“General Ye, if there is truly to be a reward, this humble general has a request.” In Ye Tao's command tent, after a great victory, the atmosphere was joyous and peaceful. Ding Shi, who was never one for subtlety, boldly spoke up at everyone's encouragement.

"Oh? Speak," Ye Tao said with a smile.

"Sir, do you have a complete set of those special aiming devices?" Ding Shi said, "Could you bestow upon this humble general the rangefinder from within?"

Ye Tao was taken aback for a moment, and then said, "That thing? Very well."

Ye Tao didn't think much of it. Given his status, he naturally had a complete set of aiming devices, fourteen in total. Ye Tao hadn't originally intended to have his own set, and usually just used the standard equipment issued by the army when needed. However, several old technicians at the Ye Family Workshop had custom-made a set for Ye Tao as a collector's item. Unlike regular aiming devices, the precision was always a bit higher, and the edges were decorated with silver. Silver plating was no longer a difficult task for the Ye Family Workshop, but the intricate beast patterns etched into the silver were something that standard products didn't have. This set had only been used once when Ye Tao went to the heavy machinery camp to see them using a super-long-range crossbow, and he hadn't expected it to be coveted like this. However, Ye Tao wasn't stingy, and instead asked with some surprise, "Is just this one piece enough for you? There are fourteen pieces in this set."

"General Ye, the box that holds these things is also special, right? Let's count it as fifteen pieces in total. You reward one piece for each merit, let's see when this humble general can bring the entire set back home," Ding Shi said confidently.

Ye Tao raised his eyebrows and said, "Very well." Ye Tao didn't think much of it, but what he didn't expect was that, following the precedent set by the superior, everyone would follow suit, creating a very troublesome precedent for the Yunzhou military. From then on, as long as there was an important operation, officers at all levels would begin to calculate what good things their superiors had at home. In the beginning, this small measure, which was very effective in strengthening the relationship between superiors and subordinates, was very popular. Those in command naturally hoped that outstanding officers worthy of extra rewards would emerge under their command, and subordinates also tried their best to have such opportunities. Naturally, what they asked for were those special but not very valuable items. But the subsequent evolution exceeded everyone's imagination. Because the Yunzhou soldiers were steady in tactics but inclined to take risks, they repeatedly made amazing moves. This kind of reward became an agenda that had to be carried out after every key battle. The Yunzhou Command had to issue supplementary regulations repeatedly in the following years... such as what to do when the superior was reluctant to give the things the subordinate wanted. And finding out what good things the superior had at home, things that would make the superior's heart ache but were still willing to give, gradually became a unique tradition in the Yunzhou military.

After conquering Qing Tian, in addition to leaving a part of the military force to start building a forward logistics and intelligence center in Qing Tian, the vast majority of the troops departed successively for new targets after a short rest. With the conquest of Qing Tian, the entire area from the Bauhinia Pass to Qing Tian was actually under the control of Yunzhou. A group of temporary local officials began to implement military control along the way. Because the population of the Zhenbei Military Command was relatively sparse and Yunzhou's preparations in all aspects were very sufficient, no major problems had been encountered for the time being. And the opening of this control area also gave the Yunzhou military a buffer space to enter Xiling in large numbers.

The next goal in front of the Yunzhou army was also very clear: go south to Jinji Ridge, conquer Jichuan Town, and establish a defense line against Taizhou. In fact, as of now, although Sun Bo Ping had been transferred to the central government of Xiling and a new governor of Taizhou had taken office, it would take time for the new governor to grasp the complex situation in Taizhou. Not to mention wanting to attack, it was still questionable whether the small number of troops under him would completely listen to the governor's orders if he wanted to defend well. But in any case, if the defense of Taizhou was directly abandoned, it would be too deliberate and too easy to arouse suspicion. A total of only three battalions and two detachments were sent in this direction, totaling no more than twelve thousand people.

Within the Zhenbei Military Command, the biggest problem was how long it would take to take the places in front of them, such as Tieling, Fubei Town, and Dingling Town, especially Dingling. Once Dingling was taken, the ground communication with Dai Shijin's troops entering Xiling from the Changshiguan direction of Southern Mongolia could be opened up.

