South of the Yangtze River, the atmosphere in Jiangning Prefecture's Left-behind Department was quite heavy and depressing; Ning Chongxuan, the marching general manager who looked increasingly shriveled and haggard, finally received some good news among the many bad news. Because the fall of Jiangbei has been temporarily halted, both Jiangling Mansion, which seems to be facing three enemies and only one front line upstream, and Ezhou City, which is in danger only across a river, are still under the control of local government and military forces. "Seeing that it is the beginning of summer, it is said that many of the Western bandit soldiers and horses are beginning to show signs of acclimatization?" "Some troops are unable to continue and have to stop nearby to rest" "There are spies who risk their lives to report back, It is suspected that many of the Western troops in Jinghu Road have been infected with the epidemic! " "There are many new pits that have been filled in everywhere where the Western bandits are stationed." Many people saw with their own eyes that soldiers and horses under the banners of Shuofang and Jiuyuan gave up their loot and hurried back to the north. "Is it because the offensive launched by Huai Town has begun to work." "Someone came up with an incredible conjecture and possibility. Ning Chongxuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had once again received a secret decree and order from Guangfu outside the mountain related to this. Let him stay with the capital and temporarily take charge of the overall situation of the southeastern roads in the mountain range, and further establish friendship and communication with Huai Town, which has rebelled outside, so as to achieve the salvation of the nation by using force to defend against the enemy; and even give him special permission, Use various conventional or unconventional means and methods, such as bribery and inducement, persuading internal high-level people, etc., to advocate and incite public opinion. . It drives its affiliated forces to continue fighting with the Western Army for a long time, and buys more time and buffer room for the country to recuperate and rebuild its armed forces. But under the current situation, can he come up with any conditions that are enough to make Huai Zhen interested, or the key points that can make him powerful. Although this title of being in charge of all affairs in the ridge sounds good, with the resources and power he has at his disposal now, all he can do is some pasting work of the nature of plugging gaps, patching things up here and there, and trying his best to make adjustments. With the only power in hand, I tried hard to prevent the situation from further deteriorating and spreading, but I had no spare power to do anything bigger. . . . . . . . . The first of the eight westernmost mountains in Taihang - Zhiguanxing (today's Jiyuan - Houma), is located in the winding and steep mountain roads of the Wangwu Mountains. "Hurry up and follow me" Zhang Dekun, the king of Shunyi who personally led the horse on foot, also urged and encouraged the nearby soldiers in a hoarse voice, asking them to continue to speed up, or to lift the heavy weight again. Stop. "Think about your wives, children, and children, think about your wealth and everything," "They are all waiting for us to go back and rescue them" "The survival of our Hedong Army depends on this one move" "We are the best for the mountain. We are almost at the top, so we must not slack off for a moment.¡± And in the places they passed, many horses and carriages were mercilessly abandoned and pushed off the cliff because of damage or injuries. Scattered intermittently among mountain streams and ravines everywhere. Some livestock did not even die on the spot, but the wild beasts that appeared nearby slowly approached and coveted them, making desperate whines. All this is just like the history repeating itself in the snowstorm in Hebei. He was squeezed out by Zhang Bangchang and had nowhere to stand. He took only a few thousand Qingqi with him and rode into Hedong. In order to persuade these soldiers to give up the excess baggage and burdens that they could not carry with them, he even promised heavy rewards and promises. As long as they could return to Taiyuan Mansion before the Huai thieves, every soldier could get rich wealth. Rewards for meritorious service and direct treatment will increase. Therefore, with the help of various multi-pronged methods, his army has exploded with great morale and enthusiasm. The fierce voices of people shouting and shouting one after another hovering in the mountain road seemed to shake up the sky clouds and break them. According to his plan and rhetoric, no matter how bad and difficult the situation is now, as long as the troops can be led back to Taiyuan Mansion in time, everything will still be possible and everything will be easy; After all, Taiyuan Mansion has a strong wall that can stop it. The enemy also has sufficient reserves for long-term resources and persistence, not to mention the foundation of the two to three hundred thousand people in the city, and he