The shopkeeper replied, "General Fu led 10,000 soldiers and horses to stand by near Cizhou, and has been investigating the news, he said that there seems to be another movement of troops and horses near Cizhou, maybe the prince secretly transferred troops and horses from nearby states."

Zhao Chen said, "General Ghost Face."

The shopkeeper was puzzled, "Ghost-faced general? Your Highness has also heard this rumor? I heard that his face was like a ghost, and he raised his sword to smash into the enemy's array as if he were in a no-man's land, breaking the Xiliang Army's known indestructible Nine Palace Bagua Array. I think it's made up."

Zhao Chen shook his head slowly, "It's not apocryphal."

Not only did he hear about it, but he also had his help. After the failure of the previous peace negotiation, he was able to lead the Northwest Army to repel the Western Liang Army, but fortunately he had the help of General Ghostface.

At that time, there were few soldiers and horses left in the Northwest Army, most of which were mobilized from the Liangchuan Battalion, the Dingbei Army and the Southwest Army, but they were still barely supported.

At that time, Xiliang had already occupied several states in the northwest, and the northwest gateway of the Great Zhou was opened. The occupied state capital provided a steady stream of grain and grass to the Xiliang army, so that they had no worries and were like a tiger.

At that time, the northwest of the Great Zhou Dynasty was like a river bursting its embankment, and there was an influx of Western Liang troops everywhere, making it impossible to prevent it. Hundreds of thousands of iron hooves in Xiliang easily drove straight into the capital and threatened the capital.

This is a war to destroy the country.

Just when the last barrier, Liang Chuan, was about to be lost, the ghost-faced general appeared.

As the legend goes, he was dressed in black armor and had a ghost-like face, leading tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to stop the Xiliang army outside Liangchuan City.

In the difficult battle with Xiliang for a year, General Ghost Mask appeared several times, and then disappeared quietly, never showing his true face.

If he came, then Cizhou said that he would not be safe.

The shopkeeper smiled, "Nine times out of ten, he is the son of the world. Except for Lu Xiaoshen, who else can have such a ability."

Zhao Chen knew no.

It is rumored that the ghost face general is Lu Bing, but in his previous life, when the ghost face general helped him, Lu Bing had already been beheaded, so it could not be him.

He thought about all the capable generals in Da Zhou, and eliminated them one by one, but he never guessed who this person was.

He once suspected that it was Zhao Chengyuan, but he sent someone to investigate Zhao Chengyuan's traces, but found that it was impossible. After Zhao Chengyuan was destroyed in Anling Houfu, he stayed in the capital for some time, and then returned to Jinzhou without leaving half a step. Officials from the Jinju Prefecture and even spies from the Prince's Mansion can testify.

Zhao Chen said, "The prince has just gone to Cizhou, and it is impossible for him to move so quickly. Send another man to investigate, but don't quarrel with him."

He paused, "If General Fu meets the opponent's soldiers and horses, let him show his name."

The shopkeeper stroked his palm and smiled, "This trick is wonderful, if he is the prince, he will naturally expose General Fu. If he wasn't, General Fu's identity as a soldier would have been concealed."

The crown prince established this private army a year ago, and set up this stronghold in the border city to inquire about the news of Xiliang. He had a vague guess in his heart that the emperor was now in his prime, but the crown prince was in his twenties, and he still had decades to wait until the emperor's death. I'm afraid the prince can't wait, and wants to emulate the emperor back then, right?

He only now knows that the prince's move is so exquisite, and he uses this war to completely control the Northwest Army, and the power in the prince's hands will be incompetent.

Zhao Chen stared at him, as if he could see through his thoughts, "What Lone asked you to do, you just need to do it well, and you can't make a mistake. What is lonely is the stability of the Great Zhou."

The shopkeeper's expression was awe-inspiring, put away his guesses, and said respectfully, "Obey orders!"

