Overall, during the period when Zhang Zhi temporarily left the Guangtanhe army, the senior prisoners of the Southern Central Army represented by the Huo family's grandchildren and Yang Ji performed well. They neither tried to escape nor used their influence to take the opportunity to instigate the civil and military officials of the Han army such as Zhao Quan, Wu Ma and Chen Can. Although it remains to be seen whether it is really worth reusing, they have also passed the test of Zhang Zhi and the Han army.

The same was true for the prisoner-of-war camp outside the city. The stomach and tongue were bought by the instant noodles and candies provided by the Han army. I saw that the Han army had indeed fulfilled its promise before. After being imprisoned for a period of time, the captured Nanzhong soldiers chose their own way out. Therefore, not only did not have one of the nearly two thousand Nanzhong prisoners escaped, but there were also a large number of prisoners who took the initiative to ask the Han army to incorporate them early, joined the Han army in advance and became familiar with each other, and formed combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

In addition, thanks to the efforts of Chen Can, Zhao Quan and others, the internal affairs and military affairs of the Han army were basically normal. Even if they were not perfect, there were no major mistakes. So after carefully understanding the situation, Zhang Zhi happily said to Chen Can and Zhao Quan and other Han army civil and military officials: "When doing well, as long as you continue to work hard, even if there are special circumstances in the future, this governor can leave the army temporarily with confidence."

He praised Chen Can and Zhao Quan and other accomplices and lackeys, and Zhang Zhi personally presided over the enlistment of the remaining prisoners of the Southern Central. At the same time, before letting the prisoners of the Southern Central Army choose their own way out, Zhang Zhi also clearly told the prisoners of the Southern Central Army that the Han army would soon launch a war in Wei County in the Western Expedition, so even if the prisoners of the Southern Central Army choose to stay and join the Han army, they can return to their hometown soon and get the opportunity to reunite with their families.

Zhang Zhi also achieved satisfactory results. He was reluctant to give up the delicious instant noodles and candies. He also heard that the Han army was about to advance to Jianning. In order to eat more instant noodles and candies for a period of time, whether he really joined the Han army, most of the prisoners of the Southern Central Army decisively chose to stay. In the last 1,900 prisoners of the Southern Central Army, there were only about 300 people who chose to collect travel expenses and food to go home, and the rest became soldiers of the Han army.

As a result, the total number of troops in the talks of the Han army suddenly reached more than 4,300, of which more than 60% were elite soldiers trained by the Han army themselves, as well as the elite soldiers stationed in Wei County. Compared with the troops that Wei County may have assembled, the Han army did not have the upper hand in terms of the number of troops, but had a clear advantage in terms of combat effectiveness.

It is precisely because of this that after the reorganization was quickly completed, Zhang Zhi and the civil and military officials of the Han army quickly made a decision through discussions, planning to send troops westward on the 15th day of the 12th lunar month, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Nanzhong army's continuous defeat and the lack of morale, the morale of the depressed and the military forces in Wei County, to seize the two cities of Yelang and Wei County, and then seize the Dianchi area, which is the most densely populated and most money and food in the Nanzhong area, and also to give Zhang Zhi the third opportunity to provide free junk food assistance.

After making this decision, Zhang Zhicai summoned Huo Yi's grandson, Yang Ji and Yan Ji and other senior prisoners of the Southern Central Army, told them the Han army's plan for the western expedition, and symbolically consulted them. As a result, Huo Yi and Yang Ji and others were not surprised when they heard this, and Huo Yi asked: "Governor, I know that you have seized a large amount of supplies and weapons, so I definitely don't have to worry about this, but how to solve your food and grass transportation problem? Do you have so many vehicles and civilians to transport food and grass?"

"Yes, Governor, this is a big problem." Yang Ji also said: "Instant noodles are indeed delicious, but they take up too much space. If you want to ensure that there is no shortage of food and grass in the Western Expedition, the vehicles and civilians you need to use may be much more than ordinary food and grass."

