Dozens of riders passed by Luoyang, looking at the flags flying high in the north of the city with surprise.

It was a ruin, and only part of it had been cleared over the years. Usable materials were selected to build residences, warehouses, inns, stables and other facilities, and the rest was left to lie abandoned. Many buildings that could still be used after repairs slowly fell into disrepair.

It collapsed.

There were faint shouts of killing among the ruins. Even with his eyes closed, Hu Zhen knew that it was Xia thieves attacking Cang City.

"Let's go into the city!" Hu Zhen led his soldiers and rushed to the well-renovated Shangdong Gate and sent someone to call the door.

"General Ma Shi, open the door quickly, Hu Shuai is back, open the door!" The soldiers shouted loudly, and a figure seemed to flash across the city, but soon there was no movement again.

A shadow flashed across Hu Zhen's mind, and his face fell: "Keep shouting."

"Is Inspector Duan here? Inspector Duan, General Ma Shi, open the door quickly, Hu Shuai is back!"

"I am General Hu Shuai, Zheng Si of Huazhou. I once drank with General Ma Shi and escorted grain and grass to Xin'an last month. I am definitely not a thief pretending to be a thief. Open the door quickly!"

"Are you going to rebel? Have you forgotten Hu Shuai's great kindness? You are a wolf-hearted person!"

The soldiers shouted until their throats were filled with smoke, and Ma Sixun finally appeared at the top of the city.

He raised his head and looked at it, and then said loudly: "The thieves have arrived near Luoyang. They don't dare to open the door at night. The military law is here and they don't dare to violate it."

After that, he ran away and never came out again.

Hu Zhen's face looked uncertain under the moonlight. Xia Thief seemed to have noticed the movement here and had already sent a small group of rangers over.

Hu Zhen was chased by the Xia cavalry for a whole day, and after losing half of his men, he escaped under the cover of night and traveled in a long circle back to Luoyang. He didn't want to be captured by some little person as if he had made a great achievement, so he said hello

After pausing, he led the men and horses eastwards and disappeared into the night.

Ma Sixun emerged from the top of the city again. The battle in Cangcheng became more and more intense. It seemed that it had reached a critical moment. He was extremely anxious and had no interest in thinking about Hu Zhen's opinion of him anymore. He went downstairs and asked Duan

Condensing the details of the ambassador’s summer camp.

Hu Zhendong ran for nearly ten miles, and then ordered everyone to dismount, eat some water, and regain their energy. It was not until dawn that he continued eastward, and then ran into the Changzhi Army Kou Yanqing's troops who were repeatedly entangled with the Xia Army's cavalry.

"Hu Shuai?" Looking at Hu Zhen, who had a dusty look on his face and even lost his helmet and shaved head, Kou Yanqing's eyes narrowed and he understood everything immediately.

Seven thousand troops were given away for nothing.

"There are changes in Luoyang. Ma Sixun and Duan Ning are unreliable. I'm afraid they have different intentions." Hu Zhenyan said concisely and concisely.

When he first heard about it, Kou Yanqing was a little surprised, but then he thought it was normal when he thought about Hu Zhen's northward attack on Bai Sima Ban and was defeated. In today's situation, it is normal to have some thoughts. Ma Sixun is not from Bianzhou, but from Haozhou.

People can be so loyal.

Thinking of this, Kou Yanqing felt a little emotional. I don't know why. In recent years, King Liang has been particularly trusting and subordinated newcomers, while he has been neglecting and suppressing the veterans.

But then again, if the King of Liang didn't do this, these local generals from Bian Song would not have the chance to take the lead. The King of Liang was using these newcomers to counteract the influence of the old man Yuan Cong, ensuring that the entire Bianzhou only had

He alone has the highest prestige, and no one can threaten his status.

Sigh, I don’t want to think about this anymore, I’d better think about how to clean up the mess in front of me.

"What does Hu Shuai want?" Kou Yanqing asked bluntly.

This is a question that is not easy to answer. Hu Zhen pondered for a long time before saying: "In the past, the king ordered me to suppress Luo. I didn't ask any questions. I only asked one thing over and over again. I have to limit the danger of Wei Han to ward off the Western thieves."

