In early September, Wang Shi sent Zhao Yuan to assist Zhao Ben and Lian Po in containing the rebels led by Meng Zhong, while on Pang Xuan's side, he sent Li Jian and Zhao Jun to try to contain them, while Zhao Cheng and Li Dui were still in the main camp and were responsible for the attack from Gongzizhang.

However, the rebels did not move for the time being, because the rebels were waiting for Niu Qian's cavalry to return.

In mid-September, Zhao Xi finally broke through the blockade of Qinghe by the rebel general Han Gu, and Han Gu was defeated and had to retreat to the sand dunes.

But on the way to the sand dunes palace with Zhao Xi's army, he was attacked by the cavalry under Niu Qian's command, and more than 10,000 Zhao cavalry swept by, and Zhao Xi's army was immediately defeated like a mountain, and the remaining six or seven thousand soldiers under Zhao Xi's command were like paper paste in front of the iron hooves of the cavalry under Niu Qian, and they were torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.

I have to say that after seeing the tidal cavalry, Zhao Xi immediately guessed the details of this cavalry, after all, there is only one cavalry in Zhao and even the entire Central Plains.

Realizing that he could not resist the cavalry under Niu Qian's command, Zhao Xi had no choice but to flee alone, after all, he was not sure whether Niu Qian, who had joined the rebel camp, would show mercy to his men.

However, before escaping, Zhao Xi had ordered his generals to surrender to Niu Qian's army, after all, they were both Zhao Guo's army, and Zhao Xi believed that Niu Jian would not be wiped out.

Sure enough, after learning that Zhao Xi had fled and his generals had surrendered to his side, Niu Jian was very satisfied with the surrendered troops, and at the same time sent people to cross the Qing River and contact Xu Jun, a Zhao general who was stationed in Gaotangyi.

To be honest, in fact, Xu Jun is also aware of the war between Wang Shi and the rebels these days, but he is quite undecided, after all, all kinds of signs show that Gongzizhang's rebellion is actually supported by Master Zhao's father, which makes Xu Jun worried.

So at the suggestion of Meng Yu, Xu Jun simply became an ostrich, as if he didn't know anything about the outside world, and honestly guarded Gao Tangyi and fulfilled his duties.

As for Zhao Wanghe and Gongzi Zhang - in fact, it should be said that Zhao Wanghe and Zhao's father, Xu Jun hesitated again and again, and decided not to help each other, because he was not sure which side would win in the end, after all, in his opinion, Wang Shi and the rebels had their own advantages.

Until Niu Jian sent someone to summon him, Xu Jun had no choice but to take his subordinate general Meng Hu, lead 8,000 soldiers to cross the Qing River, join forces with Niu Qian, and go to Handan to quell the rebellion.

"Counterinsurgency...... I wonder who the rebels are? ”

When he saw Niu Qian, Xu Jun was quite cautious and tentative.

Niu Jian said with a smile when he heard this: "Naturally, it is Zhao Cheng, Li Dui, Zhao Bao, Xin Qi and others, these four people plotted to kill Feiyi, hijack the king, and want to harm Lord Zhao and Anyang Jun, it is really hateful!" ”

Of course, Xu Jun knew that Niu Qian's words were very problematic, but he was afraid of Niu Qian's army and considering the current victory of the rebel army, he could only let it go.

This is also a helpless thing, after all, after Niu Jian entered the rebel camp, the victory of the rebel army increased a lot all of a sudden, although Xu Jun was more inclined to Zhao Wanghe in his heart, but in terms of the current situation, he really couldn't think of any chance of victory for the Wang Shi on the opposite side - is there an army on the other side that can resist the cavalry of Zhao under Niu Qian? No!

After joining forces with Xu Jun, Niu Jian immediately led the return to the Quliang area, but when he led the army through the Dune Palace, he still went to the palace alone to meet Master Zhao, and soon saw Master Zhao who was talking and laughing with Crane Guanzi in the palace.

