Chapter 681 This Is Already Guan Lin's Limit

The moonlight is dim.

On the official road from Guanzhong to Luoyang City, beside a lake still one day's journey from Hanoi.

More than 50,000 Guanzhong troops of the Wei Dynasty are currently stationed here.

The warm yellow lights illuminated the entire Chinese military tent like daylight.

Jiang Wei was analyzing the current situation to Cao Zhen. He pointed to the location of Luoyang highlighted in red on the hanging map, and said: "Three groups advanced together. General Cao Zhang's army captured Hanoi, and General Zhang Liao's troops arrived. Hulao can contain the enemy, so that... we can be more flexible in the use of troops. We can choose to attack Luoyang directly after joining forces with General Cao Zhang in Hanoi and besiege Luoyang, or we can choose to go south alone and take Xuchang and Wancheng to cut off Luoyang's retreat. Let Luoyang be completely isolated and helpless. Although it will be delayed for a long time, the advantage is that the casualties of our Wei army will be greatly reduced. "

Upright Jiang Wei had analyzed this point and planned to continue to tell the details of the southward journey to Xuchang and Wancheng.

"Report——"

A scout hurriedly arrived, "General Zhang Liao was blocked outside Hulao. The army retreated a total of sixty miles in two days and retreated directly into Suanzao County in Chenliu County!"

"Suan Zao County?" Cao Zhen was no stranger to this Su Zao County.

It was still Dong Zhuo's rebellion. Cao Cao and Chen Liu raised troops and wrote a false edict, calling on the heroes of the world to fight against Dong. Cao Shao, Cao Cao's brother at that time, responded to Cao Cao's army and actively recruited troops. However, he was killed by the prefecture and county. Cao Zhen came to seek refuge alone. Cao Cao was so sad that he adopted Cao Zhen as his adopted son.

At that time, the place where Cao Zhen came to seek refuge with Cao Cao was Suanzao County in Chenliu County.

Cao Zhen said in confusion: "This is not the Eighteenth Route Princes' challenge to Dong, and there is no Suizao Alliance? Zhang Wenyuan didn't go to attack Hulao Pass, why did he retreat here? This is because he was afraid of the enemy before the battle started. Already?"

"Probably not..." Different from Cao Zhen's anger, Jiang Wei looked very calm, "In the past battle at Xiaoyaojin, General Zhang Liao only led 800 tiger soldiers and dared to carry the 100,000 Dongwu army. If he was afraid of the enemy and was too timid to fight, He will be afraid of the enemy then, why wait until now? But..."

"Just what?"

"It's just..." Jiang Wei squinted his eyes and suddenly had an ominous premonition, "It's just that the thing that made General Zhang Liao retreat sixty miles in two days must be that he encountered something extremely difficult... or even... It’s something that makes him panic, helpless, and unable to solve.”

Just when Jiang Wei's analysis reached this point.

"Report——" Another scout reported urgently. Judging from his attire... he was a soldier from Jizhou, so that must be Cao Zhang's information.

I could see that the scout's tone was a bit urgent and he stumbled. As soon as he entered the door... He was kneeling on one knee because of fear and fear. He stumbled between his legs and collapsed directly on the ground, and his trembling voice came out at the same time.

"Failed, Hanoi... General Zhang encountered inexplicable explosions in Hanoi. The explosions were heard all night long. The city collapsed, and the troops were lost. Fully... half of the troops and horses perished in the Hanoi city..."

ah…

ah…

When such a piece of news came out, Cao Zhen and Jiang Wei's eyes widened to the extreme at the same time. The news came yesterday that Hanoi City had been successfully captured, which was good news.

Even according to Jiang Wei's analysis, the Han army did not attack halfway across the Luo River. This is unusual...

But it's also a blessing.

Because what the Northern Knights fear most is water battles, once they avoid water battles and have a base in Hanoi, it will be like a divine aid to gallop on the plains of Luoyang.

These are all benefits——

But... all the good things came to an abrupt end because of this moment, because of this piece of information.

Lost?

One night, there were explosions and the city collapsed, and then overnight, half of the soldiers and horses...

Wait, how much? That was a total of 50,000 Northern Knights, and they were just... gone just like that?

Cao Zhen and Jiang Wei both gasped in unison.

"No...that's not the case, right?"

Cao Zhen looked at Jiang Wei blankly. In fact, since he came into contact with this young man, he has been deeply impressed by his talent and overall view. He is accustomed to asking Jiang Wei's opinion on many things.

