorway. Of course, there are also high-pitched screams.

I don't know how many people crowded into the doorway. I saw yellow, black, and cyan swaying and squeezing inside. There are also countless white and cold earth weapons flashing in various colors. The Jin army and the Zhou army soldiers just subconsciously waved their weapons in their hands, and stabbed at the surrounding figures that might be enemies by feeling.

As soon as the crowd moved, a Jin sergeant shook his hand, and the steel knife in his hand "slided" out of the gap between the two targets, and stabbed into a body blocked by the two with a pop. Before Jin Jun could pull out his steel knife, a chill came from under his ribs, and then a tingling pain quickly spread from his side to his whole body. As soon as the Jin army sergeant had time to shout, he felt all the blood in his body flow out of the cut wound. The Jin sergeant glanced back weakly, and found that the Zhou sergeant who had stabbed the ring hand knife into his body had been stabbed into his body by three or four spears. The sergeant of the Zhou army, who had turned into a blood gourd, let go of the ring hand knife that was still left in the body of the sergeant of the Jin army, and only cared about screaming there. The Jin army sergeant also slowly fell to the ground, and the moment he fell to the ground, he finally realized that he had stabbed his own Qu Chang.

What the fuck is the world! This was the last thought of the Jin army sergeant before he died.

Cheng Pu rushed out of the mansion with a long sword in his hand, and within a few steps, he saw Lian Sa walking head-on.

With a long knife dripping with blood in his hand, Liansa panted and ran over, and saw the cloak at a glance. Only a long gown was draped. Cheng Pu holding an iron sword. In the eyes of Bulian Sadi, his own lord is more like a Taoist priest at this time.

"My lord! The west gate was smashed open by a Jin military crash, and thousands of Jin troops were rushing there. I've moved all the reserves that can be mobilized and are fighting in the doorway. The Jin army couldn't kill it for a while, and we couldn't drive out the Jin army, so we were temporarily stalemate in the doorway. But I didn't think it would last long, so I ran to ask for reinforcements. Buliansa stopped and said.

"Reinforcements, where do I still have reinforcements! It's better to do this, there are dozens of slaves in my house, all of whom are assigned to you. Speaking of this, Cheng Pu lowered his head and thought for a while and finally said: "You can't drive out the Jin army by killing each other, they are numerous, and we will suffer sooner or later if we kill like this, it is better for you to mobilize a group of crossbowmen to shoot a volley at the people in the doorway, and then pour boiling oil from the city tower, and finally mobilize the people to seal the West Gate with various colors of wood and stones." ”

"My lord, there are hundreds of our brothers in the doorway! And wouldn't it be better to call the people to seal the door and send them to death? Buliansa hesitated.

"Ci is not in charge of the army, don't you know this? No matter what the cost, you must block the West Gate for me! Cheng Pu shouted. Seeing that Bu Liansa finally nodded with difficulty, Cheng Pu softened a little and said: "I'll go to the south gate to see, the west gate and the south gate are the most urgent places for the Jin army to attack, and there must be no change in the west gate." Our opponent Huan Chong is not an ordinary person, and he will definitely not let go of the great opportunity for the enemy and our armies to be attracted at the West Gate! ”

"Yes, sir!"

Cheng Pu went up to the south gate with a long sword in his hand, there was still a fight here, the arrows upstairs and downstairs were still flying up and down like rain, the stones were still crackling down, and the boiling oil was still pouring down the city with green smoke. Encouraged by the progress of Ximen, the Jin army attacked more and more desperately. But compared with the earth-shattering scene of the West Gate, the South Gate seems to be a little quiet, and although the South Gate Gate has been slammed and shaken, it seems that there is no possibility of being broken for the time being.

Cheng Pu temporarily calmed down, he pushed away the entourage who was about to put on his armor, and still stood there in that long coat to listen to Simon's battle situation. Bu Liansa first poured several pots of boiling oil from the tower of the West Gate City, which was still under the control of the Zhou army, and immediately scalded and injured hundreds of Jin army sergeants who were about to squeeze into the West Gate Gate, causing a short break belt. Taking advantage of the fact that the Jin army did not dare to continue to rush into the doorway for the time being, Bu Liansa ordered hundreds of crossbowmen to shoot indiscriminately at the doorway. The power of such an indiscriminate salvo in such a narrow and dense place is enormous. In a burst of screams, the Zhou army and the Jin army, which were strangled together in the doorway, fell one after another. Within a short time, a thick layer of corpses had piled up in the doorway, and Buliansa ordered the sergeants to threaten hundreds of people with knives to push carts to pick up baskets and pile piles of stones and wood on top of the corpses in Ximendong.

