"Your Majesty, our army goes east to bypass the eastern city, and then we must cross the pond, but our army does not have a ferry, and the soldiers are not good at water, so it is impossible to go east, and there is only one way to the west." A subordinate general looked at Shi Hu and said.

Hearing this, Shi Hu looked at the Jianghuai topographic map in front of him, and said softly: "To the west, you can take the road of Junxuan, Hefei, Chengde, Xiquyang, and Dangtu, although the distance is twice as far, but it is indeed a feasible way to retreat by avoiding Chishui and Dongcheng, which is heavily defended by the Jin army, what do you think the generals." ”

The generals couldn't think of a better way out for a while, so they praised in unison: "The king is sage." ”

Seeing that the generals had no opinions, Shi Hu decided to lead the army to march in the northwest direction, and then march due north after arriving at Chengde.

Since Shi Hu personally led the army into Quanjiao City, the soldiers of the Zhao army who fled back from the direction of the Overlord Valley one after another have not stopped, and at noon, the scattered soldiers who have fled back one after another have reached more than 10,000 people, and in the direction of the south gate, there are still scattered soldiers from time to time.

The subordinates of the Shihu faction tapped it, and the number of men and horses in Quanjiao City was already as high as 25,000, and the number of troops was nearly twice as large as when they first entered Quanjiao City, and there were still soldiers coming behind one after another.

Shi Hu really wanted to continue to wait for his subordinates to gather more men and horses, but he couldn't do so, because the main force of the Jin army was in the direction of Wujiang City, and they could be killed at any time, and he couldn't let the main force fall into a disadvantageous situation in order to wait for a few thousand more soldiers.

As soon as the sun was sinking in the west, Shi Hu ordered all the horses to march to the northwest immediately, in order to take as many shortcuts as possible. Shi Hu did not intend to enter these cities, but directly from the periphery to guò. As for the question of the supply of the Great Army.

First of all, every soldier of the Zhao army had nearly ten days of dry food on them. Moreover, some of the villages and towns passing through were lacking in the ability to resist, and all kinds of materials in these villages and towns were the objects of plunder by Shi Hu's army.

Under Shi Hu's orders, the soldiers of the Zhao army began to march to the northwest one after another, and some had just fled into Quanjiao City. The soldiers of the Zhao army, who had not had time to catch their breath in the atmosphere, also had to grit their teeth and follow the main force to the northwest, because the main force of the Jin army was behind, and if they stayed, they would definitely be killed or captured, and whether they were killed or captured, it was not a good thing for them.

At the same time that the main force of the Zhao army was marching in the northwest direction one after another, the Northern Expeditionary Army of Hua'an and the 30,000 naval army of the Yangzhou Army were also prepared. It is ready to pursue north.

At this time, Hua An was in the big tent of the Chinese army, analyzing Shi Hu's possible escape route with his subordinates, so as to lead more than 10,000 cavalry to block Shi Hu's escape road. With the 30,000 main forces of the Yangzhou Army, the remnants of Shihu were completely annihilated.

"General, the soldiers who cleaned up the Overlord Valley have all withdrawn." A soldier walked into the tent. Zhengse reported.

When Hua An and the soldiers under his command heard this, they all looked sideways at the soldier. Everyone was very curious in their hearts, not knowing how much Shi Hu's army had lost.

"How. How many men and horses did the Zhao army annihilate in this battle? Hua An asked impatiently.

The soldiers clasped their fists and said: "Back to General, a total of nearly 30,000 corpses of Zhao soldiers were found in the Overlord Valley, of which more than eighty percent were burned to death by fire, and the remaining two percent were strangled by our cavalry. ”

Hearing that the Zhao army had lost 30,000 horses, Hua An and the soldiers under his command were immediately extremely excited, especially Wang Liu, who personally carried out the fire attack mission, and he couldn't close his mouth with joy.

"Thirty thousand, Zhao Jun lost 30,000 horses, big brother, we have made a lot of money." Wang Liu shouted loudly.

"Big brother. Now there are only 20,000 or 30,000 tired divisions under Shi Hu's command, this is the perfect time for our army to kill Shi Hu, our troops are all cavalry, and we can catch up with Shi Hu's army within a day. "The thunderstorm is about to move, and he plans to lead the cavalry of his department to quickly pursue and kill Shi Hu with his own strength.

Hua An smiled, looked at the thunderstorm, and said: "Although there are only twenty or thirty thousand men and horses left under Shi Hu's command, the strength is still two or three times that of your department, and the strength is still not to be underestimated, so you must not underestimate the enemy!" ”

"Thunderstorm, you want to take credit alone!" Wang San joked with a smile.

When the thunderstorm heard this, he stared at the round eyes and said loudly: "Biantou and Wang Liu each set a fire, and they both made great contributions, so they won't take us to grab the credit." ”

"Hahahaha!" When the generals in the tent heard this, they all laughed happily.

Hua An laughed twice, looked at the generals, and ordered loudly: "Generals, for the sake of safety, our army should first send scouts to find out the route of Shihu's march, and then take corresponding countermeasures, everyone immediately return to the camp to prepare, and a moment later, the army will march towards Quanjiao City."

"Yes, General." The generals took the order and turned away from the tent.

