In the famine, others ate Guanyin soil, but he had space to build a farm.

Yuan Quan had already prepared the army. The victory of this battle not only allowed them to obtain a lot of food and grass, but also restored a lot of things to the soldiers who had lost their morale. After all, the court had announced that these people could get food subsidies if they returned to their hometowns. Yuan Quan and his men had to use continuous victories and sufficient food and grass to ensure that these people would follow them. After all, if you can't even get enough food, who will work with you?

"Where is Sun Ting now! If possible, we should send someone to contact him immediately! Let him pass a message to that dog emperor!" Yuan Quan didn't think Sun Ting was that powerful at this time. They had ambushed him.

"Young Marshal, you still have to be careful! The 5000 resistance that Sun Ting brought from Kyoto didn't suffer any loss! Fortunately, his food and grass were lost. Even if he had 5000 cavalry, he probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long. I think he would take the initiative to negotiate with us!" Tang Hai analyzed at this time. Even he wouldn't have thought that Sun Ting would retaliate against them immediately. In their opinion, even if a civil servant like Sun Ting knew something about war, he wouldn't be able to think of seizing the opportunity so quickly.

"I'm afraid they will attack our camp now!" Yuan Quan suddenly remembered that there were only a few hundred people in the camp.

"Don't worry, Marshal! I have already told Zhang Yu that if a large army comes, he should lead his men to retreat immediately! An empty camp will not mean much to us!"

Yuan Quan's worries were slightly relieved after hearing Tang Hai's words. He knew that Zhang Yu was a strategic and loyal general. Since he had received his guarantee, there shouldn't be any big problems at the camp.

"Tang Hai, you are right. Our top priority is to continue to consolidate our victory while ensuring the supply of food and fodder. As long as we have enough food and fodder, the soldiers will be able to maintain high morale and continue to fight alongside us." Yuan Quan took a deep breath and said with a firm look.

"In addition, we cannot take Sun Ting lightly. Although he has suffered a temporary setback, he is the Minister of War of the court after all, and he still has certain resources and connections. We must always pay attention to his movements to prevent him from launching an unexpected attack." Tang Hai added.

Yuan Quan nodded in agreement. He knew that Tang Hai was a thoughtful counselor who could always come up with valuable suggestions.

"Okay, then let's do as you say. We will send someone to contact Sun Ting immediately to see if he is willing to negotiate. At the same time, we must also strengthen the defense of the camp to ensure that nothing goes wrong." Yuan Quan said decisively.

Seeing this, Tang Hai's admiration for Yuan Quan increased. He knew that Yuan Quan was a visionary and decisive leader who could lead them to victory. Moreover, those who had followed the old commander wanted to take this opportunity to restore the old commander's reputation. You know, the old commander was accused of being a self-respecting mercenary.

So, Yuan Quan and Tang Hai took their men to find a new camp and negotiate with Sun Ting.

"The biggest variable now is the 5000 troops in Sun Ting's hands! Those 5000 troops are cavalry, and they are all elite soldiers from Kyoto! Although these people are not as strong as the Northeast Border Army! But these people, whether in terms of training or equipment, are not comparable to ordinary local government troops!" Tang Hai reminded again at this time. But until now, he would not have thought that Sun Ting had such courage and determination to organize a counterattack immediately after a hasty defeat.

When Yuan Quan and his men were preparing to reunite with the people left behind with their troops, the scouts they had sent out to gather intelligence came back.

“少帅！孙廷带着那5000人马就在西北府不远处的城外扎营了！不过我们的营地也被官军攻下来了！张羽带着剩下的100多兄弟朝这边跑过来！”个踏马不知道的事我看到的那个骑兵的营地其实就100多人100多骑兵在那营地里面进进出出又在周围巡逻这些探马根本没有机会接近自然不知道营地里有多少人这是孙廷接到命令以后马上周恺派人协助100多骑兵建了一个这样迷惑敌军的营地！

"It's a pity that we have too few horses! If we could train a cavalry of several thousand people, we would never let Sun Ting escape so easily!" Yuan Quan sighed at this time. You know, the cost of raising a cavalry is very scary. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few cavalry in the Northeast Army. If there were tens of thousands of cavalry, those barbarian tribes would have been wiped out by them long ago.

They moved forward, preparing to cooperate with Zhang Yu's men and then find a safe place to camp. With enough food and grass, they could make use of the terrain to negotiate with Sun Ting.