Seeing this scene, the Jin army continued to rush forward while braving boiling oil, and at the same time dispersed the people with arrows, and also shot down many people for a while. But under the steel knife of the sergeant of the Zhou army. One after another, the people continued to block the west gate. I was about to close the doorway.

Cheng Pu felt a little relieved. It seems that this Luyang City cannot be lost today. But Cheng Pu soon fell again, and if he doesn't fall today, it doesn't mean that he won't fall tomorrow. If this fight continues, Lu Yang can't hold out for two days.

Suddenly, the north gate, which had always been calm, suddenly caught fire, and the earth-shattering shouts of killing sounded. Cheng Pu suddenly screamed when he saw this scene, it seemed that he still underestimated Huan Chong. At this moment, a herald rushed to the ground with a rolling belt. shouted to Cheng Pu with a crying voice: "My lord, it's not good! Thousands of Jin troops suddenly appeared at the North Gate, and the North Gate had fallen! ”

It turned out that Huan Chong knew that he could not grasp the frontal attack on Luyang, so he sent his generals to lead 3,000 men and horses led by guides overnight along Funiu Mountain

To the north of Luyang City, hidden in that valley. It took a month for that trail to get a lot of money from a few woodcutters, and it was ready to be used at a critical moment, and this time it seemed to come in handy.

Huan Chong deliberately waited for a day. Let the generals have enough time to ambush near the north gate of Luyang City with three thousand Jin troops. Then Huan Chong personally supervised the battle on the third day. Ordered the Jin army to desperately attack the city, and finally broke through the West Gate after noon, attracting the attention of everyone on the battlefield to the West Gate. Even the resourceful Cheng Pu only noticed the associated South Gate.

At this critical pass, Huan Chong then used the Hequ Changniujiao "imported" by Guanlong to notify his generals and order them to attack the north gate immediately. There were not many people guarding the north gate of Luyang, and the west gate was tight and a lot was transferred, as a result, the three thousand Jin troops set up a cloud ladder to attack, and the two or three hundred defenders scattered did not have time to gather for formal defense, so the Jin army had already rushed up to the city tower and successfully killed the Zhou army to open the north gate.

Looking at the fire that was spreading to the north city, Cheng Pu couldn't help but sigh up to the sky, tears flowed down his face, he pulled out his long sword and said to his entourage: "You go and tell General Bu to tell him to quickly take his family and run for his life, if it can't be done, he will surrender." I am a lonely old man, and it is not a pity to die. ”

After dismissing his entourage, Cheng Pu staggered to the South Gate Tower, and closed the gate casually, keeping all the killing and tragedy out of the door. When the Jin army finally rushed in, Cheng Pu had already bowed his sword, and there was a blood-soaked book on the table in front of him, with only six vigorous words on it: "Sad, sad and pitiful!" ”

Bu Liansa received Cheng Pu's rumor, cried in tears, and said to the generals around him: "If you want to be a loyal minister, why should you dislike us? Then he sent his cronies to cover his few family members to flee from Luyang, and he led the remnants of the army to continue to resist stubbornly, killing more than a dozen Jin soldiers, with dozens of wounds in his body without falling, and finally fell from the city tower and died.

On the fourth day after Huan Chong broke through Luyang City, Zhu Tao, the general of the Fu Army, finally broke through Kunyang City, which was guarded by Duan Ling, and forced Duan Ling to lead a thousand remnants of the army to Xiangcheng. At this point, the gate to Heluo finally opened a corner to the Northern Expedition Wang Division in the middle road.

"Brother, why didn't Zeng Zhenbei send troops to Heluo. If he sent troops to Hongnong to respond, how could we fight so hard, and we didn't have to stay on the banks of the Rushui River for three months without the Northern Expedition. If he sends troops to Guanlong, we will be in Luoyang's old capital in three months. Looking at Liang County on the north bank of Rushui, Huan Chong said angrily.

"Why did Zeng Xuping send troops to Heluo?" Standing beside Huan Chong, Di Huan Wen asked rhetorically.

