Chapter 510: Fleeing

When British Duke Zhang Fu led hundreds of horses to Xinhua County, it was already dawn.At this time, the sun had not yet risen, and the mist of early winter enveloped the hilly rivers, and the sky and the earth were covered with white colors.

Zhang Fu rushed into the rebel camp and looked back at the mess.

The wooden stakes and wood left behind the tent were discarded in a mess on the campsite, and there were many overturned stone and earth stoves, which were covered with blue smoke and smoke from the charcoal embers, which were not burned yet.

But there is no one here!

Xu Heng, deputy general of the Central Army, then rushed over and watched the scene of the enemy camp with Zhang Fu.

Both of them remained silent and the atmosphere became very strange.

The young Xu Heng looked very ugly and he kept paying attention to Zhang Fu's reaction.

Zhang Fu's face turned ashen, and a trace of pathological redness turned out to appear.He suddenly turned his upper body on the back of the horse and looked at Xu Heng; Xu Heng was also observing Zhang Fu, and the two looked at each other.

Xu Heng said awkwardly: At the end of yesterday, the generals had received the command from the generals and moved the central army to the west coast according to the order.As the rebels advanced, the last generals and soldiers were few, but they did not dare to take a step back!I had to set up a camp on the spot.It was getting late at that time, and the rebels were camping several miles away. The last general thought that the rebels were numerous and would attack this morning...

Judging from the military law, Xu Heng was not very wrong, and he did not disobey or retreat. But what angered Zhang Fu was that Xu Heng arrived in Xinhua County at least two days before the rebels, but did nothing!

There is a Zishui tributary to the north and a mountain to the south.

Xu Heng led tens of thousands of central troops here, with so many people available, but he did not take any measures at all to stop the rebels from moving south, and did not even release a single arrow; what is even more ridiculous is that the rebels drove away overnight last night, and Chen Heng did not respond at all!

Zhang Fuxin said: Although Xu Heng is a nobleman, his ability is far inferior to that of the generals who have been fighting for many years.

Zhang Fu took a few heavy breaths, finally holding back the great anger in his heart. He sighed and said earnestly: Your grandfather is fighting on the battlefield, and he is ill due to hard work. It is not easy to be awarded a title. General Xu must cherish it.

Xu Heng's face turned red and he lowered his head and answered speechlessly.

Zhang Fu looked back and said, "The Battle in Huguang has begun!"If you don’t do your best in one place, it may affect the overall situation and let down the emperor’s trust!You should do it yourself!

The cavalry general of Liu Sheng's army clasped his fists and said: The last general asked for his order and immediately lead the cavalry to pursue him!

Zhang Fu glanced at the general and said, you arrived in Xinhua County last evening. After a whole night, General Xu (Xu Heng) hadn't told you the terrain here?

Xu Heng's face turned redder, like pig's liver.

Once Quneng's rebels left, Xinhua County was useless and the entire army was able to deport a camp!Zhang Fu ordered that the cavalry should go first, and the central army would follow.The troops followed the south direction of the county town and walked the road between the valleys to enter Baoqing Prefecture (near Shaoyang City).

The generals clasped their fists and said: The last general is waiting for orders!

Two days ago, when Zhang Fu left the Central Army Headquarters of Changsha Prefecture, he sent officials to various places to inform the generals: The Central Army Headquarters had moved to Xinhua County.

In order for the generals of each army to be sent to the Central Army of Xinhua County as soon as possible.

On the fifth day of October, Zhang Fu received military reports from Liu Sheng, Chen Mao, Tan Zhong and Xue Lu in the Central Army, and they reported the location of the army.

Each division generally uses nearby cities as a reference and estimates the distance.

This is what Zhang Fu ordered the generals to do.It is already difficult to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops. If you cannot grasp the trends everywhere, it will inevitably be very difficult to deploy.

Only the report from the left deputy general He Fu has not received it yet!The latest military newspaper by He Fujun was five days ago.

Zhang Fu sent a small team of horses to Baoqing Mansion to find He Fu's main force, and ordered He Fu to inform him of military information immediately...

That night, more than 50,000 troops from the Central Army of the Office and Liu Sheng's vanguard team camped between the valleys more than 40 miles south of Xinhua County.

There are large areas south of Xinhua County, all of which are crisscrossing north and south; however, there are valleys and hilly areas with different widths and narrow areas, and roads lead to Baoqing Mansion in the south.

The road Zhang Fu took was located east of the route where Quneng's rebels fled, and it was slightly flattering and spacious than the terrain on Quneng's side.

There are large mountains and forests on both sides of this place, but the valley in the middle is also very wide and there are some villages around it.The dogs in the nearby villages were barking one after another, very noisy.

However, after nightfall, the barking of dogs made people feel a little more crowded.

Without the sound of cannons or guns, there is no enemy situation around here. After nightfall, I can no longer feel the atmosphere of the battle formation.

Zhang Fu lives in a green tiled room, under the oil lamp, and he is still sitting in front of the table busy.

He put down his brush and listened to the movements around him for a while. He could only remind himself in his heart that the war was already very urgent.

A grand battlefield cannot be felt directly with your eyes and ears, but can only be imagined!

Originally, Qu Neng’s troops appeared in Xinhua County and were expected in advance. This incident made Zhang Fu feel that the battle started very smoothly; but soon he was poured with cold water!

