The sky is vast and the wilderness is vast, and the wind blows the grass and the cash swords are low.

Qingyuan Horse Farm, which is a radius of dozens of miles, looks around. A simple tent has been set up in the middle of the horse farm. Chu Huan is not in the tent at this time, but is sitting on an open space in the horse farm, looking up at the blue sky.

The climate in the northwest is harsh and windy and sandy, but it does not mean that you will never see the blue sky and white clouds. At least today is a good weather with bright spring.

Looking at the clouds floating in the sky, Chu Huan was not at ease.

Things in the world are like clouds, Chu Huan knows very well that under this sky, anyone is so small that he can't even control his own destiny.

When he was in Liujia Village, he never thought that his destiny would have changed so drastically in just a few years. He was a commoner, but today he was already the governor of Xiguandao, who was in power. God always seemed to like to joke with the world, so that the world could understand that God never fulfilled his wishes.

When he returned to Liujia Village, he simply wanted to give his family the last settlement and let himself be free of worries, but along the way, his ties with the world became deeper and deeper, and more and more.

Love, hate, love, hatred, and hatred, the five flavors of life.

These may not be what Chu Huan wanted, but God still gave them to him like a joke. Sometimes he himself didn't understand whether such a life was really suitable for him.

"Duke Chu, do you have any worries?" Qi Hong walked to Chu Huan, sweating profusely, and sat down.

Chu Huan is different from ordinary officials. Although he is in a high position, he has no airs. Qi Hong was sent to Xiliang with him, and was then selected by Chu Huan from the Guards to follow him. He has always treated him as brothers. Qi Hong knew Chu Huan's temperament and knew that Chu Huan was actually a very easy-going person. Although he was very awe-inspiring in his heart, he was not restrained when following Chu Huan.

Chu Huan glanced at Qi Hong, and did not speak immediately. She was silent for a while, and finally asked: "Do you think if Zhu Lingyue's army comes here, do we have any hope of winning?"

Qi Hong was stunned, but hesitated that Chu Huan asked this question. He then said: "Whether it is a battle or a defeat, Bei Yi will follow Duke Chu. If there is a knife coming, Bei Yi will definitely block the knife for Duke Chu first!"

Chu Huan laughed, patted Qi Hong on the shoulder, and said, "If this is the case, it should be a confession of the blind man. Why would you say it?"

"This is what Bei Zhi said in his heart." Qi Hong sighed: "Duke Chu, after following you for so long, you have been with Huyi like brothers and sisters. Huyi has been spoiled by the adults. I am afraid that he will not be able to protect others. If he really wants to sprinkle blood on the battlefield this time, Bei Zhi is determined to live and die with Chuyi."

"I believe in you." Chu Huan nodded slightly.

Qi Hong said: "Director Chu doesn't have to think too much. Although Zhu Lingyue has many people, it is not necessarily very terrifying. The tens of thousands of troops under his command seem to be extremely powerful, but to be honest, the only ones that can be fought are probably the thousands of imperial guards he originally belonged to, and the other troops have been recruited in the past two years. They have not gone through actual combat on the battlefield. Compared with our army, they are still a big gap."

"Oh?" Chu Huan smiled at the corner of her mouth.

"Duke Chu, this is not nonsense." Qi Hong said seriously: "When I first joined the army, I followed the training every day. I thought I had enough skills. When I went out to chop people for the first time, my legs and feet became a little weak. I forgot all the things I usually trained. Speaking of which, killing people in the army is as easy as eating, but before killing people, it feels completely different. After all, this killing is not a killing chicken or a dog, nor a courage to kill people with a knife. If a group of new recruits are pushed up during a war, then if they are let to die, the new recruits will be led by veterans. Only those who survive after experiencing life and death can gradually become tenacious."

Chu Huan nodded with a smile and said, "You are right. No matter how brave you are, you are always a little afraid of the first time you kill someone."

"Zhu Lingyue's tens of thousands of people, in terms of his humble position, is probably not many who have truly killed people. In our eyes, it is just a group of new recruits. Once the new recruits fight, it will be fine, but once there is an accident, the will will easily collapse and cannot be compared with the veterans who have been through the battlefield for a long time." Qi Hong said: "Just talk about the Battle of Jiazhou, although the Chief Chu set up a clever plan to attract the Beishan Army, they have tens of thousands of troops, with the strength of General Xuanyuan, but in the end they are defeated? If it were the Guards, even if they were attacked from all sides, the enemy was strong and we were weak, they would definitely fight to the end and would never collapse and flee. Therefore, although the Tianshan Army is large in number, compared to experience, our Tianshan Army is almost all veterans who have been through the battlefield for a long time. If we cut each other, we would not have any chance."

Chu Huan smiled and patted Qi Hong on the shoulder and said, "I feel much more relaxed after hearing what you said."

"Duke Chu, in fact, everyone is not afraid. At this point, if the Tianshan Army really wants to kill you, you will die or I will die. Everyone will put their heads on their belts and fight desperately." Qi Hong smiled and said, "I sometimes think about it. Fortunately, Zhu Lingyue did not transfer troops from the Pingxi Army to expand his army. If the veterans of the Pingxi Army were really under his command, there would be no other enemy in the entire northwest."