Before Huo Yi, Yang Ji and others had finished their questioning, Zhao Quan, Chen Can and others who were sitting opposite them had already laughed out loud. Huo Yi, Yang Ji and others were laughed inexplicably and asked: "General Zhao, Prefect Chen, why are you laughing? Are we wrong?

"Elder General, General Yang, don't get me wrong." Zhang Zhi said with a smile: "General Zhao and Prefect Chen are not laughing at you, they are proud of our military rations and supply issues. You don't have to worry about the issue of food and grass. We don't even have to bring a piece of food on the road. We can get food and grass supplies anytime and anywhere on the road."

"Can you get food and grass supplies anytime and anywhere on the road?" Huo Yi, Yang Ji and others all widened their eyes and said in surprise: "How is it possible? Could it be that you have secretly hoarded a lot of food on the Western Expedition? This is impossible. Even if you can do this on the road from Broad to Yelang, from Yelang to Weixian, if you hoarded a lot of food, you would never be able to hide it from our eyes anyway?"

"Your Highness, you will know in the future."

Zhang Zhi smiled and refused to answer the specific reasons, and then arranged personnel, allowing Huo Biao to serve as Wu Ma's deputy, leading the front of the Han army to take on the important task of opening the road; he arranged Yang Ji to Zhu Xiang as his deputy, and led the Han army's rear team to be responsible for escorting military supplies; Huo Yi, Yan Ji, Meng Jiu and others were left by Zhang Zhi to assist him in the main brigade of the central army, and also monitored and controlled him.

After doing all this, on the 16th day of the 11th lunar month, in the skeptical eyes of Huo Yi, Yan Ji and others, three hundred army guards talked about protecting the connection between the Han army and the rear. Zhang Zhi led the main force of the Han army with a total strength of about 4,000 people to set off and officially set off towards Yelang. As a result, Huo Yi and others were shocked that the Han army not only carried an extremely small amount of hulled rice to fight, but also announced early on that the Han army would all feed on instant noodles, each with eight packs per day!

"Zhang Zhi really secretly stocked up a large amount of instant noodles on the road? How is it possible? Instant noodles take up so much space. Even if he built a secret granary on the road, it would be impossible for our scouts to not find any of them?"

Of course, these are common questions in the hearts of Huo Yi and others. The result naturally made Huo Yi and others even more incredible. When the Han army stopped to set up a camp to rest, a team of Han soldiers really brought countless instant noodles and candy from a roadside ravine everywhere to distribute them to various units of the Han army. Huo Yi was so angry that he secretly scolded Li Shan, the pioneer of the road, who was obviously in the granary on the side of the road, how could he be so blind that he didn't see it?!

The shock and shock of Huo Yi, Yan Ji and others was just the beginning. After crossing the Heqiao outpost and officially entering Yelang territory, the Han army not only continued to bring out a large amount of instant noodles and candy from the valleys and valleys on the roadside, but also began to take out instant noodles to provide relief to the Yelang people who were robbed and poisoned by the defeated army in the South Central during the Western Expedition!

That's right, Huo Yi, Yan Ji and others can swear that they are not wrong. The Han army not only strictly prohibits any infringement and looting of the people, but also takes out Huafeng Sanxian Yi noodles with a large amount of delicious salt to help the people along the way. At the same time, it also distributes the extremely precious candy to the people along the way, and arranges special people to teach Yelang how to eat instant noodles and how to melt the white rabbit into milk, and feed young babies who are thin and bony due to malnutrition!

In this regard, Huo Yi and others who often worry about insufficient military rations should be as dumbfounded as they are, and they feel too unbelievable as they are. The little girl Huo Meng was even more stunned. She whispered more than once, complaining that Zhang Zhi was generous to others but extremely stingy to himself - the quantity of candies and instant noodles he gave him every day was strictly limited.

