Xiaoqi

Different from the defensive situation in Nanyang County, the border between Henan County and Yanzhou is very heavily guarded. Although it can't be called a heavy army, it doesn't completely rely on the defense of the city like Deng County, and there is almost no defense outside the city.

Compared with the situation in Deng County where there were only [-] county soldiers guarding the city, there were [-] cavalry and [-] county soldiers stationed inside and outside Kaifeng County. .It is not difficult to see from the deployment of troops that Li Li in the Western Jin Dynasty always regarded Cao Cao in the Northern Wei Dynasty as his lifelong enemy, so he stationed heavy troops on the border, leaving no chance for Wei Guo to take advantage of it.

In contrast, Li Li undoubtedly underestimated the enemy of the Southern Han Dynasty. In addition to gathering heavy troops in Wancheng, the troops on the border were obviously insufficient and neglected to take precautions.

Perhaps, in the Western Jin Dynasty, the emperor Li Li and the ordinary soldiers did not think that Liu Biao of the Southern Han Dynasty dared to take the lead in sending troops and dared to confront the Western Jin army head-on.Therefore, the military deployment of the Western Jin army has always been strong in the north and weak in the south. It was very cautious in defending the Northern Wei Dynasty, but too lax in defending the Southern Han Dynasty.Underestimating the enemy has been a taboo for military strategists since ancient times. It has long been an unbreakable law that underestimating the enemy will lead to defeat. Numerous wars over the past thousands of years have all confirmed the authenticity of this iron law.

It was daylight.The General’s Mansion located in the east of Kaifeng City has already lit up the wind lanterns, and the gate of the mansion is wide open. More than a hundred soldiers are standing in front of the mansion. It pours into the nostrils, refreshing.

In the main hall, Zhao Yun, dressed in a silver battle armor, was sitting on the hall and flipping through the letters. There was a pot of freshly brewed tea on the table in front of him.Xia Houlan, the captain of the personal army, stepped forward and poured two cups of tea. One cup was placed on Zhao Yun's right hand, and the other cup was drunk by herself.Holding the teacup, he walked to the hall and sat down, sniffing the fragrance of the tea and closing his eyes to rest his mind. After the teacup in his hand cooled down a bit, he drank the tea slowly, without making a sound from the beginning to the end.

Morning reading is an inherent habit that Zhao Yun has developed over the years of leading the army.His work and rest time is very regular, except for some special situations, such as during the battle or on the way to lead the army, other than that, he always goes to sleep at the beginning of Haishi and wakes up at the beginning of Maoshi ([-]:[-] pm to [-]:[-] am). Unshakable, this is the case all year round, and it has been more than ten years.

The captain of the personal army, Xia Houlan, is his fellow countryman, and also a friend of the general manager who played since he was a child.From the time when Zhao Yun escorted his sister to get married (the battle of Si Li), Xia Houlan has been by his side. During this period, Xia Houlan also served as the head of the ten thousand husbands, leading an army alone, but the record was mediocre and he did not make much achievements.So he returned to his side during the battle to challenge Yuan, and served as the captain of the personal army, and then followed Zhao Yun to the west of Sichuan to conquer the Southern Man. Get what you want.

Due to being with Zhao Yun for a long time, Xia Houlan has also developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. The fly in the ointment is that he likes to drink morning tea. When he wakes up in the morning, he will make a pot of tea and don't eat breakfast until the pot of tea is finished.Zhao Yun does not have this habit, but he likes the smell of tea very much, because the smell of tea can refresh his mind, make his thinking clearer, and enhance his memory, which is very beneficial to his continuous study of military books all year round.So he didn't object to Xia Houlan drinking tea in the morning, but he never drank it himself, he always drank tea after meals, and drinking tea on an empty stomach was not good for his health.On this point, Zhao Yun is very self-disciplined, and reminds Xia Houlan repeatedly, but unfortunately it doesn’t work, and after a long time, he doesn’t remind anymore. After all, everyone has hobbies, and drinking tea in the morning is not a big deal, there is no need to make a big fuss. chatter.

