Yang Feng stood upright outside the camp, just as high-spirited as when she left.
But they are just similar in body shape.
Although Yang Feng was still holding the wooden stick hard, her slightly trembling hands clearly showed that she was now at the end of her strength.
The fiery red armor that could once be carefully cared for is now in tatters, with most of the armor pieces falling off and bloodstains and dust everywhere on it.
There were several circles of linen tied around the wound on his thigh, which had already been soaked with oozing blood. The color was reddish-brown with some dark yellow, so the wound must have suppurated.
The most miserable thing was Yang Feng's face. The face that was originally scarred diagonally had several wounds in various directions, including the blood stain from one ear, which had long since scabbed and dried up, making it look particularly terrifying.
Yang Feng's originally dazzling eyes were now dim and dull. She slowly said, "Feng has failed the Lord Commander."
Zhang Yan said quickly: "What are you talking about, Commander Yang? It's just that the enemy is cunning, so it doesn't count."
Yang Feng said bitterly: "Please also ask General Zhonglang to send an army of horses so that Feng can avenge this battle!"
Zhang Yan sighed: "There's no rush, let's wait until Yang Tong is healed from his injuries."
Yang Feng wanted to speak, but her body shook a few times, fell to the ground and fainted.
Seeing this, Zhang Yan shouted: "Come here! Take Commander Yang back for treatment!"
The soldiers came up and carried Yang Feng down with all hands and feet. Zhang Yan turned around and walked back to the camp.
He pulled out another tube of bamboo slips, put them together with the previous bamboo slips, and began to meditate.
If the Montenegrin Army exerts all its strength, it might be possible to drive Yuan Xi back.
But what happens after that?
After a year and a half, or even a few months, the other party can make a comeback!
Nowadays, Youzhou's agricultural work is flourishing, and it can support the mobilization of thousands of soldiers at any time. On the other hand, there are quite a lot of soldiers on our side, but there are not many who can fight, and there is indeed no shortage of food.
The ferocious tiger has a very vicious look and knows the right time to send troops. If it happens again, the Montenegrin Army will not be able to survive this winter!
Taking a step back, what if the Black Mountain Army opened up the North Pass and entered Youzhou to confront the fierce tiger?
You know, there is Jizhou watching covetously behind the scenes!
To Zhang Yan, if the Youzhou army is a bad wolf, the Jizhou army is a real tiger. Yuan Shao has already destroyed Gongsun Zan, and sooner or later he will use all his strength to deal with him.
He knew that if this continued, there would be no hope of victory, so he had to make a choice.
Make peace.
But who to talk to is the key. He almost raided Yuan Shao's hometown in Yecheng. He was extremely vindictive and suspicious. There was a precedent of ambushing his generals. Zhang Yan didn't want to end up like Qu Yi and Lu Bu.
.
However, Jizhou was so powerful that Zhang Yan would not be able to gain any favor if he sought refuge with a force hostile to Yuan Shao.
Then taking refuge with Yuan Shao's forces became a good choice.
In this way, the war with the Yuan family could be stopped, and Yuan Shao would not be under direct control, thus avoiding the possibility of death.
The two bamboo slips expressing goodwill in front of me were sent by two parties respectively.
Cao Cao.
Yuan Xi.
Not to mention Cao Cao, when Yuan Xi's bamboo slips were delivered to Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan felt quite awkward.
On the one hand, he dispersed his elite main force, and on the other hand, he pretended to talk about peace. Do you think you have a good temper, or do you think you are not clear-headed?
But speaking of it, Zhang Yan had some regrets. When Yuan Xi was appointed governor of Youzhou, he sent a letter to make peace with him, but Zhang Yan relied on his power and ignored him.
Of course, the reason was that Yang Feng and other leaders were extremely resistant to joining forces with the Yuan family, so Zhang Yan rejected Yuan Xi's goodwill, which was the common wish of everyone.
But times have changed, and Yuan Xi's strength in Youzhou has expanded too rapidly. Sooner or later, the Black Mountain Army will be completely overwhelmed!
Zhang Yan is not sure whether Yuan Xi was funded by Yuan Shao behind the scenes, otherwise this would be abnormal!
Where did he get so many sophisticated weapons and ordnance?
What Zhang Yan didn't know was that in order to deal with the Black Mountain Army, Yuan Xi drained the profits of the maritime trade route for more than a year and almost invested all his capital, just to be able to achieve success in one fell swoop.
In Yuan Xi's view, money is dead and people are alive. If you can spend money to equip more weapons and reduce the casualties of your own soldiers, it is better than keeping money in the warehouse.
Zhang Yan saw Yuan Xi's promise in the bamboo slips, which was that after the armistice between the two sides, the Montenegrin Army would open the Heishan Passage, and the two sides would jointly govern Heishan, and Youzhou would help Heishan with farming and water conservancy roads.
Zhang Yan’s face was a little gloomy. Are you going to rule Montenegro together? This kid’s appetite is too big!
In comparison, the other version of Zhu Jian is much more sincere.
As long as Zhang Yan surrenders to Cao Cao, not only will the territory of Heishan be retained, but also a large area of land in Bingzhou will be allocated to him. Cao Cao will also go to the emperor to report that Zhang Yan will be promoted to an official position.
Comparing the two sides, it is obvious that I would choose Cao Cao's side no matter what.