When Huan Chong and Zhu Tao captured Luyang and Kunyang continued to wave their troops north, Huan Wen also set off to join them from Nanyang. But after crossing Funiu Mountain, there are Bear's Ears Mountain, Waifang Mountain, and Rushui. Until June, the 60,000 Northern Expeditionary Divisions led by Huan Wen could only stare at Liang County (now Ruyang, Henan) on the north bank of Rushui on the south bank of Rushui. On this day, the two brothers Huan Wen and Huan Chong took advantage of the clear sky to go to the outer mountain opposite Liang County to see the geographical environment. Looking at Liang County, which stood majestically on the north bank of Rushui, thinking of his nightmarish month and a half under Luyang City, and then thinking of the northern army of Guanlong Town, which had no movement at all, Huan Chong's anger rose to the sky.

"Brother, do you mean that the Zhenbei Army is ready to stand by?"

"How can it be that you sit on the sidelines? Zeng Xuping was just waiting for the best time. Huan Wen said, "Young son, you still have to have more experience and gather more talents." Look at Zeng Xuping, it is said that he did not know how many talents gathered in the Chang'an shogunate. Not to mention anything else, Mao Wusheng is now the commander of the six counties, the mighty west, and the Qinzhou assassin who is so scared that the Zhang family in Liangzhou is difficult to sleep and eat. It is with the assistance of these people that Zeng Xuping has become more and more powerful. ”

Speaking of this, Huan Wen glanced at Huan Chong meaningfully and said, "Have you heard of Zeng's Art of War?" Seeing Huan Chong's puzzled and puzzled expression, Huan Wen explained: "When Zeng Xuping was the captain of Changshui in Fuzhong, he founded the Changshui Army, and once gave a lesson on the art of war to his sergeants and generals. He was my subordinate at the time, so I could easily get my hands on them. Not now, even if he was Xuping, I don't think it's unusual for him to appear in front of me now. ”

Zeng Xuping once said that war is only a means, not an end. Do you understand? Huan Wen asked.

"I don't understand." Huan Chong said honestly.

"I don't understand, I also half-understand and half-ignore, so you and my brothers fought under Luyang and Kunyang for three months, and Zeng Xuping has pacified Guanlong in three months." Huan Wen said slowly.

After listening to his brother's words, Huan Chong was immediately ashamed, and he lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Zeng Xuping was already impressive in the past, and after occupying Guanlong, it is said that he gathered a few more talents, and now it is even more incomprehensible. Young son, do you feel that this world is a game of chess, you and I, Jiangdong, the Central Plains and all kinds of heroes are chess players, at the beginning Guan Long Zeng Xuping just played chess weird and sharp, just slightly higher than us, now what? He's a chess player, and we're all pawns, and we have to move according to his moves, you know? ”

Seeing Huan Chong silently there, Huan Wen smiled, pointed to Heluo, who couldn't be seen in the distance, and said: "Maybe I'm alarmist, but this time in the Northern Expedition to Heluo, I feel that we and Yin Yuanshen on the East Road have become chess pieces." ”

"Brother, why do you say that?" Huan Chong asked.

"The latest news came that in early May, Yin Yuanshen of the East Road was defeated in Chen County and had to retreat to Ruyin. He sent Xie Renzu (Xie Shang) and Xun Lingze (Xun Xian) to divide their troops and enter separately, but Xie Renzu took the county, and Xun Ling took Pei County, which made Yin Yuan so angry that he was half dead. He had no choice but to lead his troops to the county to join Xie Renzu, and then take the important town of Hehuai > north. The battle on the East Road doesn't seem as difficult as our Middle Road, but it's the most dangerous, young son, you know? ”

"Brother, I know, first, Zhou Guoqiang gathered all the elite soldiers on the East Road, and second, Yin Yuanshen."

"Yes, although we are fighting hard, there is no problem for us to protect ourselves, and although Yin Yuanshen is playing smoothly now, once we are frustrated, it will be a big defeat!" Speaking of this, Huan Wen did not have a smug look on his face, but a worried look, "We and Yin Yuanshen are both fifty steps and a hundred steps of laughter, and we have all been calculated by Zeng Xuping." Now that the Northern Expedition has reached this point, Yin Yuanshen and I are both difficult to ride a tiger, no matter which of us can't hold on to retreat or is defeated, that is to give the other party a great opportunity, and a letter of impeachment can make you irreversible. ”

At this time, Zeng Hua proudly gave a lecture to hundreds of officers of the "Zhenbei Army Senior Officer Training Course" in the auditorium of the Chang'an Military Academy in Bacheng: "War is only a means and not an end, and our ultimate goal is to obtain benefits. If you look at war from this angle, you will find a new breakthrough in your strategic and tactical thinking and methods. You can also look at the true meaning of the so-called use of soldiers like gods, and those who are good at fighting have no outstanding military exploits. ”