Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 490 Gathering in Ye City (A long chapter of 10,000 words)
"Sorry..."

"Foolish! He actually went to attack Ye County and Anyang, and he even divided his forces!"

Outside Neihuang County, upon learning that Liu Jilong had divided his troops to surround Ye County and Anyang, and that he couldn't even catch the fast horses trying to break through, Han Junxiong's vigilance dissipated considerably.

For a moment, he thought Liu Jilong was nothing special, but given Liu Jilong's reputation, he still asked, "How many soldiers does Liu Jilong have?"

"Based on what we saw on the battlefield in Anyang and Ye County, there were at most ten thousand soldiers."

The colonel reported the truth, but Han Junxiong said, "Liu Jilong led 20,000 troops to attack Weizhou. Even if we really fought him as Le Yanzhen said, we shouldn't have suffered nearly half of our casualties."

He sensed something was amiss, and at that moment, the general beside him bowed and said:

"Le Congxun said that when the Han army retreated to Ji County, there were no fewer than 40,000 to 50,000 men on the battlefield."

"Now it seems that the laborers are being withdrawn, but the withdrawal of laborers should be accompanied by soldiers."

"Moreover, our spies in the three counties of Jixian and others have reported that Liu Jilong has stationed a considerable number of armored soldiers in the three counties."

"Did Liu Jilong leave several thousand troops to garrison the three counties while he led more than ten thousand troops north?"

Han Junxiong nodded upon hearing this, and said solemnly, "That is indeed possible. It would be best if we could send out cavalry to investigate."

"I'll make the arrangements right away!" The general immediately understood Han Junxiong's idea, so he hurriedly arranged for the cavalry to investigate the three lost counties of Xiangzhou.

While he was conducting his investigation, Liu Jilong also made corresponding preparations, namely, releasing the Tang cavalry to hinder Han Junxiong's investigation.

As a result, the cavalry sent by Han Junxiong did not obtain any intelligence, but instead lost several lives and fled back to the east of Yongji Canal in a sorry state.

Upon learning the news, Han Junxiong had no choice but to head north to Huanshui County to set up camp and devise a strategy based on Liu Jilong's next moves.

While Han Junxiong was heading to the Huan River, Zhao Ying, following Liu Jilong's instructions, dispatched over a hundred cavalry and infantrymen to cross the Zhang River and harass Fuyang.

The garrison of Fuyang was worried that this was the vanguard of the government army and dared not leave the city. Zhao Ying then "bought" all the grain from the grain shops in the market outside Fuyang, obtaining several thousand shi of grain and beans.

The cavalry and infantry used civilians outside the city as laborers to transport grain to Ye County, south of the Zhang River.

After they left, the garrison in Fuyang immediately dispatched fast horses northward, and the news reached Xingzhou in just six hours.

"Cross the Zhang River and plunder the grain from the markets outside the city?"

Inside the Zhaoyi Army headquarters, Lu Kuang, who was practicing calligraphy in his study, frowned as he looked at the person in front of him.

When Ya Jiang saw Lu Kuang repeat it, he quickly nodded and said, "That's exactly what the military dispatch sent from Cizhou contained."

"The government troops have obtained several thousand bushels of grain, which is not much, but if the enemy eats one bushel of our grain, it is equivalent to several bushels of the enemy's grain."

"Now the government troops have captured all the counties of Xiangzhou, and only Ye County, Anyang County, and Linlu County remain."

"If the government troops occupy Xiangzhou, they can invade Zhaoyi. The commander must be on guard."

Ya Jiang's words alerted Lu Kuang.

He slowly put down his brush, his expression not very good, and looked at the general: "Where are Chengde's troops? What about Meng Bingma Si and the others?"

"Chengde led tens of thousands of troops south, claiming to be an army of 50,000. They have now entered Yaoshan, which is within our territory. They will be able to join forces with Commander Meng in Handan in about three days."

"However, General, even including the troops from Cizhou, our army only numbers a mere ten thousand. Will Chengde Town underestimate us?"

Ya Jiang asked Lu Kuang, but he shook his head and said, "So what if we look down on them? Our army has been in turmoil for years. Although we have recruited 30,000 soldiers, most of them are unarmored."

"These eight thousand men are the last of our troops. If we cannot defeat the government troops with Chengde this time, then we will only have the option of surrendering."

Lu Kuang looked at the military officer and lowered his voice, saying, "Although they have surrendered, the wealth and status of the military officers and above will still be preserved."

Upon hearing this, Ya Jiang's mind stirred; he naturally knew what Lu Kuang was worried about.

