Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 240 I Go with the General
While the document strictly ordering Feng Ji and Qu Yi to hold their ground in the direction of Xindu was still being written by an assistant secretary, news had already been discovered in Dian County, hundreds of miles away, that auxiliary soldiers from Qingzhou were cutting down trees and building camp walls thirteen or fourteen miles away.

The weather in Du County was a bit gloomy, and the soldiers on duty on the city wall couldn't help feeling a little tired after standing for a long time. They yawned continuously. Seeing this, the sergeant quickly knocked on the parapet with the handle of his knife to cheer the soldiers up.

This is also for their own good. General Qu is very strict in disciplining his troops. If anyone is caught dozing off while he is patrolling the city walls, not only will they be fined their salaries but they will also be whipped. The more elite the troops, the stricter the military discipline.

Suddenly, war horses neighed in the distance. Yuan Jun looked outside hastily. It turned out that dozens of scouts who went out to investigate the news had returned, and their hearts suddenly settled down.

As long as the Qingzhou army doesn't come to attack the city, everything will be fine.

During the attack on Liaocheng in Yanzhou, the group of auxiliary soldiers who were willing to risk their lives to defend the city left a deep impression on many people. It was said that the combat soldiers were even more fierce and ferocious than the auxiliary soldiers. They wore armor and brandished weapons and would never retreat. They were more experienced in fighting than the soldiers under Gongsun's command.

If I had a choice, I really don't want to fight with them and see blood and flesh flying everywhere. People from Qingzhou are not afraid of losing their lives. I heard that if they die, they will get double the money as compensation. How can we fight with them?

After Yuan's scouts rushed to the city gate and shouted, the soldiers standing on the east side of the city wall verified their identities and slammed the city gate open. The scouts didn't even look back, whipped their horses and rushed straight into the street, and only stopped in front of the county government office.

"Report! Thirteen miles east of Dian County, there are more than 5,000 auxiliary soldiers of the Qingzhou Army, carrying a large number of pack horses and baggage carts, and they are eager to build camps in the hilly area. There are no less than 3,000 woodcutters, transport workers, and craftsmen."

The scouts, the captain of the detachment, and others hurried into the county government office to report to Qu Yi. Feng Ji happened to be there at the moment. He frowned and asked, "Who is the general shown by the flag in the distance?"

"Reporting to the military commander, the plain ivory silk flag has the word 'Han' engraved on it."

The scout captain bowed his head and spoke.

"Han?!"

Feng Ji was silent and thought about the name of the Qingzhou military officer surnamed Han. Then he couldn't help but sneered: "I thought he was someone, but he is just a mediocre man. Among the Qingzhou military officers, the only one surnamed Han is Han Mu, who was born as a county lieutenant. He doesn't even have a courtesy name."

"His abilities are unheard of. In the army, he is mostly responsible for assisting soldiers in building camps and cooking. Apart from being loyal to Liu Xuande, he has no other special abilities."

"It is reasonable for Liu Bei to send this mediocre man as the vanguard to set up camp, but he is also willing to send two thousand soldiers to protect him. It seems that he holds a high position in Liu Xuande's heart."

Feng Ji laughed contemptuously.

When Qu Yi heard the news, he was overjoyed. He glanced at Feng Ji without leaving a trace, but still pretended to be cautious and frowned, and asked: "No joke in the army. Are you sure that there are at least 3,000 Qingzhou troops cutting down trees, and there are no other garrisons within a dozen miles?"

"Reporting to General Qu, the scouts and cavalrymen are willing to guarantee with their lives that every word they say is true and not a single word is false."

Several scout leaders who came to report all bowed and spoke in unison.

After years of military service, anyone who would joke about intelligence would have his entire family killed.

Qu Yi only asked casually, mainly to show Feng Ji. He had long been very confident in the information obtained by his scouts. After all, these people were all elite cavalry and archers selected by him in the army.

They often offered money and fine silk to win them over, so they had no fear that the scouts and military officers would rebel en masse. In addition, many scout cavalry were still spying, so even if there were any unusual movements, they could easily be informed in advance.

