After receiving Li Mi's letter, Zhai Rang was furious. He slammed the table, "He sent troops without my order. Does he really want to be independent?"
Next to him, Zhai Rang's confidant Wang Ruxin said: "Zhai Gong, this man is very ambitious and has been self-reliant for a long time. If he captures Xingyang, I'm afraid that none of the brothers will be able to stand his temptation, and everyone will run to join him. Zhai Mr. Zhai is a lonely man. As the saying goes, the earlier he is killed, the better."
Zhai Rang thought for a long time and sneered: "Now is not the time for a fight. Since he is willing to capture Xingyang, let him go. I will stay in Wagang Village until he escapes in embarrassment and complains to me. I'll take care of him again"
Xu Shiji, who was sitting on the other side, advised: "Brother, I think it was a clever move by Li Mi to seize Xingyang. Now that Yang Xuangan has raised troops in Guanzhong, the court has no time to take care of us. Taking this opportunity to seize Xingyang and capture Luokou Cang will definitely shock the Central Plains. , so that we can gain leadership and attract many talents to join us. This is an opportunity for the Wagang army to grow. The eldest brother should follow the time and lead the army to join forces with Li Mi. In this way, the capture of Xingyang is the credit of the eldest brother, not Li Mi."
Zhai Rang snorted and said coldly: "I know you have wanted to join Li Mi for a long time. Just go and I won't stop you."
The stubborn temper in Xu Shiji's bones also broke out. He replied firmly: "I am just discussing the matter. Capturing Xingyang is an important step in establishing Wagang's hegemony. My eldest brother insists that I want to join Li Mi. I have nothing to say."
"Third Brother"
Shan Xiongxin, who was sitting next to him, yelled angrily, "How could you speak to your elder brother like this and not apologize quickly?"
Xu Shiji also felt that his tone was too harsh, so he apologized: "I am in a hurry, I am rude, please forgive me."
Zhai Rang gave a lukewarm 'hmm' and said: "I still say the same thing, if you want to go, just go, I won't stop you."
After saying that, Zhai Rang stood up and walked out, and everyone followed him out. Only Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji were left in the room. Xu Shiji let out a long sigh, "I don't want to bear the name of betrayal, but with the lord of mediocrity, , it really makes me unbearable”
"Third brother, do you still want to follow Li Mi?" Shan Xiongxin asked calmly
Xu Shiji nodded silently with a look of pain on his face, "But I don't want to betray my elder brother."
Shan Xiongxin smiled and said, "Following Li Mi is actually not about betraying eldest brother. Li Mi is also eldest brother's subordinate. In the future, eldest brother will seize the hegemony and become the emperor. Li Mi is just the prime minister. You can go, as long as you don't betray me, I will explain to eldest brother."
Xu Shiji stood up and bowed deeply, "Thank you so much, Brother Shan."
Xu Shiji returned to his mansion, simply packed up and led one hundred of his guards to rush out of the city gate. As soon as he left the city, he heard someone shouting from behind: "Brother Xu, wait for my brother."
When Xu Shiji turned around, he saw Cheng Yaojin chasing after him with a big ax on his back. He reined in the reins. When he came closer, he smiled and said, "Why are you following me?"
"It's boring to be bored in the city with Boss Zhai, so I'd better follow you. I'll beat the rich man and make some money, and my trip to Wagang won't be in vain."
Xu Shiji chuckled and said, "Then follow me to fight in Xingyang. There will be all kinds of gold, silver and treasures."
The crowd urged their horses and galloped towards the northwest
On the top of the city, Zhai Rang watched Xu Shiji walk away from a distance and sighed slightly. The general beside him, Hao Xiaode, said: "Zhai Gong should not let him go, especially if he seeks refuge with Li Mi. If he doesn't want to stay, Zhai Gong should kill him." , Otherwise, if Li Mi gets him, he will be even more powerful than a tiger."
Zhai Rang shook his head, "Shiji followed me when he started his business. He is my brother. How could I kill him? Everyone has his own ambitions. If he wants to help Li Mi, let him go."
With a heavy heart, Zhai Rang turned around and went down to the city. Hao Xiaode stared at his back and blurted out a sentence for a while, "How can a woman's benevolence achieve great things?"
...........