On September 18, Niu Jian and Xu Jun led their troops to Quliangyi, and after surrendering to Gongzizhang, they garrisoned on the north side of Quliangyi.

In the next few days, Niu Jian often went to the three camps in the eastern suburbs, northeast and southeast of Handan on the orders of Gongzizhang, but Wang Shi avoided fighting.

Think about it, too, who would dare to fight cavalry on flat terrain? Although the history of cavalry in the Central Plains is still very short, Zhao Guo has already suffered enough from the Hu cavalry, and he is very aware of the power of cavalry on flat terrain.

During this period, Meng Zhong and Pang Xuan also used Niu Qian's cavalry to attack Wang Shi from time to time, forcing Wang Shi to abandon the two partial camps of Zhao Cheng and Li Dui, and retreat to the main camp of Zhao Cheng and Li Dui, and even when necessary, Zhao Cheng and Li Dui had decided to retreat to Handan City and use Handan's city wall to resist the rebels.

I have to say that the cavalry under Niu Jian has greatly increased the prestige of the rebels.

And this also made Niu Jian quite proud.

On the night of September 22, just as Niu Jian was about to rest in his tent, a soldier suddenly reported to him: "Sima, a man was caught while patrolling nearby, and the man said that your old friend, please see him. ”

"Old friends?"

Niu Jian couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this, nodded after thinking about it slightly, and said, "Bring that person in." ”

"Whoa!"

Not long after, an old man dressed in cloth and wearing a hat, like a fisherman, was taken to Niu Qian's tent.

Looking at the old fisherman in front of him, Niu Jian smiled and said, "Let me guess the identity of the foot......"

Before he could finish his sentence, the old man dressed as a fisherman raised his head so that Niu Jian could see his face.

However, just by glancing, Niu Qian's face showed surprise, and after hesitating, he waved his hand to send back the guards beside him.

After the two guards left the tent, he walked up to the old man and saluted with his fists respectfully: "Lord Zhao Gu." ”

It turned out that the person who came to see Niu Jian this time was Zhao Gu, who had spent his old age in Jinyang in recent years.

"Was it a surprise?" Zhao Gu took off the hat on his head and looked at Niu Jian with a smile.

Niu Jian nodded and said truthfully: "I thought it would be Zhao Cheng or Li Dui, but I didn't expect it to be you......"

The reason why he was respectful to Zhao Gu was because Niu Jian was under the former when he was young.

I remember that during the time when Zhao was frequently harassed by Hu cavalry, it was Zhao Gu who was stationed in the northern territory of Zhao to resist the invading Hu cavalry, so it stands to reason that Zhao Gu was the general of Zhao who knew the cavalry best, but unfortunately, when Zhao master's father implemented the Hufu cavalry reform and determined the cavalry establishment, Zhao Gu was already over sixty years old, so Zhao Gu recommended the most powerful general under his command to command the first cavalry of Zhao State, that is, Niu Qian.

It is worth mentioning that Niu Qian's understanding of cavalry was also taught by Zhao Gu, so Niu Jian had special respect for Zhao Gu.

"The old man didn't expect it."

At this time, Zhao Gu had already taken off his robe, sat down in the banquet in the tent, looked at Niu Jian who was still standing in front of him and said: "Last year, my Zhao State attacked and destroyed the Zhongshan Kingdom, and at that time the old man also said to my grandson, Zhongshan Kingdom, the long-cherished wish of the eight generations of monarchs of my Zhao State can finally be realized today, and my Zhao Kingdom has finally solved the internal troubles and can win the hegemony of the Central Plains, even if the old man was blind at that time, he was satisfied......" He frowned and coughed twice.

Seeing this, Niu Jian hurriedly poured a bowl of water for Zhao Gu.

I saw Zhao Gu take a sip of Niu Qian's water, sighed, shook his head and said: "But I didn't expect that when my Zhao Kingdom was about to rise, such a major event happened in the country, and I was shocked that my old bones rushed to Handan for days and nights...... Speaking of this, he raised his head, looked at Niu Jian and said: "However, what the old man didn't expect was that he actually saw you leading the cavalry army to attack the army under the command of the king." ”

Niu Jian was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Lord Zhao Gu, I am on order......"

