Tang Yin frowned, looked at Ziying strangely, and smiled lightly: "Ziying, what do you mean?"
Ziying took a deep breath and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the casualties of our army are now close to 200,000, and we have been fighting for more than a month. The soldiers are exhausted. In addition, most of the brothers in the army are not adapted to the climate of Hedong and are suffering from diseases."
There are countless sick people, and their fighting strength has been reduced sharply, while Ning's army is waiting for work in Hexi..."
Before Ziying could finish speaking, Tang Yin waved his hand and interrupted: "Our army is tired, isn't the Ning army tired? Don't forget, Changsun Yuanhong's men rushed from the west of Ning State to Liangzhou, and from Liangzhou to Hedong.
Traveling thousands of miles away is no easier than our army; our army is not adapted to the climate in Hedong, and the weather contrast between the west of Ningguo and Hedong is even greater. Can the Ning army adapt? I know you are going to say that there will be a water war in the Zhang River again, and I
The army doesn't know how to fight on the water, but can the western army of Ningguo know how to fight on the water? They don't know how! What should we fear if a layman is a layman?"
Ziying was snatched away by Tang Yin and was speechless. What Tang Yin said was exactly what he was worried about, but it couldn't be said that Tang Yin's analysis was unreasonable. Xiao Muqing and Liang Qi looked at each other again and smiled knowingly.
Grinning, it seems that the king has made up his mind to destroy Ning, and we will continue to advance westward!
At this time, Xiao Muqing stepped forward, raised his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Shengming, now is the perfect opportunity to destroy Ning. You must not miss it. Our army should rush to the Zhang River immediately and prepare to cross the river!"
After hearing this, Tang Yin was stunned for a moment, then tapped Xiao Muqing with his finger and burst into laughter.
Liang Qi and Ziying's noses were almost crooked with anger. Although the three of them did not talk to each other in words, they all understood each other's intentions. They were all opposed to continuing to move westward. As a result, seeing Tang Yin's firm attitude, Xiao Muqing changed his mind quickly.
, immediately changed from opposition to support, a typical example of being indifferent and leaning on both sides.
Xiao Muqing already supported it, and Liang Qi and Ziying couldn't say anything more. They both bowed and cupped their hands, saying in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"
With the approval of the three commanders, Xiao Muqing, Liang Qi, and Ziying, the destruction of Ning has basically become a certainty. Before anyone could discuss it further, the door opened, and Shangguan Yuanwu walked over, following
He was accompanied by Wang Kai, the head of Hedong County, Du Qing, the county lieutenant, and two servants carrying food and drinks.
"I'm glad to see that the king is in good health, and I feel relieved!" Wang Kai and Du Qing walked quickly to Tang Yin, knelt down and saluted.
Tang Yin lowered his eyes and looked at the two of them, nodded, and said with a smile: "Sir Wang, General Du, please get up!" After a pause, he asked again: "Sir Wang, how is the situation in Hedong during this period?"
Wang Kai's face straightened and he replied respectfully: "Everything is fine. The mood of the people has calmed down a lot, and the situation has gradually stabilized!" No matter how he felt about Tang Yin in his heart, be it disgust or hatred, he didn't dare to show any signs of it on the surface.
After all, all of Hedong is now controlled by the Feng Army. Tang Yin can decide his life and death, as well as the life and death of millions of people in Hedong.
Tang Yin smiled and patted Wang Kai on the shoulder and said: "I, Dafeng, have just taken over Hedong County. The affairs must be complicated and require a lot of hard work from Mr. Wang."
"Your Majesty, you are too polite. I am the head of the county and I should do my best to relieve your Majesty's worries."
"Very good. That's what I said. I hope you think so in your heart." The smile on Tang Yin's face became even wider.
He was smiling, but looking in Wang Kai's eyes, he felt chills in his heart. Tang Yin was like a smiling tiger, with a smile often hanging on his face, but he was moody, and no one knew what was underneath the surface of his smile.
What evil thoughts are hidden there?
"Your Majesty, the food is ready." Shangguan Yuanwu bowed and gestured to the two servants to put the trays on the table. Just as they were about to leave, Yuanwu stopped them again and divided some of the food and wine.
Let the two taste it first to confirm that it is not poisonous, then send them away, and then say to Tang Yin: "Your Majesty, please have a meal."
Tang Yin nodded in agreement, walked to the table, drank three cups of tea in a row, then picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and started eating. After taking two bites, he saw everyone standing aside and watching, he waved his chopsticks and spoke incomprehensively.
Said: "What are you doing standing here? Come and eat together!"
As a minister, there is no reason to eat at the same table as the king. It is not etiquette. Everyone shook their heads and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty, we are not hungry!"
Among the people, the one who knew Tang Yin best was Xiao Muqing. He was the only one who had the shamelessness to walk to the table and said, "Your Majesty, I've had dinner, but I'm a little thirsty. I want to ask for two glasses of wine." Xiao Muqing knew that Tang Yin didn't know Tang Yin at all.
He doesn't pay attention to etiquette, and he doesn't have a clear understanding of the strict hierarchical relationship between monarch and ministers. If he just watches from the sidelines at this time, he will look too unfamiliar. If he comes over to actually eat and drink with Tang Yin, it will look a bit excessive.
Okay, it would be just right to have a few glasses of wine with Tang Yin.
