The thin sun rose into the sky in the biting cold wind. Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili did not gather their troops to fight out of Kelan City, but the family team had just passed Taohuachong after a night of trekking through mountains and rivers.
Taohuachong is a rare dangerous place in the southern section of Guanjuan Mountain. In addition to the rather steep terrain uplift in the north-south direction, there is also a ravine on the north side that is cut into the Yellow River, forming a large rift valley that blocks people and horses. Basically, Xu Huai and the others just need to keep an eye on Taohua Chong and prevent the enemy cavalry from passing there calmly. If Cao Shixiong wants to send a team to intercept family members fleeing west, they can only take a detour of hundreds of miles from the valley road in the southwest of Loufan County. .
The mountain road to the south is also covered with thick snow, so even if the cavalry makes a detour of hundreds of miles at this time, it will still take a lot of time.
What's more, the troops Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili can mobilize in Kelan City are extremely limited at this time. They have not yet sent troops to occupy Loufan County, so they have too many things to worry about.
At this point, this raid can be said to have successfully accomplished the intended goal:
Xu Huai and the others first interrupted the rebel army's intention to besiege Guangwu Village and then use Guangwu Village as a springboard to invade Xishan. Even if they temporarily forced the rebels to evacuate from the vicinity of Guangwu Village, they could only gain crucial points for the internal transfer of Xishan Mountain. of several days.
At the same time, they also attacked the rebels' arrogance and further dampened their vitality at the lowest cost; they successfully rescued nearly three hundred generals and their families in Lanzhou; in the direction of Shuozhou, except for the remnants of the Western Army stranded in Jingong Mountain, the rest of the troops were basically Xanadu withdrew into the Western Mountains.
After hastily eating wheat cakes and dried meat to satisfy their hunger, Xu Huai and the others got on their horses and embarked on the road to the depths of Guanlui Mountain.
Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui were neither good at riding, let alone walking on horses in the uneven valleys. Xu Huai went with them and specially arranged for someone to help them lead the horses to avoid any accidents on the way.
"Except for some scouts roaming around the outside, the rebels have not yet dared to send troops from Kelan to pursue us. We have calmly retreated into Fuzhou. There are no problems anymore, but there are a few things that we still need to find two gentlemen to settle! "Xu Huai grabbed the reins and discussed matters with Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui on the way out.
Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui had truly escaped death at this time. Looking at the mountains to the west and the almost invisible city of Kelan City, they still felt panicked.
They narrowly escaped death, but Hedong was almost in ruins.
"If you have anything to do, Marquis Xu Jun, please speak to me." Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui looked back from a distance and raised their hands to Xu Huai.
"Hedong is about to be destroyed, and no one has the power to save it. We can only go to Fuzhou to avoid disaster. If everything is under the control of the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division, it is natural for Cao Shixiong's third son to be handed over to the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division for disposal, right?" Xu Huai looked at Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui and asked.
Hedong was in chaos, Liu Shizhong died in battle, Guo Zhongxiong was besieged in Yingzhou City, and Yanmen Pass fell. It was hard to imagine that Xinzhou could hold on for a few more days, and the enemy cavalry would kill at Taiyuan City at any time.
The remaining forces in Lanzhou took refuge on Linfu Road. According to the rules of the imperial court, in times of emergency, they naturally had to accept the control of the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division, which was at the same level as the Imperial Envoy's Office. There is no doubt about this.
Zhu Run and Lei Teng ignored the contact sent by Shuozhou, and directly responded to Linfu Road's military commander Gu Jiqian who sent people to discuss the matter. They directly led their troops and horses from Langu to Fuzhou and followed the imperial court's instructions.
Speaking of which, there is no problem at all.
The various departments in Lanzhou are in disarray, and the supervisory departments in Hedong have too much time to take care of themselves. The Shuozhou Inspection Department, which is subordinate to the Military and Horse Supervisory Department in Lanzhou, has no independent judicial power. Civil affairs and prison matters were previously handled by the state court and the supervisor.
Of course, the direct jurisdiction of the court was that all the Han people in Shuozhou had moved out before, and there were no civil affairs or prison matters. There was only a small inspection department under the jurisdiction of the state.
Xu Huai led his troops to raid Kelan and captured such important prisoners as Cao Xuanwen. After arriving in Fuzhou, they should have been handed over to the Linfu Route Army Ma Division for disposal.
The Gu family has inherited the post of Linfu Ludu military chief. In the past one hundred years, successive generations of Gu family's descendants have guarded the two prefectures of Linfu for Dai Viet. It can be said that they have been loyal to generations.
However, in the face of this catastrophic catastrophe of annihilation of the family and the country, Xu Huai felt that even if the Gu family did not have the intention to surrender to the enemy at this time, they might not be in conflict with the traitors and the Red Husbands. They were determined to live and die.
Therefore, if he really wants to hand over Cao Shixiong's third son to the Linfu Route Army's Ma Si, the most likely possibility is that Gu will escort them to Bianjing for disposal. However, with the various involvements in the court, it is probably impossible to execute Cao Shixiong's third son.
.
Cao Xuanwu and Cao Xuanxing were underage and had not committed any evil deeds. Xu Huai could be handed over to Linfu Road or taken to Bianjing by Linfu Road for disposal. However, Cao Xuanwen was an important participant in the Qing Shun Army's rebellion and surrender to the enemy and the large-scale plunder of Kelan.
Otherwise, Xu Huai could not hand him over to Linfu Road Army Masi and have a chance of survival.
Of course, this is still one of them.
What Xu Huai is more concerned about is whether the remaining forces in Lanzhou can maintain their independence to the maximum extent after withdrawing to Fuzhou and accepting the control of Linfu Road Army Ma Si.
