Liu Xie was sitting on a stone with his eyes slightly closed, not knowing what to think about.
Beside him was Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, who also frowned and fell into deep thought.
After a long time, a rustling sound came from the dense forest.
Yuan Wei opened his eyes and turned to look.
But see...
A man burst out from the dense forest, with a worried look on his face. He leaned forward and raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Grand Tutor, news has been sent back from the direction of Yaoguan. King Hongnong is leading an army and is approaching in the direction of Wuguan."
"It's really here."
There was no shock on Yuan Wei's face, but he was very calm.
He pinched a strand of goatee under his chin and sighed: "It seems that Fan Chou, Duan Xuan, and Shi Sunrui failed to confuse King Hongnong. He must have realized that Chang'an was already an empty city, so he wanted to attack Wu.
Guandao."
"That's it."
Liu Xie took a deep breath and tried to stay calm: "What should we do next?"
Yuan Wei had already anticipated such a result, so he had already made a decision: "Your Majesty, don't worry, since King Hongnong has fallen into the trap before, then we will launch an attack on Wuguan as quickly as possible."
"I have already made inquiries and found out that the general guarding Wuguan is an unknown rat named Huo Du, and there are only a few hundred soldiers under his command, so there is nothing to fear."
"Your Majesty, don't forget."
Yuan Wei turned his head and glanced at Liu Xie, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "We already have a troop of soldiers and horses entering Nanyang. As long as we start a war here, Nanyang will take action immediately."
"Under attack from both front and rear, how can Wuguan last? It may not be long before His Majesty can enter Nanyang and capture Nanyang with lightning speed!"
When they attacked Yaoguan before, they attacked from both front and rear. Although Shisun Rui was killed by ambushes and thunder bullets, as long as they attracted the firepower, the soldiers and horses in the pass could succeed.
Now, it has just been moved from Yaoguan to Wuguan. Such tactics can definitely be realized. After all, the people stationed in Wuguan are not just nameless rats, but more importantly, the ones attacking the city are the absolute elite of the imperial court.
The enemy's strength decreases, while your own strength increases.
Then, the winning rate of this battle can be greatly improved.
Liu Xie had no doubts about this at all, and even nodded affirmatively: "As long as we can capture Wuguan, with our elite troops, we can take advantage of the situation and capture Nanyang. It will be a piece of cake."
"Taifu." Liu Xie turned his head and glanced at Yuan Wei.
"Here." Yuan Wei bowed his head.
"Let's go."
At this point, Liu Xie stood up suddenly, turned his head and glanced in the direction of Wuguan, and exhaled: "We can't waste any more time. My imperial brother is not easily defeated."
Yuan Wei nodded and said loudly: "Well, your Majesty, don't worry, we will win this battle."
Liu Xie said with great confidence: "Of course I believe in you. Let's go, don't waste time."
Yuan Wei cupped his hands and said, "Here."
Immediately.
The two of them left the dense forest and continued on their way towards Wuguan.
Three days later, we finally arrived at Wuguan. Looking ahead, we could vaguely see the head of Wuguan City, the flying flag, and the towering gate tower in the middle.
"Your Majesty, we are here."
Yuan Wei couldn't hide the excitement on his face, and lowered his voice: "From the information sent back yesterday, people are still entering from the direction of Wuguan, and the city gate has not been blocked. It seems that the information from King Hongnong has not arrived yet.
.”
"kindness."
Liu Xie nodded slowly and sighed secretly: "According to the plan, if we can enter Wuguan, we will act directly and forcibly occupy the city pass to prevent the enemy from behind."
"Remember!"
Speaking of this, Liu Xie reminded him in a low voice: "We need to catch some people alive and try to learn how to use the Fire and Thunder. Let's also let my imperial brother have a taste of the Fire and Thunder."
Although the words were spoken calmly, in fact, Liu Xie was thinking in his heart, how great it would be if the thunder and lightning of the lurking fire could blow up Liu Bian to death. This world belongs to me, Liu Xie, and the great man of Zhongxing will be there soon.
