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Chapter 144: Crossing the Hongze River for the Second Time

"Boss Chen, you really hurt me so much!"

Outside the Chinese army's tent.

Yu Song was so angry that he wanted to curse, and he was just about to say "If you want to die, go by yourself, don't take me with you."

"Commander Yu."

Chen Sanshi said in a deep voice: "If you follow what I say, you may not survive, but if you follow them, you will definitely die!"

Of the 18,000 people, no more than 180 will survive to the end.

"Alas! Now that things have come to this, what else can I say?"

Yu Song's face was full of helplessness: "Mr. Chen Qian, if you kill me, I... I won't say anything, my eight wives and twelve children will definitely fight you to death! Let's go!"

Instructions conveyed.

Lu Shuhua, Xie Sishu and others were also shocked.

"What are you doing?"

"Mr. Chen Qian, you are crazy!"

"You're not going to join the army, but to act alone. Do you think you're not dying fast enough?"

"..."

"absurd!"

Lu Shuhua held the sword, looking unhappy: "We are all captains, why should we leave the army just because of his words? If you want to go, go by yourselves, I will go find General Sha!"

"Brother Lu, wait for me, I'll go too."

Xie Sishu quickly caught up.

"You two are stupid!"

Bai Tingzhi sneered: "It's really hard to persuade the damned ghost with kind words!"

But Lu Shuhua and Xie Sishu were soon driven back.

Sha Wenlong's order has been issued and will not be changed at will.

"What are you, the captains and lieutenant generals, afraid of? You are a bunch of wimps!"

Zhu Tong cursed and said, "Thinking back to the time when Shitou led us to defeat 20,000 barbarians with our remaining soldiers in Poyang County, and then led 40,000 civilians all the way from Yunzhou to Youzhou under the pursuit of tens of thousands of troops, and didn't he survive in the end! A bunch of stupid dogs!"

"Be bold!"

Xie Sishu glared at him: "How dare you, a general manager, speak dirty words to me? You are courting death!"

"I think this brother is right!"

Bai Tingzhi picked up the broadsword: "Why, you are not convinced?"

"Keng——"

The sound of swords being drawn was heard, and the two sides confronted each other.

"enough!"

Chen Sanshi said in a deep voice: "At this critical moment of life and death, you still want to fight among yourselves?! Zhu Tong, you retreat! Brother Lu, Brother Xie, please believe me, if we really suffer heavy losses after crossing the river, you two can come and chop off my head, I will never fight back!"

"it is good!"

Lu Shuhua then stopped: "This is what President Chen Qian said himself, everyone can bear witness to it!"

He and Xie Sishu simply gave up competing for the position of chief disciple, but the arrogance of geniuses in them never diminished in the slightest.

Especially Lu Shuhua, who has a martial arts master and will naturally be a sword master in the future. How could he be willing to be led by the nose by others?

"Xu Wencai!"

Chen Sanshi shouted: "Bring the map!"

……

"Your Highness has a good strategy."

Sha Wenlong exclaimed: "After we separated in Yangchun Prefecture, if they dare to go south through the Henan River, they will definitely die. We can rely on Yangchun Prefecture and at least hold out for 20 days."

"It's not that I'm good at strategy, it's that he's in a hurry to die."

Cao Fan sat on the horse, dragging the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in one hand: "If I can help him, why not do it?"

"Well, this kid should have died long ago."

Sha Wenlong knew very well that he was transferred because he was exposed.

He is the person who least wants the other person to grow up, otherwise there will be a catastrophe.

"Dong An is such an ungrateful person!"

Cao Fan said disdainfully, "Back then, he lost to Fang Qingyun in the selection. If my grandfather hadn't chosen him as the top martial arts scholar and given him enough resources to practice, he would be at best a deputy general of a battalion today. How could he have become a governor and be in charge of the military and political affairs of a state!"

"The temptation of the odd man's day is too great."

Sha Wenlong guessed the reason: "Your Highness, if someone tempted you with a method above the Martial Saint and asked you to exchange something, you would definitely do it, right? Not to mention, the country is not his. For him, it is nothing more than changing his master!"

"Damn it! My Great Sheng Dynasty is kind and tolerant to people, but it breeds these ruthless people. Sun Xiangzong is okay, at least he has made many contributions over the years! Dong An, you really deserve to be cut into pieces!"