Although many of the generals in Zhaoyi Town disliked Liu Jilong's actions, they were not determined to oppose him.

The main reason for opposing Liu Jilong was that Liu Jilong's measures did not include the officers, captains, and soldiers below the rank of Ya Jiang.

This is why the arrogant military leaders in the army were unhappy, and their displeasure led them to coerce and pressure their subordinates to rebel against Liu Jilong.

Subordinates rebelling against their superiors—this is almost a perfect description of the various towns in Hebei. If Liu Jilong can wipe out the more than 8,000 guards and soldiers, then their surrender after the battle will be much less of a burden.

However, Ye Jun would not think that Lu Kuang was worried about the people who had coerced him in the past, but rather that Lu Kuang might be worried that he would follow in the footsteps of Lu Jianfang, the military governor of Yichang.

Lu Jianfang was initially coerced by Yichang's soldiers to fight against Liu Jilong. However, when the Yichang soldiers realized that they could not contend with Liu Jilong, they decisively killed Lu Jianfang as a scapegoat.

In the end, almost none of the officers were convicted and were even awarded honors, while Lu Jianfang was beheaded and turned into skeletons.

Lu Kuang is saying all this to me now simply to win me over.

"Rest assured, General, I know what to do."

The guards bowed respectfully and accompanied Lu Kuang in the performance.

Upon seeing this, Lu Kuang nodded and then said, "Since Chengde has so many troops marching south, he will surely plunder many people along the way."

"Order all prefectures and counties to provide money and provisions, and do not give those people from Chengde Army an excuse to plunder."

"Yes!" After receiving the order, the general saw that Lu Kuang had no further instructions, so he left the study.

At the same time, news of the near-total fall of Xiangzhou in the south quickly reached Li Honggui, who was leading his army south.

"It seems that Weibo has indeed fallen. Tens of thousands of troops couldn't even defeat Liu Jilong's mere twenty thousand men. What a waste!"

Inside the tent, Li Honggui, who had just sat down, looked at the news brought by the military intelligence, while the sounds of soldiers reveling and women crying for help and screaming echoed in his ears.

As the army from Chengde Town marched south, many brokers in the town also took the opportunity to form caravans and head south.

However, the caravan didn't carry many goods; most of what they had acquired were looted from villages after entering Zhaoyi territory.

This applies to both the women who serve as prostitutes in caravans and the food they eat.

Even if everyone knew that these brokers were from Chengde Town, as long as Chengde Town's troops were not directly involved, Li Honggui could distance himself from them.

"Pass down the order: you may have fun with women, but don't kill anyone. The other brothers haven't had a taste yet."

Li Honggui gave instructions to his generals in the tent, and they all responded. He then continued:

"At the current pace, we will arrive in Handan in three days. We will then observe for a few more days to ascertain the number of Liu Jilong's troops before seizing the opportunity to head south and leave Liu Jilong in Xiangzhou."

"Order Li Gongquan to lead three thousand elite cavalry south first, to ascertain the number of Liu Jilong's troops, and then station them outside Handan City, awaiting my advance south."

"Yes!" The guard bowed and left the tent. Before long, the decadent sounds outside the tent subsided considerably.

However, this peace did not last long. After only two or three hours, the screams of a woman were heard again.

Inside many tents, one could see people carrying out naked women from time to time, with drops of blood flowing from the corpses, accompanied by the cursing of the corpse carriers.

"Damn it! Father hadn't had enough fun yet, and that bastard Wang Sanlang killed her!"

"Tell him to pay for a few more women from the broker. These women are not easy to deal with; if you kill them, so be it. I prefer the obedient kind."

"You don't know anything! It's precisely this fierce and unyielding nature that makes it fun!"

"Alright, alright, let's pick a few more later, these women are cheap anyway!"

They dumped the woman's body a short distance from the camp, where there were hundreds of other women's corpses, all naked, and wild dogs were gnawing on the bodies nearby.

After leaving the body behind, they returned to the camp laughing and talking. At the north gate of the camp, dozens of soldiers were holding ropes, the other end of which was tied to the necks of dozens of farm women, like livestock.

These men had blank stares and dared not resist, because all the women who resisted had been killed, and those who remained were relatively docile.

After the brokers finished their transactions with the soldiers, they turned to the guards who were armed and said, "Go on, and you'll get a hundred coins for each woman you bring back."

"Good!" The guards instinctively exchanged glances with those around them, their eyes revealing lewdness.

Li Honggui neither wanted to nor dared to intervene in these chaotic situations.

If you can't reward your soldiers when you're fighting abroad, it will be too late to regret it when they start making a fuss.

