Under normal circumstances, resettling 20,000 wounded soldiers and prisoners of war would indeed be quite a difficult task.

However, Zheng Hun forgot about the tens of thousands of people in Cheng County who were defending the city together with Zhu Jun and others.

With the support of these people, the 20,000 wounded soldiers and prisoners of war were settled in less than half a day.

Inside the Cheng County government office.

Zhu Jun and Li Ying sat facing each other, discussing their next move.

Li Ying: "Gongwei, the crisis in Cheng County has now been resolved. We should immediately send someone to inform the imperial court of the situation!"

"Rest assured, Grand Commandant, I have already arranged for someone to go and deliver the message."

Li Ying continued, "Regarding Zheng Hun, how should Gongwei deal with him?"

Zhu Jun said, "Zheng Hun's rebel army are all infantry, and their movement speed is not fast. If they want to get out of the plains and into the Bohai Sea, it will take at least six days if they take the official road. Although the Yueqi Camp has suffered many casualties, their warhorses are still there. It will not be difficult to catch up with them!"

Li Ying nodded: "That's good. Gongwei must do his best to entangle with him and absolutely not let him easily enter Bohai and join forces with the rebels in Jizhou!"

"promise!!"

Just as the two were talking, the magistrate of Cheng County, along with several clerks from the army, walked in.

"This humble servant greets the Grand Commandant and General Zhu!"

Li Ying smiled and said, "Magistrate Chen, there's no need for such formalities!"

After exchanging greetings, Magistrate Chen said, "Grand Commandant, as you instructed, I have led the people and local militia in the city to settle the rebel prisoners, and those with minor injuries have received basic first aid!"

Li Ying said, "Good, Magistrate Chen. Now that they have surrendered, they must not be referred to as rebels anymore, lest the people's morale be shaken!"

"The Grand Commandant is right, I have noted it down!"

Zhu Jun continued, "What's the situation with the investigation of the prisoners?"

Magistrate Chen: "Reporting to General Zhu, after mutual identification, it was found that most of the surrendered soldiers were forced and coerced by Zheng Hun. Their heads of households and leaders have been killed by Zheng Hun and can be used by him. The rest have been imprisoned!"

"good!!"

Subsequently, Zhu Jun led his men to select 6,000 strong men from among the wounded soldiers, dispersed them, and incorporated them into the local militia of Cheng County. He also selected 1,500 skilled horsemen from among them to temporarily form the Yueqi Battalion.

The remaining prisoners were handed over to the officials of Cheng County to work with the local people to repair the houses that had been demolished in Cheng County.

After everything was arranged, it was already sunset, and several spies from the Investigation Division found Zhu Jun.

Zhu Jun looked at the token of the Sili government office in his hand. Although he was curious about the identities of the people in front of him, he did not ask any further questions.

After returning the token to the other party, Zhu Jun immediately asked, "May I ask what brings you all here today?"

One of them said, "Reporting to General Zhu, we are hereby ordered to inform you that the Qingzhou rebels intend to advance north to Bohai and join forces with Liu Kui's troops. Qingzhou is now vulnerable. We hope that General Zhu can lead the royal army to recover the lost territory of Qingzhou as soon as possible and cut off the Qingzhou rebels' food supply!"

Zhu Jun frowned: "What about the rebels? Are we just going to let them enter Ji Province?"

The man laughed and said, "General Zhu only needs to send the Yueqi Battalion brothers to follow behind the Qingzhou rebels to deter them. There will be people to intercept them ahead!"

"Oh? Could it be Gongsun Bogui's White Horse Cavalry?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jun's expression shifted, and he looked at the person in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze.

The man smiled and nodded: "Not bad!"

Pingyuan Prefecture, Gaotang County.

Located in the northern part of the plain, this place is a necessary route to the Bohai Sea and the Qinghe River.

Eighty li northwest of Gaotang County, there is a township called Baixiang. Because it is a rural area and is located in a remote place, it was not affected by the rebels.

North of Baixiang, there is a temporary camp built against the mountain. Because there are many white horses in the camp, it is called the White Horse Camp by the local people.

The soldiers in the camp were disciplined and did not harm the people in any way. On the contrary, they often helped the people repair their houses, and the two sides got along very well.

The garrison in the camp consisted of three thousand White Horse Cavalry led by Gongsun Zan.

Two months ago, after receiving Liu Hong's secret edict, Gongsun Zan led his White Horse Cavalry on a secret march from the Donglai Saltworks to this location.

Since arriving here, Gongsun Zan has been sending people to keep an eye on the situation in Bohai, while simultaneously training his troops every day and awaiting the emperor's orders. Even when he heard of the rampant rebellion, Gongsun Zan did not take any action.

Early that morning, several spies from the intelligence bureau arrived outside the camp. Upon seeing their tokens, the soldiers guarding the camp led them directly to Gongsun Zan.

"General Gongsun, I have been ordered to come and inform you that the rebels are planning to bypass Pingyuan. I hope your troops can harass and obstruct them!"

As they spoke, the spy took out a secret letter and handed it to Gongsun Zan.

After reading the secret letter, Gongsun Zan immediately stood up and looked at the guard beside him: "Immediately issue the order for the entire army to assemble!!"

"promise!!"

The guard responded loudly and then quickly left.

Soon, a series of urgent bugle calls rang out in the camp.

Before long, a guard reported that the three thousand soldiers in the camp had already assembled at the camp's drill ground.

The speed at which they assembled surprised even the secret agents of the Investigation Division.

Soon, the camp gates swung open, and Gongsun Zan, dressed in white robes and silver armor, led three thousand White Horse Cavalry out at breakneck speed toward the rebel army led by Zheng Hun.

As Gongsun Zan set out, Zhu Jun also led his Yueqi Battalion and ten thousand newly formed local militia, dressed in rebel uniforms, toward Jinan County behind Zheng Hun.

On the other side, the Qingzhou rebels, after two days of marching, had already entered the plains.

These 130,000 rebels were divided into three parts: the front, the middle, and the rear.

The vanguard, totaling 20,000 men, was responsible for clearing the way and maintaining order.

A total of 90,000 men were stationed in the central region to provide support from both the front and rear.

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