On the other side, Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi, who were still attacking Tongmen, also heard the news that Yancheng was in emergency and Zhong Tian had retreated to Wancheng.
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 is extremely unfavorable.
Seeing that Zhan Wushuang was still hesitant, an advisor asked: "General, are you sure of capturing Tongmen?"
"This..." Zhan Wushuang muttered without saying anything. Among the enemies in Tongmen was Shangguan Yuanrang. With just this one person, there was no one 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 deep 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, please pass on the order and the whole army will be ready today.
Let’s set off and return to Yancheng!”
Although Zhan Wudi was unwilling to do so, he 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 retaking 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 rapid march.
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 on horseback 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 again. The situation is completely different.
Not only has everything changed, but he himself is also completely different from what he was before.
Feng King Zhanhua was killed by Zhong Tian, and the four most powerful nobles in Feng Kingdom existed in name only. Only Zhong Tian, a fake king, had only a short time. At the beginning, Tang Yin was just a mere county chief, but now,
He is called the head of a county, but he actually controls four counties. He has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, making him 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, and they really had an absolute advantage, I am afraid that Zhan Wushuang would be cunning and not confront our army head-on, but 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 all of them shrink,
Once inside Yancheng and on the defensive, the power of the Ning Army's arrow formation can be brought to its fullest, posing 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 the Pingyuan Army to stop the 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 Directly Affiliated Army also acted as Tang Yin's close army.
It can only be used to attack Yancheng, and there are no more legions that can be used.
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 doubtful eyes. The name of the Sky Eagle Army is scary, but except for a good commander, the soldiers below are simply a mob. Sending them to stop the 150,000 Ning Army is tantamount to
Hitting an egg against a stone. He said worriedly: "I'm afraid that not only will the Sky Eagle Army not be able to stop the Ning Army, but it will also be killed by the Ning Army and annihilated."
"If this is the case, it will save Brother Tang the trouble."
Tang Yin raised his eyebrows.
Qiu Zhenzhen said: "Brother Tang must know clearly in his heart who is the direct line and who is the collateral line. Ziying has taken refuge with Brother Tang, but his loyalty remains to be seen, and these are extraordinary times. Our army is about to invade Yancheng.
, If Brother Tang wants to achieve great things, we must be internally stable and united. At this time, it is not appropriate for Ziying to control an army of nearly 70,000 people."
Tang Yin listened and nodded. When Qiu Zhen finished speaking, he had almost thought about it. He smiled calmly and said casually: "Okay! It's up to you to decide on this matter."
Qiu Zhen smiled and said no more about the matter. Tang Yin was not a far-sighted or scheming person. If that were the case, he would not need the assistance of counselors such as Qiu Zhen, Zhang Zhe, and Zong Yuan. He was the most outstanding.
The advantage of Qiu Zhen is that he has the enlightened mind of modern people and can adopt the favorable opinions put forward by 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 take him one step further.
Push to the peak.
After returning to camp, Tang Yin immediately summoned his generals to discuss strategies for attacking the city.
After all the generals and counselors had arrived, Tang Yin asked slowly: "I plan to attack the city tomorrow. What do you think?"
"General, I am willing to obey your command!" All the generals responded in unison.
"Yes!" Tang Yin said again: "But the Ning army commanded 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 part of the troops to go forward.
Go and block the Ning army and create enough time for the main force of my army to attack the city."
At this point, he paused, turned to look at Ziying among the generals, and said, "General Ziying, would you like to lead your Sky Eagle Army to stop the Ning Army?"
He asked this, which meant that there was no room for Ziying to refuse. Ziying had just joined Tang Yin. This was the first task Tang Yin gave him. No matter how dangerous or difficult it was, he could only bite the bullet and continue.
Ziying was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then immediately said: "I will go there in the end!"
"Okay!" Tang Yin first praised, and then warned with some concern: "Ning has many soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is quite strong. No matter how talented and capable General Ziying is, I am afraid that the Sky Eagle Army will not be able to compete with him head-on.
When he comes into contact with Ning's army, General Ziying will try his best to avoid a head-on battle with him, and only needs to hold him back or slow down his marching speed."
"Yes! The general understands." Although this task is a bit difficult, it is not impossible. After all, the purpose of this battle is to delay time, not to defeat the entire Ning army. Ziying bowed his hand to Tang Yin and led the troops
Military orders.
Then, Tang Yin began to arrange the details of the attack on Yancheng.
He ordered the Pingyuan Army and the Directly Affiliated Army as the main force to attack the north and west gates of Yancheng respectively. He also ordered the Sanshui Army and the Chifeng Army as the supplementary forces to attack the east and south gates of Yancheng with a strategy of harassment and feint attack. With this arrangement, it seems that
It is like being besieged on all sides, which can have the effect of confusing the defenders.
The generals had no objections to Tang Yin's arrangements and all agreed.
On that day, Ziying obeyed Tang Yin's order and commanded the Tianying Army to bypass Yancheng and block the Ning Army that was rushing towards Yancheng. After Ziying surrendered to Tang Yin, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of his soldiers, he sent troops to Pingyuan Army, Sanshui Army, and Chifeng Army.
, the directly affiliated armies borrowed some veterans respectively. These veterans totaled thousands, and were added to 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. Distributing veterans to various regiments and formations can teach a large group of surrounding recruits how to save their lives on the battlefield and how to kill the enemy.
The combat effectiveness of the entire army can be greatly improved. It can be said that veterans are the most valuable asset of the entire army on the battlefield.
Because the counties west of Yancheng were still nominally within Zhong Tian's sphere of influence, Ziying was also cautious in his march, not daring to take official roads and choosing only trails in the wild mountains. His work and rest schedules were completely reversed, with the entire army sleeping and resting during the day.
The march began at night. In this way, although the advance was slow, concealment was ensured. The Sky Eagle Army penetrated deep into the west of Yancheng and became an unknown force.