This morning seemed to be different from the past, Xia Houlan didn't notice anything wrong, until after he finished drinking a cup of tea, he faintly felt that something was wrong.After looking around for a while, he noticed that the problem was Zhao Yun, and immediately asked: "In the past, generals always wear plain clothes when they get up and study in the morning. Why are they all dressed up today? Is there a war?" He and Zhao Yun are so familiar that he Just now, I didn't notice that Zhao Yun got up early in the morning and was wearing a battle armor, and he was wearing a battle armor to read. No matter how you look at it, it looks a bit nondescript.That's why he felt awkward, belatedly realized that Zhao Yun was different today, and seemed a little absent-minded.

Sure enough, after hearing the sound, Zhao Yun gently put down the book of war, got up and walked down the hall with a teacup in hand, and sat side by side with Xia Houlan.Taking a sip of tea, Zhao Yun answered the wrong question, "Do you know what day it is today?"

"Uh, what date?" Xia Houlan responded in astonishment, then rolled her eyes, and said uncertainly: "It has been half a year since His Majesty ascended the throne?"

Zhao Yun shook his head lightly: "No, it's still seven days away from half a year, but it's not important. You don't pay attention to it, otherwise you will definitely think that today is the day of my imperial examination in Jin State. A month ago, His Majesty wrote to say , This imperial examination is extraordinary. Today in Chang'an city is the imperial examination, and outside Chang'an city is also facing a severe test. For the past month, I have been thinking about what the test is that His Majesty said, until I sent it away the day before yesterday The last group of scholars, I finally figured it out. The severe test His Majesty mentioned in his letter is to remind us that the Southern Han and Northern Wei countries are likely to launch attacks at the same time, and the time is today."

Chapter 238 Iron Riding Dreams ([-])

"Ah, today?" Xia Houlan exclaimed in surprise.

Zhao Yun nodded in response, and said very firmly: "It is today. The two major vassal states in the north and the south suddenly sent troops to attack the Western Jin Dynasty. Their two countries also have the same strength as our Western Jin Dynasty. If they can succeed in a sneak attack, the imperial examination will be an anticlimactic situation, and it will end hastily, so their plot will succeed." The understanding of the situation, although not accurate, is not far behind.If you use a current buzzword to describe the actions of the Southern Han and Northern Wei, it would be to brush up the sense of presence.

In fact, since the founding of the Western Jin Dynasty, although the soldiers and horses have not moved, the Western Jin Dynasty has surpassed the Southern Han and Northern Wei in terms of strength and power, and it seems to be the leader of the situation.In comparison, the Southern Han and Wei states paled in comparison. They were inferior to the Western Jin Dynasty in terms of territory, population, economic strength, and even military strength.

What's more, the Western Jin Dynasty's implementation of the imperial examination to select scholars won the hearts of the people and won the heartfelt support of most people in the world. It attracted many scholars, warriors, and students from various schools to flock to Chang'an, which made the Western Jin Dynasty overcrowded. Talented people.Although the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Han Dynasty sneered at this, and all the officials of the Wei State dismissed it, they all claimed that Li Li's move in the Western Jin Dynasty was a way of grandstanding, and it was difficult to be elegant, but this was just a malicious slander of self-deception.Facts speak louder than words. Tens of thousands of literati and warriors tried their best to go to Chang'an to take the exam. This is proof.It is definitely not something that can be wiped out with a few words of slander.

Therefore, the Western Jin Dynasty once again walked ahead of the two major vassal states.Lead the direction of public opinion and firmly control the trend of the world.perhaps. The term "guidelines of public opinion" is still very unfamiliar to Liu Biao of the Southern Han Dynasty and Cao Cao of the Northern Wei Dynasty. They have never seen or heard of it, but this does not prevent them from understanding the great role of guidance of public opinion.Because they have witnessed the temptation and magic of imperial examinations, and watched the literati and warriors under their own rule "smuggle" into the territory of the Western Jin Dynasty and travel thousands of miles to take the imperial examinations.

