Zhang Xuan officially signed the agreement with Wang Shichong to demarcate and rule, then immediately led the army to arrive at the county, at this time, Du Fuwei had to retreat to Jianghuai because the grain route was cut off, and on the other hand, the Tang army withdrew to Guanzhong also gave Du Fuwei a hard blow, he knew that his crisis was coming, but he would never be captured, no matter what, Jianghuai is the foundation of his Du Fuwei, he will never give it to Zhang Xuan.

The 50,000 elite army marched mightily on the official road, and they had already entered the county, and there were still thirty miles away from the county.

Zhang Xuan was at the front of the team, with his gold-edged red blue dragon king flag fluttering above his head, surrounded by hundreds of personal guard cavalry, the corn fields on both sides of the official road had been harvested, the bare fields were endless, the green mountains in the distance were like picturesque, and the green water was like a green belt, although the scenery was pleasing to the eye, Zhang Xuan had no heart to appreciate, he had been thinking about the strategy of breaking Du Fuwei.

As the coach, he doesn't have to think about how to fight each battle, but he needs to consider the strategy, consider the direction of the war, and whether to exterminate or appease Du Fuwei? Or if it is the combination of grace and power, he also has to consider the surrounding environment, whether Lin Shihong's Yangtze River Naval Army will support Du Fuwei, whether the civil war between Meng Haigong and Jiangnan will have a dramatic turn, and so on.

Attacking Du Fuwei was only the first step in his southern strategy, but it was a crucial step, laying a solid foundation for the later southern strategy.

When he was thinking, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves in the distance, and he saw a group of cavalry rushing in the distance, and Zhang Xuan waved his hand and shouted: "The army stops marching!" ”

The team slowly stopped, and the cavalry of the guards urged their horses forward, forming several rows, vigilantly watching the arrival of the cavalry in front.

In a moment, a group of cavalry galloped up, and some soldiers shouted: "It's General Pei!" ”

Zhang Xuan also saw clearly that the leader was Pei Xingyan, and there was another general behind him, but it was Luo Cheng.

Zhang Xuan has received a military report written by Pei Xingyan, Luo Cheng was almost plotted by Du Fuwei in Linli County, and finally broke through and left, without losing a single soldier, Pei Xingyan vigorously praised Luo Cheng for his courage, knowing that the road was impassable, but he still forcibly retreated eastward and avoided Du Fuwei's ambush in the west of the city.

The cavalry rushed to Zhang Xuan in an instant, and Pei Xingyan clasped his fists on the horse and saluted: "See the big handsome!" ”

Later, Luo Cheng also saluted, "See the big handsome!" ”

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, "Are you here to greet me?" ”

"The marshal is not allowed to disturb the people's greeting, and the humble duty does not alarm the civilians, and it is not a special greeting."

Zhang Xuan smiled and nodded, "The key is not to disturb the people, as long as you can do this, in fact, it doesn't hurt to come and greet you!" ”

"Thank you for your understanding."

Pei Xingyan said excitedly: "Brothers, don't hold back your strength, you want to teach Du Fuwei a hard lesson, and I hope that the marshal will let our cavalry move first." ”

Zhang Xuan shook his head, "I'm sorry to tell you that this time to destroy Du Fuwei, the cavalry is not the main force, the main force should be the naval army and infantry, you should understand what I mean." ”

"The humble post understands that the Jianghuai water network is dense, which is not suitable for large-scale cavalry combat, but the 20,000 cavalry have returned to Hebei, and the humble post only led 10,000 cavalry to the south to conquer Jianghuai, and there is no problem with small-scale cavalry operations, I hope the marshal can give us a chance." Pei Xingyan said in a hurry.

Zhang Xuan laughed, "I just said that the cavalry is not the main force, and I didn't say that the cavalry will not be allowed to fight, how can there be no combat opportunities?" ”

Only then did Pei Xingyan react, he scratched his head embarrassedly, and hurriedly pulled Luo Cheng up and diverted this embarrassing topic, "Marshal, this time General Luo is brave and strategic, and he can be on his own, so he was left to fight side by side with me." ”

Luo Cheng was very ashamed and said: "This encounter in Linli County has exposed the inexperienced side of the lowly cavalry, if it weren't for the county Cheng secretly telling the secret of the lowly black bean, the three thousand cavalry would be destroyed in the hands of the lowly one." ”

Zhang Xuan said slowly: "This time General Luo is in danger, decisive disposal, indeed courageous, worthy of praise, but as you yourself said, the safety of feed is the first important thing for the war horse, but you have neglected this, this is an unforgivable big mistake for any cavalry general, only because of the county Cheng's temporary nostalgia for you to escape this catastrophe, although you fought bravely and preserved the cavalry, but I think this is for the general's due diligence, not to mention any merits, the merits are difficult to comparate, General Luo understands what I mean?" ”

Luo Cheng's expression was gloomy, "I understand!" ”

Zhang Xuan said again: "From now on, you will be demoted to the general of the tiger tooth, and you can continue to exercise the power of the general of the tiger and the general, if there is a similar mistake, you will be directly demoted to the general of the eagle and the general, and it will not be tolerated!" ”

"Thank you for your mercy, you will be ashamed and brave in your humble position!"