Cao Fan reviewed the current situation in Mingzhou in his mind: "General Sha, do you remember what Chen Sanshi said just now? He said that there will be no food in Yangchun Prefecture. If this is true, what should we do?"

“Collect along the way!”

Sha Wenlong took a cautious attitude towards this matter: "Before rushing to Yangchun Prefecture, we will pass through many counties and transfer their stored grain."

After all, the biggest problem in defending a city is food and grass.

As long as there is enough food and the city walls are high enough, we can hold on.

“The situation in Minnesota this year is not very good either.”

Cao Fan said: "Many places are suffering from disasters. I heard that even taxes cannot be collected. If we only rely on the government's grain reserves, I'm afraid it won't be enough."

"Then we can recruit some more from the people."

Sha Wenlong said: "It's nothing more than making the people suffer. Your Highness, don't worry. I will take the blame."

"General Sha is righteous!"

"..."

……

Eagle's Beak Mountain.

The main camp of the Red Eyebrow Army.

The Chinese military tent.

Before the sand table.

Since he was a child, Fourth Master Jia was taken to Meishan by his father to join the mountain bandits. Fortunately, he found a good master and learned martial arts from him. Later, he developed the mountain stronghold and annexed all the mountain strongholds in the entire Meishan area. He became the only one in power with more than 2,000 soldiers and horses.

He knew that once the bandits grew to a certain size, they would have to become even stronger, otherwise the next step would be destruction.

But Fourth Master Jia simply did not have the ability to continue expanding on his own. Until one day, a scholar came to the village and said he would help them grow bigger and stronger, and it was not impossible for him to become the King of Mingzhou in the future.

At first, Mr. Jia Si scoffed at this.

Because this scholar is so weak that he wants to go up the mountain to become a bandit, but in the end he doesn't even have a letter of surrender. Isn't that a huge joke?

The scholar knelt down and said, give him three months.

Three months later, he turned the Meishan bandits into a regular army. If he failed to do so, he would die as a token of atonement.

But if you can, help him to rob the bride and kill the person.

Mr. Jia Si thought it was interesting and gave him this opportunity.

Wait until three months have passed.

The brothers under his command really seemed like a different group of people. Not only did they have strict military discipline, but they were also able to lead troops into battle. They were just like the officers and soldiers from Mingzhou. No, they were much better than them!
"Mr. Talented!"

At that time, Fourth Master Jia knelt down, knowing that he had to keep this man no matter what, and immediately led his brothers down the mountain to help him grab the bride.

The scholar fell in love with a girl from a wealthy family, and they secretly decided to spend their lives together.

At first, the wealthy family didn't say anything, because the scholar was a famous scholar in the area, and everyone said that he would become a juren sooner or later, but year after year, he failed the exam.

The scholar became a laughing stock in the surrounding area.

The wealthy family's attitude also changed 180 degrees, and they told him to get lost.

Later, the scholar and the lady agreed to elope. When they were discovered, the scholar broke the lady's legs and betrothed her to the stupid son of a local official.

Hey!
This guy is a romantic and ruthless guy!

After robbing the bride, they killed all the more than 50 members of the official's family overnight, leaving no one alive, young or old, male or female.

After it was over, the scholar was still hiding outside and didn't leave.

When asked what he was doing, the scholar said, "There must be some children hiding who haven't come out yet."

He really got it right!
Half an hour later, a boy less than ten years old crawled out of the cellar.

The scholar rushed forward and chopped off the boy's head with a kitchen knife.

Capable and ruthless!

After returning, the scholar became the second in command in Meishan.

It’s been a long time.

They discovered that the scholar had a magical object, the Book of Heaven!
The Heavenly Book records various strange formations that utilize the power of heaven and earth. He relies on the Heavenly Book to train his troops.

Mr. Jia Si and his men started to have evil thoughts.

But after they snatched the Heavenly Book, they found that it was useless and they could not understand it at all. Later, they gradually understood that this scholar was chosen by the gods to lead them to overthrow the corrupt Dasheng.

So, Liang Erdangjia became the boss.

They recruited soldiers and started a rebellion.

At the beginning, there was a huge response.

In several cities, the common people took the initiative to open the gates and let them in.

slowly.

When Liang Da was the head of the family, he became Marshal Liang.

