C94

The first to set up camp was an elite troop created by Yuan Shao. Qu Yi was from Golden City (Lanzhou) and was skilled in using strong crossbow. Under Qu Yi's strict training, they first entered the camp. With strict discipline, bravery and battle prowess, they were extremely strong.

Three years ago, during the Realmbridge battle, Qu Yi only had a little more than a thousand Light Armour Warriors at his disposal, yet he had defeated more than ten thousand of the army led by the great general Yan Gang who was under Gongsun Zan's command. After the battle on the world bridge, Gongsun Zan's power began to slowly withdraw from the Jizhou.

"Why are there only these few people?"

Zhang Yan sneered: "Yuan Shao is magnanimous outside, but taboo inside. Qu Yi also has an arrogant and conceited nature, and had once threatened that the reason Yuan Shao was able to occupy the Jizhou s was because of him and the person who went into camp first. If Yuan Shao did not need Qu Yi to lead the others to the encampment to serve him, that fellow Qu Yi would have already been dead, so how could he continue to expand and enter the encampment first? "

Gongsun Xu suddenly nodded his head, it was just as Zhang Yan had said, how could a person like Yuan Shao tolerate people with high achievements like Yuan Shao? What more an arrogant person? It was precisely because of this that Yuan Shao, Xu You, Tian Feng and the rest who were under his command could not use it.

Zhang Yan stroked his big beard and sighed: "Yuan Shao has provided everyone with high quality war horses, and used them as light cavalry. They come with a force like the wind, and they are truly not easy to deal with in a single attack!"

"Uncle, don't worry!" Gongsun Xu advised: "Qu Yi and the people who are going to camp there first are not many, so it will not affect the overall situation."

Before Zhang Yan could say anything, Tao Sheng suddenly sneered: "Little Marquis Lord is speaking quite lightly, could it be that you have forgotten about the Realmbridge battle?"

"Pinghan (Tao Sheng, don't call me)!" Zhang Yan bellowed in dissatisfaction: "Watch your words!"

Gongsun Xu frowned and did not say anything. At this moment, Tao Sheng was purposely stripping Youzhou Army or Gongsun Zan of his scars, and it was definitely not just to ridicule him.

"Marshal!" Tao Sheng stood up and cupped his hands: "Recently, Qu Yi and the others have been invading the camp and my Army of Heishan has suffered thousands of casualties. The young duke doesn't need to worry, is he taunting us Army of Heishan that we're all trash? "

"Isn't what Great Qu General Tao said too unsatisfactory?" Gongsun Xu asked with a cold smile. He clearly knew that this person had long colluded with Yuan Shao, so there was no need to give him face.

"This old man is only stating a fact!" Tao Sheng said coldly, "The brothers who were killed before were all brave and elite, many of them were even this old man's subordinates. How could this old man let them die in shame?"

"Pinghan, you're drunk!" Zhang Yan bellowed, he lowered his hand and said: "Sit down and rest for a while!"

"Marshal, our Army of Heishan has been fighting against Yuan Shao for the past few years, and we have at least a hundred thousand casualties. Those are our old brothers who have been with us for many years!" As Tao Sheng spoke, his tears rolled down his face. Wiping away his tears, he shouted out in grief: "Marquis Jin is watching the fight in the mountains, treating me as his watchdog. Even if he offered us some food, he just wants us to fight with Yuan Shao a little more ferociously! This time, Marquis Jin's Great Marshal was acting as Magistrate of Ji, he was harboring evil intentions, he wanted the Great Marshal and Yuan Shao to fight to their deaths! We are all here to start a rebellion, and once we finish our weapons, we will die without a burial ground! "

Zhang Yan was well aware of what Tao Sheng was saying, but after considering it over and over again, he still felt that abiding by the agreement with Gongsun Zan was more beneficial to the Army of Heishan, but he was indeed a little unhappy in his heart. At this time, when Tao Sheng mentioned his old brothers who had died, although he was unhappy with what Tao Sheng had said, he was also unhappy. He also wanted to hear what Gongsun Xu would say to reply, thus he originally wanted to reprimand Tao Sheng for not saying anything, but in the end he only sighed.

Yang Feng and retracted the words of persuasion after seeing that Zhang Yan did not speak, and silently lowered their heads to look at the wine bowl.

"Haha" Gongsun Xu suddenly laughed loudly.

Tao Sheng said angrily: "Does the young duke think that the matter of our Army of Heishan having heavy casualties is funny?"

"Great Qu General Tao's ability to misunderstand is not small!" Gongsun Xu mocked as he stood up and cupped his hands towards Tao Sheng and asked: "Does Great Qu General Tao thinks that General Zhang and Father are both foolish people?"

"Of course not!" Tao Sheng anxiously tried to defend himself: "Young Marquis, don't speak nonsense. When had this old man ever said such words! Marshal and Marquis Jin are both great and talented heroes, how can they be stupid? "

Gongsun Xu continued to ask, "Then does Qu General Tao felt that he is more intelligent than General Zhang and my father?"

