When Hua An heard this, he didn't pay attention to it at all, because most of Shi Hu's main force had been wiped out by himself, and the Northern Expeditionary Army under his command had made enough contributions, and the reason why the main force of the Zhao Army had not been able to break through the Jiangshui defense line was entirely due to the credit of the Yangzhou Legion Naval Army, and it was not a big deal to let the Yangzhou Legion get a piece of the pie.

Seeing that Hua An was so generous, the generals under his command didn't say much, but it was inevitable that he felt a little uncomfortable, and Hua An pretended not to know about this.

There are more than 10,000 cavalry under the command of Hua'an, and if you want to grab merit, you can quickly attack and pursue Shi Hu's defeated army, but in order to unite friendly troops and give the Yangzhou Legion more opportunities to make meritorious contributions, Hua'an did not do this, but followed the Yangzhou Legion slowly, and at the same time, constantly analyzed the information transmitted back by the scouts in front to judge Shi Hu's possible rout route.

In order to get rid of the pursuit of the Jin army, Shi Hu and his army marched all the way to the northwest, and when they reached the vicinity of Dade, they suddenly changed direction and marched due north, trying to confuse the pursuing soldiers of the Jin army.

The rapid march is a great test of the soldiers' physique and willpower, and among the Zhao army, there are many soldiers who were burned by the fire, therefore, there are soldiers who continue to fall behind along the way, and when they arrived near Chengde City, there are already 3,000 people left behind, most of these soldiers were captured and killed by the soldiers of the Yangzhou Legion, and only a few hid in the barren mountains and wilderness and escaped a catastrophe.

Hua'an, who was pursuing all the way, felt a little strange at first when he saw that Shi Hu's army had been marching in the northwest direction, because Dongcheng was the best route to withdraw his troops, but after thinking about it carefully, Dongcheng had been occupied by Wang Wu sent by himself. Shi Hu's troops were insufficient, so he naturally did not dare to take the road of Dongcheng. It's normal to go the other way.

But heading northwest, there are several retreats to choose from. The first is to enter Yuzhou from Hefei and six counties, and then divert to the north, and the second is to cross the Huaishui directly from Chengde, Xiquyang, Dangtu and enter Huaibei. There is also one from Hefei and Lujiang into Anhui City, and then westward.

These three roads, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, the first road is the closest to Yuzhou, you can enter Yuzhou the fastest. So as to join up with another group of men and horses under his command, but to take this road, to pass through the two major tributaries of the Huai River in a row, if the ferry is not well prepared, it is easy to be caught up by the Jin army that follows, so as to suffer heavy losses, and at the same time, it will also make the direction of Yuzhou, which is fighting against the Jingzhou army of the Jin army, fall into the situation of being attacked by two roads. The second way, which goes directly due north, is the most convenient, but it also requires crossing the Huaishui. If you don't have a ferry, it will be troublesome, as for the third way. It was traveling in a southwesterly direction, which was a big circle. This road can be considered when attacking, and when retreating. Choosing this path is a big mistake.

But which way Shi Hu will go, Hua'an can't judge for a while, and only after Shi Hu's army arrives at this node in Hefei can he make an accurate judgment.

"Big brother, big brother." Just when Hua An was thinking about which way Shi Hu would go, Wang Sanxing rushed in.

"What's the situation?" Hua An hurriedly asked.

Wang San took a breath and hurriedly reported: "Big brother, the scouts have just sent back the news that Shi Hu's main army suddenly changed direction, from a position thirty miles east of Chengde, directly to the north. ”

"Oh, the Shihu army is heading north." Hua An responded, hurriedly opened the map on the case, and looked at it carefully.

"Big brother, the first county seat due north is Xiquyang, which is only more than ten miles away from Huaishui, Shi Hu's goal is to occupy Xiquyang first, and then look for opportunities to cross Huaishui." Wang San looked at the map and analyzed.

Hua An nodded and said appreciatively: "Wang San, your analysis is very reasonable, but there is no ferry on the shore of Huaishui more than ten miles north of Xiquyang, and it can barely dock a small boat with three or five people, and a slightly larger boat can't dock!" After speaking, Hua An frowned.

"Big brother, there is no ferry north of Xiquyang, but there are ferries in Shouchun upstream and Dangtu in the downstream! Shi Hu's real target may be Shouchun or Dangtu. The thunderstorm next to him analyzed.

Hua An stared at the map carefully, and found that Shouchun and Dangtu were only about thirty miles away from Xiquyang, that is, a day's journey.

However, Shouchun has been occupied by the Jin army, there are still 5,000 defenders in the city, it is doubtful whether Shi Hu's army can quickly break through Shouchun, and although Dangtu City is occupied by the Zhao army, Zhao Wu and Tie Niu under his command have led 20,000 main forces to march to Dangtu City, and should be able to capture Dangtu City in one fell swoop before Shi Hu arrives at Dangtu City, thus cutting off Shi Hu's retreat to the north.

"When Tu City, Shi Hu's goal is to cross the Huai River directly from Dang Tu City, I hope Tie Niu and Zhao Wu can intercept him." Hua An analyzed it again for a moment, pointed to the map and blurted out.

