After Zhang Xuan officially signed the agreement to demarcate the boundary with Wang Shichong, he immediately led a large army to Qiao County. At this time, Du Fuwei had to retreat to Jianghuai because the food route was cut off. On the other hand, the Tang army retreated to Guanzhong and also gave Du Fuwei a heavy blow. He knew that his crisis was approaching, but he would never surrender. In any case, Jianghuai was the foundation of his Du Fuwei, and he would never hand it over to Zhang Xuan.

Fifty thousand elite troops marched in a mighty manner on the official road. They had entered Qiao County, and were still thirty miles away from Qiao County, the county seat.

Zhang Xuan was at the front of the team, with his golden-edged and red-bottomed Green Dragon King flag floating above his head, surrounded by hundreds of personal guards. The millet fields on both sides of the official road have been harvested, the bare fields are endless, and the green mountains are like black paintings in the distance, and the green water is like green belts. Although the scenery is pleasing to the eye, Zhang Xuan has no intention of appreciating. He has been thinking about the strategy of defeating Du Fu's power.

As the head coach, he doesn't have to consider how to fight each battle, but he needs to consider the strategy, the direction of the war, whether Du Fuwei will be wiped out or appeased? Or whether he is kind or powerful, he also needs to consider the surrounding environment, whether Lin Shihong's Yangtze River Navy will support Du Fuwei, whether the civil war between Meng Haigong and Jiangnan Association will have a dramatic turn, etc.

Attacking Du Fuwei was only the first step in his southern strategy, but it was a key step, laying a solid foundation for the later southern strategy.

While thinking, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from afar. I saw dust flying in the distance, and a team of cavalry rushed towards me. Zhang Xuan waved his hand and ordered: "The army stopped marching!"

The team stopped slowly, and the personal guards urged their horses to move forward, lined up with spears, and watched the arrival of the cavalry in front with vigilant eyes.

After a moment, a team of cavalry rushed over and some soldiers shouted: "It's General Pei!"

Zhang Xuan also saw clearly that the general in charge was Pei Xingyan, and there was a general behind him, but Luo Cheng.

Zhang Xuan had already received the military newspaper written by Pei Xingyan. Luo Cheng was almost plotted against by Du Fuwei in Linhuan County, and finally broke through without losing a single soldier. In the military newspaper, Pei Xingyan praised Luo Cheng for his extraordinary courage. He knew that the road to Huanshui was blocked, but he still forced his way eastward and avoided the ambush set up by Du Fuwei in the west of the city.

The cavalry rushed to Zhang Xuan in an instant, and Pei Xingyan held his fists and saluted: "I am not good at the commander!"

Luo Cheng also bowed behind him, "See the Grand Marshal!"

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, "Are you here to welcome me?"

"The general is not allowed to disturb the people and welcome them. The humble position did not disturb the civilians, and it was not considered a special welcome."

Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile, "The key is not to bother the public. As long as you can do this, it's okay to come and greet him!"

"Thank you, Marshal, for understanding."

Pei Xingyan said excitedly: "Brothers, don't hold back your energy. I'm determined to teach Du Fuwei a lesson. I hope the general will let our cavalry take action first."

Zhang Xuan shook his head, "I'm sorry to tell you that this time, the cavalry is not the main force, the main force should be the navy and infantry, you should understand what I mean."

"I understand that the Jianghuai River is densely populated with water networks, which is not suitable for large-scale cavalry combat, but 20,000 cavalry have returned to Hebei. I only led 10,000 cavalry to conquer the Jianghuai River. There is no problem with small-scale cavalry combat. I hope the general can give us a chance." Pei Xingyan said anxiously.

Zhang Xuan laughed, "I just said that the cavalry is not the main force, and I didn't say that the cavalry would not be allowed to fight. How could there be no chance of combat?"

Pei Xingyan reacted. He scratched his head embarrassedly, and quickly pulled Luo Cheng up and changed the embarrassing topic, "Master, General Luo is brave and resourceful this time, and can be his own side, so he keeps him and fights side by side with me."

Luo Cheng said in a very shameful manner: "This encounter in Linhuan County exposed the lack of experience of Beiyi cavalry. If the county magistrate had not secretly told Beiyi's secret, the three thousand cavalry would have been destroyed in the hands of Beiyi."

Zhang Xuan said slowly: "This time General Luo is calm in the face of danger and deals with it decisively. He is indeed extremely courageous and worthy of praise. However, as you said, the safety of feed is the most important thing for war horses, but you neglected this point. This is an unforgivable mistake for any cavalry chief. It is just because of the county magistrate's nostalgia that you escaped by luck. Although you fought bravely and saved the cavalry, I think this is the general who should do his duty. It is not a matter of merit and demerits. General Luo understands what I mean?"

Luo Cheng looked depressed, "I understand the humble rank!"

