Nie Xiao's unexpected death quickly made the Qiang people lose all their fighting spirit, especially when Nie Xiao's personal guard camp rushed up to steal Nie Xiao's body, but was cruelly slaughtered by heavy armored soldiers and was cut to the point of blood and flesh flying, the Qiang people were dumbfounded. I don't know who was the first to start escaping. Five or six thousand cavalry that had not yet begun the battle collapsed, like birds and beasts scattered, and no one dared to look at Guan Yu again.

Zhao An and Ren Ping Hanyang officials were stunned. While they were speechless by the powerful combat power of Liu Xiu's troops, a burst of ecstasy flashed through their hearts. Fortunately, they did not surrender to the Qiang people as easily as the people in Jincheng, otherwise they would have been enemies of Liu Xiu now. It is obviously not a happy thing to be enemies of such people.

Pang De's eyes were shiny, his fists were tightly clenched, and his face turned red. He had always been arrogant and brave, but today he realized that there were many masters in the world. Whether it was Xu Qian or Guan Yu, the force of these people was beyond his reach at present.

I must work hard to practice martial arts so that I can kill generals and seize the flag like them.

Liu Xiu saw all their horror, but deliberately looked calm and said lightly: "Two sirs, let's not delay, hurry to Jicheng immediately."

"General, your subordinates are so powerful." Zhao An couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

Liu Xiu smiled slightly. His subordinates were really not short of powerful generals. When dealing with the people of Xiliang who were not ashamed of warriors, his strong force made him full of confidence. He said a few humble words and urged Zhao An and others to set off immediately. As for cleaning the battlefield, he left it to Shanggui Ren Ping to deal with it.

Two hours later, Liu Xiu saw the tall walls of Ji City.

When Fan Jin saw Liu Xiu, he felt relieved and his originally pale face returned to his calm. He told Liu Xiu that the scout came to report that more than 20,000 Qiang people entered Hanyang. He was very worried that Liu Xiu would encounter them badly.

"Who leads the troops?" Liu Xiu complained in his heart, but refused to show a hint of panic. He had just stabilized the Hanyang people with a refreshing victory, and at this moment he had to show the demeanor of a general who always won.

"What kind of Tianlang is burning?" Although Fan Jin was a famous scholar in Nanyang, he dared to come to Xiliang to be the prefect. Moreover, he had been working for more than ten years, and his courage was not comparable to ordinary Confucian scholars. Seeing that although Liu Xiu had only 3,000 people, he could defeat Nie Xiao's army with great momentum and killed Nie Xiao in formation, his confidence in Liu Xiu increased greatly.

"Okay. Wait for him to die." Liu Xiu smiled disapprovingly, "Please prepare some wine and food for Fan Fujun. I walked all the way from Guanzhong and was a little hungry."

Fan Jin laughed, "Jin has known that the soldiers have worked hard for a long time. He has asked someone to prepare some food and drink. Please ask the general and the warriors to drink."

Liu Xiu thanked him and entered the city with Fan Jin. Three thousand soldiers sat on the horse's back with their backs straight, without looking sideways, holding the reins in one hand and holding the iron halberd in the other hand, and lined up in an orderly line. Slowly entering the city, the silent aura added a bit of mystery. It attracted the people watching onlookers on the street to exclaim, and looked at the well-equipped and disciplined team curiously and fearfully.

The officials of the Liangzhou Governor's Mansion, the Hanyang Prefectural Mansion and the great tribes in Jicheng had already received news from Fan Jin and rushed to greet them. When they saw these three thousand elite soldiers, they were surprised and happy. Although they didn't know that Tianlang was rushing to Jicheng, they knew that the Qiang people occupied Jincheng and Longxi, and the vanguard had crossed Jicheng and rushed to Shangqi. Jicheng might be surrounded by Qiang people at any time. At this moment, it was a tense moment. Suddenly, seeing such a mighty official army, there was a sound of a stone falling to the ground in their hearts, and a relaxed smile appeared on their faces.

Fan Jin bowed to the Hanyang heroes with a smile and said loudly: "Tell you all good news."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, thinking that it was indeed good news for General Liu Xiu, the guard, to arrive in Jicheng, to be in good condition, but he has arrived in front of everyone. Do you still need to say it? Is there any news better than this news?