Then, he was able to exchange letters with the emperor of Western Qi, and bribed the Mingzhou governor Dong An with the Heavenly Book. Later, he worked out a strategy with several of them to divide the world into three parts, preparing to achieve hegemony in five to ten years.

By then, as a veteran of the uprising, he could at least be granted the title of marquis, and the Jia family would be able to enjoy great success.

"Master Xiang, what do you think? Joining us was the right decision for you, wasn't it? You are at the Mystical Realm, and you will definitely be much better than me in the future!"

"Hahahaha!"

Xiang Tian laughed out loud: "Master Jia is right. I really have to thank you for your secret letter. Otherwise, I would still be groveling to the other sects."

Their sect was originally a top-notch sect, but in the past hundred years, there has been no successor, and no Martial Saint has appeared. By his generation, the younger generations don't even have the qualifications to reach the Xuanxiang realm. If this continues, it is inevitable that they will fall into the second- or third-rate sect, and the industry will only become less and less. If this continues, it is better to give it a try and create a world for themselves.

"Come on, pour the wine!"

Fourth Master Jia picked up the wine bowl with a smile.

"Bastard!"

Just as they were about to drink, the big tent suddenly opened, and a general wearing heavy black iron armor strode in. He looked at everyone with contempt and scolded, "The war is not over yet. Who allowed you to drink in private and delay important matters? Can you bear this responsibility!!!"

"Master Dong, your words are too serious."

Fourth Master Jia said nonchalantly: "The situation has been decided."

"The Liangzhou soldiers haven't been completely wiped out yet!"

Dong An shouted angrily: "I want to ask you, who leaked the news and made Zhao Wuji refuse to cooperate with me!"

"Master Dong, calm down."

Xiang Tian took over the conversation and explained: "It's definitely not us! According to the interrogation of the captured people, it should be the information sent from the reserve camp in the rear."

"The reserve camp? Could anyone among them have guessed this strategy?"

Dong An narrowed his eyes and said, "Yuan Dai? No, if he could guess, he wouldn't have been killed by me. Who are the members of the reserve camp? Give me the list of all the commanders!"

"At this!"

"These lieutenant generals are all good-for-nothings, they can't be them! That prince Cao Fan knows the art of war, but he's very stubborn, so he can't be him either!"

Dong An asked, "Anything else?"

"Gone."

Fourth Master Jia said, "Besides these, there are only a bunch of thousand commanders left, but these thousand commanders are not ordinary, they are all selected from this round, and there are several martial saints. Oh, and Sun Xiangzong's last disciple is also here."

"I know."

Dong An threw away the list: "That Chen Sanshi who crossed the river, right? Nine times out of ten, it was Fang Qingyun, the cripple, who told him something in advance. It's this cripple who ruined my plans again!"

"Master Dong, let's go on..."

Xiang Tian said: "How to arrange it?"

"I just got the news that the Great Sheng court has sent 170,000 troops to Mingzhou! You still have the mood to drink!"

Dong An pointed at the sand table and said, "We must wipe out the Liangzhou army in Mingzhou before the Sheng Dynasty army arrives, and then we will focus on dealing with the external enemy. We will never allow any knives to be left inside!"

These 40,000 soldiers from Liang Province cannot be retained under any circumstances.

These are 40,000 elite soldiers!
Even though the prosperous dynasty was vast and rich in resources, it was still an extremely tragic loss.

Not to mention, there are five martial saints among them, including the eldest grandson of the emperor.
As long as they die, the entire North will be in a state of transition for the next fifty years, and it is only a matter of time before the North is taken over.

"Pass on my command!"

Dong An became the supreme commander. He pointed his long sword at the sand table and said, "They only have one way to retreat now, and that is Yangchun Prefecture. Transfer all the troops from Jianmen Gorge and the east bank of Hongze River here and surround and kill them all. Xiang Tian, ​​you and I will go in person!"

The Western Qi troops still need to defend the entrance from Yanzhou to Mingzhou, so it is impossible to transfer all of them here, but they have enough troops. Currently, there are about 120,000 troops who can be mobilized at will.

As long as we eat up these 20,000 people, the outcome will be decided!

"Yes!"

Xiang Tian took the order and passed it on.

"Your last name is Jia?"

Dong An looked at Fourth Master Jia and said, "Mr. Liang from your family is a good commander. He is a talented general."

