Ji Han Liu Zhang

Taiyuan County, where Zhang Ren’s camp was located.

Lou Fa hurried to the central army tent, then he opened the curtain and strode in, reporting the military situation: "Gongyi, the scouts reported that a group of soldiers and horses ran out of Yuan's camp and headed south, but I don't know what they are planning."

After he finished speaking, Lou Fa's face was filled with worry. As the saying goes, knowing both yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. But now Yuan's army had separated a team of troops for no reason, and who knows what conspiracy they were planning. This made him a little worried and anxious. After all, when two armies were facing each other, they had to be cautious in everything.

Zhang Ren did not look thoughtful like Lou Fa when he heard this. He just handed a piece of silk document on the table to Lou Fa and introduced him to him: "Gan Xingba sent a message saying that he, together with Ma Mengqi, Shen Wenyuan and others, besieged the famous Hebei general Qu Yi."

"Hmm?" Lou Fa was surprised at first, then he showed joy. He looked at Zhang Ren inquiringly: "So..."

"Yes." Zhang Ren nodded. "The reason why Gao Gan and Zhang He sent a group of people south was most likely to rescue Qu Yi, not because they had any conspiracy."

"I see." Lou Fa nodded, and then he said, "Qu Yi is a famous general in Hebei. If he is beheaded in Hedong, Hebei will be terrified. We must not let Gao Gan and Zhang He go to rescue him. We should keep most of Gao Gan and Zhang He here."

"That's right." Zhang Ren pointed at Zhang Yan and Yin Pu who were sitting next to each other and said, "I discussed with the two generals earlier and decided that we should not let Gao Gan and Zhang He escape easily. I will listen to your opinion after you come, Zichu."

"Now that we have reached an agreement, we should keep a close eye on Gao Gan and Zhang He. If they show any signs of moving their camp, we should chase them and not let them get away."

"Yes." Lou Fa, Zhang Yan, Yin Pu and others responded in unison, agreeing to Zhang Ren's command.

That night, the moon was bright in the sky and the stars were dazzling.

In Yuan’s army camp, Gao Gan, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others gathered in the tent.

"The Qin army seems to have noticed it." It was Zhang He who spoke, his brows furrowed. "Today, the number of Qin scouts has doubled compared to the past. They are investigating the situation everywhere. Even now at night, there are still Qin scouts holding torches walking outside our camp. They are trying to keep a close eye on us and not give us a chance to escape easily."

Gao Gan looked helpless. He sighed and said, "I think the news of General Qu being besieged has reached Zhang Ren and Lou Fa. Now that they know the news, as General Zhang said, they will not let us leave easily."

"Even if we leave, Zhang Ren and Lou Fa may still chase us and harass us, slowing down our march and preventing us from rescuing General Qu. This is also foreseeable."

At night, a strong wind blew through the tent of the central army, making an eerie rustling sound. It also seemed that a strong wind seeped into the tent, slightly flattening the lights in the tent and making the light in the tent a little dim.

The environment was bleak and dim, and everyone in the central army tent fell into silence and contemplation. They had sent troops to Taiyuan before, and the road to this place was smooth, but it was easy to come here, but it might not be easy to go back.

After a moment of silence, Zhang He broke the silence. He said solemnly, "General Qu is trapped by the Qin army. It may not be easy to hold out for long. Although General Guo has gone to rescue him, he only has a few thousand men, a brigade. It is difficult to drive General Qu out. We must go to Hedong as soon as possible, otherwise General Qu will be in danger."

"Envoy." Zhang He bowed and spoke to Gao Gan in a decisive tone: "I intend to lead the soldiers with large halberds to guard the rear and block the pursuing army, while you lead the army ahead and rush to Hedong quickly, in order to rescue General Qu as soon as possible and preserve more than 10,000 elite soldiers in Hebei. What do you think?" After he finished speaking, Zhang He's eyes reflected the lights in the tent, revealing a bright look, and he was waiting for Gao Gan to give a reply.

"Hiss." Gao Gan didn't want to go to Hedong in his heart. He really hated Qu Yi, but Zhang He was so determined that he wanted to cover the rear personally. This left Gao Gan with no excuses and no pretext for delay.

"General Zhang has such courage, I really admire him." Gao Gan first praised Zhang He, and then affirmed Zhang He's suggestion: "If so, let's do as General Zhang said. General Zhang will lead his halberd soldiers to guard the rear, and General Gao and I will lead the army to go ahead and rescue General Qu in Hedong."

Day two.

"Yuan's army is packing up and seems to be planning to retreat." Lou Fa passed the news brought by the scout to Zhang Ren and Zhang Yan.

"Gather all the troops and prepare for fighting." Zhang Ren did not say much. He only gave an order, an order to start a great war.

Afterwards, Yuan's army was busy packing up their tents and picking up their equipment. The Qin army was also busy, but they were busy wearing armor, sharpening their weapons, and feeding their horses that were going to the battlefield with fine grain mixed with salt.

"Set off."

When the sun rose to 45 degrees in the sky, the two cavalry generals, Zhang Ren and Zhang Yan, led more than a thousand elite soldiers and rushed towards Yuan's army. Along the way, Zhang Ren sent out scouts from a distance to avoid falling into an ambush by Yuan's army.

This is because no one knows whether Yuan's army's retreat this time was a real retreat or a deliberate act to set up an ambush, lure them into pursuit, and then when they reach the ambush, ambush them from all sides and give them a head-on blow.

Therefore, Zhang Ren and Zhang Yan did not walk at their fastest speed. They looked three steps ahead before they took one step. Although they had to pursue the enemy, they also had to ensure their own safety. Otherwise, they would not be able to achieve the effect of pursuit and harassment, but would end up hurting themselves.

In the distant valley, Zhang He listened to the scout's report, his face was uneasy, and he spat out the grass sprouts he had been chewing out of boredom. Originally, he wanted to set an ambush on the Qin army, but the Qin generals were very cautious and their cavalry were roaming everywhere, so it seemed that he had no chance.

Zhang He glanced at the powerful crossbows hanging on the waists of his soldiers, with a helpless look on his face. If everything went well, the Qin army would have fallen into an ambush, and then he could shoot with his powerful crossbows, and if he was lucky, he might be able to kill the leader of the Qin army.

"What a pity! Gao Gan and Gao Lan left me so many powerful crossbows." Zhang He felt it was a pity that Gao Gan and Gao Lan left him powerful crossbows, hoping that he could shoot and repel the pursuing Qin army.

However, the powerful crossbow is not without its uses. It will be very useful in stopping the Qin army from following behind.

"Order all the troops to prepare chevaux de frise, deer chariots and other equipment, and line up with me on the road to occupy it first." Zhang He gave up the idea of ​​setting an ambush and adopted an upright fighting method.

Set up a battle formation on the road to block the Qin army. (End of this chapter)