Around Yanmen Pass, there are mountains and undulating mountains and valleys. It is located outside the border in the north, and the south is connected to Guanzhong. The beacon towers are connected in a distance and the passes are connected. Since ancient times, it has been a key place for military strategists to compete for.

After the Xiongnu Liu Jianjian built Xiliang, he occupied Yanmen. It was with this reliance that he was ambitious. He planned several times to attack Chang'an and occupy Guanzhong. However, he failed to plan and set his goal in the east. If he failed to propose, he fought with Murong Die for territory. The two sides clashed and fought several battles, and each had his own victory or defeat.

The two countries that were fighting each other have now joined forces because of a common enemy and have been married.

Liu Jian, a Hun who was the Emperor of Xiliang for several years, was not only not stupid, but was very smart.

The place he occupied was not only outside Yanmen, but also part of Bingzhou. I knew that Li Mu would sooner or later point the finger at him. Now Murong was not as good as the Heavenly Consort for others, and fell into a dilemma in Li Mu. He gave up the Central Plains in Luoyang and took the initiative to come to show his goodwill with his marriage. He could not only hold a beautiful woman, but also gather the forces of both sides to eliminate Li Mu to eliminate future troubles. How could he miss such an opportunity?

Thinking back to the beginning, she proposed to Murong Zhe, but she disliked him, which made him a laughing stock. Now that Murong is asking for good, Murong Zhe has also fallen into Li Mu's hands. He has to rely on himself to come back. How can he describe the compliment in his heart?

For Murong Die, the previous loss in Luoyang was like losing a big bet.

That battle not only made him lose all his heart in the Central Plains, but his prestige in Yan State was greatly reduced, and his strength was also a great blow.

In addition to a front-line army responsible for sending hostages, the Yan State's army and corresponding logistics food and supplies are still on the road and have not arrived.

At this moment, Liu Jian received the news that Li Mu suddenly sent troops north, suspected to be coming towards Yanmen. It was obviously for his own sake, and hurriedly summoned his subordinates and discussed it, and decided to make a countermeasure. While sending someone to send a letter to Li Mu, he said that he would exchange Murong Zhe with the eldest princess and his son, while gathering the army and waiting for the Northern Yan army to arrive. At that time, the two sides would meet and swear to destroy Li Mu outside Yanmen.

...

Li Mu led his army from Chang'an, headed north to Yongzhou, entered Bingzhou, and headed straight for Yanmen.

In the late autumn in the north, the closer it gets to the border, the more wind and sand are everywhere, and the decaying grass is everywhere.

This official road connecting Chang'an, Yongzhou and Bingzhou, which went north, was opened in the early years of the founding of the Dayu Kingdom. There were dozens of counties and counties of all sizes distributed along the way. In the early years, it was once densely populated and crowded with markets. Now, after the repeated trampling and massacre of the Hu tribe's iron hooves, the army went north and saw it sparsely populated and deserted villages everywhere. In addition to the occasional passerby who were fleeing with their families, even the wild dogs were hungry and fell to death on the roadside. They were dead and desolate, which was shocking.

It was not until half a month later that I gradually approached Yanmen that there were some escapees on the road.

Two years ago, in order to stabilize the territory of Xiliang, Liu Jian forced many people who had no time to escape to move their families to Yanmen County to enrich the population, build cities for themselves, and serve as enslavement. At that time, more than tens of thousands of people were there. In addition to the Han people, there were also civilians of the Di, Jie, Xianbei and other tribes. In the past two years, those who died and those who fled, now only a thousand people are left.

Although the war has not yet arrived, as the Hun cavalry gathered in Yanmen, the more than a thousand soldiers who were frightened like frightened birds had already smelled the breath of war. Even if they did not escape, they would be conquered as slave soldiers, and there was only one way to die. From half a month ago, these people fled from Fangzhen, which was temporarily living. Many people naturally died under the swords of the Hun soldiers, but some escaped by chance and headed towards Chang'an. When they met this army heading north, they learned that it was Li Mu's Yingtian army, and they were like seeing a savior, kneeling beside the road for help.

Li Mu ordered military doctors to treat injured and sick fleeing people, and gave the rest the guidance on the road to Chang'an, regardless of Hu Han, and treat everyone equally. On this day, he drove to a pass called Shikou.

It is only a few hundred miles away from Yanmen. Fang Town designated by Liu Jian to exchange hostages is located between Shikou and Yanmen Pass.

After a long journey, the soldiers were short of their lives. Li Mu ordered the army to temporarily station. The soldiers quickly rested. He brought a few people to change into passers-by's clothes and went to Fang Town to explore the terrain first.

Fangzhen used to be a trading point on this ancient road. Merchants from east, west, south and north gathered here to exchange goods. Once there were traffic and people coming and going. Later, due to the war, it became deserted. In the past two years, it became a temporary place for those who were forcibly moved here as enslaved. Day after day, wind and sand invaded, and now the city walls collapsed and the surrounding area was buried. The only yellow-mil house left in the city that had not been buried by yellow sand is also low, dilapidated and extremely desolate.