When Wang San heard this, he pointed to the map and said: "Big brother, Zhao Wu and Tie Niu are walking on Linhuaiguo Avenue, and they have to pass through the downstream of the pond in the middle, and when they cross the pond, they will definitely delay a lot of time, so they are afraid of being one step slower!" ”

"Big brother, our cavalry is fast, and you can take a shortcut and approach Dangtu." Thunderstorm hurriedly asked for help.

Hua An shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry too much, Tie Niu and Zhao Wu will definitely arrive one step earlier, big brother believes in them." ”

"Big brother, if you're not afraid of 10,000, you're afraid of what happens, it's better to prepare more." Thunderstorm was bent on fighting and said loudly.

Hua An pondered for a moment, looked at the thunderstorm, and said: "You don't have to run so far, as long as our cavalry blocks the road between Xiquyang and Dangtu one step earlier, Shihu's army will be unable to escape." ”

"Okay, big brother, our cavalry will set off." Thunderstorm said, and without waiting for Hua'an's order, he hurriedly turned around and left the big tent.

Looking at the back of the thunderstorm leaving with meritorious service, Hua An smiled and nodded, it was his blessing to have so many brave generals under his command.

"Big brother, do you want to set off with the pro-military camp?" Wang San walked to Hua An's side and asked softly.

Hua An looked at Wang San and quipped: "Why, you are also in a hurry to make meritorious contributions." ”

"Big brother, Shihu's army has become a rout, this is a good time to make meritorious contributions, such a good thing, who doesn't want to!" Wang San pursed his lips and replied truthfully.

When Hua An heard this, he smiled and said, "Wang San, you are my adjutant general, and the merits of the whole army are all your share, what are you anxious about?" ”

"Big brother, didn't I watch the thunderstorm go to war, and my heart itched?" Wang San replied with a smile.

Hua An patted Wang San's shoulder, and said with a straight face: "If there is chaos today, and the four seas and land are sinking, are you still afraid that there will be no battle?" Walk, go out and breathe. After saying that, he walked to the outside of the big tent.

Hearing this, Wang San smiled, followed behind Hua An, and walked outside the big tent.

#####

A day later, the main army under Shi Hu's command finally arrived in Xiquyang, due to the rapid march for many days, dragging down the body of most of the soldiers, therefore, Shi Hu decided to let the main force rest in Xiquyang, and at the same time, sent Sun Fudu to lead 3,000 cavalry to reinforce Dangtu City, in order to prevent this strategic city from being occupied by the Jin army.

Under Shi Hu's order, the main force of the Zhao army entered Xiquyang one after another to rest, and Sun Fudu led 3,000 cavalry to immediately advance in the direction of Dangtu City.

At this moment, the more than 10,000 cavalry led by Thunderstorm happened to arrive in Xiquyang and collided with the 3,000 cavalry led by Sun Fudu.

The cavalry of the Zhao army was only 3,000, and he was suddenly surprised when he found more than 10,000 cavalry of the Jin army.

"General, the main cavalry of the Jin army is here, and our army is invincible!" A junior colonel hurriedly reminded.

Sun Fudu was also shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly said: "Retreat, retreat, the whole army retreats immediately." ”

Under Sun Fudu's order, the 3,000 cavalry of the Zhao army immediately turned their horses and retreated.

Thunderstorm naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity for meritorious service, the corner of his mouth smiled slightly, and he ordered loudly: "Soldiers, chase and kill the cavalry of the Zhao army, and rush to ......"

......Under the order of the thunderstorm, more than 10,000 cavalry of the Northern Expeditionary Army immediately pulled out their weapons and launched an attack on the cavalry of the Zhao army.

The cavalry of the Zhao army could not dodge, lost several hundred men and horses, the wolf bèi retreated to the city of Xiquyang, and the thunderstorm chased to the bottom of the city, and was shot by the crossbowmen of the Zhao army on the city wall, and could not advance, so he had to retreat.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Sun Fudu, who fled into Xiquyang, hurriedly rushed into Shi Hu's big tent.

Seeing Sun Fudu running in in a panic, Shi Hu was shocked, and hurriedly asked: "Sun Fudu, this king ordered you to reinforce Dangtu City, why did you come back, and why are you so wolf?" ”

Sun Fudu hurriedly knelt on his knees and reported loudly: "Your Majesty, not long after the last general led three thousand cavalry out of the city, more than 10,000 cavalry of the Jin army were killed. ”

"What, the cavalry of the Jin army arrived so soon." Shi Hu was shocked when he heard this, and quickly got up and paced in the big tent.

"Your Majesty, the cavalry of the Jin army has blocked the road of our army to Dangtu City, and the situation is very unfavorable to our army!" One of the generals became worried.

"Don't be afraid of blocking the road, our army has more than 20,000 soldiers, after recovering their vitality, they can open a bloody road, but when Tucheng is occupied by the Jin army, it will be troublesome, our army crosses the Huaishui, and must rely on the ferry there!" Another general said.

"Wang, our army only left a thousand defenders in Dangtu, I am afraid that it is not the opponent of the main force of the Jin army, when Tucheng is lost, it is almost inevitable, the king still has to do a good job, once Tucheng is lost!" A veteran has already begun to think of a way out.

When Shi Hu heard this, he frowned, now that Shouchun in the upper reaches has been occupied by the Jin army, if the Dangtu City in the downstream is also controlled by the Jin army, wouldn't there be no way out for more than 20,000 horses under his command? (To be continued......)