The sun is approaching the Western Mountains, and the sunset is like fire on the horizon.
It was still early in the day, and things could still be seen in the hall. But Hou Gang ordered the government officials to light up the lights early, and summoned all the generals and officials in the city to discuss the time to withdraw.
Not long after, the government hall was filled with people...
"Although Cui moved around the prefectures and counties and did not serve in the capital for a long time, he still gave the general the name of 'Zhizhi', which was like thunder in his ears. It is even more known that it was for this reason that the general was able to be given the name given by the late emperor."
Just'!
Nowadays, King Guangping (Yuanhuai) adheres to the legacy of the late Emperor Xiaowen and fulfills his great wish to help the country. Hearing that the general is loyal and virtuous, he entrusts the safety of the important town of Qinzhou and the safety of tens of thousands of his people, and hopes that the general will resist the enemy.<
/p>
But now the enemy is still hundreds of miles away. The general has more than ten thousand troops and a strong city to rely on, but he is afraid of the enemy like a tiger and does not dare to fight? If King Guangping and Duke Yu County (Yu Zhong) return, what will the general do?
In the face of this, how can we comfort the soul of King Jiangyang (Yuan Ji) under the spring?"
This old thief has a sharp mouth?
Cui Zuji was eloquent and fluent in words, leaving Hou Gang speechless and unable to argue. His face turned blue and red, as if he was constipated.
After holding it in for a long time, he said helplessly: "Cui Governor doesn't know something: Li's son is full of tricks and weapons, as sharp as heaven's punishment, unstoppable. If he has even half of the strength to fight, how can Fu Luo not fight?
Escape?
Let’s look at His Royal Highness King Jiangyang. At the beginning of the battle, he put all his efforts and efforts into it, but in the end, he only defended it for half a day before the city was defeated. It can be seen that the rumors are not false... It was Hou who didn’t want these more than 10,000 men to go to waste.
He was damaged, so he wanted to follow Fuluo to the east and join up with the King of Jiyin and the Southern Army. Then he could fight to the death with Li Thief...
Furthermore, once Fuluo retreats, Qin'an will become an isolated city. Cui Governor thinks, even if you and I want to fight to the death, how many days can we survive?"
"Farting is so shameless...Hou Gang, if you are afraid of death, just say you are afraid of death. If you don't dare to fight, then you don't dare to fight. Why are you so quibbling?
Do you think that Cui really only knows how to manage politics and not know about military affairs? When Cui followed his late father Sengyuan Gong (Cui Sengyuan, the late governor of Qingzhou) in Qingzhou and fought a fierce battle with the Qi army (Southern Qi), you Hou Qianzhi was still herding cattle in Beizhen.
(Hou Gang's family is poor and he is a herdsman in Pingcheng)...
Now that the water has broken, only Qin'an can contain the Wei army on the western front. If you flee without fighting, the Wei army will be able to capture Qin'an without any blood. At this point, the entire territory of Qinzhou and all the fortresses in Longshan have been rushed back to Wei.
With the help of soldiers, Li Chengzhi can withdraw all the troops on the western front and join Li Shao's troops...
By that time, even if the Southern Army has a hundred thousand soldiers, Fu Luo has more than 20,000 fine cavalry, and even if you and Yuan Li have more than 40,000 infantry, they will definitely defeat Li Chengzhi.
?
If I were you, even if I wasted all these ten thousand foot soldiers here, I would still take a few bites of flesh from Li Chengzhi..."
Hou Gang was born in a lowly position, and what he hated the most was someone making fun of him. At this moment, he was so angry that he wanted to take out his knife and chop Cui Zuji into two pieces.
"You thief, how dare you humiliate me..."
Shouting in his mouth, Hou Gang raised his fist and rushed forward.
Cui Zujia sneered and picked up the inkstone on the desk: "Cui can still be afraid of you?"
Hou Gang is very skilled in martial arts, but Cui Zujia is not bad either. As he just said, he really fought countless vicious battles with Nan Qi back then.
There are only a few words left in his history books, but the most written one is "Strong, brave and powerful..."
Therefore, it is not certain who will be beaten.
The battle hadn't even started yet, but the superior officials started fighting among themselves. Seeing that something was wrong, several generals and officials hurriedly hugged the two of them.
"General, calm down..."
"Cui Zushi must not..."
"Shu Zi is not enough to plan... Hou Qianzhi, if you are afraid of death, just run away. But Cui, a dignified man, vows to live and die with the county..."
Cui Zujia slammed the inkstone on the ground, and it immediately fell into a pile of gravel. Then he shook his official sleeves and walked out of the hall angrily.
After one foot had crossed the threshold, Cui Zuji gave a sharp meal. When he turned his head, his face was full of murderous intent: "I know that everyone has his own ambitions. If you officials want to escape for their lives, Cui will not stop you." .But whoever dares to give a piece of grain to a fleeing thief or a civilian husband, don’t blame Mr. Cui for not recognizing the person with his sword..."
Watching him walk away, Hou Gang sneered faintly: Grandpa is running for his life, not facing the enemy, so why do you want so many civilians to use their feathers?
