794
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the wind was howling, and the sky in the morning was overcast with clouds. Tens of thousands of troops followed a silver-white banner and marched towards Wenxi City in front of them.
With the sound of neat footsteps and the sound of horseshoes stomping heavily on the ground, the ground trembled slightly as they passed by, and the smoke and dust billowed up, like a large continuous black cloud overwhelmingly suppressing the environment amidst the rumbling thunder, The city wall and the city gate are getting closer...
"Da da da… "
The heartbeats of the soldiers found the same rhythm and pace following the rumbling and thunderous steps. Each soldier looked at the front with a cold face, and the murderous aura released from his body was getting stronger and stronger with each step. The thicker it is, the tens of thousands of gleaming knives have been half unsheathed, just waiting for the command of the commander to siege the city, these knives will be unsheathed brazenly, pointing directly at the enemy's head, offering blood to the flag...
"Rumble..."
Suddenly, a heavy abnormal sound came from the front, and it became clearer and clearer. The soldiers behind the phalanx didn't know what happened, but the soldiers who were in the vanguard in front had already seen it at a glance.
Ahead, two hundred feet away, the gate of Wenxi City was slowly opened from the inside amidst that heavy and rough sound...
When the two armies were at war, the city gates were naturally opened to fight each other out of the city, but the strange thing was that the enemy did not sound horns or drums.
There was silence at first, and then, thousands of armored Xiye soldiers rushed out of the city like a flood, well-trained and formed a huge square formation in front of the city gate. The team was orderly and solemn, facing The tens of thousands of troops coming towards the city gate.
At this time, the silver-white banner with the word "Official" embroidered on it was a hundred feet away, and then the tens of thousands of southern border troops stopped suddenly, and the soldiers were as motionless as a mountain.
This seemed to be a signal, and the next moment, there was movement in the phalanx at the gate of the city—
First, a middle-aged soldier in bronze armor standing at the front dropped the scabbard in his hand, and the other soldiers of the Western Night Army who followed behind him also let go of their weapons.
"Papa papa..."
Those scabbards, spears, bows and arrows, shields... all the weapons fell to the ground like rain, and there were various sounds one after another, and the buzzing metal sound echoed for a while.
Then, these thousands of soldiers were all short, and all the Xiye people including the leading middle-aged soldier knelt on the ground, and prostrated their faces humbly on the ground.
There was a complete silence all around.
This scene was so spectacular, as if a hammer hit the heart so hard that even the people who saw it couldn't make a sound.
After that, there was silence for several hundred feet, as if even the wind had stopped at this moment.
From the beginning to the end, these Xiye people who came out of Wenxi City did not say a word, but silently showed their attitude with actions.
Therefore, from the moment the city gates were opened, there was no sound of trumpets or drums of war.
These Xiye people surrendered without a fight!
All the soldiers of the Southern Border Army understood this, and felt an indescribable feeling in their hearts.
The two sides faced each other silently in the morning light. At this moment, time seemed to stand still...
Until bursts of loud eagle cries sounded from above, two eagles, one gray and one white, were circling and playing in the air. They seemed to have no idea what was going on below, and they were having a great time.
After a while, the formation of the Southern Border Army separated automatically, and a young man with a baby face walked out of it. He rode his horse towards the Xiye people's phalanx at a leisurely pace, and stopped a few dozen feet away.
The baby-faced young man looked down from his tall horse at the middle-aged soldiers crouching at the front of the phalanx, and asked loudly, "Who are you?!"
The middle-aged soldier finally raised his head, and saw that his square red face, forehead and hair were covered with a little yellow sand, which made his originally majestic face look a little embarrassed.
The middle-aged soldier raised his voice and replied: "My lord, I am Menker, the patriarch of the Xiyemengu tribe. I have heard of the great reputation of the officer and major general since more than ten years ago, and I have admired it for a long time, but I have never been able to see it. I don't want nine Years later, I will be honored to meet the young general Guan in Wenxi City, and I, Menkeer, would like to lead the entire city and the people to surrender to the young general Guan.”
Of course, the officer and general that the middle-aged officer referred to was Guan Yubai.
As the person's words sounded, two people and two horses came out from behind, and the one walking in front was a vigorous white horse. On the white horse was a gentle man wearing a moon-white cloak, who was more handsome than the tens of thousands of people around him who were dressed in armor and had a dark face. The cold soldiers, with a refined smile, he looked so abrupt and eye-catching, as if he stood out from the crowd, and he unconsciously attracted everyone's attention, including that Menker.
Menker's pupils narrowed slightly, and he stared at the gentleman on the white horse with burning eyes, without blinking, his eyes were so hot, as if he already knew the identity of the other party.