For this reason, as the Chengde army marched south, brokers followed them and brazenly abducted women to provide amusement for the soldiers.

Even when local government offices reported to Lu Kuang, he dared not take any action, but instead swallowed his anger and watched Chengde Town head south.

While the troops from Chengde Town were marching south, An Pohu's 30,000 troops had already reached the walls of Qinghe City.

"Boom!!"

"kill--"

As the explosions echoed around, before the dust settled, thousands of Han soldiers rushed toward the breach that had been blown open.

As Han Junxiong led the garrison troops westward, the eastern part was basically filled with state troops who could only defend the city.

The state soldiers formed a battle formation at the breach, but their formation was disrupted the moment they clashed with the Han army. The three thousand new soldiers were defeated by the Han army in an instant.

"Hold the line! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

Wei Bo's general brandished his long-handled sword, mercilessly slashing at the retreating state soldiers.

Most of these state soldiers wore leather armor, while only the five hundred garrison soldiers who served as supervisors and were considered trusted confidants were allowed to wear lamellar armor.

However, under the breakthrough of thousands of Han soldiers, these state soldiers wearing leather armor could not muster any decent resistance.

The battle line was torn apart instantly, and the Han army's troop formation soldiers immediately squeezed into the city. The five hundred garrison soldiers saw this and quickly formed ranks. However, the Han army's troop formation soldiers suddenly stopped on their way to charge. Immediately afterwards, dozens or even hundreds of soldiers jumped up and shot at them from more than ten paces away.

"Uh-huh!!"

Dozens of soldiers in the front row were killed instantly by a barrage of bullets, and the formation collapsed immediately.

The Han army's infantrymen quickly formed ranks, brandished their spears, and launched a charge against them.

In the clash, spears knocked down one Wei Bo soldier after another, while the Wei Bo soldiers also used spears, long-handled swords, and lances to kill many Han soldiers.

The Han army was simply larger, while the number of Wei Bo soldiers was small, and the state troops, who had been trained for several months, had already been routed.

In an instant, the defense line of Qinghe County was torn apart, and a steady stream of Han troops poured into the city. It wasn't until Ma Yin led his troops onto the horse path, kicked down the Weibo banner and planted the Han army banner that Qinghe County, the seat of Beizhou, completely changed hands.

"Hahaha! It's only satisfying to use acupoint attacks!"

An Pohu watched as his troops used tunneling and explosives to destroy the city walls of Qinghe County in an instant, and captured Qinghe County in less than half an hour. The anger he had suffered in Zibo and Qinghai immediately subsided.

Standing beside him, Zhang Yanhui, seeing An Pohu's state, couldn't help but say, "If all four garrisons hadn't rebelled, the Commander-in-Chief should have already gone south to join forces with Commander Li and quelled Zhu Quanzhong's rebellion."

“Of course!” An Pohu was not modest. If it weren’t for the rebellion in all four towns, he should have led his army south as planned, joined forces with Li Yangchun to defeat Zhu Wen, and completely pacify Yan and Hai.

However, it's not too late now. With the defeat of the four towns in sight, Zhu Quanzhong is nothing more than clinging to life.

It's already March, and if it weren't for the shortage of gunpowder, which would only be able to supply our own troops first, Wang Shi and Chen Jingchong would probably have already captured Zibo and Qingzhou.

Once the four towns are pacified, Zhu Quanzhong will be nothing but a clown, and we can easily eliminate him.

"Qinghe has been captured. His Highness sent a fast horse last night, ordering our army to advance southwest and capture five cities in succession."

"Those five cities were not important fortresses; they were all built of rammed earth and could be easily breached."

"However, our army has penetrated deep into enemy territory, and we only have a mere 20,000 tons of gunpowder left. Even if we can breach the city walls through tunnels, we can at most capture two prefectures."

"I hope Your Highness has brought enough gunpowder, otherwise our army may not be able to retreat to Huaizhou smoothly."

An Pohu still doesn't know what Liu Jilong is planning. He says he wants to cut off the connection between Weibo and Zhaoyi, but Liu Jilong won't allow him to leave any troops behind. He only tells him to take the grain and supplies westward after he has captured the city.

But if you hadn't severed the connection between Weibo and Zhaoyi and Chengde, why would Your Highness have ordered yourself to travel hundreds of miles to attack from the plains?

An Pohu didn't understand either, so he could only march according to Liu Jilong's order. Anyway, he had 30,000 troops at his disposal and was not afraid of the alliance formed by Weibo, Chengde, and Zhaoyi.

