Chapter 194

The local army's resentment towards Xiao Kui has not been tolerated for a day or two. Since the day he became the commander, the local army has never had a good life. This time, they were surrounded by the Tianyuan Army, and Xiao Kui's command was improper. The resentment in the hearts of the local army burst out and chopped him into pieces.

Xiao Kui's trusted generals and guards did not run away. After being surrounded by the local army, they were captured alive, and then the city gates were opened and all surrendered to the Tianyuan Army.

The battle of Sanchi City did not even take place. The 200,000 local troops killed the commander Xiao Kui, surrendered and defected to Tang Yin. The victory of this battle can be said to be bloodless.

It was a happy event to receive 200,000 local troops at once, but Tang Yin was not happy. These local troops were originally county troops from all over Fengguo. They were used to being pampered on weekdays. They had never participated in battles and had not received too strict training. Their combat effectiveness was extremely poor. Tang Yin did not have so much money and food to support so many useless soldiers.

On that day, Tang Yin called together the commanders of the local armies. These commanders had already taken off their red armor and only wore their undergarments. They gathered in the tents, all of them dejected and sighing. At that time, they killed Xiao Kui in anger. When they calmed down, they all began to worry about themselves.

Xiao Kui was killed by them, and they would definitely not be tolerated by Zhong Tian again. They could not go home, and their families might be implicated by themselves. Although they turned to Tang Yin's side, they were actually prisoners of others. No one knew how Tang Yin would treat them. For this embarrassing situation, everyone was at a loss.

When they were sitting in the tent, staring at each other in silence, Tang Yin came, and with him came Qiu Zhen, Liang Qi, Xiao Muqing, Gu Yue, Li Wei and other commanders in the army. Seeing Tang Yin, the commanders of the local army hurriedly stood up, knelt on one knee, performed the military salute, and said in unison: "I greet Lord Tang!"

Tang Yin slowly scanned the crowd, looked for a moment, then nodded, and said calmly: "Generals, please stand up!" As he said that, he waved his hand, motioning everyone to sit down, and then he sat on the chair in the middle of the tent and asked: "Excuse me, who is General Ju Yanju?"

The generals were stunned at first, and then they all looked at a big man in the crowd. The big man hurriedly walked out of the crowd, saluted, and said: "Lord Tang, I am Ju Yan."

"Oh!" Tang Yin smiled and said: "Lord Zhao once mentioned you to me, saying that you are brave and good at fighting, and you are proficient in the way of commanding troops. You are a rare talent."

Lord Zhao? The general named Ju Yan was stunned at first, but he immediately reacted. Tang Yin was talking about Zhao Hui. It is absolutely impossible for so many Tianyuan troops to pass through the entire Guannan County without anyone noticing and suddenly come to Sanchi without Zhao Hui's assistance. It seems that Zhao Hui has colluded with Tang Yin to fight against Zhong Tian.

Ju Yan is the commander of the Guannan Army and an old subordinate of Zhao Hui. He is basically responsible for the major and minor events of the Guannan Army. When the Ning Army approached Yancheng, Ju Yan led the reinforcements of Guannan County to Yancheng, but he never returned. He and his soldiers were all detained by Zhong Tian.

After listening to Tang Yin's words, Ju Yan looked terrified and said hurriedly: "Master Tang, that is Master Zhao praising me, I really don't deserve it!"

Tang Yin nodded secretly. Although Ju Yanzhang is tall and strong, with a rough and fierce appearance, he is humble and polite, which is very different from his appearance. He said with a smile: "This is Guannan County, and it is also General Ju's hometown. General Ju, you don't have to be polite. Now, you can take the brothers of Guannan Army back to Tongzhou. Of course, if the soldiers are tired, they can also rest in my camp for a few days."

Ju Yan was very happy to hear this. Zhao Hui and Tang Yin are on good terms, and he and his brothers can also benefit from it. This is something he didn't expect. He hurriedly said: "Lord Tang, I think... I still stay in your army for a while! Although Xiao Kui is dead, there are still 150,000 central troops led by Zhong Wen and 400,000 Ning troops behind. I still know a little about them, and maybe I can give Lord Tang some help."

Since Zhao Hui has already joined hands with Tang Yin to resist Zhong Tian, ​​as a subordinate, Ju Yan feels that he also has the responsibility to stay to resist the coalition forces of Zhong Tian and Ningguo.

He wanted to stay, which was exactly what Tang Yin wanted. He smiled and said, "Well, then General Ju will stay for the time being."

"Yes! Lord Tang!"

Tang Yin was quite polite to Ju Yan, but he was not so polite to others. After talking with Ju Yan, he looked at the generals of other local armies and said, "Generals, you have been away from home for a long time. I think you are eager to return home. Since you have surrendered to us now, I will never force you to stay. You can pack up and go home now."

Instead of keeping these local troops who are of no use, it is better to send them away as soon as possible to avoid eating and drinking for free here. Tang Yin's words said that he invited them to go home, but in fact it was equivalent to issuing an order to expel them.

