Xu Fengnian and Huyan Daguan took a detour in the middle of the night and entered Jubei City from the south gate that had been locked at night.
The general's mansion was still brightly lit, and there was a steady stream of people, most of whom were young and middle-aged. Compared with the ordinary Northern Liang army, they were a bit more refined. They didn't wear armor or official military uniforms. But everyone wears a cold knife, and hangs a small sapphire seal ribbon on the waist. The seals are all four characters of "Military Counselor", so they are also called the Counselor Outside the Pass.
This group of people had complicated backgrounds. Some came from Song Dongming’s official residence in Qingliang Mountain, which was known as the Dragon Gate by Beiliang Road. There were also young scholars who were promoted from various academies by Huang Shang, Wang Xihua and other famous scholars. Some came from Liangyou and Youzhou. Among the young military officers drawn from the frontier army, the oldest is only in his early forties, but the number is relatively small, and most of them are in their thirties, and men with weak crowns are not uncommon. These people have one thing in common, whether they are natives of Beiliang or outsiders, they all come from good backgrounds. They have read poetry and books since childhood, and most of them have a special liking for the art of war. Due to the special status of the Military Aircraft Counselor, it is difficult to determine the status of an official. After weighing the pros and cons, the two civil servant leaders, Song Dongming, the deputy economic strategy officer of Beiliang Road, and Bai Yu, the governor of Liangzhou, agreed that these young people should only be in white for the time being. He served as a counselor for large and small military affairs in the mansion of Jubei City, but he was able to receive a salary comparable to that of the county magistrate of the Liyang court. It sounds like the salary is not low, but the Deputy Economic and Strategic Envoy's residence and the Liangzhou governor's residence have left the word at the beginning, and the money must be owed first! However, after receiving a transfer order, everyone happily returned to their orders.
The vassal mansion occupies quite a large area, Xu Fengnian walked all the way to the meeting hall, because there has long been an unwritten rule here, all people, regardless of their official positions, just slow down after seeing the young vassal king, neither stop nor need to To salute, the most is to walk slightly to both sides of the corridor when there is a head-on collision, to make way for the young feudal lord. Almost everyone today found that although the young feudal lord was still approachable, he seemed to be a bit low-key and introverted, as if he was preoccupied. Xu Fengnian came to the frontier military assembly hall in the first place of the feudal mansion. Compared with the official assembly hall in Qingliang Mountain, the latter has more symbolic meaning at present. The spacious assembly hall with a solemn atmosphere in the north city is the one that really determines the northern coolness. The privy center where the war outside the customs is going.
The meeting hall is not commonly used, unless it is necessary to discuss important military affairs, or when there are generals gathered at a critical moment, the meeting hall will be overcrowded. After seeing the figure of the young vassal king on the situation map of Qingzhou sent by Yang Ying and his wife, except for the two young men holding the map, the military counselor who was in charge of keeping an eye on whether the map was skewed quickly turned around, clasped his fists respectfully and said: " See the General!"
Xu Fengnian smiled and nodded, then waved his hand to signal them to ignore him.
Huyan Daguan did not follow the young feudal lord into the meeting hall, and strode away. This trip was not just leaving Jubei City, but leaving Liangzhou directly, leaving Beiliang Road with his wife and children, and went to Xishu to visit the scenery.
When Huyan Daguan left, he seemed quite angry, cursing, rubbing his arms with his hands, and there were faintly visible scars and bruises.
It turned out that on the way back to the south, the young vassal king who clearly said that he had "figured it out" flew northward twice without warning. Grabbing the young man's ankle, he smashed a big dusty crater into the ground.
This man from Northern Mang Jianghu took the place of Cao Changqing in the freshly released new martial arts reviews of the two dynasties, and became one of the four great masters in the world in one fell swoop. People who stand side by side with Bodhisattva and Deng Tai'a must not be regarded as ordinary land gods. This year's martial arts commentary additionally commented on the current world. Although the number of land gods is slightly less than the end of the era when Wang Xianzhi led the martial arts, the combat power and high level of these land gods are unprecedented. , can be called the most glorious period of the biggest year in the millennium rivers and lakes.