Zhang Xuan said again: "From now on, you can continue to exercise the power of General Hu Ben. If you make similar mistakes, you will be directly demoted to General Yingyang. You will never tolerate it!"

"Thank you, the general, for being humble, you will be ashamed of your humble position and be brave!"

Pei Xingyan next to him was stunned. He originally wanted to praise Luo Cheng well, but the general not only did not reward him, but instead demoted Luo Cheng's position. It was beyond his expectations and made him speechless and unable to say a word.

At this time, Zhang Xuan looked at Pei Xingyan with a stern look, "General Pei, do you know your fault?"

Pei Xingyan was panicked and hurriedly said, "As the main cavalry general, the general made mistakes, and as the main general, he did not notice it."

"No!"

Zhang Xuan said sternly: "You know that General Luo is leading troops alone for the first time and lacks experience, why don't you equip General Luo with a marching Sima? He almost was killed by Du Fuwei, and he was demoted!"

Luo Cheng quickly defended Pei Xingyan, "This is a merit of a humble position. A humble position should apply for Sima's accompanying him, but because he was too arrogant, he did not make this request, and it had nothing to do with General Pei."

"Doesn't it have anything to do with you?" Zhang Xuan asked with a stern look at Pei Xingyan.

Pei Xingyan sighed, "How can this have nothing to do with a humble position? This is the negligence of a humble position. I am willing to accept severe punishment from the commander!"

Zhang Xuan said: "Your military position remains unchanged, but your title has been demoted from a county official to a county seat. Can you accept it?"

"I am guilty of being aware of my crime!"

Pei Xingyan felt uncomfortable. You should know that titles are much more important than positions. Positions can be achieved through qualifications and promotions. The title only depends on achievements. His county magistrate relied on his military achievements again and again. He would rather be demoted to his military position than to give up his title.

Zhang Xuan saw his sadness and patted his shoulder to comfort him, "I didn't say you are guilty. Being guilty is a violation of military law. You just made a negligence. Du Fuwei fought hard in this battle and strived for meritorious service. As long as I make meritorious service, I will promote your title back. Do you remember?"

Pei Xingyan wiped tears in the corner of his eyes, "Yuan Qing remembers it."

Zhang Xuan smiled and said to Luo Cheng again: "Reward and punishment are clearly the foundation of my army. You must learn from this lesson, strive to make contributions as soon as possible, and restore military positions!"

Luo Cheng was moved and admired in his heart. He had never seen Pei Xingyan cry, but for the first time he saw Pei Xingyan wiped tears like a young man. No wonder Pei Xingyan's father surrendered to the Tang army. He still devoted himself to Zhang Xuan. This is the king's kindness and power. Luo Cheng was also deeply shocked. He quickly bowed and said, "The general's military rules are strict and he keeps his humble duties in his heart. He will be cautious in the future and will not let the soldiers die in vain."

"It seems that you really understand that your words and actions are related to the life and death of thousands of brothers, so I am so strict with you."

"I am grateful to the coach for his advice!"

Zhang Xuan smiled again and said, "Let's go! Go to Qiao County, let's discuss the wolf hunting plan."

Qiao County is a big city with a circumference of more than 30 miles and a population of nearly 100,000. However, due to the military disaster in Xuzhou, a large number of Xuzhou refugees fled to Qiao County, which tripled the population of Qiao County to more than 300,000. Although Yu Wen and the Sui army were wiped out and the war was quelled, the people of Xuzhou began to return home one after another to rebuild their homes destroyed by the war, Qiao County still had a population of 180,000 to 190,000, and the city was congested."

Upon hearing the arrival of King Qi, Zhou Wenzheng, the prefect of Qiao County, hurriedly led a group of officials to pay their respects. Zhang Xuan encouraged everyone, saying that they had made contributions to the relief of the disaster victims, and would definitely praise them, and encourage them to continue to provide relief to the disaster victims. Everyone was happy. As long as your highness spoke up, the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation would be recorded.

At this time, Luo Cheng brought an official to meet Zhang Xuan, "Master General, this is Linhuan County Magistrate Wang Yu. It was his timely reminder that the low-ranking army escaped the disaster."

Wang Yu knelt down and saluted, "My uncle, Linhuan County Magistrate Wang Yu, pays homage to His Highness the King of Qi!"

Zhang Xuan quickly helped him up and asked with concern: "I saw in the military newspaper that your family was taken hostage by Du Fuwei, and I don't know what happened to them."

Wang Yu said in tears: "Thank you for your concern. Your wife and children are safe, but the old father was tortured by the thief and has unfortunately passed away."

Zhang Xuan nodded, "I will settle this account with Du Fuwei. You have made contributions to the news this time. The Qiao County Magistrate is vacant. I will appoint you as Qiao County Magistrate to commend your achievements!"

Wang Yu knelt down and choked and said, "It is hard to repay His Highness for his support!"

"It is my reward for helping the prefect to resettle the victims in the hometown."
Chapter completed!