Chapter 3409: Going in the Opposite Direction

Chapter 3408 Going completely opposite directions

early morning.

Ji County.

Yuyang and Jixian are almost inseparable.

In the Jixian government office, the lights stayed on all night long.

Xia Houheng was sitting at the top, his face a little pale.

At the end of last year, he was transferred from Yecheng to Ren Youzhou to serve as the logistics director of the Youzhou front, replacing the original Xia Houshang's position. As soon as he took office, Xia Houheng felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere in Youzhou.

Something is very wrong.

In the past few years, dozens of battles, large and small, have been fought in Youzhou, not to mention the number of dead and wounded soldiers, and countless innocent people implicated.

In addition, this area is colder than other areas of the Han Dynasty, so many capable people in Youzhou are trying their best to move to the Central Plains or other places. Some even fled to Liaodong!

This made Xia Houheng, who originally wanted to come to Youzhou to show off his talents and show his ability in logistics and civil affairs management, no doubt that it was difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw.

This is a very vexing problem.

There will be fewer people eating, but fewer people producing food.

what to do?

Of course Xia Houheng knows the importance of recuperation, but the current war does not allow him to do anything to recuperate, so he can only make the people of Youzhou continue to suffer!

Is it possible that the nobles who have come all the way here to serve as officials should suffer?

But this approach creates a more serious vicious circle.

Even if troops are transferred from Jizhou or Yuzhou, the population coming to Youzhou is still a huge problem. No one likes to come to this place of ice and snow, and no one likes to go to an area where a bloody battle may occur at any time.

The country will be destroyed, people's livelihood will be in ruins, lives will be in ruins, etc. All negative words can be used on Youzhou.

Xia Houheng finally survived the winter and the spring. When the autumn harvest season came, he originally thought he could breathe a little easier and let his performance have some traces of glory, but Zhao Yun came!

The Hussar Northern Territory Army broke through Gubeikou. Youzhou's defense system was like paper. The control of Cao Jun in Youzhou was crumbling. Before Xia Houheng could recover from this shocking news, Yuyang was besieged. The news has arrived!

what to do?

To save or not to save?

Although there are plans and agreements between Xia Houheng and Cao Chun, the situation is changing too fast now!

Can the original plan agreement still be valid?

It is obviously inappropriate not to save.

Not to mention how destructive it would be to Cao Jun, especially to the emotional connection between Cao's and Xiahou's clans once something like "fail to save them" happened. It was just the cavalry in Yuyang City, but the remaining cavalry of Cao's army There are not many field cavalry left. If they are lost in Yuyang like this, then when the Hussar army goes south to Jizhou in the future, what will they use to stop it?

In the previous battle, Youzhou's army suffered a lot of damage, especially the horses.

This kind of delicate odd-numbered hooves, in addition to being able to run, requires vision but no vision, no sense of smell, the only powerful attack move is the kick, the skin is not rough, the flesh is not thick, the leg bones are easy to break, and even the blood circulation and cooling system They are all fake and inferior products. Without the help of humans to raise and reproduce, there is absolutely no way to form a super large scale in nature...

In order to replenish his war horses, Cao Chun had taken advantage of the Hu people, but he didn't expect that the Hu people were also taking advantage of Cao Chun. In the end, Beiyu took advantage of him.

Xia Houheng convened everyone to discuss, but everyone obviously had no good solution.

In the end, Xia Houheng was forced to do nothing, so someone said that they could try to recruit some warriors——

Use heavy gold.

After all, no matter what time, money can always have some effect. People die for money and birds die for food.

But the problem was that Xia Houheng was short of money. He told everyone bluntly that the country was currently in danger and the Han Dynasty was about to overthrow. As a subject of the Han Dynasty, it was his duty to save the country!

Since you can sacrifice your life for the country, why do you need money? !

When the war is decided, Youzhou will be stable in the future, the country will be stable, and everyone will have money...

Everyone took a breath of cool air and contributed to making Youzhou warmer and more pleasant.