Kou Yanqing nodded slowly and said, "If Luoyang is lost, Weihan's danger will be over."

"I dare not live up to the great kindness of King Liang. The current situation can be cheered up..." At this point, Hu Zhen paused and seemed to realize that the Changzhi Army was a direct descendant of King Liang. It was nominally under his command, but in fact it acted on its own.

Then he said in a negotiating tone: "If I want to return to Luoyang, I will first force Ma Sixun and Duan Ning to submit, defeat the Xia bandit Cai Songyang's tribe, and then go north to fight the Xia bandit. Whether I succeed or fail, it depends on this one move."

Are you coming again? Kou Yanqing raised his eyebrows but didn't answer.

"General Kou?" Hu Zhen looked at him.

Kou Yanqing looked away from Hu Zhen and sighed. He knew Hu Zhen's difficulties.

If Luoyang was lost, he would definitely not be able to explain to the King of Liang, so he thought of giving it a try to see if he could save the situation.

"Commander Hu should know that the Xia thieves are advancing in two directions. The messenger I sent to Luokou has not returned yet, and I am afraid that the situation is in danger." Kou Yanqing said: "If Luokou is completely lost in Gong County, the Xia thieves will have a way out.

No worries, we will definitely send troops up the Luoshui River, pass Yanshi, and go straight to Shiqiaodian for Luoyang. We also know that the Xia thieves have gone south from Baisima Ban and entered the north of Luoyang. Maybe in two days, Shiqiaodian, Luoyang

Xia thieves will also appear in the old city area, and three armies will arrive together. Our army can fight one way and two, but can we fight three armies?"

In fact, it was not without reason that Kou Yanqing was admired by Zhu Quanzhong. At least he judged Xia Jun's advance accurately.

Nearly 4,000 cavalry from the Longrun Division of the Yumen Army will set off tomorrow, heading southwest along the Luoshui River. The vanguard will arrive at Yanshi within two days, and the main force will arrive within three days.

Thousands of troops led by Yang Sheng, the deputy envoy of the Tiande Army, are currently camping seven or eight miles north of Shiqiaodian. They will definitely reach the ancient city of Luoyang before sunset tomorrow.

As for Cai Songyang's troops, they were currently fighting fiercely with thieves in the ruins north of Luoyang City.

Three arrows were fired in unison. Although Kou Yanqing didn't see it, he had already made a similar judgment, but he still didn't know the specific time and location of the Xia army's dispatch.

"There are not many bandits in the north of Luoyang." Hu Zhen couldn't help but persuade: "A few days ago, I sent an order to Zhu Youning to lead his army to the east. If Changzhi's army joins Zhu Youning's troops, with more than ten thousand troops, they will rush to attack Cai Songyang.

After eating it, he becomes more relaxed."

Kou Yanqing looked at Hu Zhen intently. He was a veteran Yuan Cong. It was indeed not easy to beg him in such a condescending tone, but——

"Does Commander Hu know how many soldiers and horses the Xia traitors have come?" Kou Yanqing asked.

"As of now, it seems that only the numbers of Tiande's army have appeared, and there should be one or two armies besieging Heyang Nancheng." Hu Zhen said.

"Our department captured several thieves, and we learned from torture that there are no less than 100,000 thieves," Kou Yanqing said.

Hu Zhen was silent. He was also a veteran. He should know that this number was reliable, maybe more. Otherwise, it would be impossible to arrange such a big scene.

"Hu Shuai, why bother?" Kou Yanqing sighed and said, "Even if Luoyang is really lost, so what?"

Luoyang is a basin, surrounded on all sides by mountains such as the East and West Erxiao Mountains, Xiong'er Mountain, Songshan Mountain, and Mangshan Mountain. As far as its eastward passage is concerned, the only one that extends to the Daqian Mountain is the remaining mountain range of the Songshan Mountain near the river bank. Daqian

The mountain becomes slightly gentler near the river bank. In ancient times, people opened mountain roads along the river and set up passes, namely Chenggao Pass, Sishui Pass, Hulao Pass and the Xuanmen Pass of today's imperial dynasty.

