After Guo Xin ordered Wang Shiliang to personally escort Liu to Tokyo with a few cavalry, the army continued on the road after resting, and saw Qishan County on July 15th, the Ghost Festival.
Not long after they arrived, a group of light cavalry came out of the city to greet them. The leader was a young general. When they met, they introduced themselves: "I am Zhao Yanjin, the commander of Feng Xiang Ya Nei. Are these reinforcements from Chang'an?"
Guo Xintiti immediately stepped forward to greet him: "That's right. Is Captain Zhao in the city?"
"Father has been waiting for reinforcements here for a long time." Zhao Yanjin nodded quickly and rode forward with Guo Xin: "The war is getting tighter now. Now that reinforcements arrive, father will be able to use his fists... By the way, you haven't asked the general's last name yet? "
Zhao Yanjin's surname was Zhao, and he mentioned his father, who was obviously Zhao Hui's son. At this time, the governor of the feudal town was serving in the feudal town, and his descendants often served as military officers in the shogunate. It is not surprising that Zhao Yanjin appeared here.
However, Guo Xin did not expect that Wang Jun had not mentioned himself to Zhao Hui in his haste, so he introduced: "I am General Guo Xin, currently the commander of the Shehu Army."
"Commander?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Yanjin glanced at Guo Xin suspiciously, then glanced at the marching team behind him, paused and said, "How many troops will Commander Guo bring?"
"Two infantry commanders, one cavalry commander, besides me are the two commanders Qi and Wang." Guo Xin introduced Qi Tingxun to Zhao Yanjin, and the two of them clasped their fists and saluted Zhao Yanjin.
Zhao Yanjin also immediately bowed his hands to the two of them and returned the favor, and then stopped talking actively. Wang Huan and others would occasionally ask about Feng Xiang's current situation, and would give a few appropriate answers.
Guo Xin saw that Zhao Yanjin's enthusiasm had waned. Although he also felt that he had few soldiers, he did not think it was a big problem. Fengxiang Mansion has been in great decline since then. The prefectures and counties passed by during these days are all dilapidated and dilapidated. If the army is to fight here for a long time, it can only rely on the rear to transport food. The court transports food to Chang'an, which is far away, and then from Chang'an to Fengxiang. The cost is extremely high, so the current season is not suitable for sending large armies to fight. Secondly, the home army is all well-trained Forbidden Army. After several battles, Guo Xin has already concluded that the combat effectiveness of the Forbidden Army is still relatively reliable. Ordinary armies want to It may be difficult to defeat the Imperial Army head-on.
After the group entered the city, Zhao Yanjin was about to say goodbye to Guo Xin and return to his mission: "Father is already waiting at the county hall. After General Guo settles in the west of the city, he can go to discuss the military affairs."
"This general will be at the command of the Commander-in-Chief."
Zhao Hui's headquarters troops are already stationed in the temporary military camp in the west of the city. Not far after entering the camp gate, Qi Tingxun came up and said, "No wonder Zhao Hui called us over in a hurry. Seeing that there are only five thousand people in this camp at most. It would be difficult for him to kill Wang Jingchong with just a few people, let alone I don’t know how many more people will come from the Shu army in the south.”
Wang Huan chuckled secretly: "Before Zhao Hui came here, he was the governor of Shaanxi Province to protect the Yi. Naturally, the two states of Shaanxi and Guo can't support many soldiers and horses just by relying on the army to protect the Yi."
Guo Xin pondered slightly and said: "I think it is not necessarily a bad thing that Captain Zhao does not have many troops. In this way, we will definitely have more reliance on our Shehu Army during the war."
Guo Xin ordered his lieutenants Zhang Chenghua and Wang Yuanmao to settle his subordinates, while he went to the county hall to meet Zhao Hui. The county hall, which Zhao Hui temporarily recruited as the military headquarters, was heavily guarded. Before entering, he had to hand over his weapons before he was allowed to enter.
