Chapter 252 Opening the Pattern
The light of dawn penetrates the darkness.

The starlight in the sky and on the ground gradually faded away.

The long river valley road returned to peace after a night of fighting.

A small number of defeated soldiers took advantage of the night to escape to the northern part of Shixia, which was behind the troops of Lu Junyi and Ma Lin. However, Zhu Wu's troops were stationed on the important roads further north, so these Jin troops would still fall into the trap.

The trouble was the small number of Jin troops that were cut off and the Liaozhou wing troops that followed Li Ze. Seeing that they could not defeat Yang Chang and Lu Zhishen, they finally retreated back to Liaoshan while fighting.

So even though the war was won, it was not over.

In the early morning, the smoke dissipated. Yang Chang, who had been commanding and bending over last night, sat on a bluestone to take a rest. He left the cleaning of the battlefield and the preparation of the troops to Lu Zhishen, Ou Peng and other generals.

The stars were shining brightly last night, and although Yang Chang picked up a lot of fish, they were all small fish that fell.

The popularity value of the fourth level of Qi Refining has long been full, but the murderous aura value is still not enough to upgrade. It seems that subsequent upgrades are becoming more and more difficult. I don’t know how many corpses I need to pick up in order to finally upgrade to the Foundation Establishment level.

The strategy of luring the enemy can only be used once. Being able to kill tens of thousands of enemies in one night means that the trip here is worthwhile.

The defeated soldiers who fled back to Liaoshan last night could certainly not be tricked out now. A forceful attack would be affected by the tortuous food routes, and the civilians would have to be conscripted for transportation. Even if the city was captured, the losses would be huge.

Although Yang Chang is not a businessman, he has to calculate the cost of fighting a war. If he spends a lot of effort to capture Liaoshan, but in the end he gets too few soldiers and supplies, and the geographical location is not as important as Pingcheng, it will be a losing business no matter how you look at it, so he reorganized his army and planned to withdraw his troops.

It would not be a bad idea to take Yushe first, as it can be used as a strategic buffer zone. If the Jin army attacks from Liaozhou, they will still be restricted by the problem of food supply and can only harass with small teams.

By then, a cautious general will be left to guard the city and Yushe will be incorporated into Sun An's Wuxiang defense zone, and the strategic separatism will not be much different from before.

This trip was not in vain.

Not only did it weaken the strength of the Jin army in Taiyuan, but it also added a lot of soldiers and horses to Yang Chang, and he himself also became more murderous.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was not a loss. Yang Chang's body suddenly went limp and he fell down.

The warm February sun is intoxicating. I didn’t sleep a wink last night and fell asleep out of exhaustion.

Even when Yang Chang's body was relaxed, his five senses were still on duty, and any changes in the sensory coverage could keep him awake at any time.

"Mr. Lu?"

"My brother is here."

"Whose head is this?"

Lu Junyi is here?
Last night, they each led their troops to fight, and there was no chance for them to meet. Later, Yang Chang saw the defeated soldiers heading north, with a team of his own soldiers chasing them. He thought that Lu Junyi had gone there to try to show off, but he didn't expect this guy to appear here.

Yang Chang stood up and looked lazily, only to see Lu Junyi riding a horse towards him, responding to everyone's greetings along the way.

This guy looks good, it seems he has adapted to the new environment.
wrong
There was a head on the neck of Lu Junyi's horse, and there was a man with disheveled hair following behind the horse, but his hands were tied and he was being led forward like a dog.

Kill the general? Capture the enemy?
Yu Qilin is indeed extraordinary. Was the big fish on your side last night?

Yang Chang was delighted, then he pressed the bluestone with both hands and suddenly jumped to the open space in front.

His movement was immediately noticed by Lu Junyi, who immediately dismounted and came forward, clasping his fists and saying happily: "Captain, I have fulfilled my mission and made some gains last night."

"Who did my brother kill?"

"He claims to be Wanyan Tuhesu, and I don't know whether it's true or not."

Seeing Yang Changxi's happy expression, Lu Junyi hurriedly took off the head and planned to hand it to the other party for identification.

