Three Kingdoms

After the fall of Sucheng, it immediately caused a panic in the Xiliang series in the land of Sanfu. Although the surrounding terrain of Sucheng is relatively flat, it is indeed an important node from Diaoyin to the south. Su City is like a city blocking a trumpet mouth of Luoshui River in the south. After this city, there is the relatively flat hinterland of Guanzhong.

Although this kind of terrain is not as dangerous as Wuzhangyuan or Tongguan, it also means that the flat plains in the Guanzhong area are all within the attack range of Fei Qian.

Although Li Jue and Guo Bang did not expect that Li Meng and Wang Fang would be able to defeat Fei Qian, they definitely did not expect that Li Meng and Wang Fang would lose so quickly. It felt as if these two people had just arrived in Sucheng. Then Li and Guo received news of the fall of Su City.

These are three thousand soldiers fighting head-on! It's not the so-called strong people, not to mention there are a thousand Xiliang cavalry, specifically to intercept and deal with Fei Qian's cavalry. Although they may not necessarily be able to gain an advantage in frontal battles, at least if they hold on to the city, Fei Qian will The submarine is also quite difficult to attack!

When it comes to cavalry, Li and Guo deployed the most in the west, because after all, they were dealing with Ma Teng and Han Sui who had all the cavalry, and it would be difficult to resist without sufficient cavalry; while Hu Zhen, who was stationed at Tongguan in the east, All of them are infantry, because Tongguan itself is a pass and there is not much room for cavalry, so infantry is naturally the place to use it.

However, the terrain of Su City is mostly mountainous in the north and wide and flat in the south. In addition, Feiqian also has Bingzhou cavalry, so both cavalry and infantry are needed. However, with the three thousand regular soldiers and the mobilization of the original people in Su City, how can there be With about 10,000 men, why couldn't they defend it for ten months?

And it fell like this without even having time to send out a warning of imminent destruction?

How did Sucheng fall?

The shortcomings of the Xiliang soldiers, who were like tribes among the factions, were fully exposed. The defeated Xiliang soldiers did not return to the base camp of Li Jue and Guo Si in Chang'an, but directly broke into pieces and dispersed in the countryside. time, because they knew that even if they returned to Chang'an, the defeated soldiers would not have a good life, and they might even be arrested and sacrificed to the flag...

Therefore, Li Jue and Guo Si, who had not been able to grasp some conclusive information for a while, couldn't help but feel a little panic in their hearts. It was like riding a horse forward knowing that there were swords, guns, swords and halberds in front of them, but they just looked at it hazily. Lack of clarity, this unknown fear, will produce great psychological pressure.

How many troops did Fei Qian bring?

Is it because King Li Meng failed to fight well, or are these local snakes in Guanzhong secretly surrendering to the enemy?

So Li Jue and Guo Bang looked around for a moment in this confusion. There was no one else who could discuss or assist, so they could only find Jia Xu again, hoping that Jia Xu could be like before when they met. Give them answers when they are in trouble...

But when they arrived at Jia Xu's residence, they didn't find Jia Xu. This was no small matter. After asking for Jia Xu's original guard, they found out that Jia Xu had already set off for Zuo Fengyi, so he quickly chased back again. Got Jia Xu.

"I've met the Marquis of Chiyang and the Marquis of Meiyang..." After Jia Xu was chased back, he didn't show any impatience. He still saluted and greeted Li Jue and Guo Si when they met.

"...Wen He, why are you leaving Beijing now?" After meeting Jia Xu, Li Jue stared at Jia Xu for a few times and couldn't see anything unusual, but he couldn't put it down at all, so he asked directly.

Some time ago, Jia Xu accepted Zuo Fenling's position, but he didn't go there at all. He wandered around Chang'an City all day long. Now he suddenly left for Zuo Fenling, and happened to encounter such a thing, which naturally caused Overcame the suspicions of Li Jue and Guo Si

Jia Xu cupped his hands and said with a serious face: "Why did Marquis Chi Yang say this? He wants to take office as Zuo Fengyi, so he naturally wants to leave Beijing..."

Guo Bang asked again: "Why didn't you go a few days ago and didn't leave until today?"

Jia Xu smiled sheepishly and said, "Well... there are a lot of clutter, so I have to clean them up..."

Hearing Jia Xu's words, Li Jue couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

Instead, Guo Bang smiled sinisterly, then called for a personal guard, gave a few instructions, and asked him to bring some drinks, cakes, dried fruits, etc., and then chatted casually.

It wasn't until the guard returned to the hall and whispered a few words in Guo Bang's ear that the haze on Guo Bang's face seemed to dissipate. Then Guo Bang glanced at Jia Xu and whispered. He said to Li Jue: "... I just sent someone to investigate, and Wen He has indeed prepared a lot of gold and silver..."

