In mid-January, the weather in Yingzhou was still cold and windy, and the sky was gloomy and terrible.

The snow and ice blocked the mountains and blocked the road, and everything was lifeless.

The Bingcheng captives were also anxious, and they couldn't see hope, but fortunately, they stuttered every day, so they didn't despair, but there was laughter and laughter in the Bingcheng tent, Xue Wanshu prepared a reception banquet to welcome Qin Huaidao and the others who had just returned, there was no wine, and there was nothing to eat, only a big pot of stewed mutton.

After several days of wind and snow unhindered, one by one was already hungry, and the body was at the limit, and he urgently needed tonics, so he didn't care about greetings, first gobbled it up, took a few mouthfuls of hot water, and then swallowed a few large pieces of meat, and finally came back to his senses, and his body warmed up.

Xue Wanshu was very curious about the results of this outing, seeing that one by one came back, it was estimated that it was another great victory, seeing that everyone was hungry and eating like a reincarnation, it was not good to ask first, and asked the people below to help burn more bonfires to make the big tent warmer, and waited patiently.

After eating and drinking, everyone went back to make up for sleep, and soon only Qin Huaidao, Li Dejian and Xue Wanshu were left in the big tent, Li Dejian knew that the two had something to talk about, and they needed to be recorded, so it was not easy to leave.

Qin Huaidao motioned for someone to pack up his things briefly, and looked at Xue Wanshu with a cup of hot water: "Dudu, I'm too hungry, I'm a little out of shape, I'm sorry." ”

"General Qin has seen the outside, and he has worked hard for the court."

"Let's talk about your situation first." Qin Huaidao changed the subject.

Xue Wanshu nodded, straightened up, and said slowly: "Everything is normal in Yingzhou City and Ice City, the two city walls stretching out have also been built, and another ice city has also been built. ”

"Great." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed, with 20,000 soldiers in hand, he had the opportunity to take down the Siwandan Division, and asked: "Dudu, you are familiar with this side, how long do you expect the snow to melt to the point where you can march and fight?" ”

After the blizzard, the snow is more than a meter thick, and it is difficult to march, let alone fight, but as long as the snow melts to only about a foot thick, the war horse can run and continue to fight.

Xue Wanshu has been in Yingzhou for many years, and she knows the local climate best, thought about it, and said: "This year is different from the past, after the sudden blizzard, the weather is even colder, according to the current situation, at least half a month, war horses and people can barely march." ”

"Half a month?" Qin Huaidao pondered, half a month is not a short time, enough for Goguryeo to do a lot of things, but his own troops also need to rest and recuperate, fighting for a long time, they are physically and mentally exhausted, and they can't bear it, so he continued to ask: "Is there any other news?" ”

"I haven't received an order from the imperial court recently, and Pingzhou sent an inquiry, but there is no news from you, so I haven't replied."

It's a good thing that everything is normal, Qin Huaidao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "With the help of Lao Dudu, the news went out, ten days later, the 10,000 troops sent by the imperial court to Youzhou set off and went straight to Huaiyuan, and the other 10,000 troops in Yunzhou were responsible for clearing the possible Khitan remnants in the territory of the Xi people, and chasing and killing the black-clothed army of the Taiyuan Wang clan. ”

"Huaiyuan?" Xue Wanshu was taken aback, Huaiyuan is Goguryeo's territory, is this about to start a counteroffensive? There are still 100,000 Goguryeo troops behind him, why? Suddenly thinking of something, he asked excitedly: "General, go south to the Goguryeo army?" ”

"Basically wiped out!"

"What...... What the? ”

Although Xue Wanshu had a guess in his heart, he was still shocked when he heard it with his own ears, and looked at Qin Huaidao incredulously, it was only five thousand people, and he actually killed 100,000 regular troops, and the losses of the troops he saw back were incalculable, how could this be possible?

But this matter is too big, there is no reason to lie as Qin Huaidao, in other words, this is true?!

Xue Wanshu couldn't imagine how Qin Huaidao did it, and suddenly found that he still underestimated the young man in front of him, he was excited, and couldn't help but confirm: "General, this matter is too big, it's really ......."

"There is no child's play in the army, and there is a message from the governor of Laodu." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Xue Wanshu hurriedly agreed, and smiled excitedly, without the 100,000 Goguryeo army going south, even if the sword hanging over Yingzhou's head was completely solved, he could finally sleep peacefully, after thinking about it, he couldn't help but remind: "General, the Taiyuan Wang clan is very important, are you waiting for the holy judge?" ”

"No, I'll take care of everything." Qin Huaidao said indifferently, the biggest purpose of coming here is Wang Tongbiao, that bastard doesn't know where to hide, he must find out, as for the trouble, he will talk about it when the time comes.