With Husi Guang, Wang Jian, and their 5,000 elite cavalry and 8,000 infantrymen, blocking Lulong's southward advance from Cangzhou and Dezhou would not be a problem.

Even if Cao Mao suffers a defeat in Ji County, he should be able to withdraw from Ji County with ease. At worst, he can just wait for His Highness to pacify the three towns and then head north.

"Order the three armies to break camp and attack Zongcheng at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

"Yes!"

An Pohu gave the order, and Zhang Yanhui responded. He then led his troops with An Pohu to Qinghe County.

After Qinghe County fell, Wucheng, Linqing, and Zongcheng, which were relatively close to Qinghe County, saw the smoke signals and hurriedly sent fast horses to deliver messages to Han Junxiong.

When Han Junxiong learned of this, he had already withdrawn his troops and arrived in Wei County, the seat of Weizhou.

"Bang!!"

"Qinghe's city walls are sturdy, so why were they breached in less than half a day?!"

Inside the Weizhou government office, Han Junxiong slammed his fist on the table, his chest filled with seven parts anger and three parts fear.

His anger stemmed from the loss of Beizhou, and his fear stemmed from the fact that the government troops were able to capture Qinghe, the seat of Beizhou, in just half a day.

After all, even if he wanted to lead his troops to attack the previous situation, it would take at least two or three days, while the government army only took half a day.

Thinking of this, he looked up into the hall and saw that many of the generals looked dazed and didn't know what to say.

Clearly, they were also shocked by the news that Anpohu had captured Beizhou in half a day, so much so that they forgot about their family property left in Beizhou.

After the government troops captured Qinghe, where did they advance to?

Han Junxiong looked at the officer who came to report with a dark face, but the officer lowered his head and said, "When I set off, there was no news of the movement of the government troops."

"Go down!" Seeing that there was no useful information, Han Junxiong waved his hand impatiently.

Upon seeing this, the officers rose and left the yamen, while the belatedly realizing what was happening, the faces of the underlings gradually darkened.

"Damn it, Qinghe was lost in just half a day. If the government troops launch attacks from all sides, wouldn't Beizhou be lost in an instant?"

"Once they get Beizhou, they'll either attack Weizhou or Bozhou next."

"What should we do now?"

Everyone spoke up, but their eyes were all on Han Junxiong.

Feeling their gazes, Han Junxiong felt a surge of anger rising within him.

He never supported being enemies with Liu Jilong, but these people forced him to respond to Zhu Wen.

Now that they feel they can't deal with Liu Jilong, they've put their hopes on him again.

"If Qinghe could be captured so quickly, there's no need to say more about the other counties."

"Now Liu Jilong is attacking our army from both the east and the west. We must break one of his armies first in order to break the deadlock."

Han Junxiong shared his thoughts and then said, "According to the news that came from Qinghe, An Pohu's troops number no less than 30,000 to 40,000, while Liu Jilong in the west currently only has more than 10,000 troops."

"Now that the troops of Chengde and Zhaoyi have marched south, they will meet in Handan in three to five days. Our army can take this opportunity to send out fast horses to join forces with them to attack Liu Jilong outside Ye County."

"Issue an order to Wei County, instructing Le Yanzhen to lead his troops north to recapture Tangyin and Yaocheng, drive the government troops from Anyang to Ye County, and then our army will cross the Grand Canal and advance west to recapture Linzhang."

"At that time, Liu Jilong's more than 10,000 troops will be trapped in Ye County. Our combined forces number nearly 100,000. How could we possibly fail to subdue a mere 10,000 or so people?"

Thinking of the tens of thousands of troops that were about to arrive, Han Junxiong felt confident.

If the three of them join forces, they can first defeat Liu Jilong, then take advantage of the high morale to advance eastward and defeat An Pohu, and then divide up the five prefectures of Cang, De, Yi, Ding, and Di.

Han Junxiong had already thought it through. If he wanted Dezhou and Dizhou, Li Honggui and Wang Jingchong would definitely agree, because those were the front lines facing Liu Jilong.

With this frontline position, he could gain many benefits, but only if he could first defeat Liu Jilong's more than 40,000 troops in the east and west of Weibo.

Thinking this, he hurriedly dispatched a fast horse. In the next three days, An Pohu successively captured Zongcheng and Quzhou, and set off for Ping'en, which was only about two hundred miles away from Ye County.

The news quickly reached Li Honggui and Han Junxiong via fast horse, making An Pohu's intentions even clearer.

"They are heading towards Ye County to join forces with Liu Jilong."

After three days of travel, Li Honggui finally led his army to Handan and joined forces with Meng Fangli and An Jingsi of the Zhaoyi Army.