"Although General Wei only brought three thousand people, these three thousand people are warriors of a hundred battles. Everyone has seen it, but I believe you must not think of how brave they are." Fan Jin waved his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet, then called Zhao An: "Let me tell you how General Wei defeated ten thousand rebel Qiang today."

When everyone heard this, they suddenly became turbulent. They knew that a large number of Qiang vanguards had rushed to Shangji and were likely to collided with Liu Xiu, but Liu Xiu only had 3,000 troops, and the army was neat, so they could not see any appearance of having just passed the fierce battle. They all thought that Liu Xiu either did not meet the Qiang vanguard or had not fought, and came to Jicheng from other roads. But now Fan Jin said that Liu Xiu had defeated the Qiang people. This unexpected person could not help but prick up his ears and listen carefully.

Zhao An said what he saw and heard, and everyone was in an uproar. If Zhao An was not a local, everyone knew it well, they would not believe Zhao An at all. Three thousand people defeated 10,000 people, and it took less than an hour to die, and who would believe such a result? On the other hand, it was almost the same.

However, Zhao An is from the Zhao family, one of the four surnames in Tianshui. He has been an official in the Hanyang Prefecture Palace for more than a day or two. Everyone knows his character very well, and there is no reason not to believe him. But this result is too incredible and unacceptable.

For a moment, these people looked at each other, not knowing whether they should believe it or not.

Fan Jin smiled slightly and bowed to Liu Xiu: "General Wei, please take out Nie Xiao's head and show everyone? Otherwise, they wouldn't believe it."

Liu Xiu waved his hand quietly and signaled Guan Yu to step out. Guan Yu turned over and dismounted, took off the leather bag containing Nie Xiao's head from the horse's back, walked to Liu Xiu and bowed, then took out Nie Xiao's head and raised it high, facing everyone, standing proudly.

Fan Jin laughed heartily and said, "Everyone, this is the head of Nie Xiao, the leader of the rebel Qiang. Nie Xiao is from Hanyang. Some of you must know him. You might as well come out and recognize him, it seems that it is not him."

Only then did Liu Xiu realize that Nie Xiao was from Hanyang, no wonder he would enter Hanyang as a striker.

After hearing Fan Jin's words, someone who knew Nie Xiao squeezed out of the crowd, carefully recognized the head in Guan Yu's hand, and proved that what Fan Jin said was indeed the truth. When he heard that Liu Xiuzhen had defeated 10,000 people with 3,000 people, and he was extremely relaxed. The crowd was once again boiling.

"General Guard is mighty!" someone raised his fists and shouted loudly.

"General Guard is mighty!" More people shouted. When Zhao An saw it, he hurriedly walked to Guan Yu, raised his hand and shouted: "Governor Guan is mighty!"

Only then did everyone realize that the tall and mighty man in front of him was Guan, and he was very excited. He also shouted. Listening to the tide of cheers, Guan Yu's tense face slowly relaxed. He raised his hand to greet everyone, and then shouted loudly: "General Wei is mighty!"

Under his leadership, the cheers rose and the atmosphere reached **.

Fan Jin invited Liu Xiu to the prefect's mansion and held a banquet to entertain him. He said to Liu Xiu happily: "The general fought well in this battle. With this beginning, it can shock the Qiang people and inspire the morale of the people."

Liu Xiu said gratefully: "Thank you for your support. With the help of the Duke, I am more confident in defending Jicheng and stabbing Liangzhou." He said the truth. Fan Jin's behavior just now was not unintentional. Praising him is definitely not the main purpose. He specially asked those Hanyang people to see and make them confident in Liu Xiu. I believe that Liu Xiu can defend Jicheng so that the people of Jicheng can be stable. Only then can they be willing to support Liu Xiu and stabilize Hanyang. Otherwise, no matter how brave Liu Xiu is, it is impossible for him to truly control the situation.

Although Liu Xiu hated those pseudonymous scholars, he still admired this kind of talented and responsible celebrity, and was not stingy with his praise.

With this good start, at the following banquet, the great tribes of Ji County came forward to toast Liu Xiu, expressing their willingness to advance and retreat with Liu Xiu to protect the country and the people. Liu Xiu thanked them one by one, and then quickly took over the defense of Jicheng and discussed related issues of military strength and money with each company.