Guan Yubai rode his horse to Fu Yunhe's side, looked at Menkele and said, "You said you want to surrender and dedicate the city to our army?"
"Young General... No, Lord Marquis." Menkel thought of something, and hurriedly changed his words, "I have heard for a long time that Lord Marquis is not only brave and good at fighting, but also righteous and benevolent. To satisfy his ambition, he kept recruiting men, food, and grass from our clan, so that the days of our clan have withered... In recent years, our Mengu clan has become very thin. Apart from the soldiers guarding the city, most of them are old, weak, women and children..."
As he said that, Menker's face was full of righteous indignation and a trace of helpless desolation, and he fell down on the ground respectfully again, "Master, my family is willing to offer the city sincerely."
After the words fell, the surroundings fell silent again. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew across the sky, blowing up the yellow sand and dead branches and leaves all over the sky, rustling.
Guan Yubai glanced at the thousands of prostrate Xiye people, and said slowly: "The descendants will not be killed."
The originally tense atmosphere in the vicinity seemed to loosen suddenly with the fall of these four words, and Menker raised his head again joyfully, and said loudly, "Thank you, Lord Hou!"
Immediately afterwards, the thousands of Xiye soldiers behind him also shouted in unison: "Thank you, Lord Hou!"
Thousands of shouts overlapped and rushed straight into the sky. It seemed that even the dark clouds in the sky dissipated a little, and the golden dawn shone through the clouds...
Guan Yu looked at Menker with a smile, and said unhurriedly: "Master Menker, next, our army will take over the defense of Wenxi City."
"That's natural!" Menkel echoed without any objection, "All the soldiers in my city fully cooperate with Lord Marquis' instructions."
Next, commotion broke out near the city gate. The soldiers of the Southern Border Army split up, some were in charge of disarming, some were in charge of taking over the city defense, and some were divided into several teams and began to investigate and patrol around the city...
Guan Yubai, Fu Yunhe and the others who had finished explaining the trivial matters were welcomed into the patriarch's mansion in the center of the city by Namen Kerr and worshiped as honored guests.
After everyone sat down in the main hall, Menkel hurriedly ordered his servants to serve tea, and the huge hall was soon filled with the fragrance of tea.
Menkel said courteously: "Master, our Xiye people love tea. This is the best Fu tea I have in Xiye. It gets better and better with age. Although it is not as good as Longjing and Biluochun in the Central Plains, it still has its unique fragrance. Give it a try, both of you."
The bright red tea soup has no trace of impurities, and it exudes an elegant and mellow fragrance.
After Guan Yubai took a sip of the hot tea, he praised: "Good tea, thick but not greasy, with a sweet aftertaste."
"Master Hou really knows how to tea..."
Seeing Guan Yubai’s good tea, Menkel talked about tea with him in detail. For a while, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to become a lot more harmonious with the tea fragrance...
After a while, after Guan Yubai put down the teacup, he changed the subject and said to Menkele, "Patriarch Menkele, can I borrow the patriarch's map if I want to use it?"
The official language is polite, but in fact there is no room for Menkor to refuse. Since Menkor has surrendered, it is only natural to hand over the map.
"Master Hou, please wait a moment." Menker responded quickly, and immediately ordered someone to bring a map, and laid it out on the big case in the main hall.
The three people in the hall stood around the map, Guan Yubai quickly glanced at the map, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, and praised: "Master Menker, your map is more marked on the surrounding areas." Zhiben Hou got a lot more details from the southern border."
Menkel smiled and said: "Master, that's natural. Our Mengu people have been stationed in this area for hundreds of years. This Xizhong Basin is our family's homeland. It is naturally more detailed than the maps drawn by other peoples. This is also the condensed effort of our Mengu clan for hundreds of years!"
Guan Yubai's eyes were still lingering on the map, and he said: "Clan Chief Menker, this Marquis is new here, and he knows very little about Wenxi City and its surrounding areas, so please tell the Marquis about it!"
"Master Hou, you are welcome." Menker hurriedly responded, and then, his right index finger first landed on Wenxi City on the map, and then slowly drew a circle from west to east, "Master Hou, look , we Wenxi City is located at the entrance of the west side of the Xizhong Basin. Linshan, with Qinshan and Chishan in the east, can be said to be surrounded by dangerous fortresses, and there are only a few roads that can pass through. Therefore, as long as these passways are guarded, it will be extremely difficult for the enemy to capture this area. Therefore, hundreds of Over the past few years, our Mengu people have been able to live and work here in peace and contentment... "
Until more than 40 years ago, the old King Xirong who passed away broke the situation where all the heroes of Xiye were chasing each other, and unified the twelve tribes of Xiye!
