The Zhou knights galloped wildly.
The sound of bowstrings kept coming from behind, and with the screams, the number of knights continued to decrease.
You can see towering mountains to the side. The road at the foot of the mountain is rugged and narrow. If the war horse takes a few more steps to the right, it will fall down the mountain road without any bones left.
The leader's face was solemn and he was running at full speed. He did not dare to look back. He just shouted again and asked everyone to throw away everything that affected their speed and flee at full speed.
They've got what they want, and the rest doesn't matter.
They took off their armor and threw away their weapons. Sure enough, they once again distanced themselves from the pursuers behind them.
Just as they bypassed a rugged mountain road again and were about to rush down the mountain road and return to their home territory, dozens of cavalry appeared at the intersection in the distance. They completely blocked the narrow intersection in front of them.
He was wearing heavy armor and holding a crossbow, aiming in their direction.
At this moment, the leader was desperate.
He roared and attacked the enemies blocking his way.
However, facing the crossbows without protection, they were just cattle and sheep to be slaughtered. A round of arrows flew out, and the knights screamed and fell to the ground. Some of them did not want to be prisoners and rode directly towards the cliff.
Jump down.
After a while, there were no more enemies on the mountain road.
The pursuers came to meet them.
Li Qihu, the commander-in-chief of the pursuing army, saw the knight blocking the road in the distance and quickly reined in his horse, jumped off the horse in a hurry, walked forward in a few steps, bowed his head and saluted.
"General!!"
Many knights behind him were shocked and dismounted to salute.
"General!!!"
In the border town, there is only one general, and he does not need to be prefixed.
Liu Taozi rode the blue lion with a calm face and put away her big bow: "Get up."
"The thief was discovered in White Horse?"
"They were discovered by civilians near Hu Pass. Lieutenant Hu Pass sent people to ask for help from his subordinates, who pursued them here."
"Get on your horse."
"only!!"
Li Qihu got on the horse and ordered his left and right to check the corpses and look for clues from them. He rode the horse and came to Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi led him forward and pointed in the distance with his riding whip.
direction, "Do you know where that is?"
Li Qihu looked in the direction Liu Taozi pointed, and then nodded quickly, "General, I know that there used to be a garrison there, called Wangshan garrison.
No one settled there."
As he was speaking, he suddenly saw billowing smoke coming from over there.
Li Qihu was stunned, "People from Zhou?"
Liu Taozi nodded and said: "Yang Zhong's former army set up camps there, not just here, but also in Jinhe, Wanshou, Huaishuo, and even Wuchuan and Huaihuang."
"They are all civilians and they don't hide themselves. They just set up camp in front of us so blatantly."
"You have been here for many years. I would like to ask you, are there any mountain roads around Wangshan garrison that outsiders don't know about?"
Li Qihu shook his head seriously, "I've never heard of it."
"Then why did he set up a garrison at Wangshan? This place is sandwiched between Wanshou and Baima, but it is not a necessary place. The terrain is high and not close to the water source. Once a war begins, no matter how tall the garrison is built, as long as it is blocked Just by staying at two mountain passes, we can annihilate them."
"Lead the general to attack."
Li Qihu said without thinking: "Yang Zhong has always been famous for his swiftness in fighting. He rarely uses the tactics of setting up camps and fighting steadily. He does not want to set up camps at all. He just wants to force the general to attack and attack his civilians and civilians. army."
Liu Taozi looked calmly into the distance without speaking.
After a while, Liu Taozi looked at Li Qihu who was standing aside, "You did a great job in Baima Garrison. Your unit captured the most scouts. I declare you the leader of the great garrison. Don't neglect me."
"Thank you General!!"
Li Qihu saluted again.
Liu Taozi led many knights, turned around and disappeared into the distance.
Jinhe Outer Campus.
As soon as Liu Taozi arrived on horseback, Tian Zili hurriedly stepped forward and held the green lion. Liu Taozi got off the horse. Tian Zili handed the green lion to another person and hurriedly followed Liu Taozi to the tent.
Tian Zili frowned, his face extremely solemn.
"Brother, the Zhou people have sent people again, and they are building fortifications outside Jinhe River at the moment."
