Liu Xiu asked: "Who do you want to borrow, brother?"
"Deng Yu." Liu Yan said bluntly.
There are many fierce generals under Liu Yan's command. The Liu family members are quite capable of fighting, but they only lack think-tank talents who can strategize and make suggestions. At present, there are only people who can barely act as Liu Yan's think-tanks. That's Liu Jia.
Attacking Wancheng at this time was of great significance, and Liu Yan had to be cautious, so he made a special trip to Liu Xiu to borrow people.
And I have to admit that Liu Yan's vision is indeed very vicious, and he immediately selected Liu Xiu's number one think tank, Deng Yu.
Hearing that his eldest brother wanted to borrow Deng Yu's name, Liu Xiu immediately showed a look of realization.
He thought for a while and thought it would be a good idea to let Deng Yu go to his elder brother first. Firstly, it could help him, and secondly, he could coordinate between his elder brother and his own side so that both sides could cooperate in fighting.
Liu Xiu didn't hesitate much, he nodded on the spot and said, "Okay, brother, I'll have Zhonghua come back right now!"
Liu Yan was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Axiu, thank you very much!"
"Brother, why are you being polite to me?"
Deng Yu, who had just left not long ago, was chased back by Long Yuan. Seeing Liu Yan was there, Deng Yu hurriedly bowed and saluted, saying: "General, my lord!"
Liu Xiu waved his hand, smiled at Deng Yu, and asked: "Zhonghua, I plan to temporarily transfer you to the eldest brother's account to help him. I wonder if Zhonghua is willing to help?"
Deng Yu was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what was going on. This must have been the general's initiative. Otherwise, the lord would not have sent himself to the general for no reason.
He thought about it for a moment, then raised his hands and said, "I will obey my lord's orders!"
Hearing this, Liu Yan laughed heartily, walked up to Deng Yu, patted his arm and said, "With Zhonghua helping me, I will feel better about defeating Wancheng!"
Deng Yu smiled bitterly, leaned forward and said, "The general is serious." What he wanted to say was that even with his assistance, it would be very difficult to capture Wancheng.
Wancheng was originally the largest city in Nanyang. It was well-defended and easy to defend but difficult to attack. What's more, the person guarding Wancheng was Cen Peng, who was good at both attacking and defending.
Not to mention that Liu Yan only brought 10,000 soldiers and horses. In Deng Yu's view, even if he had 100,000 troops to attack Wancheng, the fight would not be easy.
It's just that these words were too demoralizing, and Deng Yu couldn't say it easily.
The next day, Liu Xiu got up early, put on his armor, and made preparations for the expedition. Liu Xiu finished a simple breakfast and just walked out of the room when he heard someone at the door of the courtyard say: "Miss Yin!"
Liu Xiu raised his eyes and saw that the person walking in from outside the courtyard was Yin Lihua. Liu Xiu stepped forward and asked in surprise: "Lihua, why are you here?"
Yin Lihua looked at Liu Xiu blankly. This was the first time Yin Lihua saw Liu Xiu in military uniform.
Liu Xiu was wearing a red robe, a silver jacket on his head, silver armor on his body, and a sword under his ribs. He looked majestic, and his whole body naturally exuded the chilling air of a soldier.
Yin Lihua looked at it for a moment, lowered her head and said, "I'm here to see Uncle Wen off on his expedition!"
As she spoke, she took out a jade token from her belt, walked up to Liu Xiu, tied it on the buckle of the silver armor, and said, "I heard that jade has spiritual energy and can keep people safe!"
Liu Xiu's heart felt warm, and he looked down at the small jade plaque attached to the silver armor. It was white, crystal clear, and emitting soft light. He subconsciously raised his hand and touched it. It was smooth and warm, and there was still Yin on it. Lihua’s body temperature.
His fingers gently rubbed the jade plaque, and after a while, he said: "Lihua is in Xinye, waiting for my triumphant return!" As he spoke, he held Yin Lihua's hand.
Yin Lihua instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but Liu Xiu did not let go.
She didn't use much strength, and Liu Xiu's grip wasn't strong either. Seeing this, Liu Quan, who was waiting nearby, waved to the servants and maids around him, signaling them to leave, and he quickly retreated outside the courtyard.
No one else was present, and Yin Lihua showed no strong rejection. Liu Xiu became bolder.
He slowly raised his other hand, hooked Yin Lihua's slender waist, and moved back. Yin Lihua naturally threw herself on him, and his hands naturally wrapped around her waist, holding her in his arms.
.
The silver armor was cold, but Yin Lihua felt very warm. The warmth made her eyes feel hot. Her eye circles turned red and a layer of mist formed in her eyes. She said with a choked voice: "You must do what you promised me."
!”
This time Liu Xiu led 30,000 troops to stop the imperial court's 100,000-strong army. Yin Lihua felt empty and had no confidence at all.
Listening to her words, Liu Xiu's heart was shocked. He held Yin Lihua's chin with his fingertips and raised her drooped head. Seeing the tears hanging on her cheeks, Liu Xiu couldn't help but lower her head and put her head down.
Kiss the teardrop away.
"Uncle Wen..."
Just when Yin Lihua called out his name, Liu Xiu's lips were already printed on hers.
His kiss was very light and fast, like a dragonfly touching water. Before Yin Lihua could react, he straightened up, hugged Yin Lihua's waist tighter, and said: "When this battle is over, I will go
Xinye proposes marriage!”
After he finished speaking, he greedily hugged her slender waist, then let go of her hand and strode outside.
He didn't dare to stay any longer because he was afraid that he would be reluctant to leave.