"It's not that he doesn't want to, otherwise he wouldn't have let Dongfang Xin command this army." Chu Huan touched his chin and said, "But he didn't dare to blatantly consolidate the army and prepare for war at that time. And once the Pingxi Army was really incorporated into his Tianshan Army, there would inevitably be a clear faction. Zhu Lingyue wanted an army that absolutely obeyed him and recruited Tianshan children to join the army, which was a matter of course."

Qi Hong took off his helmet, touched his temples, nodded and said, "Yes, if Duke Chu had not killed Dongfang Xin at that time, the northwest of the world would be Zhu Lingyue's world now.

Chu Huan thought something and was silent for a moment before saying, "Actually, what I am most worried about is not that Zhu Lingyue will lead the army. What I have always been worried about is that Zhu Lingyue is eroding step by step."

"What does Chu Du mean?" Qi Hong didn't understand for a moment.

Chu Huan sighed: "I have to admit that at present, Zhu Lingyue's card is far above me. You are right. Our Xiguan Army is almost all veterans, which is also our greatest advantage. However, although Zhu Lingyue has most of his new recruits, he has powerful cavalry. Don't forget that he has Gan Hou around him. Gan Hou has tens of thousands of Northwest Army who can fight well. The Northwest Army is not a new recruit, right?"

Qi Hong frowned and said, "It's really abominable that Gan Hou is not apart from the treacherous traitor. If it were just Zhu Lingyue, we might not have no chance of winning, but the Northwest Army was mixed up...!"

"If Zhu Lingyue takes over Hezhou, swallows Jinzhou, and then does not rush to attack and stabilize his position, that is the most terrible result." Chu Huan picked a green grass from the ground and held it in the corner of his mouth, "If Jinzhou is blocked, our salt horse trade with the people of Xiliang will be cut off and we cannot get the supply of war horses. Zhu Lingyue presses eastward step by step, eroding the land of Xiguan bit by bit, and even sends troops to attack various salt fields in Yuezhou. If that is the case, I can only watch and there is no way... If he marchs eastward this time, at least I will have a chance to compete with him, otherwise I will not even find such an opportunity."

"Zhu Lingyue holds heavy troops, and with Gan Hou helping, I'm afraid he doesn't take us seriously at all." Qi Hong said: "In his opinion, his Tianshan Army can already sweep the entire northwest, so why should he slowly try it? If he wants to become the king of the northwest, he is more anxious than anyone else."

"Yes...!" Chu Huan looked at the sky and murmured to himself: "The good situation can be successful in one fell swoop, but why does it take time? That's good, no matter whether it succeeds or fails, we will finally have a chance to compete with him."

When Chu Huan looked up at the sky, Luo Dingxi was also looking at the sky.

On the ridge mountain, thousands of cavalry were already hidden in the old forest. In order not to let the movements here be known, all the war horses were covered in the mouth to avoid making sounds.

For this raid, Luo Dingxi took great pains and carefully arranged it. Xiao Huanzhang's mourning date was still a while, but the situation of guests in the first few days had greatly slowed down. The officials and gentry from all prefectures and counties in Beishan were also scrambling to sacrifice the spirits in the first few days. In the days that followed, except for some remote officials and gentry who were still paying occasional worship, the guests gradually became rare.

In those days, Luo Dingxi often appeared in front of others to organize Xiao Huanzhang's funeral. It can be said that he was busy and extremely tired. However, he could take this opportunity to claim that because of his hard work and poor health, he had to rest in the mansion for a few days. The funeral was handed over to his trusted officials to continue handling.

In the eyes of outsiders, it was natural that Xiao Huanzhang was defeated in the battle of Jiazhou, and then Xiao Huanzhang died. Luo Dingxi was exhausted and was in poor health.

Naturally, no one expected that Luo Dingxi had secretly planned a sneak attack on Shuoquan by taking advantage of Xiao Huanzhang's funeral.

Who would have thought that Beishan was grandly holding a grand funeral for Xiao Huanzhang. His number one subordinate actually threw away the funeral and prepared to launch a surprise attack on Shuoquan. Luo Dingxi not only used Xiao Huanzhang's funeral as a cover-up, but also kept the action as confidential. In addition to his confidant Ci Xiu, many generals who had followed him for many years did not know the real purpose of this plan.

Luo Dingxi used all his wisdom to perfect the plan. In his opinion, this was a perfect surprise attack plan and it must be successful.

Thousands of cavalry arrived at Longshan at night. At dawn, they were completely hidden in the dense forests of Longshan. They ordered all the soldiers of the army to stand on time and rest as much as possible.

Luo Dingxi and Ci Xiu have carefully calculated that they must walk out of the Eagle's Nest before dark, neither too early nor too late.

If you leave the Eagle Nest Stream too early, no one can guarantee that you will not be discovered when you walk out of the exit. If it is too late, it will be nearly a hundred miles away from Shuoquan. Although the cavalry is quick, they will have to arrive at Shuoquan City before dawn.

The Eagle Nest Stream is less than twenty miles away, but the stream is too narrow, and a long snake can only form one by one, passing through the Eagle Nest Stream one by one to reach the exit. Thousands of soldiers and horses really walk out of this narrow passage of nearly twenty miles, which is not easy, and time is indeed difficult to control. Moreover, as long as the people in front are stagnant, the people and horses following behind will not be able to move.
Chapter completed!