But even Jiang Wei was incomprehensible about this matter and was completely confused.

"I don't think so. In one night, 50,000 knights... so many soldiers and so many horses. Even if they stand still and let the Han army cut them down, it won't take three days and three nights to cut them all, right?"

Jiang Wei was so emotional.

At this time.

"Why not..."

A low voice with roar and anger, a tone of hatred and sorrow came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, there was a "bang" sound, and the tent door was pushed open, and a burly man with unkempt hair, disheveled clothes, his cheeks and body almost covered with ash, and as black as carbon ink rushed in in panic.

"Zi...Ziwen?"

Even though he looked so embarrassed, Cao Zhen still recognized the identity of the person at a glance. It was Cao Zhang, the third son of the Wei Dynasty, and the commander of 200,000 Northern Knights - Cao Zhang and Cao Ziwen!

"General Cao..."

After being reminded by Cao Zhen, Jiang Wei also guessed the identity of the visitor and quickly saluted, "Jiang Wei, the last general, has met General Zhang——"

"Just forget about the polite words..."

As if he noticed the tea bowl on the table, Cao Zhang lifted the tea bowl forcefully and drank all the tea in one gulp.

The throat rolled... Then he shouted to Cao Zhen, "Zidan, I still have 50,000 men here, and you also have 50,000 men. Let's join forces. 100,000 men are enough to help me regain this face, and let the Han army that only knows how to use despicable tricks see how my Great Wei can defeat ten with one force. He...he Guan Lin has humiliated me, I...I Cao Zhang will definitely return it tenfold!"

Cao Zhang became more and more angry as he spoke, especially when he mentioned the word Guan Lin, he was so angry that he was furious.

Cao Zhen couldn't help but turn his eyes to Jiang Wei, and Jiang Wei was desperately winking at him.

Cao Zhen understood, and personally brought a Hu stool for Cao Zhang, and patted his shoulder and advised: "Ziwen, Ziwen... Don't panic, calm down first. You said to fight, we will fight, you said to take revenge, we will take revenge, but in the end... You have to let us know what happened that night, right? Why did all 50,000 soldiers disappear overnight? Did you encounter an ambush? Or something else?"

Obviously, Cao Zhen did not mention the word "explosion". In fact, he had a vague concept of "explosion".

In his past experience, there was no sign... that would allow him to associate the word "explosion" with "50,000 deaths" -

This is too much!

When Cao Zhen asked this, Jiang Wei couldn't help but prick up his ears, he was all ears.

On the contrary, Cao Zhang seemed to have no choice but to reveal this so-called scar. He sat on the Hu stool, shook his hand angrily, and the words hidden in his chest, the words of infinite grievance and collapse, came to his lips.

But in the end, he swallowed it back in an indescribable way.

"Alas..."

"Alas..."

"Alas..."

Until he sighed three times in a row, he sighed: "That Guan Si Guan Lin is simply not a human, he is a monster, a demon, a demon that can set fire, blow up fire, and devour everything overnight-"

This...

It is no exaggeration to say that Cao Zhang's opening remarks alone...completely aroused the curiosity of Jiang Wei and Cao Zhen.

It also made the expressions of the two gradually become solemn from this moment on.

Cao Zhang's voice continued to come out: "The reason for all this, all started from my not easy capture of Henei City, and then that night...Zhang Wenyuan specially sent a messenger to tell me, 'Master Zhang, run'-"

This is a long story-

This is a story destined to be sad, no, it is a story of grief-

…

…

The night is hazy, outside the west city of Luoyang City.

The tightly closed city gate was like a dormant beast. With a "creak", the city gate opened halfway, and then... more than ten riders rushed out.

The leader of the ten riders wore a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, as if the whole person was completely integrated with the darkness.

He looked back at the quiet Luoyang City for the last time, then turned his head and looked forward with a firm gaze...

"Let's go--"

He was going to perform an extremely dangerous act, but it was inevitable to destroy the Wei Dynasty.

His name was--Jiang Jiong! He was the former General Andong of the Wei Dynasty.

Of course, this identity seemed unimportant, because he had another... In the current situation, a more eye-catching and important identity-the father of Jiang Wei, the current General Andong of the Wei Dynasty, who was in charge of 30,000 Tianshui troops and had already arrived in Luoyang!

This identity is too crucial——

Just as the dozen riders were galloping northwestward, a young man stood on the city wall. He was wearing a cloak and a crown. There were several guards around him, but no torches were lit.

