Chapter 132 The eve of the decisive battle
The weather is clear, the sun is shining brightly, and the wind is blowing strongly.

Waves of cavalrymen galloped along the road. Most of these cavalrymen were from Yan, but there were also quite a few people from Mobei mixed in with them. These people from Mobei marched in an orderly manner under the command of their respective leaders.

But when you look past them, you can't tell them apart. Everyone's clothes and armor are similar, and they all wear helmets of the Yan style. If you don't see them face to face, you can hardly tell them apart.

But in fact, clues can still be seen from some small details. The real Yan soldiers had much more orderly marching formations, and from time to time there were young officers carrying recognition flags riding horses in front and behind, loudly conveying orders from their superiors.

On the other hand, the formations of those "fake Yan troops" were much looser. I don't know if it was because they had stayed on the grassland for too long, but many of the cavalrymen only relied on their good riding skills and looked very lazy, so the marching team seemed very bloated.

Han Yanhui was standing by the roadside, holding his horse in a daze, waiting with several cavalrymen who were escorting him for the army to go ahead.

During this time, a muscular Yan cavalryman glanced at him and showed murderous intent, as if it was because he was dressed in Mobei clothes. But fortunately, no one paid attention to him. Everyone just had a cold face and hurriedly galloped westward, raising endless dust.

"cough……"

He used his sleeve to wipe away the dust from his nose and mouth, and said kindly to the officer escorting him, "Where is the general going to take me?"

"The main camp."

This officer from Yichang Army was very frugal with words, and just stared at the large group of cavalrymen galloping past him. This westward advance was a great opportunity for Yichang Army to turn things around. As long as they could make a contribution in front of the Xiao Army envoy, they could completely get rid of the identity of "surrendered soldier" and receive the same treatment as Dingba.

But he never expected that the vanguard troops were now approaching Youzhou and fighting with the Jin cavalry. He might be able to gain merit, but he could only be sent to escort this useless literati.

Although he had heard of this scholar's name, after all, Han Yanhui had once served under Liu Rengong as the highest official in Youzhou, but for warriors like them, no matter what kind of scholar he was, he was just a weakling who was good at writing and talking. So, Han Yanhui surrendered to Mobei.

Han Yanhui was somewhat embarrassed. He was completely clueless about the current situation and could not make sense of his thoughts. Moreover, he and Zhao Siwen were not close friends. After seeing him in the morning, the latter was also vague and did not explain clearly at all.

But he was sure of one thing, Shuliduo had joined forces with the Xiao commander.

No matter how you look at it, this was totally unexpected. Because he had sincerely told Li Cunxu about the hatred between Shuliduo and the Xiao family, and no matter how you look at it, there is no chance for the two to get together...

The officer interrupted his thoughts, jumped on his horse and said, "Let's go."

Han Yanhui gripped the reins, looked at the large column of dust heading west, let out a long sigh, and then his gaze became determined.

This may not be a bad thing for him.

Li Cunxu's arrogant look is still right in front of him.

------

The camp that the Yichang army general mentioned was not actually that big, far from the size of a coalition army of tens of thousands. But the trenches were very deep, and almost all of them were filled with infantry, who were moving back and forth just like before a major battle.

But Han Yanhui immediately remembered that the 'Mobei Army' had already returned to the grasslands...

He was a little nervous and waited for a long time in an empty barracks.

He didn't know who wanted to see him, nor did he know what he would face. Although he vaguely saw many familiar Mobei generals in this camp, those people seemed to have no impression of him at all. They passed by in a hurry and he had no chance to say hello.

Until my lips became dry from waiting, I finally heard the sound of armor plates colliding outside the barracks, as if someone was striding towards this side.

Han Yanhui hesitated for a moment, then immediately sat up straight and licked his lips to make himself look less decadent.

He is actually a very principled man and is not very afraid of death.

In the past, he would have looked down upon himself today. But now was different. He had only one thought: if he had the chance, he would have to face Li Cunxu again. For no other reason than to ask him, "Why did the prince go to Yan to seek death?"

To him, integrity is far more important than life; he would rather die than be humiliated.

At this moment, the sound of soldiers saluting could be heard from outside.

"Military envoy, military envoy..."

Han Yanhui was a little surprised. He had never thought that it was the rumored "Military Envoy Xiao" who came to see him in person. According to his guess, this Military Envoy Xiao should be a middle-aged man who had experienced many battles and was quite dignified. No matter why he came to see him, he should be more cautious and behave more politely.

So he immediately stood up from his sitting position.

The light at the barracks door dimmed, and a handsome young man strode in.

Han Yanhui had a serious look on his face, looking behind the man, and had already prepared how to salute and the first words he would say.

