Chapter 257

Although Shangguan Yuanji likes to relax, Tang Yin can entrust him with the management of the government affairs of the three counties, which shows the importance and trust he attaches to him. Shangguan Yuanji was very moved by Tang Yin's knowledge and said: "Don't worry, sir, I will do my best to create a solid backing for you!"

After hearing what he said, Tang Yin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, patted Shangguan Yuanji on the shoulder, and said: "Yuanji, after all, you have limited energy alone and cannot run back and forth among the three counties. You can trust me with the specific affairs of each county." Let the people manage it, and you can just sit in Huaiyang and direct the overall situation. "

Shangguan Yuanji nodded and said with a smile, "I understand."

Tang Yin thought for a moment and said: "The army's food and fodder are still in short supply now. We must hurry up in preparing food and fodder from the three counties, especially Jinguang County."

"Yes! Sir."

"Also, for the remaining three county guards of Jinguang County, you can use them if you can, and if you can't, kick them all away. There is no need to show any mercy, let alone any worries. Just go ahead and do it."

"clear."

"Jinguang County's taxes and expenditures may be a bad debt. I will send Master Zong Yuanzong to assist you. After all, he is familiar with the situation in Jinguang County."

"Yes! Thank you, sir."

After Tang Yin finished explaining all the problems he could think of, Zhao Hui was called in and told him that the army was preparing to go south to attack Lehu County recently, and ordered him to prepare more military pay and grain for military expenses. Zhao Hui was not squeezed out by Tang Yin and continued to serve as the county chief. He was naturally grateful and looked up to Tang Yin. He listened to Tang Yin's instructions and nodded in agreement.

On the fifth day after Tang Yin dismissed Zheng Tao, Princess Xiaona and several generals under her command also arrived in Huaiyang and brought Tang Yin a message. Xiaona's letter to Knis had been sent to Bessa City, and Knis agreed. Come down and send a message to Alden Ehrenreich, the king of Duki, to inform him of the matter. As for the reaction from the city-state of Duki, it will be sent back soon.

After listening to Xiaona's words, Tang Yin was very happy. King Besa was willing to come forward to help, and this matter was a success.

Originally, it seemed to him, Xiaona and others that everything was a sure thing, but something went wrong. After receiving the message from King Kenis of Besa, Alden Ehrenreich, the king of the Duki City State, did not agree, but he did not refuse either. Instead, he put forward a condition for Tang Yin to go to Duki City in person for a while.

Of course, Kenis was not satisfied with his answer and sent someone to Duki City again to ask him what he meant. This time, Alden Ehrenreich wrote a long letter to Kniss explaining his difficulties.

Duji City State borders Feng Ning State. The area bordering Feng State is a desolate land with barren mountains and rivers and no human habitation. There is no contact between them. However, the area bordering Ning State is very wide. Although the two sides are not on good terms, they There was no major conflict. Strictly speaking, Duji City State was still full of fear of Ning State, which was at its peak. They borrowed a road for Tang Yin, but it didn't mean that everything would be fine after borrowing it. Doing so would offend Ning Guo. What if Ning Guo sends troops to retaliate in the future? As the king, Alden Ehrenreich must take this into consideration. So he put forward the conditions for meeting Tang Yin. First of all, he had to take a look at Tang Yin to see if he was really outstanding. Secondly, he also had to have a clear discussion with Tang Yin. It was okay to borrow a road, but if Ning Guo sent troops to retaliate in the future, Will he send troops to assist?

After reading his letter, Kniss basically understood Alden Ehrenreich's concerns. He immediately wrote back, patting his chest and promising that if Ningguo attacked Dukei, Besa would definitely send troops to assist. But Alden Ehrenreich was determined to meet Tang Yin and proposed that he would only consider borrowing the road if Tang Yin came in person.

Unexpectedly, Alden Ehrenreich was so insistent on this 'little matter'. In the end, Kniss had no choice but to write a letter to Tang Yin explaining the matter. However, the correspondence between Knis and Alden Ehrenreich was delayed for almost a month. When Knis's letter to Tang Yin arrived in Huaiyang, it was already a month and a half later.

During this period of time, Tang Yin certainly would not sit idle. While he was reorganizing the three counties, he was also seizing the time to train his army. He eliminated the old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers in the army, and then recruited strong young people from the three counties to join the army. The combat effectiveness of Tianyuan Army has been greatly improved.

At the same time, Tianyan and Diwang's detectives returned to Jinguang County from time to time and reported to Tang Yin the latest situation in Yancheng and Tongmen.

The Ning army stationed in Tongmen is more or less, about 50,000. During this period, Tongmen has been reinforcing the city defense on the east side. It can be seen that the Ning army is also worried about the enemy coming from Fengdi. Attack from the side. In addition, the 200,000 Ning troops commanded by Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi have all retreated to Yancheng. King Ning Yanchu did not send any additional reinforcements to them, but he also did not order them to return to Ning State, but only placed them in Yancheng. , let him supervise Zhong Tian nearby, and let him recruit young men from the Feng Kingdom to reorganize the Central Army as the main force to counter the Tianyuan Army.

