After Hua Feiyan's persuasion, Liu Xiu's anger calmed down a bit. He pondered for a moment and said, "Liu Buxin, have you ever checked out the secret passage the assassin told you about?"
Liu Buxin quickly responded: "Replying to your Majesty, I have already gone to check it out."
Liu Xiu said in a deep voice: "Take me to see it."
"This..." Liu Buxin looked confused and looked at Hua Feiyan for help.
Before Hua Feiyan could say anything, Liu Xiu frowned and asked, "What? I can't see that secret passage? Am I still not allowed to see it?"
"No, no, no!" Liu Buxin shook his head repeatedly and whispered: "There is nothing special about the secret passage. To say it is special, it is that the entrance and exit are relatively hidden. It's just that the villain thinks that His Majesty may not...may not be willing to see it.
The scene in the secret passage."
Hearing his hesitation, Liu Xiu frowned even more and said displeasedly: "Speak clearly."
Liu Buxin took a deep breath and said, "There are... many corpse pits in the secret passage."
Liu Xiu looked at Liu Buxin in surprise, not understanding what he meant by the corpse pit.
Liu Buxin explained: "According to the villain's inference, the corpses in the corpse pit should...should be the people who dug the secret tunnel in the first place. These people are not Gongsun Shu's assassins or hidden stakes. They are most likely to live in Luoyang.
Refugees, they controlled these refugees and helped them dig secret tunnels. After they dug them, they were afraid of getting news from them, so... they killed all those people."
Liu Xiu was shocked and asked in a solemn voice: "How many corpses are there in total?"
Liu Buxin lowered his head and whispered: "Little man... there is no statistics. I estimate... I estimate that there are... five or six hundred people."
Bang! The small square table next to Liu Xiu shook. Liu Xiu said in a condensed voice: "This is simply unreasonable and lawless!"
Liu Buxin kowtowed forward and did not dare to say any more words.
When he entered the secret passage and saw the corpse pits, he was extremely shocked and angry. Liu Xiu paced back and forth in the hall. After walking for a while, he suddenly stopped and asked: "Did the assassin tell him anything else?"
Comrade?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Ruan Xiu's disciples in Luoyang City have been almost wiped out. If there are other assassins, they should be Tian Xi's disciples. However, Ruan Xiu's disciples don't know where Tian Xi's disciples are.
Place."
Liu Xiu asked: "Liu Buxin, do you think this statement is credible?"
Liu Buxin hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, I think the assassin did not lie."
Liu Xiu pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Luo You. Luo You smiled bitterly and shook his head. Although she and Tian Xi's disciples came from the same school, she didn't know where her brothers were now.
She did not come to Luoyang with her senior brothers, but came to Luoyang disguised as a kabuki dancer and sitting on a boat. Since arriving in Luoyang, she has not had any contact with her senior brothers. She has no regard for their current situation.
learn.
Liu Xiu looked at Luo You for a while and murmured: "During this period, Ruan Xiu's disciples have been active all the time. This is certainly related to Ruan Xiu's presence in Luoyang, but are Tian Xi's disciples too quiet?
Are they planning something secretly?"
Luo You whispered: "Your Majesty, the master is a peaceful man. He is different from Ruan Xiu, Qi Zhong, Guan Ying and others." Luo You was not helping Tian Xi speak. In her mind, Tian Xi was indeed different from Ruan Xiu and others.
Three other people.
Ruan Xiu and the others are too violent and cruel towards their enemies and ruthless towards their own disciples. However, Tian Xi is not that violent and is also kind and amiable. He treats his disciples as if they are his own.
's children.
Therefore, Tian Xi's disciples have rarely been found among the active Si'a assassins.
Liu Xiu narrowed his eyes and said: "If Tian Xi can understand the current affairs and keep his integrity, he may have a good death. If not, the fate of Ruan Xiu, Qi Zhong, and Guan Ying will serve as a lesson for him!"
