"Mr. Lang, there are bandits everywhere in Xucai and other places now, and they travel dangerously at night. It's not too late for us to go to Xiping City to rest for a night before setting out on the road! Even if people can endure hardships along the way, horses can't bear it either. !”
In the morning, he rushed to the Qingyi Ridge Camp City, but was turned away from the city. Qian Zerui turned around and headed north along the official road without stopping. At dusk, he arrived outside the city of Xiping County, where Caizhou belongs. Two guards persuaded Qian Zerui to enter the city. Take a break.
However, Qian Zerui became angry and said sternly: "If you are afraid, after arriving in Luzhou, I will allow you to return south. I have no intention of asking you to follow me to Taiyuan to die. Why are you racking your brains to delay?"
"Lang Jun, I am definitely not a person who is afraid of death. Otherwise, how could I have fought my way out of Taiyuan City and escorted Lang Jun south for thousands of miles?" Two of the guards knelt down and complained, "We are really scared to see Lang Jun running around and working hard. I'm going to collapse if I don't get back to Taiyuan, so I would like to advise you to rest for a night in Xiping before setting out on your journey."
"With tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Taiyuan at stake, how can I care whether I am tired or not?" Qian Zerui said bitterly, "Although there are more bandits in Hehuai and I am more tired from traveling for days, they are still better than those after Zezhou. The journey is much better, please hold on for a few more days, we will not leave until we get past Zezhou..."
"Lang Jun is unwilling to abandon the army and people of Taiyuan. He knows that going north is a dead end, but he still resolutely returns north. How can we be greedy for life and afraid of death?" Two followers knelt down in front of Qian Zerui and said earnestly. , "The two of me will escort Lang Jun back to the north, but please don't talk about goodbye again!"
"Okay," Qian Zerui said with a sad smile, "let's go back north together, so that Hugou will know that Vietnam is not just people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. Although we can't bring reinforcements, we can return to Taiyuan calmly to live and die together, which is worthy of ten Ten thousand Taiyuan soldiers and civilians..."
Lord Qian Zerui and the other three people did not enter Xiping, so they picked wild vegetables and astringent fruits on the roadside to satisfy their hunger. Regardless of the darkness getting darker, they bypassed Xiping City and continued northward.
Nowadays, there are many bandits in the river and Huaihe River. Business travelers will go to the walled city to stay before night. Not many people dare to travel at night. Except for Qian Zerui and three people who walked in the dark under the weak starlight, there is no one behind or behind the huge official road. Occasionally, there are a few voices The howling of wolves tore through the silence, making people tremble with fear.
"Tap-tat-tat" came from behind.
At this time, the bandits all over the Hehuai River were all desperate and hungry people, and basically none of them had horses. Qian Zerui and the others did not panic when they heard the sound of horse hooves, but they didn't know who else would go north from Linying at night at this time.
The visitor quickly approached. Qian Zerui's master and servant stepped aside, preparing to let others go first, but stopped as they did not want the visitor to approach.
It was so dark that he couldn't see the face clearly. Qian Zerui was slightly frightened and reached out to hold the dagger in his bag for self-defense.
"Pa" someone came with a fire stick and lit two lanterns, illuminating the figures of a dozen knights in the dark night.
"Qian Langjun, why did you leave Chushan without resting for two days? I heard the news and chased you for a whole day before I caught up with you?" Xu Huai reined in his horse, turned over, and walked towards Qian Zerui.
Qian Zerui solemnly said: "I appreciate Xu Junhou's kindness. Since Chushan can't help with the matter in Taiyuan, please ask Xu Junhou to return. Let's say goodbye. I hope we can meet again in the next life..."
"I came here not to tell Qian Langjun about the fate of the next life. Why, Qian Langjun is worried that I will stop you from returning to Taiyuan to die?" Xu Huai took off the wine bag from the saddle and asked with a smile, "Old friend Come to Chushan to meet us, I can’t help with other things, and I can’t save the farewell drink—Mr. Qian, would you mind finding a place to have a drink with me?”
"..." Qian Zerui remained silent.
"This place is about ten miles away from Xiping County. There should be a pavilion not far ahead. Let's go there and have a rest." Xu Huai led the horse and invited Qian Zerui to walk to the pavilion in front.
A lantern was inserted into the eaves of the pavilion, and it could be seen that there were traces of burning on the pillars of the corridor. There were also several piles of embers in the pavilion. Someone had made a fire here before, but now Xiping County could not send anyone to clean it up, which made it look particularly messy.
There were no tables or stools in the pavilion, so Xu Huai asked someone to spread the felt cloth, took out a few portable wooden bowls, opened the wine bag and filled it with wine, and asked the two people around Qian Zerui to sit down together: "Qian Langjun, from
When Taiyuan City comes out to bring reinforcements, the two of you escorted them thousands of miles away, and you must have experienced nine deaths. You are all heroic men of Vietnam. Please sit down together and let me, Xu Huai, offer you a bowl of wine!"