The next day, the scout heard that Tianlang stopped moving forward. He was currently stationed in the Zhushan area southwest of Jicheng, blocking the road to Longxi County. It seemed that he had learned that Nie Xiao was defeated and the official army entered Jicheng, and was waiting for reinforcements.

Liu Xiu immediately summoned everyone to discuss how to deal with the more than 20,000 Qiang people.

Fan Jin stroked his beard and said nothing, but only looked at the few people he invited. These people were all major tribes in Hanyang and were currently working in the governor's office or the prefect's office. Compared to Fan Jin, they were the real power faction who truly mastered Hanyang.

Gongcao, a prefect of Yang Hui, stood up, "Zhuo Mountain is the only way to the south of Longxi. If the general wants to rebel, he must pass this way. If the rebel Qiang wants to enter Hanyang and invade Guanzhong, this is also one of the important roads. Zhuo Mountain is located between the southern and northern mountains, and is a rare place for garrisons. If the Qiang people occupy this area, they will maintain pressure on Jicheng at any time, which is very unfavorable for the general."

The others nodded frequently and agreed.

Liu Xiu saw it and was a little angry. These people just wanted to drive the Qiang people out of Hanyang, but they didn't know the danger here. The Qiang people had 20,000, and they had just experienced Nie Xiao's miserable defeat. They must be prepared for it. It was not so easy to fight. His troops were insufficient, but these Hanyang people did not mention any words, and all their support was kept on their mouths. So far, there was no actual action. With his three thousand people attacking, even if they win, they would win miserably. In the end, few people could come back alive.

These people are all human beings, but it is undeniable that many people put their interests first. As long as their interests are not damaged, Liu Xiu's defeat or undefeated is not important to them, at least not decisive. They can cooperate with the Qiang people like the powerful people in Jincheng.

Liu Xiu glanced at Fan Jin, and Fan Jin smiled silently, giving Liu Xiu a look of empathy.

Fu Xie hesitated for a moment, stood up, bowed to Liu Xiu and Fan Jin first, and then looked at the Hanyang heroes who were sitting together subconsciously, and asked in confusion: "It is said that the Qiang people raised 150,000 troops. All we know is at present is in An Ding. There are 30,000 to 40,000 people in the north, and there are 30,000 people in Hanyang, so where are there 50,000 or 60,000 people?"

"In Jincheng." A man in his forties stood up. His name was Jiang Xu, who was in charge of Hanyang's military affairs. He nodded to Liu Xiu: "According to the news we have received before, the main force of the rebel Qiang has been in Jincheng, Wang family, and Bian family, and have all been in harmony with them, but the Han family and Qu family have not yet expressed their opinions, especially the Han family, because of Han Sui, they have clearly refused to cooperate and defended themselves according to the fort."

"How long can the fortress of a clan last?" Fu Xie glanced at everyone, "If I guess well, Bian Zhang, the kingdom is Gu Nian's old love. I don't want to start a big killing. But if they learned that the general had entered Jicheng, could they still be so tolerant? Even if they did not surrender and left thousands of people to guard them, Bian Zhang, the kingdom could still draw nearly 50,000 troops to surround Jicheng. At that time, even if Jicheng is strong, it will inevitably be surrounded, and other counties will inevitably be poisoned by them."

Those who were not in Jicheng frowned and began to worry.

"In the current plan, we should defeat Tianlang before the main force of the rebels arrives. Regain Zhushan. In this way, our army can attack and retreat and defend, and at least keep Hanyang safe." Fu Xie turned around and bowed to Liu Xiu: "Please don't hesitate. Attack Tianlang immediately."

The Hanyang people also wanted Liu Xiu to attack Tianlang. Fu Xie also wanted Liu Xiu to attack Tianlang, but the meaning was slightly different. The Hanyang people wanted Liu Xiu to attack alone, and they were on guard. But Fu Xie reminded them that if Liu Xiu refused to attack because of insufficient troops, then the most unlucky person after the Qiang people surrounded Jicheng was the Hanyang people. You either surrendered to the Qiang people or were robbed by the Qiang people. Even if you surrender, you have to take out a lot of money to appease the Qiang people. Since that is the case, why don’t you come out to support Liu Xiu?

