Five days later.

The whole Yingzhou City was in a state of shock. Countless people climbed up to the top of the city to watch the slowly approaching procession. In front of them were young men clearing the way through clear snow, followed by a long procession that looked like ordinary herdsmen. After that, there were the army, and there were still soldiers.

There was a long procession of horses and cattle and sheep with no end in sight.

The news has spread that our own people have returned victoriously.

Xue Wanshu organized people to burn the ice in the door hole with fire, and prepared to open the city gate to welcome the returning team. She was very emotional. In less than half a month after leaving, she not only killed the 50,000 Goguryeo army, but also took away He Dahe's tribe. If not

The news came from my own nephew, and I couldn't believe it.

That was an elite army of 50,000 people, but there were only more than 5,000 people on my side. After fighting this battle, it seemed that I was getting old and that there were talented people in the country.

On the top of the city, the common people watched people digging through the snow and clearing a passage for the people behind to follow. They all exclaimed, how big a project is this? So it turns out that a large army can march here?

In the long queue, Qin Huaidao looked at Yingzhou City with some emotion. It actually succeeded. For five days, everyone kept moving and digging. Fortunately, no enemies came to harass them. Several waves of wolves were connected.

He shot him with a crossbow, left the corpses on the ground and fled, giving away a pile of wolf skins for nothing, which was worth a lot of money.

About half an hour later, the passage was finally dug to the city gate, and the city gate opened suddenly.

, give way to the middle channel.

Qin Huaidao came with his generals and shouted from a distance: "Commander, you are here to cause trouble again."

"I can't wait to trouble you like this." Xue Wanshu laughed and exclaimed, feeling full of emotion in her heart. If Qin Huaidao hadn't come here, Yingzhou would have been lost. Moreover, Qin Huaidao came here twice with countless trophies and did not put any pressure on Yingzhou.

, on the contrary, it is of great help. This kind of harassment is simply wonderful.

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Qin Huaidao asked in a low voice: "What's going on outside now?"

"Goguryeo's army going south to Pingzhou was trapped by snow. Before being trapped, they ransacked the surrounding villages and robbed some food. Pingzhou was safe. There is also news that the Khitan did not continue to move south after taking down the Xi tribe. The imperial reinforcements arrived.

, stationed in Youzhou and Yunzhou, each with 10,000 troops, said to assist in the defense of the city, ready for your deployment at any time."

"I?"

Qin Huaidao was startled. He took out a map and found Yunzhou and Youzhou. He gradually realized that once the two places were defended, the Goguryeo army would not be able to continue southward. He was worried about where to mobilize troops, but the imperial court sent 20,000 troops.

It's a little less, but if used properly, it can be used as an army of one hundred thousand soldiers.

Thinking of this, Qin Huaidao asked: "Who will lead the army?"

"Enter the city to assist in the defense and listen to the command of the governors of both cities. If you need to mobilize, come quickly and let you command, a total of 20,000 people. General Qin is really young and promising, and he has won the sage's favor." Xue Wanshu explained quickly.

"Shall I lead the army?" Qin Huaidao was a little surprised. He was only in the fifth rank. According to the regulations, he was not allowed to command so many people. But it was not important. It was good to have soldiers. The court's arrangement was obviously to allow him to act according to the opportunity and make a big move when he had the opportunity.

, forget it if there is no chance.

I don’t know who saw through the situation and actually thought about it with me. Could it be Li Jing?

With 20,000 troops waiting for recruitment, Qin Huaidao dared to let go of his hands and feet to fight. He immediately pointed to a location on the map and said: "Captain, Yingzhou is between two rivers. It is the place where the Goguryeo army must pass when returning. The location is very

You dignitaries, why don't you and I join forces and build another ice city south of Yingzhou to expand the defense area and settle these captives, as well as cattle and sheep, there are too many, and Yingzhou City cannot contain enough space."

"It really can't be accommodated." Xue Wanshu looked at the long team. There were tens of thousands of prisoners, not to mention countless cattle, sheep, and horses. This was the largest tribe in Khitan in one fell swoop, and asked: "How do you plan to build the city, general?"

?”