The Xuanmen Pass is located in a dangerous terrain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Emperor Xiaowen of Wei built his capital in Luo and built the East Zhonglang General's Mansion to control it - Heyang Beicheng was the Beizhonglang General's Mansion. During the Daye Period of the Sui Dynasty, there was also the Hulao Duwei Mansion, and the pass

The juxtaposition of the government and government shows the importance attached to it.

Pang Shigu was not stupid. Of course he had to keep heavy troops in this place. Because of its terrain, it was difficult to attack from any direction. Therefore, if he wanted to go east from Luoyang and follow the Yellow River into the flat Zhengzhou, Xuanmen Pass was a must.

Taken.

Gu Ling

"What do you mean?" Hu Zhen's expression changed and he asked.

"The king of Liang controlled Bian, not Luo." Kou Yanqing reminded.

The meaning is very clear. As far as Bianzhou is concerned, the ruins of Luoyang are not interesting, and the basin is pitifully small, with little agricultural value. So what is the importance of Heluo to Bianzhou? Of course it is the terrain!

The Shao thieves attacked from west to east and had already reached Xin'an, but they had not yet left the vast mountains. So what if they gave him the Yiluo Basin? There are still mountains to the east of Luoyang, which can only be seen after climbing over these mountains.

The terrain is flat.

Hu Zhen quickly understood what Kou Yanqing meant, that is, if it didn't work, he could give up the flat basin and just guard these passes. There were high mountains on both sides of these fortresses, and there was a narrow valley in the middle, which was often a mountain road.

There are nine twists and turns, the terrain alone can make Xia Thief want to die, so why bother to fight in Luoyang?

But Hu Zhen shook his head: "It is unjustifiable if we just lose our troops and lose our territory and leave like this."

Kou Yanqing also fell silent.

When it comes to this aspect, he is not sure. What if King Liang becomes angry? Even if he is King Liang's favorite general and leads a direct lineage of the Changzhi Army, can he withstand the wrath of Thunder?

"General Kou, I still have to go back to Luoyang." Hu Zhen said, "If things are not harmonious, you can lead your troops to retreat and just say it was my order. It doesn't matter."

Kou Yanqing was a little touched when he heard this and sighed: "That's all, just follow Hu Shuai."

Hu Zhen was overjoyed and said: "Don't worry, if it really doesn't work, you can still go through the three passes of Luonan."

To the south of the Luoyang Basin, there are three passes, namely Yique, Taigu and Sheyuan from west to east.

Among them, Yique Pass, located 20 miles south of Luoyang City, is the most important. But even this best road is quite "dangerous" and is currently guarded by a thousand straight troops.

Yique Pass is very dangerous, but after passing this pass, you can enter the flat Yishui River Valley, which has fertile land and abundant water and grass. You can go straight to Ruzhou by turning southeast.

Taigu Pass is located in a valley fifty miles southeast of Luoyang. It leads to the valley road. "Both sides are steep and the mountain paths are rugged." From the valley road, you can reach Yingyang County.

Shenyuan Pass is located fifty-five miles southeast of Yanshi. The mountain road is dangerous and winding, with twelve twists and turns, so it is named after it. You can go to Dengfeng County after leaving the mountain.

Taigu and Sheyuan passes are each guarded by five hundred soldiers of the Youguo army.

In fact, the defenders at these three passes are quite small. The reason is naturally that they are in the hinterland. It is enough to have a few people to guard them symbolically. There is really no need to waste troops.

Hu Zhen and Kou Yanqing made a plan and were not in a hurry. They rested until early the next morning before breaking camp and setting off.

Seven thousand troops drove large and small vehicles toward Luoyang, which was twelve or thirteen miles away.

…

It was already the seventh day of the first lunar month, and fine snowflakes were floating in the sky.

Cai Songyang walked into Cangcheng, stepping on the broken limbs and broken arms on the ground.

It is said that there are a thousand defenders, but in fact there are only 800, half of them are state and county soldiers, and the other half are local villagers.

The battle lasted until midnight, with nearly a thousand casualties and more than 300 thieves killed. Later, after being persuaded by surrendering soldiers and promising not to kill, some Tutuan villagers lowered the city walls and surrendered. However, those state soldiers resisted until dawn, and the entire army was finally wiped out.

Cai Songyang couldn't figure out what they had to resist. Who would reward them? Who would commend their achievements?
To be continued...