The desert is endless, and the smoke and dust cover the sky and the sun.
The rumble of horse hooves resounded across the desert.
An elite cavalry force of several thousand men was rapidly approaching from the east.
Zhang Ke, the leading general, led Cao's army in the vanguard.
"Sir, ten miles further away is Xiguan."
Among the cavalry, clever spies came to report the news.
Zhang Ke's eyes flashed and he said in a concentrated voice: "Give me the order, go slowly!"
Xiguan is the first pass east of Yongzhou and the only way to the divine capital.
Xiguan Suwei Divine Capital, Cao Su also served as a garrison in Xiguan for a period of time.
Zhang Ke is Cao Su's vanguard army. After Zhang Ke, Cao Su's army is rolling in.
Although we are approaching the boundary of the divine capital, there should be no danger.
However, Zhang Ke was cautious by nature and chose the most conventional operation, first sending Tan Ma to negotiate in front of Xiguan.
The cavalry team slowly slowed down, and ten miles passed by in a blink of an eye.
Soon, the majestic Xiguan appeared in front of everyone.
Above the West Mountain, Xiguan is like a sky pass, guarding the traffic from south to north.
Zhang Ke hung up the flag.
There are many flags in the army.
Some wrote "Qianyuan", and others wrote "Cao", "Zhang", "Changshui", etc., each of which is different.
The flag fluttered in the wind, and gradually stopped fluttering as the cavalry stopped completely in front of Xiguan.
The sky is clear today and there is no wind in the western mountains. It is a rare good weather.
Not long after, Tan Ma returned to Zhang Ke.
Tan Ma's face turned pale and he said anxiously: "General Zhang, something serious has happened!"
Zhang Ke said displeased: "Why are you so worried?"
Tan Ma said: "The guard of Xiguan said that he has not received the edict to let the Western army enter the pass. Let me wait for where they came from and go back to where they came from. Don't block the entrance of Xiguan."
"What?"
Zhang Ke was furious in an instant, and there are such ridiculous things?
Wherever they come from, they originally came from the capital of God, but now the road is blocked, how can they go back?
"Which general said that?"
"It is said that he is the newly arrived guard general of Xiguan and Zhendong general Zhu Ming."
Zhu Ming? Zhang Ke frowned slightly, as if he had never heard of this person's name.
"Where is Yang Rui, the original guard general of Xiguan?"
"This... I don't know."
Zhang Ke scolded: "Go quickly to find out what happened. General Pingxi's army will arrive at Xiguan tomorrow. If we cannot enter Xiguan, how can we explain to General Pingxi?"
When Tan Ma saw Zhang Ke getting angry, his heart skipped a beat and he shuddered.
He quickly clasped his fists in response and took the order and left.
After the detective horse left, Zhang Ke called for the messenger and ordered the messenger to quickly report the matter to General Pingxi.
The messenger got on his horse, and the flag hanging on the horse's butt fluttered again.
The iron hooves carried a plume of smoke and dust as they galloped westward.
........
........
More than a hundred miles away.
A cavalry team of more than 10,000 people advanced slowly.
The banner with the Chinese character Cao is hoisted high.
Cao Su led the troops in front, and everyone followed him.
During the Battle of Xizhou, he recruited two battalions of Changshui and Huqi cavalry. After becoming General Pingxi, he successfully took over part of the military power of the original Forbidden Army. After careful selection, he selected the best and selected more than 20,000 elite soldiers.
In troubled times, strength is the most important thing.
Cao Su, who held military power, became the favorite of all major forces.
After returning from Xizhou, many people took the initiative to talk and keep in touch.
"General, this is an invitation from Guo Shengxiong, Secretary of the Ministry of War."
During the march, Wu Ming handed a red invitation to Cao Su.
Guo Shengxiong was the Minister of War and a second-rank official of the imperial court. Such a high official also came to invite Cao Su, and his attitude was very low.
Cao Su took the invitation, which said that Guo Shengxiong's beloved wife had given birth to a new baby. Cao Su was invited to attend a family gathering and brought his whole family to the meeting.
Cao Su and Guo Shengxiong had only met each other once.
It was neither cold nor hot before.
Now Guo Shengxiong suddenly became enthusiastic. It seemed that the situation in Shendu was really bad.
"Put it away and remember it for me."
Cao Su was afraid that he would forget all these things after returning to the capital of the gods, so he left them all to Wu Ming for the time being.
Wu Ming is not a resourceful person, but his ability to handle official affairs is currently the best among Cao's troops.
In terms of political ability, he has at least 80. He is an internal affairs talent that is extremely lacking among Cao Jun.
Wu Ming also provided Cao Su with a lot of useful advice since he joined the army.
"What do you think about the Xiguan matter?"
Just now, Cao Su received a message from Zhang Ke.
