Three Kingdoms

In the night, Luoyang is rustling and the water is gurgling.

Although the terrain of Luoyang is not considered dangerous, it is still surrounded by mountains and rivers. Mang Mountain in the north and Luoshui in the south can be regarded as covering the left and right sides of Luoyang. If we add in the continuous repairs of Luoyang over the past hundred years, And construction is actually a headache for many people.

It's a pity that Dong Zhuo's fire not only burned down many pavilions and pavilions, but also involved many defense facilities. After all, even the reinforced concrete in later generations was afraid of water and fire, let alone the civil, wood and stone construction system in the Han Dynasty. .

Since Li Dian received the order from Luoyang, he has been continuously strengthening the city defenses and repairing facilities. However, the problem is that the landlords do not have much surplus food. For a city as big as Luoyang, and then it was so severely damaged, Li Dian only relied on One person, with the few soldiers under his command, cannot say that he can repair it. After all, Luoyang had a foundation of more than a hundred years at that time, so even if Li Dian worked hard, he could just barely look like it, and many places still didn't have it. The method is perfect.

Therefore, we can only focus on military matters first, such as setting up a water stronghold on the south bank of Luoshui River to echo Luoyang City, and then setting up another military camp at Xiaopingjin as a horn for coordinated defense.

In the past few days, Li Dian has been constantly deploying soldiers and replenishing supplies. After all, if Cao Cao wants to attack Hangu, this is an important starting base, and if the Hussars want to attack Yuzhou, this is also a defensive point.

It is precisely because of this that in Xiaopingjin, boats leaning on the shore are like fish scales, moored everywhere.

In the military camp near the ferry, the commander of the military camp Xiahou Lianzheng and a group of his close men were sitting in the big tent eating wine. The table was full of all kinds of wine and meat, and there were also gifts from the surrounding hillsides that were donated by the soldiers. There is a dazzling array of fresh fruits collected from the river, stacked like a hill.

Xiahou Lianmo is the younger brother of Xiahou Dun.

Everyone knows Xiahou Dun, but they may not know Xiahou Lian. After all, having a brother who is too famous is not sure whether it should be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Xiahou Lian's military talents were far inferior to Xiahou Dun's.

Originally, Luoyang was defended by Cao Hong and Li Dian, but later due to the tight war with Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, Cao Hong was transferred to the front line, and such a large area cannot be said to be completely handed over to Li Dian. Although Cao Cao repeatedly He said that Li Dian is a good comrade who can be trusted, but sometimes it is not a question of whether he can be trusted or not, but a question of weighing his subordinates.

If we talk about other places, that's fine. After all, Luoyang was once the capital of the Han Dynasty. Although everyone knows that Luoyang is now in ruins, after all, its reputation is still there, and the Cao family and the Xiahou gang have not yet made some money. What a good position...

Therefore, Xia Houlian arrived in Luoyang, but the problem was that it would be fine if Xiahou Lian was really good at something, but after arriving in Luoyang, he missed something in a few words, leaving Li Dian dumbfounded. He couldn't send him away, and he was worried that it would be a hindrance in Luoyang, so he had to let Xia Houlian command a part of the soldiers and set up a separate camp at Xiaopingjin. On the one hand, it was also for the defense of Luoyang as a whole. On the one hand, it can be said that out of sight is out of mind.

At the same time, Xiaopingjin is close to Hanoi, which is also a strategic point. It can also allow Xia Houlian to accumulate some experience in leading soldiers here in Xiaopingjin, and perhaps there will be better development in the future.

But the problem is, not everyone can think of going together.

To Xia Houlian, Li Dian was just a general with a foreign surname, and he did not have the fame he would later achieve, but it was just because of Li Zheng's relationship. Li Zheng is the current governor of Qingzhou named by Cao Cao, and is Li Dian's elder brother. However, because he died early in history, he did not leave any mark.

Therefore, Xia Houlian was not convinced by Li Dian and could not understand Li Dian's kindness at all.

Regarding the incident in Xiaopingjin, Xiahou Lian felt quite unhappy. He wrote a letter to Xiahou Dun to complain about Li Dian, but Xiahou Dun responded with a scolding letter. He was inevitably depressed, so he simply set up a table. I drank from dusk until late at night.

