The climate in Yingzhou in mid-January is still bitingly cold and the sky is terrifyingly gloomy.

The mountains are blocked by ice and snow, and everything is dead.

The prisoners in Bingcheng were also anxious and could not see hope. Fortunately, they stuttered every day, so they did not despair. However, there was laughter in the big tent in Bingcheng. Xue Wanshu prepared a reception banquet to welcome Qin Huaidao and others who had just returned. There was no wine.

There was nothing delicious, just a big pot of stewed mutton.

After traveling for several days in the wind and snow without any hindrance, each one of them was already very hungry and their bodies were at their limit. They were in urgent need of nourishment. They didn’t bother to chat, so they devoured their food first, swallowed it with a few mouthfuls of hot water, and then swallowed several large pieces of meat. Finally, they finally

When he came back to his senses, his body also felt a little warmer.

Xue Wanshu was very curious about the outcome of the battle this time. When she saw everyone coming back alive, she thought it was another great victory. Seeing everyone eating like hungry ghosts reincarnated, she didn't ask first, so she asked the people below to help burn more bonfires to make the tent warmer.

Please wait patiently.

After eating and drinking, everyone went back to catch up on their sleep. Soon only Qin Huaidao, Li Derjian and Xue Wanshu were left in the big tent. Li Derjian knew that they had something to talk about and needed to record, so it was difficult to leave.

Qin Huaidao motioned for people to pack things up briefly, and looked at Xue Wanshu with a cup of hot water: "Captain, I'm too hungry, I'm a little rude, I'm sorry."

"General Qin is out of business. He has worked hard for the imperial court and achieved great results."

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

Xue Wanshu nodded, became serious, and said slowly: "Everything is normal in Yingzhou City and Ice City. The left and right city walls that extend out have been completed, and the other Ice City has also been built. Yesterday, I received news from the grassland, Fang School

Wei and the others have recruited several tribes and have more than 20,000 soldiers. They are preparing to attack the Xiwandan tribe. However, due to heavy snowfall, the mountains are closed, which is not conducive to marching, so we have to wait for a while."

"Great." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed. With 20,000 soldiers in hand, he had a chance to capture the Siwandan tribe. He asked: "Captain, you are familiar with this place. How long does it take for the snow to melt enough?"

To the point of marching and fighting?”

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

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

march."

"Half a month?" Qin Huaidao pondered. Half a month is not a short period of time. It is enough for Goguryeo to do a lot of things, but his troops also need to rest and recuperate. After fighting for a long time, everyone is physically and mentally exhausted and cannot bear it any longer. He continues to ask: "But

Is there any other news?"

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

It was a good thing that everything was normal. Qin Huaidao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I would like the governor to help spread the news. Ten days later, the 10,000 troops dispatched by the imperial court to Youzhou will set off and go straight to Huaiyuan. Another 10,000 troops from Yunzhou will be responsible for clearing the goods."

The possible Khitan remnants in the Xi tribe are chasing the black-clad army of the Wang family in Taiyuan."

"Huaiyuan?" Xue Wanshu was shocked. Huaiyuan is the territory of Goguryeo. Is a counterattack about to begin? There are 100,000 Goguryeo troops behind him. Why? Suddenly something occurred to him and he asked excitedly: "General, the Goguryeo army is going south?"

"Basically eliminated!"

"Wha...what?"

Although Xue Wanshu had some suspicions, she was still shocked when she heard it with her own ears. She looked at Qin Huaidao in disbelief. There were only 5,000 people, but he actually killed 100,000 regular troops. Moreover, the losses of the troops returned were insignificant. How could this be possible?

But this matter is too big. As Qin Huaidao, there is no reason to lie. In other words, is this true?!

Xue Wanshu couldn't imagine how Qin Huaidao did it. Suddenly she realized that she had underestimated the young man in front of her. She was excited and couldn't help but confirm: "General, this is too big, really..."

