After repairing it, it broke down and repaired it. In the end, there were only a few people left. Who was still in the mood to repair the city?

In other words, the city has become more stable in recent years, so the city wall has been repaired reluctantly.

Near the city gate, the color of the mud walls in some places is fresher than in other places, and it can be seen that they were added later.

But when people get closer and take a closer look, in fact, many parts of the city wall are completely like a barren hillock of loess, with a lot of weeds growing on it.

The city gates were closed, and the city top was deserted. Not even a single soldier guarding the city could be seen.

A confidant of the Zhang family walked to the city gate and shouted: "Is there anyone in the city?"

It was quiet at the top of the city.

The confidant shouted several times, and then Chengtou cautiously poked out half of his head, with the corner of a white flag still vaguely visible on the back of his head, "Who are you waiting for?"

"Jincheng County Governor Zhang is here, please open the city gate quickly!"

"Shijun Zhang?"

After hearing this, the man above dared to stick out his head, opened his eyes wide, and looked at the dozen or so people below the city.

"Shu captives are rampant and bandits are everywhere. They are plotting against the people of Zhiyang. I have to be careful. How can I prove it?"

Zhang Hua stepped forward and held up the seal and ribbon: "Here is the seal and ribbon of the Jincheng Prefect."

When the people on the top of the city saw Zhang Hua clearly, they said "ouch" and shrank their heads back.

After a while, a few old and weak men pushed the city gate creaking open.

An official trotted out from inside and raised his hands to Zhang Hua, "Zhiyang County Magistrate Chen Lu has seen the envoy. I was distracted for a moment and failed to recognize the envoy. Please forgive me!"

Zhang Hua looked at the few old and weak soldiers at the city gate and the empty city, and couldn't help but ask: "How did Guiyang City become so dilapidated?"

Mingming went to Jincheng to take office a few months ago. When he passed by Zhiyang, although it was not a prosperous place, it still had a certain population.

As soon as Chen Lu heard Zhang Hua ask this, his face showed a look of mourning: "Hui Shijun, you have run away, you have all run away!"

"A few days ago, people who escaped from Jincheng said that both Yuzhong and Jincheng were lost to the Shu captives, and even the envoy..."

When he said this, he suddenly woke up and stopped talking.

Then he changed the topic: "When the officials in the city heard about it, they all fled away. Only the old and the weak were in the city."

Chen Lu glanced at Zhang Hua secretly, and when he saw his ugly face, his tone became angry.

"Xiaoguan once advised his colleagues that since they eat the Lumi rice of the Wei Dynasty, they should pay tribute to the Wei Dynasty, but no one is willing to listen, so the officials can only guard the city gate."

Having said this, he wiped his eyes and said, "Now that the official has seen that you are safe and sound, I guess it must be the rumors spread by those people who are greedy for life. They should be punished. They should be punished!"

The more the magistrate of Zhiyang County spoke, the uglier Zhang Hua's face became.

Seeing that his uncle couldn't help but feel ashamed, Zhang finally stood up.

"County Magistrate Chen, Yuzhong Jincheng was indeed occupied by Shu captives. What those people said is not wrong."

"What?! Jincheng is really lost?"

Chen Lu's voice became shriller. He took two steps back and looked back involuntarily.

The expression on his face suddenly changes from green to white, which is truly wonderful.

"Then...the Han army..."

Thinking of some possibility, Chen Lu became stuttering.

"Don't worry, the Shu captives didn't come with us."

Zhang shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to worry.

If Jincheng is lost, the Shu captives will not be able to defeat Hexi?

And then the prefect and Chang Shi are still safe and sound?

Chen Lu's eyes began to twinkle.

"I heard that the Han army was huge this time, and if Jincheng was lost, the west of the river would be empty. Why did they not reach the river?"

On ordinary days, who among the county magistrates and magistrates below would dare to question them like this?

It's just that now that I have lost Jincheng and was released by the Shu people, I don't have enough confidence.

So Zhang Hua had no choice but to pretend to be impatient and said: "What else can we do? General Cao from Guanzhong has sent troops, so the Shu captives in Jincheng have returned to their troops."

