In the room, Zhang Xuan stood in front of the window with his hands on his back. It had been unknown how long. The tears at the corners of his eyes had dried up, and there was only endless hatred in his sad eyes.n∈,

He was tortured by deep self-blame. If it weren't for his efforts to save this army, they would have been discharged and returned to their fields and reunited with their wives, children and parents. It was Zhang Xuan's wrong and energetic thought that caused them to die tragically in the wilderness of Qinghe County.

Those soldiers who fought bloody battles with him on the battlefield of Goguryeo eventually died at the hands of the bandits. The knife to kill them was also his Zhang Xuan. His arrogance, his self-righteousness, and his ignorance eventually led to bitter wine that he could not accept.

"General!"

Wei Yunqi's low voice came from behind, "Don't blame yourself too much, this is Feng Xiaoci's responsibility and has nothing to do with the general."

Zhang Xuan shook his head gently, "I don't want to shirk responsibility, but it's not time to blame myself yet."

He suddenly turned around and asked Wei Yunqi calmly, "Have you informed Pei Xingyan?"

"The Eagle letter has been sent, and I believe he should be on the way back now."

Zhang Xuan nodded slowly, "Changshi Wei, I will leave you five hundred soldiers, and Beihai County will ask you for the time being."

Wei Yunqi nodded silently, Zhang Xuan picked up the silver helmet beside him, walked quickly out of the gate, and walked to the door, he said in a deep voice: "I am not in Beihai County, all government affairs are implemented according to the original plan. The chief officer can make the decision, and there is no need to wait for me to come back."

"I know, the general takes care of himself!"

Zhang Xuan slowly put the silver helmet on his head, strode out of the yard, and walked out of the county yamen. A war horse was ready in front of the steps. Zhang Xuan rolled over the horse, rode his legs, and the war horse ran out quickly. Under the escort of more than a dozen cavalry guards, he ran towards the camp outside the city.

One hour later, Zhang Xuan led 3,500 soldiers to leave the camp and headed for Qi County. At the same time, a thousand soldiers who came from Donglai County, led by Pei Xingyan, also left Donglai County and gathered in the direction of Qi County.

The Sui army in Qinghe County suffered a huge defeat to Hebei and Shandong. Not only did Dou Jiande and Gao Shida bow down to Zhang Jin's name, but even Zhang Xutuo, who had always been cautious, knew the situation was serious and did not care about asking the court for instructions, and began to urgently mobilize the troops stationed in Qingzhou to gather in Qi County.

In the afternoon of that day, Zhang Xuan led soldiers from Beihai and Donglai, a total of 4,500 people to Zhua County, Qi County. Zhua County was adjacent to the Yellow River in the north. It was the first county after Qinghe County crossed the river and entered Qi County. Due to the defeat of the fourth county on the lunar calendar, the power of the Feiying Army also retreated to the south of the Yellow River.

Zhang Xutuo focused his defense on Zhua County. Not only did he station a thousand soldiers here, but he also raised and thickened the city walls and cleared the moat, turning Zhua County into a strong city.

The suspension bridge slowly fell, and Zhang Xuan's army began to line up into the city. Zhu Azhou was about twelve miles long, which was a central county. However, the population in the county had moved to Licheng County. There were only more than 300 households in the entire county town, and the rest of the open space was used as military camps. The city was full of soldiers, and more than 10,000 people had gathered in the city.

Zhang Xuan's war horses had just entered the county town, and a team of cavalry rushed towards him. The leader was the commander Zhang Xutuo. Zhang Xuan hurriedly urged his horse to salute, "See the commander!"

Zhang Xutuo was in a heavy mood and waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite, is the army coming?"

"I will leave five hundred people to guard Yidu County. The remaining four thousand five hundred people will be brought, including the cavalry."

Zhang Xutuo sighed, "Now, except for Jia Wuben's Gaomi army, the rest of the army has arrived, and Fei Qingnu's army will arrive tonight."

"Master, how many people escaped from Qinghe County?" Zhang Xuan asked in a low voice.

"The first batch of people fled back about 3,000 people, and later they fled back more than 1,000 people one after another. Now there are about 4,300 people. The highest military post is the lieutenant. Alas! The losses in this battle are really tragic."

Zhang Xuan looked sad and nodded silently. Zhang Xutuo patted his arm and comforted him, "Don't be sad. Consider how to completely annihilate Zhang Jin. It is our thing to do. Go to the military camp with me first and we will discuss solutions."

Zhang Xuan instructed Yuchi Gong and Pei Xingyan for a few words, then turned his horse's head and followed Zhang Xutuo to the military camp. They walked into the tent and saw Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin and You Junda also came. The three of them stood up together, and Zhang Xutuo waved his hand, "Everyone sit there!"

Several people sat on the ground, and then Zhang Xutuo said slowly: "Qinghe County was defeated. I have sent someone to report urgently to the capital. According to the latest information I have obtained, Zhang Jin said that the army did not retreat to Gaojipo, but was stationed in Gaotang County, less than a hundred miles away from the Yellow River. Now the Yellow River is frozen, so it is easy for them to cross the river. As Zhang Jin is called cunning, we must be especially wary of his night attack."

