It is difficult to walk at night, especially in winter, when the cold wind is howling, the ground is skating, and pedestrians and horses must be careful when walking. Fang Daye leads the horse and walks alone on the official road, constantly being overtaken by the people behind. Those people push carts, drive cattle and sheep, and may still hold children in their arms, and move forward with their efforts, as if the Huns are following behind their butts.

Slowly, fewer and fewer people catching up with him, and it was less urgent. A wife complained about her husband while walking: "You are just anxious. Many neighbors have decided to stay in the city. Let's see if the situation is going on... I don't know how the family is. Those more than a dozen chickens and ducks have not been fed tonight. Have you locked the door?"

The husband also regretted it a little, didn't want to admit it or argue, but just kept saying, "I understand."

Fang Daye turned around and looked at it. Facing the north wind, there was no sign of the God-Emperor Pass in the darkness. Although he was the idea of ​​stabilizing the people's hearts, the young general Zhenbei seemed to have done a good job.

Behind a dilapidated wall on the side of the road, a bonfire was lit, dozens of people gathered in a circle to keep warm, and someone shouted to the old man walking alone on the official road: "Don't leave, there are no villages or shops in front, come and roast the fire, and hurry up tomorrow."

Fang Daye found a place to tie the horse, took out some beans and fed it to the horse, and then squeezed into the crowd to share a little warmth.

Most of the people around them know each other and are discussing the "great trend of the world".

"For decades, the Great Chu has never been defeated by the Huns, and we won't be able to leave this time, maybe we left too early."

"It's not the same now, young man, it's not the same now. When Emperor Wu was the Emperor Wu, the Chu army was out of the pass and chasing the Huns to fight. How could the Huns approach the Shenxiong Pass? Alas, I remember that there were Chu army posts hundreds of miles away from Hebei, and the Chu people could come and go and grazing cattle and horses at will. Since Emperor Wu ascended to heaven, I have never left the northern gate of Shenxiong Pass again."

"The new general Zhenbei looks good, and he seems to be a general who can fight."

"I was too young. When Emperor Wu was a man as young as him, no matter how noble he was, he could only be a lieutenant and be qualified to lead troops independently after studying with the veteran for a few years. No, General Zhenbei was too young and was not a match for the Huns. We were right, but... I was a little anxious, but I could actually wait for a night."

"Oh, I'm not sure whether it's good or bad when I returned home in a hurry. I heard that there were riots in many places in the pass. I hope my hometown is fine and I must not let me meet you."

"Hehe, the most unlucky thing is not encountering riots, but after returning to the hometown, he caught up with the government's recruitment and was sent back to Shenxiong Pass."

Most of the people in Shenxiong Pass were merchants, so they were eager to leave the city and return to their hometown. They were afraid of being recruited for military conscription and levy money. Everyone sighed repeatedly, "When Emperor Wu was the time" was mentioned frequently. A few years later, the people forgot the cruelty of Emperor Wu's late period, and only remembered that the weather was good and everyone lived and worked in peace.

"Brother-in-law, you came from the north, right?" someone asked.

Fang Daye nodded, he didn't like chatting.

"How about Broken Iron City? Can you keep it?"

Fang Daye thought for a while, "It can be defended for about ten to fifteen days. If the reinforcements in the pass are not here for a long time, it will be dangerous."

"There are no soldiers in the pass? They all went to quell the riots, and internal and external troubles have arrived together."

"The Great Chu knew that there were internal and external troubles, and the Huns might not know that they had been defeated for decades and must be guilty. As long as the Chu army showed its fighting spirit, it might be able to force the Huns to retreat."

Fang Daye's speech was not like ordinary people. The people around him were respectful to him and gave him some place. Someone even handed over a pot of hot wine. Fang Daye drank a few sips, and a warm feeling flowed from his abdomen to his limbs, making him feel very comfortable.

"From what you mean, you should eliminate external troubles first and then calm down your internal troubles?" someone asked.

Fang Daye cherishes his words in front of General Zhenbei, but he can talk freely when facing a group of people. "Rampages occur frequently in the pass are nothing more than because the people lack financial resources. The taxes are too heavy in recent years, so the people are living in poverty. As soon as they are encouraged, they join the bandit gang. In this case, the tax is the cause and the riot is the result. The tax is mainly to fight the Huns. Squeezing internal worries cannot reduce the tax, but defeating the Huns can still benefit the people, and the riots will disappear by themselves."

Everyone didn't understand it very much, but became more and more awe-inspiring. An old man asked: "Now the riots are scattered in counties and counties. If they are not pacified in time, I am afraid that they will be connected after winter. It will be useless to reduce taxes at that time?"

"Of course, we cannot indulge in riots, but we don't have to destroy them. All counties and counties guard the pass and prevent the riots from leaving the local area. I'm afraid that the Huns are far away from the frontier, and the riots are close to each other. The court is afraid of the light and far away, and all the troops are used to quell the chaos. In the end, the civil strife has not been quelled, but the Huns have entered the pass, and it will be difficult to drive them out."

The people didn't know so much, but they just thought the old man was very reasonable. A middle-aged woman smiled and said, "You can see so thoroughly that the court will not make mistakes."

