Three days later, at dusk, Wang Yuan and his entourage arrived in Chuzhou as soon as possible. At Qiaotouji, which is more than 50 miles away from the city of Chuzhou, Liu Jun, who led the cavalry brigade and arrived for two days, and Tan Ping, who arrived here first, greeted Wang Yuan here.

Seeing Liu Jun, Wang Yuan was of course very happy. Liu Jun was also very happy, and after visiting the shrine, he began to complain: "Father-in-law, you can scare us a lot this time, I listened to Brother Tan about the defense of Yangzhou City, but I was shocked into a cold sweat." How can you always be so alone and risky? If you have three long and two short, what can we do? What can I do at home in Chengdu? ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Don't make a fuss, aren't I so good?" What did Tan Ping say when he added oil and vinegar? What's at stake? ”

Tan Ping rolled his eyes and said, "The humble position doesn't add oil and vinegar. The marshal insisted on riding south to Yangzhou from Xuzhou, and we couldn't stop it no matter how much we persuaded him. When defending the city this time, he was injured in more than a dozen places. Several wounds are critical, and a few points deep is a life-threatening concern. Isn't that dangerous? ”

Wang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Just talk too much, isn't that forced by the situation?" You don't know the consequences of letting the rebels conquer Yangzhou. In fact, it's not that terrible, the whole city of Yangzhou is very polite to me, and the battle to defend the city is indeed a little dangerous, but isn't it also a disaster? In short, everything turned out to be perfect, so what else is there to mention about this? ”

"Yangzhou City is polite to you? You can't hide it from us, Dashuai. We all know that the Cui family set a fire and almost killed you. Tan Ping smacked his lips.

"What? Is there such a thing? The father-in-law went to help them defend the city, but they wanted to kill the father-in-law? Don't the Cui family's dogs want to live anymore? After turning around and exterminating the rebels, I took people to Yangzhou to settle accounts with them, and left the chickens and dogs killed by their Cui family behind. Tired of living, isn't it? Liu Jun scolded.

"Shut up? It was a misunderstanding, and I have long since settled it. The Cui family is not something you can move if I want to, and we can't offend them at the moment. Besides, I have also reached a settlement with Cui's family, do you think I can hold Yangzhou alone? That was the result of their Cui family's concerted efforts. There is something else to be said about that incident, and I will tell you about it later. Don't spoil my business. Wang Yuan shouted.

"Yes, Dashuai is about to marry the Cui family, General Liu, you will have one more stepmother, you are a family." Zhao Qing muttered.

"It's just your mouth." Wang Yuan scolded.

Zhao Qing stuck out his tongue and hurriedly shut up, Liu Jun didn't know what he meant and wanted to ask again, but was stopped by Tan Pinglian's eyes.

"Liu Jun, let's talk about the situation in the north, I don't know what the situation in the north is now." Wang Yuan didn't want them to focus on the affairs of Yangzhou, so he asked in a deep voice.

Liu Jun hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Father-in-law, I was about to report to you." When Deputy Marshal Gao was leading us to a decisive battle with Linghu Chao's 60,000 army, the court did not send a single soldier to help, but took advantage of Luoyang's emptiness to send troops to take over Luoyang. Li Guangbi is really not a thing, he led an army of 50,000 along the Luoyang line to the north to recover Taiyuan and other places, it seems that he is going to pick up the cheap to recover the entire territory of Hebei Province. There is not much left of the rebels in Hebei Province, and his 50,000 soldiers and horses will soon regain Hebei Province. It's good now, we are busy quelling the rebellion, and they are busy picking up cheap and meritorious service, which is really not a thing. ”

Wang Yuan frowned and nodded, these things were actually expected by himself, when he decided to go south, he actually handed over the right to recover most of the northern region to Li Guangbi. How could Lee Kwang-pil miss such an opportunity.

"What about the Battle of Suiyang? Are the losses of our military and civilians great? Zhang Xun: What happened to them? Wang Yuan asked.