Within Cizhou, as many as 45,000 troops had already gathered, while before them lay more than 40,000 government troops who had split into two groups and had not yet joined forces. Li Honggui, through the reflection of An Pohu's marching arrows, discerned his intentions and then looked up into the hall.

Meng Fangli and An Jingsi of the Zhaoyi Army sat on the left and right, while the two military commanders he brought with him sat on the right.

Facing the crowd, Li Honggui said without hesitation, "Yesterday, Yue Yanzhen of Weibo led 15,000 troops north, and it seems that he has already captured Tangyin."

"Now our army has gathered 45,000 troops, and there are 80,000 troops surrounding Xiangzhou. Liu Jilong has no way to escape."

"If you all have no objections, I would like to ask General Han to cross the Yongji Canal and advance westward to recapture Linzhang, and I would like to ask Prefect Yue to go north and drive the Anyang government troops to Ye County in the north."

"When the encirclement is complete, Liu Jilong will have only ten thousand troops, which can be wiped out in the blink of an eye."

Li Honggui was confident, but at this moment someone questioned, "That's true, but Liu Jilong's troops are all cavalry. If he discovers our intentions and flees south, given that Wei Bo is mostly infantry, he won't be able to stop Liu Jilong from retreating to Huaizhou."

"Of course I thought of that too!" Li Honggui said immediately, seeing that someone had finally questioned him.

“There are 5,000 elite cavalry in a certain town. Tomorrow they will be the first to head south to Cheng’an, cross the Zhang River, and then detour to Weizhou to intercept Liu Jilong’s southward retreat.”

Seeing that Li Honggui had made arrangements, the crowd stopped arguing. Seeing that no one questioned him, Li Honggui immediately ordered: "The three armies will break camp and head south to Fuyang tomorrow. Order the troops in Fuyang to prepare a pontoon bridge. After our army heads south, we will cross the river and head south as needed."

"Yes!!"

Everyone stood up and bowed, and Li Honggui's vanity was satisfied at this moment.

"Once I defeat Liu Jilong, the whole world will surely know the name of me, Li Honggui!"

While Li Honggui was lost in thought, news of Le Yanzhen's mobilization of troops to capture Tangyin County also reached Linzhang.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Jilong, who had been resting in Linzhang for several days, finally reacted.

"Based solely on Wei Bo's own strength, Han Junxiong would absolutely not dare to send Le Yanzhen north to fight me on the plains first."

"Le Yanzhen's willingness to move north and compress our army's operational area indicates that Chengde and Zhaoyi's troops should be arriving here soon."

Liu Jilong took out a map, and as he moved it around, he gave an order to the captain beside him without turning his head:

"Order the three armies to march westward after nightfall, with their mouths gagged and hooves covered."

"Yes!"

"Send out a fast horse to order Duan Xu, who is besieging Anyang, to go north to clear our tracks after our army moves westward away from Anyang, and then go north to join forces with Zhao Ying in Ye County."

"If the combined forces of Chengde and Zhaoyi march south, and Han Junxiong also attacks westward to occupy Linzhang, then order Zhao Ying to retreat westward to the Taihang Mountains and head south along the Taihang Mountains."

"If you encounter elite cavalry or horsemen blocking your way, simply set up camp and confront the enemy."

"In addition, send a fast horse eastward to Ping'en and tell An Pohu to rest well after his army has captured Cheng'an County."

"If we learn that the enemy has moved south and occupied Ye County, we shall immediately order the three armies to march toward Ye County, but we shall still only be able to march thirty li per day."

"Did you remember?" Liu Jilong looked up and questioned the captain, who quickly nodded: "I remembered!"

"Step back." Seeing this, Liu Jilong withdrew his gaze, and the captain quickly bowed and left the yamen.

Before long, the fast horses galloped out of Linzhang County, and Liu Jilong also led his army across the Zhang River southward after nightfall, and then headed west towards the Taihang Mountains.

The following morning, Duan Xu, leading 5,000 cavalry and infantry, withdrew his troops northward as Liu Jilong had instructed, and sent cavalry and infantry to clear away all traces of Liu Jilong's westward advance before returning to Ye County.

Duan Xu's retreat gave Le Yanzhen, who had previously been hesitant to advance north, renewed confidence.

He sent men north to confirm that Duan Xu had retreated to Ye County before sending troops to Anyang and recapturing Yaoshan.

After doing all this, he sent a fast horse to deliver a message to Han Junxiong, who was stationed at the Huan River.

Han Junxiong learned the news at dusk that day.