"How was Feng Xiaoci defeated? Does the general have an investigation?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Zhang Xutuo nodded, "This time Feng Xiaoci's defeat, I carefully asked about the defeated army. Even I have to admire Zhang Jin's cunning. He knew that Feng Xiaoci was about to finish his food, so he deliberately brought a team of grain ships. As a result, Feng Xiaoci sent someone to attack the grain ship and was wiped out. Zhang Jin said that he sent someone to pretend that the Sui army had robbed the grain and tricked the city gate."

Before Zhang Xutuo could finish his words, Luo Shixin punched the ground hard and couldn't help but praise: "It's true!"

Zhang Xutuo glared at him fiercely, "What did you say?"

Luo Shixin lowered his head in fear and did not dare to talk anymore. Qin Qiong smiled from the side and said, "Mr. Marshal, don't be angry. Zhang Jin said that this thief is indeed capable. If he doesn't fully understand him, we might also fall into the trap."

Zhang Xutuo glanced at Zhang Xuan again, "Do you think so too?"

Zhang Xuan nodded, "I have fought with him in a few months. He used mobs to attack the city, trying to lead me out of the city. Fortunately, he was not deceived. General Qin said it well. First of all, we cannot underestimate the enemy, and secondly, we must know ourselves and our enemy."

Zhang Xutuo agreed with everyone's opinions and continued: "This is just one thing, there is another thing. I am worried that we will go north to Qinghe County to make Qingzhou and Qi County empty. Sun Xuanya will take the opportunity to go north to sweep us to the enemy. How to arrange defense is also a matter that cannot be taken lightly. Let's talk together."

Zhang Xuan immediately thought of Fang Xuanling's plan. He smiled and said, "The General can contact Yang Yichen and ask him to face Sun Xuanya in the south, forcing Sun Xuanya not to go north."

Zhang Xutuo nodded, "This is actually my idea. Since everyone coincides with each other, it's not time to go. I'll write a letter to Yang Yichen and ask him to send troops to help."

"Masterman wait!"

Zhang Xuan called Zhang Xutuo's thoughts, and Zhang Xutuo frowned slightly, "What else?"

"There are also Dou Jiande and Gao Shida, and even the Wagang Army. Did the Grand Marshal consider their threat?"

Zhang Xutuo pondered for a moment and said, "Gao Shida and Zhang Jinsheng had a grudge for killing their wife, and so was Dou Jiande. Even if he was driven out of Gaojipo by Zhang Jinsheng, all his subordinates and confidants were killed. Even if the two bowed to him now, they would have to surrender. If the Sui army attacked Zhang Jinsheng, I believe they would only be happy to see him and would never send troops to help Zhang Jinsheng.

As for the Wagang Army, I heard that they had some minor internal troubles recently, and the possibility of sending troops eastward is not high. Moreover, I have deployed several 100-man patrol patrols in Fan County and Shouzhang County in Jibei County to closely monitor the movements of the Wagang Army. Even if the situation occurs, we will get news in time."

Seeing that Zhang Xutuo had made comprehensive arrangements, Zhang Xuan asked, "Then how should we fight this battle?"

Zhang Xutuo glanced at everyone and said slowly: "The reason why I sent troops without regard to the opinions of the court is because I discovered a fatal weakness of Zhang Jincheng. If we can seize this opportunity, we can defeat Zhang Jincheng's army. If we can't catch it, we can only withdraw from Qi County and defend Zhang Jincheng's full force to attack Qi County."

Zhang Xutuo's words made everyone excited, and You Junda said with great enthusiasm: "Master, tell me!"

Zhang Xutuo nodded, "I plan to divide the troops into three groups in this battle!"

The Yellow River rushes from the west, flows through the heart of the Central Plains, and enters the hilly areas of Shandong. The riverbed suddenly becomes spacious. The Yellow River between Qi County and Qinghe County is more than ten miles wide.

Usually the river surface is turbid and the water flows fast, but after the middle of winter, the river water begins to freeze, and the riverbed more than ten miles wide becomes a thick ice field. Not only travelers, but also mules and horses are feasible, just like a cart full of carts that can also pass through the ice surface of the Yellow River smoothly.

But the ice surface of the Yellow River is not feasible at will. Since the ice surface is more than ten miles wide, the cold air penetrates people. People with weak bodies often cannot withstand the huge cold air on the ice surface and are often frozen to death on the ice surface. Even those with strong bodies do not have enough defense measures, even if they walk out of the ice, they will get seriously ill.

Therefore, strict precautions are required to walk on the ice field. First, the legs and crotch need to be covered with fur, then put on very thick clothes, the legs and belly of the war horses must also be wrapped in cloth, and the baggage is transported with the help of sleds. Therefore, it is not an easy task for the bandit army to attack Qi County, or the Sui army to go north to recover Qinghe County.

At night, Zhang Xuan's army actively prepared before crossing the river by the Yellow River. His army was the third route, crossing the river from the northern part of Qinghe County, and detoured to cut off the rear route of Zhang Jincheng's army. Zhang Xutuo used Feng Xiaoci's defeated army to add 1,500 people to Zhang Xuan, making his army reach 6,000.

Qin Qiong also led 6,000 troops to cross the river from the southern part of Qinghe County, protecting the main force from the side, while Zhang Xutuo led 10,000 main force from Zhua County to cross the river north, and would face Zhang Jincheng's army head-on.
Chapter completed!