After hearing what Tang Yin said, everyone looked at each other, and finally lowered their heads, and no one said a word.

It's not that they don't want to leave, but they can't leave at all. Xiao Kui was killed by them. In a few days, the news will reach Zhong Tian. All of them will be wanted nationwide. Once they leave Guannan County, they will have to live in fear and escape. No one is willing to accept this.

Ju Yan naturally sympathizes with the difficulties of the generals. Letting them go home now is tantamount to letting them fall into a trap and go home to die. Ju Yan and the local generals had been together for a long time, and they were friends in times of need. Naturally, he couldn't bear to see them end up in Zhong Tian's hands.

He cleared his throat, cupped his hands and said: "Master Tang, these local army officers all hate Zhong Tian's rebellion. They are just coerced by him and dare not speak out. Now let them stay and fight for the crusade." Zhong Tian, ​​please do your part!”

With his words, the generals were in high spirits. They looked at each other, knelt down one after another, and said in unison: "Master Tang, Zhong Tian committed regicide and betrayed the country. Everyone will be punished. We are willing to stay." Fight against the rebels of old thief Zhong Tian, ​​even if you die on the battlefield and be buried in horse leather, you will not hesitate!"

"This..." The generals had already said this. If they were to be driven away by force, it would be too unkind. If word spread, it would not be good for their own reputations. Tang Yin felt embarrassed and looked sideways at Qiu Zhen, asking what he meant.

Qiu Zhen laughed and said to the generals: "The generals may have such determination, but the soldiers below may not have it. We have been away from home for so long, who doesn't feel homesick? If we force them to stay, it will breed dissatisfaction. , I’m afraid it will affect our army’s fighting spirit.”

When Tang Yin heard this, he nodded appreciatively, secretly sighing at Qiu Zhen's quick reaction.

All the generals were speechless. If Zhong Tian wanted to punish them, he would only punish them, the surrendering generals, and it would be impossible to punish the ordinary soldiers below. Therefore, the soldiers had no worries about going home, not to mention that they knew the soldiers' homesickness too well.

At this time, Ju Yan also saw what Tang Yin was thinking. He frowned and stood up again. This time his voice became louder and he said seriously: "Since your Excellency is concerned about the homesickness of the soldiers, then let the brothers who want to go home Go home. Those soldiers who do not want to go home but are willing to fight Zhong Tian should not be forced. Otherwise, it will be too heartbreaking." After a pause, he continued: "My lord, if you want to defeat Zhong Tian. , it is far from enough to rely on one or two counties, but the whole country must be mobilized, so your Excellency should be kind to the soldiers and people in each county. Only in this way, you will be able to overthrow Zhong Tian in line with the will of the people. The rebels are just around the corner."

After Ju Yan finished speaking, Tang Yin took a breath and won the hearts and minds of the people across the country. This was something he had never thought about. Although he doesn't think that only the people's support can defeat Zhong Tian, ​​it is not a bad thing to win the people's support.

Tang Yin is very smart, but his smartness is mainly reflected in adapting to changes, and he is not good at foresight. However, he has an advantage, that is, he can be keenly aware of which opinions are beneficial to him and which opinions are not beneficial to him.

He pondered with a smile, but his mind was spinning rapidly. After a pause, he smiled and said, "What General Ju said is exactly what I have considered." As he said that, he looked around at the generals and said : "If you generals want to stay, of course I will welcome you with both hands. If you want to leave, I will not force you. I will also send you some money to prepare for your needs on the way. In addition, I hope that you generals can also convey my words. To the soldiers below."

oops! After hearing this, all the generals sighed, and they all saluted and kowtowed to Tang Yin, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Tang!"

Ju Yan watched from the side, his eyes shining as well.

From just now, Tang Yin was determined to send away all the local troops, and he was obviously short-sighted. But now he understands why Tang Yin can achieve such great strength. He is not as arrogant and arrogant as those dignitaries, but Being able to listen to the correct opinions of others, even the opinions of people you have just met, is easy to say, but too difficult to do.

He bowed to Tang Yinshen with both sigh and admiration, and said, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Of the 200,000 local soldiers, there were actually not many soldiers who were willing to stay in Guannan County and continue fighting. As soon as Tang Yin's words were conveyed, most of the local soldiers began to pack their things and prepare to go home. In the end, those who were willing to stay It was less than 20,000 yuan. Tang Yin was very satisfied with this result and it was acceptable.

On the other side, he sent orders to Shangguan Yuanrang and Peng Haochu who were ambushing at the border, explaining the situation in Sanchi City and asking them to lead the team to withdraw immediately.

After receiving Tang Yin's order, Peng Haochu did not dare to delay and was about to order the withdrawal. At this time, Shangguan Yuanrang quit. He came out to ambush to fight. Now he didn't even see the shadow of Zhong Wen's army. Why? Can it be withdrawn?