Chapter 215 The snipe and the clam fight
In Nandaying, Zhang Yan lay on the kang with her eyes closed and took a nap.

None of the middle and senior military officers dared to fall asleep at night. They were mentally anxious and depressed, and generally suffered from insomnia.

Only when the visibility is good during the day will middle and senior military officers like Zhang Yan take time to catch up on their sleep.

Zhang Yan opened his eyes at the sound of approaching horse hooves. The snow on the nearby roads had been trampled down hard over the past few days.

With dozens of riders on the scene, the noise was already quite large.

Zhang Yan, who was suffering from insomnia, was extremely sensitive to all kinds of subtle noises and movements. He turned over and climbed up with his hands, without taking off his boots, and slid directly off the kang.

He picked up the turban and wrapped it around his head, put on his helmet, hung his sword, and when he walked out of the bedroom, the guard on duty outside took the cloak from the rack and hung it on him as well.

The small camp assigned to Zhang Yan was expanded around a village.

The living facilities are complete, and there are three wells with abundant water.

When Zhang Yan went out, he saw the military officer on duty outside hurriedly reporting, holding a wooden tablet in his hand: "General, the commander of the Great Canal is urgently summoning you."

As soon as the wooden tablet was delivered to Zhang Yan, his personal soldiers approached with torches.

Zhang Yan was shocked when she read the thirty or so words above.

With more than 100,000 people, plus the troops that will soon arrive at the battlefield from the periphery, this is a decisive battle to determine who will be the overlord of Bingzhou and the country's northwest.

With two hundred thousand troops involved in the war, victory or defeat will be decided, and someone must bear the extra burden.

It now seems that the Wuhuan people and Yang Feng are likely to be evenly matched, and the only unlucky ones are the Black Mountain Army and the Hedong soldiers.

Zhang Yan did not dare to delay and set off immediately with the thirty or so guards on duty.

In Beidaying, Black Bear was lying lazily with his legs crossed and the mask on his legs.

When Zhang Yan came in, he saw Linghu Shao and Liu Bao, two captives and representatives of the surrendered army, were also there. Both of them looked relieved, as if all the pressure was gone.

Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun were both guest soldiers and were sitting together at the moment.

Opposite them were four cavalry generals, Green, Red, Yellow and White. All of them were from Guanzhong and were nearly forty years old. Like most of their peers in Guanzhong, they had served under Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si.

Tai Shi Wen Gong had a special status, so he sat on the edge of the Hu couch, in front of the left of Black Bear, and below him were four cavalry generals from Guanzhong.

Zhang Yan had just brought the hot tea when Wei Yue, who was sitting farthest away, came in.

The relationships between people are very complicated. The definition of personal identity depends on how you perceive yourself and how the other person defines you.

For example, now, Wei Yue was very confident, so he didn't consider himself an outsider at all. He wore the same mask as Lu Bu and sat in front of the right of Black Bear.

When the others saw Wei Yue's position and saw no objection from Hei Xiong and Tai Shi Wen Gong, they tacitly accepted Wei Yue's position as a right-hand man.

No one has ever seen Taishi Wengong's face, so it's not unusual for Wei Yue to wear a mask now.

At this time, Black Bear said, "You all know that the Wuhuan people could not bear it, so they murdered the Yu Digen people and offered their heads to surrender. It cannot be said that they surrendered, they wanted to take away half of the Black Mountain Army prisoners. According to their envoys, the Yu Digen tribes belong to them, and the Guo Xian tribe in Qi County belongs to me."

Liu Bao immediately replied: "General Daqu, this is their trick, or they want to test your strength. If you discuss this matter with them, they will become even more arrogant and will insist on asking for the various tribes of Yu Digen. In my opinion, we should not pay attention to it, and we should force the Wuhuan to send out 3,000 elite cavalry."

Liu Bao looked around at the others and explained, "With these three thousand elite cavalrymen in hand, the Wuhuan people will not dare to cause trouble easily."

Linghu Shao, the temporary representative of the surrendered soldiers from Taiyuan, also expressed his opinion: "Now that Yu Digen and his men are dead, the Wuhuan envoys said that they disobeyed the general because of Yu Digen's instigation. It is unfair for the Wuhuan people to say right and wrong, merits and demerits."

Black Bear laughed: "What do you think, sir?"