After this trip alone to Dunhuang City to inquire about news for the young vassal king, Huyan Daguan believed that he had settled the old score with Xu Fengnian.
Naturally, Xu Fengnian did not retain Huyan Daguan.
Yuan Zuozong, the head coach of the Beiliang Cavalry Army, walked into the council hall with a sabre. Girls Hehe and Zhu Pao Xu Ying were squatting on the left and right of the threshold, playing and playing. Ordinary people would not have the courage to cross the threshold between them.
Seeing the young vassal king standing alone in front of the long table and looking down at the picture of the desolate frontier, Yuan Zuozong was not surprised, walked slowly to Xu Fengnian, and said softly: "Back when Chu Lushan was digging his horns, Lian Da The general couldn't persuade him, so Chu Lushan was willing to listen to his stepmother when he spoke."
Yuan Zuozong thought of an old incident, and couldn't help but smiled and said: "Actually, when we first arrived in Beiliang to take root, the general originally intended to let Chu Lushan be the deputy commander of the cavalry army. Part of the reward for military merit was to restrain Zhong Hongwu, the only Xu family who was conferred the title of Grand General of Huaihua by the imperial court at that time. At that time, although Zhong Hongwu was very envious of accepting the title of Grand General bestowed by Liyang Zhao Dun, he was very hesitant. After all, it was written by the Liyang Zhao family to deliberately disgust the adoptive father. In the end, the adoptive father laughed and said that the second-rank official position was taken for nothing, and Zhong Hongwu accepted it with peace of mind. It's just that Chu Lushan was too angry, and he didn't want to go if he was beaten to death. He served as the second in command of the cavalry army outside the Liangzhou Pass, saying that he was afraid that he could not help but slap the old guy surnamed Zhong to death, so he became an official the size of a sesame mung bean in Liangzhou City. I am happy with myself, and others can't figure it out. The 8,000 Yaluohe cavalry veterans he trained by himself were disbanded at that time. After all, the main general Chu Lushan left the frontier army, and this cavalry army was not justified. , otherwise you can’t set up your own family outside Liangzhou Pass, that’s too shameful.”
Xu Fengnian raised his head suddenly, put his fists on the table, and asked: "Chu Lushan staying at Huaiyang Pass, is it really more beneficial to the overall situation of Beiliang than planning a strategy in this Beibei City?"
Yuan Zuozong was not eager to give an answer, but calmly said some digressions: "Chu Lushan was born as a serious cavalry general. He joined the cavalry army from the early days of the Spring and Autumn War. In fact, he and Wu Qi, Xu Pu and others are of the same generation as the Xu family The old iron cavalry, just because Chu Lushan led the troops to fight too hard, was cruel to the enemy, and even more cruel to himself. Give him a thousand soldiers and horses. If others fight a hard battle, there may be at least four or five hundred people left behind, but In his hands, it is a great luck that there are usually two or three hundred riders left. So although Chu Lushan was known as the first person in the Xu family to win the battle, in fact, he has never been able to gather his own team. The Spring and Autumn War slowly progressed, and there were more and more direct descendants under his command, and finally stood out, and even vaguely surpassed Wu Qi, Xu Pu and others with higher official positions in name in terms of real strength. How did it come about? At the beginning, everyone thought that the rugged and dangerous Xishu was not suitable for cavalry advance, because it was easy to be blocked in a certain place for no reason, and that place was most likely not recorded on the map at all. Therefore, when Chu Lushan proposed to open the way by himself, the general did not agree, and even Mr. Zhao, who was bent on revenge, hesitated. Only Mr. Li felt that this was feasible. In the end, the general was so annoyed by Chu Lushan that he asked him to recruit troops and buy horses. Find as many as you want, go there for what you want, and then Chu Lushan only gathered more than 200 old soldiers, and the remaining 800 horses were borrowed from me by licking his face. I didn't want to at first, Chu Lushan just Run to Mr. Li and ask Mr. Li to intercede, so that he, Chu Lushan, can take a thousand horses and rush to Xishu."
