There were two thousand cavalrymen coming from the north. They moved quickly through the fields, shouting: "Surrender without killing! Surrender without killing!"

Wu Liang also led his men to rush out, and cooperated with the other two cavalry to intercept the defeated Tang army. Seeing that they had no way to escape, the defeated soldiers dropped their weapons and surrendered. The Zhou army shouted and gathered the defeated soldiers together, waiting for the battlefield to resume.

Calm, the sky has turned completely dark.

Xu Xian lit a small fire on the slope, cut a few kilograms of good meat from the dead horse, and roasted it on the fire. Speaking of which, he had not eaten for almost a day, and his chest was already hungry.

Pasted on the back.

"This meat is roasted and served to entertain the two of us."

You didn't need to look to know that this loud voice was Zhao Kuangyin. When you raised your head, you saw him standing by the fire. The other person turned out to be not Bai Yanyu, but Lao Mu Tou.

Xu Xian said angrily: "You guys came earlier and later, but you waited until I defeated the Zhou army before arriving. You got a piece of credit for nothing and took advantage of me. You even asked me to entertain you with barbecue. Please show your conscience.

Can you feel sorry for yourself?"

Zhao Kuangyin took a knife and cut off a piece of horse meat, puffed his cheeks and blew on it, then stuffed it into his mouth.

He chewed the horse meat and said: "After I received your letter asking for help, I rushed to Liuhe desperately. When I arrived, I couldn't find anyone. Then I rushed to Haozhou non-stop. When I heard it from you, I became heartless.

.”

Old Mu Tou sat down cross-legged and said, "Who says it's not the case! I ran like this for a long time, and my bones almost fell apart. I don't want your credit. The credit for defeating the Tang army is yours, and the credit for capturing and defeating the army is mine.

and Yuen Long’s.”

"Hehe... I was just kidding, but you two took it seriously! If you do this, no one will support me in the future!"

"You're a smart kid! Do you have any alcohol here? You need to get it quickly to quell the glutton in my belly."

Xu Xian took off the wine bag from the horse and threw it to him, "Remember to mix it with half of the water, otherwise don't blame me if you drink it to death. The fast horse I sent to Shouzhou has just arrived at most. You should not be from Shouzhou."

Come here."

Old Mutou poured the little alcohol in the wine bag into the water bag, shook it evenly, brought it to his mouth, took a sip, and said with a click of his tongue: "Happy!"

"His Majesty was afraid that Bai Yanyu would die suddenly, so he asked me to stay in Haozhou to take charge of the situation. After Bai Yanyu received your letter, he wanted to come to rescue you personally, but his injury was not healed and he could not use the sword or gun, so he begged me. Unexpectedly,

You are so powerful, you actually killed 20,000 Tang troops. After this battle, your name will stop children from crying at night in the Zhou and Tang Dynasties."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "Mu Boss has never seen how cunning and cunning his method of killing enemies is. He simply doesn't fight with others with swords and guns. Not to mention the 20,000 Tang troops, even another 20,000 will be able to defeat him."

"Don't put a high hat on me, especially if you don't say it to Mr. Mu, otherwise it will get into His Majesty's ears. If you really want me to fight one thousand against forty thousand, I'll just wipe my neck to show off!"

…

The three of them were drinking and joking, and fell asleep at some point. When Xu Xian woke up, it was already bright. He lifted up the thin blanket on his body and beat his hungover head. He saw Zhao Kuangyin and Lao Mu Tou under the slope.

Assemble the team.

Xu Xian rushed down the slope and asked, "Are you leaving? Where are you going?"

Zhao Kuangyin replied: "I will go back to guard Chuzhou. I am afraid something will happen if I go back late."

Old Mutou said: "I will return to Haozhou first, and then take these prisoners to Shouzhou to dig stones."

Xu Xian spread his hands and said, "Then where should I go?"

Zhao Kuangyin smiled and said: "After yesterday's defeat, the Tang army that besieged Yangzhou will probably withdraw, but it's best for you to go back to Liuhe and wait. It's getting late, so I'll go back to Chuzhou now."

After Zhao Kuangyin finished speaking, he suddenly walked up to Xu Xian, bowed solemnly and then fell to the ground. After getting up, he turned around and left without saying a word.

Old Mutou looked at the back of Zhao Kuangyin's galloping horse and asked doubtfully: "Is he apologizing to you for cutting off your head in Chuzhou City?"

Xu Xian shook his head and said, "No! He was thanking me for giving him a chance to fulfill his filial piety when his father needed care the most."

——————————

Bang bang bang...

The trebuchets on both sides of the Huaihe River kept waving their long arms. The stone bullets fell like rain into the water and stirred up huge waves. Dozens of Tang Army warships seemed to be in the middle of the stormy waves. If they were unfortunate enough to be hit, sawdust would immediately fly into the air.

There were many Tang warships that were directly hit by stone bullets and sunk in the river. Seeing that this was not possible, the Tang navy simply turned the bow of the ship and fled eastward along the river.

