It was almost noon, Xu Tong looked up at the increasingly hot sun, opened the water bag and drank some water, then wiped his mouth and said to Zhao Yun beside him: "How far is it from Suiping City?"
This Zhao Yun is the Zhao official who led He Ran in the last operation to rescue Mrs. Nuanyu.
"It's less than twenty-five miles. You can see it by going around the forest ahead. If the general feels it's too hot, let the sergeant rest in the forest ahead and wait until the sun turns west before continuing on the road." Zhao Yun responded carefully.
, after two days of contact, he had deeply realized that General Yi Guo was far less easy-going than military advisor He Ran.
Xu Tong glanced at the lowered soldiers behind him, furrowed his thick brows, said "Hmm" and gave the order: "Go ahead and bury a pot in the forest to make rice."
While eating, Xu Tong called Zhao Yun over and asked, "Sir Zhao, who is the guard of Suiping City?"
Zhao Yun smiled and said, "It's Master Shan Tingshan."
"Oh, it's him."
"General, do you know him?"
Xu Tong said: "We are acquaintances, I guess. We drank at the same table at the Tianhe Gong's birthday banquet in the past, and we had a few quarrels over trying to persuade him to drink."
"Master Shan doesn't like to drink heavily, so the general naturally feels unhappy when he sees it. It must be for this reason, right?"
Xu Tong smiled and said: "Your Excellency, your guess is correct. I was kicked out by the late king because of this quarrel. It's nothing to lose my face. It's a pity that it's rare to drink such a good wine but I only drank half of it."
"
Zhao Yun laughed in amusement and said: "Everything is precious only when you can't fight for it. The general is now a very popular minister, and the wine he often drinks is worse than the wine at that birthday banquet, but I'm afraid he will still feel that the wine
That’s the most beautiful thing, otherwise I wouldn’t still be here today.”
Xu Tong said with a smile: "What your Excellency said is absolutely true."
"Actually, Mr. Shan is also a person who attaches great importance to friendship, but... haha, he just doesn't feel happy when he drinks." Zhao Yun spoke kindly on Shan's behalf at the right time.
"I was young and busy at that time, and I was drunk. I couldn't blame Mr. Shan for the quarrel. Now that I think about it, I should have accompanied him. When we met, I had to offer him a few bottles to apologize."
Zhao Yun said with a smile: "The general has a broad mind, so it is good not to remember old grudges. But after all, it is an old thing. Mr. Shan may have forgotten it a long time ago. I think I will skip the apology wine, save the general."
See him drinking and then get angry."
Xu Tong smiled and said: "Don't worry, I'm not as reckless as before, and I won't cause trouble for no reason. Just remember to invite Master Shan out of the city when you get to the city. Even if you don't apologize, you will be in the land of old friends."
It’s time to meet, let’s go and rest, we will set off in an hour and a half.”
Zhao Yun agreed and backed away.
The sun was slightly to the west, and Yi Jun, who was exhausted from rest, was full of energy and marched towards Suiping City.
When he was only five miles away from the city, Tongce Xu immediately climbed onto a mound, looked around for a while, then suddenly pointed at the distance and frowned at Zhao Yun, "Sir, look at that dense forest, how could I detect the faint light of a sword?"
Zhao Yun looked at it for a while and said, "I didn't see anything."
Xu Tong looked at him and then at the dense forest suspiciously.
Zhao Yun said solemnly: "General, please don't be suspicious. I, the king, are benevolent and righteous, and will never do evil things. The light of the sword that the general sees may be just the light of the hatchet in the hand of a woodcutter."
Xu Tong nodded slowly, his eyes slowly moved from the dense forest to the top of the city, and he asked uneasily: "Why are there so few defenders on the city? As far as I know, Suiping is an important place, and there won't be only such a small number of defenders.
Army?" As he spoke, his eyes turned to the dense forest. His intention was self-evident, he was suspecting that some of the defenders had been mobilized to ambush in the dense forest.
