After listening to Zhang Ping's story, Liu Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about his eldest brother's safety. Now that he heard that his eldest brother had returned to the county safely, his heart finally dropped in his throat.
But soon his nerves became tense again and he asked: "Do you know the current situation in the county?"
Everyone looked at each other, shook their heads, and said, "When we return to Qianyou Mountain, we will cut off contact with the county."
Li Yi complained angrily: "If Tang Heng hadn't advanced rashly this time, we wouldn't have suffered such a disastrous defeat, and the county wouldn't be in danger!"
Gai Yan straightened his face and said: "Compared to most officials, Mr. Tang is already very good. At least Mr. Tang dares to send troops and fight to the death against the barbarians in order to protect the people of the county!"
Tang Heng was a little conceited and headstrong, but his official character was not bad.
Compared with Tang Heng, most of the officials in Yizhou received salaries from the imperial court and enjoyed the wealth of the people, but they were as timid as mice. When they heard that the barbarians were coming, they were the first to run away.
Liu Xiu took a deep breath and said quietly: "With the current strength of the county and city, it is impossible to resist the attack of the barbarian army. Brother Juqing, will other counties reinforce the county and city?"
Gai Yan shook his head solemnly and said: "The troops in each county are insufficient, and it is difficult to protect themselves. Where can there be extra troops to reinforce the county? What's more, even if the county government has troops, I'm afraid no one will dare to lead them. The army went to the county to assist."
Liu Xiu frowned. When they left, there were only 3,000 rebels left in the county. During the battle at Ganyou Mountain, another 1,000 people fled back. The total force was less than 5,000, and these more than 4,000 people They were not regular troops yet. Compared with the barbarian army, which numbered close to 20,000 people, the difference in strength was huge.
He stood up immediately and said: "We don't have time to delay here, we have to rush back to the county town for rescue immediately!"
Li Yi smiled bitterly, looked around at everyone present, shook his head and said: "Uncle Wen, just the few hundred of us who returned to the county town are not enough for the barbarians to fill their teeth!"
He had personally experienced the fighting power of the barbarians. They fought without their lives, just like wild beasts. Only a few hundred of them went to the county to rescue, and they were immediately torn to pieces by those wolf-like and tiger-like barbarians.
In his opinion, it is better to go back to Jingzhou than to go to the county town. They cannot fight the war in Yizhou at all.
Li Yi's words were not unreasonable, and even Li Tong nodded slightly, not thinking that a small number of them could solve any problems in the county.
Liu Xiu took a deep breath and said, "It's not like we don't have the resources to check and balance the barbarian army!" As he spoke, he turned around and waved to the back. Two men from the county army escorted Xiesang over.
Seeing an older, fat barbarian being escorted over, Long Yuan and Zhang Ping were startled. They looked at Xiesang curiously and then asked, "Who is he?"
"His name is Xiesang, and he is the leader of the Xie tribe!" Liu Xiu told everyone exactly how they captured Xiesang and how they destroyed the barbarian army's lair in the valley.
Finally, he said: "With the head of the Xie tribe in our hands, we don't have to worry about Xie Tu and the other Xie tribe members not obeying!"
When Liu Xiu finished speaking, Long Yuan and Zhang Ping's eyes lit up at the same time. No wonder they couldn't find Liu Xiu after searching in the mountains for so many days. It turned out that he hid in the lair of the barbarians and successfully captured the barbarians. Clan leader.
Li Tong looked excited and said: "In this case, it is not impossible for us to push back the barbarian army!"
Li Yi muttered: "What if Xie Sang doesn't work?"
Liu Xiu shook his head and said: "No! Xiesang is Xietu's father. Xietu will not care about his father's life or death. If a person doesn't even care about his father's life and death, even if he becomes the clan leader, who will believe him? ?So, whether in public or private, Xie Tu will definitely keep Xie Sang safe and sound."
Li Tong nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "Uncle Wen's words make sense."
At Liu Xiu's insistence, the three hundred or so of them did not back down and marched all the way towards the county town.
The current Hanzhong City is indeed in danger, but miraculously, Hanzhong City has not been lost.
The garrison of less than 5,000 people held back the 20,000 barbarian troops outside the city and held on for three consecutive days. This has to be said to be a miracle.
The people who created this miracle include Liu Yan and Feng Yi.
Liu Yan accepted Tang Heng's deathbed order and became the commander-in-chief of the county, but it was Feng Yi who actually performed the role of commander-in-chief.
After hearing the news that the county army was defeated at Qianyou Mountain and returned home in defeat, Feng Yi immediately found Liu Yan and asked him about the situation of the war.
When Liu Yan saw Feng Yi, he sighed and said, "Brother Gongsun, you really got it right. The main force of the barbarian army is ambushed in Qianyou Mountain, numbering no less than 20,000. Our army was almost completely wiped out!" "
Feng Yi was stunned for a moment and then asked: "Where is Lord Captain?"
"Master Tang...died in battle..."
"Then, what about Mr. Du?"
"He was also killed in action."
Feng Yi looked solemn, pondered for a moment, and asked urgently: "Who will guard the county now?"
"Before Mr. Tang died, he entrusted the county and city to me!"
Fortunately, fortunately, this is a blessing among misfortunes! Compared with the military attachés in the county, Feng Yi admired Liu Yan more.
He said seriously: "Brother Bosheng, I request that the three thousand rebel troops outside the North City be immediately transferred into the city to reinforce the city's defenses."
