When Jin Feng wanted to release the Eastern Barbarian prisoners, the court ministers who were already scheming quickly understood his plan, but some of the bodyguards who participated in the battle could not understand it.
In their view, the captives were captured by themselves with all their lives, and letting them go just as Jin Feng said was a waste of the fruits of their efforts.
Now they finally understood why Jin Feng did what he did.
Although the Eastern Barbarian Shanyu and the high-ranking officials of Wangting also guessed why Jin Feng did what he did, they still could not stop other tribesmen from discriminating against the captives.
Thirty thousand prisoners were released, which would cause far more damage than killing them directly.
The elites of the Eastern Barbarians exploited the people at the bottom more harshly than Dakang. In fact, there were already many internal conflicts, but because of the rules formed over thousands of years, the people at the bottom have never dared to resist.
The prisoners who were released by Jin Feng had no choice but to take the lead in resistance in order to survive.
They became the trigger of civil strife in the Eastern Barbarians, and most of the Eastern Barbarians were in chaos.
Only 30,000 prisoners were released, but in order to suppress the chaos caused by these 30,000 people, far more than 30,000 people from each tribe died together.
Moreover, the Eastern Barbarians suffered a severe cold disaster last year and suffered heavy losses to begin with. After this turmoil, the situation became even more difficult.
So much so that Chanyu had to lead an army to conquer the country in person to divert internal conflicts.
Those prisoners who were suppressed by the Chanyu were once again sent to the front line to become the assassins of the bodyguards.
Although some bodyguards were assassinated and injured, Jin Feng's decision was correct for the overall situation.
"Is this what the Master said in the book on the art of war?" Da Zhuang asked.
"That's pretty much what it means." Zhang Liang nodded and said, "But usually the person being used to kill someone with a borrowed knife doesn't know about it, but this time, sir, he used a conspiracy..."
Zhang Liang was only halfway through what he said when he suddenly heard a sharp whistling and intensive gong sounds coming from above his head.
The sounding arrow and the gong sound a warning together, which means that a very urgent situation has been encountered.
"Be alert!" Zhang Liang said coldly: "Go and see what's going on."
A bodyguard immediately rode towards the front of the team.
A few hundred meters away, six horses pulled a wooden frame, and the hot air balloon was tied to this wooden frame.
When Zhang Liang's personal guards arrived, a cloth bag happened to slide down the rope from the hot air balloon.
After all, the message that semaphore can convey is limited, so when encountering a more complicated situation, the escort on the hot air balloon will write the situation on paper and then send it down along the rope tied to the hot air balloon.
The personal guard returned with the cloth bag and handed it to the military advisor beside Zhang Liang.
In fact, with Zhang Liang's resourcefulness, he didn't need a military advisor. However, Zhang Liang had never been to school before. Although he started to teach himself how to read a few months ago, in order to avoid mistakes caused by mispronunciation, he still brought a military advisor with him.
This so-called military advisor was formerly a down-and-out scholar in Tianjiawan. He had no great wisdom and his only advantage was that he was absolutely loyal and reliable.
"Brother Liang, the scouts said they saw a large group of cavalry appearing in the north. They are about fifteen miles away from us. There are so many that we can't see the edge at a glance!"
After reading the note, the military advisor said to Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang took the note and read it again, and sneered: "Mr. I really guessed it right!"
"What did you guess?" Da Zhuang asked curiously.
"Before we set off, sir, I said that the Eastern Barbarians would definitely not watch us arrive at Yuguan City, and would definitely intercept us on the way. Aren't they coming now?" Zhang Liang said.
"Did the gentleman tell us what we should do?" Da Zhuang asked again.
"What else can we do? Fight as soon as we come!" Zhang Liang said coldly: "The Shen Gong Camp has been established for so long, it's time to sharpen the knife, and the Eastern Barbarians are just here to be the whetstone!"
For this Northern Expedition, Jin Feng specially established four Shen Gong battalions.
Their mission is to carry out long-range strikes when the two armies are at war.
"Send the order, the entire army is on alert, and the Shen Gong Battalion is ready to fight!"
Following Zhang Liang's order, the Northern Expeditionary Army immediately stopped advancing and adopted a defensive formation on the spot.
Four Shen Gong battalions pushed carriages one after another and dispersed around the battle formation.
Baskets of grenades were also sent into the hot air balloon, and the flight team was ready to take off at any time.
Tens of thousands of war horses galloped wildly, and the earth trembled.
The entire Northern Expeditionary Army was fully prepared and prepared for battle. However, they waited and waited, but the enemy never came.
Then news came from the hot air balloon that the Dongman people had turned eastward.
"We are here, why are the Eastern Barbarians running to the east?" Da Zhuang wondered: "Did their scouts misjudge our location?"
"The Chanyu of the Eastern Barbarians was killed with real swords and real guns. Do you think he would make such a stupid mistake?"
Zhang Liang glanced at Da Zhuang sideways: "They are avoiding the hot air balloon!"
"Hide from a hot air balloon?"
Da Zhuang thought for a moment and then showed a look of surprise.
There are only two ways for a hot air balloon to move, one is to rely on ground traction such as war horses, and the other is to rely on the wind.
Normally, it would be no problem to use war horses to pull the troops when traveling, but when the two armies are fighting, they can only rely on the wind.
There was an east wind on the grassland today, and the Eastern Barbarians rushed upwind. Even if the hot air balloon took off, it would be difficult for them to fly to their position.
The combination of hot air balloons and grenades was one of the biggest sources of confidence for the Northern Expeditionary Army. When they heard that the hot air balloons could not be used, many Northern Expeditionary officers began to worry.
But Gray Falcon, the leader of the flight team sent by Eagle to the Northern Expedition, had the same expression as Zhang Liang Dazhuang.
"Gray Falcon, your hot air balloon is useless, why aren't you in a hurry?"
A captain who had a good relationship with Gray Falcon asked in a low voice.
"Because the wind direction is different at different heights."
In order to appease the morale of the soldiers, Gray Falcon deliberately said loudly: "It is the east wind on the ground, but it may be the west wind a hundred feet high."
Hearing what Gray Falcon said, the officers finally felt relieved.
But at this moment, the roar caused by the galloping horses gradually stopped.
The hot air balloon brought news again, saying that the Eastern Barbarian army had stopped ten miles to the east and began to set up camp.
"They came with such force, why did they stop again?" Da Zhuang looked at Zhang Liang again.
Zhang Liang did not answer Da Zhuang, but frowned tightly.
In fact, he didn't even know what kind of medicine the Eastern Barbarian Shanyu was selling in Gourd.
Not understanding the enemy's intentions, Zhang Liang did not dare to act rashly, so he ordered the Northern Expeditionary Army to camp on the spot, and then sent more hot air balloons into the sky to maintain early warning.
The two sides faced off in the open space outside Yuguan City.
The confrontation continued until the next morning. Just when Zhang Liang was considering whether to launch an attack, he suddenly noticed that the tent was getting darker and darker.
"Is it cloudy?"
Zhang Liang frowned and walked out of the tent, looking up at the sky.
The sky had been clear before, but now it was covered with dark clouds.
Boom card!
A bolt of lightning pierced the sky, and then a big raindrop hit Zhang Liang's face and his heart.
At this moment, he finally understood what the Eastern Barbarians were waiting for!