Jingzhou is located in the middle of the world, and Xiangyang is the top priority of Jingzhou. It lives in the middle of the Han River, and the south is the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It has cold and summer heat in winter, dry and summer rain in winter, and four seasons are distinct.

In addition to the beautiful environment, Xiangyang is a place that must be fought for by military strategists. For the territory of Nan Zhao, even if Jingbei is lost, it will not be fatal. Once Xiangyang falls into the enemy, the Jianghan Plain will open, and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be even more in danger.

Whether it is Xiliang or Beiyan occupying Xiangyang, they can go down the river and directly threaten Jinling. The natural danger of the Yangtze River is in name only.

The strategy of the Southern Zhao Dynasty since its founding was decided. In addition to defending the river and having to defend Huai, Xiangyang and Hanzhong were the top priority. However, it was too difficult for Southern Zhao and Xiliang to pass through the Qinling Mountains, so there was basically no war in the Qinling area. Jingzhou was shaken down by the battle of Tieyushan in Zhao Xuance that year, making the two northern countries dare not have any idea to attack Jingzhou.

But from a strategic perspective, if you break through Xiangyang, it is equivalent to shattering half of the Qinling Line and the Huaihe Line of Nanzhao. Nanzhao is like being cut off in half. It can attack Jinzhou Bazhou to the west. Xiangzhou in the south is more like a beauties wearing gauze, and there is no need to say much about the threat to the east.

Even if it is a little difficult to attack Xichuan, if the middle section of the Yangtze River is blocked, the channels for Xichuan reinforcements to advance eastward can be blocked. So in the final analysis, Xiangyang is the top priority and will never allow any mistakes.

The current chief general of the Xiangfan Legion is named Lou Jin. He is a man in his forties. He was appointed General Mingwei. He was the earliest personal soldier of Xiahou Sheng at that time and can be called the direct line among the direct line.

At this time, Lou Jin looked at the slowly coming fleet and his frown finally stretched out.

When Qingyan walked off the flagship, Lou Jin had already walked quickly to the former and saluted respectfully, "I am humble to see the prince."

"I didn't expect General Lou to come to greet him in person, which really made me flattered." Qing Yan said with a hearty smile.

"The prince personally led the prince's army to support it. It is normal for Beizhi to come to welcome the prince as the chief general of the Xiangfan Army. I just regret that I cannot welcome the prince solemnly in wartime."

"General Lou is too polite. I wonder if there is a place to talk here?"

Lou Jin naturally understood and then led Qingyan to the big tent not far from the ferry.

"General Lou, what's going on in Xiliang now? Have you attacked Fanning City?"

"Report to the prince, Xiliang has been stationed in Yugang Township, 150 miles northwest of Fanning City since four days ago, and has not taken another step south."

Qing Yan was a little surprised when he heard the news, "Oh? Xiliang didn't attack Fan Ning City in one go? This really made me unexpected. I thought that these grandsons would be eager to avenge the revenge of that year."

"What the prince said is so true, and the same is true for Beizhi. So when he received the news, he quickly sent 30,000 reinforcements to Fanning. At this time, there were already 60,000 soldiers there, but he didn't expect that after so many days, Xiliang did not move at all."

"What are the gains from Tanma? Bailiji cannot squat in Yugang Township all day long, right?"

Lou Jin smiled bitterly and said, "The prince's magic tricks. The Xiliang army has not done anything except eating, drinking, urinating and urinating in Yugang Township in the past few days, and it seems that there is no intention of going south at all."

Qingyan was even more surprised when he heard this and thought to himself that Bailiji had left Wu Pass and must have been a tour guide. There is only one explanation for this, that is, the time has not come.

What is this opportunity? There is no other way except waiting for certain necessary conditions. The scope gradually narrows, and Qingyan's face sneered.

"General Lou, the soldiers of the Huwei Camp have received sufficient rest on the boat, so I didn't stop for much and went to Fanning City immediately." Qing Yan said in a deep voice: "I wonder if the general has someone to trust? If this person can guarantee that Xiangyang will not be lost, you will go to Fanning City in two days."

"Rong Bei's position is beyond his power. Since the prince is in Fanning City, wouldn't it be better to be in Xiangyang? Prince, please don't get me wrong. Bei's position is not a cowardly battle, but a knowledge of the waterways and pattern around Xiangyang is well known...."

"General Lou doesn't need to explain much. Of course, I will not think that you are afraid of fighting and let you go to Fanning for nothing, but that I will not be in Fanning's city."

This decision shocked Lou Jin, "Does the prince want to station outside the city? This is absolutely not possible. The enemy has a large number of cavalry, and if the field battles, the chances of victory are extremely slim."

"General Lou said that, but he was able to hide in the city. Although he could avoid his edge, Fanning City and the entire Jingzhou village would be looted. You should know that many of the families of the soldiers in Xiangfan were in this countryside. If you learn that their hometown was slaughtered, your morale would definitely plummet."

Qingyan continued, "So I want to station in the northwest of Fanning. Although the gathering of Tuanhe and Baihe River is not a natural danger, if I stationed there, it will definitely make it much more difficult for them to cross the river. If I bypass this best crossing location, I can also take the initiative to attack the other party's food route, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

Hearing his terrain around Fanning, Lou Jin couldn't help but say curiously: "Has the prince been to Fanning City before? How do you feel that you know everything about his surroundings?"

"Did General Lou forget? I was not born to enjoy the happiness of the royal palace side by side. I have lived in Fanning City for the first nineteen years and are thousands of times more familiar with the environment there than Jinling. I thought I could come back to see it after peace in the world, but I didn't expect that this would be the result. Things are unpredictable."