"That is!"

Fourth Master Jia said: "Our commander is a rare man chosen by the gods."

"Hope is also a trustworthy person." Dong An said in a deep voice: "Don't forget what you promised me."

"Don't worry, Master Dong! We certainly won't forget. Even if we regret it, the Western Qi Kingdom will not agree."

……

Two hundred miles outside Yangchun Prefecture, in the wilderness, the troops were divided and marched.

Chen Sanshi brought the map.

Yu Song and others formed a circle around him.

Only Xu Wencai and a soldier were there.

Lu Shuhua and Xie Sishu felt it was even more unreliable.

"Boss Chen, you are crazy! Our lives are at stake, how can you drag an old scholar into this?"

"He is General Fang's friend!"

Chen Sanshi brought up the endorser and said, "General Fang once talked with Xu Wencai for three days and three nights. Do you think he will be useless?"

As expected, the few of them no longer had any objections.

"Xu Wencai, you speak first!"

Chen Sanshi gave the other party the chance to speak.

"Thank you, sir!"

Xu Wencai bowed, then picked up his feather fan and spoke eloquently, "After dividing the troops here, I predict that within seven days, General Sha and his men will be able to capture the undermanned Yangchun Prefecture. The food and grass they have collected along the way will be enough for them to survive for a while.

"but!
"Soon there will be at least 50,000 troops and two or three Xuan Xiang realm warriors going to attack the city. Even if we can't take it down in a short time, we will suffer heavy losses every day. Therefore, the only way to survive is for you to take us away.

"Next, what we need to do is to take advantage of the fact that all the enemy forces are concentrated in Yangchun Prefecture, cross the Hongze River to the east, and take Qingbo, Jiankou, and other four counties in one fell swoop as temporary resting places, and then wait for an opportunity to move south!

"Only if we can go south into the Great Wilderness, Mingzhou will not send too many pursuers to chase us, and we will naturally be able to regain our lives. We may even have a chance to encounter the imperial army in the Great Wilderness, and then turn back and kill all the enemy troops without leaving a single piece of armor!"

That’s about it.

No one objected, but no one praised it either.

In their view, it was nothing more than a panicked escape, and they could not guarantee that they would be caught in one fell swoop at any time.

"Well, let's do it this way."

Yu Song finally made the decision: "In these counties, the highest level of the inspector will not be higher than Lian Zang, so there will be no problem in taking them down. As for whether we can succeed in going south, we will talk about it later!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Hurry, follow me!"

Three days later.

The group did not encounter any enemy troops along the way and arrived at the bank of Hongze River smoothly.

But soon, a serious problem came before them.

How to cross the river!

There are no large ships here, and there are very few small boats. They can only pass through the existing floating bridge, but if that's the case, what about their war horses?
Today, their left wing, scattered all together, has more than 3,800 people.

Among them, there were as many as 2,500 war horses.

These horses can't cross the floating bridge.

"What about the warhorse?!"

Xie Sishu asked, "This floating bridge was built crudely by the people. People have to be very careful when walking on it. It can't bear the weight of the horses at all. We don't have time to rebuild a solid floating bridge! It was fine before, but in one or two days at most, the enemy will discover our movements and come to chase us!"

Chen Sanshi gave a two-word answer: "Release him!"

"Let him go? You're making a fuss!"

"General Chen Qian, do you know that these war horses are precious?"

"And they are the key to our marching speed. You are destroying our survival!"

"This 'support' is destroying our way of survival! Let them go, all of them! Everyone cross the river on foot!"

Chen Sanshi paused and said, "If we need them again in the future, we may be able to find them back!"

"Mr. Chen Qian, what do you mean by this?" Yu Song was puzzled: "Can these horses still wait for us here?"

"Chihiro!"

Chen Sanshi shouted.

"hiss--"

Qianxun let out a roar towards the sky.

The rest of the men, riding their war horses, responded one after another, even ignoring the soldiers' orders, and gathered towards the white horse.

"This……"

Everyone looked shocked.

This white horse must be some kind of strange beast. How can it control their war horses!

"Get off your horses! Put the food and fodder on the horses' backs and let them carry it themselves!"

Chen Sanshi shouted: "My Baihu horse will take your horses to find a place to hide, and will come back to help if needed!"