After the generals left, Wang San looked at Hua'an and whispered: "Big brother, there are only twenty or thirty thousand tired divisions under Shi Hu, and it is entirely possible for the cavalry to win by surprise, why doesn't the eldest brother approve the construction of the thunderstorm?" ”

When Hua An heard this, he smiled slightly, and quipped: "Wang San, didn't you just say that thunderstorms rob merit?" ”

"Big brother, I was joking just now, just casually." Wang San hurriedly explained.

Hua An shook his head with a smile, and said softly: "Wang San, you underestimated the enemy, our army set two fires in a row, burned most of Shi Hu's men and horses, the victory came too easily, the soldiers will inevitably have the heart of underestimating the enemy, and the soldiers of the Zhao army will definitely become more cautious after two defeats. ”

"Oh, big brother thinks that Zhao Jun still has the strength to fight with our army." Wang San frowned and asked.

Hua An nodded and said: "Our army has won two big victories in a row, annihilating the main force of fifty or sixty thousand Zhao troops, relying on fire attack, not force fighting, Shihu's main army is strong, although the soldiers are very tired, but the strength is more than twice that of the thunderstorm department, it is really a head-on fight, the victory or defeat is really hard to say!" ”

"Big brother, I understand, however, with the 30,000 main forces of the Yangzhou Legion, Shi Hu has no chance of winning, besides, Dongcheng and Dangtu still have 30,000 horses from our army, and Shi Hu will never escape." Wang San said confidently.

"I hope so, I hope so!" Hua An said and patted Wang San on the shoulder.

"Big brother, big brother." Just when Hua An was talking to Wang San, Wang Biantou returned to the big tent.

Hua An looked at Biantou and asked, "Biantou, why are you in such a hurry?" ”

Wang Biantou took a breath and replied softly: "Big brother, the news has come back from the Jingbei Ferry, let me lead the army to return immediately and pursue the Shihu army, I won't go." ”

"Why, could it be that something happened to the Jingbei Ferry, say it quickly." As soon as Hua'an heard that Wang Biantou had returned from the Jingbei Ferry, his heart suddenly became a little furious.

Wang Biantou shook his head and said: "Big brother, it's nothing, it's just that one of my subordinates sent the news that our warriors burned the Zhao Army's chain of iron boats back to the ferry. ”

"Haha! Flat head, you have made a fortune, and General Wang is in a hurry to send you back, is it for you to receive a reward? Wang San hurriedly quipped.

"Hehe, isn't this all the credit of the eldest brother?" Wang Biantou said humbly.

Hua An smiled and asked, "The chief general of Jingbei Ferry, when did he become surnamed Wang?" ”

"Big brother, General Wang is newly transferred, and is he still a family with his eldest brother?" Wang Bian touched his head and said.

"Oh, he is?" Hua An'an already had a premonition.

"It's General Wang Tian." Wang Bian replied.

Hua An smiled at the corner of his mouth and said, "It's him, it's really a family!" ”

Wang Tian is the second son of Wang Dao, but due to the early death of Wang Dao's eldest son Wang Yue, he, as the eldest son of Wang Dao, inherited the title of Wang Dao.

"Flat head, since General Wang is urgently summoned, you should go back quickly! The matter of dealing with Shi Hu's army will be handed over to the eldest brother. Hua An said and patted Wang Bian's shoulder.

"Okay, big brother, then I'll go." Wang Biantou said, striding out of Hua'an's Chinese army tent.

"Big brother, after this kid goes back, he will definitely get a lot of rewards." After Wang Biantou left, Wang San said meaningfully.

Hua An heard a faint vinegar in Wang San's words, smiled lightly at the corner of his mouth, patted Wang San's shoulder, and said softly: "If you make meritorious service, you will naturally be rewarded, and we will also make meritorious service!" Walk. As he spoke, he strode out of the tent.

Wang San was stunned for a moment, smiled slightly, and followed.

Just when the Northern Expeditionary Army of Hua'an was gathering men and horses and preparing to march north, the 30,000 sailors of the Yangzhou Army had already set off in advance in order to grab merit, crossed the Overlord Valley, and were advancing to Quanjiao City, which was twenty miles away.

Along the way, the Yangzhou legion captured many seriously wounded Zhao soldiers, and also cut off the heads of many dead Zhao soldiers, and when they arrived at Quanjiao City, the Yangzhou legion had captured more than 2,000 seriously wounded Zhao soldiers, and cut off the heads of more than 3,000 dead Zhao soldiers.

Since the main force of the Zhao army in Quanjiao City has been withdrawn, the Yangzhou Army naturally occupied the city without much effort, so the military exploits of recovering Quanjiao City, capturing 2,000 Zhao troops, and killing 3,000 Zhao troops fell on the head of the Yangzhou Army.

The scouts of the Northern Expeditionary Army, who went to Quanjiao City to reconnoitre, naturally discovered this situation on the way back, so in addition to reporting the retreat of the Zhao army, they also told Hua'an about the Yangzhou Army's capture and killing of the Zhao soldiers.

After listening to the scout's report, some of the generals under Hua'an were dissatisfied, and Wang Liu even said loudly that the reason why these Zhao soldiers were captured and killed was entirely because he had set a fire in the Overlord Valley, and the Yangzhou Army was considered to have picked up a ready-made one, and the credit should be his own. (To be continued......)