Moreover, Qingzhou built the camp very quickly, and the opportunity for war was rare and fleeting.

If we can kill them at lightning speed while they are still unstable, we will surely be able to break through the unfinished camp walls, behead thousands of people, seize armor, and establish the first merit in the battle of Hebei, and also shock the morale of the soldiers in Qingzhou. Why not do it? But we can't show that we want to make merit too obviously, otherwise Feng Yuantu would rather miss the opportunity than let him lead his troops there. This rat was sent by Lord Yuan to supervise him.

Qu Yi bowed to Feng Ji and said solemnly: "General, Liu Xuande is a good commander. He is good at following the will of heaven, taking advantage of the situation on the ground, and taking advantage of people. Therefore, he is invincible. He can always defeat the majority with a small force. Don't attack him lightly."

"Since the military supervisor has been ordered by Lord Yuan to supervise the military affairs in Ganling, he should be cautious. Han Mu must have someone to rely on when he leads his army to set up camp, so we should not act rashly."

After saying this, Qu Yi was about to wave his hand and ask the many scouts and military officers to retreat.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Feng Ji immediately shouted, "Stop it for now!"

Then he turned around and sneered, "General Qu is wrong. Han Mu is a mediocre man with only 2,000 soldiers. Therefore, he set up camp with his back to the hills, so that he can defend from a high position. If the camp is completed, it will be difficult to break through. If it is not completed, it will be easy to capture the flag and kill the general."

"We should urgently send troops to destroy them now. If we fail to defeat them today, they will become a problem tomorrow."

Feng Ji sneered in his heart without saying anything. Qu Yi said this deliberately, just to take revenge on him for watching the play a few days ago. Although he was in charge of the military affairs of Ganling, he was frightened by the mediocre man from Qingzhou who didn't even have a courtesy name.

Later, that hill camp became Liu Xuande's place of residence when he marched into Jizhou, and it served as an excuse for him to file a complaint to Yuan Gong.

How could you possibly go to the Liangzhou boy's place?
Feng Ji stroked his beard and thought proudly, then added: "The soldiers heard that we are fast, so we should not be suspicious at this moment. We should order Jiang Qi to roll up his armor and rush over."

"This is not possible!" Qu Yi immediately waved his hand. Are you kidding? This is a competition for first credit. How can he give the credit to others easily, let alone to Jiang Qi? It is absolutely impossible.

Seeing Feng Ji frowning, Qu Yi added: "Most of Jiang Qi's troops are infantrymen armed with swords and shields. This battle should be won by a quick attack. We should dispatch our troops with powerful crossbows to shoot them with sharp weapons, and the auxiliary soldiers should wear less armor, so they will surely achieve success."

If you want to attack and achieve success, don't even think about bypassing Qu Yi and letting Jiang Qi lead his troops. If the attack fails and too many soldiers are lost, which affects morale, both Feng Yuantu and Jiang Yiqu will be in trouble.

Feng Ji suddenly realized that if he wanted to gain the first merit for Yuan Gong before many of his aides, he would have to rely on Qu Yi's cooperation, and he could not directly dispatch troops without going through the main general.

Now we have to put aside our grudges and focus on making achievements.

Feng Ji paced back and forth in the hall, and said after careful consideration: "The opportunity is imminent, and there is no time to lose. General Qu, go and gather your troops, bring your powerful crossbows, swords and shields, and attack."

"The enemy has more than 5,000 men. I wonder how many soldiers I need to defeat them and kill their generals."

"Sun Tzu said: 'The rule of using troops is to surround them when there are ten of them, and to attack them when there are five of them. I often use two of them when I am involved in military operations. With more than ten thousand soldiers, I can surely cut off Han Mu's head.'"

Qu Yi raised his hand and pointed a finger, laughing teasingly.

Unless Liu Xuande was not in Pingyuan County but was waiting for him there, ten thousand men would surely be able to defeat the enemy camp.

"Okay, Ji Dang will go with the general!"

Feng Ji then clapped his hands and made up his mind that the credit should not be allowed to be enjoyed alone by Qu Yi, as he was the military supervisor appointed by Lord Yuan.

(End of this chapter)