“This is too amazing…”

Xie Sishu couldn't help but move closer, wanting to take a closer look, but was nearly kicked: "You..." He wanted to get angry but didn't dare to.

"Chihiro, come here."

Chen Sanshi stroked the horse's head and said softly, "I'll make you the Imperial Horse General. You have to work hard, okay? You must hide well and don't get caught. When you come back next time, I'll give you spiritual crops to eat."

Qianxun nodded, neighed again, and led more than 2,000 horses away. They were really like an army and soon disappeared.

"..."

Even Chen Sanshi himself was somewhat shocked.

"Cross the river!"

Yu Song gave the order.

After crossing the river on foot, more than 3,000 people traveled day and night and soon arrived outside several county towns.

The entire eastern garrison had already been transferred away, either heading south or west to encircle and suppress the main force of Liangzhou. These cities were extremely empty, with basically only a few dozen constables and yamen runners left. There was no one to guard them. When they saw the enemy, they were shocked at first, and then immediately opened the city gates and surrendered.

They continued to move south and finally stopped in Jiankou County to rest.

Marching all the way may seem like a short distance on the map, but when actually walking on foot, it is measured in hundreds or thousands of miles. Without a horse, even the warriors' blood and energy are limited. If they do not stop to rest after a forced march, it will definitely be a fatal thing.

Since crossing the river.

Fifteen days had passed and they had suffered almost no casualties, except for fatigue.

"Chirp—"

The Saker Falcon landed on his arm, bringing the latest information.

Outside Yangchun Prefecture, there is an army of 70,000 besieging and attacking fiercely every day. Over the past few days, the number of troops has been reduced from 18,000 to 15,000, with heavy losses. Although they can still hold on for a while thanks to the strong city walls of Yangchun Prefecture.

However, the fastest reinforcements would not arrive for more than 20 days, and they would be the Yanzhou Army, entering from the westernmost side of the Mingzhou map. Not only were they 18,000 miles away from the east, they would also need to go to war with the Western Qi State first.

As for the rest of the defenders, there is no need to mention them.

On the city wall, Chen Sanshi was holding the Five Tigers Soul-Breaking Spear and did not delay his daily practice.

[Kung Fu: Zhenguo Dragon Spear. Transformation of Strength (Mastery)]

【Progress: 256/1000】

But without Qianxun, he didn't have much time. Fortunately, he had Linghe ointment and precious medicine, so the progress didn't seem slow.

In the blink of an eye.

Nearly three months after the expedition, it was already May of the seventy-third year of the Longqing reign.

Sister Lan is five months pregnant, and her belly should be very obvious.

After knowing the situation in Mingzhou, everyone in Liangzhou must be very worried. They might even think that they have all died long ago. There is no way, the news cannot be passed on.

The war has been going on for three months, and a letter from home is worth ten thousand pieces of gold. That's how it is.

The Saker Falcon is also used to obtain intelligence, it is impossible to be so luxurious as to use it to deliver letters.

"General Chen Qian!"

Yu Song came back exhausted and said, "We have received news from the rear that 10,000 Western Qi soldiers have been dispatched to Jianmen Gorge to pursue us. We can't stay here any longer. You made the plan. You decide what to do next."

"Go south."

Chen Sanshi had already made plans. He tapped the southernmost checkpoint on the map and said, "Go straight to Luotian Pass! Let's see if we can evacuate Mingzhou first!"

Luotian Pass is the last checkpoint in the south.

As long as you can get through here, you can escape!

"it is good!"

Yu Song nodded: "Follow my command! The whole army will march straight to Luotian Pass!"

……

Yangchun Prefecture.

"kill!"

"Brothers, hold on!!"

"..."

Sha Wenlong cut the enemy general who rushed up the city wall into two halves with one sword, and finally managed to temporarily repel the enemy's offensive.

Next to him, Cao Fan was even more exhausted. He collapsed to the ground the moment he heard the call to call back the troops.

The fifteenth day!
They haven't slept for a single moment in the past fifteen days!

Basically, they were either defending the city or building fortifications. The losses were getting bigger and bigger every day, and the food and grass were constantly decreasing. If this continued, it would be impossible to wait for reinforcements.

"Go."

After Sha Wenlong took the information from the Saker Falcon, he let it fly away.

"Cough cough..."