As the armies led by Yuan Quan and Tang Hai joined up with the remnants of Zhang Yu’s army, they faced the daunting challenge of effectively countering Sun Ting’s elite 5000 cavalry. Although Sun Ting’s troops had lost food and fodder in previous encounters, their cavalry strength was still not to be underestimated, especially considering their mobility and impact on the battlefield.

Yuan Quan knew that in order to negotiate with Sun Ting and gain an advantage, he had to find a strategy to weaken his cavalry. At the same time, they also needed to take advantage of the terrain and choose a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack to camp in order to ensure their own safety.

As the army marched, Yuan Quan and Tang Hai constantly discussed and planned various possible tactics. They considered using traps, ambushes, or fire attacks to deal with Sun Ting's cavalry, but they also realized that these methods would require careful planning and preparation to ensure their success.

In addition, they also realized that in order to confront Sun Ting for a long time and gain the initiative in negotiations, they must solve the problem of insufficient cavalry. Although it is expensive to maintain a cavalry, in the current situation, having a strong cavalry force is crucial to their survival and victory.

Therefore, Yuan Quan decided that after finding a suitable camp and securing a solid defense, they would begin to train and develop their own cavalry. They would use all available resources, including horses and equipment captured from the battlefield, and recruit experienced cavalry soldiers to gradually expand their cavalry.

At the same time, they also understood that the negotiation with Sun Ting was not something that could be accomplished overnight. During the negotiation process, they needed to demonstrate their strength and determination, and at the same time, they had to be flexible in dealing with various possible changes and challenges. Only in this way could they achieve the final victory in the contest with Sun Ting.

At this time, Sun Ting also kept sending out various scouts to inquire about the situation. He knew that to deal with this kind of rebels, the most important thing was to grasp their movements. If these rebels hid in the deep mountains and old forests, and came out to attack from time to time, it would consume more military strength! I am afraid it would be difficult to have any effect. This time was their best and last chance. He believed that young people like Yuan Quan would be careless after winning a victory. But he still made a lot of arrangements. He asked people to set up a fake cavalry camp to fool Yuan Quan and others. Think that all the cavalry are outside the Northwest Mansion. No one could have thought that he, Sun Ting, would come back and ambush them directly on the road.

This move was very vicious. His purpose was very simple, that is to disperse Yuan Quan. Those soldiers who were originally weak in will! I think the news that the court had begun to distribute food must have made those soldiers panic. As long as their cavalry attacked, many of those soldiers would probably drop their weapons and either surrender or flee.

At this time, Sun Ting had been paying attention to the news from the scouts. Everything was going according to his plan. Fake, the camp had already been set up.

"Very good! I didn't expect that most of the people Yuan Quan and his men sent to guard the camp would surrender! It seems that they are not popular either!" Cavalry Commander Lu Feng said happily at this time. The rebels who stayed in the camp surrendered before the government troops attacked. When their cavalry started to attack, I am afraid that more rebels would either surrender or flee.

"Those rebels were originally hungry refugees! Now that I have announced it, all refugees will receive relief grain from the court as long as they return to their hometowns! I have thought about it a lot and I am not going to follow Yuan Quan all the way to the end!" Sun Ting was very happy with his strategy of defeating the enemy without fighting.

"Your Excellency, this is a great move! It's because these local officials only know how to take bribes and pervert the law, otherwise there wouldn't be these rebels!" Lu Feng was very dissatisfied with these local officials. If they had opened Zhang Zhengliang earlier and actively helped these civilians with disaster relief, why is it now that the entire western region is in ruins.

"It's not their fault! Even a good cook cannot cook without rice! The court is now burdened with too much in the Northeast! There are 50 troops in the Northeast! The daily consumption of food and military pay accounts for more than half of the national treasury! Add to that various natural disasters! The national taxes collected each year are getting less and less! Otherwise, in the case of two consecutive years of drought, His Majesty would not allow the West to continue to collect taxes! I am worried that my order to open warehouses and give away grain in various places will not last long! After all, according to the data reported from various places, the warehouses of the surrounding counties and prefectures do not have much surplus grain due to the payment of taxes! So we must fight quickly and resolve this strongest rebel first!" Sun Ting was very calm because he knew the court system very well. This time, Emperor Chongming was able to allocate some grain to him, which was already the limit. If this batch of grain cannot solve the rebels, it will be even more difficult for him to quell the rebels. This is why he did not mobilize more troops to fight Yuan Quan again. Only a quick battle can completely solve the problem in the west. At that time, even if there is a shortage of food, those ordinary villagers will have no way to organize a decent resistance.