Yuyang wants to be rescued, but we cannot send out all the troops in Jixian County. We must also consider the safety of Jixian County itself. So Xia Houheng decided to send half of his soldiers to rescue Yuyang.

The decision to rescue was very difficult.

Because no matter who it is, no one is willing to face the Hussars now.

Everyone has an account in their heart.

If it had only arrived a few years earlier, now everyone increasingly feels that the Hussars General has the qualifications to dominate the world, so basically everyone is secretly studying Fei Qian and speculating whether Fei Qian is good or bad? After Fei Qian really takes power, will he still be the hero of the Han Dynasty as he was in the past? Or will it bring disaster to the country and the people like Dong Zhuo?

No one knows the answer.

The sources of information in Shandong are very confusing. With wars raging and roads blocked, ordinary people can rarely get any effective information.

Big guy?

Emperor?

Nowadays, basically not many people really care. Many people are satisfied with being alive, or being able to settle down and have food to eat. However, in the land of Shandong, there are still many people who believe that Fei Qian will be as harmful as Dong Zhuo. After all, wasn't Dong Zhuo also a hero of the Han Dynasty?

To be honest, Fei Qian was also domineering. After all, he had also forced Xu County with his troops and snatched the military and political power of Guanzhong and Beidi from the emperor and the court. And since that time, Fei Qian has always been outside the court of the Han Dynasty, which is very similar to Dong Zhuo back then. If Fei Qian is now trying to balance the country again, he will try to divide the country and establish his own regime. Then he will do more harm to the country. If this person is not a traitor to the Han Dynasty, who is he?

So in Shandong, including in Youzhou, many people are confused and can only follow others. They do whatever others do, confused and difficult to distinguish right from wrong.

Just when Ji County was urgently preparing manpower and preparing to set off to Yuyang to rescue Cao Chun, a scout ran into Ji County in panic, covered in mud and sweat, and his face was extremely pale: "Something bad is going to happen! Yijing has fallen!"

Xiahou Heng and everyone were shocked and stood up together.

Xiahou Heng pointed at the scout and asked sternly: "Is the news accurate? '

'I saw it with my own eyes...' the scout hurriedly described.

The scout was originally heading to Yijing for daily communication, but he didn't expect to see fireworks rising from the city before he arrived in Yijing. So he quietly moved closer and found that the Hussars who came out of nowhere had raided Yijing!

Yijing was actually lost!

Xiahou Heng and several of his subordinates looked at each other in shock.

Youzhou is in danger.

Cao Chun is also in danger!

'Chief Secretary! General Cao is still confronting the Hussars in Yuyang!' said a man at the bottom, 'Now that Yijing is lost, Youzhou's retreat is almost cut off! If... If...'

The two ifs were not said, but everyone understood the meaning.

Yijing is an important connection point between Youzhou and Jizhou. If it is now captured by the Hussars, it means that Youzhou's retreat has been cut off!

Cao Chun, Xiahou Heng, and everyone in Youzhou, all meant that they would be surrounded by the cavalry!

What surprised Xiahou Heng and others even more was that Yijing itself was located in a relatively backward position, and there were pass guards nearby. In theory, it should be relatively safe, but it was attacked by the cavalry!

For a moment, everyone was filled with awe and fear of the cavalry.

It seemed that the cavalry would appear anywhere in the next moment...

The last time Wei Yan made a big fuss in Jizhou, it was also so incredible.

Xiahou Heng barely stabilized his emotions, hid his shaking hands in his sleeves, and then asked the scout a few more questions.

Where did the cavalry appear from and from which direction?

How many cavalry soldiers were there in the raid on Yijing?

How many cavalry and infantry?

Have you seen any follow-up troops?

Did the Jizhou side find that Yijing had fallen?

And so on.

There are some questions that the scout can answer, and there are some questions that the scout cannot answer at all.

The scout was so scared at the time that he was very impressive to be able to get a closer look. After all, if he was discovered by the scouts of the Hussars, he would definitely not be able to come back alive.

What to do?

A new situation has emerged. Can Yuyang be saved?