This is enough.It was enough for Liu Biao and Cao Cao to clearly realize the huge threat of Li Li in the Western Jin Dynasty. An unprecedented sense of urgency and oppression enveloped them, making them realize that there is no one waiting for them, and they must act as soon as possible to prevent the strong development of the Western Jin Dynasty. momentum.The longer the time dragged on.The more unfavorable the situation is for them; correspondingly, the longer the time, the more favorable it will be for Li Li of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the Western Jin Dynasty will become stronger and more invincible.

Faced with such a situation and pressure, the possibility of the Southern Han and Northern Wei countries joining forces to attack the Western Jin Dynasty will increase infinitely, but anyone who understands the situation in the world or has some knowledge can't imagine that when Chang'an was selected for the imperial examination, it was the other two princes The best time for the country to attack the Western Jin Dynasty.There are three reasons.

First, this is the first time in thousands of years that literati, warriors, and scholars from all states and counties in the world are publicly selected.The wide area involved, the large number of participants, and the large scope of influence are the most in all dynasties, and the unique first round can be called the first of its kind.Its importance is self-evident.

Second, tens of thousands of young people flocked to Chang'an City due to the large-scale absorption of literati, warriors and people of all schools and nine streams.It will inevitably lead to a surge in the domestic flow of people in the Western Jin Dynasty, thereby increasing the defensive pressure on the passes along the way.It is also necessary to mobilize heavy troops to maintain the law and order and stability of Chang'an, and to protect the safety of many candidates.Invisibly restrained a large part of the troops of the Western Jin Dynasty, making them have no time to look after others, and they were at a loss.

Third, the selection of scholars through the imperial examination not only restrained a large part of the soldiers and horses of the Western Jin Dynasty, but also fettered Li Li and his trusted officials and counselors, prompting them to spend a large part of their energy on dealing with the imperial examination, and did not care about the states. The defensive posture of the county and the mobilization of troops and horses.At the same time, even if Li Li learned that the counties and counties in Sili had been attacked, in order to take the overall situation into consideration, calm people's hearts, and avoid causing riots or chaos, Li Li was forced to not immediately mobilize the army to help Sili, and he would have to wait until the imperial examinations were settled. Then you can take action.

There is a time gap here, the imperial examinations take time, and it takes time for Li Li to dispatch troops.And this period of time was just an excellent opportunity for the Southern Han and Northern Wei to jointly attack the Western Jin Dynasty. They took the lead in launching the attack and opened up the cooperation channel between Yanzhou and Nanyang before Li Li dispatched troops. The vassal states were connected, and the Sili under the Western Jin Dynasty was separated from Yuzhou and Xuzhou, and divided into two, thus greatly weakening the national power and military strength of the Western Jin Dynasty.

If this is the case, the Southern Han and Northern Wei countries will be able to fight a beautiful turnaround, achieve a gorgeous turn, completely reverse the current unfavorable situation, turn passive into active, and become a country whose comprehensive national strength and military strength are not weaker than those of the Western Jin Dynasty. vassal states.At that time, the Southern Han and Northern Wei countries will no longer need to join forces, and their own strength will be comparable to that of the Western Jin Dynasty.

Zhao Yun couldn't foresee this kind of situation at this time, and it was even more impossible for Xia Houlan to have such foresight.Not only that, the situation in front of them alone is enough for the two of them to ponder.But they can be sure of one thing now, that is, the Chang'an Imperial Examination is an opportunity for the Southern Han and Northern Wei, an opportunity to turn defense into offense, completely reverse the situation and the pattern of the world, and the two countries will definitely not let it go.What Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan had to face now was the offensive methods of Cao Cao in the Northern Wei Dynasty. As for the battle in Nanyang County, they were beyond their reach and powerless.