After conquering Qing Tian, the logistics battalion had already built two pontoon bridges on the He River. There was no problem for even the heaviest carriages to pass, but more attention needed to be paid to safety. The engineering soldiers of the logistics battalion were only a little more than one detachment, about a thousand people. The other troops of the logistics battalion had only received some training, but were not equipped with so many equipment and materials. But the brief appearance on the He River caused a general amazement in the entire army. This efficiency, this trafficability, it turned out that it could really be used in war, and not just in trying out those seemingly exaggerated equipment and devices. Even Suo Zheng himself secretly came to ask Ye Tao whether it was necessary to establish a dedicated engineering battalion. Now, everyone had deeply realized the benefits of mixing various professional arms of service. With the days of running-in in actual combat, everyone cooperated more and more tacitly. They also began to know very well who should perform what tasks, and the command in several aspects became more and more handy in dispatching.

"General Ye, a scout team from General Dai's unit has arrived." While a military meeting was being held in the Qing Tian City Lord's Mansion, a messenger suddenly ran in to report.

"Oh? How did they get here? Quick, let them in," Ye Tao said quickly.

Before long, an old acquaintance led five slightly tired soldiers into the hall. It turned out that the person leading the scout team was Dai Ji, a young soldier from the Dai family who had been tricked by Ye Tao before. After a year of training in the Blood Kirin Army, he applied to return to Yunzhou when Yunzhou expanded its army, and was now serving under Chi Lei. In everyone's memory, it seemed that Dai Ji should already be a company commander or even a battalion commander, but he suddenly came to deliver military information in person, which surprised everyone. Although Dai Ji was still arrogant and never admitted defeat, on the one hand, he really knew that there were strong people like forests now, and he was really nothing in the Yunzhou army. In addition, all the people attending the military meeting now were top Yunzhou soldiers. As soon as Dai Ji entered the hall, he respectfully saluted.

After saluting everyone, Dai Ji reported: "General Ye, generals, last night, my unit occupied Dingling."

"Oh?" Everyone was shocked. Cheng Chi quickly asked, "Why so fast?"

Dai Ji said seriously: "Actually, it was originally our battalion conducting infiltration, wanting to scout out the enemy's situation, but we didn't encounter any enemies along the way except for some small groups of enemies and militia. We swept all the way over. Later, when we arrived at Dingling, we found that there were only a little over a thousand enemy troops left to defend Dingling, and the rest had all withdrawn. We immediately launched an attack on Dingling with two battalions and conquered Dingling with minor losses. General Dai Shijin will lead the infantry troops to quickly approach Dingling, but instructed my unit to contact the general and instruct the next action."

Ye Tao glanced at the map. He asked again, "Which direction did the enemy retreat?"

Dai Ji said: "West, they should have retreated to the large camp originally established by Zhao Li's unit, but there shouldn't be much military force there either. My unit sent two teams to see this morning, and we don't know the situation yet, but this humble general thinks that the other party is very likely to abandon Zhao Li's camp and continue to retreat."

Ye Tao frowned, his eyes continuing to move westward on the map. Finally, he stopped in one place. "Dai Ji, you've worked hard, take your brothers to rest first." He ordered in a deep voice.

After Dai Ji left, Tan Weiran stood up and asked, "Brother-in-law, do you think Jiang Xujing really wants to fight us to the death? Will it be in... Guiyuan?"

No one had any objections to whatever Tan Weiran called Ye Tao, and Tan Weiran knew Ye Tao very well, so naturally he noticed Ye Tao's gaze stopping just now.

Ye Tao shrugged and said, "I don't know. But Jiang Xujing is capable of doing such a thing."

In the absence of sufficient information, no one could make a decision, but less than an hour later, a Flying Falcon letter arrived. Jiang Xujing had also evacuated Tieling and Fubei Town. Later, news came from the southern front that even the garrisons of Jinji Ridge and Jichuan Town had all been evacuated. If evacuating the garrisons of Tieling, Fubei Town, and Dingling was still to shrink the military force, completely within Jiang Xujing's authority, then evacuating the garrisons of Jinji Ridge and Jichuan Town, which totaled more than seventeen thousand people, was a bit of playing with fire. If Ye Tao went straight to Taizhou, Jiang Xujing would be taking a very big political risk. Not to mention the position of this northern cavalry general, even his head would be a problem. Jiang Xujing was indeed gambling, he was gambling that Ye Tao was coming for him. If he went to the places where the military force was empty, although he could achieve great results in a short period of time all the way south, Jiang Xujing's unit, after shrinking its military force, Ye Tao would always have a feeling of being stabbed in the back. Once the battle line was prolonged, Jiang Xujing would have plenty of room to maneuver. If Ye Tao left enough military force to defend against him, then the army that went south would easily be in a stalemate with Taizhou and the army that would inevitably come to support it later. Once the war continued for a long time, whether Yunzhou, which had only recovered for a short few years, could supply it, and whether it could provide sufficient security like it did in a short period of combat, were all very serious problems.