Jing Cheng ordered his soldiers and generals to stand ready, looking at the Forbidden Army soldiers passing from below.

He has about two hundred men on hand, all of whom are gatekeepers at Ximing Gate. In addition to the elite soldiers selected from the self-immigrants, there are also quite a few members of the former Wang family (uncle Wang Guo), who are all fighting in Henan, Heyang, Hanoi, and Hebei.

After a few years, he was a ruthless person. But when he saw the imperial troops leaving the city, he was still very nervous, because this group of people had just made trouble, although it was quickly suppressed.

Jing Cheng was already the gatekeeper of Ximing Gate. He was transferred from the position of deputy governor of Yi Congjun. He was in charge of one of the gates that Duke Liang liked to enter and exit the most - Taiwei Wang Yan also liked to enter and exit from this gate. Because of this,

Jinguyuan has become the property of the Wang family, and one has to stay there from time to time.

Today, when he heard that a section of the imperial army was heading to Xin'an to assemble, he felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He only left a dozen or so men under the city to manage the city gates, while the rest of the soldiers went up to the city tower with all their bows and crossbows ready to prevent a surprise attack.

But everything looks fine so far.

Thousands of people passed through the city gate one after another with their heads downcast.

Jing Cheng watched silently, without letting down his guard at all.

Huang Biao, the commander of Zuowei's Third Department, slowly appeared in sight.

He was riding a tall horse, and as if sensing something, he saw Jing Cheng on the tower and nodded in greeting.

Jing Cheng nodded in response.

The left guard general Chen Qi was transferred to Bianliang and served as a guard. Xu Lang, the governor of the third department, was promoted to the left guard general. Huang Biao, the commander of the forward battalion, fought bravely and was an old man from the Yamen Army era of Liang Gong, so it was natural for him to take over as the third department governor.

In charge of the vanguard, the crossbows, and the third battalion of Ji, they control the most elite armed force of the left guard.

Last year's battle in Xin'an resulted in heavy casualties among the armies. When Xin'an City was finally captured, there were only a little more than 10,000 imperial troops left.

After a year-long rest, the Forbidden Army slowly recovered to more than 21,000 people.

Most of the supplementary troops come from refugees or forcibly recruited Wubao soldiers. They have weak fighting will and low fighting ability. Although they have been reorganized for more than half a year, no one can guarantee what the outcome will be.

Perhaps, no one expected how they would fare.

The attack on Xin'an last year was purely to remove the threat from Luoyang's flanks, and it was a task that must be completed. But what about this year?

It seems that there is nothing that must be captured. It is purely to contain Wang Mi and prevent him from causing any trouble in the west. It is gratifying to be able to defeat Wang Mi's town and military stronghold, but it is not bad to contain the enemy if he cannot capture it. It is as simple as that

.

Jing Cheng silently watched the Forbidden Army soldiers walking away, as if he had foreseen their fate.

He set his sights further away.

In the wilderness, the remaining Wubao in the Heluo area came out with food and supplies, followed behind the imperial army, and embarked on the journey westward.

From Xin'an to the west, the mountains are continuous and extremely rugged.

Many of the cities themselves are generally built, but combined with the terrain, they are very difficult to defeat. Even without building a city, just using the terrain to cut trees for fences is very troublesome.

These strong men who were recruited were destined to be consumed. Their flesh and blood were used to make up for the terrain disadvantage of the attacking side.

The land that was thrown to the enemy with a big step back is now being clawed back bit by bit. There is nothing more cruel than this.

The troops were finally over, and Jing Cheng went down from the tower, preparing to let the people who had been waiting for a long time go in and out.

"Hurry! Close the city gate quickly!" A horseman galloped from a distance and shouted.

Jing Cheng was startled and looked intently. It turned out to be the primary school under the banner of Pei Kuo, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. He had come here many times to deliver orders.

Without hesitation, he immediately ordered the city gate to be closed.

The soldiers waved their scabbards to drive away the civilian carriages and horses that were preparing to enter and exit, then pulled the winch, first pulled up the suspension bridge, and then closed the heavy iron-clad wooden door.

Not far away, another horse came galloping.

Jing Cheng grabbed Xiao Xiao and asked in a low voice: "Why are you so alarmed?"

The principal glanced at the riders who were coming this way, then turned his head and whispered in Jing Cheng's ear: "The Emperor of Heaven came to Kaiyang Tower to see off the Chinese soldiers who were leaving the city. When they returned to the palace, someone took them with them. The servants and servants of the house attacked the guards and made a mess, and the emperor was nowhere to be found."

Jing Cheng was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of his head. Is there such a thing?

If the emperor falls, does Liang Gong make it clear? I'm afraid everyone will think that those so-called wealthy family slaves are sent by Liang Gong to kill the emperor.

This is a big deal.

The new riders had already approached, and after dismounting, they said, "It's okay. But the city gate cannot be opened. Lieutenant Wang wants to search the entire city to capture the assassin."

Jing Cheng froze there.