.
One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, and one country cannot tolerate two masters!
There is and can only be one emperor in the Han Dynasty. This is something Liu Xie has clearly understood for a long time. He did not become the emperor before, but now that he has become the emperor, he must be the emperor to the end.
As for the royal brother?
hehe!
When he was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, Liu Xie clearly understood that the royal family had no family ties at all. What a bullshit royal brother. When his father was alive, he was his royal brother. When his father was absent, he was his enemy.
Your life and death enemy!
!
If Liu Bian is lucky enough to be killed this time, then Liu Xie is 100% sure that he can inherit the emperor's brother's inheritance. Even Yuan Wei will have to step aside by then.
Yuan Wei bowed and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, we have made arrangements. If we really enter Wuguan, we will capture them alive as soon as possible and seize the warehouse of Fuhuo Leiting."
"very good."
At this moment, Liu Xie was already a little excited.
However, at this moment, a familiar figure hurriedly rushed in front of him.
Liu Xie regarded it as Shangshu Ling Yuan Ji.
But see...
His brows were slightly furrowed and he looked slightly nervous, as if something bad had happened.
Therefore, before Yuan Ji could speak, Liu Xie interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Yuan Shangshu, what happened to make you so anxious?"
Yuan Ji then bowed his head and replied: "Your Majesty, Grand Tutor, just now the information came back from the direction of Wuguan Road. Huo Du, the guard of Wuguan, has closed the city gate and temporarily prohibits people from entering."
"oh?"
Liu Xie couldn't help but be stunned, his eyes filled with surprise: "Forbidden?"
Yuan Ji said with absolute certainty: "Well, it's forbidden."
"It wasn't banned yesterday, but it's banned today. Isn't this a bit of a coincidence?"
"It is indeed a coincidence, but maybe the information from King Hongnong has arrived."
"Damn it!"
In an instant, Liu Xie's dream of entering Wuguan safely was shattered: "It's too much of a coincidence that this information came. It didn't arrive early, and it didn't arrive late. It just happened that we arrived at Wuguan, and it arrived."
Tsk!
Tsk!
Liu Xie was so angry that he took a deep breath and looked at Yuan Wei with a frown: "Master, it seems that we can only act according to the previous plan. Cooperate with the soldiers and horses in the pass to attack Wuguan."
Yuan Wei pinched a strand of goatee under his chin, frowned, and said softly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter is not as simple as imagined. I thought it might not be a coincidence."
"oh?"
Liu Xie was stunned and didn't know why: "What does this mean, Master?"
Yuan Wei did not answer directly, but turned to Yuan Ji: "Go and find out how far away King Hongnong is from us."
Yuan Ji bowed his head: "Here."
Immediately.
He turned around and left, ordering the scouts to investigate quickly.
Liu Xie asked tentatively: "Master, what do you mean?"
Yuan Wei sighed and turned to look at the emperor: "Your Majesty, judging from the scout's footsteps, when King Hongnong returns to Wuguandao, the calculation will start. The city gate should have been closed long ago, right?"
"Ah, this..."
Liu Xie frowned, this seemed to be the case.
Yuan Wei pinched a strand of goatee under his chin: "If King Hongnong returns to Wuguandao from Chang'an, it proves that he has seen through our strategy, but Wuguan has not blocked it for a long time, which proves that he saw through the strategy relatively late."
"Your Majesty, don't you think there is a contradiction between the two?"
"It's really... quite contradictory."
Liu Xie thought about it carefully and nodded slowly: "Isn't it possible that the emperor just had suspicions at first and there was no conclusive evidence, but now he just got the accurate information?"
"It is indeed possible."
"but......"
When the conversation changed, Yuan Wei directly denied: "What is the situation now? We want to kill Nanyang and occupy the magpie's nest. If King Hongnong is already suspicious, he will never wait until the evidence is solid before giving the order."
"That's right."
Liu Xie nodded.
