The night slowly opened and the sky gradually darkened.

"You are quicker and slower to do something!"

As the soldiers guarding the city shouted impatiently, dozens of pedestrians blocked outside the north gate pushed into the city hurriedly.

Then, just as the city gate was about to close, another group of sweaty pedestrians rushed out of the gate, eager to enter the city.

Just as the city gate was about to close, the leading strong man jumped over the deer-antorn wooden fence and stepped into the city gate with one arrow, which caught the two soldiers who were about to close the ear gate off guard and took a few steps back. One of them was unstable and the other staggered and staggered to the ground.

"A bold and reckless man dares to rush to the city gate and seek death!" The soldier who had fallen into pain and got up, cursing and stabbing the strong man.

"stop!"

A soldier who appeared in time to hold back the angry and embarrassed soldier, then asked the strong man in a bad tone: "Don't you know if you close the city gate at Xu time? Why is it late?"

"General, we are tenant farmers in the Liu family. Because the farmland is far away, we are still late to come back." The strong man was born with big and thick, but he was very literary, and he seemed to have some insight. He looked at his costume and should be the entourage who supervised the group of tenant farmers behind him to work.

"Oh, people from the Liu Mansion?" Shi Chang's expression changed slightly, and he waved his hand in thought, "Well, go to the city quickly, this is only once, don't do this in the future, otherwise don't blame me for being merciless!"

Obviously, it doesn’t matter how the strong man explained it. What’s important is that the “general” makes the “general” very useful, so the “general” let the “general” go in large quantities.

"Uh, General Thank you. Thank you General!" The strong man thought it would take some time to talk, but he didn't expect that the eldest son would be so straightforward. He immediately bowed to thank him. He waved his hand and signaled dozens of young and strong guys behind him to quickly enter the city through the ear gate on the left side of the main entrance.

This is the city of Anyi, Hedong County.

Since the outbreak of the Battle of Anyi last year, most people in Hedong County have followed the Xiliang army to Hongnong County to settle down again. Only the people who are unwilling to go far away remain here. However, they all hid in Anyi City, farmed outside the city during the day, and rushed back to the city to rest in the evening. The main gates of the four city gates of Anyi City never opened easily, so that the people and pedestrians entering and leaving the city gate could only enter and exit through the ear gates on both sides of the main gate. The search was very strict, searching one by one, one by one, as if they were afraid that the Xiliang army would sneak into the city.

Indeed, the city of Anyi is tall and strong, easy to defend but difficult to attack, and under normal circumstances it is difficult to break. But everything is invisible. When the Xiliang army occupied the city of Anyi, it was originally thought that this strong city could resist the allied troops of the princes under the city, but unexpectedly, hundreds of soldiers under Cao Cao took advantage of the loopholes and pretended to be soldiers of the Xiliang to escort the people into the city, so that they burned the grain of the Anyi at night, and eventually forced the Xiliang army to abandon the city and cross the river and retreat to Hangu Pass.

Now this Anyi County city is jointly managed by the prefect of Hanoi, Sun Ce of Jiangdong and Jiang Qi, the general of Yuan Shao, among which Zhang Yang is the main one, Sun Ce and Jiang Qi are the deputy. As the other side, they assist. Speaking of Zhang Yang, he was originally a long-time general on the battlefield. He was quite brave and followed the Bingzhou governor Ding Yuan to resist the barbarians outside the frontier in his early years. Although he dared not say that he had experienced many battles, he was also a person who had been through a long battle. However, as the world became more and more chaotic and older, Zhang Yang was no longer as brave as he used to be. Not to mention that he had gained weight, he was no longer as brave as before. He became more and more cautious, afraid of making a mistake, which would affect his family and life.

Therefore, under Zhang Yang's governance, all industries have been depressed and the lives of the people in the city have become increasingly difficult. However, one thing is commendable, that is, the security in the city is excellent. No one dares to commit crimes, and no one dares to kill people and set fire, or robbers and dogs. If you catch one, how can public security be bad?

At present, there are only more than 10,000 people in the huge city of Anyi, but there are as many as 30,000 troops. There are two camps outside the city. Outside the south gate, there are 15,000 baggage troops under Jiang Qi's tent in Jizhou, and outside the north gate, there are 20,000 Sun Ce's army. In addition, there are 10,000 troops under Sun Ce's command in Anyi City, and the other 20,000 troops in the city are recruited by Zhang Yang within half a year.

Therefore, there are nearly 70,000 troops stationed in Anyi City now, which can be called a heavy defense and is as solid as a defensive force. However, in recent days, Zhang Yang and Sun Ce are not in the city, and all defenses are temporarily taken over by Jiang Qi. Because, recently, the Allied Army of the princes and the Xiliang Army will start a decisive battle in Loudiyuan, so both of them have rushed to the Allied camp and will come to the battlefield to watch the battle when the decisive battle is over.

"Quick! Cang!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the door bolt plugging in, the ear doors on both sides of the north gate were closed at the same time, and teams of soldiers patrolling the night were walking back and forth on the city tower.

At this time, the night was getting darker, and there was silence outside Anyi City, the light completely retreated, and the darkness became the protagonist of the world.

————————————

Twenty miles outside the north gate of Anyi City, Qingshigou.

A temporary village rose from the ground at some point. The bluestone ditches several miles in radius were all orderly camps, and there were also sounds of horses neighing. If the experienced horse-woman heard these horse neighing, he would have been able to tell that there were at least tens of thousands of horses gathered in this simple camp, and all of them were superior war horses.

