Ji Han Liu Zhang

Hedong, Anyi.

"My goodness." Fa Zheng, who was reviewing the military situation in his hands, suddenly hissed, "Generals under Yuan Benchu, Qu Yi, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others have led their troops to station in Shangdang. Now Shangdang has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses stationed there, and it is difficult to capture."

"Master Fa." Gan Ning said indignantly, "Why do you look down on me? A few tens of thousands of soldiers are nothing but chickens and dogs in my eyes. I will defeat them for you, Master Fa."

Gan Ning's words were heroic and he looked down on everyone. He did not take the Hebei people from Shangdang seriously.

"How could I underestimate Xingba? Xingba's bravery and strategy are witnessed by everyone, from the king down." Fa Zheng first praised Gan Ning, and then he said with worry.

"However, Qu Yi was the first to attack the battlefield in the Battle of Jie Bridge and defeated Gongsun Zan's Baima Yicong. Gongsun Zan's army declined after Jie Bridge and was eventually annexed by Yuan Benchu. This shows that he is a brave and skilled fighter and should not be underestimated."

"In addition, Zhang He and Gao Lan are both famous generals and pillars of Hebei. They are coming together with Qu Yi this time, so we must be cautious of them."

Gan Ning chuckled and said, "What do you mean by first landing or famous general? You can only know it after fighting..."

Here Gan Ning recalled the last battle of Yubi: "In the last battle of Yubi, I was ordered to pursue and fight with Zhang He's troops. However, I was ordered not to pursue them too far, but to drive away the Hebei troops. I didn't have a good fight. This time, I should compete with Zhang He to see who is better."

"There will be a chance." Fa Zheng nodded and said, "Qu Yi, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others have settled in Shangdang. With tens of thousands of troops gathered, they should not just be defending it. They should also be planning to invade Hedong like last time."

"Even if they don't invade Hedong, they will still seek Taiyuan, Daijun and other places." Fa Zheng pondered, "Bingzhou is high above us and has a magnificent terrain. Yuan Benchu ​​will not feel at ease with Bingzhou in our hands, so it is expected that he will come here to fight for the land."

"Your Excellency is right." Gan Ning agreed. "Yuan Benchu ​​is after Bingzhou, and we are also after Shangdang. We both have our own goals, and it depends on how we use them."

"Shangdang." Fa Zheng pronounced the place name word by word, his eyes half-closed. "In the past, Qin attacked Shangdang of Han, and Shangdang surrendered to Zhao. Qin attacked Zhao, and Zhao sent troops to attack Qin. The two sides fought at Changping."

"After Zhao was defeated, Bai Qi slaughtered more than 400,000 Zhao soldiers at the Battle of Changping. The blood flowed like a river and the roar was like thunder... After this battle, the six states in the east of the Guanzhong area were no longer able to fight against Qin, so Qin was able to annex the six states and unify the world."

"It is the same today." Fa Zheng sighed, "Shangdang shields Weijun and is the shield of Yecheng. If our army can capture Shangdang, all the counties in Hebei will be under our attack. We can either defend them or attack them when there is a chance. In a few years, Hebei will be ours."

"If Hebei is conquered, the world will be easily pacified."

"Master Fa, what you said is not right." Gan Ning raised his eyebrows and explained to Fa Zheng in a look of inquiry: "Master Fa, you compared the dispute between Qin and Zhao with the current dispute between Guanzhong and Hebei, and compared the tyrannical Qin with us, which is a big mistake."

Fa Zhengyang laughed and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous, and your virtue extends to Guanzhong. How can you be compared to the tyrannical Qin... I am just making a comparison, but I am referring to the facts rather than the people. The facts are the same, but the people are different."

Just as Fa Zheng and Gan Ning were talking and laughing, they heard footsteps coming from outside. The sound was steady and quite dense. Gan Ning identified the person and pointed at the door and said with a smile, "Meng has gotten up."

Fa Zheng looked towards the door, and in a moment, Ma Chao appeared at the door. He turned his gaze to Gan Ning and praised him, "Good hearing."

Gan Ning smiled, but said nothing more. He learned the skill of identifying people by their voices when he was in the outlaws in his early years. After all, it is impossible to go from house to house and rob gold and silver without a pair of good eyes. Ma Chao entered the house, first bowed slightly to Fa Zheng and Gan Ning, then sat down and reported what he had learned. He had inspected the border area between Hedong and Shangdang and made some discoveries.

"Since Qu Yi, Zhang He and other generals entered Shangdang, scouts from Hebei have been running back and forth, penetrating deep into the territory of Hedong. It seems that they intend to seize Hedong, and their ambition is not small."

Fa Zheng nodded and said, "I just discussed this with Xing Ba and we both agree. Tens of thousands of Hebei troops have gathered in Shangdang. If we only want to defend it, we have too many troops."

"Shangdang is high and dangerous, but with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, it is enough to defend it. Now there are tens of thousands of people, so they must have other plans... Now Qu Yi, Zhang He and others have just arrived, and they have not taken any action for the time being. But in ten or ten months, when they have finished their rest, the war will start."

……

Shangdang, Huguan.

"Has General Qu not arrived yet?" Bingzhou Mu Gao Gan frowned slightly, revealing a look of slight displeasure.

The warrior guarding the door raised his voice and replied to the tent: "General Qu has not arrived yet."

This was the third time. Gao Gan became obviously displeased when he heard the warrior's reply. He had repeatedly gathered people to discuss the matter of attacking Hedong, but Qu Yi was always late and treated his military orders as nothing, which meant he did not take him seriously at all.

Zhang He and Gao Lan, who were sitting below, noticed the look on Gao Gan's face, and they looked at each other and shook their heads, also looking a little unhappy.

This was because of Qu Yi's arrogant behavior, which showed that he not only did not take the senior officials seriously, but also did not take the two of them seriously.

Gao Gan clenched his fists many times, and then unclenched them repeatedly. His expression changed like leaden clouds, as if thunder and storm were about to fall at the next moment. However, he finally suppressed the anger in his heart, took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes to rest.

Although Qu Yi was too arrogant, Gao Gan knew Qu Yi's military strategy and bravery. This time when he sent troops to Hedong, he still had to rely on Qu Yi. Therefore, he did not intend to get angry and have a conflict with Qu Yi at this time. He decided to tolerate him first.

"After all, he is a warrior, crude and despicable." Gao Gan cursed in his heart to dispel his anger.

After a while, Qu Yi still hadn't arrived, Gao Lan couldn't help but said to Gao Gan: "Sir, General Qu may have something to do in the camp, why don't we discuss it first."

Gao Gan wanted to nod, but finally shook his head and said, "General Qu is a general. We need General Qu to arrive before discussing important matters this time."

"But General Qu hasn't arrived for a long time, um..." Gao Gan ordered: "Gao Yuan, go to General Qu's camp and ask. If there is nothing important, let General Qu come here first to discuss military affairs."

"Yes." Gao Yuan agreed and was about to go out to urge Qu Yi, but at this moment, Qu Yi's figure appeared at the entrance of the tent.

Qu Yi first glanced at the generals who had arrived early, and then laughed loudly and said, "Am I late?" (End of this chapter)