The guard of Xiguan was changed, and the new guard Zhu Ming guarded Xiguan. There was a situation of "locking the capital in seclusion". Although Cao Su obeyed the orders of General Qin Hu and returned, the imperial court did not directly order him to return to the capital.
To put it bluntly, returning to the capital originally required the emperor's approval, but now the emperor has passed away.
The new emperor had not yet ascended the throne, and not a single edict had been issued.
Even though the Ministry of War has drafted a simple administrative binding order, Xiguan is an independent establishment, so it can ignore the binding orders of the Ministry of War and only accept the emperor's orders.
So whether Zhu Ming can let it go or not, the key lies in how he makes his choice.
If he didn't let go, it would also be justified, and Cao Su would have no reason to condemn him.
"Zhu Ming... used to be the captain of the middle base. I heard that when the emperor was dying, he specially replaced the guard general of Xiguan and appointed Zhu Ming as the guard general of Xiguan."
"Before becoming the captain of the middle base, Zhu Ming served as the captain of the left guard in the Yulin Army for a period of time."
"Nowadays, the emperor has died, the gods are in chaos, but Zhu Ming's attitude is unclear. This matter is indeed difficult."
Wu Ming shook his head, a little worried: "I'm afraid Zhu Ming will admit death and won't let me wait to enter the customs."
Cao Su fell into silence after hearing this.
After a long time, he shook his head and said: "Since Zhu Ming is from the Yulin Army, it is very likely that he has a close relationship with the palace. When the late emperor was dying, he transferred Zhu Ming to the Xiguan Guards. It is very likely that Zhu Ming is
I followed some of the late emperor’s arrangements.”
Cao Su's guess is not unreasonable, so he must be absolutely careful when dealing with Zhu Ming.
If the other party forcefully refused to allow the imperial troops to return to the capital, Cao Su would not force it. At most, he would continue to raid Yongzhou and wait for the opportunity.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It’s just that Yongzhou is close to the boundary of the divine capital, so there has never been any war.
The two secretly discussed the situation between the government and the opposition in a low voice.
Wu Ming reminded Cao Su that before the new emperor ascended the throne, it was not advisable to get too involved with various factions.
The safest approach is to wait and see what happens.
Of course Cao Su knew this truth, but Qin Hu seemed to have always been closer to the general, and now it was Qin Hu who recruited him to return to the capital of gods.
He only needs a formal approval before he can enter the country.
The Divine Capital is a deep pool of water, and Cao Su certainly didn't want to step into it easily.
But once the approval was obtained, if he did not want to offend the general and Qin Hu's group, he would have no choice but to enter the capital of the gods.
But right now, the general, Qin Hu, has the upper hand in the situation in the divine capital.
.........
.........
The next day.
Cao Jun arrived outside Xiguan.
Xiguan received military orders from the new guard general and closed the city gates tightly.
Many soldiers looked at the black cavalry on high buildings and felt a strong sense of oppression.
They all swallowed involuntarily.
"I heard that this is a warrior who came back from fighting in Xizhou. He is really brave."
"It's so scary. These people not only kill the Qiang people, but they can also kill demons."
"The war between the Yao clan and the Qiang clan was quelled by these cavalry. The two battalions of Changshui and Hu Qi were shameful. Whose troops in the city of God are more elite than this army now?"
"The number of light energy and blood warriors is probably in the thousands, and the famous Lingzhou Silver Dragon Army is no more than that."
The sergeants were talking a lot, looking at the Cao army in the distance who was setting up camp calmly, feeling uneasy.
But I was only slightly panicked and didn't think the other party would come to attack Xiguan.
A group of cavalry, without even siege equipment, came to attack the towering Xiguan. It would simply cost them their lives.
In a field battle, even if all the Xiguan defenders are deployed, they may not be able to defeat the 20,000 elite cavalry.
But everyone is very confident in defending the city.
Not long after, Cao Jun flew over ten cavalry from outside the city.
These cavalrymen stopped at the city gate.
Then shout the slogan loudly.
"I just want to pass by, nothing else!"
They told the defenders on the tower that there was no hostility.
The defenders looked at each other. Everyone in this cavalry team was very familiar with them.
Many of the Forbidden Army generals who came to Xiguan to change defenses were old friends with many of Cao's troops.
Cao Jun was also born out of the Forbidden Army, and the two are closely related.
The slogan Cao Su asked the sergeant to shout was concise and concise and very easy to remember.
The sergeant on the tower was shouted a few times by the people below, and he remembered it in his mind, forming a new conditioned reflex.
The sergeant shouting slogans below was also a little hypnotized.
I felt like I was really just passing through, not fighting.
Apart from the fact that they could not meet without attacking the city, the two sides had no hostility or intention to fight.
The soldiers on the tower also felt strange.
In this case, why did the new guard Zhu Ming insist on stopping Cao Su and others from entering the pass?
Cao Su was originally a general from Xiguan.
After quelling the external chaos, it is reasonable and reasonable to return to the divine capital.