Tongzhou City, this is the real important place of Gyeonggi Province, at the foot of the capital.

The Gyeonggi Province defense line that the Long Army spent more than half a year building was divided into three lines. The first line was the forward line of defense with Quannan Pass as its core, the second line was the Tongzhou line, and the last line was the Bingzhou line behind it.

The total number of the three lines of defense is probably no less than 200,000 Long Army soldiers, and most of the 16th Guards of the Gyeonggi Province are gathered here. If all three lines of defense are breached, the horses of the Liang Army will go straight into the Gyeonggi Province and keep approaching.

At the foot of the capital, the Great Long Dynasty would really face a life-or-death decision.

Yuwen Xingchen originally thought that these three lines of defense would be impregnable until Wu Xinrou defeated the Wu army and returned to Jiangbei. At that time, Wu Xinrou would bring the power of victory to a decisive battle with the Liang army and determine the world in one fell swoop.

But he never expected that the front line of defense would be breached by the Liang army in just five days.

Moreover, he was on the front line from the beginning to the end of this battle. It can be said that the defeat came very suddenly. The formation battle was unpredictable. Even he himself felt that no one could break this formation, but Liang Jun broke it.

The Six Ding Liujia Formation.

Moreover, the Liang army's attack posture made him feel chilled all over. He suddenly wondered how Xun An could stop the Liang army's cavalry in the first place.

Today, the entire city of Tongzhou City is on alert, with military flags covering the sky and sun standing on the city walls, densely packed defenders patrolling everywhere, and the whole city is shrouded in a dark cloud of the coming war.

The city gates were tightly closed, the bows and crossbows were ready to go, and the people in the whole city smelled an unusual smell.

Just yesterday, the defeated army that withdrew from Quannan Pass came back. Among the 70,000 to 80,000 troops, only 10,000 forbidden troops came back. The whole city was shaken.

I believe that the news of the Liang army's massive invasion of Gyeonggi Province has spread like snowflakes to the surrounding areas. The capital city not far away does not yet know what kind of storm it will cause.

Yuwen Xingchen was standing on top of the city at this moment, looking into the distance.

He has been waiting here since early this morning. He is waiting for Dugu Chengye and Yu Wenhe to come back. They are all confidant generals transferred from Longxi~

Xun An walked quietly behind Yuwen Xingchen. After a moment of hesitation, he still did not say anything to disturb the emperor's contemplation.

But Yuwen Xingchen took the initiative to speak:

"Has the edict been circulated?"

Xun An bowed and said:

"Back to Your Majesty, the military order has been sent out. I believe that the defenders on the east and west wings of Quannan Pass will retreat immediately after receiving the military report."

Now that Quannan Pass has been lost, Yuwen Xingchen also knows that the first line of defense must not be able to hold, and there is no need to waste any more troops.

"Hmm~"

Yuwen Xingchen responded lightly: "I wonder how the war at Quannan Pass is progressing~"

"Look, there's someone there! There's a figure!"

Suddenly, a soldier muttered in a low voice. After shouting, he looked at the emperor with some fear, for fear of disturbing Yuwen Xingchen.

The defenders all over the city cast their gazes into the distance, and there were indeed large, densely packed black shadows on the distant horizon.

"The whole army is on alert! Beat the drums!"

"Dong dong dong!"

"Crossbowmen, be alert!"

"Prepare to meet the enemy!"

The Tongzhou garrison, which had long been deserted, immediately entered a battle-ready posture. A large number of soldiers swarmed up to the city, their arrows bent and their bows ready to be fired, and they looked warily into the distance.

Yuwen Xingchen squinted his eyes for a long time, and finally breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Huh, it's one of our own~"

It was Dugu Chengye's soldiers and horses who led their troops back. There were tens of thousands of them, and they swarmed in along the city gate.

The soldiers of the Long Army were all dejected, panting, and the word exhaustion was written on their faces. They did not stop all night after they withdrew from Quannan Pass, and rushed back to Tongzhou overnight, for fear of being overtaken by the Liang Army.

The return of the defeated army caused another commotion in the city. Unexpectedly, the combat power of Liang's army was so terrifying. Even Dugu Chengye was defeated by them.

Dugu Chengye, who had a bandage on his arm, strode towards the city wall, cupped his fists and shouted:

"At the end of the day, General Dugu Chengye came to see Your Majesty. I failed to fight well, so I ask Your Majesty to punish me!"

"Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Also returning with Dugu Chengye was Yuan Man, who had a big belly. This General Yuan was able to assess the situation on the battlefield and took the initiative to evacuate with more than a thousand troops before the entire army collapsed. On the way to escape, he encountered

Dugu Chengye, the two of them joined forces and returned to the city together.

"The old general is injured?"

Yuwen Xingchen did not ask about the war, but first reached out to help Dugu Chengye, with a worried look on his face as he showed concern for his injuries.

Dugu Chengye's eyes were slightly red and he said in a deep voice:

"I have betrayed your majesty's great trust. Quannan Pass was captured and tens of thousands of troops died on the battlefield."

"There is no need to say anything, old general."

Yuwen Xingchen waved his hand slightly: "Liang Jun is brave and Chu Yucheng is cunning and cunning. It is indeed difficult to deal with him. The general has tried his best.

The old general took the initiative to stay in Quannan to collect the defeated troops. Bringing back so many soldiers and horses is already a great achievement, so why is he guilty?"

Yuwen Xingchen had no intention of punishing Dugu Chengye for his crimes. He was watching Dugu Chengye command from the beginning to the end. There was no problem, but even if he failed, there was nothing he could do.

Dugu Chengye lowered his forehead slightly and the tip of his nose felt sore. This time he really felt the feeling of defeat.

Xun An said softly: "Your Majesty, since the old general has returned safely, he should send out the rangers to look for the Black Ling Army, and the Black Ling Army should also withdraw."

"I'm afraid it's not necessary anymore."

Just as Yuwen Xingchen was about to nod, Dugu Chengye said with a bitter look on his face:

"Chen and General Yuan saw the corpses of the Black Ling Army soldiers during their retreat. The entire army, including General Yu Wenhe, was wiped out."

Yuwen Xingchen's figure trembled slightly, and there was a look of disbelief in his eyes. He was the first-class elite of Longxi, and he was just gone?

Xun An was also stunned. It seemed that the Liang army had indeed sent a large army to pursue them, and they had carried out a deadly attack, otherwise the Black Ling army would never have been quietly annihilated.

Dugu Chengye gritted his teeth and said:

"Judging from the situation on the battlefield, it seems that the Great Liang Dragon Cavalry has arrived in person. The Liang Army is really ruthless!"

Yuwen Xingchen was silent. It turned out that the Dragon Riders of Great Liang were dispatched. He felt a little lucky in his heart. Fortunately, he listened to Xun An's words and sent troops to stop the rear. Otherwise, he, the Emperor of Great Long, might have become a dead body on the plain.

Everyone said nothing and looked at Yuwen Xingchen silently, waiting for His Majesty the Emperor to arrange the next step of the war.

"Huh~"

After being silent for a long time, Yuwen Xingchen raised his head slightly and said:

"General Dugu and Lord Xun will stay in Tongzhou and hold on to the city. I have to return to the capital to stabilize the situation."

Not long after the founding of the Long Dynasty, no one knew whether the aristocratic families in the capital were sincerely surrendering. At this time, Yuwen Xingchen had to stabilize the hearts of the people in the capital.

"promise!"

They both drank together.

Yuwen Xingchen said one more thing when he turned around and went down to the city:
Chapter completed!