The retreat route was blocked. Even if Yuyang was saved, after losing the support of Jizhou, the defeat of Youzhou has entered the countdown.

The current situation is to either open up the road as soon as possible and recapture Yijing, or to quickly notify Cao Chun not to stay in Yuyang anymore, withdraw troops as soon as possible, and escape from Youzhou!

Moreover, Xiahou Heng felt that the Hussars were able to appear in Yijing silently, which must have been supported by some people, or Youzhou people, or perhaps Jizhou people...

Otherwise, it would be impossible to capture a city like Yijing without any movement in advance.

Now, Youzhou is attacked from two sides...

No, it is attacked from three sides!

And there are these thieves from the inside!

Xiahou Heng's eyes swept around the people around him, trying to see whose face was written with the word "rebel", but it was obvious that he couldn't see it.

The failure of Youzhou was a foregone conclusion.

Even if he went to support Cao Chun, it seemed like a drop in the bucket and would be of no use. Even if Xiahou Heng fought bravely and died on the battlefield, he could not change the entire Youzhou war situation.

This situation made people despair.

Xiahou Heng sighed for a long time. Whether it was Dong Zhuo or Fei Qian, for the people of Shandong, they seemed so powerful and invincible, but the two of them happened to be the Han rebels who were causing chaos in the country. Is the Han Dynasty really going to be completely defeated?

"Changshi! While the Hussars are not yet stable, quickly contact General Cao to retreat! '

'Now we have no choice but to retreat, otherwise once we are surrounded, we will all be alone! '

'Youzhou is just a small place, it is not a pity to lose it, but Jizhou must not be lost! '

'If all the troops are lost in Youzhou, what will happen to Jizhou? '

'Chief Secretary! Make a decision quickly! '

'The overall situation is more important! '

Listening to the persuasion from left and right, sweat rolled down Xiahou Heng's face.

...

...

'Quick! Speed ​​up! '

Liu Ye sat in the car. Although he was shaken by the rough road and could only hold the railing of the car tightly to stabilize his body, he still shouted and asked his men to speed up.

The scepter representing the emperor was shaking in front of the car.

Carriage, canopy.

Scepter, angel.

These things that were supposed to represent the majesty of the Han Dynasty are now like this official road, in disrepair and full of potholes.

The gorgeous patterns on the vehicle have now faded. Even the clamps used to fix the staff are loose, as if they will break at any time. Liu Ye has to hold on tightly while holding the vehicle against the railing. Hold the scepter in your arms.

Like a drowning man, holding on to the last piece of driftwood.

"What happened in front?" ! ”Liu Ye suddenly saw something unusual in front of him.

The group of people was moving forward quickly when they suddenly saw smoke and dust rising on the official road in the distance, but it was relatively scattered and did not look like an army, let alone the towering dust of the cavalry.

"Looks like... a pedestrian..."

When he said the word "pedestrian", the guard stuttered a little.

Because everyone knows that now, how can there be any ordinary "pedestrians" on the road leading north to Youzhou?

Sure enough, after walking for a while, I found that those shuffling along on the road were a group of refugees, or refugees, in ragged clothes and some looking tired.

Liu Ye looked at it, and his heart thumped.

"Go and ask!" From there! 』

Liu Ye ordered.

The guard responded, stepped forward to ask, and then quickly turned back.

"They were driven here..." the guard reported back, "Those people are from the Jizhou border because they want to..."

"Strong walls and clear fields?" Liu Ye gritted his teeth and asked, "Who gave the order?" ! 』

It’s not that the tactic of building a strong wall and clearing the country has not been seen before, nor can it be used, but now the emperor has just issued an edict. As a result, a strong wall and clearing the country is implemented here, and the people on the border are moved inward. What does this mean?

What's more, the problem now is Youzhou!

What Jizhou needs to do is to find ways to support Youzhou, instead of rushing to cut ties with Youzhou first!

The guard asked around, but couldn't find out anything.

The result obtained is the "order from above".

Then, there was nothing...

There is no specific person who issued the order, and I don’t know where the order came from. Anyway, that’s it. The meaning of “above”, the order of “above”, and the wording of “superior” are not known in real terms. Who gave the order?