"Thank you, Junhou!" Although few people in the court took Xu Huai seriously, the performance of Tongbai Mountain soldiers during the two northern expeditions against Yan and the raid on Yanlan City had already boosted Xu Huai's reputation in Hedong.
The two of them anxiously bowed, then sat cross-legged on the felt cloth and took the wooden bowl handed over by Xu Huai.
After Qian Zerui left Bianliang, he was robbed by the hungry people. He endured hunger for several days and traveled north and south. At this time, he drank two bowls of wine with dried meat. He stood up a little tipsy and said: "The Marquis of Dejun"
Farewell, Zerui can return to Taiyuan with peace of mind, and we will say goodbye."
"Can Taiyuan survive until October?" Xu Huai asked, sitting on the felt cloth.
Qian Zerui didn't understand Xu Huai's meaning, and said with a hint of drunkenness: "Zerui doesn't know how long Taiyuan can be defended, but the determination of one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians to live and die with Taiyuan is like a golden city, nothing more than the presence of people."
The city is here, the city is destroyed and the people are dead. Don't worry about it anymore, Marquis Xu Jun! I came to Chushan to look for you. It was just a delusion. The world is so broken, how can I expect too much from you?"
"Qian Langjun, I'm asking you if Taiyuan can hold out until October?" Xu Huai continued.
"..." Qian Zerui looked over in confusion.
"If Taiyuan can hold out until October, there may be a glimmer of hope." Xu Huai chased after him personally, avoiding possible informants, and talked to Qian Zerui in the wilderness outside Xiping City late at night, mainly to learn the details of Taiyuan City.
He had never thought that the siege of Taiyuan could be solved before, and he was determined to avoid stepping into this trap, and even consciously avoided information about Taiyuan. Of course, the understanding of Taiyuan outside Taiyuan City is now very limited.
If Xu Huai wants to take advantage of the second southern invasion of the Red Husbands and lead his troops from Guanzhong to Fuzhou and Lanzhou to raid Taiyuan, he must first confirm how long Taiyuan City can hold on.
"Ah!" Qian Zerui was stunned for a while, then sat back on the felt cloth in surprise and asked, "Can you persuade King Jing and Zheng Huaizhong to send troops north?"
"The Chihu people have deployed many troops outside Taiyuan City. The rush of troops and horses heading north will only destroy the last support of Dai Viet. In addition, I can't persuade Your Highness, Zheng Gong sends troops. However, the Chihu people should be there before the end of September.
Go south again and invade the Hehuai River. By then, the Chihu people will only have a few warning troops left in Taiyuan. If we can deploy in advance and secretly transfer thousands of elites to Fuzhou and Linzhou on standby, we may be able to repel Taiyuan in a short time.
"We must fight against the enemy to buy some time for Taiyuan soldiers and civilians to withdraw," Xu Huai said, "but the key is that Taiyuan City must hold on until the main force of the Chihu West Route Army moves south!"
"Although the food reserves in the city are almost exhausted, the generals can cook leather armor and wear saddles to satisfy their hunger, the people can peel bark from trees and peel grass stalks to wrap their bellies, and hundreds of thousands of horses would rather die than surrender. Taiyuan City will hold on until October without any problem!" Qian!
Zerui sat on the felt cloth and said, "Please also ask the military princes to send troops as soon as possible to relieve the danger of Taiyuan!"
As the main army of the Hedong Road, the Tianxiong Army took its generals and their families to eat somewhere, and most of the generals and their families lived in Taiyuan.
When Taiyuan City was besieged, it seemed that there were less than 10,000 exhausted defenders in the city, but in fact there were more than 10,000 children of Tianxiong Army generals and a larger number of family members who were besieged in the city.
Although Wen Hengyue, the commander of the Tianxiong Army, performed extremely mediocrely during the first northern expedition to Yan, when Cao Shixiong rebuilt the Tianxiong Army, he and Yin Chao even deliberately attached themselves to Cao Shixiong and treated Xu Huai very coldly, but they did not fall into despair.
, you never know how much energy you can burst out.
During the siege of Taiyuan City, Wen Hengyue and others not only repeatedly resisted Cao Shixiong, Yin Chao and others' persuasion to surrender, but also assisted the prefect Xu Wei in leading the army and civilians to repel hundreds of attacks by the Japanese soldiers.
Wen Hengyue and Yin Chao were the only two senior generals left in the Tianxiong Army. One vowed to live and die without Taiyuan, and the other surrendered to the Red Husbands. They also personally led their troops to participate in the siege of Taiyuan. Their fate was so strange that it made people sigh...