As for food and grass... beyond Qin'an is the boundary of Liangzhou. First, send fast horses to Yuanli to pass them. Every time you arrive at a county, you can call them temporarily. Why do you need to carry them in advance?
It just happens that you can travel lightly and save a lot of time...
There were many people standing behind Hou Gang, including generals and officials. Looking at Cui Zuji's resolute but lonely back, many people showed admiration, but no one moved a step.
In this world, there are only a very small number of people who are not afraid of death, so they admire them.
"Ever since I came to Qinzhou with the general, I have seen Cui, the governor, drunk all day long, rarely sober, but he didn't want to be so strong?"
Hou Gang couldn't help but sneered.
Strong?
It’s just that you are stupid because of reading...
While he was laughing sarcastically, an urgent report came from outside the hall: "General, the scouts came to report that an hour ago, all the Wei troops left the city and came from Qingshui to Qin'an..."
An hour ago?
Hou Gang looked at the lighted candles on the table, then looked at the dim sky outside the hall, and his expression changed with horror.
Is Li Chengzhi planning to march overnight to attack Qin'an?
No wonder Fu Luo could run so fast. He might have expected that if he didn't run, he would be blocked to the west of Longshan by Li Chengzhi.
"Send the order to assemble the army immediately and break camp overnight!"
……
There are thousands of stars in the night sky, but the surrounding fields are like paint splashed with ink, without a trace of light.
All the more than 10,000 rebels left the city and formed a long formation outside the city. They would set off as soon as an order was given.
The brigade of Hu cavalry left by Fulo to Hou Gang was extremely effective. He reported back every moment and clearly detected the movements of the Wei army.
At this time, Li Chengzhi's front army had reached its age and was less than fifty miles away from Qin'an. Hou Gang was so anxious that he wanted to fly away with his wings.
Cankan waited for the whole army to gather, and he couldn't wait to order the soldiers to beat the war drums. The army moved slowly, and in the night, the lights at the beginning and end could not be seen, like a long dragon.
Cui Zujia stood at the top of the city with a leisurely look.
"When I first challenged General Hou Gang in the hall, I almost broke out in a cold sweat!"
The staff said with lingering fear, "If Hou Gang becomes angry out of humiliation and really obeys the envoy's words and leaves the city to defend it, wouldn't we be smart but be misled by our cleverness?"
"If Hou Gang had this kind of backbone, he would no longer be Hou Gang!"
Cui Zuji raised the corner of his mouth, with a look of disdain on his face, "Everyone in the world says that Li Chengzhi suddenly became famous because of his charm and luck with Yuan Ke. But compared with Hou Gang, he is not worthy of carrying shoes.
When Li Chengzhi started his career, he at least had the military exploits of pacifying Jingzhou. After entering Beijing, he made ice, boiled salt, and made tofu. Regardless of the rest, this method of making money in a reasonable way is beyond the reach of others.
.What’s more, he is good at military affairs and can be called a war talent...
Looking at Hou Gang again, in addition to being a good cook and a good beard, does he have any other abilities? Yuan Ke recruited him to the capital, started his career as a cook (imperial chef), and then rose up step by step, until he became the official Youzhonglang General
, leading the sword to the left and right, not to mention leading the army in battle, Hou Gang could not even take more than half a step to the capital, which is the most ridiculous thing in the world!
How could a foolish emperor like Yuan Ke, who likes to listen to greedy words, have a chance to rise to prominence under another emperor? So even if you don’t worry, Hou Gang will be embarrassed and angry, but he will never have the courage and bloodiness to do so, let alone fight against Li Chengzhi.
A fight to the death...because he has never fought a single battle in his entire life..."
The staff were dumbfounded.
He has been in the state and county for a long time, how can he know such secrets?
A cook who has never fought in a battle in his life can be promoted to the rank of fourth-level general, and he can be regarded as a palace imperial general with a heavy army, which is unprecedented...
A thought came into my mind, but was immediately suppressed by the staff.
Although Hou Gang is not a military talent, his deputy general Yuan Wei has experienced battles. But now Cui Shijun only has thousands of civilians, how dare he take such a risk?
That's all, after Li Chengzhi leads his army, it won't be too late to make a plan...
When thinking of Li Chengzhi, the staff became worried again.
"The envoy, I heard that Duke Li has a weird temperament and is cunning and cunning. I wonder if the merit of surrendering the city can outweigh our previous sin of rebellion?"
Atonement?
Cui Zuji laughed wildly and said: "If I was afraid of death, I wouldn't have rebelled in the first place... As long as Li Chengzhi could make Cui speak his heartfelt words, this head on his neck would be the only way to advance."
How?"
The staff looked at Cui Zuji who was laughing non-stop and moved his lips, but they didn't know how to persuade him.
All the confidants know that the envoy has long been determined to die. But just like the officials who just escaped with the lord, all the confidants naturally admire them to the utmost. But if they want to say that they agree, there is probably no one...
"Why worry about things in vain? When Li Chengzhi comes, we will naturally find out..."