When Chen Lu heard this, all the expressions on his face suddenly froze. After a while, he asked in disbelief: "Is this true?"

Just when Zhang Jiu wanted to stop him, Zhang Hua said quickly: "Why are you lying to me!"

"If you don't believe me, go to the river and take a look. The bridges there have been burned by the Shu people, just to prevent Hexi from being linked to Guanzhong."

Chen Lu was ecstatic: "That's great!"

Hexi had been cut off from the imperial court for more than a year, and now he suddenly learned about it. Chen Lu's eyes were wide open, without focus, and his vision was blurry.

The look on his face looked like he was crying but not crying. He was motionless, and for a moment he was actually crazy.

Seeing his appearance, Zhang Hua sighed in his heart: This County Magistrate Chen is so loyal!

Even a little ashamed.

He then bowed to Chen Lu and said, "County Magistrate Chen, we are to blame for the loss of Jincheng. We are going to Guzang on this trip to apologize to Governor Xu. I wonder if we can have some food in the city?"

Chen Lu quickly stepped aside, "How dare you, a villain, accept Zhang Changshi's gift? The city is in ruins and the food is crude. As long as Zhang Shijun and Zhang Changshi don't abandon it, it will be fine."

Although Zhang Hua and Zhang Jiu went to plead guilty to the governor, but the governor did not convict them, they were still the highest officials of Jincheng County.

After they finished eating, they personally came out to appease the people who were still in the city before leaving.

Chen Lu waited until dark and saw that there were not even any refugees fleeing in the direction of Jincheng, let alone any Shu troops.

Only then did he feel relieved.

Thinking of the fact that he was the only one holding on to the city in Zhiyang City, he thought that his loyalty to his duty would definitely reach the ears of Governor Xu.

It would be even better if General Cao of Guanzhong really leads his troops back to Longyou and Hexi can be connected with Guanzhong.

It's hard to say that he would even receive a commendation from the imperial court.

Thinking of this, Chen Lu couldn't help himself, so he sent someone to bring back some of his family members who were hiding in the mountains, and then spent the night talking with his concubine about the script related to their future.

Due to lack of sleep at night, County Magistrate Chen was still sleeping soundly after dawn.

Then a servant knocked on the door vigorously: "My lord, my lord, it's not good!"

After Chen Lu was woken up, he was about to turn over when he suddenly said "Ouch" and then touched his waist.

I only feel pain in my waist, as if I have been hollowed out.

The concubine quickly got up and helped him get dressed.

After a while, Chen Lu turned pale, opened the door with empty steps, and angrily shouted: "Why are you yelling like this?"

"Master, outside, outside..." the servant stammered, "Shu Army! Shu Army is here!"

Shu army?

What Shu army?

The prefect and the chief minister clearly said that the Shu army would not come...

County Magistrate Chen held his waist and was about to take a few steps, but he stumbled whether he was frightened or his legs were weak.

"You bitch, are you blind?"

County Magistrate Chen cursed angrily.

The servants quickly stepped forward to help him.

County Magistrate Chen had people help him walk to the front yard. Before he could order someone to open the door, the door creaked twice and fell with a "boom".

"Who is Chen Lu?"

The Han troops who rushed in shouted loudly.

Chen Lu shrank, but his clothes were really conspicuous, and the generals of the Han army had already spotted him.

"Little...little man, yes, it is Chen Lu."

"Are you the magistrate of Zhiyang County?"

The leading Han general looked Chen Lu up and down and asked.

Chen Lu was trembling a little, and he didn't know whether it was because of weakness or fear: "Little... that's exactly what I am."

"Wow"!

From the gate to the front yard, the Han troops lined up in two straight lines.

A young general walked in from outside the gate and walked up to Chen Lu: "County Chief Chen?"

"Yes, exactly."

The young general nodded: "I am the captain of the Han Qiang Guard, Feng Yong."

Chen Lu's expression changed drastically, and he lost his voice and said: "Xiao Wen...it turns out to be General Wen."
To be continued...