The current development of the situation is almost as he expected. If nothing unexpected happens, the barbarian army will attack the border in large numbers and approach the city. The county and city are in danger.
Liu Yan had no objection, nodded and said: "Brother Gongsun, I am not afraid of anyone in front of the two armies, breaking the formation and killing the enemy, but I am an amateur in defending the city, so you have to help me more!"
"Brother Bo Sheng, don't worry. We will shoulder all the responsibilities and will do our best!"
At Feng Yi's suggestion, more than 3,000 rebels who were originally stationed outside the north city of the county city all retreated into the city and deployed rolling logs and rocks at the head of the city.
Liu Yan and Feng Yi went to the prefect's mansion again, met with Wang Xun, the prefect of the county, and informed him of the battle at Qianyou Mountain.
When he heard that Captain Tang Heng had been killed in battle, and that the 10,000-strong army was almost wiped out, with only a thousand people running back, Wang Xun was frightened on the spot, turned pale, and stammered: "This...this... What should we do?"
Wang Xun was a civil official, not a military general. He was a complete layman on matters such as arranging troops and going into battle to kill the enemy.
Feng Yi looked at Liu Yan, then looked at Wang Xun, bowed his hands and saluted, and said: "Sir Wang, the barbarian army has a strength of 20,000, and they are about to arrive at the county city. The garrison of the county city is less than 5,000. Thousands versus 20,000, both in terms of military strength and combat power, there is a huge gap, I hope Sir Wang will make preparations in advance!"
"Yes, yes, prepare early!" Wang Xun stood up hurriedly, paced back and forth, and asked, "Bosheng, Gongsun, is it still too late to abandon the city and run away now?"
When Liu Yan heard this, his lungs almost exploded with anger. You are the magistrate of Hanzhong County. When the enemy is at hand, what you think about is not how to defend yourself against the enemy, but how to escape?
Feng Yi bowed seriously and said: "It's still too late to abandon the city and run away!"
When Wang Xun heard this, he felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Yan turned his head, looked at the monster and looked at Feng Yi, thinking to himself: Are you crazy?
Feng Yi continued: "Master Wang can escape, but what about the food stored in the city?"
"Food...food?"
"The food stored in the counties and cities is not the food of Hanzhong, but the food of the capital army! Once this food falls into the hands of the barbarians, even if it is only burned by the barbarians, the result will directly cause the capital army to run out of food, and the capital army will be short of food. We will be unable to continue fighting and will be forced to retreat. I don’t know how many soldiers will starve to death along the way. Is it possible that Mr. Wang can bear this responsibility? With the character of General Lian Dan, I am afraid that the punishment from the court has not yet been announced. Come down, Mr. Wang will first..."
Feng Yi didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was already obvious. With Lian Dan's personality, if he knew that Wang Xun had lost his army rations, he would not only crush Wang Xun to death with his own hands, but also probably all of Wang Xun's family members. Can't run away.
After listening to Feng Yi's words, Wang Xun was like a deflated rubber ball, which suddenly withered. He stood up and fell weakly back to the couch, his eyes were dull, and he murmured: "It's over, this is over." It’s all over…”
I can't run, I can't fight, what should I do?
Feng Yi took a step forward and said in a loud voice: "Master Wang!" His voice startled Wang Xun and he looked at Feng Yi blankly.
The latter said loudly: "As long as Mr. Wang is determined and vows to live and die with the county and city, my subordinates believe that the county and city are not undefendable. We can completely hold the barbarian army outside the city and make it difficult for them to cross the thunder pond! "
Wang Xun wondered if his ears had heard it wrong and asked: "With just... just four thousand people, how can we stop the 20,000 barbarian army and defend the county?"
Feng Yi nodded and said loudly: "Of course you can! But if you want to defend the county, you cannot do without the support of Mr. Wang!"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Recruit all the strong men in the city, transport rolling logs and stones to the top of the city, strengthen the city defense, and recruit volunteers to participate in the defense of the city! There are 100,000 people in the county city, which is more than enough to resist 20,000 barbarian troops!"
Wang Xun had already run out of ideas. When he heard Feng Yi say that he could defend the city, he hesitated. He nodded repeatedly and said: "Gongsun, Bo Sheng, defend the city...it's up to you to defend the city." Let the two of you do it!"
Feng Yi said: "Master Wang, my subordinates are worried that some high-ranking officials and nobles in the city may not be willing to let their slaves out!"
Wang Xun strenuously arranged the cases on the table and said loudly: "I want to see who dares to do this?! At this critical moment, life and death are on the line. At this time, whoever dares to seek personal gain will be severely punished by me!"
What Feng Yi wanted was Wang Xun's words. With his words, he could recruit all the strong men in the city at will. He cleared his throat and said: "I heard that Mr. Wang has dozens of domestic slaves in his home." .”
Wang Xun blinked and did not react for a moment. Feng Yi said: "If Mr. Wang can lead by example and ask other dignitaries in the city, my subordinates think that he can convince the public."
Ah, it turns out you are waiting for me here! Wang Xun doesn't know how to fight, but when it comes to playing tricks, he is the best at it.
However, he had to admit that what Feng Yi said was reasonable. If he kept his own secrets and refused to give up his slaves, how could he ask others to do the same?
He pondered for a moment and said seriously: "Gongsun, you can recruit the slaves in my family as you wish, and I will never interfere with them!"
Feng Yi took a deep breath, raised his hands, bowed to the ground, and said loudly: "Master Wang leads by example, which is actually a blessing to all the people in the city!"