Thinking from his perspective, if he were the emperor's brother Liu Bian, he would also take action as soon as possible instead of waiting for conclusive evidence to take action. After all, if there is a risk in Nanyang, no matter how good he is in Chang'an, it will be of no use.
However......
However, Liu Bian did not order the closure of Wuguan at the first time, and he closed Wuguan just in time for his arrival. There was indeed a sense of conspiracy in this.
hiss-!
Liu Xie took a breath and asked tentatively: "Taifu, tell me, what does the emperor mean by doing this?"
Yuan Wei pinched a strand of beard under his chin, thought for a moment, and said softly: "It's not clear yet, and we can't really draw a conclusion until the information comes back."
"but......"
Speaking of this, Yuan Wei's eyes showed a sinister look: "King Hongnong's move must have important significance, and it is by no means as simple as we imagined."
"Furthermore, since he returned from Aoguan, he must have led the way with cavalry and charged forward. However, for such a long time, there has been no news from our rear, which seems to have proved that the other party is not in a hurry at all."
Liu Xie was a little confused after hearing this, but he felt it made sense: "Then why is this?"
Yuan Wei breathed out and said softly: "According to the old minister's guess, the fundamental reason why King Hongnong dared to slow down was because he was fully prepared in the direction of Wuguan. He could just wait for work and come slowly.
"
"After all, there are cliffs on both sides of Wuguan Road. Apart from Wuguan and Aoguan, there is no third way to go. King Hongnong has already controlled Aoguan. If he controls Wuguan again, we will have to wait for death.
.”
Liu Xie was surprised and dumbfounded.
Have to admit it.
Yuan Wei's analysis is very reasonable.
If he were the royal brother, he would definitely do the same.
"Report—!"
At this moment, a long announcement sounded from behind.
Liu Xie and Yuan Wei turned to look.
But see...
His own scout hurried forward, bowed and raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Tutor, something bad has happened. All the people in our rear have suddenly disappeared."
"ah?"
Liu Xie was suddenly stunned: "All the people are missing?"
The scout nodded: "Yes, they are indeed gone. They are not moving forward, they seem to be walking backward."
"later?"
When Yuan Wei heard this, a flash of light flashed in his mind: "I understand, I understand everything. King Hongnong did this because he was afraid that we would use the people as a threat, so he slowed down."
"The other side must have officers and soldiers mixed in the team, and then while we are gathering our troops, we can quickly transport the people out of Wuguan and behind King Hongnong, so as to provide a battlefield for the next battle."
After entering Wuguan Road, Yuan Wei had to concentrate his scattered troops in a certain area for the next battle, and even stay away from the ranks of ordinary people in order not to be exposed.
King Hongnong grasped this point and sent people to quickly divide the team. There were people in the front and people in the back, leaving them alone.
Awesome!
It’s really awesome!
Yuan Wei was filled with admiration: "No wonder Wuguan can stop us so accurately. It turns out that they have completely controlled our whereabouts."
"Damn it!"
Liu Xie was so frightened that his eyes almost popped out.
His IQ felt like he was being pressed to the ground and rubbed by the emperor's brother. He was frightened and frightened in his heart: "If this is really the case, then we will definitely die. Tutor, what should we do?"
Yuan Wei frowned and pondered for a long time: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient, let me think about it."
Liu Xie said with grace: "Okay, Master, think about it quickly."
After a long time, Yuan Wei finally said: "Your Majesty, I think we should attack Wuguan now, and at the same time send people to guard against King Hongnong to prevent him from raiding the rear of our army."
"Based on the current gap between the two sides, I'm afraid it will take at least another day for King Hongnong to reach Wuguan, which proves that we still have a whole day to attack Wuguan."
"Although he expected that we would sneak into Wuguandao, now we already have our troops inside Nanyang. With the cooperation of both parties, there is still a slight chance of victory."
Liu Xie also thought of this, pondered for a moment, and nodded slowly: "It seems that this is the only way left."
Yuan Wei bowed and cupped his hands and said: "With Your Majesty here, all the soldiers will fight to the death."
"good."
