No matter whether the Shu captives at both ends were elite or not, the fact that Yuezhi City and Jingyang City were lost cannot be changed.
Now Hu Zun faces two choices.
One is to retreat to Linjing and wait for reinforcements from Chang'an.
One is to abandon Linjing and run directly back to Chang'an.
Although Anding County goes south, it has to pass through Xinping, Fuyi Hujun and other counties before it can reach Chang'an.
But since the loss of Longyou, most of the garrison in Guanzhong, except Chang'an, were transferred to several important strongholds such as Qixian and Chencang in Fufeng County, and the rest were placed in Anding.
Even Beidi County, which was originally used as a barrier to Chang'an, is now guarded by local soldiers.
If stability is lost, the Shu captives north of Chang'an can basically drive straight down the Jingshui River and attack Jingzhao.
Thinking of this, Hu Zun asked with some trembling:
"Have you sent any news to Chang'an?"
At this time, he felt extremely regretful. If he had listened to Xiahou Ba's words, he would have lost his face and gone directly to Chang'an for rescue.
So if we retreat to Linjing now, we can be a little more confident.
Naturally, Hu Shoujiang didn't know what Hu Zun was thinking. When he heard Hu Zun's question, his face froze, and he said in a squeaky voice:
"As soon as Jingyang falls, I will come directly to remind General Xiahou and the prefect. Besides, how can I dare to make the decision privately on such a major matter?"
He wasn't trying to shirk it. After all, with his status, how could he be qualified to talk to Chang'an directly?
Hu Zun's heart suddenly went cold!
However, although he is where he is today because of the stability of the Hu family, he still has some ability after all.
After determining that the matter was irreversible, he quickly reacted:
"The Shu captives in Jingyang are probably on their way to Linjing at this time. Fortunately, I led the army back in advance and will arrive in Linjing tomorrow. I think it's still too late."
Thinking of this, he quickly wrote three handwritten letters and stamped them with his own seal. After sealing them, he sent out fast horses to send them to Chang'an.
When General Hu saw Hu Zun sending a message to Chang'an, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
Hu Zun was only focused on arranging things to deal with the upcoming emergency, and did not notice Hu Shoujiang's somewhat unusual expression.
After arranging things, he asked General Hu to rush back to Linjing first to make preparations. He then urged the army to move quickly.
No matter what the current situation of the Shu captives at both ends of Yuezhi City and Jingyang City was, and no matter whether he would defend Linjing or retreat to Chang'an in the end, he would go back first and try to figure out the situation of the Shu captives as much as possible.
Hu Shou ran from Wushi City back to Jingyang, then from Jingyang to Linjing, then from Linjing to find Hu Zun, and now he was sent back to Linjing by Hu Zun.
I have been running all the way these days, and I am really exhausted.
Taking Hu Zun's order, he rushed back to Linjing and ordered the whole city to be sealed off. No one was allowed to enter or exit at will. Only then could he breathe a sigh of relief.
As for what will happen in the end, it depends on what your clan brother decides in the end, and it is none of your business.
After doing all this, he personally visited various city gates to show his devotion to his duties.
The sudden closure of Linjing City caused many people in the city to panic.
There were rumors a few days ago that the Shu captives sent troops from Xiaoguan to stabilize the situation.
Two days ago, there was another rumor that Wushi City and Jingyang City had been lost, so many people started to pack up their gold and silver and prepare to flee south to Chang'an.
Now that Linjing is suddenly closed, it seems that the rumors are most likely true, and I am afraid that the Shu captives are about to come.
For a time, there were a lot of discussions and rumors in the city.
Those who were preparing to flee south but had no time to leave the city were particularly anxious. No one was looking around for news and asking when they could leave the city.
One of them saw General Hu Shou leading his soldiers to inspect, and he directly found an opportunity to shout:
"This general is someone who is stranded in Hebei Province. Now he is in a hurry to return to his hometown. May I ask when the city gate will be opened?"
General Hu turned around impatiently and said:
"It's up to the prefect to decide when to open the city gate, so... hmm? Hmm!"
Halfway through his words, he saw the face of the person coming and his eyes widened: "It's you!"
When the visitor saw General Hu, he secretly cried out in pain!
"It's not me, it's not me, the general recognized the wrong person!"
Shi Bao hurriedly covered his face and tried to escape.
However, General Hu could only allow him to run away, and immediately shouted: "This person is a careful worker, catch him quickly!"
Not to mention the soldiers below, even the officials around them were at this sensitive moment. When they heard General Hu shouting like this, they all shouted in unison, threw Shi Bao down and pinned him down.
.
Shi Bao was pressed at the bottom. He felt like there was a thousand kilograms of weight on his body. He couldn't even breathe. His eyes suddenly went dark!
"X...X is not... careful... careful work!"
He only felt that he was taking in less air and outgoing more air, so he could only muster his last breath and shout intermittently.
It's just that his voice is weak, not to mention that people can't hear what he's shouting, but even if they hear it, who will listen to him?
General Hu Shou came forward, separated the crowd, and asked the soldiers to tie him up.