But Zhang Yan was also slightly wary.
There are no free benefits. If you want to get more rewards, you must pay more.
What the Black Mountain Army has to do after taking refuge with Cao Cao is to join forces from both sides, break into Hanoi, and open up the passage to Sili Hedong!
Zhang Yan thought about it, wouldn't this mean that he would become enemies with Lu Bu and Bai Bo's army?
Inside the Youzhou military camp, Guo Jia said: "I don't understand."
"If you want to negotiate peace with the Montenegrin Army, you can definitely promise more generous terms. If it is what I say in my heart now, there is a high probability that I will not agree."
"If someone else offers a higher price..."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "I didn't expect him to agree."
"If he really agrees, I'll have a headache."
"How could I leave such an important place like the Black Mountain Pass to others?"
Guo Jia pondered: "In this case, we can only have a stalemate with Zhang Yan."
"He doesn't dare to leave the hinterland of Montenegro, otherwise we will take advantage of him."
"So it is very likely that he will agree to Cao Cao's conditions, but at the same time he will use the excuse of being attacked by the prince and not be able to send troops to Hanoi."
"In this case, the key lies in how the three parties, Gong and Zilong, Lu Bu and Cao Cao will face the Baibo bandits."
"Lu Bu's role is very crucial."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "That's exactly it."
Guo Jia said: "Young Master said it would be better if you didn't go to see the Emperor. Could you be serious?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "I have never deceived you, sir."
"In this case, it would be bad if I go."
Guo Jia sighed: "But in this case, the young master will not be able to take charge of the overall situation and will give all the initiative to the public and He Zilong?"
Yuan Xi nodded: "I believe they can make it happen, just like I believe sir."
After hearing this, Guo Jia said angrily: "Don't compliment me. If this happens, there will be a stalemate with the Montenegro Army for several months."
"When I think about these days without wine or women, my days feel like years."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "That's good too. Isn't it good to keep fit by playing Wuqinxi when you have nothing to do?"
Guo Jia expressed his contempt for Yuan Xi and went back to his tent to sleep.
The camp was full of tents, and the soldiers were carefully taking care of the Huanshou swords in their hands.
For them, the knife is their life, so they dare not neglect it at all.
First, scrub the blood off the blade. If the blood stains remain on the blade, it will rust the blade, so clean it frequently.
Then the blade is polished on the whetstone, and the gap in the blade from the previous battle is re-sharpened. The blade of the ring-shou knife is relatively thick, so it can withstand repeated polishing.
Of course, this is when the blade is still intact. If the blade is bent or deformed, it must be sent to the army blacksmith for repair.
Due to limited conditions, blast furnaces cannot be built in marching camps. Broken or broken weapons can only be sent back to the rear and re-smelted.
But even so, the Youzhou Army, which is equipped with a considerable number of blacksmiths, craftsmen, and doctors, is already ranked among the best in the world in terms of logistics.
Of course, this approach requires a lot of financial support. Except for a few wealthy states such as Jizhou and Jingzhou, few can do this. Even Yuan Xi has the support of profitable trade routes behind him.
Several sergeants were sharpening their knives, talking and making fun of each other. They were all personal guards who had been following Yuan Xi and belonged to the same team.
There was a burly man with a bandage on one arm. He grinned and sharpened his knife awkwardly with his other hand. He said contemptuously to the other people: "We usually say we are brothers, but we don't help when we are injured!"
"
Several other people laughed after hearing this, and a dark-skinned man laughed and scolded: "Silly cow, you can't blame others. In order to attract enemies, everyone stood on the edge of the pit to hold their bodies, but you were the only one who injured your arm.
, who’s to blame?”
"It seems like this is a good time to practice your arm strength."
The big man named Silly Niu got angry, "With your small arms and legs, you certainly don't have to use much force to support your body!"
"I have more than 200 kilograms of bones and use a lot of strength. How can this compare?"
"If you have the skills, let's show off and compete!"
Seeing that no one answered, he said proudly: "What, you don't dare anymore?"
The swarthy man smiled and said: "Silly cow, it's a good thing to be strong, but when you go into battle, you have to kill the enemy."
"Look at our heads, we killed three more with our own hands in the last battle, which is more than all of you combined!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone turned their attention to the man who had been silent and sharpening his knife silently. Silly Niu said bitterly: "Who can compare with the boss? We can't learn that kind of ruthlessness."
There were fifteen of them, and the leader was a young man in his twenties, but he was the most skilled in martial arts among them.
Among the five of them, he was the one who was equipped with a crossbow and a sword, and was in the middle to provide support. At this time, he raised his head and said calmly: "We all kill people together. Without you blocking me, I wouldn't be able to find any time."
"We agreed to share the military merit equally, and we will be promoted together when the time comes."
After everyone heard this, they all flattered each other, but Silly Niu said depressedly: "Aren't we going to be separated by then?"
The swarthy man laughed and scolded: "You silly cow, do you still want to follow the boss your whole life?"
"Who doesn't want to be promoted to an official position and honor his ancestors? There is no future!"
Sha Niu muttered: "Follow the leader, and you will feel very safe."
"Before we set off from Beixin City, the leader was not so powerful. Why has he suddenly become so powerful in these battles?"
The swarthy man said with a smile: "We are different from each other, so we have to accept it."
After hearing this, the chief unconsciously reached into his arms and found a round egg inside.