Chai Rong laughed loudly, "If you want to destroy the pontoon bridge that I have worked so hard to build, I can't let you go so easily! All the cavalry in the front department of the palace are listening to the order. You are chasing along both sides of the Huaihe River. Just use the crossbow to kill Tang Guo."

Navy."

Seeing that the cavalry of the front division had assembled, Chai Rong suddenly mounted his horse and shouted, "Follow me!"

Thousands of cavalry were divided into two groups and followed Chai Rong towards the fleeing Tang warship. A handsome and beardless young general shouted urgently: "Your Majesty, please don't chase me, beware of scheming!"

Chai Rong had already rushed out half a mile away but could not be heard. The young general sighed helplessly: "I have never seen a stubborn person!" He stamped his feet, got on a horse and chased after Chai Rong.

This young general is naturally the Empress Fu. During this expedition, she stayed in the army wearing military uniforms and armor, taking care of the logistical chores in an orderly manner, like a virtuous empress.

It doesn't matter if it's a bit difficult or tiring, but what worries her the most is Chai Rong's safety. When she heard that Chai Rong braved the rain of arrows to go to Houzhou City to boost morale, she was extremely frightened.

From then on, she followed Chai Rong every step of the way. Since she had never interfered in military affairs and never flirted with the Lord, the ministers turned a blind eye and only regarded her as Chai Rong's personal bodyguard.

.

Seeing that Chai Rong led his army to chase the enemy without any concern for his own safety, Fu Hou's heart was lifted. She was a general and had learned to ride horses when she was young, and her equestrian skills were even considered superb.

However, in just one cup of tea, he arrived at Chai Rong's side and loudly advised: "Your Majesty, leave the pursuit of the enemy to the soldiers. Go back with me as soon as possible."

"Oh, Queen, why are you catching up with me? Don't worry, they are in the water and I am on the shore. They have no chance to hurt me!" As soon as Chai Rong finished speaking, a crossbow arrow with a thick barrel was shot from the river, hitting him.

The two guards in front were strung together.

Chai Rong was furious and immediately said: "Li Jixun, what are you doing standing still? Why don't you fight back quickly!"

Li Jixun hurriedly asked everyone to stop and raised the Divine Arm Crossbow to shoot at the Tang army's warships in the middle of the river. This is the middle reaches of the Huaihe River. The river is very wide, but the Divine Arm Crossbow on the north and south banks can completely cover the Tang navy.

Arrows flew like locusts, and the Tang troops on the boat were hit by arrows and fell into the water. Chai Rong laughed and said, "Keep shooting!"

Seeing that these cavalrymen had to stop their horses before reloading their arrows, Chai Rong said to Li Jixun: "I know that the people in the Red Scarf Capital do not need to stop when they use the divine arm crossbow. You should learn from it."

Li Jixun said hurriedly: "When I meet Xu Yuhou in the future, I will ask him for advice!"

Although they were moving downstream, the speed of the boat was still much slower than that of the cavalry, and it was impossible to escape quickly. Facing the sharp crossbows of the Zhou army, the Tang navy was so suppressed that they could not lift their heads. Occasionally, several crossbows fired from the bed.

The arrows could not cause much damage to the Zhou army.

Neither side could do anything about the other, so it was logically a draw. However, Chai Rong had no intention of giving up and chased for dozens of miles under the scorching sun in early summer.

Her face was red and her pretty face was covered with beads of sweat. She persuaded her earnestly: "Your Majesty, our army cannot go into the water. There is nothing we can do to them, so we should go back early."

"I heard that there is a shoal fifty miles away, and I want to give it a try!"

Empress Fu smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, it is the rainy season now. It rained heavily not long ago. The river has swollen a lot. Where are the shoals?"

When Chai Rong heard this, he slapped his forehead and said, "I was confused! If the queen hadn't reminded me, I would have just rushed forward." He reined in his horse and ordered the soldiers to turn around and go back.

As soon as I turned around, I saw several cavalrymen galloping in front of me. One of them had a small flag behind his back. You didn't even need to know that he was here to convey urgent military information.

Several cavalrymen drove a soldier who was almost paralyzed by fatigue to Chai Rong. Seeing the red scarf tied on his arm, Chai Rong asked: "It was sent by Xu Xian!"

The messenger from the Red Scarf City took out a letter from his arms and handed it over. When Chai Rong saw that the paint was intact, he opened it and looked at it. He scanned it at a glance, and after reading it, he laughed and said, "It's just the right time!"

Empress Fu asked curiously: "What urgent military information did Xu Xian send over?"

"There are 20,000 Tang army elites preparing to sneak attack on me, and Xu Xian just happened to run into him. He probably can't stop me. I will go back to the camp to arrange things if my hands are itchy for a long time. Let's go back now!"

Chai Rong was about to leave when he saw Fuhou closing his eyes and swaying as he fell off the horse. Seeing this, Chai Rong quickly got off the horse and helped Fuhou up from the ground, but no matter how he called, it was in vain.

, suddenly I felt my hands were wet and when I took a look at them, I saw that they were full of blood.

