Zhang Jiao hadn't eaten for a day, and after he received the news of the annihilation of Xiao Zuo's army, he stayed in the big tent to think about the current battle situation and his own way of coping with it.

Xiao Zuo's close friend He Li has come to ask for battle three times and twice, asking to immediately send troops to attack Yue Fei and avenge Xiao Zuo and the Yellow Turban brothers who died in battle.

Xiao Yan said something bad and persuaded him to calm down for the time being. At this time, the most important thing is that the morale of the army must not be disturbed, and it is necessary to reformulate countermeasures, strive to take Yecheng in the shortest possible time, and revive the morale of the Yellow Turban Army.

In the evening, Zhang Jiao sent someone to invite Zhang Baiqi, Xiao Yan and He Li and other generals under his command to the big tent to discuss matters.

Now the rear of the Yellow Turban Army has lost protection, and the Yue Fei Department of the Youzhou Army did not garrison the large army in the Lieren City, but took advantage of the cavalry to roam around the Lieren City, looking for an opportunity to continue to fight the Yellow Turban Army, and at the same time not give the Yellow Turban Army a chance to surround it.

In this way, the threat of Yue Feibu suddenly became very prominent on the battlefield in Jizhou.

Defeated Xiao Zuo's department of the Yellow Turban Army and cut off one of the arms of the Yellow Turban Army, which was sharp and vicious, and suddenly made the Yellow Turban Army feel unbearable pain.

The original plan to capture Yecheng step by step had to be revised because of the defeat of Xiao Zuo's army.

The security of the rear of the army is basically guaranteed, and the supply of the army can be guaranteed unimpeded. The army attacking Yecheng was also able to steadily capture Yecheng while preserving its strength as much as possible.

But now that the Levians are lost, the food routes of the army are no longer safe. The army of Yecheng now has only two ways to choose, either to take Yecheng with lightning speed before the imperial reinforcements arrive, or to retreat before the imperial reinforcements arrive and their own army is not encircled.

After thinking about it, Zhang Jiao chose the former: take Yecheng in the fastest time!

The existence of the Yue Fei Department of the Lieren City can support the Yecheng army, but if Yecheng is gone, what is the significance of the existence of the Lieren City? Without the support and support of Yecheng, how long can the city of Lieren be defended?

Therefore, Zhang Jiao decided to abandon all distractions and attack Yecheng with all his might, making sure to take Yecheng and capture Wei County before Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived in Yecheng.

As for the Youzhou Army Yue Feibu who made them hate to the core, they had to put it aside for the time being.

Everything is in Yecheng. After taking Yecheng, Yue Feibu has no support and support, what else can they do except flee back to Youzhou? Continuing to stay near Yecheng, without supplies and rear, it is a dead end.

After listening to Zhang Jiao's analysis and decision, the Yellow Turban generals applauded.

Xiao Yan looked at the map on the desk and said slowly: "Great sage and good teacher, attacking Yecheng is naturally the top priority. But Yue Fei's threat to us must not be ignored. Xiao Zuo's defeat tells us the fact that Yue Fei's threat to us is not his cavalry, but himself. ”

"Zigan, can you make it clear." He Li said loudly, "Xiao Zuo's army was wiped out by the Youzhou Iron Cavalry, not by Yue Fei. ”

Xiao Yan nodded and continued: "The news sent to us by the inside line is very accurate, Yue Fei is indeed preparing to ambush He Shuai's troops near Linzhang, but our trap was not done well and was discovered by him. However, Yue Fei immediately changed his tactics, took advantage of the cavalry, and traveled more than 300 miles in a row in half a day and a night, and ran to the Gudu Pavilion to catch Xiao Zuo off guard. ”

"This is called striking the east and the west in the art of war, and everyone knows that many people will also use this tactic. However, if you want to use it under that circumstance at that time, I am afraid that it will be difficult for all of you here, including the great sages and good teachers, to do it. ”

"It's not about growing up others to destroy their own prestige. I'm afraid that no one here will be able to see such a fighter, or even dare to think about it. You must know that the 10,000 cavalry led by Yue Fei has only been in the army for half a month, and the source of the troops is also very complicated, including the locals of Youzhou, the displaced people of Youji and Hebei that Li Yi collected, and even our brothers who surrendered to the Yellow Turban. With such a complex army, it would be very difficult for me to lead such an army on a normal march if I were to do it myself, let alone run for three hundred miles in a row. ”