Yan Chu can be regarded as a young and powerful king among the kings. Since he came to the throne, Ning State has developed rapidly and its national power has increased rapidly. Moreover, Yan Chu himself is both civil and military. Not only is he well-read in scriptures, but he is also born with supernatural powers and has a lot of training. Outstanding spiritual martial arts.

In Yan Chu's view, the war between the Tianyuan Army led by Tang Yin and the new king led by Zhong Tian was a civil war in the Feng Kingdom and internal strife in the Feng Kingdom. It was not easy for the Ning State to interfere too deeply. The main force to fight against the Tianyuan Army must be Feng Kingdom. There is no need for Ning Jun to get involved and consume his own national power.

This battle outside Jinhua City was a mistake made by Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi in their overall strategy. They should not have fought against the Tianyuan Army, but they were eager to destroy it, which resulted in the Ning Army losing as many as 200,000 soldiers and generals. Although Yan Chu did not blame them, he was already dissatisfied with them in his heart.

Yan Chu was a talented and aggressive king, but he also had a fatal flaw, that is, he was stubborn and could not listen to the opinions of people around him. As long as he thought it was right, no one could change it. He hoped that Zhong Tian would fight against Tang Yin and let Feng people fight Feng people. No matter who won or lost, it would be a great internal consumption for Feng State, which would seriously damage its national strength and make it difficult to compete with Ning State in the future. However, he overlooked the point that Zhong Tian, ​​the new king, was unpopular. Without the assistance of the Ning State army, he could not resist the attack of the Tianyuan Army by himself, and Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi wanted to stop the 500,000 Tianyuan Army with 200,000 troops, which was also impossible.

After the defeat of Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi, the Ning army, exhausted and eager to return home, gathered in Yancheng without any reinforcements. The morale of the 200,000 Ning troops was low and they had no fighting spirit. Zhong Tian's situation was even worse. Not only did his second son Zhong Wen die in battle, but the central army was also destroyed. It was not easy to regroup manpower and reorganize the central army in the current situation. The documents for recruiting new soldiers were posted, but no one from the people of Fengguo came to join the army. Finally, Zhong Tian could only issue a mandatory order that every household must send one person to join the army. If they could not send someone, they had to pay money. If they had no people and no money, they would be punished for disobeying the order and the whole family would be executed.

This mandatory conscription order was passed to the local area, causing complaints and indignation from the people of Fengguo. The voices against Zhong Tian were even louder. No one in the local area went to execute Zhong Tian's orders. The law was not severe. If a family did not obey the order, the local officials could still punish them according to the order, but if every household did not obey the order, could they still kill all the local people?

The locals did not send many troops to Yancheng because of Zhong Tian's compulsory conscription order, but the people in Yancheng were not spared. They were right under Zhong Tian's nose and could not hide. No matter whether it was threats or intimidation, Zhong Tian finally gathered more than 100,000 people. In addition, the slaves in Yancheng were gathered together, which was barely enough to make up 150,000 people to fill the establishment of the Central Army.

However, the current Central Army is no longer the same as the previous Central Army. The soldiers not only have no combat experience, but also have not received formal military training. What's more ridiculous is that the whole army does not even have a decent general. The corps commander and the thousand-man commander are basically Zhong Tian's retainers.

Without good generals and elite soldiers, the combat effectiveness of such a Central Army can be imagined.

Listening to the news reported by the Sky Eye and the Ground Network Scouts, Tang Yin couldn't help but smile. Zhong Tian was making a last-ditch effort. The compulsory conscription order was undoubtedly like drinking poison to quench thirst. Not only would it not be effective, it would only cause greater dissatisfaction among the people. Although Zhong Tian had reorganized the Central Army, it was actually just a mere organization and could not withstand a single blow. Ningguo did not send reinforcements to Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi, which was extremely stupid. It was equivalent to letting the two brothers of the Zhan family and their 200,000 Ning troops sit and wait for death. If they didn't take the opportunity to attack southward at this time, when would they wait?

At this time, Knis's letter was also delivered to Tang Yin. After reading it, he didn't think much about it and decided to go to Du Ji in person.

Hearing the news, Qiu Zhen, Shangguan Yuanji and others came to the door, and Le Tian and Ai Jia also followed.

After meeting Tang Yin, Qiu Zhen asked directly: "I heard that you are going to Du Ji City State?"

"Yes!" Tang Yin was very surprised that so many people came at once. He nodded inexplicably, looked around, grinned, and asked: "Any questions? You don't think Du Ji will have bad intentions towards me, right?"

"It is very likely!" Qiu Zhen said bluntly: "During this period, General Le and General Ai have also collected a lot of information about Ningguo. Ningguo and Du Ji have never had bad relations, and they often have exchanges. The trade between the two sides on the border is also very prosperous. This time, the king of Du Ji insisted that you go there in person to negotiate. I am afraid that he has ulterior motives and bad intentions!"

Tang Yin really didn't consider this point. After listening to Qiu Zhen's words, he frowned and remained silent.