Zhao Chen said lightly, "Stand down."

The shopkeeper bowed and withdrew.

Zhao Chen drank half a pot of wine on the side dishes, and just as he was about to raise his hand to pour the wine again, Wei Xiao took the wine jug, raised his head and poured half a pot of wine.

Zhao Chen looked at him with heavy eyebrows. Wei Xiao has always been cautious in his duties, and he has rarely been so bold.

Wei Xiao has never drunk alcohol because he wants to stay sober at all times. In a moment, his face turned red.

He held the wine jug and looked at Zhao Chen with red eyes, "The prince is still injured now, and he is still drinking decoction, so he can't drink alcohol. If you spoil your body like this, I'm afraid

I can't go back to the capital!"

Zhao Chen clenched the wine glass in his palm.

He was flustered.

For more than a month, he didn't dare to relax a little, he felt that he was about to lose his hand. He drank and wanted to loosen himself.

No one knows where this war will end up and what its defeat will mean.

"Okay, stop drinking."

Zhao Chen got up and dragged his heavy body away slowly.

Wei Xiao looked at the prince's almost collapsed shoulders with red eyes, hugged the wine jug in his arms tighter, and quickly followed.

Zhao Chen returned to the barracks and went straight to the general's tent.

An Linghou was standing in front of the sand table, his brows furrowed.

Although he is not a very talented person, he is extremely diligent and will not slack off on military affairs because the prince supports the sky.

An Ling waited for a few steps and bowed.

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has entered the city to drink." As he spoke, he smelled the smell of alcohol on the prince's body, and he said with concern, "Your Highness is injured now, so you should drink less."

"Lone knows."

Zhao Chen paced to the sand table, which was the sand table of the entire northwest border, which was huge, and there were mountains and towns on it.

He pointed to a place and said, "Shizi is here, right?"

An Linghou's eyes flashed with surprise, "Why did Your Highness say this?"

Zhao Chen said lightly, "Now that more than 100,000 Xiliang troops are outside the pass, but the prince has left for three days and has not returned, then there is a more urgent military matter than this."

He pointed to a few mountainous areas, "Here, here, all mountainous areas, easy to defend and difficult to attack. There is only Cizhou, the terrain is flat, the city wall line stretches for more than ten miles, and there is a large army in Xiliang to fight it, right? With 20,000 soldiers and horses in Cizhou, Xiliang is afraid that he is several times larger, right?"

An Linghou arched his hand in admiration, "Your Highness has analyzed it very well. The minister also just received an urgent report from Cizhou, and there is an army in Xiliang approaching Cizhou, and now I am afraid that a fight has started."

He frowned worriedly, "At this critical time, the prince doesn't know what to do...... The minister was about to consult with His Highness about how many soldiers and horses to send over for reinforcements. And who should I send to lead the troops?"

Although his words were perfunctory to the prince, the worry in his heart was also true, and it was also true that he wanted to send troops and horses. Lu Bing went to Cizhou alone without a single soldier, what use could he have? No matter how good the leader is, in the face of such a huge disparity in the number of enemies and friends, I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with it.

Zhao Chen stared at him, "There are less than 60,000 soldiers and horses in the border city, and there are more than 100,000 Xiliang troops outside the city, how much does An Linghou think it is appropriate to withdraw?" The border city has already left, who are you going to evacuate?"

Although the defeat in the previous life was mainly due to the fact that the Northwest Army had too few soldiers and horses, the entire Northwest Army relied on the son of the world to support it, and it was inevitable to take care of one and lose the other, and I am afraid that this was also an important reason for the defeat.

It is no wonder that the old Marquis Lu often regrets that his eldest son and second son died on the battlefield at a young age, and finally had no choice but to let the youngest son who stayed in Beijing inherit the title. His youngest son is not inherited from half of the style of a military general, and he is obsessed with poetry and books all day long, and he is determined to enter the Hanlin Academy.

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