This also made his gaze on Jiang Jiong and his party quickly blocked by the darkness.

Huh... With a heavy exhalation, the young man turned his head. With the dim light on the city wall, it can be seen that this young man is Guan Lin.

And just a quarter of an hour ago, in front of this city gate, Guan Lin and Jiang Jiong stood side by side, both looking towards the northwest direction outside the city...

There, there is a fierce Wei army;

There, there are more than 30,000 warriors from Tianshui;

There is the last hope of the Wei army;

There, there is also a young man who is full of hatred for his father and family, and wants to cut Guan Lin into pieces.

Guan Lin and Jiang Jiong walked together for a few steps. They said nothing, but it seemed that they were in tune with each other and understood each other's thoughts.

Finally, it was Jiang Jiong who broke the silence.

"Mr. Yunqi, you don't have to say anything. I, Jiang Jiong, have been stationed at the border for more than 20 years. I know what is most important, and I also know what I should do..."

At this point, Jiang Jiong pointed to the northwest. "There are 30,000 Tianshui disciples over there. I know what you have been waiting for, and why you treat me so well. I also know... what I should do at this time!"

"Haha..." Jiang Jiong suddenly laughed, "Young Master, I Jiang Jiong heard that when your father Guan Yu was in Cao's camp, Cao Cao held a small banquet every three days and a big banquet every five days. He would give a bag of gold when he got on the horse and a bag of silver when he got off the horse. Even... even Lu Bu's Red Hare was given to your father Guan Yu! But I think your father's courtesy in Cao's camp is not as good as my situation here with you... I am here, not only small banquets, big banquets, not only gold and silver?"

"But I finally chose to stand on your side, not for these. Glory and wealth are important, but for us soldiers who have been stationed at the border for many years, we are not afraid of death, so how can we be greedy for this kind of luxury..."

Jiang Yan paused for a moment, and the next words were the words from his heart. "Sir, you are the first person I have seen in so many years, and you are the one who understands us border soldiers best. Master, we frontier soldiers are not afraid of death, we are only afraid of being forgotten... This is exactly what we have been stationed at in those ten years. The room is empty, we are fighting with those barbarians at the risk of our lives...that’s what we are thinking!”

"Children from the border areas are not afraid of death. What they are afraid of is that the death is not worth it. What they are afraid of is that after death... no one will remember... The young master is our confidant. One is a scholar who dies for a close friend, and the other... I, Jiang Juan, have seen too many young masters. I have seen too many powerful men in their inventions. I even have a feeling that those inventions... are not used to deal with the Wei Dynasty. They are really useful in the border areas! It is the Xianbei Hulu and the capital of the Western Regions! Protecting me is to restore the style of the Han Dynasty in the Western Region! With the help of the Young Master, the Han Dynasty will definitely be bright and will make everyone... including us border children live a good life! I seem to have seen those days in my dream, and I also hope. …We Tianshui’s 30,000 soldiers also saw it. For that day, I...my heart and mind were shattered. How can I, Jiang Juan, cherish this life?”

Jiang Yan said a lot in one breath.

Guan Lin looked at the man in front of him in astonishment, whose face had gone through many changes due to being stationed in the long yellow sand. This man had witnessed too many life and death separations, and this man had a strong love for his family and country.

He opened his mouth several times, but didn't know what to say. In the end, he only solemnly handed over his hand.

Even if he handed over his hand, Guan Linyou didn't know what to say.

When Jiang Juan saw Guan Lin cupping his hands, he also cupped his hands towards Guan Lin, but his tone became more firm and solemn.

"You have a mission, and you must live up to it..."

After that, he got on his horse, and with the horse's neighing "Dede", the group of people galloped out of the city.

On the other hand, Guan Lin rushed up to the tower immediately and looked at Jiang Juan for the last time.

This trip is dangerous...

Likewise, if this trip is successful, Han will be restored and Wei will cease to exist——

…

…

That’s it, that’s it—

When Cao Zhang told everything he had experienced, what he saw, what he heard, and what he did to survive.

Cao Zhen inevitably took a breath, but Jiang Wei, who was sharp and good at thinking, couldn't help but hold his chin, as if he was deep in thought.

"That's the thing... That Guan Si is simply a demon, a demon who kills without blinking an eye. If we don't get rid of him, what future will the Wei Dynasty have? Then the world will be taken away by the big-eared thief and Guan Yunchang sooner or later. ? I will become a prisoner of his subordinates sooner or later..."