Everyone is smart, and you can understand the difference by just one by one. One by one, one starts to stand up and express your approval. Some send troops, while others send grain. It takes a short time, and then gathers more than 2,000 people, more than 20,000 stones and more than 20,000 grain.

Liu Xiu estimated that with the original county soldiers in Ji County, he now had about 7,000 people, and there was a possibility of a battle. He immediately began to discuss how to fight. Jiang Xu was a local and was responsible for the military of the county. He was very familiar with the terrain in Zhushan area and explained it to Liu Xiu immediately.

Zhuyu Mountain has a unique terrain, with heavy mountains and heavy waters around it, with southern mountains and western mountains. The only thing that can garrison troops is a small meadow. There are seven or eight waters within a distance of less than a hundred miles north of the mountain, which is not suitable for large army operations at all. There is only one Dabianchuan water to the south, but it is not easy to cross the Dabianchuan water to attack Zhuyu River, because the mountains there are dense forests and it is very difficult to walk. More importantly, the Qiang people are good at mountain combat, and this terrain is very suitable for them, but it is not conducive to the advantages of Liu Xiu's troops, who are mainly cavalry.

Jiang Xu finally reached a conclusion and said regretfully: "At present, there is no better way to attack with infantry head-on."

Liu Xiu was very depressed. After talking for a long time, he came to such a conclusion and couldn't help but feel depressed. He was originally worried about insufficient troops, but now he realized that the troops were sufficient and there was only one way to attack. No wonder those people were hesitant.

Liu Xiu asked everyone to retreat and sat alone in front of the map to ponder. Hao Zhao stood quietly aside, and Pang De, who had officially become Liu Xiu's guard, also stood there, looking at Liu Xiu without saying a word.

"Easy to defend but hard to attack... it is not conducive to the operation of the army... it is not good for the cavalry..." Jiang Xu's words with a clear Liangzhou accent echoed in Liu Xiu's mind, making Liu Xiu feel a little upset. But when he thought of Pang De, he could not let this emotion be exposed, so he had to call Pang De in front of him and chat.

"Which direction is your home?"

"Here." Pang De found the location of the Fengdao on the map. Fengdao is upstream of the Wei River, northwest of Jicheng, about seventy or eighty miles away from Ji County.

"Then if you want to go home, where will you go?" Liu Xiu joked, "If you walk from Zhushan, you will be quite far away."

"I won't walk from Zhu'an Mountain." Seeing that Liu Xiu's tone was gentle and there was no pretentious attitude of a superior, Pang De felt relieved and touched his chin with embarrassment. "I walked on the mountain road. Although the mountain road was difficult to walk, it was much closer and faster."

"Mountain Road?" Liu Xiu paused for a moment, and had an idea, "Do you know that you can go around the mountain road west of Zhushan?"

"Yes." Pang De said without thinking, then realized Liu Xiu's purpose, and quickly shook his head and said, "General, those mountain roads are very difficult to walk. It's okay for a few people to walk around. The army cannot walk, and it's even more impossible for war horses."

"Hehe, then don't worry, tell me if there is one, how long will it take to go."

Pang De blinked and thought for a while: "It takes about five days to walk, and you have to pass a few more water. After walking to Heishui Gorge, turn south and cross Nanshan, you will see the military camp of Zhushan." He reminded him again: "These roads are not easy to walk."

Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Do you think the people under Governor Xu can leave?"

Pang De thought about the scene when Xu Qian led the tiger soldiers to attack Mount Qi that day, and nodded repeatedly: "They will definitely be able to leave."

"That's fine." Liu Xiu sat up and winked at Hao Zhao: "Go and find Taoist Priest Wang and Governor Xu."

Wang Zhi and Xu Qian came soon. Wang Zhi was good at concealing techniques, and his body skills were flexible. Xu Qian's tiger soldiers were crushed to death by Guan Yu's heavy armored soldiers in terms of attack. The title of the strongest infantry was hopeless, so he simply developed in the direction of omnipotence. He not only asked the tiger soldiers to practice martial arts such as swords, halberds, bows and crossbows, but also learned light body techniques from Wang Zhi, but also asked Liu Xiu for instructions, asking Liu Xiu to pass the monkey shape in the Five Elements Technique to some trustworthy tiger soldiers. In the daily training of tiger soldiers, balancing skills such as climbing over the wall and crossing the ridge are also compulsory subjects.