Xu Shiji caught up with Li Mi in Lingchang County. Xu Shiji and Cheng Yaojin came to surrender. Li Mi was overjoyed. He immediately appointed Xu Shiji as his assistant general and Cheng Yaojin as his general.
The 150,000-strong army marched westward. At this time, due to Yang Xuangan's rebellion in Chang'an, Luoyang's defense center turned to the west, leaving the Central Plains empty of troops and unable to stop Li Mi's westward march. surrender
That afternoon, Li Mi led his army across the Tongji Canal. The army was walking on the ice covered with thick white snow. Li Mi pointed the direction with his riding whip and said with a smile: "The queen went around Yangzhou, wandered around the garden, and occupied the Tongji Canal." , Yang Guang will definitely die in Yangzhou and never return."
The generals around him laughed loudly, "What a pity for the beautiful queen! If I could be a wife of a stronghold, we could also have a taste of the queen."
"You guys, Queen Xiao is a woman who is almost fifty years old, and you are still making up your mind."
Li Mi laughed and cursed. He saw that Xu Shiji was thoughtful. He had been thinking about things from morning to now. Li Mi slowed down his horse and waited for Xu Shiji to come up.
"What are you thinking about?" Li Mi asked with a smile.
Xu Shiji shook his head and said: "Li Gong, I don't think we should go to Guancheng County for the time being."
Guancheng County is the seat of Xingyang County, and it is Li Mi's goal for this westward march. Li Mi was startled, "Why?"
"Guancheng County is only a big city, and it has no great practical significance. On the contrary, it will shock Luoyang. The meaning of the humble position is to send surprise troops to attack Luokou Cang before Luoyang pays attention to us. If Luokou Cang is taken, The foundation of the emperor can be obtained, what do you think?"
Li Mi pondered for a moment and said: "While the Yellow River is freezing, I will lead my army to pretend to attack Hanoi to distract the Sui army's attention. My third brother can lead five thousand troops to attack Luokou Cang. Once captured, I will immediately lead my army to come for reinforcements."
The two looked at each other and laughed understandingly. They slapped each other hard and immediately divided their troops into two groups. Li Mi led an army of 150,000 to the north of the Yellow River and crossed the river to pretend to attack Hanoi. Xu Shiji led 5,000 cavalry to lurk on the spot.
In a black pine forest, Xu Shiji sat on a branch with his back against the big tree. Under his branch, Cheng Yaojin lay with his legs crossed on a thick patch of pine needles, picking his teeth with pine needles while humming a tune from his hometown with a contented expression.
Xu Shiji sighed slightly, "Li Gong is indeed a great man of great talent and strategy. In comparison, Brother Zhai is far behind in terms of vision and ambition."
"What a generation of heroes"
Cheng Yaojin looked down upon Li Mi and sneered: "He is just a reed chicken occupying a nest. He just studied for a few more years and has a noble title. Among a group of local chickens in Wagang Village, he stands out." , but among the real heroes in the world, he is nothing.”
Xu Shiji smiled and said: "The hero you are talking about is Yang Yuanqing."
"Isn't it?"
Xu Shiji nodded, "Yang Yuanqing is a hero. If he hadn't been merciful back then, Wagang Village would not be what it is today. But I don't know much about him, but I feel that he is Li Gong and should be among the brothers."
"At least he started from scratch and relied on his own skills to fight for the world. Unlike Wagang, who became a monk halfway and wanted to be an abbot. I, Old Cheng, hate the two things most, which are eunuchs marrying wives and using power to seize wives."
"Heroes should be judged by their success or failure."
Xu Shiji smiled and said: "It's too early for you to say it now. Without Li Mi, Wagang Village would still be a group of grass bandits. How could there be today's prime minister, let alone attack Luokou Cang?"
"What you said makes some sense, but Li Mi can't compare to Yang Yuanqing. I'll take you to meet him another day."
The reason why Cheng Yaojin always mentions Yang Yuanqing is that he got the news that Yang Yuanqing has occupied Lingwu County. Lingwu County is warmer than Fengzhou and he can put his wife in Lingwu County. Cheng Yaojin is a little moved.
"Let's talk about it later"
Xu Shiji saw that it was getting dark, so he jumped down from the tree and said to everyone: "Everyone is ready to go."
Five thousand cavalry mounted their horses one after another. Xu Shiji took the lead and led the army to gallop westward.
........
