Chapter Thirty-Five: The Wind Rises and Clouds Gather

  Xingyang southwest, Pingyin, Li Yuan's fleet anchorage.

  The heavy snow also forced Li Yuan to stop his journey, how to smoothly enter the city of Xiangyang and contact with Hou Xi, Guan Yue and others became the key to the success or failure of Li Yuan's trip.

  Before the Battle of White Horse, Hou Xi had sent a letter to Li Yuan. According to the letter, Guan Yue, Hou Xi, Hu Zhuang and other people, along with the civilians who retreated from Daliang, were all placed in the eastern part of the city by Zhao Pin. Zhao Pin was very vigilant and dispatched a large number of soldiers to keep them under close guard.

  As for Hou Xi and Guan Yue's predicament, at that time Li Yuan was about to go into a big battle and couldn't lend them a helping hand. I just don't know what their situation is like now.

  "Into the city! It seems that we can only go through the water gate, but how to avoid the enemy army outside the city and how to get the guards to open the city gate. Once inside the city, where can we go?"

  Li Yuan opened the map of San Chuan County, buried his head in deep thought, and analyzed the situation of the forces in Xiangyang City. He had asked Yang Xiong and Sima Yin to analyze it one by one before, and at that time, he felt that their analysis was very reasonable, including which people could be contacted and which places could be used to raise troops and hide. However, when Xiangyang was right in front of him, Li Yuan realized that his previous plans were just empty theories that didn't match reality.

  To enter the city, first of all, one must have a tiger tally command, secondly, one must not arouse the suspicion of the general guarding the city, and thirdly, one must avoid Liu Bang's army on land.

  Tiger tally one piece, Li Yuan's body was indeed a piece, genuine and authentic, it was from the Qin army Lou ship Douwei who was captured by the friendly forces; The city defense officer had one piece, but Li Yuan really didn't have any way to get it, Xingyang was completely an unfamiliar yet familiar city for him.

  ——。

  "Silly, what's so great about a torn map? If you want to enter the city, just ask your aunt!" Gu Yun was annoyed in her heart because Li Yuan had been staring blankly or at the map for days, without any intention of talking to her. This made her feel useless and uncomfortable with all the ideas and plans she had.

  Gu Yun is the kind of person who looks delicate on the outside but has a fiery personality. If she didn't have this temper, she wouldn't have had a falling out with Zhao Bin right then and there.

  This made her somewhat flustered when facing Li Yuan.

  "Colonel, the water fortress of Gong Yang is guarded by officers I know. Perhaps we can sneak into the city and act as insiders!" Gu Yun's face turned red with rage, and she finally couldn't hold back anymore. Although Lady Gongsun told her to take advantage of the situation without revealing her identity, Li Yuan was just too infuriating.

  From Duwei to Xiaowei, Li Yuan's title also changed with the increase in the number of troops he led. The original 100-strong personal guard had now expanded to over 200 men, and Gu Yun was currently acting as their commander.

  "What was that? Oh, I almost forgot, you are originally from Gongyang." Li Yuan suddenly looked enlightened, and with a serious face, he nodded at Gu Yun.

  A woman became the leader of an ancient army, which made Li Yuan secretly proud. As a modern person, Li Yuan had a deep affection for Hua Mulan, whether it was the version played by Brigitte Lin or Zhao Wei. Seeing Gu Yun in armor also alleviated some of Li Yuan's homesickness.

  Gu Yun was unaware of Li Yuan's little thoughts, and now she was only immersed in the joy and excitement of probing: "Colonel, if you trust me, tomorrow night, I will sneak into the city from the water gate, wait for contact with Guan Gong Cao and Hou Si Ma inside the city, and then contact Colonel again."

  Gū Yún's eyes darted back and forth, the corners of her mouth slightly curved upwards, revealing a very good mood. After much difficulty sneaking up to Lǐ Yuán's side, she had finally found such a great opportunity to showcase her abilities and connections. The excitement that had been suppressed for so long made Gū Yún lose her composure.

  Gu Yun exposed.

  Although Li Yuan couldn't guess for a moment which force was behind her, at least one thing could be certain: the back of Gu Yun would never be Zhao Bi.

