Chapter 344

On the other side, Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi, who were still attacking Tongmen, also heard the news that Yancheng was in danger and Zhong Tian had retreated to Wancheng TXT download.

The military counselors came to Zhan Wushuang one after another and suggested to him to retreat immediately and return to Yancheng.

Zhan Wushuang frowned and did not answer immediately. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want to give up halfway, not to mention that Tongmen was too important and had to be recaptured from the hands of the Tianyuan Army. Otherwise, he would be in trouble in Fengdi. Being alone, with no logistical support or rear reinforcements, the situation was extremely unfavorable.

Seeing that Zhan Wushuang was still hesitant, an advisor asked: "General, are you sure of capturing Tongmen?"

"This..." Zhan Wushuang said silently. Among the enemy troops in Tongmen was Shangguan Yuanrang. With just this one man, there was nothing we could handle.

"If the general is not sure, he must withdraw his troops immediately and assist Zhong Tian to defend Yancheng. Otherwise, if Yancheng is lost, our army will be trapped between Yancheng and Tongmen, unable to advance or retreat, and the entire army will be in danger!"

ah! After hearing this, Zhan Wushuang took a breath and secretly said that it made sense. He nodded and said: "What you said is absolutely true!" As he spoke, he said to Zhan Wudi: "Wudi, pass on the order, and the whole army will set off today to return to Yancheng!"

Although Zhan Wudi was unwilling to do so, he also understood the critical situation at this time and did not dare to neglect it. He hurriedly agreed: "Yes! Brother!"

"And..." Zhan Wushuang thought for a while, then waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll explain this matter to you personally!"

He led an army to attack Tongmen. That was the order of King Ning Yanchu. Now that he wanted to retreat, he naturally had to report to Ming Yanchu. In addition, he also needed to inform Ming Xiaotian on the east side of Tongmen to let him know his current situation. Dilemma.

Originally, Ming Xiaotian and Zhan Wushuang were two armies attacking Tongmen from one front to the next. However, as Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi were forced to retreat, only Ming Xiaotian's army was left, and the hope of recapturing Tongmen became very slim.

Zhan Wushuang was afraid that Yancheng would not be protected and his army would be trapped between Yancheng and Tongmen, so he led his men to rush back to Yancheng in a hurry.

Before they arrived at Yancheng, the Tianyuan Army had arrived first, and the army set up camp outside the North City of Yancheng.

After the camp was set up, Tang Yin took Qiu Zhen, Shangguan brothers and several guards, rode out of the camp, walked to a high ground not far away, and looked up at Yancheng in the distance.

Looking at the outline of Yancheng, Tang Yin was filled with emotions. He originally left Yancheng and was deployed to a distant Pingyuan County. Now he has traveled around the north of Feng Country and returned to Yancheng. The situation is completely different. Not only is everything different, but he is also completely different from what he was before.

Feng King Zhanhua was killed by Zhong Tian. The four most powerful nobles in Feng Kingdom existed in name only, and only Zhong Tian, ​​a fake king, was left and his days were numbered. At the beginning, Tang Yin was just a mere county chief, but now, he is called the county chief, but he actually controls four counties, has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, and has become the most powerful line in Feng Kingdom.

After watching for a while, Tang Yin turned his head and said to Qiu Zhen: "Qiu Zhen, do you still remember what I said when I left Yancheng?"

Qiu Zhen smiled and said: "At that time, Brother Tang said that he would definitely come back. Now, Brother Tang's words have been fulfilled, and we are indeed back." Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen have the deepest personal relationship. In private, there is no relationship between the two. Nor would they address each other with the official title of 'Sir'.

"Yes! I said we would come back at the beginning, but I didn't expect that we would come back in this way." Tang Yin narrowed his eyes and said quietly.

Qiu Zhen also did not expect such a result. He smiled and said softly: "This is the most honorable way to return." As he said, he changed the subject, pointed to Yancheng in the distance, and said: "It is reported that people in Yancheng are There are less than 100,000 defenders, but Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi have rushed back to Yancheng and will probably arrive in less than three days. "

Tang Yin sneered and said, "It's just a defeated general. It's nothing to worry about."

Qiu Zhen's face straightened and he said: "If our army and the Ning army were to confront each other head-on, they would indeed have an absolute advantage. I am afraid that Zhan Wushuang would be cunning and not confront our army head-on. Instead, he would hide in Yancheng and fight with the Peng army inside. If we gather together and defend Yancheng, it will be much more difficult for our army to attack the city. "

"Yes!" Tang Yin nodded, feeling that what Qiu Zhen said was reasonable. The Ning army lost about 50,000 people when they attacked Tongmen. Now Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi still have 150,000 Ning army. If they all retreated to Yancheng and were on the defensive, the power of the Ning army's arrow formation would be enough. If used to the extreme, it poses a great threat to one's own side.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Yin said: "In this case, our army should detach a group of troops to stop the Ning army from approaching Yancheng."

Qiu Zhen smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Tang, I'll see you soon."

Tang Yin asked: "Qiu Zhen, what do you think of sending Pingyuan Army to stop Ning Army?"

Qiu Zhen shook his head and said: "The most powerful army in our army is the Pingyuan Army. The Pingyuan Army can be regarded as the core force of our army. It should be invested in the most critical main battlefield and should not be transferred outside."