This alone shows that Yue Fei is not only proficient in the art of war, but also has a super command ability. That's why I say that his threat is not his army, but himself. If Yue Fei hadn't estimated that Xiao Zuo was unguarded, he would dare to attack the Ancient Desecration Pavilion overnight? If Yue Fei didn't have the ability to command, would he be able to lead such a severely ill-trained army to travel three hundred miles in less than twenty hours and win the battle? ”

Zhang Jiao didn't make a sound, he looked very haggard, his cold face was full of exhaustion and worry, and he said thoughtfully: "What do you mean by this, are you worried about our supplies?" ”

"Exactly. Sun Qin took 20,000 people to escort grain and grass baggage, although it seemed that the army was strong, but if he encountered Yue Fei's Youzhou Iron Cavalry, I am afraid that there would be more than one luck. You must know that now Sun Qinbu is more than 100 miles away from Lieren City, which is much less than the previous 300 miles. Xiao Yan said in a calm tone, "Now there are still ten days of food in our army. Stockpiles of weapons and siege equipment were clearly insufficient. More than 100,000 people attacked the city, and the scale of its consumption, and the amount of weapons and equipment required were all astonishing. According to my estimates, after five days of continuous siege, if there is no replenishment, the army will most likely have to stop the siege. ”

He Li exclaimed: "Zigan, you didn't miscalculate, right? If that's the case, then the supplies are too important to us. ”

Xiao Yan nodded and continued: "This time we came to attack Yecheng, because we wanted to block Li Yi in the city, the great sage and good master repeatedly asked to speed up the march, so we only brought a small amount of grain and grass to Yecheng. Originally, Sun Qin could send supplies over at any time, but because of Yue Feijun's appearance, it became very difficult for us to transport supplies. ”

"This Yue Fei is very difficult. Generally speaking, the most important thing in a war is the battle for the city, so everyone tries to increase the number of troops attacking and defending the city as much as possible. But this man's idea of fighting is very peculiar, he uses the cavalry tactics of the Hu people, does not pay attention to the gains and losses of one city and one place, but takes the annihilation of the enemy's army as the main purpose, so it is difficult for us to seize the opportunity to fight him, but he can easily attack and kill our army, especially the army escorting supplies. ”

Sun Qin, who is now escorting grain and grass, may be his next target.

He Li's face was angry, and he couldn't lead his troops forward, so he could only grit his teeth and scold him more than once. Zhang Baiqi lay on the desk and looked at the map carefully.

Zhang Jiao seemed to have thought about this issue before, and there was no look of surprise on his face.

At this time, Xiao Yan spoke again: "Great Sage and Good Master, I suggest that Fang Bao rush back to the Shoqiu overnight, bring out the 10,000 troops who stayed in the city, and then march back to the Shozhang in a hurry, and join Sun Qin's troops to escort supplies to the west. In this way, we have nearly 40,000 troops to escort grain and grass, as long as we take strict precautions along the way, Yue Fei will have no chance to sneak attack. At the same time, he hurried to Jingxian with an expedited horse, requisitioned Chu Yan's army, and asked it not to entangle with Liu Bei more, and quickly marched westward to further strengthen the strength of the grain transportation army and ensure the safety of the army's grain and grass. In the end, he hurried to Ganling with an expedited and fast horse, so that General Gong paid attention to guarding against Huangfu Song's northward heading, and he must ensure that Guangzong was not lost. ”

Looking at Xiao Yan's eager eyes, Zhang Jiao turned his eyes to look at Zhang Baiqi, who had been silent.

"Xiao Yan is thoughtful and thoughtful, and I completely agree with his opinion. I also think that Chu Yan should be allowed to take his Feiyan army day and night, and first join Sun Qin's army to ensure the safety of the army's food and grass. Moreover, after Chu Yan rushed back, he would also be able to strengthen our strength on the battlefield of Wei County, squeeze the range of activities of Yue Feijun's army, and minimize the danger brought to us by the Youzhou Iron Cavalry. ”

Zhang Jiao pondered for a long time, his eyes showed a little helplessness and sadness, and said to Xiao Yan: "Zigan, you go to see Yanzi in person." ”