A few years ago, Guo Bang, who was a horse thief, would have been tempted to see Jia Xu get so much gold and silver. But after all, Guo Bang is no longer the king of horse thieves who was galloping around Xiliang. The dignified Marquis Meiyang, especially after staying in Chang'an for a while, saw a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, and his desire for property was not as strong as when he was young.

Hearing this, Li Jue nodded slightly.

At this moment, Li Jue and Guo Bang felt a little relieved. Regarding Jia Xu, Li Jue and Guo Si couldn't figure it out at all and could only make some guesses based on Jia Xu's behavior. Since Jia Xu brought a lot of property, it not only shows that Jia Xu may be greedy for money, but also proves that Jia Xu is not planning to run away directly by taking the opportunity to go to Zuo Fengyi...

We can't blame Li Jue and Guo Si for being a bit of a loser now, but they don't know who to trust or who not to trust. They really have no idea at all about governing the government or even how to run the entire country.

So when Jia Xu still behaved like before, a little greedy for money, it actually made Li Jue and Guo Bang feel more trustworthy. They just wanted gold and silver, which they could afford!

Li Jue then said to Jia Xu: "There is no need for Wen He to be in such a hurry. I have some bad etiquette with Marquis Meiyang, so I would like to congratulate Wen He on taking office... Don't refuse. This is just a small reward for Wen He's contribution..." …”

Then Li Jue slowly said: "...there is something difficult here. I hope Wenhe can enlighten me...I just got the news yesterday. This...the army on the North Route has been completely defeated. Sucheng has fallen. I wonder...if Wenhe has a good plan." Right?"

"Ah? Ah..." Jia Xu was slightly surprised and said, "...and where are the two generals, King Li and Wang?"

Guo Bang shook his head and said: "I don't know the specific situation...but I haven't returned yet, so it's probably more bad than good..."

Jia Xu raised his head slightly, turned his eyes upward, stroked his beard, and then sighed: "This... is really a bit difficult... Chiyang Marquis, Meiyang Marquis, once Su City fell, He Yang, Pinyang, and Niyang are all under the attack of the soldiers, and the war horses are running in and out, and it may be difficult to stop them..."

Guanzhong has been the granary of the Qin Dynasty since ancient times, so this area is relatively flat, and the water system is not as turbulent as between the mountains. In addition, it is connected with the Warring States Canal, creating a fertile field thousands of miles away. If it is breached After the pass, war horses galloped freely in it, which was indeed difficult to defend.

Among the four fortresses in Guanzhong, not only Xiaoguan in the north has fallen, but even Sanguan has not been repaired for many years. Since Bingzhou was occupied by Xianbei, the four fortresses in Guanzhong have not been of much significance to the defense of Guanzhong, because The barbarians outside the Great Wall no longer need to go through the dangerous three passes. Instead, they can rush directly from Shangjun, Wuyuan, and Yanmen to Hedong and Sanfu areas.

Therefore, no matter during the period of Emperor Heng or Emperor Ling, in fact, there was basically not much operation in the defense of Guanzhong. As a result, many cities and passes in Guanzhong have not received due repairs, whether it is city defense or city defense. The garrison forts on the hills in between are all very different...

After Su City was captured, there was no dangerous terrain in the surrounding counties that could be used for defense. In addition, most of the garrison forts and military fortresses nearby had been abandoned. It was basically a white land. The situation is naturally very difficult to defend against the Fei submarine cavalry coming from Bingzhou.

"...For the present plan, the only thing we can do is..." Jia Xu paused for a moment, and then said slowly, "... Let's implement the strategy of strong walls and clear fields, high ridges and deep ditches..."

Li Jue and Guo Bang looked at each other, and then said to Jia Xu, "Wen He, please elaborate."

Jia Xu pulled his fingers and said: "Since Sucheng has fallen, if Pinyang cannot be defended... Bingzhou's cavalry can go east to cross Chongquan, fight against Jin, and attack Tongguan; to the west, they can rush to Niyang and go down to Chiyang. , advancing towards Chang'an...Now the situation is irreversible..."

Li Jue and Guo Bang both nodded with solemn expressions.

Jia Xugong cupped his hands and said: "... At this moment, we urgently dispatched generals to lead the army to Pinyang, with strong walls and clear fields, high ridges and deep ditches to avoid their sharp edges... Bingzhou soldiers came from afar, and the transportation of grain and grass was not an easy task. They only needed to stay for ten days. Yue, his troops have exhausted their rations and will naturally retreat..."

Li Jue frowned and asked, "If they advance with cavalry, how can they stop it?"