The poor performance of deputy general Xu Heng made the strategy of blocking the besieging Qu Neng's troops in the first stage fail; the most tense situation shifts southward.

However, Zhang Fu cannot understand the military situation in the south because of He Fu's troops.The situation at this time made him feel very troubled...

However, based on He Fu's position five days ago, Zhang Fu estimated that if He Fu's troops marched normally according to military orders, they should have approached Baoqing Prefecture City at this time.He Fujun has now become the closest person to Qu Nengjun!

This is not a situation that Zhang Fu is willing to see.

Because Liu Sheng's army set out from Changde Prefecture, the farthest from Baoqing Prefecture; after Xue Lu, Tan Zhong and Chen Mao arrived at Changsha Prefecture and Tanzhou Prefecture, they had to take a boat to cross the river and missed some time.

He Fujun, located on Hengzhou Prefecture on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, became the fastest soldier to reach Baoqing Prefecture.

Zhang Fu carefully pondered the map on the table and compared the files prepared in advance, it was estimated that the closest route from Qu Neng’s department to Zishui was about 200 miles away.

Because it is difficult to walk on a mountainous road in the south of Xinhua County, Zhang Fu judged that it would take at least four days and one night for Quneng rebels to arrive at the north bank of Zishui.

Only on the evening of the eighth day of the 10th month or the ninth day of the 10th month can Qu Neng approach Zishui.

Zhang Fu randomly drew a triangle on the paper, hooking three, four, and five. If He Fu's army goes on the oblique edge and marchs southwest, it will be the route that can get close to Quneng's rebels as soon as possible... Zhang Fu speculated and judged: If He Fu's army did arrive near Baoqing Mansion, as long as they turn to the southwest, they will definitely be able to intercept Quneng's rebels!

But what is He Fu doing? Is this person trustworthy?

Zhang Fu has not received any news for the main force of the Han Wang army in Yongzhou and the movements in recent days.

He hoped that he could not only get the news reported by He Fujun, but also get news from scouts, Jinyiwei and other aspects of the Central Army who had been transferred from far away to prove the military situation.

At the same time, obtaining information from multiple sources is a safe way to prove the accurate military situation; Zhang Fu has led his troops to fight more than once, and he still has these experiences.

Zhang Fu thought carefully for half a night, and there were only two choices before him: either give up the goal of the first phase of the battle and let Qu Neng’s troops go south; or he could only rely on He Fu’s army to continue completing the early strategy of the battle!

...The next morning, the army set off the camp, and Zhang Fu received a lot of military information reports one after another.

He searched for a while and found the seal of the left deputy general's seal, and immediately took it apart.

Zhang Fu thought to himself: Damn, He Fu finally sent a report.

He Fujun is indeed close to Baoqing Prefecture City!

The report said that He Fu wrote a military newspaper two days ago and sent it to Changsha Prefecture (Zhang Fu has not received it yet).

After they approached Baoqing Prefecture City, they had already crossed Zishui from the Zhouqiao; they also found that a rebel was in the mountainous area south of Xinhua County, and He Fu decided to march southwest to intercept the rebels!

Zhang Fu turned two pages and saw the content written later... roughly described the movements of various units of the Han King's rebel army. The main force of the rebel army had exited from the north of Yongzhou Prefecture City; while thousands of cavalry and tens of thousands of partial divisions were located to the west and were advancing north from the Dayang River.

He Fu had sent scouts to keep an eye on the positions of various units of the Han Wang Army.

Seeing this, Zhang Fu's expression gradually became excited, and a vague hope spread in his heart.The fighter's opportunity is fleeting!Military merits are always a way to take away the fire!

Seeing this, the generals riding horses around looked at each other.

Zhang Fu handed He Fu's letter to the people around him to circulate it, and couldn't help but say in public: After all, Marquis Ningyuan is a veteran, and he has to arrange it himself if he doesn't know anything.

After saying that, he no longer hesitated, and immediately made a decision and ordered: Write the military order immediately and send it to He Fu's army quickly.The general agreed with his approach and asked him to march forward while urging the officials of various counties to send the ships on the water gate of the city or burn them.He also set up camp strongholds along the Zishui coast, surrounding the rebel Qu Neng troops on the north bank of Zishui!

The civil servant of the central army bowed and said, "The subordinate official obeys the order."

Zhang Fu said again: Tell He Fu again that within two days after intercepting Qu Neng’s rebels, he will definitely receive 60,000 reinforcements; within five days, most of the main forces of our official army will approach him!

...The first achievement in this battle may be He Fu, which Zhang Fu distrusts!

As long as He Fu stopped Qu Neng's troops, even if he could not destroy Qu Neng's rebels immediately, he could still gain a great advantage for the official army.

As long as the He Fujun and Qu Neng rebels were wasted a few days, reinforcements from both sides would arrive one after another and start a war near Zishui.

The Quneng rebels had just walked over a thousand miles of mountain roads, and their troops were exhausted and lacked food and clothing. However, the total force of the rebels was in a counter-trend, but the entire army had to drag them into the vortex of the war... Hundreds of thousands of people, how could they do it just by leaving the battlefield?

At this time, the decisive battle was held, and Zhang Fu really couldn't think of a reason to be defeated.

The decisive fighter plane has cleared the fog and appeared vaguely in front of him.No matter how Zhang Fu was suspicious of He Fu, his huge military achievements were placed in front of him, and Zhang Fu was reluctant to let go of it anyway!