But after he bent down and waited for a moment, no one else came in.

The young man just looked at him with interest without saying a word, as if he wanted to see what he was waiting for.

Looking at him again, although he looked a little dusty and was only wearing a hat of unknown specifications, and his armor was not very bright, but because the light was dim just now, the pattern on the armor could only be seen clearly now. It was obviously something that only high-ranking generals were qualified to wear.

Han Yanhui reacted immediately, but he was already embarrassed. His thin cheeks flushed a little, and he saluted hastily and unnaturally: "Han, I meet Envoy Xiao..."

"The queen said that Mr. Han is a man of great talent and there is no need for courtesy."

Xiao Yan smiled heartily, lifted him up with both hands, and smiled: "Xiao did not mean to embarrass you, sir."

Han Yanhui's old face turned red, and he coughed dryly and said, "It is Han who does not know heroes. I did not expect that Envoy Xiao is such a young hero."

He is not pedantic, in fact, he knows how to guess people's hearts, otherwise he would not be appreciated by Liu Rengong. But until now, he has never really found a place where he can realize his ambitions. Last night, he was determined to serve Shuliduo, but things are unpredictable, and he did not expect Shuliduo to form an alliance with Xiao Yan.

Even looking at this situation, we can see that the cooperation between the two is very close, which is at least more convincing than the coalition on paper.

"I heard from the Queen that Mr. Han went on a diplomatic mission to Li Cunxu a few days ago."

Xiao Yan didn't say much politely. He just found an empty seat and sat down.

"That's right. When Han arrived, they had already surrounded Youzhou."

Han Yanhui knew exactly why Xiao Yan wanted to meet him, so he immediately said, "According to my observation, Li Cunxu's army should have more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, among which there are not many elite troops. Most of them are Hu people from the five tribes of Yinshan, and they are mainly infantry."

But he immediately changed the subject: "However, he used his military power to force many Yan nobles to rely on him. In a short period of time, he should be able to gather tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and his baggage supply is sufficient. In addition to the supply from these nobles, there are also Zhuoyi and other two states for support. The equipment used to attack Youzhou was transferred from Zhuoyi..."

Xiao Yan listened silently, tapping his knees in deep thought. He didn't say anything, and Han Yanhui didn't know what to say for a moment, so the barracks fell into silence.

After a moment, the former asked, "Mr. Han, do you know if there are any generals from Zhuoyi who surrendered in Li Cunxu's camp?"

"Han has never seen it, but I heard that when Li Cunxu invaded, there were almost no defenders in Zhuoyi..."

Han Yanhui pulled his beard, thought for a while, and continued: "After Liu Shouguang claimed to be the governor, he had a close relationship with Li Siyuan of Jin State. The latter even sent troops to Youzhou to help. Therefore, Liu Shouguang had almost no defense against Jin State. At that time, he mobilized almost all the troops he could mobilize to attack Liu Shouwen. So the two states of Zhuo and Yi basically surrendered without a fight."

Xiao Yan was not surprised. This was the information he had already obtained. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Li Cunxu must have put all his efforts into the siege of Youzhou, right?"

"Youzhou City is strong, with tens of thousands of people attacking day and night. If there were not many defenders in the city, Li Cunxu would probably have to delay for some time. Naturally, he would have deployed all his troops. Even the cavalrymen were waiting outside the city all the time..." Han Yanhui asked, "Does Envoy Xiao know that the outer city of Youzhou has been breached?"

"Of course I know that." Xiao Yan waved his hand: "I was the one who ordered the defenders in the city to retreat to the inner city."

Han Yanhui suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the morale of the Youzhou defenders had suddenly weakened in the past two days.

But he reacted immediately.

"What does Envoy Xiao mean...?"

"If Li Cunxu wants to take Youzhou quickly, he will definitely not leave too many troops in Zhuo and Yizhou." Xiao Yan said calmly: "In fact, the garrison troops in the two states are still the original Hebei troops."

Han Yanhui pulled his beard, thought for a moment, and said, "That's true... Li Cunxu is quite arrogant. He has long believed that Youzhou is in his pocket. He may think that Zhuo and Yizhou dare not be put into Hebei's camp. If there are any Jin garrisons, they may be very few."

After that, he asked carefully, "General Xiao, do you want to cut off their retreat?"

"Correct."

"But Zhuoyi is an important town after all. Besides, the road that must be passed through it is full of Li Cunxu's cavalry. How can Envoy Xiao have the opportunity to send people to bypass it?"

"Hahaha, Mr. Han doesn't have to worry about this."

Xiao Yan seemed to have a clear idea of ​​what was going on. He did not intend to explain the matter any further. Instead, he stroked his chin and said, "Mr. Han came from Youzhou. When do you think it is appropriate to launch a decisive battle against him?"