Liu Xie no longer hesitated and spoke loudly: "Quickly pass the order, rush to Wuguan, launch a strong attack, and strive to break through the Wuguan city defense and enter Nanyang within one day."
Yuan Wei nodded: "Here."
Immediately, the army took off their disguises and began to rush towards Wuguan.
In just a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the foot of Wuguan City.
At this moment, Liu Xie stood on the carriage, wearing a royal robe, holding a sword, pointing angrily at the top of the city, and gave a sonorous order: "Brothers, this battle is a battle of life and death."
"Victory leads to survival;"
"If you lose, you will die!"
"I hope that all of you can fight for Chang'an, conquer Wuguan, and enter Nanyang. I promise you that if you enter Nanyang, you will all be meritorious."
All the soldiers shouted in unison: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
Liu Xie shouted at the top of his lungs: "Attack the city!"
All the soldiers: “Kill—!”
The shouts of killing shook the sky and the earth, and countless soldiers and horses rushed towards the city gate like a tide. Within a moment, a heavy rain of arrows flew through the air, facing the soldiers attacking the city, and directly covered them.
"How come?"
Yuan Wei suddenly realized something was wrong and stared at Wuguan with a frown.
"Master!"
Liu Xie asked anxiously: "What's going on?"
Yuan Wei's lip corners subconsciously twitched for a moment, his eyes full of horror: "Your Majesty, King Hongnong has indeed been prepared."
Liu Xie frowned and stared at the battlefield ahead: "Master, what do you mean?"
Yuan Wei sighed and said: "Information says that Wuguan only has a few hundred soldiers and horses, but the density of this wave of arrows lost may have exceeded a thousand troops, which proves that King Hongnong has strengthened the defense of Wuguan."
"Damn it!"
Liu Xie gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the battlefield ahead: "What a cunning guy."
Yuan Wei took a deep breath and tried his best to stay calm: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Although King Hongnong has increased the defense of Wuguan, we are also elite troops. Who will win or lose is still unknown."
Although the soldiers and horses brought by the scholar Sun Rui are also elite, they are only the soldiers and horses of King Wu after all, while the soldiers and horses brought by Liu Xie are the personal guards of the palace, Huben and Yu Lin.
The two are completely different.
Huben and Yu Lin are the most elite soldiers and horses beside His Majesty the Emperor. They are by no means ordinary soldiers.
Just like now, even though they withstood a wave of arrows from Wuguan, their attack was still not stopped, and even the casualties were not as big as imagined.
With such a powerful team, coupled with the surprise troops hidden in Nanyang in advance, it is indeed as Yuan Wei said, who will win and who will lose is still unknown!
At this moment, Liu Xie finally calmed down and stared at the battlefield.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
But see...
A series of ladders were set up at the foot of Wuguan City. Huben and Yulin's elite began to climb up, heading towards the head of Wuguan City.
But what greeted them was not swords, guns, sticks, axes, hooks and forks, nor arrows, but fire and thunder bullets that fell one after another like raindrops.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The next moment, one after another explosions sounded.
However, Huben and the Yulin Army clearly have a dike. Although it is a simple ladder, the lower part is extremely bulky. It is made of several wood and bamboo merging, so it will not be easily injured.
As for Huben and Yu Lin, they quickly flashed to avoid it. What's more, they had already begun earthworks at the rear to dig out certain trenches to deal with such an explosion.
Although there are still many soldiers and horses who died because they could not dodge, but compared to the soldiers and horses under the Pass, they are already very rare.
Even the general at the top of the city, Huo Du, couldn't help but be stunned. He couldn't help but praise: "Hey, it seems that your Majesty is right. These soldiers and horses are indeed elite."
"snort!"
The man on the side, Huo Jun, raised his head and said loudly: "What nonsense elites? No matter how elite they are, they are still made of flesh and blood. How can they withstand the damage of rising fire and thunder?"
"Brother, behind us is Nanyang. There are endless fire and thunder bombs. Yesterday Taishi Tong sent someone to deliver twenty boxes. Now the average man has thirty fire and thunder bombs. Even if the door is opened, they can't kill them.