"Since that's the case, then I will follow the prince's order and go to Fanning in two days."

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The army slowly moved forward, and within two days, it had arrived fifty miles south of Fanning City. When they set foot on this land again, Qingyan was filled with emotion.

Looking at a hill in the east, Qingyan ordered: "Shi Zhan, bring a jar of strong wine to treat the knife wounds in the general, and follow me to a place."

Although Shi Zhan didn't know what to do with strong wine, he still slapped his horse and ran towards the baggage.

After a stick of incense, Qingyan and Shi walked towards the top of the hill, the breeze blew and the maple leaves flew.

"Prince, I don't know what the secrets of this place are, so I asked you to come here in person."

"Come to meet someone."

"Seeing people? Then this person's identity must be extraordinary."

"yes...."

Walking to the top of the hill, Shi Zhan looked around but found no figure. Apart from the maple trees and flying maple leaves, there was only a shabby grave.

A warm smile appeared on Qingyan's face. He took the wine jar from Shi Zhan and walked forward. Shi Zhan was even more confused, but he still kept guarding Qingyan's side, not daring to slacken at all.

"Old Zhang, I didn't expect that the place I chose was so elegant, it was really cheap for you." Qing Yan sat in front of the grave and was in a great mood.

"Prince, who is this?"

"He, I forgot what he is called. I have called him Lao Zhang from the beginning of my memory. He is an ordinary person who can't be more ordinary, but to me, he is my dearest relative. If it weren't for him, maybe I would have been taken away by a hungry wolf on the day of the full moon."

Shi Zhan was shocked when he heard this, because Bai Yi had heard that after the prince was kidnapped by an assassin, he had been wandering outside Fanning City for some reason and was rescued by an old man from the Qingzhu Gang. If it weren't for him, the prince would have been eaten by wild beasts. It seemed that the old man was buried here.

Thinking of this, Shi Zhan bowed and felt something was wrong. He actually knelt on his knees and kowtowed, "Senior, you saved the prince's life by great compassion and kindness back then. You must be the kindest person in the world. You are not only the benefactor of the prince and the prince's mansion side by side, but also the benefactor of my Shi Zhan and the soldiers of the Huwei Camp. I can't do anything for you, I can only kowtow to express my feelings."

Qingyan did not speak out to stop him. If he had not regarded himself as a brother, with Shi Zhanxin's arrogant personality, he would never have kowtowed to a dead person who had never met before.

"How about Old Zhang, my brother, please give you enough face, hehe... I might as well tell you the truth, there are thousands of good brothers in this hillside. As long as I give you an order, I can take turns to kowtow to you until my eyes are dazzled."

Shi Zhan smiled knowingly when he heard this. He thought that although the prince is not taciturn on weekdays, he is definitely not as arrogant as he is. It shows how important this old Zhang is in the prince's heart, and he can make the prince show his true feelings like a child.

"When I buried you in this place, I said that if I had the fate to go to Zhanlu Temple, I would definitely come back to visit you, but I didn't expect that this day would come so quickly, and it felt like I was yesterday in the blink of an eye."

"Oh by the way, didn't you always say that I was a wild boy who no one wanted? Hehe... guess what my current identity is? You can't even imagine that you can catch all the remaining hairs. My name is Zhao Qingyan, the son of Zhao Xuance, the king of side by side, and now he has officially inherited the title as the new king of side by side."

"This is the king's title, Lao Zhang. When you saw a yamen runner, you would be timid. If you saw a prince, you would be so scared that you would be so scared that you would be able to piss your pockets." Qing Yan smiled and slowly sprinkled the strong wine.

"I was in time to lead the troops to fight this time, and I didn't bring you the Dao Yunxiang you like to drink, but you don't have to be picky. This jar of strong wine can treat several knife wounds. I sneaked out a jar to make my own pockets."

"You were always afraid that Xiliang and Beiyan would fight, but you old man was lucky and didn't get into this mess until you died. And I was so unlucky. Not only did I get into it, but I had to stand on the front line of fighting against the Hu people. Tell me, why did I bear this luck like this? You don't have to bless me more."

"Oh... I've drunk and said something. My brothers should have walked through this hill soon. If I can survive this battle, I'll talk to you again. Oh, by the way, I'll bring my wife here again. I'll be so tempted by that look and figure, hehe, I'm envious of you."

Qingyan stood up and patted the dust on his body, then walked down the mountain without looking back. After Shi Zhan bowed and bowed, he also guarded Qingyan.

When he walked to the horse, Qingyan smiled and said, "I've let you see a joke, and thank you."

"I dare not take it, but I dare not take it! Bei Zhi is just a straightforward act. I can't be grateful to the prince. And how dare I laugh at you? This senior is the kindest person in the world in Bei Zhi's heart. He is willing to bow to him. If he has the chance, Bei Zhi will definitely give that... Yes! Dao Yunxiang bought a hundred and eighty cauldrons to honor that senior." Shi Zhan waved his hands repeatedly. This was the first time he heard the prince thank him. How could he not be nervous?

"It's me that I'm pretentious, are you and I brothers?" Qing Yan turned over the horse, feeling extremely happy, and the tension of the war was about to disappear a lot. "It's not in vain that I sent a quick horse to inform Dong Yan to send him some Jinding ducks to Jinling in advance. You really made me feel embarrassed today. I just said I'd kneel down, even I didn't expect it."

Shi Zhan also rode on his mount and smiled, "Just as you said, if you survive this battle, you will definitely visit your senior again."
Chapter completed!