Cao Fan coughed twice and said, "General Sha, Chen Sanshi and the others sent a letter, right? How are they doing?"

"Alive."

Sha Wenlong clenched his fists, and his aura crushed the information into pieces: "Prepare to take Yu Song and the others south to Luotian Pass."

"Luotian Pass, it's better to call it Tianluodi Gate!"

Cao Fan sneered, "They only have more than 3,000 people, and there are three Martial Saints among them. No matter whether it is Dong An or the Western Qi Kingdom, they will definitely not let them go. They will immediately send heavy troops to reinforce Luotian Pass. They are dead. All we have to do next is wait for the news of their death."

After the Saker Falcon's owner died.

The Saker Falcon would immediately seek refuge with another general who also possessed a Saker Falcon.

This also means that the original owner is dead.

"What a pity..."

Cao Fan closed his eyes and said, "We may not be able to survive."

"Don't be discouraged, my prince."

After Sha Wenlong had been fighting for a while, he calmly said, "Even if the city is broken, I have a way to take the prince away from here. By then, when the man surnamed Chen dies, the prince will return to Liangzhou and naturally take over the position of the true disciple."

……

outside the city.

The rebel army’s central tent.

"Report——"

A scout rushed into the tent, knelt on one knee and said, "General Dong, there are less than 4,000 people in the reserve camp who crossed the east and headed south. It seems that they are preparing to capture Luotian Pass and then escape from the Great Wilderness."

"Ah."

Dong An's face was gloomy.

After they arrived here, they received intelligence that the Liangzhou troops had split up outside Yangchun Prefecture and marched eastward, leaving behind some to attack and defend the city. They also learned from a captured captain that this strategy was proposed by Sun Xiangzong's last disciple, Chen Sanshi, who had been rewarded by His Majesty. Chen Sanshi even had an argument with Sha Wenlong at one point, and finally forcibly led away with less than 4,000 troops, abandoning all his war horses in the process.

"What courage! Knowing that they would die if they stayed to defend the city, they dared to disobey the commander's orders and act alone. They would surely be able to achieve great things in the future. Unfortunately, they have no future."

Almost the same time, different space.

Liang Jinian of Meishan and Dong An outside Yangchun Prefecture issued orders at the same time.

"Tell the generals of Xiqi in Jianmen Gorge to immediately dispatch another 20,000 troops to pursue from behind. Also, prepare 30,000 troops in advance at Luotian Pass and send a general from Xuanxiang Realm to guard it. We must annihilate them all here!"

……

In front of Luotian Pass.

Xiaoluo County.

Leaving this county town, Luotian Pass is in front of you.

The information from Yangchun Prefecture has come back.

Just as he expected, he suffered heavy losses and was fighting a desperate battle.

In addition, there is news about Zao Wou-Ki.

After being defeated, he led the remaining soldiers to flee to the west, fleeing back and forth between various counties. They wanted to take over Wutong Prefecture, which had relatively weak military strength in the west, as a place to settle down, but they did not have enough troops. If they had another three to four thousand people, there would be no problem. He asked them if they could send some people to support or join them. Wutong Prefecture was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there were large amounts of food and grass in it. As long as they could take it, they would definitely be able to hold it for a long time, more than forty days.

Chen Sanshi and his party were outside the city gate, waiting for the last piece of information to make the final decision.

"Report——"

Zhao Kang rushed back in a hurry: "My lord, something terrible has happened! Luo Tianguan... Luo Tianguan has at least 30,000 soldiers and horses, among whom there seems to be a general in the Mysterious Elephant Realm!"

"Report——"

Panic sounds were heard again from the rear, and a scout reported: "There are more pursuing troops in the rear. It is impossible to accurately determine the number of people, but it is at least more than 20,000 people."

"This……"

"This is how to do?!"

"..."

Xie Sishu was so anxious that he was spinning in circles: "There are wolves in front and tigers behind. If we retreat, we will die. If we advance, we will die too! I told you not to come to Luotian Pass, but you insisted on coming. Mr. Chen Qian, what should we do now?!"

Lu Shuhua frowned and stared at Chen Sanshi: "If I had known earlier, I would have defended the city with the prince. With a few thousand more soldiers, we can definitely hold out for a longer period of time. Maybe we can hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

"Mr. Chen Qian, it was you who came up with the idea!"