Liu Taozi spoke, "Don't panic, we'll talk after we go in."
Tian Zili didn't speak anymore. The two entered the camp and returned to the main tent. A soldier took off Liu Taozi's armor. Then Tian Zili said: "Brother, troubles are happening one after another."
"Our backer has collapsed."
"The enemy has become the most powerful person in the world."
"Right now, Yang Zhong is pressing forward step by step, and he seems to be sending troops at any time."
Tian Zili's face was a little dull, and his voice became lower and lower.
The cold wind outside seemed to support his words, and the whole tent was shaken by the wind. The sound of the wind outside was like the howling of ghosts and wolves.
Liu Taozi had taken off his armor at this time and sat in front of the case. He picked up a few documents in front of him, read them for a moment, and then asked: "Cui Gang has arrived in Hengzhou?"
Tian Zili finally woke up and hurriedly walked to Liu Taozi and sat down.
"When he arrived, he brought more officials. Now, there are our officials all over Hengzhou."
"The orders are being implemented gradually."
"Are there enough officials?"
"We have recruited a large number of students from the local area. After waiting ten days, another group of students will be able to take the exam. It will be enough to send them as well."
Liu Taozi nodded and continued to read the documents, but Tian Zili couldn't help it. He hurriedly asked: "Brother, this is about Yang Zhong?"
"He wants to send troops, but looking at the current situation, Yu Wenhu should not allow it."
"He is building camps everywhere. Some places are real and some places are fake. It distracts our troops and makes us confused about the direction of his troops. At the same time, he also wants to seduce us to send troops so that he can have a reason to write to Yu Wenhu again.
"
Tian Zili asked again: "Brother, can we take action?"
"Yang Zhong set up camps in various places, and the sergeants were vigilant. Officials from various places frequently wrote letters warning of unrest in the city."
Liu Taozi slowly put away the documents in front of her.
"Don't be anxious, wait for the bandits to come back first."
Tian Zili had a bitter look on his face and shook his head, "Oh, the merit list we gave to the temple didn't pass, and those people you commended for were not promoted. Gao Zhan's words and deeds are inconsistent. Sooner or later, this guy will harm his brother.
ah."
Liu Taozi ignored him at all, and Tian Zili had no choice but to get up and continue with his business.
After walking out of the main tent, Tian Zili was still worried.
At the beginning, he thought that he should attack Jinyang directly while Gao Zhan had not ascended the throne, but Cui Gang did not agree. Now, fortunately, the north and south are all his enemies. The enemy is facing a big enemy, but there is no one inside who can rely on him.
Tian Zili returned to his tent and led many military officials to start busy with this year's winter affairs.
After Gao Zhan came to power, food and winter clothes were still distributed on time, but the needs of the auxiliary troops were deducted a lot, which is far less than when Gao Yan was there. From this point of view, by next year, the temple will provide even less.
This is a disguised form of weakening their own power, but they are unable to do anything.
Tian Zili sat in the tent, calculating this year's consumption and his own reserves over and over again. He led his people to calculate several times in a row, and came to extremely bad conclusions.
Sitting in the tent, he felt that his breathing was not smooth, as if something was blocking his throat and it was so stuffy. He let his subordinates continue to work while he left the tent. The cold wind outside the wall woke him up.
A lot.
"I'm afraid this winter will be difficult this year."
At this moment, noises were heard in the distance. Tian Zili looked up and saw Kou Liu leading many people and riding towards them.
Kou Liu's face turned red as he rushed forward on horseback, almost hitting Tian Zili who was running towards him.
He jumped off the horse suddenly, and Tian Zili asked hurriedly: "How is it? Have the winter supplies been delivered?"
Kou Liu's face suddenly turned ferocious, and Tian Zili realized that his blush was not just because of the cold.
"Detained!"
“They’re all in Shuozhou!!”
"What?!"
Tian Zili was furious, "Huluxian is going too far!"
"cough"
Someone cleared his throat and walked out from Kou Liu. The man, wearing a thick cloak, raised his head.
Kou Liu reluctantly put away his anger and introduced: "This is General Hu Lu."