"I think we should investigate this matter and punish the real culprit severely. If it is true that the Wuhuan people were ignorant and deceived, they should also be punished. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens in the future, they will dare to send troops to Taiyuan."

After Linghu Shao finished speaking, Jia Kui, who was standing behind Linghu Shao, also spoke up: "I share the same view. The nature of the Hu people is to pursue profit. They come for profit and leave when it is not. This is too easy."

Although the Hedong soldiers had not surrendered or been captured, those present had already tacitly acknowledged that Jia Kui was the representative of the Hedong people.

Black Bear tilted his head to look at Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan recalled the subtle changes in Black Bear's expression just now, and expressed his opinion: "General Daqu also knows that we are called Black Mountain Army, but we are just people who live in the mountains. If we want to be the leader in troubled times, why would we live in the mountains and valleys of Taihang? From my point of view, it should be that Yu Digen was bewitched and coerced by Wuhuan."

Zhang Yan then bowed to Black Bear and said, "General Daqu has defeated Wuhuan's sharp edge, so Wuhuan lured and killed Yu Digen and others. It is a small matter to shirk responsibility, but it is a big deal to deceive General Daqu."

"That makes sense."

Black Bear agreed very much and looked at Liu Bao beside Zhang Yan: "It's time to redeem yourself for your crimes. Go and select 3,000 men. I will provide you with horses, armor, and weapons. Tomorrow we will go and have a good talk with the Wuhuan people and ask them who is deceiving me."

Liu Bao stood up and bowed, "Yes, I obey your order."

"Send the Chanyu back to the city."

Black Bear watched Liu Bao leave, then looked at Zhao Yun: "General Zilong, stay at the North Camp. I will lead the troops north tomorrow. If there are any changes in the camp, you can make your own decisions. As long as the camp is stable, I don't mind how many people die."

Zhao Yun turned sideways and bowed: "Yes, General, rest assured."

Black Bear looked at Zhang Yan again and said, "I have dispatched a sled team. General Zhang's troops will move to the North Camp. Horses will be provided here for the march tomorrow."

"Yes, Zhang will obey your order."

Zhang Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could get out the Black Mountain Army in the northern part of Taihang Mountain that had little to do with him, his position would be more stable.

Black Bear looked at Linghu Shao again: "After the convoy transports General Zhang's troops to the North Camp, it will transport armor and equipment to the outside of Jingling City. The death-defying soldiers will leave the city, dress up and eat hot meals, and then take the convoys to the north. The Wuhuan people are already discouraged, this is your chance to atone for your sins."

"Yes, I will inform the whole army and encourage the officers and soldiers."

Linghu Shao also saluted. Black Bear smiled and asked, "Do you still have the seal of the governor of Hongnong County?"

"Right here."

Linghu Shao immediately took it off from his waist bag and presented it with both hands.

Lu Bu stood up and took it, and then he heard Black Bear say, "You temporarily control the Taiyuan daredevil soldiers."

"Yes, the general will take your orders."

Linghu Shao sat down, and Zhao Yun glanced at this man. He was quite satisfied with the current changes in the situation.

Although he could not stop Black Bear from attacking the Black Mountain Army, Zhao Yun was happy to see it happen. After all, Black Bear had repeatedly stated in public that he could accept the change of the Xiongnu people to Wuhuan people if he was given 5,000 captured cavalry.

Having received such a generous salary, he naturally had to have a proper attitude towards work.

Finally, Black Bear looked at the four cavalry generals and said, "Cooperate with General Zilong to stabilize the camp. Each of you will send a thousand cavalrymen northward in the afternoon. Each knight is allowed to have two followers, selected from the auxiliary troops. Three people in a group, equipped with five horses, and bring enough fodder. I want to chase them all the way to Yuci and Jinyang!"

Letting soldiers find followers they like from the auxiliary troops is the fastest way to expand the army and also a small trick to maintain command order.

The men saluted together, and Black Bear looked at Wei Yue and said, "After General Zhang goes north, the Southern Camp will be handed over to you."

Wei Yue just bowed and said nothing.

Finally, Black Bear said, "This time I will only lead the Black Flag Team, the Death Squad, and 3,000 Xiongnu volunteers to the north. After I go north, scouts will be placed 50 miles away. If Yang Feng and the Hedong soldiers approach, we can just hold our ground and not send out troops to rescue them without authorization."

