On the south bank of the Yushui River, about 250 miles east of Pyongyang City, there is a very famous mountain called Heshan. The reason why Heshan is famous is that it is the largest iron mine in Goguryeo. ◎,

The pig iron forged by mining and iron smelting every year not only supports Goguryeo's national strength, but also becomes an important pig iron source for the Khitan and the Xi people. Five years ago, Goguryeo used the pig iron produced here to exchange Khitan for 5,000 war horses and formed Goguryeo's cavalry.

After the failure of the First Goguryeo Battle two years ago, nearly 80,000 Sui army prisoners were escorted to Heshan Iron Mine and forced to undergo heavy labor, mine ore and smelter pig iron. A 10,000 Goguryeo army was responsible for custodying these 80,000 Sui army prisoners.

The bad diet, heavy labor day after day, and the desperate future made the Sui army prisoners unbearable to oppression. There were two riots, both of which were brutally suppressed and thousands of people were killed.

In order to save his life and wait for the rescue of the Great Sui Dynasty, 80,000 Sui army prisoners of war silently endured cruel oppression and started mining and worked every day on the twenty-mile mine.

Although the Goguryeo army tried hard to block the news, the paper could not contain the fire. The news of the Sui army landing in Wushuiwan still reached the mine. Tens of thousands of Sui army prisoners were extremely excited. Everyone was looking forward to the day when they returned home. The organization of prisoners of war officers for a long time also began to secretly transport them.

But not long ago, Goguryeo was short of troops and transferred 5,000 people back to Pyongyang. There were only 5,000 troops left on the mine, which made the Sui army prisoners see hope.

That afternoon, when the prisoners of war were having a meal and resting, several prisoners of war workers took a young man dressed as a laborer into a dilapidated work shed.

"General, people brought it"

In the shed, there were five or six captured Sui generals. The leader was a veteran general about 60 years old. He was Cui Hongsheng, the former prefect of Zhuo County and the left Wu Guard.

In the Eastern Expedition two years ago, Cui Hongsheng was captured because of an arrow in his leg, becoming the highest-level Sui army general captured by Goguryeo. However, in the battle report counted by Yuwen Shu, he had already been killed due to arrow injuries and cracks.

Cui Hongsheng is currently the leader of the Sui army in the prisoner-of-war camp. It was under his command that the prisoners of war in the Sui army temporarily stopped the riots and no longer made unnecessary sacrifices, waiting for the court's rescue.

Cui Hongsheng's hair and beard were all white, his back was slightly hunched, and his eyes were still sharp and clear. He glanced at the young man behind and asked coldly: "Are you the messenger sent by Hu'er?"

The young man quickly knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "General Lai didn't know that General Cui is here. He is the captain of the general Zhang Xuan under the tent of the general Zhang Xuan. He is under the order of the general. He will contact the general."

After saying that, Chen Xu took out a note from his messy hair and presented it to Cui Hongsheng. Cui Hongsheng opened the note and looked at it. His face calmed down a lot. He nodded and said, "Person Chen, please get up."

Cui Hongsheng is the core figure of the Choi family in Boling. His brother Cui Hongdu is the former head of the family. Cui Hongsheng has a high prestige among the Shandong gentry.

It is precisely this reason that the Goguryeo did not make things difficult for him. He once asked him to settle in Pyongyang City, but he refused. He insisted on living in the prisoner-of-war camp. He was with the prisoners of war. Because of this, he had a very high prestige in the hearts of prisoners of war.

Cui Hongsheng was a noble person and had a strong sense of faction. He always looked down on the generals of the southern faction, and Lai Hu'er was one of them. He heard that he was coming to guards and led troops this time, and he was a little unhappy.

However, in the letter Zhang Xuan gave him, he was sincere and humble, satisfying his self-esteem that became extremely sensitive due to his capture.

Cui Hongsheng asked again: "Master Chen. Where are you General Zhang Lang from? Why have I never heard of him?"

"Report to the general, our Lang General is from Chang'an and grew up in Hanoi. He was originally the guard of His Highness King Yan. He was recommended by His Highness King Yan and was named Wu Yong Lang General by the Supreme Lord."

Cui Hongsheng suddenly realized that it was the one of the King of Yan. He smiled and said, "I understand, so how many troops he has now, how should I echo him?"

These are the core issues. Zhang Xuan did not write them on paper, because he was afraid that Chen Xu would reveal the secret after being caught, but instead he would tell them orally.

Chen Xu clasped his fists and said, "General Zhang Lang led a thousand soldiers to hide ten miles west of the mine. We will attack and guard the Goguryeo army at the fourth update tonight. I hope the general can stabilize the brothers and never panic."

Cui Hongsheng was a little suspicious. There were 5,000 troops in the guards, but Zhang Xuan had only 1,000 people. However, he didn't say much. He nodded and said, "I understand, please tell General Zhang that we will cooperate with his arrival in the fourth update tonight."

The strategy that Li Jing has always offered to protect the other side is to use Sui army prisoners to increase his troops, which is also the secret leaked by Quan Wenshou in order to survive. He told Li Jing that he could be used to exchange for Sui army prisoners of the mine, so that Li Jing knew that there was such a secret force hidden in Goguryeo.