The three of them arrived outside Liu Taozi's tent again.
Even after Tian Zili learned the other party's identity, he didn't give him a good look.
When Hu Luxian walked into the tent, he couldn't help laughing. Liu Taozi stood up and was about to salute, but Hu Luxian helped him up and said, "My family, why are you so polite?"
"After a while, when you get married to my niece, you will have to call me uncle!"
Kou Liu interrupted him directly and said rudely: "Brother, this year's winter clothes and other items are said to have been put into Shuozhou's treasury and will not be distributed."
Liu Taozi nodded, "You go and rest first."
Kou Liu took out a few letters from his sleeves, put them in front of Liu Taozi without explaining them, turned around and left. Tian Zili pondered for a moment, and then chased after them without staying.
After the two people walked out, Tian Zili hurriedly asked: "Why did he come here? Can he leave Shuozhou privately?"
Kou Liu shook his head, "I don't know, I met him on the way. I felt that this group of people was suspicious, so I wanted to subdue him, so I met him. In the past, my brother and I were on an envoy to Puppet Zhou and met him when we came back.
he."
At this moment, Hu Luxian and Liu Taozi were sitting together, rubbing their hands that were red from the cold, and said with a smile: "Your subordinates are really awesome!"
"Even I was caught by them!"
"I originally thought of sneaking in and meeting you, but I was discovered and captured so easily."
"I've lost all my face."
"Good brother. Good nephew."
Hu Luxian changed his mind and said seriously: "Conscience of heaven and earth, I really haven't seen any winter clothes and winter charcoal sent to the frontier."
Hu Luxian said very seriously: "The messengers transporting supplies did come to Shuozhou, but their carriage was empty and there was nothing at all. They left someone to deliver a message for them, and they went back directly. I am now
I can’t even find them!”
"In addition, there is something very important."
"I am no longer the governor of Shuozhou."
Hu Luxian took out an edict and threw it in front of Liu Taozi, "There are thieves over there in Luoyang, and I was sent there to defend against the Zhou people."
Liu Taozi glanced at the edict, "When was the edict?"
Hu Luxian grinned, "You have a good idea."
"The edict was issued ten days ago, and the supplies were shipped five days ago."
"When the envoy brought the edict, he was very anxious and urged me to go on the road earlier. It seemed that the Zhou people were about to attack Yecheng. I was careful at that time and said that I was not in good health and wanted to go by car.
Rest along the way and don't be too hasty, so the messenger agreed."
"Sure enough, as soon as I leave Shuozhou, Shuozhou swallows up the food and grass given to you."
"It's a good thing I didn't ride away directly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to wash myself off even if I jumped into the river."
"I'm here specifically to make it clear to you that this matter has nothing to do with me!"
Listening to Hu Luxian's words, Liu Taozi slowly said:
"Thank you."
The tent became a little quiet, and the strong wind outside seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, constantly shaking the entire tent.
The two people in the room didn't move at all.
Hu Luxian looked forward faintly, was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "Sometimes, I really can't understand."
"But I don't want to figure it out either."
"Too troublesome, too complicated, too disgusting."
"I just want to win a few battles, get titles and titles, and leave my name in history. I don't want to get involved in other things, but I can't stand this bad thing coming to my door."
"I like you very much. I hate Wei Xiaokuan, but you can make him suffer a big loss!"
"But, now that you are related to me and you live in two neighboring states, I don't dare to get close to you. Once we have frequent contacts, I will lose my official position, just like we are now."
Liu Taozi looked at the door, "Zili."
Tian Zili walked in quickly.
"Prepare some drinks."
"ah?"
Tian Zili was a little surprised, but still hurried out to prepare.
Liu Taozi looked at Hu Luxian and said, "The general is no longer the governor, so he just needs some wine."
Hu Luxian was overjoyed.
The two of them drank heavily, and after eating for a long time, their bodies were full of heat, and their conversation was no longer unfamiliar. Hu Luxian slammed the wine cup on the table and cursed: "Damn it, isn't this just a frame-up for me?"
?”
"Which beast came up with this plan?"
"I've become a villain who covets supplies for the frontier. If you can't produce anything, I don't know how many people will die. In the end, you'll all have to be controlled by the temple!"
