In the defensive chief general of Hedong County, Yang Yuanqing has been considering the best candidate. As the chief general of Hedong, he must first be steady and secondly, he must be famous, which can shock the Tang army in Guanzhong and prevent him from acting rashly. Yang Yuanqing first thought of Qin Qiong, but although Qin Qiong was steady, his fame was not great enough.

In this way, Lai Hu'er became the best candidate. He was a veteran of the Sui Dynasty and was very experienced in the army. He was a good candidate for both power and military strategy.

The only regret is that he is old, but Yang Yuanqing does not need him to fight. As long as he can defend Hedong County for himself, it will be a great achievement.

"The King of Chu came down so quickly!"

Lai Hu'er greeted him with a smile, and immediately clasped his fists and saluted, "Your Highness has worked hard all the way."

Yang Yuanqing thought about it and understood and asked anxiously: "Is there any news coming from Taiyuan?"

Lai Hu'er nodded, "Last night, Taiyuan reported urgently, asking me to tell Your Highness that there is good news."

"But the news about 30,000 Turkic cavalry?"

This is his most concerned thing. Except for Taiyuan City, the other county towns were destroyed and burned, killing tens of thousands of people.

This made Yang Yuanqing extremely angry. Before leaving, he ordered Li Jing and Qin Qiong to join forces to annihilate the Turkic army, so when Lai Hu'er mentioned the good news, he first thought of this.

"As Your Highness thought, it was the matter of 30,000 Turkic troops. When they heard that the Turkic troops in Mayi were defeated, they transferred from Jingxing to Hebei. It was estimated that they wanted to go to Liaodong. Taiyuan urgently reported that General Qin led 20,000 troops to block Jingxing Pass, and General Hou Mo Chenyi led 10,000 troops to block Tumen Pass in the east, thus trapping 30,000 Turkic troops in Jingxing."

This news made Yang Yuanqing very happy. He immediately turned around and ordered his personal soldiers to say, "Immediately send an eagle letter to Shanyang County and order Li Jing to reinforce another 10,000 troops to Tumen Pass, and be sure to trap the Turks in Jingxing."

Thirty thousand Turkic troops were trapped in Jingxing and would sooner or later die, and moved a big stone in Yang Yuanqing's heart. But at this time, he was more concerned about the situation in Guanzhong and Luoyang.

"Let's go! Let's talk more in the city."

The group speeded up the horse and rushed towards Hedong City.

.........

In the Hedong County Yamen Conference Hall, Yang Yuanqing's personal soldiers quickly formed a sand table from the Guanzhong area. The sand table was only one meter in size and was broken down into sixteen pieces, making it easy to carry.

Yang Yuanqing stood in front of the sand table, staring at the terrain of Guanzhong, but was listening to Lai Huer's report on the battle situation in Luoyang.

"The battle of Luoyang was very fierce. The 200,000 Tang troops attacked the city for three consecutive days, and at least tens of thousands of people were injured. But the city had not yet been captured. I heard from the spy that Wang Shichong forced all men and women to go to the city to defend, and watered the city walls, making it extremely smooth, making it difficult for the Tang army to attack the city."

Yang Yuanqing sighed slightly, "I have to admit that Wang Shichong is good at fighting. However... he will still be unable to defend himself in the end."

At this time, Wei Zheng, the new Hedong County prefect next to him, stood up and bowed and said, "Wang Shichong treats the people cruelly, and most of the millions of people finally withered and destroyed. He is the misfortune of the people in Luoyang, so why should your highness be sad for him?"

Yang Yuanqing glanced at Wei Zheng and smiled, "I'm not sad for him. If I conquer Luoyang, I will kill him to calm the anger of the people. Prefect Wei doesn't have to think too much."

Before Wei Zheng could speak, Yang Yuanqing said to Lai Hu'er: "I won't mention Luoyang anymore. General Lai talks about the situation in Guanzhong and Chang'an."