After seeing these tiger soldiers' flexible skills with their own eyes, Pang De admired them very much, and let go of his last worry. He was just when he was young and warlike, and he never thought that Liu Xiu would take hundreds of tiger soldiers to find the bad luck of the Qiang people. On the contrary, he was a little eager to try and wanted to fly to Zhuchuan in one step and fight with the Qiang people.

Liu Xiu found Fan Jin and Jiang Xu and asked them to lead the army out of the city from tomorrow, move forward thirty miles a day, and then retreat twenty miles a day, and delay it until two or three days later, and then go to Zhushan to confront the Qiang people. If the Qiang people do not attack them on their own initiative, they should not cause trouble. If the gap between the enemy and us is too great, they can also retreat temporarily.

Fan Jin and Jiang Xu didn't understand why. They didn't know why Liu Xiu asked them to do this, and they didn't understand why Liu Xiu didn't lead his troops and instead gave them the military power.

"I have other things to do." Liu Xiu did not tell them the truth. He knew that Jiang Xu might not have any objection. But Fan Jin would definitely say that he was reckless and not as a general.

Fan Jin and the others had just left. Fu Xie came here. As soon as he saw Liu Xiu, he said straight to the point: "Is the general going to raid the Qiang people from a small path?"

Liu Xiu was stunned and looked around, thinking that someone was unstable, so he could not stay with him.

"The general doesn't need to look at it, I guessed it myself." Fu Xie pointed to Pang De, "He is a local and must know some tricks. The general suddenly wanted to act when he was at a loss, but he refused to tell everyone that it must be this plan."

Liu Xiu secretly exclaimed, this guy is smart enough, no less than a talented person like Xun You and Jia Xu.

"What are the great ideas of Nanrong?"

"I don't have any good opinions." Fu Xie bowed and said calmly: "Xie is not talented, and he is willing to attack as Sima under the general. Please put the overall situation first and guard Jicheng."

"You are going?" Liu Xiu was surprised. He thought Fu Xie was going to dissuade him.

"I can go because I die and it has no effect on the overall situation. If something happens to the general, Liangzhou will be out of control." Fu Xie looked into Liu Xiu's eyes and said word by word: "Although I get along with the general, I can see that the general has something to do. People who do big things should not take such danger."

Liu Xiu was shocked, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes. Did he accidentally say something that made Fu Xie see the problem? No, I have never revealed the idea of ​​rebelling in front of anyone. If I had to say yes, it would have revealed a little in front of Yan Zhong, but where did Fu Xie see it? Is this guy a fairy?

"Big thing?" Liu Xiu laughed in disguise: "What big thing can I do? My big thing is to pacify Liangzhou."

"The Qiang people are easy to attack but difficult to subdue. The things in Liangzhou cannot be solved in one or two days. Although the general is young, he has been through the battlefield for a long time, so I believe he will not be unable to see this." Seeing that Liu Xiu was a little unnatural, Fu Xie also felt a little aggressive and slowed down his tone. "The general lacks military strength. The best strategy at the moment is to defend Jicheng instead of rushing to defeat Tianlang. Because defeating Tianlang can't solve the Qiang Rebellion in Liangzhou. The general is eager to win, and even risk his life. If there is no reason, how can this be the worst strategy?"

After hearing this, Liu Xiu's heart fell to the ground. He was so scared that he said so seriously. What did he see before? It turned out to be this matter. He shook his head and signaled Fu Xie to sit down. "Nanrong doesn't know that I'm eager to solve Tianlang because I don't want to delay the matter of Liangzhou for too long. Not to mention the ancient saying that the war is not expensive for not long, just talk about the situation in Jincheng, I can't delay the situation for too long. Let's not talk about the Qu family, I will talk about the Han family. The reason why the Han family did not support the chaos was because Han Sui and I became an official in response to my enlistment. I have the right to be a monarch and minister. The Han family did not rebel. I cannot sit idly by. Tens of thousands of Qiang people, how can the Han family last? If the Han family suffers from disaster, how can I explain to Han Sui?"

Fu Xie remained silent and listened quietly, but the doubt in his eyes did not decrease at all. (To be continued)!!!
Chapter completed!