The Three Kingdoms: My Wife is a Great and Good Teacher

Afterwards, Liu Zhaoqing met with Xun Yu, Cao Cao, Zhang Liao and others, and received two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The good news is that they quickly occupied Hulao Pass and completely cleared out and controlled Dong Zhuo's soldiers inside the pass. At this time, Hulao Pass was completely under their control.

The bad news is that before the city gate was broken, Xu Rong and many of his troops had already evacuated.

"The gate was breached too slowly." Guan Yu beside Liu Bei said, "If it had been faster, the second battering ram would have been able to breach the gate, and Xu Rong would not have been able to escape..."

Zhang Fei frowned after hearing this, and nodded helplessly. If they were stronger and more powerful, they could indeed open the city gate faster.

But no matter whether it was Liu Zhaoqing, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, or their eldest sister, no one would blame Zhang Fei and Guan Yu for Xu Rong's escape.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that without the cooperation of the two, Hulao Pass would not have been breached so quickly.

"So, are we going to set up camp at Hulao Pass next?" Yuan Shao asked.

"According to the original plan, our coalition forces will serve as the vanguard. After breaking through Hulao Pass, we only need to wait for the rest of the princes' troops to catch up. Then the safest thing to do is to take action." Xun Yu said, placing his fingers under his white chin, looking thoughtful.

"But, the princes certainly didn't expect the pass to be breached so quickly, so they chose to wait for the result in the rear. If the news that Hulao Pass was breached reached the princes in the rear at this time, I think..."

"It should cause all the princes to be shocked and... eager."

Cao Cao showed a cold smile: "Of course."

"The temptation of 'taking over Luoyang' is much greater than dividing up Yuzhou."

"These disloyal people have long been prepared to reap the benefits, waiting for the news that we and Dong Zhuo will both be defeated."

But everyone present knew that even though they were able to break through Hulao Pass so quickly, it did not mean that they could attack Luoyang with unstoppable force.

They have not yet encountered Dong Zhuo's main army.

But the princes in the rear didn't care about this. In their eyes, after hearing the news, Dong Zhuo had become a paper tiger, and whoever lit the candle earlier would be able to obtain supreme benefits.

Liu Zhaoqing was not worried about the princes stealing the credit, but it would be a big problem if the princes interfered with their actions.

So Liu Zhaoqing also made a reasonable decision.

"Don't rest. Leave 20 men to guard Hulao Pass. All the rest of the troops will follow me and continue to march towards Luoyang."

The soldiers who had just entered the pass were immediately reorganized, and Liu Zhaoqing did not even have time to sit down and drink a sip of hot tea.

After he mounted his horse, he continued to lead the army towards Luoyang.

After crossing several rivers, Liu Zhaoqing left Xingyang County where Hulao Pass was located and headed towards Gong County from east to west.

As long as you reach Gongxian, Luoyang will not be far away.

To the east of Gong County is a continuous mountain range, among which is a pass called Xuanmen Pass.

As a political center, Luoyang was surrounded by numerous defensive fortifications.

In the east alone, in addition to Hulao Pass, there are four passes of different sizes, namely Xuanmen, Huanyuan, Dagu and Yique.

In normal times, it would take half a day to pass through these five passes even with a pass, not to mention in wartime. This was the strongest guarantee for Luoyang's impregnable fortress.

However, since Liu Zhaoqing chose to attack by force, he was naturally well prepared.

These five passes not only vary in size, but also in the surrounding terrain.

When they arrived at Xuanmen Pass, Liu Zhaoqing directly ordered Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun to run towards the mountains beside the pass, and then the main force moved forward.

When the defenders on the pass focused their attention on them, Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun used their extraordinary strength to jump directly from the cliff to the top of the pass building, and killed the entire defenders of Xuanmen Pass with one spear and one halberd.

The door of the revolving gate also opened in response.

After passing through the revolving gate, Liu Zhaoqing looked at the sky which was gradually covered with dark clouds. The bad weather made him feel depressed.

Jia Xu on the side looked up and frowned slightly, while Cao Cao narrowed his eyes.

It's a bit strange.

However, Liu Zhaoqing was not affected by the bad weather. He did not look up while riding on horseback and gave orders calmly.

"All troops, keep moving forward."

Chapter 320: Gao's ambush is defeated, Yanshi meets Lu? 4.3K

Xun Yu rode forward and was about to speak when Liu Zhaoqing took the initiative to ask, "Jiao'er and Guo Jia are in the back, right?"

"Madam and Fengxiao are riding in the back." Xun Yu nodded.

