An overnight march is a test and an ordeal for any team, especially when they withdraw in a retreating posture, and the test of military discipline and morale is even heavier.

Because in such a situation, there are often a large number of deserters, and only a general with a high prestige in the army can restrain the whole team and let everyone go in unison.

Guo Yan obviously has such an ability, although there are still many problems in this temporary retreat, but fortunately, the whole team is not chaotic, the team is not dispersed, the army of tens of thousands of people, and the last escapees are only dozens.

It's just that breaking away from the Yangtze River front is only the first step in retreating, and the next thing he has to do is to recapture the rear city as soon as possible, which not only only needs a quick word, but also allows the whole army to still maintain considerable combat strength.

Therefore, when it was from dark to dawn, and then to noon, he ordered the whole army to rest for a while.

Because further on, there is the boundary of Huainan Prefecture, which has been taken by the rebels, and it is the first city they need to send troops to capture!

The recuperation before the war is something that no general will miss, even if that city is really not worth mentioning to Guo Yan.

In order to successfully win the sub-state, he even specially asked people to find relevant local topographic maps, and when he was resting, he carefully studied it with several subordinates.

"Here, here, and here......" After a closer look, Guo Yan had already found several weak points in Fenzhou City, and at this time, he came out one by one, and said to the left and right generals, "At that time, we will use 50,000 Liangzhou soldiers as the main force to attack these three places at the same time."

"The defenders in the city have limited strength, and they must not be able to defend it, so they can take this state before dark.

"And with the division of states as a foothold, we can advance and retreat freely, and we can completely divide our troops to attack Ruzhou and other places...... There are not many soldiers and horses in Huainan, and the people's hearts are fluctuating, as long as we are fast enough, it is not just a matter of saying......"

The subordinates listened to their commander's calm and confident analysis, and the little apprehension in their hearts finally settled down, and they all said yes, and they were going back to give the next attack orders to the soldiers below.

Only Yang Huaidu still had annoyance on his face at this time, and there was a trace of suspicion in his eyes, because Guo Yan's retreat this time was too untimely and too strange.

After the generals dispersed, he stepped forward again and said in a deep voice: "Guo Shuai, didn't you find that you had overlooked a very critical issue? ”

"You mean the Jiangnan coalition behind us?" Guo Yan continued to look at the map without raising his head and asked.

"Exactly, if they quickly cross the river to chase after us, we will be defeated by the enemy." Yang Huaidu gritted his teeth and said. The other party, as the general of the Central Plains, won't even think of this, right?

"I'm 90% sure they won't chase after me."

"Oh? Then I want to hear how Guo Shuai is so sure. ”

"Although we retreated in a hurry, they did not dare to take it lightly, and they had to think that this might be a strategy by me to deliberately lure the enemy across the river. If I am a general of the Jiangnan Army, after discovering that the other side of the bank has become an empty camp, the first thing I should do is to send scouts to investigate the authenticity, and not only our military camp, but also a radius of thirty or fifty miles.

"In this case, it will take at least two to three days, and by the time they do send troops across the river, I believe we will have taken at least two or three cities.

"In this way, we can wait for our work, defend instead of attack, and easily defeat the enemy."

"How can you conclude that they don't dare to cross the river? What if they suddenly went into a reckless run? Yang Huaidu still refused to give up his idea.

"The Yangtze River is only one aspect, haven't you noticed that the weather in the past few days is also beneficial to us? Take a look behind you......" Guo Yan sighed and said.

Yang Huaidu turned his head to look behind him with some confusion, and outside this temporary military tent, he only saw a white expanse in the distance, and the army dozens of steps away was shrouded in white fog.

"Got it? In such weather, it is good to defend and not to attack, how much risk do they have to take if they want to cross the river? Do they have the courage?

"If the Jiangnan Army is really commanded by a family, maybe they can take a risk, but now they are just a few coalition forces united, who do you say dare to risk the consequences of their own strength to rashly cross the river just to find out?

"So, the two or three days I just said are already too little, and the biggest possibility is that we have a full ten days!"

At this time, Yang Huaidu had nothing to say, he originally wanted to bring up that Neiying would cause turmoil in the opposing army, but he quickly swallowed it back.

That Nei Ying is the killer weapon of the Zongheng Society, an existence that even Guo Yan didn't know, and now that the matter has come to this, of course, it is better to continue to hide it from him.

However, if he should say it, he still has to explain that it is enough: "Guo Shuai, your self-assertion this time has completely disrupted our overall plan, and I won't say anything for you on how to decide rewards and punishments in the meeting at that time." ”

"Of course, it's all my own decision......" Guo Yan lowered his gaze and continued to look at the map, as if a different light flashed.

Yang Huaidu didn't see this abnormality, just smiled disdainfully, and got up to leave.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the front team, and many soldiers sitting on the ground quickly got up to avoid it, and it was only at this time that a violent sound of horses' hooves came quickly.

When Guo Yang and the others heard the sound and looked over there together, they saw that one person and one horse had rushed to the vicinity of the military tent here, and then they suddenly stopped, and the knight almost rolled off the horse.

But after a stumble, he quickly jumped up again, crawled with a roll, and ran straight to the front of the tent, shouting: "Marshal, Liangzhou urgent letter, it is the young general's eight-hundred-mile urgent ......."

These words made Guo Yan's face, who was still strong and calm, change, and he hurriedly stepped forward and snatched a backpack from the other party's hand.

Could it be that what I feared most really happened?

Outside of Huainan, even Liangzhou Zuo has a rebellion?

It is where your foundation lies, and if something really goes wrong and you can't help it outside, the loss will be too great.

In a panic, Guo Yan almost tore open the backpack with his hands, and then trembled slightly, before he brought the familiar letter to his eyes and looked at it carefully.

It is the words of his son Guo Han on it, as well as the familiar fire paint seal, which is also clear and unmistakable.

It wasn't until he confirmed that the letter was correct and that it was impossible for someone to drop the bag, that Guo Yan slowly opened the seal, took out the letterhead, and looked at the contents.

At this glance, his whole face changed again, but then, he quickly regained his composure, and let out a long exhale.

All these changes in expression naturally fell into the eyes of Yang Huaidu, who had been staring at him......