Without the imperial court's holy decree, it would be very troublesome to rashly attack the Taiyuan Wang clan, even if there was evidence of the covenant, Xue Wanshu didn't know why Qin Huaidao was so resolute, but the smart one didn't persuade again, and agreed with his mouth, and asked rhetorically: "Is the general preparing to attack Huaiyuan in ten days?" ”

The topography of Goguryeo and the distribution of the city as a whole, like a T-shaped line, the bottom is vertically three sides by the sea, the upper horizontal is the land, several cities are lined up, blocking the Tang Dynasty, Khitan and the more northern departments, and Huaiyuan is a horizontal and vertical connection, taking Huaiyuan, can attack and retreat, which is equivalent to tearing apart the Goguryeo defense line.

As the governor of Yingzhou, Xue Wanshu certainly understood the strategic significance of Huaiyuan.

But Huaiyuan is a small city, next to Liaodong behind, Goguryeo does not attach much importance to Huaiyuan, Qin Huaidao has studied the map countless times, and decided that the troops will almost set off after ten days, take it in one fell swoop, and then hold it like a nail, waiting for the army to come to support.

One by one, his thoughts flashed, Qin Huaidao spread out the map, pointed to Huaiyuan and said: "Dudu, set off in ten days, it will take about two days to rush over, and if you take Huaiyuan, you will have a place to stay, and it can be regarded as a stab in Goguryeo, which will definitely attract the Goguryeo army." ”

"At that time, a few thousand generals may not be enough." Xue Wanshu reminded.

Qin Huaidao smiled indifferently: "Not necessarily, I need the support of the governor, the day after our army set off, we will send 20,000 prisoners to rush with a large number of supplies, even if it is shoulder-to-shoulder, we must send food, arrows, etc. to the front line, and then transfer a team of soldiers and horses to watch these prisoners, so as not to run away halfway." ”

"That's fine." Xue Wanshu agreed.

"Please also ask the Governor's Mansion to continue to make arrows for the past ten days, our army needs a large number of arrows, as long as there are enough, and Huaiyuan City is in hand, there are no fear of many enemies." Qin Huaidao said confidently.

Xue Wanshu thought of the terrible crossbow, thousands of people fired at the same time without stopping, impermeable, no less than tens of thousands of archers, the lethality is indeed terrifying, but once the enemy is ruthless, regardless of casualties and crazy attacks, he may not be able to hold it, but this is suspected of shaking the morale of the army, he didn't say it, and he promised to come down.

Qin Huaidao pointed to the golden mountain in the north and continued: "This is the northernmost city in Goguryeo, Li Dejian? ”

"In!" Li Dejian hurriedly responded, inexplicably excited.

Qin Huaidao said with a smile: "You have been fighting with the army for some days, and you have accumulated a lot of actual combat experience, once the Khitan problem is solved, let Captain Fang lead the Khitan army to attack Jinshan, once it is taken, carry grain and grass materials to the south quickly, take the new city, and Huaiyuan to form a corner, give you three days, come up with a combat plan, if feasible, three days later, you take people to the Khitan and Fang Captain to converge, command the battle." ”

"Guaranteed completion, General Xie." When Li Dejian heard that the opportunity to lead the army independently and prove himself had come, he was immediately overjoyed, and his eyes were full of gratitude.

After they are all Guogong, everyone has to give the opportunity, a bowl of water is even, so as not to offend people, whether you can catch it depends on the individual, Fang Yiai's credit for winning the Khitan is big enough, and he is not good at commanding, so it is most suitable to hand it over to Li Dejian.

Qin Huaidao saw Xue Wanshu's envious eyes, and said with a smile: "Governor, after all, the Khitan side is a foreign race, and it is not suitable for a trustworthy group of their own people to suppress it, and the troops on my side have been forbidden, and I also ask the Governor to support a thousand soldiers and horses, okay?" ”

Xue Wanshu is not a fool, she knows that Qin Huaidao is showing goodwill, and the opportunity to send it to the door cannot be bad, she has no room for improvement, but there are juniors, one Xue Feng is not enough, she hugged her fists, and said gratefully: "Thank you General Qin, I will bring someone up to help, okay?" ”

Of course, a good opportunity is given to oneself, and as for danger, as a general, he has the consciousness of dying in battle.

"Then there will be labor, bring more crossbows, and practice one or two more in the past few days."