Qin Huaidao took out a piece of charcoal and a piece of paper, and drew a rectangle in twos and twos. He explained: "This is Yingzhou. An ice city is built next to the south gate wall. It is built into a prismatic shape to facilitate defense. When spring comes, the flowers will bloom.

The melting of the ice city will not hinder the future of Yingzhou, okay?"

Xue Wanshu looked at the drawn prismatic shape. It had two more faces than the rectangular city. If it were made of rammed earth and masonry, the cost would be much higher, but it didn't matter if it was made of ice. The most indispensable thing outside the city now is ice and snow. As for the

Manpower, with tens of thousands of prisoners, is not a problem. Moreover, if it is built next to the south of the city, the two cities can communicate with each other and respond at any time.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xue Wanshu agreed: "No problem, let's do it."

"If you need barrels, shovels and other tools, please ask the governor to help provide them. I will exchange them with cattle and sheep." Qin Huaidao breathed a sigh of relief, and Xue Wanshu agreed. This matter can be solved.

Xue Wanshu smiled and said: "It's just a few tools, there is no need to change them. Besides, the general left many cattle, sheep and horses last time. I have kept them for you. I am ashamed to accept the trophies of the soldiers."

Qin Huaidao smiled and did not answer. He felt a little emotional in his heart. Xue Wanshu was a very particular person. He said to An Guogong and the generals: "Everyone, have you heard the information just mentioned by the governor? I intend to continue to clear the snow and dig a passage around it.

The city wall should be bypassed. It is inappropriate for so many people to enter the city. After bypassing the city wall to the south, a clearing will be cleared, and then the ice layer of the river in the south will be dug up to collect water to build the city. Let's build a bigger one."

"Follow the order!" Everyone said quickly, their eyes shining brightly. The bigger one was to kill Goguryeo's southward army, which numbered a hundred thousand people. If they captured it, they would be granted the title of marquis and general.

"General Qin, this matter is not trivial, has it been decided?" Xue Wanshu also became excited.

"I have to give it a try, what do you think?" Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Xue Wanshu seemed to have made some kind of decision, and said solemnly: "General Qin, I, Yingzhou, are willing to listen to General Qin's command and take us with you?"

In the past, he was assisting, but the credit was too small. Through the recent dismissal, Xue Wanshu realized that Qin Huaidao was not simple, and he was not satisfied with assisting. He wanted to work together. If he succeeded, he could go further. It didn't matter if he failed, there was no loss.

Qin Huaidao also wanted to bring Xue Wanshu together. Not to mention Xue Wanshu's ability, the thousands of soldiers who defended the city in Yingzhou also had good combat effectiveness. They were a powerful force. He smiled and said: "Commander, have you decided?"

"Decided!"

"Okay, let's go crazy together." Qin Huaidao smiled.

The two nodded tacitly, and Qin Huaidao gave an order to continue clearing the snow and go around to the south. Xue Wanshu also went back to organize forces and prepare tools. They decided to work together and go all out.

As a former hidden princeling, Xue Wanshu is very clear about the status of the Xue family in the heart of the current emperor. She can use it but also guard against it. If this is done, it is possible to enter the core circle of the imperial court, at least the current emperor will be suspicious of it.

It will eliminate a lot, and it will benefit the Xue family without any harm.

An hour later, everyone came to the south of the city, cleared the snow, and set up tents and yurts. They had done this kind of thing every day before, and they were already familiar with the road.

A large number of tools were sent to Yingzhou City to make work more efficient.

After the tents and yurts were set up, everyone cleared the snow to the outside, piled it together to form a prism, and then poured water on it. The people of Yingzhou came to help, and 50,000 to 60,000 people worked at the same time. The scene was huge and fast.

soon.

Three days later, a five-foot-tall prismatic ice city rose from the ground, covering an area equivalent to Yingzhou. The city wall was two feet behind, enough for soldiers to move around on it. There were many steps for easy going up and down. The outer side of the city wall was also poured.

A wall about two feet thick and one and a half meters high was built to facilitate everyone's hiding from arrows.

The walls of Ice City and Yingzhou were connected, and people could go directly there and provide support at any time. With this Ice City, Qin Huaidao became more confident, settled his troops, and placed his headquarters in Ice City.

