Li Hui felt awe-inspiring and hurried out of the camp. He took Dachun and Dazhuang into the mule cart and drove away quickly.
Li Hui was a little worried. Originally, he was not aware of the danger. Even if he offended Huan Xu, Li Hui believed that he would not dare to do anything to him. But just now, the killing intent in Huan Xu's cold eyes made Li Hui
shudder.
Here are all his troops, and the Huan family is extremely powerful. He is just a small county magistrate, and it is actually very easy for him to do anything to him. If he offends him, it will be easy for him to kill him.
The mule cart was slow, and even though the whip was whipped, it could not run fast. After finally walking three or four miles, the town was almost in front of him, and Li Hui felt a little at ease. At the same time, he felt that he was too sensitive.
But at this moment, Li Hui saw horse hooves rushing and dust flying on the official road behind him. More than a dozen horses were galloping from behind.
Li Hui's heart trembled, thinking that what he was worried about had come true. Huan Xu still sent someone here. He was afraid that something good might happen, so he couldn't neglect it.
Immediately, they led Dachun and Dazhuang into a small forest beside the road. With the cover of the forest, if the other party had evil intentions, they could use the terrain to maneuver around.
More than a dozen horsemen galloped over and halted on the official road above the woods. They were all fully armed soldiers. They actually saw Li Hui and the others entering the woods beside the road, so they dismounted when they got near the woods.
"Magistrate Li, I am Xie Xuan, come out, we saw you entering the forest." Xie Xuan stood outside the forest and shouted.
Li Hui in the forest also recognized him, and was a little confused. It turned out that it was not Huan Xu, but Xie Xuan. What was Xie Xuan chasing after? Could it be that he had done it? But thinking about it, it seemed unlikely.
Li Hui slowly walked out of the woods, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, General. Li Hui is here. I don't know if I have anything to teach you."
Xie Xuan strode over with a smile on his face. Dachun and Dazhuang hurriedly set up their postures and raised iron bars to guard Li Hui.
Xie Xuan spread his hands and said with a smile: "I have no ill intentions, I just admire County Magistrate Li's demeanor and want to make friends with Magistrate Li."
Li Hui signaled Dachun Dazhuang to retreat and said with a smile: "How can Li Hui be so virtuous that he can make friends with Xie Canjun?"
Xie Xuan smiled and said: "Just because you are not afraid of Huan Xu's coercion, Xie Xuan thinks that you are extraordinary. Hahaha, Magistrate Li is so courageous. He dares to argue with Prefect Huan in person. Do you know Huan
Who is the prefect? Do you know the consequences of offending Huan Xu?"
Li Hui said in a deep voice: "I didn't mean to offend him, but there are some things I don't want to do, and I can't do it even if others force me to do it. If there are any consequences, I can only bear them. I've already offended him, so why can't I go back and apologize?"
Xie Xuan laughed and said with bright eyes: "That's true. Magistrate Li is young and promising, and has done so many amazing things in Juchao County. Xie Xuan has heard about it all. He didn't believe it at first, but now he does
Yes. They say you are a brave and courageous person, and you are indeed so."
Li Hui said with a smile: "That's because others are flattering me. I just did some small things that I should do. I can't talk about my courage and integrity. I live up to the court and have no regrets for the people."
Xie Xuan nodded and said: "That's very good. Magistrate Li, how about I give you a ride?"
Li Hui said hurriedly: "How dare you thank the general for sending me off?"
Xie Xuandao: "Just send it to the entrance of the town ahead."
Li Hui was confused, wondering why Xie Xuan was acting like this. But it was difficult to refuse such good intentions, so he nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Xie Xuan and Li Hui were walking side by side, with his cavalry leading the horses behind. Dachun and Da Zhuang followed slowly behind with their mule carts.
Xie Xuan was very talkative and smiled as he walked: "I am a person who likes to make friends. For some reason, when I saw Magistrate Li Fengyi, I felt like old friends at first sight. So I came here to see me off, so Magistrate Li wouldn't think that I
Be abrupt."
