The superior mobility of the Northwest Army was fully demonstrated in this battle.
Yang Shu and others took care of their wounds and found a place to rest.
When they regained their energy and went to look for Zongxu, they found that the city gate had been reorganized.
All the corpses on the road have been buried, and the fortifications are being rested and repaired. The surviving defenders have been combined with the reinforcements to guard in batches. They rest when they need to and patrol when they need to patrol.
As soon as they came out, they met a patrol team.
After verifying their identities, the team leader was very respectful and personally took them to the temporary command post.
Mingwei was secretly surprised and asked him in a low voice: "What's going on? Their attitude seems to have changed."
Yang Shu twitched his lips slightly proudly, but mysteriously didn't express it.
As soon as Zong Xu's personal guard captain saw him, he said: "Young Master Yang is finally here. The general has been waiting for you for a long time."
Yang Shu put away the smile on his face and asked solemnly: "I haven't asked General Zong about his injury yet. How are you doing now?"
"You'll know when you go and see it."
Yang Shu nodded and pointed at Ah Xuan and others: "Please arrange where they go."
The guard captain promised: "Don't worry, we will take good care of them in the end."
The others stayed behind, and only Yang Shu went in to visit Zong Xu.
Zong Xu was lying on the bed, with a gloomy expression on his face, and smiled at them: "If it's inconvenient now, I won't stick to the formalities. You can sit down by yourselves."
Seeing him like this, Yang Shu looked serious and asked, "Is your injury serious?"
Zong Xu nodded: "Although it didn't hurt any vital parts, it caused my old injury. It was difficult to show it in front of the soldiers before."
Yang Shu understood that if the commander was seriously injured, the morale of the army would be shaken.
"I have already heard from the generals below about how you stole the city. The third young master has made a great contribution to successfully stealing the city gate."
In front of Zong Xu, Yang Shu was modest and replied honestly: "It's just a coincidence."
Zong Xu smiled: "Coincidence is also strength. Third Young Master, I have something important to ask you now."
Yang Shusurong: "If you have anything to do, just ask me. Saying please is too serious."
"I really want to ask you." Zong Xu sighed and confessed to him, "I am seriously injured. If I forcefully supervise the battle, something unexpected may happen. But if I hand over the matter to a subordinate general, I am worried that the truth will be guessed.
Therefore, I hope that the Third Young Master can come forward."
Yang Shu was startled for a moment: "What do you mean by this? Do you want me to supervise the battle on your behalf? Isn't that good? With my status, it's really not suitable for me to come forward."
"Yes and no." Zong Xu said, "I want you to supervise the battle, but not as the third son of Bolinghou Mansion, but as my student."
Yang Shu was stunned.
What kind of development is this? Not long ago, he was sneaking around and taking advantage of loopholes, and now he is expected to lead the charge openly and openly? If word of this spreads...
Zong Xu's guard captain interjected: "Young Master Yang, you are also aware of the current situation. No reinforcements will arrive until the snow melts. If we are all integrated, we will have less than 3,000 troops. On the other hand, the Hu people, if they
If we gather all the troops, we will exceed one hundred thousand! Three thousand versus one hundred thousand, how long can we hold on? To put it bluntly, we have already made reservations to meet on the road to hell. We are already in this situation, how can we still worry about this and that?
You don’t have to hide behind for those reasons.”
Yang Shu thought for a while and said to Zong Xu: "General Zong, you asked me to come forward, are you going to be your mouthpiece, or are you asking me to make decisions?"
Zong Xu looked at him: "What's the difference?"
"If it's the former, I'll just be the face of it. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. If it's the latter," he paused, "I hope you can give me the corresponding power."
Zong Xu laughed: "Are you asking for something before you even take office?"
There was no smile on Yang Shu's face: "Say it in advance to avoid any sudden conflicts and ruin the relationship."
Zong Xu said: "Since I said this, I will try my best to teach you. Similarly, if you want power, you must show corresponding strength, otherwise you will not be able to convince the public, do you understand?"
"General Zong..."
Zong Xu waved his hand and asked the guard captain to bring him a map and asked him: "You know the current situation very well. Su Tu will arrive with his troops soon. According to what you see, what should we do now?"
Yang Shu had already thought about this question hundreds of times in his mind. At this moment, he opened his mouth and asked: "General Zong, is there no problem with our logistics?"
Zong Xu replied: "The gravel slope is the first step against the barbarians, and I have always attached great importance to it. The food, grass and combat preparations here have always been the top priority. The deputy general has just checked, and the barbarians did not waste much food and grass.
We can still hold on for half a year, and combat readiness won’t be a problem.”
Yang Shu thought: "Even if Su Tu's army arrives, the number will not be too large. First, he has killed so many people in the past six months. Excluding those who died in battle and refused to submit to him, the remaining soldiers and horses will be smaller than
Half of them will not be there at the peak. Secondly, the eight tribes have just unified, and he still has to leave some to suppress the tribes that have just surrendered. Thirdly, if the tribes of Xirong are also instigated by them, then there must be Huqi there, and they are divided.
Take part of the way. Fourth, it is winter now, and sending troops requires logistics. Beihu has been fighting for so many years, so he will not have much reserves."
Having said this, he raised his head and said: "So, I estimate that he will not bring more than 30,000 people!"
Zong Xu and the guard captain looked at each other and said with a smile: "I told them before that with the Hu people's logistical capabilities, they can only support twenty to thirty thousand soldiers and horses fighting in such a winter, not more."
The captain of the personal guard showed a look of admiration at this time: "The third young master hit the nail on the head."
Yang Shu quietly wiped his sweat and gained Zong Xu's approval, feeling more confident.
Maybe he really has talent? Since he has this opportunity, he might as well give it a try.
Zong Xu immediately summoned the generals and announced the decision.
Of course, he said it more tactfully, saying only that he needed to recover from his injuries. If there was any inconvenience, Yang Shu would pass the message on his behalf.
The reaction of the generals was muted.
In the past two days, Zong Xu has been keeping him with him and expressed his appreciation several times. It is not strange to accept a student.
On the other hand, Ah Xuan and others were very excited.
Almost all of them had experience in the army when they were young, so they were naturally very happy to be able to follow their son back into the army again.
But Mingwei understood the whole story and went to do his own thing.
One day later, she flew into the air on the big bird. Ice walls had been built outside the city gate, waiting for the arrival of the barbarian army.
Su Tu did not keep them waiting for too long. In just two days, the Hu soldiers and horses appeared in the sight of the Qi army.
The general on the lookout counted them and reported back: "There are about 20,000 troops and horses."
The generals breathed a sigh of relief.
Twenty thousand, not bad.
Ah Xuan whispered in private: "Three thousand versus twenty thousand, what's better?"
"It's better than three thousand versus one hundred thousand, right?" Mingwei asked, "Seeing as you don't have any hope at all, do you want to reserve a seat in Huangquan too?"