Yu Song drew his sword and said, "What do you think we should do now? If all else fails, should we fight back?"

"Map!"

Chen Sanshi waved.

Xu Wencai had been prepared for a long time and immediately spread out the map.

"Second Crossing of Hongze!"

Chen Sanshi slapped the west side of the map.

"Still crossing the river?"

Xie Sishu was puzzled. "If we go west from where we are now, we will reach Yingzui Mountain and Jinquan Prefecture. General Sha and his men had a decisive battle with the Red Eyebrow Army there not long ago and were defeated. You still want to go there? Are you crazy?"

"This time, that time."

Chen Sanshi had to take time to explain for them.

Again.

His position was too low and his power was too small. He had never even commanded a major battle and had no prestige at all.

What he had to do was to convince everyone by explaining.

"Have you forgotten what the enemy's main forces are doing right now?
“More than half of them are in the western region, preparing to welcome the Yanzhou army, and most of the rest are attacking Yangchun Prefecture. Add to that the 50,000 troops chasing us, and the troops near Yingzui Mountain and even Jinquan Prefecture will definitely not exceed 2,000, and they are still completely defenseless!
"If we go over now, we can not only temporarily shake off the pursuers, but we may also be able to burn their granaries! This will increase the cost for them to fight against our army next time!

"Don't worry, the fact that the troops are insufficient can be proved by General Zhao on the west side. If you don't believe it, just look."

Everyone was dubious.

Finally, it was only after Yu Song saw the information Zhao Wuji sent through Hai Dongqing that he was willing to accept this result: "Okay, then let's do as General Chen Qian said. We will cross Hongze for the second time and head straight to Jinquan Mansion. We will die if we stay here anyway. If it succeeds, we will meet up with General Zhao. With a Xuanxiang Realm commander here, it means we have more ways to survive!"

Zao Wou-Ki...

Chen Sanshi sighed.

The journey is long and they may not have the chance to reunite with Zhao Wuji.

But I can’t tell you now.

The only way is to get them out in a way that they are willing to believe in.

"set off!"

"Wait till you become a lieutenant general. You can't leave yet."

Chen Sanshi said: "We need to leave a group of people behind to make a feint attack and delay the time of crossing the river. After we get ashore, the war horses will come back to find us, and they will never be able to catch up with us!"

Lieutenant General Yu glanced at the others and asked, "Who among you is willing to go?"

"I go!"

Bai Tingzhi took a step forward without hesitation: "I am willing to cover for General Chen!"

"It's a feint, not a real backup!"

Chen Sanshi reminded: "Just make some noise every once in a while, don't die here!"

He was still a little worried.

Bai Tingzhi and Zhu Tong are both "brainless".

At the moment, Lu Shuhua and Xie Sishu are unlikely to be willing to do so.

"My lord, I will stay!"

Under the astonished gaze of Wang Zhi and others, Xu Wencai stood out nervously and said, "Sir, I am here. I have a way to make them believe that we are really going to attack Luotian Pass. Just go forward boldly without any hesitation and don't look back!"

"Lazy man, you...when did you become so bold?"

Zhu Tong said in disbelief.

"Old Zhu, I, Xu, have never been a coward!"

Xu Wencai retorted: "Now is the time for me to play a role!"

"it is good!"

Zhu Tong patted his chest and said, "I will stay with you and be your personal bodyguard. As long as I am alive, no one can touch you!"

"Bai Tingzhi."

Chen Sanshi instructed: "If you believe me, from now on, you and your men must respect Xu Wencai's opinions. He has no problem."

"As ordered!"

Bai Tingzhi clasped his fists and said, "With the general's words, Mr. Xu is my commander-in-chief. Everyone listen to my orders and follow me to attack Luotian Pass!"

"Thanks for your hard work."

Chen Sanshi himself cannot go to cover the rear. If he leaves, these people will most likely go to find Zhao Wuji after crossing the river and then die on the way.

They set out immediately and crossed the Hongze River for the second time.

"horse!"

"It's our horse!"

"..."

The soldiers were extremely surprised when they saw the war horses that had been waiting for them on the river bank. After a simple count, they found that the number of horses had not decreased but increased by more than a hundred. They had no idea where Chihiro had kidnapped them from. It was truly magical.

"Go, don't waste time!"

Chen Sanshi shouted.