Jia Xu smiled and asked, "May I ask Marquis Meiyang how you want to stop him?"

"This..." Li Jue was also a little hard to answer.

As a commander who has been in Xiliang for a long time, he naturally knows that in order to resist the cavalry's activities in the vast area, he can only use cavalry. Others can only eat dirt from behind, but there are really not many cavalry on hand now. Yes, there are still soldiers, but there are not many war horses. After all, war horses can't just come.

"...Doesn't this mean that we just let them come and go?" Guo Bang also had a headache about the current situation. When he thought that Bingzhou's cavalry might shuttle back and forth in this area, and there were no measures to resist it, his brain ached a little.

"Therefore, we need to strengthen the walls and clear the wilds first..." Jia Xu emphasized again and explained, "...riding on the wilds is good for the wilds, but not good for the city. If nothing is gained in the wilds, the city cannot be lowered. Even if you come and go, what can you do?"

"..." Li Jue and Guo Bang looked at each other with slightly disappointed expressions.

Seeing this, Jia Xu suddenly said: "...this Feiqian Feiziyuan, I heard that he is a branch of the Heluofei clan..."

Li Jue immediately opened his eyes wide when he heard this, looked at Jia Xu and said, "Wen He means this..."

Jia Xu smiled and said: "I just mentioned it casually... The situation is urgent now. Xu Yi will leave for Linjin immediately to supervise that the troops in Tongguan will not lose food... Farewell, farewell..."

After saying that, Jia Xu bowed again, and then took advantage of the opportunity when Li Guo and Li Guo had some thoughts before fully reacting, and took a few steps back to say goodbye.

Jia Xu restarted his journey to Zuo Fengyi. After he got on the carriage, lowered the curtain of the carriage and hid his face in the shadows, Fang inadvertently raised the corner of his mouth slightly...

There is naturally no problem with the strategy. It can even be said that Li Jue and Guo Si do not understand the importance of guarding Pinyang next. They more hope that Jia Xu can come up with a strategy that can get the best of both worlds, and they can stay in Chang'an. , and can solve the current problem.

But where in the world can there be so much the best of both worlds?

In the current situation, Jia Xu's strategy is naturally a better way to deal with it, but the problem is that a good strategy also needs a good executor. Will Li Jue and Guo Si be good executors?

In Guanzhong, fortify the wall and clear the country?

Of course, from a strategic point of view, there is no problem, but in fact, such behavior is doomed that Li Guo will lose the hearts of the people in Guanzhong forever...

I lost the hearts of the officials before, and now I have lost the hearts of the people. Now that Dong Zhongying is no longer there, what is the use of keeping the Xiliang army?

The strategy is right, but will Li Jue and Guo Si do it or not?

Hey hey hey.

Looking forward to it...

That Fei Qian from Pingyang seems to have some abilities, but what will he do when faced with the current situation in Guanzhong? If you knew it was mine, would you be cruel to me or would you thank me?

Hey hey hey.

I'm also looking forward to it...

Jia Xu's chariot and horse were swaying, and he left Chang'an with ease, leaving all the difficult decisions in Chang'an, in front of Li Jue and Guo Si.

Sending a general to garrison Pinyang, well, there is no problem with this, but the question is who will go?

Naturally, there are still some other generals in the government and the public, but Li Jue and Guo Si are worried. If these people are really sent to Pinyang, will they be able to guarantee that these people will not have any evil intentions?

But now Li Jue and Guo Bang have no other suitable generals in their hands. Wuzhangyuan has to be garrisoned, and Tongguan has to be garrisoned. Therefore, it is naturally impossible to transfer troops and generals from Tongguan and Wuzhangyuan...

Li Jue looked at Guo Si, was silent for a while, and said: "...Marquis Meiyang, who do you think is more suitable for us to send to Pinyang now?"

Guo Bang also frowned and pondered for a long time before saying: "If you don't lead the troops to Pinyang, you will be in charge of Chang'an?"

Um?

When Li Jue heard this, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. It seems that I still took Guo Bang too lightly. After all, we have been good brothers for many years!

Suddenly, after years of fighting with Guo Si in the south and north, the scene of mutual support in the wind and rain came to Li Jue's heart, which made Li Jue a little excited. He waved his hand and said, "How can you let me take risks? Let brother come! Let me lead the troops to Pinyang!"

"...This...is fine..." Guo Bang blinked slightly, then nodded in agreement.

Li Jue: "..."

Although he felt that something was wrong, since he had already said his words, he did not regret it immediately. Li Jue could not bear to be embarrassed, so he gritted his teeth, patted the table, and said: "Okay! I'll let you go." I’ll go to Pinyang to meet this Fei Zhonglang for a while!”