Gao Huan met Gao Qiao in the enemy camp that day, and knew that even if he had not rescued his aunt and son, he would have been around them now, which made him feel much more relieved. But thinking that the other party was very strict in guarding, his uncle was weak after all, and there was no good news to come, so he felt a little nervous, so he learned that Li Mu was going to go to the secretly spy Fang Zhen and immediately asked to go with him.

A few people rode their horses and arrived in half a day. When they were about to arrive, they dismounted and walked. From a distance, they saw some long strips hanging high in the direction of the entrance of the town. The wind was swaying, and a stinking smell of rotten meat floated faintly in the wind.

After getting closer, I saw clearly that there were corpses hanging on the yellow mud walls and wooden stakes at the entrance of the town, and there were hundreds of corpses everywhere on the ground. There were men and women, old and young, and the youngest one seemed to be only a few years old.

Judging from the ragged clothes remaining on the body, they should be the people who failed to escape a few days ago and were captured by the Huns.

The body was already rotten and swelling, and its face was terrifying. A group of crows stopped nearby and were pecking at the rotten flesh. When they saw a few living people coming, they made a few strange screams, flapping their wings and flew into the air, but kept hovering above the rotten corpse and refused to leave.

The air is filled with a strong odor, and what you see is like hell on earth.

These followers were all brave men who followed Li Mu through the sea of ​​blood and blood after he passed through the mountains of corpses and blood, but their faces changed slightly when facing such a scene.

Gao Huan had long been used to killing on the battlefield, but in such a situation, he could not breathe for a moment, and his stomach was in a state of mind. He couldn't help but vomited a few times, and then stood up and said angrily: "These Xiongnus who are inferior to beasts! I must have known that we would come here and deliberately left these corpses to give us a warning! When I catch these Xiongnus and don't tear them into pieces, it will be difficult to eliminate my hatred!"

Li Mu looked around, walked through the bodies, walked into the empty town, looked around, and finally climbed up the highest slope nearby, stood on his head, looked around, and for a moment, then left the town, without saying a word, and took Gao Huan and his party on the way back.

In the evening, we gradually approached the camp of the garrison. A group of more than a dozen refugees walked beside the road ahead. When we heard the sound of horse hooves coming from behind, we turned around and saw a few fast horses coming, and hurriedly gave way to the side of the road.

When Li Mu passed by this team, he looked back at the two men walking at the end of the team, and suddenly slowed down and stopped.

Seeing that he stopped, Gao Huan also pulled his horse and looked along his sight. He saw the two of them barefoot, picking up a ragged family possession, and following the people in front of them, bowing their heads forward. They were ragged, their skin was tanned and rough, and their expressions were sad. They looked no different from the escaped people they met these days on the road.

Gao Huan was a little puzzled.

Li Mu watched the two men get closer and closer. When he got to the front, he ordered his followers to stop him and said coldly: "You are Ugan's subordinates, aren't you?"

He was talking about the Huns.

Ugan was the commander sent by Emperor Liu Jian of Xiliang to guard Yanmen. He was appointed as the left general of Xiliang. He was under his command of two 10,000 cavalry captains, several 10,000 cavalry captains and 100 cavalry captains. He was Liu Jian's capable general.

When Xiliang and Beiyan were fighting, the invincible iron-armored cavalry raised by Murong was defeated by Ugan. This time, Liu Jian sent him as the first to trade hostages with Li Mu, which shows his trust in him.

The two of them were stopped, and their faces were full of confusion and fear. They immediately knelt down and kept kowtowing. One of them begged: "We are all Han people. We were forcibly arrested by the Huns to do hard labor. All the family members died. Now they are lucky enough to escape. They can't understand the Huns and don't know what the superiors are saying."

Li Mu looked at Gao Huan on the side and continued to say to him in the Huns: "Kill them!"

The appearance of most Huns is almost the same as that of the Han people. They tie their hair, change their clothes, and then learn to speak Chinese. If they are mixed with the Han people, it is difficult to identify.

Gao Huan knew this truth. But he really couldn't see the difference between these two people and the other escapees, and he didn't know why Li Mu believed that they were spies to the Huns. But seeing that he looked serious and decisive, although he was confused, he still had the reaction of his consciousness and immediately turned over and dismounted and pressed the sword with one hand.

Before setting off the sword, he was still a little hesitant after all, and looked at Li Mu again.

Li Mu stared at the two men with a gradient face and shouted, "What are you waiting for! Kill!"

Gao Huan was shocked and responded, and no longer doubted, he immediately stepped forward.

Just as he drew his sword, the two of them looked at each other, suddenly dropped their burden, turned around and ran. Their body was as vigorous as lightning, but they could not escape the two sharp arrows that were soaring behind them.

The arrow was fired by Li Mu.

One person was in his heart, and the arrow penetrated his chest and killed him on the spot.