Li Hui said hurriedly: "Of course not. Thank you for joining the army for showing me your love. Li Hui is extremely frightened and honored."
Xie Xuan laughed loudly: "I'm not flattering you. I'm telling the truth. If the troops hadn't set off, I would have had a few drinks with Magistrate Li. But now that time is running out, I can't. I'll meet Magistrate Li another day.
How about we meet up?"
Li Hui actually felt that it was a bit unexpected for Xie Xuan to see him off. He also said that he felt like an old friend at first sight, which was even more unreasonable. Are people these days so straightforward? After just one meeting, he felt like an old friend at first sight? It's not between a man and a woman, could it be?
Love at first sight?
Or are all the celebrities in Jin Dynasty so straightforward and like to make friends in a straight-forward manner?
However, Li Hui actually also has a good impression of Xie Xuan. When he was in the big tent just now, his words actually helped him. He came to see him off, so he didn't have to think too much.
"Thank you for your attention to Xie Canjun. If Xie Canjun has a fault in the future, please come to Juchao County for a gathering. Li Hui will definitely entertain you with a small amount of wine." Li Hui said with a smile.
Xie Xuan nodded and smiled: "Then it's settled."
While he was talking, a cavalryman came up and whispered a few words into Xie Xuan's ear. After hearing this, Xie Xuan stopped and cupped his hands and said: "County Magistrate Li, the troops are about to leave. I have to go back and lead the troops north. I can't send them any further."
is you."
Li Hui said hurriedly: "Thank you for joining the army and please come back. How can you delay the business?"
Xie Xuan nodded, beckoned someone to bring a horse, handed the reins to Li Hui, and said with a smile: "The mule cart is slow, I will give you a horse, so you can leave here faster."
"How to do this?" Li Hui waved his hands hurriedly.
"It's just a means of transportation. It's nothing. This is my personal property, not a horse in the army. Don't worry. There's no need to refuse." Xie Xuan said with a smile.
Li Hui was about to refuse, but Xie Xuan became a little impatient and said in a deep voice: "County Magistrate Li, don't you look down on me, Xie Xuan?"
Li Hui smiled bitterly and was speechless. After thinking for a while, he took off the dagger from his waist and handed it over and said: "Li Hui has no long possessions, but this dagger is still sharp, so I gave it to General Xie to kill the enemy."
Xie Xuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "No need, I have a weapon."
Li Hui smiled and said: "It's just a sword, and it's my personal property. Doesn't Xie Canjun look down on it?"
Xie Xuan laughed and said: "Okay, I'll accept it. Say goodbye."
While Li Hui bowed and saluted, Xie Xuan had already turned around and mounted his horse, and the group galloped away.
Li Hui stood there and smiled, and thought to himself: This Xie Xuan is quite cute. He actually came here to send it to him, which is surprising.
…
On the evening of the fourth day of July in the fifth year of Taihe in the Jin Dynasty, as sharp whistle arrows sounded from far to near, the warning gong at the top of Shouyang City roared.
Yuan Zhen, the former governor of Yuzhou in the Jin Dynasty, received the report and quickly went to the city of Shouyang. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, he saw the soldiers and horses of the Jin Dynasty rolling in, their flags fluttering in the smoke and dust, and their weapons glaring in the sun.
shine.
Huan Wen came, and what he had been worried about for more than half a year happened.
From the day he launched his rebellion, Yuan Zhen made active preparations. Externally, he widely spread the reasons for Huan Wen's failure in the Northern Expedition to defend himself. He even sent people to Jiankang to deliver letters to the Wang, Xie, and Yu clans to explain the reasons.
.
He told Xie An in a letter to Xie An that the reason why Huan Wen passed the responsibility to himself was because he plotted Yuzhou and wanted to remove himself, the thorn in his side. Yuan Zhen told Xie An that once Yuzhou was captured by Huan Wen
As a result, Huan Wen will plot to usurp the throne in the next step.
