The next day, near noon, more than 30 miles south of Boye, a large number of Youzhou cavalry gathered on the north bank of the Hutuo River.

One of the reasons they did not cross the river was that the wooden bridge connecting the north and south banks had broken, and the entire bridge almost disappeared without a trace.

However, the water level of Hutuo water is very low because now in spring, the ice and snow are just beginning to melt and there is insufficient rain.

Therefore, it is no problem for the cavalry to ride horses across the river.

As long as you cross the river and walk more than ten miles south, you can reach the Anping City of Boling County.

Even so, the commander-in-chief and Youzhou governor Dugu Yongye did not let the soldiers cross the river, but sent scouts to swim upstream along the river to investigate.

After the upstream situation is discovered, he will make a decision.

Last night, the Youzhou army camped beside Boye City, soldiers were waiting for an uninvited guest to attack at night. As a result, they waited for the sunrise and were disappointed to find that the expected night attack did not happen.

The soldiers "waited for a night" and failed to wait for the rabbit.

Later, another news came: the scout who was guarding the periphery of Boye last night discovered that at dawn in the early morning, a large number of cavalrymen walked around Boye and headed north.

Dugu Yongye got the news and judged that this was the Chu army's plan. He deliberately feinted Nanyingzhou in the north, forcing them to chase after him. As he chased him, he was caught in the trap.

When he left Youzhou, he specially left his troops to guard the state and govern Jicheng, so the Chu cavalry rushed to the long distance but could not carry any siege equipment and could not conquer Jicheng at all.

The more the other party wants them to chase them, the less he cannot chase them. He has to do the opposite, go south and go to Xindu.

On the way south, I passed the Hutuo River and arrived at Anping, Boling County, where I had not yet been captured by the Chu army.

When we arrive at Anping, we will decide what we will do next depending on the situation. This is Dugu Yongye’s decision.

As it was about noon, the scouts who were investigating upstream brought news: a few miles upstream, there was indeed a dam storm storing water.

There shouldn't be a dam there, but there were indeed Chu soldiers guarding it next to the dam.

Seeing that there were many Qi soldiers coming, the Chu soldiers retreated to the south bank and confronted the Qi soldiers through the dam.

Now, Dugu Yongye has determined his judgment: the enemy set up ambush here, built dams and stored water in the upper reaches, and waited for his troops to cross the river halfway, dig the dam and release water.

In this way, the Youzhou army would be "cut off in half", and the enemy troops on the south bank of the Hutuo River would then take the opportunity to attack.

He looked at the south bank of the river, looking at the vastness around him, countless plants and trees swaying in the wind, and he didn't know how many ambushers were hidden inside.

"Interestingly, the Chu army in the west pretended to attack Nanyingzhou in the north and led our army to pursue it." Dugu Yongye smiled, "The Chu army in the south set up an ambush here and wanted to attack half-cross, haha."

The other generals were glad of the coach's caution. They just now felt that Dugu Yongye was too cautious and thought so much about crossing the river.

Now it seems that it is absolutely right to be careful.

So, what should I do now?

Dugu Yongye ordered his retreat and returned to Boye.

If the other party wants to "eat" Youzhou Army so much, then he must be cautious and consider the overall situation.

Dugu Yongye judged that if the emperor retreated to Jinyang, he would inevitably raise troops to recover Yecheng. At that time, there would be troops in Hebei to restrain the Chu army and force them to divide the troops.

Then, the Youzhou army under his command had to take on the task of restraint. If he could save Jizhou, he would have to rescue him. If he was too reluctant, he would rather "cut off his arm" than keep a useful body.

Otherwise, once the Chu army annihilates the main Qi troops in Hebei in a short period of time, the opponent will be able to do his best to divide the troops to block all paths of the Taihang Mountains, and completely achieve the goal of closing the door and beating dogs in Hebei.

So, he can't fight easily, at least not now.

The Chu army was in a hurry to fight to the decisive battle. The more anxious the other party was, the less anxious he could not be.

Soon, the cavalrymen in Youzhou turned around and walked around.

In order to ensure safety, Dugu Yongye sent a large number of scouts again to investigate and explore the way within a few miles on both sides of the road to prevent the enemy from setting up ambush halfway.

......

In the afternoon, outside Boye City, the dusty scouts of Youzhou saw the Chu army camping in Yicheng.