Chai Rong was shocked and quickly sent Empress Fu back to the camp north of the Huaihe River and sent the imperial doctor to come for diagnosis and treatment. Empress Fu actually suffered from heat stroke and miscarriage. Chai Rong regretted that he should not have chased the Tang navy today.

Otherwise, Empress Fu wouldn't have chased him.

Even though his beloved wife was seriously ill, the militant still did not forget that Li Jingda was about to arrive. While taking care of the bedridden Empress Fu, he arranged his troops and horses to get ready. He waited until Li Jingda arrived at the border of Shouzhou and personally led the attack.

If Liu Renzhan also comes out of the city to attack, it will be best. This will be a perfect opportunity to seize Shouzhou.

He waited all day and night but could not get any news about Li Jingda. Instead, Lao Mu Tou came back with nearly ten thousand Tang army prisoners. Chai Rong asked in disbelief: "Did you, Xu Xian, and Zhao Kuangyin work together to defeat him?

"

Old Mutou shook his head and said with a smile: "No, when Zhao Kuangyin and I rushed to the battlefield, the Tang cavalry had already fled and the infantry had been routed. It was all Xu Xian's fault. Zhao Kuangyin and I just gathered up the Tang troops."

Chai Rong was so deep that his eyes almost popped out of his head. More than a thousand people defeated 20,000 elite enemy troops. Although it was not an unprecedented battle, it was still enough to be glorious for a while and brag to others for a lifetime.

Chai Rong was pleasantly surprised but also a little bit unhappy because Li Jingda's defeat made his plan to capture Shouzhou come to nothing. However, this unpleasantness disappeared in the blink of an eye. Li Deming, the Tang envoy who had been stranded in the camp, heard that Li Jingda was defeated and said that he could go back to Jinling and ask Li Jing to cede all the land in Huainan.

A few days after Li Deming left, Li Jing sent another envoy to negotiate peace, and it was Sun Sheng, the real prime minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who came.

This old man has a gray beard and a thin figure, but he cleans himself meticulously and looks very energetic. However, his secret is revealed as soon as he opens his mouth, "Foreign minister Sun Sheng has met... His Majesty!"

The dignified prime minister of a country stuttered, and he came to discuss peace. The civil and military officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty laughed secretly. Chai Rong coughed twice, and then the ministers stopped talking, "Sun Sikong is not in Jinling to assist his monarch, come to me What are you doing here?"

Sun Sheng said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone: "Your Majesty, the foreign minister...it is on the order of my lord that I came...to discuss peace."

A smile appeared on Chai Rong's lips, "Oh? How sincere are you?"

Sun Sheng replied: "My lord is willing to cede Shouzhou, Sizhou, Chuzhou, Haizhou, and Guangzhou to Your Majesty, with an annual output of millions of gold and silk."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter. Li Dai was the first to jump out and criticize, "Isn't it possible that Mr. Sun hasn't woken up yet? Now that most of Huainan is in my hands, why should I only give it to these six states, Mr. Li Jing?" If you know this, I will dedicate all the fourteen states of Huainan to the Zhou Dynasty, otherwise my army will cross the Yangtze River and capture Jinling."

For the first time, Chai Rong felt that this censor, who had always been disliked, was a bit cute. What he said was what Chai Rong wanted, "Don't tell me that Li Deming hasn't arrived in Jinling yet, and the monarch of your country doesn't know my thoughts."

"Back to Your Majesty, Li Deming is suspected of being a seller seeking glory, and has been beheaded and abandoned on the market!"

Chai Rong snorted coldly, "How can we be sincere?"

Sun Sheng cupped his hands and replied: "My lord's willingness to cede Shouzhou is the greatest sincerity. If you don't have Shouzhou... Even if your country occupies the entire Huainan, it can only be saved for a while. My lord will give Shouzhou as a gift and add... Adding Wuzhou is already full of sincerity. As for attacking... Jinling, haha... It won't be too late to wait until your country has a navy."

"Haha..." Fan Zhi went out and said to Sun Sheng: "Sun Sikong's words are wrong. Our navy has not yet formed an army, but there may not be a navy available. Don't forget that there are also Jingchu and Wu Yue."

Although Jingchu and Wuyue were separatist regimes, they always regarded the Central Plains Dynasty as Zhengshuo. If Chai Rong wanted to lend them navy, he would most likely not refuse.

Sun Sheng sighed: "If this is the case, the foreign minister will have nothing to say. Your Majesty just... just cross the river to attack Jinling."

Chai Rong said strangely: "I see that Sun Sikong doesn't seem to want to negotiate peace."

"Haha..." Sun Sheng twirled his beard and said: "It is the land that matters to Qin. You are still holding firepower to put out the fire. Today we will cut off five cities and tomorrow we will cut ten cities. Then we will have to sleep in peace overnight. We looked around the surrounding areas, and the Qin soldiers arrived again." If it weren’t for the Lord’s order, the foreign ministers would never come to discuss peace!”

Chai Rong laughed, "I don't dare to compare with the First Emperor. Well, if Liu Renzhan is willing to surrender, it doesn't matter if I only want the land of the six states."

Sun Sheng raised his eyebrows, "Seriously!"
Chapter completed!