Chapter 380: All Troops Arrive
August 25th.

Twenty thousand troops under Cui Liang and forty thousand Hu cavalry under Prince Utuo had gathered in the valley, and the remaining Hu cavalry were still arriving.

At the same time, the imperial guards were in hot pursuit and entered the territory of Huade Prefecture.

In the imperial army camp outside Huade Prefecture.

Liang Chu stood in front of the map and looked at it carefully. Behind him were six admirals of the imperial guards.

The admiral of the Fenwu Camp was Zhou Lan, the admiral of the Yaowu Camp was Xue Ou, Marquis of Guangping, the admiral of the Lianwu Camp was Lü Shizhi, Marquis of Jianliang, the admiral of the Xianwu Camp was Lu Baishu, Marquis of Nanyang, the admiral of the Ganyong Camp was Cao Can, Marquis of Wuxin, and the admiral of the Guoyong Camp was Zhang Ao, Marquis of Xuanping.

Six marquises and a daughter of a duke, such a lineup is definitely luxurious.

Liang Chu looked at the road that ran through the west side of Chongshan Town with a solemn expression.

"General Yang hasn't replied yet?" Liang Chu turned to look at Zhou Lan.

Zhou Lan shook her head slightly, "No!"

They were all acquaintances of Yang Zhengshan. In fact, they had sent letters to Yang Zhengshan after they entered western Liaoning, and the two sides had exchanged letters several times.

Liang Chu hoped that Yang Zhengshan could cooperate with them to encircle and block the Wuliang Hu cavalry, but Yang Zhengshan stayed at Guanshankou the whole time, which made it unnecessary for them to chase too hastily.

Liang Chu felt a little strange about Yang Zhengshan's request, but in the end he chose to believe Yang Zhengshan. He followed the Wuliang army at a leisurely pace and fought with the Wuliang army from time to time.

Otherwise, with so many supplies carrying the Wuliang army, they should have caught up with it long ago.

Just as Liang Chu was wondering what Yang Zhengshan was up to, someone suddenly shouted from outside the tent, "My Lord, General Yang has sent a message!"

"Send it in!" Liang Chu shouted without thinking.

The soldiers outside the tent immediately entered the tent and handed a letter to Liang Chu.

After reading the letter, Liang Chu turned to look at the map again.

"North of Xiling City!"

He found the location of Xiling City on the map.

Xiling City, like Guining City, is a small city on the west road of Chongshan Town. However, Xiling City is located in the middle of the north-south passage of the west road of Chongshan Town, which is on the south side of the Guanshankou Valley.

"My lord, what plan does General Yang have?" Zhou Lan asked curiously.

Zhou Lan was naturally very familiar with Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan is both her teacher and friend. Although they have not seen each other for several years, their friendship has not diminished but grown stronger.

Well, it’s just a simple relationship between master and disciple and friends, don’t get the wrong idea.

She had been communicating with Yang Zhengshan for many years. When she was in Kyoto, she would ask Yang Zhengshan for advice whenever she encountered troubles or problems. To be honest, Yang Zhengshan really taught her a lot.

"General Yang, we will arrive at the north of Xiling City within four days!" Liang Chu said.

Everyone looked at the location of Xiling City on the map.

"Could it be that General Yang wants to join forces with us to attack the Wuliang army?" Marquis Xuanping Zhang Ao guessed.

Xiling City and Guanshankou are located at the north and south ends of the valley. If both sides launch an attack at the same time, they can form a pincer attack.

However, there is a big problem here, that is whether Yang Zhengshan can stop the attack of the Hu cavalry at Guanshankou.

If we can't stop it, then this pincer attack will be in vain and meaningless.

Once the Wuliang army left Guanshankou, it would be almost impossible for them to intercept it.

Beyond Guanshan Pass is an endless prairie. It is nothing but a pipe dream to want to stop the Wulianghu cavalry on the prairie.

Liang Chu pondered for a moment, shook his head slightly, and said, "It shouldn't be that simple. General Yang should have other plans!"