"Disgusting!!"
Hu Luxian took another sip of wine and looked at Liu Taozi beside him, "Sooner or later, these bastards will have their retribution!"
Liu Taozi took a sip of wine and didn't answer.
Hu Luxian smelled of alcohol, but his eyes were firm, "Xian brother, I came to you this time not to seek help from you!"
"I'm not looking for you to complain!"
"Although I am not as talented as my brother, I am not easy to bully. If anyone wants to ruin my reputation and make me bear the blame, I will never do it!"
"I'm just here to tell you that I didn't do this thing. You just need to remember it."
"After I return to Yecheng this time, if someone frames this, I will explain it. My first thing is to explain to you that this was not done by me!"
Liu Taozi nodded, "I understand."
Hu Luxian had suppressed his anger, but he had nowhere to vent it at the moment. He could only continue to drink wine, but the more wine he drank, the angrier he became.
I don’t know how much wine I drank. Hu Luxian fell drunk on the ground, panting, and kept cursing people. I didn’t know who he was scolding, but the scolding was really unpleasant.
Liu Taozi found his subordinates and took Hu Luxian away to take care of him.
Tian Zili stood at the door, watching several soldiers carrying Hu Luxian out, and then hurriedly walked into the tent.
At this time, Liu Taozi was still sitting in front of the case with a calm face, looking at the letter that Kou Liu had just sent in, and she didn't seem to be drunk at all.
"Huluxian has been transferred elsewhere, and Gao Zhan has sent a new governor here."
Liu Taozi looked at the letter and said slowly.
Tian Zili was stunned and hurriedly stepped forward, "Brother? Who did you send?"
"Is it King Lou or King Lanling?"
"Gaoanahu."
"who??"
Liu Taozi handed the letter to Tian Zili. Tian Zili looked at it for a few times, and the veins on his forehead could not help but jump.
"What a great Gao Zhan. He has just ascended the throne and now he wants to kill his brother!!"
The letter in Tian Zili's hand came from Yecheng and was a secret report from Zheng Daoqian.
Zheng Daoqian informed three situations in detail in his letter.
The first one is that Gao Zhan gathered everyone to divine the good or bad luck of murdering General Anxi.
The second one is that Gao Zhan sent Gao Anagong as the governor of Shuozhou. This person came to Shuozhou just to weaken Liu Taozi and find a way to kill Liu Taozi.
The third one is that Gao Zhan recently promoted a person named Zu Jue. This person is extremely weird, very evil, and always does bad things. I hope Wuchuan can send someone to get rid of him.
After reading this, Tian Zili was furious, "Brother! We can't wait any longer!"
"Rise up the troops!"
Liu Taozi looked at the document in her hand.
"It's not yet time."
Tian Zili hurriedly said: "Brother, they have already begun to weaken us. They have not distributed any supplies for the winter. They clearly want to starve to death the civilian soldiers under our rule!!"
"Situations like this will only happen more and more in the future. Instead of waiting for them to slaughter you, it's better to take action first!"
Liu Taozi glanced at him, "Who said the temple didn't distribute supplies for the winter?"
"The temples clearly distributed the goods, and the carriages entered Shuozhou. Kou Liu saw it with his own eyes."
Tian Zili was stunned, "What do you mean, brother?"
"The traitors in Shuozhou have withheld the grain distributed by Your Majesty to the frontier fortress. If I don't go to revenge the traitors in Shuozhou, am I going to raise troops to cause chaos?"
The anger on Tian Zili's face disappeared immediately, "Brother wants to rob. Get supplies back from Shuozhou?"
Tian Zili stroked his beard and murmured: "Yes, Hu Lvxian has left, and Gao has not come yet. Shuozhou is unprepared now. Moreover, Shuozhou has the largest number of wealthy people, and there are abundant supplies for winter. Now Shuozhou
Isn’t it just an empty city? There are no generals and no one to command.”
"Brother, let me go!"
"No need."
"This time, I will go there in person."
"It just so happens that I also meet Gao Anahu, who is related to Zhang Zhiyong."
Chapter completed!