"What the general said is reasonable." Zhao Yun's words convinced Xia Houlan. He also felt that Cao Cao of the Northern Wei Dynasty might take the initiative to attack. After all, now is indeed an opportunity.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the first Chang'an imperial examination, in the past month or so, tens of thousands of prefectural soldiers in Sili have been ordered to go to Chang'an to maintain law and order. It is said that prefectural soldiers from Bingzhou, Shuozhou and other places were also transferred to Sanfu territory Garrison.So far, as far as Xia Houlan knows, 10,000+ county soldiers have been transferred to Chang'an Sanfu and other places to defend and assist in the defense. In addition to the 20 troops defending Gyeonggi, there are currently no less than 30 troops around Chang'an.

Not only that, but Xia Houlan also knew that Zhuge Liang, the later general, was also the governor of Sili, but he had not been in Sili at all in the past month or so, and had been staying in Chang'an, the capital city. It is said that he was one of the five chief examiners of the imperial examination.Obviously, Zhuge Liang could not return to Sili before the imperial examination was over, and naturally he could not command the soldiers and horses of the battalions to fight. In the event of a sudden battle, he could only rely on the commanders of the battalions to lead the troops and decide how to defend against the enemy.

This situation is undoubtedly very dangerous.If the Wei State was just a tentative attack, it would be okay to say that with the strong combat power of the battalions, it is fully capable of defending the enemy from outside the country; It may be difficult to stop the army of the Northern Wei Dynasty by one's own strength, and then a situation will be formed where each of them will fight independently. They will not be subordinate to each other and cannot form a joint force. The army of the Northern Wei Dynasty is very likely to seize the opportunity and defeat each other.If the situation deteriorates to such an extent, the consequences will be unimaginable, and the fiasco of Jizhou in the past may be repeated again.This was a situation that Xia Houlan absolutely didn't want to see, and she didn't even dare to think about it.

"Where does the general think Wei Jun will choose as a breakthrough? Hanoi County or my Henan County?" After thinking for a while, Xia Houlan finally got the hang of it, and hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Yun was also thinking about this issue. It stands to reason that the capital of Wei State is in Jizhou. If Wei State takes the lead in attacking, the first choice target is to sneak attack Hanoi Daying.But Zhao Yun felt that things were not that simple. His intuition from leading troops all the year round told him that if Wei Guo really sent troops to attack, it was very likely that it would be the city of Kaifeng where Zhao Yun was stationed, not the Hanoi camp.

"I have thought about this question. If my previous judgment is correct, if the Southern Han and Northern Wei really join forces to launch an attack, then the Wei army will not attack Hanoi County, nor will it send troops from Jizhou, but will dispatch the Yanzhou army. To attack Kaifeng City is to sneak attack on my Peerless Cavalry's station."

Having said this, Zhao Yun suddenly stopped, and seemed to hear an unusual voice in his ear, but when he listened quietly, he found nothing.Immediately, he went on to say: "Compared with my Henan County, Hanoi Daying currently has [-] Bingzhou Army led by General Teng Xiao and [-] Qinglongying cavalry under Xu Chu's tent, and there are [-] county mansions in Anyi Daying behind. The soldiers supply the logistics and supplies, and General Guo Huai of the Shangdang led [-] county soldiers to support them, with a total of more than [-] troops. If the Wei army wants to attack the Hanoi camp, at least half of the entire Wei state's troops must be assembled to ensure that The sneak attack was successful, otherwise he would not be able to shake the Hanoi camp at all.