In the middle of the camp is a large tent with a good structure, which is obviously the central tent of this suspicious army.

The layout of the large tent is extremely simple. There are more than ten tables with length, width and height on both sides of the steps, and a thick and simple case on the steps, and a soft cushion on the back. This is the case with the entire Central Army tent. There is nothing else except these decorations, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is shabby and simple.

"Gudu Gudu"

At this moment, four cases were merged in the middle of the tent, and a pot of hot tea was steaming on the table. Two handsome scholars in brocade robes sat opposite each other and poured tea and drank slowly.

After drinking a cup of tea, the scholar on the right side of the table couldn't help but turn his head to look at the night outside the tent, then looked back at the extremely handsome scholar opposite, and smiled and said, "The night is getting deeper. I guess the war in Loudi is in full swing at this time and is in full swing, but I am sitting in the tent and drinking tea leisurely. If the lord knows this, I don't know what I think! Hahaha."

After saying that, the scholar couldn't help laughing out loud, as if he thought of something interesting before, or he laughed very cheerfully.

"Zi Jing came here on the night and it was really hard to bear it if I didn't entertain him. However, the camp was simple and there was no fine wine and food, but only a pot of tea. If the lord was here, it would be just right. The three of us could sit on the ground and talk to each other with this pot of hot tea. In other words, if the lord was in person, Zi Jing would come from thousands of miles away!" said the handsome scholar.

"Gongjin's words are indeed true. But I thought Gongjin was thinking too much. My brother was elegant and generous. He should not be suspicious about this. I wonder if Gongjin agreed?" said the scholar on the right with a smile.

Obviously, these two people who sat opposite each other were both Li Li's confidants. The handsome scholar on the left was Zhou Yu and Zhou Gongjin, the general of Anbei who led his troops to wipe out the Southern Xiongnu within a year, and then led his troops to recover the entire territory of Bingzhou, making great achievements for the Western Liang army. The person on the right was a true Confucian scholar and a lieutenant who guarded the territory of Mushi. This was Lu Su Lu Zijing.

After hearing Lu Su's words, Zhou Yu smiled calmly and poured a cup of tea for Lu Su again. He said with a laugh: "What Zijing said is very much. With the lord's mind, we will never have any gaps. However, as a subordinate, we should handle things well and handle things that can be completely avoided in advance. Otherwise, if someone makes use of this to make trouble in the future, I, Zhou Yu, will not be able to defend myself and will not be able to clear the Yellow River even if I jump into the Yellow River!"

Lu Su laughed and said, "I can't wash it even if I jump into the Yellow River. This sentence seems to come from my brother's mouth, but now it's used by Gongjin. Hahaha!"

After laughing, Lu Su gradually lowered his smile and said seriously: "Although I don't think there is any need to be so cautious in this matter, what Gongjin said is reasonable. As a minister, you should share the worries for the master to avoid any more trouble in the future. This time, I will prove it from the side. Gongjin can let go and have no scruples."

"I'm so good, I'm worried!"

Zhou Yu smiled happily, and invited Lu Su to drink together. After taking a sip of tea, he said excitedly: "Now, the Lord is the decisive battle with the Allied forces. This is a decisive battle of 500,000 or 600,000 people. It makes me excited and my heart thrilled! Unfortunately, we are in Hedong and have not been able to visit the battlefield in person. It is a great regret in our life. However, we are also carrying heavy responsibilities this time. The lord ordered me to capture Hedong County within two days to cut off the Allied forces' retreat. Tomorrow is the deadline. Therefore, meeting Bo Fu tonight is crucial, and success or failure to succeed is here. If the secret discussion is not reached tonight, our army will raid the city of Anyi overnight. Even if we cannot capture the city tomorrow, we will remove Jiang Qi's South Gate Camp, seize the ferry, and burn the Allied ferry. Only in this way can we destroy the Allied forces' retreat and live up to the high expectations of the lord!"

"Gongjin seems to be confident, and he is sure to win this battle?" Lu Su asked in a little surprise.

Zhou Yu shook his head gently and said with thought: "To be honest, Anyi City is very strong, with high and thick walls, easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are 30,000 defenders in the city, and more than 30,000 reinforcements outside the city. It is not easy to capture such a strong city with heavy troops in one fell swoop? Despite this, we must do everything possible to capture this city. Only in this way can the lord lead the army to defeat the Allies with all their might and win the victory of the original decisive battle of Loudi. The key to my capture of Anyi City is Bo Fu. If he can agree to me as an internal supporter and cooperate with our army to attack the city, then it will be easy to capture this city. However, if he insists on being an enemy of our Xiliang army, it will be quite troublesome. The 30,000 troops under his tent can defend the city for half a month. Therefore, whether this battle can be successful depends on how Bo Fu decides."

Lu Su nodded thoughtfully and then said suspiciously: "According to detailed investigations, Sun Ce is not in the city today, but goes to Loudiyuan with Zhang Yang to watch the battle. Since that's the case, can he still come tonight?"

"Yes." Zhou Yu said affirmatively: "Scouts reported that he and Zhang Yang had returned to the county town half an hour ago, and I arranged more than 200 soldiers to sneak into the city in the evening. I guess they had already handed over the secret letter to Bo Fu, and Bo Fu might be on the way at this moment."

"Hahaha! It's not on the way, but it's already here!" Amid laughter, he saw a fast horse rushing into the gate. When Zhou Yu finished speaking, the visitor had already rushed outside the gate of the big tent.

————————————————(To be continued...)
Chapter completed!