"There is no such thing as childishness in the army. It's time for the governor to send the message." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Xue Wanshu quickly agreed and laughed excitedly. Without the 100,000 Goguryeo army marching south, the sword hanging over Yingzhou's head would be completely solved. She could finally sleep peacefully. After thinking about it, she couldn't help but remind her.

He said: "General, the Wang family in Taiyuan has a very important matter. Should we wait for the Holy Judgment?"

"No, I'll take care of anything." Qin Huaidao said nonchalantly. The biggest purpose of coming here is Wang Tongbiao. That bastard is hiding somewhere and must be found. As for the trouble, we'll deal with it later.

Without an imperial edict, attacking the Wang family in Taiyuan would be very troublesome. Even if there was evidence of the alliance, Xue Wanshu didn't know why Qin Huaidao was so determined, but he was smart and didn't persuade him anymore. He agreed and asked: "General, are you planning to do it in ten days?"

Did you attack Huaiyuan?"

The overall terrain and city distribution of Goguryeo looks like a T-shaped row, with three vertical sides facing the sea at the bottom and land on the top horizontal side. Several cities are lined up in a row, blocking the Tang Dynasty, Khitan and other tribes further north, and Huaiyuan is

With one horizontal and one vertical connection, taking Huaiyuan, you can advance, attack, retreat or defend, 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, with Liaodong behind it. Goguryeo didn't pay much attention to Huaiyuan. Qin Huaidao studied the map countless times and decided to set off after ten days when the troops were almost rested. He would capture it in one fell swoop and then hold on like a nail, waiting for the army.

Come to support.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, Qin Huaidao spread out the map, pointed at Huaiyuan and said: "Commander, we will set off in ten days. It will take about two days to get there. If we capture Huaiyuan, we will have a place to stay. It will also be considered as a stab at Goguryeo. We will definitely be able to defeat Goguryeo."

Attract the Goguryeo army to come over."

"I'm afraid it won't be enough for the general to have several thousand troops by then." Xue Wanshu reminded.

Qin Huaidao smiled nonchalantly and said: "Not necessarily, I need the support of the commander-in-chief. The day after our army set off, 20,000 prisoners were dispatched to carry a large amount of supplies. Even if they were carried on their shoulders, they had to deliver food, arrows, etc.

On the front line, send another troop to guard these prisoners to prevent them from escaping halfway."

"That's no problem." Xue Wanshu agreed.

"Please also ask the Governor's Mansion to continue making arrows in the past ten days. Our army needs a large number of arrows. As long as there are enough and Huaiyuan City is in hand, we will not be afraid of any number of enemies." Qin Huaidao said confidently.

Xue Wanshu thought of how terrifying the repeating crossbow was. Thousands of people fired at the same time without stopping. It was airtight, no less than tens of thousands of archers. The lethality was indeed terrible. But once the enemy was ruthless and attacked like crazy regardless of casualties, they might not be able to defend it. But this

The words seemed to shake the morale of the army, so he didn't say it out loud and agreed wholeheartedly.

Qin Huaidao pointed to Jinshan in the north and continued: "This is the northernmost city of Goguryeo, Li Derjian?"

"Yes!" Li Derjian responded quickly, feeling inexplicably excited.

Qin Huaidao smiled and said: "You have been fighting with the army for some time, and you have accumulated a lot of practical experience. Once the Khitan problem is solved, let Fang Xiaowei lead the Khitan army to attack Jinshan. Once captured, quickly go south with food and supplies and capture the new city.

, forming a rivalry with Huaiyuan, I will give you three days to come up with a battle plan. If it is feasible, you will take people to Khitan to join Fang Xiaowei in three days to command the battle."

"Promise to complete, thank you, General." When Li Derjian heard that he could lead the army independently and had the opportunity to prove himself, he was overjoyed and his eyes were filled with gratitude.

After they are both Dukes, everyone has to be given a chance. A bowl of water should be kept flat to avoid offending others. It depends on the individual whether he can be caught. Fang Yiai's contribution to winning the Khitan is great, and he is not good at commanding. He left it to Li Derjian.

suitable.

