And this also means... Zhao Jiu probably has nothing else to do except digging holes.

"Send a commendation." Zhao Jiu thought for a while while leaning on his shovel. "Praise with great fanfare, write a letter to the other side, mock Wanyan Wushu... Tomorrow morning, hang Qu Duan's flag at the back of the camp. He is a cavalryman, and should have arrived by now. Ten days later, hang Yue Fei's flag."

Hu Yin immediately bowed, then said goodbye again and left.

Ultimately, things will depend on the Western Front.

Speaking of which, considering the speed of information transmission, considering the distance from Tongzhou to Yue Fei's actual garrison at this time, Deshun Army, considering the 2,000-mile-long Hexi Corridor, and the feedback from the Khitan envoys that had been launched as early as the end of February and the beginning of March, some things, although still unknown, have obviously become a foregone conclusion.

But there is no doubt that Emperor Zhao would definitely not be the one to know it first.

"Yue Jiedu."

In the territory of Deshun Army, south of Haoshuichuan, in Zhong'an Fort, after being urged by several generals present, Liu Qi, the deputy commander of the Imperial Cavalry, finally spoke to the general with big and small eyes on the first seat. "I think it's time to move!"

"What do you mean?" Yue Fei sat upright in the first seat, his expression unchanged and his body motionless, and asked directly.

"Judging from the time, Yelu Dashi should have been sending out troops for at least half a month."

Liu Qi responded seriously and in a very organized manner: "The Hexi Passage has six counties, Shazhou, Guazhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Liangzhou, as well as Zhuoluo and Nanjunsi (northern Lanzhou, where Song and Xixia are separated by the Yellow River), and is two thousand miles long. According to intelligence, most of Yelu Dashi's 30,000 troops are cavalry, and even the logistics have a large number of camels. If the progress is good... there is no reason not to be good... At this time, it is enough to travel 900 to more than 1,000 miles, and then at least take Suzhou and approach Ganzhou."

"Ganzhou is the military headquarters set up by Xixia in Hexi, and it is also where the main Xixia troops in Hexi are stationed... I would like to speculate that Yelu Dashi should be in Ganzhou at this time... He may have won the battle, or he is still fighting. But how could the troops in Ganzhou be a match for the 30,000-strong Khitan army when they were suddenly attacked? In all likelihood, Yelu Dashi is about to succeed."

"Once we take Ganzhou, we will reach Liangzhou after crossing Yanzhi Mountain... Yue Jiedu, only half of our 30,000 soldiers are cavalry, and our speed is no match for the Khitans. If we don't move now, I'm afraid we won't be able to take Zhuoluo City and Lanzhou. If we can't take Lanzhou, how can we ensure that the Khitans will go north instead of east? You must know that the Khitans are ambitious and they are not easy to deal with."

Yue Fei finally nodded slightly, but still said nothing.

"We should not only guard against the Khitans, but also lend a helping hand to them." Zhang Jing, a veteran general of the Western Army and commander of the Imperial Army, also spoke at the right time. "According to the secret decree passed down by the Jiedu and General Qu, Deputy General Liu, and Deputy General Wang five days ago, our first priority is to open up Hexi and connect with the Khitans... In any case, we can only consider other matters after helping Yelu Dashi win Hexi... Going to fight and attacking Zhuoluo City at this time also means blocking the Xixia reinforcements from going west."

Judging from their words, Yue, Qu, Wang and Liu did not convey their combat intentions to the commanding officers until five days ago.

After listening to Zhang Jing's words, Yue Fei turned his head and looked at the man standing by the window, and finally said, "What do you think, General Qu?"

Looking out the window with hands behind his back

He turned around and sneered, "What does Yue Jiedu want me to see?"

"Of course, it depends on whether the words of Generals Liu and Zhang are reasonable." Yue Fei responded sincerely. "Although I am the commander-in-chief of this battle, I am not from Guanxi. I am not as familiar with the geography, customs and people here as you are. I need to listen to the judgment of General Qu."

"There's nothing to judge." Qu Duan still sneered with his hands behind his back. "What Liu Er and Lao Zhang said makes sense, of course, but the Guanxi soldiers are eager for merit and are full of selfishness. Liu Er wants to get his boss back, and Lao Zhang has a large family and wants to accumulate merit to support the younger generation so that his family can have two more commanders... How can these things be hidden from the governor? In the final analysis, the situation is like this now. If the governor wants to send troops, he can send troops. There is no need for me to encourage him. If he has his own plan and does not want to send troops, just say it directly, and I will scold him for him."

Liu Qi and Zhang Jing looked at each other and fell silent out of habit.

Yue Fei was also silent for a while, and then asked again: "If we set out from here and march our entire army to Zhuoluo City (north of Lanzhou), how long will it take?"

"With the cavalry as the vanguard and bypassing the Qinzhou Road, we can reach Lanzhou in seven days..." Qu Duan blurted out.

"I'm talking about the entire army." Yue Fei reminded the other party.

"If the cavalry and infantry are separated, the cavalry can go around the Qinzhou road, and the infantry can cross Quwu Mountain to Huizhou. Naturally, the slower infantry will be used as the standard... In about ten days, we can attack Zhuoluo City." Qu Duan answered seriously.

"The cavalry and the infantry cannot be separated." Yue Fei reminded the other party again. "If the cavalry and the infantry are united, how long will it take?"

"Of course it will take ten days." Qu Duan finally said embarrassedly. "Cross Quwu Mountain and go to Huizhou."

"What if we go directly north from Huizhou?" Yue Fei asked again.

"Take the Xishou Baotai Army Headquarters?" Qu Da became completely serious, and the other generals in the castle also became solemn.

"good."

"Seven or eight days will do." Qu Duan replied seriously. "But Yue Jiedu, I have to tell you the truth. Xishou Baotai Military Headquarters is in a special location... This place is the southwest gate of Xingqing Prefecture, but the geography is complex. The Yellow River is to the north and west, and the military headquarters is surrounded by mountains on all four sides, including Lingbo Mountain in the northwest, Roulang Mountain in the southwest, Weijing Mountain in the northeast, and Shaniu Ridge in the southeast. You are not from Guanxi, so you don't know the benefits and disadvantages of this place... The Xixia people can put 3,000 people here, which is enough to stop our 30,000 elite troops. This is why the Xixia people set up a military headquarters here."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!