After the eve of the moon, through the captured assassins, the county government and the people from Yunxi Pavilion uncovered a secret passage of the Si'a assassin. In addition, the county government and Yunxi Pavilion also stepped up their investigation of other possible secret passages.
Now, Liu Xiu began to prepare for his personal expedition. The war in the east had been dragged on for too long, and Liu Xiu planned to give Zhang Bu a final blow.
Just when Liu Xiu was gathering his troops from the capital and getting ready to go to Qingzhou for the final decisive battle with Zhang Bu, the battle report came back from Qingzhou.
After Geng Yan captured Jinan, he only took a short rest before marching eastward and attacking Qi County to the east of Jinan County. After the Han army entered Qi County, it was overwhelming, fought and won consecutive battles, and captured Linzi, the county seat of Qi County.
Qijun is a small county, and the county seat, Linzi, is also a small city, but the geographical locations of Qijun and Linzi are very important.
Further east from Qi County is Zhang Bu's Lao Cao, Zichuan County, and Linzi City is located at the junction of Qi County and Zichuan. It can be said that Linzi is the gateway to Zichuan.
When he heard that the Han army had invaded Qi County with lightning speed and occupied Linzi, Zhang Bu was anxious and angry. He personally ordered an army of 200,000 men and brought along his brothers Zhang Hong, Zhang Lan, and Zhang Shou.
He and his general Zhong Yi marched straight to Linzi in a mighty manner, hoping to fight to the death with the Han army in Linzi.
This magnificent battle of Linzi began.
Zhang Bu appointed his general Zhongyi as the vanguard officer and led 20,000 elite troops to lead the battle.
The Chongyi tribe approached Linzi one step ahead of the main army. Twenty miles east of Linzi, they collided with an oncoming Han army.
This Han army was the vanguard of the Han army led by Geng Yan himself.
Looking at the Eastern Campaign led by Geng Yan, we can find an obvious feature, which is speed.
The core idea of Geng Yan's tactics is actually blitzkrieg. It uses lightning speed to catch the enemy by surprise and attack them unprepared to achieve strategic goals.
After the Han army commanded by Geng Yan invades an enemy county, they will not occupy all the county seats in the county. Instead, they will seize several key points and open passages, allowing their own army to continue to advance rapidly.
.
This is a typical leapfrog blitz.
After the Han army captured Linzi, Geng Yan did not order any rest and recuperation, but led 20,000 elite Han troops to continue marching eastward, intending to skip Linzi and directly attack Zichuan to seize Zhang Bu's hometown of Ju County.
The Geng Yan tribe, which was advancing eastward, and the Chong Yi tribe, who wanted to recapture Linzi, met in the plain area twenty miles east of Linzi.
The two armies met on a narrow road, and there was nothing to say. They arranged their troops in different formations, went into battle in different directions, yelled at the Han army, and asked the Han army generals to come out to fight.
Chongyi, who was once the general of the Datong Army, was indeed outstanding. Three generals of the Han army fought in succession, but they were all defeated by Chongyi. Finally, Geng Yan personally went into battle and started a battle with Chongyi in front of the two armies.
A great battle.
In this battle, Geng Yan brought out his brave and good fighting side to the fullest. He and Zhong Yi fought for dozens of rounds, but there was no winner. In the end, both of them were exhausted, and the battle ended in a draw.
Singled out.
Returning to their respective formations, Geng Yan and Zhong Yi gave orders almost at the same time to launch an attack.
The soldiers from both sides advanced in opposite directions and soon came into contact.
In this battle, the two sides were evenly matched. The soldiers and horses on both sides were almost identical, both 20,000. The Han army on this side were elite men, and the Chongyi side were also elite old Datong troops.
The two armies collided with each other, fighting inextricably.
In this evenly matched duel, the casualties were the highest. The casualties of the soldiers on both sides increased in a straight line. In less than half an hour of fighting, both sides retreated to rest due to excessive consumption.
