Walk seven or eight miles north through Yongquan Pass, which is the territory of Dongyang Road in Beiyan.

Walking more than 30 miles to the northeast, the outline of Gushu City can be faintly seen.

The Yan State began to implement the strategy of clearing the wilderness on the border very early, not wanting to leave any resources for the Qi army.

This thing was done very well on the Moyang Road, because on the long border over there, the areas controlled by the Northern Yan and the Southern Qi were intertwined, and there were many offensive routes that the two sides could choose from, and the people were worried that they would be affected by the war at any time, so they very obediently left the place where they had lived for generations and moved to the north or the big city.

But the condition of Dongyang Road is slightly different.

Yongquan Pass and Qingtian City blocked the road of the Qi army to the north, and there was never a mistake in more than ten years, which made the people in the rear not feel the threat of war, coupled with the uneven ability of officials at all levels of Yan State, resulting in the implementation of the strong wall and clear the field here is not thorough enough, especially the people in those villages and towns, many of them live in the same place.

As soon as Yongquan Pass changed hands, Li Shouzhen, who was far away in Ruyin City in the north, had just gotten the news, and the Huaizhou army had already determined the battle strategy, and the army advanced directly to the northeast, and naturally encountered some Yan people on the way.

In a small village called Beishan Village, hundreds of people stood tremblingly on the valley field in the village, looking at the bright and majestic Southern Qi cavalry around them, and a large number of Southern Qi troops were passing by on the road outside the village in the distance.

The old tall man is the oldest elder in Beishan Village, and he was sixty years old at the time, so he can naturally be regarded as a high life expectancy in this era.

He can barely maintain his composure on his face, after all, he also had the experience of traveling south and north when he was young, but he was already panicked in his heart, after all, no one dared to guarantee that those fierce and fierce soldiers would do anything, if they just asked for food and money, it would be fine, for fear that they would be ferocious and hurt people at will.

Not long after, a heroic young military general came to the grain field surrounded by more than a dozen guards.

The old man had some knowledge, and when the young general approached, he knelt down tremblingly and saluted: "The grass people meet the military master!" ”

His knees had barely touched the ground when a pair of large, warm and powerful hands lifted him up.

The old man couldn't hide his surprise on his face, but he saw the young military general smile and said: "The old man doesn't need to be polite, my name is Lu Shen, and I am the captain of the Ruishi Battalion of Huaizhou in the Great Qi." ”

"It turned out to be Lu Duwei, who has admired his name for a long time!"

The old man said in awe, but his eyes were a little evasive, obviously he had not heard of the name, but only showed favor according to the methods he had learned before.

Lu Shen knew this, but he didn't debunk it in person, and only said gently: "Old man, don't be afraid, our army is just passing by here, and it won't hurt you." ”

The old man felt uneasy in his heart, and felt that there was no need for the young general to deceive himself, so his face relaxed slightly.

Lu Shen looked around, and saw that his cowardly faces were full of wind and frost, full of ravines because of the devastation of poor life, and neither men nor women dared to look at him.

On the contrary, some four or five-year-old children looked at Lu Shen curiously with big round eyes, but they were also tightly detained in front of them by the adults in the family, for fear of angering him, the big man who commanded the army.

Lu Shen sighed secretly in his heart, and said to the old man: "Old man, the imperial court has moved south for more than ten years, and you have all suffered. Now the northern expedition of the army is only to recover the homeland, so that everyone can live a peaceful life. You can rest assured that we will not disturb the people. ”

Seeing that he was so honest, the old man was a little moved, and said cautiously: "On behalf of the grass people, thank you for your kindness." ”

Lu Shen chatted with him about the customs and customs here, as well as some measures taken by the Yan Imperial Court in recent years, and the most important thing is the situation of the valley in the northeast. Although the old master didn't know much about it, it was also a good supplement for Lu Shen.

After about half a stick of incense, Lu Shen smiled and said, "Thank you for the old man's explanation." ”

The old man said respectfully: "Captain, you are polite. ”

Lu Shen turned to Li Chengen and said, "Let someone bring some pork and grain to the villagers." ”

"Yes, Captain."

Lee Seung-eun took the order and left.

When the old man and the villagers heard this, they all showed surprise and surprise on their faces.

Lu Shen said to everyone: "Folks, farewell." ”

The old man hurriedly bowed to say goodbye, but the others remained still.

They looked at this well-groomed army, and they couldn't understand why the other party not only did not ask for food, but gave them these things.

Recalling the actions of the Yan State government and the army over the years, the villagers only felt mixed feelings in their hearts.

Until the Huaizhou army left Beishan Village, the talents in the valley field seemed to come to life, they whispered excitedly, only the old head looked at the departing army in the northeast, and sighed in a complicated mood: "I can't think of it...... More than ten years have passed, and the officers and troops of the Great Qi have changed. ”

The speed of the Huaizhou army was not very fast, on the one hand, they were mainly foot soldiers, and the cavalry only had 3,000 cavalry from the Ruishi battalion led by Li Chengen, and on the other hand, because they carried a large number of siege equipment, they also had to take into account the speed of the logistics baggage team.

By the time the army arrived at the southern outskirts of Gushu City, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Gushu City has a history of hundreds of years, and before the Yuanjia Change, it was regarded as the connecting hub of Dongyang Road and Huaizhou, and it can be regarded as a prosperous place.

There are 5,000 garrisons in the city, and the main general is Xu Huaibin, the training envoy of the Gu Shu regiment, who is a close confidant of the general Li Shouzhen, who has been here for less than half a year.