When the soldiers tied him up, they only felt that his body was bulging. He reached out and took out a lot of good things, including a few pieces of paper, which were very exquisite.
General Hu took it over and saw that it was actually candy tickets and cloth tickets. His eyes lit up immediately, and he pointed at Shi Bao and said:
"You dare to say that you are not a craftsman or a stable person, so how did you get so much gold and silver? How do you explain these notes?"
To Kanto, these bills may be just a piece of paper.
But for those well-connected people in Guanzhong, which is close to Longyou and Hanzhong, Han candy stamps and cloth stamps are simply hard currency that is harder than five baht coins.
Because the Han people would have special caravans coming every year, and as long as you took these tickets, you could exchange them for real brown sugar and wool.
It’s not that no one has had the idea of counterfeiting these bills, it’s just that these Han bills, regardless of whether they are paper or ink, are all high-quality items made with a unique secret recipe.
Just saying that it was accidentally stained with water, as long as you don't crush it, the fonts on it will not be blurred after drying, which is enough to make people amazed.
Not to mention, it is rumored that there are unique secret words on it that only Han people can read.
Therefore, no one except the Han people could make the money he took out from Shi Bao's arms.
Shi Bao shouted that he was wronged: "General, these tickets are for..."
At this point, his face turned pale and he could no longer shout.
General Guan...isn't he a Han general?
Others may not have noticed the word "Guan", but General Hu was very sensitive to it.
As soon as Shi Bao mentioned this word, General Hu immediately remembered what happened in Jingyang.
At that moment, he wanted to kill Shi Bao on the spot to satisfy his hatred: This evil thief was really hateful. If it weren't for this evil thief's rumors that deceived people, how could Jingyang City be lost so easily?
It's all this thief's fault!
He just didn't say that his elder brother, the governor, asked him to seal off the city, but he didn't say what to do next.
Even what final decision the clan will make, he still doesn't know.
This person first spread rumors in Jingyang City, and now he came to Linjing with gold and silver notes. His purpose is self-evident.
Thinking of this, General Hu had to hold back his anger and ordered:
"Put this masterpiece on death row, and no one can get close to it!"
If the clan decides to cooperate with the Han people, that's all. If not, let's see how I can defeat you!
As for Shi Bao's belongings, they were naturally searched, allowing General Hu to make a considerable windfall.
Shi Bao has been lucky in memorizing Chinese characters over the years.
Last time I survived the catastrophe in Jingyang, I thought it had been transported, but I didn't expect that these belongings were thrown out again before they were warmed by me.
At that moment, he almost doubted his life: Could it be that I was born poor? I couldn't make any money?
In September of the eighth year of Jianxing, Feng Yong, the Han Qiang guard captain, left Xiaoguan and sent Guan Suo to lead a large army to attack Wushi and Jingyang. He also led his fine cavalry to attack Yuezhi City.
Most of the Wei army in Anding County was led by Feng Yong, and Guan Suo took the opportunity to quickly attack Wushi and Jingyang cities, open the door to Anding, and advance to Linjing, the county seat.
Feng Yong also used a plan to break through Yuezhi City, and responded to Guansuo's attack from a distance, attacking Linjing from a flank.
Xian Yufu, the guard general of the Wei army in Chang'an, learned that Jingyang City and Yuezhi City were lost, so he led the Chang'an army northward overnight in an attempt to rescue An'an.
Unexpectedly, only halfway through, we got the news that Hu Zun had surrendered the entire city.
Xian Yufu was so shocked that he had to garrison Xinping County to prevent the Shu captives from continuing southward. At the same time, he sent fast horses to inform Cao Zhen in the south of the fall of Anding County.
The news that one of the northern barriers of Chang'an was lost shocked Guanzhong.
Countless fast horses passed through Tongguan, galloping all the way to Xuchang.
When Cao Zhen decided to send troops to attack the Shu captives, Cao Rui went east to patrol Xuchang.
On the surface, it was said to be a patrol of the old capital, but in fact it was to prevent Soochow from taking the opportunity to send troops.
The news of Anding's loss reached Xuchang, which shocked the ministers who followed him.
There was also news from Guanzhong that Cao Zhen was leading his army in the Ziwu Valley. Due to continuous heavy rains, the plank road was damaged and the army had to dig a road.
It's been almost a month now, but we've only just reached the halfway point.
Yang Fu, the Shaofu, has always been upright and upright. When he learned about the war in Guanzhong, he was so anxious that he wrote a letter overnight:
"Today, Wu and Shu are not in peace, but the weather has repeatedly changed. When the armies begin to advance, there will be dangers of rain. The danger of Jilu Mountain has been accumulated for many days. The labor of transportation and the suffering of burdens have already cost a lot. If there is any
If it continues, it will violate this plan."
"Now Grand Sima has trapped the six armies in the valley. There is no way to advance and no way to retreat. This is not the way of a king's army!"
Cao Rui responded to the edict: "The Grand Sima, who is in charge of all matters in Guanxi, must have his own ideas. Moreover, the military situation in front of the battle is constantly changing. How can we, thousands of miles away, mess up our position?"
