Xu Qian's head drooped feebly. He faced the direction he came from. Even at the last moment of his life, he still thought about the territory that belonged to Daqian.

Jiang Chen and the others didn't have time to feel sentimental. After simply burying the deceased's body, they continued on their way as soon as possible.

For Jiang Chen, he has seen too much life and death on the battlefield, and his heart has long been numb, but his respect for the brave will never be erased.

After the team continued to march north for more than seventy miles, everyone's speed slowed down significantly. Such a high-intensity march must have consumed a lot of energy, and now they had to stop and rest.

They didn't have any food or water on them, and many of them fell directly on the snow, stuffing a few mouthfuls of snow water to moisten their hair until their dry throats were almost smoking.

The old soldier came to Jiang Chen and asked, "Next, we are still about forty miles away from Liaocheng, but according to the current situation, we will definitely not be able to arrive before dawn."

"Who said we are going to Liaocheng?"

Jiang Chen said: "The reason why we went all the way north before was to tell Xiao Tong that we planned to go to Liaocheng, but next we will go east, and that is the only way to survive."

The old soldier said in surprise: "Isn't it safer to enter Liaocheng as soon as possible? If we go east, we don't know how far we have to walk to get there. We don't have the physical strength to last that long."

His worry was right, but Jiang Chen told everyone very clearly that Liaocheng was already in the possession of the Beiyan people, and if they rushed to Liaocheng, they would be dead.

"Think about it, if Beiyan had not occupied Liaocheng, would they have dared to besiege Qiwu Mountain with such a bold force?"

"If our army steals the rear route, even if we are unable to confront them head-on, there will always be no problem in cutting off their food and grass supplies. The reason why this situation does not occur is because Liaocheng is no longer under our control."

Jiang Chen did not receive any definite information from Liaocheng, but based on the current situation, he came to this conclusion with great certainty, and everyone was convinced by it.

"Hurry up and rest. The enemy won't leave us much room to breathe."

"No, there seems to be something moving behind!" Not far away, the person who stayed behind to watch sent a warning. It seemed that the pursuers were approaching, and vaguely abnormal sounds could be heard.

In the open snowfield, coupled with the silence after nightfall, sound can travel very far, so Jiang Chen did not feel a lot of pressure, but calmly arranged for everyone to move forward in an orderly manner, and at the same time asked a few people who still had the energy to bear more responsibility. People with multiple responsibilities make explanations.

"Xiao Tong's biggest target is me, so when they are approaching, I can lure Xiao Tong away. Then the enemy will inevitably divide into two groups, one group will continue to pursue everyone, and the other group will be led by Xiao Tong, with the purpose of chasing and killing I."

Jiang Chen paused and then said: "If he hadn't chased him so hastily, I wouldn't have had to kill him, but if he had been so aggressive, I wouldn't have been polite to him."

"Next, you just need to go all the way east. Remember that the only way to survive is in the east. As for when you will go, someone will naturally tell you."

Everyone is very convinced of Jiang Chen's various arrangements. The time they spent together in the past was enough for them to understand how trustworthy Jiang Chen is.

But they also opposed Jiang Chen's plan to leave the team alone, because it would be too dangerous. Since they want to leave, then everyone should leave together. If they fail, they will die together.

The old pawn patted Jiang Chen on the shoulder and said solemnly: "I, E Feibai, have not admired many people in my life, but brother, you are one of them."

"Although I don't know how you are going to deal with Xiao Tong, doing so is bound to be very dangerous. It's better to come with us and leave the green hills without fear of running out of firewood."

E Feibai's advice is very pragmatic. The most important thing at the moment is to stay away from this place. Once you are out of danger, everything can be discussed in the long term. Why do you have to go into a bloody battle with the enemy alone?

But Jiang Chen decided to do this because of his own considerations.

"I have considered killing Xiao Tong when I came here. As for whether to do it or not, it depends entirely on the situation. I think this opportunity is right in front of me now, and I will not let him go."

"Have you ever thought about it, Beiyan and our Daqian are going to have peace talks, but how long can this kind of peace that is obtained by ceding land and paying indemnity last? Whether it succeeds or not will be a great harm to Daqian. I have always insisted not to negotiate with Beiyan. negotiation."

Jiang Chen picked up a branch from the ground and broke it into two pieces.

"Beiyan asked Daqian to cede the entire land of Jizhou in the north, a total of six cities and twelve counties. These places have been a barrier against Northern Yan for hundreds of years and are battlegrounds for military strategists. If they are ceded so easily, what will happen to them? How can I get it back when the time comes?"

"We must pay the price ten times and a hundred times!"

E Feibai's face became ugly. He had been fighting with the Beiyan people in the northern border for most of his life. Over the decades, the two countries had victories and defeats, but overall, Daqian firmly held the advantage.

But he didn't know when Daqian's national power began to decline and his prestige was no longer there. Now he had to cede the entire Jizhou to seek peace. He absolutely couldn't accept it in his heart.

"The people of Beiyan are greedy. If you give them Jizhou, they will ask for more benefits. Is it possible that Daqian wants to give away the entire country?"

Jiang Chen used tree branches to draw a simple map of the Daqian territory on the snow. The part representing the northern border was cut out by him with straight lines, making it more intuitive and dazzling at a glance.

"As soldiers, if we can't protect our families and our country, then we might as well die!" A young soldier said with an angry face.

Everyone felt this way, and only after letting them all understand this sense of humiliation did Jiang Chen reveal his true purpose.

"If you don't want to see such a situation happen, then you must try every means to stop the peace talks. What the emperor fears most is that the frontline troops cannot withstand the offensive of the Northern Yan army. In the end, even if there is no compromise, the northern territory will still be lost."

"Instead of doing this, it is better to trade this territory for a short period of peace. This can buy time to reorganize the armaments and prepare for another war. This is the emperor's calculation."

Jiang Chen suddenly drew a knife on the snow, and the tip of the knife pointed at the Qiwu Mountain where the main force of Beiyan was stationed.

"If the Northern Yan general Xiao Tong dies, then these armies will fall into a chaotic situation without a leader. They will be unable to continue the southern invasion and can only wait for the Northern Yan court to make the next decision before taking action."

"This is the time I bought for Da Qian!"

E Feibai nodded heavily in approval, the corners of his mouth raised, revealing an unruly expression.
Chapter completed!