The army that conquered Hangu Pass had not yet set off, but Chang'an had already become undercurrent.
After Yang Guang and Yang Jian led an army of 70,000 people and headed straight for Hangu Pass, Yang Jian's rule over Guanzhong became unprecedentedly weak, and those who were dissatisfied with Yang Jian became more active.
Although Yang Jian, who was sitting high in the hall, was aware of this, he only thought it was Li Keyong's death struggle. Little did he know that the real black hand behind it was Li Shimin, and there was an invisible network quietly closing in on him.
At the same time, Yang Lin in Yewang City finally received the news of the fall of Hangu Pass.
"Hangu Pass is a natural pass, how could it be lost so easily?"
Yang Lin's angry roar resounded throughout the hall, while the spies below were so frightened that they lay on the ground shivering.
"I dare not deceive the general because of my humble position. The flag at Hangu Pass has indeed become the flag of the Qin army."
This made Yang Lin even more confused. With the Qin army divided into three groups to fight separately, Bai Qi's main force had already been nailed to the Wild King by himself. So where did the Qin army have the extra troops to attack Hangu Pass so quickly?
?
Yang Lin probably never imagined that the army that broke through Hangu Pass was Zhou Yu whom he let leave. He thought it was just Bai Qi's bait, but it was actually a fatal sword!
"With the loss of Hangu Pass, our army's food route will be cut off, and the food and grass in Yewang City can only be enough for the army for one month at most. Alas, if the food and grass problem cannot be solved within this month, our army will probably collapse without a fight.
Ah!" Yuwen Chengdu frowned.
Although Yang Lin was disturbed by the news of the fall of Hangu Pass, it was not enough to completely lose his will to resist.
After pondering for a while, Yang Lin said very calmly: "Hangu Pass is not only related to our army's food route, but also the gateway to the pass. The lord will never ignore it and will definitely send another army to recapture Hangu Pass."
"But Hangu Pass is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. General Yang Jian may not be able to capture it within a month?" Yuwen Chengdu said.
Although Yuwen Chengdu belongs to the Sui clan, he has never called Yang Jian Lord Sui. After all, in his eyes, the only Lord is Dong Zhuo. Before, he always called Yang Jian Sui Gong, and now he doesn't even call him Sui Gong.
Obviously, Yuwen Chengdu knew that Yang Jian no longer trusted him, and his behavior of ordering Yang Lin to take away his military power also made Yuwen Chengdu extremely dissatisfied.
For the sake of the overall situation, Yuwen Chengdu would not care too much, but the trusting relationship between him and Yang Jian could never go back to the past.
After listening to Yuwen Chengdu's words, Yang Lin's eyes were full of solemnity, and he said solemnly: "So we must not trap the Wild King and wait for the Lord to open up food channels for us. We can only abandon the Wild King at the right time and join the Lord.
Attacking Hangu Pass from both sides is the only way for the Wild King's 40,000-strong army to survive."
After Yuwen Chengdu pondered for a while, he frowned and said, "I'm afraid Bai Qi won't let us break through easily."
"yes."
Yang Lin sighed and said that in the process of fighting Bai Qi, he had not even won once. Although the decisive battle has not started yet, he could even predict that Bai Qi must have laid countless traps, waiting for him.
Take the initiative to jump in.
"In short, the trapped wild king will be wiped out sooner or later. There is still a chance of taking the initiative to break out, so we must change passivity into initiative."
After saying that, Yang Lin raised his head and looked at the generals, and said in a deep voice: "From today on, the entire army will be on level one alert. All generals must stay in armor and prepare for a breakout."
"No." All the generals shouted in unison.
"By the way, where is General Yuanba?"
After Yang Lin glanced at the generals, he found that the commander-in-chief was missing Li Yuanba. He immediately frowned and said, "Why isn't General Yuanba here?"
Everyone was looking at me and others, and finally Yuwen Chengdu stood up and said: "I haven't been able to fool Li Yuanba for two days."
Although he knew that Li Yuanba would be fine among the large army, Yang Lin had a bad feeling in his heart and immediately called to the soldiers: "Go and summon General Yuanba quickly."
The soldier left in a hurry, but soon came back.
"General, it's not good, General Li Yuanba, he, he..."
Seeing this, Yang Lin became more and more uneasy and hurriedly asked: "Tell me, what happened to them?"
"He's gone."
Not only Yang Lin, but also Yuwen Chengdu could not help but be stunned.
How could a living person, who was still alive among thousands of armies, disappear just because he said he didn't see him?
"Go check it out quickly."
Yang Lin roared angrily, and the bad premonition in his heart became stronger.
After all, Li Yuanba was the most powerful general in the world. No one in the world could forcibly take Li Yuanba away in the Yewang City with tens of thousands of defenders without alarming anyone. However, Li Yuanba was indeed missing.
Since it would not be possible to take away Li Yuanba by force, there is only one possibility left, that is, Li Yuanba left on his own.
Once this conclusion is drawn, the question arises again, why did Li Yuanba leave? Who took Li Yuanba away?
Li Yuanba's status was extremely special. No one in Liang's army could command him. Even Yang Lin could only coax and deceive to calm Li Yuanba down.
No one in Yewang City dared to stop Li Yuanba, and no one would be so short-sighted as to stop Li Yuanba, but it was not easy to leave without leaving any trace.
Therefore, the person who can take Li Yuanba away without leaving any trace must be a very close relative of Li Yuanba, and he is also very good at disguise and espionage.
The only person who meets these two points is Li Xiuning, but wasn't Li Xiuning imprisoned by Qin Hao?
Even if Li Xiuning escaped, she could do it openly if she wanted to take Li Yuanba away. She couldn't stop her anyway, so was it necessary to be so sneaky?
After all, Yang Lin is not a person who is good at calculations. He would never have imagined that Qin Hao and his mortal enemy Li Shimin would join forces to deal with Yang Jian.
Although Yang Lin couldn't guess the key, one thing he could vaguely sense was that he might have been trapped in a huge whirlpool, and if he was not careful, his entire army might be wiped out.
Inside the Qin army camp.
"Report...to the Grand Governor, the road leading to Hangu Pass has been completely blocked by our army. Yang Lin's army is already a turtle in the urn."
"good."
A glint flashed in Bai Qi's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "There are many roads heading towards Chaoge, and sentries must be arranged to prevent Yang Lin from jumping over the wall and joining forces with Wang Mang."
"promise."
In fact, Bai Qi also knew that Yang Lin would never break out in the direction of Wang Mang. Wang Mang's side was not rich in food and grass. Secondly, if Yang Lin wanted to make peace with Wang Mang, he would have to break through Bai Qi and Su Lie along the way.
This line of defense is far more difficult than breaking through Bai Qi alone.
Bai Qi walked out of the tent, stared at Yewang City, and said with a faint smile: "Yang Lin, the net has been set for you, now it seems there is nowhere else you can escape."