Han Yanhui was shocked. The previous sentence was clearly discussing cutting off Li Cunxu's retreat, so why were they going to start a decisive battle with him right away?

He accidentally pulled out a few strands of his beard, but he didn't notice it because his attention had instantly turned to other things. Although he was a little surprised to hear this question, he was inexplicably excited.

If a decisive battle was to be launched against Li Cunxu, he was somewhat worried that Xiao Yan could not defeat Li Cunxu, but he was also anxious to see Li Cunxu's defeat. In the end, the latter took the lead and overwhelmed the former, so he immediately offered advice.

"Han believes that the sooner the Xiao army is deployed, the better! Right now, Youzhou can still be defended, Li Cunxu's focus is not yet in the east, and the most critical point is that he has not yet summoned the troops of the Yandi fortress nobles. The longer it is delayed, the more fully he can prepare.

And the most crucial point is that because Han had entered the Jin army camp to negotiate, Li Cunxu still thought that Envoy Xiao was still on the banks of the Beishui River. He certainly did not expect that Envoy Xiao would be so fast. At that time, Envoy Xiao led the army back to support, and those Yan nobles would no longer be devoted to Li Cunxu..."

At the end of his speech, Han Yanhui suddenly crossed his arms and bowed: "I am a humble Han, but I am willing to go west to Youzhou on behalf of the military envoy Xiao and persuade some noble families in Yan to turn against Li Cunxu when necessary, so as to lend a helping hand to the military envoy!"

From his tone, one can tell that he seems to be impatient and excited, as if he is about to do something big.

But Xiao Yan just stroked his chin and looked at Han Yanhui with interest.

The latter immediately realized that he was, after all, the captive of the man in front of him... He had just returned from Youzhou and was thinking about going back. Wouldn't Xiao Yan be suspicious? And now no one could prove whether what he said was true or false.

"Military Envoy Xiao, Han..."

"As the queen said, Mr. Han is indeed a great talent. I didn't believe it before, but now I really do." Xiao Yan suddenly laughed and interrupted him, saying seriously, "Mr. Han's plan is very good, but the war is imminent, and those Yan nobles have already attached themselves to Li Cunxu. If Mr. Han goes back like this, wouldn't he be walking into a trap? It's really too dangerous."

"Don't worry, General. As long as this plan works, Li Cunxu will surely be defeated!" Han Yanhui seemed very excited. His thin figure actually had the temperament of a warrior. He said firmly, "As long as the General does not doubt me, I will help him make this happen even if I die!"

Having said that, he was actually a little worried. After all, he had just failed when he was sent as an envoy to Li Cunxu, and before that, he had also failed when he was sent as an envoy to Yelü Abaoji on behalf of Liu Shouguang.

As a lobbyist or messenger, if you can't even guarantee the most basic abilities, how can you expect others to trust you?
He also had no doubt that as the highest-level commander here, how could Xiao Yan not know these two things?
It was for this reason that Han Yanhui, a thirty-year-old scholar, felt a little lacking in confidence.

But immediately, Xiao Yan suddenly smiled and lifted him up, "With Mr. Han's help, why worry about not winning the battle? I am just worried that Mr. Han has just come here after a long journey, how can he travel a long distance again..."

"It's only a few dozen miles away, what's the big deal?"

Han Yanhui was immediately moved. He was the type who would be most susceptible to such talk. If a superior really respected him, he would be willing to die for him. In addition, the goal this time was to destroy Li Cunxu, which made him even more excited. He patted his chest and guaranteed: "I am incompetent, but I have only a mouth. I will settle this matter before the decisive battle. If not, I will die in the east!"

Xiao Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

It has to be said that Han Yanhui is indeed the most irritable literati he has ever met. He is always thinking about death, just like a reckless man.

But he just needs this kind of person.

……

The strong wind blew, causing the ribbons on both sides of the felt hat to flutter continuously.

The Saker Falcon flapped its wings and disappeared into the sky.

Shulido covered her beautiful eyes and looked at the note in her hand.

On the side, Wang Yanzhang, wearing a Mobei Iron Helmet, rode over. This Mobei Iron Helmet was different from the helmets used by the Hebei Army. It had earmuffs on both sides, making it look like a dog-skin hat, which made him look a little funny.

But it is this Mobei attire that makes Wang Yanzhang look more like a Hu person than a Hu person. His tough temperament often makes people wonder if this guy is really not a man from the grassland?

He was very disdainful of all the people in Mobei, but he still had due respect for Shuliduo and clasped his fists while on horseback.

"How is it, Queen?"

Shuridole turned his mount and raised his whip.

“Go south.

"Meet Li Yazi for a while."

(End of this chapter)