Liu Jun said in a deep voice: "The loss is not small, not the loss of my Shence army, but the loss of the military and civilians in Suiyang. When our Shence army arrived in Suiyang, Linghu Chao had been storming Suiyang for many days. Zhang Xun led less than 10,000 soldiers and horses to defend the city, as well as tens of thousands of people in Suiyang, who defended the city and died a lot of people. Moreover, Suiyang City was cut off from food, which was originally only enough for a few thousand people to eat, because the people in the nearby prefectures and counties were forced to retreat to Suiyang, so there was not enough to eat at all. On the third day of the siege of the rebels, they ran out of food. By the time our army arrived, it was already the tenth day. ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "After seven days of food cuts, Suiyang has not been attacked?" ”

Liu Jun said in a low voice: "Speaking of which, my father-in-law will definitely not believe it, this Zhang Xun is really a ruthless character." Do you know how he does it? He killed his sons and his wives and concubines, and cooked their meat for the soldiers to eat. Xu Yuan, who was defending the city with him, also killed his wife and children and cooked meat for the soldiers to eat. The death row prisoners who were in the prison were also ordered by him to be killed, and the meat was cooked for the soldiers to eat. The soldiers didn't know at first that they were eating human flesh, or if someone had eaten nails, hair, teeth, or something like that in the broth. In seven days, Ling Fox Tide attacked the city fifty-two times, and was beaten back by Zhang Xun every time. Zhang Xun was hit by nine arrows, but he never left the city half a step. These people are really ruthless, and we were all stunned when we heard about them. Gao Shuai was shocked and speechless. ”

Wang Yuan was also in a daze, he didn't expect this Zhang Xun to be so ruthless. In order to defend the city, even the wives and concubines and children were killed to feed the soldiers, which is really incredible.

"I'm afraid it's hearsay, is it really cannibalism?" Zhao Qing didn't believe it either.

"Whether it's true or not, we don't have anyone to verify it, but the people say it's true. After the siege of Suiyang was relieved, it is said that cannibalism prevailed in the city. Because the people didn't have anything to eat, they all killed their children and killed each other to eat each other, which was really miserable. One of the generals of our cavalry saw a child boiling in a pot in a house. Ay...... It's hard to let go of when you think about it. ”

Wang Yuan frowned and said in a deep voice: "Is Zhang Xun dead or alive?" ”

"Speaking of which, the righteous father must have been shocked, and on the day we defeated Linghu Chao and relieved the siege of Suiyang, Zhang Xun jumped from the city and fell to his death. Everyone said that he was guilty. killed his wife and concubines and children in order to defend the city, although he was loyal to the court, but he lost the righteousness of humanity, so he jumped off the building and died to make amends to his wife and concubines and children. ”

Wang Yuan let out a long breath, and the image of Zhang Xun's black, thin and capable man appeared in his mind. This Zhang Xun can be called a martyr, Wang Yuan can't evaluate his behavior, but one thing is certain. Zhang Xun stopped Linghu Chao's soldiers and horses from advancing into the Jianghuai region in Suiyang, avoiding a huge catastrophe. If the fox tide breaks through the southeast, it echoes the solemn army going south. The southeast will become a land of misery. Until now, Zhang Xun's contribution in the Yongsui area is huge, and to a certain extent, it has a role in the war. As for the matter of his killing and eating, Wang Yuan could not agree with it. But if the thing is true, Zhang Xun chose to jump off the building and commit suicide, which can be regarded as a kind of fierce act, which is enough to wash away the shame caused by his crazy behavior.

"The battle under Suiyang City is going well, isn't it?" Wang Yuandao.