The principal was also a little surprised. He walked over and asked in a low voice. After a long time, he nodded and went to Jing Cheng again. He said in a low voice: "After the Chinese army's Western Expedition, the city was empty. There were young people wandering around Tongtuo Street in broad daylight. During the robbery, the emperor encountered the robbers and retreated in panic. Later, he was found by the guards and escorted into the palace."

After saying that, he sighed again and said: "Actually, this is fine. If the emperor really leaves the city, I'm afraid he will starve to death on the road, or be captured and taken into the manor as a slave."

Jing Cheng shook his head and laughed.

I've just been this confused for many years now.

After escaping from Luoyang, where can you go? To put it bluntly, Luoyang is the safest place right now.

If you go to Jiangdong, even if you are lucky and are not robbed or arrested on the way, you will probably be killed by a group of bandits of unknown origin when you arrive in Huainan, far away from Jianye.

I really don’t know what to say!

But what they could figure out, the emperor couldn't figure out. Or even if he knew it, he subconsciously didn't want to think so and deceived himself.

I just don’t know who helped the emperor this time, and he will probably be in bad luck. He is so loyal to the emperor that he has lost all his wealth and life.

The person who gave the order quickly left.

Jing Cheng did not dare to slack off, so he had people move in to resist the horses and baggage vehicles, and built a barricade inside Ximing Gate.

****

Wang Mi left Shaanxi County early in the morning, led more than a thousand horses and rode eastward, arriving at Xia Shibao.

This city was originally the Wubao of the Pei family in Hedong, and it took more than ten years to build.

After Wang Mi took over Hongnong, the Pei family sent people to contact them for surrender. For many years, they worked hard to provide soldiers and food, and fought repeatedly with the Jin army headed by Shao Xun.

Several Wubao leaders from the Pei and Liu families were skilled in bows and horses, brave and good at fighting. They once defeated Pei Kuo, who was then the general of Zuowei, and became disgraced. Wang Mi was very satisfied and finally gave up his thoughts on dealing with Xiashi Fort - not only

Just because the children of the Pei family are good at fighting, and because the Pei family is so powerful and has the same spirit as the Liu family, Xue family and other clans, the Pingyang court also wants to treat them with courtesy, so it is really difficult to take action.

"See Qi Gong." All the generals came out of the fort to greet him.

Wang Mi waved his hand and went straight into the castle.

There are almost no civilians in Xiashi Fort. It is filled with sergeants, most of whom were brought by Wang Mi.

After sitting down in the main hall, he stretched out his hand, and his general handed him a message.

Wang Mi glanced at it and found nothing surprising. He was only a little surprised when he saw the last part: "Turtle?"

"The Emperor of Jin issued an edict to change the Yuan Dynasty and designated this year as the first year of the Divine Turtle (317). I don't know why." The general replied.

"He's scared to death." Wang Mi thought for a moment and sneered, "Afraid that Shao Xun would kill him."

Everyone looked at each other and thought so.

"Although the turtle has a long life, it must be peaceful." Wang Mi snorted coldly: "Shao Xun is so ruthless and ruthless, even I would be worried that his life would be in jeopardy."

In fact, many people think that Shao Xun is quite kind and kind, but they didn't expect that Wang Mi would be cruel and ruthless. It can only be said that there is probably a psychological shadow.

"This time the Jin people are marching to the west, are the Shao thieves coming?" Wang Mi looked at his general again and asked.

"In the future, Shao Thief, I heard that the coach will still be Pei Kuo."

Wang Mi controlled his expression, not wanting others to see that he was relieved.

"It doesn't matter whether you come or not." He sneered, his mood getting better.

However, he quickly thought of something and became a little upset.

The 500,000 grains promised by the Great Sinong Zhu Dan have not yet been delivered. Zhu Dan was a former Jin Dynasty forbidden army general. He was forced by Sima Yue many years ago and returned to the Han Dynasty. He later led troops to attack the Jin Dynasty. Today,

Become a great farmer.

Wang Mi became a little irritable when he thought about the food problem. There was going to be a war soon. How could he organize his troops if there was insufficient food and grass?

Perhaps winter wheat can be harvested in May, which can sustain the situation. But the problem is that this is our own food, not the imperial court's, so it will be painful to use it.

These days, who doesn’t think about themselves?

At this moment, a close friend poked his head outside the door and signaled with his eyes.

Wang Mi said to the generals: "You will discuss how to deal with the Jin thieves first. I will come later."

After that, he left the main hall.

A confidant whispered: "Ming Gong, there is an envoy from Luoyang to Baichao City."

"Who?" Wang Mi subconsciously lowered his voice and asked.

"A member of Jin Situ Liu Tun's clan," the confidant said.

Wang Mi was shocked.

Liu Tun is from Donglai, and he is also from Donglai. We have known each other many years ago, so we are old acquaintances.

This was not the first time that Liu Tun wanted to recruit him, but he had rejected him before. For no other reason, his younger brother Wang Sang was killed, and several Yuan Cong elders were either captured or killed. The hatred was too deep.

Furthermore, Wang Mi himself was unwilling to surrender to Shao Xun.
To be continued...