He dared not delay and sent a fast horse to Li Honggui, who had already traveled south to Fuyang. He told him that he would cross the Yongji Canal the next morning and march west to recapture Linzhang. He would wait for news from Li Honggui before marching on Ye County.

Li Honggui received the news in the middle of the night, so the first thing he did was to inquire about the military commander who had accompanied him south.

"Where is Li Gongquan's elite cavalry now?"

Under the candlelight, Li Honggui could not hide his excitement, while the military commander bowed without hesitation: "We marched south this morning and should now be east of Yaocheng."

Upon hearing the news from the military commander, Li Honggui couldn't help but nod: "Good, tell Li Gongquan that if he can block Liu Jilong's retreat, he will be credited with a great achievement."

"In addition, we sent a fast horse to Han Junxiong, asking him to continue westward after recapturing Linzhang. Our army will cross the Fu River at noon and join forces with him to attack Liu Jilong."

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the military commander also felt a little excited, after all, it was an opportunity to defeat Liu Jilong, and everyone would become famous after this battle.

He bowed and left the bedroom, then immediately sent a messenger to inform Han Junxiong.

Fuyang is only about fifty li away from the Huan River, which is only two hours for a fast horse.

When Han Junxiong saw the fast horse sent by Li Honggui at dawn, he immediately led his army across the Yongji Canal and attacked Linzhang County.

It is only about 30 li from Huanshui to Linzhang County, and you only need to travel another 20 li to reach Ye County.

The journey of sixty li in a day was indeed a test for the soldiers of Weibo, but this test became an insignificant burden after Han Junxiong promised to reward the army.

As noon approached, Li Honggui, stationed at Fuyang, began leading his troops across the Fu River, while Zhao Ying, outside Ye County, quickly received the news through a messenger from the cavalry.

"Have you spotted their elite cavalry or mounted troops?"

Zhao Ying frowned and asked the burly Duan Xu, who shook his head and said, "I haven't found them, but their numbers are considerable, probably five or six times that of our army..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals in the tent gasped, and even Zhao Ying's expression became more serious.

He looked down at the map, but Liu Jilong was nowhere to be seen. Their nearly 10,000 men were in Ye County, north of Zhangshui, and the closest to them was Anpohu, who was likely to capture Cheng'an County today.

The two armies were about fifty li apart. Under normal circumstances, Anpohu would be able to reach Ye County by dusk tomorrow.

However, with His Highness's military order in place, An Pohu will not arrive in Ye County until at least the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, while he himself must wait for the enemy to attack from both sides and retreat westward.

"Order the three armies to await further orders and be ready to break camp and retreat westward at any time."

"Yes!"

Zhao Ying didn't know what his prince was going to do, but he knew that as long as he obeyed his prince's military orders, he wouldn't make a mistake.

Two hours later, Li Honggui led an army of 40,000 across the Yellow River and headed south, followed by 40,000 conscripted laborers.

At the same time, news that Han Junxiong's army had captured Linzhang in the east also reached Ye County.

At present, Li Honggui and Han Junxiong's two armies are less than twenty miles away from Ye County.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Ying decisively ordered his troops to cross the Zhangshui River via a pontoon bridge and retreat southwest to the Taihang Mountains.

"Withdrawn? Where did they withdraw to?"

As darkness approached, Li Honggui couldn't help but feel surprised, thinking that the praise people had given Liu Jilong seemed exaggerated.

"They retreated towards the Taihang Mountains and destroyed the pontoon bridges used for crossing the river."

Meng Fangli bowed and reported. Li Honggui pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then instructed the general of Chengde Town:
"Send fast horses across the shallows to cross the river southward, and ask Le Yanzhen to lead his troops to cooperate with Li Gongquan in advancing towards the Taihang Mountains to block Liu Jilong's retreat route to the south."

"Furthermore, please ask General Han to lead his troops to join forces with our army in Ye County, and recruit 30,000 laborers in Ye County to build a bridge for our army to cross the river and head south tomorrow."

"Yes!" Ya Jiang agreed without hesitation, and then sent a fast horse to inform Han Junxiong.

After doing all this, Li Honggui finally ordered the army to march south to Ye County.

At the same time, Han Junxiong was also leading his troops toward Ye County.

Ye City was once a powerful city in Hebei. However, after Yu Chi Jiong rebelled and Yang Jian quelled the rebellion, he ordered the demolition of Ye City, which fell into decline.

The city of Ye today has a population of only 50,000 and a circumference of only six li, making it impossible to garrison an army of nearly 60,000.