"..."

Liu Ye was silent for a moment.

From a certain level, he is also "above", "above", and "superior", but he still doesn't know anything and doesn't know anything clearly. Even if Liu Ye knows that this matter is probably caused by someone in the local area. It was done by officials.

After the people moved away, there was no need for the government office to exist. Those officials could openly express that it was not that they did not want to fight against the Hussars, but that the "superiors" wanted to do so. They were also helpless. They all understood each other and tolerated each other...

Liu Ye holds the emperor's scepter, he can step in to take care of it, but does he have time to take care of it?

Is the "little detail" of these refugees important, or is the "big picture" of the entire war situation important?

Is it okay to ignore small details for the sake of the overall situation?

Liu Ye gritted his teeth and sat back in the car, "Let's go!" Forward forward! Speed ​​up, speed up! 』

Above officialdom.

The old, faded canopy headed north.

People in ragged clothes and numb expressions fled southward.

Neither side looked at the other again.

…

…

early morning,

Yuyang City.

Cao Chun looked tired. He led several equally tired guards to patrol the dilapidated city of Yuyang.

His figure was looming in the morning fog, looking somewhat lonely and cold.

There are many people who are willing to enjoy themselves, but few who are willing to endure hardships.

People in the Cao Xiahou clan also conform to this pattern.

Cao Chun hadn't slept well for two days. He only took a nap somewhere when he was extremely sleepy. At this time, his face turned dark, his feet were weak, and he felt as if he was floating in the clouds. He really wanted to lie down and have a good sleep, but there were more and more wells and chariots outside the city, especially those far below the city that were much larger than the ordinary ones. , making him uneasy and making it difficult for him to sleep.

Zhao Yun's catapult demolished and destroyed Yuyang's defenses to pieces, even breaking several cracks in the city gate.

Cao Chun temporarily asked people to add stone bars and sandbags to prevent the hussars from using gunpowder to directly break through the door. Even at a certain moment, Cao Chun hoped that the Hussars would send people to blow up the city gate, because Cao Chun had arranged some kerosene near the city gate early...

But it is obvious that Zhao Yun does not take the ordinary path.

Such a large well gate seems to be designed to allow war horses to directly ride up the city wall!

Crazy!

Must be crazy!

How could there be a siege engine that could allow war horses to board the city? !

Cao Chun had a vague feeling that Zhao Yun seemed to be "experimenting".

The previous large catapult, as well as the current enlarged manholes and rams, seemed to prove Cao Chun's guess.

Cavalry...

Originally, the cavalry was not good at attacking the city, but if the well was large enough, the cavalry could run directly to the city...

Cao Chun couldn't help but tremble.

How many cities in Jizhou and Yuzhou can compare with Yuyang?

If the top of Yuyang City can be climbed, how many other city walls cannot be climbed?

Cao Chun didn't dare to think about it.

This time, if Fei Qian failed to return in time or failed to hold out in Hedong, even if Fei Qian finally saved Tongguan and Guanzhong, it would be like having one arm cut off!

Shandong would also be stable, and the cavalry would not dare to easily invade the desert, threaten or even attack Youzhou!

However, everything has changed now.

The sun shone through the clouds, shining on the broken walls of Yuyang City and the ranks of the cavalry under the city.

Zhao Yun formed a simple "PIN" formation, with advancing siege equipment and troops in front and cavalry arrays divided into two parts in the back.

Under the high-flying tricolor flag, Zhao Yun sat on a white horse, looking at the distant Yuyang City with a stern expression.

Recovering Youzhou and rebuilding the land of Yan and Zhao is a long-standing wish buried in Zhao Yun's heart.

When Zhao Yun left the Black Mountain Army and joined Fei Qian, he wanted to do something for his hometown. When he actually set foot on the land of Youzhou and saw the withering situation of Youzhou, this idea became even stronger.

But first, we must get rid of these pests that are causing trouble for Youzhou!

Zhao Yun raised his hand and waved it down.

『Dongdongdong! 』

The war drums roared!