Hulao Pass was lost, the chief general Wang Honglie was killed, and most of the five thousand defenders surrendered, but the first person to get the news was not Wang Shichong in Luoyang City, but the general Yun Dingxing who was ordered to transport food to Beijing in Luokoucang.

Luokou Cang is known as the world's largest granary. The Cangcheng City is more than 20 miles and can accommodate 24 million stones of grain. Although it has never been filled with all grain, it also had tens of millions of stones of grain and hundreds of thousands of sets of soldiers and armor at its peak, which is a symbol of the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty.

Since the eastern expedition to Goguryeo, Luokou Cang transferred grain outward again and again, and the grain was decreasing day by day. In addition, Wang Shichong transferred grain from Cangcheng three times after ascending the throne. At present, only 1.8 million stones of grain were left in Cangcheng, and three thousand soldiers were guarded.

Ten days ago, Wang Shichong made the decision to withdraw the Xingyang garrison and transport all the grain back to Chang'an. Ten thousand Xingyang garrisons had withdrawn back to Luoyang, and at the same time replaced the chief general of Hulao Pass. Wang Shichong ordered the Minister of War and General Yun Dingxing to be the grain transport envoy, forcibly conscripting 100,000 civilians to transport all the grain from Luokou Cang back to Luoyang.

Although 100,000 civilians were recruited, it was not easy to transport all 1.8 million stones of grain back to Luoyang. In addition, all the ships in Luoyang went to Jiangdu and finally fell into the hands of the Northern Sui army. Luoyang had only hundreds of small boats and could not transport grain on a large scale, so he had to rely on mules and horses to transport them. The whole ten days of transporting grain was transported, and only 500,000 stones and 1.3 million stones were transported away.

At this time, news came from Hulao Pass more than 20 miles away that the Sui army began to attack Guancheng, which made Yun Dingxing very anxious. What Yun Dingxing was anxious was not that the food could not be transported on schedule, but that he knew that Wang Shichong was going to be finished.

Previously, Wang Shichong judged that Li Shimin led the Tang army to open up the Nanxiang Road in order to recover Jingzhou, and fought with the Sui army in Jingzhou. Unexpectedly, the Tang Dynasty gave up Jingzhou and attacked Zheng with all his might. Only then did the whole Luoyang realize that the disaster had come, especially Wang Renze's army was killed by the Sui cavalry in Xiangyang, and even Wang Renze died at the hands of Tian Zan, which means that there was no hope of asking for help from the Sui army.

The city of Luoyang was in chaos, prices soared, and the rice price had risen to a thousand dollars. Wang Shichong ignored the government's affairs and drank and had fun in the palace all day long. The people in the court were panic, and everyone was considering their own retreat.

Yun Dingxing was of course no exception. Especially when he heard the news of the Sui army attacking Hulao Pass, he knew that Luoyang was not only facing the attack of the Tang Dynasty, but also the Sui army attacked from the east, and Luoyang could not be saved no matter what.

In the lobby of the Cangcheng official office, Yun Dingxing paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, feeling extremely anxious. Where should he go?

Of course, Yun Dingxing had nothing to do with the word "loyalty". He was nearly 60 years old this year and was once the father-in-law of the Crown Prince Yang Yong. After the fall of the crown prince Yang Yong, he was confiscated as a slave. Later, he tried his best to curry favor with Yuwen Shu, and was reused step by step. He was especially good at making various exquisite things that were exquisite. In addition, he was very good at guessing the intention of the saints, and gradually gained Yang Guang's appreciation from General of the Left Imperial Guard step by step to General of the Left Imperial Guard.

After Wang Shichong usurped the throne, he was one of the first surrenderers and was named Taiwei by Wang Shichong. He became the Minister of War and the General of the Left Wei Guard. Now that Wang Shichong was about to collapse, how could he be buried with Wang Shichong?

Yun Dingxing had a good relationship with Li Yuan because of the prince Yang Yong. His first thought was that he wanted to join Li Yuan, but he was a little hesitant. He knew that the Sui Dynasty is strong and the Tang Dynasty is weak, and birds should choose good trees to live in, and no matter what, they should go to the big tree of the Northern Sui Dynasty.

Yun Dingxing also had a deal with Zhang Xuan. When Yuwen Shu wanted to deal with Zhang Xuan, he also played a disgraceful role in the middle and gave advice on Yuwen Shu. If he goes to join Zhang Xuan, will Zhang Xuan settle the old accounts?

Yun Dingxing was both regretful and had no choice but to do anything, so he didn't know what to do for a moment.

At this moment, a personal soldier hurried over and reported in the hall: "Report to the General, someone outside asked for a visit."

"I'm not free, and I don't want to see anyone!"

Yun Dingxing waved his hand in dismay, "Let him go!"

The personal soldiers hesitated for a moment and whispered: "He said he had just come from Xiangyang."

"ah!"

Yun Dingxing screamed out loud and said quickly: "Hurry up and invite him in!"