If the Pingyuan Army cannot be mobilized, which legion can be mobilized? The main force of the Sanshui Army has followed Liang Qi to attack Tongmen. The main force of the Chifeng Army suffered heavy losses when attacking Huya Mountain. The direct army, as Tang Yin's close force, can only be used to attack Yancheng. There is no more legion that can be sent. Comes in handy.

Seeing Tang Yin slowly frowning, Qiu Zhen said with a smile: "Brother Tang can send the Sky Eagle Army headed by Ziying to stop Ning's army."

"Oh?" Tang Yin looked at Qiu Zhen with a questioning look. The name of the Sky Eagle Army is scary, but apart from having a good commander, the soldiers under it are basically a mob. Sending them to stop the 150,000 Ning Army is like hitting a rock with an egg. He said worriedly: "I'm afraid that the Sky Eagle Army will not only fail to stop the Ning Army, but will also be killed by the Ning Army."

"If so, it will save Brother Tang the trouble."

Tang Yin raised his eyebrows.

Qiu Zhen said calmly: "Brother Tang should know who is the direct line and who is the collateral line. Ziying has surrendered to Brother Tang, but his loyalty remains to be seen. Moreover, this is an extraordinary period. Our army is about to enter Yancheng. Brother Tang wants to achieve great things. We must be stable internally and united. It is not appropriate for Ziying to control nearly 70,000 troops at this time."

Tang Yin nodded while listening. When Qiu Zhen finished speaking, he had considered it almost. He smiled calmly and said casually: "Okay! It's up to you on this matter."

Qiu Zhen smiled and said no more about it. Tang Yin is not a long-term and shrewd person. If that were the case, he would not need the assistance of counselors such as Qiu Zhen, Zhang Zhe, and Zong Yuan. His most outstanding feature is that he has an open-minded mind like modern people and can accept favorable opinions from others, which makes up for his own shortcomings to the greatest extent. It is precisely because of this that Qiu Zhen chose to assist him wholeheartedly and push him to the peak step by step.

After returning to the camp, Tang Yin immediately summoned all the generals to discuss the strategy of attacking the city.

After all the generals and counselors arrived, Tang Yin asked slowly: "I plan to attack the city tomorrow. What do you think?"

"I am willing to obey your orders!" All the generals bowed their hands in response.

"Yes!" Tang Yin said again: "But the Ning army led by Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi is also heading towards Yancheng and will arrive in the near future. This is a hidden danger for our army, so I plan to allocate some troops to stop the Ning army and create enough time for the main force of my army to attack the city."

He paused and turned to look at Ziying among the generals and said: "General Ziying, are you willing to lead your Tianying army to stop the Ning army?"

He asked this, which was equivalent to not giving Ziying any room to refuse. Ziying had just surrendered to Tang Yin, and this was the first task Tang Yin gave him. Even if it was dangerous and difficult, he could only bite the bullet and take it.

Ziying was stunned at first, then immediately said: "I am willing to go!"

"Good!" Tang Yin praised first, and then worriedly reminded: "Ning Army has a large number of troops and strong combat effectiveness. Even if General Ziying is talented and capable, I am afraid that the Sky Eagle Army cannot compete with them head-on. When you come into contact with the Ning Army, General Ziying should try to avoid direct battle with them. Just delay them or slow down the marching speed."

"Yes! I understand." Although this task is a bit difficult, it is not impossible to do. After all, the purpose of this battle is to delay time, not to defeat the entire Ning Army. Ziying bowed to Tang Yin and received the military order.

Then, Tang Yin began to arrange the details of the attack on Yancheng.

He ordered the Pingyuan Army and the Direct Army as the main force to attack the north gate and west gate of Yancheng respectively, and ordered the Sanshui Army and Chifeng Army as auxiliary forces to attack the east gate and south gate of Yancheng with harassment and feint strategies. This arrangement looks like a siege from all sides, which can confuse the defenders.

All the generals had no objection to Tang Yin's arrangement and agreed in unison.

On that day, Ziying followed Tang Yin's order and led the Sky Eagle Army to bypass Yancheng and go to block the Ning Army rushing to Yancheng. After Ziying surrendered to Tang Yin, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of his soldiers, he borrowed some veterans from Pingyuan Army, Sanshui Army, Chifeng Army, and Direct Army. These veterans added up to several thousand people, filling the Sky Eagle Army, bringing its strength to 70,000.

Don't underestimate Ziying's move. The value of veterans in the army is immeasurable. Dispersing veterans to various corps and formations can teach a large group of recruits around them how to save their lives and how to kill the enemy on the battlefield, so that the combat effectiveness of the entire army can be improved. It can be said that veterans are the most valuable wealth of the entire army on the battlefield.

Because the counties west of Yancheng were still nominally under Zhong Tian's sphere of influence, Ziying marched cautiously, not daring to take the official roads, and chose the small paths in the wild mountains and ridges. His work and rest schedule was also completely reversed, with the entire army sleeping and resting during the day and only starting to march at night. In this way, although the advance was slow, the concealment was guaranteed, and the Sky Eagle Army penetrated deep into the west of Yancheng, becoming an unknown surprise force.