"It shouldn't be." Fang Daye didn't want to scare this group of people. He didn't even understand why he was saying this, but his idea came to his mind and insisted on blurting out. Unfortunately, there was no suitable audience in front of him.

Suddenly, the old general was indifferent, lowered his head and focused on the fire.

Another person asked respectfully: "Sir, are you a court official?"

"I'm a prisoner and have just been released."

As soon as this was said, the bonfire suddenly became quiet, and only the crackling sound of firewood and the whistling of wind were heard.

There was a sudden sound of horse hooves coming from a distance. It was a bit strange to dare to gallop on such nights and grounds. Everyone looked at the official road. Three knights came, and some people shouted enthusiastically: "Come here to roast the fire..."

Before he finished speaking, the three knights had stopped, wearing armor, and they were obviously soldiers in the army. No one said anything. One was because they were afraid of officials, and the other was because they did not dare to delay military affairs.

"Would anyone ever see an old man who is about sixty years old, tall, alone, riding a horse." A knight asked loudly.

Almost without looking at everyone, everyone's eyes looked at the newly joined father-in-law.

Fang Daye sighed heavily, turned around and walked towards his mount. The knight on the official road saw him, "Isn't that... General..."

Han Ruzi jumped off the horse and was very happy. He finally caught up with him. It went smoother than expected. He prepared a lot of words and wanted to keep the old general no matter what.

Fang Daye led his horse to the official road, saluted General Zhenbei, and asked, "How many troops can General Zhenbei mobilize?"

Han Ruzi didn't expect that the first question would be Fang Daye, so she was stunned for a moment, "I'm fighting for..."

"Let's change the question, how many troops will General Zhenbei hope to mobilize?"

Han Ruzi thought for a while, "I hope to mobilize all Chu troops."

"Okay, I'll go back with you."

Fang Daye jumped on his horse.

Han Ruzi was stunned again, but after all, he achieved his goal. He also turned over and walked with Fang Daye, and walked along the same path to the Shenxiong Pass. He soon talked about the current trend. Fang Daye was abnormal and talked endlessly, and Han Ruzi could only listen.

Around the bonfire on the roadside, an old man said, "I said this is not an ordinary person, he must be a high-ranking official in trouble. He was invited back again. Remember, I called him just now."

"Uncle San, you see, everyone invites others over, not just him."

"Did you recognize the general who asked someone? The documents he issued to us in the lobby of Shenxiongguan."

"General Zhenbei? You said that was General Zhenbei? It was so dark, did you see clearly?"

"Absolutely, how can there be such a young general?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and an old man said, "With these two people here, why should the Chu army worry about not be able to defeat the Huns? When it dawns, let's go back to Shenxiong Pass and not suffer from the pain of traveling far away."

When he returned to the pass, he no longer had to gallop, but Han Ruzi felt that time passed faster than leaving the pass. Fang Daye's analysis made him suddenly realize, "Tomorrow I will send troops to support Shaticheng and go in batches, one batch every day in the afternoon, and the number is not large, but it will make the Huns feel that the troops and generals are being dispatched in the pass."

"Frequently sending troops can confuse the Huns, but the most important thing is food and grass. Zhuo Tiecheng never thought of accommodating more than 20,000 Chu troops. The food and grass stored in it will not last long. Shenxiong Pass must guard the food route. If the Chu army ahead can block the Huns in Hebei, everything will be fine. If not, a few strongholds must be set up along the way to ensure the supply of food and grass. If the general Zhenbei does not think I am old, send me there."

The food road guarding is much more dangerous than the broken iron city. Han Ruzi didn't want the veteran general to take risks. He happened to be at the city gate waiting to open the door. He smiled and said, "I took the liberty to ask, what was the reason why the veteran general Fang decided to return to Shenxiong Pass with me?"

The city gate clattered, and Fang Daye said, "I need someone to listen to me." After a pause, he continued, "General Zhenbei is probably the only person who is willing to listen and has the ability to do so."

Han Ruzi smiled, "To be honest, before I arrived in Shaticheng, someone recommended the old general Fang to me."

"Oh? There are still people who remember me, the old guy."

The city gate was open, and a group of generals, including the chief clerk, came out. They were really afraid that the general in Zhenbei would never return.

"The former Central General, Yang Feng, the chief of the Northern Army, strongly recommends the veteran general of Fang to me."

"Yang Feng? I haven't heard of this person." Fang Daye has been stationed in the border for many years, and later went to Qi to serve as an official, and he didn't know much about the eunuchs in the palace.

It was already midnight when he returned to the general's mansion. Several soldiers from the military camps in the pass were ordered to arrive. Han Ruzi and Fang Daye did not rest and began to arrange troops to support Shaticheng. Under Fang Daye's insistence, Han Ruzi finally decided to send the old general out of the pass, but after asking him to stabilize the food route, he immediately returned to Shenxiong Pass.

In a hurry, Shenxiong Pass could only summon more than 5,000 soldiers and divided them into six teams, ensuring that reinforcements would go to Shattered Iron City in the next three days. During this period, Han Ruzi had to find more reinforcements.

Han Ruzi spent a sleepless night at Shenxiong Pass, and on the other side, all the soldiers were sleepless.

The first batch of reinforcements have not yet left the pass, and the Huns have crossed the river. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!