As darkness fell, Li Honggui could only send out his cavalry and infantry as cavalrymen to hastily set up camp and rest in the north of the city, without even a proper encampment.

When Han Junxiong arrived, Li Honggui personally led his troops to welcome him, and the two met under the torches around them.

"Haha, we owe this victory to Lord Li!"

"General Han is too kind."

Upon meeting, the two exchanged pleasantries. Li Honggui then introduced Han Junxiong to Meng Fangli, An Jingsi, and others from the Zhaoyi Army before finally welcoming him into the camp.

As soon as everyone sat down, Li Honggui, who had the most soldiers, took the main seat and gave the left seat to Han Junxiong.

Han Junxiong had no objection to this, so Li Honggui got down to business.

"Liu Jilong led his troops westward, probably preparing to retreat south along the Taihang Mountains back to Huaizhou."

"But Lord Han, rest assured, I have already ordered my subordinate general Li Gongquan to lead 5,000 Chengde cavalry to pursue them, and Lord Han's subordinate Yue Shijun will also lead troops to reinforce them. We will definitely be able to stop Liu Jilong."

Li Honggui was beaming, after all, they had already defeated Liu Jilong today, and all they needed to do was cross the river to the south tomorrow to catch up with Liu Jilong and defeat him within Xiangzhou territory.

To his surprise, Han Junxiong's face was solemn, showing no sign of joy whatsoever.

"Lord Li, are these tens of thousands of soldiers truly led by Liu Jilong?"

Han Junxiong's words made Li Honggui uncomfortable, but in order to maintain control over the allied forces, he could only say uncomfortably, "Oh? Does Lord Han mean to say that there are two Liu Jilongs in this world?"

"It's not that I'm questioning Lord Li, but my messenger just delivered news that Liu Jilong's general An Pohu has led his army to capture Cheng'an, and is only fifty li away from Ye County."

Han Junxiong quickly explained, but Li Honggui frowned and said, "An Pohu? I heard that he led an army of 30,000 and marched straight into Weibo, but I didn't expect that he would almost reach Ye City."

His words made Han Junxiong feel embarrassed, so he could only try to make amends by saying, "The government troops have techniques for breaching city walls, which is why they have made such rapid progress."

"I'm afraid not." Li Honggui chuckled and shook his head, then couldn't help but ask, "If the government troops really had such capabilities, why didn't they capture Anyang and Yecheng?"

"This..." Han Junxiong didn't know what to say, while Li Hongju simply smiled:

"I suspect that Liu Jilong intends to join forces with An Pohu to take Xiangzhou and sever the connection between our three towns."

"However, Liu Jilong did not expect that we would cooperate so well, and he actually arrived in Ye County before An Pohu, so he had no choice but to withdraw his troops."

Li Honggui now felt that Liu Jilong was nothing special, and that he himself was always the better one.

Han Junxiong was willing to defend himself, after all, if Liu Jilong was really so incompetent, then wouldn't Wei Bo be even more incompetent?
Therefore, Han Junxiong couldn't help but say, "An Pohu's 30,000 troops are about to arrive. If Liu Jilong returns to reinforce, our army will probably be caught in a bitter battle."

"Lord Han, there's no need for that!" Li Honggui waved his hand and then said magnanimously:

"Our Chengde cavalry is the bravest in Hebei, and our nearly 20,000 troops could not possibly be unable to hold back Liu Jilong's mere 10,000 cavalry."

"Although Liu Jilong's methods were somewhat unexpected, they are still under control."

"Now my army has 80,000 men, while Liu Jilong has only 40,000."

"First, we will use 20,000 troops to restrict Liu Jilong's cavalry, and then we will concentrate nearly 60,000 troops to confront An Pohu's 30,000 troops."

"Even if the government troops had three heads and six arms, they would absolutely not be able to leave Weibo safely!"

After Li Honggui finished speaking, the generals in the tent couldn't help but laugh, because they knew that the government troops couldn't possibly have three heads and six arms, while they really did have 80,000 troops.

Seeing everyone laughing, Han Junxiong's face turned pale and then purple.

Fortunately, Li Honggui did not want to strain the relationship, so he reassured him, "Lord Han, just watch how I join forces with you to keep Liu Jilong here."

Before Han Junxiong could speak, he waved his hand and said, "Send word: bring wine and meat!"

"Yes!"

As soon as the words were spoken, wine and meat were continuously served on the table outside the tent, and the service did not stop until late into the night.

Even after resting, Han Junxiong couldn't get a good night's sleep, because Chengde's army was accompanied by brokers and military prostitutes, and the camp was filled with decadent music.