Li Jing provided a very detailed plan, and sent two troops to cross the river to the south. One army went to liberate the Sui army prisoners of war, and organized combat-captured Sui army prisoners into an army to participate in the decisive battle in Pyongyang City, while the other army attacked Seoul and seized the ordnance stored in Seoul to arm the Sui army.

Lai Huer adopted Li Jing's strategy of increasing troops. On the one hand, he postponed the date of the decisive battle with the Goguryeo army. On the other hand, he sent general Yuwen Chengdu to lead 3,000 people across the river to attack Seoul. Zhang Xuan, who had made many great achievements, led 1,000 people to the mine to rescue prisoners of war.

At this time, Zhang Xuan led a thousand troops to hide on a mountain opposite the mine prisoner war camp. Heshan was deserted within a radius of 100 miles, and the north was blocked by the water. Even if some prisoners of war escaped, it would be difficult to escape back to Liaodong.

At the foot of the mountain is a valley that is five or six miles wide. Three prisoners of war camps are built in the valley side by side. High camp bars are built around the prison camps, and there is a sentry tower every thirty steps, closely monitoring the every move of prisoners of war.

To the west of the prisoner-of-war camp is the military camp, where 5,000 Goguryeo soldiers are stationed here. Due to the recent war storm, ore mining has stopped. Most prisoners of war miners did not go to work, but stayed in the prisoner-of-war camp. Only 10,000 people continued to work and smelter iron every day. The Goguryeo army is actively preparing for war and needs a large amount of pig iron.

Several sentry towers were also built on the mountains on both sides to observe the escape of prisoners of war. Zhang Xuan had already taken down one of the sentry towers. He learned a lot of important information from the sentry and learned the overview of the entire military camp.

It was already dusk. Zhang Xuan stood in front of a big rock and stared at the prisoners of war camp at the foot of the mountain, thinking about the battle at the fourth update tonight. After two consecutive sneak attacks, Zhang Xuan and his team had accumulated rich sneak attack experience, which was also the fundamental reason why Lai Hu'er decided to send him.

At this time, a soldier rushed over to report, "General, Captain Chen is back."

Zhang Xuan turned around and ordered, "Let him come and see me."

After a moment, Chen Xu hurried over and knelt down on one knee to report: "I am in charge of the general."

"How is it, have you contacted?"

Chen Xu nodded, "Whitei met General Cui. He was very excited and willing to cooperate with the general's actions tonight. However, he asked me to tell the general that the Goguryeo army has now strengthened the supervision of prisoners of war. Every night, a thousand Goguryeo soldiers will participate in patrols and surveillance of prisoners of war. Once the action is done, you must be decisive and not be afraid of your hands."

Zhang Xuan smiled. Cui Hongsheng was afraid that he would retreat at the last minute, but he could understand the mood of the Sui army prisoners of war, the despair of never seeing his relatives. Finally, he saw a glimmer of hope, and they were afraid that hope would suddenly disappear.

Zhang Xuan immediately ordered the soldiers next to him: "Go and ask all officers above the brigade commander to come to me and discuss the details of the operation tonight."

As time gradually came, in a large tent in the Sui army prisoner-of-war camp, dozens of middle and senior Sui army generals gathered together to discuss how to cooperate with the Sui army operations tonight. There was no light in the tent, but everyone's eyes were particularly bright, full of excitement and expectation.

"I want to remind everyone first, come to Hu'er to send troops to rescue us, probably because I hope we will join the war with the Goguryeo."

Cui Hongsheng's voice was very low, and what he said was like a basin of cold water, which extinguished everyone's excitement. After a while, someone asked in a low voice: "General Cui thinks we shouldn't join the war?"

Cui Hongsheng glanced at the speaker in the dark with a sharp look and said coldly: "It is a personal decision to participate in the war or not, so don't ask me. However, if you win the war, it may be possible to wash away the shame of prisoners of war. In short, it is just a saying, to save your life, to win glory and wash away the shame, everyone decides for themselves. From tomorrow on, I will no longer be everyone's leader."

"Why does the general say such words?" a general asked in confusion.

Cui Hongsheng sighed, "I am old. If I can live a life, I will return to my ancestral land to live my life. I will not ask about the affairs of the court again, but you are still young, don't be as decadent as me."

Everyone was silent, Cui Hongsheng smiled again, "We won't talk about these things anymore. Let's talk about the actions tonight. I'm a little worried that the Sui army is insufficient and cannot defeat the Goguryeo army. We must take action. We follow the plan we planned last time, just change the time to the fourth update tonight. Chunsheng, as long as there is an abnormal movement in the military camp, you will immediately lead 3,000 people to fight out. Do you understand?"

A burly general immediately agreed, "I understand."

Cui Hongsheng sternly said to everyone again: "Tonight is the key to whether we can regain the light of day. Everyone must participate. Let these defenders pay double the humiliation we have suffered in the past two years."

The generals are ready to go, looking forward to the arrival of the fourth update
Chapter completed!