"On orders?" Zhao Gu interrupted Niu Qian's words and said coldly, "Whose order are you on?" Childe Chapter? Or the master father? ”

After a slight pause, he shook his head and said: "Master Father, he is decisive in foreign affairs and indecisive in internal affairs, because he favored Wu Wa, he abolished the throne of the Han family, so that Korea broke off the alliance with my Zhao State at that time and threw himself into Wei again; Now, Wu Wa has been dead for many years, and the main father cares about the friendship between Han and Zhao Zhang's mother and son, hoping to abolish the throne of the monarch and establish Gongzi Zhang as the monarch, which is simply regarded as child's play! …… And you, after the master father made such a confused decision, instead of dissuading him, you assisted him and helped Gongzizhang usurp the throne of the monarch, he was confused, are you also confused?! ”

Hearing these words, although Niu Jian was a little disapproving, he did not refute it face-to-face.

He smiled bitterly and asked, "Lord Zhao Gu, did you come here just to scold me?" ”

Hearing this, Zhao Gu snorted coldly: "Scold you? If it weren't for the fact that the old man is now old and dying, the old man would like to beat you up and wake you up ...... fool" Speaking of this, he calmed down a little, looked at Niu Jian and said: "Okay, the above words are what the old man said as your former general, and next, the old man wants to convey Fengyangjun's words...... Niu Qian, if you are willing to abandon the darkness and turn your back on the unrighteous Gongzi Zhang to help the monarch quell the rebellion, Fengyang Jun promised to ask the monarch to canonize you as the king of Wu'an......"

"Since Li Dui meant, why didn't he come and tell me in person?" Niu Jian sneered when he heard this.

"It was the old man himself who insisted on it." Glancing at Niu Qian, Zhao Gu said lightly: "Anyway, the old man is about to die, and he has no power or position, even if you kill the old man, it will not affect the ...... of Master Wang."

"How dare Niu Qian." Niu Jian hurriedly said.

Indeed, if the person who came was Anpingjun Zhao Cheng or Fengyangjun Li Dui, there was no guarantee that Niu Jian would really take it down and tie it up in front of Gongzizhang or Zhao's father, but for Zhao Gu, who had been kind to him, Niu Jian would not do this - this is also the reason why he retreated from the left and right guards.

But not wanting to anger Zhao Gu, who was kind to him, does not mean that he will accept Zhao Gu's rebellion.

He shook his head and said to Zhao Gu: "Boss, I have always respected you, but I can't do this ...... this matter."

"Hmph."

Zhao Gu was not annoyed when he heard this, he snorted lightly twice with a smile on his face, and suddenly asked Niu Qian: "Niu Qian, in the past few days, you have led the cavalry to attack the Wang Division, forcing the Wang Division to abandon the two partial camps, and even retreat into Handan City, you must be very proud, right?" ”

Although Niu Jian was indeed faintly complacent about this, he naturally would not show it in front of Zhao Gu, after all, if it wasn't for Zhao Gu's recommendation back then, even if he was already in full bloom at that time, he was not qualified to command the only cavalry of Zhao State.

"It's all up to you ......"

"That's not what the old man meant." Shaking his head, he interrupted Niu Qian's words, and said lightly: "When you were in charge of the cavalry, it was because the master father trusted you, if Gongzi Zhang attacked the throne of my Zhao State this time, and when the master father died in the future, do you think you can still be in charge of this cavalry, and you can still have a place among the courtiers of Gongzi Zhang?" Glancing at Niu Qian, he snorted lightly and added: "The best army is naturally handed over to the most trusted courtier, Niu Qian, although you are the most trusted courtier of the master's father, but are you the most trusted person of Gongzizhang?" ”

“……”

Niu Jian frowned, speechless.