Lin Zhengbiao's army had different quality. After forcing two days and two nights, this kind of quality was particularly obvious. The 40,000 troops dragged about twenty miles long. Once this army encountered an ambush, it would not have time to assemble to defend against the enemy, let alone they entered the encirclement of the Sui army. (?

At this time, Luo Shixin led 10,000 troops to attack from the north and south, and cut the Chu army into two pieces. The Chu army was in chaos, and many generals commanded the soldiers to resist, but most of the soldiers were exhausted. In addition, they were affected by other fugitive soldiers, and they were quickly defeated after just a little resistance.

In the fields, soldiers were desperately fleeing everywhere. The soldiers threw away their armor and threw away all the items that affected their escape. They even didn't want weapons and rice bags. The soldiers who could not escape knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

Ten thousand cavalry chased after him. Many of the soldiers who were running by lightning were chopped off their heads by the cavalry running by lightning. The heads fell to the ground and the bodies rolled, but the cavalry did not stop and continued to kill the next target. Under the full pursuit of the cavalry, most of the Chu soldiers could not escape. They either knelt down and surrendered or died under the swords and spears of the Sui cavalry.

Lin Zhengbiao led more than a dozen personal soldiers to flee west desperately, running for more than twenty miles in one breath, and there were gradually no pursuers behind them. They breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, another army came to the west, which really scared Lin Zhengbiao to death. Finally, he saw clearly that it was the banner of the Chu army, so he brought his personal soldiers to meet him.

When he rushed to the front, Zhao Yanlu was the general. He led an army of old and weak of about 3,000 people. The soldiers were even less physically strong and could not keep up with the main army. He had to walk slowly behind, but he avoided the encirclement and ambush of the Sui army.

Zhao Yanlu also saw Lin Zhengbiao and was shocked. He hurried forward and bowed: "Why is the lord here?"

Lin Zhengbiao said annoyedly: "I was ambushed by the Sui army. I fled desperately with my horse speed. The army is behind me, and I don't know my life or death."

Zhao Yanlu was shocked. Lin Zhengbiao was anxious. If the Sui cavalry did not leave, he would catch up with him again. He hurriedly shouted: "Follow me quickly. If the Sui cavalry did not leave, will he catch up with him?"

When the soldiers heard that there were pursuers behind, they were so scared that they turned around and ran. The reason why Lin Zhengbiao fled to Ganjiang was because Lu Fei also led three thousand troops behind. He looked down on Zhao Yanlu's three thousand old and weak army, but he could also serve as a meat shield for him.

After obtaining Lu Fei's three thousand elite troops, he can escape to the south.

Two days later, Lin Zhengbiao led his army to the place where he crossed the river before. There was no ship by the river. Looking at the empty river surface, Lin Zhengbiao felt even more anxious. Logically, Lu Fei was just going back to do the aftermath, and he only walked one or two hours later than them. He would not have crossed the river yet. Could it be that he had encountered the Sui army and they had no time to cross the river?

At this time, Zhao Yanlu sighed, "Don't you understand, lord? Why did the Sui army ambush on the east bank of Ganshui? It was clearly because the Lu brothers secretly colluded with the enemy and encouraged the lord to go to Poyang County. Of course, Lu Fei dared not appear again. He was guilty of being a thief!"

Lin Zhengbiao was also a little shaken. He thought that Lu Ping had also disappeared accidentally before the Sui army came. Could it be that the two of them really betrayed him?

At this moment, soldiers suddenly shouted in horror from behind. When Lin Zhengbiao turned around, he was so scared that he was scattered. He saw three armies appearing behind them, surrounding them in the shape of a 'Pin'. Each army had about 3,000 people. A large army in the middle was inlaid with gold edges. This was the king's flag of the Sui army, which meant that King Zhang Xuan of Qi was in the army.

Three armies approached step by step, Lin Zhengbiao and his soldiers kept retreating, and behind them was the Ganjiang River. The three armies changed from font shape to semicircular shape. At this time, Zhao Yanlu gritted his teeth and said, "I protect my lord and break out from the south, otherwise we will all die here!"

"Then try your best!" Lin Zhengbiao gritted his teeth, and he had no choice.

Zhao Yanlu yelled, "Kill!"

He led a hundred soldiers to wield their swords and rushed southwards. Lin Zhengbiao followed Zhao Yanlu and ran away, and he also used a sword.

At this time, the three thousand Sui soldiers in the south raised their military crossbows together, and the cold crossbows aimed at them. Zhao Yanlu did not stop and rushed towards the Sui soldiers like a madman.

A sound of a clapper, three thousand Sui soldiers shot crossbow arrows at the same time, and dense crossbow arrows shot at more than a hundred people rushing towards him. Zhao Yanlu was immediately shot like a hedgehog and was killed on the spot. The hundred soldiers behind him were also caught in the arrows and fell to the horse, none of whom survived.

Lin Zhengbiao, who was running behind, also hit more than twenty arrows in a row. His power suddenly disappeared and the sword fell to the ground. Just as Lin Zhengbiao was caught, he actually saw clearly a Sui general on the opposite side. It was Lu Ping who disappeared unexpectedly. The moment before death came, Lin Zhengbiao suddenly understood everything.

But he had no chance. After being dismissed, his body turned into a corpse.