Zhao Yun secretly laughed and thought to himself, you are far worse than your military advisor. Military advisor He led the troops across the border for thousands of miles, chatting and laughing all the way calmly and without the slightest suspicion. Aren't you just making random suspicions? Although you think so in your heart, you don't dare to say it in your mouth.
He spoke directly and said with a smile: "The general is overly concerned. My king has an order. The cities along the way are not allowed to prepare troops when the general passes by. One is to avoid misunderstandings, and the other is to show sincerity. The general
If you are not at ease, I will tell Sir Shan immediately and ask him to order all the defenders to line up at the top of the city."
Xu Tong hesitated for a moment and said: "No need, I feel relieved now that your Excellency has said this. It's not that I'm suspicious, it's just that the military advisor before departure asked me to be cautious along the way. It seems that I was overly worried and made Your Excellency laugh."
Zhao Yun smiled and said: "The commander of the army should be cautious. What the general did is reasonable and reasonable. I will go and invite Lord Shan to come out and talk about old times with the general."
Xu Tong nodded and said: "Okay, sir, please urge us to send the food and grass out of the city as soon as possible. After collecting the food and grass, we have to travel further while it's cool. We can't stay here for too long."
Zhao Yun promised and led his entourage to ride towards Suiping City.
With a smile on his lips, Xu Tong got off the mound, summoned several generals to his side and gave low instructions for a while, then led the army and marched slowly towards Suiping City.
When they arrived at the foot of Suiping City, Shan Ting had already greeted him. This man was in his forties and had a mighty appearance. When he saw Xu Tong, he dismounted his horse and saluted, saying: "Sui Ping City Guard Shan Ting pays homage to the general."
Xu Tong dismounted and said with a smile: "We have been apart for more than ten years. Do you still remember the fight over wine at the birthday banquet?"
Shan Ting smiled slightly and said: "Of course I remember that when I was in power, I had the same official position. The general has been rising through the ranks recently, unlike me, a foolish and loyal person who cannot be reused."
Zhao Yun was shocked when he heard this. Hearing that Shan Ting was mocking Xu Tong for betraying Zhao, he became a high-ranking official. He hurriedly interjected: "After talking about the past, it's time to drink two bottles. The general went on an expedition to save the emperor from danger. He is the best among all the ministers in the world.
Set an example, come on, Lord Shan, you and I will pay homage to the general." He said and winked at him repeatedly.
Shan Ting said nothing and took the wine bottle from the attendant, holding it in his hand and looking at Xu Tong with a half-smile.
Xu Tong didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in Shan Ting's words. He took a bottle of wine and said with a smile, "Master Zhao, you are so complimentary. Come, let's drink from this bottle."
After finishing his drink, Xu Tong looked at the grain and grass being transported out of the city gate one after another, frowned and said: "How long will this delay take? I wish it had been sent outside the city as soon as possible."
Zhao Yun didn't wait for Shan Ting to speak and rushed to say: "Bandits have been rampant in the battles for years, and Lord Shan also made mistakes to prevent them." Then he turned to Shan Ting and said, "Please urge them to hurry up. The general is worried about the emperor's safety and is rushing on his way. Please
Sir, please be considerate."
Shan Ting wanted to say a few words, but Zhao Yun kept winking at him, so he had to hold back, and reluctantly sent an order to speed up the transportation.
The general next to Xu Tong said: "Send some people over to help. There is no need to check the number. Just receive it as soon as possible so that you can feed the next supply city."
Shan Ting frowned. When he wanted to stop him, he could see the impatient look on Xu Tong's face. He couldn't help but hesitate and looked at Zhao Yun. Seeing Zhao Yun secretly waving and shaking his head at him, he had to give up.