Seeing this, the soldiers of Weibo followed suit and bought prostitutes or women, and the entire camp was filled with the sounds of men and women enjoying themselves.

Han Junxiong had carefully studied Liu Jilong and knew that Liu Jilong liked to launch surprise attacks, so he dared not rest at all.

Han Junxiong didn't fall asleep until dawn, and slept for less than three hours before being awakened at noon by a general sent by Li Honggui.

After the merriment of the previous night, the generals were all in high spirits, except for Han Junxiong, who was somewhat listless.

Upon seeing the arrival of the crowd, Li Hongju smiled lightly at Han Junxiong, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Although he hid it well, Han Junxiong still saw through it.

"The laborers are already expanding the camp, and it will be able to accommodate the soldiers and laborers by noon tomorrow at the latest."

"Just now, a messenger from the cavalry brought news that our troops have intercepted Liu Jilong at Heshan. Liu Jilong has led his troops to dismount and form a battle formation, probably preparing to confront General Li Ya and Lord Le, and await the outcome of our battle with An Pohu."

"The troops led by An Pohu are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs. Since the start of the campaign, they have marched no more than thirty li a day. You all should know what this means, right?"

As soon as Li Honggui finished speaking, the generals in the tent began to mock him.

"Marching thirty li a day, are they crawling?"

"Hehe, even the local soldiers can walk forty li a day, while the government troops can only walk thirty li. They are probably not even as good as the local soldiers."

"Apart from their sharpness in breaching cities, they are inferior to our army in everything else. We really overestimated them before."

The speed of an army's march is the best indicator of whether a force is capable of fighting. Not to mention that An Pohu was supposed to join forces with Liu Jilong to encircle Weibo, yet he still dragged his feet, which shows his poor quality.

Han Junxiong's insults, calling them "country bumpkins" and "dogs," were indeed accurate.

Although Han Junxiong wanted to refute this, he couldn't produce any compelling evidence.

"Alright, at the speed of the government troops, they won't arrive in the north until noon tomorrow at the earliest. Our army can rest and reorganize at our leisure. We can then send troops to deal with them tomorrow, and then head south to take down Liu Jilong."

"If you all manage to capture Liu Jilong alive, I will personally commend him for his achievement, and I believe the three generals, including Lord Han, will be generous with their rewards!"

Li Honggui used various methods to win over people's hearts, which Han Junxiong saw but did not retaliate.

"Alright, get some rest today. Tomorrow will be the tough battle."

He waved for everyone to leave, and after they had all departed, he turned to Han Junxiong and asked, "Lord Han, can you rest easy now?"

Han Junxiong nodded: "I must be worrying unnecessarily."

"Haha, no, no, not at all..." Li Honggui, knowing when to stop, stroked his beard and said:
"Liu Jilong is a cunning man. If An Pohu had not been slow in his march, our army might have had to put in a lot of trouble. It is only right that Lord Han is worried."

"However, Liu Jilong's two troops are currently under the noses of our Tangqi, so Lord Han can rest assured."

"That Anpohu will probably only be able to lead his troops to a distance of about twenty miles today, and it will be until the afternoon tomorrow before he can reach the north of our camp."

"Lord Han has been extremely anxious these past few days. A few days ago, I found a pretty woman and sent her to Lord Han's tent shortly afterward."

Seeing that Li Honggui did not embarrass him, Han Junxiong bowed and said, "Thank you."

"Have a safe journey, Lord Han." Li Honggui bowed in acknowledgment, and Han Junxiong also left the tent.

After he left, Li Honggui's expression turned contemptuous, while Han Junxiong, after returning to his tent, saw the six-legged woman that Li Honggui had sent.

Without saying much, Han Junxiong, whose hair and beard were slightly white, carried the girl behind the screen.

Meanwhile, on the official road dozens of miles away from Ye County, the Han army led by An Pohu was leisurely advancing southwest.

Marching thirty li a day was no different from taking a stroll for the Han army.

As dusk approached, An Pohu received news that his own cavalry had made contact with the rebel cavalry. He immediately raised his hand and signaled, "The three armies shall set up camp and break camp at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui nodded in agreement, but just then a fast horse suddenly came galloping up from behind.

He rode swiftly to An Pohu's side, and before An Pohu could speak, he took out Liu Jilong's military document: "Imperial Edict from the King of Han!"

"An Pohu, the Governor of Hebei Province, receives the order!" Without hesitation, An Pohu dismounted and bowed.

"The imperial edict orders An Pohu's troops to join me in attacking the rebels at Ye County at 5 a.m. tomorrow."

"The pacification of Hebei will be achieved tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)