"Please rest assured, General Qin, if he is not obedient, the old man will personally cut off his head."

The two nodded tacitly and smiled, they are all smart people, many words do not need to be broken, Qin Huaidao looked at the map again, if the Khitan fought from the north down and took the new city, the two armies would be able to form a coercive momentum against Goguryeo, and half of the horizontal on the T-shaped line would be removed.

It's a pity that there are still not enough manpower, if a large army can come over, cross the sea to fight, attack up and down, and eat the upper half of the T-shape, Goguryeo will have one less horizontal block, and only one vertical will be left, and the army will be able to attack in multiple ways, go straight to Pyongyang, and destroy the country in one fell swoop.

"I don't know if I can use the power of cheap action in my hand to transfer the surrounding soldiers and horses?" Qin Huaidao was a little moved, and then he thought that he was not qualified enough, and he couldn't hold it down, the governors of several nearby states were not simple, if they really came over, they didn't know who was in command of whom, but it would be even more chaotic.

"Let's bite Huaiyuan first." Qin Huaidao sighed secretly.

After chatting a few words, and after sending Xue Wanshu away, Luo Zhang, who was waiting at the door, hurriedly entered the door: "Uncle." ”

"Come, sit down and talk." Qin Huaidao shouted.

Luo Zhang sat down by the bonfire and continued: "Uncle, the Xi mercenaries have been trained well during this period of time, and they are beginning to have combat effectiveness, do you want to recruit more from the Khitan side?" ”

"There are already more than 2,000 mercenaries from the Xi clan, can you bring them here?" Qin Huaidao asked rhetorically.

"There should be no problem, the Xi people can already train on their own, practice queues in the morning, crossbows in the afternoon, and chop and chop in the evening, and teach them a few simple knife techniques of my Luo family, I don't need to stare at them, if I send some well-trained people in the Xi tribe to assist, to practice the Khitan people, it should be possible, the Xi people and the Khitan have an enmity, let them practice, they must be ruthless, I just need to stare at it."

Qin Huaidao was happy in one day: "You kid, you also have some means, I think it's okay, let's recruit according to my way last time, recruit as much as you can, and go out in ten days, so you must ensure that the two troops form combat effectiveness within ten days, increase the intensity of training, add a supper every day, don't practice to death, practice to waste." ”

"Obey!" Luo Zhang went excitedly.

"Wait a minute, try it again over there of the Xi clan, see if anyone is willing to join, the next battle will be even more dangerous, we don't have enough troops."

"Understood!" Luo Zhang hurriedly went.

……

These days are exhausted, physically and mentally exhausted, and he is really sleepy, Qin Huaidao fell asleep lying by the campfire, and when he woke up, it was already the next morning, he heated up the leftovers from last night, and after eating some, he saw Luo Zhang come in excitedly: "Uncle, I heard that you woke up." ”

"Is it a matter of Khitan recruitment?" Qin Huaidao asked rhetorically.

"Yes, there are more than 3,000 people qualified, in addition, there are nearly 1,000 people on the Xi tribe's side who have signed up and are also qualified, at present, the mercenaries of the Xi tribe are close to 4,000, and the two clans have a total of 7,000, will it be too much? We are only more than 5,000 ourselves, and the weapons will be distributed, in case there is a trouble......" Luo Zhang reminded.

"Another ice city has been built, originally prepared for the Khitan army, the plan has changed, you will pull two groups of people over, settle over there, tents, blooms, food, etc., they are not allowed to come here, concentrate on training for ten days, but you have to be careful to prevent the two clans from fighting." Qin Huaidao reminded.

Luo Zhang was also worried about this problem and was a little worried.

Qin Huaidao could see that Luo Zhang had no good way, so he suggested: "This way...... Use their hatred training, substitute training with competitions, such as running, running together in two teams, so that they can't bear it, such as practicing knives, using wooden knives to two groups of people one-on-one, or many-to-many, sparring, but the regulations are not allowed to play a dead hand, a black hand, find one, and execute it directly, you must be strong and decisive yourself, otherwise you can't hold it down. ”

"I understand, it is to give them a chance to vent, let them fight, not only to vent the hatred in their hearts, but also to achieve the training effect, however, there are thousands of them, in case they can't be controlled, it will be a group fight, I am afraid that I can't suppress it, can I transfer a team of Yulinwei to help." Luo Zhang asked with some concern.