Qin Huaidao saw Xue Wanshu's envious eyes and said with a smile: "Captain, after all, the Khitans are all aliens. It is not suitable to have a trustworthy one of our own to suppress them. My troops are already stretched to the limit, so I would like to ask the Commander to support one thousand people."

How are the soldiers and horses?"

Xue Wanshu was not a fool. She knew that Qin Huaidao was trying to show his goodwill. The opportunity presented to him could not be bad. She had no room for advancement, but there were still younger generations. One Xue Feng was not enough. She clasped her fists and said gratefully: "Thank you, General Qin.

How about my son bringing someone up to help?"

Of course, good opportunities are given to your own people. As for danger, as a military commander, you have the consciousness to die in battle.

"Then it's time to work. Bring more repeating crossbows and practice more in the past few days."

"Please don't worry, General Qin. If you don't obey, I will chop off his head myself."

The two nodded tacitly and smiled. They are both smart people. There is no need to point out many of their words. Qin Huaidao looked at the map again. If the Khitans really attacked from the north and captured the new city, the two armies would be able to threaten Goguryeo.

Remove half of the horizontal line above the T line.

Unfortunately, there are still not enough manpower. If a large army can come over, fight across the sea, attack from above and below, and eat up the top half of the T-shape, leaving Goguryeo with one horizontal block and only one vertical one, the army can attack from multiple directions and go straight to Pyongyang.

, it is possible to destroy the country in one fell swoop.

"I wonder if I can use the advantageous power I have to mobilize the troops around me?" Qin Huaidao was a little moved. Then he thought that he was not qualified enough to suppress him. None of the governors in the nearby states were simple. If he really came here,

, it is not clear who is commanding whom, but it is even more chaotic.

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

After chatting for a while and sending Xue Wanshu away, Luo Zhang, who was waiting at the door, hurried in: "Uncle."

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

Luo Zhang sat down by the campfire and continued: "Uncle, the Xi clan mercenaries have been trained well during this period and have begun to gain combat effectiveness. Do you want the Khitan to recruit more?"

"There are already more than 2,000 mercenaries from the Xi tribe. Can we bring them here?" Qin Huaidao asked.

"It should be no problem. The Xi clan can already train on their own. They practice formation in the morning, repeating crossbow training in the afternoon, and chopping in the evening. They have taught them a few simple sword skills of my Luo family. They don't need me to keep an eye on them. If some Xi clan members are deployed,

It should be possible to train the Khitan people with the help of well-trained people. The Xi clan has a grudge against the Khitan people, so if they are allowed to train, they will definitely use a lot of force. I just need to keep an eye on it."

Qin Huaidao was happy in just one day: "You boy, you do have some tricks. I think it will work. Recruit the same way I did last time. You can recruit as many as you can. We will go out in ten days, so you must ensure that the two armies form combat effectiveness within ten days."

, the training intensity is increased, and a late-night snack is added every day. If you don’t practice to death, just practice to death.”

"Follow the order!" Luo Zhang went excitedly.

"Wait a minute, let's try again with the Xi clan to see if anyone else is willing to join. The next battle will be more dangerous, and we don't have enough troops."

"Understood!" Luo Zhang hurried away.

…

These days, he was exhausted, exhausted physically and mentally, and was really sleepy. Qin Huaidao lay down by the campfire and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already the next morning. He heated up the leftovers from last night, ate some of them, and then

Seeing Luo Zhang coming in excitedly: "Uncle, I heard you're awake."

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

"Yes, more than 3,000 people are qualified. In addition, nearly a thousand people from the Xi tribe have signed up and are also qualified. Currently, there are nearly 4,000 mercenaries from the Xi tribe. The total of the two tribes is 7,000. Is it too much? We

I only have more than 5,000 points. As long as the weapons are distributed, if there is a riot..." Luo Zhang reminded.
To be continued...