Wang Lang had just died in the sixth year of Jianxing. His son Wang Su was appointed as the regular attendant of Sanqi. He followed Yang Fu and wrote to persuade Cao Rui:
"When marching on a plain road, there are thousands of miles to feed food, the soldiers are hungry, and the firewood and Su Hou Cuan, the army is not full. What's more, the great commander goes deep into danger, encounters heavy rain, and the mountains are steep and slippery."
"A large army cannot march in deep mountains and canyons, and food and grass are a hundred times more difficult to maintain than on plain roads. This is really a taboo for marchers!"
"Today, there is another fierce bandit named Feng Thief, who invades Anding from the north and disrupts Guanzhong. The army is trapped in the deep mountains and canyons. If they are disturbed by the Ge thieves who cut the trails and cannot return to Guanzhong in time, Feng Thieves will have no one to control them, and Guanzhong will be in danger!"
Cao Rui replied: "This is an exaggeration! How can Feng Zeian be so arrogant? I heard that this person is known as a clever talker in Shu. I think he is just a villain who takes advantage of the situation to achieve success!"
Unexpectedly, when Yang Fu heard this, he became furious and shouted loudly:
"Thief Feng is cunning and good at using soldiers. How can An Neng look down on him? May I ask your majesty, how many people in the Wei army can compare with General Zhang He?"
Cao Rui was speechless.
Yang Fu was wise and refused to let others go: "I have been in Guanyou for a long time, and I have always known that the Qiang and Hu are unruly. Feng Thief has only been in Longyou for three years, and he has won the hearts of the Qiang and Hu."
"If it is allowed to be stabilized, it can interact with the barbarians in the north of Beidi County, and the Qiang and barbarians in Longyou will be reincarnated, and Guanzhong will no longer be owned by the Wei Dynasty!"
The so-called Qiang and Hu incident in Longyou refers to the second year of Taihe, when the Shu captives took advantage of Wei's unpreparedness and attacked Longyou. The Qiang and Hu rebelled against Wei and became traitors after hearing the name of Feng thief.
Zhang He and Feng Thief fought in a street pavilion and were locked in a stalemate. In the end, they were attacked from behind by the Qiang and Hu, and they were defeated.
Beidi County is located directly north of Chang'an and is one of the most important barriers in Guanzhong.
"If the Hu people in the north of Beidi County also follow the Qiang Hu incident in Longyou, then there will be Feng thieves in the northwest and rebel Hu people in the north."
"Coupled with Zhao Yun in Longyou and Ge Zei in Hanzhong, Chang'an is surrounded by enemies on three sides, so how can we defend it? The Wei Dynasty has no other choice but to withdraw from Guanzhong."
Cao Rui had no choice but to respond: "In that case, I will send an edict to Da Sima and ask him to withdraw his troops."
"That's exactly what it should be."
After receiving the emperor's promise to withdraw his troops, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, after Cao Rui finished discussing the political affairs and returned to the harem, his expression changed on the spot. He glanced at the cases and heard a "ding zero and Kuang Rang" sound.
"What a bastard! Xiahou Ba is really incompetent! Anding has 20,000 elite soldiers, how can it not be able to defend it for ten days?"
His face was full of twisted anger, and he cursed through gritted teeth:
"Thief Feng is trying to ruin something important for me. It is my great hatred! If I can capture him in the future, I will eat his flesh and blood!"
Thinking of Xia Houxuan (son of Xia Houshang) who despised him and disdained the queen's younger brother;
Xiahou Mao (son of Xiahou Dun) also sold military supplies, which made the Guanzhong army unable to regain Longyou;
Now Xia Houba (son of Xia Houyuan) did this again, and Cao Rui was so angry that he punched the table again, making a "thud" sound:
"The three Xiahou families are all relatives of the royal family. Now it is of no benefit to the Cao family. What's the use of dragging down the royal family!"
What he said was originally an angry remark, but it was unexpectedly heard by his close servant Lian Zhao and kept in mind.
Lian Zhaonai is Cao Rui's new close minister. He is quite talkative and likes to remember the ministers' minor faults in order to repay the emperor and gain the emperor's trust.
Some time ago, Liu Ye made greedy remarks in front of Cao Rui, saying that Chen Jiao had an autocratic attitude as the Minister of Finance.
Chen Jiao was afraid, but also met Lian Zhao who wanted to overthrow Liu Ye in order to gain the emperor's exclusive favor.
Lian Zhao took the opportunity to join forces with Chen Jiao and exposed Liu Ye's good at figuring out his intentions to Cao Rui.
Cao Rui didn't believe it at first, but later tried it with the opposite intention in his heart. It turned out that it was true as Lian Zhao said, so he alienated Liu Ye.
Liu Ye first heard that Cao Rui said he wanted to go west to Chang'an, but later he saw that the emperor went to Xuchang instead. He was already worried.
Later, Lian Zhao thought of a way to let him know that the emperor was testing him, and Liu Ye finally collapsed and went crazy.
Seeing this, Cao Rui hated Liu Ye even more, so he gave up his position as a servant and became Dahonglu.