"Yes, let Li Yixie take the remaining one hundred Lin Wei over, and the three brothers of the Cheng family will also help you sit in charge for a few days, you must clarify the rules before training, so that everyone knows what can be done and what cannot be done, who dares to violate it during training, kill in public, impartiality, the more just, the more you can convince the public, if you don't kill it, you can't stop it, inform Yu Chi Baoqi to bring some people to serve as the guardian of the big tent, go ahead."

"Understood, Uncle Xie." Luo Zhang went happily.

The tent was silent, the campfire was beating, and every now and then the air crackled and sparks splashed.

Qin Huaidao stared at the map, his eyes didn't blink, he kept deducing various tactics in his head, there were more than 7,000 people, and the way of playing was naturally different, without worries, Yingzhou should be able to draw 3,000 to participate in the battle, plus the 10,000 people who rushed to support, there were 25,000 people in hand, if you count the Khitan who came over, according to 20,000, there are 45,000 people, and the strength is not small.

However, I am afraid that the supply of grain and grass will not be available, unless the war is fed by war, fortunately, so long has passed since the last grain burning, Goguryeo must have re-raised enough grain to transport it up, and the city should not be short of food.

"General, Luo Zhang said to let me change guards?" Yu Chi Baoqi's voice came.

Qin Huaidao looked up at Yu Chi Baoqi and said with a smile: "What, don't you want to?" ”

"That can't be, just confirm it."

"For your sake's sake, why don't you give you a credit?"

"Really?" Yu Chi Baoqi was overjoyed, walked in in three or two steps, and asked excitedly: "General, let me do anything, you say, you can't beat me up." ”

"Just forget about the board, I'll tell your father when the time comes."

"Don't...... His temper is so violent that he can definitely kill me. Yu Chi Baoqi was anxious when she heard this.

Qin Huaidao smiled, his face was straight, and he explained: "Select a hundred people to secretly train climbing, just use those flying claws last time, find Li Dejian, he knows where to put it, and the army will go out in ten days, but this matter cannot be revealed, when the time comes, you will sneak attack overnight, climb into the city and open the door, and take credit for your first credit." ”

"That's it?" When Yu Chi Baoqi heard this, it was simply no difficulty, and he was overjoyed, and hurriedly agreed: "I promise that nothing goes wrong, if it can't be done, you tell my father, and you won't complain." ”

"Go ahead!" Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

"General Xie, the guards arranged here are absolutely reliable, and the captain himself is his own people, rest assured." Yu Chi Baoqi dropped a sentence and went excitedly.

Ten days is enough to train a team that is good at climbing, as the main general, Qin Huaidao can't do everything himself, he has to learn to delegate power and train people.

Huaiyuan is just a small city, with a population of less than 10,000 and no more than 2,000 defenders, which can be regarded as the bridgehead of Goguryeo's advance breakthrough, because there is a big city of Liaodong, the status is a little embarrassing, and it is more of a warning role in the military, but for Qin Huaidao, it is extremely important and must be taken.

The walls of this small city are less than ten meters high, it is easy to climb up, and it is not difficult to open the city gate under a sneak attack of a hundred people, Qin Huaidao's eyes fell on Liaodong.

The last time this big city burned grain, it was a blizzard to close the road, the enemy didn't expect anyone to come, it was opportunistic, and now it must be well defended, and it is rare to climb in again, and you have to think of another way.

One plan after another came to mind, Qin Huaidao calculated the pros and cons, and rejected them one by one.

The big city of Liaodong is another trench, and it is not easy to take it at a small price.

……

Qin Huaidao was thinking about tactics, and Li Er in Chang'an City and Ganlu Hall was also staring at the map and thinking.

The eyes of the two fell on Liaodong almost at the same time, and the difference with Qin Huaidao was that Li Er thought for a moment, his eyes moved, and fell on Laizhou and Dengzhou, the two places and Goguryeo across the Bohai Sea, the distance is not far, the waves here are not big, find the right day, the boat can pass.

Once the landing is successful, a surprise attack, take Shicheng, you can counterattack Jili City, and with the two cities in hand, you can go north to Liaodong, but the premise is that you must kill the 100,000 troops of Goguryeo going south.

The distance was too far, and the news had not yet arrived, and Li Er did not know that the 100,000 army that had gone south had been destroyed.

After studying for a while, there was no good way, Li Er was a little depressed, and when he saw Yuzhang coming, he put down his worries and said with a smile: "My Yuzhang is here, I haven't seen him for a few days, and I have lost some weight, this is not good." ”

"Father, the son doesn't have much appetite, so I stewed a bowl of lotus seed porridge for you, you can eat some first."