"Young duke, don't speak nonsense!" Tao Sheng was stupefied. "This old man is useless, it's just that this old man has always been loyal to the marshal. How dare they compare with the marshal? "

"If that's the case …" Gongsun Xu laughed coldly, "Does this General Zhang and my father not know about the simple principle of chilliness at the end of one's mouth? That's right, my father had assisted the General Zhang many times and even got a position in the Magistrate of Ji, he did want the Army of Heishan to help him block Yuan Shao's attacks. However, my father had never thought of borrowing Yuan Shao's power to drain the Army of Heishan! I swear to the heavens, my father always views the General Zhang as his most reliable friend! If it were not for the War of Tanhan Mount, and if the sky was cold and the earth was cold, it would not be suitable for the army to fight. Since Great Qu General Tao Tang is worried, I made a promise on behalf of my father. In this big battle with Yuan Shao, my Youzhou Army will be the main force.

When Zhang Yan heard the answer he wanted, his eyebrows immediately relaxed and he opened his mouth: "Nephew's words are wrong! Since he was a sincere ally, how could he allow his ally to put in the effort and watch by the side? This old man had just said that the entire Army of Heishan would be at the mercy of the Marquis Jin in this battle. If anyone dares to defy my orders, I will personally behead them! Pinghan, do you have any other doubts? If you don't have any, then sit down! "

"This general will say his last few words." Tao Sheng nodded towards Zhang Yan and coldly said as he looked at him, "The young duke speaks quite nicely, but I wonder if I can actually do it? I only raise one request. If the young duke can do it, then I'll wholeheartedly submit to the young duke from now on! "

'What's the use of me wanting you, an old thing, to sincerely accept me!? ' Gongsun Xu cursed in his heart, cupped his hands and said: "Please speak clearly, Great Qu General Tao!"

"Didn't the young duke say that setting foot in the camp first was nothing to worry about?" Tao Sheng laughed coldly, cupped his hands, and said: "I will first go to the camp and frequently visit the Hejian County in the near future. I would like to request the Young Marquis to lead the White Horse Camp to eliminate this threat!"

Gongsun Xu suddenly became alert, it seemed like Tao Sheng was trying to use Qu Yi's blade to harm him, but he then realised, if White Horse Camp was not even able to kill a single eight hundred man army, then what qualifications did he have to be able to chase the world!

Immediately, he said coldly: "I am willing to establish the military decree, we will definitely annihilate Qu Yi and set up camp first! However, if I can do it, there's no need for Great Qu General Tao to be completely convinced in me, only need Great Qu General Tao to do his best to support Uncle Zhang! "

Tao Sheng's heart trembled, could it be that Gongsun Xu knew of his collusion with Yuan Shao? This is impossible! This old man has confirmed that the brat Da Yong did not reveal this secret, how could Gongsun Xu, this brat, know? It must be a bluff!

Gongsun Xu continued to ask, "What does Qu General Tao think?"

Tao Sheng shook his head: "There's no need for the military order. Everyone here has heard the young duke's bold words, the young duke will definitely not go back on his words! There's no point in asking the young duke to do his best to assist the marshal. I have always been loyal to the marshal and have always tried my best to serve him. If the young duke can annihilate all of us and set foot in the camp first, this old man is willing to lose to the young duke by a hundred thousand! "

"Good!" "It's a deal!" Gongsun Xu nodded, walking to Tao Sheng and extended his right palm.

Tao Sheng also reached out his palm and gave Gongsun Xu three palm strikes.

After the applause was over, the two of them looked at each other and laughed heartily.

Yang Feng and Bai Rao looked at each other and saw shock and fear in each other's eyes.

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Yan lowered his hands: "Sit down! Sit down! "

Gongsun Xu cupped his hands in apology to Zhang Yan and quickly returned to his seat. Although he said it casually, but he didn't dare to be careless when it came to boarding camps for elite soldiers who could change the situation on the battlefield. Even if Tao Sheng didn't make the request that he obviously had hidden ulterior motives, he would still think of ways and means to get rid of them before the war begins.

Zhang Yan said softly, "Nephew, even though the number of people we will camp out first is small, we cannot underestimate him!"

Gongsun Xu laughed: "Uncle, don't worry, this nephew will never underestimate an enemy! I would also like uncle to tell me about the general route we have taken recently to set up camp. "

"Alright!" He pointed to a curved river above and said: "This place is the Xiao Qinghe, I will first go to the camp and stay at the vicinity of the Qinghe County with Yuan Shao. Every time I will follow the Xiao Qinghe and enter the Hejian County, and then we will attack my travelling squad and the surrounding small towns. However, this old man has already ordered for the citizens of the other small towns to be forbidden from leaving the cities in large quantities, thus, Qu Yi has been disturbing the Hejian County for a period of time.

"If that's the case, then the best place to stop them from setting up camp is here!" Gongsun Xu nodded, and extended his hand out to where the Xiao Qinghe was located.

"That's right!" Zhang Yan nodded his head, and sighed: "This is a flat land, first we go to camp, and then we go on cavalry. The moment we find a large group of enemies, we will quickly flee, and if we find fewer people, we will quickly pounce on them and eat them! This old man has a headache! The forest which nephew has pointed out is not small, but it is a pity that all the leaves have fallen, and that there is no way to hide this great army! "

Gongsun Xu intentionally or unintentionally knocked on the door, and said with a smile: "Don't worry uncle, when I get back, I will personally go and scout out the terrain myself. I must make sure that Qu Yi and the others who went to camp will not be able to return!"