Chapter 42 Confidentiality
Zhou Menglong, who was watching the Yan army cavalry from behind the embankment, was a little discouraged. He turned his head and asked, "Sanlang, what should we do now?"

Zhou Shuyu shook his head and said, "I thought that the commander of the Yan army was a teenager, and must be from a high-ranking family. He was arrogant and would be careless and unprepared. Now that he is acting cautiously, it seems that my plan here is in vain."

This ambush by the river was originally designed by Zhou Shuyu. He built dams to block the river water and then lured the enemy to cross the river. Once the government troops entered the river bend, water would be released upstream, causing the government troops' horses to fall into the mud.

If the government troops arrived late and Zhou Menglong's troops had already crossed the river, they could release water after the front part of the government troops crossed the river, thus dividing the battlefield.

Behind the dike are thousands of elite ambush troops who can use the narrow terrain to annihilate the front of the government army. If they are lucky, they can seize a lot of war horses.

Zhou Menglong said: "Damn it, it's all in vain. So should we defend this river mouth?"

"No, we must leave immediately. Even if we can hold this river mouth, there are too many places where the government troops can cross the river. If the Yan army wants to build a pontoon bridge and cross the river from somewhere else, it will take at most half a day. The Yan army is all cavalry, and if they are caught up, they will lose everything. The only way now is to turn to the direction of Funiu Mountain immediately, and we can't take the official road, we can only take the small roads and dense forests. This time I underestimated the Yan army."

Zhou Shuyu said with some self-blame.

Zhou Menglong laughed and consoled him, "Don't feel guilty, Sanlang. We were leaving anyway. It's a pity that we can't join forces with the Wagang Army and meet the heroes of Wagang Village. Hahaha, what a pity!"

Zhou Shuyu said: "If Great Yan is unjust, the world will be in chaos. We will meet sooner or later."

Then he added in his mind that just by meeting each other, he couldn’t tell whether they were enemies or friends.

Zhou Menglong's troops continued to flee, and Li Yuanhui ordered his men to find the water storage dam and sent people from Chen County to dig up the dam and build a floating bridge.

He then led the cavalry across the river to continue the pursuit, and finally caught up with Zhou Menglong's troops in Xiping.

They defeated the bandit's troops, but failed to capture the bandit leader Zhou Menglong and others. They only killed several thousand "bandits".

After this battle, all the captains under his command were convinced of their superior, who was not even fifteen years old.

Especially Liu Tong, who thought he was brave, became even more respectful after that.

Having accomplished his strategic goal, Li Yuanhui had no intention of pursuing the enemy relentlessly. After a brief rest in Xiping, he quickly returned to Xuchang.

The main force led by Murong Ding had already achieved the strategic goal of relieving Sui Yang.

But it is really difficult to wipe out Wagang.

Zhai Hong finally listened to Xu Maogong's advice and did not fight the Yan army head-on. Instead, he conserved his strength and retreated towards Jiyin East County. He also used the canal for marching and transportation, leaving the government army empty-handed.

During this period, there were only small-scale battles between the two sides, and no large-scale battles occurred.

Afterwards, Murong Ding reported to the emperor that he was returning to the capital, and Murong Ying also issued an imperial edict soon after.

Zhao Yi, the Left General, was appointed as the Prefect of Chenliu, supervising the military affairs of Liang and Chenliu counties to ensure the smooth flow of the canal.

Zhang Shuping, the right general, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Yanzhou military to continue suppressing the Wagang rebels.

The former governor of Yanzhou, Wang Yuankai, was recalled to the court and appointed as the Minister of Taifu, one of the Nine Ministers.

The Xiaoguo Army returned with Murong Ding.

In early December, Li Yuanhui led his army to Junyi, waiting for the fleet to arrive for transportation.

The person responsible for arranging food and fodder for his troops in the camp was an old acquaintance, Zhao Jiong, Zhao Erlang.

"Brother Zhao, long time no see."

"Congratulations to Shiro for his new achievement."

The two were friends in Luoyang and had worked together, so they had quite a good relationship. Zhao Erlang also followed the army this time. He was originally a soldier in his brother's left army. When Zhao Da was appointed as the governor of Chenliu, he was also awarded the title of Junyi County Lieutenant, which made him the third in command in the county.

Junyi was later called Kaifeng, also known as Daliang. It is now under the jurisdiction of Chenliu and is also an important node on the canal.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Li Si had to busy himself with setting up camp for each unit and preparing the order for boarding the ship because he had a lot of official business to attend to.

Zhao Er was busy arranging food and lodging for Li Si, so they made an appointment to have a small gathering in the evening.

At night, Zhao Er, who was the host, invited Li Si to a large boat near the camp.

The boat was spacious, elegantly decorated, and the banquet was exquisite. The most amazing thing was that there was also dancing and music.

Zhao Er is really a good friend. Drinking wine while watching the beauty dancing seductively.

Li Yuanhui picked up the wine glass and said, "Brother Zhao, we have met in a foreign land. This is my treat."

"You're welcome, Silang." After that, the two of them drank a glass together.

Then they ate, drank and chatted.

When they had almost finished drinking, Zhao Er waved his hand and asked the singers and dancers to leave. Li Si knew that they were going to talk.

"Silang, you and I have known each other since childhood. Although you are now the son-in-law of the emperor, I have something to ask you."

"Brother Zhao, we are a close friend, so let's just say what we want to say. It comes out of your mouth and enters my ears, so no one else will know."

Zhao Er nodded upon hearing this, and then said solemnly: "Si Lang, you went to Yingchuan and Chenjun as a detachment this time. What did you see?"

Seeing that Li Si smiled bitterly and didn't answer, Zhao Er continued, "Since you don't want to say it, Silang, then I will tell you what I saw. The fields were barren, foxes and rabbits were everywhere, and there were refugees and bandits everywhere. In some places, there was no one for a hundred miles, and there were starving people in the border areas. This is Yuzhou, close to the Eastern Capital. One leaf can tell the arrival of autumn."

"Silang, you are now a royal relative, but aren't our Zhao family also meritorious officials who followed Taizu into the Central Plains?"

"But if this continues, how long will Yan's reign last?"

Li Si could only helplessly say: "Second brother, be careful with your words."

Zhao Er suddenly laughed when he heard this: "Silang, your father, Lord Tang, has many friends and is highly respected. I'm sure you know what he is doing, right?"

Li Si frowned, "What do you mean, Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Er shook his head: "Silang, just treat it as my drunken talk, but Silang, are you really not aware of what your father did?"

Li Si smiled and asked, "I would also like to ask Brother Zhao, why did General Zuo lead the army in the Central Army's ten brothers? Brother Zhao, do you know?"

"Ha ha ha ha."

Zhao Er picked up the wine glass and drank a glass, then he let out a long breath and said, "I think Lord Tang is a hero, and my brother and the brothers in the camp formed a righteous society just to help each other. To be honest, I met with Silang today because my brother has something to say to Silang to pass on to Lord Tang."

Li Si originally thought that this was just an ordinary gathering of old friends, where they would eat, drink and have some fun.

But I didn't expect it to turn into a confession. What tricks are these Zhao brothers playing?

"If General Zhao has anything to say, I will present it to your Excellency in person."

Zhao Er nodded, and then said solemnly: "My elder brother said: 'I am willing to work with Lord Tang to achieve great things.'"

(End of this chapter)