Lai Hu'er took the wooden pole and pointed to Chang'an: "Now the Tang army is out in full swing, and there are almost no soldiers in Shu and Jingxiang. However, there are still 10,000 Yulin Army and 10,000 Jinwu Guards in Chang'an. In addition, there are 5,000 defenders in Tongguan and Pujin Pass, led by Wang Changxi, the general of Pujin Pass and Li Shentong, the general of Tongguan."

Yang Yuanqing frowned, "How come Li Shentong is the commander in Tongguan?"

Lai Hu'er sneered and said, "I heard that he was just a temporary part-time position. Li Shentong was preparing to serve as the remaining guard in Luoyang. Now that Tongguan and the Tang army captured Luoyang, he was about to take office."

Yang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and said resolutely: "Then send troops tonight and attack Pujin Pass at night."

.........

At night, the air is clear and cold. A lonely moon hangs in the deep blue night sky. There are few stars. The cold moon shines on the earth. The snow and moon complement each other, making the earth particularly clear. The Yellow River, which is more than ten miles wide, has long been frozen solidly. Thick white snow covers the river surface, and no trace of anyone walking through it.

Since the money incident, the Tang Dynasty has cut off trade with the Sui Dynasty, strictly prohibited merchants from crossing the river, and did not allow merchants from Hedong to enter Guanzhong. In addition, the war continued, almost cut off exchanges between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Most of the people who appeared by chance were spies sent by the two armies.

Under the cold moonlight, a cavalry team of about 10,000 people was walking on the river quickly on the snow, heading straight to Pujin Pass on the other side.

Pujin Pass is a dangerous pass between Qin and Jin, and it is also the location of the ancient ferry. Both sides of the Yellow River north of Pujin Pass are cliffs, which is the famous Qin and Jin Grand Canyon. Or you can cross the river from Yumen and then go south along the post road.

But when I walked to Yumen Ferry, it was too late to go to Guanzhong, and the Sui army could only enter Guanzhong from Pujin Ferry. When there were still seven or eight miles away from Pujin Pass, Yang Yuanqing waved his hand and the team gradually stopped moving forward. Looking west from the river, you could faintly see the outline of the dark mountain on the west bank, and Pujin Pass stood among the cliffs on both sides.

Yang Yuanqing stared at the pass from afar, waiting for news from the striker...

Under the moonlight, a caravan silently climbed the ferry and walked along the slanted mountain road to Pujin Pass a mile away. The caravan was about 200 people, leading more than 300 donkeys and mules, loaded with various goods such as crates and straw bags. Several donkeys were holding flags on them, and the flags were written with the words "Punan Trading Company". It can be seen that this is a large caravan.

The businessman in charge was Zhang Yuanzhong, who was the leader of the businessman in Hedong County. He weighed 200 kilograms and was tall and fat, and had difficulty walking. He had to sit on the carriage, and four people carried him, followed by one person on his side. It was Luo Shixin and Cheng Yaojin.

Cheng Yaojin looked gloomy. Such fraud was his specialty, but now he asked him to make an obese businessman to cheat and take away Cheng Yaojin's credit. He really made him unhappy. If Luo Shixin hadn't been beside him, he would have dug a hole in the ice and threw the fat businessman in.

Zhang Yuanzhong could feel Cheng Yaojin's hostility. He was uneasy and smiled at Luo Shixin on the other side and said, "Now the Tang Dynasty prohibits Sui Dynasty merchants from entering Guanzhong, but there are bans from above and countermeasures from below. Business still needs to be done, but they cannot leave during the day and must pass the customs at night and pay a pass fee. The defenders will let them go, so these defenders are rushing to be on duty at night. This is why there is a lot of oil here."

Luo Shixin glanced at Cheng Yaojin, smiled and comforted Zhang Yuanzhong and said, "Don't worry, Master Zhang, please don't have any worries. Your Highness asks Master Zhang for help, and naturally he will not treat you badly. If Your Highness decides on your behalf, others dare not do anything to you."

