It is the twentieth day of the first month of the year 197 AD.
Outside the west gate of Longxi County in Liangzhou, Xia Houyuan led an army to spread out, with armored guards standing on both sides. On the city tower, the propaganda team was standing ready, and there was no more snow falling in the sky. Everyone looked around, specially waiting here.
"Yuan Zhi, why haven't you come after so long?" Xia Houyuan has always been impatient, and waiting for a long time made him a little impatient.
"General, there is no need to worry. Since King Xiqiang has sent someone to notify him, it means that King Xiqiang's army is not far away. However, King Xiqiang has brought an army of 200,000 this time. The small Longxi army is afraid
I can’t tolerate it.” Xu Shu said worriedly.
"As soon as they come, they will immediately attack the Huaxia Army, capture the city, divide the troops and garrison them, and kill all the thieves of the Huaxia Army. The opportunity to counterattack Liangzhou has finally arrived. By the way, when will Zhang Xiu's army arrive?" Xia Houyuan asked
road.
"If nothing else, it should be within the next day or two. If the general hadn't suppressed him with orders, I'm afraid Zhang Xiu wouldn't be willing to come. He said he wanted to guard Wudu to prevent the Chinese army from sneak attacks..." Xu Shu replied.
"The city of Wudu has been broken. What's there to defend? Besides, how can he defend it with only ten thousand soldiers and horses? The main thing is to work together with me to destroy Taishi Ci's army." Xia Houyuan said angrily.
While he was talking, he saw a large number of troops approaching slowly from a distance. A Qiang general galloped ahead, with thousands of cavalry behind him in a long line.
After Xu Shu looked at it, he said to Xia Houyuan: "He is a brave general from the Western Qiang King's tent. He is called Mi Dang. This man is accustomed to using bows and crossbows, spears, knives, caltrops, flying hammers and other weapons. I heard that he has the courage of thousands of people."
.”
Xia Houyuan looked from a distance and saw Mi Dang holding a hammer in his hand and a precious carved bow hanging from his waist. He was tall and strong and looked very powerful. The cavalry behind Mi Dang were all strong and strong, and they were rushing towards here quickly.
"In the past, we helped Zhongcun Qiang to unify the Qiang tribes, and Cheliji, the king of Zhongcunqiang, became the first king of the Xiqiang in history. Cheliji should be grateful. This time he led an army of 200,000 to help in the war.
, Xiqiang’s strength is amazing, why worry that Liangzhou cannot be pacified?” Xia Houyuan said happily.
As he spoke, Mi Dang had already arrived at the city gate. The cavalry were lined up behind him. Everyone was wrapped in a sheepskin coat. Even in this weather, he would not feel cold.
"Play music!" Xia Houyuan shouted loudly.
The drummers who had been waiting on the tower began to play and played beautiful music.
Midang turned over and dismounted. When he heard the harsh sound, he said: "Stop, what kind of bird sound is this? Is it so unpleasant?"
After hearing this, Xia Houyuan frowned and immediately ordered to stop playing and asked: "Is it unpleasant to listen to?"
Mi Dang nodded, looked at Xia Houyuan, clasped his fists and said, "You must be Xia Houyuan, the general of the Wei Kingdom who suppresses the west?"
Xia Houyuan was not angry when he heard that Mi Dang called him by his name, and a look of displeasure suddenly appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Xu Shu hurriedly said: "Marshal Mi Dang, this is the General Xiahou who made the enemies frightened. He once led a partial army to conquer various countries in the Western Regions..."
"Oh, I know, he's the long-legged general from Wei who is said to be the fastest!"
"It's General Shenxing!" Xia Houyuan said angrily with a gloomy face as he got lost in waiting.
Mi Dang stood there holding his arms, with a look of contempt in his eyes. He sneered and said: "I don't care what general you are, but you are still defeated by the Chinese army? I guess you are alive today just because you run fast."
?”
"you……"
Seeing that Xia Houyuan was about to get angry, Xu Shu hurriedly grabbed Xia Houyuan and said, "We are all our own people. There is no need to fight over trivial matters. I am a marshal. I wonder when King Qiang will arrive with his army?"
"Oh, you also know that all of us Qiang people are in the army, but because it is so cold and freezing now, it is not suitable to send out troops, and the snow on the ground is deep. We have to wait until the snow melts and this is an auspicious day before we can go out."
"What? Cheligian dares to go back on his word?" Xia Houyuan said angrily.
Mi Dang glanced at Xia Houyuan and sneered: "Repent? If I really regret it, I won't come. Since I sent someone to inform you, it means that our king will definitely go out. But the snow is so deep now, the iron carriage
It is not suitable for soldiers to travel, so they can only wait until the winter snow melts before setting off on the expedition. I think it will probably be until March."
"March? Are you fucking kidding me?" Xia Houyuan became more and more angry. With a hot temper, he immediately pulled out the sword from his waist.
Mi Dang was on guard and jumped back. A group of Qiang people immediately surrounded him tightly. The Qiang soldiers immediately drew their weapons, and the guards on Xia Houyuan's side also showed their weapons, and two groups of people were drawn with arrows.
Zhang, tit for tat.
Seeing this, Xu Shu hurriedly said: "Put it all down! Put it down! We are all our own people, why should we hurt our harmony with swords and guns?"
Cheng Yu stood beside Xia Houyuan and hurriedly whispered comfort: "General, endure it if you can, and endure the temporary discomfort. In exchange, the whole Liangzhou will be gained. Besides, we still need the strength of the Qiang people and cannot fall out with them.
"
Xia Houyuan returned his sword to its sheath and asked angrily: "Since King Qiang has made his decision, we have nothing to say. Let's wait until the winter snow melts and the spring flowers bloom, and then we can work together to repel the Chinese army."