If you drink too much, you will naturally complain more.

"If I had known this, I might as well have stayed in Chenliu!" Who would come to such a place where birds don't shit? On duty, on duty! 』

"My lord is traveling around Jizhou. Hanoi has raised its flag and surrendered early, and there are not many soldiers. What can we be prepared for?" I see, it is not to guard against Hanoi, but to guard against the general! 』

"I heard that there are mountains of all kinds of supplies in Luoyang City, haha... I'm afraid there will be banquets every day in the city, and each meal will cost thousands of gold!" 』

"That's it, that's it..."

There were many different kinds of words, which made Xia Houlian feel more and more bored.

After all, Li Dian has not been blessed with the battle titles of the Battle of Yecheng, the Battle of Hefei, etc. in history. Although the evaluation given to Li Dian in history is pretty good, now, at least Xia Houlian feels unconvinced.

Hearing the complaints from his subordinates, Xia Houlian was also depressed. He was slapping the table and was about to shout twice to express his feelings. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise, which made the drinks, meat, and fresh fruits on the table fly everywhere. There was a buzzing sound, and everyone was stunned for a moment!

At the gate of Xiaopingjin camp, a huge fire suddenly burst into flames. The gate was torn apart amidst the firelight and loud noise, and then more flames lit up bit by bit, and soon spread in the night. There came the thunderous sound of horse hooves, and the sound of shouts coming like a tidal wave!

The people in the big tent looked at each other, the meat in their hands rolled to the ground, and the person holding the wine spilled it on them, and then suddenly let out a shout, and everyone jumped up, stumbling. After rushing out of the big tent, what greeted my eyes was the sky full of fire coming from the northwest!

In the firelight that fills the sky, the figures of the cavalry of the brigade can be faintly seen. Under the reflection of the firelight and starlight, the armored weapons make people tremble involuntarily, and they can't even speak clearly, "Yes, yes ...It's...a hussar, a big Han hussar..."

The transit civilians who were temporarily stationed on the river bank had been frightened and fled in all directions, and these fierce cavalry had already rushed in from the entrance of the dilapidated camp, galloping around, chasing and killing everywhere, and raising fire everywhere!

Xia Houlian's head buzzed, and he felt as if a huge stone had been stuffed into it at this moment, unable to even turn. His only thought was, why? Why did General Hussar's men come from the north and defeat his camp in one fell swoop? !

...Here is the dividing line that was blown into pieces...

At the top of Luoyang City, although the sky was gradually getting brighter, the expression on Li Dian's face was still dark, as heavy as the sky before a storm.

Standing at the top of Luoyang City and looking towards Xiaopingjin, you can see the faint black smoke still rising, diagonally connecting to the sky, as if nature waved its hand inadvertently, and then made many scratches in the sky. .

From Xiaopingjin, large groups of hussars and iron cavalry have been launched continuously. When the sun rises three poles, they are approaching Luoyang City directly!

There were sounds of people shouting and neighing everywhere, and the passing flags flew past, splashing up large chunks of soil. Some white smoke could even be seen rising in the distance, which must be cooking smoke.

Overnight, Xiaopingjin Ferry was controlled by the Hussars General. Although Li Dian could not see it with his own eyes, he could infer from the situation in front of him that a large number of hussars must have passed through the pontoon bridge. Maybe two more pontoon bridges were erected, and then they crossed the river at a distance to rest and repair. , Alert, like an extremely complex instrument, looks like each component is operating in a messy manner, but in fact the whole is very orderly.

Only in the direction facing Luoyang, the Hussars began to dig trenches and erect fences, as if preparing to separate Xiaopingjin and Luoyang in this way, and as if they were guarding against the soldiers in Luoyang City...

Li Dian no longer thinks about Xia Houlian, because Li Dian knows that even if he knows what Xia Houlian did or did not do last night, it is no longer important. Li Dian's defense line, which he had carefully laid out for more than a year, was like a thin film that could be broken by a single touch, whether it was a cucumber or an eel.

These people and horses seem to be cavalry?

Could it be that this time is just like the last time Taishi Ci raided Yecheng, and the Hussar wants to use the same method to attack Xu County a second time?

Do you really want to do the same thing again?