Cheng Yaojin rolled his eyes, saying that he was talking about him! He wanted to throw a few harsh words to support his face, but his lips moved, but he still held back. He had already reached Pujin Pass in front.

The mountains on both sides blocked the moonlight and cast huge black shadows, making the pass a little dim. I couldn't see clearly what was happening on the city. In the darkness, only someone on the city was shouting: "Who is it?"

The caravan stopped moving forward, and Zhang Yuanzhong came down from Chengyu. With the support of two followers, he walked forward and said, "Which general is on duty in the city? Is it Captain Ma or Captain Ding?"

At this time, another rough voice came from the top of the city wall, "Is this Ding Tao, is the person below Zhang Dongzhu?"

Zhang Yuanzhong has been in Pujin Pass for decades, and everyone is already familiar with him. Zhang Yuanzhong quickly smiled and said, "It's just that! General Ding, can you do it tonight?"

Someone leaned out from the top of the city. He was a very tall man. He looked for a while and said, "Master Zhang, it's a bit difficult! The court just issued an order yesterday. It requires strict investigation of people who pass the pass, if more than five people, they are not allowed to pass the pass. If you come two days earlier, there will be no problem."

Cheng Yaojin next to him was very anxious. He was about to speak, but Luo Shixin grabbed him. Zhang Yuanzhong smiled calmly and said, "General Ding also knew that it had snowed heavily two days ago, so where could he go out? Finally, he waited for the heavy snow to stop, so he rushed over. If he didn't open, the brothers would all drink the northwest wind. General Ding, please help!"

The person on the city was silent for a moment and said, "Master Zhang, it's not that I refuse to help you. We have been dealing with each other for more than ten years. We are all for making a living. I understand your difficulties, but you must understand my difficulties too! I took such a big risk to let you pass the test. You said that if you are found out from above, it would be a small matter to lose this humble official, and maybe you will lose your head. Look at this matter..."

Zhang Yuanzhong smiled, "Then add another 20% of the pass fee!"

Cheng Yaojin suddenly realized that he was bargaining. He really didn't understand the rules of these businessmen passing the test. His dissatisfaction suddenly disappeared. If he was asked to cheat, he might not succeed.

The officers on the top of the city seemed to be too little and said, "This time is extraordinary, add 30%.

"If I add 30%, my profit will be gone. General Ding will give it up!"

"Who doesn't know that Zhang Dongzhu's goods can be sold at a high price, and it's several times the profit. Zhang Dongzhu also wants us soldiers to drink some porridge!"

"Okay! That's 30%, no more."

The two sides bargained and reached an agreement. Soon, the gate of Pujin Pass slowly opened. Zhang Yuan turned around and gave Luo Shixin a wink. Luo Shixin tightened the iron spear hidden on the mule's back and led the mule to enter Pujin Pass first. The caravan accelerated and entered the pass one after another. Suddenly, a scream came from the city gate, and then a shout of killing broke out in the pass...

For miles away, Yang Yuanqing was still waiting patiently for the news. He had a backup plan. If the fraud failed, he could only attack. In fact, it was not that he could not attack. It was just that he would have to take some trouble and there would be casualties. Yang Yuanqing really didn't want any more casualties now.

At this moment, a soldier pointed at the pass and shouted: "Your Highness, there is a fire!"

Yang Yuanqing also saw a fire on the top of Pujin Pass. He immediately ordered: "The whole army sets off and enter Pujin Pass!"

Ten thousand cavalry suddenly launched, and the horse's hooves were like thunder, rushing to the other side of the Yellow River. Soon, ten thousand Sui cavalry rushed into Pujin Pass and rushed into the enemy camp behind the pass. The guard general Wang Changxi fled in panic and fled to Tongguan to report the news.

After taking Pujin Pass, the Sui army did not stop and continued to run westward. At the third update, the Sui army crossed the Wei River from Xingdejin. Ten thousand Sui cavalry, led by Yang Yuanqing, rushed to Chang'an like lightning.

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