So, both groups put away their weapons. Mi Dang smiled and said: "In that case, then we will bother General Xiahou."
"Nao Nuo? Do you want to stay here?" Xia Houyuan asked in surprise.
"Of course, I was sent by the king, and I am considered the front line. I may not have said it clearly just now. Within a month, 150,000 troops will arrive here one after another, but our king just asked us to station here to defend the Wei army, and
We are not allowed to go on an expedition. On the actual day of the expedition, we have to wait until the winter snow melts. As soon as our king arrives with his chariot troops, we will immediately attack the Chinese army and recover the lost territory for you, the Wei Dynasty."
Xia Houyuan didn't care much about Midang's answer. What is replacement? It seemed that they had reached the end of their rope and were unable to recover the lost ground. Although he was unhappy, he endured it. He didn't want to see Midang's face again.
He turned around and entered the city, giving instructions: "Let the Qiang friends live in the west of the city, and all others should retreat to the east of the city."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Houyuan entered the city with his guards, while Xu Shu and Cheng Yu were responsible for arranging for Mi Dang and others to enter the city.
Once things were settled here, after Midang and others settled down, Midang sent people out of the city and went back to report to Cheriji. He himself led a team of personal followers and ran back and forth in the city, but his eyes were always fixed on Wei Jun.
Based on the war preparations, military strength, garrison situation, and food and grass, etc., we can estimate how much fighting power the Wei army still has.
Xu Shu found that Mi Dang was wandering around the city with nothing to do all day long, so he kept an extra eye on it. Later that night, he went to discuss with Cheng Yu.
The two people gathered together, and Xu Shu told Cheng Yu what he had seen during the day. After hearing this, Cheng Yu was shocked and asked: "Yuan Zhi... is Mi Dang doing this to peek at the combat power of our army?"
?”
Xu Shu said: "I also have this guess. A few days ago, King Qiang sent someone to say that he would personally lead an army of 200,000 people within ten days, but now he only asked Mi Dang to come with 3,000 cavalry, and Mi Dang was asked to come with 3,000 cavalry.
But you are spying on our troops in the city, which makes people suspicious."
"Your Majesty led the army far away in Bashu, and Chang'an was also captured. Qinzhou and Liangzhou are the only places where there is still a trace of our Wei army. If the Qiang people take this opportunity to break up with us, I'm afraid we will die without a burial place.
"Cheng Yu is also a man of great foresight. When Cao Cao seized power, he was sent to Liangzhou to take charge and lure the surrounding Han people and Qiang people to serve Cao Cao. It can be said that he worked hard and achieved great results.
After hearing this, Xu Shu frowned, held his chin and said, "I'm afraid, it's much more than that..."
"Yuan Zhi, what do you mean by this?" Cheng Yu asked hurriedly.
"I'm afraid that the Qiang King's army has already arrived, but they didn't come together. They first sent fans to test our strength. From my guess, the Qiang King doesn't just want to break up with us, but wants to use his own power.
, expel the Chinese army
, and then capture the entire Liangzhou. Of course, we are the first army to bear the brunt. Mi Dang is spying on the strength of our army in the city today. I am afraid that he is estimating how much combat power our army still has and whether it is still capable of fighting alongside the Qiang King.
.”
"Are you saying that the Qiang people want to join forces with us to fight the enemy first, and then they can kill the donkeys after expelling the Chinese army?"
"Well, that should be it."
"No, we have to inform General Xiahou immediately and kill Mi Dang that guy." Cheng Yu said.
"No, with General Xiahou's temper, if Mi Dang is really killed, our army will really be in catastrophe." Xu Shu said.
"Then what do you mean..."
"We will use our tactics. With the current combat effectiveness of our army, we will definitely be a good helper for the Qiang people. Now the Qiang king does not dare to touch us. Even if the Qiang people come to gnaw the army of 2,900 people in person, he will not have more than a month to gnaw at us."
No less than this
Don't tell General Xiahou about this in advance, just let it go. If nothing happens, all the Qiang troops will arrive tomorrow, and the war will begin against the Chinese army. As long as our army uses less force, let the Qiang army rush to kill them.
"
"Okay then, let's do it like this."
"Well, only you and I know about this matter. Heaven knows and the earth knows. When the time is right, I will explain it to General Xiahou."
"Yuan Zhi, don't worry."
………………
In a valley fifty miles away from Longxi County, Qiang King Cheliji received the news from Midang, so he gathered all the leaders of his subordinates and said: "Midang has found out what is true and what is true, and the Wei army still has strength. We must not
Underestimating the enemy, it seems that as long as we join forces with them first, it will not be too late to kill the Chinese army after repelling the Chinese army. Send the order, and the whole army will set off early tomorrow morning and go straight to Longxi County."
…………
On the other hand, Zhang Xiuzheng led 10,000 soldiers and horses to march arduously from Wudu to Longxi. When they reached a valley, he ordered his men to set up camp.
After nightfall, a primary school student came in and told Zhang Xiu that an old friend came to see him. Zhang Xiu was suspicious for a moment and asked someone to bring him in. However, he saw that the person was wearing a black cloak, and the cloak covered his face.
It's hard to see the faces of people coming at night.
Zhang Xiu stared for a while and asked: "Who are you?"
The visitor lifted up his cloak, revealing a handsome face, with a face like a crown of jade and eyes like shooting stars. He was looking at a handsome man, but his face was ashen and his eyes were deep, looking like he had experienced many vicissitudes of life.
When Zhang Xiu saw this person, he was immediately startled and hurriedly knelt on the ground and worshiped: "His Royal Highness..."