However, I saw the poor people who were not covered in the cold wind holding hot instant noodles and crying to thank the Han soldiers. The little girl Huo Meng not only continued to complain about Zhang Zhi's stinginess, but also suddenly said to Huo Yi in the same car: "Grandfather, can we really help Zhang Zhi that bad guy get Huiwei County?"

"Why?" Huo Yi asked with a smile: "Didn't you always say that you hate Zhang Dengyuan the most? Why did you suddenly look forward to him today?"

"Because there are too many poor people in Wei County, who are too poor to afford to eat and cannot afford to wear clothes." Huo Meng recalled the scene in Wei County, as if he said to himself: "When Zhang Zhi enters the city, he will definitely send them a lot of instant noodles and candies so that they can have a good meal."

Huo Yi smiled without saying a word, but said in his heart: "Where did Zhang Dengyuan's instant noodles and candies come from? If he really can't finish his instant noodles as the legendary one, then he might revive the Han Dynasty and conquer the Central Plains, maybe this is not impossible?"

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived. At this moment, Zhang Zhi suddenly came to the carriage where Huo Yi's grandson was riding, and ignored the little girl Huo Meng who deliberately shook her face. He just said to Huo Yi directly: "Old General, Yelang's situation has been confirmed. Before that, about 1,300 defeated soldiers fled to Yelang's return team. In addition, Yelang's original 300 county soldiers, there were about 1,600 defenders in Yelang City. Ma Rong urgently appointed your old subordinate Xia Chuan Ben as the commander of Yelang's guards, and asked Chuan Ben to keep guarding Yelang and buy time for him."

"In addition," Zhang Zhi added: "Most of the more than 300 southern prisoners of war who had chosen to leave in the talks before were returned to Yelang. However, Cuan Ben learned his lesson and did not dare to let them return to the team immediately. He did not even send weapons to them again. He just organized them to help defend the city and undertake some logistical tasks."

"Awesome." Huo Yipo said helplessly: "The governor's methods are indeed powerful. He is good at food and drink to support the prisoners for a period of time. Then, even if these prisoners are released, the opponent will not dare to entrust them with important tasks. He must always beware of these prisoners' infringement. Such methods are unprecedented in my previous experience."

"The veteran general was awarded." Zhang Zhi said modestly, then said: "The veteran general, Cuan is your old general. Can you ask you to write a letter in person to see if you can persuade him to put down his weapons and open the city to surrender?"

"Since I have returned to the Han Dynasty, this is of course a matter of course." Huo Yi replied lightly: "Governor, please wait for a moment, and I will pick up my pen and make a book."

When Zhang Zhi heard this, he was overjoyed and ordered the carriage to stop moving forward. He asked someone to take a silk pen and write a letter to Huo Yi on the spot. The little girl Huo Meng obediently took a piece of fur and draped it on Huo Yi, and then stood beside Huo Yi and continued to look at Zhang Zhi. Zhang Zhi was amused by the greedy worm's intentional anger, so he took out a handful of big white rabbit and handed it to her, saying, "Give it, take it."

Huo Meng endured the temptation and refused to reach out, and deliberately pretended to be even more angry. Zhang Zhi had no choice but to grab her wrist through his sleeve, stuff the big white rabbit into her soft little hand, and reminded him: "After eating, you must rinse your mouth with willow branches and strong tea soup."

Huo Meng still didn't say anything, but just quietly counted the pitiful few candies, then glanced at Zhang Zhi and secretly hated him, "It's only nine, so stingy, I won't marry you even if I'm blind!"

After the letter of persuasion was written, Zhang Zhi of course sent a cavalry to go first and rushed to Yelang to deliver a letter to Cuan Ben, who led his army to guard the city. The 4,000 Han troops continued to advance and arrived at Yelang City very smoothly at noon on the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month and temporarily stood outside the east gate of Yelang - but unfortunately, Cuan Ben did not obey Huo Yi's persuasion to open the city and surrender, and dispatched the army to the city early and prepared to defend the city.