More than a thousand Yi troops ran forward to collect the food and fodder. When they saw some of them were approaching the city gate, Shan Ting became alert. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw a fast horse galloping over. The person came to Xu Tong, rolled his saddle and dismounted, and spoke in a low voice.
Fu'er said something, and Xu Tong's expression immediately changed.
Zhao Yun saw him staring at him with his eyes wide open and his teeth clenched, and he forced a smile and said, "Why is the general looking at this subordinate like this?"
Xu Tong suddenly withdrew his sword from his hand and shouted: "The people of Zhao are bullying me and seizing the city!"
Zhao Yun was so frightened that he lost his mind and said urgently: "I can't do it, I can't do it! I hope the general will explain it clearly if there is anything we need to do. How could we be deceived?"
Xu Tong said with all his hair and beard: "You still ask me? I just reported that Xiping had withdrawn the siege of the capital a few days ago, but you lied and claimed that the capital was under heavy attack day and night. What's the truth? It's nothing more than wild ambitions!
You want to lure my army into an ambush, yes or no!"
"How can this happen? General, please don't misunderstand the rumors! Please stop the army quickly before it gets out of hand!" Zhao Yun was so anxious that he almost cried. He really didn't know the inside story. Zhao Min even lied to him in this regard.
Passed.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Shan Ting immediately wanted to flee back to the city, but as soon as he mounted his horse, he was pulled down by Yi Jun, and all the accompanying officials were captured. At this moment, Zhao Yun was still begging and said sternly: "My lord, you are so confused.
Ah, don’t you understand yet?! They are here to capture the city, and any expedition is just for show!”
Xu Tong sneered and said: "You are unkind and I am unjust. Who has ulterior motives? You should ask King Zhao first. I think the matter of coming to Xiping to withdraw from the siege is not something that you, a small town guard, can know. Justice lies in people's hearts. Sooner or later, one day
You will understand." He turned to Zhao Yun and said, "Master Zhao, you don't know about this, right?"
Zhao Yun said with a cry: "This must be a rumor. The general cannot believe it. Please gather the troops immediately. When the whole story is found out, I will give an explanation to the general. Don't fall into the trap of the traitor."
The two countries are at odds."
Xu Tong snorted coldly: "The information is confirmed by our inquiring, and the one who wants to do the trick is your king. Isn't the whole story still clear? What ability do you have to give me an explanation as a big official? Can you take the responsibility?
"
Shan Ting, who was tied up in a ball, said with blazing eyes: "You are spitting blood! You bunch of unjust thieves who betrayed your master will die a good death!"
Xu Tong glanced at him sideways and said: "Ignorant little boy, I don't bother to talk to you. I won't take your life. I will let you go after a while and let you and Mr. Zhao go to your king to ask and find out."
The truth has been revealed. If you still have some blood, then commit suicide. I am ashamed of you for having such a great king!" After saying that, he ignored their pleas and curses and concentrated on directing the attack on the city.
Although Suiping was a fortified city, it was captured by surprise in less than half an hour. Xu Tongzhi was no longer killing people, but in order to block the news, after seizing the city, he closed the four gates tightly and spread the word that the city would be opened tomorrow afternoon.
, I am willing to leave and stay at your convenience at that time, and at the same time let the soldiers shout along the street: "Return to the Yi Kingdom and enjoy the new government!"
Suiping is more than a hundred miles away from the Yi State. The people have long admired the new policies of the Yi State. From time to time, some people fled into the Yi State privately. Now that the Yi army really came, they were inevitably panicked. It can be seen that the Yi army did not commit any crimes after entering the city.
Everyone settled down, and most of the people in the city decided to stay. The people who had been oppressed on weekdays cried and worshiped with tears in their eyes, and offered food and wine to reward the sergeants.
Xu Tong did not enter the city, leaving only 3,000 men and horses to assist the people and defend the city. The remaining men and horses were divided into two groups and captured the nearby cities according to the advance plan. The troops were expensive and fast. This was the key to this battle.
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