Lu Ping watched Lin Zhengbiao die silently, and a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes, but this was war, and he and his brother were just tools in Zhang Xuan's hands.

At this time, Zhang Xuan ordered coldly: "Those who surrender are exempt from death, and those who resist are killed without any hesitation!"

The destruction of the three Lin brothers means that the third hard bone in the south is chewed down, and also means that the power of the Northern Sui Dynasty expands eastward to the Yuzhang County area.

A fleet was slowly sailing northward in Poyang Lake. In a large ship, Zhang Xuan was listening to the report of Fang Xuanling's inspection of Qichun County. After Fang Xuanling recovered, he did not come to Yuzhang County directly, but took a boat from Pengze County to inspect Qichun County on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Qichun County was originally Xiao Xian's territory, but Qichun itself belonged to the Jianghuai River. When Zhang Xuan destroyed Du Fuwei and seized Jianghuai, Li Shimin seized Jiangxia, Xiao Xian had to give up Qichun County, which was in the gap between the two powerful people. The prefect of Qichun County turned to the Northern Sui River and was loyal to the Northern Sui River. Fang Xuanling was entrusted by Zhang Xuan to appease the officials of Qichun County.

But Fang Xuanling's real task is to evaluate the defense and security of Qichun County.

"Qichun County is located on the west side of the Han River and the south side of the Yangtze River, and across from Jiangxia County, it can be said to be a bridgehead for attacking Jiangxia County. It poses a great threat to Jiangxia County. If I were Li Shimin, I would definitely take Qichun County as a defensive buffer for the eastern part of Jiangxia County."

"Do you think Li Shimin will do this?" Zhang Xuan asked with a smile.

"Of course he thought, but he was just suffering from the lack of warships and could not transport the army across the river."

"The Tang army won't even have a ship to transport soldiers!"

"They have several cargo ships, but Your Highness should also understand that if there is no naval force that controls the Yangtze River, the Tang army crossing the river will only destroy itself, and Li Shimin will not make such a meaningless decision."

Zhang Xuan nodded, "Sir, we are right. This time we attacked Lin Shihong. Although the Tang army frequently appeared, they never dared to intervene. It was because they lacked naval forces and lacked confidence. Originally, Li Shimin wanted to deceive his warship on the excuse of helping Lin Shihong.

At first, Lin Shihong refused, but if Lin Shihong could not withstand our pressure, he would most likely sacrifice some warships in exchange for the Tang army's aid. However, Lin Shihong died at the critical moment, which gave us time. Even if Lin Zhengwei compromised in the end, it would be too late. We have blocked the mouth of Poyang Lake. Therefore, it is better to seek others than to seek others. If the Tang army started building ships earlier, they would not have been passive today."

Fang Xuanling smiled, "The navy needs to accumulate slowly, and it is impossible to fall into a slump. If His Highness had not started to vigorously develop the shipbuilding industry in Beihai County, there would not have been our strong navy today. Even so, our navy has accumulated step by step and grown little by little. The Tang army has lost the first move, and it is already difficult to remedy it. At most, it can only be transported in Guanlong or Bashu. By the way, I almost forgot one thing. An important information came from Chang'an, and the Tang army was ready to use a raft."

Zhang Xuan was stunned, "Use a leather raft?"

“That’s right!”

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "It should not be the small leather raft we imagine, but a large leather raft. Eight years ago, I saw it when I visited Jincheng County. It transported supplies on the Yellow River, and the cargo capacity was equivalent to a thousand stone warship."

Zhang Xuan couldn't help laughing, "It seems that the Tang army's urgent need for ships has reached the point of being hungry and food, which also shows that Liu Lan has been successful in his work. I have to reward them well. He actually intercepted the Tang army in Bashu on the gorge for twenty days, completely changing the situation in the south. This contribution can be granted the title of Duke of the County."

"That's because Your Highness has the wisdom to identify others. He has appointed Liu Lancheng in an extraordinary way, and he did not disappoint His Highness's expectations."

Speaking of the wisdom of knowing people, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment and asked Fang Xuanling: "There is also the case with the Lu brothers. Several generals have already advised me to kill them. What do you think about the military advisor?"

"I wonder what sin they committed, but they actually need to kill them?" Fang Xuanling asked in confusion.

"They did not commit crimes, but made great contributions. If they were not for their support, I would not have wiped out Lin Shihong so easily."

"Since you have made great contributions, why should you kill them?"

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly and said, "It was because they were vicious and vicious, who encouraged Lin Zhengbiao to kill his brother and father, and finally betrayed Lin Zhengbiao. The soldiers were extremely disgusted with his brothers and were unwilling to join such people."

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "These two were sent by His Highness to be undercover first, so no matter what they do, they should protect His Highness's interests. As for being vicious and cruel, I don't think it is a sin. It is like a knife that can eliminate evil and promote good, and can also kill innocent people indiscriminately. The key is who will use this knife. Of course, the mood of the soldiers is understandable, but His Highness cannot just use open and honest generals, but also need sinister and vicious ministers. Some things still require someone to be evil people, it depends on how Your Highness uses them."

Zhang Xuan nodded, and since he used it, he believed it. Fang Xuanling's persuasion finally made him determined, and he knew what he should do.
Chapter completed!