"Destroy the wither." Liu Jun said with a smile: "When my army arrived, Linghu Chao's soldiers and horses had already lost half of them due to the siege. Our army fought fiercely with them for a day and a night, defeating more than 40,000 thieves, killing 30,000 enemies and capturing 13,000. Our army suffered less than 4,000 casualties. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "It's a beautiful fight." How many cavalry did you bring with you this time? ”

Liu Jun said: "Forty thousand cavalry." ”

Wang Yuan nodded and asked, "Are the rebel soldiers still under the city of Chuzhou?" ”

"Exactly, they originally planned to attack Chuzhou City, but after our army arrived, they did not dare to attack the city, and they were building fortifications in a valley east of the city, intending to resist stubbornly. My 40,000 cavalry have blocked their front and rear roads, and we are waiting for my father-in-law to come and give the order to hang them. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Well done, although we can trap them, we don't have to wait." Liu Jun, haven't you always hoped for a battle to make a name for yourself? This is now the battle you are known for, and the rebellion will be ended by destroying the last 30,000 or so rebels in front of you. Therefore, I order you to lead the cavalry to launch a fierce attack tomorrow morning, and wipe them all out in the east of Dangtu City, and never let them have any chance to escape. ”

Liu Jun was overjoyed, he didn't know that this was an excellent opportunity given to him by his father-in-law. The rebels are about to be wiped out, and this last battle is the greatest glory. In fact, Liu Jun could launch an attack when he led the army to arrive, but he knew that the significance of this final battle was too great, and he would never dare to do it easily, so he could only wait for Wang Yuan to arrive. And now Wang Yuan has handed over this glory to himself, which is not only his favor, but also his support and trust. After this battle, his Liu Jun's name will become famous all over the world and become a deafening name.

"Thank you, father, child, I can't thank you enough." Liu Jun knelt and kowtowed, almost choking.

Wang Yuan said slowly: "You have been running around with me for so many years, you were young before, and I didn't dare to entrust me with important tasks in many things." But you're a battle-hardened man now, and you deserve it. This battle is your battle for fame, and you have to win cleanly. Even if it's a coming-of-age ceremony from your stepfather. ”

"Thank you, father-in-law, the child is sure to win cleanly. Live up to your father's expectations. Liu Jun said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Don't be busy thanking me first, I have conditions." Under the current circumstances, the rebels are like lost dogs, and even if they have no plan, 40,000 cavalry can break the enemy in one fell swoop. Then this battle will not be of any benefit to you, and I will be talked about behind my back, saying that I gave you a chance to make meritorious service to you, which is obviously not convincing to the public. Therefore, I want to make it a little more difficult for you, and I want you to defeat this not only cleanly, but also convincingly, so that you will not say that I am biased towards you in the future. ”

"This ...... What conditions does the stepfather have to make? Liu Jun scratched his head and said.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Three conditions, first, I don't want the war to drag on for too long, so I want you to end the war quickly." Attack tomorrow morning and settle the battle before the sun sets. Can you do it in four hours? ”

Liu Jun breathed a sigh of relief, what kind of problem is this? Four hours is enough to end the battle, not even four hours.

"It can be done. Rest assured. What about the second condition? ”

"The second condition, I don't want too many casualties, so I set a limit of 2,000 casualties for you, even if you have one more dead or wounded, you will be considered defeated in this battle." Wang Yuandao.

"This ......" Liu Jun scratched his head, controlling the number of dead and injured is not a simple matter, sometimes the number of dead and injured cannot be controlled at all.

"This may seem harsh, but the purpose of controlling the number of casualties on your side is not to make things difficult for you, but to make you understand the preciousness of soldiers' lives. And as a leading general, you can't work hard, otherwise you won't be a qualified general. Controlling casualties forces you to use your strategic wisdom to get the most out of your battles with the least casualties. Being able to do this is the standard for a qualified general. Do you understand what I mean? Wang Yuan said slowly.

Liu Jun and Zhao Qing and Tan Ping, who were surprised next to him, suddenly realized that the handsome man had this intention. Obviously, with the addition of this condition, this battle is no longer a simple battle, but a real experience.

"Don't worry, father-in-law, the child will do it." Liu Jun said loudly.

"Okay, then the third condition, you hear clearly. You can only break the enemy with 10,000 cavalry, and the remaining 30,000 cavalry can only sweep you in the rear and cheer you on. If these 10,000 cavalry can't break the enemy and need other cavalry to solve the battle, that's when you lose the battle. ”