"Then should we cooperate with General Yang?" Marquis Wuxin Cao Can looked at Liang Chu.

Logically speaking, they don't need to cooperate with Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan is only the general of Chongshan Town, while they are all super-class marquises.

In terms of rank and status, they are superior to Yang Zhengshan, and asking them to cooperate with Yang Zhengshan is itself against the rules.

But then again, Yang Zhengshan was not only the general of Chongshan Town, he was also the father-in-law of the Marquis of Changping. With this relationship, even if they had any dissatisfaction with Yang Zhengshan in their hearts, they could not say it in front of Liang Chu.

Liang Chu looked up at Cao Can and said, "Of course I have to cooperate!"

Don't think that just because he is the commander of the imperial guards, these marquises will be willing to listen to him.

We are all marquises, no one is higher than anyone else, and no one is more powerful than anyone else.

Liang Chu's only advantage is that he occupies the position of commander of the imperial guards. Although their titles are the same, his rank is one level higher than that of several marquises. Moreover, he is the commander of the imperial guards appointed by Emperor Chengping himself, so he can control these marquises in front of him.

If he didn't have the position of commander of the imperial guards, these marquises wouldn't care about him as the Marquis of Changping.

Liang Chu knew best what Cao Can was thinking.

But now was not the time to worry about these things, so he directly ordered: "The army will set out tomorrow and must reach the north of Xiling City within four days!"

"Here!"

Everyone accepted the order in unison.

……

In the nameless valley, in the camp of the Wulianghu tribe.

Wutuo looked at the generals under his command with an unhappy expression.

In the past few days, they launched several attacks on Guanshankou, but not only did they fail to capture Guanshankou, but they also suffered heavy casualties.

Wuto was very dissatisfied after being defeated three times in a row.

Utuo is also an arrogant man, and his arrogance comes from his own abilities and the strength of the warriors under his command.

However, now his warriors have been defeated repeatedly by the army of Chongshan Town, which makes him feel somewhat humiliated.

"Are you all incompetent? You can't even capture a mountain pass?"

He reprimanded the general under his command in dissatisfaction.

Cui Liang stood behind a group of Wuliang generals, with his head lowered and his expression calm.

Well, his expression was calm, but he was sneering in his heart.

Humph, these crude barbarians actually looked down on me before. Now it’s your turn. You should seize the pass!

Before the arrival of the Wuliang army, he also tried to attack Guanshankou, but needless to say, he was defeated miserably.

After the Wuliang army arrived, the Wuliang generals learned about this and all laughed at Cui Liang, calling him incompetent, a coward, a useless waste, and all kinds of insults. These guys even said it to Cui Liang's face, showing their contempt and disdain without any concealment.

Faced with these Wulianghu nobles, Cui Liang, who had just defected to Prince Utuo, naturally did not dare to offend them, so he could only swallow his anger.

Now seeing Wutuo scolding these people, he felt so happy in his heart.

However, Uto only scolded them a few words and let it go. After all, these people in front of him were his trusted subordinates. A verbal reprimand was enough, and there was no need to really punish them.

After the reprimand, Wu Tuo said: "The Darong Imperial Army is about to arrive at Xiling City. We must break through the Guanshan Pass as soon as possible!"

Yang Zhengshan led the Chongshan Town army in the front, Liang Chu led tens of thousands of imperial guards in the back. Now they were in a situation where they were surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind.

However, Uto did not think this was a desperate situation, so he just felt the pressure and did not feel anxious about it.

In his opinion, as long as they broke out of Guanshankou, everything would no longer be a problem.

And this is indeed the case. Except for Guanshankou, that is their territory. They have a natural advantage when fighting on the prairie.

As for the looted supplies, as long as they could take away one third of them, their trip would not be a loss.

"Pass the order down. Launch an attack in two days. We will surely win this battle!"

Uto had decided to launch a general offensive, and two days later would be the first day of September.