Walking into the hall, there were already many generals sitting on both sides. When Guo Xin came in by roll call, the first thing he noticed was naturally Zhao Hui sitting on the top, but he was secretly surprised in his heart. He had developed a great interest in this strategizing general when he was in Tongguan. The impression in his mind had always been that Zhao Hui should be a young and powerful general with extraordinary temperament like Guo Wei, or at least a heroic Confucian general like Wang Jun, but only Unexpectedly, Zhao Hui was such an old man in front of him.
Zhao Hui is of medium height and even looks a little thin when sitting on the chair. His gray hair is meticulously combed, his face has deep wrinkles, his white and short beard is tightly clustered on his chin, and his skin is tanned by the constant sunlight. , looks more serious, and vaguely resembles Zhao Yanjin. Fortunately, Zhao Hui's eyes were clear and his spirit was still strong, and he could not see the sluggish things about those old people.
Guo Xin paid his respects to Zhao Hui: "The last general Guo Xin has met the Taiwei."
Zhao Hui immediately said: "My son is naughty, I hope he is not rude in front of General Guo." Although Zhao Hui's voice was not loud, the words were pronounced clearly, which made his words feel powerful.
Guo Xin replied appropriately: "The last general has been coming for a long time, and Commander Zhao went out to greet him personally. It is the last general who is unworthy."
Zhao Hui shook his head: "I have been looking forward to General Guo for a long time. General Guo came all the way to help me. I should have welcomed him personally, but he is old and frail, so I asked this kid to do it for me."
Then Zhao Hui continued: "General Guo is here for the first time. He must not know much about the current situation in Fengxiang. Let me ask my son to explain something to General Guo."
After being called, Zhao Yanjin seemed reluctant to stand up, but he still bowed to Guo Xin with fists and began to preach: "Fengxiang Army has three prefectures, except for Qianzhou, which is next to Yongxing Army in the east. Fengxiang Mansion is owned by Wang Jingchong, and Longzhou and Yizhou in the northwest of Fengxiang Mansion were occupied by Shu last year. As for the other nine counties under Fengxiang Mansion, they all obey the orders of our army...that is, the imperial court. Therefore, currently The main thing our army faces is the city of Fengxiang Prefecture. As for the Shu soldiers and horses on the road at the moment, they most likely came from Sanguan in the southwest and came through Baoji County, followed by Longzhou and Longzhou in the northwest. They came from the Qianyang area. However, although the Lord of Shu is determined to intervene in the imperial court to suppress the rebellion, the road to Shu is far and difficult to travel. No matter how quickly the Lord of Shu prepares, according to the speed of Shu's march to Guanzhong in recent years, it is expected that it will take two Only in the moon can we see the shadow of the main force of the Shu army."
Zhao Yanjin made it clearer. Zhao Hui nodded to Zhao Yanjin and told him to sit down first. Then he turned his eyes back to Guo Xin and said, "The situation is probably like this now. I think General Guo has heard that the direction our army should deal with is Fengxiang Mansion, Sanguan and Qianyang. Now we have few troops. Counting the reinforcements brought by General Guo, we have just reached ten thousand people. Except for the fact that I have ordered the military commander Li Yancong to lead more than two thousand people to Baoji Village. In case the Shu army suddenly comes out of Sanguan and attacks, all the remaining soldiers and horses are here."
Guo Xin pondered for a moment: "I would venture to guess that the Taiwei wants to take advantage of the Shu army's future to capture Fengxiang Mansion first?"
Zhao Hui nodded and shook his head: "It is imperative to attack Fengxiang Mansion first. But General Guo should know that a single Wang Jingchong is not of concern. The real threat is the large-scale Shu army. It is a pity that the princes in the east see I don’t understand, I owe a great debt to the late Emperor, but I have to think more about the overall situation of the imperial court.”
Guo Xin was lowering his head and thinking, when Zhao Hui suddenly closed his eyes and said in a calm tone: "As the saying goes, don't rely on anything that won't come, rely on me to be ready."