Of course, Zhang Zhi was not surprised that the Han army was still quite weak at present, and it was certainly unlikely that they would directly persuade an army of more than a thousand men to surrender. Huo Yi volunteered and took the initiative to take the bus to Yelang City, and personally persuaded Cuan Ben to surrender.

It was still a pity that although Huo Yi repeatedly called out at the city and loudly expressed his identity, his old subordinate Chuan Ben was like a turtle hunched, and he refused to show his face. He hid in the city just without saying a word, allowing Huo Yi to salivate at the city, but refused to come out to answer Huo Yi. In the end, Huo Yi had no choice but to give up persuasion and come back to report, confessing that he was incompetent and could not persuade his old subordinates to surrender for Zhang Zhi.

"The old general doesn't have to mind. The main reason is that our Han army has not had obvious advantages. It is not surprising that Cuan Ben refused to surrender."

Zhang Zhi comforted Huo Yi in turn and said with a smile: "Besides, the old general did not gain anything. Cuan Ben did not dare to come out to answer the old general, which shows that he was not confident in his heart and was afraid of being persuaded by the old general, so he did not dare to show up. Since he didn't even have such confidence, as long as we break through the city gate and break into the city, he would definitely not resist to the death. He either chose to abandon the city and escape, or chose to put down his weapons and surrender."

"But Governor, are you sure to take this Yelang City?" Huo Yi asked tentatively, and said, "You have also seen the situation in Yelang City. It is narrow in the north and south, and it is impossible to deploy troops. It is difficult for large-scale siege weapons to detour to the west gate to attack the city. Only the East Gate can launch an attack, and it is easier to defend. Governor, your military strength advantage is not particularly obvious. Can you guarantee that you have this confidence to take Yelang?"

"Don't worry, veteran general, just wait and see."

Zhang Zhi's confident answer made Huo Yi very puzzled, but in the evening, after the Han army established a camp, Huo Yi vaguely guessed the truth, because Zhang Zhi not only held a military meeting after dinner, but also took out a map of the Yelang Guard's city garrison in public. The map was not only clear, but also marked the location of the Nanzhong army stationed in various parts of the city, and even the number of troops was clearly marked.

"This is definitely not the information that can be collected by meticulous work! No matter what kind of meticulous work it is, it is impossible to find out such a clear and clear situation of the defenders!"

This was Huo Yi's first reaction after seeing Yelang's garrison map. Then, many questions that have been troubled by Huo Yi's heart for this period were immediately resolved, making Huo Yi unable to help but ask Zhang Zhi: "Governor, do you have an important internal agent in Yelang City? Or an internal agent who can directly contact the secrets of the Southern Central Army?"

"The old general understands thousands of miles." Zhang Zhi no longer conceals it and replied with a smile: "That's true, so I was able to know every move of the old general before. Not only was he not deceived by the old general's secret crossing Chen Cang, but he also used the tricks and arranged a maze, and in turn killed the old general off guard."

Huo Yi did not answer, but quickly analyzed the identity of the Han army's inner support in Yelang City. Then, soon, Huo Yi slapped his forehead and said annoyedly: "Why did I ignore him? Wang Wenyi, Wang Wenyi (Wang Lian), Marquis Pingyang Ting, you have a good grandson!"

"Elder General, do you think he is right to do this?" Zhang Zhi asked solemnly.

"Stand in my original position, of course, he is unforgivable for his crimes and should be executed." Huo Yi replied frankly, and said, "But as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, he was a natural person and was still heroic."

After saying that, Huo Yi sighed again: "Ma Rong, Ma Rong, you are unwilling to shrink your troops and let Cuan Ben guard Yelang buy you time. It is indeed correct from a tactical point of view, but you must never dream of the fact that your already insufficient troops will soon become even less."

Zhang Zhi smiled and handed a small bag of Nestle Coffee to Huo Yi, saying, "Tonight, the old general, if he is interested, can get up and watch the battle. Eating this kind of candy when he wants to doze off can refresh his mind, make people energetic and stay awake. It is a secret weapon to help our Han army fight the night battle."
Chapter completed!