Luokou Cang, also known as Xingluocang, is located in the southeast of Gong County. Gong County is surrounded by Zhongyue Songshan Mountain in the south, the Yellow River natural moat in the north, Hulao Pass in the east, Heishiguan in the west, and Xuanyuan Pass in the south. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and is consolidated. 'The name of the county was derived from it in the past dynasties, and because of its location, Luoyang, the capital of the capital, was known as the 'Key to the Eastern Capital' in history.
Luokou Cang is located in such a dangerous place. It is a huge city with a circumference of more than 20 miles. There are more than 3,000 grain cellars in the city. Each cellar can store thousands of dans of grain, and the total grain storage capacity is tens of millions of dans. The above is the largest granary in the world
But at this time, the grain storage in Luokou Granary was less than half, more than 4 million dan. Even so, it was the richest place in the world. Those who get grain will win the world. This has been an indisputable fact in the troubled times of the past dynasties.
If you want to seize Luokou Cang, you must first capture Hulao Pass. Xu Shiji looked at the majestic Hulao Pass and pondered for a long time. Cheng Yaojin smiled and said: "I have a way to seize the pass."
Xu Shiji looked at him doubtfully, not knowing what he meant. Cheng Yaojin chuckled, "Don't men just like those kinds of tones? Look at me."
.......
Hulao Pass was built in the mountains. It was built according to the mountains. The gate is majestic, tall and strong. It is a dangerous pass that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are more than a thousand defenders.
In the middle of the night, dozens of soldiers guarding the pass were dozing off against the city wall. Originally, they heard that the Wagang Army was attacking Xingyang County, and the defenders at Hulao Pass were very nervous. Later, they heard that the rebels had crossed the river north to Hanoi, and everyone was relieved. The defense has been somewhat relaxed.
Suddenly, a large group of women cried out from the city: "Open the door, open the door quickly!"
A few soldiers looked down and saw more than a hundred women coming to the city. The soldiers looked at each other, wondering what happened?
"Who are you and where do you come from?" the soldier asked loudly.
The first few women cried: "We are civilian girls in Bishui Town. A large group of bandits came and took us captive. They divided the spoils unevenly and a fight broke out. We escaped. Let us enter the city quickly. They I will chase you”
At this time, the captain on duty also came. He looked at them for a long time. Most of these women were young, and several of them were naked. It was heart-stirring. He looked at the distance again. There was no one there. He felt confused. The fire was blazing, and he was suddenly so bold. Since the world was in chaos, it didn't matter if he took possession of these women, so he whispered: "Don't make any noise, let them in, everyone has a share."
The soldiers were moved. They lowered the suspension bridge and opened the city gate a crack. A soldier waved to the women, "Come in quickly."
A large group of women ran towards the city. As expected, the dozen or so people who ran in first were all young women. There were also several naked women. They all looked panicked and frightened. The soldiers swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and reached out to touch a handful of naked women. woman
Seventy or eighty women came running behind, wearing silk hats and wide skirts. They were all gorgeous and fragrant. As soon as these women ran into the city, they suddenly took out a knife from under their skirts and chopped off their heads and faces. Several soldiers stood at the door. Unable to dodge, he screamed and fell to the ground
A burly woman lifted her veil, revealing a bright red mouth. It was none other than the heavily made-up Cheng Yaojin. He swung his ax and slashed away, killing dozens of soldiers who were waiting at the city gate to divide the woman. They screamed again and again, killing more than a dozen people in an instant. The captain who was guarding the city had his head blown off with an axe, and the others were so frightened that they fled in all directions.
Cheng Yaojin fought his way up the tower and seized the winch controlling the suspension bridge. Not long after, Xu Shiji led five thousand cavalry to attack and rushed into the Hulao Pass.
...
After hearing that Xu Shiji had captured Hulao Pass, Li Mi immediately turned around and attacked. On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Mi's 150,000 troops came to Luokou Cang. The supervisor of Luokou Cang surrendered with 5,000 defenders, and Luokou Cang fell. In the hands of Li Mi, the world was in shock, and the foundation of the Sui Dynasty suffered the heaviest blow.
........
[There is no story in history about Cheng Yaojin disguised as a woman to seize Hulao. Only Yang Liangjun disguised himself as a woman to seize Puzhou. Li Mi captured Luokou Cang in a detour and did not use Hulao Pass. 】