Lei Xiong chased E Huan until late at night before returning. Everyone had been worried for a long time. Hearing his loud voice outside the tent, Yang Qing felt a little relieved and hurriedly let him in to talk.
After Lei Xiong entered the tent, Zhang Ni quickly left his seat and went to check. Seeing that his right arm was only bandaged, he asked with peace of mind: "Meng Lie, how is the injury?" Lei Xiong grinned: "Don't worry, Sima. A small injury doesn’t matter.”
"Since it doesn't matter, let's sit down and talk." Yang Qing behind the two said with a smile.
When Lei Xiong took his seat, Yang Qing asked: "Have you ever captured E Huan?"
Lei Xiong shook his head slightly and said: "Master Huifu, I and Buddy chased and killed E Huan until only a few members of his tribe were left. There were several opportunities to kill this man on the way, but he was still able to escape. .”
He sighed and continued: "We have been chasing out of the Xindao County boundary, but E Huan finally made us escape, and we can no longer find his trace. It was already getting late, and I was afraid that if we continued to chase, we would encounter a large number of barbarian soldiers. , no matter what, I have to return."
Yang Qing saw that he was speaking with frustration in his tone, and said with a smile: "Meng Lie doesn't have to insist on this matter. If we don't capture and kill this person this time, there will be another chance in the future. What's more, we have won a big victory today and ran away." It doesn’t matter if I’m E Huan.”
Everyone also gave words of advice one after another. Lei Xiong was a straightforward person, but he was a little dissatisfied for a moment. After hearing a few words of advice from everyone, he calmed down.
Seeing that Lei Xiong calmed down, Yang Qing continued: "I want the army to go to Xindao City tomorrow to station for repairs. Feng Chong will lead the cavalry to escort the seriously injured prisoners to Beishui."
Zhang Yi said: "No."
"It's three to four hundred miles from Beishui County. Bo Qi then sent sergeants to escort the seriously injured prisoners by boat across the Hujiang River and then to the Beishui River to be transported to the Beishui Camp in Gaoding."
"By the way, Feng Chong only has nearly 200 cavalry, and his deterrence is not enough. You can choose sergeants who can ride horses from the army or the Guli tribe to gather 500 cavalry to go to Beishui."
"Yes, I understand."
"Okay, I have finished arranging the military affairs. You can go back and rest early." Yang Qing waved his hand and said with a smile.
"No." The four generals responded in unison.
Early the next morning, Yang Qing led thousands of Han and Qiang coalition troops to Xindao County. Since Xindao is a place where the government and the rebels have repeatedly fought over each other, there are only two to three thousand people left in the city at this moment, and a few well-known elders with big surnames maintain order.
Feng Chong led a makeshift cavalry force of 500 and marched toward Beishui County along the waterway. Their moving speed was consistent with the ships on one side.
Because they were riding horses and boats, the soldiers did not feel much fatigue. Even the injured Yi soldiers who were complaining and groaning felt much more relaxed.
They thought that prisoners who were seriously injured and difficult to treat like themselves would be killed by the Han people. Unexpectedly, the Han people not only refused to kill them, but also sent people to send them back to their own tribes.
Therefore, even though the barbarian soldiers were rebellious and disobedient to the king, at this moment they had to admit that the official army was indeed a benevolent and righteous army.
Many of them secretly had a calculation. If they could survive this time, if they were no longer able to defeat the Han people on the battlefield in the future, they would surrender immediately and never fight with their lives again.
Feng Chong arrived at Beishui County on the third day after setting off. After taking a rest, he ordered more than 300 wounded Yi soldiers to be escorted to the north bank of Beishui, and then sent an order to blow the horn of attack.
Beishui County is located on the south bank of Beishui. Gaoding built a strong fortress with Beishui City as the core and stationed 3,000 troops here.
E Huan, who luckily escaped from Lei Xiong three days ago, was in the city. His escape was not unscathed. He was hit by Buddy's arrow in his left shoulder and injured the bones, so he stayed in Beishui City to recuperate.
E Huan is the number one general under Gao Ding. He is now in Beishui, and everything in the natural city is decided by him.
