Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Chapter 497: Troops stationed in Huai County

The battle in Pingyang Prefecture was so fierce that it was beyond imagination. Both sides were like two giant beasts with red eyes, fighting to the death.

From the first ray of sunlight in the early morning to the nightfall that completely covered the earth like a huge black cloth, the noise of the battle finally gradually subsided.

After the war, all parties quickly began to count casualties.

The battle at the North Gate was extremely brutal. Both sides paid a heavy price, losing more than 10,000 people each.

That piece of land was dyed red with blood, as if the earth was silently weeping for the lost lives.

At the east gate, Gaddafi deployed a full 20,000 troops in an attempt to break through the defense line in one fell swoop.

However, the cruel reality dealt him a heavy blow. In this battle, his army suffered casualties of up to 10,000 men, while the enemy only lost 2,000 men.

Gulizar was in the tent when he heard the news.

His originally calm face was instantly distorted by anger. He slammed the table so hard that the teacups on the table jumped up, fell to the ground with a "clang", and broke into several pieces.

He was so angry that he paced back and forth in the tent, cursing non-stop: "Gaddafi is such a fool! With 20,000 men, they couldn't even take the East Gate, and they lost so many men. What a loser!"

Now, Yelu Qing sent Luo Haiqing with 50,000 troops.

Originally, Gulizar had a total of 150,000 troops, and 30,000 were left in Jinzhou and Jiaokou. In this way, he still had 120,000 troops on hand.

But in just one day of fighting, more than 20,000 people were killed in vain. What made him feel even more ashamed was that Gaddafi could not even completely capture the east gate, which made him feel ashamed and embarrassed in front of everyone.

After a day of exhausting fighting, both sides were exhausted.

To prevent a surprise attack by the enemy that night, the army had no choice but to break camp and retreat twenty miles. They found a larger town to camp in, which was originally a county called Huai County.

Huai County has a unique geographical location, with rolling mountains on both sides, like two giant dragons entwined on both sides.

The passages at both ends of the county town were blocked tightly, creating a terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

In the early years, this place was mainly used as a place to detain prisoners.

Later, as time went on, the population gradually gathered and grew here, and some prisoners were even allowed to settle down here.

At the same time, this place gradually became a gathering place for military personnel.

After all, prisoners are a good supplement for military service during wars. There are almost no harsh conditions for conscription, and the most important thing is that they do not need military pay to fight, which is undoubtedly a considerable saving for the army.

When the Jiaokou army was defeated and Jinzhou was evacuated, most of the people here evacuated with the army.

Interestingly, many of the people in the Pingyang army today are prisoners recruited from here.

During the Battle of Shizhou, some people were recruited from here and incorporated into the criminal army.

When Luo Haiqing led his team to Huai County to set up camp, he keenly noticed the uniqueness of this place.

He stood on a high place, looking at the surrounding terrain, and said to Jiao Zan excitedly: "Jiao Zan, look at this place, it is really blessed by nature! It is backed by Jinzhou and the intersection is very close.

If we can stay here for a long time, maybe we can achieve great success and become the ruler of this area!"

In fact, what Luo Haiqing wanted to express in his heart was that this place could become a local lord, but he didn't express it so accurately at the time.

After hearing this, Jiao Zan, although he didn't fully understand the profound meaning of Luo Haiqing's words, instinctively agreed: "Yes, you are right! If we can gather a hundred thousand strong soldiers here, it will be as impregnable as a rock. It is possible that no one can defeat us."

Luo Haiqing's eyes lit up and he continued, "How difficult is this? Old guys like Yu Wenhua and Tuoba Youyou have been hiding in the rear and enjoying themselves.

We might as well trick them into coming here to guard it. Then, we can traverse this area freely, east, west, south, and north. We can come and go as we please. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

When mentioning Yu Wenhua and others, Jiao Zan felt quite touched.

When he was in Huyan Yan's tent, he had heard of these people. They were obsessed with establishing their own fiefdom within the Great Zhou.

After hearing what Luo Haiqing said, Jiao Zan agreed deeply and nodded, saying, "Yes, then why don't we just write a letter and invite them over?"

"That's right!" Luo Haiqing clapped his hands excitedly. "Let's submit this battle report together and ask them to come and guard it. This way, we don't have to go back and forth."

After all, during a war, the army needs to carry a lot of supplies, and running back and forth is indeed exhausting.

Huai County is very close to Pingyang Prefecture, making it extremely convenient for both attacking Pingyang Prefecture and defending against attacks from Pingyang Prefecture.

More importantly, if anyone in Pingyang Prefecture wants to go to Jinyang in the future, this is the shortest route.

When Luo Haiqing thought of this, he couldn't help but make a small calculation in his mind: If someone wants to pass through here, can I collect some "toll"?

This is a considerable income! Jiao Zan also thought of this, and couldn't help feeling inexplicably excited.

After fighting for a whole day and retreating more than 20 miles, Gulizar knew that the soldiers were exhausted to the extreme. Fighting a battle of attrition was a taboo in the army.

So he decided to let the army rest for a day the next day to recuperate and prepare for the next battle.

On the other side, Yelu Qing received a secret letter sent by Luo Haiqing.

The letter detailed the geographical locations of Jiaokou, Jinzhou and Huai County, emphasizing the strategic importance of Huai County. The meaning between the lines was very clear, suggesting the occupation of Huai County, believing that this would bring permanent benefits.

From a unilateral perspective, what Luo Haiqing said seems to make some sense.

However, Yelu Qing knew in his heart that it would not be possible to station only one army in Huai County without the support of nearby towns.

He put down the letter in his hand, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a thoughtful smile, and then called someone to invite Zhang Xuegeng and others.

After Zhang Xuegeng arrived at Yelu Qing's tent and heard Yelu Qing mention this, he asked curiously, "Why? Does the leader also think this place is suitable for us to occupy?"

Yelu Qing shook his head and said, "No, if you all go to this place, from the perspective of long-term residence and development, this place is indeed not suitable.

However, if you don't occupy such a good strategic location, you will definitely regret it later."

Afterwards, Yelu Qing informed Zhang Xuegeng in detail about his views on the future development of Huai County, and especially emphasized that once they could gain a foothold here, the officials of the Great Zhou would certainly take the initiative to make peace with them.

"Well, it seems this place is really nice."

Zhang Xuegeng's eyes lit up, and he looked at Yelu Qing with a smile and said, "Besides, the expressway here also passes through here. If we occupy this place, maybe we can even become their road protector."

Yelu Qing looked at Zhang Xuegeng's calculating smile and couldn't help but think with disgust: How can you make such a shameless idea sound so fresh and unworldly?

But he remained calm on the surface and said, "Since Marshal Zhang thinks so, that's great! You should discuss this matter with Yu Wenhua, Tuoba Youyou and others as soon as possible.

We will stay here for a few days until your people arrive and we can start the rotation."

The two men discussed some details in detail and finally decided to entrust the three cities to three armies for mutual defense.

The forces represented by Zhang Xuegeng and Yu Wenhua went to garrison in Jinzhou; Yelu Qing sent people to guard the intersection; and the Eastern Army was directly stationed in Huai County.

As for Shizhou, they planned to station their rear troops there as an important support for the rear.