Yu Zhang stepped forward with a beautiful porcelain bowl, glanced at the map, chuckled in his heart, and asked, "Father, is the war on the Khitan side unfavorable?" ”

"You must not inquire about state affairs." Li Er's face sank, but he still took the porcelain bowl and put it beside him.

Yu Zhang hurriedly explained: "Erchen knows, Erchen doesn't want to inquire, that is, it's just ......."

"Worried about that kid, right?" Li Er was even more depressed, what a cabbage, and before he could make an order, his elbow began to turn out? said with a straight face: "That kid is not a thing, he hasn't sent news back for so long, it's just lawless, look at how I clean him up when I turn around." ”

"Father, he must be busy, he didn't care, how dangerous the war is, maybe he is still marching in the icy wilderness at this time, there is no hot mouth, and there is no fire, you can take care of it." Yu Zhang hurriedly persuaded.

Li Eryi became even more depressed when he heard this: "Okay, let's go back, I have a lot of things here." ”

"Erchen, Erchen...... He's going to be fine, right? ”

"Didn't you say he was marching in the icy wilderness right now?" Li Erqi was happy, seeing Yu Zhang's eyes red, full of worry, he couldn't bear it, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, this kid is fine, only he takes advantage of others, no one can take advantage of him, maybe he has already entered Liaodong at this time." ”

Speaking of this, Li Er chuckled in his heart, his eyes fell on the location of Liaodong on the map, and his mind became lively, it has been so long, with Qin Huaidao's temperament, there is no reason to sit and wait, there must be a move, if he really takes Liaodong, even if he takes Huaiyuan, and Yingzhou is left and right, he will completely block the retreat of the 100,000 army of Goguryeo south, and he only needs the army to press, and it is not bad to eat these 100,000 people.

Thinking of this, Li Er became a little excited, looked at Yu Zhang and asked, "Yu Zhang, with what you know about him, what do you think he is doing now?" ”

"I must be helping my father and emperor to conquer the rebellious ministers and thieves." Yu Zhang said affirmatively, seeing that Li Er was not satisfied with this answer, he thought about it seriously and said: "Father, the son does not understand military affairs, but he knows that he is a person who has revenge and revenge, and someone repays his kindness, Goguryeo will bully us in the south, he will definitely fight back, and he will fight back if he has no chance to create an opportunity, even if there is a little opportunity, he can magnify it, such as stabilizing the price of grain, the grain merchant raises the price, he will lower the price, the grain merchant rushes to buy, he will exchange briquette for grain, continue to sell the price, and when everyone is low, he will propose to buy it to stabilize the price of grain, so, Erchen felt that he was a person who could create opportunities even if he didn't have a chance, and he must be staring at Goguryeo. ”

"Hahaha!" Li Er laughed happily: "You really don't understand military affairs, but you understand that kid, that's right, don't worry, that kid is fine, he must be fine." ”

"Erchen is just worried about ......"

Yu Zhang wanted to speak and stopped, facing Li Er's loving gaze, his heart warmed, and said truthfully: "Erchen is worried about Qinjiazhuang, Huaidao is not there, Qinjiazhuang will have no backbone, when Erchen went to Dongshi to buy the pastries that his sister likes to eat, I heard that someone smashed Huaidao's shop yesterday, and the county government took the case and dragged it away, and there are rumors and legends...... said that he had died in battle, and also said that he was incompetent, only talking on paper, without actual combat experience, and thousands of troops were killed in the grassland, and the court wanted to track down. ”

"Bastard ......" Li Er keenly noticed that it was not simple behind this, I am afraid that someone wanted to take the opportunity to set off a storm and target Qin Huaidao at this juncture, what is this trying to do? His heart can be punished.

Suddenly, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, but he quickly disappeared and returned to normal, Li Er waved his hand and said, "Go back, I will deal with it." ”

"Thank you, Father!" Yu Zhang went, and his heart was much more relaxed.

Li Er stared at Dengzhou and Laizhou again, and whispered softly: "Stinky boy, I won't let your rear catch fire, rest assured, I will gamble on your tacit understanding again, I hope not to disappoint me." ”

After finishing speaking, he suddenly shouted: "Someone! ”

Wang De hurried in.

"The secret decree is that the sailors of Dengzhou and Laizhou will assemble and stand by, collect a large number of ships to standby, and in addition, spread my oracle, announce that the Duke of Weiguo, the Duke of Britain, the Duke of Lu and the Duke of Hubei will meet him, and then let people find out who is secretly targeting Qin Huaidao, and reply to me as soon as possible, there must be no mistake."

"Yes!" Wang De hurriedly went.