"The news that Hulao Pass was breached should have reached the ears of the princes. They are almost close to Hulao Pass now." Liu Zhaoqing said.

"Is Zhao Qing worried that the princes will start a rebellion behind us?" Xun Yu asked.

He shook his head and denied: "Although they have selfish motives, they are not fools. A mere obstacle is not enough to make them lose their minds."

"Then Zhao Qing is..."

"There may be a fierce battle next, and I need their strength," said Liu Zhaoqing.

At this time, Jia Xu also came to Liu Zhaoqing's side.

"My lord, there seems to be something fishy ahead. We should slow down and send a few scouts to explore the way to prevent ambushes." Jia Xu bowed to Liu Zhaoqing.

Xun Yu also nodded at this time: "I think so too."

No matter how quickly they attacked the pass, Dong Zhuo should have received the news by now.

If you can easily break through two levels, the next battle might be a fierce one.

Liu Zhaoqing was also aware of this, which is why he said that he might need Zhang Jiao's help.

However, it would be even worse to slow down the offensive at this time.

"If we hesitate, it will be even more dangerous to stay where we are." Liu Zhaoqing said, "We dared to attack Dong Zhuo in the north when we had only 7,000 soldiers. Now that we have more than 70,000 soldiers, we should be more confident."

"If there are ambushes, just defeat them."

Liu Zhaoqing raised his head and looked into the distance: "There are still two passes that we don't need to break through. Let's go north and cross the Yishui River."

The temporary change of policy was surprising, but it was the finishing touch of improvisation.

"Not only do we have to face the two counties of Gou and Yan when crossing the river, but there is also the obstruction of Mangshan Mountain in the north, so the journey is also quite difficult." Xun Yu said.

"Yes, it is precisely because of these two counties and the natural barrier of Mangshan that we have to take the eastern route." Liu Zhaoqing said.

"Dong Zhuo's army would never have thought that we would abandon the flat road and take this route, thinking that there would be no worries about the eastern route due to the mountains and rivers, and set up an ambush in the south."

Jia Xu, who was standing by, was also surprised when he heard this.

"My lord, you really understand Dong Zhuo..."

"Moreover, this change of strategy also allows us to use our advantage in Mount Mang to attack Luoyang City from top to bottom."

Both counselors approved of Liu Zhaoqing's strategy, and Liu Zhaoqing passed his idea to Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shao.

After hearing this, the three of them also felt that the atmosphere around them was weird. There was indeed a possibility that Dong Zhuo's ambushes were ahead. Changing the route was not only not dangerous, but might be safer on the contrary.

In this way, after taking Huanyuan Pass, the army did not move westward anymore, but took the flat land to conquer the two passes and reach Luoyang.

Instead, he chose to go directly north, taking the mountain road passing Luoshui and Yishui.

The army marched into the mountains and forests in a mighty manner. Naturally, their marching speed was greatly slowed down by the rugged terrain, but fortunately, although the mountain road was not as flat as the highway, at least they could still march.

The large-scale siege equipment was left inside Huanyuan Pass. Although Liu Bei and others were wondering how they would attack Luoyang City without the siege equipment, at this time everyone had no choice but to trust Liu Zhaoqing's choice.

The reason why a vanguard force composed of them was formed is because they can completely obey orders.

"Report!"

After the army had marched for an hour, a scout came to report.

"Goushi County is one mile ahead!"

Goushi County was one of the counties under Henan County, east of Luoyang, and had a large population.

The army could have simply taken a detour, and this was also the decision Liu Zhaoqing made.

Attacking the county town also takes time, so let the princes behind deal with Gaoshi County.

However, just when the army saw the county town of Gaoshi and was about to bypass it from the west, the sky suddenly turned dark.

The scene, which was like the eve of a storm, made Liu Zhaoqing and others immediately look serious and ordered to stop moving forward.

"It's finally here." Looking at the sky covered with dark clouds, Xun Yu said softly.

The next second, a large number of Dong Zhuo's soldiers dressed in official military uniforms rushed out from the Gaoshi County and attacked their flanks.

"The right army defends! The left army cavalry follows me to break the encirclement!" Liu Zhaoqing made the decision after being surprised for a second.

The right army was led by Yuan Shao, who was also very shocked. He did not expect that even after taking a detour, he would still encounter an ambush. However, after Liu Zhaoqing's shout, he immediately came to his senses and began to organize his men to prepare for the enemy.

"Yuan Rang Zixiao, you also follow me and lead the cavalry to follow Zhaoqing." Seeing this, Cao Cao quickly gave orders, flicked the reins and went towards Liu Zhaoqing.