"Here."

Everyone stood up and saluted, ending this final combat meeting.

The troops left behind by Yu Digen and others are only of limited value in terms of numbers.

The Wuhuan were different. For the sake of those nearly 20,000 horses, they could not be easily spared.

When these people left, Li Feng, who was in charge of the military medical team, stayed behind and asked, "How will the commander deal with Yu Digen's former subordinates?"

"They are mostly bandits and have only a superficial relationship with the Taiping Dao."

Black Bear was also troubled by this matter: "There is not enough food and fodder in Guanzhong, I want to take only the young men. The same goes for Guo Xian's troops. Kill Guo Xian and take all his young men. Entrust the rest to Zhang Yan. The young men are in our army. After training and tempering, we can use them as the backbone in the future to fight for Taihang."

They are familiar with the route, have local connections, and have an urgent desire to return home.

Grasping this group of young people is equivalent to grasping the Taihang Mountains of the future.

Even Zhang Yan, the nominal leader of the Black Mountain Army, had a mediocre relationship with the Taiping Dao.

It was after Zhang Niu Jiao raised his army that Zhang Yan led people to join. He had no inheritance relationship with Zhang Niu Jiao or the Taiping Dao behind Zhang Niu Jiao.

Zhang Yan is like this, and we can see much about the background colors of other Black Mountain Army units.

After Black Bear told him his solution, Li Feng was relieved and said, "I am afraid that he will become arrogant and complacent after his great victory."

The black bear smiled and pointed to the dark west: "I am dancing on the ice right now, how dare I be careless?"

Li Feng also smiled, and the whole person was relaxed, and whispered: "Commander Qu, some of my subordinates are studying amputation surgery..."

Black Bear raised his hand to stop him: "I don't care. The bodies will be burned together when we evacuate. They cannot be brought into Guanzhong. After returning to Guanzhong, I can give you a valley to study medicine."

Li Feng looked unhappy, so he bowed, took a few steps back and left.

Watching Li Feng leave, Black Bear couldn't help but think about the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

He didn't understand meridian acupuncture, acupoints, etc., but he felt that the theory summarized and researched by his ancestors was very powerful.

The pursuit of immortality has been a common goal of the powerful and hedonists throughout the ages. From offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods to pray for longevity or health, to self-reliance in elixirs and medicine, the purpose is the same.

Therefore, whether it is shaman medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, or traditional Western medicine, the development process definitely requires rich practice.

After sending out everyone, Black Bear was even more cautious.

If you don't kick the final goal, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

With this thought in mind, he headed north on a heavy sled.

Not only him, two-thirds of the officers and soldiers in the Beidaying were awakened by military officials and began to stand guard and prepare for battle.

Except for those who will take part in the attack tomorrow, everyone else is on duty.

As dawn approached, the Wuhuan people did not come up with any tricks.

Black Bear drove his horse closer and found that the Wuhuan people and the Black Mountain Army had been confronting each other all night and were both tired.

The conflict between the snipe and the clam was too obvious, as if they were acting him out.

It was a little bit unbelievable.

After observing for a while, he returned south.

There was no need for him to observe, as the Wuhuan people and the Black Mountain Army were entangled with each other and had given up the blockade of the outer scouts.

Our scouts have caught up and almost covered the right side of the royal court area.

There is no suspense in this battle anymore.

When he returned to the camp, he had accumulated many military letters and messengers.

The envoys came from a wide range of backgrounds, including those from the Wuhuan and Heishan armies, as well as those from Guo Xian, Shang Yao, and the Yanmen soldiers.

Even Qian Zhao's messenger arrived safely and brought a thick silk book.

Black Bear patiently read these documents. While he was reading, his personal guards brought him breakfast, and two scrolls of silk books were placed on the plate: "General, this is Yang Feng's apology letter."

"Why are there two copies?"

"The messenger said that the previous messenger was killed by the Taiyuan cavalry, and this was picked up when he passed by."

"What an unfortunate coincidence."

The black bear picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of the strong tea. He felt that the refreshing effect of this tea was limited, so he summoned a white magic power and slapped it into his forehead.

I immediately felt refreshed and full of energy.

The whole world came alive again, and when I drank tea again, I noticed all the shortcomings of its taste.

(End of this chapter)