A soldier had reported the movement across the river to E Huan. He thought that the Han army would return to Anshang after the victory, but he did not expect to march here. Could it be that he wanted to use the power of victory to conquer Beishui in one fell swoop?
Gu was shocked and ordered people to go find out the news. After a while, the spies reported that although there were a large number of officers and cavalry on the north bank of Beishui, they were showing off their power, uttering challenges, and trying their best to ridicule and curse. However, upon closer inspection, they found that there were only a thousand officers and soldiers, and they should not have come to cross the river to conquer the fortress. .
E Huan was relieved after receiving his revenge. Although many of his soldiers could not stand the ridicule of the Han army and ran to the south bank to retaliate and scold the soldiers who passed by, but at this time he could not dare to gather the army to cross the river to fight.
He had no choice but to order the soldiers of all ministries to guard the camp strictly and not to go to the river or even cross the river to fight without orders. At the same time, he sent agents across the river to check whether there were any ambushes behind these Han troops.
He was severely harmed by Yang Qing's plan this time, so he who was always brave and just entered became cautious this time.
An hour later, the spies reported that there were no traces of other Han troops for twenty miles behind the Han army on the other side of the river. In addition, the Han army on the other side had sent an envoy to cross the river with a white flag.
E Huan sat high on the throne and sneered at the Han envoy in the hall: "What did your general send you to do?"
Although the envoy was a small soldier, he was bold by nature. He stood up straight and replied proudly: "My general wants me to send a message. I hope General E will behave himself well. He will not let it go easily next time we meet again."
On the border of Yueqi, E Huan, as the number one general under the most prestigious King Gaoding in South China, had never suffered such a defeat since he came of age to lead the army.
At this moment, he heard a small messenger making sarcastic remarks, and he was extremely angry. He was about to scold him and push him out to behead him, but he saw the other person take out a sealed silk cloth from his arms.
"General E, my Lord Yang has another letter to send to your King. Please keep it and pass it on." The messenger said calmly.
E Huan took the letter presented by the guard and looked at it carefully. Although he could speak Chinese, he could not recognize a few Chinese characters, but he did recognize the word "couture" on the envelope of the letter.
He did not dare to open it privately, so he put it in his arms and kept it close to his body, preparing to return to Qiongdu and hand it over to his king after his injury improved.
After this interruption, E Huan stopped thinking about executing the official and military envoys to vent his anger. However, when he saw that the other party still had a proud look on his face, he thought that it would be a good idea to give him a good beating.
E Huan was about to send an order, but the envoy said: "General E, there is one more thing. Governor Yang of this county is kind and loving to the people, and specially released a group of prisoners to show the goodness of God and the benevolent government."
"Oh, release the prisoners?" E Huan was puzzled for a moment, his eyes rolling: "Since the prisoners are going to be released, why doesn't your eunuch release them all?"
"My eunuch said that the remaining brothers of your clan must be treated well before they can be released. The general should take care of these brothers first. If the villain can return intact in an hour, please ask the general to send someone to accompany him. The river took away the prisoners of your army.”
"Of course, to show our sincerity and reassure the general, most of our army has now set off to return, leaving only a few dozen riders to look after your brothers."
"Hmph, you've been thinking carefully." E Huan sneered: "However, I won't believe your words easily, and I still need to send someone to investigate."
"Of course." The messenger said calmly.
"Come here, please ask the Han envoy to go down and rest."
After the Han envoys left, E Huan immediately sent people across the river to investigate. Soon the spies reported that there were indeed three to four hundred of his brothers on the beach on the north bank, surrounded by dozens of Han cavalry. Most of the Han army was indeed moving along the beach. Return the same way.
E Huan believed this and sent hundreds of Yi soldiers to follow the Han envoy across the river. After the handover between the two armies was completed, the Yi soldiers only honestly transported the released prisoners and did not attack the dozens of Han cavalry who stayed behind, letting them leave.
Although only part of the captured brothers returned for the time being, E Huan, as the commander-in-chief, still endured the pain and went to the shore to greet him in person because he felt guilty.
But when the seriously injured soldiers who were missing arms and legs and kept wailing were lifted out of the boat, the gentle smile he had prepared couldn't help but stagnate. His mouth was opened for a long time, and his face was distorted. .