If the people of Lanzhou disperse the enemy and enter Fuzhou to avoid trouble, there is no doubt that everyone will be taken over by the Linfu Army and Horse Division.
If there is no Wang Zhen in the court, the most likely follow-up for thousands of Tongbaishan soldiers is to be directly incorporated into the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division to accept control, completely losing their independence.
Bianjing issued an edict to King Qin, and the edict would only be issued to the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division.
Gu Jiqian, the capital's military commander, has the right to decide which troops to deploy on Linfu Road, and no one in Tongbai Mountain has the right to comment.
And even if Wang Zhen is fighting for it in the court, Tongbaishan soldiers cannot maintain a certain degree of independence from now on. It is also unclear whether they will have the opportunity to go south after receiving the imperial edict from King Qin in the future.
Of course, it is not impossible for the remaining forces in Lanzhou to maintain a certain degree of independence.
The Shuozhou Inspection Department is too low-level and is not qualified to maintain independence. What's more, they were forced to abandon Shuozhou voluntarily due to the situation.
However, Cao Shixiong rebelled and surrendered to the enemy. As the state magistrate, Wang Gaoxing naturally took over the military and horse supervision department and the state court. However, the framework of the Lanzhou official team such as Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui was still there. They were fully able to serve as the Lanzhou military and horse supervision department.
In the name of the State Council, he took over the control of the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division.
At this time, not only the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain, but also the soldiers and horses of Xie Zhong, Zhu Run and Lei Teng will continue to be retained in the establishment of the Lanzhou Military and Horse Supervisory Department, thus ensuring the corresponding independence to the greatest extent; also
Only in this way can they truly become a force under Wang Zhen's banner.
However, this requires Wang Gaoxing, Qian Zerui and others to stand up and take on this responsibility, and be willing to tie up with Wang Zhen.
Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui didn't know Wang Zhen, and Wang Fan was betrayed by Cao Shixiong.
How deep the implication of surrendering to the enemy would be. If it were him, of course they would first think of protecting themselves wisely and not wade into this muddy water.
And after experiencing this catastrophe, and considering that everything in front of them is the beginning of a catastrophic disaster, do they still have room to cherish and protect themselves?
Even when it came to recommending Cao Shixiong, Wang Zhen was also in Lanzhou at the time. Of course, he had unshirkable responsibilities. However, Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui thought about the many ministers in power in the court and could not imagine anyone who was more responsible than Wang Zhen.
He is qualified and more capable to promote and preside over the subsequent affairs of King Qin.
"Don't mention the past events, if the court had listened to the advice of Mr. Wang Zhen earlier, Hedong would have fallen into this situation. Although we are unworthy and are in danger, we can only do our best!" Wang Gaoxing, Qian Zerui
Zhensheng said.
Cao Xuanwen was finally hanged by Xu Huai and others in the name of the Prefectural Court and the Sili Court when Xu Huai and his companions withdrew to Taohuachong, and he was hanged from an old locust tree that had gone through centuries of vicissitudes.
Cao Shixiong personally led eight hundred cavalry to pursue Taohua Chong. At dusk, the last ray of afterglow shone on Cao Xuanwen's pale face, which had lost all color.
On the body of the old locust tree, there was also a knife engraved with the verdict of Cao Xuanwen's death by hanging, as well as the number "Hunulu dogs should be killed" engraved by Xu Huai himself with a knife.
When Cao Shixiong saw this scene, he almost fell off his horse and shouted to the sky: "Xu Huai and the dog thief I swear to be incompatible!"
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In the inner city of Datong, the rows of buildings that guard the Imperial Palace are all covered in white snow.
Under the setting sun, the snow on the eaves and walls glowed with a strange bloody color.
Uluru Lie's burly body stood in the courtyard, looking at the wintersweet blooming quietly in the corner.
Mo Lihu walked in, knelt on the ground with a plop, and shouted: "Prince Zong, Mo Lihu was wrong, please punish me!"
"Do you know where the mistake is?" Nayan Muchi stood beside Ulullie and stared at Mollihu and asked sharply.
Mo Lihu said: "Shuozhou defender Xu Huai jumped out of the siege and raided Kelan City, forcing Cao Shixiong to withdraw from Guangwu. Our combat intentions on the west flank were frustrated too much at this moment. But the fundamental reason is that
I underestimated the enemy too much and eagerly forced Cao Shixiong to send troops into Langu to attack Guangwu, leaving too much space in the middle!"
"I placed Molihu and the others on the flank just to give them training. I didn't expect that in addition to Xiao Linshi in the west, the Shuozhou guard was also very powerful. They should not have been left to deal with Molihu in the first place."
Ulullie waved his hand towards Nayan Muchi and said, "Don't be too harsh on Molihu. The more severe we are, the more likely they are to make mistakes. I think that when my father was weak, he was bullied by the surrounding tribes.
Didn't he endure it for more than ten years, then stumble down some wrong paths, and finally rely on the blessing of the immortal god to create the glory of the Chihu clan? Cao Shixiong didn't expect the attack on Kelan. It was not his fault, but watching him
After that, he was able to deal with it calmly and bravely without suffering any further losses. He is indeed capable of commanding troops, but he still needs to be appeased. On behalf of the king, you go to Lanzhou in person and say, I will ask the king to seal the account right now.
He is the military governor of the Qing Shun Army. You, Mo Lihu, will temporarily lead your troops to stay in Lanzhou. Listening to Cao Shixiong's control, you must remember not to fight a battle that you are not sure of winning. You must first ensure that you are invincible.