The camps have been erected, with wooden fences and trenches, and they are basically built using their original camps.

Within one day, the offense and defense reversed. When Qi army left Boye in the morning, when he returned, Boye had already lost.

Obviously, the coach's previous arrangement - strengthening Boye defense - was completely ineffective.

The scout who explored the way soon passed the situation to the back. In the rear, Dugu Yongye, who led a large group of troops back to Boye, got military information and was a little hesitant: Do you want to fight to the decisive battle?

I ran back and forth today, and the soldiers were a little tired. The horses consumed a lot of physical strength, and the Chu army waited for their hard work.

In this case, the decisive battle will be at a disadvantage as soon as the war begins. Even if you win, the casualties will not be small. If you lose...

Dugu Yongye decided to take a detour and avoid a decisive battle.

The cavalry in Youzhou has many horses, basically one person and two horses, so there is no need to fight, just leave.

He will never have a decisive battle with the other party where the other party expects.

Then, to the east, it is the capital of the Weiyuan in Yingzhou Prefecture; to the west, it is the capital of Dingzhou Prefecture; to the north, it is the capital of Xinchang in Nanyingzhou Prefecture, and it is not captured by the Chu army.

So, where should we retreat?

Or, in which direction can the Chu army set up an ambush in these three directions?

Dugu Yongye asked the soldiers to go to the nearby river to drink horses in batches, and then let the horses eat grass in the grass by the river, rest, and replenish their energy, and then discuss with the generals.

It is known that the Chu army had two armies. Since one armies set up an ambush on the south bank of the Hutuo River, it was the Chu army that had previously besieged Xindu.

The Chu army that captured Boye was the army that approached Boye from the southwest yesterday. They went north in the early morning and saw that they did not chase them, but went south instead, so the Chu army turned around to attack Boye.

Therefore, the possibility of ambushing is not high in the three directions of east, west and north.

Unless a third Chu army arrives, an ambush is set up in one of these three directions.

Considering the worst possible situation, if a third Chu army arrives, then the other party is more likely to come from Yecheng, heading north through Zhaozhou, and heading towards Dingzhou.

If they want to return north, they have to bypass Boye, and the enemy will inevitably come to chase him, so they have to go around a big circle.

Since you have to go to Xinchang in the north, the journey will inevitably increase significantly. It is better to go directly to the east of the Yingzhou Wuyuan, and you can reach it when night falls.

This is the best choice that is easy to think of, so Chu Jun will definitely think of it.

So, Dugu Yongye and the generals discussed it, and went westward, around Boye, and to Xinchang in the north.

Even if the detour caused the open space to sleep at night, it would be better than being guessed by the other party and ambushed halfway.

The plan was decided, Dugu Yongye and his soldiers ate some dry food to fill their stomachs, and the horses were full of food and drink, so they set off again.

However, something was wrong with the horse.

One by one, they are listless, and they can't run. Some horses start to get diarrhea, or tremble on their four legs, tremble, and even limbs become weak, falling to the ground and twitch.

It seems that my stomach is damaged.

How is this possible?

Before the soldiers put the horses and ate grass, they checked the grass by the river. They did not find any poisonous weeds in the grass. As for the river water...

After the Youzhou army arrived in Boye, they investigated the surrounding terrain and the water source. The scouts let their mounts drink it at that time, and there was no problem.

And according to locals, the water in this river has been fine for a long time when cattle, sheep and horses are drunk.

What's going on?

The only possibility is that the river water was poisoned today, and the poisoning site is upstream.

The other party calculated that they would take a short break here and drink horses, so...

Otherwise, why would the horses who have not had abnormalities all day long have drunk water and their stomachs are wrong?

Dugu Yongye was shocked when he thought of this: If this is true, everything will be over!!

As expected, cavalry gradually appeared in the south and north, and more and more.

Dugu Yongye looked at the war horses with diarrhea or falling to the ground, and then looked at the soldiers with terror on their faces, as well as the enemy cavalry who were getting closer and closer, and they were crying without tears.

The other side is a cavalry, and their horses are no longer possible. If they want to fight, it will only turn into a unilateral massacre.

Looking at the setting sun in the west, Dugu Yongye was so angry that he took off his pocket and smashed it on the ground:

Why, why are you so plotted against me!!!
Chapter completed!