can expand three or five new military orders by randomly selecting young men; but The premise of all this is that their outgoing army can rush back to serve as the backbone of the defense of Taiyuan Mansion. On the other hand, we place our hopes on the outside world.Taking into consideration the factors that would break the situation, although he had taken decisive action to eliminate people and things in the army that were related to the Western Army and might become obstacles, and then broke camp and headed north to return to the hinterland of Hedong, he did not give up under the influence of the overall situation. , regarding the Western Army¡¯s expectations and subsequent calculations. Because this can be regarded as a big gamble, using his last trump card and chips to trigger the entire precarious situation; thus forcing the Western Army to make a decision after serious deficiencies and flaws appeared in an important part of the rear and supply lines. Corresponding countermeasures and actions; thus being passively and directly involved in the front line of confrontation with the Huai army invading Hedong, thereby reducing one's own pressure and losses in disguise. In this way, as long as he persists for a long time, both the Western Army and the Huai Army will be dragged into this slow and endless battle and consumption, which will give him more opportunities and possibilities to break the situation. With this complex and torturing mood, they finally walked out of the long Wangwu Mountains in Tiesha Pass and returned to the relatively spacious and flat Jiangzhou/Quwo Basin; from then on, they continued along the Fen River. The water drove directly to Linfen, Hongdong, Zhaocheng, and Huoyi. After a simple search of the local areas, we obtained money, food, and thousands of soldiers. Then we passed through Lingshi, Huiqiu, Xiaoyi, and Pingyao towns, and recovered many mules, horses, cattle, and livestock to drive. In front of the army. Only then, amid the extremely chaotic news of the Huai army's appearance and rumors that were hard to distinguish between true and false, arrived at Qi County in Taiyuan Prefecture, which was still under local control, and got first-hand news of the enemy. Then, we passed through Wenshui, Qingyuan, and Jiaocheng, which were also chaotic and out of control, and arrived at the final destination of the upper reaches of Fenshui River on the north side of Mengshan Mountain. Although there are many traces of the raging war in the fields. But on the towering Yangqu City of Taiyuan Prefecture in the distance, it was still flying the Golden Crow Flag of the Northern Han Dynasty. This made Zhang Dekun and many others rush along the way and lost a lot of baggage and mules and horses. The soldiers of Hedong breathed a big sigh of relief. However, when they, led by the cavalry in the vanguard, rushed to the city with full of homesickness and all kinds of longings, what greeted them was not the people on the city. There was some kind of cheering and eagerness to open the city gate, but there was a huge uproar and shouting. Then, after a moment of unexplained confusion and pause, large amounts of smoke and dust rolled up from the west and east of the city at the same time, and there was a shock like a surging wave, which suddenly pierced and dispersed. These Hedong soldiers who had just returned home were filled with uncontrollable joy and excitement. And between the two large pieces of wind, smoke and dust, the horse hoof print, wind and thunder flag held high in the middle was clearly visible in the wind. "The Huai cavalry" "They are the Huai bandits' cavalry" "Prepare on the spot to meet the enemy" "Drop all your burdens and quickly move closer to the city wall" Following the chain reaction triggered by this shrill cry, the entire The army, which was somewhat scattered due to its rapid march, exploded like a nest exploded. The hundreds of Hedong cavalry who were the first to arrive at the city bravely turned around and divided into two groups, facing head-on the large group of Huai Army cavalry that was fighting from east to west. Just after a brief shout and roar, he disappeared completely. And on the horizon in the distance, a larger pedestrian formation was slowly advancing, surrounded by parallel vehicles and artillery, amid the movement of countless armored lights. . . . . . But in Tongguan City, there was an atmosphere of emergency and chaos. "Tens of thousands of Hedong troops withdrew from Shaanzhou without authorization?" "Didn't the Guanfeng envoys and general Yuhou who were sent to liaise with the army send any news?" "Didn't King Shunyi give any explanation or explanation anywhere?" "I'm afraid Hedong The situation has changed" "The prince of Northern Liang, Xu Tianlang, and the general Yan Wenluan have personally led the dragon cavalry army to respond." "There are also deputy envoys of Northern Liang, Yuan Zuozong, and former general Zuo Ya. When Qi was in charge, General Yao Jian of Shesheng led the Guzang Army, Tianshui Guanjian, and Yongcheng Yicong, and about 50,000 soldiers came from the customs to support them. "Please rest assured."