Mounting on their war horses, the troops quickly set off.

Under Xu Wencai's command, they successfully attracted most of the enemy's attention. They firmly believed that they wanted to force their way through Luotian Pass and enter the wilderness to escape.

But by the time the pursuers really caught up, they were already near Eagle's Beak Mountain hundreds of miles away. In the eyes of the enemy, these 3,000 people were clearly approaching the Luotian Pass just a moment ago, but in the end, not a single figure was found, as if they had disappeared out of thin air.

……

“Disappeared?

Dong An looked at the latest news with a frown on his face.

"Strange, where else can this go?"

Xiang Tian looked at the map, puzzled: "Can they fly?"

"Flying shit! I got fooled!"

Dong An quickly realized, "They must be crossing the river for the second time. They want to take advantage of the lack of troops in the central part, make a detour around Yingzui Mountain, and then pass through Jinquan Prefecture to join up with Zhao Wuji and others who are in exile. Wait... How many defenders are there in Jinquan Prefecture?"

"About two thousand,"

Xiang Tian recalled and said: "Most of them are here, and some have gone to the west to chase Zhao Wuji and others. The rest are civilians with no fighting ability."

"Oh no! Food and fodder! Enough for our army, plus a year's worth of food and fodder for the Xiqi army!"

Dong An commanded, "Quickly, order all the troops east of the Hongze River to gather together, cross the river immediately, and then follow the shortest route to Jinquan Prefecture! Also, notify General Zhong of Xiqi and order him to dispatch another 10,000 people to the southwest. Be sure to intercept Chen Sanshi and others before they meet up with Zhao Wuji. If Wutong Prefecture is lost, it won't be a big problem, but it will still be a troublesome matter!"

"Oh, okay, I understand."

Xiang Tian was confused and didn't bother to ask, so he just did as he was told.

"Chen Sanshi, interesting!"

Dong An took out a brush and determined their current marching route on the map. Looking at the bold decision, he felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart. This feeling...

Nearly thirty years ago!

He appeared when competing with Fang Qingyun for the top spot in the selection!

The previous Fang Qingyun is not dead yet.

Could it be that there will be another Fang Qingyun? !
"call……"

Dong An took a deep breath and calmed down his emotions: "No, there is no way I can lose to him. If I lose to a greenhorn, what's the point of living!"

war.

It's like a chessboard.

The commanding generals on both sides are like two chess players, and they can never meet.

Only after the other party makes a move can you know how to respond next.

The current situation is that the opponent is at a disadvantage, but once they find the initiative, they must quickly defeat the opponent.

"If the food and fodder is destroyed, it's destroyed!"

"This small group of people must die!"

……

"Food and grass cannot be destroyed, damn it!"

Meishan.

After Liang Jinian received the information with a delay, he hammered the table with his fists: "One year! Enough food and grass for one year! If it is really destroyed, how can I explain it to Qi State!
"Idiot! Dong An was so close, why couldn't he stop them? No wonder he was suppressed by Feng Chu all his life. People say he is a soldier idiot, but I think he is just an idiot!
"Western Qi State is now setting up camp in the northwest, waiting for food and grass from Jinquan Prefecture! If we transport them from within the country, I wonder how much more this war will cost!"

If he wants to gain status and resources from the Western Qi State in the future, he will have to rely on this war.

Not to mention, the magical items on his body also need victory to increase their power.

If the food supplies were burned, such a huge defeat might lead to even fewer people!

"Commander, calm down!"

A general hurriedly persuaded: "Is there any way to remedy the situation?"

"Now, immediately, immediately!"

Liang Jinian said: "Send 10,000 troops from Meishan Prefecture and board large ships to cross the river as quickly as possible. Let's see if we can stop them halfway!"

"Ten thousand..."

The general worriedly asked, "General, we originally had 50,000 soldiers in Meishan Prefecture, and 30,000 were transferred out. Now we have 20,000 left. Are you sure we need to send out another 10,000?"

"I have the natural barrier of Wushui! What's there to be afraid of? Besides, don't we still have 10,000 people?"

Liang Jinian urged: "Hurry up, don't waste time here!"

"Yes!"

-

The battle situation is shown in the figure below.

Note: The black part represents the enemy’s pursuers, and the red part represents the marching route of the reserve battalion.

(End of this chapter)