Huan Wen smiled faintly at Murong Chui's words. He knew that Murong Chui had only recently surrendered and, having left his country and homeland, was weighed down by troubled feelings. Asking him to turn his weapons against the Yan Army at once would truly be making things difficult for him. Huan Wen was not a treacherous, contemptible man; he would not force Murong Chui to kill Yan generals to prove his loyalty. Murong Chui's defection had already dealt a severe blow to Yan morale. The significance of winning him over lay not in gaining a fine general, but in pacifying and controlling the people of Yan territory after victory in the Northern Expedition-
Huan Wen immediately ordered a messenger to hurry to Junyi and command Huan Xi to advance on Xingyang with his army. Once Xingyang was in danger, Xiluo Teng would surely turn back to relieve it. Compared with Luyang and Xuchang, Xingyang was the Yan Army's largest stronghold in Henan. If it fell, Yan troops crossing from the northern bank would risk suffering a crushing attack before they could gain a firm foothold-
By the time the messenger reached Junyi, it was already the eleventh day of the fourth month. After half a month of rest and preparation, the fifty thousand men of the Beifu Army were in high spirits. Upon receiving Huan Wen's orders, Huan Xi and Chen Caozhi led thirty-five thousand infantry and cavalry toward Xingyang, leaving Huan Shixiu and Xie Xuan to defend Xingyang. Meanwhile, the Western Headquarters fleet had entered the Yellow River from the Qing River, then been hauled upstream by soldiers pulling towropes to the southern bank directly north of Junyi. Commanded by Xie Xuan, this fleet included more than ten large tower ships with a carrying capacity of ten thousand hu,