Although Menkel didn't say this sentence directly, Guan Yubai and Fu Yunhe in the hall knew it well.
After a pause, Menkel continued: "For the West Central Basin, the biggest threat still comes from the east and north." It was from the north that the old Western Night King defeated this area.
The eyes of Guan Yubai and Fu Yunhe continued to move upwards, and finally stopped at the Zhongling City above the Xizhong Basin. Once they broke through the Zhongling City, Xiye would be half-fallen.
Guan Yubai pondered for a moment and asked, "How many roads are there in the east and north?"
Menkel pointed to the river between "Qinshan" and "Qinshan" marked on the map, and said: "The east is the waterway. This Dajin River is fast-moving and quite dangerous. Going southeast along the river is the Xuzhou River. Several cities occupied by the Tang clan..."
As he said that, Menkel moved his fingers up a little, "However, if the Marquis' army wants to go north to the capital, there are only two roads, one is near and the other is far, but on this short road, there are two cities that must pass through. On the way..." He pointed to two of the cities in the north, "Fortunately, Longmen City, Gonglai City and the surrounding cities are also members of our Mengu tribe. Today I dare not speak boldly to Lord Hou, but our Mengu people have always been of the same mind. If Lord Hou agrees, I will write to them immediately to persuade them to surrender. Please rest assured, Lord Hou. I have been the patriarch of the Mengu clan for more than 20 years In the past year, I have quite a bit of prestige in the clan, even if I am not 100% sure about this matter, it is 100% sure!"
The Xiye Twelve Clans are distributed all over Xiye, and each clan has its own patriarch, which is similar to the existence of the Dayu vassal king. The clansmen of each clan are subordinate to their patriarch, and the patriarch directly obeys the Xiye King.
This system allows each tribe to become more cohesive and powerful in order to surpass other tribes, but it also has obvious shortcomings, which makes Xiye King lack absolute control over the city where the other eleven tribes are located. .
Menkel straightened his chest, with a trace of arrogance showing between his brows, and continued: "It's just that I have to ask Lord Hou to wait in the city for two or three days."
"Okay, then Benhou will wait for the good news from Patriarch Menkor." Guan Yubai looked at Menkor with a smile, his dark pupils flickering.
Today's Xiye looks majestic like a sky-high tower, but they don't know that the higher the tower, the more dangerous it is. Once the Xiye King is not enough to deter the other eleven clans, then the whole Xiye will collapse like a plate of loose sand...
Menkel responded repeatedly, and said again: "Then this map is my little gift, please accept it, Lord Hou."
Guan Yubai responded, looked at Fu Yunhe, and ordered resolutely: "General Fu, immediately pass on the order of the Marquis to order the whole army to rest in the city for two days."
"Yes, Master Hou." Fu Yunhe clasped his fists forcefully in reply, and then strode away.
Afterwards, Menker also took a step back, clasped his fists at Guan Yubai and said, "Master Hou, then I'll take my leave too. I'll go and draft the letter first, and then hand it over to Master Hou for review."
Guan Yubai was still gentle and refined, he raised his hand and said, "Patriarch, please do what you want."
Menkel clasped his fists together again, and then left like flying.
Guan Yubai stood where he was, watching Menker go away, the smile on his lips deepened on his elegant face, and his warm black eyes narrowed slightly.
Suddenly, Colton, who was about to leave the yard, stopped and looked back, and saw that Guan Yubai had already sat down on a high-backed chair beside him, holding a teacup in his hand, drinking tea leisurely. At first glance, this doesn't look like a general, but more like a noble son from a scholarly family.
Menkel continued to walk forward, his steps were firm, his back was tall and straight...
The sun outside was rising higher and higher, and the clouds in the sky had dispersed with the arrival of the Southern Border Army, revealing the warm sun behind the clouds.
After more than half an hour, several messengers galloped out from the north city gate, and soon parted ways and went their separate ways...
In the afternoon of the next day, I first got the news from the nearest Gonglai City, and then from Longmen City...
However, in just two days, the Southern Border Army led by Guan Yubai took down two more cities in a row without a single soldier. Next, as long as they leave this Xizhong Basin, they will directly hit Zhongling City .
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, tens of thousands of troops from southern Xinjiang poured into Longmen City with its gates wide open. For these soldiers, even though they could not spend the New Year in Southern Xinjiang, their mood was even more festive than New Year's Eve.
They are one step closer to their goal!