After they had almost rested, they pushed forward again and continued fighting.
This was repeated three times, and the two sides were still neck and neck. It could be said that this was the first time Geng Yan had encountered such a strong opponent since he became the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition.
Chongyi was extremely brave, and the soldiers under his command were all good at fighting. If the fight continued like this, all of his own soldiers might be exhausted. Geng Yan realized that fighting head-on was not a good strategy, and decisively ordered the entire army to retreat.
Seeing that the Han army had retreated, Zhong Yi was overjoyed and ordered his soldiers to pursue the Han army with all their strength. The Han army led by Geng Yan retreated again and again until they retreated back to Linzi City.
At present, the main force of the Han army is in Linzi.
Linzi is a small city and cannot accommodate all the Han troops. Therefore, part of the main force of the Han army is stationed in the city, part is stationed in the north of the city, commanded by Liu Xin, and part is stationed in the south of the city, commanded by Chen Jun.
When Chongyi led his men and pursued them regardless of the situation, the Han army inside the city did not counterattack. Instead, the Han army outside the city launched an offensive against the two wings of Chongyi's army like a pair of giant pliers.
Seeing that the Han soldiers were so numerous and powerful, they did not dare to fight due to their differences, so they ordered the troops to withdraw.
This was the first contact between the two sides in the Battle of Linzi, and there was no obvious winner or loser between the two sides.
Next, Zhang Bu led the main army and rushed to Linzi. However, Zhongyi and his army had successfully repelled Geng Yan's tribe before, which made Zhang Bu feel that the Han army was nothing more than this.
Zhang Bu ordered the entire army to attack and retake Linzi in one go. Linzi was a small city, and the strength of the Han army was far inferior to that of Zhang Bu's army. From Zhang Bu's perspective, this battle was an easy victory.
However, Zhang Bu's army had not yet advanced to Linzi City. Liu Xin's army stationed in the north of Linzi City left the camp and took the initiative to attack Zhang Bu's army. The two sides formed their troops outside Linzi City and started a fierce battle.
In this battle, Zhang Bujun's troops were far more powerful than Liu Xin's troops, but the Han army led by Liu Xin showed super combat effectiveness and withstood the attack of 200,000 Zhang Bujun.
When the battle between the two sides reached a fever pitch, Chen Jun led his troops to join the battle.
With Chen Jun's troops joining the battle, Zhang Bu had to divide his forces to fight. One part of the troops dealt with Liu Xin's army in the front, and the other part of the troops dealt with Chen Jun's army on the flanks.
At this time, looking at the situation on the battlefield, Zhang Bujun still had the advantage. The Han army was mainly on the defensive.
The battle between the two sides lasted from morning to afternoon. Just when the soldiers on both sides were gritting their teeth and persisting, Geng Yan from Linzi City attacked.
Geng Yan personally commanded a cavalry group, rushed out of Linzi City, and inserted into Zhang Bu's infantry square with lightning speed. Geng Yan came from Shanggu County in Youzhou, and the most famous Youzhou soldiers were the Youzhou sudden cavalry.
Commanding infantry is not what Geng Yan is best at. Commanding cavalry is Geng Yan's specialty.
Geng Yan, who led the cavalry, charged into Zhang Bu's army. It was as if he was in an uninhabited land. Even the old Datong army led by Chong Yi was severely defeated by the cavalry led by Geng Yan.
This cavalry was like a sharp blade, piercing deeply into Zhang Bujun's chest.
Zhang Bu's army was in chaos. Zhang Bu himself was so frightened that he hurriedly ordered the entire army to retreat. Zhang Bu's army of 200,000 was defeated by Geng Yan in the first decisive battle between the two sides.
The next day, Zhang Bu regrouped and led his troops to fight again, hoping to capture Linzi. The Han army led by Geng Yan did not bother to defend the city. The Han soldiers took the initiative to leave the city and once again had a face-to-face duel with Zhang Bu's army.
