Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Without the protection of the fortified city of Luoyang, with the few troops under his command, he would not be a match for Xue Rengui, Cheng Yaojin and others.

Joining the King of Wei, who has many soldiers and generals, is his only way to save his life.

The generals surrounding him did not want to stay in Luokoucang, a place of trouble, so they responded loudly.

"As ordered!"

"Foster father, when we go to Xiangzhou and meet up with the King of Wei, we will surely be able to make a comeback!"

"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. This is a wise decision, godfather!"

"Wait until we have reorganized our troops, and then we will fight the imperial army to the death!"

"..."

As the sound of retreat rang out, countless infantry and cavalry followed the flags and ran for their lives.

They were all elite soldiers under Zhang Liang. Not only were they physically strong, but they also obeyed orders. When they retreated, they left behind a number of death warriors to cover their retreat.

When Xue Rengui saw Zhang Liang leading his troops to escape, he shouted loudly.

"Form a team of 50 and hunt down the deserters!"

"kill!"

Under the leadership of Xue Rengui, the cavalry under his command began a frantic pursuit.

Zhang Liang and his soldiers were worried that Cheng Yaojin would lead a large army to arrive, so they did not dare to stop and fight with the imperial cavalry, and could only rush towards Zezhou.

Half an hour later.

After Xue Rengui led his troops in pursuit for dozens of miles, he was afraid that Zhang Liang and others would become desperate, so he sounded the horn to call back his troops.

"Treat the wounded."

"Detain the surrendering rebels!"

After Xue Rengui gave the order, he then instructed his personal guards.

"Rush quickly to Zezhou and find General Xue Wanche. Let him wait for us and then ambush and kill him!"

Because most of Zhang Liang's men were infantry, their escape speed was definitely not as fast as the cavalry who delivered the message.

"As ordered!"

The guard responded and then quickly left with Xue Rengui's token.

Xue Rengui took a look at the injuries of his soldiers, then spurred his horse to rush towards Luokou Warehouse.

At this moment, a fast horse rushed from the direction of Luokou Warehouse and stopped five steps in front of Xue Rengui.

"Report, General Cheng is personally leading 2 troops to reinforce Luokou Warehouse!"

"General Cheng has ordered that if General Xue can catch up with Zhang Liang and the other rebels, he can lead his cavalry to continue the pursuit."

"There are tens of thousands of troops stationed at Luokou Warehouse, General Xue has nothing to worry about!"

Hearing that Cheng Yaojin had just arrived, Xue Rengui showed helplessness on his face. If he had arrived an hour earlier, Zhang Liang and the thousands of rebels under his command would have been unable to escape.

Xue Rengui glanced at the dark mountains ahead, then shook his head slightly and said.

"We can't catch up. Leave it to General Xue Wanche and the others."

As he said this, Xue Rengui rode his horse back to Luokou Warehouse to meet up with Cheng Yaojin.

Zhang Liang still has more than a thousand cavalrymen under his command, and his infantrymen are all veterans of many battles. If they catch up with them with such a small number of people, they will only die.

To be on the safe side, it is best to quit while you are ahead.

Two hours later.

The battle report on casualties was sent to Cheng Yaojin and Xue Rengui.

"Reporting to General Xue, a total of 115 cavalrymen were killed and 572 were injured in this battle."

"3178 rebels were killed and 1151 were captured."

When Cheng Yaojin heard that the elite cavalry under Xue Rengui had suffered such heavy casualties, his eyebrows raised suddenly and he began to curse.

"Zhang Liang is a traitor. He has poor personal abilities, but his soldiers are quite capable in fighting."

"These old soldiers followed him in the rebellion, and all their skills were wasted!"

Xue Rengui also found it difficult to accept this casualty.

This was the first time he encountered such heavy casualties since he led his troops into battle.

However, thinking about the battle just now, the closer he was to Zhang Liang's central army, the stronger the soldiers he encountered, and he gradually let it go.

"Hey!"

Cheng Yaojin sighed, then patted Xue Rengui on the shoulder and said.

"General Xue, let's retreat back to Luoyang City first and see how to advance next."

"I will leave 5000 infantrymen to garrison Luokou Cang, and Guo Daquan will lead his troops to eliminate the rebels in other outer passes later."

Now that Zhang Liang has escaped and the sky has become dark, they can only go back to Luoyang City to rest and discuss the next battle plan with Du He.

As for the several passes around Luoyang, there are not many defenders inside, and they will surely die if they leave the city.

"promise!"

Xue Rengui responded and then ordered his soldiers to rush back to Luoyang.

...

after one day.

When Zhang Liang led more than 7 remnant troops to escape to Zezhou, he met Xue Wanche who was well-rested and waiting for his troops to tire themselves out. The two armies fought fiercely for several hours.

Before sunset.

Zhang Liang's troops left behind more than 2,000 corpses, finally broke through Xue Wanche's blockade, and successfully escaped to the jurisdiction of Weizhou.

"Bah~"

Xue Wanche spat, slammed the lance in his hand heavily on the ground, and then cursed angrily.

"I was so angry that I let that old thief Zhang Liang get away!"

There were only about 4 infantry and cavalry left under his command. Even if he had the advantage of being well-rested, it would be difficult for him to keep Zhang Liang and all of his elite troops.

Deputy General Pei Xingfang walked up to Xue Wanche, clasped his fists towards him and said.

"General Xue, what should we do next?"

"Should we attack Luzhou first, or Weizhou first?"

In order to attack Xiangzhou, they must first defeat the rebels in Luzhou and Weizhou, otherwise they will be surrounded by the rebels.

Xue Wanche shook his head and said, "There are 2 rebels in Luzhou and Weizhou. We can't break in with just our numbers."

"Cheng Yaojin is leading 2 elite troops here. Let's wait for them in Zezhou!"

He also wanted to be the first to achieve credit, but his current strength did not allow it.

...

Two days later.

Xiangzhou Dudu Mansion.

When Li Tai saw Zhang Liang, who was covered in dust and dirt, his fair face suddenly turned the color of liver with anger.

"Zhang Liang, how did you lose Luoyang!"

"And there were 4 soldiers in Luoyang City. How come there are only 5 soldiers left now?"

No wonder he had been feeling anxious all this time; it turned out that something went wrong with the important city of Luoyang.

Now that Luoyang, a major strategic support point, is gone, his father poses no threat at all, and he can dispatch more troops to deal with him.

Pig mate!

They are all a bunch of pig teammates!

Zhang Liang said helplessly: "Your Highness, Xue Rengui led 2000 cavalrymen to make a big circle, broke through our heavy defenses, and captured Luokou Warehouse."

"If I don't lead my troops to retake Luokou Warehouse, Luoyang City will be lost sooner or later."

Although Luokou Granary is not within the city of Luoyang, it is surrounded by five passes and has the natural barriers of Luo River and the Yellow River to defend.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for the imperial army to penetrate deep into the rear area of Luokoucang.

Besides, the grain in Luokou warehouse had long been consumed by years of war and natural disasters.

The cellar there was secretly filled up by him and the King of Wei only recently. How did the court know that grain was hidden there?

Could it be that there is a traitor among them?

Thinking of this, Zhang Liang quickly expressed his guess.

Li Tai frowned and said, "Zhang Liang, only Du Chuke and your adopted son know about the storage of grain and grass in Luokou Granary!"

"Could it be that your adopted sons informed the court?"