What does "just come from Xiangyang" mean at this time? Will Yun Dingxing not understand what it means?

Soon, his personal soldiers led a young scholar of 27 or 28 years old. It was Cen Wenben who came from Xiangyang. Because of time, Cen Wenben did not go to Luoyang, but hid in Yanshi County, the closest to Luokoucang. When he learned that the Sui army had crossed the Yellow River and entered Xingyang County, he knew that the time was ripe and immediately rushed to meet Yun Dingxing.

Yun Dingxing was the key figure in Cen Wenben's persuasion to Zhang Xuan. Although this person was quite aggressive, he did have extraordinary things. Otherwise, after being implicated by Yang Yong's case, he would not have been promoted to the Xianyao position of the General of Zuotun Guard step by step after being punished and confiscated as a slave. Especially this person was named Taiwei, with a high prestige in Luoyang and possessed some military power to a certain extent. As long as he was pulled over, Wang Shichong's court foundation would collapse most of the time.

Cen Wenben saw through Yun Dingxing. He knew when he should appear and what Yun Dingxing wanted.

Cen Wenben walked into the lobby, bowed and said, "In Cen Wenben, see General Yun!"

Yun Dingxing was stunned. Is Cen Wenben Xiao Xian's prime minister? Why did he come from Xiangyang? He became confused and asked hesitantly: "My soldier said, "Did you come from Xiangyang?"

Cen Wenben understood his thoughts and smiled faintly: "I am the current Qi Prince's Mansion to consult with the wine priest, and come to see the general at the order of His Highness of the King of Qi. If the general is in a dilemma, I will say goodbye now!"

"Where! Where! I mean, it's inconvenient here, please follow me to the inner hall."

Yun Dingxing was like a drowning man. He was about to be desperate, but suddenly a life-saving wood floated in front of him. How could he not hug him tightly? He was afraid of angering Cen Wenben, so he respectfully invited him to the inner hall for a lecture.

The two sat down in the inner hall, and Yun Dingxing asked his concubine to have a good tea again. He couldn't suppress his excitement, but he didn't dare to act rashly, so he had to ask carefully: "I heard that the Sui army is already attacking Hulao Pass, and I am also very concerned about the situation in Hulao Pass. There are five thousand defenders there. Last night, I received an urgent order from the prince to send 3,000 troops to support Hulao Pass. I'm afraid Luoyang also knows that the Sui army crossed the Yellow River and entered Xingyang County."

Cen Wenben took a sip of tea and asked in confusion: "Why is the prince's order? Is the military and political power now in the hands of the prince?"

"Things are nothing!"

Yun Dingxing shook his head and said, "The military power of Zheng State is still firmly in the hands of Wang Shichong. Without his military talisman, no one dares to send troops. The prince should be anxious, so he issued an order in violation of regulations. He may also hope that I would dispatch troops in violation of regulations, but I would not pay attention to his orders."

"General Yun did not send troops as a correct decision. The Sui general who attacked Hulao Pass was General Wei Wentong, the former chief general of Hulao Pass. He had previously issued a military order to His Highness the King of Qi and took Hulao Pass within one day. I guess Hulao Pass has been lost and the news will reach here soon."

Yun Dingxing stood up in fear. If Hulao Pass was lost, the Sui army would be able to reach Luokou Cang in less than half a day, and he had no preparations. Wouldn't it be a big mess?

Cen Wenben waved his hand and smiled, "I have sent someone to Hulao Pass. If General Wei takes Hulao Pass, I will let him advance west a little later and give General Yun some time to retreat. Will General Yun accept my arrangement?"

Yun Dingxing said after a while: "What is His Highness the King of Qi's attitude?"

Cen Wenben took out Zhang Xuan's handwritten letter and put it on the table to Yun Dingxing. "This is the handwritten letter from His Highness the King of Qi to the general. If the general is willing to accept it, then I will arrange everything. If the general is unwilling to accept it, then give me the letter and just pretend that I have never been here."

Yun Dingxing grabbed the letter, as if he was afraid that Cen Wenben would take it back. This was his life-saving wood, how could he give up?

But before he could open the letter, a personal soldier quickly walked out of the hall and knelt down on one knee to report: "Report to the general, urgent news came from Hulao Pass, Hulao Pass has been lost, and General Wang Honglie was unfortunately killed!"

Yun Dingxing's whole body suddenly froze. Hulao Pass was known as the world's most powerful pass, but it was captured in less than a day. Is this the power of the Sui army or Wang Honglie's incompetence?

After a while, he nodded and said, "I understand, you step back!"

The personal soldiers retreated, and Yun Dingxing asked someone to guard the gate and not let anyone disturb him. Then he sighed and said, "Sure enough, he was told by the gentleman."

Cen Wenben smiled and said, "If I was not wrong, Hulao Pass should have been broken last night, but General Yun has no time left. If I had no news to General Wei before noon today, General Wei would immediately march westward. Please make a decision early!"
Chapter completed!