Sure enough, Tang Yin looked at him, smiled, pushed the wine bottle in front of him nonchalantly, and muttered: "Drink if you want, why are you so polite?!" After swallowing what was in his mouth, he asked: "Mu Qing,
Tell me, what are we going to do next?"
Before Xiao Muqing could answer, Wang Kai's expression suddenly changed. He asked, "We still want to fight? Hasn't the king already defeated the eldest son, Sun Yuanhong, and occupied the entire Hedong area?"
"Hedong? Haha..." Tang Yin said with a smile: "What I want now is not just Hedong, but the complete Ningguo. I have just discussed it with everyone. Next, our army's action is to continue to advance westward.
, cross the Zhang River and destroy Ning!"
Ah? Wang Kai secretly took a deep breath. Tang Yin's ambition was so great. He was not satisfied with occupying such a large area of Hedong, and even wanted to annex the entire Ning State! He pondered for a moment and asked hurriedly: "When?"
Tang Yin picked up a piece of beef with soy sauce, stuffed it into his mouth, and said vaguely: "The sooner the better, it's best to start the army immediately."
"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Wang Kai said cautiously.
"What's wrong?"
"I... our soldiers have many injuries and illnesses, especially in the sweltering and humid conditions east of Hedong. The soldiers came from the dry wind country, and their bodies are often infected with poisonous sores. Their skin is severely ulcerated. Five out of ten battles have injuries.
I'm sick, and the officers and soldiers are also exhausted. If we march now, I'm afraid... the battle situation will be unfavorable to our army." Wang Kai pretended to analyze calmly.
After hearing this, Tang Yin suddenly felt tasteless in his mouth. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and drank a cup of tea silently. Then he looked up at Xiao Muqing, Liang Qi, Ziying and Guyue and asked them if this was indeed the case. Xiao Muqing and the four faced each other.
He looked embarrassed and nodded slowly. After looking at it, Tang Yin knew that what Wang Kai said was true. If this was the case, the entire army really needed to take a good rest.
He rolled his eyes and said casually: "Master Wang, you know the situation of our army very well!"
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Wang Kai stirred up a cold war. You must know that under the system of Feng State, the county chief has no contact with the army, and the situation in the army has nothing to do with the county chief. Now he is treated like this by Tang Yin
When asked, Wang Kai was really caught off guard. However, he reacted quickly and immediately said: "The county allocates silver to buy the medicines needed by the army, but the amount is huge. I don't know if someone will enrich themselves.
I went to the military to check things out, so I also got to know some of the conditions in the military."
When he said this, it was hard for anyone to find anything wrong. Tang Yin nodded, thought for a while, and asked, "How about our army temporarily resting in Qingyuan for three days?"
Xiao Muqing, Liang Qi, Ziying, and Guyue hurriedly raised their hands and responded: "This is the best." Let alone three days of rest, even three months of rest will be fine. It would be great if you can rest for a year and a half.
.
Seeing that none of the four of them objected, Tang Yin picked up the bowl and chopsticks again and continued to eat. He said in a straight voice: "Then let's rest for three days! But there are some things that need to be prepared. Since the eldest son Yuanhong retreated to the west of the river, the east bank of the river is here."
The boats on the side must have been snatched away by him. Our army will explore along the river and borrow boats from the people who have boats at home. We also need to build rafts ourselves. The more the better."
"You will eventually understand!"
Xiao Muqing and the four others raised their hands in response.
While eating his meal, Tang Yin warned uneasily: "Water warfare is not our army's specialty, and it is not easy to fight. We need to recruit naval forces on the spot. As long as they are good at water or know how to fight water, no matter it is
People from the wind or people from Ning can all be recruited into the army. The amount of silver needed to recruit the army can be more, and under the heavy reward, there must be brave men!"
After hearing this, Xiao Muqing was shocked, and he raised his hands and said, "My lord, see you tomorrow! Tomorrow... no, today I will rush to the Zhang River to recruit the navy."
Tang Yin nodded and said with a smile: "Okay! You can estimate how much money you need. Once you decide, you don't need to report it to me. You can just claim it directly from Mr. Wang." As he spoke, he said to Wang Kai:
"Master Wang, there is still a lot of money left in the county bank, right? You should try your best to cooperate with General Xiao."
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Wang Kai agreed bravely, and at the same time he respected and hated Tang Yin. He admired Tang Yin's intelligence and agility. Recruiting a naval force could make up for the shortcomings of the Feng Army in water warfare, and also fill the gap between the Feng Army and the Feng Army.
The combat power consumed by injuries and illnesses was so cruel that Tang Yin's method of using Ning people to fight Ning people was too vicious. No matter whether the outcome of the war was good or bad, it was Ning Guo who suffered in the end.
Seeing that Xiao Muqing was going to recruit naval forces near the Zhanghe River, Liang Qi, Ziying, and Guyue were not willing to lag behind others, and they all expressed their intention to go with Xiao Muqing. Tang Yin was happy to see the scene of the four armies fighting for troops, and did not care at all.
Objection, all agreed.
Tang Yin left all the preparations for the crossing of the river to the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army. He was happy to have a good rest in Qingyuan City for three days.
It's just that the three days he rested were not peaceful, and the subsequent battle across the river was far from as easy as he imagined. Changsun Yuanhong's serious injury did not affect his outstanding military strategy and talents. He had already fought on the Zhanghe River
The west bank laid a big net for Tang Yin, just waiting for him to attack.