Cui Zuji waved his sleeves and said, "Hurry up and send your horse to summon him, saying that Hou Gang will be defeated without a fight. Cui has opened the city gate to welcome his arrival... Well, wait a moment, I will write a letter,
Remember to present it to Duke Li in person."
After several shouts for paper and pen, Cui Zuji started writing under a lantern at the top of the city. The pen moved quickly, and he had already written in ten breaths.
But the staff was so shocked that they were covered in cold sweat.
Shijun, Shijun, are you afraid of dying fast enough?
……
When Li Chengzhi set off, the sun was already setting to the west. It was already nearly two hours before the Huqi scouts detected the movements of the officers and soldiers who wanted to march overnight and reported to Hou Gang, and then Hou Gang collapsed without fighting and fled with his army.
.
Qingshui was more than a hundred miles away from Qin'an. Nearly half of Li Chengzhi's men were cavalry, and there were many chariots, so the march was very fast. It only took more than two hours to travel nearly 80 miles.
By the time Cui Zujia's confidant saw Li Chengzhi with Cui Zujia's handwritten letter, it was already midnight. Yuan Zhi's former army was less than thirty miles away from Qin'an County.
If Li Chengzhi wanted to take the risk, he could have sent out cavalry to stop Hou Gang's more than 10,000 infantry to the west of Liangzhou.
But instead of sending troops, Li Chengzhi ordered the entire army to garrison the camp after receiving Qin An's message.
The lights in the middle tent were brightly lit, and all the leading generals gathered here, their faces full of joy.
They all thought that even if it was not as clear as water and would require a hard battle, it should at least be delayed in Qin'an for a few days.
The situation is changing rapidly, and no one can guarantee whether this delay will have unpredictable consequences.
But who would have thought that Hou Gang would just escape?
In this way, the entire territory of Qinzhou is restored, and there is no need to fight in two places, nor is there any need to divide nearly 30,000 troops to garrison the key points of the various passes in Longshan Mountain.
And just as close as the finishing touch, Li Chengzhi didn’t leave?
It was because he was afraid that Hou Gang would play hard to catch and lure the enemy deeper, so he did not dare to pursue him. But Cui Zuji had already opened the city gate, so he should at least capture Qin'an as soon as possible.
However, after several consecutive battles and consecutive victories, Li Chengzhi's majesty has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The generals are suspicious, but no one dares to ask.
Li Chengzhi was too lazy to explain and directly ordered: "Go further ten miles and camp twenty miles east of Qin'an. Also inform Yuan Zhi and order him to lead the infantry of the front army into the city and take over Qin'an. Well, take Cui Zuji
Bring to see me..."
The generals responded with a bang and retreated one after another.
When there were no more outsiders in the tent, Li Shixian asked in confusion, "Are you afraid that Qin An is cheating?"
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly.
It’s not surprising that Li Chengzhi had this suspicion when he saw Cui Zuji’s first letter the day before yesterday.
But now that Fuluo has retreated, Hou Gang has fled, and there are only thousands of civilians and households left in Qin'an City, how can Cui Zuchi deceive him?
Therefore, Governor Cui must have sincerely surrendered to him.
The reason why Li Chengzhi did not enter the city was because he felt it was unnecessary: the enemy troops had retreated, and Qin An was now easily accessible. He only needed to send a partial general and lead one or two thousand actual soldiers to take over.
There is no need for the army to march these twenty miles longer. Instead of doing this, it is better to let the army save this energy and time, rest more, and wait for the whole army to march eastward after dawn.
But according to common sense, he, the coach, should go there, at least to meet Cui Zuji and pay homage to Corporal Xian.
But he was really angry at Cui Zuji...
Li Chengzhi sighed and handed Cui Zujia's handwritten letter over.
After just one glance, Li Shixian's eyes suddenly shot out: You are a son of the Han family, a hero in the world, and there is no one more right than Duke Li. Why is An the guarding dog of the Donghu barbarians...
"This old man!"
Li Shixian's beard trembled in anger, his hands clenched violently, and the letter was crumpled into a ball.
After a pause, he looked suspicious again: "What does Cui Zujia mean by this? Is it possible that he wants to die because he knows that there is no way to survive?"
"If he wants to die, he only needs to fight to the end like Yuan Tsugumi, and he can still fight for a posthumous reputation. Why do he need to repeat himself like this and become a villain in vain?"
Li Chengzhi tapped the table gently and said uncertainly: "Perhaps, as he said in his letter, the reason why he rebelled and revolted was just to restore the Han Dynasty..."
Restoring the Han Dynasty?
Then we shouldn’t go against Yuan Huai and Yu Zhong, but should we surrender the land of Qinzhou to Nanliang?
Well...who dares to say that Cui Zuji didn't think so, maybe it was a mistake...
Li Shixian's heart moved, and he quickly spread out the crumpled letter paper.
The more he looked, the uglier his face became.
As the traitor often said, is this Cui Zujia really blinded by eating lard?
He actually persuaded Li Chengzhi to rebel in front of the battlefield and surrender to Nanliang?