sinking into sand

In the seventh year of Jian'en, autumn.

The stalemate war near the tea and salt trade road ushered in the first big defeat of the imperial court.Huizhou, where the imperial army was stationed, was broken.The main general died in battle, and the deputy general led the remnants to retreat to Yongzhou. At this moment, the refugee army was only left with two larger cities from Dingzhou.

Coincidentally, the momentum of the refugee army also extended to the northwest along the Yongjia Ancient Road. There was no resistance along the way, and they went straight to Daocheng, and they seemed to continue marching towards Fengcheng.

On the day Huizhou City was destroyed, the imperial court issued ten edicts in a row, and sent envoys to the refugee army to negotiate with their leaders.In the same month, the two sides temporarily ceased fighting, and the refugee army guarded Huizhou and stopped marching to Dingzhou.

The news from the southeast came along with the flames of war in the west.Guo Hengzhi read the news from the southeast several times in his bedroom, and finally couldn't sit still, and went out to Si En's room.

Si En's original house in Hanhaozhai has been turned into a conference hall, and there are people there at any time, day or night.After the refugee army arrived in Daocheng that day, they joined forces with the local Huns to attack the nearby camps.

It is said to be an attack, but it is actually more like a robbery. They are all small-scale operations, and there are troops from the north and the south.Guan Lan and Ye Wanwan led the people back to help several villages, all of them were like Daocheng, with casualties everywhere, and all the property and food were looted.The only fortunate thing is that they responded in a timely manner, and the situation in the mountains is complicated.Ye Wanwan and the others moved the people and supplies from the cottage around in the deep mountains in a daze, and fought several encounters with the refugee army, but it was not smooth, and each had a win or lose.

But this is not the focus of Guo Hengzhi's visit today.

He stepped into the door of the conference hall, where Yu Sha and Si En were studying a map carefully.Next to him is Xu Ziyuan who came to Hanhao Village a few days ago.

Several people heard the sound of someone coming in, looked up and found that it was Guo Hengzhi.Guo Hengzhi didn't show off, and directly stated his intention: "When will you go north to ask for help?"

Yu Sha and Si En looked at each other, but didn't speak.

After discovering that the refugee army had started marching that day, a team of spies had been sent north to Fengcheng to inform Zhai Su.But I don't know whether it was broken on the way or something happened, so far there is no news.

Guo Hengzhi didn't reveal his identity in Hanhao Village, Xu Ziyuan only regarded him as an aide like Yu Sha, twisted his beard and said, "This old man, the forces in the north are not all from my troubled valley. I can’t go back. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Guo Hengzhi didn't manage Xu Ziyuan's money, but just looked at Yu Sha, waiting for him to speak.

Yu Sha thought for a while, and finally told the truth: "Ye Wanwan and Guan Lan will return to Hanhao Village tonight. When they come back today, they will bring news from the north. If the situation is clearer, they should be able to find a way to go north safely." road."

After hearing this, Guo Hengzhi reluctantly accepted the news, nodded, and said, "Please let me know if you have any news."

After that, he left the meeting room.

After he left, Xu Ziyuan looked at his back thoughtfully, and said: "This old gentleman is not an ordinary person because of his bearing."

Neither Yu Sha nor Si En said much on this topic.

The refugee army was victorious in the southeast and wreaking havoc in the northwest. If the imperial court wanted to control it, it would have arranged for Zhai Su to suppress it.At this time, the troops are still standing still, which means that Dingzhou probably has completely given up on suppressing the bandits, and intends to appease Yu Wangling first.

Naturally, Guo Hengzhi also knew about this situation. He was in a hurry to go north, but in fact he still did not give up instigating against Zhai Su.

Si En is noncommittal about this, and there are many folk legends about Zhai Su, most of which are because he likes to use military generals as door gods, and thinks that he is unparalleled in loyalty and bravery, and can protect the peace of one side.

But Sean's view is simple.If this is a real hero, he will not accept the order of the emperor.In the current situation, he should have sent troops south long ago.At this moment, he has been holding back for a long time, which means that there are either many constraints, or he has other concerns.

But no matter which one it is, it is obviously not a good target for help.

"No matter what, we really need to go to Fengcheng." Yu Sha said to Si En, "If the imperial court really decides to join forces with Yu Wangling, Fengcheng will be the front line, and the imperial court will definitely contact Zhai Su to discuss the details of the Northern Expedition Since this move is to unite the refugee army, it is closely related to the current situation here in Daocheng, and we need to know the news."

Si En also knew the importance of this matter, and asked: "Then we can discuss it when they come back today, are you going?"

"It's best for me to go." Yu Sha said, "Don't forget my origin."

When Si En heard him joking, he was a little dazed for a while, but he didn't expect that he would no longer keep secrets about these things now, and indeed he has changed a lot.

Xu Ziyuan listened to them playing charades for a long time in a cloud of fog, but couldn't get in. He thought about it, coughed lightly, and attracted the attention of Yu Sha and Si En.

"We're fairly familiar with the situation in the north..." Xu Ziyuan said, "What do you two think about the war in the southeast? The refugee army and the imperial court have been at loggerheads for so long, how could they suddenly defeat the imperial army and wipe out the entire front line?" Cleared out of Huizhou territory? This commander Mu Yao has never heard of his name, who is this person?"

Yu Sha and Si En looked at each other again, and they both saw an emotion in each other's eyes that they didn't know how to express.

Who is Mu Yao? Perhaps no one in the world knows better than them.

Yu Sha's fingers unconsciously slid across the few pieces of paper that described the situation in the southeast.Touching the ink that has dried up, it seems that through it, I saw the old man again.

The Battle of Huizhou was written with only a few strokes on paper.Looking at it, it is really shocking.

The battle between the refugee army and the imperial court was stalemate. On the one hand, it was naturally because the refugee army was originally a civilian and was not good at fighting.But there is also a reason, because there are too many leaders in the refugee army. While fighting together, they often have disputes over the distribution of spoils and the size of the assigned sweeping area.Ever since, even if the imperial court has no strong generals, it can fight against it only by temporarily recruiting soldiers.

until this fall.

This autumn, once again due to the distribution problem, a team in the refugee army had an internal dispute, and even delayed the timing of the retreat. The army who returned to the defense was caught by the imperial court, and most of the team was wiped out.

After these people retreated, a major purge began within the refugee army.For several days in a row, ten generals and leaders of the refugee army were murdered or even beheaded.

This army that was forcibly coagulated by Mu Yao's blood pointed at Huizhou amidst the jokes of the court watching the fire from the other side, and in the autumn light.

Mu Yao was the vanguard himself, and before the formation, he single-handedly charged into the formation with a spear, took the head of the opponent's vanguard, and killed several people in a row.In less than half a day, Huizhou City was captured.

So far, Mu Yao has become famous in one battle.