……

North of Xiling City.

"Report, Your Majesty, Yang Mingzhi, the commander of the Tenglong Guard, wants to see you!"

Liang Chu had just led the imperial guards to the north of Xiling City when Yang Mingzhi showed up.

The camp had not yet been set up and Liang Chu was sending people to look for a suitable place to set up camp when he heard the scout's report.

"Please come in!" Liang Chu said immediately when he heard it was Yang Mingzhi.

A moment later, Yang Mingzhi came to Liang Chu with dozens of his followers.

"Your humble servant greets the Marquis!"

"Haha, Mingzhi, stop being so polite!" Liang Chu dismounted from his horse and helped Yang Mingzhi up.

The two families are actually related by marriage, so Liang Chu was very happy to see Yang Mingzhi.

Yang Mingzhi stood up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is the elder, it is only right for the younger generation to pay respect to you."

According to seniority, Yang Mingzhi should call Liang Chu grandpa, after all, Yang Yunxue is Liang Chu's granddaughter-in-law.

Well, Liang Chu is one generation older than Yang Zhengshan.

"Haha, let's talk while we walk!" Liang Chu didn't hesitate and asked Yang Mingzhi to join him in the inspection.

"Does your father have any plans?" he asked.

Yang Mingzhi nodded and said, "My father does have a plan, but I don't know the specific content of the plan!"

"Oh! Even you don't know?" Liang Chu was surprised.

Yang Mingzhi smiled and said, "As early as three days ago, I have been waiting here for you, Lord Marquis."

He really didn't know what Yang Zhengshan was doing!

Not only him, but everyone now doesn't understand what Yang Zhengshan is doing.

Yang Zhengshan did not explain to anyone, mainly because it involved something that could not be explained.

For example, when does the northwest wind come?

When it comes to the exact time and moment, how should Yang Zhengshan explain it?

You can't say that you can sense the weather!
I guess no one would believe him even if he explained it.

So he simply stopped explaining.

"Then what do we need to do?" Liang Chu asked.

Yang Mingzhi handed a handwritten letter to Liang Chu, who opened it and took a glance at it.

There is only a simple line of words on it.

On the first day of September, at 1:30 pm, the attack was launched.

Yang Zhengshan’s name and official seal are also on it.

This means that this is an official document, not a private letter from Yang Zhengshan.

It also means that if Liang Chu acts according to the above requirements and something goes wrong, Yang Zhengshan will be fully responsible.

As for why it is so formal.

The reason is very simple. Chongshan Town and the Imperial Guards have no subordinate relationship. No one has the responsibility to cooperate with anyone, and no one has the power to mobilize anyone.

If both parties agree, they will cooperate with each other.

If there are disagreements, it is possible that they will sabotage each other.

Giving Liang Chu such an official document would also allow Liang Chu to give an explanation to his superiors and subordinates so as to avoid embarrassment.

Liang Chu put away the letter, nodded and said, "I understand. I will attack on time!"

"Thank you, Lord Marquis!" Yang Mingzhi clasped his fists and said with a smile.

Liang Chu waved his hand casually and said with a smile: "I believe in your father's ability!"

Afterwards, the two walked and talked, and the topic turned from official business to personal matters.

Liang Chu was mainly talking about his great-grandson Liang Qingping.

Liang Qingping is Yang Yunxue's first son, and he is over four years old this year.

Perhaps because he loves his grandson Yang Yunxue, Liang Chu is very satisfied with his granddaughter-in-law, and naturally he also likes his great-grandson Liang Qingping very much.

Liang Qingping was also very smart. He knew how to please his elders at a young age. Every time he saw Liang Chu and Madam Lin, he spoke very sweetly, often making the two elderly people smile.

Now in the Marquis of Changping's mansion, Liang Qingping is definitely the most favored junior.

Yang Mingzhi had also met Liang Qingping several times and liked this little nephew very much, so the two of them had some common topics when talking about this little guy.

(End of this chapter)