Yuan Zuozong sighed heavily, and said with emotion: "Afterwards, the famous Qianqi will open Shu. Originally, our Xu family army had prepared for the worst. On the map, there appeared 20,000 enemy cavalry that were unheard of in the centuries-old history of the founding of Xishu. You must know that in the last years of Dafeng, 300,000 grassland cavalry troops successfully marched southward, but in the end the cavalry that really succeeded in entering Xishu was not yet. To ten thousand!"
Yuan Zuozong turned his head to look at the young vassal king, and said slowly: "Leading the cavalry to fight, whether it is a frontal or a surprise attack, I, Yuan Zuozong, are naturally as good as Chu Lushan. Chu Lushan's military achievements can be roughly divided equally. If you, Chu Lushan, can get a real general with a flat prefix, then I, Yuan Zuozong, will never be able to only get a general with a small prefix. But! In that series of battles, if someone must In the face of two or three extremely difficult key battles, I, Yuan Zuozong, would never dare to say that I would win them all, but Chu Lushan... he definitely can!"
Yuan Zuozong continued: "I am afraid that few people still remember that a long time ago, the general made a joke to Chu Lushan, saying that you are such a **** bastard in wars, and you have won many battles, but you can see if you can survive in the end." How many people will be left alive? My old Xu family’s wealth can’t stand up to your troubles now, so you wait patiently. When I, Xu Xiao, have more than 100,000 or 200,000 cavalry under my command, at that time, all It’s okay to give it to you, Luqiuer!”
Yuan Zuozong laughed at himself, "To be honest, at that time Qingliangshan decided to let me be the commander of the cavalry army, and let Chu Lushan come out of the mountain to serve as the guard of Beiliang. That promise. Because I know that Chu Lushan’s infatuation with the cavalry is unmatched by anyone. But Chu Lushan refused at the time, and said to me with a smile, I have been a sesame official for so many years, and I finally made a comeback. How can the biggest Beiliang guard have fun?!"
Yuan Zuozong stabilized his mood, bent down and stretched out his hand to wipe the defense line of Huaiyang Fuling Liuya Chongzuka, one pass and three towns on the situation map, "There is no cavalry in Huaiyang Pass, because as a natural danger, it is both an advantage and a disadvantage. There may be a large-scale cavalry army. It is not difficult to barely hide two or three thousand Qingqi. However, in the battle of Lumang, the cavalry committee at Huaiyang Pass is really too small and meaningless. It is better to put it on the left and right wings There are two military towns in Fuling and Liuya, both of which have riding troops. Previously, Youbu was transferred to the west. Except for Jubei City, it was mainly transferred to these two towns. Each stationed 7,000 Youzhou infantry troops. In the Chongzuka Army Town, there have always been more infantry guards than cavalry used for field battles. Since the one pass and three towns are not far apart, a complete defense system has been formed, so it was replaced by me as a dispatcher. It's also possible. The reason why Chu Lushan is unwilling to leave is still to attract Dong Zhuo's troops, who are the most powerful in Beimang, and stop his tens of thousands of elite private troops, so as to greatly reduce the pressure on our left and right cavalry troops in Liangzhou. Pressure, because no matter how difficult Huaiyang Pass is to attack, it is not Hutou City, a border city that the Northern Mang cavalry cannot bypass. Under the premise that Hutou City has been lost, Huaiyang Pass has almost completely lost its strategic significance, so half of the answers to the questions asked by the prince before are already the same as Chu Lushan's previous answer to Beibei City. In Huaiyang Pass or not, there are two situations on the battlefield outside Liangzhou Pass. In the final analysis, in the whole of Beiliang, including all the Northern Liang troops, only he, Chu Lushan, can force Dong Zhuo to die at Huaiyang Pass. In this situation , instead of Liangzhou left and right cavalry against Murong Baoding's troops, even if this Juzizhou holding festival has a kind of supernatural power behind him, Wanyan Jinliang, Helian Wuwei and Wang Yong join forces, we are still not afraid! Chu Lushan can even fight in the battle At some point, the cavalry troops of Fuling and Liuya towns were mobilized, which unexpectedly supported the left and right cavalry! But... "
Knowing what Yuan Zuozong was worried about, Xu Feng said in a young voice: "I have left eighty Wu family swordsmen at Huaiyang Pass."