Come in."
"Ajun."
Huo Du turned his head and glanced at Huo Jun, and said very solemnly: "Although we have an absolute advantage, we must always be vigilant and not underestimate the enemy."
"Just like Your Majesty, even though he knew that we had endless fire, thunder and bombs, he immediately increased our troops to 2,000 people. This is the reason why Your Majesty is always victorious."
"Even His Majesty will not underestimate his opponents, let alone you and my brothers!"
"Remember!"
Speaking of this, Huo Du emphasized: "No matter at any time, we must not be timid because of the enemy's strength, nor be arrogant because of the enemy's weakness! Maintaining a sense of awe at all times is the way to be a general.
"
Huo Jun leaned forward and held up his hands: "Brother, don't worry, Ajun has remembered it."
"kindness."
Huo Du nodded with satisfaction.
Immediately.
His eyes fell on the soldiers and horses outside the city, and he pointed at the soldiers and horses holding shovels: "If my guess is correct, they are preparing to dig trenches outside the city to avoid our Ambush Fire and Thunder offensive."
"And you see, the lower part of their ladder has obviously been reinforced. This is obviously to deal with the fire and thunder bombs, so even if we have endless fire and thunder bombs, we must not relax our vigilance."
Huo Jun looked at the soldiers and horses outside the city with great interest and nodded slowly: "Indeed, brother, if they use earth excavation to weaken our fire, thunder and bomb offensive, how should we respond?"
Huo Du shook his head and said regretfully: "There is no better way for now. Maybe by then, we will have to start a hand-to-hand battle with the enemy's elite."
Huo Jun took a deep breath and subconsciously clenched the Huanshou Sword in his hand: "It doesn't matter, even if it is a hand-to-hand fight, we will still not be afraid. Even if we fight to the death, we will wait for His Majesty to come."
"Don't worry about it for now."
Huo Du waved his hand and said loudly: "Before they dig trenches, we have to maximize the power of the ambushes and thunder bombs."
"Brothers."
Huo Du shouted hoarsely and gave a sonorous order: "Hit me hard where there are many people. Don't worry about not having enough fire and thunder bombs. We have plenty in the camp. If you have enough, hit me hard!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The next moment, dense fire and thunder bullets fell from the top of the city like raindrops, followed by continuous explosions, constantly killing enemy soldiers.
Huo Du shouted at the top of his voice: "Yes, that's it. Aim and hit again. The fuse will have a few breaths of burning time and won't explode so quickly. Don't worry, everyone."
"You must aim and hit. Whoever can throw it accurately and far will be rewarded by the general himself with the drunken immortal brew produced in Nanyang after the battle is over, and he will be given three days' leave."
If before, the soldiers were just throwing out the Fire-Following Thunderbolt, then now, everyone is carefully looking for the target, and doing their best to make their Fire-Following Thunderbolt achieve the effect of accurately killing the enemy.
Others may not be able to see it, but Huo Du has clearly felt that the death rate of the enemy troops under the city is constantly increasing, which proves that the hit rate of his own soldiers is constantly improving.
really!
New weapons require new tactics.
It cannot rely on coverage to increase the kill rate like the previous bows and arrows.
Although the fire and thunder bullets are also a matter of coverage, they have completely different requirements from the bow and arrow attacks.
After all, the explosion of this thing is delayed, while the attack and kill of missing arrows are immediate. The two are not the same.
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosion sounded outside the city, and then there were broken arms and legs flying wildly in the air.
Huo Du's eyes suddenly brightened, and he immediately raised his hand and pointed outside, shouting loudly: "Who just threw it into the trench? Tell your name, and I will be rewarded with a jar of immortal brew after the war."
There were soldiers at the top of the city shouting: "General, it's me, Li Tiedan!"
Huo Du did not hesitate: "Okay, remember to find me after the war."
Li Tiedan was very excited: "Okay, general."
Huo Du used this to encourage the soldiers: "You must also work harder."