My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 421 The decisive battle begins!
"Prime Minister, what do you think..."

Gao Huan's guess was correct.

The moment Wang Xiang received the message from the spy, he delivered it to Erzhu Rong.

Erzhu Rong, who was sleeping, was jolted awake upon seeing the news and jumped up.

"He Liuhun had been making concessions all along, but now he suddenly wants to fight us to the death. Could it be that Mo Hedu has arrived?"

Wang Xiang then explained from the side, "That's impossible. What prestige does Mo Heduo have? What handsome appearance does he have? Even if he went to He Liuhun's army alone, it's impossible that there would be no sound at all."

Erzhu Rong shook his head, "It's hard to say..."

Even though he had planted many spies in Gao Huan's camp, it was impossible for him to cover the entire camp of tens of thousands of soldiers in every aspect without any blind spots.

Gao Yu could certainly emulate the example set by Lord Wu'an during the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao, where he secretly went to the front lines.

Create an information gap.

In Erzhu Rong's view, Gao Yu was very likely to act in this way.

After all, Gao Yu's favorite principle is "speed is of the essence in war," which means to strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard.

Essentially, it's about exploiting an information gap.

"That's not right either."

Erzhu Rong then thought again, so what if Gao Yu were to learn from Bai Qi?

He came alone, leading not his most elite Xuanjia Army and Fubing, and lacking a large number of mid-level officers to carry out his orders.

and……

He had already prepared a 'big gift' for Gao Huan's troops and the people of the six towns!
"However... does He Liuhun's willingness to act like this mean that something has really happened in Yingzhou?"

Compared to the current situation, Erzhu Rong was more worried about Yingzhou.

Gao Huan couldn't have become so assertive for no reason; someone must have given him confidence so that he could stand up straight.

The only person he could think of was Gao Yu.

But if Gao Yu comes...

That means the battle in Yingzhou has already been decided. Gao Yu may have won a great victory, or even captured or killed Hou Yuan. Otherwise, Gao Yu wouldn't have rushed over in such a hurry.

If we then put all the information we've gathered over the past few days together...

Erzhu Rong's heart sank.

What he worried about most happened.

"It seems that something must have happened to Hou Yuan."

Wang Xiang had also come to this conclusion. As Erzhu Rong's most trusted confidant and close advisor, the information he possessed was unmatched by anyone else under Erzhu Rong.

"I think so."

"Hey……"

Erzhu Rong couldn't help but sigh, "I was hoping Hou Yuan could hold out a little longer..."

Wang Xiang comforted him, saying, "After all, it's Mo Heduo. Hou Yuan has already done his best to hold out for so long."

Did you really try your best?

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that in just three or four months, an army of tens of thousands was defeated so completely.
It must have been Hou Yuan who took the initiative to go out into the wild to fight Gao Yu.

But there's no point in dwelling on right or wrong right now.

On the contrary, after confirming the news that Yingzhou had been defeated, Erzhu Rong became even more eager to defeat Gao Huan in front of him.

Gao Yu took away the three provinces of Ying, Yan, and You.

He also wants to take back the three prefectures of Ding, Xiang, and Yin.

At worst, it would be equivalent to the two sides exchanging lands. Exchanging three prefectures for three prefectures would still divide the land of Hebei equally. In fact, Erzhu Rong would gain a little more.

The most important thing is that taking Xiangzhou and Dingzhou would mean connecting all of his territories into one.

His core stronghold of Bingzhou can rest easy, and he can even find an opportunity to send troops north from Jinyang to take back Sizhou. After taking back Shanxi, he can look down on the entire Hebei and Shandong provinces.

In terms of terrain, he still maintains the advantage over Gao Yu.

Although Gao Yu occupies fertile lands, he has virtually no natural defenses to rely on. Instead, he can utilize the Guanzhong Plain and the plains within Shanxi Province to consolidate and develop his territory. He can continuously send cavalry to harass Gao Yu's lands, disrupting his agricultural production and eventually wearing Gao Yu down.

For Erzhu Rong, this is currently the safest option.

Hou Yuan was defeated. This meant he was destined not to be able to quickly deal with the Gao brothers.

unless……

Yuzhou's Chilie Yanqing might bring him a pleasant surprise.

If Erzhu Rong could attack Xuzhou from the direction of Yuzhou and then threaten Nanqingzhou and Qingzhou, he could indeed quickly pacify the Gao brothers.

By the time.

"Mohe, do you really have to be my enemy? If you were willing to help me, why would the world not be at peace?"

Even at this point.

Erzhu Rong still wanted to recruit Gao Yu to his service.

But it's just a thought.

It's highly unlikely.

Gao Yu is someone who has tasted the "meat" (victimhood), having been a local ruler and managing a group of people.

How could Erzhu Rong possibly continue to give such a person an important position?

Of course, we must suppress them with all our might!

"Forget about that for now. I'll get some rest tomorrow. I'm going to personally take the lead and crush He Liuhun!!"

………………

The climate was pleasant, with even a gentle breeze.

The brothers Hebasheng and Hebayue leaned against each other.

Erzhu Rong appointed the two as generals of the right wing, but he was not entirely at ease. He also placed Guo Luosha and Chi Lieping on the right wing, nominally with Heba Yue as the leader, but in reality... even if Heba Yue wanted to defect in battle, he might not be able to command the army.

Meanwhile, figures like Li Hu and Dugu Xin were either placed in the left flank of the main army or in the front flank.

In terms of personnel arrangements, Erzhu Rong did his best to break up the Wuchuan "brotherhood" so that they could not gather together and thus could not plot.

On the contrary, they might have some concerns.

"Adou, you..."

Hebasheng came to Hebayue's side, frowning as he said, "That scoundrel He Liuhun actually dares to challenge us. Could it be that Mo Heduo has already arrived?"

"Impossible, Moheduo brought a large army...it's impossible for them to arrive so stealthily."

Heba Yue shook his head, "With our plans in place, He Liuhun's chances of winning are not high."

"Then you mean..."

"Continue to observe the situation."

Heba Yue decided to take another look.

It's not time to gamble yet.

Perhaps we can wait until the Gao brothers' situation gets even worse before offering them help.

otherwise……

If we help Gao Huan win now.

Gao Huan probably thought it was his own bravery that had nothing to do with their defection.

"alright."

Just as the two brothers were discussing it.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from ahead. Looking into the distance, several riders were galloping towards them, raising clouds of dust in their wake.

"Report!!"

It turned out they weren't scouts, but messengers.

"Reporting to General Heba, the vanguard has already engaged the enemy. The Prime Minister has instructed me to order everything to proceed according to the original plan!"

Heba Yue looked around.

Guo Luosha came over and said, "Go and tell the Prime Minister to rest assured... we will definitely act according to the plan!"

(End of this chapter)