A few days ago, he got the news of the fall of Yongquan Pass, and Gushu City immediately imposed martial law on the whole city, and the four city gates were closed and forbidden to enter and exit, and at the same time, the city began to investigate to avoid the hidden Nanqi to deceive people.

Xu Huaibin strictly rectified the city's defense, and asked the big families in the city to contribute money and efforts, all aspects were considered quite properly, but it was not in vain Li Shouzhen's trust in him.

When the Southern Qi army attacked, he immediately sent people to the north to ask for help, but fortunately, the speed of the Qi army was relatively slow, giving him time to fully prepare.

At this moment, Xu Huaibin was standing under the south tower, looking at the Qi army camp outside the city, his brows were already deeply furrowed.

The Qi army set up a large camp in the south and a camp on the east and west sides, but saw that the tents in these three military camps were continuous, and the horse rejection trenches outside the camp were all prepared, which was very marching and orderly.

Only the north side is vacant.

Xu Huaibin said coldly: "Wai Sanque one? When Ben will be an ignorant child? ”

An adjutant general next to him said in a low voice: "Regimental training, the Qi army is huge, and this battle looks like it will be very difficult." ”

Xu Huaibin led the troops for a long time, judging from the camp of the Qi army outside the city, the opponent's strength was about 40,000, which was close to eight times that of the defenders in the city, and the defenders naturally had to bear great pressure.

"Yongquan Pass has been lost, if we lose Gu Shu again, the south side of Dongyang Road will be completely released by the Qi Army, so we must defend here."

Xu Huaibin raised his tone slightly, and the generals next to him bowed their heads one after another, and he said: "The general sent someone to deliver the message before, and the north is already mobilizing reinforcements to go south, and they will arrive soon. Lang Min chose a few clever scouts, and after nightfall, he went out of the city to the north to find Deputy Chief Cheng and asked him to bring troops to the rescue as soon as possible. ”

The lieutenant general from earlier replied loudly.

Xu Huaibin looked at the Qi army camp outside the city, his expression was extremely solemn.

At the same time, in an open space in the camp of the Qi army, several generals stood facing north, looking at Gushu City in the north.

"We only have one army outside the city, and we have created the illusion of tens of thousands of people by camouflage, and we have scared the enemy into cowering inside the city and dare not move. If the Yan army commander in the city knew the truth, would he be so angry that he vomited blood and died? ”

Zhu Youyu, the commander of the Guangling Army, smiled warmly, but his words were a little sharp.

Duan Zuozhang glanced at Lu Shen, who was smiling and silent, and said indifferently: "Although there is only your Guangling army outside the city, there are only five thousand soldiers and horses in the city, even if he knows, what if he knows?" Do you dare to go out of the city to seek a decisive battle? ”

Zhu Youyu bowed his head and said: "That's the same, I wish he would bring his troops out to fight to the death, so that he can save a lot of trouble." ”

This time, the army marched north to force Gushu City, including the Guangling Army, the Lai'an Army and the Taixing Army, as well as the Ruishi Battalion led by Lu Shenqin, with a total of more than 40,000 people, and the three military camps outside the city and related configurations were also made according to this scale, so Xu Huaibin's judgment was not wrong. However, in fact, only the Guangling army was stationed outside the city, and the Lai'an army, the Taixing army, and the Ruishi battalion had all disappeared.

Lu Shen said: "After all, we still can't let the enemy commander know the truth, otherwise how could he send someone north to ask for help?" ”

Kang Yanxiao, the commander of the Taixing Army, had a very unpleasant quarrel with Lu Shen in Xunyang City, because Lu Shen beheaded the lieutenant under his command with the power of a military judge, but fortunately, Lu Shen gave him a step at that time, and the relationship between the two was not too cold and hard afterwards, so at this moment he said with a smile: "Brother Lu, when will the reinforcements from the Yan Kingdom in the north arrive?" ”

Lu Shen looked at Su Yunqing, who was walking not far away, and said with a smile: "There should be news." ”

Su Yunqing walked over with a spring breeze on his face, bowed to the generals, and then said: "Everyone, the secret agent of the Weaving Department in the north has confirmed that Cheng Weimin, the deputy head of the soldiers and horses of the pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road, is leading 15,000 troops, starting from Gaoyuan City, more than 200 miles away in the northwest, and is rushing towards Gu Shu. ”

At the beginning, due to the obstruction of Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass, it was very difficult for the secret agents of the Warp Weaving Division to ambush in the territory of Dongyang Road to deliver the news, and many times it was quite lagging behind.

As Yongquan Pass fell into the hands of the Huaizhou army, the barrier between the north and the south was opened, and the manpower brought by Su Yunqing was like a hidden dragon entering the sea, and soon established contact with the shadows in the north, and all kinds of information were continuously sent.

No wonder Su Yunqing is so demeanorful.

The generals' breathing couldn't help but become short.

Lu Shen said calmly: "Brother Duan, Brother Kang, the three of us are in charge of this battle. It is only necessary to solve the reinforcements led by Cheng Weimin, and there will be no mobile force on the pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road in a short period of time, and our army can be allowed to gallop here. ”

The two hurriedly expressed their attitude, and Duan Zuozhang said: "Where is the decisive battle?" ”

Lu Shen thought of the topographic map of Dongyang Road sent by Zhai Lin Wang, turned his head to look north, and said word for word: "North of Gushu City, Wanting!" ”

(End of chapter)