Chapter 332

Shangguan Yuanrang was so brave that no one could match him. Even though he lost his horse and was trapped in the depths of the Ning Army camp, he was still unstoppable. Soon, he forced his way through the Ning Army camp and ran to a Ning Army corps commander on horseback. He chopped the corps commander off his horse in just two encounters. He jumped on his horse, drew his sword, and shouted loudly: "Where is Zhan Wudi? You rats, why don't you come out and die?"

Wow - Shangguan Yuanrang's shouting scared the surrounding Ning Army and people retreated involuntarily. At this time, the cavalry team that had come out with him also arrived. Shangguan Yuanrang saw his men following him, he laughed loudly twice, waved his sword and said: "Brothers, follow me back to kill again!"

"Kill -"

Five thousand cavalry shouted together, with great morale, and followed Shangguan Yuanrang to charge back.

Shangguan Yuanrang's strength is not just his unfathomable cultivation and powerful spiritual weapons, but his bravery can inspire the fighting spirit and potential of the soldiers around him. If everyone can only exert 100% of their combat effectiveness, then with Shangguan Yuanrang present, they can exert 200% of their combat effectiveness. With Shangguan Yuanrang leading the charge, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, people can rush through without fear.

Shangguan Yuanrang led the cavalry to fight back from the Ning army camp to the Tongmen city, and then without delay, he turned his horse's head and rushed into the Ning army camp again. Five thousand cavalrymen came and went in the Ning army camp, in and out, and fought ten times. The Ning army attacking the city was torn apart, and finally could not hold on. The front army began to collapse from the center to the bottom, and then it turned into a total collapse of the front army. Once the front army was defeated, in order to avoid trampling on each other, the central army and the rear army were forced to retreat. The 200,000 Ning army led by Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi was killed by the 5,000 cavalry led by Shangguan Yuanrang.

After this battle, the two sides counted again, and the 200,000 Ning army lost more than 50,000 soldiers, while the 53,000 navy guarding the east city had only less than 10,000 casualties. The most surprising thing is that the 5,000 cavalrymen who followed Shangguan Yuanrang out of the city suffered only 500 casualties. The loss was so small that it made people feel incredible.

Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi retreated all the way back to their own camp. On the observation tower in the camp, looking at the outline of Tongmen in the distance, Zhan Wushuang sighed and said to the sky: "Nowadays, the only person in the world who can resist a country with the strength of one person is Shangguan Yuanrang!"

Even if he was standing on the enemy's side, Zhan Wushuang had to sincerely sigh at Shangguan Yuanrang's invincible bravery. His bravery was unprecedented and probably unmatched.

Zhan Wudi, who was so arrogant and arrogant, stood beside his brother and just sighed softly without saying anything.

Shangguan Yuanrang did not shrink back to Tongmen to defend it, but went to the battle in person and defeated the Ning army that was attacking the city. Liang Qi on the side was far from being so relaxed. The more than 30,000 Sanshui troops relied on the height and solidity of the west city wall to desperately resist the 200,000 Ningguo Central Army commanded by Ming Xiaotian. The bloody battle between the two sides was so intense that the sky was dark and the earth was dark, and the losses were heavy, especially for the Ning army on the siege side. It often took less than an hour for a corps to be disorganized, and most of the soldiers fell. When the battle reached midnight, Ming Xiaotian could no longer hold on. In addition, Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi had already fled back to the camp, so he had no intention of fighting again and hastily ordered the troops to withdraw.

After this battle, Ming Xiaotian had to re-evaluate the strength of the Tianyuan Army in Tongmen again, and he did not dare to launch an attack rashly. The Ningguo Central Army led by Ming Xiaotian and the Ning Army led by Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi were only separated by a city, and it was difficult for them to join together. However, the Tongmen in the middle became an insurmountable barrier for the two armies, and completely blocked the way for the Zhan brothers to return home.

There was a fierce battle in Tongmen, and Zhong Tian in Yancheng was not idle either.

If he waited for the Tianyuan Army to attack, it would be like sitting and waiting for death. His advisers came to Zhong Tian one after another and asked him to take the opportunity of Tang Yin's injury to attack the main force of the Tianyuan Army in Lehu County.

Zhong Tian also felt that this was an opportunity, but he couldn't make up his mind who to send and how many troops to send.

At this time, his advisers gave him another idea, suggesting that Zhong Wu lead the 200,000 central army to go to war.

First of all, Zhong Wu was a prince, and his command of the army was almost the same as Zhong Tian's personal expedition, which could boost the morale of the entire army. Secondly, Zhong Wu had an outstanding spiritual martial arts, and could be called a rare and fierce general. If he could kill several generals of the Tianyuan Army on the battlefield, he might be able to reverse the current disadvantage of his side.

After listening to the opinions of the ministers, Zhong Tian grinned secretly. Now his favorite son was only Zhong Wu. If he sent Zhong Wu to go to war, what if he followed in the footsteps of his brother Zhong Wen? Then he wouldn't even have a son who could be used.