On the morning of the fourth day, Qin Huaidao was warming himself by the fire in the tent while chatting with Xue Wanshu. Outside the tent, Fang Yiai and Yu Linwei were guarding him. Li Yixie hurried over and entered the tent and said: "

General, the people have been released, and they are all the cronies selected by Ketun personally, and they have been given enough dried meat."

"That's good, sit down and take a rest." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

"No, I will go to inspect the prisoner camp, just in case." Li Yixie declined to leave.

As soon as Li Yixie left, Xue Wanshu said with a smile: "This is a clever move by the general. He asked Ke Dun to select a group of cronies to go to He Dahe's tribe. Why did the Khitan Khan go crazy when he heard the news? What's even better is that the general asked the Khan to use Taiyuan

The Wang family will come to replace it, but I am worried that the Khitan will not be a match for the Wang family in Taiyuan?"

"Are you worried about that army in black?" Qin Huaidao asked. For several days, Qin Huaidao had already known a lot of outside news. Seeing Xue Wanshu nodding, he smiled casually and said: "There is no need to worry, Governor. Khan has two choices. One is

There is one way to go to the end, and the other is not to move the Taiyuan Wang family, and come here to ask for people, leaving themselves a way out."

"General, what do you mean, in the eyes of the Khan, we are easy to bully?"

, maybe the Taiyuan Wang family will also send troops to assist when the time comes, and we really may not be opponents."

"There is deep snow outside, making it difficult to march. If they want to come over, they must imitate us in clearing the snow and marching all the way over. However, the space for movement is limited. Can you please ask the governor to take over the Ice City? I will take the initiative to take the initiative and use the snow outside to block them."

They." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

"Please rest assured, General Qin. I guarantee that nothing will go wrong." Xue Wanshu agreed.

"Then it's time to work. The troops have been working too hard during this period and need to rest and recuperate. It will take two or three days for the people who were released to find the Khitan army. It will also take time for the Khitan army to come over. We will set off in six days." Qin Huaidao made the final decision, his firm gaze falling on

Zhi lost his thoughts and added: "Dong An Guo, is the army okay?"

"No problem, what the general points to is where our army is heading." Zhi Huan Si Li solemnly assured.

"So good!"

Qin Huaidao nodded with satisfaction and took out the map.

Although the Khitan army is blocked by snow, it is inconvenient to move, but after all, there are more than 50,000 people. It is not easy to win at a very small cost, so you need to choose a favorable terrain.

After a while, Qin Huaidao said: "This battle is probably going to be a tough one. Duke An will take out all the fine iron captured from the He Da He tribe and ask the governor for help. Let the blacksmith make crossbow arrows. The more the better."

"Follow the order." Anguo Gong responded.

When Qin Huaidao saw the governor Xue Wanshu also nodded in agreement, his eyes fell on Li Derjian: "Instruct the Cheng family brothers and Yuchi brothers to train the army to practice tactics, increase the gliding speed, and the formation speed has reached the accuracy of crossbows. Tell them that if this battle can be successful,

The Khitan will become history, and the land of the Khitan will become the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

"Follow the order!" Li Derjian's eyes lit up and he hurried away.

Opening up territory is what every general dreams of. Duke An Guo and the governor exchanged glances and hurried away. Qin Huaidao stared at the map with firm and powerful eyes.

…

Three days later, a small town on the waterside thirty miles east of Yunzhou was developed due to water transportation. There were only about a hundred households in it, but their owners changed overnight. The people who moved in were none other than He Dahe's army.

In the best courtyard of a building, the Khan and his generals were chatting around a bonfire, eating meat and drinking wine. They were so happy. A man with a beard shouted: "Dear Khan, if it weren't for this, I would be damned."

The blizzard has blocked the roads. We have already entered the Central Plains, right? The women of the Central Plains are so tender that they will eventually think of everything."

"Why, the girl I gave you last night wasn't enough?" Khan said with a smile.

"You're crying. I look troubled. I'm going to reward my brothers after you're done." The other party replied, suddenly rolled his eyes and asked: "Khan, since the Taiyuan Wang family has something to ask for from me, why not let them give you some beauties?"
To be continued...