Yin Lihua stood there blankly, and it took her a long time to come to her senses. She hurriedly turned around and chased out. When she ran to the gate of the mansion, she saw Liu Xiu already sitting on the horse, and around him, there were
Many soldiers on horseback.
She knew some people, but most of them she had never met.
Liu Xiu forced himself not to look at Yin Lihua, waved and said: "Let's go!"
Following Liu Xiu's order, all the Han soldiers present marched forward.
Before Liu Xiu left, he raised his hand and gently patted the jade plaque hanging on the silver armor. Yin Lihua noticed his action, and her tears couldn't stop flowing down.
She and Liu Xiu had known each other a long time ago, or had met each other, but the contact time between them was not long, but she knew very well that Liu Xiu had done a lot for her, even though she had never been in
She mentioned it before.
Looking at Liu Xiu who was walking away in the queue, Yin Lihua stood outside the door of the mansion, motionless for a long time.
Accompanying Liu Xiu were Ma Wu, the generals of Yaoqi, and some personal guards. The real large group of people were all outside the city.
Liu Xiu left the city and met up with Wang Chang and others waiting outside the city. After confirming that all his troops had arrived, Liu Xiu ordered the entire army to move north.
Not long after the 30,000 Han troops led by Liu Xiu and Wang Chang set out, the 10,000 Han troops headed by Liu Yan also marched northward.
Let's talk about Liu Xiu's troops. They went south to gather, gathered in Xiaochang'an, and approached Wancheng. When they arrived near Wancheng, the army did not stop, but circled the city and continued northward until they reached Sunset Ju in the north of Wancheng.
Xiyangju can be regarded as an important grain-producing area near Wancheng. It is bounded by Shahe River to the west and Feishui River to the east. It is located between the two rivers. The soil is fertile. Even during periods of severe drought, the crops here are still abundant.
Originally, Sunset Ju was just a fortress. Later, more and more people moved here, and it turned into a large stronghold.
Currently, there are no officers and soldiers guarding Sunset Ju. After Liu Xiu's troops arrived at Sunset Ju, they directly occupied the place without any bloodshed.
The center of Sunset Gathering is the originally built fortress. Although the area of the fortress is not small, it cannot be said to be very big. At full cost, it can only station two thousand people.
After Xiyangju arrived, Liu Xiu immediately ordered to recruit local people to build city defenses around Xiyangju.
Now, Yan You and Chen Mao have led their troops into Nanyang. There is not much time left for Liu Xiu and others. If they want to build a complete city defense system, there is simply not enough time. Thirty thousand Han troops, plus troops from the local and surrounding areas
Thousands of people recruited from the area spent five days building a three-meter-high and one-meter-thick earth wall around Xiyangju.
This was the limit of what they could do. The day after the earthen wall was just built, Yan You and Chen Mao, who were known to the outside world to have an army of one hundred thousand, arrived at Sunset Ju.
Generals Liu Xiu and Wang Chang stood on the earth wall and looked out.
Two miles away from the earthen wall, I could see the dark formation of the Rogue Army. Even if I stood three meters high, I could only see the head of the formation, not the tail.
An army of this size, if not 100,000, would be at least 60,000 or 70,000. Looking at the massive army outside the city, Liu Xiu and others narrowed their eyes in unison.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Wuwuwu——
When the Mang army formed a battle formation, the sound of drums and horns sounded in the Mang army camp. At the same time, a group of people rushed out of the Mang army camp and stopped half a mile away from the sunset gathering.
Come down.
There were about two thousand people in this group, led by a brave general, wearing a silver helmet and a bright red cloak on his back, and holding a long sword in his hand.
He urged his horse to come out of the formation, wandered back and forth in front of the earthen wall where the setting sun gathered, and shouted loudly: "I am Zhang Chong, who dares to come out and fight with me?"
Seeing a reckless general coming to challenge him, the generals of the Xiajiang Army were the first to lose their composure.
With the sound of armor clattering, a green forest general came out, saluted Wang Chang, and said in a loud voice: "The thieves are rampant and arrogant. I will lead a fight with the thieves!"
Wang Chang did not express his position immediately, but turned to look at Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu looked at the green forest general who was asking for help.
This man's name was Huang Fang, and he was considered a top general in the Xiajiang Army. However, Liu Xiu had also heard about Zhang Chong. He was a tiger general under Yan You. He had followed Yan You for more than ten years, and he was deeply respected by Yan You.
It’s hard to say whether Huang Fang can be Zhang Chong’s opponent!
Seeing that Liu Xiu was hesitant and seemed like he couldn't trust himself, Huang Fang's temper suddenly became fierce. He said in a deep voice: "General Liu, when you go to war, you must marry the head of a traitor. If you can't win, you will be willing to marry him."
See you later!"
When he said this, he gave Liu Xiu no room to refuse. Liu Xiu frowned imperceptibly. Wang Chang did not ignore the slight change in Liu Xiu's expression. His face darkened and he yelled at Huang Fang: "Presumptuous
!”
Huang Fang shrank in fear and hurriedly bowed to salute, but his eyes were still looking straight at Liu Xiu, as if waiting for his order to let him go to battle!
Liu Xiu took a deep breath and said: "Zhang Chong is a close confidant of Yan You. He has been following Yan You for a long time and has always been highly appreciated by Yan You. General Huang must be more careful when he goes to war. If he is not expected to win, he can withdraw immediately. I won't
I’ll blame you!”
"Haha!" Huang Fang laughed and said confidently: "General Liu, don't worry, I, Huang Fang, have decided on the head of Zhuzi!" As he spoke, he saluted Liu Xiu and Wang Chang, and then turned to
Walk under the earth wall.
Huang Fang led 500 Han troops out of Sunset Ju and headed straight for Zhang Chong opposite.