Pei Xingyan next to him was dumbfounded, he originally wanted to praise Luo Cheng, but instead of rewarding him, the handsome man demoted Luo Cheng's position, which greatly surprised him, making him stammered and unable to say a word.

At this time, Zhang Xuan's stern gaze looked at Pei Xingyan, "General Pei, do you also know your mistakes?" ”

Pei Xingyan panicked in his heart, and hurriedly said: "As the commander of the cavalry, the generals make mistakes, and as the commander, they will not notice their mistakes. ”

"Definitely!"

Zhang Xuan said sharply: "You know that General Luo is leading troops alone for the first time and is inexperienced, why don't you equip General Luo with a marching horse?" made him almost victimized by Du Fuwei, and also made him commit demotion! ”

Luo Cheng hurriedly defended Pei Xingyan, "This is the work of the lowly position, and the lowly position should apply for Sima to accompany him, but because the lowly position is too conceited, he did not make this request, and it has nothing to do with General Pei." ”

"Doesn't it have anything to do with you?" Zhang Xuan looked at Pei Xingyan sternly and asked.

Pei Xingyan sighed, "How can this have nothing to do with the lowly position, this is the negligence of the lowly position, and I am willing to accept the severe punishment of the marshal!" ”

Zhang Xuan said: "Your military position remains unchanged, but your title is demoted by one rank, from the county prince to the county candidate, can you accept it?" ”

"Guilty of contemplation!"

Pei Xingyan felt uncomfortable in his heart, you must know that the title is much more important than the position, the position can be promoted by seniority, and the title only depends on merit, his county duke relies on fighting again and again, he would rather be demoted to his military position than to be demoted.

Zhang Xuan saw his sadness, so he patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "I didn't say that you are guilty, guilt is a violation of military law, you just committed negligence, Du Fuwei fought hard in this battle, and strive for meritorious service, as long as you make meritorious service, I will promote your title back, remember?" ”

Pei Xingyan wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, "Yuanqing remembers." ”

Zhang Xuan smiled and said to Luo Cheng: "Rewards and punishments are clearly the foundation of my army, you have to learn the lesson of this time, strive to make meritorious service as soon as possible, and resume your military position!" ”

Luo Cheng's heart was moved and admired, he had never seen Pei Xingyan cry, but for the first time he saw Pei Xingyan wipe his tears like a teenager, no wonder Pei Xingyan's father surrendered to the Tang Army, he was still loyal to Zhang Xuan, this is the king's grace, Luo Cheng was also deeply shocked in his heart, he hurriedly bowed down and said: "The marshal has strict military regulations, and he will keep his humble duties in mind, and he will be cautious in the future and not let the soldiers die in vain." ”

"It seems that you really understand that your words and deeds are related to the life and death of thousands of brothers, which is why I am so strict with you."

"I am grateful for the guidance of the marshal!"

Zhang Xuan smiled again: "Let's go!" Go to Qian County, let's discuss the wolf hunting plan. ”

Qiaoxian is a big city, the circumference of the city is more than 30 miles, the population is nearly 100,000, but due to the military disaster in Xuzhou, a large number of Xuzhou refugees fled to Qiaoxian, so that the population of Qiaoxian County tripled, reaching more than 300,000, although Yu culture and was exterminated by the Sui army, the war subsided, the people of Xuzhou began to return to their hometowns one after another, rebuilding their homes destroyed by the war, but the population of Qiaoxian County is still 1890,000, and the congestion in the city is abnormal. ”

Hearing that the king of Qi was coming, Zhou Wenzheng, the Taishou of the county, hurriedly led a group of officials to come to visit, Zhang Xuan encouraged everyone, saying that they had made meritorious contributions to the victims, and would definitely praise them, and encouraged them to continue to help the victims, everyone rejoiced, as long as His Royal Highness opened his mouth to praise, then the evaluation of the officials will be recorded.

At this time, Luo Cheng brought an official to see Zhang Xuan, "Dashuai, this is Cheng Wang Yu of Linli County, it was his timely reminder that the lowly army escaped." ”

Wang Yu knelt down and saluted, "Wang Yu of Linli County, Weichen Linjian County, greets His Royal Highness King Qi!" ”

Zhang Xuan hurriedly helped him up and asked with concern: "I saw in the military newspaper that your family was taken hostage by Du Fuwei, I don't know what happened to them." ”

Wang Yu said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you for Your Highness's concern, my wife and children are fine, but my old father was tortured by thieves and unfortunately passed away." ”

Zhang Xuan nodded, "I will settle this account with Du Fuwei, you have made a meritorious report this time, and it happens that the county order of Qian County is vacant, so I will seal you as the county order of Qian County in recognition of your merits!" ”

Wang Yu knelt down and choked up: "The humble ministers are broken to pieces, and it is difficult to repay the kindness of His Highness!" ”

"Helping Taishou to resettle the victims back to their hometowns is a reward for me."

"Weichen Jin obeys His Royal Highness's edict!" (To be continued.) )