Opposite Chenshui Pass is Hulin Town, which is about a hundred miles away. When the war in Kezhou was raging, most of the people in the town had already fled.
Nine of the ten rooms were empty, except for some frail old men who could not walk, leaning on the door with crutches. Apart from the extremely simple two meals a day, they sat like sculptures all day long.
Five days ago, a large army came to Hulin Town. After gathering these frail old people into the town's ancestral hall, they began to reinforce the city gates and set up camp.
It's a pity that it is a small town after all. The city wall is only one foot long, and there is no moat or various defensive facilities.
"General Shentu, this city cannot be garrisoned." A man in silver armor walked hurriedly, "I just inspected it again and found that even if it is repaired, it cannot be used as a fortified city."
Shen Tuguan turned around and spoke after being silent.
"Young Master, you should know that this is the main battleground of the Dongling people, not Donglai. Hulin Town is already the best place in the surrounding area."
The young master is Yuan Chong. This time he followed Yuan Song's order and followed Shen Tuguan's army as a supervisor. But in fact, he misunderstood his father's meaning and thought it was surveillance.
"General Shentu, if the Dongling army comes to attack, we will be in great danger." Yuan Chong still insisted, "I, Donglai, only have these 780,000 people left now... If there is any mistake, it will be a catastrophe.
"
"I understand." Shen Tuguan said calmly, "But in my opinion, Lingsu will not attack the city. The significance of attacking the city is not great. To say the least, the rear of Hulin Town is very suitable for marching. If something unexpected happens,
, I can transfer it quickly."
"General Shentu, what does Lingsu want to do..."
Shen Tuguan smiled and said, "What he wants to do is to eat the 50,000 soldiers and horses like us. Then, he will march eastward with his army and defeat the lord in one fell swoop."
Yuan Chong and the three followers of Yuan Song's adopted son all turned pale at this time.
If something unexpected happens to these 50,000 troops, then the entire Donglai will no longer be able to resist.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Shen Tuguan said comfortingly.
"General Shentu, are you planning to attack Chenshui Pass?"
"I have this idea. But the best situation for the battle is to lure Lingsu out of the city to fight. A letter has already arrived from my lord. The king of Western Shu has promised to rush to help, and he will join forces with our army soon.
.”
Shentu Guan's voice was solemn, "Everyone should know that there is another reason why I insist on staying in Hulin Town. Hulin Town is located on the border of Kezhou. If I am not mistaken, Xu Buyi will pass through Bailu County and take a detour from the inner city.
Come here, in this way, we can successfully join forces."
Only then did Yuan Chong and others understand Shen Tu Guan's painstaking efforts.
"If I, Donglai, want to break the situation, I have to rely on Xu Buyi's power. I know that he may not have too many people. But no matter what, for a king of Western Shu who is famous all over the world to come here in person, it is already extremely powerful.
A terrible deterrent.”
"My father sent Yan Tang there before, but I didn't expect that Xu Buyi had already arrived."
"My lips are dead and my teeth are cold. Xu Buyi is a smart man."
…
Sitting in the palace, Yan Tang looked confused. As an envoy, he had just arrived in Chengdu after a lot of hard work. Unexpectedly, Xu Mu had already left Shu with his army.
"Sir, don't be surprised." Jia Zhou smiled and said, "My lord has already guessed that your husband may go to Shu. No matter what kind of tribute it is, it will be counted one by one. I will take care of it on my behalf."
Yan Tang still nodded in confusion.
…
As Shen Tuguan said, at this time, Xu Mu had already detoured back to the western border of Kezhou. He did not continue the march, but took more than 6,000 people to find a place and settle down first.
After only waiting for more than a day, finally, a few knights riding in white clothes and carrying swords arrived belatedly——
Looking at it from a distance, Xu Mu suddenly remembered the slogan of the hero's uprising.
The mountains and rivers are shrouded in mist and rain, and the dynasty can be cut down with one sword in ten years.
It's a pity that there is no more Li Zhiqiu in the world.
"I'm waiting to meet the chief helmsman!"
The four knights dismounted one after another and kowtowed to Xu Mu.
"rise."
Xu Mu raised his hands and stood steadily.
"Tell this helmsman, how is the situation with Master Shangguan Hall?"
"Don't worry, chief rudder. According to the chief rudder's wishes, nearly 10,000 rebels have already disguised themselves as refugees and are on their way to Kezhou."
"Where are the swords and robes?"
"Go ahead and send people to hide in the woods on the front line."
"very good."
Xu Mu smiled. The eyes of the world were all focused on the military strength of Western Shu, but no one seemed to remember that he, the king of Western Shu, was also the chief rudder of the thirty states.
I guess it would take someone like Zuo Shiren Lingsu by surprise to think of this incident.
"Wait for a few people to rush back first. Tell the master of Shangguan Hall to use three signal arrows as signals and wait for the opportunity to cooperate."
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Mu turned around again.
"Xiaoyao."
Li Xiaoyao, who was dressed in battle armor, stood up hastily. When the heroes from before looked at him, their expressions were even more horrified.
"Xiazi, forgive me!"
"Not guilty." Li Xiaoyao smiled calmly. It was normal that the heroes didn't see it. As the captain in front of the tent, he had been hiding behind the crowd.
Seeing this look, Xu Mu looked pleased.
"Xiaoyao, you will go back with them later. The rebel army, numbering ten thousand, will be in charge of you and the master of Shangguan Hall. Remember, you must be careful in everything."
Li Xiaoyao couldn't hide his excitement and immediately accepted the order. Then he walked into the crowd and hugged his fellow junior puppy Fu reluctantly.
Li Xiaoyao got on his horse.
"Xiaoyao, you have to remember that everyone in the world wants to see the style of the chief helmsman Li Zhiqiu again!"
Li Xiaoyao, who was on the horse, paused for a moment before galloping away.
…
"Reinforce the city wall——"
Hulin Town was full of old and weak people. Therefore, Shentu Guan did not use it and could only send more soldiers to continuously repair the city gates.
Yuan Chong didn't understand why he had to go to such great lengths to repair such a dilapidated city since he had left a way out.
"General Shentu, I heard a letter came from the King of Shu."
"Here he comes, bringing with him an army of 30,000 people." Shen Tuguan turned around and smiled at Yuan Chong. In fact, the letter said that he had brought an army of 10,000 people with him.
But even this number, Shentu Guan felt that there was a lot of moisture. But he was not worried. If a Shu king dared to come like this, there would naturally be arrangements.
After all, in the past few years, it is almost impossible to hear that the King of Shu lost any battles. How could a person who was always careful about everything get involved in danger for no reason?
Sure enough, after hearing Shen Tu Guan's words, not only Yuan Chong, but also the other three heroes, had expressions of ecstasy. They thought that this time, they really had a great help.
"Young Master, where are those old and weak people placed?"
"According to General Shentu's wishes, they have been placed in the town's big ancestral hall and some food has been distributed."
Shen Tuguan was silent for a long time before he raised his head.
"That's it, young master. It's a cool night. For this expedition, there are still five thousand pairs of short armor left in the baggage. You can give them to them first."
"General Shentu... Even if I have a lot of iron mountains in Donglai, I can't be so extravagant!" Yuan Chong's face was startled.
Shen Tuguan's face was calm, "If nothing happens, let's just do it as a filial piety."