I saw a large number of cavalry quickly separated from the front of the advancing army, and then turned to the right in a huge arc.

As soon as the ambush troops coming out of the county town came into contact with Yuan Shao's army, they were directly dragged down and engaged in close combat.

In this way, Liu Zhaoqing's extremely timely cavalry support would be able to penetrate the ambush line without any surprise.

In just one encounter, the ambush troops, who were originally very powerful and numbered at least two thousand people, were killed and their weapons and armors were scattered.

Seeing that many soldiers wanted to evacuate back to Goushi County, Liu Zhaoqing immediately ordered Zhao Yun to lead ten cavalrymen to rush in before the city gate of Goushi County was closed and fight back.

Just like that, in less than an hour, the joint vanguard forces of Liu Zhaoqing, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and others completely put out the ambush.

By the way, Zhao Yun's lone army advanced deep into the enemy's territory and captured the entire Gaoshi County.

"Thanks to Zhaoqing's quick response, otherwise my troops might have suffered heavy losses." After Liu Zhaoqing reunited with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao also sighed.

The mountain roads were long and narrow, and the army formed a winding line, and Yuan Shao happened to be on the section where the ambush attack occurred.

"Sister Benchu, my reaction seems to be pretty good, right?" At this time, Cao Cao rode his horse to Liu Zhaoqing's side and looked at Yuan Shao with a smile.

Yuan Shao had no choice but to thank Cao Cao.

After Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction, he discovered that Liu Zhaoqing beside him did not show any joy of victory. Instead, he was looking at the corpses of the enemy soldiers lying around him and fell into deep thought.

At this time, Xun Yu and Jia Xu also came to Liu Zhaoqing's side. They both looked thoughtful to varying degrees. Cao Cao seemed to realize something at this time, and he put away his smile and frowned.

Yuan Shao was a little surprised when he saw this: "What's wrong with you?"

"These ambushes shouldn't have appeared." Xun Yu said, "Dong Zhuo has no reason to set an ambush here."

"The soldiers on the ground are not Dong Zhuo's elite troops. Judging from their clothing, they should be garrison soldiers from the surrounding counties." Cao Cao also spoke up at this time. "Before, because of the relationship between Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi, the soldiers in many counties around Luoyang rebelled and left with them. The remaining ones are basically loyal to Dong Zhuo."

Yuan Shao was surprised, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "You mean Dong Zhuo may have guessed that we would go this way, so he set an ambush here?"

Liu Zhaoqing shook his head: "If Dong Zhuo really knew that we would go this way, the ambush would not be these weak soldiers and cannon fodder, but her own elite troops from Xiliang."

"However, the fact that these ambushes were able to launch such an accurate ambush at this time shows that Dong Zhuo had considered the possibility of us passing by here."

Liu Zhaoqing frowned. This was what he was thinking about.

"That is to say: Dong Zhuo most likely imagined that we would take the eastern route."

"Dong Zhuo couldn't possibly have thought of this with his intelligence."

Jia Xu also spoke up at this time: "If it were Li Ru, with his character, if he really guessed that we would take this path, he would definitely persuade Dong Zhuo to kill us with all his strength."

"This strategy should not be proposed by him."

"Although we have captured Gao, the news should spread soon. At the cost of two thousand miscellaneous soldiers, we can guard the eastern route..." Liu Zhaoqing pondered for a moment.

"Dong Zhuo now has another wise and resourceful man by his side."

Jia Xu, who was standing by, frowned when he heard this: "I heard before that Dong Zhuo seemed to have made a deal with a strange man and got a lot of treasures."

"A strange person? Who is he?" Cao Cao asked immediately.

Jia Xu lowered his head and shook his head: "I don't know about this. Dong Zhuo is very wary of this for some reason. I can only call him a 'strange man'. Only Li Ru, Dong Zhuo's absolute confidant, should know the details."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhaoqing swung the reins again and prepared to continue marching.

"No matter who that person is, at present, he has only guessed that we might attack from here, and it takes time to pass the message. Order the troops stationed in Gaoshi to block the news as much as possible, and the rest of the army will continue to move forward."

Just as Liu Zhaoqing, Xun Yu and others had expected, Gao's ambush was just a "precaution" by the other side, and the other side was not sure that Liu Zhaoqing would definitely take this route.

After passing through Gao's ambush, the army never encountered any other ambushes.

After successfully crossing the Luo River, we soon saw a small town in the distance.

"That is Yanshi County. Seeing this county proves that we are not far from Luoyang." Liu Bei said beside Liu Zhaoqing.

Yanshi is surrounded by hills on the north and south sides, with the Luo River flowing through the middle.