After leaving Duangu County, a team of about 3,000 people was slowly marching south. They were well-equipped, rode tall horses, and carried the military flag of Chu in their ranks.
"Well, we took Yicheng after all the hard work. We thought we were about to attack Chang'an City. Unexpectedly, the granary in the rear was captured by Lu Bu again. We turned back in a hurry, but Lu Bu ran away again. He was not the so-called underdog. A battle general, why is he as slippery as a loach?"
Now that Duangu is under the control of the Chu army again, the soldiers are very relaxed walking on the road, but they are quite helpless when talking.
Hearing this, a dark burly man beside him chuckled and answered.
"If he doesn't run away, with the more than 10,000 people he has left, will he dare to fight against our main force?"
"Okay, stop complaining. Don't say this to other brother troops. General Zhang Yun was killed by Lu Bu before, and together with General Zhu Yun, two generals have been lost to Lu Bu. What a fierce force! Baima Yi has suffered a big loss this time. General Zhao Yun is still uncertain about his life or death in order to divert the pursuers."
The soldier who spoke before was tall and thin, and nodded at this time.
"I understand! We killed Yincheng guard Liang Xing again this time, and together with Hanzhong's contribution, it can be said that we stole the show."
"It's good that you know. If we go anywhere, it will ruin our friendship with our brother troops."
While the two were talking, another person intervened and spoke.
"Hey, Your Majesty has a decree. If we can wipe out the trap under Lu Bu's command, we will confer our general the title of Champion! Heh, is it true or false?"
Hearing this question, the two of them smiled and said.
"Old Xing, you are too late with this news. We have known about this for a long time, but the general didn't bother to talk about it."
"That's right, I heard that the Feiyu Cavalry has been wiped out by the commander-in-chief. Then the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is hiding in Chang'an and working as a guard for the puppet emperor. It has been domineering and prosperous for these years. In addition to being well-equipped, I don't know how much combat power it still has? A closer look shows that among the Qin army, only Lu Bu's camp can be our opponent."
The soldiers were noisy, but Lu Xun didn't care. It was time for them to relax after the high-intensity march.
Now that General Huang Gai has led 20,000 troops to garrison Chencang, and Ji Shu has led the main force to recapture Duan Valley, the area to the south leading to Hanzhong is naturally safe. It was just for the sake of caution that Ji Shu ordered them to disperse into the nearby countryside to search for the remnants of the Chu army that had fled and fled, and to check if there were any enemy troops lurking.
This is naturally an easy task, but what is even more difficult is that the team exploring northward, in addition to gathering the remaining soldiers and searching for Zhao Yun's whereabouts, may also engage in battle with Qin army scouts at any time.
"General, we found something unusual. The Qin army massacred a village before withdrawing."
Lu Xun was stunned by the scout's news. He lowered his face and said in a low voice.
"Take me to see it."
The scout led the people a long way along the official road and turned in at a fork in the road. Lu Xun actually had some impression. He seemed to have accompanied Ji Shu when he came to Duangu. He remembered that the village was filled with people named Zhu.
At this moment, looking at the archway at the intersection of Zhujiacun from a distance makes people a little frightened. I saw that there were almost two hundred wooden poles densely inserted next to the archway with "Zhujia Village" written on it, and a head was stuck on each wooden pole.
In a village, hundreds of families may have perished here.
Even if the Yulin Army came over from the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood, no one would play with life like this and play with corpses.
"They are simply a bunch of crazy bandits!"
Some of the soldiers yelled harshly.
Lu Xun came closer and saw a wooden sign standing just below the archway at the intersection.
[Colluding with Chu people should be punished by death! 】
Colluding with Chu people?
How did they collude with us? It was just because the teacher thought they were pitiful and gave each family a bag of rice.
Has this become their capital crime?
Lu Xun clenched his back molars, his face so gloomy that he seemed to be dripping with water.
The scout looked at the wooden sign, then at Lu Xun, and said angrily.
"General"
, there are still many headless corpses in the village, many of the female corpses have torn clothes, and they must have suffered humiliation during their lifetime. "
As soon as these words came out, a group of silent soldiers around him exploded.