Zhong Tian really couldn't bear to send Zhong Wu to the battle. He looked around at the generals under his command and said quietly: "It takes a thousand days to raise soldiers, but only one day to use them. Is there no general under my command who dares to step forward and take on the important task when the country is in danger?"

Zhong Tian is not a military strategist, but he is definitely an outstanding politician. His words made the generals under his command blush. At this time, a middle-aged general stepped out, saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the royal army to fight against the rebels!"

Hearing the words, Zhong Tian's eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at the general who volunteered, he nodded. Among all the generals, only he could take on this important task.

This middle-aged general is named Ziying. He is one of the few good generals under Zhong Tian who is good at fighting and managing the army. Zhong Tian was very happy and asked, "How many troops will General Ziying take to the battle?"

Ziying sighed secretly. At present, the total number of troops in Yancheng is only 200,000. Even if he leads them all, he cannot fight against the Tianyuan Army head-on. He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I will lead 100,000 soldiers to the battle!"

"100,000?" Zhong Tian was shocked and asked hurriedly, "General Ziying will only lead 100,000 soldiers to the battle. Isn't it... too few?"

Ziying bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I can only defend this battle and try to delay the Tianyuan Army as much as possible to prevent it from going south. If Your Majesty expects me to defeat the Tianyuan Army, I... have the will but not the strength!"

Although Zhong Tian felt a little disappointed after hearing this, he still nodded and accepted Ziying's statement. After all, there would be an extra barrier outside Yancheng, and he would be safer. He asked, "Does General Ziying have the confidence to resist the Tianyuan Army?"

"The Tianyuan Army is large in number and powerful, so I am not completely sure, but I am willing to fight to the death and never retreat a step to repay the king's kindness!" Ziying's words were sonorous and powerful, and Zhong Tian was very moved.

I don't know whether the old man was sincere or not. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, picked up the military token of the Central Army from the table, walked up to Ziying, handed the military token to him, and said: "General Ziying, the lives of the king, the ministers of the court, and nearly one million people in the city are all in your hands. If you win, Yancheng will be saved. If you lose, my Peng country will be destroyed."

Ziying's eyes were red at this time. He knelt on one knee, raised his hands to take the military token, and said in a trembling voice: "I will do my best to defend my capital!"

Zhong Tian appointed Ziying as the commander and led 100,000 central troops out of Yancheng. They set up camps at the foot and top of a mountain called Huya Mountain on the border of Lehu County.

Ziying is not an ordinary general. The place he chose to camp is just right.

Huya Mountain is located on the only way to Yancheng, and the official road is at the foot of the cliff. If the Tianyuan Army wants to pass through here, they must eliminate all the Central Army stationed on the mountain and at the foot of the mountain. Otherwise, the Central Army on the mountain is high above, and the Tianyuan Army below can't stand it just by throwing rocks from above.

And Ziying is divided into two camps, one on the mountain and the other at the foot of the mountain. If you want to kill up the mountain, you must first take down the Peng Army camp at the foot of the mountain. If you attack this camp, the Peng Army on the mountain will rush down from the mountain and use the camp at the foot of the mountain to resist the Tianyuan Army. These two camps can be said to echo each other and form a horn.

In addition, Ziying has made preparations for long-term combat and stored a large amount of food and grass on the mountain. As for the defensive facilities such as rolling logs and beating stones, it is convenient. There are stones everywhere on Huya Mountain, which are enough for the Peng Army to use for defense.

After setting up the camp and making the corresponding deployment and arrangements, Ziying began to walk around the mountain and the foot of the mountain for inspection. He sighed and shook his head secretly while looking around. It was true that Huya Mountain was a dangerous place, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The camp he set up was also fine, very solid and solid. The only shortcoming was the people.

If the 100,000 central troops were stationed here before, Huya Mountain would definitely be as solid as an iron plate, and there would be no need to worry even if a million enemy troops came, but the current central army was far worse.

Some of these 100,000 people were civilians, some were homeless refugees, and some were slaves and servants. Would a 100,000-strong army composed of such a group of people have any combat effectiveness? If they really went to the battlefield, would they be scared to death by the enemy before the battle? Ziying had no idea about these problems and felt very heavy.

Ziying led 100,000 troops to station at Huya Mountain, and the spies of the Tianyuan Army immediately sent the news back to Xibai City.

After receiving this news, Qiu Zhen immediately summoned all the generals and counselors of the Tianyuan Army to discuss countermeasures.

None of the generals and counselors of the Tianyuan Army were given for nothing. When people heard that the Peng Army was stationed at Huya Mountain, they checked the map and immediately understood the other party's intention. The Peng Army was planning to use the mountain to guard the road and prevent their army from moving south.

Peng Haochu advised Qiu Zhen that he must immediately send troops to attack the 100,000 Peng Army stationed on Huya Mountain, otherwise, when they stand firm, they will inevitably suffer a great loss if they want to attack by force.

The generals all thought the same as Peng Haochu, and they all believed that this battle could not be delayed until Tang Yin returned, and they must take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold to attack and defeat it.

Qiu Zhen accepted everyone's opinions and immediately asked, "Which general is willing to lead the army to fight?"