The other person was the one who had just called for his wrongedness. Li Mu seemed to have intentionally left his life, and the arrow shot through his knees. He only heard a scream. The man fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and even got up again, dragged his injured leg and limped again. The road ahead was stopped by Gao Huan and several companions.

Li Mu ordered his entourage to interrogate.

Accompanied by screams, the man who could not bear the pain of Lingchi confessed. He said that he was indeed a subordinate of Ugan and a thousand-man cavalry. Because of his appearance similar to that of Han people and his words, he was sent to mingle with the fugitives. He originally wanted to find out the details of Li Mu's army, but he was caught before he arrived. He confessed, saying that Liu Jian had instructed Ugan to use fakes when exchanging hostages to see if he could deceive Li Mu. Because the Han mother and son were of great use, he really didn't want to let him go back like this. He was Ugan's confidant, so he knew this secret.

Gao Huan was furious. Seeing that Li Mu did not stop him, he killed the Hun spy with one sword and said, "Brother-in-law, be careful at that time and never be fooled!"

Li Mu brows slightly, turned his head, looked at the direction of the Fangzhen when he came, pondered for a moment, and said, "Liulang, do you have confidence in what your father-in-law once said to him that he could save his mother-in-law?"

Gao Huan was stunned and immediately said: "Natural!"

Li Mu nodded: "I also believe in my father-in-law."

Gao Huan followed Li Mu for several years, going out to marches and fights, eating and sleeping together. From the beginning, the young man with a little recklessness gradually became a deputy general under Li Mu's command today, and his understanding of him increased. He immediately asked: "What does my brother-in-law mean?"

Li Mu did not answer, but asked him: "Do you know the purpose of this battle?"

Gao Huan immediately said: "Annihilate Murong Die and this Xiongnu Liang Kingdom! If they are killed, they will never dare to die in the future, and they will not be able to go south even if they are unable to take another step!"

Li Mu said: "What you said is right. My army came here. The purpose of this battle is to annihilate the coalition forces of these two countries, not just defeat them. If you were the commander, how would you use your troops?"

Gao Huan hesitated for a moment, saw Li Mu appearing in encouraging eyes, and plucked up his courage and said, "The Hu cavalry is extremely powerful, especially in such an open land, and it cannot be underestimated. If you want to annihilate the opponent, first, you must win when facing the enemy head-on, and you must win. You can only win, not lose. This will make our army's morale greatly increase and destroy the enemy's confidence. Second, you can cover the back and attack together, and attack together in the front and back, and defeat the enemy by surprise."

"Brother-in-law, am I right?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Mu, with expectation in his eyes and a slight nervousness.

Li Mu smiled slightly and nodded: "What you said is just what I want."

Gao Huan showed joy on his face and breathed a sigh of relief. He heard him say again: "So this time, when exchanging hostages, there is no need to expose the other party's tricks."

Gao Huan was stunned again. Li Mu signaled him to approach and whispered to him. Gao Huan's eyes gradually shone.

"In order to strengthen the momentum, Ugan will surely bring elite cavalry to the forefront. We will use our own tricks. If we can wipe out this elite vanguard in one fell swoop, the chances of winning this battle will be even greater."

"At the end of the day, I am willing to receive this task. I can issue a military order. If the matter is not completed, I am willing to apologize for my death!"

Gao Huan immediately knelt down on one knee and solemnly asked for his order.

Li Mu called him up and looked at the young and heroic face in front of him. After a moment, he nodded: "I am just thinking about it. You are the eldest princess's son and nephew. It is natural to send you there and let the other party dispel your concerns. In case of precaution, I will send someone else to spy on the news about my mother-in-law."

This was the first time Gao Huan had independently assumed the command of such an important war. He suppressed his excitement and excitement and focused on the key points.

The entourage had already disposed of the corpses of the two men and returned from the roadside. Gao Huan couldn't help but be curious and asked again: "Brother-in-law, those two men just now, I look like ordinary people. You are just passing by, how do you know they are spies?"

Li Mu said: "The people who are hard to escape along the way are young and strong, but they are not like these two people. They look ragged, but their muscles are bulging and powerful, and the lower plate is even more stable. Another point is to convince me that they are their identities, both of which are bent inward and walking with their horoscopes."

Gao Huan suddenly realized and blurted out: "Yes! The Huns started riding horses when they were young, especially cavalry. All year round, there were more horsebacks than on the ground. Over the years, many people's legs and feet would become like this! If only one of the two people was like this, it would be considered a coincidence. Both of them were like this, and they would definitely be deceitful!"

Li Mu smiled and said, "Yes. I just got suspicious and asked you to kill them. I cheated and showed my strength. Today's luck is pretty good and I have gained something. Let's go, and I'll go back to the camp now. The summoners immediately agreed on a detailed strategy. The matter should be fast, not slow. If you delay it for a long time, it will give you the opportunity to reunite. Secondly, the two of them will not return for a long time, and they will be afraid that they will arouse Ugan's suspicion."
Chapter completed!