Even if he told everything clearly, Cao Zhangyou was filled with righteous indignation. He stared angrily. If the cold light he shot could kill people from a distance, then Guan Lin would probably have been crushed to ashes, and not a single scum would be left.

"So, what are you waiting for? Send troops directly. Luoyang City can only have tens of thousands of people at best. We have 100,000 people... we can work together to capture Luoyang. I will eat Guan Lin's flesh alive and suck his blood..."

The more he talked, the angrier he became, and the more he talked, the more indignant Cao Zhang became.

"Boyo, what do you think?"

Cao Zhen, on the other hand, had experienced the power of Guan Lin before, such as the Chu Zhang Nu, the Lian Nu, and the Thunderbolt Ten Ox Crossbow. None of these... ordnance caused heavy losses to the Wei army.

However, this time... just blow it up, which is a bit... unreasonable! And it's a little scary.

At least, Cao Zhen couldn't find a way to solve it for a while, so he could only look at Jiang Wei and listen to his opinion.

But at this moment, Jiang Wei seemed to have figured out something after a brief pause.

"Boyo..."

After Cao Zhen opened his mouth again, Jiang Weicai said, "I heard everything General Zhang just said. There are actually some doubts in it. The first point is...the explosions in the city are somewhat different from the explosions outside the city. The explosions in the city are somewhat different." The sound happened suddenly, and it was late at night, that is, no one touched the mechanism, and outside the city... it is obvious that as long as a soldier steps on the mechanism, it will explode..."

Well…

Not to mention, Jiang Wei's analysis really made Cao Zhang silent. He was stunned for a moment, but he was actually attracted by Jiang Wei's words.

Jiang Wei continued, "This shows that these so-called explosions have two different triggering conditions, one is active triggering, and the other is passive triggering...At the same time, since General Cao Zhang did not encounter explosions when he attacked the city, then This shows that there are no such explosive ambushes from the Luo River waterway. When General Zhang was trapped, his first thought was to evacuate from Luo River, so as to avoid losses! And the Han army could evacuate from various cities after failing to defend the city! The smooth withdrawal of the door also shows that...the enemy has at least prepared a safe retreat route, but we don't know these routes!"

It is no exaggeration to say that Jiang Wei's words... just these words deeply put Cao Zhang into sleep.

He finally understood why Cao Zhen must consult this "joined army" whenever he encountered something...

——"This guy is quite capable!" 』

Cao Zhang was still sighing in his heart.

Jiang Wei's analysis continued, "In addition to evacuating from Luoshui, there is actually another way, which is to capture the war horses and let the war horses ride over the ambush at high speed, so that they can try to detonate these explosives. These will be enough to help General Zhang survive the crisis..."

"Of course, it seems that these are not important now. Now that things have come to this, what we need to find is the weakness of this so-called "explosion". If it is a contact explosion, as I just said, we can use horses to step on it first, and then the army can move forward, so that it can be perfectly prevented. But if it is an active explosion, my analysis is... Just like the passive explosion, Guan Lin's invention must be buried underground, and it is a thin layer on the surface. Through observation, we can find some differences, and then through a small number of soldiers and a small amount of exploration, we may also find some clues buried underground..."

Speaking of this, Jiang Wei continued to explain, "Things buried deep underground will always be different from the surface. These... can be found in the eyes of us Guanzhong people!"

Indeed, Guanzhong people have been fighting with the Hulu for many years. The horse hoof prints on the ground, the sounds heard by the ears, and the cracks on the surface can all determine the number of Hulu cavalry.

Not to mention whether the surface has been excavated or whether it is newly filled soil, these... can be detected.

Even...

Jiang Wei was still analyzing. "In fact, I have a bolder guess..."

"What?" Cao Zhen and Cao Zhang said in unison.

Jiang Wei said calmly: "If Guan Lin had enough people to blow up the entire Henei City, the explosion would not have lasted only half an hour that night, but all night. Based on this, he asked General Zhang to escape with 50,000 people. Of course, there was a reason to alienate the relationship between soldiers and generals and to undermine morale, but I think there is a more important reason."

Jiang Wei's cold eyes were deep, "I am sure that Guan Lin no longer has the ability to blow up. Blowing up 50,000 soldiers and half of Henei City is the limit of Guan Lin's number. Our army does not need to fear this explosion anymore-"

Boom...

Boom!

Jiang Wei's voice was not loud, but it sounded like five thunders in the ears of Cao Zhen and Cao Zhang!

Thunder rolling, five thunders roaring!

…

…(End of this chapter)