Zhang Shixun sat up straight abruptly, "Generals, listen to my orders!"

All the officers stood up in a rush.

"From now on, prepare for battle!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Shixun turned his gaze to He Ji, "He Ji!"

"exist!"

"Take out all the remaining pickled horse meat. Also, don't be stingy with the little food. Make sure the soldiers have enough to eat."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Shixun stood up and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone go and get ready. Han Shizhong stays."

After the officers dispersed, Zhang Shixun asked Han Shizhong to sit next to him, "Uncle! What do you think of Yue Fei?"

"Yeah! Not bad, but a little stiff and quiet."

"This kind of person is a pure soldier. He doesn't seek pleasure or money. He was born to fight. You are not one of them."

Han Shizhong thought for a moment and said with a smile, "That's right. Besides loving war, I also love drinking and beautiful women."

Zhang Shixun dropped the subject and asked, "How many cavalry do we have now? Be more specific."

"At most, there are only 381 cavalrymen."

Zhang Shixun frowned and said, "I remember that after we eliminated Toushouhua, we seized more than 200 war horses. Together with the ones we had before, the total should be over 400."

"You remember correctly, we have a total of 460 war horses."

"Then..." Zhang Shixun thought for a moment and understood, "There aren't enough soldiers who can ride into battle, right?"

"Yes, training cavalry is time-consuming and laborious. Strictly speaking, the cavalry of our First Army cannot be considered true cavalry. If they encounter the cavalry of the Jin Kingdom, they will be vulnerable."

Zhang Shixun stood up, put his hands behind his back and paced a few steps. He smiled and said, "The Tianwu Army is not a cavalry army and is not good at riding and shooting. We have to take it slow. As long as we work hard enough, we will definitely be able to train qualified cavalry."

"As long as the imperial court doesn't intervene, there will be no problem."

Zhang Shixun waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about the court. I'll take care of it. Just focus on training."

"Leave it to me, haha! Can I leave now?" Han Shizhong stood up and pretended to leave.

"Don't leave in such a hurry." Zhang Shixun held him back. "Yue Fei's appointment has come down, and he's only been given the title of deputy commander."

"It's already pretty good, take your time."

Zhang Shixun said, "I'm going to keep you here and discuss giving half of your cavalry to Yue Fei. What do you think?"

Han Shizhong immediately refused to accept this, his face flushed and he said, "You want a deputy captain to be on equal footing with a commander like me? I won't accept this!"

"Don't be impatient. Listen to me." Zhang Shixun said with an apologetic smile, "Yue Fei is definitely a talent. We can't let him go to waste."

"He's just a deputy captain."

"That's not a big deal. You're still the boss in name only, so he's under your control."

"Since it's under my control, why should we divide it?"

Seeing that he had objections, Zhang Shixun began to play the familial card, "Uncle, I am your nephew, right?"

"Yes!" Han Shizhong looked at him warily, "Public affairs are public affairs, private affairs are private affairs. We are discussing public affairs now."

His meaning is very clear, don't try this on me, I understand.

"Uncle, it's pointless for a man to worry about those frivolous things, don't you think?"

"The problem is, you're cutting my power."

"It's too easy to get power. If one day you want to be the Grand Marshal of the World Army, I will help you do it."

Han Shizhong quickly covered his mouth and said, "Shixun, don't say such things carelessly. If someone with ulterior motives hears it, it will be over."

Zhang Shixun pushed his hand away. "Uncle! When it comes to leading an army in battle, Yue Fei's ability is only above you, not below you. Consider the overall situation..."

"Okay! You don't have to say anything more. I agree, okay?"

Zhang Shixun still didn't let him go, "You have to agree willingly."

Han Shizhong had no choice but to say, "I am willing to give half of my cavalry to Yue Fei. If I tell you anything false, I will be struck by lightning."

Zhang Shixun smiled happily, took his hand and said, "You are indeed my uncle."

Han Shizhong was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

How does this look like a military leader?

Zhang Shixun dealt with Han Shizhong and then called Yue Fei over.

"Pengju, the position of deputy captain is indeed a bit low. I got it through Gao Yanei's connections. Don't think it's too low."

Yue Fei said: "Don't mind me, my lord. I joined the army not for the official position, but to serve my country."

"Well, now let's talk about your specific duties."

Yue Fei's expression turned serious. "I will obey the commander's orders."

"I plan to divide half of the cavalry under Commander Han and put them under your command."

"This... I am acting as a commander in chief as a deputy commander, and I'm afraid I'll be criticized."

"I'm not afraid, so why should you be?" Zhang Shixun waved his hand. "It's settled. You need to hurry and get familiar with your men. There will be a battle in the next few days."

"Yang Tianwang?"

"Yes!" Zhang Shixun pulled him over to the map and pointed to a point on it, saying, "Yang Tianwang is now at Baiquan. To the north is the Taihang Mountains."

"If he goes into the Taihang Mountains, it will be much more difficult to hunt him down. The difficulty will be ten times greater than in the plains."

Zhang Shixun nodded. "You know, I wanted to persuade him to surrender, but he refused. Reliable intelligence indicates he's been in frequent contact with the Mountain Tigers in the Taihang Mountains, and there are signs of collusion. If Heavenly King Yang sneaks into the Taihang Mountains and joins forces with the Mountain Tigers, defending the area from a dangerous position, we'll be left with nothing to do but watch them. "

"That's why the military commander is so anxious to capture him."

"There's another reason that compels me to take action."

"What's the reason?"

Zhang Shixun sighed and said, "The court's supplies have been cut off. We only have a few days' worth of food left."

"ah?"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Go find Han Shizhong now. He will give you half of his troops."

Yue Fei stood still and asked, "Can I take full command of these troops?"

"Of course I have full authority. There are no constraints. Go ahead and do it with confidence."

Yue Fei smiled, saluted, turned around and left the military tent.

Looking at his back, Zhang Shixun said silently in his heart: "Yue Pengju, you have met me in this life, and you will spread your wings and soar into the sky."

That night, the First Army broke camp and took advantage of the darkness to move towards Baiquan. They arrived at Baiquan at 11:00 AM, five miles away from Yang Tianwang's camp.

Just at this time, news about Li Moulue came.

"Master Zhang, Heavenly King Yang is gathering all his cavalry, including two thousand elite soldiers, to go to Gongcheng to fight the local tyrants. I have a feeling that after he defeats the local tyrants this time, he will enter Taihang Mountain."

"How do you know?"

"He asked his confidants to load all the gold, silver and jewelry into the car and take them away with him."

"And you?"

"He told me to take the elderly, the weak, and the disabled and slowly rush to Gongcheng. He would wait for me there... I felt like he was going to dump me."

"Humph!" Zhang Shixun said in a cold voice, "You are completely trying to break free from my control."

"It should be."