Hearing this unexpected joy, Yuan Zuozong was full of relief, nodded, and said in a brisk tone, "This is the best, the battles outside the pass will be extremely tragic, and Beimang will definitely do its best to pass on our military intelligence. Ordinary scouts or carrier pigeons have no chance to deliver military orders, and with the help of eighty Wu family swordsmen, the burden on Chu Lushan's shoulders will be much lighter."
Xu Fengnian lowered his head again and stared at the picture of the customs situation beside him, thinking for a while.
Yuan Zuozong suddenly asked curiously: "How did the prince know in advance that the Yelu surname helped Dong Zhuo to raise a large number of private troops on the northern grassland? And the number is so accurate?"
Xu Fengnian's face was gloomy, "It's the last spy report from the city of Dunhuang on the border of Hexi Prefecture."
Yuan Zuozong's face was solemn, he hesitated to speak.
Xu Feng said bitterly in a young voice: "In order to prevent the identity from being leaked, Fushuifang took the initiative to cut off contact with Dunhuang City very early on. Before the spring of this year, there was only Dunhuang City's unilateral espionage. Last time in Longyaner Plain, Tuoba Bodhisattva intentionally revealed the news that the old lady of Beimang ordered Helian Wuwei and several grassland masters to besiege Dunhuang City. After that battle, for a long time, until I left Wudang Mountain, I couldn't do anything about it. Northbound..."
Yuan Zuozong carefully chose his words, "I thought the prince would take advantage of the opportunity to go to Dunhuang City during his trip to Huaiyang Pass. To be honest... I am already planning to personally lead an army of 10,000 snow dragon cavalry to bypass the Beimang Central Army and enter Longyao from the northeast. State, and then rush north to meet you back."
Xu Fengnian raised his head suddenly.
Yuan Zuozong smiled and said: "Although I will definitely scold you a few times when we meet, it will not delay my risky dispatch of troops."
Xu Fengnian looked down at Dunhuang City on the map, dazed.
Yuan Zuozong looked solemn, "I don't know why the lord didn't leave to enter Beimang in the end, but I have to say frankly that as long as you really go, the best ending is that you are lucky enough to return to Jubei City alive, and ten thousand snow dragons and I The cavalry army is destined to die in battle in Longyao Prefecture of Beimang. The battle outside Liangzhou Pass has already begun. No matter what your original intention is, you, Xu Fengnian, are the king of Beiliang and the great master of martial arts. It can't be stopped, but the consequences are far from being as simple as you and I led the army into the Central Plains."
Xu Fengnian didn't explain anything, but just said to himself: "Of course I know the consequences, but I just can't help it, I really want to go to Dunhuang City to have a look. Just like I know that I can't persuade you to go back to Chulu Mountain, but I still want to go to Huaiyang Pass to see him .”
Xu Fengnian took a deep breath, "Second Brother Yuan, I have let you down."
Yuan Zuozong was stunned, then shook his head and smiled, "Disappointed? Me, Qi Dangguo, and Chu Lushan have never been disappointed!"
Xu Fengnian looked at Yuan Zuozong silently.
Yuan Zuozong patted the young feudal lord on the shoulder, "The hardest thing in life is to die without regrets, how lucky I am, Beiliang cavalry!"
Xu Fengnian shook his head lightly, and said in a hoarse voice: "There are only you and Chu Lushan, I would rather you both live..."
Yuan Zuozong smiled, turned and left before he finished speaking, turned his back to the commander of the Northern Liang Cavalry Army of the young feudal lord, and said with a smile: "I'll talk about living in my next life!"