The soldiers of the Southern Border Army were busy. They had to take over Longmen City as quickly as possible. On the contrary, Guan Yubai at the front of the team seemed so leisurely and indifferent.
A gust of wind blew head-on, causing Guan Yubai on the horse to cough slightly, and even the horse under his crotch stopped because of this.
Xiao Si frowned, and was about to say something, when he heard a courteous male voice say from behind: "Your Majesty has worked hard all this way, the weather is cool these few days, why don't you go to the Garrison Mansion to rest for a while."
Menkel in military uniform rode up to Guan Yubai's side and looked at him with concern.
Guan Yubai coughed twice more, and he finally calmed down a bit, and said, "Then ask Patriarch Menker to lead the way for this Marquis."
"My Lord, please."
Menkel led the way almost enthusiastically, led Guan Yubai's master and servant to the garrison mansion, and asked his servants to make herbal tea, "Master Hou, this tea can moisten the lungs and relieve cough, Master Hou, let's try it."
After drinking half a cup of tea, Guan Yubai's originally pale face turned a little bloody again, and he stopped coughing.
Seeing this, Menker observed his words and expressions, and said again: "Master Hou, this place is not far from Zhongling City. Since Master Hou is not feeling well, why not rest here for a few days. With Master Hou's wisdom, if you want to It was easy to capture that city..." As he spoke, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Guan Yubai with admiration and continued, "In my opinion, even entering the main capital is just around the corner."
Guan Yubai's knuckles tapped lightly on the table beside him a few times, and he said flatly, "It's not difficult to capture Zhongling City..."
Zhongling City is almost the most important protective wall for Xiye Capital City. It is conceivable that in this critical moment of survival, even if the King of Xiye wants to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, he will use other resources. The frontier and the city dispatch troops and generals, and the battle in Zhongling City is by no means an easy task.
However, when this sentence came from the official language, no one would question it.
The Southern Border Army who followed Guan Yubai had long been impressed by his ingenuity, tactics, and demeanor, and the people from Xiye... who knows better than the people from Xiye that the horror of Guan Yubai and the inevitability of Guan Yubai's words? OK.
Menker looked at Guan Yubai with deep eyes, and suddenly sighed quietly, and said again: "Master, it's just that I heard that Xiao Yi, the son of Zhennan Prince, is arrogant and flamboyant. , the great credit, I'm afraid it's..." He hesitated for a moment, but he still finished speaking, but his voice was lowered a little, "Great meritorious master!"
As the saying goes: "The world is as black as crows." Throughout the ages, there have been a few superiors and even monarchs who have tolerated subordinates who are braver and invincible than themselves, and even more popular!
Menkel went on to say: "Master Hou, I wholeheartedly admire the talents of Lord Hou, that's why I said too much rashly. Master Hou, it's better to make more plans for yourself as soon as possible. In fact, I heard that a few days ago, Prince Xiao met My king... I mean the envoy sent by Gao Mihao."
Gao Mihao is the name of King Xiye.
"It is estimated that Gao Mihao has the intention of reconciling with the Zhennan Palace. Hou Ye, if the peace talks between Xiao Shizi and Gao Mihe succeed, then Hou Ye, you are trying your best to fight for the Zhennan Palace. Wouldn't it be a waste of effort and futile? ?! Hey, I'm really worthless for you, Lord Hou!"
Guan Yubai frowned slightly, but his eyes froze, and he said slowly: "Just now you said that Prince Xiao met the envoy of King Xiye?"
Menke nodded hurriedly and said, "That's right, if the Marquis doesn't believe it, just send someone to the southeast border to investigate. As far as I know, Prince Xiao met the envoys in Keri City."
As he said that, Menkel showed righteous indignation, and said solemnly: "Master Hou, there is an old saying in your Central Committee: 'You are not benevolent, I am unrighteous', and it is not because of you, Lord Hou, that you have a different heart, but because the prince Xiao first betrayed his promise. …Originally, with the character and intelligence of Lord Hou, it is difficult to be one in a hundred years, and he should not be inferior to others! Now Lord Hou is facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once Lord Hou can win Zhongling City and drive straight into the capital, even Why not make yourself a king?! Lord Marquis, with your illustrious reputation in Xiye, I don’t believe there is any clan that would dare to oppose you?!”
Menkel spoke passionately and impassionedly, as if he had seen Guan Yubai ascend the throne.
Guan Yubai lowered his eyes and remained silent, his eyes seemed to be looking at the teacup in his hand that was no longer steaming.
"Master Hou, 'People leave the tea to cool down, unload the mill and kill the donkey', you have to make a decisive decision early!"
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flu hit, 39.6 day four