Years later, Xiao Yao came to the White Tiger Festival Hall again, Wu Mingche and a group of senior generals were already talking enthusiastically, and they all seemed very excited, after all, the original enthusiasm had been held back for more than half a year!

"Shiro, it's been half a year, why hasn't your hair grown yet?" Xiao Yao's boss Cheng Wenji said with a smile.

"It seems that General Cheng doesn't know how convenient our short hair is! Now the officers and soldiers of the infantry battalion are accustomed to short hair, even bald heads, because they can be cleaned every day, there is no trouble with head lice, and their bodies are much healthier! If General Cheng also tries to shave his head, it feels very comfortable and refreshing! Xiao Yao smiled and went back.

Indeed, the hairstyle is a thing, as long as you see too much, it will be pleasing to the eye, in the past six months, Xiao Yao and the soldiers of the infantry battalion have regularly cut their hair, and they have always had a small flat head, everyone is used to it, naturally no one laughs at them anymore Fake monks, and the soldiers have also discovered the benefits of short hair, their heads are no longer itchy, and the number of illnesses is less, so everyone is willing to follow Xiao Yao to cut short hair, and even influenced many people in society to follow the trend.

"I can't say Shiro, the infantry battalion is yours, whatever you want, but I'm old, so I won't mess around with you!" Cheng Wenji touched his hair and smiled.

"Shiro's ideas are always so different, and we don't think it's strange!" Coach Wu Mingche stroked his beard and suddenly said seriously: "Now let's get down to business!" Although there was a sudden typhoon last year, which led to the suspension of the Northern Expedition, but after the recovery and recuperation in the second half of the year, our vitality has almost recovered, and recently the emperor also discussed with me, it seems that the Northern Expedition can be restarted! ”

"Hmm." Xiao Yao was expressionless and nodded in response.

"Aren't you excited to hear the news of the resumption of the Northern Expedition? We can finally make a big splash on the battlefield! Cheng Wenji was a little dissatisfied with Xiao Yao's reaction.

"I told you a long time ago, it was just a typhoon, and the losses caused by it seemed to be very serious, but at most the Northern Expedition was postponed for half a year, and you didn't believe it at the time, and everyone was depressed! So I have long guessed that the Northern Expedition can be restarted this year, plus the emperor regards the Northern Expedition as the top priority of the country, and we have more time to train for half a year, and now the combat effectiveness of the army is definitely stronger than last year! So it should be in March or April! Xiao Yao said calmly.

"Haha, you really guessed it, the emperor meant that the Northern Expedition should be sooner rather than later, and the longer it drags on, the worse it will be for us! The soldiers have long been ready, so my idea is to mobilize the troops and horses right now, and attack on all fronts in April to go on the Northern Expedition! Wu Mingche laughed.

"What is the situation in Jiangbei, as the so-called do not fight unprepared battles, do not fight uncertain battles, I believe that General Wu has also explored the situation of the Qi army clearly!" Xiao Yao said with a smile.

"Hmmm! Since we spread the rumors over there that we didn't dare to go on the Northern Expedition because we were afraid of Gao Changgong's prestige, as well as the discord strategy used by your general firm in the Qi Palace, Gao Wei no longer trusted Gao Changgong, and sent the general Wei Pohu to the south as the deputy general of the Qi army, dividing his power, and Gao Changgong did not dare to provoke Gao Wei anymore, nor did he dare to fight for power with Wei Pohu, and now although the commander of the Qi army is Gao Changgong, he is actually commanding the deputy marshal Wei Pohu! Wu Mingche said.

"How's this guy?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Reckless! However, he has sent the general Changsun Hongluo to garrison troops in Xuyi, and he can reinforce Qin County at any time! Moreover, the Qi army also built a water village in the north of the river, blocking the river channel into Qin County, if we want to cross the river to fight and take Qin County, we must first capture this water village! Wu Mingche said.

"General Wu means that he wants our infantry battalion to take the lead?" Xiao Yao asked.

"That's right! We have trained for half a year, and the Qi army has also spent half a year to prepare, building more warships, and there are as many as 5 ships that can carry hundreds of people and are equipped with huge poles! There are also dozens of main warships of all kinds, and there are hundreds of other small ships, and now the strength of their naval army can also compete with us! And your gunboat is extremely powerful, I want you to deal with their main ships, after destroying them, then our ship will have no opponent, and then it will be easy to deal with other small ships! Wu Mingche said.

"My gunboats were built to cross the river to fight, and the target is to deal with these main warships, if it is just because they have built an extra water village and a few ships, General Wu should not have called me to this White Tiger Festival Hall and told me in person, right?" Xiao Yao asked with a slight smile.

"Hehe, Shiro is really smart!" Wu Mingche smiled awkwardly and continued: "According to our spy report, it is said that over there in Jiangbei, the Qi army has built dozens of huge catapults! You can throw hundreds of pounds of boulders to a distance of 200 zhang! If we rush across the river, and they throw catapults at once, we will be hit hard! ”

"And in addition to the threat of these catapults, they have also laid a large number of water barrier wooden fences on the river channel entering Qin County, if these wooden stakes are not pulled out, our warships will not be able to sail into the river, and then besiege Qin County!" Cheng Wenji continued.

"So I called you here this time, just to brainstorm and see if everyone has good countermeasures, so that we can reduce losses and casualties, and if we can win, capture this water village and take Qin County!" Wu Mingche said solemnly.

"These catapults can throw boulders this far, they must be huge and cumbersome, right?" Xiao Yao asked thoughtfully.

"According to the description of the spies, these catapults are three zhang long, one zhang wide, and the throwing rod is four zhang long, all of which are made of giant trees, weighing thousands of catties, and it takes dozens of people to push them!" Cheng Wenji said.

"That said, these catapults are very poorly maneuverable! If we rush into their range, it will be difficult for them to adjust their range! Then let's use a small number of warships as bait to lure them into launching catapults, and then we will rush over while there is a gap! Then when our ships are engaged in melee combat with theirs, their catapults will not be able to project, otherwise they may sink their own ships at any time! Xiao Yao suggested.

"We have discussed this method, if it is to disperse the warships to attack, it is indeed easier to avoid the boulder attack of the opponent's catapults, but don't forget that the other side still has a ship formation waiting for us, the opponent's hundreds of warships are waiting for us, if we don't gather the warships to form a ship formation, just a few ships scattered to attack, it is difficult to defeat their ship formation!" Wu Mingche analyzed.

"But if by the time we gather the warships and form a ship formation, the opponent's catapults will definitely have adjusted their range, then we will become a big target! When the time comes, their boulders will smash down on our ship, and we will surely suffer heavy casualties! Wu Mingche said with a hint of worry.

"Can't we form a ship formation? Then we can just break up their formation! The strength of our naval army is stronger than that of the Qi army, and if it is a warship going head-to-head, our chances of victory will definitely be greater! Xiao Yao's eyes lit up and said.

"None of us can form a ship formation to attack, even if there are sporadic warships rushing in front of the opponent, it will only allow the opponent's warships to unite and easily sink, let alone break up their ship formation!" Cheng Wenji shook his head and said.

"Of course your ships can't, but my gunboats definitely can!" Xiao Yao smiled confidently.