In Wancheng, Wang Shichong looked embarrassed. Next to him sat Yu Wenzhi and Qu Tutong. The three armies joining together should have been a very happy thing, but it was different now. Li Yu successfully defeated Wang Shichong. At this time, he might have entered Luyang County and was dominating the Jianghuai area.
"You two, what should we do now? We must have a plan! There are not many soldiers left in Luyang County. Li Yu is insidious and cunning. It is very difficult to defeat him. At this time, Luyang County may have fallen into his hands. We will be unfaithful to the emperor." Yu Wenzhi's face was gloomy. He looked at Wang Shichong viciously. If it weren't for this stupid guy, how could Li Yu break through the defense line so easily and enter between the Yangtze River and the Huai River.
"Li Yu now has more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and he is strong. Although Luyang County has some troops, I am afraid it is no match for him." Qu Tutong glanced at the two men, his eyes full of contempt. These two guys were not good people. The battle that was originally sure to win was ruined by the two of them. He sighed and said, "What I am most worried about is that Li Yu's target is not Luyang County, but Liyang County. Liyang County is close to the Yangtze River and adjacent to Jiangnan. Jiangnan is in chaos now. Once Li Yu and Liu Yuanjin unite, their strength will increase greatly, and it will be even more difficult for us to defeat the two."
"Well, the area between Jiang and Huai is in chaos right now. Some time ago, a man named Du Fuwei started an uprising. Other rebels, such as Miao Haichao, Zhao Pozhen, etc., also have a lot of troops." Wang Shichong came from Jiang and Huai, so he naturally knew some things about the area. Now, there are many bandits in Liyang, Luyang and other places, and the imperial court's troops are almost all gathered in the big cities.
"The more this is the case, the faster we should destroy Li Yu." Qu Tutong said, "Li Yu has both the people and the strength. Du Fuwei, Miao Haichao, Zhao Pozhen and the like are definitely not Li Yu's opponents. If he defeats these bandits and unites them, not to mention the Jianghuai area, even the entire Jiangnan area will be in turmoil."
Yu Wenzhi's face also changed. He was ordered to destroy Li Yu. He occupied Nanyang County for his own selfish reasons and planned to cultivate the power of the Yuwen family here. Wang Shichong's defeat seemed to be Wang Shichong's own fault, but in fact, it had a lot to do with Yu Wenzhi's failure to rescue him in time. He said solemnly, " Li Yu is best at deceiving people. He is more dangerous than Du Fuwei and his ilk. If he is not eliminated in time, he will cause great trouble sooner or later."
"With just the three of us and tens of thousands of troops, we can defeat the enemy, but the enemy has already entered the area between the Yangtze River and the Huai River. We can only follow behind. Attacking is not enough. We need to find someone to come down from the north." Yu Wenzhi showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, and forced a smile, "Zhang Xutuo is brave and good at fighting. He has already achieved initial victory in the north. Why not transfer Zhang Xutuo to the south to wipe out Li Yu together."
"Can't our 60,000 or 70,000 troops wipe out Li Yu's 10,000 or 20,000 troops? Wouldn't it be a joke if this gets out?" Qu Tutong sneered. There is no best in martial arts. Among the generals of the dynasty, everyone knows Zhang Xutuo's record. He has been in Jizhou and Ludi without a single defeat. His army is invincible and he has defeated countless rebels. Qu Tutong used to be in Hedong and also wiped out many enemies. But in the eyes of the world, he is still not as good as Zhang Xutuo.
Yu Wenzhi and Wang Shichong looked at each other and immediately showed a trace of embarrassment. Thinking about it carefully, it was true. Tens of thousands of troops were so cautious against an army that had just been established not long ago. Even Yu Wenzhi and Wang Shichong felt humiliated.
" If you two believe that you can report to His Majesty, I will go to the battlefield alone. What do you think?" Qu Tutong said again.
"Well, since General Qu Tu wants to go on an expedition, we are naturally willing." Yu Wenzhi said quickly: "In that case, let's go on an expedition to destroy Li Yu?" To be honest, it was really difficult for him to explain to Yang Guang that tens of thousands of troops could only stay in Wancheng. If this got out, wouldn't the whole world laugh at him?
"Then let's go." Wang Shichong also said loudly. Similarly, he didn't want to become a laughing stock. Thinking of the 10,000 troops he had lost, Wang Shichong felt a pang of pain in his heart.
The three main generals all agreed, so the speed of sending troops became much faster. On the second day, Song Laosheng was the vanguard, and the 60,000-strong army marched slowly out of Wancheng and headed towards Luyang County.
Gu Chunqiu looked at the army in the distance and said to Gu Mingcai , "Quick, tell the general that Yu Wenzhi's 60,000 troops are heading east. Tell your two brothers to monitor the whereabouts of the imperial army. 60,000 troops is not a small number!"
"Yes! Father, do you think the general can hold out this time?" Gu Mingcai said with some worry. These 60,000 troops were not some scattered soldiers, but the elite and brave troops of the imperial court. No one knew whether Li Yu's more than 10,000 beggars could hold out.
"We have to stop him even if we can't. Do you think our Gu family still has a chance to turn back?" Gu Chunqiu looked at his son and said, "Besides, it's not easy to catch the general unless we chase him down and intercept him. When the general fights on the move, the people who have territories are the most unlucky. They want to escape but can't."
Gu Mingcai nodded after hearing this. He glanced at the distance and suddenly pointed at the grain store opposite and said, "Father, that is the grain store of the Chai family. The servant opposite should be a scout of the Li family. I don't know when he will pass the news to the general."
"You mean that the last time three armies besieged the general, the general did not get the news in time because the Li family did it on purpose?" Gu Chunqiu said, stroking his gray beard.
"I'm afraid that's the case. Humph, it's nothing big, it just takes a little longer. We will catch up with them sooner or later." Gu Mingcai said disdainfully.
Li Yu did not expect that Yu Wenzhi's tens of thousands of troops would follow behind him, killing their way through Nanyang County, Yiyang County, and entering Luyang County. This was the rhythm of annihilating the Qihuo Army.
"Wang Shichong has been defeated. For the benefit of the Yuwen family, Yu Wenzhi gathered his army in Nanyang County. He thought that Wang Shichong and Qu Tutong could defeat us. Unexpectedly, we not only defeated Wang Shichong, but also jumped out of the encirclement. Now he is scared, so he is chasing after us." Cen Wenben said with a smile.
"The front is Luyang County, which also has many troops. However, we will not go to Luyang County, but to Liyang County. There are many rebels in Liyang County. Our troops are not as strong as Yu Wenzhi's , but if we unite with these people, we will be able to deal with Yu Wenzhi. Yu Wenzhi can't just deal with us and spare others!" Li Yu said with a smile. Driving the tiger to devour the wolf and completely disrupting the power of Liyang County will finally make it easier for him to gain a foothold.