"The bloody Qin army, next time I see them kill one by one, it will be hard to surrender!"
"stop fighting."
Lu Xun interrupted the noisy noise around him with a sharp voice.
"Take the bodies out and let them bury them first."
It’s no wonder that the surrounding villagers didn’t pay attention. Even they, the soldiers, looked horrified, but these corpses had to be disposed of.
"But the bodies are starting to rot, and I don't know who the head or the body is."
Lu Xun sighed.
"Then follow the rules of our army and cremate them, and bury their ashes together in one grave."
"promise!"
······
Ji Shu lived in a different courtyard in Duangu County. Soldiers came in and out, and countless information was gathered to him. At this time, Ji Shu, Huang Zhong, and Jiang Qin were sitting in the room rearranging the sand table and listening to the information reported by the soldiers.
"Before the Qin army withdrew, they robbed grain from the surrounding villages and captured many young men. Now it seems that when Zhao Yun's troops were stationed, some of the grain and grass were drugged by the Qin army, and some were taken away and burned. The food supply for Lu Bu's tribe is insufficient."
Most of the Qin army's grain and grass were supplied by Hanzhong. Without Hanzhong, there was only the granary in Chang'an. The water supply and transportation of grain and grass had to go through Xicheng, Anding, and Jieting to reach the water. The journey was long and labor-intensive, which was also a constraint for Lu Bu.
"Tongguan mobilized most of the troops, and Ma Chao's more than 10,000 troops occupied Yicheng. The current strength reaches 35,000. The Qin army is still recruiting young men and it is expected that the strength may reach 40,000 by then."
Tongguan transferred most of its troops, and the east side was almost undefended against Wei. But Cao Cao would not be so stupid. He captured Chang'an and destroyed the system established by Dong Zhuo. Ma Chao and Lu Bu may not surrender to him, but are more likely to surrender to us.
When the battle reached this point, it was time for him to take action while sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers and tigers, otherwise Qin would not be able to withstand Chu's next offensive.
"The wind is going to pick up."
Ji Shu murmured something and then said to the ordering soldiers.
"There should be another carrier pigeon replying to Jianye, sending a message to the DPRK: The Northern Expedition has been blocked and the troops are hard to come by. Please recruit 50,000 new troops in Yizhou to deal with the situation."
"Send another order to Yizhou to recruit 50,000 new troops, train them for three months, and go north after spring. Tell Zhang Fu and Zhang Song to prepare the clothes, armor, and weapons of 50,000 soldiers."
Just as the messenger was about to take the order and leave, Jiang Qin quickly stopped him and frowned to persuade him.
"Military advisor, the recruitment of soldiers must be approved by His Majesty. I am afraid it will be inappropriate to send orders to the Yizhou government at the same time. It is better to wait for His Majesty's holy order."
Huang Zhong also advised.
"Military Advisor, during the Battle of Xuzhou, you concealed the war in Jingzhou and asked General Taishi to recruit troops on his own. Afterwards, Your Majesty removed your official position and stayed at home for a long time. Now that you have not waited for the Holy Order to recruit troops on your own, you will be impeached by the ministers of the court! Military advisor, think twice."
"How long does it take for the homing pigeon to fly back to Jianye? How long does it take to reach Yizhou after the DPRK and China make a decision? A month? With this extra time and more training of soldiers, how many casualties can be reduced on the battlefield. It will be outside, There is something wrong with your order. Okay, no need to persuade me, just do as I do."
"As for the impeachment of the DPRK minister, I really want to see what the outcome will be."
Jiang Qin and Huang Zhong looked at each other, and the ordering soldiers followed the order and left.
Another soldier said.
"The soldiers searching northward sent back news that General Zhao Yun was not found. Going further north, he entered the boundary of Jieting."
Street pavilion!
Ji Shu looked at the street pavilion between Shui and Anding.
"Since Lu Bu is unwilling to be left alone, I will take care of him first."
Then, a dagger was inserted into the boundary of the street pavilion in the sand table.