But if Wei Guo sent troops and generals on a large scale, how could we be unaware?So far, our army's secret agents and scouts have not sent back news of the large-scale mobilization of the Wei army, which shows that the Wei army has no signs of dispatching troops; otherwise, it will definitely not escape the eyes and ears of our army's secret agents.Thus, in the absence of a large-scale mobilization of troops by the Wei army, if he still wants to sneak attack our army, he will inevitably choose to send troops from Chenliu and directly attack Kaifeng City! "

The moment the words fell, Zhao Yun showed a confident smile on his face, his thinking became clearer and clearer, and his words became more and more thorough.He spoke out all his thoughts, and while expounding his own insights, his thoughts turned sharply, quickly analyzing the problem, and thus came to the most accurate judgment he thought.This is the embodiment of the value of conversation. It is not for the sake of conversation. The actual meaning of conversation lies in thinking, expressing the complicated thoughts in the mind, removing the chaff and keeping the essence, so as to grasp the core of the problem and arrive at the most reasonable judgment.

Chapter 239 Drive the tiger and devour the wolf ([-])

Xia Houlan was anxious when she heard the words: "So, the Wei army is outside the city at this moment?"

Zhao Yun nodded and said, "If I'm not wrong, it should be. Perhaps, they have already started to attack."

"The general just said that His Majesty mentioned this matter in his letter. I don't know what His Majesty's instructions are, but did you tell me how we should deal with emergencies?" Xia Houlan asked eagerly.

"Huh?" Zhao Yun was surprised when he heard the sound. He didn't expect that Xia Houlan's thoughts spanned so far. The first sentence was still discussing Wei Jun's whereabouts, but the latter sentence was actually related to His Majesty's personal letter.Zhao Yun was amazed by his active thinking, and felt that he couldn't keep up with his thoughts, as if he was the first day he knew him.

After a little hesitation, Zhao Yun said frankly: "Your Majesty has indeed made it clear that you can fight if you can. If you can't do it, you can retreat to Luoyang and wait for the reinforcements to arrive. These are His Majesty's original words, and they are also military orders given to us. "

Xia Houlan nodded approvingly and said: "Your Majesty has always been magnanimous. He loves soldiers like sons. He never makes things difficult for us. He would rather lose the city than order us to fight to the death. But as the leading general, we have the responsibility of defending the land. How can we abandon the city lightly if we have no other choice? Therefore, we should stick to the city and swear to a showdown with the Wei army, and we must not withdraw our troops until the last moment!"

Zhao Yun happily smiled and said: "Okay, you are indeed Zhao Zilong's brother! This time, you and I are waiting in the city, as long as Wei Jun dares to come, we will fight side by side, and we will definitely kill him seven in and seven out. I would like to see what kind of abilities Wei Jun has after five years, dare to challenge my Peerless Iron Cavalry!"

The voice fell.There was the sound of "thumb tom" footsteps outside the door, and then a guard soldier with an arrow stuck in his left arm and blood staining half of his armor rushed into the lobby.As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he shouted anxiously: "General, the Wei army has attacked the east gate. The city gate is in a hurry, please send troops to reinforce!" He is not a small soldier guarding the city, but the head of the small school stationed at the east gate, who is responsible for guarding the city. Door.

"Sure enough, they are coming towards Kaifeng City!" Zhao Yun was not surprised when he saw the blood-stained armor of Dongmen, let alone surprised. Instead, he was inexplicably excited, his blood was boiling, and he was full of fighting spirit. .

He strode up to the head of the village.Zhao Yun stretched out his hand to support the head of the village, and while observing his injuries, he asked calmly, "It's already Chen Shi, have you ever opened the city gate?"

The head of the village raised his head in astonishment, and said in surprise: "The general summoned all the generals to discuss matters last night. He strictly ordered that the city gate should not be opened at Chenshi, and the city gate was postponed for half an hour. The last general got the order later, so he didn't dare to disobey the order. The city gate has not yet been opened." He misunderstood I thought I had received an incorrect order.Fearing that Zhao Yun would offend him because of this, he stated the process of getting the order to excuse himself.