At this moment, Lu Zhishen, who was nearby, rushed over after hearing what was said, brushed aside the messy hair in front of Tuhesu's forehead, and then straightened his round fat head.

"It's this fellow Tu Hesu. I encountered him several times in Fenzhou last year, but he always ran away. I didn't expect to run into Mr. Lu. You are really lucky."

"Haha, thanks to the master."

Hearing what Lu Zhishen said, Lu Junyi responded with a smile, and Yang Chang did not show much emotion after confirming the death.

The reason is simple. Tu Hesu had been dead for too long, and the drops had long disappeared. Not to mention his skills and experience, his murderous aura value was at least several hundred or thousands.

I missed it, what a pity.

Lu Junyi came to offer his victory, and Yang Chang could not show his disappointment, so he quickly adjusted his mentality and pointed at the captive behind him and asked: "Who is this person?"

"Oh, this man is Li Ze, the governor of Liaozhou. I captured him not long after I killed Tuhesu, and I was thinking of handing him over to the general for punishment."

"Why keep such a traitor?"

Lu Zhishen wiped his forehead, rolled up his sleeves and was ready to help with the execution, "I'll let you have a beating first!"

"Master, wait!"

Yang Chang grabbed Lu Zhishen and said sternly, "Master has amazing power. How many punches can he take from you? Keeping me here will be useful."

"no."

Lu Zhishen was puzzled and asked curiously, "This man gave up the whole state without putting up any resistance. Such a coward cannot be kept. Why does the commander-in-chief want to use him?"

"Since then, we have recovered Liaoshan."

"What do you say?"

Before Yang Chang finished speaking, Lu Zhishen suddenly interrupted excitedly, "Aren't you going to withdraw your troops? Why do you still want to attack Liaoshan? Have you solved the problem of food and grass?"

"I want to try again." Yang Chang waved his hand gently, then pointed at Li Ze and said, "Bring this man forward first, and the master will know the reason."

"Oh"

"I go."

After all, he was his prisoner. Lu Junyi and Lu Zhishen were reckless. If they followed him and punched Li Ze twice, that would delay Chief Yang's plan, so they went back first.

Li Ze had been tied up for a whole night and was exhausted, but he was the chief officer of a state after all, and he had a very accurate eye for people. He knew who Yang Chang was without waiting for Lu Junyi to remind him.

"Taiwei Yang, after the fall of Taiyuan, Liaozhou was isolated and the garrison was small to begin with. I surrendered to the Jin Dynasty only because I didn't want the people to be harmed."

"Pooh."

Seeing Li Zen bowing his head and shamelessly making excuses, Lu Zhishen spat on his head and cursed: "You are a coward, but you still say you are serving the country and the people. Even if General Yang lets you go, you will still lose your head in the capital. It is better to let me save you with my fist!"

"Uh me."

Li Ze didn't expect this, but when he heard Lu Zhishen's threat, he suddenly realized it. His body suddenly relaxed and he collapsed to the ground.

Yes, no matter how many reasons you come up with, it is still treason. The monk's words are rough but the truth is true. How can the court spare my life? How can Your Majesty spare my life? But this guy has a fierce face and doesn't look like a monk at all. Does he have the ability to save the soul?

At this time, Li Ze was actually struggling with his conscience, but Yang Chang's shocking words rekindled his hope of survival.

"You can live if you want, but you have to make amends and help me take Liaoshan and Heshun. Even if the emperor wants you to die, I can let you live."

"He can do this guy, too?"

Lu Zhishen obviously didn't believe it, so Yang Changze interrupted him and signaled Li Ze to express his opinion himself.

"Listen to him first."

"Your subordinate. I."

Li Ze hesitated. He was intimidated by Yang Chang's arrogance just now. He thought to himself, are you more effective than the emperor?

On second thought, Yang Chang is the governor of three towns. As long as he is really willing to help me, how to write a memorial to the court will just be a matter of a word from him.

What Li Ze didn't know was that Yang Chang had never taken the imperial court seriously. He knew that the imperial court was simply unreliable, so no matter how difficult the war against Jin was or how much credit he had achieved, he never took the initiative to write a memorial to seek credit.