  ——。

  The 19th day of the 11th month in the 3rd year of the Second Emperor of Qin.

  Continuous heavy snowfall has turned the world into a vast expanse of white, Liu Bang's allied forces have been besieging Xingyang for three days. The connection between Xingyang City and the water and land transportation outside the city is becoming increasingly difficult. The defenders inside the city are in a state of panic, closing the city gates to try to fight back desperately, which makes the allied army even more arrogant.

  Under the impetus of frenzied emotions, the Allied Forces launched a fierce attack on Xiangyang this time. Whether it was Peng Yue, Pu Jiangjun or other small vassal forces, they all had an unusual interest in Xiangyang, this strong city that Wu Guang's army of over 100,000 could not conquer. If anyone entered the city first, how could they miss the opportunity to make a name for themselves?

  After losing the main force that could move freely in the wilderness, Zhao Bai's pieced-together tens of thousands of defenders retreated step by step in the battle with the coalition forces, surrounded by dangers. Zhao Bai also finally began to feel the bitterness of being trapped. If it weren't for this heavy snow helping out, the crowd in the city would already be prisoners under Liu Bang's account.

  Despairing emotions spread throughout the city, and the high-pressure situation created by Zhao Bai's efforts was dismantled by the arrival of Liu Bang's army. In the face of life and death pressure, various forces with different thoughts were also constantly reorganizing.

  East of the city, Li You's mansion.

  Zong Zheng Chen Di, Yangyang Commander Fan Jia, Gong Cao Guan Yue, and Sima Hou Xi gathered together. Behind these people are representatives of various forces, which can also be considered the backbone of anti-Zhao Bin's power in Yangyang City.

  Chen Di visited Li You's old mansion the next day after winning Yu Huan, and he also saw clearly that if things were not related to him, it would be impossible for him to intervene. If the city was breached, then no matter how hard he tried to please Zhao Gao, it would be in vain.

  Moreover, as the eldest princess of the royal family, Ying Yuxiu undoubtedly has the power to represent the imperial family. Hu Hai's actions have already disappointed the Ying clan, and if they were to find a replacement candidate, Ying Yuxiu would be the most suitable one. Although women cannot become emperors, they can still wield great power, and there are precedents for this in Qin history.

  Chen Dian's betrayal gave the anti-Zhao faction the initiative. Zhao Bi and Wang Ming attempted to use the investigation into Li You's treason as a pretext to suppress those they disliked or wanted to plot against, but it was unavoidable that they would have to inform Chen Dian, after all, Chen Dian was one of the two special envoys sent by the imperial court to investigate. In fact, due to Chen Dian's consistently silent attitude, Zhao Bi and Wang Ming had not yet detected that Chen Dian had already harbored dissenting thoughts.

  Fan Jiahe, the magistrate of Xingyang, and Guan Yue, the secretary, sat next to each other, chatting happily. As old hands in the official circle of Xingyang, they were already familiar with the changing flags on the city wall. However, it was clear today that they did not represent the same force.

  Guan Yue is unpredictable, as the representative of Yang Xiong, he is now the spokesperson for the Yang Xiong faction in Xiangyang City. Although Yang Xiong's power has been declining day by day under Zhao Yun's continuous suppression, there are still a few hidden ones.

  Fan Jia, as the magistrate of Xingyang County, had always been in a mediocre position. As a military stronghold, Xingyang often stationed local garrison troops from the state of Qin, making Fan Jia's limited power seem insignificant. However, today Fan Jia still had plenty of confidence, for among the soldiers guarding the city, nearly over a thousand were originally under his command.

  Hou Xi was a typical outsider in the power struggle arena of Xiangyang. When Li Yuan's news of reversing the situation at Baima reached Xiangyang, Hou Xi suddenly went from being neglected to being pursued, and along with him, the nearly thousand civilians who were placed by Zhao Ping in the east of the city also had a slightly better life.

  The person who facilitated this meeting of various forces was none other than the eldest princess of Qin, Ying Yu Xi. After enduring for a long time, she officially stepped onto the stage of power struggle.

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