"Hehehe! It's so good!" Zhao Yun laughed loudly and patted the head of the village lightly on the shoulder.He laughed and said: "It's fine if you don't open the city. The order you got is not wrong. It is the general's military order to delay opening the city gate for half an hour. Otherwise, the Wei army may have already entered by now." While speaking, Zhao Yun's voice paused .With a sudden force in his right hand, he pulled out the arrow on Tun Chang's left arm as fast as lightning.The head of the village screamed in pain, and tears came out.

"Okay, you go back to the camp and let the military doctor treat the wound, and then rest for a day, you don't have to go to the battle. Go." While looking at the bloody arrows, Zhao Yun waved his hand to signal the commander to go down and rest.

"Thanks,,, General." The head of the village was so painful that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, his cheeks were distorted and deformed, so he answered vaguely, and turned to leave the hall with his left arm clutched.

"General, why is this?" As soon as the head of the village left, Xia Houlan came up to him and asked in bewilderment.Although he didn't say it clearly, Zhao Yun knew that he wanted to ask himself why he deliberately made it difficult for the commander, and pulled out the arrow cluster so abruptly, the pain was definitely not something ordinary generals could bear.Normally, when pulling out arrows, one breaks the arrow shaft first, and then pulls out the arrow cluster, so that the pain will be lighter and the wound will not be enlarged; but like Zhao Yun, when pulling out the arrow shaft together, it is easy to enlarge the wound and the pain will be more severe.This is not Zhao Yun's character, he has always been considerate of soldiers, Xia Houlan has never seen him be so rough with soldiers under his account before, so it is quite puzzling.

Zhao Yun didn't explain much, just handed the arrow in his hand to Xia Houlan, and said in a deep voice: "Just with this arrow, it is not difficult to see that Wei Emperor Cao Cao is determined to win Henan County this time, and the army under his command is also well prepared. Come on, the plot is not small!"

The moment she held the sharp arrow, Xia Houlan understood that the blood-stained arrow was actually an iron arrow. No wonder Zhao Yun pulled it out directly.Most of the iron arrows in the body are directly pulled out. If they hit a vital point, they need to open the wound along the shaft of the arrow and take it out little by little. This will cause a lot of bleeding. The wound is too big to heal and easy to be infected. The chances of it coming down are slim.

Looking at the arrow in her hand, Xia Houlan couldn't help feeling a bit chilly in her heart, and sighed in a low voice: "Wei Jun is actually equipped with this kind of murderous weapon forged from pure iron, so it can be seen that Wei Jun really spent his blood this time, and the comer is not kind! what should we do?"

Zhao Yun nodded calmly and said: "Soldiers are coming to block, water is coming to garrison. The Wei army has already reached the door of the house. Can I avoid it and not fight? Since we can't hide, there is nothing to say. He dares to fight over." , let’s beat him back again.”

Xia Houlan nodded when she heard the sound, held up the iron arrow and placed it in front of Zhao Yun, worrying: "This kind of arrow is extremely lethal. If all the Wei army uses this kind of iron arrow, the casualties of our army will be great; moreover, as long as Being shot by iron arrows, except for a very small number of people, most of them would hardly survive."

"Well, this kind of iron arrow is indeed a great lethal weapon." Zhao Yun nodded approvingly and said, "However, I'm sure that there are not many such arrows in the Wei army. Extravagant to the point of forging all the iron arrows. Well, since Wei Jun wants to kill me, then we don't need to be merciful, take out all the black lumps stored in the treasury, and use them to entertain Wei Jun when necessary. Anyway, I will wait Be sure to defend Kaifeng City for half a month, the first day of the battle is unknown to the enemy, so today we will stick to the city, only defending and not attacking!"

After speaking, Zhao Yun didn't hesitate any longer, walked quickly to the upper steps to take down the gentian gun, then put on his battle robe, strode out of the main hall, got on his horse and rushed to the east gate.