Even ants try to survive. Li Ze really wants to live, otherwise he would not have surrendered so quickly, but he has no confidence in helping to gain merit.

"I really want to make amends for my crime, but Liaoshan has been controlled by the Jin people, and Heshun has fallen into the hands of He Quan. I am afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

Yang Chang smiled contemptuously, pointed at Tuhesu's head, and said coldly: "The main general of the Jin army in Liaoshan is dead. With this head, we can surely suppress the remaining troops. I don't believe they are not afraid of death. Besides, most of the troops in Liaoshan are Han troops now. Don't you have any prestige at all?"

"Uh"

Li Ze thought it made sense and immediately responded with a compliment: "I am a stupid person, but now the general has given me some advice, which is like seeing the sun through the clouds."

"I don't like empty talk. If you want to live, you should work hard to persuade them to surrender. Besides, He Quan is also a Han general. He is like a bird in a cage in Heshun. Will he die for the Jin people? You are all surrendered to the Jin people. You should have confidence in yourselves."

"I understand."

"Take him to the river to wash his face, otherwise Li Zhizhou's former subordinates won't recognize him when we get to Liaoshan City."

After giving the order, Yang Chang nodded to Lu Junyi and said, "In the Battle of Shixia, you deserve the most credit. You killed the generals and captured the enemy, which was crucial to recovering Liaozhou. You will be rewarded after the battle. By the way, where is Ma Lin?"

"Last night, the defeated army took advantage of the chaos and fled north. Ma Lin and his brothers went to pursue them separately. Zhu Wu and Shi Jin were guarding the rear. The defeated soldiers will definitely not be able to escape to Pingcheng."

"The two ladies didn't come to report, which means Yelu Yudu really didn't send troops. This is good news for us to take Liaoshan, but there has been no news from the rear, and I'm always uneasy. I'd like to trouble my brother to send someone to investigate, so that we can take the remaining two counties with peace of mind."

"Well, I'll go right away."

Lu Junyi left immediately.

Yang Chang looked at the majestic back and suddenly remembered that he had not looked at his attributes yet. Why not get a better understanding of him now?
His lips moved slightly as he silently chanted the spell.

He has a deep understanding of the creation of yin and yang, and is familiar with the mechanisms of ghosts and gods.

Name: Lu Junyi
Cultivation: Mortal

Possessing attributes: Kirin reincarnation (strength, wisdom, wealth, appearance, luck, one random attribute at the initial realm is full, the speed of attribute-related skills is doubled, and a special attribute entry is awakened, and the remaining key attribute points are randomly allocated), domineering (exclusive to Kirin power, bullying and overbearing, using force to suppress others, physical damage reduced by 70%, spell damage reduced by 30%, and the enemy's hit rate is reduced when besieged. The more enemies there are, the lower the hit rate; Note: This attribute affects the mentality. When serving as a main general, negative states such as recklessness and stubbornness will appear)
Skills: Horsemanship Master, Sumo Master, Fist and Kick Perfection, Sword Perfection, Spear and Stick Mastery
Possessing special skill: Bullying (Bullying comes with a passive special skill, which is judged differently based on the opponent's attributes. If the opponent's skill level is higher than yours, your agility will increase by 200% during combat. If the opponent's skill level is the same as yours, your hit rate will increase by 150% during combat. If the opponent's skill level is lower than yours, your strength will increase by 100% during combat.)

Yang Chang was dumbfounded after his insight. It seemed that Lu Junyi's special attributes all came from the [Reincarnation of Qilin].

Not surprisingly, this guy's strength attribute is maxed out, but his wisdom attribute is probably limited.

The main attribute of [Arrogant] that comes with [Qilin Reincarnation] is dual resistance, which is rare like Lu Zhishen. Although the physical damage reduction is not as good as [Iron Wall], it has the special effect of reducing the hit rate of group attacks. If it does not trigger related negative effects, this [Arrogant] is the most perfect defensive attribute that Yang Chang has seen since his insight.

The special skill [Bullying] that comes with [Arrogant] perfectly interprets bullying and tyranny.