The reason why Yuan Zhen wrote to Xie An was because he and the Xie family were both from the same hometown in Chen County. Yuan Zhen was born in the Yuan family in Chen County. Although they are not comparable to the Xie family, the friendship between Yuan Zhen and the Xie family has always been the basis of their friendship.
a gripping point.
Yuan Zhen actually also knew that at this time, it was impossible for Xie An, Wang Tanzhi and others to stop Huan Wen from attacking him. It was even less possible for him to provoke an internal fight between the Wang Xie family and Huan Wen.
All he wanted was time. The troops in Shouyang City were too few and too weak. He had to use various means to delay time and prepare himself. If it could ruin Huan Wen's reputation and muddy the water, Yuan Zhen would
All are beneficial.
What Yuan Zhen relies on and looks forward to most externally is to get the support of Qin and Yan. Qin and Yan are enemies of the Jin Dynasty, and it is in their interests to betray the Jin Dynasty. Yuzhou is the key to the south, and Shouyang is the key to the south.
The land is what they covet, so using them and relying on them is the secret to protecting themselves.
So Yuan Zhen asked for help from Qin and Yan respectively, expressing his attitude of surrender. Both countries also responded. Emperor Murong Wei of Yan issued a decree at the beginning of the year, making him the commander-in-chief of the military forces in Huainan, the general of the southern expedition, and the leader of the southern barbarians.
There are a long list of titles and titles such as school captain, governor of Yangzhou, and Duke of Xuancheng.
The State of Qin even made a practical promise. The Prime Minister of Qin State, Wang Meng, promised that once the Jin Dynasty attacks Shouyang, they will definitely send troops to help.
Yuan Zhen is a meticulous person. Although he has received promises from Qin and Yan, of course he still can't rest assured. It is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself. If you rely entirely on others for some things, the consequences will be very miserable. Especially when life is at stake.
Therefore, in addition to communicating with the Qin State and the Yan State, and writing letters to the Wang Xie family to disrupt the situation, Yuan Zhenhua's greater effort was to seize the opportunity to consolidate the city and expand the army, prepare food and supplies, train troops and horses, and enhance strength.
Even if Qin and Yan are willing to come to rescue, they must first defend Shouyang.
Therefore, starting from the end of the year, Yuan Zhen began to recruit soldiers into the army on a large scale, driving the people to build and strengthen city walls and build defensive facilities, and actively enhance his own strength.
In just over two months, the walls of Shouyang City were raised by one foot, dozens of archery towers and towers were built, and the moats outside the city were widened and deepened. The number of soldiers and horses dropped from less than 30,000.
The number of people has expanded to more than 50,000.
Of course, the negative effects caused by this are great. Yuan Zhen has guarded Yuzhou for many years. He originally had a good reputation and the people had no complaints about him. But now he rebelled against the Jin Dynasty and began to arrest Ding Zhengfu on a large scale in order to prepare for war.
The people were exploited and plundered by unscrupulous means, causing the people to complain and curse endlessly.
Within a few months, tens of thousands of people fled from Shouyang and fled southward. Because of Latin's recruitment, public resentment boiled over. The local wealthy families in Shouyang also protested and made endless noises.
Yuan Zhen did not stop doing anything, confiscating all the property of the local wealthy people, killing all the people who were imprisoned, and rewarding his wives and daughters with his soldiers. He suppressed these noisy guys with force. Yuan Zhen knew that at this time, he could not be soft-hearted and must
Take control of the situation.
But Yuzhou was originally a border town, a barren place with a sparse population and not much supplies. After Yuan Zhen's troubles, the people fled, the big families were annihilated, and the army's food and supplies became a big problem. Most of the young and strong people were killed.
Forced conscription into the army, where does food and drink come from?
Therefore, in mid-April, Yuan Zhen sent his son Yuan Jin south to plunder green wheat to supplement the army's food supply. This was originally a foolproof plan. Yuan Zhen had already done a good job of investigation and wished Yuan Jin would only plunder Hefei County.
A few days' worth of food is enough. Who would have thought something would happen.