"Meng Jin!" Li Dian gritted his teeth and said, "It must be Meng Jin!" 』

Some things are like this. When deduced afterwards, they seem very simple, but few can be done beforehand.

Li Dian's guess was correct. The point of breakthrough was Meng Jin.

Mengjin is a ferry crossing in the northwest direction of Luoyang and is quite far away from Luoyang. When Dong Zhuo was still in Luoyang, he pretended to confront Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, in Xiaopingjin, but in fact he took his men and horses to detour from Mengjin and raided Wang Kuang's camp in one fell swoop, killing Wang Kuang's army and horses who had directly threatened Luoyang. Everything was in disarray, but now, unexpectedly, the Hussars General also took the same path as before, detoured from Mengjin again, and attacked Xiaopingjin!

Because Xiaopingjin is also a passage connecting Hanoi, and Hanoi is under the jurisdiction of Cao Cao, they probably did not send out scouts. And Hanoi probably did not pay special attention to it because of the same reason. Both sides thought that the other side would arrange a reconnaissance. As a result, There was such a big gap.

In addition to the mutual mistakes in Hanoi and Xiaopingjin, Mengjin was captured unknowingly, which also exposed some problems.

Because of the distance, Mengjin alone was not suitable for setting up a long-term camp because it was too difficult to defend, so Li Dian just sent some soldiers and set up sentries on Mengjin, but obviously this sentry did not play any role. due role.

Now it doesn't make much sense to find out which one is more responsible, Mengjin's sentry or Xiaopingjin's Xiahou Lian. The question before Li Dian is, in the face of these hussars, how should No, do you dare? Can we carry out interception operations?

He had long heard that the Hussars were fierce, but it was only now that Li Dian truly realized the taste. From Guanzhong to Heluo, although the number of permanent and semi-permanent sentries he had arranged in the west was not large, none of them could pass on the police training. !

With such a large number of men and horses, it is not possible to be stealthy. In addition, with their extremely powerful speed and strength, they can extinguish the enemy on the spot before their sentries can react.

There may also be another possibility, that is, the sentries and observation points set up by him have always been under the control of the hussar generals, so once the troops are sent out, they are all removed, and there is not even a single omission!

No matter which possibility it is, Li Dian is now facing the most difficult problem.

To fight or not to fight?

The last time Taishi Ci led his troops, they swaggered directly under Luoyang. Neither Cao Hong nor Li Dian made any move. On the one hand, this was because the conflicts between Cao Cao and Fei Qian did not intensify at that time. On the other hand, they also had common interests. The enemy Yuan Shao naturally turned a blind eye, but now it is completely different. If we let all the Qiao cavalry go over like this, let alone whether Li Dian himself is responsible, let alone for the entire Jizhou. The impact of the war situation must be extremely serious.

Li Dian cannot bear such a responsibility.

But the question is, if we want to fight, how should we fight? There is some cavalry in Luoyang City, but it is just a few. It is nothing short of wishful thinking to fight against the cavalry generals.

In the distance, the hussars and horses were blaring flags, and the troops of each group divided their camps, and then began to correct along the Luoshui River, as if they were preparing to take a rest outside Luoyang before continuing eastward. You can also see a figure who seems to be a general, surrounded by guards, climbing up and looking up, his eyes almost colliding with Li Dian in the air!

The fierce murderous aura seems to have crossed the space, squeezing each other, and competing for superiority!

Li Dian angrily slapped his palm on the city wall!

beat!

Must fight!

He has Luoyang City Wall to protect him, and with the supplies he has accumulated over the past year, it is enough to defend the city for a year and a half, so he is already at a slight advantage. After all, the pure cavalry , is not good at attacking cities, so for the hussars outside the city, even though they are fierce, they still have flaws!

This flaw is still Meng Jin!

The Hussars bypassed Mengjin and captured Xiaopingjin. This was undoubtedly a good move, but it also led to the extension of the entire supply line! If Mengjin is captured and then the pontoon bridge is burned, it means cutting off the supply line of the Hussar troops who have already crossed the river. Even if these Hussar men and horses carry food and grass with the army, the news that the retreat route has been cut off will also disturb the morale of the army. At that time, the one who is in a dilemma is not himself, but these hussars!