That is to say, if Yang Chang fights him with [Spear and Stick Transformation], Lu Junyi's agility will be doubled, and combined with the defensive attribute [Dominating], he can remain invincible even if he does not win.

As for Lin Chong, who was also an extraordinary master of spear and stick, it was reasonable for him to be defeated with the help of Lu Junyi's unique skill of bullying.

Yang Chang was amazed after seeing this, thinking to himself that Yu Qilin's attributes were really amazing. Even though he was picking up so many corpses, he still couldn't completely suppress it.

Tsk tsk, if one really wants to deal with Lu Junyi, apart from having a monk with great magical powers to take action, perhaps he can only poison him or use other underhanded tactics.

It is natural that this guy has high attack power, but Yang Chang was surprised that his defense was also high. He thought that it was like playing a game. If he put Lao Lu in the front row, he would be able to fight and carry, and he would definitely be a main member.

Seeing that Lu Junyi was so outstanding, Yang Changzhen was unwilling to leave him in Liaozhou. If he followed him as a vanguard or a rear guard, he would definitely be able to better utilize his strengths.

Of course, now that they have only captured Yushe, it is too early to say whether Lu Junyi will stay in Liaozhou. However, as long as Yelu Yudu does not take any action, the probability of recovering Liaoshan and Heshun is very high.

After resting in Shixia for two hours, Yang Chang led his troops to Liaoshan again.

This time he took the initiative to reveal his identity, and with Li Zejun's efforts to persuade them to surrender, he observed the details through his [Eagle Eyes and Owl Vision] and found that the defenders were showing fear and hesitation.

There may be a way to achieve it without bloodshed.

Yang Chang watched silently for a while, then ordered people to bring Tuhesu's head, which was then thrown onto the city wall like a cannonball.

Lu Junyi knew that Yang Chang was good at throwing things, but wouldn't it be bloody if he threw it like this? The key point is that this thing has no effect of a cannonball, so he didn't understand Yang Chang's behavior. He thought that even if he didn't take it back to the court to seek credit, wouldn't it be better to use it to deter the enemies in Heshun and Pingcheng?
[Qilin Reincarnation] didn't give this guy enough wisdom. How could he know that the power of this head was far stronger than a cannonball made of gunpowder.

The more than a thousand Jin soldiers and Han soldiers who escaped back last night did not know that Tuhesu was dead. Even though Li Ze was talking until his mouth was dry, it was not as shocking as seeing the real head.

As the Jin soldiers were grieving and frightened, some Han soldiers finally mustered up the courage to point their weapons at the foreigners.

A civil war broke out between the Han and Jin defenders, so the Han soldiers opened the city gates and led Yang Chang's army into the city. Liaoshan was easily recaptured by Yang Chang.

As for He Quan, the old surrendered general from Heshun, Yang Chang did not even lead his troops there personally. He deliberately let go of more than a dozen Jin prisoners of war, and sent Lu Junyi and Ou Peng with 3,000 soldiers and horses, together with the prefect Li Ze, to persuade them to surrender.

On February 27, He Quan carried a bundle of rattan sticks and went to Liaoshan to apologize to Yang Chang.

At this point, all of Liaozhou except Pingcheng was recovered, but Pingcheng had not taken any action.

As for the surrendered general He Quan, according to Yang Chang's previous temper, he would have killed the traitor as soon as possible, but now he has the intention to fight for the world, killing him blindly is not the best solution.

If we look at the situation, we can see that the entire Jin army is composed largely of surrendered generals and ministers from Liao and Song. The best way to disintegrate the enemy is to make these people turn against them.

After the Chu-Han contention ended, Liu Bang gave Yong Chi a generous title to appease his ministers;
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao killed three wise men in Wancheng with one shot, but he was able to treat his enemy Jia Xu well and reuse him in the end;

In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin put aside past grudges and reused Wei Zheng.

Everyone is Yang Chang's teacher, and every matter can inspire Yang Chang. So He Quan, like Li Ze, stays under Yang Chang's command to make up for his crime.

If we can recapture Yelu Yudu, this trip to Liaozhou will come to a perfect end.

(End of this chapter)